Milhist Thread: Ok, so get this: we name the army groups 1, 2 and 4...

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Milhist Thread: Ok, so get this: we name the army groups 1, 2 and 4...

«‹›685 »

Cessna: Feb 20, 2013; KHABAHBLOOOM

Their rifle drill hasn't changed since - er, well...

# ? Oct 14, 2021 15:13

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Jun 3, 2024 12:44

aphid_licker: Jan 7, 2009

They semi-regularly do that, pres and kanzler are seen off with one of those etc. From gut feeling I'd say it happens like every couple years-ish. The basic ceremony allegedly dates back to Prussia.

# ? Oct 14, 2021 16:04

SlothfulCobra: Mar 27, 2011

Scratch Monkey posted:

https://twitter.com/BMVg_Bundeswehr/status/1448544043911323648?s=20

Something tells me this wasn't a great idea.

Is this the Frankenstein response platoon?

# ? Oct 14, 2021 16:11

Edgar Allen Ho: Apr 3, 2017; by sebmojo

Bundeswehr doesn't have the budget to give everyone a rifle

# ? Oct 14, 2021 17:11

LatwPIAT: Jun 6, 2011

I try not to fill this thread up with my endless questions about this, and I know this is a long shot, but does anyone know the squad and platoon-level organization of the Luxembourg Army in the late 80s? Specifically, how many soldiers were carrying how many of which weapons, etc.

Trying to find data on this kind of thing is always a bit of a hassle, but the Luxembourg Army really has me stumped, probably because there's few enough of them that the chances of anyone sharing their experiences online in a place I can find it are small, and they're not big enough to really get momentum behind talking about the details for miniature wargaming purposes.

All I've got so far is that the army had FALs, MAGs, and M72 LAWs, and the squads prooobably rode in Land Rovers, but that doesn't tell me stuff like how many soldiers to a squad, or whether the MAGs were a squad or platoon-level weapon, which is the kind of needlessly fiddly detail I'm looking for.

# ? Oct 14, 2021 20:37

SerthVarnee: Mar 13, 2011; It has been ~~two~~ zero days since last incident.; Big Super Slapstick Hunk

I've quoted your request and passed it on to my father (retired danish major of the reserves) who might be able to tap into his network of old danish officers and their NATO exercise experiences.
I've also passed the request on to a Belgian friend of mine who is historically inclined and his father who served in the Belgian army and may have some knowledge through joint operations experiences as well.

No clue when or if a response will appear of course.

# ? Oct 14, 2021 22:32

PeterCat: Apr 8, 2020; Believe women.

Scratch Monkey posted:

https://twitter.com/BMVg_Bundeswehr/status/1448544043911323648?s=20

Something tells me this wasn't a great idea.

Apparently they have been doing this for a while.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb2_vOMRZ1Y&t=191s

What are they carrying here? It looks like a Roman Eagle with a flag on it.

# ? Oct 14, 2021 22:56

Valtonen: May 13, 2014; Tanks still suck but you don't gotta hand it to the Axis either.

LatwPIAT posted:

I try not to fill this thread up with my endless questions about this, and I know this is a long shot, but does anyone know the squad and platoon-level organization of the Luxembourg Army in the late 80s? Specifically, how many soldiers were carrying how many of which weapons, etc.

Trying to find data on this kind of thing is always a bit of a hassle, but the Luxembourg Army really has me stumped, probably because there's few enough of them that the chances of anyone sharing their experiences online in a place I can find it are small, and they're not big enough to really get momentum behind talking about the details for miniature wargaming purposes.

All I've got so far is that the army had FALs, MAGs, and M72 LAWs, and the squads prooobably rode in Land Rovers, but that doesn't tell me stuff like how many soldiers to a squad, or whether the MAGs were a squad or platoon-level weapon, which is the kind of needlessly fiddly detail I'm looking for.

There is a little-known Finnish alternate history / war movie about invading Luxembourg made in the 1980s if I recall- I�m not sure if it will help you or not since it has been a while since I saw it and I doubt it goes into details you need. It is called Kummeli: stories.

