What side do you prefer and why

[General Bolt]

I tend to prefer the Allies because the Nazi associations with the Germans give me the creeps.

Combined Arms

I feel exactly the same about the Germans. I prefer the Americans cause I am an American.

[Richie]

I'm Australian, or Ostrayien as some of the locals badly pronounce it , but you guys can call me "Digger" any old time. I'd just like to point out that 'Fritz', in Adelaide where I come from, refers to a composite meat product abreviated from the term 'Bung Fritz', and we call Englishmen "pommies" and they don't really like it. Probably because of the cricket or something...

[Richie]

Dingobreath is American??? :eek:

Well bugger me if thats not an Aussie Dog with a bad attitude and a taste for babies in the outback. Crikey, next thing you know skippy'll be a bloody pommy with a boomerang up his backside !!!

[General Bolt]

Yep, I'm USofA all the way!!. I once owned an Aussie Cattle Dog aka Queensland Heeler. The beast was more Dingo than dog. 40 pounds of fury, smartest animal going. A one family dog. My 13 month old once took a steak bone out of her mouth - no problem, just a very sad dog. Two days later she nearly bit the foot off a friend that I had argued with about where you can get the best Polish sausage in America. I say Scranton Pa.

13 years old when we put her down still smart and alert. She lost all control of a leg and couldn't get up. If I think about the vets office that final day... Well back to CMBO - USA all the way.

[Richie]

Aren't blue heelers the best. Me an' tha' Missus got one ourselves... It only bites me though. Will send picture if you like....

[Chad Harrison]

I loved playing the Ami's back in the days of CMBO {and cant wait to do so again with CMAK}. I was happy to play the Germans or Brits, but whenever I could I would play as the Ami's.

Why? In CMBO my bread and butter was tanks and infantry. IMHO the Ami's had the best to offer in those departments.

Infantry: With a 12 man squad you can not go wrong; even more so when they are paratroopers. That 3 man supperiority over a german squad allowed you to take more risks moving around becuase even after you have lost 3 men, you are still toe to toe and usually have supperior firepower. Now with CMBB, I greatly miss those 12 man Ami's squads {I know you get 11 man squads with the russians, but its just not the same!}

Tanks: American armor consisted of one tank for me: the sherman. My battles were won {or lost} on the back of my sherman tanks. They make for the best all around tank CM has seen to this day. Decent armor, decent gun {can take out nearly everything with a side shot}, great HE, great MG's, and cheap! Sure they might have a panther. But you get nearly two shermans for that one panther. Getting my shermans back is the biggest reason that I look forward to CMAK.

Chad

[Andreas]

Originally posted by Dandelion:

I have yet to meet a German very fond of any of these terms.

Since it is my grandfather's name, and also my nephew's, I believe it would be fair to say that our family as a whole is rather fond of the term, and I would go so far as to consider it not just a term, but a proper name.

That all Germans should be called by the name of my grandfather by foreigners of course just shows the great appreciation foreigners in general have for my family, of which I am an outstanding example. Good-looking, intelligent, well-mannered, softly spoken, suave in appearance, dapperly dressed, with superb taste, a deep understanding of anything people care to think is intellectually rewarding, and modest to a 'T'.

[Dandelion]

LOL!

Well Fritz,

Your Fritz was called Fritz? Mensch Meier! Oh sorry - Mensch Fritz! My Fritz was also called Fritz! And his Fritz too. In fact the Fritz of his Fritz was also called Fritz. I'm not sure what the other Fritz was called, I'll have to ask my Fritz Fritz.

Cheerio

Fritz

PS How do we do when we split tabs after the beer this summer? Numbers? I'll be Fritz 1. You can be Fritz too.

PPS How does Willie sound? Thats my grandfathers older brothers nick. We can make all foreigners call all Germans Willie, and you can produce one of those fine scenarios of yours, a "save Willie" scenario...

PPPS Yes we'll have a mean Tommy post on Teutonic humour again very very soon...

