Interesting Military Facts & Stories You Discovered

[Buba]

I just discovered - if re-enactors are anything to go by - that Swedish 30YW infantry used berdiches as forquets. Something which I've associated with Muscovy and PLC only.
And they had the small berdiches whose invention I've seen attributed to King Sobieski. Or maybe it was their adoption only?

 

[ATP]

Americans executed three German saboteurs captured during the 1944 Ardennes Offensive While Wearing American Uniforms.

German commandos captured in American uniform are prepared for execution, 1944 - Rare Historical Photos

Operation Greif was a special operation commanded by Waffen-SS commando Otto Skorzeny during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.

rarehistoricalphotos.com

I didn't know that any of zee Germans saboteurs were actually executed by the Americans after a trial. And in this case it was pretty expedient. They were captured on December 17th, tried on December 21st and executed on December 23rd. It was postulated they were supposed to go behind American lines and kill high level American officers. General Eisenhower himself was isolated for a few days by security measures because of this supposed threat.

Pity,that they do not made it.Maybe another republican would be less bad president then him.

 

[PsihoKekec]

They never intended to kill Eisenhower, their orders were to cause havoc in the rear areas near the frontline, not do the suicide run to the Paris. The thing about plan to kill high ranking officers was just fear mongering of those chaotic first days of offensive, when soldiers saw enemy saboteurs in every guy who wasn't from their unit, kind of like during the battle of Berlin, when every straggler was suspected of being either deserter or Seydlitz infiltrator.

 

[Husky_Khan]

They never intended to kill Eisenhower, their orders were to cause havoc in the rear areas near the frontline, not do the suicide run to the Paris. The thing about plan to kill high ranking officers was just fear mongering of those chaotic first days of offensive, when soldiers saw enemy saboteurs in every guy who wasn't from their unit, kind of like during the battle of Berlin, when every straggler was suspected of being either deserter or Seydlitz infiltrator.

Versailles Actually!

Operation Greif: Assassinate Eisenhower?

Did the Nazis really try to kill General Eisenhower during the Battle of the Bulge’s Operation Greif in December 1944?

warfarehistorynetwork.com

Eventually Eisenhower was able to "escape" and spent some time in Butgenbach, Belgium (which IIRC was almost overrun in the initial stage of the offensive) where an Allied Headquarters was. But by that time the "danger" of assassination had long passed.

 

[Zachowon]

Ike didn't take it serious because he knew they wernt THAT close ir was confident

 

[Captain X]

 

[Buba]

That event was used as a plothook in Jaws

 

[Captain X]

That event was used as a plothook in Jaws

Yeah, it actually talks about that in that documentary.

 

[Buba]

Yay! I'm sooo smart!!111

 

[Husky_Khan]

Cool thread on the Alamo, the Siege of which ended on March 6th, 1836.



Short thread with some really cool paintings of the Battle and a really interesting map of the Alamo which I feel none of the movies or miniseries ever gave much justice to now looking at it.

Had Lunettes and a Sally port and an interior mound for a two gun battery etc. Plus the famous abatis and wall Crockett's men were stationed at was at an angle etc...

 

[Husky_Khan]

Staff Sergeant Joe Ronnie Hooper, the most decorated American soldier of the Vietnam War.

During the Battle of Hue City, he apparently took it upon himself to clear out eight NVA Bunkers, as well as at least four enemy occupied buildings, kill a North Vietnamese officer in hand to hand combat after running out of ammo and then grabbed a pistol and gunned down some more Commies. He also rescued several wounded companions to bring to safety. He was seriously wounded
during most of the seven hour battle as well.

He then returned to Vietnam for a Second Tour of Duty and earned even more accolades and was dubbed by some as the Vietnam Wars Audie Murphy.

Joe Ronnie Hooper - Captain, United States Army

Get all the information you need at first hand. Self reviewed and self written. Real experts report on arlingtoncemetery.net

www.arlingtoncemetery.net

The One-Man Army Who Earned the Medal of Honor, 2 Silver Stars, 6 Bronze Stars, 8 Purple Hearts, and Had 115 Confirmed Kills

Staff Sgt. Joe Ronnie Hooper was the most decorated soldier of the Vietnam War with the Medal of Honor, two Silver Star medals, six Bronze Stars, eight Purple Hearts, and 115 enemies killed in action.

coffeeordie.com

After the war he received some popularity, including an appearance on the Johnny Carson show. However he suffered from mental trauma due to his time in service, alcohol abuse, expressed dismay at the treatment of veterans including by "antiwar" activists and eventually passed away in 1979 at the age of 40.

 

[Buba]

Just learned that in 1914 Russia had c.40k regular Officers. It mobilised another c.40k Reserve Officers.
By 1917 Russia had c.250k Officers. Considering losses, some 200k were of wartime vintage - not very well trained. It was possible for green but literate recruits to be commissioned inside 4 months. Battalions were commanded by men who in 1914 had been Reserve Lieutenants - at best. At lowest levels being fragged was not exceptional.
This explains a lot the lackluster performance of 1916 and collapse of '17.

 

[bintananth]

Just learned that in 1914 Russia had c.40k regular Officers. It mobilised anoth c.40k Reserve Officers.
By 1917 Russia had c.250k Officers. Considering losses, some 200k were of wartime vintage - not very well trained. It was possible for literate recruits to be commisioned inside 4 months. Battalions were commanded by men who in 1914 had been Reserve Lieutenants - at best. At lowest levels being fragged was not exceptional.
This explains a lot the lackluster performance of 1916 and collapse of '17.

Compare that to US Civil War soldier literacy rates (80-90% fifty years earlier) and you're going to get a shitshow.

 

[Husky_Khan]

Compare that to US Civil War soldier literacy rates (80-90% fifty years earlier) and you're going to get a shitshow.

I'm sure a fair bit of the correspondence (diaries, letters, journals etc) has a bias in that the more literate writings were saved as opposed to the less literate scribblings of my likely forebears or whatever but there was a high bit of literacy in the American Civil War for sure. Or at least higher then one would likely assume I suppose.

 

[bintananth]

I'm sure a fair bit of the correspondence (diaries, letters, journals etc) has a bias in that the more literate writings were saved as opposed to the less literate scribblings of my likely forebears or whatever but there was a high bit of literacy in the American Civil War for sure. Or at least higher then one would likely assume I suppose.

Much higher, in fact.

The less literate scribblings - as you call them - would not have existed to such a degree that Mary Chestnut openly mocked them in her diaries if literacy wasn't so widespread that she got to read captured letters.

 

[Husky_Khan]

The Parachutist Nurses of the Ultramar/Portuguese Colonial War.

 

[Husky_Khan]

World War Two Instagram Account (Same YouTube Channel that Covers WW2 Week By Week) Has a Lot of interesting stories to cover. Like this one involving escape attempts from Auschwitz.

 

[ATP]

World War Two Instagram Account (Same YouTube Channel that Covers WW2 Week By Week) Has a Lot of interesting stories to cover. Like this one involving escape attempts from Auschwitz.

In case of gettos in polish cities occupied by germans - elders knew what is going on,helped germans deliver their own people,as long as they and their families were fine.
It not saved their pitiful hides,germans killed them,too.

 

[Zachowon]

World war 2 does day by day on the instagram

 

[Aldarion]

Time when Chetniks cooperated with Independent State of Croatia:

Private Site

Funny how Pupovac et al. never mention that...