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pinturas-sgm-aviacion · 6 months ago

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1940 05 Westland Lysander MkIII - box art Italeri

The Westland Lysander was a short take off and landing (STOL) aircraft that was initially employed in the forward observer/artillery spotter/army cooperation role. It would later provide air support for what would subsequently be called covert operations in Occupied Europe. It first flew on June 15, 1936 and was a factor in the post-war development of a STOL requirement by the world’s major air forces. Entering service with the Royal Air Force in June 1938, its design was significantly influenced by the German Henschel Hs 126, a similar aircraft in the Luftwaffe inventory. The Lysander was fully operational with No. 16 (Army Co-operation) Squadron at the time of the Munich Crisis in September 1938, and began the R.A.F’s process of phasing out its then designated artillery spotter aircraft, the Hawker Hector bi-plane.By the time war broke out a year later, it was in service with seven squadrons, six of which deployed to France in the first months of the war (Nos. 2, 4, 13, 26, 613 and 614). When hostilities in the West began in earnest in May 1940 with Germany’s invasion of France and the Low Countries, Lysanders began reconnaisance and artillery spotting operations, with Nos. 2 and 4 Squadrons re-deploying to Belgium.On occasion, Lysanders gave a surprisingly good account of themselves when pitted against state-of-the-art German fighters. In one action, a group of Lysanders was attacked by six Messerschmitt Bf 110s over Belgium, and the rear gunner of one of them, L.A.C. Gillham, shot down one of the 110’s, before his pilot could escape at low level. In the coming weeks, Lysanders were frequently set upon by Bf 109’s, particularly when unescorted by their own fighters. While not fast, they were highly manueverable; if they were lucky, they would escape with mere battle damage. But between May 10 and May 23, 1940, nine crews and 11 aircraft were lost to enemy action. On the 25th still more were caught on the ground in a strafing attack at Clairmarais and destroyed.By the time of the Dunkirk evacuation, the Lysander squadrons had been decimated, having virtually no serviceable aircraft. Often their crews flew against intimidating odds, being called upon to air drop supplies without fighter escort to British or French troops, or provide ground support with their loads of 40 lb. bombs, all in skies increasingly dominated by the Luftwaffe. They inflicted damage along the way; on May 22 Flying Officer Dodge shot down a Henschel Hs 126 with his forward machine guns, while his rear gunner downed a Junkers Ju 87 Stuka. But this was the exception. Of 174 aircraft deployed to France, 88 were lost in air combat and 30 more destroyed on the ground by the time the French capitulated.

After Dunkirk, contemplating a loss rate of 63 percent, the RAF had little choice but to withdraw the Lysander from front line service — at least for daytime operations. The Lysander would go on to its greatest fame as the aircraft of choice for Special Operations Executive, a covert auxiliary of (and competitor to) the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), charged by Winston Churchill with covert operations in the Occupied Countries and a mandate to “set Europe ablaze.” Soon, on a regular basis, Lysanders of No. 138 Squadron (Special Duties), painted matt black, inserted agents and their weapons, ammunition, explosives and other supplies, and withdrew shot-down airmen. Sometimes they withdrew people wanted by the Gestapo, or brought Resistance leaders back to London for briefings. Lysanders would later be used by both the British Commandos and the American Office of Strategic Services on similar operations in Europe and the Far East.

Landing in unprepared clearings or meadows at night, the landing ground identified by small torches lit by members of the Resistance, Lysanders helped sustain hope in Occupied Europe and Asia. By 1942 they were equipped with larger fuel tanks (starting with the Mk. IIIa) to allow penetration deeper into France, and their ladders touched up with flourescent paint to allow quicker ingress and egress from the plane. There was constant danger – one on occasion, a Lysander guided to a landing by torches touched down, only to be met by German machine gun fire. The pilot, Squadron Leader Conroy, slammed the throttle open and struggled to get airborne, stemming the blood from a neck wound by clamping his hand over it. Brushing the treetops at the edge of the landing field, he managed to return safely to England.

In the Middle East, Lysanders were able to operate longer in their original roles of artillery spotting and reconnaisance since Axis fighter aircraft were not as readily available. In Palestine, they flew throughout 1940 doing aerial blackout inspections, coastal watch, and general co-operation with the Palestine Police. In North Africa, No. 6 Squadron was deployed to Libya and was ordered to remain in Tobruk when the British retreated from Rommel’s Afrika Korps, providing close air support over the beseiged garrison, which continued to hold out. During the war, Lysanders were operated by Britain, France, Ireland, Canada, Finland, Egypt, and South Africa. By war’s end they were a rarity, except in Canada, where relatively large numbers of them persisted until the 1950’s.

#italeri #box art

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hboww2rewatch · 6 months ago

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Please read the movie descriptions below

Saving Private Ryan (1998) - Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action. Dir. by Steven Spielberg

A League of Their Own (1992) - American sports comedy drama film that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) during WWII. Dir. by Penny Marshall

Greyhound (2020) - The film is based on the 1955 novel The Good Shepherd, and follows a US Navy commander on his first assignment commanding a multi-national escort destroyer group of four, defending an Allied convoy from U-boats during the Battle of the Atlantic. Dir. by Aaron Schneider

Mudbound (2017) - The film depicts two World War II veterans – one white, one black – who return to rural Mississippi each to address racism and PTSD in his own way. Dir. by Dee Rees

Twelve O'Clock High (1949) - A tough-as-nails general (Gregory Peck as General Savage) takes over a B-17 bomber unit suffering from low morale and whips them into fighting shape. Based on a novel by the same name. Dir. by Henry King

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) - three United States servicemen re-adjusting to societal changes and civilian life after coming home from World War II. The three men come from different services with different ranks that do not correspond with their civilian social class backgrounds. It is one of the earliest films to address issues encountered by returning veterans in the post World War II era. Dir. by William Wyler

The Monuments Men (2014) - An unlikely World War II platoon is tasked to rescue art masterpieces from German thieves and return them to their owners. Based on the 2007 non-fiction book The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History. Dir. by George Clooney

Dunkirk (2017) - Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Commonwealth and Empire, and France are surrounded by the German Army and evacuated from Dunkirk. It is shown from the perspectives of the land, sea, and air. Dir. by Christopher Nolan

Fury (2014) - A grizzled tank commander makes tough decisions as he and his crew fight their way across Germany in April, 1945. Dir. by David Ayer

Valkyrie (2008) - A dramatization of the July 20, 1944 assassination and political coup plot by desperate renegade German Army officers against Adolf Hitler during World War II. Dir. by Bryan Singer

#hboww2rewatch #hboww2rewatch poll

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whencyclopedia · 6 months ago

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Dunkirk Evacuation

The Dunkirk Evacuation of 26 May to 4 June 1940, known as Operation Dynamo, was the attempt to save the British Expeditionary Force in France from total defeat by an advancing German army. Nearly 1,000 naval and civilian craft of all kinds, aided by calm weather and RAF air support, managed to evacuate around 340,000 British, French, and Allied soldiers.

The evacuation led to soured Franco-Anglo relations as the French considered Dunkirk a betrayal, but the alternative was very likely the capture of the entire British Expeditionary Force on the Continent. France surrendered shortly after Dunkirk, but the withdrawal allowed Britain and its empire to harbour its resources and fight on alone in what would become an ever-expanding theatre of war.

Germany's Blitzkrieg

At the outbreak of the Second World War when Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, France was relying almost entirely on a single defensive line to protect itself against invasion. These defences were the Maginot Line, a series of mightily impressive concrete structures, bunkers, and underground tunnels which ran along France's eastern frontiers. Manned by 400,000 soldiers, the defence system was named after the French minister of war André Maginot. The French imagined a German attack was most likely to come in two places: the Metz and Lauter regions. As it turned out, Germany attacked France through the Ardennes and Sedan on the Belgian border, circumventing most of the Maginot Line and overrunning the inadequate French defences around the River Meuse, inadequate because the French had considered the terrain in this forested area unsuitable for tanks. Later in the campaign, the Maginot Line was breached near Colmar and Saarbrücken.

To bolster the defences of France, Britain had sent across the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) under the command of General John Vereker (better known by his later title Lord Gort, 1886-1946). Around 150,000 men, mostly infantry, had arrived in September 1939 to strengthen the Franco-Belgian border. The BEF included the British Advanced Air Striking Force of 12 RAF squadrons. The aircraft were mostly Hawker Hurricane fighters and a few light bombers, all given much to the regret of RAF commanders who would have preferred to have kept these planes for home defence. The superior Supermarine Spitfire fighters were kept safely in Britain until the very last stages of the battle in France. The BEF had no armoured divisions and so was very much a defensive force, rather than an offensive one. More infantry divisions arrived up to April 1940, so the BEF grew to almost 400,000 men, but 150,000 of these had little or no military training. As General Bernard Montgomery (1887-1976) noted, the BEF was "totally unfit to fight a first class war on the Continent" (Dear, 130). In this respect, both Britain and France were very much stuck in the defensive-thinking mode that had won them the First World War (1914-18). Their enemy was exactly the opposite and had planned meticulously for what it called Fall Gelb (Operation Yellow), the German offensive in the west.

