Favorite u.s. war

[Guest Vern Gagne]

What war the U.S. was involved with do you like watching specials or read books about.

 

For me it's hands down World War II. The history channel is always having shows about WW II. It was a war with everything. Good(the commies by default) vs Evil. So much happened, the battles, the generals, the leaders, what happened behind the scenes, and the entire buildup of the War, which started at the end of WW I. Thanks in great part to the Treaty of Versailles.

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

War of 1812, since we kicked your ass.

[Guest Some Guy]

The Civil War had such huge ramifications for the future of America and a great leader running it.  I would say that it is my "favorite" war.

[Guest J*ingus]

Revolutionary War: this "war" might be referred to as a guerrilla movement or terrorism today, as it had very little in the way of stand-up fighting.  The revolutionists were actually a minority of the population, but they were enough, with French backing, to finally make the British give up and leave the colonies for good.  Historical note: the infamous taxes and tariffs that the colonists rebelled against were actually lower than our current tax rates.  

 

War of 1812: the only time that the United States were ever invaded by a major foreign army, and boy did we kick their ass.  More impressive, in my opinion, than the Revolution, because this time the Brits knew what they were getting into, and still got beaten.  

 

Mexican-American War: a land-grab pure & simple, albeit a successful one.  Not one of our proudest moments, despite what some Texans might tell you.  

 

Civil War: how do you judge this one?  A huge tragedy, sure.  Some good came out of it, but in the long run I don't know if the country was better or worse off for it.  

 

Spanish-American War: another land-grab, this time caused by private industries as much as the government.  A war that never should've happened.  

 

WW I: an odd war.  It was so huge and devastating for its time, but was nothing compared to what would come a mere twenty years later.  At the time, it was thought that WWI would be remembered like WWII is today.  America didn't do a whole lot in this one, as we kinda came in at the end when the Central Powers were already losing.  After Russia quit the war, I think that the Allies would've won without our help anyway.  

 

WW II: probably one of America's finest achievements, in damn near single-handedly turning the tide against the Axis.  Aside from the debate over the atomic bombs, this is generally agreed on as being the last "good war".  

 

Korean War: oft-forgotten.  Not a bad job by the U.S., we got in & out in a couple of years, and accomplished most of what we were there for.  

 

Vietnam War: what can I add that hasn't already been said?  We never should've been there in the first place, and the war itself was bungled about as badly as could be imagined.  The Titanic of war efforts.  

 

The Gulf War: such a quick, one-sided affair that you could hardly even call it a "war".  Purely political to protect our oil interests in the Middle East.  

 

War on Terror: so far not a stirring success, as Osama, our main reason for being in Afghanistan, has apparently eluded us.  We've managed to piss off a healthy portion of the Muslim countries while we were at it, too.

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

I agree with Kahran, war of 1812. any war were the whitehouse gets set on fire is a good war.

[Guest TJH]

Not claiming to be a Commie or anything, it was really the Russians who turned the tide of WW2, at the battle of Stalingrad, and even more so at the battle of Kursk.

 

In answer to the question though, the war I enjoy watching movies about is Vietnam, but America's greatest acheivement was the War of Independence.

[Guest J*ingus]

True, Russia got to Berlin before we did.  But we were also fighting a full-scale war against Japan at the same time, which they were not.  All things considered, the U.S. won that war.

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

i don't think any nation can claim that they won world war two. it was a joint effort. if the british hadn't held out as long as they did  the war would have gone much worse. same with the russian front. all of the allied forces were jointly responsible for the defeat of the axis.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

I forgot about the War of 1812.

 

Another War with importance was the French-Indian war. The U.S. was still a British colony at the time but Great Britains victory the U.S. became a English speaking country.

 

Revolutionary War: this "war" might be referred to as a guerrilla movement or terrorism today, as it had very little in the way of stand-up fighting.  The revolutionists were actually a minority of the population, but they were enough, with French backing, to finally make the British give up and leave the colonies for good.  Historical note: the infamous taxes and tariffs that the colonists rebelled against were actually lower than our current tax rates.  

 

-The U.S. was lucky that such brilliant men. Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Madison, Adams...where running things.

 

War of 1812: the only time that the United States were ever invaded by a major foreign army, and boy did we kick their ass.  More impressive, in my opinion, than the Revolution, because this time the Brits knew what they were getting into, and still got beaten.  

