[Legbreaker]

In 1944 and 45 even the most blinkered of Germans had to admit in the privacy of their own minds that winning wasn't really an option. Survival as a nation, or alternatively, complete destruction to prevent said nation falling into the hands of the enemy was the best that could be hoped for.

In T2K there are still a few aircraft around. Certainly not as many, in fact even 5% of pre-war would be a stretch, but enough that if sufficient fuel and munitions were found they could turn the tide of an enemy offensive.

Yes, there are arguments for transfer of the lower ranks of technicians, etc from the Air Forces, however even if fuel, etc is not available for a number of years, the aircraft do still need maintaining. In 2000 there may be sufficient numbers of senior NCOs available, however these people are likely already old and their numbers will decline. Younger men and women NEED to be retained and trained to replace these senior people.

The same goes for the navy, however with most ships on the bottom, and the generally lower technically of ships (they only have to float, not fly), the need for specialist technicians may be less critical. In the US forces, I tend to agree that naval personnel are likely to be shifted into Marine units, but many countries do not have Marines - these are likely to be send into the general army.

Regardless, technical skills and specialities should be considered when transferring. It's extremely wasteful to have a naval communications specialist sent to an infantry company for example. This may result in a higher percentage of these "reinforcements" being sent to rear area and support units, but...

Take a look at the Soviet 10th TD OOB as a good example of what may happen. Although a paper strength of several hundred soldiers, many of them simply wouldn't be risked in battle unless the Divisions continued existence was under immediate threat.