The unofficial ww2 random facts thread

Fiction, movies, alternate history, humor, and other non-research topics related to WWII.

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panzermahn
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Post by panzermahn »

In 1943, Churchill presented the sword of Stalingrad to Uncle Joe to commemorate the bravery of the Stalingrad people after the defeat of German 6th Army. Uncle Joe received it and kisses it and then passed to Marshal Boris Shaposhnikov. Shaposhnikov dropped the sword accidentally in front of the dignitaries :wink:
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Post by maschinengewehr42 »

Dragunov wrote:ouch!
The Panzerfaust often had warnings written in large red lettering on the upper rear end of the tube, the words usually being "Achtung! Feuerstrahl!" (Beware! Fire Jet!). This was to warn soldiers to avoid the backblast. Axis soldiers who didn't understand German (such as Finns and Italians) sometimes leaned the weapon on their shoulders like rifles and were burnt badly
wouldn't that blow your whole arm off?
It wasn't just non-German-speaking soldiers who became casualties this way. I've read accounts of German soldiers doing the same thing. They simply failed to read the instructions properly and assumed it was to be held to the shoulder as with any other weapon. When handed out in emergencies to unfamiliar troops with no prior training on that device, such things were bound to happen. In the one account that I clearly remember (from a soldier's memoirs), the man concerned was seriously burned and died of his injuries, but his arm definitely remained attached! I wish I could place the source.
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Post by Reb »

There's a great, shocking scene in The Bridge where a kid fries a room full of civilians he is trying to protect from the Ami tanks using his pz faust.

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Locke
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Post by Locke »

panzermahn wrote:There is a cave beetle in Slovenia which were named after Adolf Hitler :[]
Yes, a slovenian speleologist who discovered this beetle in 1933 gave it to biologist Oscar Schiebl, who at first named the beetle after its finder, but as he was a great admirer of Hitler, in 1937 he changed the beetle's name into Anophtalmus hitleri.

Image

And another coincidence - this beetle lives in a cave called Pekel - which means Hell.

Best,
P.
Tod sekla bridka bodo jekla in ti mi bos krvava tekla,
kri nasa te pojila bo, sovrazna te kalila bo!
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Post by phylo_roadking »

urgh did you HAVE to???? :?
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Post by Dragunov »

have to what? it's not going to eat you.

and panzermahn, wasn't it passed to kliment voroshilov, who dropped it? his brain was probably screaming 'stalin germs! stalin germs!!'
When Stalin says "Dance" a wise man dances.- Nikita Kruschev
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Post by phylo_roadking »

No, but *I* have to eat lol
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Post by Locke »

Come on Phylo :) It's just 6 mm tall and it is only known to live in 5 caves in NE Slovenia (that's pretty far away from where you live) - and it's blind!

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P.
Tod sekla bridka bodo jekla in ti mi bos krvava tekla,
kri nasa te pojila bo, sovrazna te kalila bo!
Simon Gregorcic: Soci
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Post by Luftman129 »

And yet another random fact. On October 18, 1943, the destroyer USS Abbot had a collision with the carrier USS Cowpens taking it out of service for about a month and a half.

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Chris
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Post by Dragunov »

the only audio record of Hitler talking in a private conversation was done on C.G. Mannerheim's 75th birthday in 1942. all unauthorised recordings/pictures of the führer were illegal, but hey, these guys were Finns and didn't really care. so here's the link but if you're like me (and don't speak Finnish) it'll look like you can hear it but i'm not sure....

http://www.yle.fi/elavaarkisto/?s=s&g=1&ag=3&t=22&a=376


another fun fact:

the panzer IV was originally designed as an infantry-support tank (thus the stubby 75) and NOT as a tank fighter. that was what the PzIII was for.
When Stalin says "Dance" a wise man dances.- Nikita Kruschev
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Post by panzermahn »

Dragunov wrote:have to what? it's not going to eat you.

and panzermahn, wasn't it passed to kliment voroshilov, who dropped it? his brain was probably screaming 'stalin germs! stalin germs!!'
Hi tovarisch Dragunov,

Yes, I think you are right. It was Klimenti Voroshilov. :)

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Panzermahn
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Post by sid guttridge »

It is normally considered that Southern Rhodesia made the highest sacrifice for the British Empire, losing killed some 10% of the manpower it mobilised.

However, in fact the highest proportional sacrifice made for the British Empire was actually from a British community not part of the Empire at all. Over 600 Argentines of British descent volunteered for the British armed forces, mostly in the RAF, and almost 20% were killed. In terms of combat fatalities, it was almost as dangerous to be an Argentine in the British forces as it was to be a German or Russian on the Eastern Front!

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Sid.
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Post by Reb »

Sid

That's ok - the Brits finished off the rest of the Rhodesians in a timely fashion...

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Post by Willhelm Gruber II »

Dragunov wrote:have to what? it's not going to eat you.
its blind but it can smell your fear, better watch out phylo you have to sleep somtime....its coming for you %E





its better if you read the above with a Hannible Lectre accent lol







SURPRISE! SURPRISE!

Australia's 'invasion' of Portuguese East Timor (now Timor Luru Sae) on December 16, 1941, was the first time in history that Australia violated another country's neutrality. Aussie troops (Sparrow Force) invaded Dutch West Timor and the 2/2nd Independent Company landed on the shore near Dili, the capital of Portuguese East Timor and so pre-empt a Japanese takeover. They proceeded immediately to surround the airport. Well armed, and expecting to do battle with the Portuguese military, they approached the administration building, guns at the ready.

Suddenly the main door opened and out stepped a civilian Portuguese official who tipped his hat and in perfect English said "Good afternoon". Dumbfounded, the troops stared at each other in disbelief. Not a shot had been fired. Unknown to Sparrow Force , the Australian and Portuguese governments had previously agreed to a peaceful 'invasion' of the island to help protect the inhabitants from a possible Japanese invasion which did in fact take place two months later, on February 20, 1942.
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Willhelm Gruber II
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Post by Willhelm Gruber II »

INTO THE FIRE

In February, 1941, men of the Australian 22nd Brigade (8th Division) boarded the liner Queen Mary anchored off Toronga Park Zoo in Sydney. Embarking more troops when the ship called at Fremantle in Western Australia, the ship left harbour and turned north. It was then that the troops were told that their destination was Singapore, not Europe where all the action was. To be used as garrison troops in this outpost of Empire was a bitter disappointment for the 5,750 soldiers on board.

Two weeks later Japanese forces attacked Singapore and the garrison was forced to surrender. In the defence of the city, 1,789 Australian soldiers died. The fighting in Malaya and including Singapore, cost the Australians 2,178 killed and 1,306 wounded. Two days after the surrender 14,792 Australians and some 35,000 British troops found themselves behind the walls of Changi Prison as prisoners of war. (Regrettably some prisoners were beaten up by Indian Sikhs who had gone over to the enemy and were now being used as guards in the prison
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