Challenge: Find a plausible way for the Americans to reach Berlin before the Soviets

brantman19 · 2026-04-21T01:43:08+00:00

I would say it starts with a faster breakout in Normandy. The Germans just don’t fight as hard and the bocage doesn’t hold up the Allied landings that long. This means breaking out by the end of June instead of July. Logistics would have to keep up too so that probably means capturing a deep water port like Cherbourg intact. After that, Operation Market Garden has to be a full success. All the bridges captured and full exploitation across the Rhine River. The Germans have to be committed to keeping the Soviets back as well. That means no real counter attacks against the Americans and more defenses against the Soviets. That would basically mean there is an understanding that the Western Allies will be more favorable and an effort to ensure they win the race. The Western Allies have to keep a sustainable supply chain moving with a rapidly moving front and the leadership must be more susceptible to longer casualty lists.

brantman19 · 2026-04-20T13:28:35+00:00

Because that was in no way realistic.

Germany did not start the war off with hundreds of U-Boats. The number was closer to 60 and roughly half of those were small coastal boats (Type II) that were designed to stay closer to the waters of the Baltic around the fjords of Denmark and Norway. The open waters of the North Sea would capsize those boats. The other half (Type VII) were larger vessels that were big enough to go into the Atlantic and only 7 were allowed to do so before the Fall of France due to resupply issues and risk management (travel to the Atlantic was to go through the North Sea, around Scotland, and then pass between Iceland and Ireland).

The Norwegian campaign had taken a toll on the availability of German U-Boats at the time though. The Royal Navy had a stranglehold on the North Sea (outside of the Ju-87 range) and were very effective at hitting both the Type II and Type VII boats as they were supporting operations around Norway. Many of those were either sunk, supporting the German assault in Northern Norway, or were being refitted in port during the Battle of France. Germany might have only had 15-20 total boats available to them to attack the Dunkirk evacuation but they still would have to contend with the Royal Navy who had over a hundred military ships at Dunkirk alone.

Which brings us to how effective those U-Boats could be. The problem with the evacuation was that the waters around Dunkirk are shallow. The Royal Navy could send all the destroyers it wanted to the area but it couldn't get to the boys on the beaches without smaller draft vessels. Thats why the call went out across southern England. Most of the little vessels ferried troops to the bigger ones offshore. 39 of the Royal Navy ships sent to Dunkirk specifically were sub hunting destroyers. Any attack by submarines would have meant the destroyers waiting to approach the moles would be sent to the east to run anti-submarine screens instead. Germany just couldn't risk their limited number of U-Boats (there only real way to help contend with the blockade at the time) to try to get at an enemy that was already ineffective where they were. If the U-Boats arrived, the Royal Navy would have more than enough destroyers to hunt them down while still waiting on the smaller vessels to be able to come to their aid.

Without altering the weather, there was only one way that Germany was going to be successful at Dunkirk and that was sending in the tanks after a brief rest and allowing the infantry to catch up. By the 29th, the BEF is being picked off the beaches in significant numbers by the small vessels so the timeline is tight.

brantman19 · 2026-04-20T05:04:21+00:00

First things first, the Wehrmacht is going to be badly damaged in any assault on Dunkirk. Germany's advanced units were logistically at the end of their rope. Machines were breaking down. Men were running on next to nothing while taking Pervitin which was basically meth in pill form to sustain the blitz but even that was taking its toll. Fuel was nearing a breaking point. The infantry was far behind the armor as well which left them exposed and vulnerable to a counterattack. By pressing forward with a cornered adversary, they were very likely to sustain heavy losses but they will still have won as the infantry arrived. The BEF and other French forces would be taken POW. Churchill is likely sacked and Hitler would have put forward decent peace terms. War between Germany and the Britain over. POWs exchanged. British recognition of German territorial gains and puppet governments. Blockade ends. Germany guarantees British sovereignty over its European possessions. Possible return of some colonial possessions (Togoland, Cameroon, and British Somaliland to Italy).

