The disciplined German? The stubborn British? The cow boyish American? The deeply loyal Japanese? Or the Mother Russia-loving Russian?
Who were the best and toughest soldiers during World War Two?
We are not talking of individual soldiers here. Collectively. Motivation. Bravery. Will to win. Who fight on despite overwhelming odds. But collectively
A tough question to answer.
What do you think?
Just vote in the poll on this site.
The majority often is right.
Let us find some answers.
THE FINAL RESULTS:
American
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German
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British
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Russian
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Other...
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The disciplined German? The stubborn British? The cow boyish American? The deeply loyal Japanese? Or the Mother Russia-loving Russian?
14 Comments:
the wermarch, the moden military in the history, every single weapon now is copy from them.
As a retired Marine, its hard to stay objective. However, you have to say the Germans. Saying the Germans were the toughest, doesnt mean the others from thay list arnt tough. The Germans fought alone and kept fighting hard, even though after 1943, defeat was inevitable. If it wasnt for Hitler, the Russians would have lost.
the russians hands down. theres no army that comes close. they had such strong loyalty not to a man but to a country. that love of the country is so strong. they had to endure so much hardships but still came out victorious. the german army were weak mindless freaks. they survived with what they had. they loved house to house fighting. and they had some of the best snipers in all the war. and they never surrendered now that is tough
In modern War, German strategy such "blitzkrieg" is copy by Americans and their soldiers are very good, if Hitler listen to his general, there'll be no communist in Europe
A very difficult question to answer. While many Russians were indeed willing to die to stall and throw back the Germans, one has to wonder how much of that was motivated by policies such as Order 227; the infamous 'Not One Step Back'. When the alternative to fighting is certain death at the hands of your superior officers that doesn't really leave you much choice.
The Japanese were able to endure terrible conditions for prolonged periods of time but their warrior ideology meant that they often threw tactics out the window. While a banzai charge was seen as a heroic and distinctly Japanese way to die, it often meant the loss of many men for very small gains or delays. Not the mark of an ideal soldier.
The British I imagine varied largely depending on their officers. To be honest I don't know of many firsthand accounts of British soldiers in action, which is surprising given I am British myself. As proud as I am of our Blitz Spirit and Dads Army, I doubt we were as fanatical fighters as the Axis or Soviets. If we had actually been invaded by ground forces then it might have been another matter.
While the German Military was soldiering on for a great deal of the war in truly horrific conditions, in which few, if any, other nations could have endured any better, they still surrendered in the thousands in the closing weeks of the war. Berlin, their capitol and Heart of the Reich, had to be defended by a handful of soldiers being supported by old men and young boys.
The Americans started the war very badly. Their first actions in North Africa left much to be desired. However over the course of the war, they became one of the most effective fighting forces in the world, going from a small outdated army to an enormous military machine in just a few years. Nearing the War's end they were able to weather an enormous assault by a cutting edge German army equipped with the best equipment and tanks, many of which were veterans of the Eastern Front. The fact they held their ground and stopped the advance, despite being surrounded in some cases, speaks as a testament to their advancements as an fighting force.
All the nations fought hard, made amazing gains, suffered terrible losses and proved their worth as soldiers.
The Australians.
Rommel would know, and he rated Australian soldiers above all, including the SS, after tangling with them in N Africa. He witnessed an AIF (Aust) infantry division without armour and just a few captured Italian guns demolish a full-blown panzer assault on Tobruk with sheer guts, skill and tactical nous.
The Australians terrorised the Germans by mounting 'active reconnaissance' night raids through no-man's land: arriving any time, anywhere and killing Germans in good numbers before disappearing. Reportedly they did it for fun. Many of them were country boys who had grown up shooting rabbits after school for many years: they were lethal with a rifle and not inclined to sit and wait for the enemy.
Rommel is said to have snapped at a subordinate (regarding the Aust 6th Division) "It's not a Commonwealth Division, it is an Australian Division. Why, give me two Australian divisions and I will conquer the world for you."
The US Marines in the Pacific respected the Australians above all others, including their own GIs, and many freely admitted they were superior to the Marines- rare praise indeed from Americans. Their combat record against the Japanese after Milne Bay is without equal.
The Japanese had the spirit.
The Germans had offensive tactics,good discipline & up-to-date armor + some of them used Pervitine(especially their Paratroopers)
But when the Americans came knocking on the door,Jerry showed little defensive tactics.Rommel was an offensive player,U all know that.
But without Russia,the war simply couldn't have been won.
