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Post by bravotwozero on Apr 20, 2010 7:04:07 GMT 8
Hi guys,
Ever since I've been into scale modeling and later when I started collecting uniforms. My preferred World War II Theater of Operations was the the European one. I suppose because there were mass tank battles, urban sieges and air campaigns that took place there. Aside from these, there are a wealth of information and photos available on this theater. Whereas, the Japanese, always seemed to be like a mysterious figure with little if any information about them (I know that it is a different story now).
Now, if I were to choose between the East and Western front, I was more into the latter. As I have indicated before, I was fascinated with the Airborne troops, be it Allies or Nazis. I thought of dropping behind enemy lines with only minimal supplies and taking on the bad guys was quite an adventure. And since most of the airborne operations took place in the West, this became my favored front.
How about you? What is your take on this?
Just curious,
BravoTwoZero
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jimmiroquai
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Post by jimmiroquai on Apr 20, 2010 7:29:24 GMT 8
I've always been more into the Western front as well. Must be mainly because of Hollywood.  It was only recently, after watching more modern and accurate documentaries that i realized that the Western front, in terms of the scale of battle, played only a supporting role. The tide of the war changed in the Eastern Front. But since i'm mainly interested in the German Landser, east or west is fine with me. |
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Post by bravotwozero on Apr 20, 2010 7:41:55 GMT 8
I agree with you, I think Hollywood played a role in my preference as well. Movies like The Longest Day, A Bridge Too Far to name a few. Thanks!
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labrador
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Post by labrador on Apr 20, 2010 8:48:48 GMT 8
To get into deep specifics I've always been interested in the British sector of the Normandy front particularly 12SS tenacious struggle in the Caen area, the fight for hill 112 and the battles to escape falaise (though i'm beginning to think more and more that the villers bocage battle was squeezed for all its worth by the german propaganda machine). I'm also an avid student of the Market Garden battles. In the East I'm interested in Wiking's battles around Kovel and the final struggles around Berlin. I guess you could say i'm a big W SS fan. ( i must add that i am not by any stretch a drooling ss fanboy. i am fully aware of the dark side of their history and i am in no way an apologist...just to be clear.)
Other camapigns that interest me are the battles for Monte Cassino and thanks to my new found interest in The Philippine Scouts, the battles around Bataan.
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kalbs
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Post by kalbs on Apr 20, 2010 9:22:12 GMT 8
Having two parents that both served in the ETO with the British Army and Royal Navy I of course was interested in that theater. Also the amount off books and movies and TV shows such as “Combat’, Rat Patrol and comics like Sgt. Rock reinforced my ETO (Western Front) interest.
The Eastern front is almost secondary because we didn’t hear too much about the exploits of the Soviets and I think partially because when I was a kid and teenager we were in a cold war with the Soviets and books and information on the Eastern Front were few.
The Asian war was also somewhat neglected partially because of the lack of understanding and uncommon languages between Asians and Westerners and again I think there was political motivation for authors and Hollywood not to upset the Japanese as the Americans needed their support for bases and etc against the Communist threat (China, USSR, DPRK).
Lately my interest in both the Eastern front and war in Asia is growing. The Iron curtain is down and the Communist threat in the East has diminished. We are now seeing more movies, shows and books these days and I now think my interest in these areas have exceeded my Western Front interest.
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Post by bravotwozero on Apr 20, 2010 23:55:57 GMT 8
The TV series Combat was another one that was influencial in my preferrence for ETO. I enjoyed Rat Patrol too and read some Sgt. Rock comics (funny how the sound of their machine guns are "Budda-budda-budda...").
In the mid seventies, back in the Philippines, Channel 9 used to air "The World At War" which was narrated by Sir Laurence Olivier. This was a fascinating documentary. I was only too thrilled to be able to record it when the Betamax came out. As far as the Eastern Front is concerned, I believe Channel 2 at the time aired the series "The Unknown War", hosted by Burt Lancaster. This featured World War 2 from the Russian side.
