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

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

A very nice thing to do BA!

Jonny wrote: "Sadly not much call for them in Shields, Marc. We just export donkey rides...

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P11..."

My favourite statue when I visit the AWM:

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C15...

Manray9 wrote: "Tonight I am joining with -

[book:Persian Gulf Command: A History of the Second World War in Iran and ..."

Now that's something different! I'll be keen to hear your thoughts on that book once you have finished MR9.

James wrote: "Now starting BIG WEEK: Six Days That Changed The Course of World War II by Bill Yenne (2012).

It has been over twenty years since I last read anything by this author, and that was his book on Oper..."

I hope you enjoy the book, James!

Jerome wrote: "An October release:

by Tom Clavin
Description:
There was one sub..."

Another interesting book to add to the list!

Two interesting books there Jerome, thanks for posting the details.

Marc wrote: "Just finished this one over the weekend:

[book:Opening the Gates of Hell: Operation Barbarossa, June-July 1941..."

Great review! I better have a look at my copy soon by the sounds of it!

MR9, no, not the gallows but he received justice:

Faced with the approaching American army in 1945, Ziereis fled with his wife and son and hid in the mountains of Upper Austria. However, he was found by the Americans, who shot him several times as he tried to flee. The wounded Ziereis was taken to Gusen, where the Allies set up a hospital. The former commandant of the Mauthausen camp was operated on, although his condition steadily deteriorated. Before his death, he managed to be interrogated, and the American military was accompanied by a group of Polish prisoners who documented the interrogation.

"Bombing Hitler's Hometown: The Untold Story of the Last Mass Bomber Raid of World War II in Europe" - Some of the crews who bailed out during the mission to Linz ended up at the Mauthausen Concentration Camp. The commander of that camp was SS-Obsersturmbannfuhrer Franz Ziereis:

"Indeed, the horrors Ziereis and his minions unleashed at Mauthausen almost defy comprehension. In 1941, a group of newly arrived Dutch Jews were taken to the quarry, where each was loaded with a large stone and forced to run the 186 steps back up to the camp. Many fell backward, their stones crushing the feet of those behind. Some who made it to the top threw themselves over the cliff in despair. A few days and many indignities and beatings later, Jews began committing mass suicide by jumping into the pit in groups, their hands joined. Civilian employees at the quarry grew so disturbed at the gore clinging to the rocks that they demanded the camp authorities stop the suicides of what the SS disparagingly called the 'parachute troops'. Henceforth other prisoners were posted at intervals to prevent Jews from jumping over the edge."

Bombing Hitler's Hometown: The Untold Story of the Last Mass Bomber Raid of World War II in Europe by Mike Croissant

BA wrote: "Wow - the bail- out sounds scary & the book action filled, Aussie Rick"

It's been a pretty good account, lots of details on the fate of individual crews as the author follows the bomber formations over Linz and back.

"Bombing Hitler's Hometown: The Untold Story of the Last Mass Bomber Raid of World War II in Europe" - The author mentioned the fate of the last US bomber to be lost over Europe during WW2:

"Just after 9:30 p.m., Mag Drop - a B-24 from the 2641st Special Group - took off from Italy on a secret mission to drop supplies and personnel near Linz for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). In the wee hours on 26 April, and seven minutes after releasing its cargo, Mag Drop was twenty miles south of Linz and on its way home when a German night fighter made a single pass from below. Rockey and machine gun fire tore into the Liberator's flight deck, killing the pilot, copilot, engineer, and radio operator, and sending the aircraft out of control. Four men bailed out just before Mag Drop exploded in midair, the last American bomber lost in combat in Europe in World War II."

Bombing Hitler's Hometown: The Untold Story of the Last Mass Bomber Raid of World War II in Europe by Mike Croissant

Some good books there Mike, thanks for the notification!

Boudewijn wrote: "I can't wait for this year's Militracks in War Museum Overloon on 17-18 May. A list of participating vehicles, including the Kõnigstiger:
https://www.oorlogsmuseum.nl/en/event......"

Some great vehicles listed there, that should be a fun event!

Here is a new book due out pretty soon; "Second Front: Anglo-American Rivalry and the Hidden Story of the Normandy Campaign" by Marc Milner

Second Front: Anglo-American Rivalry and the Hidden Story of the Normandy Campaign by Marc Milner
Description:
A revelatory new account of the Second World War―and how bitter competition between the Allies would shape the postwar world

In June 1944, an Allied army of British, American, and Canadian troops sought to open up a Second Front in Normandy. But they were not only fighting to bring the Second World War to an end. After decades of Anglo-American struggle for dominance, they were also contending with one another―to determine who would ascend to global hegemony once Hitler's armies fell.

Marc Milner traces this bitter rivalry as it emerged after the First World War and evolved during the fragile peace which led to the Second. American media and domestic politics dominated the Allied powers' military strategy, overshadowing the contributions of Britain and the remarkably critical role played by Canada in establishing this Second Front.

Culminating in the decisive Normandy campaign, Milner shows how the struggle for supremacy between Churchill and Roosevelt changed the course of the Second World War―and how their rivalry shaped our understanding of the Normandy campaign, and the war itself.

Mike wrote: "Amazon US today only? $2.99

With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by Eugene B. Sledge"

Excellent book at a great price!

Liz V. wrote: "USS Missouri funeral for Kamikaze pilot
https://apnews.com/article/uss-missou..."

Great story, thanks for posting the link, Liz!

Nice find MR9! It does sound like an interesting book, enjoy :)

"Bombing Hitler's Hometown: The Untold Story of the Last Mass Bomber Raid of World War II in Europe" - Here is a great story from one of the air-gunners involved in this mission:

"On the bomb run, when his aircraft was at its most helpless and flak was bursting all around, Staff Sergeant Danny Carroll would start saying the Hail Mary over and over, his gun sight representing a cross on the altar. The heavier the flak got, the rate at which he would say the Hail Mary would increase exponentially. 'My HMPM - Hail Marys Per Minute - would go off the scale on a rough bomb run,' recalled Carroll, the tail gunner on the 463rd Bomb Group Flying Fortress that bore Norman Lear and the rest of his crew. Carroll could get the rate of HMPMs so high that he would make an auctioneer sound like he was talking in slow motion."

Bombing Hitler's Hometown: The Untold Story of the Last Mass Bomber Raid of World War II in Europe by Mike Croissant

Liz V. wrote: "Iwo Jima ceremonies
https://apnews.com/article/japan-empe..."

Thanks for posting the link to that article, very interesting reading!

Jerome wrote: "A January 2026 release:

by Edmund Goldrick
Description:
When the ..."

Thanks for posting those details, Jerome!