What Did Rommel and the Germans Think About Australian Soldiers in WWII?
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- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
- Rommel and the Afrika Korps fought against Australian soldiers and others of the British Commonwealth. What did he and regular German soldiers think of the Aussies in North Africa? Believe it or not, he actually wrote down what he thought and it is presented in this video in a good way.
#WW2 #Australia #rommel
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it was British Empire then, not commonwealth
Except Australia already had federation... so it wasn't all the empire.
Ausies massaging their fragile chipped ego again.
Thanks for the recommendation 👍👍👍👍🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
My great uncle was in the 6th. There training in Australia was done with broomsticks. When they got to North Africa they were issued guns but no bullets. Hence the attempted raid on the enemy's stores.
Story from Tobruk...
A English officer(lieutenant) approached a group of shirtless Australians digging in at Tobruk.
Berating the Australians for not saluting an officer and saying they were undisciplined rabble.
The Australians ignored him except one who stopped and started putting his shirt on revealing that he was a captain.
He ordered the English lieutenant to salute and piss off.
^5 on that one! Sorry Captain, Thank you for treating me as an arsehole said the lieutenant
I'm Australian and that sounds about right.
Thats gold!
Sounds about right. Probably a fresh lieutenant begging for praise.
"Story" ? Fairy tale might be more appropriate. The Australians were under Gen. Morshead, the Australian commander at Tobruk. The "English'" officer would have had no reason to give orders to the Australians, and probably no authority.
I joined the Australian Army in 1958 as a 17 year old and I can tell you we all looked up to those who went before.I served for 27 years and would like to think that we carried on the tradition of the "Digger" I served in malaya within a british Regt of ROYAL ARTILLERY I also did two tours of VIET NAM I feel sure that we did the memory of the DIGGER proud.
Dave, you may enjoy this video:
A Vietnam Veteran's True Story
ruclips.net/video/Qixfo8iR-LE/видео.html
Thanks for the comment!
I just watched the documentary on the battle of long tan for the 7th time. Still get a bit teary about what you boys went through. Thankfully for your service.
Dave, it was you lads who "raised" me after I joined at 17 in '83. You did a good job of upholding the ideals. Sadly, after you, our mob started the softening of the ADF with lowering of standards and I am ashamed that happened on my watch.
Thanks for your service mate
Thanks mate
I met a man and his family 50 years ago in Wollongong NSW. He was of German descent and had been a soldier in WWII. He told me he had served under Rommel in North Africa and had fought the Australians at Tobruk, where he was wounded. He told me that he made the decision then that when the war was over, irrespective of who won, he was going to emigrate to Australia to live, such was his respect for Australians and the bravery and tenacity they showed during the many attacks they suffered. He felt so proud of their fighting prowess, he couldn't live anywhere else.
Sadly, he passed away about 10 years later. His wife told me he had refused to be repatriated back to Germany after his death, he wanted to remain in the land of those brave people he had come to love and respect.
sniperneil53, what a nice story! For this, you get a heart!
My Dad landed in England with his Canadian Dragoon Regiment and were held on the docks for inspection along with a newly arrived Australian group. After a long wait in ranks waiting for a VIP, the Australian officer dismissed his troops by saying "Right, we're off to the pub. Send a runner when the muckety muck arrives". My Dad always admired them for their toughness and their irreverence for authority.
Lol, this sounds about right to me. Hello from down under!
Australian units weren't in England in WW2 except as part of the RAF. The units serving in the RAF didn't arrive by sea to England. They all arrived in Northern Ireland and then went to England by ferry. Any inspections would have taken place in NI or at their destination air bases. So ...... nice story, but didn't happen.
My grandfather served with the 2/9th Infantry battalion AIF which was diverted to the UK en route to the Middle East in 1940 as France had fallen.
Part of the 18th Brigade moved to Salisbury then Colchester.
There were also Australian army forestry units felling timber in Scotland during the war.
The 2nd Australian Imperial Force in the United Kingdom
The third Australian Imperial Force convoy left Australia in November 1939 bound for the Middle East, but was diverted to help garrison Britain, which was threatened with invasion. The Australians began disembarking at Gourock, near Glasgow, on 17 June 1940. The force was 8000 strong, almost half of the 6th Australian Division. The Australians were sent to a tented camp on Salisbury Plain. Brigadier Winter, who was with the convoy, was appointed to command the AIF in Britain. On 4 July 1940 King George inspected the men and a week later the AIF suffered its first battle casualty when a German aircraft strafed the camp, wounding Private Arthur Webb of Adelaide, South Australia. Training was completed in September and the Australians were given the role of mobile reaction force, to deal with any German parachute landings in the region. None came, and with victory in the Battle of Britain and the arrival of winter ending the possibility of a German cross channel invasion, the Australians were sent to the Middle East at the end of the year.
Britain had also asked its Dominions for specialist non-combat troops. Three companies of Australian Foresters, numbering about 600 men, arrived in July 1940 and as 6th Division elements were leaving Britain a new Australian force came: the Railway Construction and Maintenance Group, 300 strong. Based at Longmore in east Hampshire, they built storage sidings and maintained strategic railway tracks.
The foresters included many volunteers from Commonwealth and State forest services. War is a great consumer of wood and the foresters were set to cutting timber in Northumberland, and later Scotland, working in snow, which most of the men had never seen, in the unusually harsh winter of 1940-41. The specialist foresters, assisted by Italian prisoner of war labourers, produced ten million metres of sawn timber in three years in Britain.
In Dumfries in 1942 the Australian Foresters won the 'championship of Britain', an axeman-ship and sawing competition, against their New Zealand counterparts. The New Zealanders were defending the title, having won in 1941. The hero of the day was Sapper Ian Harrington, from Beech Forest, Victoria. Though he had been in bed sick the day before, he easily won the two main events for the Australians, setting the team on the road to victory. The Australian High Commissioner, Sir Stanley Bruce, came from London for the event.
From 1943 the Foresters, the last large body of AIF troops in Britain, began returning to Australia.
A small AIF headquarters and liaison office was maintained in London under Brigadier-General Wardell. It was enlarged in January 1945 to deal with the thousands of AIF prisoners of war (POWs) that began to arrive in Britain from liberated POW camps.
The staff of 2/3rd Australian General Hospital (AGH), arrived at Gourock and Liverpool from May 1940. Six nursing sisters of the 124 Australian Army Nursing Service that served in the UK were posted to the Tidworth Military Hospital on Salisbury Plain, where they assisted in providing medical care for the AIF force there. During the Battle of Britain the remainder established 2/3rd AGH at Hydestile, Surrey, 50 kilometres south of London. Bombs fell near the hospital and staff often worked wearing helmets and respirators.
