Quote:
Originally Posted by LLN
Lots of German commanders are well respected in the west. As mentioned earlier, Rommel, but also Guderian, and most of all Von Manstein. Even Adm Doenitz was highly respected.
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Rommel's military career has had a lot of scrutiny applied to it recently. Not saying the man still isn't respected, but his abilities are no longer considered "legendary" and many of his campaigns have been heavily criticized. Manstein has been a major case of review. He was held in high esteem by the British after the war and he was given the ability to craft his own story through his memoirs. More recently, his performance as a commander has been heavily questioned and his role/knowledge in the perpetration of the Holocaust via the operations of the Einsatz Gruppen in his command areas have come to light. Manstein was far more Nazi stooge then he was "old guard Prussian officer". Guderian and Doenitz are still widely respected.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Art2ro
Admiral Yamamoto may have been thought of in high regard, but their Emperor, Hirohito was a sleazeball, because during the war crime tribunal, he was not convicted and plea bargained his way out with the U.S. so Japan wouldn't loose face than it already had after surrendering!
Hirohito - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Hirohito did not "plea bargain" his way out of anything. MacArthur as Supreme Allied Commander and Military Governor of Japan made the decision not to include the emperor in the tribunals. Hirohito even personally went to submit to MacArthur and apologize, but MacArthur would not receive him. The fact that Hirohito did not stand trial or be forced into a more submissive role publicly was not anything that the emperor himself decided. It was a decision made at the highest levels of the Allies in the interests of securing and governing Japan and facing the threat of the looming Cold War. The Allies saw in Hirohito their pawn for reshaping the country and given his demigod status he was the one person who could compel his most nationalistic and militaristic subjects to obey the Allies.
On the assassination discussion...
I think people are getting hung up on the moral ambiguity associated with the word. Pesonally, I don't think calling it an assassination is wrong and it was generally considered such in the US at the time. In fact, the military was hesitant to act independently without FDR's authorization because of the stigma with conducting an "assassination". That word belies something far more sinister, but that is basically what it was and what the military considered it to be. It was however a justified action in the course of prosecuting the war at least from the US's perspective. So, call it whatever you want, the US killed Yamamoto deliberately. If assassinate is too messy and loaded a word then use whatever you want.
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) or even Emperor Hirohito, who is remembered mostly as a wiener. 
also I don't get your probably lame & untrue to history joke?
