Why We Lost The Vietnam War

"D. Patterson" wrote in message
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"Spiv" wrote in message
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"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message
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"Spiv" wrote in message
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More arms were needed than what we could make. Duh!


Yes, the UK could not arm or feed itself during WWII.

It could feed itself, but it took until 1943 until UK industry
outperformed
Germany. Today, with modern farming techniques, the UK can easily feed
itself, and others. At one point it produced more food than Canada, and
more than Australia. We pay farmers not to produce now.

Britain produced only 30% of its food going into the war. It never
remotely
approached 100% and badly damaged its soil fertility for decades to come
in
the efforts to increase the food production.

Nonsense. Britain invented globalisation in the 1700s. The UK has
consistently imported produce and products that are cheaper than the home
market. When it comes down to it, it can feed itself. In 1939 it was not
ready,still importing vast qualitioes of food from the empire and others. By
1945 internal food production was way ahead of 1939.

"D. Patterson" wrote in message
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"Dave Holford" wrote in message
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Spiv wrote:

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message
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"ANDREW ROBERT BREEN" wrote in message
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Having looked at Russia (from flights out to Japan) the USA is
small
and the UK very small..


Yes, as I said, it depends on one's point of view.

Depends on its ability to support people
and feed them from the land. The
UK can do that with no problems - 60
million of them.

With all the 'Land Army', 'Victory Gardens'
etc. why were we so short of food with just
a fraction of that population during WWII?

Victory gardens were morale boosters, no more.

Pre-WWI taxation policies discouraged much of the agricultural
developments
being realized elsewhere in the world. During the two world wars, the
amount
of land changed from pastoral usage to cultivation practically doubled by
WWII. Beginning in WWII, the government began encouraging the heavy usage
of
fertilizers to increase crop yields. In the post-war food shortages,
Britain
worked steadily to increase production with fertilization, larger farms,
improved animal husbandry, and ever larger crop yeilds from genetically
improved crop varieties and animal herds. This resulted in 75%
self-sufficiency by 1972 and near 100% self-sufficiency by the 1990s.
Unfortunately, the price for these increases in food production has
resulted
in steadily decreasing soil feritlity, increasing soil contamination and
water pollution with ecologically destructive organo-phosphate salts from
the fertilizers, and the possible over-reliance in factory farms and
disease
risk monoculture crops.

In 1939, much farming in the UK was still horse drawn. Rural UK was in a
different world to the rest, being not far from being Medieval in look and
mentality.

I used to think the U.K. was big when I thought a 100mile drive required
pre-planning. Then I came to North America and got on a train - three
days later I was still on the train and a long, long way from the far
side. Incidentally I'm expecting to drive about 120miles tomorrow to do
a little shopping; if I did that in the U.K. I'd probably fall off the
edge.

You will not fall off the edge. You go 120 miles to shop? You poor sod!
Leave that place now and get back to civilisation.

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message
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"Spiv" wrote in message
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It could feed itself, but it took until 1943 until UK industry
outperformed
Germany.

The UK imported food and arms during WWII.

That has been mentioned.

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message
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"Spiv" wrote in message
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My God, where do they come from? By Dutch standards it is big.
The UK is nor small.

It depends on one's point of view. By US standards the UK is small.

The UK is not small.

"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message
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"Spiv" wrote in message
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It was.

The Nene Viking was an engine test bed.

No. It was plane with jet engines and seats for people inside.

Airplanes without seats are called UAVs.

It did. It never took paying passengers.

That's how you can tell it was not an airliner. Airliners carry paying
passengers.

It was a people carrying jet. Is that better for you. Do you now
understand.

"Spiv" wrote in message
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Nonsense. Britain invented globalisation in the 1700s. The UK has
consistently imported produce and products that are cheaper than the
home market. When it comes down to it, it can feed itself. In 1939
it was not ready,still importing vast qualitioes of food from the empire
and others. By 1945 internal food production was way ahead of 1939.


In other words, the UK could not arm or feed itself during WWII.

"Spiv" wrote in message
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That has been mentioned.


Ah, you're learning at last. Good.

"Spiv" wrote in message
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The UK is not small.


The UK is small. That seems to bother you a great deal. Why?

"Spiv" wrote in message
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It was a people carrying jet.


So was the Meteor.



Is that better for you. Do you now understand.


I'm trying to help you understand.

"D. Patterson" wrote in message
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"Spiv" wrote in message
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"Steven P. McNicoll" wrote in message
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"Spiv" wrote in message
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Failed. Not so.


It depends on one's point of view. The UK is a bit smaller than the
state
of
Oregon, and there are eight US states larger than Oregon. From a US
perspective, the UK is small.

My God, where do they come from? By Dutch standards it is big. The UK
is
nor small.

Not only is the UK small, it is tiny. It is only 1.4% the size of Russia.

Which means nothing at all. The UK is not small.