Rhymenoserous posted:

Quoting a post from five days prior like a champ.

Don't ask me to source this but I know I once heard somewhere that the "Head" of the battering ram was usually cast pig iron that you'd haul around in the baggage train and find an appropriately sized tree once you are there to wedge it onto. But for all I know this quote came from some generic fantasy novel, so just take it as an idea that kinda makes sense.

ALL-PRO SEXMAN posted:

And that sailor... was Big Boss Botswain.

Arquinsiel posted:

We're talking sabres though, so it's a relatively light blade that'll bonk off the skull. It's probably not actually a move possible with anything that isn't specifically designed to be that light either.

Just then a French officer stooping over the body of one of his countrymen, who dropped the instant on his horse's neck, delivered a thrust at poor Harry Wilson's body; and delivered it effectually. I firmly believe that Wilson died on the instant yet, though he felt the sword in its progress, he, with characteristic self-command, kept his eye on the enemy in his front; and, raising himself in his stirrups, let fall upon the Frenchman's head such a blow, that brass and skull parted before it, and the man's head was cloven asunder to the chin. It was the most tremendous blow I ever beheld struck; and both he who gave, and his opponent who received it, dropped dead together. The brass helmet was afterwards examined by order of a French officer, who, as well as myself, was astonished at the exploit; and the cut was found to be as clean as if the sword had gone through a turnip, not so much as a dint being left on either side of it

Grand Prize Winner posted:

While we're at it, why on Earth did the British of all people name an AFV after Saladin? It's like the Argentines naming a tank after Hindenburg or something.

Cyrano4747 posted:

gently caress, the US had helicopters called Apache and Chinook and I'm not sure you need the mythology of the noble savage to explain that. Sometimes a name is just a name.

swamp waste posted:

I'm looking for good personal accounts of Stalingrad, or similar eastern front battles. Not so much for history or tactics, I just want to hear people's subjective experiences of being in a totally hosed place ruled by screaming death machines, or what it was like if it wasn't really like that.

Cyrano4747 posted:

If you want a Soviet view of the Eastern Front that's very readable and taken from a lot of memoirs etc. check out Ivan's War.

Someone will surely post that website with all the interviews with soviet soldiers in a bit too.

swamp waste posted:

I'm looking for good personal accounts of Stalingrad, or similar eastern front battles. Not so much for history or tactics, I just want to hear people's subjective experiences of being in a totally hosed place ruled by screaming death machines, or what it was like if it wasn't really like that.

ALL-PRO SEXMAN posted:

And that sailor... was Big Boss.

Grand Prize Winner posted:

So it's more grabbing a name out of the nation's history than anything else?

JcDent posted:

Notice that they're never named after nations/peoples who just flipped over and died. The Russians have an MG named Pecheneg, for one. It's always about fierce martial people the military defeated in the past.

That's why there's no Alvis Frenchman

EDIT: Oh, and the most fun of naming conventions is the C-tanks.

Crusader, Churchill, Cromwell, Comet, Centurion, Chieftain, Challenger.

Matilda and Valentine stand out!

Ensign Expendable posted:

It's not just Soviet soldiers, iremember has an "enemies and allies" sections too. http://iremember.ru/en/

ArchangeI posted:

There is actually a bit of a debate in Germany whether the replacement of the Leopard II should be called Leopard III or Löwe. The issue with naming tanks after big cats is that at some point you run out of names, and no one is going to be intimidated by a tank called a Weasel.

ArchangeI posted:

There is actually a bit of a debate in Germany whether the replacement of the Leopard II should be called Leopard III or Löwe. The issue with naming tanks after big cats is that at some point you run out of names, and no one is going to be intimidated by a tank called a Weasel.

ALL-PRO SEXMAN posted:

Depends on your definition of ship-to-ship boarding action.

quote:

In the extended and bitter fighting that ensued, dozens of German sailors were killed in desperate attempts to keep their machine guns manned. As each man emerged from the hatch and ran toward the guns, he was illuminated by Borie's spotlight and met by a hail of gunfire. Borie's resourceful crew engaged the enemy with whatever was at hand: Tommy guns, rifles, pistols, shotguns intended for riot control, and even a Very pistol. Borie's executive officer and a signalman fired effectively from the bridge with Tommy guns throughout the fight. One German sailor was hit in the chest with a Very flare.

...

At a key moment in the fight, as Borie's port side crewmen were running out of 20 mm and small arms ammunition, two Germans broke from their protected position behind the bridge and approached the quad mount gun. A thrown sheath knife pierced a German crewman's abdomen and he fell overboard. Unable to bring his gun to bear, one of the 4 inch gun captains threw an empty 4 inch shell casing at the other German sailor, and successfully knocked him overboard as well.

