What did your family do in the war?

[Mount Suribachi]

With it being the D-Day anniversary and all, I thought I would start a thread to honour our Fathers and Grandparents and the sacrifices of their generation.

My paternal grandfather joined the RAF aged 15 as an engine mechanic in 1935. He worked on Spitfires during the Battle of Britain and went on to Typhoons, Spitfires again and finished the war in Germany working on Meteors. After the war he was on Meteors, Hunters, Javelins and Canberras, before retiring in 1970 after 35 years distinguished service. He died in 1991 of Alzheimers.

My maternal Grandfather was an MP - a dreaded redcap He was killed in the 50s when he was hit by a bus, so I never knew him.

My wifes grandfather was a concientious objector on religious grounds. He believed, to quote John Stott that he couldn't see Jesus wielding a machine gun. I respect & understand his position, but I think I would have done what many other Christians in Britain & America did and join as a medic. Both during, and for many years after the war he was poorly regarded by the local community as they felt that he had not done his bit.

So what did your family do?

And finally heres a model I made of a Hellcat Mk l of 800 squadron Fleet Air Arm in D-Day markings

http://www.whatifmodelers.com/forum/uploads/post-2-1086378871.jpg

[Monk]

My paternal grandfather i never knew, he died a few years after i was born, and my father never liked to talk about him so i know very little. Though, I do know he fought in the pacific because he brought back a few things that are now in the family.

One was a sword with about a 12 inch blade, it's sheave looks like it was made in the wilderness, pieced together from different types of bark and branches. My father told me he took it off a Japanese officer that had been killed in the fighting. More than that i couldn't say, as i said he passed away when i was very young.


My maternal grandfather fought in the Philippines, though i never got much information out of him, he never liked to talk about it. From what he did tell me he was a rifleman after the war he was discharged and he returned home. He died last December of cancer.

[hrvojej]

Both of my grandfathers were mostly in prison, first because they were opposing the nazi occupation, and later because they opposed the communists. Such is life.

[Ja'chyra]

My papa served in the far east as a driver where he was presented with a photo album by the locals for saving one of the children.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

My Maternal Grandfather served in the Merchant Navy as a First Mate.

[BDC]

One of my grandads was an RAF engineer mechanic chappie too, in charge of wirelesses. He had such poor coordination he was eventually assigned to a radar post at the far north of Scotland (where he couldn't do any damage I guess lol).

My other grandad was too young, and went down the pits for his national service.

[Teutonic Knight]

My Paternal grandfather served in the U.S. 507th airborne(IIRC) and fought in the battle of the bulge and was in Germany actively until the fall of Berlin.

My Maternal grandfather was a fireman 1st class on a little heavy cruiser called the U.S.S. Indianapolis which delivered the atomic bomb to the island of Tinnian. The ship was sunk on the return trip by a Japanese submarine and my grandfather was killed instantly as he was in the engine room when the torpedo hit.

His name is on this page under SITZLAR, William C., F1 (http://www.ussindianapolis.org/crew.htm)

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Quote[/b] (Teutonic Knight @ June 04 2004,22:38)]My Paternal grandfather served in the U.S. 507th airborne(IIRC) and fought in the battle of the bulge and was in Germany actively until the fall of Berlin.

My Maternal grandfather was a fireman 1st class on a little heavy cruiser called the U.S.S. Indianapolis which delivered the atomic bomb to the island of Tinnian. The ship was sunk on the return trip by a Japanese submarine and my grandfather was killed instantly as he was in the engine room when the torpedo hit.

His name is on this page under SITZLAR, William C., F1 (http://www.ussindianapolis.org/crew.htm)
At least he wasn't around when the sharks attacked...

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/frown.gif

[Teutonic Knight]

yeah, I spent an incredible amount of time researching that to find if he did indeed die in the explosion. Upon researching it, the section that the crew say he was in was completely totalled by the torp, so I'm 99% sure he died in the explosion...


I've read a couple of books based on the survivor's stories...gods that must have been such a hell...

