Comments by "" (@obsidianjane4413) on "CrocodileTear" channel.

  1. @11:50 Some people enlisted, or conscripted, did not want their identities known for many reasons. Criminal record, evading that or debts, or taxes, making a "fresh start", etc. So they would make up an identity. Used to be very easy to do before there were consolidated record keeping and electronics. In that case it will be pretty much impossible to ever find their true identity. Just as they wanted. Just not in the circumstances they probably intended. Best of luck though.
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  2. Absolutely. This is very sobering and a reality check when most of history is just statistics and trivia.
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  3. That was not how they thought of it at the time or from his perspective. You are judging someone from another time by your own perceived biases and sensibilities. Careful, the same is likely to happen after you are gone too.
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  4. That is not true. Each fallen soldier had a family that mourned him. Each country tried to recover as many as they could, but there were millions killed often in places like this. These efforts are funded today in Russia and the US and other countries does the same in places like Vietnam.
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  5.  @k75romeofive  If he did die of a "lung infection" he was likely in a hospital and would have been buried in a cemetery. But... soldiers in the Foreign Legion often served under assumed names. Sounds like just the investigative job for Jean! lol
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  6. A B-24 that is not having a good day.
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  7. From the eyewitness account and the fact that there was no KIA or other disposition paperwork to contradict it unless there is something to support it that isn't publically available.
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  8. Well remember he was writing it to his wife, so of course he was going to to write it as optimistically as possible so she would not worry. The failure here was in the higher command, appointing an inexperienced non-infantry officers to take command a unit that wasn't combat effective. As mentioned in the video, a fragging is unlikely. He just made fresh butter bar mistake and got himself killed.
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  9. One of those ironic coincidences probably. What is as or more remarkable is that he kept that name. Many German families dropped the "von" and/or anglicized it into "Seadlier" etc. during WWI and WWII when things German were discriminated against.
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  10. The practice at the time was to bury them in place, enmass. Sometimes literally in the fighting positions where they fell. There was no time and often not enough man power. We are talking 10s of thousands of dead per square kilometer for some of the worst battles.
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  11. Sigfried was what is called today "woke", as in aware, moral, and rational.
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  12. He could finally turn the helmet in and get his statement of charges reversed. lol
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  13.  @Marius_vanderLubbe  So... you didn't understand what I wrote? Or your internalized racism won't let you understand historical context?
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  14. Because heat injury is more more of a threat than those very old mortar rounds.
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  15. Artillery isn't called the King of Battle for nothin'.
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  16. Yes they are. But they don't care since they are dead. Its kind of an institution in Russia that has its own inertia. Even today, the trauma of WWII still has effects. It does collect some data about the war. But its also done for today, so that those killed will know that their forgotten bones will be boxed up by pretty girls someday no matter what.
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  17. @2:30 "a shell is a bullet over 2 cm." Sorry to nit pick but... A "shell" is just that. A hollow projectile that is filled with something, usually explosives. A "big bullet" that is solid, is called "shot". Tir d' artillerie vs. obus d'artillerie. The dividing line between what is a "bullet" and what is a "shell" (ie; "cannon") is very arbitrary. Technically they are all just "projectiles".
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  18. Sadly it wasn't. It was just badly led, and indifferently trained and equipped. Many US units that were not "white" were often overlooked and looked down apron with little oversight by higher command. Inferior officers and NCOs were appointed and retained, and their training and morale could be sub-standard because of that. This isn't to say that there weren't quality minority units in the US Army. The Nisei mentioned and African-American units could be excellent troops. But it depended on the quality of the individuals and not the institution of the army, which carried the racism of American culture at the time.
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  19.  @zingwilder9989  This isn't unique. US Army military awards tend to scale with rank. A private earning a silver star did something remarkable where as a senior officer can get one for just doing his job. Also National Guard's are infamous for promoting those with connections over those with ability.
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  20. Why?
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  21. This is a campaign that doesn't get nearly enough attention. Astonishingly exquisite geolocation. Merci beaucoup
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  22. The dead don't care. Its done for the living.
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  23. Were all of these co-located in the same place? Like this was a location of a field hospital's cemetery? @17:35 The "plastic bag" would have been the seal over the original wound. Its still a emergency first aid technique today. @18:35 I can't believe they do these exhumations by hand shovel. Amazing dedication. As always, horrific beautiful work.
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  24.  @Nyllsor  It depends on your perspective. Or rather, the right coopted it as a term of derision.
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  25. Its West of Volgagrad (Stalingrad).
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  26. You knew @ 2:05 when the Bn. Co and his entourage was "going on a patrol" that it wasn't going to end well.
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  27.  @CrocodileTear  Lemme tell you about the time the commander wanted to "circulate the battlefield" in Afghanistan...
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  28. He wanted to finally get his money back from the statement of charges on that helmet. ;)
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  29. Yes. Usually. All armies frowned upon it and "pillaging " in general because it represents a breakdown in discipline. Enforcement varied of course. Only the Germans and Soviets really institutionalized the "look at the enemy without mercy" thing. And so very bad things happened in the Ost. But some dude running off and doing a child will get them executed in pretty much anyone's army.
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  30. Looks like you had a good time anyway.
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  31. @20:16 You should send her a "DD Form 362, Statement of Charges" for her gran' dad's lost equipment for wasting your time. lol
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  32. I thought of that too. But why would it be a date in the future? My guess of a non serial number would be as some kind of lock combination or password, but combination locks and passwords weren't really a thing back then. A serial number is still the most likely.
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  33.  @Marius_vanderLubbe  look up the term.
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  34.  @ImAsMadAsHello  That is very much untrue.
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  35. It depends on the soil composition. IIRC the soils in Kursk are loamy chernozem and alkaline. This leads to the rapid degradation of organic fabrics that uniforms were made of. But boots were processed with preservatives. Also the Eurasian plains see a lot of temperature and moisture variation. Also not great for preservation. A tomb is a different environment all together.
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  36.  @patverum9051  I guess it takes Russians a generation or two before they get sentimental.
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  37. Of course.
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  38.  @zingwilder9989  Korea was a much smaller war and more intense, esp. early. Much harder to hide incompetence. They were often doled out based on politics as much as on capability, even in the regular army. Not so bad now a days, but it still is a factor.
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  39. It was a war of national survival, literally. There really wasn't much of a choice.
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