RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Some images of battle-bling on display. After a cursory rummage around on the 'Net, I'd say that the Germans were probably more inclined to take their battle-bling into combat with them. I wonder if that was a superiority complex on display? Still, it all helps to get the tank crew details right, as well as those of the opposion.
Click on smaller pics to ENLARGE them. This is an odd pic. I can't imagine why he'd want to camouflage his legs, and not his torso, unless he routinely practiced yoga in the commander's cupola, by standing on his head :lolno Pavlichenko is wearing medals and camo. Still, the camo coul cover the bling up- and the pic was, after all, staged for the camera like many other pics of the time.

Seeing these pictures with the red soldiers and all their bling makes me think of all the WWII FILMS I’ve seen where virtually every German officer sports a Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. Lol....

Ragnar wrote:Seeing these pictures with the red soldiers and all their bling makes me think of all the WWII FILMS I’ve seen where virtually every German officer sports a Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. Lol....

Indeed! Don't forget the worthy, and still a thoroughly watchable movie, 'Cross of Iron' (1977, Dir. Sam Peckinpah- James Coburn, Maximillian Schell)- where a strutting Prussian officer becomes lethally fixated upon winning the Iron Cross. Clearly, a Prussian officer felt naked, or incomplete without one- or at least that's part of the theme
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074695/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

If you've not seen it, I recommend you do.

My favorite was always The Blue Max.

Ragnar wrote:My favorite was always The Blue Max.

Ah, yes, well George Peppard could actually act in those days. One of my favourites would be the black and white 'Paths of Glory' with Kirk Douglas, looking intense and outraged. He's seen only sporting a medal ribbon, an enormous shell-hole of a dimple, and a scowl in the trenches- and later, medals in court.
It was directed with unique flair, and style, by none other than Stanley Kubrick, in 1957. It was way ahead of its time, and hasn't aged one jot since then, in my opinion.( Kubrick of :- 2001: a Space Odyssey; A Clockwork orange..etc.)

I don't care much for war films, almost all of them are a parody of the real thing (Most people won't pay to sit through hours of absolutely f all happening then suddenly a lot of noise and smoke and shouting and its over) but some do stay in the mind,
I might have mentioned before the one that most impressed me,
"The Cruel Sea"
Jack Hawkins at his very best and Donald Sinden before he went accenttualy mad
Not so much fighting a mostly hidden enemy but as the title explains fighting the cruel sea.
Living on your nerves.
We used to call it keeping the edge sharp.
There is a high mental price for that.

jarndice wrote:I don't care much for war films, almost all of them are a parody of the real thing (Most people won't pay to sit through hours of absolutely f all happening then suddenly a lot of noise and smoke and shouting and its over) but some do stay in the mind,
I might have mentioned before the one that most impressed me,
"The Cruel Sea"
Jack Hawkins at his very best and Donald Sinden before he went accenttualy mad
Not so much fighting a mostly hidden enemy but as the title explains fighting the cruel sea.
Living on your nerves.
We used to call it keeping the edge sharp.
There is a high mental price for that.

I often wonder why, given the PTSD suffered by modern soldiers wasn't so evident in my Dad's generation- Military as well as Civilian-given the five years of Total War. Most of my teachers (still young and scarred) had also served in WW2, but at least their wartime experiences didn't intensify the effect of the Cane or Slipper, for minor infractions.
I guess, they just bottled it up more effectively. They had to.
As for the 'Cruel Sea', my favourite character is Lt Bennett (Played by the ever-watchable Stanley baker)- the jumped-up martinet, who has a passion for 'Snorkers' at breakfast (Sausages), until his ulcer begins to complain...
I like John Mills in 'Ice Cold in Alex', as the boozy captain on the brink of a total breakdown. A superb film, but I think the Carlsberg at the end of it, wouldn't have been sufficient motivational lure for me.

I agree about the film Cruel Sea compared to the usual war films that have too much artistic license. I would highly recommend the film Das Boot for anyone that hasn't seen it.

Forget the line up of Heavy Bombers in pristine condition on the flight line in the Dam Busters film with the aircrews standing together joshing as they waited for the call to go.
The more truthful sight would be men clumped together around the mainwheel throwing up in anticipation of the next 10 hours of freezing cold and non stop terror.
Squadron Commanders would judge the usefulness of his men by how much he perceived they were suffering from the "Shakes"
Battle of Britain aircrew lost as many men to "Cracking Up" as to physical wounds sustained in the fight,
Sailors and Soldiers if they got leave away from home would spend it sleeping and drinking themselves insensible,
The German Airforce was even worse as the crews would serve with the unit to which they were posted from the first day of arriving at the base until either the end of the war or their demise,
At least British Empire and American Aircrews were rested after so many sorties before returning to battle,
British Soldiers would be sent to R & R centres when far from home and if that was not available they were withdrawn from the line for hot meals and sleep,
My Uncle Taff fought in France in WW1 and he scoffed at the tales ex soldiers would tell of having served for weeks or months without relief,
He never spent more than a fortnight in the line before being withdrawn to be rested,
Unfortunately as we discovered soldiers returning from leave were indeed rested and because they were more relaxed than their mates they had "Lost that Edge" and casualties amongst men recently returned from leave were consequently higher.
By the standards of today's Armed Forces many of the men who were waiting to go into "Battle" (Air/Sea or Land ) in WW2 would have been declared unfit for further service.
You could get imprisoned or worse for "Shell shock" in WW1 whereas today PTSD is properly recognised for what it is and the sufferer is removed to a place of safety.
But plenty of men and women are borderline and spend years suffering nightmares and worse,
The Whole country was at war in 39/45 so there was always someone you could talk to who would understand,
Today's ex service personnel are pretty much on their own and the British Man is famously reticent when it comes to expressing his feelings and bottles it up and most times it is his family that has to suffer with him.