Comments by "Big Blue" (@bigblue6917) on "The Tank Duel at St. Vith, Belgium" video.

  1. Ambushing Tiger tanks and attacking from the rear was often the only way to kill them. That's how they got Michael Wittmann. Interesting that the final throw of the dice for Germany in the west in both world wars involved German troops from the Eastern Front. The trouble for those troops is that in both cases they were used to fighting in the open space of the Eastern Front, as opposed to the more confined space of the fighting in the west. This was illustrated perfectly by the fact that the Bulge attack was across the direction of the landscape making their task more fraught then it needed to be. The attack was south east to north west while the ridges and valleys were north east to south west. The attack should not have been the surprise it was. US military intelligence, through the Ritchie Boys, had warned the top brass about the build up in the Ardennes. But they just dismissed the idea. Ironically a number of Ritchie Boys were captured by the SS and summarily executed.
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  2. rpl palacio My late father, a British army NCO, would definitely agree with you here. The generals may dream up the battleplans, and get all the glory when it goes right, but it is the NCOs who make it work. And I put my vote on this little Mexican getting the Medal of Honor for your next video, History Guy. Knowing the Japanese view of surrendering I am now intrigued as to how he did it.
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  3. This true R Mack. Then it just becomes a pillbox. I thought the same thing when I first saw photographs of the Swedish S Tank. Looks great but once a track is hit that is it. You cannot even carry on fighting because you cannot use the gun without the tracks.
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  4. Talking about Audie Murphy appearing in his autobiographic film I was reading about the British actor Richard Todd. appearing In the film The Longest Day. He plays Major John Howard the commander of the British glider troops who capture Pegasus Bridge on D-Day. On D-Day itself these glider troops were re-enforced by some paratroopers. These paratroopers were led in real life by Captain Richard Todd. It must have seemed odd for Richard Todd playing the man who was his commanding officer and watch another actor play himself.
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  5. R Mack I'd forgotten Audie Murphy was from Texas. Just looked him up on Wikipedia. I think it is just the way the photograph is shown but I would swear he is leaning over from the weight of all them well deserved medals. Sad end.
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  6. Sounds about right for Hollywood, rpl palacio. These are the same people who though John Wayne could be a Mongol warrior. I mean there is only some ten inches difference in height. And the fact he looks European. But who noticed.
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  7. R Mack That is so true. I has taken some people a long time to learn that. Did you see in the news about the young black man from Mali who scaled the 18 floors of the outside of a building in France to rescue a young child. He was not supposed to be in France but they have acknowledge his bravery by giving him French citizenship and offered him a job as a fireman. French firemen are held in very high regard so you can imagine how big an honour this is. And today he has met the French President who gave him an award for bravery. Even the French Right, who are very much against immigrant, have had to acknowledge his bravery. In France he is a hero and no one questioned his race or ethnicity. Lesson learned. As for little people. My partner told me about her late grandfather who got into a fight with a little guy. Now her grandfather was quite good a fighting but that was no help here as he did the old "waking up with a crowd around you." He said it was the worst fight he had ever had and would avoid small men in the future.
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  8. Was it ever thus. Call him centurion instead of sergeant and what's changed. We have mentioned that brave soldiers do not have to be tall. I remember reading about a British soldier in the trenches in WW1 who was what was referred to as a bantam soldier because of his height. Slightest mention of Germans attacking the British front line and he was off like a ferret up a drainpipe. I remember thinking if we had a division like him they would have been in Berlin in three days.
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  9. So true R Mack A lesson learned in WW1. Having said that something like a 30 mm cannon could take out a track from just about any tank and we are back to the pillbox again.
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  10. Thanks R Mack. Well whatever his origins I definitely still think he deserves a mention.
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