WWII Battledress

[standinthedoor]

Re: WWII Battledress

Mi Kraut grand dad reckoned the Germans figured the Brit army to be the most effective opposition army by 1918, he says the Germans were shocked when tanks turned up and the Brits apparently were using some sort of 'plumbed in' flamethrower, in some locations which shot petrol flames 500 to 600 yards in to German trenches and the Krauts were very wary about WTF the Brits were going to produce next. says they stared to co-ordinate aircraft, artillery (even naval were possible) gunfire in support of infantry attacks, he thought Hitlers generals studied Brit end of WW1 tactics for their blitzkreig WW2 strategy

[trubrit2411]

Re: WWII Battledress

Read the account of the Regular Irish Guards, with that bolt action Lee Enfield, at the battle of Loos in 1914. Their rate of fire and accuracy shocked and devastated the Krauts. They lost whole Regiments at five and six hundred yards before they realised what they were up against. The actually thought it was a Machine gun Regiment they were coming on to. The Old Contemptibles. Paddies.

[trubrit2411]

Re: WWII Battledress

Mi Kraut grand dad reckoned the Germans figured the Brit army to be the most effective opposition army by 1918, he says the Germans were shocked when tanks turned up and the Brits apparently were using some sort of 'plumbed in' flamethrower, in some locations which shot petrol flames 500 to 600 yards in to German trenches and the Krauts were very wary about WTF the Brits were going to produce next. says they stared to co-ordinate aircraft, artillery (even naval were possible) gunfire in support of infantry attacks, he thought Hitlers generals studied Brit end of WW1 tactics for their blitzkreig WW2 strategy

Was your German grandad in Blighty all the way through WWII Wig ? Did they interview him or warehouse him ? I would love to have met him.

[standinthedoor]

Re: WWII Battledress

Believe it or not he was engaged in munitions, apparently a very good engineering designer working for an arms firm in Birmingham (arms? Where else!). I believe he was incarcerated for about 2 weeks in the local police nick. When it became apparent that he had 3 sons all recently volunteered for Brit army, one in navy and one in RAF, and the old guy hated Hitler with a passion, he was released to get back to work on munitions design and production. Never got the full story about what he did, he spoke very little and I knew him not long after the war when they still had the official secrets act attached to many workers. He spoke good English but the German could be detected so apparently he kept quiet in public during the war for fear of having the law called to him. We were evacuated from Birmingham at the height of the bombing to my Brit grandparents in Lancashire and my Brit old fella told me not to mention the fact that I had a German grandparent. although they both would have killed each other in WW1 they got on well and I found them both sat in the 'front room' in Birmingham, more than once, with a bottle or two, in tears. Just ordinary working men sent by dumb bastard politicians to murder each other. C**ts! Has owt changed?

[trubrit2411]

Re: WWII Battledress

Wig ... There is film in this. I an not kidding. In the hands of the right guy this would be great. There is an ex 3Para bloke living in Malibu who makes pictures. You have probably watched his stuff on TV. I mean great flicks. Draft a story and track him down and send him the draft. It would be a great movie. I am serious. I think that geezer is named Mark Burnett or summat. Look him up. He might be on my friends list on Faceache Book.

[trubrit2411]

Re: WWII Battledress

I found him hes on my friends list But it ain't Burnett or 3 Para. Its 2 Para. Ain't gonna splash his name about though. But I have it.

[Pat Harley]

Re: WWII Battledress

I think the Mark Burnett you mention was involved in some way in films,but not the making of them,and he was 3 Para Tone,so you're not going mad after all!

[trubrit2411]

Re: WWII Battledress

He made Survivor did'nt he ?.... and a few other big series over here.

[bob9739]

Re: WWII Battledress

It would be good to see a war film about opposing politicians sorting their differences out in a bare knuckle fight, instead of sending soldiers out to sort their problems out and then persecuting them for doing it.

[Don the Mod]

Re: WWII Battledress

He made Survivor did'nt he ?.... and a few other big series over here.

Tony, I think he was involved in Trumps Apprentice too.