Lately, I have unearthed my documentary collection and installed them on my media player. I have about 400 episodes covering ancient battles to Operation Anaconda. I listen to the narrative on my way to work. This forces me to pay attention more and not get distracted by the visuals. I am slowly widening my trivial knowledge about World War II. Now, I'm a little bit up to speed with the submarine and naval warfares on both Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and even gaining some knowledge about the merchant marines. Pretty interesting. This is what trigerred me to open a thread.
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Post by bravotwozero on Apr 21, 2010 0:54:00 GMT 8
Having two parents that both served in the ETO with the British Army and Royal Navy I of course was interested in that theater. Cool! Do you have pictures of them while they were in the service? |
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kalbs
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Post by kalbs on Apr 21, 2010 7:00:52 GMT 8
I do B20 however they are in Florida in storage. My mom who is still with us may have some so if I remember and see her this summer I will try a snag a few. I have all my Grandfather Jack's WWI stuff too including medals etc.
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veevee
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Post by veevee on Apr 22, 2010 21:04:56 GMT 8
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labrador
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Post by labrador on Apr 22, 2010 22:29:12 GMT 8
nice comics! A couple of years ago, i was browsing through an antique book and comic store in cubao and they had these incredibly well illustrated (alfredo alcala) historical/WW2 comic books complete with diagrams and descriptions of weapons and personalities from the eastern and western fronts. I remember one with scharnhorst, gneisenau and the channel dash...ALL IN TAGALOG. I really regret not having bought them.
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kalbs
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Post by kalbs on Apr 22, 2010 22:49:00 GMT 8
My Dad was an officer in the British Army with a rank lieutenant Vic, not RAF. I still have his battle dress with two pips, shoulder flashes and fruit salad. He was in the Commandos with Argyll & Sutherland and wounded sometime in 1944 in NWE which ended his WW2 days. He told me he was bringing a luger back with him on the ship but someone was murdered on the return trip by a 9mm. He tossed it over board... My Dad never swore but I do know he stuck a guy's hand to a table with a screw driver and also threatened to kill an American Major for pissing him off... Hehehe, I never messed with him, God rest his soul.
My mom served in the WRENs, the Royal Navy serving in intel, she still has the origional signal flash from Portsmouth announcing the VE day. Still with us at 86 and still very strong and sharp.
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veevee
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Post by veevee on Apr 23, 2010 21:16:39 GMT 8
I don't know why I thought your dad was with the RAF. Looking forward to seeing photos of your parents. Did they tell any stories from the war at all?
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kalbs
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Post by kalbs on Apr 23, 2010 23:06:11 GMT 8
I don't know why I thought your dad was with the RAF. Looking forward to seeing photos of your parents. Did they tell any stories from the war at all? They told me about the bombing, rationing and life in the service during WW2. Dad told me about the early days when he was in the Home Guard at 16 carrying wounded off the boats from Dunkirk, seeing the bombed homes in Glasgow and those killed. Tough times we hopefully will never witness Lots of stories about life then. However there is a big gap regarding any combat stories. |
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Post by DAN SAN on Jun 4, 2010 15:48:15 GMT 8
My Dad was an officer in the British Army with a rank lieutenant Vic, not RAF. I still have his battle dress with two pips, shoulder flashes and fruit salad. He was in the Commandos with Argyll & Sutherland and wounded sometime in 1944 in NWE which ended his WW2 days. He told me he was bringing a luger back with him on the ship but someone was murdered on the return trip by a 9mm. He tossed it over board... My Dad never swore but I do know he stuck a guy's hand to a table with a screw driver and also threatened to kill an American Major for pissing him off... Hehehe, I never messed with him, God rest his soul. My mom served in the WRENs, the Royal Navy serving in intel, she still has the origional signal flash from Portsmouth announcing the VE day. Still with us at 86 and still very strong and sharp. with all respect herr kalbs..never thought youre an english origin.. i fancy that! 1 tall guiness to you sir! ;D ;D ;D anyways my bar roombrawl days are over. ;D ;D ;D |
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kalbs
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Post by kalbs on Jun 5, 2010 7:31:52 GMT 8
Scotish... never English
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It was only recently, after watching more modern and accurate documentaries that i realized that the Western front, in terms of the scale of battle, played only a supporting role. The tide of the war changed in the Eastern Front. But since i'm mainly interested in the German Landser, east or west is fine with me. 