# ? Oct 14, 2021 23:00

Xlorp: Jan 23, 2008

PeterCat posted:

What are they carrying here? It looks like a Roman Eagle with a flag on it.

Varus, give me back my legions!

# ? Oct 14, 2021 23:00

PeterCat: Apr 8, 2020; Believe women.

Xlorp posted:

Varus, give me back my legions!

That would be amazing if the Germans still had captured Roman Eagles.

# ? Oct 14, 2021 23:03

LatwPIAT: Jun 6, 2011

SerthVarnee posted:

I've also passed the request on to a Belgian friend of mine who is historically inclined and his father who served in the Belgian army and may have some knowledge through joint operations experiences as well.

Thanks!

If your Belgian friend has time, could you also get him to confirm for me if there were supposed to be two Minimis in an AIFV-B-mounted squad in the late 80s, and how many soldiers were in a squad? So far I've mostly had to look at FAL-armed Belgian squads and just sort of guess that the FALs turned to FNCs and the FALOs turned to Minimis, and the old FAL squads had nine men in them but an AIFV-B is typically listed as having a crew of 3+7...

Sorry for asking so much, but I feel I have to seize on the opportunity when I have it because otherwise I'm working off a decade-old The Miniature Page forum posts...

# ? Oct 14, 2021 23:17

golden bubble: Jun 3, 2011; yospos

sullat posted:

The ancient world operated under a completely different system. It wasn't quite conscription, but people who could afford arms and armor were expected to go off and fight when needed, and Rome 'needed' to go out and fight a lot. So they had a lot of practice.

No joke. From 509 to 31BC, the Roman Republic was at war every single year except from 241 BC to 235 BC. Except for those six years, the Roman Republic was fielding an army every single year.

# ? Oct 15, 2021 04:38

Warden: Jan 16, 2020

Valtonen posted:

There is a little-known Finnish alternate history / war movie about invading Luxembourg made in the 1980s if I recall- I�m not sure if it will help you or not since it has been a while since I saw it and I doubt it goes into details you need. It is called Kummeli: stories.

Now that's just mean. :finland:

# ? Oct 15, 2021 05:20

PeterCat: Apr 8, 2020; Believe women.

PeterCat posted:

Apparently they have been doing this for a while.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb2_vOMRZ1Y&t=191s

What are they carrying here? It looks like a Roman Eagle with a flag on it.

Apparently this is something called a "schellenbaum."

According to an article I found it was originally carried by the Turks, then the Austrians, before being adopted by the Germans.

http://www.tomahawkfilms.com/blog/index-p=8104.html

article posted:

The Schellenbaum & Tambourstock�
Perhaps one of the most characteristic and instantly recognisable feature of the German military band was the Schellenbaum (literally �Bell Tree�), which, like the military bands themselves, could also be traced back to ancient Turkey. Nick-named �Jingling Johnny�, the Schellenbaum began its life as an actual instrument that could be shaken and rattled in percussive fashion; however, somewhat reminiscent of the standards carried by the Roman legions, it gradually evolved to carry a small banner at its top and so became the symbol of command in the Janissary armies of the period�

Having been appropriated by Turkey�s enemy Austria in the 18th century, the Schellenbaum became a feature of the armies of Poland and Russia. Ultimately adopted by the German army, the Schellenbaum was to eventually be regarded as the formal and official standard of the German military band under orders to be paraded, wherever and whenever it performed, and was to be seen in many differing forms and designs, until a form of standardisation took place in 1932, followed by a formal specification being laid down by the German High Command in 1936 shortly after the creation of the Third Reich�s new Wehrmacht in 1935�

Paraded with the band and displaying its name or unit designation, the Schellenbaum was often bought by the local military veteran�s organisation or indeed by the townsfolk of the band�s garrison or shore-based naval establishment and given as a gift to the band to cement the bond between band and the local population.

# ? Oct 15, 2021 05:33

Arbite: Nov 4, 2009

Cessna posted:

Their rifle drill hasn't changed since - er, well...

Speaking of, there's a very cute story about Imperial German askari veterans being offered a pension five decades after the war but only a few being able to offer written proof, so they were prompted to perform the old manual of arms. 'Not one of them failed the test.'

