Disclaimer: I'm not much of a WW2 historian. My interest in history starts to taper off slowly around the time when they start bringing guns to a knife fight. So much talking out the ass may occur.
But this is the thought that came to mind:
So, back to Dunkirk... Seems to me like the encirclement of the Allied armies was less than complete, and it could work as well as a beachhead for the Allies. The German army meanwhile had serious logistics problems, and more of a problem than anyone anticipated dealing with the heavily armoured French and British tanks. In fact, the supply line of the southern section of the German army was severely over-extended.
By leaving the British enough breathing space to start the evacuation in earnest, it seems to me like essentially they caused the British to abandon the French to their fate, severely reducing the army the Germans had to fight. Plus, they left all their equipment behind, literally enough to equip whole divisions.
So was it that horrible a German idea? I'm not entirely sure any more. What do YOU think?
But this is the thought that came to mind:
"Throw your soldiers into positions whence there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight.And it's not just theory. Leaving the enemy a chance to flee, no matter how disadvantageous, has actually been successfully used in history to gain victory. As a random example, by the Mongolians at the Battle of the Sajo River: they deliberately left a narrow escape route out of the encirclement (which led through a hail of arrows from the Mongolian archers) to encourage as much of the enemy army to break down early and try to flee.
If they will face death, there is nothing they may not achieve. Officers and men alike will put forth their uttermost strength.
Soldiers when in desperate straits lose the sense of fear. If there is no place of refuge, they will stand firm. If they are in hostile country, they will show a stubborn front. If there is no help for it, they will fight hard."
-- Sun Tzu, "The Art Of War". chapter 11
So, back to Dunkirk... Seems to me like the encirclement of the Allied armies was less than complete, and it could work as well as a beachhead for the Allies. The German army meanwhile had serious logistics problems, and more of a problem than anyone anticipated dealing with the heavily armoured French and British tanks. In fact, the supply line of the southern section of the German army was severely over-extended.
By leaving the British enough breathing space to start the evacuation in earnest, it seems to me like essentially they caused the British to abandon the French to their fate, severely reducing the army the Germans had to fight. Plus, they left all their equipment behind, literally enough to equip whole divisions.
So was it that horrible a German idea? I'm not entirely sure any more. What do YOU think?
via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/2CyyBxp
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