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Most Overlooked Figures in WW2?

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StormDetachment

StormDetachment

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Dec 3, 2017
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What are some political figures that don't get enough attention?
I think Oswald Mosley is up there.
As well as Puyi, considering he was the heir to the Qing throne and then sided with the Japanese. It sounds like a movie plot.
 
The most remarkable thing about Puyi is that he survived all this.
 
Very few people who claim to know a lot about WWII remember Reinhard Heydrich.

Same with William Stephenson.
 
StormDetachment said:
As well as Puyi, considering he was the heir to the Qing throne and then sided with the Japanese. It sounds like a movie plot.
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Another one no one knows:

Brigadier General Jimmy Stewart

Entering the war with nothing but a Hollywood career, a pilot's license, and basic training; Jimmy Stewart ended the war as a full bird colonel flying pathfinder missions for of a bombardment squadron that flew real combat missions. He received a the Distinguished Flying Cross for actions in combat and was awarded the French Croix de Guerre. He also was awarded the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters. He flew in the Schweinfurt raids and lived to tell the tale.

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The guy lived a wonderful life.
 
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I think Rokossovsky doesn't get a lot of attention - imprisoned and tortured by the NKVD because of association with Tukhachevsky and other disliked commanders in the Red Army, he refused to confess and eventually proved his innocence and was imprisoned for a long time before being rejoining the Red Army at a lower rank. He was instrumental in the defense of Moscow and Operation Bagration, where he supposedly insisted, against Stalin's wishes, that there be two pincer attacks instead of one, and at the final insistence, Stalin put his hand on Rokossovsky's shoulder, as if to rip off his epaulets, before saying that Rokossovsky's dedication convinced him. Arguably a better military commander than Zhukov, at least early in the war. Later on, he (as he was Polish) became the marshal of the Polish Red Army, and was one of the staunchest Stalinists in Poland, and was eventually ousted and returned to Russia.
 
I feel like Subhas Chandra Bose and the INA get relatively little attention outside of India and Indologists but it is a rather interesting story.
 
Andre Bolkonsky said:
Another one no one knows:

Brigadier General Jimmy Stewart

Entering the war with nothing but a Hollywood career, a pilot's license, and basic training; Jimmy Stewart ended the war as a full bird colonel flying pathfinder missions for of a bombardment squadron that flew real combat missions. He received a the Distinguished Flying Cross for actions in combat and was awarded the French Croix de Guerre. He also was awarded the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters. He flew in the Schweinfurt raids and lived to tell the tale.

images


The guy lived a wonderful life.
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I actually saw a documentary about him which covered his service and it was interesting how much the people who died under his command haunted him even years after
 
henzington said:
I actually saw a documentary about him which covered his service and it was interesting how much the people who died under his command haunted him even years after
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Yes. There is a reason he has so much gravitas as an actor after 1945, he has made hard decisions that decided men's lives and it persistently shows in his eyes and his voice.
 
Fire_Unionist said:
I feel like Subhas Chandra Bose and the INA get relatively little attention outside of India and Indologists but it is a rather interesting story.
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Especially the Gandhi brigade :D
 
lila-laune-bär said:
What about Sturmabteilung or Storm Detachment? If it goes through as just another username on these forums it definitely didn't get enough attention in WW2.
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Considering they were effectively gone by the outbreak, that in not unexpected.
 
Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle ran the super-risky Doolittle Raids on Tokyo in early 1942, none of the pilots who volunteered were guaranteed to survive the mission (in actuality it was a suicide mission), guy is a true leader and a hero for the US. The mission was a success, he did a lot of damage to the Japanese war effort in Tokyo, and significantly boosted morale back home especially after Pearl Harbour and early US losses in the Pacific. Despite the odds only 15% of the air crew were killed or taken prisoner.
 
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Sanny said:
Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle ran the super-risky Doolittle Raids on Tokyo in early 1942, none of the pilots who volunteered were guaranteed to survive the mission (in actuality it was a suicide mission), guy is a true leader and a hero for the US. The mission was a success, he did a lot of damage to the Japanese war effort in Tokyo, and significantly boosted morale back home especially after Pearl Harbour and early US losses in the Pacific. Despite the odds only 15% of the air crew were killed or taken prisoner.
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And what makes you think he is one of the most overlooked political figures of WW2 ? Even if this was about people of WW2 Doolittle is hardly often overlooked.

It is also Doolittle Raid, not raids. Who next ? Rommel perhaps ?
 
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StormDetachment said:
As well as Puyi, considering he was the heir to the Qing throne and then sided with the Japanese. It sounds like a movie plot.
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Puyi didn't really do anything. He was just a puppet who kept passing from one puppeteer to the next.

Wang Jingwei is a more interesting character and one who deserves more attention than he gets. The only author I know who has tried to give Wang a fair treatment is Rana Mitter in his book China's War with Japan, 1937-1945.
 
I find Amedeo Guillet extremely fascinating.

Italian officer in Ethiopia, after the british invaded he kept fighting a guerrilla war behind enemy lines in Ethiopia and Eritrea for three years. He was nicknamed the "Devil Commander" and was famous for his cavalry charges, his hit and run tactics and ambushes.
 
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