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

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

Jerome wrote: "Another:

by Angus Konstam
Description:
HG-76 sailed from Gibraltar to Britain in December 1941 and was sp..."

Well Angus Konstam seems a safe bet for a naval subject!

Another excellent and though-provoking post MR9!

Manray9 wrote: "From Resistance: The Underground War Against Hitler, 1939-1945 by Halik Kochanski.

By the end of 1943 most of the Jews to perish in the Holocaust were dead. Kochanski wrote:

The n..."

Excellent post MR9!

I remember when reading the book; "Enemies and Neighbours: Arabs and Jews In Palestine and Israel, 1917-2017" by Ian Black the author quoted this observation about Palestinian youth from a Shin Bet agent in the early 2000's:

" ... The moment that you reach the conclusion that you have nothing to live for, you immediately find that you have something to die for."

That's a great story.

Jerome wrote: "Have any of you guys watched BBC's SAS: Rogue Heroes yet?

Haven't seen it yet (they haven't released every episode in the US), but I keep hearing good things (from Antony Beevor, no less)"

Not yet but soon I hope :)

Very interesting post MR9, it certainly sounds like SOE operations had a rough start.

Gary wrote: "I have just read and enjoyed V2 by Robert Harris, and bloody good it is, too. Here's my review, if you're interested:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I am now reading X-Troop: The..."

I really enjoyed “Fire & Steel”, highly recommended.

Great review of “V2”, thanks for sharing your thoughts on the book.

Gary wrote: "I am now reading X-Troop: The Secret Jewish Commandos Who Helped Defeat the Nazis, which is great."

Sounds like a pretty interesting book, Gary.

That should be fun Marc, enjoy!

Manray9 wrote: "From Halik Kochanski's Resistance: The Underground War Against Hitler, 1939-1945.

From the category of “You-Learn-Something-New-Each-Day.” Kochanski has a chapter entitled “Escape ..."

Very interesting post MR9. Great story about Father Christian Ravier, glad to hear that the Resistance managed to save him from execution.

"Fire and Steel: The End of World War Two in the West" - The last Germans to surrender at the end of WW2 occurred on the 4th of September 1945 at Spitsbergen, Norway, four months after the end of the war in Europe:

https://www.landmarkscout.com/the-las...

"Fire and Steel: The End of World War Two in the West" - The author also mentioned this terrible maritime disaster that occurred at the end of the war; the sinking of the Cap Arcona, Thielbek, and the Athen by the RAF:

https://www.tracesofwar.com/articles/...

"Fire and Steel: The End of World War Two in the West" - The author mentioned the amazing story of Bernard de Nonancourt, a member of the French tank regiment that entered into Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest days after his death and who was awarded the Croix de Guerre by General Philippe Leclerc for his "service in action to French Wine":

https://jillbarth.wordpress.com/2017/...

"Fire and Steel: The End of World War Two in the West" - The fanaticism of some of the German defenders mirrored that of the Japanese soldier in the Pacific:

"At this time, 29-year-old Chaplain William Boice was serving with the nearby 22nd Regiment of 4th Infantry Division. Ministering to his own flock, many barely older that the German teens they were fighting he was perhaps better qualified than most to comment on the opposition. 'They were young, from fifteen to nineteen, but fought with a fanaticism of which we had read, but seldom met. One had a wound in his leg which prevented his crawling away. One of our medics started toward the wounded German, when the boy picked up a "potato masher" stick grenade. The medic stopped and pointed to is red cross armband. The German stared at him stonily, and as the medic again moved to approach him, unscrewed the cap of his grenade. The lad held it immediately under his chin until it went off, blowing his head cleanly from his body. Such was their fanaticism'."

Fire and Steel: The End of World War Two in the West by Peter Caddick-Adams

"Fire and Steel: The End of World War Two in the West" - This gives a bit of context to mechanised warfare:

" ... Colonel Adriel N. Williams 436th Troop Carrier Group flew in 400,000 gallons for the four attacking divisions; this may sound like a lot, but their consumption rates were prodigious. Travelling a notional fifty miles in a 24-hour period, 14,037-strong US infantry divisions (with a bayonet strength of 9,204) were calculated to use 5,000 gallons per day, with 25,000 gallons a day for armoured divisions. The latter, at 12,697 men, assumed eight US gallons per wheeled vehicle, twenty-four for its 450 half-tracks and fifty-two for its 350 fully tracked light and medium tanks, self-propelled guns and recovery vehicles. Though fuel consumption varied enormously with usage, Shermans generally used between one and two gallons per mile, a rate that was often tripled by the heavier German tanks."

The Sherman Tank:
https://warspot.net/160-the-most-amer...

And both fairly young men as well.

Indeed Lee, due for release in May 2023; "To the End of the Earth: The US Army and the Downfall of Japan, 1945".

To the End of the Earth: The US Army and the Downfall of Japan, 1945 by John C. McManus

Jerome wrote: "A September 2023 release:

by Prit Buttar
Description:
This new history of the first two years of this crucial battle for..."

Automatic purchase once its available :)

"Fire and Steel: The End of World War Two in the West" - During the fighting to take Nuremberg two very brave American servicemen were subsequently awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions:

Lt. Francis Burke:
https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-...

Capt. Michael Joseph Daly:
https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/...

"Fire and Steel: The End of World War Two in the West" - The Allied advance into the heart of Germany strained logistics but American airpower came to the rescue, although with a cost:

"The pace of advance - three hundred miles in the twenty-five days from the 25 March Remagen breakout to 19 April when Leipzig surrendered to V Corps - was underlined by the issuing of one million gallons of fuel to First Army formations on a single day, 11 April. This was made possible by up to three hundred C-47s per day flying into a midpoint captured airstrip.

Occasionally there were losses to flak detachments not yet destroyed. On 3 April, a C-47 of the 316th Troop Carrying Group took a burst of 20mm anti-aircraft fire fifteen miles south-east of Cologne. 'Aircraft was loaded with 114 five-gallon cans of gasoline,' read the official report. 'C-47 immediately caught fire. Pilot put the plane down in a pasture, gear up, and got it down so quickly that all on board were able to exit to safety.' Excluding the pilot, Colonel Harvey A. Berger, whose 'cockpit had turned into an inferno, thought he could be seen silhouetted through the flames.' The only casualty that day, Berger made the flight because his mother had been born in Cologne and he wanted to see the city for himself. This popular officer, an ex-civilian airline pilot who had flown in Sicily, Normandy and Varsity, was the CO of the 316th TC Group."

Fire and Steel: The End of World War Two in the West by Peter Caddick-Adams