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Old 12-18-2020, 09:03 AM   #181
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Excellent write up on a truly horrific battle.

If you start to dig into some reading about the battle it is unfathomable what was endured by soldier on both side and by civilians.

I honestly cannot wrap my head around how you press on in those conditions.
Stalingrad is great for putting your life in context. Whenever I’m feeling like life is dealing me a bad hand, I think about what people endured in that struggle and I come away feeling better about my situation.
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Old 12-18-2020, 09:15 AM   #182
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Excellent write up on a truly horrific battle.

If you start to dig into some reading about the battle it is unfathomable what was endured by soldier on both side and by civilians.

I honestly cannot wrap my head around how you press on in those conditions.

I read a couple of interviews from "Survivors of Stalingrad". The Russian private who had survived, said that each day was a on going cocktail of terror, adrenaline, victory and death. As much as propaganda talks about the patroitic ferver of the troops defending the motherland, they after a time never thought about it, what kept the Russians going, was outright hatred of the Germans, and that you had only one way to go and that's forward because going back was instant death.


For the German's when they realized that Paulus had sold them out and that Hitler was ready for them to die to the man, the ordinary regular soldiers, just wanted to live to get home.



But yeah, the brutal physical and mental conditions of that battle must have been overwhelming.
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Old 12-19-2020, 07:14 PM   #183
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Tank Commander reviews Marine Abrams tank.



He's also a tank researcher for World of Tanks, so any imperfections in performance is also related to his research.

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Old 01-12-2021, 11:34 AM   #184
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World War 1 tank "Excellent" is brought back into service after Dunkirk to defend England in WW2.

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Old 01-12-2021, 11:58 AM   #185
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Stalingrad is great for putting your life in context. Whenever I’m feeling like life is dealing me a bad hand, I think about what people endured in that struggle and I come away feeling better about my situation.
I have a few memories tucked away in my head that I let out every once in a while to remind me that I've had worse days...
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Old 01-12-2021, 12:17 PM   #186
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https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...-own-destroyer


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The Russian Navy says that a former commander of the now-decommissioned Sovremenny class destroyer Bespokoynyy conspired with others and stole the ship's two bronze propellers while it was in dry dock being converted into a floating museum. The alleged caper sounds like it was ripped straight from the plot of a comedic Hollywood heist movie, with the thieves reportedly swapping out the pair of screws, each weighing approximately 13 tons, for ones made out of a cheaper metal.
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Old 01-12-2021, 03:06 PM   #187
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I'm putting a post together on Currie, the Canadian Corps, and breaking the Hindenburg Line.
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Old 01-12-2021, 03:57 PM   #188
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Please do, I feel guilty that I haven't added to this thread. I'm going to try to put a write up together on Sunday.


I'd love a Currie piece.
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Old 01-12-2021, 05:40 PM   #189
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Please do, I feel guilty that I haven't added to this thread. I'm going to try to put a write up together on Sunday.


I'd love a Currie piece.
Truly a Canadian hero.
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Old 01-24-2021, 06:04 PM   #190
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Old 02-02-2021, 11:03 AM   #191
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I was thinking about clean up the other day.

I have never really looked into or read about the clean up of wars. I mean the big two are WW1 & WW2. I mean the clean up post conflict would have been huge. Was it a centralized combined effort, little individual farmers and villages?




Anyone got some good reads on this topic?
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Old 02-02-2021, 11:16 AM   #192
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I'm starting to clear up my schedule a bit, so I'm starting to get an itch in terms of writing something.


Plus I've thought about some topics that really interest me.


The Colt Revolver and its effect on the Civil War and its evolution
Admiral Nelson and his career.

Still want to do some tech ones so I'm looking at the A-10, the F-22, the F-14, and I was thinking about the Littoral Combat ship and its failures.
Post war strategies as an add on to what you were talking about. The failures of post ww1 that created a too be continued war and WW2 and the post war strategies for Japan and Germany, and then the failures of the exit strategies in the middle East and Afghanistan (this one could be way more daunting)


If you want to look at post war rebuilds UCB, Japan is probably a little more of an interesting story and lead to the rise of the major car manufacturers in Japan.


Basically in Japan it created the rise of heavy industry and the removal of the Japanese Governent, the Bushodo code in government and the effect that mercy on the Emperor of Japan all had a massive effect.


In Japan, the American's put in a full hands on deck assistance in both rebuilding and pushing for a very controlled transition to Western style democracy that really aided in the clean up and restoration. But from that Japan really built up a lot of the companies that still exist today.
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Old 02-02-2021, 11:27 AM   #193
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If you want to look at post war rebuilds UCB, Japan is probably a little more of an interesting story and lead to the rise of the major car manufacturers in Japan.