This is really a toughie. Overall without hesitation or much thought my vote would be for the Finns. The trouble is that this is such a subjective choice that there are no really solid choices. Lets start with 1935-1938 The Japanese hands down. 1938-1941 The Germans unquestionably. 1941-1943 The Soviets outclassed everyone.
1943-45 USA.
First in class are the Anzacs. The Canadians were superb in several major battles and to my mind never got any credit for D-Day's success nor for the Battle of Britain. Several of their now disbanded units performed incredible military prowess. The Aussies and New Zealanders probably need to be recognized for saving the world. Without the RAN Canberra's stalwart plug in the battle of Savo Island and strategic genius of the Australian Admiral in command of the blind squadron of four radarless heavy cruisers I personally believe that the Guadalcanal Campaign would have been a total massacre and Australia and New Zealand would have been completely isolated. For sheer pluck and determination the British Tommies and the Royal Indian Chindits of Ord Wingate did stuff that boggles my mind. The British Special Air Service and the Long Range Desert Patrol both earn mention. The SAS destroyed more German aircraft than any other Allied single unit during the war.
Still, The Finns soundly defeated the Soviet Army in a David and Goliath hands down choice.
I think the best soldiers of ww2 were germans, poles, finns, australians, russians and japanese. The germans in the means of professionalism were at the very top like in every battle germans it didnt matter how hard they were beaten and shattered they always managed to get up on their feet and still put up a fierce fight against immnese odds where ever they fought. Poles for being so very dedicated to the battlefield and combat that practically there was not single battle in which they quit without giving a hard beating to the enemy and hense their commitment sometimes reached the level of sheer fanaticism like in battle of Monte Cassino 1944, Westerplatte 1939, Wizna 1939 or Warsaw 1944. Finns for being a true masters of economy of power as in all engagemnts finns were always terribly outnumbered by red army in both and especialy in military material which was proven in Winter War and Continuation War, over and over again in both of these wars Soviet command was sending more and more units of massed infantry, tanks, airforce and massive artilerry and yet finns never crumbled in the face of the enemy. Australians for being so tough fighting in both mediterranean and south asia went through so much filth, diseases, combat conditions and tenacious japanese resistance and yet they held on and only in very rare cases theyt quit the fight. Russians are well known for the tenacious resistance as sometimes were confused how according to the nazi teachings that the so called "sub-humans" can put up so fierce fight being beaten over and over again losing a catastrophic amounts of men and material and yet they still kept on coming. Japanese well you dont have to to think hard to understand that in the means of bravery they are second to none and in the beginning in their pacific concquest who ever stood in their way were falling because japanese had an outstanding good tactics but were came to the uselessness when it came to face superior allied firepower but still made allies bleed bad
Don't forget the Gurkhas, respected by friend and foe alike.
Your site is important. You present evidence that blaming everything BAD about WW2 on Germany AND Hitler is wrong. You give evidence of other race criminals and mass murderers who are never criticized. You demonstrate the brutality of the allies. Your opinion polls show what the majority of American believe. We 80%(+) are being held captive by a minority of racist, authoritarian and evil negroes, communists and Moslems. Liberation Now!
THE WHOLE WORLD FEARED THE GURKHAS DURING WORLD WAR-2!!!
THESE REAL SHORT BUT IRON HEARTED BOYS FROM NEPAL WHO ARE THE ONLY UNDEFEATED REGIMENT IN THE WORLD.
YOU BETTER CHECK HOW THE ARGENTINE RAN AWAY WHEN THEY HEARD THE GURKHAS WERE COMING,WHAT Hitler said about Gurkhas and so on...
Agree ? :)
Extract from THE LONDON GAZETTE, 27th July 1945:
"On 12/13 May 1945 at Taungdaw, Burma [now Myanmar], Rifleman Lachhiman Gurung was manning the most forward post of his platoon which bore the brunt of an attack by at least 200 of the Japanese enemy. Twice he hurled back grenades which had fallen on his trench, but the third exploded in his right hand, blowing off his fingers, shattering his arm and severely wounding him in the face, body and right leg. His two comrades were also badly wounded but the rifleman, now alone and disregarding his wounds, loaded and fired his rifle with his left hand for four hours, calmly waiting for each attack which he met with fire at point blank range. Afterwards, when the casualties were counted, it is reported that there were 31 dead Japanese around his position which he had killed, with only one arm."
For this action rifleman Lachhiman gurung, 8th Gurkha Rifles, won the Victoria Cross.
Enough said.
I read that average military units lose cohesion and effectiveness when their casualties reach between 25-40%. There were several Japanese units that suffered 75% casualities and continued to fight on.
Probably no other people feared death less in battle.
So my vote are the Japs.
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