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Old October 5th, 2007, 02:43 PM
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Default Re: 90th Division remarks

Social commentary aside, there comes a time when a debate devolves into rivet counting Grognardism. Noah's comment reminded me of that and something more: Regardless of any differences between American and German training, and morale - We* Won.

Regardless of whether or not the 90th broke, of how many and what quality sights a given Sherman variant had and if the Japanese ever broke, factors far outside the scope of this game were responsible for the crushing defeat of the Axis powers. Russian man power, industrial capacity and technological superiority; England's ability to draw on a vast empire not just materially but philosopically (the Yanks fit in here too); the US' overwhelming industrial capacity; Canada's resources; Australia and New Zealand's strategic positioning; the occupied territories refusal to give up; none of these things can be depicted in the game yet all are part of why the Axis lost.

If all things were equal, it would matter if the 90th broke, but things never were equal. Too often the cry is "Realism, Realism" yet who is willing to to really put that into effect? How often do we hear calls to create OOBs with under strength infantry due to casualties? How often do people ask that the price of Tigers be doubled or tripled while the price of T-34's be halved to represent historical economic realties? So many Wittmans, so few Isaiah Washingtons, red ball truck driver from Detroit and fewer yet Hans Meyers, 14 year old Hitler Jugend huddling in the ruins of some nameless burnt out city waiting for the Russians with nothing more than a Panzer faust and a bloodstained secondhand feldgrau greatcoat to label them as soldier....

The frikin' Nazis lost and thank the gods for Germany that they did.

<PatG turns, picks up his soapbox, and walks away into the smoke>

*and no I am not a jingoistic American, I am a Canadian of British origin with a Maltese wife and an ex-stepfather from Arnhem and definately more German blood than American in my veins. We = "the good guys"
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