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Thanks CC, but I wasn't clear.

I am not looking for the economic or political rebuilding of the defeated/winning nations.

I am legit interested in the physical clean up of the battle fields. War is a messy littering gongshow.
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Old 02-02-2021, 11:35 AM   #194
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Ok, from what I've seen from WW1 cleanup, it was usually left almost to the individuals to clean up their towns and villages, frankly and probably because those governments in Germany etc were entirely broke. One of the biggest things hampering cleanup in Germany for example was the Treaty of Versaille. I mean the major towns were lavishly cleaned up, but the rural and small towns were left to their own devices.


At the end of WW2, the victorious allies were more engaged in the cleanup by providing resources and presonal to aid, but again if you look at some of the statements again the smaller towns and rural areas were left to their own devices to clean and rebuild. But there was greater access to foreign funds for Japan and Germany, but they were also conditional funds.



My Grandparents were farmers in Germany after WW1, fleeing when the Nazi's rose to power. My Grandpa used to tell me stories about working on the farms during the day and then lending shovels and backs to the nearby towns. Also in terms of housing, since it was so simple back them, pretty much everyone pitched a hand in house building



The really interesting one to look at though was really Russia, even though at the end of WW1 they hadn't been physically devastated by the war, they had lost a great deal of their labor force, and the Soviet Command economy was more easily adapted.
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Old 03-06-2021, 05:17 PM   #195
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The Somers Affair


USS Somers

Life aboard a US Naval ship in the early days of the US Navy was a unpleasant affair. While the US Navy had more rules in place concerning the Captain and his ability to act as the final word of authority and Law on a seabound vessel unlike ships in other navies, Life for the average seaman rank or officers was still brutal and difficult.

The USS Somers was a Brig that was commissioned in 1842. Brigs were a small, fast maneuverable ship of war armed with a few Cannons. They were more used as fast courier ships and blockade runners then serious ships of war.

The Somers was under the Command of Alexander Sidell Mackenzie, a highly respected naval officer who joined the Navy at the age of 11 and rose through the ranks. He was also an accomplished writer and was highly regarded by his fellow officers and for the most part by his crew.


Captain Mackenzie


On November 25th, 1842 while the Somers was passing through the West Indies on a training cruise Midshipman Philip Spencer who was the son of the Secretary of War John Spencer approach the prusers Stewart and told him that he planned a mutiny to take over the Somers with 20 men, kill the officers and the Captain and use the ship for piracy. Spenser who was a bit of a misfit had always fantasized about the life of a pirate. The Purser’s Steward a man named JW Wales was threatened with death if he told anyone.

Phillip Spencer


On November 26th, Wales went through the chain of command and approached Captain Mackenzie and disclosed the news of the plot. At first McKenzie did not believe it was serious. However, he did instruct his second in command Lieutenant Gansevoort to keep an eye on Spenser.

As Gansevoort watched Spenser, he observed nightly conferences with two other men. The boatswains mate and a seaman. McKenzie took it seriously enough at that point that he confronted Spenser about his mutinous nature, however Spencer denied it and stated that he was joking with Whales.

It did not matter, fearing a conspiracy against him Mckenzie arrested the conspirators and placed them in irons on the deck as the Somers was too small for a proper brig. Papers written in greek were found on Spencer’s locker and translated. However, while it could have been code for mutiny, it could also have been fraternity recruiting letters as Spencer was a member of the Chi Psi fraternity and he could have been trying to recruit his fellow sailors.

However, it did not help that Spencer had also talked about his interest in pirates.

One thing was certain though, the Captain and officers became paranoid about a possible mutiny, and the crew started behaving erratically. On Nov 27th, the main mask failed and was damaged. It was viewed as suspicious and possible sabotage. The man accused was already a suspected mutineer, and he accused a fellow co-conspirator.

The next day the wardroom steward was flogged for stealing brandy to give to Spencer. The Captain already short on sleep and paranoid informed the crew of the plot to kill the officer and steal the ship. Crew moral continued to determinate. The steward was flogged again for trying to steal some wine. Another crewman was detected attempting to obtain a weapon and two sailors missed their watch possibly due to drunkenness.

Mackenzie who at this point was possibly sleep deprived and suffering from severe paranoia and anxiety order four more men put into irons. Then he gathered his four senior officers, Gansevoort, Ships assistant surgeon Leeccokc, the purser, the Master at Arms, and the three oldest midshipmen and directed them to come up with the best course of action. After interviewing crew members and deliberating, they came back with a cool and decided and unanimous decision that Spencer Cromwell and Seaman Small were guilty of intension to commit mutiny. They recommended a sentence of death. Spencer continued to claim that he had been playing pirate with his two co-conspirators, but it didn’t matter. Mackenzie agreed with the recommendation. On December 1st, the drums sounded and the lines were pulled and the three conspirators were hung from the yardarm.

