Dark Alley Dan
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I had no idea the French contributed Senegalese troops to the Ardennes scrap. They must have been very, very cold.
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- Thread starter jwhc
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I had no idea the French contributed Senegalese troops to the Ardennes scrap. They must have been very, very cold.
French had a lot of Colonial Troops involved in Europe.Of the top of my head Algerian troops have been memorized in 'Days of Glory" movie in 2006 (good movie).
I looked up "Senegalese French troops ww2" and looks like they spend late 1944 in middle of France fighting and mutinying because of bad conditions/treatment/lack of supplies.
I think higher-ups didn't learn much from Great War days when mutiny in French Army was frequent at times because of the same reasons.
Also "Thiaroye massacre" came up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiaroye_massacre
I looked up "Senegalese French troops ww2" and looks like they spend late 1944 in middle of France fighting and mutinying because of bad conditions/treatment/lack of supplies.
I think higher-ups didn't learn much from Great War days when mutiny in French Army was frequent at times because of the same reasons.
Also "Thiaroye massacre" came up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiaroye_massacre
gewehr76
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ipscgraz
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French had a lot of Colonial Troops involved in Europe.Of the top of my head Algerian troops have been memorized in 'Days of Glory" movie in 2006 (good movie).
I looked up "Senegalese French troops ww2" and looks like they spend late 1944 in middle of France fighting and mutinying because of bad conditions/treatment/lack of supplies.
I think higher-ups didn't learn much from Great War days when mutiny in French Army was frequent at times because of the same reasons.
Also "Thiaroye massacre" came up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiaroye_massacre
I remember a WW 1 documentary from years ago that used the phrase "Conserve French Blood" which meant to stuff non-French colonial troops wherever the fighting was going to be costly. I guess that carried on into WW 2 as well.
Dark Alley Dan
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FFL in Morocco with a Hotchkiss M.1914. Note the strip feed.
If you ever want to see an example of one being used badly by untrained actors, dig up a copy of A Bullet for the General. It has Gian Maria Volante and Klaus Kinski in it, so you know it has to be good...
[youtube]98HTgS85T0k[/youtube]
If you ever want to see an example of one being used badly by untrained actors, dig up a copy of A Bullet for the General. It has Gian Maria Volante and Klaus Kinski in it, so you know it has to be good...
[youtube]98HTgS85T0k[/youtube]
DAD, you come up with some amazing pics. That Hotchkiss brings back some memories.
When I first came across it I thought is was beautifully made but awkward and very heavy. I was WRONG. The darn thing was HEAVY but it was accurate out to some incredibly long ranges in the right hands and absolutely reliable under all sorts of circumstances. Those "chargers" look awkward but they definitely serve a purpose other than to feed the gun. First off even if the chargers are rusty and warped, they work. Then of course there is the other factor of cloth belts which were the norm at the time these firearms came into service. Cloth belts are fine as long as they haven't deteriorated in some fashion. Metal chargers just keep doing what they were designed to do.
The chargers also create a short window to control an out of control operator. On the other hand for effective use under extreme circumstances the gun needs at least three people to keep it functioning. One gunner and two feeders. It also needs a couple of quick change barrels.
Now for some disclosure. I only had the opportunity to use one of these on a private range in Texas in the early 70s. I will say I was impressed with it. The men operating it and carrying it around must have been men of steel because everything about this platform is HEAVY. It is a gun that should be used in a nest or battery position where it is permanent or semi permanent. Being used in the field as in the picture must have been a real chore. Even the storage cans for the ammo on chargers is heavy and ungainly.
When I first came across it I thought is was beautifully made but awkward and very heavy. I was WRONG. The darn thing was HEAVY but it was accurate out to some incredibly long ranges in the right hands and absolutely reliable under all sorts of circumstances. Those "chargers" look awkward but they definitely serve a purpose other than to feed the gun. First off even if the chargers are rusty and warped, they work. Then of course there is the other factor of cloth belts which were the norm at the time these firearms came into service. Cloth belts are fine as long as they haven't deteriorated in some fashion. Metal chargers just keep doing what they were designed to do.
The chargers also create a short window to control an out of control operator. On the other hand for effective use under extreme circumstances the gun needs at least three people to keep it functioning. One gunner and two feeders. It also needs a couple of quick change barrels.
Now for some disclosure. I only had the opportunity to use one of these on a private range in Texas in the early 70s. I will say I was impressed with it. The men operating it and carrying it around must have been men of steel because everything about this platform is HEAVY. It is a gun that should be used in a nest or battery position where it is permanent or semi permanent. Being used in the field as in the picture must have been a real chore. Even the storage cans for the ammo on chargers is heavy and ungainly.
In June 1973, Lake returned to the United States (she had moved to the UK in 1969) and while traveling in Vermont, visited a local doctor, complaining of stomach pains. She was discovered to have cirrhosis of the liver as a result of her years of drinking (she was an avowed alcoholic since the 1940's), and on June 26, she checked into the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington where she died of acute hepatitis and acute kidney injury on July 7, 1973.
So it was pretty much all down hill after that photo and she was likely already a substance abuser when it was taken
FFL in Morocco with a Hotchkiss M.1914. Note the strip feed.
There's a M1914 Hotchkiss monument gun a couple blocks away from the Walmart in Ogdensburg, NY, just across the border from Ottawa, if anyone wants to see one in person.
Nor have the New Zealanders. If I am not mistaken, ANZAC Day (April 25th) commemorates the landing of the Australian and New Zealand forces at Gallipoli.
Just like our Remembrance Day, we will remember them.
Newfoundlanders still commemorate the battle at Beaumont Hamel (July 1). It adds a sombre note to Canada Day celebrations in that province.
There are about 50 Newfoundlanders buried at Gallipoli as well, it was their first stop before the western front. Its largely forgotten, but I did manage to visit their graves about 10 years ago.
Dark Alley Dan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Darkest Edmonton
VE Day coming up shortly.
For these two, it came a titch early:
For these two, it came a titch early:
VE Day coming up shortly.
For these two, it came a titch early:
Sarge probably told that one to get a haircut that morning. He may have decided to give up instead as it would not have been worth losing the look.