Totally unprepared for a war of movement, the defensive-thinking French were overwhelmed in the middle weeks of May 1940 by the German Blitzkrieg ("lightning war") tactics of fast-moving tanks supported by specialist bombers and smartly followed by the infantry. German forces swept through the three neutral countries of the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium. The 9th Army punched through the Ardennes and raced in a giant curve through northeast France to reach the coast around Boulogne. The BEF and the northern French armies (7th and 1st) were cut off from the rest of the French forces to the south. Germany had achieved what it called the 'Sickle Slice' (Sichelschnitt). By 24 May, the French and British troops were isolated and with their backs to the English Channel, occupying territory from Dunkirk to Lille. Although there were sporadic counterpunches by the defenders, Gort had already concluded that the French army had collapsed as an operational force. Gort considered an attack on the Germans to the south, which he was ordered to make, would have achieved very little except the annihilation of his army. The BEF must be saved, and so he withdrew to the north.

#History #Allied #BEF #Belgian #WHE #[#]

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usafphantom2 · 1 year ago

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World War Two: When 600 US planes crashed in Himalayas

2 days ago

View of a US Army Air Transport Command cargo plane as it flies over the snow-capped, towering mountains of the Himalayas, along the borders of India, China, and Burma, January 1945, February 20, 1945.Getty Images

Pilots called the flight route "The Hump" - a nod to the treacherous heights of the eastern Himalayas

A newly opened museum in India houses the remains of American planes that crashed in the Himalayas during World War Two. The BBC's Soutik Biswas recounts an audaciously risky aerial operation that took place when the global war arrived in India.

Since 2009, Indian and American teams have scoured the mountains in India's north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, looking for the wreckage and remains of lost crews of hundreds of planes that crashed here over 80 years ago.

Some 600 American transport planes are estimated to have crashed in the remote region, killing at least 1,500 airmen and passengers during a remarkable and often-forgotten 42-month-long World War Two military operation in India. Among the casualties were American and Chinese pilots, radio operators and soldiers.

Has India's contribution to WW2 been ignored?

The operation sustained a vital air transport route from the Indian states of Assam and Bengal to support Chinese forces in Kunming and Chungking (now called Chongqing).

The war between Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) and the Allies (France, Great Britain, the US, the Soviet Union, China) had reached the north-eastern part of British-ruled India. The air corridor became a lifeline following the Japanese advance to India's borders, which effectively closed the land route to China through northern Myanmar (then known as Burma).

The US military operation, initiated in April 1942, successfully transported 650,000 tonnes of war supplies across the route - an achievement that significantly bolstered the Allied victory.

This operation sustained a vital air transport route from India to support Chinese forces in Kunming and Chunking

Pilots dubbed the perilous flight route "The Hump", a nod to the treacherous heights of the eastern Himalayas, primarily in today's Arunachal Pradesh, that they had to navigate.

Over the past 14 years Indo-American teams comprising mountaineers, students, medics, forensic archaeologists and rescue experts have ploughed through dense tropical jungles and scaled altitudes reaching 15,000ft (4,572m) in Arunachal Pradesh, bordering Myanmar and China. They have included members of the US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), the US agency that deals with soldiers missing in action.

The forgotten Indian soldiers of Dunkirk

With help from local tribespeople their month-long expeditions have reached crash sites, locating at least 20 planes and the remains of several missing-in-action airmen.

It is a challenging job - a six-day trek, preceded by a two-day road journey, led to the discovery of a single crash site. One mission was stranded in the mountains for three weeks after it was hit by a freak snowstorm.

"From flat alluvial plains to the mountains, it's a challenging terrain. Weather can be an issue and we have usually only the late fall and early winter to work in," says William Belcher, a forensic anthropologist involved in the expeditions.

A machine gun, pieces of debris, a camera: some of the recovered artefacts at the newly opened museum

Discoveries abound: oxygen tanks, machine guns, fuselage sections. Skulls, bones, shoes and watches have been found in the debris and DNA samples taken to identify the dead. A missing airman's initialled bracelet, a poignant relic, exchanged hands from a villager who recovered it in the wreckage. Some crash sites have been scavenged by local villagers over the years and the aluminium remains sold as scrap.

These and other artefacts and narratives related to these doomed planes now have a home in the newly opened The Hump Museum in Pasighat, a scenic town in Arunachal Pradesh nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas.

US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, inaugurated the collection on 29 November, saying, "This is not just a gift to Arunachal Pradesh or the impacted families, but a gift to India and the world." Oken Tayeng, director of the museum, added: "This is also a recognition of all locals of Arunachal Pradesh who were and are still an integral part of this mission of respecting the memory of others".

The museum starkly highlights the dangers of flying this route. In his vivid memoirs of the operation, Maj Gen William H Tunner, a US Air Force pilot, remembers navigating his C-46 cargo plane over villages on steep slopes, broad valleys, deep gorges, narrow streams and dark brown rivers.

Wreckage of many planes has been found in the mountains in recent years

The flights, often navigated by young and freshly trained pilots, were turbulent. The weather on The Hump, according to Tunner, changed "from minute to minute, from mile to mile": one end was set in the low, steamy jungles of India; the other in the mile-high plateau of western China.

Heavily loaded transport planes, caught in a downdraft, might quickly descend 5,000ft, then swiftly rise at a similar speed. Tunner writes about a plane flipping onto its back after encountering a downdraft at 25,000ft.

Spring thunderstorms, with howling winds, sleet, and hail, posed the greatest challenge for controlling planes with rudimentary navigation tools. Theodore White, a journalist with Life magazine who flew the route five times for a story, wrote that the pilot of one plane carrying Chinese soldiers with no parachutes decided to crash-land after his plane got iced up.

The co-pilot and the radio operator managed to bail out and land on a "great tropical tree and wandered for 15 days before friendly natives found them". Local communities in remote villages often rescued and nursed wounded survivors of the crashes back to health. (It was later learnt that the plane had landed safely and no lives had been lost.)

Does Nolan's Dunkirk ignore the role of the Indian army?

Not surprisingly, the radio was filled with mayday calls. Planes were blown so far off course they crashed into mountains pilots did not even know were within 50 miles, Tunner remembered. One storm alone crashed nine planes, killing 27 crew and passengers. "In these clouds, over the entire route, turbulence would build up of a severity greater than I have seen anywhere in the world, before or since," he wrote.

Parents of missing airmen held out the hope that their children were still alive. "Where is my son? I'd love the world to know/Has his mission filled and left the earth below?/Is he up there in that fair land, drinking at the fountains, or is he still a wanderer in India's jungles and mountains?" wondered Pearl Dunaway, the mother of a missing airman, Joseph Dunaway, in a poem in 1945.

The China-bound US transport planes took off from airbases in India's Assam

The missing airmen are now the stuff of legend. "These Hump men fight the Japanese, the jungle, the mountains and the monsoons all day and all night, every day and every night the year round. The only world they know is planes. They never stop hearing them, flying them, patching them, cursing them. Yet they never get tired of watching the planes go out to China," recounted White.

The operation was indeed a daredevil feat of aerial logistics following the global war that reached India's doorstep. "The hills and people of Arunachal Pradesh were drawn into the drama, heroism and tragedies of the World War Two by the Hump operation," says Mr Tayeng. It's a story few know.

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if-you-fan-a-fire · 2 years ago

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"Soon after the fall of France in the Spring of 1940, rightist collaborators in France established a civilian government to rule the southern France, while the Germany military occupied northern France. The rightists’ capital was at Vichy. The president of the government at Vichy was general Philippe Pétain, hero of the French army during World War I, while Pierre Laval, Admiral François Darlan, then Laval once again served as the Vichy prime ministers. At the same time, however, Charles de Gaulle, a junior tank commander in the French army was promoted by the British as leader of the Free French Forces, the small remnant of the French army that had survived the German onslaught to escape from Dunkirk when France fell. De Gaulle was promoted as head of the French government-in-exile, a policy the British applied, as well, to other European countries such as Poland.

After the fall of France, French communists organized resistance to the Nazis and the Vichy regime in spite of the Hitler-Stalin pact, and the bizarre and confusing propaganda that issued from the Communist International in Moscow after the pact. De Gaulle was able to establish salutary links with the communist resistance in France. His stature grew among the allies, especially in the English-speaking world, from which official recognition and support were both tangible and immediate.

In Canada, however, support for de Gaulle’s cause from the federal government, to say the least, was weak, if not entirely absent. In fact, the Canadian government was subjected to a persistent, pro-Vichy campaign. From the fall of France onwards, the typical, anti-communist propaganda in the French-Canadian press which had appeared with increasing frequency before and during World War II was now accompanied by pro-Vichy propaganda, directly supported by Vichy diplomats stationed in French Canada.

Indeed, Vichy was a source of inspiration to the right in French Canada. Not only was the federal Liberal government aware of the campaign and its provenance; it more or less acquiesced. There are many examples of this pro-Vichy stance from the Canadian government. On November 10, 1941, the federal government’s Information Service addressed a memorandum to Ernest Lapointe about the extent of pro-Vichy propaganda in the French-language press. The aim of the Information Service’s intervention was to obtain the expulsion of the Vichy consuls active in the propaganda campaign.

