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PittTheElder posted:"At times" is something of an understatement. A lot of recent examination of the war is showing just how often truces were in effect, and how even though both sides were still shooting at each other to appease HQ, they were deliberately missing. Are there any recent books on the subject? I love reading about the Christmas Truce and similar things.
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Mar 9, 2014 00:15
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AATREK CURES KIDS posted:Are there any recent books on the subject? I love reading about the Christmas Truce and similar things. Basically there's always a tension between the high command who for attrition to work need the front line units to be constantly exacting 'friction' on the enemy and the front line units who in-between major offensives just want life to be as tolerable as possible. So directives like 'you have to mortar the enemy trenches x times every morning' become a ritual where you do it at exactly the same time every morning and the Germans spend that time in their bunkers, then they do the same thing to you. Then there's things like 'don't shoot the guy emptying the latrines'. This all varies constantly given that units were being rotated in and out of the front all the time.
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Mar 9, 2014 00:34
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Duckboat posted:I hope this is the right place to ask. Was he Canadian or American? If he was American, see if you can find his "Report of Separation from Active Duty" documents.
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Mar 9, 2014 05:48
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Bacarruda posted:Was he Canadian or American? If he was American, see if you can find his "Report of Separation from Active Duty" documents. I'd imagine he's American, unless the Canadians started handing out American military decorations 
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Mar 9, 2014 05:58
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Acebuckeye13 posted:I'd imagine he's American, unless the Canadians started handing out American military decorations 1st Special Service Brigade was a joint US-Canadian force, so its not unrealistic.
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Mar 9, 2014 06:48
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To clarify, American, and he was evidently KIA. I don't know if the award was posthumous or not.
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Mar 9, 2014 07:09
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Speaking of world war 2, my grandather passed in 86 but i keep hearing stories of him in iraq, but im not exactly sure when. All i know is he was a medic in the british army (although not british, but a local iraqi) and that he heard people spotting german planes at one point, which doesnt make sense. Can anyone expand how much action the middle east saw proper during WW2? edit: oh he was an AAA spotter actually but had a medic patch, apparently so they wouldnt get shot at while moving or something like that. Fizzil fucked around with this message at 08:25 on Mar 9, 2014 |
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Mar 9, 2014 08:23
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Fizzil posted:Speaking of world war 2, my grandather passed in 86 but i keep hearing stories of him in iraq, but im not exactly sure when. All i know is he was a medic in the british army (although not british, but a local iraqi) and that he heard people spotting german planes at one point, which doesnt make sense. Can anyone expand how much action the middle east saw proper during WW2? Probably the Anglo-Iraqi War, sparked after the Germans sponsored a coup in Iraq and the British invaded to take back the country (and its oilfields). German aircraft were operated by German aircrews but were repainted with Iraqi colors as part of Fliegerführer Irak. 
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Mar 9, 2014 10:44
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Duckboat posted:I hope this is the right place to ask. Try searching for him on https://www.fold3.com They have loads of military records, which you can search for free but you'll probably have to pay to view properly.
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Mar 9, 2014 11:53
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Bacarruda posted:1st Special Service Brigade was a joint US-Canadian force, so its not unrealistic. Canadians get US decorations all the time. A Canadian major I used to work for joked that thanks to being assigned to a USAF base, he had more medals than the Chief of the Defense Staff.
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Mar 9, 2014 23:32
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Lend-Lease questions: Was there a significant difference in the sort of Lend-Lease materiel that was shipped to Vladivostok compared to what was shipped to Murmansk/Arkhangelsk and Persia, because of the special agreement between Japan and Russia? Did anyone ever try to stop/attack the Vladivostok-bound ships? Where did these convoys primarily originate? Alaska?
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Mar 10, 2014 22:26
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Godholio posted:Canadians get US decorations all the time. A Canadian major I used to work for joked that thanks to being assigned to a USAF base, he had more medals than the Chief of the Defense Staff. I wonder if there are any two countries closer than Canada/USA. Edit: Ukraine/Russia
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Mar 10, 2014 22:31
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gradenko_2000 posted:Lend-Lease questions: I looked this up in I think the nazi Germany thread but Lend Lease to Valdivostok after Pearl Harbor was done in soviet flagged ships only. I don't think there was a difference in cargo content between ports but rather volume, and these ships would use continental ports. Alaska wasn't really developed at all at this point and other than Anchorage, Dutch Harbor is on a island and not really a good starting point for shipment since you have to boat stuff there in the first place.
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Mar 10, 2014 22:37
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Did the Germans ever try to pressure the Japanese to declare war on the Soviet Union? Because it seems like it would have helped a lot.
