https://padlet.com/jjin2023/71ya2n1fbwgrczcl en-us 2023-05-04 12:22:06 UTC 2023-05-24 01:53:40 UTC hello@padlet.com jjin2023 https://padlet.com/jjin2023/71ya2n1fbwgrczcl/wish/2578222045 This video is produced by The Armchair Historian LLC, a group specialized in making educational historically animated videos. In this video, they break down the tactics the German army was using for their effectiveness at the start of the war.

Their weapons used were completely offensive. Since they had a large army but an even larger supply of weapons, the Germans used that to their advantage by centering their squadrons around the heavy firing machinery. Similarly in Sun Tzu, Art of War, it was suggested that when one party significantly overwhelms the other in numbers, it's best to advance. Here, a machine gun strongly outpowers the opposing riflemen more since the machine gun would act as many more soldiers.   


In the art of war, a general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace is regarded at the best possible type of general for they have the highest rate of survival and winning the entire war. Hitler started sending suicide missions by the end of the war since his pride refused him to have his soldiers retreat, creating this weakness and a reason for his defeat.]]> 2023-05-04 12:46:45 UTC https://padlet.com/jjin2023/71ya2n1fbwgrczcl/wish/2578222045 jjin2023 https://padlet.com/jjin2023/71ya2n1fbwgrczcl/wish/2582062073 The source is from non-profit named the Pacific Atrocities Education dedicated to sharing the untold stories of WWII for the Asian side of WWII that's often left out in Western history classes. In this article, the author describes the substantial differences in tactics employed by all WWII participants and how they greatly differ from WWI trench warfare tactics due to new technological advances.

The Japanese would use a tactic called the Kamikaze which would be suicide missions of planes flying into ships. It would kill the pilot for the Japanese but it would kill and damage far more for the enemy. In order to gain a tactical advantage, Sun Tzu claimed that it was key not for a general to have over-solicitude for their soldiers.

The Japanese also targeted boats for it was the best environment to attack the enemy in. On land, the enemy could hide, but on sea, there was no where to run. Sun Tzu explained that knowing one's environment allows for a great advantage compared to the opposing side.

This text didn't raise me any new questions. 

https://www.pacificatrocities.org/blog/the-four-fronts-of-world-war-2-military-tactics

]]> 2023-05-08 13:31:16 UTC https://padlet.com/jjin2023/71ya2n1fbwgrczcl/wish/2582062073 jjin2023 https://padlet.com/jjin2023/71ya2n1fbwgrczcl/wish/2582083475 This resource is provided by History.com and it overviews the major factors leading up to the war and many of the keystone events during the war. 

Hitler gave inflexible orders whereby whole armies were made to stand their ground in tactically hopeless positions and were forbidden to surrender under any circumstances. Sun Tzu would warn about recklessness or a delicacy of honor which is sensitive to shame in a general which would cause a loss. This helps me understand how towards the end of WWII Hitler's forces were losing, and how he was fully wiped out and didn't stand a chance to fight another day.


"The initial success of this strategy in preventing a German rout during the Soviet winter counteroffensive of 1941–42 had blinded Hitler to its impracticability in the very different military circumstances on the Eastern Front by 1943, by which time the Germans simply lacked sufficient numbers of troops to defend an extremely long front against much more numerous Soviet forces." Sun Tzu mentioned if your army is larger than the opponents, push forwards. Slightly less, stand your ground, but significantly less, retreat to save your troops for another battle. Hitler's mistake here which allowed the Allies to gain the winning advantage was he failed to change his strategy even though his conditions with his forces changed as the war went on.

I wonder how a military general like Hitler could be bale to cause so much damage yet drown in his own pride so much that he wasn't willing to retreat his troops to fight another day. Thank goodness he had this weakness the Allies exposed.

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history


]]> 2023-05-08 13:45:04 UTC https://padlet.com/jjin2023/71ya2n1fbwgrczcl/wish/2582083475 jjin2023 https://padlet.com/jjin2023/71ya2n1fbwgrczcl/wish/2582099244 The blog here was by the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. In order to better assess the events that happened in WWII. It's allowed me to hone in on certain position and attributes from people.

They couldn't' defeat the fortified islands, so they went around to the less defended islands and took control there. From that, they blocked all trade and supplied going into the heavily protected islands, essentially staving the enemies to death. 
Sun Tzu similarly stated to understand the environment and to use it to your best advantage would lead to victory. 

No additional questions

Link: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/pacific-strategy-1941-1944]]> 2023-05-08 13:48:07 UTC https://padlet.com/jjin2023/71ya2n1fbwgrczcl/wish/2582099244 jjin2023 https://padlet.com/jjin2023/71ya2n1fbwgrczcl/wish/2582170587 The source is a thesis for graduate studies and research at the University of Saskatchewan by Cheng-Tai Hu for his Degree of Master of Arts in the department of Economics. 

Having this source allows me to understand the fighting conditions and wars roughly during Sun Tzu's time period to see what factors may have greatly varied from then till now such as technological advancements and other variables that may have possibly rendered some of Sun Tzu's words obsolete. 