My grandfather emigrated to Australia from Scotland before the war. He fought in Tobruk and told me a couple of amazing stories one of which was about the night some Aussies dismantled and entire steam locomotive and buried it in the sand. He may have told me why but I was just a kid then and that explanation is lost in time. Another story was about how the aussies he was with found a piano in a bombed house and carried it back to the trench and played it during a bombardment. He was very proud to have served with the Australian army.
Vox AC30, I can't easily imagine them burying an entire steam locomotive, but only two guesses come to mind: 1) Deny it to the enemy. 2) Come back to it as a memorial years later. Either way, it's crazy...but crazy things happen in war. They must've had a lot of energy, been drunk and/or a lot of spare time with nothing to do, imo. In WWI, both sides had weird things in the trenches -- to make themselves at home. A piano is not so weird as it sounds. Thanks for your comment and watching!
@@EmersusTech you might find the recovery of one of the first German tanks in ww1 interesting. Saw it at the Canberra war museum. Recovered by Aussie soldiers and sent back to Australia where it’s been a museum piece since. Also saw the ‘red barons’ articles of clothing there.
@@SirBigzalot Here in Brisbane, Queensland, we suspect we've been swindled out of that A7V tank, the last remaining WW1 German AFV on Earth. They were supposed to return it to Brisbane - where it has been since 1918 - ages ago !! As for the Red Baron items, this is due to a common belief in Australia that it was an Australian machine gun crew who shot down the Red Baron, not the Canadian pilot Roy Brown. I have no opinion to offer on this controversy, but the War Museum in Canberra certainly pushes the "our boys did it" story heavily !!
Sounds about right lol
@@TomasFunes-rt8rd That "common belief" has since been proved by Canadian war historians. They even narrowed it down to which Australian soldier did it.
As an Australian (with mostly English background) I want to bow and give my most heartfelt thanks to everyone who commented that their ancestors served Australia during times of war. Thank you for their service. I can’t imagine how proud you must be. And to those from other nations that have fought for (and alongside) your Australian friends. This video makes me so proud to be Australian. It should almost be compulsory viewing every Anzac Day morning.
johnnys8393, There's a new video out that you may want to see:
Monash's Masterpiece: The Battle of Hamel
ruclips.net/video/93mVu2vgErs/видео.html
Beautifully said, thank you.
The British had the deepest respect and admiration for the Australian soldiers. WE STILL DO, AND ALWAYS WILL.
Keith Shwalbe, thank you for that nice comment!
we are going to need it unfortunately
God save our Charlie...
Doubtful. Britain has long treated Australia with contempt. General MacArthur was appalled at Britain’s disloyalty to Australia and ensured that they had command of British forces in the occupation of Japan and the Korean War.
@@seanlander9321 Thats what i was thinking.
Aussies had huge losses in every war commanded by British.
Aussies were used as cannon fodder and barely get credit for defending britain.
It's really interesting to know what different nationalities thought of a particular nation's troops. I remember watching a documentary on the Kokoda trail in Papua New Guinea during WW2. An American pilot based in Port Moresby told the story of his interaction with Australian troops. He put in a request for a transfer as he felt the Australian troops all hated him and he didn't know why. They just constantly kept making jokes at his expense. The commanding officer, an Australian, just laughed and said that if they're making fun of you, then they consider you one of their own. If they didn't like you, they'd just ignore you. I found it a pretty interesting observation.
Over here (Australia) its commonplace to make fun of your freinds is it different in the states or where you are from?
It does depend on the relationship. Imo, if you've known the person for many years and you're really close, then a little good-natured jabbing is okay. Other than that, no, I don't think it's a good thing to "make fun of your friends" nowadays. Years ago, maybe in the US. People in the US have gotten so sensitive that it's near impossible to make almost any sort of joke because people get offended by the least little things, even things that shouldn't be offensive to anyone. People read things into emails that aren't there -- "reading between the lines". I have run into this relatively recently and it's very irritating. Jerry Seinfeld and other comedians have mentioned this that they simply can't do comedy much anymore -- because someone always gets offended. Look at the Chris Rock thing with Will Smith. I'm not defending what Chris Rock said, but he certainly didn't mean it offensively. In fact, Will Smith was laughing at it at first before he turned back to look at his wife. Thanks for commenting!
@@EmersusTech So true. At least, at this point in time, Australian humour has held mostly true. When looking back at the ANZACs in WW1 and 2, the concept of mateship and being their for your mates was key. And, as they were your mates, you could be as rude and brutally honest as you want, and that was respected. I'd personally still take that today over fake media outrage, regardless of your political opinions. You see it during the fires and floods. I think it's what made the troops that bit different. It's why I like the story of the American pilot at Port Moresby. At the end of the day, it's inclusive, but you've got earn your entry pass. :)
As an Aussie, sounds about right. I worked for an employer where we had a yank. I'd rib him, which us Aussies do to each other, but was pretty sensitive about it until he got used to my humour.
It’s basically spot on. Hard for foreigners to pick. An Aussie who doesn’t like you will either ignore you or seek to provoke you into a response/altercation.
There is a subtle middle ground where Australian’s (men especially) largely dwell... ‘taking the piss.’... out of anyone who strays into their field of fire... self-deprecating in equal measure tho.
The Germans in WW1 hadn't just heard of the Australians from Gallipoli, they had fought them all through France and were well aware of the capabilities of Australian troops.
Charles DuMar, you're totally right, however, I was simply mentioning a WWI front in passing. Thank you for bringing it up, even so!
Also they saw what happened at Beersheba
The Australians were the first to defeat both the Germans and Japanese in land battle, 2nd battle of El-Alamein Tobruk and Milne bay respectively. Paving the way for the defeat of Axis. My uncle Tommy AIF 2/15 and 10th fought in both battles plus more, along with my uncle Gil RAN CMF (choko) Milne bay. From the blistering desert to mountainous rain soaked jungle, how good are Australian soldiers? RIP thank you for your service.
My dad was at Milne Bay👍🏻
My great uncle fought at Milne bay at 18 I believe. Virnal Cooney rip.
Interesting point about Milne Bay.
Have never read anything on surviving Japanese.
Think the boys took to them with the bayonets,right into the surf.
Japanese weren’t up for surrendering and our boys would have hated them by that stage.
My gramps and his brother were up north at Wewak at the time. 2/4th. Gramps, brother won the v.c then.
Damn man, had no idea, and really pissed off that this wasn't taught more in depth in schools growing up.
Us Australians go hard.
