Search found 51 matches

by Ronald Lameck
Sat Feb 02, 2013 7:06 am
Forum: Kriegsmarine
Topic: Wilhelm Gustloff Anniversary
Replies: 5
Views: 5388

Re: Wilhelm Gustloff Anniversary

And the submarine commander was awarded "Hero of the Soviet Union" for this deed. Makes the word "hero" rather meaningless, doesn't it?
by Ronald Lameck
Sun Dec 16, 2012 2:29 pm
Forum: Books and Reviews
Topic: Naval and Military Bookstores in Germany
Replies: 3
Views: 3493

Re: Naval and Military Bookstores in Germany

Unfortunately I cannot give the name of the place - I never paid attention to it. It was 2005, on our first visit to Germany, and we did not then know if we would ever get back. I encountered a smallish store on the main east-west street, north side of the street, in Rothenburg an der Tauber. It lit...
by Ronald Lameck
Sat Dec 01, 2012 12:31 am
Forum: Veterans and vet info
Topic: German desertion rate...
Replies: 3
Views: 7350

Re: German desertion rate...

U.S. Army E.T.O. desertion was such that, by Jan. 1945, when Pvt. Slovik was shot for desertion, the command spoke of "The Lost Division" of more than 19,000 "missing." Some of these men were located years later doing such things as living as farmers in France, etc. I read a leng...
by Ronald Lameck
Sat Dec 01, 2012 12:22 am
Forum: Heer
Topic: Volksgrenadier Divisions ?
Replies: 4
Views: 4859

Re: Volksgrenadier Divisions ?

The VG divisions were among the last units raised by the Wehrmacht, when the bottom of the barrel was being scraped. Many of the troops were young and poorly trained, and often had to be thrown into the line to fill holes before they were combat-ready. Several of the divisions were formed from previ...
by Ronald Lameck
Sat Dec 01, 2012 12:11 am
Forum: Luftwaffe
Topic: Luftwaffe Feld-Divisions Question?
Replies: 5
Views: 5924

Re: Luftwaffe Feld-Divisions Question?

Quite irrespective of the performance of the LW divisions, the great flaw was that they were created in the 1st place. It would have been infinitely more effective had the soldiers who comprised these units been placed into a general pool as replacements. Then, they could have been mixed into alread...
by Ronald Lameck
Sat Sep 08, 2012 2:34 pm
Forum: Soldatenheim
Topic: German POWS in America treated better than illegal aliens...
Replies: 6
Views: 5022

Re: German POWS in America treated better than illegal aliens...

As a former corrections officer, I am frequently astounded by the egregious mistreatment of others that is often espoused by too many pseudo-experts. It must be remembered that inmates of a remand centre have not been convicted of anything. They may well be perfectly innocent, but were among the &qu...
by Ronald Lameck
Wed Jul 11, 2012 7:03 pm
Forum: Photographs
Topic: Does anybody know anything about these two photos?
Replies: 2
Views: 5003

Re: Does anybody know anything about these two photos?

Purely hazarding a guess here: The photos look as though they were taken at almost precisely the same place, and within moments of each other. Looking at the concrete barriers to the right of the path/road, I am reminded of the tank barriers set at many places along the German border as part of the ...
by Ronald Lameck
Tue May 29, 2012 5:39 pm
Forum: Verboten! - Off topic content
Topic: How to Piss Off a German
Replies: 4
Views: 11356

Re: How to Piss Off a German

The bit about the "spargel" is also definitely true. It's like the crack cocaine of Germany, although I cannot understand why.
by Ronald Lameck
Fri May 18, 2012 6:17 pm
Forum: General WWII German Military Discussion
Topic: Percentage of Berlin that was destroyed?...
Replies: 5
Views: 12514

Re: Percentage of Berlin that was destroyed?...

Despite all of these percentage figures (I wonder exactly HOW that is determined), many sources I have consulted over the years say that Dresden was the most-destroyed city ever by non-nuclear bombing, and that Magdeburg was the 2d-most. Yet, at both cities on my last visits (Dresden 2005, Magdeburg...
by Ronald Lameck
Sat May 12, 2012 7:16 pm
Forum: Luftwaffe
Topic: Luftwaffe Flight From Russia to China.
Replies: 55
Views: 45806

Re: Luftwaffe Flight From Russia to China.

First, I must make one point utterly clear: Whether there were or were not Luftwaffe flights from Russia (S.U.). to China is of no consequence to me whatsoever. As Rhett Butler put it: "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." That said, my interest lies solely in ensuring that inquiry is no...
by Ronald Lameck
Sat May 12, 2012 6:59 pm
Forum: Campaigns and Battles
Topic: Winter of 1941/42 and the lack of proper equipment
Replies: 46
Views: 26466

Re: Winter of 1941/42 and the lack of proper equipment

For Ljadw: Nothing quite like letting your own predisposition stand in the way of the facts was written. Mr. Meyer worked beside me for about 2.5 years. He spoke of -55 FAHRENHEIT as that temperature scale was still in common use in Canada at the time (1973). That is about -49C or -50 C. Quite the d...
by Ronald Lameck
Tue May 08, 2012 8:32 am
Forum: Campaigns and Battles
Topic: Winter of 1941/42 and the lack of proper equipment
Replies: 46
Views: 26466

Re: Winter of 1941/42 and the lack of proper equipment

I used to slap parts on Chryslers on the assembly line with a guy named Karl Meyer who had a metal plate in his skull. He said he got it when he was with the Germany Army in Jan. 1942 on the front before Moscow. A mortar shell landed nearby and a clod of dirt that it dislodged struck him in the helm...
by Ronald Lameck
Tue May 08, 2012 8:17 am
Forum: Luftwaffe
Topic: Luftwaffe Flight From Russia to China.
Replies: 55
Views: 45806

Re: Luftwaffe Flight From Russia to China.

Still, as any science teacher would tell you, absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Every bit of information that people relate has some basis in fact, even if that fact is the workings of someone's imagination. The proven existence of Axis aircraft which certainly possessed the capability...
by Ronald Lameck
Thu May 03, 2012 6:36 pm
Forum: Luftwaffe
Topic: Luftwaffe Flight From Russia to China.
Replies: 55
Views: 45806

Re: Luftwaffe Flight From Russia to China.

And in 2000 B.C.E. there was probably a lot of discussion about the world. And most of the discussion would have said that the world was flat. Now we know better. And so, outright dismissal of long-distance flights by Axis aircraft can be just as wrong.
by Ronald Lameck
Wed May 02, 2012 4:31 pm
Forum: Luftwaffe
Topic: Luftwaffe Flight From Russia to China.
Replies: 55
Views: 45806

Re: Luftwaffe Flight From Russia to China.

Pursuant to Simon G's above note, for the record: The Red Army re-captured Odessa on 10 April 1944. Such flights were certainly within the realm of possibility with the various aircraft available. The absence of irrefutable evidence that such flights occurred is disappointing, but does not mean they...