Lapointe was quite ill, indeed dying, which occurred just two weeks later. No action was taken upon the request to expel Vichy representatives. In March, 1942, in the middle of the plebiscite campaign about conscription, the Information Service made known the contents of a report from French de Gaulle supporters living in Ottawa about the anti-conscription campaign in French Canada, which combined anti-communist and anglophobic propaganda to inspire the ‘no’ side in the plebiscite campaign. The latter was organized and led by André Laurendeau, an active, leading member of the Ordre de Jacques-Cartier. According to the Gaullists’ report, Ricard, the Vichy consul in Quebec City, was deeply involved with the anti-conscription campaign. The group which opposed conscription called itself the Ligue pour la défense du Canada. Part of the Ligue’s argument was that Canada itself was in danger in World War II. This should be Canada’s priority, not sending troops from an over-extended colony for the defence of the mother-country. Gaullists complained that “Quebec was ripe for Nazi propaganda”, owing to the anti-conscription campaign of the Ligue. Furthermore, the attitude of the Ligue was also dangerous since:

The absurdity of the idea that Canada can be defended exclusively on Canadian soil is apparent at first sight and certainly of German origin. All military critics agree that a war like this one can be won only by taking the offensive… All the armies and all the fleets in the new world combined would protect the immense length of our coasts in such a weak way, that an enemy concentration on one or more points would not fail to penetrate it. A certain manner of presenting Canada as directly and urgently in danger overreaches the aim, excites the minds and plays into the hand of anti-conscriptionists.

In fact, Vichy actually provided money to the Ligue for its anti-conscription campaign through its consul at Montreal, facts uncovered by the RCMP. Nevertheless, the King government maintained formal relations with Vichy until November, 1942, coincidentally, when the Hull internees were all finally released. Up to this time, the King government was clearly anti-Gaullist. There are several examples of this stance.

In the fall of 1940, J. L. Ralston, Minister of Defence, brought to the attention of Lapointe an analysis of pro-Vichy propaganda in Quebec, written by a French-Canadian officer working in military intelligence. The officer recommended the creation of a committee of French-Canadians who would promote the Gaullist cause in Canada, an idea which Lapointe rejected, a position which received the specific approval of King. Still in the Fall of 1940, French citizens living in Quebec City wanted to form a Canadian, Gaullist group, as already existed in the U.S., called France Forever/France quand même. Reforming journalist Jean-Charles Harvey was a member of the American group, and he promoted its views in his own writings. A Quebec City notary, Victor Morin, was engaged to determine if Lapointe would permit formation of the group, despite the continuing diplomatic relations of the Canadian government with Vichy. Lapointe responded that "it was not a good idea to encourage any movement that would have the effect of dividing French-Canadians into supporters of de Gaulle versus supporters of the Pétain government.” When Morin added later that the committee would be limited to French citizens, and would not include French-Canadians, Lapointe still responded with a curt ‘no’, with no further explanation.

A similar request from French residents of Montreal to permit the creation and incorporation of a Gaullist organization was also rejected in the fall of 1941. In his letter of September 29, 1941, Norman Robertson explained to the deputy minister of Secretary of State, E. H. Coleman:

I do not think that it would be helpful at the present juncture to take any formal step in the way of incorporation of a Free French organization, however representative its membership and admirable its objectives might be, which would be likely to precipitate further debate about the continued reception of the French minister in Ottawa, and force a premature definition of the status of General de Gaulle and the Free French movement.

In the summer of 1940, Great Britain asked Canada to train French aviators for the Gaullist forces, using the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, which King indeed had claimed was going to be Canada’s most effective contribution to the British war effort. The King Cabinet refused the request, citing public opinion in French Canada, as well as the costs involved. The request was eventually approved under British pressure, although the British had to pay the costs of training the French aviators. In the fall of 1940, Cabinet rejected de Gaulle’s request to conduct recruitment efforts in Canada, “which would divide Canadians into those who supported Vichy from those who supported de Gaulle.”

These examples demonstrate that the aim of Cabinet was to minimize public debate about the Vichy/de Gaulle controversy, all the while maintaining official recognition of Vichy since, according to Lapointe, French-Canadians did support the Pétain government. Lapointe’s argument, however, was only valid for the petty-bourgeoisie, as organized in the Ordre de Jacques-Cartier membership and groups, including the Ligue pour la défense du Canada. Moreover, Lapointe was a close, personal friend and admirer of Pétain; the extent of Ordre documents in Lapointe’s archives in the National Archives of Canada leads one to suggest that Lapointe himself was a member, perhaps even a leader, of the Ordre de Jacques-Cartier.

In November, 1942, Canada finally broke off diplomatic relations with Vichy, but only after playing diplomatic games of peek-a-boo with the Allies who had been pressuring Canada, hitherto unsuccessfully, to terminate relations with Vichy. The Vichy consuls were only asked to leave in May, 1942, after the conscription plebiscite. The Vichy ambassador’s departure followed later that year, once again, even as the last of Hull internees was being released in November.

- Michael Martin, The Red Patch: Political Imprisonment in Hull, Quebec during World War 2. Self-published, 2007. p. 93-96

#vichy france #fall of france #free france #france libre #histoire de quebec #french canada #fascism in canada #canada during world war 2 #world war ii #anti-communism #nazi sympathizers #resistance to conscription #conscription in canada #political repression #academic quote #reading 2023 #the red patch

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historynerdj2 · 1 year ago

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A Noob’s guide to Day of Infamy

This is Day of Infamy.

*ding*

This 2017 game made and published by New World Interactive using the Source engine, is a game that I am sad about. Not because it is sad, but because it is an interesting gem. It’s like finding a brownie shaped like a piece of turd, but it is made with the most exquisite of fudge and chocolate. It is a good game, even with a few flaws (we’ll get to those, don’t worry). In fact, I dare say that this had to be both one of my favorite first person shooters and my favorite World War 2 games. So here is a quick introduction and tutorial of how to survive this game.

First thing to know is that Day of Infamy is a multiplayer tactical first-person shooter, set in the European theatre of the Second World War. With different game mods, with most of them being some variant of finding a point on the map, and politely telling the enemy already there, to shod off. This gentle persuasion is achieved with the liberal application of both high explosives, and small automatic firearms. The maps range from The beaches of Normandy in 1944, the Streets Salerno in 1943, all the way to Crete in 1941. With such a breadth of time (6 calendar years), and a vast swath of maps (mostly France, Italy, and one Greek map), factions are vast, at the number of 3. The different factions play on certain maps, so don’t expect to see Americans at Dunkirk. Each faction has unique weapons, and units. These units don't affect gameplay all that much admittedly, as it is mostly cosmetic, but they are still nice. You can earn them through leveling up, or alternatively, you can just buy them.

First is the Americans, because of course there is.

With all the classic American WW2 weaponry, like M1 Garand, and Thompson, they will be familiar for many. As for units, once again, many of them will be familiar for those that dabble in WW2 history and/or media, such as the 101st Airborne, or the 1st Infantry Division (better known by the nickname “The Big Red One”). I also want to give a shout out, because I’m pretty sure that this is one of the only games that actually remembered that African Americans actually fought in WW2, in the form of including the 92nd Infantry Division, and the 761st Tank Battalion.

Next is everyone's favorite member of the second world war, the Wehrmacht (Germany).

I say Wehrmacht, because the vast majority of their units are Wehrmacht, such as the 272nd Volksgrenadier Division, or the 29th Panzergrenadier Division. The only exception is the 17th Panzer division, who while listed as Wehrmacht, were historically Waffen SS, so now you guys know which unit not to get. Again, most of the weaponry will be familiar for those who play WW2 shooters, such as the MP40, and MG42.

The last faction are the British… or should I say Commonwealth.

This is another reason why I like this game. You see, NWI remembered that the Brits in the second world war, had an empire, and they are willing to bring said empire into their scuffles. This means that while they do have British units like the famous/infamous Black Watch, they also have many units of Canada, such as the Princes’s Patricia’s Canadian Light infantry, as well as Australians (2/17th Battalion, who also happen to be my favorite) and Indians (12th Frontier Force Regiment). As for weaponry, most will be familiar… provided you are familiar with the British in WW2, such as the Bren, or the Lee-Enfield No. 4. They also have the one exception of where units do affect load out (we’ll get to that) with only the 2/17th Battalion being allowed to use the Owen Mk. 1.

Now that you have been familiarized with the factions, one must remember that as this is a team based game, it becomes like medieval Europe, where class matters. There are 9 classes, each with unique load outs, and purposes. Most of them also have limited slots.

Firstly, we have the basic class, the rifleman. The only class to not have a limit for slots, they are armed with a rifle. It should be noted that just because you are using a bolt action for the most part, you’re still deadly. With extra stamina, and access to rifle grenades, it is a very solid class.

