Digging up the past in Russia - NSFW

The hate that both sides harboured is pretty hard to comprehend. There are reports of snipers on both sides using exploding bullets. Thats against the Geneva Convention but...hey the Russians / Germans didn't consider the other side to be more than sub-human.
Wow!
Imagine the German military personnel in charge of logistics.
Western front; FMJ, check.
Eastern front; exploding bullets, good to go.
And don't dare to mix the shipping orders up either.
Figures though, in WW1 the Kaiser was a direct descendant of the royal family.
Have to be civil to the relatives, but the russians... not their mandate.
 
tokguy said:
The hate that both sides harboured is pretty hard to comprehend. There are reports of snipers on both sides using exploding bullets. Thats against the Geneva Convention but...hey the Russians / Germans didn't consider the other side to be more than sub-human.
Wow!
Imagine the German military personnel in charge of logistics.
Western front; FMJ, check.
Eastern front; exploding bullets, good to go.
And don't dare to mix the shipping orders up either.
Figures though, in WW1 the Kaiser was a direct descendant of the royal family.
Have to be civil to the relatives, but the russians... not their mandate.
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There were actually some humanitarian agreements. The Germans were using pressure bombs that would kill Russians with shockwaves: the Russians would be killed, bleeding from the mouth and ears, and otherwise unharmed, but the Germans and the Russians came to an agreement and the Germans stopped using them for the remainder of the war. I think that might be in the Goebbels Diary but I can't remember for sure where I sourced it.
 
tokguy said:
The hate that both sides harboured is pretty hard to comprehend. There are reports of snipers on both sides using exploding bullets. Thats against the Geneva Convention but...hey the Russians / Germans didn't consider the other side to be more than sub-human.
Wow!
Imagine the German military personnel in charge of logistics.
Western front; FMJ, check.
Eastern front; exploding bullets, good to go.
And don't dare to mix the shipping orders up either.
Figures though, in WW1 the Kaiser was a direct descendant of the royal family.
Have to be civil to the relatives, but the russians... not their mandate.
Click to expand...

Actually, the Kaiser, the Tsar, and the King of England are ALL decendeants of that great British.... er.. ummm German Monarch Queen Victoria! Queen Victoria of Windsor.... er... umm Saxe Coburg Gotha! ;)

Remember Lord Louis Mountbatten, famous British War hero.... real last name... Battenberg.

Filthy Krauts EVERYWHERE!!!!

The Russian Royal Family was anything but Russian....

images


King and Tsar
http://3.bp.########.com/_jusiJVFjoAI/TS_995bI5lI/AAAAAAAAA9M/evbC9gSw_M4/s1600/456px-Tsar_Nicholas_II_%2526_King_George_V.jpg

Tsar and Kaiser
nickandwill.png
 
eos said:
Better that the fallen of all sides be left in situ and if discovered the place should be declared a war grave, marked and and left in peace if at all possible. Any fallen that must be moved should be treated with respect and afforded honours customary among soldiers. This includes informing surviving family if any.

This is a basic act of human decency and deserved by all fallen combatants.

WWII ended for the dead as well as the survivors.
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A good idea in principle. It would work quite well in North America, but in Europe, you probably can't find a square meter that hasn't had the remains of a war dead at some point.
 
Most places in Europe have had some battle over the ages and I think when discovered it is good to see the remains burried with the respect they deserve no matter what side they fought for.

Have talked to someone from the Commonwealth War Graves Com. and frequently they are called to take charge of remains that are found when new buildings are errected.

A couple of years or so ago they had a ceremony for some Canadians that were shot down in a bomber near Krakow Poland while dropping supplies to reistance fighters. Locals knew of the crash and after so many years they exhumed the remains of the crew. The now rest in a cemetery in Krakow that I have visited. On my next visit I will go and pay my respects.
 
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enfield303t said:
Most places in Europe have had some battle over the ages and I think when discovered it is good to see the remains burried with the respect they deserve no matter what side they fought for.

Have talked to someone from the Commonwealth War Graves Com. and frequently they are called to take charge of remains that are found when new buildings are errected.

A couple of years or so ago they had a ceremony for some Canadians that we shot down in a bomber near Krakow Poland while dropping supplies to reistance fighters. Locals knew of the crash and after so many years they exhumed the remains of the crew. The now rest in a cemetery in Krakow that I have visited. On my next visit I will go and pay my respects.
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I totally agree with relocating the bodies to a military cemetery and burying them with honours. If the remains can't be identified as to country of origin, they should be buried in a military cemetery anyways and identified as such. My earlier comment about the number of bodies lying in fields dealt with the idea of leaving them in situ and declaring the area a military grave.
 
I meant the ceremony was for some Canadians that "WERE" shot down not we shot down. OOOPS on that one.

When in France we stayed near Lille and they had discovered some soldiers from the First World War, they were identified by what was left of unifroms, usually buttons and then burried in a French War Cemetery.

The thing to remember is especially in WW1 the dead were quickly burried to be unearthed later and put in a proper cemetery. Well the front line at times changed back and forth quite quickly and the temporary graves were "lost" due to shelling etc. From what the man from CWGC told us it is quite common to find soldiers remains.

IF you ever get to Europe try to visit some of the Cemeteries as it really drives home the waste of war. So many young men loosing their lives over the decisions and quarreling of politicians.
 
Seems uncomfortably close to grave robbing to me as well as being dangerous. I western Europe their are people killed every year(mostly farmers) by unexploded ordnance, much of it from WW1.
 
Interestingly enough it was the British and Americans that wanted to continue using expanding bullets..........................The Brits accidentally issued some while fighting the Boer's............Harold
 
Mike Webb said:
Seems uncomfortably close to grave robbing to me as well as being dangerous. I western Europe their are people killed every year(mostly farmers) by unexploded ordnance, much of it from WW1.
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Granted a very few may be grave robbing but I think it is very rare. Considering the amount of unexploded ordinance the amount of damage is quite low.

Millions of artillery rounds and it will take countless years for most to surface. I remember being told a farmer had a plow he was using blown off when he hit a artillery shell, this happened shortly before we arrived in France.

Think of the farmer they believe has a "mine" directly under his house. I remember thinking if it every blows he won't even know it happened. I know one was detonated by a lightening strike on a tree in 1955. Guess the roots of the tree had grown into the explosives storage chamber and the stike set it off.
 
There is also an old WW1 German ammo dump in Belgium with a war monument on top of it.........I can't recall where but there was a documentary on it.......Harold
 
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