I had the privilege of meeting and being trained by a soldier from the 9th, who had been a Rat of Tobruk, brought home and served through PNG and the Solomon Islands, then after WW2 taken part in the occupation of Japan (where he met his wife and took her home to Australia), then served in Korea and finally served 3 years in-country in the AATTV in Vietnam (the most highly decorated unit of the Vietnam War), again brought his wife home from Vietnam (his Japanese wife had sadly died from cancer in the '50's). This was in the early 80's and he had served from 1941 as a 17 year old, was a WO1 / Regimental Sargeant Major and had been allowed to serve at 59 years old, part time beyond mandatory retirement age (his mate was the Chief of the Army)...boy now he had some stories - very weird when your 'old' Major who had also served in the AATTV with him, was all googly-eyed over his stories ;-). Well departed now, such a great man - god bless WO Robby.
thats awesome !!!,
my grandfather fought in ww1 then africa and new guinea in ww2, got wounded in both wars, my father was an underaged cadet when the korean war started so he stowed away on a ship going to korea, he was placed as a batman to an officer until he turned 18 and was allowed to fight, he then served in malaya then joined the Aussie SAS in their early days, becoming a platoon commander, later he transferred to the AATTV and was unfortunately killed in action in 1966, RIP dad, you relentless warrior :).
Yes AATTV was "the most highly decorated unit" *of the Australian units* in Vietnam....
Good story. I guess he may had known my great uncle who also was in the 9th division and fought in Tobruk in 1939/1941. And he may had known my farther who also served in Vietnam. My dad was in the battle of long tan he was with the special ops SAS my dad did 5 tour's in Vietnam from 1963 to 1970
Wow you have to admire a commitment to others that strong, and for so long, it makes my day that he has someone like you to keep his name alive. We cannot repay that generation enough so thanks for your respect you show to them. 😉👍🏴☠️
Those stories if you remember them clearly are worth writing down and sending to the national war museum in Cambera mate, that is history that will be lost other wise
There is a story about Generals Montgomery & Freyberg, NZ Div Commander with LRDG Troopers. “Monty: Your chaps don't salute much! Freyberg: Oh if you wave ... They'll wave back!”
There's another story about two British junior officers complaining to their superior officer about the Australian refusal to salute British officers.
The senior Brit officer had served in WW1 and knew the Australians quite well from that conflict. He told the two junior Brit officers that they were lucky, because in WW1 not only would they not salute Brit officers they would walk over them!
G'day ET, I'm an Australian military historian who, for nearly 16 years has focused, part time, on the life and career of Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey. Australia's first and only Field Marshal. When given the job of Commanding General of the 2nd A.I.F. in 1939 he wrote a Charter of how his forces would be used in the upcoming World War. It stipulated that Australian forces could not be used by British or other Allied commands without his express written permission. This was to avoid Australian soldiers being used by British commanders as 'cannon fodder' as they sometimes were.
While the 2nd A.I.F. was still training and acclimatising in Egypt General Blamey became concerned that British officers were repeatedly accusing or trying to charge Australian troops with minor and serious disciplinary offences.
Blamey, personally, and with the aid of his command's senior legal officer, formerly investigated every single case or charge levelled at the Australians.
After due investigation Blamey met with General Wavell to inform him that all allegations against Australian troops were foundless.
Then followed a semi-private, heated argument between the two commanders.
Blamey used his Charter, signed by the Australian Prime Minister, exactly as Blamey had written it, to dissuade Wavell from entertaining anymore accusations brought against Aussies by any British officer. (NB: later in the war Blamey and Wavell became genuine friends.)
It was Wavell himself who flew to Greece to personally evacuate Blamey. Blamey agreed to leave Greece only after he was certain "his boys" were safely on or near the evacuation beaches he designated on his very first day in Greece.
He wasn't defeatist, he was a highly intelligent soldier who knew the entire Greek campaign would fail before he arrived. He had word that he'd find the Greeks 'thinner on the ground' than promised. Blamey didn't accuse the Greeks of any cowardice, on the contrary.
He knew the entire theatre was another one of Churchill's 'stunts' for the benefit of F.D.R. to keep showing the American President that Britain was serious about attacking the Nazi threat.
Sadly, these days in Australia, Sir Thomas Blamey is barely known of, or if he is he is remembered as a highly controversial officer, mostly because of his short inter-war stint as the Chief Commissioner of Police in the State of Victoria, Australia.
As to Rommel, I have every one of your citations in our extensive private archive. The quip that is attributed to Rommel about attacking Hell etc. It does appear in some old ‘copied’ documents I discovered in the British National Archives among some files held about Rommel, and referred to among the many papers, signals traffic and some diaries pertaining to, or by Rommel himself.
I'll say I think that quote has around a 98 percent probability of being genuine.
While Rommel admired Australian and New Zealand troops, I can assure you from stories from my uncle Dan (an Australian Officer of Engineers with the 9th Division) who said, generally speaking, Aussie troops were not likely to admire any enemy commander as the Aussies saw them as the reason they were in the fight and so far away from home.
Lastly, to redress many untrue yarns of Aussie troops disliking General Blamey; when Field Marshal Blamey died in 1951, in Melbourne, Australia, many thousands of former WW2 soldiers voluntarily marched behind their old 'Bosses' coffin in what many sources said, at the time, was the largest funeral in the history of Australia.
Cheers, ET and all the best, Bill Halliwell
For anyone interested in Field Marshal Blamey they can visit:
www.TheBlameyEnigma.com.au
Bill Halliwell, it is nice to have an Australian historian comment on a video about Australians. It's even better to state that he has the quotes that I used from FM Rommel! Yes, Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey was in at least one of the pictures in the video -- perhaps two (I'd have to look it up if I wanted to know for sure). Thank you for your contribution -- you get a heart!
Could you give the reference / specific location please for the hell quote, otherwise it remains as hearsay, I will happily check it out and vindicate it, if it was indeed said by Rommel. If I had found it in any archives I would have replicated it and noted exactly where it was found for authenticity reasons. If you say it happened, I do believe you, but when I know for sure, I would then go back and correct my previous posts, in fairness to everyone. I have struggled finding any authenticity for this quote, having contacted German historians who know nothing about Rommel having said it and who feel it is totally contrived , and I have today contacted the British national Archives to see if they can vindicate it where you say you found it. I will feed back if I get anything, but it would help greatly if you could expand further regards what exactly you were looking at when you saw it.
You left out the ‘run rabbit run ‘ comment by Blamey about withdrawal along Kokoda Track. With the men hissing him……An utterly complete misreading of what the soldiers faced and their lack of equipment, just the barest basics.
@@rossmcintyre1710 He was hated more for the run rabbit run than his activities in Melbourne. NSW and Queensland to a lesser extent didn't give a stuff about Victorians especially the aerial pingpong. When he visited the troops in the hospital the patients were eating lettice (whether this is true or not I don't know) so he got the sh**s and turned around and walked out
I agree. There was some tarnish on Blamey's reputation, especially after the "Australians fight best when their tired" quip. But to be fair, he did a hell of a lot dogged and excellent negotiating in shielding, sheperding , coercing, and good all round foil for Monash in the first stunt.Organising and sorting out the other nation's officers, the competent from the ambitious etc . I recall Monash was quoted as saying he was my "good attack dog". I think Blamey's Father was a drover, so really tough beginnings
As a Australian we aren't actually taught our own history. So this is refreshing to know.