Next is the assault class, who solves your issues at close range with the liberal application of an smg. Following that, is Support, who provides support by using a light machine gun, like a Bren or BAR. After that is the trifecta of basic shooter classes of Engineer (use explosives), Machinegunner (MOAR DAKKA!), and Sniper (one shot, one kill). Now the unique classes for the game starts now. After that, is Flamethrower, who decides that turning people into a barbeque is only a war crime the first time.

Now, here is the interesting part. You get one Officer, who has the ability to call support of any sort, from the innocent supply drop and smoke screens, to less innocent ones, such as artillery barrages, aerial strafings, and bombing runs. However, they can’t actually call these in, without a radio, which is accomplished with the last class, radioman. With a radio on their back, all they do is stand next to the officer, while they call in an artillery strike that will wipe the enemy team, and half of your team who were caught in the blast. (rule of thumb, you should always have both an officer and a radioman).

After choosing game mod, faction and units, and class, you have your loadout. Everyone has a primary weapon, secondary weapon, access of up to two different types of grenade, and a melee weapon. Furthermore, attachments to your weapon such as slings, bayonets, or scopes. Furthermore, you also have access to vests that can increase the amount of ammo you have. So what’s the catch? Well, weight is a factor, as in the more stuff you carry, the slower you are. Furthermore, your access to this is determined by supply points. You gain more supply points by playing the objective, so play. The. BLOODY. OBJECTIVE!!!

Anyway, items cost certain amounts of supply points, so this means you have to compromise about what you bring in. For example, if you play an American assault, an M3 Grease Gun with a sling, costs 5 supplies, while a Thompson M1A1 by itself costs 6 supplies. So, with this knowledge, prepare to compromise, especially with your first rounds.

After all that has been said, many of you might remember what I have said earlier about their flaws. Well, here they are. Map designs can be kind of poor, and lack of content update. They still support the game, but don’t hold your breath for new content that isn’t fan made (remember, this is the source engine. It’s super easy to mod… so I’ve been told), considering that the last update was back in December of 2017. This ties into the big elephant in the room… lack of players. Because of the lack of long term support, due to it being released just before another major NWI release, Sandstorm Insurgency (also a really good shooter), player counts can be pretty low. This is in spite of the fact that the vast majority of reviewers like the game. Many players often complain that the game is dead, but that isn’t quite the truth. A lot of the players for some reason seem to be on European servers. Of course, this is also the reason why I’m talking about this game.

So in summary, if you want to try a good team-based fps, or a good WWII game, I strongly recommend giving Day of Infamy a try. It comes cheaply too, being 15 USD for the base game, and 20 USD for the deluxe edition, and it can be cheaper during sales. Also, final note, this game also has amazing voice acting, of various types for the various American, German, and Commonwealth units, using a mixture of your typical fps voices, but also many witty, and genuinely funny lines (in that regards, shout out to the commonwealth voice actors, with my favorites being the Scottish and Australian voice) Many of these voices can be found on Youtube.

So take a dive into Day of Infamy, and this has been a Noob’s guide to Day of Infamy, which can be found on Steam. Enjoy the rest of your day.

#day of infamy #ww2 #wwiii #world war ii #world war two #world war second #second world war #video games #first person shooter #classic fps #humorous #review #tutorial #steam games #new world interactive #nwi

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denimbex1986 · 2 years ago

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'Summer movie season is here, and fans are bracing for a showdown on July 21 — the fateful day when Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer both hit movie theaters. And the absolute ideological whiplash between these two films has, so far, dominated the conversation around them.

Barbie and Oppenheimer are extreme opposites, both aesthetically and in subject matter. One is a colorful comedy about a favorite childhood doll; it’s over-the-top, saturated with bright pink, and unabashedly girly. The other is a gritty war drama about physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his work developing the atomic bomb through the Manhattan Project.

These films do have a few things in common: Both are helmed by critically acclaimed directors who have established a strong following, and each of these films play to their strengths. Gerwig’s Lady Bird and Little Women established her as a premier filmmaker for capturing coming-of-age stories and iconic girlhood cultural touchstones. And Nolan has elevated the classic thriller blockbuster into everything from high-concept science fiction to moving war stories in the likes of Dunkirk, Interstellar, and Inception. Both Barbie and Oppenheimer look engrossing, smart, and visually distinct. Both also have an absolutely star-studded cast.

Anyone craving a summer blockbuster has two stellar choices in July — it’s just really hard to choose between the two on opening day. Many fans have shared memes illustrating the difficult choice, or have committed to watching both, making jokes about the wild contrast and attempting to figure out which order to see them in.

Some fans have even edited together the two trailers to create one monstrosity: Barbenheimer.

Then there’s the sheer volume and tenor of Barbie marketing — which has made it feel all-encompassing and inescapable — made even funnier contrasted against the starkness of Oppenheimer’s own marketing push. Both films have received a handful of trailers, but that’s where the similarities end. The Barbie cast has appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show and graced the covers of several glossy magazines, glammed up in pink. Pop star Dua Lipa released a single for the film, and rappers Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj did their take on Aqua’s “Barbie Girl.”

Nolan’s film, on the other hand, hasn’t had the same glossy marketing. But Nolan did tell Wired that filmgoers have been “devastated” by Oppenheimer, saying “they can’t speak” after watching it.

Warner Bros. Pictures has also gone all in on Barbie product collaborations. The Barbie movie was made with Mattel’s blessing, and true to form, there are a series of dolls and a DreamHouse inspired by the actors and the film’s lively set. Unsurprisingly, there’s also real-life Barbie fashion, accessories, and home decor items. But there’s also a Barbie Xbox designed to look like a DreamHouse, and a series of controllers. Maybe the biggest play for attention is a whole-ass house in Malibu that you can rent via Airbnb, with bright pink walls and roofing and an enormous slide going from — what else — the second floor to a ground-level pool. It really does feel like we’re all Barbie girls living in a Barbie world.

This Barbie-versus-Oppenheimer moment might not have come across as so extreme in past years. Summer blockbusters historically offered fans a range of films. That’s the whole point: There’s an animated film starring an animal for the kids, a kissing movie for your date, a PG-13 comedy for high schoolers out for the summer, and a biopic for your dad (or your depressed bisexual sister — we contain multitudes). Look at the embarrassment of riches that was the summer of 2008: The Dark Knight, WALL-E, Mamma Mia, Iron Man, Kung Fu Panda, Sex and the City, and more.

It has been years since we’ve seen this level of box-office showdown. Yes, it’s largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic tanking theater attendance, to the extent that major chains like Arclight completely shut down. In 2021 especially, releasing a film in theaters felt like a statement — a gamble that an audience would be willing to risk being in an enclosed space for several hours. But even earlier, streaming giants like Netflix disrupted theatergoing culture by making movies available on the day of release via streaming.

In 2023, this sort of showdown feels not only rare, but hysterical — and like a cause for celebration. Comparing the two movies is just as exciting as getting geared up to see them. And, yes, I do plan on seeing both.'

#Cillian Murphy #Oppenheimer #Barbie #Margot Robbie #Christopher Nolan #Greta Gerwig

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necarion · 1 hour ago

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Time travel fiction loves "we changed something, and now the Nazis won World War II". But in reality, the start of the war was profoundly overdetermined.

Had the Czechs fought over the Sudetenland, it would have pulled Poland and France into the war at a time when the Germans were bluffing and didn't have the industrial power.

Had the British not fucked up their communication in the first days of the Battle of Norway, the war would have ended up dragging on there, because Hitler knew he couldn't get trapped in the Baltic Sea. That'd have given France the time to get its shit together.

Anyone, anywhere in France listens to reports of the Germans traveling through the Ardennes

There not been a minor diplomatic kerfuffle that led to the Netherlands pulling out of the planned Maginot Line development

There are a couple of cases where things could have turned out differently the other direction, again early on, that might have led to Britain just not fighting.

The weather breaks differently during the Dunkirk withdrawal, giving the Luftwaffe a chance

The invasion of France goes even faster, not giving a chance at Dunkirk

But later in the war, and especially when the US gets directly involved, the result becomes basically inevitable. Yes, a time traveler could spoil the plans for Normandy. Although that would have just led to the Allies choosing not to land, because they'd cracked all the German cryptography by that point.

Yes, it would have been a lot harder to beat the Nazis had they not invaded the USSR (although that was inevitable with their ideology, let's put that aside). But although they suffered staggering casualties in the East, they put all their mechanized effort on the Western Front. The Luftwaffe lost over 75% of its aircraft in the West. We don't think of WWII as a war with horses in it, because the vast majority of German horses were used in the East, as they saved their tank and cars for the western front.

By late 1944, the US was already starting to convert some of its tank factories back to civilian car production. We were simultaneously providing the materiel for two different wars on two continents, and had enough to spare to make civilian vehicles again.

#world war 2

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sjvllsblog · 1 month ago

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Matilda II tanks of 'B' Squadron, 44 Royal Tank Regiment on an exercise near Worthing, West Sussex, England. 31 December 1940.

