What's Hot
guitars4you Frets: 14765
June 3 in Off Topic tFB Trader
I've driven along a lot of the coast line, 2/3 times and stopped off at various beaches and museums - Plus the USA War Cemetery - So many kids in there - age 18-19 - They came over to help - Spent weeks doing little in England whilst preparations were under way - Hit the Normandy beaches and be dead within mins - What a life - What a sacrifice - Spent an hour or so at Omaha - Dogs running around, kids playing, family picnic and all the joys of summer - Hard to imagine such a level of carnage 80 years ago - Think only the start of Saving Private Ryan film gives you any perspective
Plenty of offerings on TV this week some with new black/white footage etc
0 LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom
«1234»
-
Neil Frets: 3699
June 3 edited June 3
My late Dad was at D Day - Sword beach. Royal Navy LST 367 right up onto the beach to disgorge tanks, vehicles and men.
Towed over a lump of mulberry harbour too.Once they started they could not stop it was 24 hour business back and forth to blighty to load up again and again to reinforce what was already there.
Here's a pic of his ship taken earlier in the war in Sicily.
My trading feedback http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/62723/
0 LOL 6 Wow! 0 Wisdom
-
munckee Frets: 12578
June 3
My dad’s dad was hit in the head by shrapnel at dunkirk and shot in the leg at d day after getting up the beach.
My mums dad guarded Italian prisoners of war and never heard a shot fired.
He did though play in a football league with guards and prisoners and was fed by Italian chefs.
0 LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom
-
darthed1981 Frets: 12359
June 3
An astonishing day.
James Holland identifies it as Britain's last day as a superpower, 7000 ships off the Normandy coast and the majority Royal Navy, everything from the old Battleships (the RN thought the assembled fleet would suffer heavy casualties from eBoats and Subs, so sent old crocks Warspite, with one turret out of action and full of concrete after a glider bomb hit, and Ramillies along with probably-still-a-bit-valuable-but-knackered Rodney) to cruisers, to dozens of destroyers.
Complete air and naval supremacy allowed the troops to get ashore with fewer than expected casualties, only to move forward into the extraordinarily bloody Normandy campaign, two months of brutal fighting between hedgerows.
Hoping for a lot of book re-prints for the occasion, though there are a lot of one-volume histories of D-Day and the Normandy Campaign that are extremely good, only varying in their opinion of Montgomery (the old idea that he was too cautious largely rejected by modern historians) and the overall performance of the allied armies.
Really, it was a fantastically successful campaign, that had the arse planned out of it, and so was hugely successful. The movie "The Longest Day" is still one of the best visual accounts of the whole thing. Must watch it this week.
You are the dreamer, and the dream...
0 LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom
-
rlw Frets: 4764
June 3
My dad was there in a tank. That's all I know other than that he was scared sh*tless when he saw several tanks drive off into 30 feet of water with the obvious consequences.
He must have enjoyed himself later on judging by the number of postcards I have from some very pretty French ladies....
Save a cow. Eat a vegetarian.
0 LOL 2 Wow! 0 Wisdom
-
Reverend Frets: 5187
June 3
darthed1981 said:
An astonishing day.
James Holland identifies it as Britain's last day as a superpower, 7000 ships off the Normandy coast and the majority Royal Navy, everything from the old Battleships (the RN thought the assembled fleet would suffer heavy casualties from eBoats and Subs, so sent old crocks Warspite, with one turret out of action and full of concrete after a glider bomb hit, and Ramillies along with probably-still-a-bit-valuable-but-knackered Rodney) to cruisers, to dozens of destroyers.
Complete air and naval supremacy allowed the troops to get ashore with fewer than expected casualties, only to move forward into the extraordinarily bloody Normandy campaign, two months of brutal fighting between hedgerows.
Hoping for a lot of book re-prints for the occasion, though there are a lot of one-volume histories of D-Day and the Normandy Campaign that are extremely good, only varying in their opinion of Montgomery (the old idea that he was too cautious largely rejected by modern historians) and the overall performance of the allied armies.
Really, it was a fantastically successful campaign, that had the arse planned out of it, and so was hugely successful. The movie "The Longest Day" is still one of the best visual accounts of the whole thing. Must watch it this week.
I love the fact that one of the stars of the film, Richard Todd, has someone playing him in the film.
0 LOL 0 Wow! 2 Wisdom
-
Dontgiveupyourdayjob Frets: 3972
June 3 edited June 3
guitars4you said:
Plenty of offerings on TV this week some with new black/white footage etc
This went on iPlayer yesterday. It's 3 episodes and I've only seen the first, but assuming it's all the same quality this could be one of the best things you'll ever see on the subject...
0 LOL 1 Wow! 1 Wisdom
-
blobb Frets: 3125
June 3
and let's not forget, both sides suffered. This is La Cambe, the German Cemetary near Bayeux. Photo taken during the 65th commemorations in 2009.
Feelin' Reelin' & Squeelin'
0 LOL 0 Wow! 3 Wisdom
-
blobb Frets: 3125
June 3
Pointe du Hoc - the top of the cliffs scaled by the US Rangers. When they got up there, they found The Germans had moved the guns.
Feelin' Reelin' & Squeelin'
0 LOL 0 Wow! 2 Wisdom
-
blobb Frets: 3125
June 3
Remants of the Mulberry harbour at Aromanche. The caissons were prefabricated and towed across to form a temporary landing stage. It was all but destroyed in a fierce storm on the 19th June.