Stephen Bachman, yes, that's one thing I love about RUclips -- you can watch what you want to watch, for as long as you want to watch. I would like to say that RUclips doesn't edit channels, but that's not true -- I was subscribed to a channel that disappeared one day. So, not perfectly free speech. Thanks for watching!
I'm an Aussie and exploits of our Diggers and the esteem that Rommel held them was known by many of my generation (I'm in my 50s now and come from a military family).
@@EmersusTech RUclips is an odd place since channels are more likely to get in trouble over copyright claims than ToS (which is mostly from jerks who false flag and usually not anything automatic from their bots, which would rather de-monetize or not give algorithmic boost).
That’s so false, if it’s true for schools today thats fucking disgusting, majority of my Australian history and military history and it’s fairly extensive comes from school. Though I grew up in a town that sent soldier to the battlefields of ww2 I’d think all Australians are taught it.
@@sharpshooter_Aus most schools barely cover ww1 and ww2
I once read a story about a badly wounded American Soldier who was being cared for by an Aussie nurse during WW2.
"Excuse me ma'am, did I come here to die?"
The nurse replied, "No mate, yer came 'ere yesterdie".
Grumpyoldfart, that's really funny! You get a heart for that one! Thanks for watching and the joke!
Captain Mannering said the same joke on Dad's Army
@@johnwatters6922 So I wonder which one copied the other ?
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Princess Anne told that joke in an interview years ago.
The Germans knew what the Australians were like in WW1. They faces the 5 divisions under General Monash. the "Black Day" coined by General Ludendorf was caused by Australians routing his army.
Yep Australians and Canadians who made more ground that first day.
The History Guy:History Deserves To Be Remembered channel has a great video on the John Monash and the Australians in WWl, I highly recommend it if you've not already watched it.
@@tobinsarttrading1733 The attack was planned by General Monash. It involved 4 Australian , 2 Canadian and the New Zealand divisions. It was reported in British press as an "Allied Success" They were unwilling to let on it was dominion troops for fear that we would perceive it as being used as expendable troops. Hence it was many years before the truth came out.
@@Will_CH1 my Australian grandfather a farrier,Jack, was In those battles and commented in his diaries that the English professional forces had been shot right out and had very young poorly trained skinny boys conscripted (flying Tommys) which everyone made an effort to keep them out of harms way
Monash didn't plan the entire Advance on August 8th, just the Australian part. The Canadians were led by the equally as venerated - Arthur Currie who planned and led their own operation beside ours.
My grandad died in Kokoda and my uncle Alf fought at Dunkirk, North Africa, Crete and then finally (& by this time a Major) at Milne Bay PNG. In the last few months of his life Uncle Alf became distraught about the lives he had taken. (Crete btw was a bloodbath, completely out of ammunition it came down to bayonets and hand to hand) how could he face God he said after all that he had done? And that’s the legacy of war. Broken Men, sundered family’s. Destroyed lives. My mother losing her father at 6 years of age. An entire generation of the young men of my country sacrificed. Twice. In two world wars. That’s why ANZAC day is such a big deal to both us and the Kiwis.
Lest We Forget….
PlanetDisco, yes, it haunted him -- what he did. A lot of that wasn't well understand back in those days. Yes, Lest We Forget! Thanks for your comment!
Least We Forget
Thank you for your story and comments.
I sometimes wonder that as we remember them, how do we not end up in more unnecessary conflicts and will the current generations be able to pick the fights we ought to fight in time to stop bigge r problems developing. Your forebears came from serious hard working stock not propped up by social welfare or weakened by the diseases of entitlements and woke culture?
I would have encouraged your Uncle Alf to look at it this way: yes,millions of people died...soldiers and civilians,But it,unlike some wars,was a war that *had* to be fought lest psychopaths like Hitler and Tojo were allowed to rule most of the world. I have no doubt that God,although He is always displeased by warfare,understands that there are times when people must resist men like them.I'd wager that your Uncle Alf had little,or no,trouble standing before Saint Peter whereas Hitler....
And one last point: the US Marines 1st Division has "Waltzing Matilda" as their unit "theme" as a sign of gratitude for the amazing hospitality that Australians showed them during WWII. I can't recall the entire story but you can look it up if you have a few free minuted.
RIP, your Grandad
My Dad, who fought in the desert at El Alamein and elsewhere, told me some interesting stories. One of them always made him laugh as he remembered it. A captured German officer, who was very arrogant, proceeded to lecture his Australian captors about how they were all going to die when Rommel came through them with tanks on his was to Cairo. One of the Australians, a big sergeant, said, "You bastards have to get through us first," shoved him in the back towards the other prisoners and added "Now get on your way!" Everyone laughed uproariously.
I (German) served with Aussies in the Rhodesian Security Forces. My BN CO was Aussie, Joe Flanagan, the COY OCs were Aussies, Bruce Ralston and Gordon Forgoty. Great Guys. I had the DAK Sign (GermanAfricaCorps) painted on my "Puma" (Armoured Vehicle) and the Aussies Känguruhs. Excellent Soldiers, hard drinkers and very disciplined (could be mistaken for Germans lol)
Sounds very interesting to me. Did you ever write about your experiences during the rhodesian conflict in german or english language? Thanks for a reply.
Did you ever meet an American named Jeff Apolonario?
Possibly because several states had significant German (and other central European) migrations between the 1830's-1890's (plus a significant migration post WWII). Indeed, up until 1915, German was the second most common language in the state of South Australia, with many South Australian units having fluent German speakers in their ranks. Also, many of the Kopi's in PNG (a sort of blended police officer and government representative in the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea) were required to speak German, as the north of New Guinea had previously been a colony of the German Empire. In fact, in WWII, many Germans served in Australian and Dutch forces in SE Asia against the Japanese. Several Coastwatchers (an Australian naval intelligence service) were Germans by nationality, but were vital sources of information for some of the biggest campaigns of the Pacific (and Burmese) War! In an intriguing fashion, many families would have sons and husband's away at war in the Australian forces while the wives and children were interred as Germans (although in most places, while there was some suspicion of ethnically German families, the families would continue working their farms as part of the war effort. Again, South Australia was rather unusual in that Air Raid Wardens, Militiamen, Post Masters, etc, would often be people of German ancestry who were too old or unfit for regular military service).
Of added interest, Barossan German is still the dialect of German spoken in many parts of South Australia, named for the Barossa Valley, which is an area mostly populated by German descendents, and a noted wine region.
I ( also born in Germany) served with Aussie’s in Vietnam 1970, signed on to be career soldier, that came to an abrupt end when I was critically wounded after our patrol was attacked with a command detonated anti personnel mine . Good for you .
