Gespenster

Skyline! Wasn't that the armpit of Germany? hehe ... Sam's wasn't too bad, at least they played good music ... hell, I met my wife there in 94' You're right ... it wasn't Graff, it was Hohenfels ... and there was also Wildflicken (before they shut it down), God I still have nightmares about those places ... And the washracks ... AHHHHH! God, I use to come into the barracks with a solid sheet of ice over my whole Uniform after a long night washing Bradleys ... I actually thought I had died and gone to the cold version of hell for a while ... I got out in the Summer of 95'... I must have missed the other post, do we have another x-Mannheimer in the CM group? Sweeet, I could talk all day about that place (in case you haven't noticed) ~G [This message has been edited by Gespenster (edited 05-04-2000).]

Tanker, Wow, we were there at the same time ... hell I might have spilled a beer on you at Uncle Sam's once or twice (Did you ever go there?)Or perhaps I may have taken out your tank with a Dragon while playing OPFOR at Graff! (God I hated that place) ... As I said earlier, I was with C Company 4/8 INF over at Coleman, and was part of that nasty 3rd BGE move to Ft. Lewis as well ... I was especially pissed when they converted us to 2ID upon arriving at Lewis, I really liked wearing the ole 1AD patch ... Although Lewis was a nice post, it couldn't hang with the Heim. Oh well ... it sure is a small world ... ~J [This message has been edited by Gespenster (edited 05-04-2000).]

Hey Mannheim, Were you actually a Tanker in Mannheim? I was stationed in Mannheim from '90-'94 at Coleman Barracks in Sandhofen (11M). Mannheim is a beautiful city, my wife is from there as well ... I was just there this past February visiting w/ the in-laws ... Oh well, I was just curious ... ~G

Just an FYI, Kelleys Heroes is scheduled to be released on DVD May 16 . You can pre-order from dvdexpress.com ... A true classic. ~G ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee [This message has been edited by Gespenster (edited 03-17-2000).]

The Autobahn is fun ... hehe ... ~G ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee

Amen ... ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee

Point well taken Steve ... Dale, there is no point to email you, if you have the thought in your head that Allied troops were so much better than German Troops, no matter how many facts and examples I give you, that is what you will always believe, therefore we would just argue forever. All I ask is that you please not post your thoughts on who was the better Army on this board and not expect someone to question you about it. As far as I am concerned this topic is closed. ~G ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee

Dale, What history books are you reading from? As I stated in my earlier post, the weather was very rarely in the Germans favor, yet you say when it was ... the German Army was still defeated time and time again ... This must explain The Kasserine Pass, and the massive losses that the Allied Army's suffered during the early stages of the Bulge ... when the Allied planes were grounded ... yet, only when the weather cleared and the planes could fly once again (around Xmas 1944) ... Were the Allied Armies back on the Offensive (Lack of fuel probably helped the Allies a little as well) Another example of fighting where the Allied planes were not a factor occured in the Hürtgen Forest in November of '44, and again in February of '45, Where The U.S. 28th Inf Div (and others) suffered crippling losses ... While your enthusiasm for the Allied Armies is admirable, The facts are still the facts ... In every area of the Western Theatre when there was a lack of Allied Air Superiority, As a whole (Perhaps with a few small exceptions ... i.e. Bastonge) the Allied Armies had a very hard time fighting head to head against German forces ... I'm sorry to burst your bubble on the invincibilty of the Allied Ground forces, but you just cannot say that they were better trained or more motivated than thier German counterparts. ~G ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee

Griffin, we were both incorrect ... You were indeed correct when you said it was a Firefly that took out Wittman's Tiger ... And I was correct when I said the British knocked him out .... Touche! "The British had only one tank—the Sherman Firefly—that could take out the German heavy armor. Maybe Wittmann was playing the odds that his enemy didn't have their superweapon with them. But the British did have it, and positioned the Firefly carefully as they waited for their vulnerable prey. As Wittmann came within lethal range, all of the British tanks opened fire at once. The Firefly fired a couple of rounds and backed up. The Germans couldn't locate the Firefly, but knew something was taking out their tanks. In seconds, three Tiger tanks were gone. Wittmann was the only one left, unaware and without his team. The Tiger Ace was alone. As he desperately contemplated his options, the Firefly struck one final time, taking his tank,his life, and the life of his crew. Thus ending the career of the most talented German tank commander of World War II." ~G ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee

