WWII in HD

[Jayson]

Anyone catching this series on the History Channel?

[Paul]

Yup.  I saw some advance stuff sent to me by a buddy, but it is much better in broadcast form.

Be careful, there is some graphic stuff during the field hospital scenes...

[Jesse James]

It's fantastic.  One of the best things they've put out in a while, and worth watcing every second.

In semi-related news, The Pacific starts soon.  If you've got Comcast, check out the previews.  The airstrip assault makes D-Day in SPR look tame (mostly due to editing/duration).  It feels never-ending, was the best way I could describe it.

[Chris M]

I DVRd the entire series when it came on back in November (I think).  I've only been able to find time to watch about 3 episodes.  The narration gets kind of boring for me, but I've loved  seeing footage that I've never seen before.

[Matt_Fury]

I watched it when it first aired.  Excellent mini-series.

[Nicklab]

I caught this when it first aired.  It was very, very well done.  And it's also been issued very recently on DVD. 

[Jesse James]

World at War is also on if anyone's not noticed...  It's been on DVD from TIme Life I think, but it's worth watching as well, plus it has interesting insight/commentary from people who were still alive during the 1970's and things when I believe that was put together.

I've been catching up with that as I've never bought those DVD's either.  Definitely worth looking into on those too.

The Pacific looks like it's taking a very different approach to story-telling from Band of Brothers too...  I'm expecting something very different there.

[Chris M]

Jesse I got those DVDs a few years ago.  Very, very good.  And I believe the DVDs have some additional footage that was deemed too graphic for the 60/70s.  I think they may have first come out in 1967, but don't quote me on that.

[Jesse James]

Yeah I wasn't sure on the dates on them.

They're interesting because interviews with some relatively high-profile folks are in them.  They definitely give you looks that just aren't available today because those people are gone now.

Other than The First World War there really isn't a good WWI series out there.  That's a shame.  That's something I'd like to see get a bit more attention.

[Chris M]

Funny that you mention the WWI series.  For my masters right now, I'm having to write a paper on the causes of the war.  It's pretty new territory for me and I've wanted to catch the first few episodes of that series just to get a big picture look.

[Jesse James]

Watch the hwhole series if you can before you delve into your work.  It'll open up even more really.  One of the better war series ever made IMHO.

[Diddly]

I need to check this out. I'm taking a course this semester about Asia during WWII, so it has me pretty pumped for The Pacific, and WWII in general.

[Jesse James]

Asia in WW2 is a hotbed for sure, and that should be interesting for you since it's largely skipped over except for the American bits, even in college courses.  Likewise the Chinese perspective should prove quite interesting as well I think since they fought them for a lot longer than we did for certain.

Japan's expansion was fairly rapid in the years leading up to World War II.  They were a ravenous country for natural resources which was a large reason for the expansion itself.

Western views of the Japanese were interesting too...  Especially the British who really looked at them as not capable of being a formidable opponent, and generally inferior.  That cost them a lot early in the war.

I can't wait for the Pacific.  I think there's maybe a new thing up on Comcast In Demand tonight so I need to check that out, if anything was posted.

[Chris M]

What a lot of people don't realize, is the expansion and search for raw materials is ultimately what brought the US into the war.  The US cut off oil shipments to Japan because of their expansionist policies and Japan attacked the US to prevent us from reacting to their further search for raw materials.

Personally, I think FDR was trying to get the US into the war as an active participant and Japanese expansion provided the opportunity.  The attack on Pearl Harbor provided the excuse.  The US had managed to break the Japanese diplomatic codes in late '41 and knew that relations were at an impass with the Japanese.  When the attack occurred, two US carriers normally stationed at PH were on their way to Midway and Wake Islands delivery aircraft. Some conspiracy theorists think that FDR may have had foresight of this attack and ordered the moving of material to these islands.  However, there is no firm information on this and time and time again the US government has been cleared of any conspiracy.  I think most people thought the attack from Japanese was going to take place in the Phillipine Islands.  Japanese Admiral Yamamoto did not agree with the attack on PH and told the Emperor an attack on the US was a bad idea.  He had studied at Harvard and knew the industrial capacity of the US.

Okay, kind of took off here, but I love talking WWII.

[Paul]

Chris feel free to enjoy some WWII talk for sure.

Over the weekend I met with the first of several veterans for a book I am about to start writing about the subject of the Pacific in WWII.

My Grandfather was one of 7 brothers, every brother that served in WWII was in the Pacific and every one of them came back, although my Great-grandmother got 2 death notices on one Great-Uncle  in 43 and in 45.  The book will be about his unit.

HBO's the Pacific will be a must see for me.  It will be a different story for sure since it was such a different type of War.  And to keep this from being/becoming a Sarlaac Pit type topic, I will leave it at that.