Common Questions

When reading online discussions about WWII, the same questions tend to crop up over and over again. Due to the nature of this blog, most of them cannot be answered by a simple link to an article. This is where this section comes in. Designed to be more analytical than merely a blob of information, these articles don't necessarily contain any new information, but might be very useful when dealing with specific misconceptions.

• Could the Wehrmacht defeat a force much greater in size due to superior weapons and training? Did the Red Army suffer much greater casualties than its enemies on the Eastern Front?
• Was German armour subjected to unfair testing criteria by the Allies? How does the testing of captured armour compare to that of domestic production?
• Did the 1st Mechanized Corps really trade in all of their T-34-85s for Shermans in preparation for fighting in Berlin?
• Did the 88 mm L/71 KwK 43 penetrate more armour than the 122 mm D-25?
• What do Soviet reload rate figures really measure? How long did it take to reload an IS-2 or IS-3?
• Why did the Red Army take such heavy tank losses in 1941? Why did nearly 26,000 tanks fail to repel the Germans?
• Is one piece ammunition necessarily better than two piece ammunition?
• Were German tanks really much roomier than Soviet tanks?
• Were Soviet tanks "death traps" compared to equivalent American vehicles?
• Did German rifles shoot better than Soviet rifles?
• Was the T-34 only expected to survive for a few dozen hours on the battlefield?
• Could a Sherman tank fight a Tiger? What range could it be penetrated from?