900 went into the water, 336 came out http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-no.gif

[pyhhricvictory]

One Grandfather in the navy in the Pacific and one in Europe as a supply guy. I had great uncles and grand uncles (?) fighting on the German side. The family had it all covered. My Grandfather that was in Europe had a brother who sat out the war because of bad health and one because he was crazy

[SwordsMaster]

My paternal grandad was one of the first men to fly one of the Mosquito aircrafts. He was born spanish but ended up in Russia after the spanish civil war (1936-1939) and served first as sapper and then as pilot in different airplanes in the Russian army. AS far as I know he missed the take of Berlin because of an operation and later was one of the men who the russians sent to Cuba to help Castro.

In my moms side, most of the family was deported by Stalin, except my grandad, who first fought with the partisans, then ended up in a german prison and after escaping was deported by the communists.

Curious isnt it? my spanish grandad who has never been a communist became a war hero and captain of the red army, and my moms family, all ukranian-polish and as communists as everyone under the regime end up deportated.... ah, life... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-confused.gif

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Quote[/b] (Teutonic Knight @ June 04 2004,22:45)]yeah, I spent an incredible amount of time researching that to find if he did indeed die in the explosion. Upon researching it, the section that the crew say he was in was completely totalled by the torp, so I'm 99% sure he died in the explosion...


I've read a couple of books based on the survivor's stories...gods that must have been such a hell...
Wasn't there a gigantic blunder egarding the rescue operation as well? The ship Sort of got taken off the Marianas charts after she left Guam, but never got put on the ones for the phillipines due to an administrative cock-up. So the rescue got delayed.

You're right, I can't imagine what it would be like to be in the water, with your firends being eaten by sharks, knowing you could be next...Greatest disater at sea in the history of the US navy.

[Teutonic Knight]

Quote[/b] ]Wasn't there a gigantic blunder egarding the rescue operation as well? The ship Sort of got taken off the Marianas charts after she left Guam, but never got put on the ones for the phillipines due to an administrative cock-up. So the rescue got delayed.

Yeah, the problem was that the operation was such a secret (since they were carrying the bomb) that even the sailors had no idea what was on the ship and they weren't allowed even to tell their families where they were headed. The navy had OSS agents posted on the ship to make sure intelligence about the cargo wasn't compromised in case there was a spy on board.

The problem with the rescue was that only the top navy brass had any idea when the ship was supposed to arrive at Tinnian, so obviously the base it was headed towards wasn't informed that they were missing until it was three days overdue.

Ironically it was an army plane that landed in the water and saved the men.



Quote[/b] ]You're right, I can't imagine what it would be like to be in the water, with your firends being eaten by sharks, knowing you could be next...Greatest disater at sea in the history of the US navy.

Yeah, the big thing was dehydration... most of the men went absolutely mad after the second day with no water, and started drinking sea water, which, obviously, will kill you almost instantly when you're dehydrated...

And the ones that didn't go mad were eaten by sharks, so it must have been just the most horrible experience...

[BDC]

So how do you last at all with no water?

Sounds scary.

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/frown.gif

[Teutonic Knight]

Quote[/b] (BDC @ June 04 2004,18:10)]So how do you last at all with no water?

Sounds scary.

http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/frown.gif
many didn't...

I believe it rained over the water once, but that was it...

[JAG]

My grandfather - who passed away last year - made planes. He was a carpenter, and after the war worked at the royal opera hall in central London.

[BlackWatch McKenna]

Uncle Wally flew P-47s against the Krauts during and after the Normandy Invasion.

Oppa on the other side fought with the Finnish against the Russkies in the Winter War (zhere ver no Germans helpink - zey ver only volunteers).

/BW

[Beirut]

My old man was an officer in the Canadian Army. He was, at the time, the youngest Canadian to graduate fron Sandhurst Military College in England. He was a tank commander in Italy.

I think my mother was a nurse's aid. Don't know where.