Tias posted:

I can't seem to be shown any of the enemies/ally accounts in English. Have they not been translated, or am I doing something wrong?

ArchangeI posted:

There is actually a bit of a debate in Germany whether the replacement of the Leopard II should be called Leopard III or Löwe. The issue with naming tanks after big cats is that at some point you run out of names, and no one is going to be intimidated by a tank called a Weasel.

Xiahou Dun posted:

But before that happened they'd have to scrape the bottom of the barrel for cat species and we'd get tanks called Ozelot and Luchs and the like.

Xiahou Dun posted:

Edit : Waschbär is also acceptable if we wanna stray from kitties.

Hogge Wild posted:

Pz.Kpfw. II Luchs

Hogge Wild posted:

Pz.Kpfw. II Luchs

Hogge Wild posted:

Germans already have armored vehicles named after rodents.

Ensign Expendable posted:

Schneider (Tigers in Normandy), Zaloga (Armoured Champion) and Carius himself (Heroes de Guerra interview) all discuss falsification of German kill claims. Also keep in mind that some people are dense fuckers, and the best you can do is damage control when they poo poo on your doorstep.

IbnKhaldun posted:

Untruth naturally afflicts historical information. There are various reasonsthat make this unavoidable. One of them is partisanship for opinions and schools. Ifthe soul is impartial in receiving information, it devotes to that information the share of critical investigation the information deserves, and its truth or untruth thus becomes clear. However, if the soul is infected with partisanship for a particular opinion or sect, it accepts without a moment's hesitation the information that is agreeable to it. Prejudice and partisanship obscure the critical faculty and preclude critical investigation. The result is that falsehoods are accepted and transmitted.

Another reason making untruth unavoidable in historical information is reliance upon transmitters. Investigation of this subject belongs to (the theologicaldiscipline of) personality criticism.

Another reason is unawareness of the purpose of an event. Many a transmitter does not know the real significance of his observations or of the thingshe has learned about orally. He transmits the information, attributing to it the significance he assumes or imagines it to have. The result is falsehood.

Another reason is unfounded assumption as to the truth of a thing. This is frequent. It results mostly from reliance upon transmitters.

Another reason is ignorance of how conditions conform with reality. Conditions are affected by ambiguities and artificial distortions. The informant reports the conditions as he saw them but on account of artificial distortions he himself has no true picture of them.

Another reason is the fact that people as a rule approach great and high-ranking persons with praise and encomiums. They embellish conditions and spread the fame (of great men). The information made public in such cases is not truthful. Human souls long for praise, and people pay great attention to this world and the positions and wealth it offers. As a rule, they feel no desire for virtue and have no special interest in virtuous people.

Another reason making untruth unavoidable - and this one is more powerful than all the reasons previously mentioned is ignorance of the nature of the various conditions arising in civilization. Every event (or phenomenon), whether (it comes into being in connection with some) essence or (as the result of an) action, must inevitably possess a nature peculiar to its essence as well as to the accidental conditions that may attach themselves to it. If the student knows the nature of events and the circumstances and requirements in the world of existence, it will help him to distinguish truth from untruth in investigating the historical information critically. This is more effective in critical investigation than any other aspect that may be brought up in connection with it. Students often happen to accept and transmit absurd information that, in turn,is believed on their authority. AlMas'udi, for instance, reports such a story about Alexander. Sea monsters prevented Alexander from building Alexandria. He took a wooden container in which a glass box was inserted, and dived in it to the bottom of the sea. There he drew pictures of the devilish monsters he saw. He then had metal effigies of these animals made and set them up opposite the place where building was going on. When the monsters came out and saw the effigies, they fled. Alexander was thus able to complete the building of Alexandria.

JcDent posted:

It's much worse when you almost catch yourself in the act ('It's Kingdom of Heaven, not God, you silly") and then still somehow do it.

Tell me more about those two.

Frostwerks posted:

Mustelids mother fucker.

Nenonen posted:

If you want to abide by precedents then surely all types of bear names should be reserved for heavy bunker buster type vehicles?

Speaking of pigs, there needs to be an amphibious APC called Meerschweinchen.

Frostwerks posted:

I thought for sure this would be sea cow.

Frostwerks posted:

Yeah, I realized I hosed it up I confused schwein for cow.

Falukorv posted:

I was gonna say Jaguar and Puma but after a quick google it turns out that Germany already has military vehicles named after those cats.

Frostwerks posted:

Yeah, I realized I hosed it up I confused schwein for cow.

Nenonen posted:

Maus and Ratte.