Binnie, Patton was one of the first guys who predicted the Cold War. His idea was to hit the Soviets at full-force since they're fatigued from the war, their troops in disarray and most of their reinforcements depleted or concentrated.
The US command basically told him no It's still up for debate but I believe the US would have beaten the Soviets even without the A-bombs, but there would have probably been MANY victims on both sides, plus most people were getting tired of the war.

Short answer: America didn't want another war; they wanted it to end ASAP.
He was stopped because the Russians had wanted Berlin and probably hinted that they would have fought even the Americans for it. The war was much more "personal" for the Russians who suffered A LOT more casualties than the US, UK and the rest of Europe combined.

I wonder if FDR would have continued to capture Berlin even if it meant fighting Russia. Also, wonder how Patton would have done in Korea if he didn't die from his injuries in that jeep accident.

But, yeah Patton was a one of a kind person.

great observation, and myself being a teensger in the 50s was never really taught the amount of casualties that the Russians suffered. [it was the cold war, and you dare not speak about Russia, or you get a visit from hoovers FBI]


the Russians lost 20 million in world war 2, we lost 500,000 the Russians fought 200 german divisions, we fought 20.

hitlers troops starved 750,000 Russians, in the siege of Leningrad. and there is more, but, when the cold war was at its height, you dare not speak about world war 2, you had to be careful. I know I lived it. hoover had people terrified.

and god help you if you manned a picket line, for a raise in wages, hoover would call you a commie. and you would be ruined.

it was the most frighting time in U.S. history

Churchill wanted to march on to Berlin. FDR had already given eastern europe and parts of Berlin to the Soviets at Yalta in Feb, 1945.

ive heard the same, I also heard that Roosevelt was a very sick man at Yalta. and didn't exercise good judgement.

my question has always been who was influencing Roosevelt at that meeting? it turned out to be a terrible decision that virtually imprisoned eastern Europe for 5o years.

Maybe in his weakened state he couldn't stand up to Stalin's demands. He passed away like 2 months later.

yes, that's true, but, should we not have been on top of that, should not the people have been informed about what was at stake, and the condition of the president.

instead of hearing about what went on decades later. who was watching the store?

Honestly, I'm not surprised that happened. FDR is somebody that would keep information away from the vice president, so who knows how much stuff was kept secret.

Also, I wonder how Truman felt when found out all of this information and the deal with Russia.

I just read a book called ARMAGEDDON all about the last year of WWII when Germany itself was under siege from both sides. It both picks fault and praises all the sides and main men involved. It told a story of how Patton launched an unofficial raid to rescue his son in law who was a POW. A lot of American soldiers died in this raid. It also tells, of course that Patton was idolised by his men and was probably the best and most daring of the Allied commanders. Montgomery, who is a British hero, is pilloried as a pompous idiot but was revered by his men. The Germans were the best fighting troops, even at the end, and the Russians were the worst, there was just so many of them and they were so ferocious. The war in the East between Germany and Russia was an ideological battle to the death. Good book ,well worth a look, by a chap called MAX HASTINGS.

Snipers are true hero's . I challenge anyone to have the guts to go to afghanistan without fear and conquer the enemy.
Snipers get shot at by opposing snipers. They are also in danger of getting captured and beheaded.
Instead of idolizing john gotti or asking " who the best LCN boss is"... I would think about idolizing a sniper. Without them, we dont have a forum to post this shit.

Most of his targets were enemy snipers trying to kill Americans. Often our men are exposed and having that sniper there helps "Level the playing field" to quote obama. He saved a lot of American lives but yet I see many on here bashing him.

I don't know if I would day Montgomery was a idiot, if anything he was extra cautious when it came to battle. Because of that it cost the war to go a bit longer.

Armageddon. sounds like a great book, I think i'll get it.

I would like to know how the army is "over idolized"? Because they put their lives on the line while you don't? Seems like a good enough reason to tip your hat to them, being the fact that they would stand up to the enemy while you stood behind them regardless if they agreed with your political views or not. That's loyalty 90% of America does not possess anymore.

The Army didn't choose to go to war, Congress and the elected politicians did. The Army also didn't decide to pull out and leave a new born democracy in the midst of chaos to satisfy popular liberal opinion. Once again that's the politicians that ultimately caused thousands more to die from an attempted overthrow that wouldn't have happened had there been at least a contingency force present. That's something everyone forgets when they call a soldier in uniform a killer or decide not to show respect.

Most that join the US Military do so not to "kill" but rather to pay for schooling, become advanced in a special job (diesel mechanic, aircraft mechanic, military police, computer technician, etc) That can open up doors to the future.

