by Gerard 70 Replies latest social current
where do you find this stuff?
Have you picked-up a newspaper anytime in the last two years?
Gerard:
uhh...dohhh! my comment was for ConfusedJW, not you (and was very clearly labeled) so get over your sarcastic self, woudja?
....and I dare say I'm every bit as informed on this topic as you appear to be, monsieur.
i did a quick google search and couldn't find a creadible source for the cardboard tank view (i heard it on a germany history program a couple of years ago). imo it does make some sense since germany used many cardboard tanks in their maneuvers which could be eliminated by cavalry. the google search revealed however that the whole incident (with or without cardboard) seems to be more of a myth generated by the german propaganda in 1939 than anything else. apparently cavalry tried to attack german infantry and got surprised by german tanks.
To be honest, I don't know if the Polish calvary charge on horseback against German tanks is an "urban legend" or not. I do know though that the Polish people faught bravely against the Germans and Soviets. One has to wonder what the outcome may have been for Polnad if they didn't have to fight on two froughts and had time to modernize their army. It's also important to note the vital role the Poles played in fighting German even after their country surrendered and the heavy price it paid.
roy,
the outcome of the war was already clear when the soviets marched in.
the polish military was not taken by surprise though when the war started (they had began to mobilize in march already)...but their equipment was inferior to the german weapons.
Realist,
just on a side note...sturzkampfbomber carried only one bomb which usually hit the target with very high accuracy. it was used against military targets, transportation and industrial buildings. it was incapable of large scale bombings.
Apologies for missing this from an earlier post.
The Stuka was actually rather ineffective as a bomber, as you say carrying just one large bomb. It was originally designed to support the Blitzkreig and target enemy tanks. The Germans learned very early on, actually in the Spanish Civil War, that its main weapon was not the bomb it carried but the terrifying effect on the morale of its victims due to the screaming sound it made as it dived due to its strange wing structure. This morale breaking strategy was also used in Poland and on the Eastern Front, where as we know every single German soldier fought....*
Best regards - HS
* - Trying to find a German that served in WWII who will admit to having fought on the Western Front is like trying to find the perfect wife - you know, the lonesome nymphomaniac who owns a liquor store.
hillary,
Trying to find a German that served in WWII who will admit to having fought on the Western Front is like trying to find the perfect wife - you know, the lonesome nymphomaniac who owns a liquor store.
i am not sure but i would assume most germans actually did fight primarily at the eastern front rather than the western.
why would soldiers not admit of fighting in the west?
Realist,
why would soldiers not admit of fighting in the west?
Perhaps because in the immediate post-war settling of accounts those who killed Ivan the Russian were not viewed with the same disdain as those who killed John the Bull, or Maurice the Chevallier.
As you know Operation Barbarosa involved 2.5 million troops and of course many of these soldiers, not just from Germany of course, fought on both fronts. As for Barbarossa, well the lucky ones got home. As savage a campaign as one could ever imagine, like Dante's Ice Inferno.
Best regards - HS
1 in 3 isn't a great percentage, sorry to burst your bubble.
But as I always say when I think about France, I remember the best peice of French I remembered from high school.
BAISE LE FRANCIAS!!!!!
Double Post
Simon said:
In fact, the US did not enter the war until Germany attacked IT.
What fact is that, Simon? Or is this another attempt at rewriting history.
The last time I remember it being told to me, it was the Japanese that attacked Pearl Harbor. Because of that President Frankilin Roosevelt declared war on Japan. Italy and Nazi Germany then declared war on the U.S.
Me thinks you need to do some rereading of history books.
Secondly, Winston Churchill was pleading with Roosevelt to enter the war. Roosevelt was unwilling to do so because this second "European war" had no popular support here. Did our cousins hold up well to the Nazi onslaught? Absolutely, but I believe that if the Japanese had not bombed Pearl Harbor, the U.S. would have remained "neutral", and eventually Great Britan would have fallen.
Thirdly, while the U.S. did fight alongside the allies, it was American commanders and soldiers that helped turn the tide of Nazi aggression. Were there great commanders among the non-American allies? Again, absolutely. But the fact remains, that it was the industrial might of the U.S. stopped and ultimately defeated the Nazis.
Lastly, of those that were injured or died on the beaches of Normandy (of which my grandfather was of the former) there graves should not be desecrated, and the French government should sack up publicly, for all to hear, that they won't stand for the desecration of these men's ulitimate sacrifice for the French people. I don't think that will happen anytime since America-hating is second only to anti-Semitism in popularity there and in Europe as a whole.
Great post, LA.
