Posted: Fri Feb 29, 2008 8:58 pm Post subject: Just saw Saving Private Ryan again
So I just finished watching this movie for the second time and its really damn good. All those real WW2 vets are just heroes.
But I had two questions. Somewhere I heard that the Germans only managed to dispatch ONE single airplane against the invasion. Is this true or just a myth...and if its true, why didnt they send more aircraft?
Also, anybody know the name of the gun that the character Reiben is holding? He's one of the 3 characters that survive till the end of the movie, and was played by the actor Edward Burns.
Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 4:45 pm Post subject: Re: Just saw Saving Private Ryan again
LiveFree wrote:
But I had two questions. Somewhere I heard that the Germans only managed to dispatch ONE single airplane against the invasion. Is this true or just a myth...and if its true, why didnt they send more aircraft?
As fair as i know, only two ME-109 were employed by the Germans n D-Day...
the majority of the airforce in France was relocated just day before D-Day, because the Germans did not expect a landing in June, due to weather conditions and moon constellation...
to answer your question, yes only two german planes responded to the invasion. they both did a strafing run then quickly retreated realising they had no chance of doing any damage to the invasion.
the german navy didn't respond and neither did Hitler! the whole Atlantic wall was mostly propaganda and very incomplete and manned by 2nd rate garrison troops. It's no surprise that the Luftwaffe didn't respond
I loved SPR when it first came out. But once I started seriously reading and researching topics on WW2, especially the German Armed Forces, I was thoroughly disappointed with how Spielberg and the bunch choose to portray German soldiers. Take notice next time you watch, all the German soldiers are skin heads. I have thousands of pictures of German soldiers, 99.9% of them had a full head of hair.So from a historic sense, it's pathetic they did that. Dare I say they have an agenda. Either way it was an enjoyable movie..
Downfall, Winter War, Stalingrad, even Cross of Iron and all the older classics are bueno..
another thing i cant figure out is....in the beginning of the movie when theyve made some progress and are below the german bunker....they begin shooting covering fire at the german MG sandbag position....At one point the Captain tells Jackson(the sniper)
"now that crater should give you perfect defalay to their position"
what is defelay/defalay???? I dont know how to spell it....but thats what it sounds like
Have a look out for The Longest Day, if you haven't seen it. May not have the blood and guts of SPRyan but it is almost a film documentary of the D-Day events.
I don't know about the longest day, but Stalingrad is a must. To be honest about saving private ryan, too often the Germans simply run out in the open just get shot. Like the scene where the half track gets knocked out and the crew bails only to die for the camera.
And the worst part for me was when the Tiger is disabled but the crew bails for no reason, they're perfectly safe inside with only a tread problem. The driver would have bullet proof glass in his driver slit so the tommy gun to the driver was awful.
Finally got a chance to see Stalingrad. I had NO idea the eastern front was so disturbingly morbid and hellish. By the end it seemed those men were more dead than alive.
And I always thought it was only the Russians that cared so little about their own men and killed them sometimes like they were the enemy. But at the end of the movie, the roles had switched and the Germans had descended into brutality.
Only 6000 Germans ever returned to Germany!?....thats incredible
Finally got a chance to see Stalingrad. I had NO idea the eastern front was so disturbingly morbid and hellish. By the end it seemed those men were more dead than alive.
And I always thought it was only the Russians that cared so little about their own men and killed them sometimes like they were the enemy. But at the end of the movie, the roles had switched and the Germans had descended into brutality.
Only 6000 Germans ever returned to Germany!?....thats incredible
Great movie!
Immediately after the surrender of the sixth army, 14,000 were killed outright by the Soviets. when the Germans who survived for their parade thru Moscow, they were fed food with oil mixed in so that while the parade was going they lost control of their bowls!
The Soviet Union wasn't a signee for the Geneva convention, so they didn't think they were responsible for prisoners. But that's typical among communist countries, anybody who invades their territory is a war criminal and punishible by death.
Finally got a chance to see Stalingrad. I had NO idea the eastern front was so disturbingly morbid and hellish. By the end it seemed those men were more dead than alive.
And I always thought it was only the Russians that cared so little about their own men and killed them sometimes like they were the enemy. But at the end of the movie, the roles had switched and the Germans had descended into brutality.
Only 6000 Germans ever returned to Germany!?....thats incredible
Great movie!
The eastern front was pure hell. If you ever read into what the russians did to their prisoners you would never look at the war the same way. Just a couple of examples that come to mind such as stripping a german soldier naked, gouging his eyes out, then letting him loose in the snow to freeze to death. Or crucifying a german soldier and putting him out in front of the lines and shoot anyone that comes to get him down.
Reminds me of a story. My grandfather was in WW2 and spent some time in Germany after the war. He had a local girl babysit for my aunt and uncle. anyway, her dad was an engineer for the german army and was captured in stalingrad. They used him to design and build bridges because he wasn't a regular grunt. They released him as a POW in 1955 and he had to find his own way from Moscow to Wiesbaden Germany. He knocked on the door of his house and his 15 year old daughter answered the door, not knowing who he was and said "Mom, there's a strange man at the door". They didn't know he was alive for 12 years because he wasn't allowed to write any letters. sad but true.
Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 8:59 pm Post subject: Defelay - (Defile)
I wondered that too, seems to be prevalent in that movie but not alot of other places.
de·file 2 (d-fl)
intr.v. de·filed, de·fil·ing, de·files
To march in single file or in files or columns.
n.
1. A narrow gorge or pass that restricts lateral movement, as of troops.
2. A march in a line.
[French défiler : dé-, away, off (from Old French de-; see de-) + file, line, file (from Old French filer, to spin thread, march in line; see file1). N., from French défilé, from past participle of défiler.]
I think it can somehow be compared with the Asia/Pacific theatre. Regarding brutality, from both sides.
If you consider the immensity of the eastern front, the number of divisions and regiments in place (around 20 million Soviets died from 1941 to 1945), the western front in Europe was err... small.
Moreover, Nazi Germany's priority was always the Ost front. This is partly proved by the evolution of German anti-tank ammunition, tanks and tactics.
Indeed, I would not like to be in the shoes of a German or a Soviet soldier during those years...
the german navy didn't respond and neither did Hitler! the whole Atlantic wall was mostly propaganda and very incomplete and manned by 2nd rate garrison troops. It's no surprise that the Luftwaffe didn't respond
The Kriegsmarine DID did respond, with everything they got; -Three torpedo boats stationed at Le Havré... If I remember it right they came through the smokescreen at Sword and fired a salvo before they turned and retreated. Although, they managed to sink the Norwegian destroyer "Svenner", one of two lost destroyers during the invasion.
Regarding the Luftwaffe, the only air division in Normandy had been move to defend "der Vaterland" on the 5th, only the CO and his wingman stayed behind and got drunk, so when the strafed the landing they were a bit hungover...
And finally, isn't word your looking for "enfilade"? Can't find it in my old dictionary, but if I recall it right it's a synonym for "flank"...
"When the tough gets going, I run to live to run another day..."
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If I remember it right they came through the smokescreen at Sword and fired a salvo before they turned and retreated. Although, they managed to sink the Norwegian destroyer "Svenner", one of two lost destroyers during the invasion.
