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

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

"Kriegies: The Australian Airmen of Stalag Luft III" - One of those POW's murdered by the Germans was an Australian Spitfire pilot, Albert Hake. In the book the author quoted a very moving letter from Albert to his brother-in-law in regard to his wishes that if he died during the war that he wanted his wife, Noela (Noel), to remarry:

'If I don't come back, I want Noel to marry again …. It was my wish … Noel is still young and a type that should be married … for such a girl to live out her life unmarried would be a crime.' Albert told his brother-in-law that if he could not convince Noela to remarry; 'I would "turn on my heel" now and retrace every step. Hang the consequences. I'm prepared to sacrifice a lot, but not that much. One life is enough, not two.'

Warrant Officer Albert Horace Hake:
https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/63...

"Kriegies: The Australian Airmen of Stalag Luft III" - A bit more on the memorial at Stalag Luft III to honour those killed during the breakout:

"Sealed inside the prisoners' memorial vault, the escapers' ashes remained undisturbed for some months. The kriegies did not remove them when they evacuated the camp in late January 1945. Later, the vault was ransacked by Russians apparently in search of gold. Two of the cement covers were broken. The urns were taken out and opened. Some, along with their lids were shattered; many were unidentifiable. Scattered ashes intermingled on the floor; including those of Jimmy Catanach. The eagle emblem was removed."

Sometime later action was taken by the Missing Research and Enquiry Office (MRES);

"Major John Da Silva who had visited Sagan in February 1946 and discovered the disturbed vault, recommended the urns be relocated 'to a more secure resting place'. By November 1948, the MRES had retrieved the remaining urns, fragments, and scattered ashes. Under the auspices of the IWGC, they were reinterred in the British Military Cemetery (now Old Garrison Cemetery), Poznan. The ashes of those whose urns were intact were placed in separate plots. Ashes which had been strewn on the memorial vault's floor - like of Jimmy Catanach - were scattered in a collective grave; individual headstones gave the illusion of separate burial."

Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery, Poland:
https://www.ww2cemeteries.com/pol-poz...

https://www.49squadron.co.uk/the_ceme...

"Kriegies: The Australian Airmen of Stalag Luft III" - Of course the Great Escape is covered in the book during which five Australian POW's were murdered by the Germans after their recapture. I was not aware that the Kriegies built a memorial at Stalag Luft III to honour those killed during the breakout.

Stalag Luft III Memorial:
https://www.stalagluft3.com/great-esc...

POW Hut 104 at Stalag Luft III:
https://memorials.dva.gov.au/Memorial...

"The Other Side Of The Wire Volume 1: With the German XIV Reserve Corps on the Somme, September 1914 June 1916 " - The author mentioned the Germans using a trench weapon called an Erdmorser. I found this bit of information online at the Great War Forum:

" ... 1918 US Army manual on trench artillery I enclose an extract from:

F. Erdmorser The Erdmorser or 'buried mortar' is made of a wooden cylinder reinforced with wire. The inside diameter is 25 cm. The mortar is buried in the "parados" and the bottom of the trench and the projectile slides along a wooden racer 2 m. 40 (7 feet 10 inches) in length, semi-circular in cross section and resting on the parapet with an inclination of 45°.

Projectile. I—The1 The French call the projectile the 'coal bucket' type. It is a cylinder made of sheet iron 3 mm. 5(1.37 inch), 25 cm. (9.82 inch) in diameter and 38 cm. (14.96 inch) in height. The cylinder is closed at both ends by wooden blocks, one having a handle for transporting the projectile and the other being pierced with a hole in which to place the Bickford fuse. This fuse is lighted by the flash of the charge.

The projectile weighs 23.5 kgs. (51.7 lbs.) and contains 12 kgs. (26.4 lbs.) of explosive containing 1kg. (2.2 lbs.) of iron bits.

A smaller model is also used. This projectile has simply been improved, the bottom being reinforced with an iron sheet.

G. "Albrecht" Mortar This mortar is a wooden tube 2 meters (6ft.8in.) in length and 25 cm. (9.84 in.) in diameter, reinforced with wire.

The bottom of the barrel rests on a wooden block. A metallic stand supports the barrel and a handwheel screw elevates and depresses the barrel.

This mortar uses the same projectile as the Erdmorser at ranges varying from 35 to 600 meters.

They were not Albrecht although using the same projectile. Earth merely means that they were buried. The Germans had much heavier 'conventional' minenwerfers of up to 38cm. so the term was not used to distinguish them as heavy mortars. The US document compares them to the Liven projector as having no way to point them after they have been buried unlike all other German minenwerfers."