So you were a Nazi killing Zimbabwean freedom fighters?
That was a very gracious report about our soldiers. Thank you for the time that you took in this. Rommel also was a true soldier but not a nazi, earning him the respect of the allied troops
Anthony B, yes, I plan to do one on NZ too, but I need to do more research on certain things. It'll be a while, no doubt. Yes, I enjoyed making it and it was a lot of hard work. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@EmersusTech The better half of the ANZACs - or so they’d have you believe.
@@EmersusTech If you do one on NZ'ers, in WW2, try to include the formation of the LRDG (Long Range Desert Group) in N Africa, mostly Kiwis with some S Africans, they were the forerunner (and later worked with) the SAS. They travelled, mapped, and attacked the enemy, far behind enemy lines, travelling over terrain that was thought to be impassable to vehicles. Really interesting story for military historians. I knew an ex member, back in the 80s, he was in our chess club, never finished a game with him because we would talk about his exploits the whole time :-)
I have two friends who fathers were Italian soldiers in North Africa. They were so impressed with the Australians that they migrated to Perth WA to start a new life...
Many on the losing side fled retribution from their own people after the war.
Argentina got German Nazis, Australia got Italian Fascists and Greek Communists.
G'day from WA
That's grand
Western Australia is the best place in the world I reckon
Perth is a great city to live in.
The Germans , esoecially Rommel was impressed by the Italians too. The Bersagleri in particular
My Grandfather fighting in France ww1 shot a German and then went to help him. He stayed with him and they showed each other family photos .My grandfather cried with him while he was dying
No more brother wars
Deep down we are people and we have empathy to fellow soldier
War kills good men
My closest uncle whom was in WWII, said to me, even though a soldier is serving his country, shooting or killing a man who has done nothing to you, will haunt a person. He even said, he hoped he would be forgiven. Bless your late grandfather and the German soldier.
I enjoy hosting exchange students, it is with reverence we share ANZAC day with them. It is a warming thing to host the children of former enemies and make lifelong friends of them.
Im Australian, apparently my grandad on my father's side was a medic in Africa against Rommel and definitely later went on to become a nuclear engineer (I have his yearbook from 1964-65) and my nan was a midwife in London dodging bombs to help bring new life into the world...
It's hard to imagine what went through anyone's mind in such a chaotic time.
Mum's dad was a merchant sailor who got packed between mattresses trying to plug a torpedo hole and woke up in hospital, never knowing who saved him to the day he died at 82 years old in about 2002.
All my grandparents moved to Australia from England in the late 50s-early 60s and shortly after my parents were born, and, here I am telling this short story thankfully.
My late father fought with the desert 8th army , he was in the Royal army service Corp , attached to the 51st Highland division , after the large barrage at the opening of the second battle of el Alamein, the Highland division went forward under a creeping barrage with the new Zealanders to there left and the Australians on there right , each division had heavy losses but took there objectives , each of these divisions depended on there colleagues to there left and right , my dad used to quote ( thank god they were ausies and New Zealanders, ), the finest brothers in arms you could wish for , and an honour to serve with , j p
Good on you James, the Brits fought bravely in Africa.
In WWI, the Germans called the Scots "the mad women from hell". They considered the ANZACs and Irish to be "their husbands".
RIP to your Dad... Lest We Forget.
Who on earth would face up to that combination. Brave tribes all
This video makes me very proud to be an Australian my father was a second world war veteran in Kokoda he was in the Middle East also we thank our veterans for keeping our country free
Peter Smith, it was wonderful researching for this video -- I found so much information! Stay tuned for others that are coming down the pike in the future! I'm working on one now that should be absolutely superb, but I won't give away the subject matter. Just keep in mind that some of these videos take a long time to make, because there's a lot of research and putting it all together nicely is important too! Thanks for watching and commenting!
My grandfather fought at Tobruk. Part of the 9th
He used to tell me stories of how he and his mates would sneak out at night and leave messages on the wires in front of the German placements in orders to psych them out.
He was wounded in action and evacuated,then honorably discharged. He later re volunteered and went to Papua New Guinea.
I'm Aussie, My Grandfathers brother is buried over there in El-Alamein.
He fought and died in that battle, His other brother watched him drop from gunfire and just had to leave him there and keep running and pushing forward to advance the position otherwise he wouldn't have made it back either.
Shane McGrath, that's a sad story, to see a brother fall and have to leave him there. So, it seems from your story that noone has ever found the body? I saw something on TV about bodies being mummified by the dry desert. Honestly, he probably was gathered by a German burial party. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@EmersusTech No sorry, I don't mean left there forever, I just mean in the heat of battle they had to leave him and go back later to gather the dead,
He is buried in the Commonwealth Cemetary over there in El Alamein, Not sure which side gathered his body though but most likely allies.
Thanks for the video, I like to hear all sides of war good or bad, We should never forget otherwise we will repeat it.
Well he’s resting in a nice place, went to the cemetery at ElAlamein about 6 years ago and it was spotless, very well tended by the local Egyptian caretakers.
@richie4540 I was very impressed with the Commonwealth War Cemetery there, too.
The Gernan War Cemetery is where the 9th Division was stationed prior to El Alamein.
Annual war memorial functions rotate between these 2 Cemeteries & the Italian War Cemetery.
The parents of a young South African had his grave stone inscribed with "Here in the fabric of peace we place a precious jewel, our son". Emphasised for me the wickedness of those who start wars.
Couple of stories from my Father regarding his time in Africa.
1. A couple of troops would go behind enemy lines and find the location of the Fuel supply depots. At night they would drive trucks 4okm across the desert (no headlights) to those locations and nick the fuel which was rather effective in stalling tank movements for a while.
2. During one of the two man scouting trips they came across an Italian soldier on his lonesome and promptly captured him. Then one of the Aussies was injured and required assistance. When they got back to their base the uninjured Aussie was carrying his mate and the Italian was trotting along behind holding the rifles.
His response when asked "What the hell were you thinking?"
"The Safety's On".
3. On a night attack across the Desert with very little cover Dad found a nice bit of rock to hunker down beside during some heavy fire. A flare went up and it was then he realised his piece of "rock" was actually a mine that was lying on its side...said he moved rather quickly after that.
4. One Christmas day the respective Officers declared a "day off". No bombing or shooting was agreed. They combined rations for a feed and even arranged for a sports competition between the Germans and the Aussies. Next day they were back to shooting at one another.
Barry French, great stories. I read them with interest. You get a heart!
My uncle Bill, 7th Division recounted the story where he and his mate came across a hastily abandoned Axis airfield. In the mess they found a table set up for a meal hastily left , including a few bottles of wine. Bills mate quickly knocked off the top of the bottle and was about to down it , Stop , struth mate ,it could be poisoned. No worries Bill, there's only one thing I'm scared of , and that's my Missus, and she aint here !
