Big Rider Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 5 hours ago, dee_62 said: Same here - had loads of those magazines! "Gott in Himmel", "hande hoch", "Schnell, schnell" or "Mein Gott" etc etc Me too. Fling in "Achtung Spitfire" and "Teufel" and that's my conversational German. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigkillie Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 On 08/07/2020 at 13:01, WhiteRoseKillie said: I've often said that one of the requirements for being in a position of power (e.g. MP) which could see the country's youth sent into combat, was that your own offspring must be first to be called up when the forces need cannon fodder. We'd soon see which Iraq/Afghanistan/Syria conflict was a "moral imperative" rather than a continuation of Western (i.e. US) capitalist expansion then. One of the most stomach-churning images I ever saw was that Pious cúnt Blair sitting in the front row of a service in memory of young men and women who had died to ensure that Blair got his "legacy". This is a terrible idea. Parents don't own their children, and everyone who joins the armed forces does so voluntarily. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raidernation Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 At a slight tangent, and more about WWII, but back to communication.After the D-Day landings the first reports back were actually sent by homing pigeons, far quicker than any other method, even radio on the day. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
git-intae-thum Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 We visited a place in the Vosges mountains called hartmannswillerkopf last year. It's basically a big traingle shaped lump of rock that is the Easternmost peak in the range. It looks directly over the Rhine valley and over into Germany. Understandably then it was strategically very important and the mountain was continuously fought over by the French and Germans through the whole 4 years of the war. Tens of thousands died in an area the size of a few football fields. What struck me was how well the whole area is preserved. Particularly the German side. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of yards of complete trench systems and dugouts you can freely explore. Would advise watching where u step and no touching much though The trenches, in some places only yards apart, were dug into rock. That and the fact there has been no development up in the mountains means that in some bits it looks as if the Germans had not that long ago packed up and left. Fascinating, sobering place, which I would thoroughly recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in ww1. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoBNob Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 That's a body density map from the somme, the full story with dimensions etc can be read here. https://longstreet.typepad.com/thesciencebookstore/2015/05/an-extraordinary-map-of-battle-death-body-density-maps-1918.html The numbers are just so hard to comprehend, in a 75x75 metre area they found 749 bodies. Just, how? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fullerene Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 (edited) 6 hours ago, aaa said: I remember watching a programme about tunnel warfare during WW1, the massive explosion which left the Lochnager crater was the largest ever explosion until the first atomic tests if I remember correctly. IIRC The largest non nuclear explosion was the Halifax explosion on 6 December 1917 in Canada during WW1. Two ships - the IMO and the Mont Blanc collided in Halifax Bay. One was carrying huge amounts of explosives. The crew quickly abandoned ship and rowed to shore. Once there they ran through a crowd of curious onlookers and headed for the hills. "What's that all about?" The resulting explosion was equivalent to 2.9 kilotons of TNT (about 20% of Hiroshima bomb), killed 2,000 people and severely damaged Halifax. Edited July 10, 2020 by Fullerene 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotgun Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 In the first few episodes of Peaky Blinders, there were several references to Tommy Shelby digging tunnels during the war. I hadn't heard about them until then and wasn't sure what they were all about. I'm guessing it would be the same ones being discussed upthread, yes? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renton Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 4 hours ago, Shotgun said: In the first few episodes of Peaky Blinders, there were several references to Tommy Shelby digging tunnels during the war. I hadn't heard about them until then and wasn't sure what they were all about. I'm guessing it would be the same ones being discussed upthread, yes? Yeah, old fashioned siege tactics. Digging a tunnel under enemy positions, mining it with explosives then detonating it, bringing down chunks of the enemy line. It had some effectiveness but the effort required was prohibitive to very widespread use. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergeant Wilson Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 17 hours ago, dee_62 said: Same here - had loads of those magazines! "Gott in Himmel", "hande hoch", "Schnell, schnell" or "Mein Gott" etc etc 16 hours ago, Shotgun said: "Pig-dog" has long been a favourite of mine. Interchangeable with the original German "Schweinehund". I learned all my German from Commando. It's come in handy if you meet Germans on holiday. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee_62 Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 1 hour ago, Sergeant Wilson said: I learned all my German from Commando. It's come in handy if you meet Germans on holiday. During games of soldiers, I could often be heard running around the park with my pals screaming "Uching, uching" (wasn't pronouncing achtung properly!!) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICTChris Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 Commando comics also taught me Japanese and by that I mean the phrase "Aieeeee!" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tongue_tied_danny Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 13 hours ago, Shotgun said: In the first few episodes of Peaky Blinders, there were several references to Tommy Shelby digging tunnels during the war. I hadn't heard about them until then and wasn't sure what they were all about. I'm guessing it would be the same ones being discussed upthread, yes? 8 hours ago, renton said: Yeah, old fashioned siege tactics. Digging a tunnel under enemy positions, mining it with explosives then detonating it, bringing down chunks of the enemy line. It had some effectiveness but the effort required was prohibitive to very widespread use. The Germans would listen out for the tunnels being dug and would then dig their own to try and meet them. Sometimes the opposing tunnels would connect and the guys doing the digging would have a subterranean square go with their shovels. The main aim though was to tunnel under the enemy's tunnel and blow the b*****ds up. Pretty horrific. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotgun Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 8 minutes ago, tongue_tied_danny said: The Germans would listen out for the tunnels being dug and would then dig their own to try and meet them. Sometimes the opposing tunnels would connect and the guys doing the digging would have a subterranean square go with their shovels. The main aim though was to tunnel under the enemy's tunnel and blow the b*****ds up. Pretty horrific. Damn straight. I'm getting the heebies just thinking about how awful that must've been. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carnoustie Young Guvnor Posted July 10, 2020 Author Share Posted July 10, 2020 War huh, what it is it good for? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotgun Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 51 minutes ago, Carnoustie Young Guvnor said: War huh, what it is it good for? Making gammons who've never been within a million miles of a battlefield feel proud to be British. (Doesn't really scan; I'll admit.) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tongue_tied_danny Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 53 minutes ago, Carnoustie Young Guvnor said: War huh, what it is it good for? Travelling to exotic countries, meeting interesting and stimulating people from ancient cultures and then killing them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishopburn boy Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 10 hours ago, renton said: Yeah, old fashioned siege tactics. Digging a tunnel under enemy positions, mining it with explosives then detonating it, bringing down chunks of the enemy line. It had some effectiveness but the effort required was prohibitive to very widespread use. There is a mine and counter mine under the castle in St Andrews , should you want to see such a thing oh and these is us , fighting a war in the 20th century , using medieval tactics 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishopburn boy Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 8 hours ago, ICTChris said: Commando comics also taught me Japanese and by that I mean the phrase "Aieeeee!" And banzaiii 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotgun Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 6 minutes ago, bishopburn boy said: And banzaiii Love those wee trees. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tutankhamen Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 On 8 July 2020 at 00:28, NewBornBairn said: The number of junior officers killed on the Somme and in other battles was out of proportion to ordinary soldiers. 17% of officers died compared to 12% of other ranks. These were in the main junior officers who climbed out of the trenches with their men but Britain lost about 230 Generals too, a casualty rate of about 18%. These were the aristocracy - or more often the sons of aristocracy so no real change from medieval times. Leaving aside the Tom Hanks/Private Ryan idea of a good guy Junior officer, we'll never know how many Blackadder types were shot in the back in no-mans land. What a place to get rid of a nasty piece of work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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