RETAC21

Any conventional war between India and Pakistan is going to be an indecisive exchange of blows, neither can seriously damage the other to the point that it will call it quits except in the most tactical circumstances (ie Kargil)

Summary of the air combat, can't attest as to how accurate it is, but it looks legit. That said, it misses the not-so-irrelevant point that India managed to hit targets in Pakistan, while Pakistan doesn't seem to have hit anything relevant in India.

It is, indeed, but it doesn't change the facts that the Germans were superior to the allies, even if not perceived as such by some in either side, and that none of the alternative courses of action would lead to an allied victory in 1940, just like it was impossible for the Russians to stop the Germans in the summer of 1941 (or, as Ken Estes pointed out, no one does good against the Germans until 1942). An advance into Germany in 1939 (taking into account that Belgium was neutral) would eventually lead to a Kessel between the border and the Rhine and would make a defeat in 1940 even more likely.

All of that is true, but basic military training was widespread also through the Reichsarbeitsdienst (mandatory) and conscription. Older generations that fought WW1 were already trained, so there was the 14 years between 1921 and 1934 when only a small cohort received military training (and would be between 23 and 36 years in 1939, so not prime infantry material). Re the underlined, this only made them acquainted to military life, training was of poor quality and leadership was poor. Only French artillery was rated highly by the German high command. Add to that the superiority of German leadership and doctrine vs all the allies: the Dutch were considered just speed bumps, the Belgians were mediocre, the Brits were highly rated as soldiers but with inflexible leadership. None of these factors were better in 1939 vs 1940

It comes down to this, but also the atrocious quality of allied high command, who fought the battle with no reserve at all, extremely poor communications and improper doctrine. So stopping the Germans may not lead to an allied victory but to a huge cauldron battle with no Dunkirk.

And the population already psyched to go to war, including military training for the kids in the HJ, and the belief that their cause was "just", even if the "street" wasn't keen on it.

Not likely, but possible.

General George S. Patton's quote regarding the liberation of Germany, and indeed his broader philosophy, emphasized decisive action and a strong military presence. He famously stated, "Keep moving. We'll win this war, but we'll win it only by fighting and by showing the Germans that we've got more guts than they have or ever will have,"

Eh, no? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_junta https://www.foreignaffairs.com/turkey/turkey-now-full-blown-autocracy-erdogan-imamoglu https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_coup_d'état https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estado_Novo_(Portugal)

And a ceasefire is declared.

Never forget that neither side is able to prevail over the other and that previous wars in the West (ie not Bangladesh) were fought over worthless terrain, so, unless you see a massive Indian mobilization, this will blow over eventually and will be used by each government to clean house domestically. BTW, the biggest take away so far seems to be the IAF is unable to fight in a EW environment, no warning of enemy missiles, no encrypted or frequency hopping radios... we are not in the 70s anymore.

This is what the Pakistanis have been telling everyone and being allied to the US, it's the version that gets out, but the truth is that, other than in 1965, they are about equal. The IAF tends to turn into a flying club time and again, due to the lack of realistic training for what is a rather big force, while the Pakistanis can be more elitist, but historically, in terms of what each force achieves, there's no decisive advantage when they went all out.

Actually, the second, unless Argentina moved to Africa somehow...

Other than the 1971 war that saw the creation of Bangladesh, wars between India and Pakistan tend to be indecisive, mainly because they are fighting over worthless pieces of real estate and neither is willing to go all out to destroy the other. Pakistan as been FAFOing India since 1999 and every now and then the Indians return the favor.

Unless, like me, you are isolated in the only island with light, air conditioning, comms and work... and get to see the people in the bars emptying the beer stocks! 😰