#3896887 - 01/17/14 03:08 PM
Re: The R.F.C. - consistent victors in the air war?
[Re: DukeIronHand]
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JFM
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Yes. The British never stopped coming, despite their losses. Their ground forces needed those recce photos and nothing was going to stop that. Tactically the Germans would dominate a particular area or time frame--April 1917, or September 1918, for example--and make things very difficult, but strategically the British had more planes, more men, more materials, etc. They were never dissuaded from coming over to do their jobs, no matter how horrible a previous day's losses might have been.
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#3898145 - 01/19/14 06:49 PM
Re: The R.F.C. - consistent victors in the air war?
[Re: RoFfan]
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Hasse
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If throwing pink bodies into the meat grinder is a winning strategy, then, yes, the RFC did a great job. With promotions for officers at stake, they had no choice but to keep sending more.
In terms of making efficient use of available resources the Central Powers was more successful than the Entente, both militarily and financially. They killed more of their enemy than they lost, and they spent less money to do it. But they lost. In the end, that's all that matters. The German Empire collapsed, the Austrian Empire collapsed, the Ottoman Empire collapsed. You don't get consolation prizes in wars. There was no lack of ruthlessness in any country in that war.
"Upon my word I've had as much excitement on a car as in the air, especially since the R.F.C. have had women drivers."
James McCudden, Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps
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#3940459 - 04/16/14 10:37 PM
Re: The R.F.C. - consistent victors in the air war?
[Re: DukeIronHand]
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SimonC
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War, especially in modern times, is always about resources and traditionally in a "classic war" the one with the most usually wins. Don't begin a war if you don't have the men, material, and the will to see it through.
And since we are kind of OT I will have to disagree with your last thoughts but they are your own and you are welcome to them. Hi Duke, You're right of course - in the end might does make right in war, and so it did in WWI. We'll have to disagree about the aims of the war from the Allied side (and even perhaps the Axis side), but from my reading, it had absolutely feck all to do with democracy and decency and an awful lot more to do with hanging onto empires and populations, as, I would contend, the end of the war and its aftermath proved only too well. But that's one for another time and another thread.
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#3940593 - 04/17/14 11:59 AM
Re: The R.F.C. - consistent victors in the air war?
[Re: Polovski]
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Robert_Wiggins
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BWOC Survivor!...So Far!!
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Also the Entente was often on the offensive so casualties higher. Certainly so in the air war, deep into enemy territory, heading home against an easterly wind and so on. One way to boost the kill rate is to get almost 60,000 casualties charging over the top into machine guns in a day on the Somme. Terribly bloodied and hallowed ground!! I hope we never see the likes of it again!!
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#3944359 - 04/25/14 12:30 PM
Re: The R.F.C. - consistent victors in the air war?
[Re: Hasse]
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JimAttrill
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But they lost. In the end, that's all that matters. The German Empire collapsed, the Austrian Empire collapsed, the Ottoman Empire collapsed. You don't get consolation prizes in wars.
There was no lack of ruthlessness in any country in that war.
WWI started with five great monarchies/empires and ended with one if you discount the American Empire (which was never called that of course). This explains why the British were so worried about the Bolsheviks in the early 20s. And then they sat on their hands and waited for WWII to happen. And I have a few books from the late 30s which show how complacent the British aircraft industry, the RAF and the Government were about the threat from Germany and even more how they disastrously underestimated the aircraft and pilots of the Japanese. Statements like "one British pilot is better than six Japanese". Tell that to the US Navy and those in Singapore.
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