Almost too nice, is this quite what happened?

# ? Oct 15, 2021 06:28

Elissimpark: May 20, 2010; Bring me the head of Auguste Escoffier.

Valtonen posted:

There is a little-known Finnish alternate history / war movie about invading Luxembourg made in the 1980s if I recall- I’m not sure if it will help you or not since it has been a while since I saw it and I doubt it goes into details you need. It is called Kummeli: stories.

I wonder if you'd bother physically taking Luxembourg City or just bomb it flat. From memories of being there 20 years ago, it seems like trying to get actual troops into the central city would be pretty difficult.

# ? Oct 15, 2021 06:30

Grimnarsson: Sep 4, 2018

Elissimpark posted:

I wonder if you'd bother physically taking Luxembourg City or just bomb it flat. From memories of being there 20 years ago, it seems like trying to get actual troops into the central city would be pretty difficult.

IIRC it was more of an infiltration mission by a small team of highly trained commandos rather than a mass assault.

# ? Oct 15, 2021 07:23

Edgar Allen Ho: Apr 3, 2017; by sebmojo

In WW2 the city�s defense strategy was �stay in barracks we will lose to three panzer divisions� and no one died.

# ? Oct 15, 2021 09:14

Gort: Aug 18, 2003; Good day what ho cup of tea

Arbite posted:

Speaking of, there's a very cute story about Imperial German askari veterans being offered a pension five decades after the war but only a few being able to offer written proof, so they were prompted to perform the old manual of arms. 'Not one of them failed the test.'

Almost too nice, is this quite what happened?

I could see this happening but the person asking them to do it not knowing the first thing about the old manual of arms and going, "Well poo poo, good enough for me" and signing off.

# ? Oct 15, 2021 10:39

Jobbo_Fett: Mar 7, 2014; Slava Ukrayini; Clapping Larry

Gort posted:

I could see this happening but the person asking them to do it not knowing the first thing about the old manual of arms and going, "Well poo poo, good enough for me" and signing off.

Original German article from Der Spiegel

quote:

In Treue fest

Die letzten Askaris aus Lettow-Vorbecks Schutztruppe h�ngen noch am deutschen Vaterland. Eine alte deutsche Dame sorgt f�r sie.

20.07.1975, 13.00 Uhr��aus�DER SPIEGEL 30/1975

HomeKommentare �ffnen

E-MailMessengerWhatsApp

Vier Jahre lang hat Ex-Feldwebel Hasani Silanda die Uniform des deutschen Kaisers getragen. Im Felde blieb er unbesiegt wie sein Feldherr, General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. Es mu�te ein halbes Jahrhundert verstreichen, ehe Hasanis Glaube an die Unbezwingbarkeit der deutschen Rasse ins Wanken geriet.

Im Alter von 78 Jahren erlebte er im Juli eine deutsche Niederlage: Er wurde im Fu�ballstadion seiner ostafrikanischen Heimatstadt Tanga Zeuge, wie eine Mannschaft der Regierung von Tansania eine Bonner Bundestagself zu Paaren �ber den Rasen trieb. Nur der s�dhessische SPD-Abgeordnete Manfred Coppik, der auf Rechtsau�enposition dribbelte, rettete Hasanis Deutschen-Bild mit einem Ehrentor (Ergebnis 4:1) vor dem Totalkollaps. Alt-Feldwebel Silanda ist einer der letzten �berlebenden der �Schutztrupppe� Deutsch-Ostafrikas, die. f�nfeinhalb Jahrzehnte nach dem Zusammenbruch des kaiserlichen Reiches noch immer in Treue fest zu einem l�ngst verblichenen Deutschtum stehen. In und um Tanga am Indischen Ozean hatte deutsches Waffenhandwerk Anfang November 1914 einen seiner donnerndsten Triumphe gefeiert, als Lettow mit 300 Wei�en und 600 Askaris eine achttausendk�pfige britische Invasionsarmee ins Meer warf. Tr�ger und Askaris pflegten bis heute deutsche Soldatentradition -- so gut es geht.