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Mar 10, 2014 22:54
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Re. role of Alaska: A lesser known provision of the agreements with the Soviet Purchasing Commission was stationing of Soviet trading agents in Alaska who oversaw extensive transfers of aircraft from Alaska via air routes rather than on convoys: http://www.usarak.army.mil/conservation/WWII_LaddField/Ch5.pdf Fangz posted:Did the Germans ever try to pressure the Japanese to declare war on the Soviet Union? Because it seems like it would have helped a lot. Eugen Ott, German dipl. attache in Tokyo, talked with Japan about possible involvement in the USSR. The Kwantung army started special exercises in 1941 to prepare for the eventuality that Soviet divisions would be transfered from Far East to Europe, but no window of opportunity ever appeared (possibly due to Soviet spies leaking information to Stalin, who consequently knew not to remove deterring troops from Siberia). By July of 1941 the Japanese had occupied Indo-China, and had to decide on how to redistribute their troops. Ott reportedly tried to keep them interested in northern expansion, but the Japanese command decided to fully embrace the Southern Resource Area strategy. steinrokkan fucked around with this message at 23:31 on Mar 10, 2014 |
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Mar 10, 2014 23:11
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Fangz posted:Did the Germans ever try to pressure the Japanese to declare war on the Soviet Union? Because it seems like it would have helped a lot. It wouldn't have. The Japanese didn't fight very well against the Soviets in 1939, and never built up the amount of artillery or armour to really play on an open battlefield. Apart from that, the Soviet Far East is loving huge. There's no way for Japan to effectively garrison like, a fifth of it. The Soviets could abandon the entire region (They wouldn't), and it would take the Japanese months to march to a real congregation of Soviet industry.
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Mar 10, 2014 23:47
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The question of Japanese involvement against the USSR was basically settled in August-September 1939. First, the German government concluded the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with the Kremlin. The basis of the German-Japanese diplomatic understanding was common hostility to communism (e.g. the Anti-Comintern Pact), so when the Germans unveiled the M-R Pact to the world without even a glimmer of advance warning to the Japanese, they were very shocked. The kind of trust and cooperation necessary to justify a decision like going to war against the USSR to support Germany simply didn't exist between the two countries after that. Second, the Soviets gave the Japanese Army a tremendous kicking at Khalkin Gol, which really soured them on the idea of going north. These two shocks caused the Japanese government to collapse, with the entire cabinet resigning. The Japanese government was never particularly stable but what followed was a series of cabinets headed by Prime Ministers who favored distancing Japan from the Axis powers and a neutrality pact with the USSR. This turned around with Tojo, who was very pro-Axis, but he was a firm advocate of the Southern position of attacking the USA and Allied powers because he believed that they were the more important obstacle to victory in China and the rest of East Asia.
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Mar 11, 2014 02:29
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What I got from a podcast about Nomonhan/Khalkin Gol was that the timing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the Soviet invasion of Poland were all neatly tied together along with it. Both Great Britain and Germany are making alliance feelers towards Russia in early 1939 - Stalin gets to thinking that if he signs up with the Western Allies, it might be a problem for him because Germany and Japan are signatories of the Anti-Comintern Pact and Japan is already stirring the pot in Mongolia. On the other hand, if he signs a deal with Germany, then not only does he leave the capitalists up to fight among themselves, he's also guaranteeing that Russia will not be fighting a two-front war. Zhukov launches his main offensive in the Khalkin Gol on Aug-20-1939. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed on Aug-23-1939, which coincidentally is a point where Japanese forces in Khalkin Gol are more or less guaranteed to be pocketed and destroyed already. Later, as the Germans invade Poland, they start asking the Soviets to uphold part of their deal and invade Poland from the east. Stalin demurs again and again but then begins the invasion on Sep-17-1939, exactly one day after a cease-fire agreement with the Japanese takes effect in the Far East.
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Mar 11, 2014 04:10
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Bacarruda posted:Probably the Anglo-Iraqi War, sparked after the Germans sponsored a coup in Iraq and the British invaded to take back the country (and its oilfields). Britain has had some pretty mad names for ships over the centuries but this has got to be the winner.
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Mar 14, 2014 05:55
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HMS Cockchafer And The Wanhsien Incident just rolls off the tongue as a weird porn parody name.
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Mar 14, 2014 06:02
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HMS Gay Viking
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Mar 14, 2014 07:21
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Even more worrying.... is this.
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Mar 14, 2014 07:25
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As long as Cockchafer isn't Incessant, I'm fine. Wait, has there seriously never been an HMS Incessant? That's a loving great boat name. Brits sure can name a ship.
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Mar 14, 2014 21:12
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Not as far as I can tell however there has been a HMS Manly, A HMS Stubborn And a HMS Woodcock
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Mar 14, 2014 21:28
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Frostwerks posted:Wait, has there seriously never been an HMS Incessant? That's a loving great boat name. Brits sure can name a ship. They prefer the much classier HMS Indefatigable.
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Mar 14, 2014 21:34
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Yes, it's like a lava lamp.
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Churchill submitted HMS Oliver Cromwell as the name of a new dreadnought not once, but twice
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Mar 14, 2014 23:12
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gradenko_2000 posted:Churchill submitted HMS Oliver Cromwell as the name of a new dreadnought not once, but twice
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Mar 14, 2014 23:13
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Tekopo posted:He also submitted the HMS Pitt, which the King declined due to his nautical experience that sailors would distort the name into something rude. Ah post Victorian Edwardian values. Arm pits are totally rude and lewd. Now, lets get on board the Cockchafer!