The conspirators hang


Just to add on, this was not like normal hanging with a drop and a broken neck. On ships at sea, the nooses are placed around the victims necks, the ropes are strong through the rigging and the victims are pulled off of their feet, it’s a long and miserable way to die. After their deaths, the three sailors were buried at sea and the Somer’s returned home to its port in New York on December 14th where the Secretary of War was informed of his son’s death.

Secretary of War John Spencer



A court of inquiry was convened, and Mackenzie was exonerated. Though he was only a few days from port, he stated that the crew was exhausted, and he was concerned with the possible of further mutiny. John Spencer, who was at this point furious, tried to get Mackenzie tried in civilian court for the charge of murder at sea, but the navy closed rank and insisted on a Military Court Martial. At the end it was a mixed bag. Though Mackenzie was found not guilty on multiple charges. The usual tradition after an offer is cleared is to commend him for his actions to repair an officer’s reputation. In this case the members refused to take that step and Mackenzie’s reputation was effectively ruined.

Mackenzie continued his service to the Navy and write books about naval history, he died only 6 years later.

As a direct result of the Somers affair the Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft established the United States Naval Academy. Before the Academy the US Navy basically trained its sailors at sea from a young age. Every Captain trained his men differently. Bancroft decided the mutiny proved that Cadets needed to be systematically trained before they went to sea.

As for the Somers. It continued to serve. Under John West it was assigned to the Home Squadron, it also took part in the Mexican American War where it performed Blockade duty. In 1846 while chasing a blockade runner off Veracruz, the Somer’s capsized in a sudden squall and half of the crew drowned.

Lt Gansevoort had another kind of fame, his fist cousin was Herman Mellville, and he may have used some elements of the story of the Affair in his book Billy Budd.

The fall out of the Somers' Affair provided the incentive to professionalize the US Navy. Young officers it was decided needed structure and supervised education, they needed and institution to make proper leaders and sailors, the Navy training program was reformed, restructured, and formalized.


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Old 03-15-2021, 09:01 PM   #196
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rare footage from the battle between the Hood and the Bismark


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Old 03-16-2021, 09:41 AM   #197
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rare footage from the battle between the Hood and the Bismark



It’s hard to tell what’s going on but it paints the harsh reality of this battle. A few big ships in a vast frigid sea firing massive salvos at each other, trying to get the range right before the enemy does. If you’re a sailor aboard one of those ships it’s literally do or die - if your ship goes down there will be next to no survivors. In the case of the hood a single unlucky shell hit destroyed the entire ship taking all but 3 of her 1400 crew with her.
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Old 03-16-2021, 10:00 AM   #198
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I jumped at the first salvo, it had to be terrifying to be on the other end of the Salvo and waiting for it to hit.



You look at the fate of the Hood, even the Yamamoto, the Bismark, and other super ships and how for all of their armor and massive guns, they just weren't great war platforms.
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Old 03-16-2021, 10:12 AM   #199
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I jumped at the first salvo, it had to be terrifying to be on the other end of the Salvo and waiting for it to hit.



You look at the fate of the Hood, even the Yamamoto, the Bismark, and other super ships and how for all of their armor and massive guns, they just weren't great war platforms.
They had absolutely no defense beyond passive defense (i.e. armour), so no matter what you do, if you get hit by enough shells, bombs or torpedoes (or just a lucky hit in exactly the wrong place), you WILL sink. It is a weird psychological space I am sure...
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Old 03-18-2021, 07:47 PM   #200
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They had absolutely no defense beyond passive defense (i.e. armour), so no matter what you do, if you get hit by enough shells, bombs or torpedoes (or just a lucky hit in exactly the wrong place), you WILL sink. It is a weird psychological space I am sure...
The Hood was even more vulnerable, being a WW1 era battlecruiser. The battlecruiser was a misguided attempt to mount large guns on more lightly armoured but faster ships, the thinking being they could use speed to their advantage. This design left them vulnerable to plunging fire that could penetrate their light deck and turret roof armour. Three such battlecruisers blew up from single shell hits in the WW1 battle of Jutland, yet they still built the Hood to the same philosophy.

If you look at the battle with the Bismarck, the Hood desperately tried to close the range between the ships so that its thicker side armour could take the punishment and was just starting to turn its broadside when it got hit with the fatal shell. So not only did the captain and crew know that with enough hits they could be done for, they knew a single hit could end them. They had to race into battle with half their guns unavailable. Awful....

Yet the Hood was the pride of the fleet, a beautiful, huge, fast ship. It must have been a huge blow to the navy and the population when she was lost.
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