Daniel;

Here is a link about Laos:

http://www.savannanet.com/uslegacy.htm

I saw a PBS special over the weekend on the subject. The things we did not know!

The cluster bombs were a single bomb containg 750 smaller bombs.

Tom


>It is interesting what is known and given importance. Some subjects are not discussed and others have been biased for whatever reason. Take numbers for instance.
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>>We often hear about the bombing of Britain during World War II, how so many people were killed. Documents that I have read indicate about 60,000 civilians died. How many Germans died from Allied bombing? Over one million. That is not discussed.
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>I'll bet the Germans discuss it all the time.
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>As many people were killed in the bombing of Hamburg Germany in August 1943 as were killed at Nagasaki. I guess that conventional weapons are excluded from consideration in such facts.
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>From what I've read, the total killed was about equal, maybe a few thousand more in Nagasaki. There were far, far more killed in the firebombings of Dresden or Tokyo in 1945 than in either Nagasaki or Hiroshima.
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>But I'm puzzled by your statement that "conventional weapons are excluded from consideration in such facts". Hiroshima and Nagasaki stand out because of the use of atomic weapons, whereas conventional explosive and incendiary weapons where common fair in the bombing campaigns of all WW2 belligerants.
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>Guess where the greatest number of bombs were dropped? Would you believe Laos? Even today people are killed in Laos due to the ordnance we left behind. In fact one person dies on average every two days from our bombs that remain. They called that “the secret war”.
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>I would be interested in your source for that. However, as far as the impact of unexploded ordnance goes, I'd say either WW1 or WW2 takes the prize. As recently as last month, over 1,000 unexploded WW1 grenades were found in a Belgian field. You might have a look at The Archaeology of the Western Front 1914-1918.
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>What was the “worst battle of World War II? I would say Okinawa from what I have read. I can imagine being there from April 1st, 1945 until the actions ceased. It was horrific for military and civilians alike. My father was there but would never talk about it.
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>Okinawa was bloody, but in my opinion, Stalingrad was much worse. The Germans admitted to 110,000 killed, 91,000 captured (of whom only a small percentage ever returned home). The Soviets have never owned up to their losses, but I would be willing to bet that they were two or three times that. The civilian deaths have never been totalled.
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>However, the Battle of the Somme in WWI was much, much worse: nearly a million killed or wounded on both sides, with a net gain of only 12Km for the Allies (source).
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>Remember the causalities we suffered on the shores of Normandy on D-Day? Here is an interesting story. General Eisenhower wanted to have the assault troops practice beach landings so he had three troop ships filled with men. This occurred a few days before June 6th. The ships went to sea off of the southern coast of England, where they were to carry out their activities. German U Boats spotted the ships and sunk two. More men were killed during that incident than on the beaches on D-Day.
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>From what I've read, there were 2,200 men lost with the torpedoing of those troop carriers. Casualties for D-Day were slightly higher (possibly 3,000, depending if you count airborne losses or not (source).
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>The important thing about the troop transport incident is that it was covered up for propoganda reasons. But then, there was a lot of that during the war.
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>The things we learn, know, or care about may or may not be true. We believe what we will for whatever reason. Some truths are not known and others are not cared about. Too bad there is not emphasis to know what facts actually exist. With the proper bias and attitude any fact can be diminished or made in any image desired. What you believe may not be accurate.
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>The facts are available for those interested in finding them. But there is no such thing as "Truth". There are only facts, and the way an individual chooses to interpret them.