Nazi Germany’s Panzer Corps Faked It ‘Til It Made It

War is Boring ^ | December 27, 2015 | David Axe

[central_va]

I think I read that book Panzer Commander. I think he said about Normandy was they probably could have won the battle in the first few days but they couldn’t get armor up to the beach area. I think he said his panzer brigade suffered 40% casualties before even making direct contact with the enemy.

[Riley]

Nice. There’s quite an active market for armored vehicles, as I’m sure you’re aware.

I saw a couple of clips on YT, the FPSRussia weapons guy (IIRC) in the turret of an M-18 Hellcat firing live ammo at a hillside and someone firing a privately-owned PaK-40.

Hellcat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dhSYDZy2Yc

PaK-40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7fhBm1ouSU

[Riley]

It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but that’s about what I recall.

I got a kick out of his friendship with John Howard, who he fought in Normandy. He’d go to the D-Day events in later years, but he had to pretend to be something other than a German officer; the French would get upset about him being there.

[archy]

I saw a couple of clips on YT, the FPSRussia weapons guy (IIRC) in the turret of an M-18 Hellcat firing live ammo at a hillside and someone firing a privately-owned PaK-40.

Hellcat

Not without its risks. FR Hellcat thread *here*

*more*

[archy]

It’s been a while since I’ve read it, but that’s about what I recall. I got a kick out of his friendship with John Howard, who he fought in Normandy. He’d go to the D-Day events in later years, but he had to pretend to be something other than a German officer; the French would get upset about him being there.

In the late 1970s we had a funeral for a local veteran, which I had to cover as a photog for the local newspaper. After WWII, the guy had enlisted in the French Foreign Legion, then joined up with the US Army under the Lodge Act program that gave military-experienced foreigners a crack at US Citizenship after a 6-year hitch. Or two. And some retired after the usual 20/30 years; many gravitated to Special Forces due to their language skills.

But anyway he came back to the USA where he was a citizen of a country to which he'd never been and retired to Southern Indiana. Eventually, he joined a couple of local veterans groups, and served as post commander of one for two years. Accordingly, a pretty fair send-off party in his honor was held at his old post after his funeral. And laid out for the festivities were his medals and decorations from three nations, including his Iron Cross, Second Class, Infantry Close Combat medal and Tank Destruction award. And, of course, photos of him as a young man in his first uniform, a wiser man in his second, and an older fellow in his third call to duty. He was, by all accounts, a pretty good soldier.

[Riley]

I missed this story, thank you.

Was it that same Hellcat? There can’t be a lot of them around in firing condition.

[Riley]

Here’s another: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauri_T%C3%B6rni

The tank destruction badge makes me smile. I had an acquaintance years ago who was (idiotically) screwing around with a pistol in his living room and put one through his TV.

We mocked up a sleeve badge for him for the ‘Personal destruction of an enemy television set’.

[archy]

Was it that same Hellcat?

Pretty sure it was.