Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Rods2 on 23 June 2013, 22:12:21
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Recently published WWII pictures that have not been released before.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2346829/After-liberation-UNPUBLISHED-color-photos-American-troops-posing-happily-liberated-Europeans-Allied-Forces-defeated-Nazis-World-War-II.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2346829/After-liberation-UNPUBLISHED-color-photos-American-troops-posing-happily-liberated-Europeans-Allied-Forces-defeated-Nazis-World-War-II.html)
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grandad told me-in france they fought the germans like mad-and had to go around the towns so americans could go in and liberate them-he also said----when us (canadian) and british fired the germans ducked-when the germans fired we ducked and when americans fired Everybody ducked :o
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They were interesting pictures, nice posting...... :y :y
I noticed that the Germans soldiers all looked very young compared to the American ones...........
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grandad told me-in france they fought the germans like mad-and had to go around the towns so americans could go in and liberate them-he also said----when us (canadian) and british fired the germans ducked-when the germans fired we ducked and when americans fired Everybody ducked :o
No change there then........ ::) ::) ::)
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Recently published WWII pictures that have not been released before.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2346829/After-liberation-UNPUBLISHED-color-photos-American-troops-posing-happily-liberated-Europeans-Allied-Forces-defeated-Nazis-World-War-II.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2346829/After-liberation-UNPUBLISHED-color-photos-American-troops-posing-happily-liberated-Europeans-Allied-Forces-defeated-Nazis-World-War-II.html)
Isn't it odd how colour photos make the war seem much more 'real'? Thanks for posting, Rods. :y
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They were interesting pictures, nice posting...... :y :y
I noticed that the Germans soldiers all looked very young compared to the American ones...........
probably hitler youth--young and highly trained fighters --colour really does make it more real glad first world war was not in colour-horrific
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They were interesting pictures, nice posting...... :y :y
I noticed that the Germans soldiers all looked very young compared to the American ones...........
probably hitler youth--young and highly trained fighters --colour really does make it more real glad first world war was not in colour-horrific
luftwaffe personnel that nco looks terrified
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Thanks for posting, really bring the war to life.
My kids were amazed they think the 70s were in black & white!
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Please please, don't get to excited. Many on here will point out that it is the Daily Mail so these pictures where obviously created with photoshop or faked in some way. ;D
On a serious note, very good post. :y
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By that time in the war the jerrys were using hitler youth and older conscripts and rested eastern front units in france,beligum etc,because hitler was oppsessed with the war in the eastern front,the ss division's that were there were on rest from russia.
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interesting pictures :y
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They were interesting pictures, nice posting...... :y :y
I noticed that the Germans soldiers all looked very young compared to the American ones...........
probably hitler youth--young and highly trained fighters --colour really does make it more real glad first world war was not in colour-horrific
Yes indeed, as by then the Eastern front had drained the German forces of the mature, highly experienced and trained Wehrmacht soldiers, with hundreds of thousands killed or captured by the Russians. The loss of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad was a major event, as they were the elite who had stormed across Poland, Czechoslovakia, and on into Western Europe during the "good times" of 1939,1940 and 1941. From 1942 they were losing the war.
It is such a pity that the German commanders in France did not enter into separate peace negotiations with the Allies, as indeed one very senior German Field Marshal, Erwin Rommel, was tempted to do as they knew they were losing the war and Hitler was a mad man taking the Fatherland down into ruin. However, the opportunity was lost as the fear of Hitler and the SS was too great, with a military structure centred on the dictator.
Those colour images are so vivid and certainly could have been taken yesterday. A great post Rods2! :y :y :y
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Here are some liberation of France colour pictures:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2156252/D-Day-Rare-colour-pictures-World-War-II-depict-invasion-new-hue.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2156252/D-Day-Rare-colour-pictures-World-War-II-depict-invasion-new-hue.html)
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They were interesting pictures, nice posting...... :y :y
I noticed that the Germans soldiers all looked very young compared to the American ones...........
probably hitler youth--young and highly trained fighters --colour really does make it more real glad first world war was not in colour-horrific
Yes indeed, as by then the Eastern front had drained the German forces of the mature, highly experienced and trained Wehrmacht soldiers, with hundreds of thousands killed or captured by the Russians. The loss of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad was a major event, as they were the elite who had stormed across Poland, Czechoslovakia, and on into Western Europe during the "good times" of 1939,1940 and 1941. From 1942 they were losing the war.
It is such a pity that the German commanders in France did not enter into separate peace negotiations with the Allies, as indeed one very senior German Field Marshal, Erwin Rommel, was tempted to do as they knew they were losing the war and Hitler was a mad man taking the Fatherland down into ruin. However, the opportunity was lost as the fear of Hitler and the SS was too great, with a military structure centred on the dictator.
