Yeah my Grandfather was in Stalingrad. Unfortunately he is no longer with us today.
I agree with you though, I find it hard to place one battle over another, especially when one takes into account the effects they have on men.
The Worst Battlefield of WWII
- Thread starter Njaco
- Start date
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Yeah my Grandfather was in Stalingrad. Unfortunately he is no longer with us today.
I agree with you though, I find it hard to place one battle over another, especially when one takes into account the effects they have on men.
- Thread starter
- #42
Njaco
The Pop-Tart Whisperer
I just watched a docu on Monte Cassino. Seems that was pure hell as well.
parsifal
Colonel
They say that sometimes theres worse things than dying.......
ToughOmbre
Senior Master Sergeant
Worst battlefield of World War II?
Answer: ALL OF THEM!
Steve
Answer: ALL OF THEM!
Steve
oldcrowcv63
Tech Sergeant
Kollaa River Line and Battle of Tolvajarvi, fireteams and squads vs companies, companies vs battalions, battalions vs regiments, regiments vs divisions, divisions vs corps all fought near the arctic circle in the coldest winter since 1828!
meatloaf109
1st Lieutenant
Got that one right brother!
vinnye
Senior Airman
Kohima and Monte Cassino were grim to say the least and would get my vote.
Lots of others mentioned on land,at sea or in the air were no less dreadful. No such thing as a nice battle!
Lots of others mentioned on land,at sea or in the air were no less dreadful. No such thing as a nice battle!
How about 19 July 1940? Being stuck in the gun turret of a burning Boulton Paul Defiant as it spirals uncontrollably toward the ground? You can't turn the turret 90 degress to open the hatch at the back to get out because the hydraulic pump's been shot to pieces and the turret's jammed; your only way out is by crawling through a hole in the bottom of the turret big enough only for a small puppy to get through that leads into the rear fuselage, in the belly of which is an equally small orifice covered by an oval hatch. Dressed in a big sack nick-named the Rhino Suit, which is wrapped around you like a blanket that houses your parachute and inflateable dinghy, you know there's no way of squeezing through that impossibly small gap.
Did I mention the aircraft was on fire and plunging helplessly toward the ground because your pilot was killed in the first pass of a schwarm of over thirty Bf 109s that attacked your formation of nine Defiants crewed by airmen without an ounce of combat experience between you all?
As tongues of flame lick away at the outside of the turret, having already engulfed the cockpit ahead of you, in a fit of desperation you fumble with the latch of the holster of your Webley revolver...
Did I mention the aircraft was on fire and plunging helplessly toward the ground because your pilot was killed in the first pass of a schwarm of over thirty Bf 109s that attacked your formation of nine Defiants crewed by airmen without an ounce of combat experience between you all?
As tongues of flame lick away at the outside of the turret, having already engulfed the cockpit ahead of you, in a fit of desperation you fumble with the latch of the holster of your Webley revolver...
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Vassili Zaitzev
Master Sergeant
I'm not really sure I can rate which battlefield was the worst. Each theater of operation had its own demons. That being said, I would like to say that the Eastern Front and the Pacific Front were overall intolerable. Stalingrad comes to mind, and after reading Eugene Sledges memoirs and other sources, Peleliu was its own hell. Still, like I said, I cannot rate what was the worst overall.
I see just about everybody agreed with me it would have to be Stalingrad, regardless of whether or not you were German or Russian. Horrible conditions, both sides brutal beyond belief, common soldiers just as likely to be shot by their own officers as the enemy, just nasty - as would the entre East Front have been.
Readie
Chief Master Sergeant
The North Atlantic conveys at the height of the U boat campaign must feature in a poll of hellish situations. Being a sitting duck on a tanker? Jeez....
Vassili Zaitzev
Master Sergeant
On the other hand, being under a destroyer attack for hours on end would be terrifying as well.
Readie
Chief Master Sergeant
True enough. But, the civilian status of the merchant marine vessel crew makes them a special case in my opinion.
Along with Bomber Command we have taken a long time to put up memorials to remind people of the incredible sacrifices made....
Vassili Zaitzev
Master Sergeant
I can understand that perspective, civilian versus military.
- Thread starter
- #56
Njaco
The Pop-Tart Whisperer
Especially on the Murmansk run - freakish cold.
parsifal
Colonel
dead from hypothermia in under 5 minutes
Readie
Chief Master Sergeant
Unbelievable storms too. My idea of pure hell.
Without the conveys there could be no D Day, Bomber offensive and defeat of the Third Reich.
We owe those mariners big.
Cheers
John
fastmongrel
1st Sergeant
My Mothers Uncle was a Merchant Mariner in tankers and a teetotal Methodist but apparently every time he came home from a convoy he went on a bender drinking till he collapsed. My mother said one time he was brought home on a door by 2 friends from his chapel, nothing was said even by the minister it was his way of dealing with the stress of working on a 100 octane bomb and everyone understood.