I agree with you that there is a story to be told here, although I think it would be better coming from the British side, possibly more of a docu-drama type format?

[trubrit2411]

Re: WWII Battledress

Of course Don / Wig. I could not agree more..... he is British and Reg. So is the other one the 2 Para Bloke. That's why I thought of them.

There was a TV Doc done not so long, maybe the Beeb or ITN, about an old lady that was living alone in Dickensian solitude up on the Pennines called Hannah Hawkstone I think. The bloke that made that got called by a bloke that bumped into her while hiking. So he went up there nosing about. Then went back with a full film crew. Somebody like him could take that WWI German POW theme and make it into a mini series. I can see it now. These geezers are always looking for a project.

Hardest thing is the Executive Producers. The money blokes over here. Gotta make them believe it can be sold to TV World wide. Beeb would not have that problem. The Phantom has a few feelers out in that world. Call him up and ask him.... pick his brain.

I think it was Yorkshire TV that did that film on the lady below.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Hauxwell

[standinthedoor]

Re: WWII Battledress

Did not hear it directly from the 2 old guys but mi Mum said that when they got together they were f***in livid at the way in which they (and Russians/Austrians etc) had been frog marched in to slaughter. Mi Ma sez they used to say that all sides should have turned their guns on their 'officer classes' about the time of the Xmas truce, they were not Marxists, but not a kick in the arse from it. She told me that they figured all of the politicians and 'landed gentry' who wanted war should have been put in a bull ring with a revolver and a dagger each, the public from every country could watch, and the result would stand, I stole that 'policy' from them and have repeated it. I have drafted out the outline of their backgrounds (both from coal mining communities Wigan and Penzberg) and their joining their armies, training, their war experiences, and more importantly their feelings towards each other (as former 'enemies' after the war and the similarities of their war experiences, anger and sheer gut wrenching sadness about the loss of so many young mates. The Kraut old lad had more than a small amount of contempt for the Brit officers but said of the Brit Tom that no matter how many times they were over run, they would get up and come back at the Germans. Will aim to get the background to your film maker mate and if he thinks it will go, happy to get more of the stuff together, accepting that film makers may tart it up, but they will not be belittled, by anyone.

[Don the Mod]

Re: WWII Battledress

Of course Don / Wig. I could not agree more..... he is British and Reg. So is the other one the 2 Para Bloke. That's why I thought of them.

There was a TV Doc done not so long, maybe the Beeb or ITN, about an old lady that was living alone in Dickensian solitude up on the Pennines called Hannah Hawkstone I think. The bloke that made that got called by a bloke that bumped into her while hiking. So he went up there nosing about. Then went back to a full crew. Somebody like that could take that WWI German POW theme and make it into a mini series. I can see it now. These geezers are always looking for a project.

Hardest thing is the Executive Producers. The money blokes over here. Gotta make them believe it can be sold to TV World wide. Beeb would not have that problem. The Phantom has a few feelers out in that world. Call him up and ask him.... pick his brain.

I think it was Yorkshire TV that did that film on the lady below.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Hauxwell

Here she is Tony, a hardy old bird, died earlier this year.

[Dave Burgess]

Re: WWII Battledress

Tuff owd Yorkshire lass, R.I.P.

[treeman]

Re: WWII Battledress

Twenty odd years ago, I was up Borrowdale in the Lakes, with two young daughters, (about ten and fourteen)showing them where I used to do some climbing, and who should amble along, but Chris Bonnington. Him and his two mates rapidly shot up the cliff face out of sight. I turned to my lasses and said, 'did you see who that was?' 'No', they both replied. 'Chris Bonnington, I said. 'Who'? they both replied. On the way back home, we stopped in a little place in Teesdale and were looking into a shop window, when I became conscious of a woman who had walked up alongside us. It was Hannah Hauxwell, who lived not far away. Back in the car I said to the lasses, 'did you see who that was'? 'No', they both replied. 'Hannah Hauxwell', I told them. 'Who'? they both replied. Two celebrities in one day. I'm pleased we didn't bump into Elvis in the village chippie, 'cos if they had said 'Who'? to me, I would have clipped their bloody ears.