[RodM]

"....but another for bastards like Coningham and Tedder to prevent the army from looking after its own by providing half decent equipment."

...would this be the same army that fought an enemy that was almost bereft of their own CAS, and was plagued by continual dispruption/harrassment/attrition from the air? One wonders how this same army would've performed in a European environment of shifting/disputed air supremacy, facing strong enemy CAS, against ground forces that were on a completely equal footing...

As far as I am concerned, the Allied (Western) air forces ultimately performed their roles in Western Europe well (that is to say not without failure/error, but then what military is ever perfect in time of war?) - there is overwelming evidence in this regard. It doesn't take a schlolar (but takes more than a bigot) to imagine what might have been the army's lot if the role of Allied air power is removed from the equation.

Tony, while aspects of what you have put forward certainly merit discussion; a bigoted, ill-informed argument that relies on inaccurate information, and picks and chooses evidence that only supports a pre-supposed hypothesis, will not gain too much wider currency (in much the same way that Irving is marginalised; see http://www.hdot.org/).

While many refutations, based on evidence, have been presented in these threads to counter the evidentual basis of your claims, most remain conveniently unanswered, while the same claims continue to be made...


Cheers

Rod