In one of the photos used in this video 13.59 showing a line advancing my uncle Bill recounted that looking down that line you could see your mates twitching involuntarily, like they had the disease St Vitus Dance. It was the automatic reaction as the bullets zipped past your head. He always laughed that the bullet was 1000 yards down range by the time you reacted . Lest we forget the greatest generation
The turks and aussies during Gallipoli also shared anzac biscuits with the turks chocolates. Poor buggers getting those crusty old biscuits and giving aussies chocolate haha.
My father (English) fought with Australians in the first siege of Tobruk and El Alamein.
We migrated to Australia because my father wanted to see what it was about Australia that created the men he fought alongside.
One day he said to me if you ever hear stories about the boys pulling the pin out of a grenade and then throw it to each other then out the slot in the pillar box….just before it went off.
It was true…..
George Woods, yes they were made out of special stuff -- brave! Thank you for commenting and watching!
Have you seen our wildlife?
The Anzacs had a great deal of repect for Monty. As a lad Monty went to school in Tasmania. His father was Minister and teacher at the private school and because of his slender stature and speech impediment made him a target for bullies. He seemed to take it in his stride and eventually won the respect of his fellow students.
I visited the Punchbowl memorial in Hawaii and to see the respect and recognition to our Australian , New Zealand forces was very humbling.
ANZACS. 💯
Thank You to all our allies too.
Together we are strong.
matcole2891, there's a new video out that you may want to see:
Monash's Masterpiece: The Battle of Hamel
ruclips.net/video/93mVu2vgErs/видео.html
My great uncle fought in Tobruk. He was killed 1941 coming home when an Italian aircraft hit his ship. This made my grandfather join the ADF in 1941 when he was 17 years old. Knowing about his older brother was killed he wanted revenge but didn't end up fighting the Germans he ended up in the 7th division fighting against Japanese. At the end of the war my grandfather was court-martial as he shot up Japanese wounded in a hospital camp that ADF had giving medical to. He hated the Japanese. I guess he had his reasons for it.
The Japanese were very cruel. An old friend of mine told me when he fought the Japanese they came by this Japanese encampment base. One of the the Australian soldiers found this sack with some contents in it. When they emptied the sack out fell the heads of the Japanese enemies. My friend never forgot that moment. It haunted him through out his life. He said he struggled to forgive the Japanese people. He was always suspicious of them even the generations that had nothing to do with the war. One time when he assisted a car load of Japanese young people after they broke down he considered it a test from God.
@@andrewh6367 interesting, my grandfather was in a Japanese concentration camp from the age of 14. He was living in Shanghai China when the Japanese came. The Steven Spielberg movie empire of the sun is based on the camp he was in. He also hated the Japanese for a long time. After getting to England after the war he had joined the RAF as a physical instructor and later special forces. I was told he wanted to kill Japanese, nearly deployed to Korea but my grandmother talked him out of it. He always had a bad temper, suffered nightmares. Undiagnosed PTSD we were told later. They moved to Australia and he later studied the Bible and it helped him become a much calmer person and inadvertently have dealings and friendships with Japanese.
Must only be the ones on the losing side that get executed then....
Without looking at the video, I'll tell that he was frightened of them and we Americans without question, admire and fear them as enemies!
Australians often feel more tied to the US than Britain.
They are fantastic allies and are all-in-all fantastic people!
I've several Aussie friends here in Colorado and they all say I need to get there!
I doubt I can but wish I could!
I've always admired those good folk and love them all!
Chris Long, thank you for your interest and comment!
“More tied to the US than Britain” is just not true mate, an I say this as an anti-monarchist Australian Republican. Our slang and manner of speech are very close, pubs, cricket, the monarchy, the commonwealth, a huge diaspora here and there that is larger per capita than in America. There are many things but most Australians do not feel any relation to America but a large one to Poms. We take the piss out them, and them us, but it’s out of respect.
You got that one wrong, the poms were ours brothers and still are!!
As an Australian I can tell you that we feel tied to Australia, not moreso the US or the UK.
Those are other countries not ours
Thanks mate! My good mate married a USA girl and lives in Gettysburg now. Both him and me are ex infantry. My son is serving too. Love the heart of the core USA people too.
Interesting video. My grandfather ( QF4084 ) became a cipher operator due to blowing his knee in basic, and got to see and hear all the top level intel and orders. Never would have survived the whole war otherwise he reckons. His war diaries whilst at Tobruk are quite revealing, and he had a lot of respect for Rommel in return, who as an example, agreed to cease fires so the wounded could be collected. I think the battle in Africa especially, although brutal and unimaginable to those of us never having seen war, was a place where two strong armies held a pretty high regard for each other. He had endless stories of Aussie shenanigans, and some of the night raid things they did well into German lines in Africa is stuff of legend. He was captured and escaped at the Benghazi handicap with his precious code books, which the Germans were after, one of very few to do so apparently.
Greg Roles, yes, I believe that FM Rommel fought honorably -- allowing the temporary truces to collect the dead, etc. If you have any stories about Aussie shenanigans and night raids, I'd like to read about them! Thanks for your comment and watching!
I would love to read your grandfathers diaries. Have you ever considered making them available - either to a professonal historian/author or self publishing?
I suspect you could essentially just photograph them with a phone and put them into a PDF and self publish that on Amazon or some other ebook publisher.
You could leave out any parts that are private to your family.
Sources like this - i.e. people who had first hand access to the high level signals as well as people who had what it sounds like pretty adventurous experiences are not all that common - especially people who aren't septics or poms.
I should add to my previous comment the although I have lived in Australia most of my life ,I was born in the UK. If anybody asks me about my nationality I just tell them "I am an Englishman by birth, I am an Australian by choice", and a proud one at that.
Richard Carolan, thank you for watching and for taking the time to comment!
Congratulations on a very well-presented video. Some things mentioned within it were known to me but other aspects were previously unknown, I found it both enjoyable and educational to watch as well as it gave me a sense of pride to be Australian and that I have family that fought in both World Wars. Thank You very much and keep the videos coming I've also given it a thumbs up. 10/10
Richard Coulson, thank you very much! I worked very hard on this video and did a lot of research. I will keep the videos coming! Thank you for watching and commenting! You get a heart!
@@EmersusTech If you are interested in this part of the war look into the LRP Long Range Patrol which expanded to become the LRDG Long Range Desert Group which was exclusively manned by men from the New Zealand Division and Officered by the British started by Major Ralph Bagnold the first allied Special Force of WW2
I have always been of the opinion that Rommel was an excellent tactician and a worthy foe. It’s truly sad that the Gestapo forced him to commit suicide on Hitlers orders.