No other tank in the British Army inventory was as important as the Matilda II during the early years of World War 2. The German blitzkrieg laid claim to much of Europe and Allied forces barely escaped slaughter at Dunkirk, leaving behind countless small arms, artillery and tanks. The Matilda II came at such a time when there proved little hope in stopping the German war machine. Throughout fighting in the Desert Campaign, the system acquitted herself quite well, leaving behind a reputation as a robust mobile unit worthy of the British tanker. While outmoded towards the middle and end years of the war, the Matilda II no doubt served the Empire well through her many exploits in the field. Amazingly, the Matilda II became the only British tank to have served throughout the whole course of war (beginning with the British and ending with the Australians).

(Photo source - © IWM H 6371)

War Office official photographer - Mr Puttnam

(Colourised by Joshua Barrett from the UK)

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romanalfonsogodoydelacroix · 7 months ago

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war movies released very close together, one from America and one from Russia, both telling or re-telling stories based upon true events. The film from Russia is T-34 which tells the story of the Russian built tank that was produced in their hundreds during WWll, it also focuses upon the German invasion of Russia and the vital role that this tank in-particular played in fighting the Nazi war machine. It also has an interesting storyline which is the central thread of the movie, with the Nazi’s realising that Russian tank crews are better than their own, so they recruit POW’s who are tank crew members to train their own tank crews. Things however do not go as planned, the Nazi’s think that the Russian tank is unarmed as the training begins, but this is not so and the T-34 blasts its way out of the POW camp, the film then tells the story of the Russian crews attempt to return to the Red Army and of how they are pursued by German Panther tanks. It’s an exciting and quite graphic movie, with realistic looking battles and a strong cast and script. The second war film to be released is MIDWAY and yes it tells the story of the battle of Midway again in the second world war, but this time involving American and Japanese forces, sadly it’s a repeat of the debacle that was PEARL HARBOUR a few years ago, and yes there are factual events portrayed but why do Hollywood movies add bits and pieces, well I suppose its for dramatic effect, oh and yes to make money too, there are spectacular effects in the movie but I think they spent a lot more on these than they did the story, so it’s a no from me for this slice of Hollywood tat. The Russian movie is in my opinion far superior its gritty and realistic rather than glitzy and well boring. But it’s the music that I am really concerned about, so MIDWAY, yes where do we start? The score is by Thomas Wander and Harald Kloser, and is a work that sadly is rather heavy on grating synthetic cues, which outnumber the symphonic elements by the sound of things, I listened through three times and could only really find one cue that I thought might be of any interest which is track number seven THIS IS IT, its dramatic and forthright in its overall sound, but short lived and does not really develop into anything that one can latch onto to call memorable, I am not going to talk anymore about this film or its score, as it is another wasted opportunity in the case of the music to create something that at least has hints of themes, I think the composers must have listened to DUNKIRK and thought, oh yes “THE DRONE THE JARRING AND REPETATIVE SYNTHETIC SOUNDS, WE WILL GO FOR THAT”.

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thatscarletflycatcher · 1 year ago

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My Charles De Gaulle reading so far:

The Army of the Future, an essay/exhortation on the future defense and army of France published in 1934, is a surprisingly engaging read as a historical document. I am relatively surprised that it was so easy to get through because "military strategy" is definitely a topic I have never had a particular interest in.

General information I had found about this book elsewhere ended up being surprisingly accurate. De Gaulle hammers on and on about the importance of armored divisions, the weakness of the north-east border of France compared to the east border where the Maginot line was, the need of a professional army because of mechanization, that France could no longer rely on numbers for its battles, etc, etc.

As I commented on the tags of another post, it shows how false the notion that the nazis conceived the "genius idea" of blitzkrieg; the concept was already clear to De Gaulle at the time, and in his war memoris he mentions a wole list of authors that had been talking about tanks and their key relevance to warfare moving forward since 1917.

I've been very slowly making my way through the war memoirs, partly because this is a busy time of year, but partly because the grief, frustration, and tragedy of the YEARS of events that led to France's surrender in June 1940 and how De Gaulle is still feeling about them 15 years later are more emotionally taxing than I expected them to be.

But I've been having two recurring thoughts connected to them:

One, how Tolkien detested the readings of LotR as allegory, yes, but also, honestly, how easy it is to find their applicability in narratives such as these. De Gaulle presents government, high command, and French people at that point (the 1930s) as mentally aged and tired, traumatized by the Great War into a denial of their situation, desperately holding onto old strategies and violently refusing to consider new views that meant accepting the real danger of Nazi fascism and Hitler, even if it came with the strong hope that it could be met and repelled. There's an intense tragic sadness every time he tells an event or decision taken, and repeats some formulation of 'this made things worse, but there was still hope'. This I found a particularly poignant example: "Sadly, during the course of the Battle of France, this 14 kilometers deep stretch of land was the only one that was reconquered... by May 30th, the battle is virtually lost. On the evening of the day before that, the king and army of Belgium have capitulated. at Dunkirk, the British Army begins its re-embarkation. What remains of the French troops in the north tries to do the same; a retreat, by force, disastrous. Soon the enemy will start south on the second phase of their offensive, against an adversary reduced into a third of its strength, and more than ever lacking the means to answer to the German mechanized forces. At my encampment in Picardy, I have no illusions; but I am determined to keep my hope... we have the Empire, that offers us its resources; we have the navy, that can cover it; we have the people, who, having to suffer the invasion anyways, can be incited by the Republic into resistance, a terrific occasion for unity; there's the world, that can help us with armament, and later on, by joining us. It all depends on this question: will the public powers, at all costs, protect the State, preserve our independence and save the future, or will they abandon everything in the midst of the panic of the collapse?" (Translation mine from the Spanish translation I'm reading; I sadly do not speak any French myself). I'm not going to say, in a trite way THIS IS EXACTLY LIKE THEODEN FIRST AND THEN DENETHOR, but I think you can see the similarities in the narrative and perspective.

This one is a bit sillier, but the brain does what the brain does. I kept remembering that episode of The Simpsons (S15E21) where they escape Alcatraz and are rescued by a French ship, which captain tells them "we hate America too! Come to France, and we will mock the country that saved us twice from the Germans". On this site it is common to clown on edgy shows like Family Guy, but I was thinking how this "hey, it's a comedy, which means we stereotype, and make gross generalizations and are in general irreverent" can hide under the mask of progressive irreverence some rather startling thoughts on the opposite direction (that the French are cowards and idiots and inferior to brave and good Americans who joined both wars just to heroically save the incompetent behinds of everybody else) The irony that the whole plot of the episode hinges on Bart disrespecting the American flag does not escape me. I don't deny you can argue that the whole point is revealing the target audience's hipocrisy, but while The Simpsons were a generally smart show once, I don't think it ever was that deep).

#Charles de Gaulle #WWII #History

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thecanadiantimetraveler · 1 year ago

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Lightning War

You can guess from the name is that I was talking about Blitzkrieg. Yes, the legendary "Blitzkrieg" used by the Germans during WW2.

I was eager to see the failed Austrian Artist, alongside other major characters like him. Of course various battles and operations, different periods of the war. I decided to go all in for WW2, unlike other stories that I will also tell in my blog. I took me more time than I realized or wanted.

About how much time I spent, it doesn't matter, because the Lightning War is what I want to focus on. People threw shade at German for losing the war, but I like to think the powers or what they did are pretty significant. I am mesmerized by 2 things, 1 is the ability to convince other people like Hitler. The guy literally convinced his whole country to go to war against giants of the war. He is literally the best public speech figure ever, and people often look over him, because he is "the guy who lose", but in many ways, he won.

The second thing is their revolutionary warfare, "Blitzkrieg". It is stunning, and dangerous, but overall, beautiful for a guy who likes to study history and warfare. It is what Sun Tzu would be proud of. It was quick, logical, smart, and definitely cheap. Nothing is destroyed but the enemy in Blitzkrieg. One thing to mention here is that the best army in the world at that time is French, and an inferior army like the German can absolutely not do anything against such army.

Only in 3 days, the incredible speed of motorized army crossed the German-French border through the Ardennes into Sedan, ONLY 3 DAYS ARE YOU KIDDNG ME. The barebone defense of France in the mountains has to endure the combination of 60,000 Germans, all are using crystal meth, which transformed them into superhumans, 22,000 vehicles, 850 tanks and the full force of the Luftwaffe as aerial artillery, and radios, which is incredibly new at the time. Look at France, they have to send messages through horses! The move was made possible by the Germans invasion of Denmark and Sweden before as a decoy. Only in 5 days, the German knocked out the Dutch, and encircled 1 million combined troops of France and British on the next day in Belgium and Holland, waiting to die. It was dreadful, and I could see it.

It is this point that the Germans was ordered to stop by Hitler themselves, and the Luftwaffe are ordered to destroyed them, like destroying sitting ducks. Anyway, that's how the Dunkirk miracle happened, but that is another story. I guess one of the wisest thing that France did was moved out of Paris for the German for taking, without it being bombed and like that. And just like that, after 10 days, they did charge into Paris, like heroes, because they are in fact, heroes (for the Germans). They took the city, and just like that, reverse the result of a 4 years old war in the past, which was known as WW1. The feeling of shambles of the French commanders when they have to go into the old carriage that the treaty of Versailles was signed. In 10 days, Hitler did just that, that took German 4 years ago, in a losing state.

