Thomas F. (hardtack) -
The author's premise, based on war records, is that the Germans and Italians tired very hard to attack America, and might have succeeded if it hadn't been for fortunate (for us) circumstances. He acknowledges that such attacks would not have altered the course of the war, but might have made it longer.
Just a few examples:
The Germans were developing plans to attack the U.S. even before World War I, and between the world wars had "American bombers" in design stages.
In the late 1930s, a German four-engine plane flew non-stop from Berlin to New York in 25 hours. And then took only 19 hours to return to Berlin. Why wasn't this followed up by German bombers during WW II?
A special unit in the Italian Navy was sinking British ships in heavily guarded harbors. In 1943, their next target was New York. What stopped them?
The German V-1 buzz bomb (the A1) was followed by the V-2 (the A4). The Germans had an A11, an intercontinental missile, ready to be produced. The target was New York. Why wasn't it used?
There were many other threats I was unaware of. Any of them, even if marginally successful, would have caused panic on the U.S. East Coast and diverted resources being used against Germany. I began to realize that perhaps this information was not released by our government to the American public so as not to hamper the war effort in Europe. And after the war, perhaps the government sat on it so as not to appear unconcerned with the viable threats.
This short, entertaining book is packed with information on the numerous attempts made to carry the war to America by German and Italian military air and sea forces. It is a must read for anyone with a deep interest in the war.
Just a few examples:
The Germans were developing plans to attack the U.S. even before World War I, and between the world wars had "American bombers" in design stages.
In the late 1930s, a German four-engine plane flew non-stop from Berlin to New York in 25 hours. And then took only 19 hours to return to Berlin. Why wasn't this followed up by German bombers during WW II?
A special unit in the Italian Navy was sinking British ships in heavily guarded harbors. In 1943, their next target was New York. What stopped them?
The German V-1 buzz bomb (the A1) was followed by the V-2 (the A4). The Germans had an A11, an intercontinental missile, ready to be produced. The target was New York. Why wasn't it used?
There were many other threats I was unaware of. Any of them, even if marginally successful, would have caused panic on the U.S. East Coast and diverted resources being used against Germany. I began to realize that perhaps this information was not released by our government to the American public so as not to hamper the war effort in Europe. And after the war, perhaps the government sat on it so as not to appear unconcerned with the viable threats.
This short, entertaining book is packed with information on the numerous attempts made to carry the war to America by German and Italian military air and sea forces. It is a must read for anyone with a deep interest in the war.