Yep much respect for Rommel , he should have left Germany and gone to the west where he would be be respected
He knew what was going on in Russia and what they were doing to the Jews in the camps. Turning a blind eye to it is no excuse he was as guilty as the rest of the murderers. And of course slaughtering our boys on the beaches so his cronies could stay in power to do there vile work in Europe. Rommel was as bad as the rest of them pretending to be on the side of right.
@@lena19191 Just like Mr. Heisenberg.
@@lena19191 His strong principles as a man, his honor and loyalty as a military, his love for the family and country didn't let him to do that. Nowadays way to few people are guided by this healthy way of thinking.
@@lena19191 my thoughts exactly!
My Grandfather, Claude Reid was a Sergeant with 6th Div transport and told us many stories of his experencies in North Africa and the Middle East. As kids we would pore through his photographs of his adventures in Cairo, Tripoli, Palestine , Damascus and other Middle East locations. He even had one of him and some mates on top of one of the pyramids.
When in convoys, air attack was always a threat, even from their own aircraft because using salvaged enemy trucks made it difficulr to distinguish who they were. When aircraft were spotted the sop was to go as far off the road as possible, abandon the truck and find some kind of cover.
His pet peeves were the .303 and bayonet which was always in the way. As for the rifle, he said "I humped that bloody thing over two thirds of creation and never fired a shot in anger". He made it through, returned home and died at age 98 in Brisbane. He was always a true gentleman.
Peter Reid, thank you for telling us about your grandfather. That must've been fascinating to pour over those old photos. To tell you a personal story, my grandpa once was in his attic in the 1980s and he said to me, "Well, look at that!" and he handed me a pristine telephone book from early in the 20th Century -- probably the 20s or 30s. I can't remember. There were only a few numbers, like "8833", "8832", etc., because so few people had phones. And this phone book looked like it was printed only a few years before and had survived many home moves. As a teenager, I was always fascinated by old buildings. Thank you for watching and commenting!
Peter, also, you get a heart!
Great video mate, thank you. I'm very proud to be an Aussie with ancestors that served in both world wars. I'll never get tired of learning about these horrific events that shaped our world. Peace to all and let's try and do whatever we can to prevent these things happening again.
Anthony Young, thanks mate! Yes, we study war that we may live in peace! :) Thanks for the comment!
@@EmersusTechI suspect more Germans had an understanding of Aussie soldiers from battles in France in WW1 then from stories from Gallipoli.
John Monash, the first commander of the Australian Corps (first 5 AIF divisions), planned what became the text book Battle of Le Hamel. US General Pershing ordered his troops to not participate but many US soldiers who were training with AIF units donned Aussie fatigues so they could fight with their new mates.
Other Allied units studied this battle and its replication meant the war ended in 1918 - most planners believed it would continue into 1919.
Mate, thanks for putting this video together! The last flick of them playing cricket on the beach is an absolute ripper and something we still love doing as an activity during summer.
Johnnysabboy, yeah, I was trying to convey the laid back attitude that Aussies have like -- "no worries". Thanks for your comment and for watching! You might this other video:
Monash's Masterpiece: The Battle of Hamel
ruclips.net/video/93mVu2vgErs/видео.html
My Grandfather , Sir L.F. Smith, was a huge part of this entire event. I loved his stories. He was the RSM of 8th/12th Field Regiment.
In 75 I had a holiday in Germany. Beautiful country and very hospitable people. I was 15 and had a conversation with a bloke who had served in the German Army. When he realised I was an Aussie as he thought I might be British or American he really opened up about his thoughts. He told me that the ANZAC soldiers were a dangerous enemy he respected. Remember that in 1975 Germany is divided into east and west and the locals weren't impressed by all the British and American bases and were often treated poorly by them. Many old soldiers are loath to talk about their war time experiences.
Re your last sentence... that's why until after his death in 1969, I never knew that my grandfather was at Gallipoli before being invalided back to NZ on the "Maheno".... a man who kept very much to himself.
My dad was in the Pacific for 39 months and thought the world of " those Aussies" they were damn good jungle fighters he said! He loved them.
He was a Company Commander in the 158th Regimental Combat Team.
Highly trained and several islands invaded. He specifically talked about New Guinea and the Philippines but he didn't talk about it much, mostly anecdotes.
I miss him. Had him until he was 96...thanks
Stan Logan, yes, my dad told me the Aussies were "...big guys. You know they were descendants of prisoners!" Thank you for your comment and watching!
My grandfather was a sapper for Australia in this campaign. He hated the Nazis, but respected and admired 'the Desert Fox' his whole life.
Noel Page, you might like these two other videos:
Rommel's Death -- The Interesting Details
ruclips.net/video/iYTzjh3rmtc/видео.html
Rundstedt vs. Rommel Normandy Debate -- Who Was Right?
ruclips.net/video/882CEHFvNJY/видео.html
Thanks for commenting and watching!
@@EmersusTech Thanks mate!
Thanks for making this tribute. many of my family fought in both wars and I'm a proud Australian.
onlyactingup, thank you for watching and for your nice comment!
You get a heart!
By the way, have you seen this video? You may really like it:
Monash's Masterpiece: The Battle of Hamel
ruclips.net/video/93mVu2vgErs/видео.html
I'm an Aussie, my great grandfather marched to Beersheba through the desert. When asked what being in the war was like by my father he simply said "Hot".
Brad, thanks for your great-grandfather's recollection!
My father was RAF Bomber Command Far East WW2 - he described the situation and climate as "a bit sticky". He escaped Singapore, Java, Sumatra and fortunately boarded the Kote Gede which heading towards Darwin changed direction to Ceylon. The other ships heading to Australia didn't make it.
I had two uncles in the AIF in Egypt and my mother lost a cousin at El-Alamein. I also had an uncle on the Kokoada Trail and at the battle of Milne Bay and my dad was a POW after the fall of Singapore. I had one brother who served in the Australian Army in Malaya and myself and an older brother both served until retirement in the Royal Canadian Navy.
your blood is worth bottling mate
My Grandfather was in the 2/8th in El Elemein. I'll never forget him. His father was a Light Horseman in WW1. My wife's Grandfather was a Rat of Tobruk, he died when she was very young though. God bless them, forgive them, and we thank them for the life they won for us.
Scovid Cafe, yes, it was good that there were people willing to fight for freedom halfway around the world. Thanks!
Thank you for this amazing video as I'm Australian with Italian heritage. You really can see the hard work. Keep it up new subscriber.
Being Australian and a decendant of a ww2 vet, l both thank you for this video and feel proud of what our boys did.❤
thebrokestbassist1048, well, I appreciate what y'all did over there too! Thank you very much! You probably will like this other video:
LG Sir Monash's Masterpiece: The Battle of Hamel
ruclips.net/video/93mVu2vgErs/видео.html
Mate thank you for putting out a pod cast about Aussies that all Aussies but very few other know...we are a race of peace lovers that understand to keep our country as free as it is we often have to take the battle and fight fiercely overseas to have an undamaged and free homeland to come back to. What many may not also know, Australia has sent troops to every major war since the bore war in South Africa to WW1, WW2, THE KOREAN WAR, the Malayan war, Vietnam, Timor, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan not to mention various peacekeeping role.
