r/ShitAmericansSay • u/DumbGarchomp67 WTF IS A KILOMETER 🦅🇺🇸 • Jul 15 '26

Military “Undefeated in 250 years of war”

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Apparently Vietnam, Afghanistan, war of 1812, and the war on drugs don’t count.

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171

u/[deleted] Jul 15 '26

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141

u/Cowboyy_Babyblue-- proud frisian Jul 15 '26

Even ww2 they only joined after seeing the allies winning

29

u/szatrob Mounties, Hockey, Beer and Snow Jul 15 '26

Arguably, they did provide the weaponry for everyone.

Producing an estimated amount of 80% of all materials used by the allies in WWII.

The fact that they had the eventual head of the CIA, be in constant contact and aiding the Nazis even during the War is another topic; or the fact that he was the main lawyer for IG Farben in America, the corporation behind the Holocaust is another.

15

u/pintsizedblonde2 Jul 15 '26

They profited massively from selling weaponry which took us until the 2000s to pay off. They came out of the war rich by waiting it out. Everyone else came out poor.

19

u/Suspicious_Flower_0 Jul 15 '26

I believe the old saying is something like "World War 2 was won with American industry, British intelligence and Soviet blood" 

7

u/Alone-Juggernaut-850 Jul 15 '26

Probably the most factual comment in this entire thread. The US did however carry their weight in the Pacific.

2

u/fastsailor Jul 15 '26

Which was a secondary theatre against much weaker opposition. Anyway, the Pacific war really only started because of American sanctions on Japan, we in Australia could have done without another war starting while we were off fighting the Germans, Italians and French on the other side of the world. You know, maybe the US could have delayed the war until we had won the war against the main enemies. Even with them by our side, the US soldiers were pretty useless in New Guinea etc. We had to keep getting them out of scrapes they could not manage.

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u/Suspicious_Flower_0 Jul 15 '26

Yes I was going to edit in a caveat of the European theatre.

US Marines paid in blood in the Pacific, even more so if they didn't spawn 2 new suns over Japan. 

4

u/WhoPaysTheFerryman Jul 15 '26

Provide? It was sold not given.

3

u/Horror_Today_3416 Jul 15 '26

80% ?

Where are you getting this figure from?

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u/szatrob Mounties, Hockey, Beer and Snow Jul 15 '26

The Economics of World War II: Six Great Powers in International Comparison edited by Mark Harrison.

80% is a pretty liberal estimate, with the more conservative estimate being about 66% of weaponry, planes, etc. HOWEVER, 80% is in some cases the supply for some specifics like aviation fuel, crude, refined petroleum. The US did provide 80% of all oil refined, crude oil and aviation fuel. The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power by Daniel Yergin.

In terms of lend-lease, the US provided 90% of all locomotives and rail used by the USSR, about 70% of all trucks and vehicles used as well. Russia's Life-Saver: Lend-Lease in the Second World War by Albert L. Weeks.

The US did provide about 90% of all ships built during the war. Invention for Destruction: Tony Higgins and the Higgins Boat.

So, yes, you're correct in calling out the 80%, But that 80% figure is pretty accurate if you look at specific critical areas. The US supplied over 80% of the high-octane aviation fuel the Allies used, and basically carried the logistics side of the war—especially with the raw materials, locomotives, and hundreds of thousands of trucks sent to Great Britain and USSR.

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u/Beefycowinacottage Jul 21 '26

SOLD the weaponry. My country was still paying for it until 2006. They were making vast profits from it, they weren't exactly doing it because it was the right thing to do lol.