Infantry of World War 2 (1 Viewer)

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LOL true Skim :D
He had plenty of Kanuks along side him he remembered unloading German prisoners by a jetty wall and this Canadian squaddie was push troops up a ladder and an arrogent SS officer strolled a bit too slowly for the guy so he whipped out his bayonet and stuck it in this Nazi officers arse for some reason he lost his swagger and scrambled up the ladder. it was'nt many months after Dieppe so feelings where still very raw.
 
I've met a few of the old fellas who were at Dieppe, and more than one of them blame the entire fiasco on the Navy. :cry:
Poor navigation, late timing of the landings, and all that.

It was a right royal cock-up, that's for sure. But it did give the Allies valuable experience. The worst thing for the Canuck vets was the slap in the face they received from their own government. Only within the last few years has the Dieppe raid been recognized by the government as being worthy of national recognition. The veterans of Dieppe may now properly wear their campaign medals and stand counted with the veterans of Normandy, Italy, Hong Kong, etc. It's a fight that Veterans Affairs, the Royal Canadian Legion, and other veterans groups had been waging with Ottawa for decades.
 
pD

'colonies' are countries that were part of the British Empire. The Brits of the day often referred to Aussies, Kiwis, Canucks as colonials.

You want an example > D-Day. The Brits on the Canadian flanks could not keep up with the Canadian advance.

Think what you want but no anti Limey from me. :p

The RN Lanchester, a copy of the MP38, was better than the Sten. Being around a Sten always scared the crap out of me. One experience I remember is a guy jumping out of a deuce and a half and firing off several rounds when hit hit the ground. His finger was not on the trigger. Lucky they hit no one.

Anyone have info on the Ozzi 9mm Owen?
 
I applaud your patriotism KK, but don't forget that the Canadian advance was so rapid in part because the Brits on our flanks were taking a lot of the heat. Our boys took a share too, but it was a big front.

KraziKanuK said:
Being around a Sten always scared the crap out of me. One experience I remember is a guy jumping out of a deuce and a half and firing off several rounds when hit hit the ground. His finger was not on the trigger. Lucky they hit no one.
You've fired the Sten, eh? So you were in the Army? If so, are you sure you're not thinking of the Sterling? We haven't used Stens since the '50's, and the Sterlings were replaced in the '80's/early '90's with MP-5's. Just asking.

I wish I had some info on the Owen. Sorry.
 
"'colonies' are countries that were part of the British Empire. The Brits of the day often referred to Aussies, Kiwis, Canucks as colonials."

Notice how I mentioned the New Zealanders, Australians and Canadians in my post. So, I have no idea where you get the idea that I don't know who Colonials were. :rolleyes:

"You want an example > D-Day. The Brits on the Canadian flanks could not keep up with the Canadian advance."

Erh, no. Even that was true it would still be stupid "proof" since the beach landings were different for every single regiment involved. Going off the D-Day advances the U.S troops have to be the worst because they were the last off the beaches at the Omaha beach... :rolleyes:

There's obviously something you've missed out if you ever studied the British and Commonwealth Armies in World War 2 (which I assume you have) is that all being under the British system had the same regimental system of local lads going to the same regiment. This gave the regiments a competitetive feel and made sure that for us we could never say that "Canadians were better than the British" or "British were better than Australians" because for one, the Prince of Wales own West Yorkshire regiment was one of the best in the entire British and Commonwealth force but then the Welsh Guards weren't too good (being polite).

It's nice to see people being so partriotic but...just no. :rolleyes:
 
KraziKanuK said:
D-Day. The Brits on the Canadian flanks could not keep up with the Canadian advance.
And the regiment that led the way? The North Nova Scotia Highlanders, brother! :cool: (Even though they landed in the second wave. ;) )
Along with the Sherbrook Fusiliers, of course.
More than ten miles inland by the end of the day. They did in fact advance the furthest that day, under some of the heaviest fire outside of Omaha Beach. But nothing compared to the hell that the men at Omaha faced that day. Sword, Gold, and Utah were certainly no picnic either. Each beach was different of course, as PD said.