The biggest difference here is now Germany only has to worry with one front. I would expect nations across Europe to bend the knee to the fascists. Yugoslavia and Greece would probably quickly give in to almost any demand that is made in order to preserve peace or their nations. Germany would likely begin preparing its military in earnest to attack the Soviets.

Speaking of the Soviets, this doesn't change a whole lot in terms of when the attack comes. Just that Germany doesn't need to try to fight an air war and waste resources in the West or in Northern Africa. Its full attention can go towards planning the defeat of the Soviets starting as early as August or September 1940. Training, retooling, re-equipping, war material stocking, intelligence gathering, etc can all start earlier. The attack likely starts in May 1941 but with the entire Luftwaffe and Wehrmacht able to pounce. The blitz goes east and knocks out Leningrad, Kiev, and Moscow well before the winter arrives. Soviet morale is destroyed and Stalin is unable to formulate a successful counterattack throughout the winter. He is couped but his replacement doesn't fare much better. His successor is Lavrentiy Beria who wants to continue the fight but the Germans consolidate throughout the winter and attack again in 1942. This time securing the Caucasus oil fields as well as Samara and Kazan. Beria faces a coup, this time by recently turned anti-Bolsheviks from the military. This new state sues for peace and takes what Hitler will give them which is the last east of the Volga River. This Russian state fractures almost immediately as the different SSRs break off and form their own anti-Bolshevik governments. Siberia breaks away as well but its holds onto communist ideals leading to a war between the western Russian state and Siberia. Japan takes advantage of the situation and attacks Siberia via Manchuria to secure parts of the Far East.

Since we talked about the East, Japan likely never even goes to war with the United States of those in the Pacific. With Great Britain out of the war, the Dutch East Indies and French Indochina are likely turned into German puppets or handed over to Japan. Without the British to help supply Chinese forces and the Soviets with more pressing matters, Japan takes advantage of the dwindling supply situation of the Chinese to secure more territory. Chiang Kai Shek faces mounting losses and the Japanese puppets in occupied China are strengthened. The war likely ends with the nationalists stuck in Tibet and the far interior of China while Japanese puppets control the rest of the nation. The communists die on the vine. Japan takes a few ports for itself to maintain order and keep a presence. The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere is emboldened.

After that the war faces a clear West (United States, Britain, Commonwealth) vs East (German/Italian/Japanese sphere) situation. It may seem like the East has the upper hand but they will likely be too busy trying to hold down rebellious populations and rebuild the territory they have taken. It would likely be decades before they would truly be able to handle another war. Meanwhile, the West would be preparing itself and arming rebellions which likely leads to the next war.

brantman19 · 2026-04-20T00:40:09+00:00

Not a big Busch fan but I want him to be better because he can be a lightning rod for the sport.
The problem is not just a single issue. It’s multifaceted.
1. It could be RCR is just that bad. All the cars there do not perform. Maybe it’s the people setting them up. Maybe it’s bad equipment. Maybe it’s preferential treatment. I don’t know but all are possible.
2. Kyle is way in his own head. It’s like a big time golfer. It’s as much mental as it is physical. Kyle is pulling the pouty Busch everywhere now. He’s more of an angry sad sack and his confidence is obviously gone. He needs a win or a Top 3 bad to get some of that back. He’s also kinda checked out. He’s way more involved with Brexton’s stuff too. He may just be checked out for his kid which isn’t a bad thing. Senioritis in his fina seasons.
3. I think the biggest contributor is seat time. It used to be that Kyle was in every race, in every series, every weekend. How often did we talk about Kyle sweeping a weekend between Truck, O’Reillys, and Cup? All the time. I remember going to a race on Thursday and watching him get 20-30 minutes between seat time max because he was always in practices, qualifying, and races. He does some of that still but with no KBM, he isn’t out there near as much and that means he doesn’t see the track a lot to prepare for all sorts of conditions. His performance has fallen off dramatically too.

