Cold Ale - The Blokes' Thread!

[jocky]

Who's we?

Who's you? Dont come the Platonic dialectics with old Jocky.

[The Atheist]

There has always been more casualties suffered in barrack room brawls between different ethnic groups than inflicted on our, so called enemies.

My dad was a career RN bloke, ended up president of the Chiefs' Mess with a BEM to go with his two WWII DSMs.

There's no doubt that in the minds of Brit servicepeople in WWII, they saw "the enemy" in the following order of priority:

#1 Yanks
#2 Frogs
#3 Japanese
#4 Germans



Although his medals were for fighting the Japanese...

[The Atheist]

Sorry to upset your self-congratulatory thinking laddies, but field marshall Sir John Harding, former Chief of General Staff, is on record as saying that the best troops he ever encountered were those of the Wehrmacht.

That's fine - the troops the Wehrmacht were most scared of was the Maori Battalion!

[JBI]

That's fine - the troops the Wehrmacht were most scared of was the Maori Battalion!

Yeah, they also tell us in history class here that Canadian soldiers were the most feared, bravest, and most skilled fighters and the Newfies (at that point not actually part of Canada) in particular were fearsome (though, two consecutive generations of males were essentially wiped out in Europe, so perhaps they got the bravery bit right) - personally, I doubt the Wehrmacht could tell people apart, especially not the commonwealth battalions but that's just me.

But yeah, people tell me the All Blacks Haka before games scares the crap out of the other teams, so perhaps the Maori battalion was the most frightening.

[jocky]

My dad was a career RN bloke, ended up president of the Chiefs' Mess with a BEM to go with his two WWII DSMs.

There's no doubt that in the minds of Brit servicepeople in WWII, they saw "the enemy" in the following order of priority:

#1 Yanks
#2 Frogs
#3 Japanese
#4 Germans



Although his medals were for fighting the Japanese...

Athiest I knew you would come through for me. Your old man sounds like a trooper. Yanks, well hated, stealing all the wives and girlfriends. Frogs, for obvious reasons. Japanese, sneaky buggers and the Germans because their trains run on time. Question, will you be supporting Australia in the Ashes next week?

[jocky]

Yeah, they also tell us in history class here that Canadian soldiers were the most feared, bravest, and most skilled fighters and the Newfies (at that point not actually part of Canada) in particular were fearsome (though, two consecutive generations of males were essentially wiped out in Europe, so perhaps they got the bravery bit right) - personally, I doubt the Wehrmacht could tell people apart, especially not the commonwealth battalions but that's just me.

But yeah, people tell me the All Blacks Haka before games scares the crap out of the other teams, so perhaps the Maori battalion was the most frightening.

Yes the Canadians and Kiwis were and are fantastic soldiers. Take it from someone who knows. I come from a long line of distinguished military ancestors. Famous for being executed by their own side for extreme cowardice in the face of the enemy.

[The Atheist]

Athiest I knew you would come through for me. Your old man sounds like a trooper. Yanks, well hated, stealing all the wives and girlfriends. Frogs, for obvious reasons. Japanese, sneaky buggers and the Germans because their trains run on time. Question, will you be supporting Australia in the Ashes next week?

Australia? Are you kidding?

We have a standard sports policy in NZ - "I support New Zealand"

and anyone playing Australia!

Yes the Canadians and Kiwis were and are fantastic soldiers. Take it from someone who knows. I come from a long line of distinguished military ancestors. Famous for being executed by their own side for extreme cowardice in the face of the enemy.

[prendrelemick]

My uncle Walter, the ex German paratrooper, was sensible enough to surrender to the Americans, when his battalion were ordered to the Russian Front.

I don't know about the German Top Brass, but the troops he was with, feared the Russians almost as much as the Gestapo.

[Emil Miller]

Who's you? Dont come the Platonic dialectics with old Jocky.

The late (and unlamented ) Harold Wilson was once accused of dodging unpalatable questions by answering with another. To which he replied, "Who told you that?"

[MANICHAEAN]

In this very highbrow debate on the fighting abilities of the British, its necessary to recognise the negative virtues of this entity e.g.
"I dont know what they do to the enemy, but they frighten the life out of me" Attributed to The Duke of Wellington"

"The highest traditions of the Royal Navy are comprised of rum, sodomy & the lash" Attributed Winston Churchill when First Lord of The Admirality.

[jocky]

' My uncle Walter, the ex German paratrooper'. Prendrelmick, I seem to recall hearing this story before. I am suspicious, this is not the beginning of an extremely elaborate tall tale is it?

[MANICHAEAN]

Which one?

[Emil Miller]

My uncle Walter, the ex German paratrooper, was sensible enough to surrender to the Americans, when his battalion were ordered to the Russian Front.

I don't know about the German Top Brass, but the troops he was with, feared the Russians almost as much as the Gestapo.

One of the toughest men I ever knew was an ex Wermacht soldier who was very badly wounded on the Russian front at Leningrad. When I asked him if he had any regrets about what had happened to him he said none whatsoever and if he had his time over again, he would do exactly the same.

[MANICHAEAN]

Jocky
If I remember correctly you can find the reassurance that this is not a "tall tale" in the following two books:
"Years of The Sword" by Elizabeth Longford.
"The Last Lion" by William Manchester.
Sorry, I cant be more precise, but most of my books are in London, and I'm in the Middle East!

[The Atheist]

My uncle Walter, the ex German paratrooper, was sensible enough to surrender to the Americans, when his battalion were ordered to the Russian Front.

I don't know about the German Top Brass, but the troops he was with, feared the Russians almost as much as the Gestapo.

Yes, the Russians were particularly unfogiving to Germans, and I guess that's understandable given the atrocities perpetrated on the Russiand during German occupation. Ironic really, when they started out as pals.

"The highest traditions of the Royal Navy are comprised of rum, sodomy & the lash" Attributed Winston Churchill when First Lord of The Admirality.

And a great album by The Pogues!

(I think Winnie's original words were "Rum, buggery and the lash" but it's been kept alive as sodomy to preserve a few sensibilities.