Die Veteranen sind alle �ber 75. Den meisten f�llt das Strammstehen schwer. Doch zweimal im Jahr gehen sie in Habachtstellung: Einmal am Volkstrauertag, wenn -sie auf dem Friedhof von Tanga zu Ehren der toten Kameraden �Heil dir im Siegerkranz� anstimmen. Und dann noch mal in den ersten Dezembertagen, wenn bei Mama Scheel Weihnachtsgeld gefa�t wird.

Margarethe ("Mama") Scheel, 73. Honorarkonsulin der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, teilt einmal im Jahr den kargen Dank des verflossenen Vaterlandes an die alten Kameraden aus: derzeit 70 Shilling (23 Mark). Ein Drittel davon entstammt den Spenden von Veteranenvereinen und Unteroffiziersklubs in der Bundesrepublik, gelegentlich tut auch ein deutscher Tanga-Besucher einen Oholus in den �Old Askari Fund�, wie der Malermeister Reinhold Siebentritt aus Grenzhausen, der letztes Jahr begeistert 100 Dollar in die Kameradschaftskasse zahlte.

Aus dem s�uberlich in einem Hauptbuch registrierten Fonds bestreitet die

*ln Tanga. Links: Flaggenhissung vor dem bundesdeutschen Konsulat.

�Mama Askari�, wie man sie in Tanga nennt, auch die Kosten f�r Unvorhergesehenes. Ausgaben unter der Rubrik �Verwendung": Alt-Askari Baali Athmani erhielt 50 Shilling f�r die Beerdigung seines Sohnes, der bei der Kokosnu�ernte von einer Palme gefallen war. Feldwebel Silanda erbat sich 20 Shilling, um seinem Sohn ein �deutsches� Hochzeitsgeschenk zu machen: zwet alte deutsche Kolonial-Rupien.

Das Anliegen des Sch�tzen Athmani Magazig war �ein Grenzfall� f�r die Konsulin: �Er sagte mir, er sei so allein und wolle sich eine Frau kaufen�, berichtet Mama Scheel. �Die Dame seines Herzens verlangte 100 Shilling Brautgeld. F�nfzig hatte er schon. Da habe ich ihm den Rest dazugegeben.�

Ein weiterer Eintrag in Mama Scheels Hauptbuch weist 50 Shilling f�r den Ankauf von 30 Kilo Kartoffeln aus, denn im letzten Jahr w�hrend der D�rrekatastrophe mu�ten viele Askaris hungern. �Damit sie mal wieder was zwischen die Rippen kriegten, was sie auch bei�en konnten�, kochte die Konsulin ein paar K�bel Kartoffelbrei. Bei Sonnenuntergang sammelten sich die Kostg�nger zum Fahnenappell und anschlie�enden Essen in Mama Scheels Garten. Einer fragte Frau Scheel, was Ex-Untertanen des Kaisers in den ehemaligen Kolonien mitunter auch deutsche Urlauber fragen: �Wann kommen die Deutschen wieder?�

Die Relikte ihrer vergangenen Grandeur tragen die Veteranen wie Reliquien am Leib: einen stumpfen Uniformknopf, einen Fetzen aus der Fahne, unter der sie einst dienten. Nicht einmal jeder zehnte hatte noch die von Lettow ausgestellte Dienstbescheinigung, als Margarethe Scheels inzwischen verstorbener Ehemann 1964 im Auftrag der Bundesregierung die im Norden und Osten Tansanias lebenden Askaris namentlich erfa�te.

Doch Konsul Walther Scheel lie� auch andere Beweise gelten. Unteroffizier Mwangazi Mungiya krempelte vor Scheels Schreibtisch nur stumm die Hosenbeine hoch und zeigte die Brandwunden, die er erlitten hatte, als er seinen schwerverwundeten Kompaniechef, Hauptmann Mettner, aus einem Buschfeuer rettete.