[TheSilverKnight]

Mum's Dad served in Europe actively from 1940-1945, and got his leg blown off in 1945 during the Battle of Berlin, was captured by the Germans, then set free http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Dad's Dad fought in Poland against the Nazi's, and took out nearly 100 Germans by sniping within 3 weeks of the Invasion of Poland. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Somebody Else]

One of my grandfathers was an artillery officer in India. He ran a bookies on the local racetrack as his position overlooked it and he had some very high-powered binoculars.

[RisingSun]

Paternal grandfather was a radioman on a PBY Catalina stationed on Guam. Maternal was too young, but did fight in Korea. My Paternal grandfather has a box full of war souveniers he got when they went treasure hunting while bored.

Both passed away this year.

TK- You should be extremely proud.

The Indianapolis was really a terrible tragedy, but the Hood, as far as loss of life goes, was even worse. Of course those men did not suffer nearly as much.

[Sternness]

My paternal grandfather was a navigator of a Lancaster bomber with the RAF (was a Canadian volunteer). He did several tours of Northern Europe and was in London the day of the first V-1 missile attacks.

My maternal grandfather was a nuclear physisist in the States, working out of Michigan I believe. I'm assuming I don't need to identify what his research contributed to.

[Fragony]

I had never heard of the Indianapolis shark incident. A google later: holy crap that must have been a nightmare. Anybody know what kind of sharks it were?

[hrvojej]

Quote[/b] (Fragony @ June 05 2004,01:30)]Anybody know what kind of sharks it were?
Probably blue sharks and whitetips. They live in open water near the surface, and are fairly common (if anything can be common in vastness of the sea). Blues are especially common enough to gather in large packs over days.

[spmetla]

My paternal grandfather was a Major in the Army when the war broke out. He was stationed in Wyoming and was an XO for a Italian POW camp. He had joined a few years before hand but seeing as he was not in a combat arms specialty he never left the US mainland.

My paternal grand uncle was a tanker in Patton's army. He fought in North Africa, Sicily, France, and Germany. He stayed in the Army after the war and later fought in the Korean war. I don't know which unit he was in specifically or what job he had in the tank.

My maternal grandfather was an Austrian. Before the Anschluss he was a gymnist. In 1940 he was drafted into the Wehrmacht as a fire fighter. He was stationed in Vienna and fought fires first from bombs and then later from the Soviet artillery. By the end of the war he made the German equivalant of a Corporal. When the Soviets swept through Eastern Austria he fled west but was captured and escaped five times from the Soviets (was determined not to see Siberia). He also had five brothers that were in the war two of which died but I don't know what specialites they were.

[Leo]

One of my grandfathers was a doctor in the Wehrmacht, was in Stalingrad and spent quite some time in Siberia.

Don't know about the other, both died before I was born.

[The_Emperor]

My Grandfather was in the Navy serving onboard a Submarine... They played their part in sinking German shipping, even though submarines were frowned upon by the Admiralty at large for being really underhand.

[Redleg]

My maternal grandfather was an Artillery Officer during WW2. He served on the Western Europe theather where he was a Artillery Forward Observer in a Piper aircraft. He recieved several awards - I believe one was for valor - but he rarely talked about his efforts during the war.

My paternal grandfather was a Navy Seabee, and was one of the first ones that enlisted when the Seabees got started for the Navy. He served in several Island campaigns and was awarded the Bronze Star. The award was given to him - for running over a Japanese sapper and covering the explosive charge with the bulldozer that he was using. The sapper had pentrated the perimeter and was attempting to place explosives on the command and control bunker for the Seabee Battalion that was building an airstrip on the Island of Siapan. The explosion caused the dozer control levers to penerate his upper body and causing him to be in the hosiptal for over 1 year to recover from all the damage.

My great-uncle on my maternal side - my grandmother's brother served as a Tank Platoon (Shermans) in one of the division in Patton's command.

There are several uncles and cousins on my father's side that also served in the Army and the Army Airforce - but I don't know all the stories regarding them.

[Ser Clegane]

AFAIK my paternal grandfather first served in France and later was moved to the Eastern front in Russia to work as an radio operater.
It was there that he was reported missing in action and presumed dead.