"Also keep in mind that a cut off German unit was more likely to surrender to the Western Allies while it was more likely to attempt a fighting retreat in the East. This freed up more Allied combat troops to go get more retreating Germans while also reducing Allied casualties. In the East it was often a fight to the bitter end and that meant more resources being invested and lost fighting small groups scattered to the four winds." Excellent point Steve ... ~G ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee

I disagree Dalem, The Allied Air power was very rarely grounded for long periods of time after 1943, and when it was (Around the time of the Battle of the Bulge) The German ground troops mades huge strides and crushed many Allied units that were unprepared and suprised by the size and ferocity of the German Counter-Offensive. While I will agree with you on the fact that the Allied troops were stiff competition for the Wehrmacht, I do not agree that they were "more than a match" ... The Allied Air Superiority was a HUGE factor. During Operation Overlord, had the Panzer Reserves been released quickly enough and arrived in the Normandy area by say, DDay +1, Overlord "could have" been a very ugly situation indeed. (Although thank God it wasn't). The fact is, that once the Allied Armies were able to break out of the Bocage country around Normandy, they made huge gains for a variety of reasons ... Air Superiority, size of force, and supply being three major factors. And since Germany's forces were split between two fronts (With the vast majority being in the East) They were simply unable to defend against the Allied onslaught of men and materials. It simply did not matter by this point how great or well trained an Army was, same as in the East ... When you are overwhelmed, your options are very limited. And yet depite all these factors, the Wehrmacht was still able to prolong the complete collapse of Germany for another 11 months, considering the odds, that is an impressive statistic. Sorry for the long post ... ~G P.S. BTW, Griffin ... It was a British Typhoon Dive Bomber which destroyed Wittman's Tiger in the Falaise Pocket, in August of 44. ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee

Hey GD, Here is a link to one of the pages of our website that contains many books from the German perspective of WWII, I hope you find something you like ... I highly recommend "The Forgotten Soldier" a truly incredible read for anyone interested in WWII. http://members.xoom.com/aufklarung/index11.htm ~G ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee

Hello CM world... I just returned from a trip tyo Europe where some friends and I took a tour of some WWII battlefields ... god it was great . I see there has been alot of talk about WWII reenacting ... Herr Oberst was right about "Die Gespensterdivision" That is my Unit ... we are based in Ashburn, Virginia I am also the webmaster of http://members.xoom.com/aufklarung Please forgive the fact that our page has not been updated since Nov 1, I have been extremely busy these last few months, and hopefully I will find the time to update it soon . But there are a few good pictures on there to check out ... I hope you enjoy. JT Graber Hauptfeldwebel Pz.Aufkl.Abt.11 / 11.Pz.Div "Die Gespensterdivision" ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee

My Grandfather was in the 29th ID Company K, KIA June 15, 1944 near St. Lo ... My Wifes Grandfather (She is German, from Mannheim) Was a member of the German 6th Army and is still listed as MIA at Stalingrad. Kind of Sobering, her Great Grandfather won the Iron Cross in World War I, and then became a pilot near the end of the war ... ~G ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee

Zig, Meine Krieg is an excellent video. Some of the footage is just wild, most of it was recorded by the Soldiers themselves with personal movie cameras. Although the people who interview the Veterans often try to make them feel uncomfortable, most of the Interviewers don't really want to know what the Veterans experienced, but rather how many civilians did they shoot ... typical. But all in all worth the $$$ ;D ~G ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee

I would have to say Panzer General, that game captured me in 1994 BIG TIME. Of course it is kind of silly compared to the great games of today, but for me it will always be a classic. I also enjoyed Steel Panthers, and The Operational Art of War. Other Honorable mentions include Sid Meyer's Gettysburg, CC2, and although Commandos is a little cheesy, it sure is addictive ... ~G ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee

Herr Jung, THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE -3 stars (I didn't give it 3 stars, I gave it MINUS 3 stars Although you hit the nail on the head with "This pile of dung" That is as accurate a description as there is ... Another Fossil I dug up from my endless WWII movie collection ... BRIDGE AT REMAGEN ** ~JT ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee

Mike, I am a member of the 11th Panzer Division reenactment group based in Virginia. And Also am a member of the listbot ... ~JT ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee

Steve, I don't blame you for not wanting to mess with the game ... I just wanted to answer the question that was posted, I think the game is fine the way it is ... You are right, the car could be run the same way forwards or backwards, obviously because of 2 driving positions. The turret can be spun 360, so it really doesn't matter. The German Armored Car Crew were trained in all positions as well, that way if the driver (or whoever)inside were injured, another crew member could jump in his position and know what he was doing ... I was in the US Army Mechanized Infantry and we were trained the same way, everyone knew everyone elses job. Good luck with your weasel, it sounds very cool ... and as for the Czech Republic ... OMG you are so right, I love that country! ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee

Sorry ... double post ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee [This message has been edited by Gespenster (edited 12-16-99).]