From an Infantry stand point, even I myself as a former officer will tip my hat to the snipers. If you are captured and confirmed to be a sniper, you aren't just executed, your are tortured until you die. Snipers strike fear into the enemy's mind because it isn't like engaging the typical infantry unit in the point that you can see who you are fighting. It is VERY psychological to someone when their squad is dropping and you have no idea where the rounds are coming from to be able to call in artillery or air support.

I'll even admit, the guy is a little too hardcore even for my standards. A lot of veterans have problems with the fact that we volunteered to serve the country, not serve then put our stories on the line for political or monetary gain. The medals or heroic deeds can be praised, but to run around and brag about it is nothing short of compensating for another shortfall somewhere's else in life. Kind of like the non combat guys that spent a year in Anaconda restocking commissary shelves then get back to the states and use the "decorated combat vet" line to prove a political point. "Yeah bro, cool commendation medal, get behind the light blue colors of the infantry and hold your cooking pan against your chest, wouldn't want a stray enemy round to graze ya."

Are you sure? US military, Russian military, Italian military, doesn't matter which country, if you join ON YOUR OWN FREE WILL, you are no better than a mafia hitman unless your country is under attack and you have to protect you innocent compatriots.
Being a soldier is a dirty job, necessary for this imperfect world, but still dirty and not "noble" and "glorious" at all.

Tell me, why soldiers always rape women and kill civilians after the enemy army has been defeated? Even in the Second World War many Soviet soldiers enjoyed raping German women and boasted that "half of our children were born in Germany", and American soldiers in Vietnam also raped women and had no problems shooting children, while the individuals who denounced that were labeled as "traitors"? How is this different from when an informer is targeted by the mafia for "ratting"?

There are no wars today when you have to "protect you homeland". The last such war was World War 2.

I was born in Russia and I am still sick of the propaganda about how "heroic" our butchers in Chechnya are. Do you seriously think American soldiers behave more civilly when they have just conquered a village formerly owned by terrorists?

I actually consider this too ignorant to reply to but I will.

Since you were born in Russia, I consider you to not be able to have the right to say a fucking thing about our military. As LaLou mentioned, I'd say 90% of our military join today to get ahead in life. Early retirement, education, learning a trade, and even getting into politics are just a few things that joining the military gets you here. Recruiters know that 99% of those they sign up will be out after their first or second re-enlistment.

So no we don't sign up here just to shoot people.

If you think you are so clever, what do you think about soldiers raping and pillaging on conquered territories? An argument to difficult for you to grasp? Or are you SERIOUSLY implying Americans don't do that? It's as much ignorant as if I said Russians don't do that. War transforms people into beasts, and I am not talking about those "other kind" of people who enlist to be mechanics, work with computers etc, but about those who actively participate in battles on their own free will.

And I don't have a problem with the USA army specifically. Other countries' armies are no better from a moral point of view.

Yes, snipers are heroes, regardless of what one thinks about Kyle specifically.

I was listening to an interview with another sniper who recently wrote his own book (don't recall the name) and he said 90% of what snipers do is gather intelligence. He also said some have a negative reaction to them because, when they hear the word "sniper," they think "assassin."

What I don't care for is the typical knee jerk reaction we've seen by certain libs in the media regarding American Sniper. Or, for that matter, many other movies that paint our military in a good light. It's like, any military action after WWII, Hollywood usually only wants to condemn and criticize it.

Woaaaa....Alright man first off, if soldiers were having sex in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was with US female soldiers. This isn't the 70's and we did not invade Afghanistan and Iraq to spread communism to the Middle East. The Army in general is WAY too policed by its own MP's and the MEDIA itself. YOU ARE WAY OUT OF LINE IF YOU THINK AMERICAN SOLDIERS WERE RAPING AFGHAN OR IRAQI WOMEN. And you sincerely just put yourself on my shit list by insinuating me or other soldiers under my command of doing the same thing.

When the female soldier was caught in Iraq taking photos with the prisoners in a very bad manner, that is about as far as it ever went. The media would be all over even if they had a hint of a lead on American Soldiers raping women while in combat.

This isn't Jarhead, Full Metal Jacket, Band of Brothers or Generation Kill, it is real life. And I am very offended by having US soldiers accused of atrocities that the Russians committed 30 plus years ago.

How about that invasion of the Ukraine? How you guys doing with that? gotta go after a country with an Army the size of a soccer team eh? Last I hear the economy is doing pretty crappy due to all the embargoes for trying to play powerhouse. At least when we invaded Iraq, they had the 4th largest army on the globe, compared to our 8th largest.