Reflective corner: Anyways, those 10 days are legendary (as a historical significance perspective), and was the peek, and the peak of modern warfare. It was awesome to spectate as a 3rd person. And welcome to "what can Canada learn from this?". Well, not much, except that they should use the best technology available out there to their advantage, in every field there is. Also listen to the UK and the US for war advices, they had no history of losing a world war.

Description for those who need it: VROOM VROOM NEW HORSE IN TOWN BOYS. THE FUTURE IS HERE. T MINUS 10 DAYS FOR TOTAL FRANCE DOMINATION.

Jedi mind trick, you don't see anything:

Work cited: “Watch Greatest Events of WWII in Colour: Netflix Official Site.” Watch Greatest Events of WWII in Colour | Netflix Official Site, 8 Nov. 2019, www.netflix.com/title/80989924.

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sergeant-spoons · 2 years ago

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14. Foxes and Hounds

Maeve R.L. O’Leavy

Taglist: @thoughpoppiesblow @chaosklutz @wexhappyxfew @50svibes @tvserie-s-world @adamantiumdragonfly @ask-you-what-sir @whovian45810 @brokennerdalert @holdingforgeneralhugs @claire-bear-1218 @heirsoflilith @itswormtrain @actualtrashpanda @wtrpxrks

Finally taking this fic off hiatus! Hurrah! Updates will likely continue to be sporadic, but I’ve got a solid plan going forward and intend to post at least once a month until I can really get my feet underneath me again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maeve slept well in Shifty's arms. Dawn came all too soon, and the shoot-out that ensued just as the sun crept over the hilly horizon was one hell of a thing.

The smuggler out-of-sorts was awoken by a youthful trooper she didn't recognize. He shook her shoulder and only ceased when she opened her eyes. Flashing her a gap-toothed smile, he offered her a tin mug of coffee, and just as she accepted it, hastily rubbing sleep from her eyes, the first mortar landed on the line not far past the hillock. As the soldier fell over, scrambling not to spill his coffee, Maeve threw her own cup aside and lunged for her rifle. She took note that Shifty was no longer with her and shoved aside a flare-up of fear at his disappearance, knowing there were more important things to focus on right now. Rolling onto her stomach, she crawled up the hill and eyed the enemy encampment. There was movement, for sure. Men were shouting, both here and there, and it was hardly an instant before the first bullets flew. No order had been given, and Maeve looked back curiously to find the officers running amuck, trying to gather their men and arrange a defense. She knew the importance of holding the line and not falling back to Carentan lest the enemy took it, but she was confused by the lethargy of the response. Finally, the order rang out, and just as Maeve was bypassed by an unfamiliar fellow running about like a chicken with its head cut off, she turned back over her shoulder, cocked her rifle, and started shooting.

She'd never trained as a rifle-bearer or a sniper. In fact, she'd never trained at all in the military way of things. The time she was spending with this American regiment was only her second military involvement of the entire war, and that was an impressive statistic, considering that she'd been fighting (in her own way) since 1939. She'd been present for a portion of Dunkirk, but she'd only fired her gun a number of times and her bow even less. She had no child with her at the time, and that was a grand relief, for she doubted either of them would have made it through. Maeve herself only made it across the border into Belgium with less than an hour to spare before the Luftwaffe filled the night, the Nazis having halted their tank-heavy advance and turned to the skies. The bombings that night were so abundant that the sky was lit up enough for Maeve to not warrant the use of her flashlight. The only thing military about it had been the prioritization of officers and the staggering coordination of the retreat.

This skirmish was nothing like Dunkirk.

There were no tanks, for one—at least, not yet, those would come later—and the two engaged parties were stationary. This was a trench shoot-out of the ilk seen far more often in the First World War but just as divisive and decisive in the Second. Maeve heard men shouting to fire and so discharged her weapon, aiming at anything that moved across the ridge. Her aim was fair and she took down several foes before the bullets began to turn in her direction. They were trying to locate her through the bushes and foliage, suspecting a sniper. Understanding the danger, she retreated, pushing herself backward by way of her elbows, hips, and knees down the slope. Someone tripped over her and rolled, blustering profanity, and Maeve was quick to scramble out of the way in case he'd caught any of the grenades these Americans kept so often on their chests on the hard earth. He had not, thankfully, and she took a beat to glance him over. He threw his head up, his helmet knocking about, and she recognized him from the way he stuck the gum in his mouth between the gap in his teeth and scrunched up his nose at what she guessed to be the taste of the dirt.

"Welsh!" she cried, relieved to see a familiar face after what could have been five minutes of the battle or fifteen. "What'd ye put right fer the plan?"

He gaped at her, one hand on the ground, ready to push himself back up, and the other fixing his lopsided helmet.

"What?!"

"What's the plan?" she asked again, raising her voice in an attempt to be heard, and he seemed to get the gist of her query. He said something she didn't catch over the rising cacophony of the battle, and her puzzlement must have shown on her face, for he pushed himself to his feet, grabbed her hand, and tugged her after him.

Follow me.

"A'right, sir!" she cried though she doubted he could hear her and dashed after him as he ran doggedly through the ranks. They quickly came to a soldier with a large metal contraption beside him and a bazooka launcher held to his chest like the heaviest of babies. Welsh said something to him and he looked out over the battlefield, his reply rapidly growing in volume as his tone and intention changed. He pointed across the battlefield and Lieutenant Welsh and Maeve turned as one to see.

"What the hell are those?!"

"Shit!" Welsh swore. "Panzers!"

"Mary, Mother of Jesus!" Maeve exclaimed. "Where'd they get the tanks?!"

"No fuckin' clue!" The soldier Welsh had brought her to looked up at Maeve. "Who the fuck are you?"

Before she could respond, branches snapped overhead, and she and Welsh dropped to their knees, ducking their heads.

"Keep your head down! Shit!"

Welsh peered out over the lip of the hill. Maeve joined him. The foremost advancing tank and the soldiers behind it were firing on an embankment not far from their own. There were screams coming from there, screams and curses, and Maeve could only hope silence would not take their place.

"Clear out of there!" someone was shouting as they ran past, keeping wide of the tank's target but waving past it at people Maeve could not see. "Move it, move it, move it!"

"Let's go, McGrath, on me!" Welsh ordered the man between him and Maeve before turning to two machine gunners who'd just arrived. "Shift your fire right!"

The men with the machine gun picked up their equipment just as soon as they'd set it down and followed Welsh and McGrath a short way down the line. Maeve followed, suspecting Welsh would want her to, and she was proven correct when he gestured for her to fall opposite the machine gunners' new position.

"Provide covering fire!" he instructed, hardly stopping to breathe, and he was racing out onto the field before Maeve could even nod. She dropped to her knee, using one of the sparse thicker trees as cover, and shot over the lieutenant's head, forcing the enemy opposite to keep their heads down. McGrath matched the lieutenant's every footstep, lugging his heavy artillery piece with him, and practically dove onto his knee when Welsh came to a skidding halt. Welsh grabbed a brown satchel from McGrath and started to wrench out the contents as McGrath set up his bazooka, and Maeve did her damnedest to keep their watchful foes occupied while Welsh sat out in the open.

"The hell is he doing?!" asked one of the machine gunners.

"Damned Irish!" shouted the other.

Maeve grimaced and would have shrugged at them had she not known it would dislodge her rifle and cost her precious seconds of readjustment. Their comments were throw-away, anyway—forgettable to even themselves and not worth the attention.

"Come on!"

Maeve could hear snippets of McGrath's shouts through the firefight and listened intently, trying to clue in to Welsh's plan.

"You're gonna get me killed, Lieutenant!"

Not a second later, Welsh pulled the fuse and a shell launched directly into the side of the nearest rolling tank. The hulking beast seemed entirely unaffected. As Maeve watched, now firing on the metal fortress directly, the tank started to turn, waffling as if trying to find the perpetrator of this attempted assault.

"I knew you'd get me killed!" McGrath screamed.

"Wait until I tell you, McGrath!" Welsh replied, stuffing another bazooka shell into the long metal tube on the artilleryman's shoulder. "Hold your fire!"

"But it's too close!"

"Bitch- Son of a bitch!"

"Bleedin' Christ!" Maeve hollered, slapping another round into her rifle. "Get on with it, Welshie!"

The barrel of the tank swung to the left and pointed directly at the two men on the ground, the treads rumbling in the same direction. Maeve dove out of the way, and in the nick of time—the tank fired and the tree she'd been behind was severed at the trunk not two feet off the ground. Bark and leaves and other arboreal detritus hurtled down around her and several twigs caught on her sleeves as she crawled away. Something falling fast hit her helmet and she mumbled a quick thanks to God and to Lieutenant Nixon, who'd provided her with the protective gear.

"Now fire, McGrath!" came a shout through the haze. "Fire!"