Those colour images are so vivid and certainly could have been taken yesterday. A great post Rods2! :y :y :y
About 4 million German troops were killed on the Eastern Front, but at a price of over 10 million Soviet dead. Churchill, remembering WWI carnage was deliberately in no hurry for the D-day landings, until the back of the German army had been broken in the east, so we would have a relatively easy time landing and liberating.
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Recently published WWII pictures that have not been released before.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2346829/After-liberation-UNPUBLISHED-color-photos-American-troops-posing-happily-liberated-Europeans-Allied-Forces-defeated-Nazis-World-War-II.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2346829/After-liberation-UNPUBLISHED-color-photos-American-troops-posing-happily-liberated-Europeans-Allied-Forces-defeated-Nazis-World-War-II.html)
Isn't it odd how colour photos make the war seem much more 'real'? Thanks for posting, Rods. :y
Was just thinking the same... :y
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They were interesting pictures, nice posting...... :y :y
I noticed that the Germans soldiers all looked very young compared to the American ones...........
probably hitler youth--young and highly trained fighters --colour really does make it more real glad first world war was not in colour-horrific
Yes indeed, as by then the Eastern front had drained the German forces of the mature, highly experienced and trained Wehrmacht soldiers, with hundreds of thousands killed or captured by the Russians. The loss of the German 6th Army at Stalingrad was a major event, as they were the elite who had stormed across Poland, Czechoslovakia, and on into Western Europe during the "good times" of 1939,1940 and 1941. From 1942 they were losing the war.
It is such a pity that the German commanders in France did not enter into separate peace negotiations with the Allies, as indeed one very senior German Field Marshal, Erwin Rommel, was tempted to do as they knew they were losing the war and Hitler was a mad man taking the Fatherland down into ruin. However, the opportunity was lost as the fear of Hitler and the SS was too great, with a military structure centred on the dictator.
Those colour images are so vivid and certainly could have been taken yesterday. A great post Rods2! :y :y :y
About 4 million German troops were killed on the Eastern Front, but at a price of over 10 million Soviet dead. Churchill, remembering WWI carnage was deliberately in no hurry for the D-day landings, until the back of the German army had been broken in the east, so we would have a relatively easy time landing and liberating.
The truth is Rods2 that the Allies were not ready for a mass landing in 1943 as much preparation had to be completed, with very complex planning, to ensure they had a chance of securing the beach head when they did eventually land on the shores of mainland Europe.
The Dieppe Raid disaster of August 1942 had taught Churchill in particular the vital importance of going in with maximum force once the Allies were able to. In addition the campaign in North Africa had to be won, which after El Alamein in October 1942 was not fully achieved until January 1943. In addition it was recognised during these battles that the American troops has a lot to learn, and would be a liability during any seaborne invasion until after extensive training with suitable equipment.
Yes Stalin expected, or even demanded, the Allies actioned a "second front" by invading mainland Europe in the West, but wisely Churchill and Roosevelt recognised this was not possible without risking a huge defeat and extending the war by years. Churchill won the day by gaining the agreement of the Americans to go for the "soft belly" of Nazi Germany and land in Sicily, then progress north through Italy. Only then would the time be right for a mass invasion on the coast of Northern Europe. Instrumental in all this was of course the Allied Supreme Commander, Dwight D, Eisenhower who was the eventual powerhouse behind the successful Normandy landings on June 6th 1944.
Historians will always debate the rights and wrongs of Churchill's insistence on the "soft belly" approach, but I for one find all the evidence supporting his decisions to be correct. If a Normandy landing had taken place earlier, without a weakening of German forces in North Africa, then South Europe, coupled with a lack of preparation and planning time that proved absolutely vital to the success of Operation Overlord, there would have been an absolute disaster with tens of thousands of Allied soldiers killed. In addition, as previously touched on, it would have extended the war by years. As it was "only" half of the expected losses were in fact suffered on the 6th; 5,000 dead and not the 10-15,000 feared during the planning process. If it had not been for the errors made by American commanders landing on "Omaha" beach, the losses would have been even far less.
Stalin had faced the full force of the major part of the German Army from June 22nd 1941, and yes had lost millions of lives. But this unfortunately was a price the Russians had to pay to defend their country, then counter attack. It should never be forgotten that Stalin sacrificed hundreds of thousands of his own soldiers by never letting front line troops retreat from battle. If they tried to do so special army units would kill them. In addition, despite Stalin's protestations, he wanted his Red Army to take Berlin, and yes the Allies allowed them to as they knew the loss of life would be great, as indeed it was with 10,000 Russian soldiers lost during just the battle to take Berlin.
On balance Churchill and Roosevelt made the right decisions overall, and total war is total war so the Russians paid the heavy price for saving their country and pushing the Germans back to Berlin. It should also never be forgotten that the Chinese lost 10 million during WW2, so that part of Europe did suffer greatly. Maybe if Stalin had not entered, naively, into a Non-Aggression Treaty with Germany over Poland in August 1939, Russian fortunes would have been very different, along with everyone else's. But that is another one of history's "if's", "but's" and "maybe's"!