somejew: for your second point, the two items aren’t mutually exclusive. Yes, many Jews went to join the army and fight. This is hishtadlus, as we saw by Yaakov Avinu when Esav was coming towards him.
At the same time, look how many soldiers started taking on observances which they previously didn’t keep! The tzitzis being made to help those soldiers aren’t being made quickly enough – there is a tzitzis shortage in Israel right now! Soldiers want to wear them! Soldiers are asking to put on tefillin. It’s not only the soldiers – there are plenty of people who are doing these things as a zchus for the soldiers. So yes, there are mitzvos being done right now, the zchusim of which should help protect us all.
As for whether Mashiach would have come, sorry, I don’t think the Satmar Rebbe knew that. Who are the Gedolim who concurred with him? Nobody knows when Mashiach will come, except for Hashem. It says that when Yaakov Avinu wanted to tell his children about it, Hashem wouldn’t allow it. Do you think the Satmar Rebbe was greater than bnei Yaakov?