"The Other Side Of The Wire Volume 1: With the German XIV Reserve Corps on the Somme, September 1914 June 1916 " - Already the place known to the Germans as the Granathof (shell farm) has become infamous and the scene of heavy fighting between the French and Germans. The Granathof was situated near the village of La Boisselle and later known to the British as 'The Glory Hole'.

The Granathof:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27%C3...

https://simonjoneshistorian.com/tag/l...

Here is a new book covering Australian airmen as POW's in Stulag Luft III during WW2; "Kriegies: The Australian Airmen of Stalag Luft III" by Kristen Alexander.

Kriegies: The Australian Airmen of Stalag Luft III by Kristen Alexander

This new Australian release has just hit the shelves over here and it may be of interest to some group members; "Kriegies: The Australian Airmen of Stalag Luft III" by Kristen Alexander.

Kriegies: The Australian Airmen of Stalag Luft III by Kristen Alexander

Nick wrote: "Thank you gentlemen!"

Nick, another book that I have in my library on Operation Typhoon but I have not read is this book; "The Drive on Moscow, 1941" by Niklas Zetterling & Anders Frankson. It has numerous appendices which includes OOB for the German and Soviet forces.

The Drive on Moscow, 1941 by Niklas Zetterling & Anders Frankson

I second Marc's recommendation!

Thanks for posting those details, Jerome. I am sure a number of group members will be interested in the book once its released.

Antonio wrote: "I finished "How to kill a Tiger tank", by Craig Moore.

Its really interesting and a cientific and analytical approach on how to slay the giant cat."

Glad to hear you enjoyed the book, Antonio. Have you seen this book about; "Sledgehammers: Strengths and Flaws of Tiger Tank Battalions in World War II" by Christopher W. Wilbeck. Its another pretty interesting book on the German Tiger tank during WW2.

Sledgehammers: Strengths and Flaws of Tiger Tank Battalions in World War II by Christopher W. Wilbeck

That's good to hear you are enjoying the book SW! Now you will have to find copies of the rest of the books in the series!

Marc, I think I read that book about thirty years ago!

I am hoping it will be an interesting account MR9.

Decided to start the first volume of a four-book set covering the history of the German XIV Reserve Corps on the Somme.


The Other Side Of The Wire Volume 1: With The German XIV Reserve Corps On The Somme, September 1914 June 1916 by Ralph J. Whitehead

Manray9 wrote: "Tonight I've started --

The E-Boat Threat by Bryan Cooper."

I hope it's a thrilling read MR9, keep us all posted!

"Messerschmitts over Sicily: A Luftwaffe Ace Fighting the Allies and Goering" - A quote from the chapter heading in regard to Göring's order above:

"The orders issued by the latter [the Reichsmarschall] to the units were so harsh as to be tantamount to a demand that the German fighter pilots immolate themselves. Individual pilots whose aircraft had not been damaged or who had not themselves been shot down were threatened with court martial proceedings if they were unable to produce evidence of success in aerial combat.

Because of the high command's refusal to understand the factual reasons for the fighters' lack of success against four-engined bombers, and also because of the outrageous measures outlined above, morale among the fighter pilots sank very low indeed. It was obvious to any sensible person that the Commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe had lost his nerve when faced with the facts as they were, and was burying his head in the sand." - Paul Deichmann, Die Luftschlacht im westlichen Mittelmeer

"Messerschmitts over Sicily: A Luftwaffe Ace Fighting the Allies and Goering" - Hermann Göring inspiring his fighter pilots to great efforts on Sicily. This teleprint was received on July 12th, 1943:

"To the Second Air Force. Together with the fighter pilots of France, Norway, and Russia, I can only regard you with contempt. I want an immediate improvement in flying spirit. If this improvement is not forthcoming, flying personnel from the commander down must expect to be remanded to the ranks and transferred to the eastern front to serve on the ground. Göring, Reichsmarschall."

Messerschmitts over Sicily : A Luftwaffe Ace Fighting the Allies and Goering by Johannes Steinoff

Yes, it seems old Hermann was just "when in Rome do what the Romans do" and trying out the old practice of decimation!

"Messerschmitts over Sicily: A Luftwaffe Ace Fighting the Allies and Goering" - Hermann Göring's method of inspiring his pilots after a fighter sweep failed to make contact with an Allied bombing mission over Sicily:

"To the Fighter Leader, Sicily. During the defensive action against the bombing attack on the Straits of Messina the fighter element failed in its task. One pilot from each of the fighter wings taking part will be tried by court martial for cowardice in the face of the enemy." - (signed) Göring, Reichsmarschall

Messerschmitts over Sicily : A Luftwaffe Ace Fighting the Allies and Goering by Johannes Steinoff