Gpig Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 Yes, thank your for your excellent book, Mr. Reid. I was fascinated to learn about Canada's pre-war readyness (or lack thereof). And how they subsequently became a force to be reckoned with in such a short time. Gpig 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted August 25, 2005 Author Share Posted August 25, 2005 Originally posted by Gpig: Yes, thank your for your excellent book, Mr. Reid. I was fascinated to learn about Canada's pre-war readyness (or lack thereof). And how they subsequently became a force to be reckoned with in such a short time. Gpig Four years? Only about as much time as it took Germany to invade Poland, France, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Norway, Greece, Yugoslavia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Estonia, The Soviet Union, Libya and Egypt. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gpig Posted August 25, 2005 Share Posted August 25, 2005 I bet with all those countries falling to the Axis, those four years must have just ZIPPED by, eh? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zalgiris 1410 Posted August 26, 2005 Share Posted August 26, 2005 Originally posted by Brian Reid: While Wittmann may have been known to certain elements in Allied intelligence, as Andreas points out, he was an unknown quantity to the Allied troops he was facing. I have read the First Canadian Army intelligence summaries for the Normandy campaign, and his name does not appear in any of them. Ditto for Ultra, and if his name had appeared in this product, without another source, it could not have been disseminated in any case. Let's face it. He was an acting battalion commander and, as such, was of little import in the big scheme of things. It fell to a later generation to elevate him to near mythical status. Still, he was a good soldier who met a soldier's fate. I fully admit that I'm not so much mis-informed (as Jons posted) buy fairly badly uninformed about Ultra, so sorry for posting outside my, ahem, intelligence. I was cluching at straws a bit here. All the same I can't fathom that whoever was responsible not managing to find a way to dissiminate the demise of Wittmann to the troops and public somehow, at least as propaganda if Ultra or whatever had of informed them, since they are the ones who were likely to know about him. Apparently they did such tricky things with material that they got through Ultra AIUI. Brian Read do you mean the next generation of Allied officers and armoured warfare experts / enthusiasts by any chance? Weren't the origionals capable of seeing him in some similar terms to how they thought of Rommell despite the SS runes and could have been positively affected by his killing for their confidence and morale? Possibly also used to confirm to Stalin that they were actually fighting even very successfully against East Front vetrans after holding back with such a long waite and now making it all worthwide, finally as promised? (ie; to have put him into the tally!) [ August 25, 2005, 10:35 PM: Message edited by: Zalgiris 1410 ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtcm Posted August 26, 2005 Share Posted August 26, 2005 acting bttn commander = of little import in scheme of things... Two thoughts -- only in armoured units do Bttn commanders actually get to lead from the front and shoot at people -- next time I play CM and get beaten, as usual, i'll console myself by saying it wouldn't have mattered in the bigger scheme of things ! 8-) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Reid Posted August 26, 2005 Share Posted August 26, 2005 First, thank you, Andreas, for your kind words. You need not worry about me getting too rich writing military history; if I am lucky I will cover my expenses with perhaps a bit left over. As for TRACTABLE, it is not as well documented as TOTALIZE, so I shall have to do a lot more digging. Re the propaganda benefits to be gained from publicizing Wittmann's death, I have no explanation why this was not exploited. It may have been that the Germans downplayed his demise, and/or the Allies did not pick it up. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zalgiris 1410 Posted August 26, 2005 Share Posted August 26, 2005 No worries Mr Reid, sorry I misspelt your name above! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicky Posted August 26, 2005 Share Posted August 26, 2005 Quick edit it before he notices! (click the pen and paper icon) Originally posted by Zalgiris 1410: No worries Mr Reid, sorry I misspelt your name above! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Reid Posted August 26, 2005 Share Posted August 26, 2005 I am used to it. I often see it rendered as Ried, using the English rule, 'i' before 'e,' except after 'c' or sounded as 'a' as in reindeer and sleigh. Reid, of course, is not an English word, it is Scottish. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingfish Posted August 26, 2005 Share Posted August 26, 2005 Originally posted by Brian Reid: Reid, of course, is not an English word, it is Scottish. Isn't that the same thing? ducks and runs for cover before Emma shows up 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zalgiris 1410 Posted August 27, 2005 Share Posted August 27, 2005 Wicky I edit the hell out of my posts but a firm mistake is a firm mistake, now it's too late and in the thread. Ha ha Kingfish, Scots are not English but are both of course British and there's the issue. Bloody Union Jack. (BTW I'm part Scottish of the Munro clan, go the Dons.) [ August 26, 2005, 08:23 PM: Message edited by: Zalgiris 1410 ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim crowley Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 Well chalk up another sale for Brian Reids' book! Following this thread led me to ordering a copy on Amazon and also purchasing a second hand, but expensive, copy of Ronald Graves' "South Albertas" Both of these books look fabulous, and Robin Brass a publisher to watch out for. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gpig Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 You are going to LOVE the SAR book, as well. Kingfish did a few scenarios based on the St. Lambert Sur Dives battle where Maj. Currie (of the SAR) won his VC. There is a thread in the CMAK forum w/some screenshots from the Dorosh/JonS battle. Gpig 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim crowley Posted August 30, 2005 Share Posted August 30, 2005 HeHe, you've got to love those Dorosh graphics! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 I can't believe that I somehow managed to miss this thread--for years! It is, hands, down, one of the best I've read on the Forums, and I've learned a lot in the process. Had read the Wittman grave discovery portion of the AFTER THE BATTLE book PANZERS IN NORMANDY (still on my forever overflowing and acutely underfunded buy list) and Agte pieces myself, thanks to a friend, so wasn't entirely at sea, but knew virtually nothing from the CW side other than a brief account of Ekins in a Concord pub, I believe, and in the Forums since. I definitely wasn't aware two other tank units might've had a shot, but was aware of the Typhoon controversy. One of the things I've learned is the meaning of the mysterious "PNP tagged." I half expected this to refer to some German acronym regarding a "no Nazi stuff law," but the explanation turns out to be altogether more prosaic. PNP stands for Personal Pronoun, and it's part of an elaborate structure described here. http://www.natcorp.ox.ac.uk/docs/bnc2guide.htm#m2art P51D may think he had a rough time of it here, but as someone who draws massed heavy flak practically every time he posts on even innocuous subjects, what happened to him was basically a nonresponse by comparison. I would've loved to see some sources cited by him, and I can confirm from direct knowledge that neither JDR nor INTELLIGENCE REVIEW is classified, having read the former for years while a military analyst and been given a stack of back issues of the latter by an Army reserve captain in Intel. The only classification stems from economics and maybe having to show you're either in the field yourself or are a journalist. It might be interesting to try to ID the guy based on what info he did provide, but I have other matters requiring my attention. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Enigma Posted February 25, 2007 Share Posted February 25, 2007 Last night I held a séance at my house and the spirit of Michael Wittman was called on. He appeared as a soft blue glow hovering over the dining room table. Over the course of the evening he floated around the room answering questions, stopping only briefly to snag a beer from the fridge. He talked at great length about the Stug and Tiger, German tactics in general and his exploits at Villers-Bocage (talk about an AAR!). Finally, the question was raised about how he died on 8/8/44. For a while there was silence, then he took a long pull of beer, placed the empty bottle on the table and said ‘That &$%#@! Englishman in the orchard, Damn him to Hell!” followed by another long period of silence. We decided not to pursue it any further, and that’s where the matter ended. Possibly the best post on these forums! LMAO 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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