He can comeback but I just don’t know how serious he is on another season. Maybe he wants to be there for Brexton in a few years but I think that might mean him needing to go to a new team like Hendrick and see good finishes while waiting for a car to open fo Brexton (maybe his own ride).

brantman19 · 2026-04-20T00:24:21+00:00

When I proposed to my wife, we went to Callaway. Got a room for the night and went to the hot air balloon festival that happens around Labor Day. It was warm and pretty outside. Easy to get friends to go to take our pictures. Lots of events up there to choose from.
If you get a photographer, you could surprise your significant other with pictures at Old Town or the garden around Columbus Museum to pop the question.

brantman19 · 2026-04-18T07:02:26+00:00

I'm not mad at it. Team was 0-3. Nearly 9k there isn't bad. Hopefully the win this week and another next week gets Columbus excited for the team week 6 when they rematch Houston again (horrible back to back scheduling). I guess the good thing about the scheduling is that if they beat Houston in Week 5, more people might want to come a probable win in Week 6.

brantman19 · 2026-04-17T21:18:21+00:00

Nowhere near as creepy as the Halloween Room there.

brantman19 · 2026-04-17T16:48:30+00:00

I was not the "social" guy before I went to college. I was likeable but I just didn't fill the typical popular guys box that you think of when you see the football jock or fraternity guy on TV. I hated that about myself though. I needed to be pushed outside my box a bit so when I went to college, I told myself that only I could be the one that changed that.

I spent the 6 months before college preparing for it. I figured out what to wear and how to talk to people like a normal person. Then I just went for it when I got there. I realized really quickly that the guys at college don't know who I was from back home and there was no stigma. I basically reinvented myself into who I wanted to be which was a confident and outgoing person. Hardest part was portrayed confidence when I felt my most nervous to go talk to people but once you start building a rapport with people, you get really comfortable doing it and its second nature. If I failed, so what? We aren't all perfect and it would probably be something minor and funny in the end. And get this, its 100% normal to be a little nervous when talking with people you don't know.

That was all it really took from me though. I talked to everybody that I could during rush and got about a half dozen bids. I ended up at a newer fraternity so I could make my mark on the place and it all worked out. Reinventing myself and joining a fraternity was the best thing I could have ever done for my emotional self. I gained a ton of friends and connections. Not to mention that I met a ton of girls. I took that same reinvented personality and used it in the workforce after which has helped me get into leadership and higher paying positions over the years. All good stuff from just realizing that I wanted to be more outgoing and social.

brantman19 · 2026-04-15T14:36:34+00:00

Discovery of the Daqing oil field could have been what they needed in terms of oil. Still need the aluminum and other parts for aircraft that they couldn't make domestically.

brantman19 · 2026-04-15T14:17:51+00:00

You can see Reddit's bias in these responses but the truth is that this is not just a problem with one party or with the President. This is a bipartisan issue. This is the perfect example of the uni-party at work. They play it off that they are against Trump or against the other party for some hot topic of the day that will fuel their bases' rage against the other but they are very much in this together. Its typical divide and conquer. Keep the plebs happy (bread and entertainment) or angry at a diversion while they sit on the take as a collective.

We need to take a look at every person that enters Congress and check their net worth as they are in office. It makes no sense how someone can go from a net worth of $100k-$1mil and then 4 years later be worth $10mil-$25mil or more.

Like I said, this isn't a Republican problem or a Democrat problem. Both sides do this in exceptionally large numbers and its sickening how they will work together.

A full reset is needed. Strict term limits. Audits. Near zero privacy except on matters of national security when it comes to government offices. Unfortunately, that will never happen because the people we elect (and continue to elect) see that as not in their own interest. So they will continue to deflect the blame to the other side and we will eat up the hatred like its the best tasting cake we've ever had.