Der Regierungsbeauftragte, der 1964 in Mwanza am tansanischen Ufer des Viktoria-Sees die Empf�nger eines von Bonn ausgesetzten �Askari-Ehrensoldes� ermitteln sollte, lie� die 300 Antragsteller zum Beweis ihrer Pensionsberechtigung probeexerzieren. Er dr�ckte ihnen einen Besen in die Hand und lie� sie nach deutschen Kommandos Griffe klopfen. Keiner fiel bei dem Test durch, nur ein gichtkranker Ex-Korporal trat nicht an; ersatzweise gab er auf kisuaheli eine Art eidesstattliche Versicherung ab: �Mimi ni askari mdachi ich bin ein deutscher Soldat�. Er bekam seinen Sold

# ? Oct 15, 2021 11:32

Gort: Aug 18, 2003; Good day what ho cup of tea

What does it say?

# ? Oct 15, 2021 11:37

Jobbo_Fett: Mar 7, 2014; Slava Ukrayini; Clapping Larry

Gort posted:

What does it say?

Well with the help of google translate...

quote:

For four years, ex-sergeant Hasani Silanda wore the uniform of the German emperor. In the field he remained undefeated like his general, General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. Half a century had to pass before Hasani's belief in the invincibility of the German race was shaken.

At the age of 78, he experienced a German defeat in July: In the football stadium of his East African hometown Tanga, he witnessed a team from the government of Tanzania driving a Bonn Bundestag self in pairs across the lawn. Only the South Hessian SPD MP Manfred Coppik, who dribbled in the right wing position, saved Hasani's German image with an honorary goal (result 4: 1) from total collapse. Former Sergeant Silanda is one of the last survivors of the "Schutztrupppe" German East Africa, the. five and a half decades after the collapse of the imperial empire, still firmly loyal to a long-faded Germanness. In and around Tanga on the Indian Ocean, the German arms trade had celebrated one of its thunderous triumphs at the beginning of November 1914, when Lettow threw an eight thousand-strong British invasion army into the sea with 300 whites and 600 Askaris. Porters and Askaris have maintained the German soldier tradition to this day - as best they can.

The veterans are all over 75. Most of them find it difficult to stand at attention. But twice a year they stand at attention: once on the day of national mourning, when they sing "Heil dir in the wreath" in honor of the dead comrades in the Tanga cemetery. And then again in the first days of December, when Christmas bonuses are collected from Mama Scheel.

Margarethe ("Mama") Scheel, 73rd honorary consul of the Federal Republic of Germany, distributes the meager thanks of the past fatherland to the old comrades once a year: currently 70 shillings (23 marks). A third of this comes from donations from veterans' associations and NCOs in Germany, and occasionally a German thong visitor puts an oholus in the "Old Askari Fund," like the painter Reinhold Siebentritt from Grenzhausen, who enthusiastically paid $ 100 into the comradeship fund last year .

* In thong. Left: Flag hoisting in front of the German consulate.

"Mama Askari," as they are called in Tanga, also includes the cost of the unforeseen. Expenditures under the heading "Use": Alt-Askari Baali Athmani received 50 shillings for the funeral of his son who fell from a palm during the coconut harvest. Sergeant Silanda asked for 20 shillings to give his son a "German" wedding present: two old German colonial rupees.

The concern of the shooter Athmani Magazig was "a borderline case" for the consul: "He told me he was so alone and wanted to buy a wife," reports Mama Scheel. �The lady of his heart asked for 100 shillings in bridal money. He already had fifty. Then I added the rest to him. "

Another entry in Mama Scheel's ledger shows 50 shillings for the purchase of 30 kilos of potatoes, because last year during the drought, many askaris went hungry. "So that they could get something between the ribs again that they could bite," the consul made a couple of buckets of mashed potatoes. At sunset the boarders gathered for the flag roll call and subsequent dinner in Mama Scheel's garden. One of them asked Frau Scheel what ex-subjects of the emperor in the former colonies sometimes also ask German vacationers: "When will the Germans come back?"

The veterans wear the relics of their past grandeur on their bodies like relics: a blunt uniform button, a scrap from the flag under which they once served. Not even one in ten still had the certificate of employment issued by Lettow when Margarethe Scheel's husband, who had since died in 1964, on behalf of the federal government, recorded the names of the Askaris living in the north and east of Tanzania.