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Mar 15, 2014 00:19
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PittTheElder posted:They prefer the much classier HMS Indefatigable. Realpost, I've long known how superior British naval naming conventions were to ours and before I knew it was real I had figured that indefatigable was a possibility. Turns out it was. Still no incessant though.
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Mar 15, 2014 00:34
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Naming a ship Invincible is just courting disaster (see the Battle of Jutland). There also appear to be a few ships name HMS Inconstant, which seems rather bizarre.
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Mar 15, 2014 00:41
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Finland is no great naval power but I really like the national romantic boat names used up to WW2 - battleships Ilmarinen and Väinämöinen (after Kalevalan heroes), for instance. Or submarines Iku-Turso (a Kalevalan sea monster), Vetehinen (a water spirit) and Vesihiisi (water troll) of the Vetehinen class. Nowadays most of the vessels in use bigger than a minesweeper are named after cities or provinces. Bo-oring. At least bring back the names of historic naval battles like Ruotsinsalmi.
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Mar 15, 2014 00:58
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Tekopo posted:He also submitted the HMS Pitt, which the King declined due to his nautical experience that sailors would distort the name into something rude. If he had nautical experience, he would know that sailors can distort any name into something rude.
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Mar 15, 2014 01:00
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Ensign Expendable posted:If he had nautical experience, he would know that sailors can distort any name into something rude.
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Mar 15, 2014 01:03
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To keep your navy happy you gotta make the ship names take creativity to pervert. That way they have something to do.
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Mar 15, 2014 01:06
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I remember a goon posting about his grandfather's memoirs during WW2, where they were sent to retrieve anything salvageable from a Me-262 crash, and they spent a long time looking for the propeller. Are there any more stories like this you can share or point me towards? It's kind of insane how fast aviation developed. 
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Mar 15, 2014 01:10
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Nenonen posted:Finland is no great naval power but I really like the national romantic boat names used up to WW2 - battleships Ilmarinen and Väinämöinen (after Kalevalan heroes), for instance. Or submarines Iku-Turso (a Kalevalan sea monster), Vetehinen (a water spirit) and Vesihiisi (water troll) of the Vetehinen class. Don't the Russian still have ships named after that (Gangut)? And iirc the South Africans translated the Dreadnought-type Battle ships straight as "Fear nothing ships".
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Mar 15, 2014 01:37
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Hogge Wild posted:Don't the Russian still have ships named after that (Gangut)?
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Mar 15, 2014 01:40
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Tekopo posted:Isn't that Dreadnought really means, though? It's just a direct translation after all. The legendary Jacky Fisher, when knighted, had 'Fear God and Dread Nought' as his motto, mostly since he was directly involved with the construction of the HMS Dreadnought. Yeah, it's what it means. I just remembered something that a Dutch goon said about the differences with Dutch and Afrikaans, like the Afrikaans used "sillier" words, like instead of battle ship thay had "fear nothing ship" and so on.
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Mar 15, 2014 01:46
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Azran posted:I remember a goon posting about his grandfather's memoirs during WW2, where they were sent to retrieve anything salvageable from a Me-262 crash, and they spent a long time looking for the propeller. The first Me262s had a Jumo 210 piston engine as a backup in case the jets failed (which they did several times...) 
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Mar 15, 2014 02:33
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Nenonen posted:Finland is no great naval power but I really like the national romantic boat names used up to WW2 - battleships Ilmarinen and Väinämöinen (after Kalevalan heroes), for instance. Or submarines Iku-Turso (a Kalevalan sea monster), Vetehinen (a water spirit) and Vesihiisi (water troll) of the Vetehinen class. Similar thing happened to Swedens ships. Since the 1980's ships are named after coastal cities. Although before 1980 we had ships named after some nationalist or monarchist names that IMO were boring themes, but there were some that had cooler names. Some from norse mythology. And two destroyers of the same class named Romulus and Remus. Those two ships were actually bought from Italy in 1940, so it's quite fitting. My favorites are the older submarines, which were for a time named after creatures, predators and sea animals. Submarines called wolf, seal, otter, sea serpent, dragon, whale, polecat, griffon, beaver, swordfish, perch, porpoise, salmon, pike, bream, sea bear, sea lion, sea horse and some other fish. Almost covers all species of the most abundant sea/lake fauna. Actually surprised they didn't name any sub "herring". Although my absolute favorite submarine name is probably Näcken, a figure from Scandinavian folklore, which according to myth was a supernatural male shape-shifting water creature which lurked in rivers and creeks luring people into drowning. Nowadays all of our active subs are all named after provinces. edit: Sweden had a destroyer which is a good candidate for ship with the ugliest name. HSwMS Puke, named after a guy with that surname. Sounds funny to English ears, but even in Swedish it sounds ugly and guttural, and it's a really old Swedish word for the devil. Falukorv fucked around with this message at 03:28 on Mar 15, 2014 |
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