Hi Fionn, I am a German WWII reenactor, and recently my Unit just purchased an Original SdKfz 232 (8RAD)Armored Car from our contact in Luxembourg (Who brought it out of the Czech Republic) and although she is fairly beat up (exterior rust, and interior damage) It definately has two drivers positions, one in front and one in the rear .... So I can vouge for this particular vehicle as having two drivers spots. It is VERY cool though, alot of parts inside have been repainted and worked on, but after we removed some of the post war paint, we uncovered many German Waffenamps, and alot of dates (mostly 1942) Just too cool, I feel like a kid again... hehe... ~JT ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee

Veer, I didn't check to see if they had info on the 211th, but for future reference, allow me to recommend the following website: http://www.uwm.edu/People//jpipes/start.html This is the German Armed Forces in WWII website, and it is quite well done ... it is loaded with tons of information on all branches of the German Military during WWII includeing many individual Unit histories, medals and awards, even notes from vets and more ... I hope you enjoy it. ~JT ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee

Paul, I'm in the minroity as well ... I also enjoyed The Thin Red Line, and I think that a couple of the battle scenes in the tall grass, and when they assault the Japanese Bunker were VERY well done. And is it me, or were the actors playing the Japanese Soldiers perfect? I mean, they looked very underfed, and beat up (which is the way they should've looked) and while I'll agree that sometimes the movie lost you a little bit, I thought the realism made up for it. It was a typical "love it or hate it" flick though, there is no inbetween. ~JT ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee

Hey Canada, I am VERY dissapointed with CCIV, I think it just plain sucks ... the new explosions are nice, and so is the overall campaign map, and the added Arty and Air Strikes. I think the graphics, and overall quality of the game have takin a turn for the worse. Oh well, I guess my days of this series have ended, unless someone completely overhauls the entire engine. ~JT ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee

Gespenster's picks of WWII era flicks ... (In no particular order, Stars are givin out of 5 max ... please note that these are my PERSONAL opinion, as I have just about all of these films on video or DVD or both) DAS BOOT ***** STALINGRAD *** CROSS OF IRON **** THE WINTER WAR *** TORA TORA TORA! *** DIE BRÜCKE **** PENAL BATTALION 999 ** BATTLE OF THE BULGE -3 stars PATTON **** CASTLE KEEP ** KELLYS HEROES *** THE DIRTY DOZEN ** THE DIRTY DOZEN PART II * HELL IS FOR HEROES *** THE EAGLE HAS LANDED ** EUROPA, EUROPA! *** WHERE EAGLES DARE ** FORCE 10 FROM NAVARONE ** SAVING PVT RYAN **** VON RYANS EXPRESS *** A MIDNIGHT CLEAR ** WHEN TRUMPETS FADE * SWING KIDS *** THE GREAT ESCAPE **** THE TUSKEEGEE AIRMEN ** BILOXI BLUES *** THE BATTLE OF BRITIAN *** ATTACK FORCE Z *** MIDWAY *** 12 O'CLOCK HIGH *** THE VICTORS ** THE LONGEST DAY *** A BRIDGE TOO FAR **** THE YOUNG LIONS *** THE THIN RED LINE ***(I actually liked it A TIME TO LOVE AND A TIME TO DIE *** (the film Von Shrad and MOS spoke of, great film) MEMPHIS BELL *** SCHINDLERS LIST ***** BACK TO BATAAN *** THE SANDS OF IWO JIMA ** BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KWAI **** RAID ON ROMMEL ** BREAKTHROUGH *** SINK THE BISMARCK *** THE DEVILS BRIGADE ** THE BIG RED ONE ** VICTORY * As I stated earlier, I have most of these films, and I'm sure I missed a few ... But I hope this list helps some of you, I look forward ot your comments ... ~JT ------------------ "It is well that War is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it" Robert E. Lee [This message has been edited by Gespenster (edited 12-14-99).]