Quote Originally Posted by poop
I mean I don't really want to get in a debate with a guy who doesn't know who fought on which side when in most wars...
I mean I don't even know what you're getting at here, but you're right, I'm not a historian.

I also know about 70% of it is tundra and frozen forests. You don't win a war by holding onto tundra.
This is exactly how to win a war if it's the only option you have left. And if there's any people on the planet more capable of living in frozen forests and tundra, it's the Russians. It's pretty much how they won the 1812 war with France. The Russians will outlast any occupiers in such conditions. And they'll nuke their own cities if they have to.

If the Russians retreat to the tundra, they'll survive, bank it.

Germany came close to taking the USSR's three biggest cities in WWII. They seiged Leningrad for three years, they got to the outskirts of Moscow, they occupied 90% of Stalingrand.
You're not going to win a war against Russia taking their cities. All you can do is get bogged down into an occupation that is slowly going to kill your men. Eventually you have to retreat, and the Russians emerge from the frozen forest. This is what having such a large and inhospitable country can do for you. This is why Russia will never be defeated. They can only be subdued for a period of time.

Japan was the second greatest naval power in WWII after the USA,
Nonsense. At the start of the war, the Royal Navy was the greatest naval power in the world. By the end of the war, it was the Americans. The Japanese were always a distant third. This is a matter of fact, based on the size of the navies in question In terms of merchant tonnage, our navy was five times bigger than Japan's. Five.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_...f_World_War_II

[Insert list of mountainous countries Germany rolled over in days in WWII.]
Like Switzerland, right?

Every country has mountains, even we have them. The difference with countries like France and Japan is that France's mountains aren't quite as strategic. Japan's mountains cover, I believe, 70% on the land area. Maybe that's just Honshu, not sure. Oh, and they're also an island, unlike mainland Europe.

Hitler didn't take the one large country in Europe that is so well protected by mountains that it's practically impossible to occupy. He didn't need to of course, they were neutral, but he took neutral Belgium because he needed it to get to France.

And that's because the mountains of France did protect them from invasion from the south. The way to invade France is through Belgium, the flatlands.

Mountains are important.

What is a "crucifiction"
Thanks for the spelling correction.

But you're saying we shouldn't try to defend those interests "because nazis."
Well actually I'm saying let's not pretend we have moral high ground. We're playing the same game they are.

I didn't even think he would invade because he only had a fraction of his army on their border. He did anyways. It hasn't gone well, and either he should have known that but is crazy, or he did know that and doesn't care.
I agree with you here. I was surprised he attempted an invasion with the troops he had, and it certainly doesn't look to me like it's going to plan. Not sure why. My best guess is the Russian fighters aren't as motivated as the Ukrainians. Or maybe they're just ballsing it right up. I read somewhere, citation needed, that the Russians blew up a 5G tower, which killed their own communications. But I've also read opinions that think Putin is deliberately holding back because he hoped to win it with minimal bloodshed. Who knows why Russia are failing. I'm sure they're capable of much more.

I have. The amount i spend on gas has gone from £60 to £70 a fill. I may have to sell my house.
Next time it'll probably be £80.

This time next year it could be £250.

How long is this going to go on for? And even when it ends, how long do the Russian sanctions go on for? The longer it goes on, the worse it is for everyone.

You're the only person I know who sees a moral equivalence between an invading army and one that has some assholes in it.
I'm of the opinion that arming and training revolutionists in foreign countries is morally comparable to invading that country, especially when those revolutionists are jihadists and Nazis.