[Andreas]

This reminds me of the Kaurismaeki movie in which 21 guys named Frank try to cross Helsinki. Few make it.

[Richie]

Nice photos Andreas, any chance of you releasing some sort of book?

(Your Grandfather's photographic skills are excellent)

[ May 27, 2003, 11:24 AM: Message edited by: Richie ]

[Andreas]

Originally posted by Richie:

Nice photos Andreas, any chance of you releasing some sort of book?

(Your Grandfather's photographic skills are excellent)

Thanks, I let him know about it.

Had not thought about a book. I understand that self-publishing is not something one should attempt while still trying to finish a PhD If I do get one published you get an honorary mention as the person who brought up the idea.

[Dandelion]

That text has always interested me Andreas. The opening one, with your position on those who took part in the war. As Beever says, we're living in very non-judgemental times - well Europe is - and stark taking of position is rather rare.

I wanted to discuss it not to challenge it or pass my own judgement on it, but rather to follow your path reaching this position. My own just goes in circles, leading round and round and then back to the same spot again.

I'm not talking braunen Scheißdreck, nor any revisionist retards, I'm talking my relation to Großvati. Mine and yours I guess, as their stories seem very similar except on the random point of survival.

Well. Guess that'll have to wait for its beer also.

Speaking of which, Mattias suggested the other day (yesterday in fact) that him and me go visit you in London as a separate thing (and not wait for my anniversary trip, on which he is not going anyway). He had in mind very soonlike, as he gets off in mid june. You in London still by mid- and late June?

It'd be real nice of this other fellow - Dr juzzy - was also around then. He seems an interesting bloke.

Cheerio

Tommy M N (Dandelion)

[Andreas]

Tommy,

the text at the beginning of my website is indeed something worty of discussion over a beer. When you come to London, I'll be happy to discuss it

Let's just say that Beevor may live in a non-judgemental age. I don't.

I understand (or I believe I do) where you are coming from, and I would not outrightly associate anyone questioning the text with 'braunem Scheissdreck'. I have had some choice emails on the text BTW. The most amusing one accused me of trampling on the memory of all Wehrmacht soldiers, and calling them all criminals. Came from an American. Go figure. I have equally had a bit of feedback valuing the sentiment expressed in the text quite highly. That comes mostly from Eastern Europe. Maybe there is a message in that.

[Richie]

Andreas,

I think you go to great pains to non-politisize the photos and in that you have done a great job. If people are unable to see that, then they themselves have their own issues to deal with.

My wife works in the pre press printing industry, her boss served two tours in Vietnam with the Australian Regular Army and has just released a book entitled 'My Vietnam' of his own (and other peoples) photos taken whilst in Vietnam.

The book, like your grandfathers (and other peoples) photos, is non political. It is a pictorical diary of his and others experiences whilst serving their country. The photos depict their lives and the conditions they had to deal with while at war, but mostly it shows people, like all of us, their mates and their environment.

There is definitely a place in this world for a book like that of your Grandfathers (and others) photos. I'll be waiting eagerly.... (one day?)

[ng cavscout]

Hussar: You say that the Ox and Bucks are descended from the Green Jackets, so are you painting a 20 mm figure of a British rifleman from the Napoleonic wars? As I recall from my Bernard Cornwall books, the Brits used their Green Jacketed riflemen as skirmishers? If so, have you seen the Sharpe's Rifles movies? They have Sean Bean and do, I think, a good job of showing grunt level Napoleonic war.

Back to the main thread topic, so far, I like playing the Soviets best, because I love defending in Stalingrad. I haven't played much of the game honestly, about 12 scenarios agains the AI, and now I am trying the "to the volga" operation, but I have been setting up for a couple of days now, and not even close to finishing. At least the AI isn't impatient. lol. I do have lots of experience with Advanced Squad Leader, however, and they seem very similar.

[Last Hussar]

No- I'm painting a platoon of WWII brits. The Royal Green Jackets were formed from mergers of various Light infanty units over the years. They claim as one of their antecedants the 95th.