But Consul Walther Scheel also accepted other evidence. Sergeant Mwangazi Mungiya just rolled up his trouser legs in front of Scheel's desk and showed the burns he had sustained while rescuing his seriously wounded company commander, Captain Mettner, from a bushfire.

The government commissioner, who was to determine the recipients of an "Askari honorary salary" suspended by Bonn in Mwanza on the Tanzanian shores of Lake Victoria in 1964, had the 300 applicants rehearsed to prove their pension entitlement. He pressed a broom into their hands and, according to German commands, made them knock handles. Nobody failed the test, only one ex-corporal suffering from gout did not take part; alternatively, he issued a kind of affidavit in Kiswaheli: "Mimi ni askari mdachi, I am a German soldier". He got his pay.

# ? Oct 15, 2021 12:02

Mycroft Holmes: Mar 26, 2010; by Azathoth

Imperialism and colonialism is bad, but there's a part of me screaming "that's cool as gently caress."

# ? Oct 15, 2021 14:52

Cessna: Feb 20, 2013; KHABAHBLOOOM

Gort posted:

I could see this happening but the person asking them to do it not knowing the first thing about the old manual of arms and going, "Well poo poo, good enough for me" and signing off.

If the veterans were just making it up, they'd do different moves.

If they all performed the same move on a command it would be clear that they had been trained at the same time.

# ? Oct 15, 2021 14:55

Scratch Monkey: Oct 25, 2010; 👰Proč bychom se netě�ili🥰kdy� n�m P�n Bůh🙌🏻zdrav� d�💪?

I kind of wondered if they called them all in at once and asked them to do it together to avoid one teaching others.

# ? Oct 15, 2021 15:17

Xiahou Dun: Jul 16, 2009; We shall dive down through black abysses... and in that lair of the Deep Ones we shall dwell amidst wonder and glory forever.

Finally a chance for my confidence scheme dance group to shine.

# ? Oct 15, 2021 15:19

Fangz: Jul 5, 2007; Oh I see! This must be the Bad Opinion Zone!

Oh hey that slow-motion T-34 movie is free on youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aA0dVzCvn0

# ? Oct 15, 2021 19:40

Edgar Allen Ho: Apr 3, 2017; by sebmojo

How do combat medics work in tank units? Shove them in a loader's seat?

# ? Oct 15, 2021 21:34

vuk83: Oct 9, 2012

Edgar Allen Ho posted:

How do combat medics work in tank units? Shove them in a loader's seat?

When i served in the Danish army the loader was crosstrained as free medic. But we trained that in event of combat casualties the tanks would keep tanking, and the attached ambulance apc would render aid. There are very few instances where it would make sense for the loader to dismount,

# ? Oct 15, 2021 21:40

Cessna: Feb 20, 2013; KHABAHBLOOOM

Edgar Allen Ho posted:

How do combat medics work in tank units? Shove them in a loader's seat?

Yes.

Armor units are almost never up to full TO&E strength for crew, but you always have a few extras along for the ride, like radio repair people, medics, engine mechanics, etc. They get taught how to ride along and work the intercom. After they've been out a few times if they're nice they get taught how to do other jobs like driving. It really helps to have extra hands for jobs like putting up cammie nets, so they get to help with those things as well.

# ? Oct 15, 2021 21:46

Scratch Monkey: Oct 25, 2010; 👰Proč bychom se netě�ili🥰kdy� n�m P�n Bůh🙌🏻zdrav� d�💪?

Are they taught maintenance jobs too?

# ? Oct 15, 2021 23:10

Cessna: Feb 20, 2013; KHABAHBLOOOM

Scratch Monkey posted:

Are they taught maintenance jobs too?

There is no sort of strict rule here.

Generally speaking the more time they spend with you and the more interest they show, the more you teach them - and, for that matter, the more they teach you. If you're assigned some snooty Air Observer who thinks he's above it all because he's an officer and spends his time in Staff meetings while you're changing shock absorbers, well, okay - he'll be a "hatch plug," no more. You'll give him rides and he'll play with his radios, and that will be all there is.

