Who'd they be, when home? In 1944, the UK had reached it's manpower limits, more or less. 21 Army Group was at it's limit and men had to be either in civilian labour or the Military forces. So much so, Montgomery was well aware of this and knew all he could rely on for manpower were...
The Bren would have been perfectly adequate. It featured everything the BAR lacked. It had a removable barrel, a top mounted magazine, a bipod and it could be mounted on a tripod as well. It was deadly accurate in .303in. Changing it to 30-06 would decrease that. It was light weight - 25...
I have followed this thread from the start and most obvious question still needs to be asked. Not what would be most suitable calibre or whether or not a BAR would be lightened. My question is, why didn't the US Army shop around and adopt a viable LMG such as the Bren? It was quite capable of...
Never suggested it was "offered on a plate." Just that it was offered, which when you think about it, was typical of Churchill. Easy to give what was never a reality...
Money is often viewed as an insult by many people. As has been pointed out, Eire was offered Northern Ireland as a sweetner for the Treaty Ports which Devlin closed. It was basically everything Eire ever wanted and still they closed the Treaty Ports to the RN.
You really don't understand the hatred that the UK was held in Eire, do you? Or the very real differences between the UK and the US as two very different cultures...
It was committed to see the war through. Personally, I think they should have just packed up their gear and stayed at home, once they had freed their own territory and told the Poms and the Yanks where they could put their colonies where the sun did not shine. However, we don't and cannot...
Australia was increasingly sidelined by Washington. Washington did not want to share the victory table with anyone. After the ANZAC declaration, Washington was aware that the two Pacific Dominions were not going to fall into line and do as they were told. Hence the Australians were sent to...
Do not mistake the Australian effort for the US's. After the battle of the bridgeheads, this weren't as hard as you are assuming. New Guinea was a bit of a backwater as far as the Japanese were concerned.
At Ralph Honor's funeral a Japanese attended. He placed a wreath on the coffin, saluted and then left the church. Ralph was the CO of 39 Battalion at Kokoda and the battle of the Bridgeheads. He knew how to fight the buggers.