With the tank blast still ringing in Maeve's ears, she looked up from where she'd dragged herself over to the dazed machine gunners and saw Welsh and McGrath were still out there. The tank rose up on the crest of the hill, rearing up due to the force of its artillery shot, and they all saw its underside exposed halfway. Welsh snatched his helmet off the ground where it had fallen, shouting at McGrath as he stuck it back on his dirty curls, and the instant the order was given, the bazooka sang with the shot. The tank's right tread (from Maeve's angle) flashed with fire and as Welsh and McGrath scrambled back toward the line, the tank lurched haphazardly like a clumsy animal falling on its face. The turf before it flew in the air—a shot must have been prepped just before it fell—and the successful lieutenant and bazooka bearer kept one hand on their helmets, ensuring protection from the debris. Maeve realized they were more exposed than they'd yet been and so swung her rifle back up to her shoulder, ignoring the smarting of her chin when the metal knocked against the bone there unpleasantly.

"Ye got 'im!" she told McGrath as he ran past her. "Ye got 'im right in the belly!"

"Right where it counts, yeah!" he agreed, rushing to his knees and tossing the bazooka aside in favor of his rifle, and Maeve caught sight of Welsh doing the same just a few yards down the line. Other soldiers issued their praise, but their bullets flew and were returned without recess, and the firestorm only grew from there on out. Maeve had never heard so many guns going off at the same time in her life, not even yesterday when they took the town. Men were shouting Fire! in two languages Maeve understood and one she did not, the ground was shaking, bloody screams of Medic! soaked the air, and just when it seemed there would be no end, the tanks came. The good tanks, the American tanks, and that was the turning of the tide. A sergeant Maeve vaguely recognized said something along the lines of "About damn time!" as he ran past her, and she started laughing. She couldn't help it. This whole thing was just so awful that she had to push it into the realm of ridiculousness to keep down the nausea clawing at the back of her throat.

"That's right!"

"Woohoo!"

"Kick their asses!"

Soldiers were cheering and passing around cigarettes, and Maeve found herself the recipient of several sloppy kisses on the cheek and helmet from elated troopers who didn't know her and never asked to. Welsh had a cigarette between his lips when Maeve found him, and she crouched, a smile slowly spreading across her lips in return to his own infectious grin.

"So whaddaya think, Galway Girl?" He gestured with a kind of boyish bravado she found charming. "We Americans up to snuff?"

"I think ye were 'up to snuff' the second ye got to France," she told him. "At this rate, you'll get 'em freed by the end o' the summer."

He beamed. "You think so?"

"Yeh, I think so."

She rose, slinging her quiver and bow back over her shoulder from where she'd moved them in front of her to check their condition.

"I oughta walk around a wee bit. Make sure everybody's happy out an' alright."

"Yeah, you go do that." He leaned back, lazily blowing a flute of smoke, all but ignoring the tanks still firing behind him as they chased off the last of the Germans. "I'll be... Hey, wait a second."

She dropped back down, nodding for him to go on.

"You hear about Talbert?"

Her heart sank.

"Haven't heard a whisper, no."

"Got sent off the line late last night. Some jumpy kid on the watch dozed off and got all stab-happy." Welsh's expression fell at the solemn look on Maeve's face. "He'll be fine. Just a few puncture wounds. Nothing a good Easy man can't handle."

"Righ'." Maeve cleared her throat. "I oughta get walkin'."

"Go ahead," he urged, waving her off. "Find your friends."

Friends. Maeve hadn't considered the men she knew by name in the Company as such, having only known them a little longer than a week, but she supposed they were her friends. When it came to this group, at least, she didn't know anyone more closely than she knew them. And perhaps it was friendliness that made her chest feel heavy and cold as she traveled down the line, searching for familiar faces in good health. First Popeye, who she'd heard of really only through extension of Shifty, and now Talbert. But no, she must drop this guilt, their luck had nothing to do with her. Just because she was friendly with them did not mean she was at fault for their wounds. She took a deep breath and continued her search, finding Hoobler and Luz with little delay. They were in fine condition and all but demanded her company for a little while as they smoked and joked, and then Shifty appeared (reportedly looking for her) and relief overtook her weighty regret.

"Any of ye seen Blithe 'round?" she asked after a time, having kept an eye out but seeing nothing of the fourth man she sought, and Shifty was the first to shake his head, worry creasing his brow.

"You think we oughta go find him?"

She didn't even have to reply before he was already getting to his feet, fetching his helmet from where he'd been sitting on it and tucking his rifle neatly over his shoulder. She saw how he moved it like an extension of his arm and related—she felt very much the same about her bow, though its use was dwindling fast the more the war waged on.

"C'mon," he said, offering her a hand up. "Last I saw he was over this way."

And they did find Blithe, not far from where Shifty had indicated. A young man with glasses and a yellow, red, and blue triangle patch on his arm was standing over an empty foxhole, and when they approached, he supposed in a Midwestern American accent that they were looking for their comrade. They agreed and he pointed the way across the vacated, smoking field.

"Blithe!" Shifty called. "Hey, Blithe!"

The soldier turned around, switching his rifle to his other hand, and scanned the treeline. He'd heard them but did not seem to understand who had spoken up. Maeve slowed her pace, watching him go, and Shifty stopped with her. He brought his hand up to his brow, shielding his eyes, and Maeve glanced at him momentarily before looking back to Blithe.

"Where's he goin'?"

"I dunno."

Blithe turned back around and marched steadily up the last incline of the hill where the Germans had previously held their position. He stopped just before a tree, staring at the earth just before his boots, and Maeve hesitated, one foot forward and the other grounded.

"He's gone to find something," she realized. "I can't tell wha', but it's somethin', alright." A beat. "He's still not movin'."

Maeve looked away, batting at a mosquito on her arm, and Shifty pointed.

"There he goes."

Blithe kept going up the hill, following the ridge, and would have gone out of sight around a bush had Maeve not started after him. He was walking slowly enough that she was able to follow him easily, taking note of the way he glanced about as if searching for something. She knew that look instantly—he was following a trail only he could see. She'd become very familiar with tracking in her line of work, and it only took her a moment to identify what Blithe's gaze lingered on and sent him forward. There was a strip of white cloth on the ground, drenched with blood still red and wet and recent. Had someone Blithe knew been shot and limped away? If so, the man was likely American and an ally, a wounded ally. Alarmed, Maeve made to catch up to Blithe, but Shifty held her back.

"It ain't one of us," he told her softly. "You see the way he's walkin', all slow-like? He's lookin' for somebody he's not sure he wants to find."

Maeve stopped, and in a moment of vulnerability, she reached up and laid her hand over Shifty's on her shoulder. He squeezed. They stayed there for a few minutes until Blithe reemerged from the woods and gave a start to see them there. He swung his rifle up but quickly lowered it, recognizing them, and mumbled something that could have been an apology but was just as likely a prayer or a curse. He blinked at them, rubbing his eyes, and as Shifty went up, offering a kind encouragement to get him some water and then to a foxhole—"We're all tired, don't you worry."—Maeve studied his weary stance. There was something off about him, more so than had been the last few days, and she caught a speck of white where she had not seen it before. There was an edelweiss blossom tucked in his breast pocket. He saw her looking but made no mention, and she said nothing in turn. Maeve didn't know it yet, but they would never speak of that flower. She would never know where he got it or why. At that moment, however, she wanted to forget the flower and hug him, but she didn't know the right words to offer without perturbing or embarrassing him.

"It's gettin' closer to noon," she said as she turned to follow them back to the friendly side of the ridge. "Are ye hungry, Blithe? Ye ought to eat somethin' fer luncheon."

"Not hungry," he mumbled.

"I don't believe ye," she replied at once, and he looked surprised but then reticent again.

"Alright."

"And," she told him, leaning closer as if this was a serious secret, "I might have a bit o' chocolate in my pack, if ye'd like some."

He looked at her, and his eyes seemed a little less foggy than she was used to seeing them.

"Alright," he said again. "And..."

She didn't push him, and it was only many hours later, wishing him goodnight as she went off to find herself a nice foxhole, that he took her hand and whispered it to her:

"Thank you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#band of brothers #maeve r.l. o'leavy #maeve r.l. o'leavy ficlet #maeve r.l. o'leavy 14: foxes and hounds #band of brothers oc ficlet #band of brothers oc #band of brothers ficlet #gallant heart #hbo war show #hbo war show oc #hbo war show oc ficlet #hbo war show ficlet #oc ficlet #oc fanfiction #shifty powers x oc

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whencyclopedia · 10 months ago

Photo

Dunkirk Evacuation

Germany's Blitzkrieg

#History #DunkirkEvacuation #Britain #Dunkirk

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drunk-poets-society · 3 years ago

Text

ok so

this young fella is No. 85 Squadron’s Hurricane pilot Richard Lee. he was awarded the DFC and DSO for his service, just a couple months before he was shot down over the English Channel on 18/8/1940, at age 23, sadly never to be seen again.

details under the cut -

Richard Hugh Anthony Lee was born in London in 1917 (the exact date or month is unknown). Growing up, he went to Charterhouse School.

On September 1935 he joined RAF Cranwell as a Flight Cadet, and graduated in July 1937. He was posted to Debden on June 1, 1938 to join no.85 Squadron at its reformation. He flew Gloster Gladiator biplanes to begin with, before no.85 was re-equipped with Hawker Hurricane Mk1s.

