Picture of the day

Loved the video! What was that small rubber tired scout car? Sure must have suffered on the Ost Front if it could get so easily bogged, and it sure looked like the CG was too high to be safe on a slope.
The music reminded me of my late German father-in-law, a Panzer Grenadier that got out of Stalingrad before the complete encirclement, only to be captured later in the Ukraine.
He'd launch into marching songs after a few schnapps, Steinhagen being his preferred drink.

He'd been a piano tuner before the war and was amazed that I was a "Freiwilliger", a volunteer. He didn't get back from Siberia until 1951, some came back even later.

[QUOTE

Im Kolor![/QUOTE]
 
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I asked my late German father-in-law (a Panzer Grenadier on the Ost Front) what his favourite weapons were. Without hesitation, he said - "MG 34 und Kubelwagon." I asked why and he said "Because when you needed them, they worked!"
He credited the Kubelwagon with getting him out of Stalingrad before the complete encirclement of the 6th Armee. What more could a soldier ask?

Dark Alley Dan said:
Here's a better pic of it:

531px-Feldgendarmerie.JPG


"CHIPS" v. 1.0:

Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-007-2477-06%2C_Russland%2C_Milit%C3%A4rpolizei_in_Partisanengebiet.jpg


"Crown Vic", Russia, 1943:

Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-022-2926-07%2C_Russland%2C_Unternehmen_%22Zitadelle%22%2C_VW_K%C3%BCbelwagen.jpg


Man, I want a Kubelwagen. What a cool ride.
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Haw! Yeah. The first time my honey took me to Europe, we crossed the border between Poland and Germany eastbound on the train at night. A very trim young man in a sharp uniform opened the door of our compartment and uttered those words. Gotta admit it sent a chill up my spine.

He looked at the passport, looked at me, back and forth three or four times. Handed mein papieren back, turned and slammed the door shut behind he as he left. A cold-eyed young professional he was. This was 1994, I guess, so he may have been someone trained in East Germany and thus predisposed to traveller discomfort... :)
 
A German in uniform undergoes a personality transformation - and not a good one. That's why the French and Belgians get nervous when they see three or more uniformed Germans in conversation. They think they're plotting another invasion!

Note the chain on the gorget .... looks like the chains we used to make that went around the walls of our Mess tent made out of beer tabs from Tuborg, Carlsberg beer and Heineken.
Gave the base wallahs something to do while the rest of us were playing soldaten.

Our favourite brew was Warsteiner Pilsener, but it didn't travel well in the litre 'snap caps' it was bottled in.

Sorry for the hijacking, the pics brought back memories of happy times as a Cold War Warrior.
 
Holland is a country where a Canadian soldier can almost do no wrong. Our guys took advantage of this and some of their behaviour was less than ambassadorial. They'd get an overnight stay in the hoosegow, a lecture in the am and be set free.
Had charges been pressed for "drunk & disorderly conduct" (well deserved!), it would have stuck and there would have been repercussions back at their units; the usual double jeopardy for soldiers facing civilian charges.

The charge at their unit would have been QOR Section 108 - Conduct prejudiced to the good order and discipline. ... So it would not be exactly for the same offence, but for discrediting the good name of the Canadian Armed Forces in that "Said soldier, did on this date, in the city of ____ did conduct himself in an inappropriate manner in that he .....", etc., etc.
Not that I would have any first hand knowledge of this, of course .... ;>)

Again - sorry for the hijacking.
 
Dark Alley Dan said:
Haw! Yeah. The first time my honey took me to Europe, we crossed the border between Poland and Germany eastbound on the train at night. A very trim young man in a sharp uniform opened the door of our compartment and uttered those words. Gotta admit it sent a chill up my spine.

He looked at the passport, looked at me, back and forth three or four times. Handed mein papieren back, turned and slammed the door shut behind he as he left. A cold-eyed young professional he was. This was 1994, I guess, so he may have been someone trained in East Germany and thus predisposed to traveller discomfort... :)
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Try a train ride from Prague to Berlin circa 1990. Oh yeah did I forget to mention the train is ripping at the seams full of Gypsies. This is STILL technically East Germany. HUGE German Sheppards and AK toting agressive young border guards invade the train shouting ''Papieren!!!!'' Hand the herren mein papier, he sees Canada, does not bother opening it, hands it back and proceeds terrorizing the Roms; membership has its priviledges.:canadaFlag:
 
I never aspired to own a VW, even when they were selling new. A horrible, wheezy little beast which made ideal transportation for the flower children. What would Der Fuhrer have thought of how his brainchild ended up. ovrec
 
Nicht so, mein gute freund! Das Kaffer (beetle auf Deutsch) was ein schoenste auto. I owned a series of them, the last being one I picked up at the factory in Wolfsburg in 1967 - a $1500 fully loaded 'export'' model.
When I took delivery, I asked how fast I should drive it the 450 kms back to my base. Answer - flat out! So I got on the autobahn and floored it. When I got back to base, the engine was 'pinging' with the heat and that engine lasted for the next 10 years until I got t-boned in a MVA at a 'courtesy corner' in Vancouver.

We had one in the Brigade HQ, a 1949 model (first commercial model after the war, I believe), that had a non-syncro transmission, needing to be double clutched to avoid gear crunching. The 1959 model was the last to have non-syncro between 1st and 2nd. It had passed through the hands of several Canadian soldiers since 1951, and there was a line up to be the next owner. An album of previous owners was part of the package. The new owner was sworn to keep it in good running order.

The brainchild of Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, the 'fah-vay' "people's car" far outlasted the Fuhrer's "Thousand Year Reich".

I took my beetles equipped with 4 mud & snow tires (and the VW vans I owned) over roads churned up by macho 4x4's that I passed, mired in the mud. I'd yell - "Forwarts nach Moschau!" before stopping to help.



purple said:
I never aspired to own a VW, even when they were selling new. A horrible, wheezy little beast which made ideal transportation for the flower children. What would Der Fuhrer have thought of how his brainchild ended up. ovrec
Click to expand...
 
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A friend of mine in Austria has one of the 4 wheel drive versions.

At the time, 1976, he had access to some property where he was allowed to give it a workout.

That was one tough little car. Lousy as far as power goes but if you could get the wheels on it, the bug would try to climb it and usually did.
 
Dan,

I can't tell how much a picture like that can affect a guy (maybe you know all too well). I've deployed five times. The hardest part was always saying good bye to my family.

Nice picture. Thanks for sharing. You always seem have something interesting and thought provoking to share.
 
That picture always chokes me up.

I'm very pleased to report that little guy did see his dad again after the war, and the soldier lived a long, peaceful life. Thank God for such mercies.

http://3.bp.########.com/-e0F1dXTav8k/UYXpkSNYwgI/AAAAAAAAJHg/HVfw9-dDm8E/s1600/returning+home.jpg

Here's the backstory.

http://www.vancouverhistory.ca/archives_daddy.htm

The idea of leaving my family to go anywhere for very long, much less to war, is crushing. My Grandpa left my Grandma and my mom (age 6) on a dairy farm in Athabasca, Alberta to join the RCAF. Gone three years.

Way, way too tough for me. I don't believe I could do it. I am very thankful that there are men and women tougher than me who do.
 
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Yes, a happy ending for one young lad.

Anyone know why the men are marching with rifles at the "trail" as opposed to at the "slope"? If it's a Rifle Regiment, I've answered my own question.
 
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