Opinion Piece - Myths and Realities of the Great Patriotic War

[McIvan]

It's quite a mean spirited opinion piece, derogatory to both US and Russian audiences equally as fools and/or ignorant. Sneering, almost, in its pretentious self-importance. I was going to say so last night but thought I should let it settle and re-read in the morning, but it still reads the same. So some Russians soldiers were cowards, rapists and thieves in an army of millions? Who'd have thought? Nice cheap shot to throw in the US Army rapes. They might have happened, but why bring them up?

I'm pretty sure it understates both British and US war dead. I was also less than impressed at the way the author disingenuously uses total deaths/wounds/captures AND illlness on the German side and only (understated) deaths for the Brits/US, so as to misleadingly maximise the difference. Not to mention discarding the Commonwealth dead or those of Denmark, Belgium, Holland, France, Polish troops fighting in the West, the Brazillians, and all the other nationalities in the Western ETO.

Nice touch to denigrate D-Day as a knee-jerk reaction from fright at possible Russian dominance. Classy.

I think also that most people who have any knowledge of WWII at all realise that the Russians did the lion's share against the Germans. I certainly don't have enough knowledge to comment on whether the Saving Private Ryan myth is prevalent in the US. This guy might even be essentially right, cheap shots aside, but it still leaves a sour taste in my mouth and I'd be hesitant to take anything he said at face value.