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A horribly groggy question, 10/10/43 what was the weather


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That sure is a tough nut to crack. I think one could luck out to find out what the weather in New York around that time was, but the weather along the Dnjepr? :confused:

Anyway I did some searching and came up with this diary from around that period of a german tanker fighting near Bobruisk.

[snippet]

9th October 1943Our Tiger froze solid today. They had to ue a flamethrower to melt the mud & ice off the drive sprockets. Ulrich stole a portable heater from the luftwaffe liason hut. I dont think they will be pleased but it fits nicely in our rommel kist. Got the barrels on the MG changed & took out a Russian Artillery battery with Paul . It was so easy we just drove up to the top of the ridge & shelled them. It was good to see those annoying guns blow to pieces. I really liked the secondary explosions from their ammunition. I'm sure that must have taken a good few out.

[/snippet]

I also found a something on this site.

[snippet]

In the winter of 1943-1944 the weather, as always in Russia, became the third force in the fighting, but with a difference. The hard freeze which usually set in by mid-December and lasted into March did not arrive at all that winter in the south, and in the north it was frequently broken by thaws. Rain, sleet, slush, and mud tested the endurance of men and machines. Again the Russians had the advantage. They had sufficient reserves to give their troops occasional periods to rest and dry out. Their tanks, having wider tracks, performed better in mud than did the German armor. Their American-built lend-lease trucks ran through mud that hopelessly mired the two-wheel-drive German trucks. Both sides relied heavily on the light, high-riding one-horse panje wagon, the Russian peasant's answer to mud.

[/snippet]

On (I think) Michael Dorosh's Grossdeutschland site there is a small weather reference table. Check it here .

Hope this helps you allong.

Mies

[ February 11, 2003, 02:22 PM: Message edited by: Mies ]

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Thanks for your help. Yes I'm converting an old PanzerBlitz scenario and was trying to figure out the weather on that date, I'll go with cold and damp.

And for Rosenrosen, yes they can and it occurred in WWII also. Here the German's burn a special "Frogaust" truck, the smoke from which turns the frogs into Anti-soviet anti-personnel mines.

6.htm

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Thanks for your help. Yes I'm converting an old PanzerBlitz scenario and was trying to figure out the weather on that date, I'll go with cold and damp.

And for Rosenrosen, yes they can and it occurred in WWII also. Here the German's burn a special "Frogaust" truck, the smoke from which turns the frogs into Anti-soviet anti-personnel mines.

6.htm

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Hans,

I don't know what was the weather on that day. Neither do I care. I understand that this useless piece of information is important to you but ...

Mum was born, that very day, near Liège (Belgium).

Just wanted to share this useless piece of information that is important to me. ;)

Cheers,

JeF.

[Edited for spelling : all remaining spelling or grammar errors are due to bad transmission]

[ February 11, 2003, 03:17 PM: Message edited by: JeF ]

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That first diary reads like an 8 year old wrote it - is there any way of verifying its authenticity? Such as scanned copies of the handwritten diary?

I have a hard time buying into any diary that brags about how "easy" the war was and brags about tank kills, comparing skills among crewmen, etc. It reads like something you'd find on a Day of Defeat clan site.

Is this an actual diary, or a bit of grog-porn fan fiction?

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