VE - and how close it wasn't

"Today, our two enemies in WWII are two of our closest allies. Funny what time does. The bad guys from yesteryear have become stalwart friends for today. An allied friend from yesterday, is today's bad boy (Russia). Try and figure that one out..."

A quick trip in the way back machine today. Back to WWII, and how Nazi Germany almost pulled it off. Why today? First off, today is the anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) day. Seventy-nine years ago, Adoplh Hitler took the easy way out and killed himself in his bunker. But hold on for a minute. This is no way a shout out to the Nazi empire - but - the Nazis were very good technologists. As such, if the Allies had been a bit slower in the get-go, the Nazis might have just pulled this one off. And we would all be speaking German today.

The rocket technology in Nazi Germany was way ahead of ours. Wernher von Braun was playing chess while the rest of the world was playing checkers. Von Braun's V-2 missile could have really been a game changer. It was close. Many felt the V-2 was just a precursor to something bigger and badder by the Nazis. Like longer range missiles which could hit NYC, WDC and beyond. It is no secret (now that is), that Hillter's body was not even cold yet in his bunker, when the allies decided that von Braun and his team needed to come to America. Thus, Operation Paper Clip was hatched. Von Braun and company were going to become Americans and head up our space program.

Of course, Germany was also working on an atomic bomb. The cat was out of the bag that a super bomb could be built and would be a game changer. Germany, like other countries, wanted this item of mass destruction badly. But - they did not have the right recipe. They did not have Oppenheimer. The United States won the race on how to build and deliver this bomb, and thus won the war. Again, if Germany had got there first, we would all be speaking German today. 

Germany was also building "super submarines". This one was really a close call. Two days before VE, Germany launched its first "Type XXI" Electric boat submarine. Longer distances, better torpedo delivery, faster, quieter - everything you would want in a sub. But the timing was unfortunate. Not only was the war about to end, but the allies knew about this launch and sank this ultra-high-tech sub. Could this sub have been a game changer if developed earlier? Very possible.

Make no doubt about it. The Germans were a tough team to beat. They were smart, they were good fighters. Achieving victory in Europe was far from a slam dunk. We even had to play nice with the nasty Russians to help beat these guys. But we won and ended up getting our space program as a prize. 

Today, our two enemies in WWII are two of our closest allies. Funny what time does. The bad guys from yesteryear have become stalwart friends for today. An allied friend from yesterday, is today's bad boy (Russia). Try and figure that one out...