h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Just take the number out again.

Oh the debacle.

Well, it's Monday night. What else is there to do?

You can copy the source of the Alec Empire entry at <./>test894387</.>

Don't copy the though!

RhoMuNuQ

Can't! Digibox limitations. I'm sure Atari will do just as good as I could on his own!!!

Lets get back on topic.

Alright then. My entry is rubbish, my entry is terrible.

Be careful...someone might come along and agree with you!!!

Actually, I'll just go and look at it again...

Damn! Plan foiled!

>The main reason Hitler wanted to take Stalingrad was for it's name<

I'd rephrase and expand on that one.

I'd say something like "Hitler wanted Germany to occupy Stalingrad, as it would be symbolic of Germany's strength."

Or something...the version you have seems a little blank...

OK i'll change that. What do you think of the rest?

It's looking better!!!

Perhaps worth noting: there was close co-operation between Germany and Russia in the years after WW I. This even led to German tanks being tested and tank crews being trained on Russian ground. The tanks were declared as 'tractors' or 'prime movers' in an attempt to disguise this violation of the Versailles treaty.

I think these should be uppercase: Army Group North / Centre / South.
The Nazi/German mix-up was already mentioned, this should be resolved.

A few other points worth mentioning: the German army wasn't well prepared for fighting during Winter. The whole operation was 'planned' to be completed before Winter (the rationale being that once Moscow was taken, all Russia would surrender), but it wasn't feasible in any way.
The gasoline/diesel disintegrated in the cold, the footwear wasn't in the least appropriate and winter garments were lacking. One activity to remedy the latter point was the 'Winterhilfswerk' (winter aid organisation), which collected warm clothes back home and provided them to the soldiers.
Being organised as they might, the Germans still had severe problems with transporting supplies over 1000s of kilometres through harsh terrain, and partisan fighters did the rest.
The Luftwaffe (respectively, Field Marshal Göring) had promised to provide air-to-ground support in proportions that would have taken a multiple of their actual number of planes.
Hitler himself interfered with operations and tactics where and when he pleased to, but better shouldn't have. This earned him the (ironic) nickname 'GröFaZ' ('Größter Feldherr aller Zeiten', or biggest military leader of all time). Of course, you'd have been ill advised to mention this name before any of the Nazi nomenclatura.

Motivation.. you don't mention it. Operation Barbarossa (the name given to the whole plan) was declared as warfare against an alleged Bolshevic/Communist plan to take over the world. Then there was the concept of creating 'Lebensraum' (space to live in) in the East for an Aric 'Über'-race, which was to be taken from 'lower-grade races' which happened to be living there. Of course this was irrational (to avoid saying 'weird' or 'bizarre'). But reason had long before ceased to be the foundation of German politics.


I'd say, put 'Operation Barbarossa' into the header and take or leave any of the points above I see you're getting somewhat impatient, perhaps discomforted with the Peer Review process... it's *your* entry and *you* decide on its contents, and it already *is* a good one . IMHO it's better to get nasty comments than to sit there receiving none at all ----- which might still happen too




HMS (Her Majesty Scout) Bossel

Hi again Atari,

if you're new round here, I should tell you that Bossel knows what he's talking about.

But having said that, he was talking about motivation, and didn't seem to mention the value of cutting off the Caucasus with its rich oil fields and mineral deposits. This was a key strategic goal for which Hitler hoped to sacrifice many thousands of soldiers' lives. But sacrificing soldiers' lives had brought him success in the face of military advice in the past, and by this stage H was out on a limb and would dare anything. Perhaps Stalingrad can be considered as the day he finally drew a bullit in his lifelong game of Russian Roulette.

err... did i say that? Nah

btw, anyone seen the excellent German film on the subject? Joseph Vilsmaier (yeah, ok, i had to go and look on the jacket!)

Great performances, anyway, and a harrowing film, but an interesting take on this momentous turning point of the 20th century.

Did it occur to you, Atari, that there are easier subjects to write the definitive guide entry on?

Keep on truckin'
spiff

btw, Boss, you don't wanna know where i first heard that Groefatz story!

It did, but I like writing about this sort of stuff

spiff, please spill the beans - where did you first hear it??

Yes, please do

Hey Atari, are you going to update this entry?

On July 10, 1941 the Germans crossed the Dnepr at Mogilev in eastern Belarus. (The Dnepr does flow through the Ukraine for a considerable part of its length, but the first crossing was upstream).

Sorry to chivvy but I want to see how it looks when you're done.

Noggin

Tomorrow-No time at the moment!