With the Jin states and other internal waring groups actively trying to take power and control, China as a whole was left as a weak. Zhao was one of the sixteen kingdoms that emerged during the era of the Jin Dynasty's decline and it launched many military campaigns against the Jin Dynasty. If the Jin armies had properly maintained peace and developed an army of worth with Sun Tzu's advice, they wouldn't have likely fell to the Zhao state.

No more further questions.

Link: https://harvest.usask.ca/bitstream/handle/10388/ETD-2015-04-2044/6_HU-THESIS.pdf?sequence=10&isAllowed=y,%20Pg%202

]]> 2023-05-08 14:32:18 UTC https://padlet.com/jjin2023/71ya2n1fbwgrczcl/wish/2582170587 jjin2023 https://padlet.com/jjin2023/71ya2n1fbwgrczcl/wish/2582172517 Sun Tzu's Art of War Graphic Novel is based on the original  Art of War Novel which was written by Sun Tzu, a 5th century Chinese General who was rumored to have never lost a battle. With his experience, he wrote this book naming his strategies he used and other generals' behavior on the battlefields he observed over his many battles. Today, it's still regarded as one of the keystone texts for the human psychology behind warfare and a strong indicator as to which party may win a war.


Sun mentions that the fundamental rules for war are measurement, estimation, calculation, comparison, and victory. I agree that the proper moderation in all these fields and the meticulous calculations are necessary for a swift and successful victory. If any of these are misbalanced, defeat is eminent. It's key to understand that war is expensive, some comparing the costs vs losses is key. This helps me understand both why at the start of the war, with the help of Joseph Goebbels's propaganda takeover, Hitler was able to rally so many people together and expand his country so swiftly. With proper estimation and calculations for German's citizen's willingness to expand to fight their economic depression compared to the likelihood of them preferring just to stay peaceful, Hitler was easily able to drive German forces abroad and capture new territories from countries who did have citizens with nearly such a strong sense of nationalism.

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Mr. Tzu once also said that "with only 5 musical notes, more combinations of melodies are possible than can ever be heard." This is very beautifully written. A smart tactician must be able to create solutions with limited resources in order to succeed. During WWII, the British had extremely limited resources as they were on the brink of being taken over by the Germans. The British created new strategies for defense such as doing phoney wars instead of direct confrontations which allowed for the safe retreat of soldiers. They were able to fortify their defensive positions while buying time to gather resources for a counteroffensive later on since they were heavily outnumbered.

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The book also mentions that "the right moment to strike has arrived, but also the self-restraint to hold back till that moment." Timing is key. A decision made can be right or wrong depending on when it's made. If America were to join WWII efforts early on, it may have resulted in the Axis powers to have won. Without enough nationalism in the country with an event to unite the citizens like Pearl Harbor, the U.S's government's willingness to involve themselves with overseas affairs may have been divided. Further, if we entered earlier, our own resources may have been drained out at the same time or earlier than the Axis Powers which would have also resulted in a potential loss.

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"The general considers the power of his army as a while, then assesses the talents of his individual soldiers and places them in their most effective positions." The skill of placing people in the right areas for their jobs is critical for execution of the bigger goal. This allows me understand how Hitler was able to find the right people to execute his orders despite how inhumane or morally questionable they were. Others who were better at sciences than handling a rifle he would put to use at a scientific facility to develop war weapons. Most importantly, Hitler understood how to pressure those who weren't comfortable to kill Jews and other people by flooding them with exposure to death and cruelty towards the deaths desensitizing them to the extend they practically didn't think for themselves.

This text didn't raise more additional questions.

Text link: https://www.amazon.com/Art-War-Graphic-Novel/dp/1684124298/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2L9LV7FOB2XFE&keywords=art+of+war+graphic+novel&qid=1684015717&s=books&sprefix=art+of+war+graphic+novel%2Cstripbooks%2C183&sr=1-1

 ]]> 2023-05-08 14:33:32 UTC https://padlet.com/jjin2023/71ya2n1fbwgrczcl/wish/2582172517 jjin2023 https://padlet.com/jjin2023/71ya2n1fbwgrczcl/wish/2582175083 2023-05-08 14:35:16 UTC https://padlet.com/jjin2023/71ya2n1fbwgrczcl/wish/2582175083 jjin2023 https://padlet.com/jjin2023/71ya2n1fbwgrczcl/wish/2589599797 This source is from Norwich University breaking down the costs of WWII compared to the other wars in history adjusted for inflation.

WWII lasted for 6 years, which for a modern war is quite a long time compared to the average 3 to 4 months. Sun Tzu mentions how if a war is too long, a country's resources will be drained. The cost of war is a thousand of of of silver a day for 100k soldiers a day.

This allow me to understand one of the reasons for how America and the Allies had an advantage over the Axis Powers since they entered later into the war where the Axis Powers had already drained vast amounts of resources to fund its armies while the U.S started fresh.

An additional question I had was to fight the COVID pandemic which according to the W.H.O was about 9 trillion globally, which is shocking to me that fighting a disease cost double of WWII. 

https://online.norwich.edu/academic-programs/resources/cost-us-wars-then-and-now

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