Feelin' Reelin' & Squeelin'
0 LOL 0 Wow! 2 Wisdom
-
blobb Frets: 3125
June 3
Cafe Gondree - the first place liberated by the Ox & Bucks Light infantry airborne early on D-Day.
Feelin' Reelin' & Squeelin'
0 LOL 0 Wow! 1 Wisdom
-
blobb Frets: 3125
June 3
The old & the new - a Sherman tank and a veteran on a modern landing craft at Aromanche.
Feelin' Reelin' & Squeelin'
0 LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom
-
blobb Frets: 3125
June 3
Carentan.
Feelin' Reelin' & Squeelin'
0 LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom
-
guitars4you Frets: 14765
June 3 tFB Trader
blobb said:
and let's not forget, both sides suffered. This is La Cambe, the German Cemetary near Bayeux. Photo taken during the 65th commemorations in 2009.
Bayeux is a lovely place - Only made one visit on the way thru' to the ferry at Caen
0 LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom
-
HerrMetal Frets: 548
June 3
With the talk of Richard Todd who played Major Howard I'll add a quick mention for a hero who lived locally to me. Everyone was rather in awe of the man as you would expect!
0 LOL 0 Wow! 1 Wisdom
-
Nitefly Frets: 4952
June 3
Interesting tale about the "D-Day Dodgers", who were not in Normandy, but trying to take Monte Cassino in Italy:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce99vz560dno
I nearly put this in the "Military Humour" thread, but it's better here. At the end of the article they show the last verse of the D-Day Dodgers Song, sung to the tune Lili Marlene - very poignant.
0 LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom
-
darthed1981 Frets: 12359
June 3
Nitefly said:
Interesting tale about the "D-Day Dodgers", who were not in Normandy, but trying to take Monte Cassino in Italy:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce99vz560dno
I nearly put this in the "Military Humour" thread, but it's better here. At the end of the article they show the last verse of the D-Day Dodgers Song, sung to the tune Lili Marlene - very poignant.
Ahh...
Italy, that Churchill called the "soft underbelly" of Europe. he later revised to "the tough old gut"...
An astonishingly brutal, bloody and destructive campaign that is almost as forgotten as Burma.
You are the dreamer, and the dream...
0 LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom
-
guitars4you Frets: 14765
June 3 tFB Trader
Nitefly said:
Interesting tale about the "D-Day Dodgers", who were not in Normandy, but trying to take Monte Cassino in Italy:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce99vz560dno
I nearly put this in the "Military Humour" thread, but it's better here. At the end of the article they show the last verse of the D-Day Dodgers Song, sung to the tune Lili Marlene - very poignant.
My grandfather was fighting at Monte Cassino - meant to be a hell hole
0 LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom
-
Adey Frets: 2425
June 3
Reverend said:
darthed1981 said:
An astonishing day.
James Holland identifies it as Britain's last day as a superpower, 7000 ships off the Normandy coast and the majority Royal Navy, everything from the old Battleships (the RN thought the assembled fleet would suffer heavy casualties from eBoats and Subs, so sent old crocks Warspite, with one turret out of action and full of concrete after a glider bomb hit, and Ramillies along with probably-still-a-bit-valuable-but-knackered Rodney) to cruisers, to dozens of destroyers.
Complete air and naval supremacy allowed the troops to get ashore with fewer than expected casualties, only to move forward into the extraordinarily bloody Normandy campaign, two months of brutal fighting between hedgerows.
Hoping for a lot of book re-prints for the occasion, though there are a lot of one-volume histories of D-Day and the Normandy Campaign that are extremely good, only varying in their opinion of Montgomery (the old idea that he was too cautious largely rejected by modern historians) and the overall performance of the allied armies.
Really, it was a fantastically successful campaign, that had the arse planned out of it, and so was hugely successful. The movie "The Longest Day" is still one of the best visual accounts of the whole thing. Must watch it this week.
I love the fact that one of the stars of the film, Richard Todd, has someone playing him in the film.
Wasn't that A Bridge too Far? Maybe it was both.
0 LOL 0 Wow! 0 Wisdom
-
darthed1981 Frets: 12359
June 3
Adey said:
Reverend said:
darthed1981 said:
The movie "The Longest Day" is still one of the best visual accounts of the whole thing. Must watch it this week.I love the fact that one of the stars of the film, Richard Todd, has someone playing him in the film.
Wasn't that A Bridge too Far? Maybe it was both.
It was "The Longest Day" - Todd plays his own CO, though they did offer to change the script a bit so he could play himself.
Amazingly, there was some discussion about Ike playing himself as well - unfortunately, he was a bit too old to realistically play his younger self.
NB - The Longest Day is currently on iPlayer - it really is a stunning film if anyone is interested. Watched alongside Saving Private Ryan you get two different ways of looking at the same events... and Longest Day has some Brits in it!!
You are the dreamer, and the dream...
0 LOL 0 Wow! 1 Wisdom
-
darthed1981 Frets: 12359
June 3
Also on iplayer - war movie fans - is forgotten Battle of Britain movie "Angels One Five", with all round nice-guy John Gregson playing a young Hurricane pilot.
Warning, ending may put sand in your eye.
You are the dreamer, and the dream...
0 LOL 0 Wow! 1 Wisdom
«1234»
Sign In or Register to comment.