 

-In reality the U.S. didn't gain or lose any land in this War. It did show the European powers that the U.S. was a legit country that could take care of itself. This is where the Star-Spangled Banner was written.

 

Mexican-American War: a land-grab pure & simple, albeit a successful one.  Not one of our proudest moments, despite what some Texans might tell you.  

 

The Alamo is a great example of the will of U.S. troops. Granted Texas wasn't a state yet but the people at the Alamo where citizens.

 

Civil War: how do you judge this one?  A huge tragedy, sure.  Some good came out of it, but in the long run I don't know if the country was better or worse off for it.  

 

The Revolutionary War gave the U.S. its Independence. But nothing can compare to the Civil War. Brother against Brother. Despite the enourmous amount of death this war preserved the union.

 

Spanish-American War: another land-grab, this time caused by private industries as much as the government.  A war that never should've happened.  

 

The U.S. easy victory over Spain signified the U.S. as a true World player.

 

WW I: an odd war.  It was so huge and devastating for its time, but was nothing compared to what would come a mere twenty years later.  At the time, it was thought that WWI would be remembered like WWII is today.  America didn't do a whole lot in this one, as we kinda came in at the end when the Central Powers were already losing.  After Russia quit the war, I think that the Allies would've won without our help anyway.  

I disagree the U.S. was needed in this war. The French where close to rebeling. The number of military casualties is mind boggling. This should give you an idea of how brutal this war was.

"After the first day, with a gain of only 1.5km, the British had suffered 57,470 casualties. Despite this, Haig pressed on with the attack until November 19th of the same year. For the meagre achievements, total losses on the British and Imperial side numbered 419,654 with German casualties between 450,000 and 680,000. When the offensive was eventually called off the British were still 3 miles short of Bapaume and Serre, part of their first-day objectives."

 

 

 

WW II: probably one of America's finest achievements, in damn near single-handedly turning the tide against the Axis.  Aside from the debate over the atomic bombs, this is generally agreed on as being the last "good war".  

 

-The British had the will, the Commies had the manpower, and the U.S. had the determination.

 

Korean War: oft-forgotten.  Not a bad job by the U.S., we got in & out in a couple of years, and accomplished most of what we were there for.  

 

Vietnam War: what can I add that hasn't already been said?  We never should've been there in the first place, and the war itself was bungled about as badly as could be imagined.  The Titanic of war efforts.  

 

A military historian said that in the early part of the War the U.S. was winning easily. This changed when Kennedy died, and Johson became the President.

 

The Gulf War: such a quick, one-sided affair that you could hardly even call it a "war".  Purely political to protect our oil interests in the Middle East.  

 

Do you know this was about Oil? A failure because we didn't get Hussein.

 

War on Terror: so far not a stirring success, as Osama, our main reason for being in Afghanistan, has apparently eluded us.  We've managed to piss off a healthy portion of the Muslim countries while we were at it, too.

 

Osama is not our main reason for being over there. It's to fight terror has a whole. Sure the U.S. wants Bin Laden, but Al Qaeda is more than him. Who the hell cares about whether or not muslim countries like us or not. They didn't like us before and they never will.

[Guest Anorak]

The motives and strategies behind the US invlovement in Korea was no different to Vietnam. The arrogance of power which defined traditional US foreign policy was just finally exposed in the Vietnam for the whole world to see. America did make a vital impact in WW2, but it like others have said it needed a joint effort with Britain bravley standing it's ground and the Red Army making invaluable stands against the Nazi's. When a small handful of ignorant Americans claim sole responsibility for winning the war it shamefully disreguards the bravery, hardships and real sacrifices people made in numerous countries to aid the allied war effort and fight against a real evil. Hollywood films constantly rewriting history and claiming key war victories as purely American efforts cause a natural resentment and builds a stereotypically negative view of America in general. Thankfully most people on this board seem to know their history very well.

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

In Canada WWI is remembered far more than WW2 is.  It doesn't mean anything to Americans because they weren't in it until the result was determined.

[Guest Hogan Made Wrestling]

WW2 is the greatest due to the sheer enormity of it and the huge variety of elements involved. There were the air battles (Battle of Britain), the land battles (Bulge, Africa, etc.), the greatest battles (Kursk, Stalingrad), the ocean battles (US-Japan, Atlantic), and so much more. The main US claim to fame has to be the Manhattan Project, which along with the battles on the Eastern front was the most significant development of the war.