Ungar
Private
Blut und Ehre
Posts: 227
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Post by Ungar on Apr 2, 2006 18:59:29 GMT -5
Warning VERY graphic! Warning VERY graphic! Warning VERY graphic! Hi All! Airsoft and Reenacting is wonderful. But we must see what happened in World War two. We all seen the marching into battle videos of ww2, and the sad aftermaths. But if you really think about it you never really seen land combat of ww2. At least not me, I don't know about you. The following 42 second video made me really realize what WW2 was like. (There is no gore visible) This video was shot in Cologne towards the end of the war in 1945. It shows a Panther being knocked out, and the crew bailing out. The fact is that none of the men bailing out made it farther than 50 FT from the tank. What was very honourable to see, was that the commader left the Tank the last (well tried to) he let his comrades, subordinates leave first. I might seem stupid talking about the video like this, but it really touched me. Here it is: media.putfile.com/SlowCologneHere is a website, shortly reviewing the events: home.earthlink.net/~crcorbin/ColognePictures.htmlHere is a colour photo of the knocke out Panther: (note the shell hole under the turret, its indentical with the tank in the video, also the spare tracks on the side) Just the fact that my Grandfather was fightin about 60 miles from the spot where the video was filmed at the time(on the German side), really makes me believe that how lucky he was to survive the war. No mercy, just luck. Regards, Hans
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Post by Gordak on Apr 2, 2006 19:11:44 GMT -5
yeah thats one of the most dramatic clips of ww2,
Some people feel bad that we kept shooting them when they were bailing out, but the truth is, they had just killed a sherman crew the same way. War is bad, its a tragedy when human life is ended, no mater what side they are on.
But its a hell of alot better for a nazi to die than one of our guys.
The only reason the panther didnt shoot, is they wanted to wait untill the pershing stopped, But the pershing fired on the move, so it got off the first shot. the Pershing could do this thanks to a gyro stabalized gun.
one intersting thing about the video, is it looks like 2 tanks are shooting the panther, when I belive it is supposed to be one, but now im not sure.
oh yeah, a good portion of the film is missing, there is a few secounds before the panther gets hit, and another seen of it driving down a street. Both of which really adds to the shocking quality of the Tank vs Tank clip. thanks for posting! -Gordak
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2nd Bat
Master sergeant
Posts: 11,813
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Post by 2nd Bat on Apr 2, 2006 22:58:38 GMT -5
In the earlier section of that film the Sherman that gets hit and the crewmen who bails out you will notice is missing a leg. Sadly he did not survive his wounds. According to reports The Panther burned for several days.
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Post by Guinness on Apr 2, 2006 23:14:42 GMT -5
That whole site is amazing!
Thanks for sharing this- did you know your grandfather?
Wow, I am still reading on the Spearhead site- great stuff! Great info and interviews about the Battle of the Bulge and the Malmedy tragedy.
-G
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Ungar
Private
Blut und Ehre
Posts: 227
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Post by Ungar on Apr 3, 2006 18:40:55 GMT -5
Hi! I did know my grandfather, he died when I was 11. MY grandfather served in the 2nd Hungarian Army on the Don River in russia. A tragic battle for us Hungarians where 135000 of our heros fell, out of the 200 000 soldiers. THey fought valiently My grand-dad was an artillery man and had an MP 40(he picked it up from a dead german, he talked to his CO that the Manlicher was quite awkward for an artyllery men an MP 40 would be enough defensive measure). He was in a group who operated 105's. Later out of necessity he became an infantryman. He told me a story about being on guard duty and saw the bushes moving unusually. After calling in and not getting answer he emptied his MP 40. It was a cow He also had sad stories, like a guy gettin a heart-shot right beside him in a truck; Captains borrowing extra helmets for protection(ye no sh*t they wore 2 M35's); Ruskies attackin and if they tried to retreat they were shot by theyre own officers. He had lots of stories, very interesting. He spent the final year of the war in Magdeburg area,Germany. In '45 he was captured by Soviets and spent 3 years in captivity. The most ironic thing is that my grandfather got through 3 years of WW2 without a scratch. He was a humble man, an ordinary soldier who served his country as best he could. I am proud of him.
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Post by Gordak on Apr 3, 2006 20:33:25 GMT -5
WOW ammazing story!!
I am reading a book about the siege of Budapest right now, Hungarian Paratroopers were hardcore soldiers! that would be a very interesting impression.
-Gordak
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Post by spitfire740 on Apr 3, 2006 20:55:05 GMT -5
I agree, it is very interesting to learn about the 'over-looked' countries in the war. These stories are always dramatic and informative.
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Ungar
Private
Blut und Ehre
Posts: 227
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Post by Ungar on Apr 4, 2006 20:08:08 GMT -5
From what I know, there were very few Hungarian paratroopers during WW2. But as always, paras are extremely well trained, and disciplined troops. Paras gotta operate alone behind enemy lines on paper. For exemple during Barbarossa the Hungarian Rapid Corps (45000) contributed in Army Group South. This Hungarian unit, believe it or not, sometimes spearheaded the invasion in some sectors. They moved forward circa 1000 KM before they were withdrawn due to the fact that they lost ALL! of their vehicles and sustained heavy manpower casualties, altough not severe. The 2nd Army at the Don was pretty much looked at like hordes of men rather than army. These men got hardly 2 weeks training, equipment was sparse (there were not enough rifles to equip men!) the NCO's and officers were inexperienced and the winter equipment was simply: Unknown. The unit of my grandfather was surrounded 5 times, they broke out every each attempt managing to get home. Even though the army was untrained, heroism was not needed to be taught. A unit (sry dont know which) held open a corridor to let the 2nd Escape and the commanding officer stood the ground with his men. There were some exceptional heros and foolish cowards. No matter which you were, without lady luck, you were not going far. My grandfather also had pleasent experiences during the war, such as seeing a Konigstiger punching a road through a forest, using its turret/gun as a rotating "saw". He also said that the Russian-Hungarian relation ship was much better than the German. The civilians helped numerous times the Hungarian soldier wheter they were POW's or still in service in occupied areas. (Oh i got into it again ; sry for the long post) Regards, Hans
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