Were the successes of the Finnish army in the Winter War due to the strengths of their generals or their regular soldiers?

Can you tell me about the social history of Wehrmacht soldiers in the first two years of World War II? How often were they allowed to go home, and how long? Were there any benefits? I recall my grandfather getting special vacation to get married, but I don't know exactly when. Were there notable cases of self-inflicted wounds to go home, and is there any valid data on how the average german soldiers viewed their mission?

For /u/Domini_canes

In George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia, he describes the Republican side as being a loose confederation of factions with differing ideologies, such as socialism, anarchism, and communism. He goes into detail about how his faction, the POUM, was accused of being a fascist organization and its members were subsequently branded traitors and spies. Was there any benefit to doing this? Wouldn't the Republican side just be losing valuable soldiers?

For /u/ScipioAsina probably straightforward enough answer but how did the Japanese initially beat China so badly when China must have outnumbered them hugely? And why were China still so unprepared even after skirmishes dating as far back as 1931?

I would be very grateful if one of our SCW experts would give me an ELI5 of the different factions involved. Every time I try and read a history of the SCW I just end up with a terminal case of Too Many Acronyms...

Edit: Too Many Acronyms, AKA TMA.

In regards to the Spanish Civil War, I'm curious to know what the general feelings or relationship was like between Madrid and Barcelona/Catalunya before Franco took over, between people/government/media. I know since Franco took over Spain, that relationship has been frosty, but what was it like beforehand? Was it friendly (especially since they both fought on the same side originally against Franco)? Thanks.

For /u/tobbinator. /u/Domini_canes and possibly /u/Bernadito

I've started reading the Battle for Spain by Anthony Beevor, and am progressing through it very slowly. But being impatient I have a couple of questions regarding the Spanish Civil War. First off I recently watched Pan's Labyrinth and although fiction it showed a relatively successful guerrilla campaign against the nationalists late in the war or possibly after it. Since the mountainous north of the country has always been notoriously difficult to govern/conquer it got me wondering if there was there any meaningful/successful resistant movement to Franco after the official defeat of the Republicans?

I've often heard about international brigades from Ireland, the US and UK however the most notable brigades size wise came from France, Italy and Northern Central Europe. How much of an impact did these brigades have in the war, did they have any notable successes? Or did their diversity work against them in the grand scheme of things?

I have a question regarding Rommels way of leading in battle. I have heard that he had a tendency to disregard intelligence and rely on his intuition while in battle. Is this true? Are there any notable examples where it worked or where it backfired? I'm mostly interested in his time in Africa.

Additionally, how was his relationship to Hitler? I know he served as commander of the Führerbegleitbattalion, but where they close?

During this time period, was there a cult of Clausewitz within the Germany army? Did Clausewitz have an influence on Blitzkrieg tactics or was it an evolution of the Hurricane Tactics of the First World War?

Thank you very much for this AMA.

Why did the allies (Britain) not use the resource of South African pilots in Europe? I believe they had competent airmen, and during the shortage they suffered in the Battle of Britain, and later the push to Berlin, I think they would have been a major help. Any discussion on this, and how they DID use SA airmen (Sailor Malan as an example) would be great. Thanks, guys!

Another Spanish Civil War question - What involvement did Morocco have in the Spanish Civil War? Did they have any interactions with the republicans? How did they interact with the Nationalists? Were any treaties signed or aid given from one to the other?

Little question, how did the Nazis get their panzers through the Ardennes when everyone thought that was impossible?

Did the Chinese communists (8th Route Army and the New Fourth Army) really do anything significant during the Sino-Japanese war? I keep reading how they performed guerrilla attacks behind enemy lines, but the descriptions of their actions always sounded extremely vague to me. I've read other opinions that said they just sat on the sidelines until the war ended. Did the Japanese or any outside observers comment on the effectiveness of guerrilla activity by the CCCP?

What's your opinion in military perspective and how it's applied to general historical teachings. E.g. Japan and its ignorance of war crimes committed during WW2.

What is truth?

Whenever I see boarder maps comparing years in the Japanese-Sino war I always notice how there doesn't seem to have been much change between 1940-1943/1944 or so. Why is that? On the other European front there seemed to have been lots of land being traded back and forth quickly. Why was it different here?

How was the relationship between Franco and Primo de Rivera prior to the war, would the command of the war been different if he were still alive?

Was Rommel really as good as his reputation?

I've heard about the major infighting between the IJN and IJA and been told that they never really worked together too well. In this time period, was the relationship between the two branches as disfunctional as I have been lead to believe? Did members of the two branches ever purposefully fire on one another? Are there any examples of successful joint operations in this time period?

How were the Pyrenees mountains defended against the escape lines? Particularly interested in a Polish organization that went via Quillan/Axat/Artigues/Soldeu/Escaldes/Barcelona.

SCW question for /u/tobbinator: What sort of role did Andalusia play during the Spanish Civil War? Were they important at all, or were they too far from the front lines to really matter much? Were there any people or politicians from Andalusia that played a significant role in the war, or perhaps leading up to it?

Can you give me any info on both:

A: The battle of Jarama B: The defense of the XYZ line during the Spanish civil war?

Could you tell me about the british "Plan R 4". What consequences would that have for the war, alliances, battles and outcome? It's quite a significant plan and from my understanding was just days from being put to work. Would it in pactice mean England going to war with Norway and Sweden?

Did the people of Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, etc. get involved during the North African Campaign?

I remember being told in high school that the Germans were in the area near Stalingrad because they wanted to capture the oil resources the Soviets had in the Caucasus mountains. 1) Is this actually correct? 2) How close were the Germans to succeeding and 3) Would the loss of this oil have crippled the USSR?

Thank you for doing this panel.

Are there any plans for different dates or subjects like this in the future?