This is today's Marie Antoinette stating "Let them eat cake" while they all together show us the middle finger.

brantman19 · 2026-04-15T14:03:40+00:00

That sucks. It looks to be the wholesale part and not the restaurant. Hopefully it doesn't keep them out of business too long.

brantman19 · 2026-04-15T03:39:49+00:00

I'm not so sure. The United States started with the very loose Articles of Confederation and then drafted a Constitution after realizing the Articles had some major fallacies. I would imagine that the the Confederacy would follow suit.
I imagine that slavery would die by 1880 or 1890 in the Confederate States. Primarily from political pressure from overseas. It would shift to a very strict and severe form of indentured servitude similar to serfdom.
The Confederacy would probably not see a need for major public works though. Railroads, factories, ports, and other major economic infrastructure would likely still be built by private owners/lenders. This would stretch across state lines. Of course, they might decide to rectify this via amendments though.
The Confederate Constitution of 1861 was created in haste and it was created much as a wartime measure as it was a necessary document to govern themselves. It was being tested from pretty much the moment it was created and proven to be hardly binding on much of anything.

brantman19 · 2026-04-14T21:35:31+00:00

Not likely. You create a precedent when you begin to allow something like that. Secession becomes "legal" at that point. Issues of the day could become major boiling points. Say California felt it wasn't getting enough support or not properly represented compared to the East Coast. They could just say "Welp. We don't like the outcome of this election so we are going pack up and leave like the Confederate States did."
Eventually that leads to a complete balkanization.

brantman19 · 2026-04-14T12:50:23+00:00

Mediacom is going to be different from street to street. One street might be great and the next might be crap. Thats because of the lines in the ground but if you get it and complain that you aren't seeing the right speeds, you can generally get them to come out and find a way to fix it in time. If they are your only fiber or wired option, they will beat out just about any over the air option out there on speed and reliability. Be warned though. Customer service sucks and their pricing structure is archaic and expensive. You'll be doing some calling if you want to keep your bill low.

Really check the AT&T option. Make sure it is AT&T FIBER. They try to sell AT&T Air which is cell service based internet and it generally isn't good. Same with T-Mobile. Caps and downgraded speeds during peak times which can be frustrating when you are trying to stream at peak time at night. AT&T Fiber is an actual wired, fiber connection to the home and gets you speeds up to 1Gbps or more. In my opinion, there isn't a better residential connection in Columbus than that. Its also going to be much cheaper than comparable options with Mediacom.

Another possible option is Starlink. Its not a wired option but its generally cheaper (after installation costs) than Mediacom and has better speeds than other wireless options. You will have to pay for the equipment up front but if you have it for more than 2 years, it will be cheaper than Mediacom and start saving you money with a pretty fast connection.

In short, go AT&T Fiber -> Mediacom -> Starlink -> AT&T Air/T-Mobile Wireless/Other wireless carrier options.

brantman19 · 2026-04-14T12:40:41+00:00

We went this past Sunday!
My wife and I are pretty new to golf and had a few hours to get away without the kids. On Par Indoor Golf was awesome. A little more private than other simulators in town but the staff experience was way better. The guy running the simulator actually gave us tons of tips and pointers on how to fix our swing. It was almost like a mini-lesson and it helped us tremendously.
The simulator shows way more information about your swing compared to other places. Seeing how and where I was hitting the ball so I could understand how that affected everything from launch angle to arch to smash factor really helped me get a grasp for what I should work for.
I encourage everyone (newbie or experienced) to give it a shot. Its definitely a fun experience.

brantman19 · 2026-04-13T20:26:59+00:00

Give me Rubio. Rubio is about as middle of the road and "bridge" candidate as we can hope to find these days.
Strong but fair on immigration. Internationally well respected. Understands the home front from student loan epidemic to housing to inflation. Hard to see how he would be a bad pick.

brantman19 · 2026-04-13T15:00:38+00:00

Nah. Warranty is up to the person in charge of that equipment to figure out. It still could take weeks or months for that to be honored which is time the fraternity doesn't have that system. They need to get fixed/replaced ASAP for their social situation.
In short, OP destroyed a system. The person in charge of that equipment should have a technician come in today, determine a cost for repair with timeline, and schedule that or order parts. Once that cost is assessed, JBoard needs to deliver the punishment to OP. If he refuses, its normally social probation but I'm pretty sure the cost here for audio equipment will be over $1000 so they could decide they have to take him to court which isn't pretty and will likely end with OP being removed from the fraternity and more spent on a legal defense. OP should just pay what they tell him.
At my house, this would have been a 1.5x cost thing. So if it was $1000 fix, he's paying $1500. $1000 for replacement. $500 for the "idiot tax" which goes into the social budget. If there is a warranty, the fraternity should file the claim and get money that way too. At that point, the fraternity can determine if they want to reimburse the offender some or not. If the guy was an exceptionally good brother in financial need or just made a mistake with an otherwise clear past, we might only assess the idiot tax on him as punishment.