No.85 sqn. Was posted in France to protect cross-channel convoys. On November 21, 1939, while on patrol over Boulogne, Flight Lieutenant ‘Dickie’ Lee scored the squadron’s first victory when he successfully attacked a Heinkel 111 which crashed into the channel and burst into flames. This also scored the Squadron’s first accolade as he was awarded a DFC on March 8, 1940 “for outstanding brilliance and efficiency”

Not much happened over the winter. That was to change, however, when on May 10, 1940, the sound of Anti Aircraft guns and Luftwaffe planes filled the air. No. 85 squadron immediately jumped into action, and within a few minutes, one section of “A” flight, and one section of “B” flight were up in the air. Lee was leading B flight with Flying Officer Derek Allen and Pilot Officer Patrick Woods-Scawen flying as his numbers 2 and 3 respectively. the section attacked a Henschel 126, and managed to severely damage the aircraft, leaving two of its crew wounded.

Later that morning, Lee was flying Hurricane L1779 into combat, leading his section again. They engaged a Junkers-88 at about 15,000 feet. His combat report reads: “after being sighted E/A dived to a very low height. i could only overhaul from astern very slowly. From 500 yards to 700 yards the enemy rear gunner fired continuously. I fired short bursts and finished ammunition closing to 200 yards. No apparent results except black smoke from one engine. My own aircraft shot badly.”

Later that evening Lee shared in the destruction of a Ju-86 with his section. Lee was the first to open fire and set the enemy’s starboard engine on fire. When they landed, ground crew found that he had fired 50 rounds from each of his eight Browning machine guns during the engagement.

on 11/5/1940, the squadron was back in the thick of it. however, this time after a busy morning patrol, Allen and Woods-Scawen returned without their section leader. Richard Lee was missing. He’d been flying Hurricane N2388, code marked ‘VY-R’ over Maastricht when he engaged a Dornier 17P at approximately 1300 hours. His aircraft had been hit by Anti Aircraft fire and he bailed out of his aircraft slightly wounded. Parachuting down, he landed in a field, where he spotted a local man passing by. He asked the man which direction he should travel to get to the Belgian tanks that were nearby. He took off in the direction, only to find out that they were, in fact, German. Lucky for him, his uniform was concealed underneath a smock or overcoat he had acquired. He was believed to be a peasant and was locked into a barn with some other refugees. Thinking quick, he climbed up to a window and noticed a ladder perched beneath it, and promptly climbed out, walked several miles, and hitched a ride with some Belgians before returning to his unit the very next day. The squadron’s diarist reported that “11/5/40. Eight E/A were shot down today. Flight Lieutenant R.H.A Lee failed to return from the offensive patrol covering the advance of the BEF over the Tongres-Maastricht Section – he was reported last seen on a Dornier’s tail at about 2,000 ft.”

On May 22, No. 85 squadron started to return to Debden to re-equip and reform, and Lee was transferred to No. 56 Squadron. The next day the squadron engaged enemy aircraft over St. Omer while patrolling Manston to Dunkirk. he expended all his ammunition in the dogfight that ensued between the Hurricanes and the 109s, before his starboard wing was badly hit. He broke off and returned to Manston unharmed, and aircraft deemed repairable.

On May 27, he flew another offensive patrol from Manston with the Squadron, flying Hurricane P3311. On this occasion he was shot down by Messerschmitt 109s during an attack on Henschel 111s. he ditched his aircraft in the sea and was fished out of the water and taken ashore an hour later.

On May 31, Lee was awarded the DSO. The London Gazette published the following: “Flight Lieutenant Richard Hugh Anthony Lee, D.F.C. (33208) this officer has displayed great ability as a leader and intense desire to engage the enemy. On one occasion he continued to attack an enemy aircraft after his companion had been shot down, and his own machine hit in many places. His section shot down a Dornier 215 in flames one evening in May, and another in the course of engagement the next day. In his last engagement, he was seen at 200 feet at the tail of a Junkers 89, being subjected to intense fire from the enemy occupied territory. This officer escaped from behind the German lines after being arrested and upheld the highest traditions of the Service.”

In June, he returned to No. 85 squadron, under Squadron Leader Peter Townsend. His experience was called upon to help bring the new recruits upto scratch before the squadron was again ready for operational flying.

On June 26, Richard Lee and his close friend Gerald Lewis flew to an investiture where Lee received his DSO and DFC for his service.

Lee’s reputation as a daring and aggressive fighter pilot was quickly spreading around the air force. Peter Townsend’s good friend Flight Lieutenant John Simpson wrote a letter to his intelligence officer, after hearing about the exploits of Richard Lee.

Simpson, who also coincidentally often flew with Patrick Woods-Scawen’s younger brother Tony, wrote “I hear that Dickie Lee has done wonders. You see how these boys, who were always looked upon as being the naughty ones, are doing so well. They needed a war to convince the old gentlemen at Whitehall. Do you remember that Dickie was almost given his bowler hat for low flying? The same low flying has apparently stood him in good stead.” (apparently he had flown through an open barn, but i have no way of confirming or denying that)

In Hector Bolitho’s book Combat Report published in 1943, he wrote of an afternoon spent with Lee, Townsend and Simpson. “Peter Townsend and Dickie Lee had been posted to an aerodrome a few miles from the house… in the early summer, John and I went out to find them… we found Peter and Dickie and took them back to the house. Dickie followed the car on a hellish motor bicycle.

It was a pleasant enough afternoon and we lay on the lawn, the four of us, with a bowl of ice, a bottle of gin, some tonic water and four glasses, and talked the world away. All three, looked older. Both Dickie and Peter had been shot down and a certain solemnity seemed to have touched them. Dickie had changed more than others.

We used to call him Dopey in the old days because he always fell asleep if the conversation took a serious turn. He was already a hero and in most newspapers there had been photographs of him receiving his decorations from the King. The long hell in France had left creases at the corners of his sleepy eyes. But he would have none of our attempts at war talk. He said that he had a date with a blonde in Saffron Walden and that he could not stay very long.

Dickie’s taste in blondes was not always reassuring to his friends, but he was obviously more concerned with his date than with our efforts to make him talk about how he has won the DFC and DSO on his tunic. I remember when he stood to go I noticed a hole in the leg of his trousers where a bullet had gone through without touching his skin.

I suppose that Peter and John and I were a bit pensive, being the older ones, so Dickie yawned and said ‘Well, I must get cracking’ he made one gesture to sentiment before he went. On the day that was declared he left his favourite pictures with me… before his squadron flew off to France.

They were photographs of friends, of aircraft, and one of a spaniel. He asked me for them, so I brought them down from the attic and he flew off to his blonde with them, piled before him on the screeching, violent motor bicycle.”

August 18, 1940 “the Hardest Day” of course, was when Dickie was lost. Flying as Blue 1 in Hurricane P2923 ‘VY-R’ during this patrol, he was last seen by Squadron Leader Townsend and Flying Officer Arthur Gowers ten miles north-east of Foulness Point chasing Bf 109s out across the Channel.

In Townsend’s book Duel of Eagles he wrote the following of Lee’s last action: “Come back, Dicky,’ I called but he was drawing away. Again and again I called, but he kept on. It was useless to chase Huns out to sea; they would be back again the next day. Something had gotten into Dicky and there was no stopping him. We were both low on fuel and I was out of ammunition. There was only one thing to do: turn back”

Like several others, he was gone too soon. Neither his aircraft nor his body were ever recovered. and aside from these mentions, and a few documents, and acknowledgement on the Runnymede Memorial, Panel 6, there isn’t much about him out there. there’s really not much one can do about that either, other than remember, and keep them alive in our thoughts; those who never returned, whose names faded into obscurity.

Source

#my last post was glitching out so i had to make a new one #sigh. i miss him. that 'age 23' really hits hard man #history #ww2 #wwii #battle of britain #raf #1940s #1940 #need i repeat it again ? war bad.#i wish he had a happy ending like charlie and gertie in that other post but alas #also this is all the information i could find about him on the internet #that blogspot article is the only comprehensive source #there's just tiny bits and pieces of him scattered in databases and they're not much use at all to be quite honest #there is only one thing i know right now and that is that i miss him dearly for some reason #even though i dont even know anything about him except all of.... this #and the pictures in this post are all the pictures of him that are out there #i mean there's more but they're just colourisations of these #especially of the one with his pal lewis #and the one in which he's standing with the medals on his uniform #sweet boy i miss him. precious lad.#i say knowing absolutely nothing about him #like he was literally just some guy. he wasn't famous or anything. there aren't even any letters by him out there #so that i can even start to build an accurate profile. i guess all that i have is the photos and mentions #and where are those photos that he took with him ? did they go with him ? or are they in someone's basement #forgotten and neglected. or did they get destroyed ? where are they !#my best hope is that they're somewhere out there in a basement or something along with a pile of letters #his body or plane were never recovered and that makes me want to cry and sob and weep #i pretty much am over my other crush but this man has been on my mind for over a year now #its like sir please

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