But if they're a good person who pitches in and helps out with the grubby tasks like cammie nets, or does nice things like helping to cook the food and sharing their stuff, crew will teach them everything they can over time. "Hey, want to learn how to walk track? Want to help us strip and clean the machinegun?" If they're assigned consistently to a unit and they do a lot of field ops and build up time and trust they'll eventually become just another respected crewman. If you're on a firing range you might let them have a turn shooting, or let them drive for a while. And, for that matter, the same goes in reverse. In the time before the Gulf War our Corpsman spent a LOT of his time teaching us all sorts of in-depth first aid in between card games. Unofficially - and maybe, in retrospect a bit hair-raisingly - he had us to the point where we could deal with pretty nasty wounds, give an injection or start an IV, call for an evac helo, etc. And, yes, this did really make a difference when we had a couple of jarheads get seriously hurt in a Humvee accident just before the ground war started - Doc just started yelling "you, do this, you, do that," and they all survived.

This sort of cross-training is even more prevalent in Amtracks (and presumably other APCs). In the USMC AAVs aren't "organic" to the infantry - that is, there's an Amtrack Battalion that supports infantry units on an as-needed basis - the 'tracks aren't ever permanently assigned to a specific unit of grunts like they are in the Army. But nonetheless you end up working with the same units over and over, especially in a deployment like a WESTPAC. If you've got a good relationship with the grunts and vice versa after a fwhile they'll be helping check oil levels and road wheel hubs on the halt, and they'll take crew out with them on patrols if they want to do something different. I've heard of some people spending enough time and getting enough of this training that they were able to pick up a secondary MOS doing it.

# ? Oct 16, 2021 02:08

Tias: May 25, 2008; Pictured: the patron saint of internet political arguments (probably)

This avatar made possible by a gift from the Religionthread Posters Relief Fund

PeterCat posted:

That would be amazing if the Germans still had captured Roman Eagles.

Considering archeologists still can't agree on where the Varus battle was or if it even happened, I wouldn't hold my breath, but it's a cool thought!

# ? Oct 16, 2021 06:44

Robert Facepalmer: Jan 10, 2019

What would the antiquity version of trading them for for a couple cases of smokes and Rip-its be? Some kind of salted meat maybe?

# ? Oct 16, 2021 20:17

Hannibal Rex: Feb 13, 2010

Silphium and mastic.

# ? Oct 16, 2021 22:17

Phobophilia: Apr 26, 2008; by Hand Knit

Wine probably the Germans couldn't trade for enough of that stuff so much so people were complaining about it feminizing their men.

# ? Oct 17, 2021 03:34

aphid_licker: Jan 7, 2009

Tias posted:

Considering archeologists still can't agree on where the Varus battle was or if it even happened, I wouldn't hold my breath, but it's a cool thought!

It was at Kalkriese

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Teutoburg_Forest#Site_of_the_battle

# ? Oct 17, 2021 03:46

Milo and POTUS: Sep 3, 2017; I will not shut up about the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I talk about them all the time and work them into every conversation I have. I built a shrine in my room for the yellow one who died because sadly no one noticed because she died around 9/11. Wanna see it?

Other than the more practical reasons why Sealion was impossible, did the Germans even have any man portable anti-tank weapons at that point other than I guess rifles?

# ? Oct 17, 2021 10:46

Abongination: Aug 18, 2010; Life, it's the shit that happens while you're waiting for moments that never come.; Pillbug

Pretty much AT rifles, anti tank grenades, bombs and mines.

# ? Oct 17, 2021 15:24

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Jun 3, 2024 12:44

Nenonen: Oct 22, 2009; Mulla on aina kolkyt donaa taskussa

The backbone of infantry AT defense were 3.7cm PaK's, which at combat weight of 327 kg plus ammunition were actually possible to move around manually without too much trouble. 5cm PaK 38 already weighed more than a K�belwagen.

# ? Oct 17, 2021 18:04

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Milhist Thread: Ok, so get this: we name the army groups 1, 2 and 4...

«‹›685 »