I would very much like this website to be where both old debates can be rehashed, or new debates begun. The website is named worldwariiwaffle.com as the debates should ideally be based upon the literature of the war to be well informed. I will hopefully spark the initial debates, but I welcome others’ contributions.

As a history teacher, I played devil’s advocate to highlight the details of my pupils’ thoughts and help them form arguments for their written work. I will often play a similar role here but will not be requiring essays from anyone!

I also like to think I have a decent general knowledge about much of the war and some quite specific knowledge about some areas, but I do not claim I am an expert in any. I aspire to be, though, and I want your help. So, get involved in the debates, give me book suggestions, and do your own reviews.

Here are just a few debates we could cover.

Who was the best general?

Ike, Monty, Patton? Rundstedt, Rommel, Guderian? Zhukov, Vasilevsky, Chuikov?

What makes a great general?  Do they have to be single-minded and arrogant? Who are the generals we do not hear about, and why?

Can generals from different countries be compared against each other? How far did Hitler’s interference hamper German generals? Which general created the greatest strategic bombshell?

Was the German military better than everyone else’s?

Who had the best tactics? Did the Germans have better weapons? Did they counterattack too much? Were they always going to lose when the USA and its economy got involved?

Why do people think they were the better soldiers when they lost? Were they the best throughout the war or when they were winning at the beginning? Which military created the most significant change in warfare?

Did the US military end up being the best soldiers during the war? How does the British military fare by comparison? How important were the soldiers of the British Empire and dominions?

What was the best tank?

Tank Top Trumps, anyone? What makes a good tank? Was 88 Millimetre gun all-conquering? Did Germany have the technological advantage? How important is reliability?

How important was the psychology of the use of tanks? Blitzkrieg (if it existed!) Was there ‘Tiger Fear?’ Was the number of tanks of greater significance than your tank quality?

Tiger, Sherman, Panther, Cromwell, T38, Churchill? Can we finally settle the debate?

What was the best fighter plane?

Not particularly my area of expertise, but I want to improve my knowledge of it. At Warfest last year (the festival created on the back of the We Have Ways podcast), there was an interesting talk where none of the obvious planes won! So, no Spitfire or 109.

I need to see if the talk was recorded because the outcome was unbelievable to everyone there except the bloke doing the talk. However, he had criteria he judged the aircraft on, and his data was thoroughly researched. But what do you think?

Why did Operation Market Garden fail?

Was it Monty’s plan and, therefore, his fault? Was it too ambitious? Was it the speedy German reaction and their ability to counterattack? Was it the RAF’s fault for not allowing closer drop zones? Was it XXX Corps’ fault for not attacking speedily enough? Was it Gavin’s fault for not catching the Nijmegan Bridge quickly enough? Were the lessons from D-Day ignored? Were there lessons from Market Garden that were then used during Operation Varsity or in other battles?

Why was D-Day a success for the Allies and a failure for the Germans?

Was it just a case of Allied industrial superiority? How much did Enigma help? Was it Hitler’s fault? How important was Montgomery during the invasion and the subsequent battle for Normandy? How important was Eisenhower? How important was it that Rommel was away when the invasion started? How close was it to failure due to the difficulties at Omaha Beach?

How effective were the airborne forces? Was it a culmination of lessons gained from previous amphibious operations by the Allies? Were lessons learnt during the invasion and the following battle that helped bring the war to a close when it did? Or were some aspects forgotten only to have to be learned again?

Which Second World War Film is the best?

How do you categorise what makes a good or great Second World War film? Can you? Is it Saving Private Ryan? Is it A Bridge Too Far? Does it have to be a true story? Is it Dam Busters? Is black and white better than colour? Which country has been responsible for the best ones?

Is there a period that produced the best films, and why? This is a particular interest of mine as I studied Second World War films as my post-grad thesis. Still, as with any topic that will be up for discussion, I do not claim any expertise even in this, especially based on a piece of work I did nearly twenty-five years ago.

I will endeavour to spark debates based on the literature of the war, but I would also like you, the reader, to be involved in the debates and add your own to the mix. As with many groups like this, particularly on social media, I will not accept any abuse from other readers. I want the debate to be open and polite, no matter how contentious the topic is.

So, join the debates, add your informed opinions and share your knowledge of the war with me to improve mine.

The first book up for analysis and debate is (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases) SAS: Speed Aggression Surprise by Tom Petch.

All the best BigT