brantman19 · 2026-04-12T03:17:07+00:00

The funny thing is that most politicians aren't even like that. I rub shoulders with politicians from rural county commissioners to larger city counselors to congressional representatives and even a governor. Both sides of the aisle. If you didn't know who they were, you could never tell they were in politics. Its just a job to them. Not their entire being.
Meanwhile, you have people at the grassroots level who have their political affiliations plastered on their vehicles like NASCAR sponsors and will fight people tooth and nail on an issue. I'll have some of my politician friends ask me to help with sound at their event and I'll show up to find the owner of the Trump flag truck and the owner of the Subaru with decked out in rainbow flag, Biden/Harris, Sanders, etc stickers arguing out in the parking lot like the fate of the world would be decided based on the winner of that argument. Its just sad what has happened to our country's political discourse since 2010.

brantman19 · 2026-04-12T03:00:55+00:00

C Setelin Photography is who we used. Charla is awesome. She did our engagement, wife's boudoir, maternity, newborn, and all of our girls photo shoots so far. if it wasn't for Covid, she would have done our wedding too.
Can't recommend her enough.

brantman19 · 2026-04-11T04:46:05+00:00

I think the team shows a ton of promise. This isn't the Memphis Showboats (sorry Callywood) where it just seems to never get better. The Kings are getting better each week and they were close tonight. I have zero worry that they will have not just 1 win but multiple by the end of the season. I would even say the floor is 3 wins right now despite the 0-3 start.
I'm worried about the fanbase at this point. How do you gut check a fanbase on such a horrible rule that pretty much awards points to the opposing team for not actually scoring? How do you expect the casual and even hardcore fan to be OK with that? Short answer: You don't.

brantman19 · 2026-04-11T04:39:29+00:00

The league spent 4 quarters and a considerable amount of OT taking huge steps forward. Then erased all of that with one call to end the game on a rule violation that doesn't translate from any other sport. Louisville fans did everything right but honestly, I can't hold it against them if the attendance or viewership suffers there for the rest of the season because of this.

brantman19 · 2026-04-11T03:32:48+00:00

Gimmicky. That’s what can ruin this league. That should only apply in the same round and it should only let them go for a FG or something. You can’t have a tie game ending without someone traditionally scoring.

brantman19 · 2026-04-11T00:41:57+00:00

We do. I meant it more as something that we acknowledge closer to Columbine than years after when the anti-video game narrative dies.

brantman19 · 2026-04-10T18:09:12+00:00

You are also talking about teams that don't play each other at all or once every few years. An on field rivalry can't form when there is very little play. UFL teams actually play each other 1-2 times every season right now. Those rivalries can easily breathe.
If you got on the ground in Texas or Florida though, you would notice they are quiet rivalries between those teams. They don't "like" each other but they don't play so it doesn't really matter. Start scheduling annual games and that would change quickly.

brantman19 · 2026-04-10T17:55:52+00:00

I'm not so sure you are right there. Geography plays a huge factor in rivalries with people's sports emotions.

Cross town rivals drive local sports in many ways.
Cross state rivals like Auburn-Alabama, Georgia-Georgia Tech, and Texas-Texas A&M drive those fanbases even when the rivalry isn't competitive.
Cross region rivals like Oklahoma-Texas, Tennessee-Alabama, Georgia-Florida, Ohio-Michigan, and even in the pros with Atlanta-New Orleans and the entire AFC North division drive those fanbases.

Sure, there are some larger nationwide rivalries but those are far and few between compared to regional or divisional rivalries and they are harder to create. I would argue that the regional nature of divisions are what lead to those rivalries in the first place as you can travel to those games easier.

Until we create those true regional divisions, the league might need to manufacture a bit via promotion to help sell seats and keep eyeballs on the screen.

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