Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
good day gunnutznew day new picture
cheers
joe
Gotta wonder what that kid is yelling. "I SAID, I PLAN TO RAIL YOUR SISTER WHEN WE GET HOME!"
Picture of the day
- Thread starter jwhc
- Start date
Gotta wonder what that kid is yelling. "I SAID, I PLAN TO RAIL YOUR SISTER WHEN WE GET HOME!"
My Grandfather told me how he had picked up a pristine Nazi marked pistol on the battlefield and was going to bring it home. The army had a very strict "no loot coming home to Canada" rule and they were told they would all be searched before getting off the ship. That pistol is somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic where he very reluctantly threw it overboard...
Better then taking a jap plane inboard!
Good day Gunnutz
Cheers
Joe
"yeah, yeah - hang.................. I'm not letting go until you say it, and even then I might just hang on to it for an extra few seconds"
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
Guy in the back looks like James Coburn.
Hard lads, regardless.
Hard lads, regardless.
Those boys ARE serious. The german soldier was, on average, as good as any other in the world!
Even badly depleated, like it was in the fall of '44, the German war machine was still a VERY serious fighting force. On more than one occasion, they stopped Canadian advances cold, only to be resumed the next day after the Germans left in the night.
Keep in mind experience is a great teacher. By '44 Germans had been fighting hard for 5 years and were fighting for their lives with the Russian steamroller bearing down on the fatherland.
Canadians, Free French, Poles even to a lesser extent Americans and Brits all still had a lot to learn about fighting the Germans effectively. Especially officers and NCOs who need to learn what really works on the battlefield in order not to waste lives.
Read up on some of the criticisms of Canadian Staff officers in WW2
Strong, battle-wise NCOs were a big factor in the German Army's effectiveness. Other reasons for their success were their use of mission type orders, rather than minutely scripted directives from top down, and their execution of a quick counter-attacks as a matter of SOP.
Sorry..."SOP"???
A quickly organized and executed counter attack against an enemy who has just taken one of your positions has a good chance of success as the enemy is still off balance and hasn't yet had a chance to re-organize and prepare the position for defence.
You already have the location identified for artillery support, know the best routes of attack, and also know the layout of your former position in detail.
I took my training under officers and NCOs who had gone thru this in WW2 and who always emphasized the need for a quick re-organization after taking an objective incl a quick organization of the position for defence and preparation of a fire support plan. The best idea was to get into a defensive posture beyond the objective, not on it, as the enemy would have it wired for artillery. No loafing around to enjoy the fruits of victory, lick your arse, or otherwise kick back and be vulnerable to a counter-attack.
You already have the location identified for artillery support, know the best routes of attack, and also know the layout of your former position in detail.
I took my training under officers and NCOs who had gone thru this in WW2 and who always emphasized the need for a quick re-organization after taking an objective incl a quick organization of the position for defence and preparation of a fire support plan. The best idea was to get into a defensive posture beyond the objective, not on it, as the enemy would have it wired for artillery. No loafing around to enjoy the fruits of victory, lick your arse, or otherwise kick back and be vulnerable to a counter-attack.
I've read several books about Canada's role during the war. Most also had quite a lot of reference from enlisted ranks; seeing as they were the ones at the pointy end of the stick, (usually) not the Colonels and Generals.
The last two were Terrible Victory and On To Victory both by Mark Zuehlke.
Good day Gunnutz
Cheers
Joe
I wonder if any of these guys made it through the war. I went to Germany in 1992 and found where my "roots" were. My Dad was in the Volksturm, survived the war and then left Germany in the 1950's. I was very humbled by the stories that Dad's and my Mom's uncles (and aunts) told me when I was over there. I know that the Germans had to "reap what they sowed" during WW2, but it was still a real eye opener. This pic grips me for that reason....
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