Quote:
Originally Posted by Broncazonk
Well, I'm not so sure, because for the third or fourth time: What could have been done if Bodenplatte was such a bad idea? What alternatives did the Luftwaffe have on that day?
I'm all ears.
Because in the the absence of any historical *analysis* to the contrary, that is, after 85-years, (and after all the Bodenplatte beans have been relentlessly counted,) if not a single Luftwaffe expert historian can propose a better idea, or indeed, a list of alternative ideas, then maybe Operation Bodenplatte wasn't such a bad idea after all. Bodenplatte has been universally denigrated--an operation forced on the Luftwaffe by the Führer--but maybe the 'bad idea' is absolute nonsense.
Are we coming to the realization that the study of history might require a mental process commonly known as, ANALYSIS, and counting up the beans of Luftwaffe history is merely the first, and very, preliminary step in what a Luftwaffe historian should be doing?
Bodenplatte has been grossly mischaracterized for the last 85-years. Prove me wrong.
Bronc
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You fail by asking the wrong questions. What could have been done differently? Based on what? What are the starting points if not hard data? A useless exercise in that what actually happened was, in fact, the final decision. You follow that by the gross presumption that you think you have the same information that the planners, at the time, had.
A Luftwaffe historian, or any historian, can only draw on the same data until more is uncovered. That's it. You are done. You have nothing to add.
You cannot know their private discussions or their strengths and weaknesses when it came to planning. Even the best men on any side of a conflict can make a mistake or take a risk that brought back a lesser than desired outcome. YOU want to turn this into a chess match where you move the pieces around the board as you please. That approach will never be history.
You are trying to impose your own thoughts onto what actually happened. What you call "analysis" is nothing more than taking various elements as perfect components that never fail and plugging them into any scenario you care to invent.