Best of WWII Article (Sept. 2005 Issue)
By Bill Haddock

Published Monday, August 29, 2005  | 0 comments  | Print  | E-mail

Greetings, Armchair General.

I compliment you on your informative and entertaining magazine. Your "Best of WWII" article in the September 2005 issue is a good example. Such an article is quite entertaining because it will certainly create discussion among your readers, prompting them to speak out as to why certain WWII notables did or did not make your list. Case in point: Category 21, Best Song (Popular). I am sure many readers familiar with the German language would include "Lili Marleen" in the running. The song, then sung by Lale Anderson, was extremely popular with both Axis and British soldiers in North Africa. A website that I located with the lyrics to this song has this footnote: "Sicher das Lieblingslied der Soldaten aller Fronten im II WK !" (which translates, "Certainly the favorite song of soldiers of all fronts in the Second World War !") What did or did not make the list is sure to promote lively discussion.

Furthermore, this article is thought provoking in the sense that the best in any given category may not be what you would want to use yourself. The T-34 was chosen best tank in of WII in Category 8. This is a good choice for many reasons. But what would be the outcome if the question was, "What tank would you want to fight in on the battlefield?" The answer, I suspect, would be quite different frm the T-34! Certainly all readers of Armchair General must have strong opinions regarding all the categories listed. Such an entertaining and discussion-provoking article is one of many reasons why I look forward to your next issue!

Bill Haddock
Pierre, South Dakota

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Thank you for your comments and information about our "Best of WWII" article. While a definitive list is certainly impossible given the subjective nature of most of our categories, we ARE certain that our choices will provoke discussion - which is what we love to see! As for changing the nature of the question about the "Best" tank of World War II, we would undoubtedly get 100 different responses for which tank we’d prefer if we had to fight in it…personally I think I’d take out a late model German Panther for all around performance, but I could think of a few other late war tanks which would cause my heart to skip a beat if we had to go head to head! Maybe we’ll make this a poll on our website.

Many thanks for writing,

Brian King
Website Editor
Armchair General Magazine

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