ZA: Flippancy is something we all unfortunately have to put up with but of which we are all guilty of. As for the question being like asking "what is the length of a piece of string" I would suggest that anyone could hazard a guess or an opinion, would it matter if the piece of string were a mile long or six inches? A view or an opinion is just that, nothing more. As in my question I was simply asking for an opinion, I have one on just about any subject including one about people who won't give an opinion!!!!! That's asking for trouble and I bet I get the odd 'opinion!!!! I wasn't asking for a lot of 'hot air' or rambling text on the composition of armies or where, specifically they fought or personal experiences. The points raised about my question could be applied to food or drink where again the parameters are incredibly wide but if I asked you what is your favourite food would you say 'how long is a piece of string? I'm sure you would have an opinion. If I narrowed the question and said "Do you think the British Army was a better army during the war than the Moroccan Army" would you then have an opinion? I think so! You may qualify that opinion but I'm sure you would have one. I would add that I'm not casting any aspersions on the Moroccans. And I thought MR. ARKRITE had had talked me into giving it up!!!!!! ( Nine 'opinions my English teacher would be appalled!)
ZA: The points raised about my question could be applied to food or drink where again the parameters are incredibly wide but if I asked you what is your favourite food would you say 'how long is a piece of string? I'm sure you would have an opinion. I disagree. How can you put your favourite food (purely subjective opinion) on the same level as an evaluation of how you judge an army? Apparently what makes an army good or not has nothing to do with you personally whatsoever, so an evaluation should really include a certain amount of objectivity.
.....I wasn't asking for a lot of 'hot air' or rambling text on the composition of armies or where, specifically they fought or personal experiences.... Okay... Fireman... Short & sweet it is. The army that Won... The Allied army.
As for the suggestion that the British Army was in fact a Commonwealth one is quite mind boggling and I'm surprised no one has 'pounced' on it. ? I suppose I should respond as I initially pushed the Empires contribution of forces. What is mind boggling about it? Is it the name, the numbers or something else? Cheers Geoff
I disagree. How can you put your favourite food (purely subjective opinion) on the same level as an evaluation of how you judge an army? Apparently what makes an army good or not has nothing to do with you personally whatsoever, so an evaluation should really include a certain amount of objectivity. But by and large, no evaluations were given, no summations of what makes a certain army superior, no "numbers" if you wish were offered, only opinions. I no doubt think it would take more than a sentence or two do so and probably several pages or more, just to get started. So the discussion reverts back to the "piece of string" analogy, which is pretty much the same as asking what is the best color.
But by and large, no evaluations were given, no summations of what makes a certain army superior, no "numbers" if you wish were offered, only opinions. I no doubt think it would take more than a sentence or two do so and probably several pages or more, just to get started. So the discussion reverts back to the "piece of string" analogy, which is pretty much the same as asking what is the best color. I didn't mean to imply the answer gets any easier by the fact that it's not as subjective as favo food. But like it was mentioned above you'd have to take various factors and areas into consideration: armament, tactics etc. I agree with you, there won't be a definite answer, no matter how many pages you write, there'll only be opinions - but opinions based on facts.
I really should have taken Mr. Arkright,s advice, however: HEIMBRENT. So it is possible to give an opinion? base it on what you will but why it is so difficult to do so, and please not the logistics, battles etc. stuff again. SPIDGE: The British Army, like the Australian Army isn't a Commonwealth army. It's as simple as that. I can't really see any national saying he/she was in the 'Commonwealth Army' and I doubt if you do either. JEFF: If I gave you a piece of string and asked you how long it was I feel sure you would be able to give an opinion as to how long it was. I'm not asking for proof positive or a definitive answer, there isn't one. Mr. ARKRIGHT: I hereby promise that I will not flog this dead horse anymore, no matter what replies I may recieve.
@ Jeff: Oh :P - sorry didn't get that. HEIMBRENT. So it is possible to give an opinion? base it on what you will but why it is so difficult to do so, and please not the logistics, battles etc. stuff again. Of course it's possible to give an opinion - but it can't be just subjective (like e.g. favourite food) and should be based on facts (objective). I'm curious tho, what would you like to base your opinion on if not battles, equipment, logistics, tactics and the like? Unless you don't want to be taken serious you shouldn't make a statement like 'I think the Waffen-SS were best because they wore those uber1337 camo uniforms and were all blond and handsome'. The fact that you have to include all those factors - unless you limit it to one area, say, logistics - is why your question is really tricky to answer and why there isn't just one answer to it.
As for the suggestion that the British Army was in fact a Commonwealth one is quite mind boggling and I'm surprised no one has 'pounced' on it. So there were no commonwealth troops under the command of British officers? I fail to see why your mind is boggling. If it wasn't for the contribution from the Commonwealth we would have lost everything very early on. The Normandy landings, just as a quick example, were carried out by the US with American Commanders, and Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Canada with British Commanders.
JEFF: If I gave you a piece of string and asked you how long it was I feel sure you would be able to give an opinion as to how long it was. I'm not asking for proof positive or a definitive answer, there isn't one. . I'll close with this, Fireman. You might think the string is too long, while I may consider it too short, and although we both have ideas of what the purpose of the string is, we never discussed it, nor was there a standard offered to measure it's usefulness against. No standard was offered to determine what is the "best" army.
SPIDGE: The British Army, like the Australian Army isn't a Commonwealth army. It's as simple as that. I can't really see any national saying he/she was in the 'Commonwealth Army' and I doubt if you do either. Of course they were not a "Commonwealth Army" in structure however they were forces supporting Britain from the Commonwealth or the Empire whilst retaining "mostly" their independence and identity. Commonwealth or Empire troops supported Britain however they were primarily described in most war time and post war battle reporting as "The British Army" of which El Alamein is a prime example. This, even though the line was represented by a "multi national force" of troop divisions of which there were British (6) of which 3 were armoured), Indian (1) Australian (1), New Zealand (1), South African (1) France and Greece (1) Brigade each. This is taking nothing at all away from the British Army at El Alamein (they definitely knew they were all there) and Monty's planning prowess, it is just showing that it was a team effort not duly recognised by the "outside world".
Clearly, after 57 posts on this unanswerable question, we forumites are unable to agree. How many of us would it take to unscrew a lightbulb? In an effort to break the deadlock, I nominate the Swiss as hands down best army. Will anyone second that?