Actually KK, there was a company of Royal Marine Commandos at Juno as well, along with the 3rd Infantry Division. Canadians often tend to overlook that.
 
Agreed and they should all be remembered no matter what wave they landed or how fast they ran up the beach. Who cares what nation they were from they all landed for a common cause.
 
Nice Siggy there. Are you sure that they are 101st though? I know most 101st are Airborne Qualified but the 101st is actually Helicoper Borne Air Assault. They just keep the name Airborne out of tradition from WW2. One of my pilots actually was 101st during the initial attack into Iraq and he cooridated and led one of the largest air assaults in history.
 
Yeah I was kinda wondering that too because i got it of a 101st Airborne website and i remembered that the 101st turned into a air calvary division during the Vietnam War and like you said form then on they sort of remained air cavalry. Hmm. Go figure. :-k

If i find another picture i will defiently change this one.
 
for pD

Sword Beach

On Sword Beach, the regular British infantry got ashore with light casualties. They had advanced about five miles (8 km) by the end of the day but failed to make some of the deliberately testing targets set by Montgomery. In particular, Caen, a major objective, was still in German hands by the end of D-Day.

1 Special Services Brigade went ashore in the second wave led by No.4 Commando with the two French Troops first, as agreed amongst themselves. The British and French of No.4 Commando had separate targets in Ouistreham, the French a blockhouse and the Casino, and the British two batteries which overlooked the beach. The blockhouse proved too strong for the Commando's PIAT guns, but the Casino was taken with the aid of a Centaur tank. The British Commandos achieved both battery objectives only to find the gun mounts empty and the guns removed. Leaving the mopping-up procedure to the infantry, the Commandos withdrew from Ouistreham to join the other members of 1 SS Brigade (Nos.3, 6 and 45), in moving inland to join-up with the 6th Airborne.

Juno Beach

The Canadian forces that landed on Juno Beach faced 11 heavy batteries of 155 mm guns and 9 medium batteries of 75 mm guns, as well as machine-gun nests, pillboxes, other concrete fortifications, and a seawall twice the height of the one at Omaha Beach. The first wave suffered 50 per cent casualties, the highest of any of the five D-Day beachheads except Omaha.

Despite the obstacles, within hours the Canadians were off the beach and beginning their advance inland. The 6th Canadian Armoured Regiment (1st Hussars) was the only Allied unit to meet its June 6 objectives, when it crossed the Caen– Bayeux highway 15 km inland.

By the end of D-Day, 14,000 Canadians had been successfully landed, and the 3rd Canadian Division had penetrated further into France than any other Allied force, despite having faced such strong resistance at the beachhead. The first counter-attack of D-Day was launched by the 21st Panzer division between Sword and Juno beaches, and the Canadians held against several stiff counter-attacks on June 7 and 8 by the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend recruited from the Hitler Youth.

Gold Beach

At Gold Beach, the casualties were also quite heavy, partly because the swimming (Click link for more info and facts about Sherman DD) Sherman DD tanks were delayed, and the Germans had strongly fortified a village on the beach. However, the 50th division overcame its difficulties and advanced almost to the outskirts of Bayeux by the end of the day. With the exception of the Canadians at Juno Beach, no division came closer to its objectives than the 50th.

No.47(RM) Commando was the last British Commando unit to land and came ashore on Gold east of Le Hamel. Their task was to proceed inland then turn right (west) and make a ten mile (16 km) march through enemy territory to attack the coastal harbour of Port en Bessin from the rear. This small port, on the British extreme right, was well sheltered in the chalk cliffs and significant in that it was to be a prime early harbour for supplies to be brought in including fuel by underwater pipe from tankers moored offshore.
 

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