Professional Soldiers ® - View Single Post

hoot72 · 08-22-2019, 06:01

I have had this on going debate with a school teacher who is now working as a historian and book writer about the merits of sending 2000 men into enemy held territory via an airborne parachute drop in World War Two to rescue over 2000 prisoners of war who were ill, and in some cases on the verge of death due to diseases and malnutrition and poor hygienic conditions with very little logistical support in the way of extracting not only the airborne assault force but also moving the prisoners from a bombed out air strip and pow camp to the coast some 8 kilometers-10 kilometers away and to evacuate them by sea with an enemy suicide boat squadron located on an island nearby.

She has this idea that the leadership chickened out of this rescue and they were responsible for the deaths of 2000-3000 prisoners of war.

I wonder if senior commanders here on the forums would have a take on this...sending men into a combat zone on very little intelligence, difficult rescue to conduct, insufficient medical support, limited long range transport planes and no Plan B in the event Plan A fails.

Comments?

08-22-2019, 06:01	#1
hoot72 Guerrilla Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: North of the Kingdom of Brunei, South of Mindanao Posts: 482	Leadership in WW2 I have had this on going debate with a school teacher who is now working as a historian and book writer about the merits of sending 2000 men into enemy held territory via an airborne parachute drop in World War Two to rescue over 2000 prisoners of war who were ill, and in some cases on the verge of death due to diseases and malnutrition and poor hygienic conditions with very little logistical support in the way of extracting not only the airborne assault force but also moving the prisoners from a bombed out air strip and pow camp to the coast some 8 kilometers-10 kilometers away and to evacuate them by sea with an enemy suicide boat squadron located on an island nearby. She has this idea that the leadership chickened out of this rescue and they were responsible for the deaths of 2000-3000 prisoners of war. I wonder if senior commanders here on the forums would have a take on this...sending men into a combat zone on very little intelligence, difficult rescue to conduct, insufficient medical support, limited long range transport planes and no Plan B in the event Plan A fails. Comments?
hoot72 is offline