'Aussie Rick'’s Comments (group member since Jun 12, 2009)

'Aussie Rick'’s comments from the THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP group.

"Krithia: The Forgotten Anzac Battle of Gallipoli" - The First Battle of Krithia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_B...

"Krithia: The Forgotten Anzac Battle of Gallipoli" - The author mentioned the actions of Colonel Charles Doughty-Wylie of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers which led to the posthumous award of the Victoria Cross. In a footnote he states;

"Doughty-Wylie's grave still sits forlornly above the modern village, the only individual Commonwealth burial at Gallipoli."

Doughty-Wylie's grave:
https://www.ww1cemeteries.com/seddel-...

Mike wrote: "$1.99 at all the ebook sites:

[book:We Are Your Soldiers: How Gamal Abdel Nasser Remade the Arab World|772650..."

I've got a copy of that book that I am yet to read!

"Krithia: The Forgotten Anzac Battle of Gallipoli" - A description of a night-time Turkish counterattack at Anzac on the night after the landing:

"During a period of darkness a cry of 'Allah, Allah, Allah' fell upon our ears. It was a new cry to us, but instinctively we knew that the enemy were attacking. It was not possible to see them in the darkness, but without waiting for any command a fairly hot fire commenced. The rifle fire had been heavy, but now it opened out in volume and force until it became almost deafening. From the position of this portion of the line once could look along the trench for several hundred yards, and such a continuous steam of red and orange flame burst from the hundreds of rifles. It was a withering fire and no persons could for long withstand it. The Turks were beating a hasty retreat, leaving many dead and wounded. The cries of the wounded could be heard throughout the night."

https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibiti...

"Krithia: The Forgotten Anzac Battle of Gallipoli" - British forces have started landing down at Cape Helles. The author mentioned the highs and lows of the landings, including the six Victoria Crosses awarded to members of the Lancashire Fusiliers from the fighting to land on W Beach and the missed opportunity at Y Beach.

First landings at Cape Helles and Y Beach on 25th April 1915:
https://www.britishbattles.com/first-...

"Krithia: The Forgotten Anzac Battle of Gallipoli" - Boredom has hit the Australian battalions training in Egypt prior to the Gallipoli landings:

"The only moment of levity came when the battalion was paraded before Lieutenant Colonel Elliott in mid-February. One man turned up without his hat and was berated by Elliott for having lost it. Elliott told him he had to get a hat; he didn't care where it came from. The following day, 'the Colonel's own hat was pinched while he was at lunch' and wasn't seen again."

Krithia: The Forgotten Anzac Battle of Gallipoli by Mat McLachlan

Mike wrote: "One last post from this book--there are so many great events. Bodson's group is tasked with preventing reinforcements reaching the Normandy battle area. They pick a bridge in the beautiful Ambléve ..."

Great post Mike. I loved this bit; "Ten minutes later our quarry came speeding out of the tunnel and onto the tracks on its way to Liége and to hell."

Mike wrote: "Bodson has gone from pacifist before the war to hardened underground commander. As his unit is preparing for sabotage actions (just before D-Day), some USAAF crewmen come into his area:

I went up..."

Great post Mike. Interesting that the Allies hadn't picked up on that issue!

With ANZAC Day coming up this week I figured I would start this book; "Krithia: The Forgotten Anzac Battle of Gallipoli" by Mat McLachlan.

Krithia: The Forgotten Anzac Battle of Gallipoli by Mat McLachlan

"A Suspicion of Spies: Risk, Secrets and Shadows – the Biography of Wilfred ‘Biffy’ Dunderdale" - This incident occurred while Biffy was stationed in Istanbul with the Naval Intelligence Division (NID):

"Not everything was plain sailing for Biffy in this period. During 1920, while still working for NID, Biffy was attending a parade which involved the 11th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers which was due to be disbanded after the end of World War I. The Fusiliers traditionally have a goat as a regimental mascot - either given to them by the Monarch or procured locally in overseas stations. The goat parades with the Battalion on formal occasions. For this parade Biffy was in his Naval dress uniform. At the end of the parade, Biffy jumped into his car, put it in gear and promptly reversed over the goat, killing it. The Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Yatman DSO, was unamused.

This was not only terribly embarrassing but upset him so much that he swore never to drive again, deciding to hire a chauffeur."

A Suspicion of Spies: Risk, Secrets and Shadows – the Biography of Wilfred ‘Biffy’ Dunderdale by Tim Spicer

Great post MR9 - informative and very interesting! I liked this story:

"A train load of high octane fuel which the Germans had dispatched for the use of their aircraft in Iraq, not only arrived in Mosul three weeks late owing to obstruction planner by the Turks, but when it got there it was found that the tank cars were full of water. They had been drained of petrol and refilled with water by our friends of the Turkish Air Force, while the train was standing in a siding alongside the Adana Airfield."

James wrote: "Now starting ISLANDS OF DESTINY: The Solomons Campaign and the Eclipse of the Rising Sun by John Prados (2012)."

I hope it's a good account James, keep us all posted!

So far, he has come across as pretty accomplished. This is from the Introduction:

"Between 1918 and 1920 he worked for British Naval Intelligence, winning two Mention in Dispatches (MID) by the time he was 19 and a military MBE gazetted when he was 21. He also had two Russian Imperial decorations earnt when he was 17 and later, decorations from France, Poland and the United States as well as the CMG."

A Suspicion of Spies: Risk, Secrets and Shadows – the Biography of Wilfred ‘Biffy’ Dunderdale by Tim Spicer

My next book for this month's theme is; "A Suspicion of Spies: Risk, Secrets and Shadows – the Biography of Wilfred ‘Biffy’ Dunderdale" by Tim Spicer.

A Suspicion of Spies: Risk, Secrets and Shadows – the Biography of Wilfred ‘Biffy’ Dunderdale by Tim Spicer

Another great post, Mike! Well done that young pilot!

Great post Mike! The “False Le Soir” sounds like a paper I'd love to read over my morning coffee!

Mike wrote: "On sale at all the ebook sites:

$1.99:

The Fire and the Darkness: The Bombing of Dresden, 1945 by [auth..."

Good book at a good price, thanks for the notification, Mike!

Sounds like a very interesting book Darya. I have read about a lot of pets being euthanised in England at the start of the war. I think it was in this book:

1939: A People's History by Frederick Taylor

Two great posts Mike! I like the idea of making the diamond grit into aspirin tablets - ingenious!

Manray9 wrote: "An arrival from Biblio this morning:

[book:Surviving Katyn: Stalin's Polish Massacre and the Search for Trut..."

Nice find MR9! I'm pretty sure I have an unread copy somewhere in my library :)