My father's family lived in Silesia before and during the war and had to flee when the Russian army was advancing (my father was 5 years old at that time).

It was only last year that my father visited the place where he had been born for the first time after the war.

Very interesting experience for him. A beekeeper is now living at the place where my father's family used to live and my parents spend a nice afternoon with him talking about the things that happened during the last decades.

[Leet Eriksson]

My maternal grandfather was a medic in the british army serving the Muwali army in Iraq,Muwali were generally iraqi conscripts that were levied by britain to help defend iraq from a nazi attack.Nothing outstanding besides some aircraft spotted flying in the air while he was driving a motorcycle http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif he served from 1935-1960.He retired after that and worked as a supervisor in a british petroleum company,thats when he came to the UAE,died in 1980 becuase of Lung Cancer.

Don't know much about my paternal grandfather besides that he is still living. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif

[A.Saturnus]

My paternal grandfather was a lawyer who was then commanded to fight at the Eastern Front. His brother died. He was lucky not to be killed or captured. He died 20 years ago from a heart attack. My grandmother gave birth to may father in Würzburg in the year 1943 during bombardments. She´s lucky to be alive too.

My maternal grandfather took part in the invasion in France. He was very soon captured by British troops and remained the rest of the war in a POW´s camp in England. He later said that that was the best thing that could happen to him. He died two years ago.

[Cebei]

...your granddaddy shoveled s-it in Louisiana

10 points goes to the one who knows who said this..


Turkey was not in the war, so my grandies just carried on with their job as surgeons. (can you imagine a family full of surgeons?) http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-anxious.gif

[king steven]

you should all be very proud of them.

[ThijsP]

My grandfather grew tobacco in the holland during the war. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/tongue.gif

[Red Peasant]

Well, in honour of D-Day.

Paternal grandfather was an infantry SM (Highland Division), who took part in the Normandy Landings, and lost his legs to a mortar shell when his unit was ambushed near Caen. Strangely, he started his army career in the early '30s as a trooper in the 17th/21st Lancers (the 'Death or Glory' boys of Charge of the Light Brigade fame), yet ended up in an infantry regiment because of the dearth of professional NCOs. He lived a long and productive life, always cheerful despite the regular visits to hospital to pull more bits of shrapnel from his beaten up body.

Maternal grandfather, went to the bottom of the Arctic Sea in his Royal Navy 'Q' ship, whilst helping to protect the Russian convoys. Mum never knew him as she was only a tiny baby.

Rest of the family were busy dodging the Luftwaffe's finest on the streets of Liverpool, the second most consistently bombed British city after London.

Salute to them all, and everybody else's courageous forebears.

[Vlad The Impaler]

My maternal grandfather was officer and fought on eastern front in Romanian Royal Army.he was captain and commanded an unit of anti-tank guns .ge fought at stalingrad and escaped from encirclement and after that fight with his AT sqadron in Romania , Hungary , Czechoslovakia .He was decorated and after war refused an scolarship to soviet military academi Frunze .he become math teacher .he died in 2000 telling me jokes on the hospital's bed.

My parental grandfather fought as infantryman at stalingrad , some division in 3rd army and were MIA there , probably dead.my grandmother never heard of him after Stalingrad.

My maternal grandfather's brother have an interesting destiny.He was alpine troops major and fought in Caucasus.an german officer ordered him to attack an russian village.he was aware that an full attack during the day will send his men to death .he protested that he dont have artillery support even.when the night comes he aproach the russian village ant took it with almost no casualties.but he goes to martial court and go to prison.
when the russians come he get out and fought in Transilvania against horthyst and german troops.
but russian read his dossier.he was PhD in law at Sorbonne and one of the brilliant lawyers of Romania. too burgeois for the commies so he go to prison again.he get out in 1951 and worked 10 years as an construction worker.he died of pneumonia.