You guys ever wanna pick on someone your own size, I got no problem yelling "WOLVERINES!" and start marching again. (To those of you that caught that one, hats off to you )

I think you take a wrong look at it. The soldiers participating in those wars or that even enlist in the army regardless of which country, is usually as said before to either learn a profession or in some cases escape poverty.
We can't put all the blame on soldiers for what happens in those wars as they don't start them. Conditions of war forces these cases of pilaging and chaos to happen. I find it hard to believe that someone that wants to protect his country joins the army for the joy of killing. What would happen if people didn't join the army when terrorists are attacking the people? ISIS? Taliban? Foreign countries invading? Talking nice wont prevent lunatics killing innocents.

I don't to have anything to say about that, feel free to shit on the Russian army, I have no objections. But saying the American army is less violent simply isn't true. Maybe YOUR group didn't rape anybody, but, just to avoid pontless going around the subject, please tell me ONE SIMPLE THING:
Do you agree with the My Lai massacre where WOMEN AND CHILDREN were killed by your beloved American army (to limit myself to one example) and especially, what do you think about the people who objected and exposed that being labeled as traitors? Tell me just that. If you agree that some of your compatriots acter like murderous scumbags AT LEAST IN THAT SPECIFIC CASE, I can believe you are a honorable soldier. If, not that's justifying child murder, so......

And please, don't tell me it was time ago, in 1968, and now we're in 2015. Crimes like that have no expiring limit.

As for Russia, say whatever you want. But I simply cannot stand people who say that whatever the armies of other countries do, the army of THEIR COUNTRY is genetically unable to commit such atrocities.

But I respect the fact that at least you believe that the American soldiers don't do that. There are people who are far worse: ones who gladly admit the crime and say it was a good thing, like dropping a bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Killing civilians, babies including, is an ADEQUATE answer to killing soldiers in Pearl Harbor in your opinion?

Every country has skeletons in their closets, but while I think that my country should expose them, some people think it's better to hide them to save the honor of their countries.

To sum it up, I am honestly trying to understand what kind of soldier are you. Do you believe that some things are un-excusable even on the other side on the front line, or is it just statistics for you? Without offense, I don't want to turn this into personal attacks.

I understand what you are saying. I only meant that as far as I know, war changes people for the worst. As I said previously, whatever I might think about the profession of soldier, I admit that it is nevessary due to the shitty situation the world is in. But I don't believe in knights in shining armor. It's much easier to believe in photos of bombed cities, people with their heads blown up etc.

ISIS, Taliban and other scumbags are despicable and should have never existed, but politicians exploit this fight against terrorist for their own interests. For example, the situation in Iraq. Saddam Hussein was a mass murderer, yes. But did the situation become better or worse after the greedy Bush attacked Iraq to get the oil? No Saddam now, but many terroristic groups that kill far more and are far more difficult to control and deal with. Hussein's regime was ferocious, but at least not religiously extremist to the point the ISIS and Taliban are.

In world war 2 the Russian army did a job the German women in Germany.

Can't blame the Russians look at the women in Russia as compared with the German babes. They never saw pussy that good before.

If we did it for oil why isn't iraq oil our oil now. Right after it we could have invade Iran and their oil would have been our oil now.

If I was the president that is what I would have done.

I have to disagree, Russian women are waaaaaay hotter than German women.

The US maybe shouldn't have invaded Iraq, but it could have ended with a stable government taking over. The US handled quickly and defeated the Iraqi army but the US took the wrong actions regarding the aftermath of the Iraqi government and army. With the biggest result being that the sunni minority was pushed out of the government and the fact that many key figures of the Iraqi army were Sunni's that joined ISIS because they hated Maliki's government. First it was Sunni's oppressing the Shia, then their roles changed except the Sunni's kept their military roles. The fact that ISIS even took over Mosul was because the Iraqi soldiers and generals ,whom were Sunni, refused to fight for Maliki, most even joined ISIS.

I think that if the US played their cards right regarding the future of the Iraqi government and army the whole ISIS crisis could have been prevented.

Saddam didn't allow foreign oil companies to operate in Iraq. After the war international companies could get a share from the oil industry. Saddam's regime didn't allow it before and nationalized the oil industry.

At the point a society no longer honors their own warriors, it is a guaranteed indicator you are living in a dying, failing civilization that has lost basic faith in itself and its purpose.

Once we went into Iraq who gives a fuck with saddam allowed. We could have done whatever we wanted.

Sad because it is true. People nowadays are so screwed up that they can't even appreciate, let alone honor, the people that protect their lifes.

as the saying goes: To the victor goes the spoils.