[scooter_the_shooter]

my grandpa was a tank commander for a while then he was an interagator for a while then a gunner on a tank and some other stuff

[shakaka36]

my maternal grandmother and her father both served in the dutch resistance during the war. my fraternal grandfather fought in the pacific theatre, and my maternal grandfather was imprisoned by the nazis

[nightcrawlerblue]

My grandfather (my father's side) was on an aircraft carrier I think. He died when I was really young and I don't know that much about him.

[Magraev]

Well in typical danish fashion my grandfather (living in a small town in the middle of nowhere) once told me, that the only change during the occupation was that you couldn't get cofee and there was a single german fellow living at the railway-station...

[Obex]

My maternal grandfather was a pilot. He spent most of his career flying B52s, but Im not sure about what he did during the war.

My paternal grandfather was an army sniper. He was 18. He refused to speak of his time in germany, and died before i was old enough to try to get him to open up.

My grandmothers were both active at home, helping with food rationing and supplying the troops with clothes and equipment.

[frogbeastegg]

My maternal grandfather was a research scientist, working on projects like rubber alternatives (this evolved into plastic) and parachute silk replacements. He's dead now, lung cancer caused by the chemicals he worked with.

My maternal grandmother worked in our city council house in the stores. She's still alive, most of what she will say about the war is civilian things like trying to find somewhere to live as a young married couple.

My paternal grandfather was in the RAF but I don't think he flew, more like ground crew or similar. He doesn't talk about the war much.

My paternal grandmother...I don't know, she died when I was so young I don't remember her, and as I said my grandad doesn't like to talk about the war.

[Bezalel]

I never met my grandfather. He survived Omaha beach, but he died 10 years later of lung cancer (damn cigs). He didn't like to talk about it at all. We still have a neat collection of the badges and medallions he aquired in Germany. My favorite would be a Panzer battalion badge.

[Lord Ovaat]

My uncle Jake (yes, I said uncle) was with the Big Red One in a rifle company. Lived all the way from Normandy to the end of the war. Wounded a couple of times, but lived. One of the few riflemen to accoplish that it seems. He's been dead for some time now. Interesting person.

[Louis de la Ferte Ste Colombe]

On my father side... My grandfather was exempt.
They start by fleeing from Paris to Southern France, were in Orleans when the Brit bombed it on their way south, my grandmother still talk about how the Brit missed the train station, bombed the cemetary, with body parts flying all over the place...
Once they arrived in Southern France they tried to keep as low a profile as possible.

On my mother side... It's more interesting. They lived in Limousin, a stronghold of french communist, with a strong resistance movement (many communist were also resistants). My Grandfather was too young to join the war in 1940, but was a FTP on D Day trying to stop the 2nd SS division Das Reich as they were going North to Normandy... He lived very close to Oradour, where, as the SS got frustrated by their slow progress North, the whole town got killed and burnt on June 10th.
He was then mobilized in the growing french regular army end of 1944 as a pioneer (well, he was making bridges, destroying minefield... this kind of thing), and ends up the war in Germany in 1945.

Louis,

[chunkynut]

My paternal Grandfather was a butcher at the time and was not drafted as it was a suppossedly needed vocation at home. My paternal Grandmother was born in 1906 and dead 2 years ago, she remembered Zeplins being shot down over Greenwich Park in WW1 and was evacuated with my uncle during WW2.

Both of my maternal Grandparents were children and endured the Blitz but their brothers were soldiers and seaman. One greatuncle died being torpedoed and another was a soldier but i don't much about him. My grandfather however was drafted just after the war as a supplies guy in Egypt with the RAF as they were pulling out.

[Dhepee]

Quote[/b] (Cebei @ June 06 2004,13:40)]...your granddaddy shoveled s-it in Louisiana

10 points goes to the one who knows who said this..
George C. Scott as Patton, in the opening speech in the film which is compiled from several speeches that the general gave to his troops during the war.

One day years from now when you have your little grandson on you knee you won't have to say 'I shoveled shit in Louisiana'.

[scooter_the_shooter]

my granpa also cracked down on a black market in the military.


one of his freinds was an indian(native american) he caught the thives red handed he was not suposed to do any thing. just tell his officer or somthing and he would take care of it. but he busted them. next day they found him with a knife in his back in a canal

[dessa14]

my paternal grandfather, fought in the Dutch underground, blowing up german equipment.
thanks, dessa

[king steven]

this might b a little off key but my grand-dad(my dads side)
was on the somme (sorry) & my mums dad was a chef.

[Lazul]

Well being swedish I have more to be ashamed for then be proud of. My grandfathers (mothers and fathers side) both hated nazis that I know. But as swedes the war ment only crappy food and that you wernt allowed to leave your light on when it was dark.

Well I can tell you this, my fathers father, was in the swedish infantry guarding the border to norway. One day after they heard that the nazis had invaded Norway they saw a company of norweigian artillery driving fast as hell with smoke all around them.
The norweigians just drove past them waving and I bet, happy that they where still alive. A few minutes after they spotted german armor raceing towards them.
Now, at that time, the swedish army was crap, my grandfather had little or no ammo for his rifle and the rest of the infatry at that spot had no AT weapons what so ever.
And at this time, they didnt know if they germans dared to drive over the border.
So theere they stod with a few trucks and some rifle, maybe a machinegun, with panzers heading straight towards them. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-help.gif

Luckely the germans made halt just infront of them, turned and drova back. Thank god for that. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/bigthumb.gif

[king steven]

Quote[/b] (Lazul @ June 09 2004,16:16)]Well I can tell you this, my fathers father, was in the swedish infantry guarding the border to norway. One day after they heard that the nazis had invaded Norway they saw a company of norweigian artillery driving fast as hell with smoke all around them.
The norweigians just drove past them waving and I bet, happy that they where still alive. A few minutes after they spotted german armor raceing towards them.
Now, at that time, the swedish army was crap, my grandfather had little or no ammo for his rifle and the rest of the infatry at that spot had no AT weapons what so ever.
And at this time, they didnt know if they germans dared to drive over the border.
So theere they stod with a few trucks and some rifle, maybe a machinegun, with panzers heading straight towards them.

Luckely the germans made halt just infront of them, turned and drova back. Thank god for that. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/bigthumb.gif
http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif

lucky bastards

[Lazul]

Quote[/b] (king steven @ June 09 2004,17:02)]
Quote[/b] (Lazul @ June 09 2004,16:16)]Well I can tell you this, my fathers father, was in the swedish infantry guarding the border to norway. One day after they heard that the nazis had invaded Norway they saw a company of norweigian artillery driving fast as hell with smoke all around them.
The norweigians just drove past them waving and I bet, happy that they where still alive. A few minutes after they spotted german armor raceing towards them.
Now, at that time, the swedish army was crap, my grandfather had little or no ammo for his rifle and the rest of the infatry at that spot had no AT weapons what so ever.
And at this time, they didnt know if they germans dared to drive over the border.
So theere they stod with a few trucks and some rifle, maybe a machinegun, with panzers heading straight towards them.

Luckely the germans made halt just infront of them, turned and drova back. Thank god for that. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/bigthumb.gif
http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/gc-stunned.gif

lucky bastards
Lucky bastards?.... hmm, YEAH... hehe, they wouldnt have had any chance what so ever against a group of panzers http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/frown.gif

[rasoforos]

I know one of my great grandfathers fought in the Albanian front agaisnt the Italians ( a little known aspect of WW II). Although the army didnt even have tanks they managed to repell the invasion and occupy half of the , under italian control, Albania thus ending Mussolini's dreams of carving an empire of his own. I might be wrong but i think this was the first major victory against the axis.
The problem is that the guy , who i dont remember, was a very modest person. It seems that the only thing he ever told to my grandmother about the war was that ' It was very cold in the mountains' and about frostbite. He didnt like the idea of wars. My guess is that he was plain vanilla infantry.
I also know another great grandfather managed to get away with conscription because he had 3 children ( as much as th one who fought basically) and he had a sort of Brittish citizenship or something ( its a bit obscure since my father's side of a family are too proud or pompous to reveal more :P)