Will Hawney, yes, I've gotten a lotta love from Aussies about this video! I really enjoyed making it and I'm happy that you enjoyed it too! Yes, Aussies have supported most/many of the wars that have been fought. Y'all are generous and have a reputation for sturdy fighters. Even my dad was impressed with y'all and he was a Vietnam vet. Thanks for watching and commenting!
yes indeed, every war America has been in for 100 years we have stood alongside her. Boy, don`t the Left get pissed off about that.
I really liked that, as an Australian with a family heritage of ADF service, it made me feel very proud to call myself an Australian. Thank you for sharing this with us.
16Bit SPY, thank you for your service for freedom!
That famous photo with those two soldiers with fixed bayonets storming a German tank, and the tank commanders lifts his hands to surrender were from the Greek Brigade--the bravest among the brave.
Abraham Levi, wow, I did not know that! Sometimes you learn something new every day! For that, you get a heart!
Thank you for this. My dad , an Australian, fought in Northern Africa, but said nothing about it. Now I have a better understanding of that campaign from an Australian perspective
Marylou Myles, thank you for watching and for taking the time to comment!
I saw a documentary where an Aussie was taking shelter in a shell crater under Italian bombardment, When 2 Germans jumped in the same hole. Seeing the Australian one of the Germans said in English, "Bloody Italians", And the pair of them continued on their way crater hopping. 😂
Shane Ferris, I bet that happened! WWII (and probably WWI) was one of those strange wars where so many weird things happened. That's one of the reasons that it is absolutely fascinating to talk about! Thanks for your comment!
Proud to say my grandfather Wally Drewett was one of those 6 th division fellas that first took Bardia and Tobruk. I have a photo of him standing next to two Italian prisoners. However soon after he was fighting an ss panzer division in Greece who also had good air support. So that was a whole new ball game.
I remember him saying loved the Greek people.
My father was with the 6th, I have a number of photos taken at the time by a corporal Harle. Your grandfather may be in one of them.
You sure the 6th division. Because it was the 9th division was the ones that guard the captured Italians and Germans in the African campaign at Tobruk
There wasn't any German SS panzer division in the Greek campaign. There was 1 SS motorised infantry regiment as part of XL Corps - the LSSAH - and it was, as a fighting force, regarded as trash at that stage of the war. Enthusiastic, but militarily, trash. It never came near the Australian 6th Division in Greece.
@@Nathan-ry3yu no the 9th came later after they had moved the 6 th to Greece.
The 6 th were part of the forces that repelled the Italian invasion of Egypt when Italy entered the war.
@@iatsd actually they did fight the waffen SS.
From wiki . ( The Waffen-SS did not probe the British Empire's front until the afternoon of 11 April. This included an encounter with Australian artillery positions on the main road; )
You might think they were considered trash from the safety of your computer screen but I'm sure you would have other ideas when they attack you in force with full air support.
Go and trash the memory of your ancestors. Just don't try do it with mine.
That is most generous of you and I thank you, kindly, Emerus Tech. I'll be sure to give them a look.
Both of my grandfathers fought in New Guinea. My mothers father moved back there with his brother in law as they felt a great debt was owed to the people there for everything they'd done to help them and their mates.
Unfortunately my fathers father didnt live long after his return. His health never really recovered and he suffered terrible nightmares and much torment in his life. He could never let go of his hatred for the japanese and was unable to see humanity in any Asian people. I can only imagine what he must have witnessed.
William Irwin and Bruce Jeffery. May god keep thier resting souls in peace.
sloth_e, thanks to your grandfathers' service against the Japanese! I'd rather not know what the Japanese did, because I've read what other Australians have written...about the Japanese POW planes returning empty after a short flight, etc. Thank you for your comment! You get a heart!
My Dad was in the siege of Tobruk, he said to me once while we were watching some war movie on tv "you'd put a sheet of newspaper on your head when those stukas came in"
John Smith, that's interesting! Perhaps to hide from the pilot? Very no-tech, but if it works, it works! Thanks for your comment!
@@EmersusTech It was a figure of speech referring to the noise and no doubt terror of being bombed by stukas.
Australia was so young at both world wars. We live on hard land and survived with the help of our first nations. The country was still very raw at the turn of the 20th century.
Im so glad our military stories are being told, we have so many men to be proud of who lost their lives just getting their mates to the next trench. Those who survived do so because they have been surviving Australia long before the war started.
I spent only 3 years in the Army during the early 80's and trained by some amazing viet vets. War will never be like that again.
Cquinn Lady, it's nice to hear from a true lady! Yes, there are a few of us on RUclips who want to tell the stories the way they really were and some that were never told! Thank you for watching EmersusTech and commenting!
The BS "First nations" inclusion ? BTW I'm a retired Army Veteran with 37 years service. Cut the Woke / Politically correct crap, it was never a part of our military ethos or culture.
Taken from German officers diary. "Our opponents are Englishmen and Australians. Not trained attacking troops but with nerves and toughness tireless taking punishment with obstinacy ,wonderful in defence. Ah well the Greeks spent ten years in Troy From .. PM Churchill l to Australian General Morshead after El alamein The whole empire is watching your steadfast and spirited defence of this important outpost of Egypt with gratitude and admiration
Pat Russell, that's a good comment! Thanks for watching!
We cant have the English being put on a par with Australians. That would ruin the myth!
@@EmersusTech I had relatives there for full siege wearing smae clothes for about three months
hey mate you might want to check out Gen Sir John Monash from WW1 and see what Monty had to say about him and what he got up to. As a quick tid bit he planned the first use of combined arms warfare and was the first foreign General to command American soldiers in battle in 1918
chrisrabbitt, yes, I may look him up. Thanks for the tip!
Le Hamel
Monash had, Australian, British, New Zealanders, Canadians and American's under his command at Le Hamel. They took Le Hamel in 90 minutes.
Ah yes the creeping Artillery maneuver lol
Ive read alot about Monash , he was the one that devised the idea of moving the infantry just behind the Artillery shell explosions , because it was the norm for solders to bunker down when the artillery came , and he had it timed that as the bombardment crept over the position , his men were jumping in the enemy Trenches , and then the Tanks would roll through and do damage behind. Sounds simple , but he was the first to think "hmm lets try something different than full frontal suicide charges" He also used smoke to cover thier movement, his planning was meticulous, and the only time he made a mistake , was because he was rushed, and couldnt plan it to the 9th degree. Refreshing to find a General that didnt use his men as canon fodder.
I really wish Australians would stop with this shite about Monash being the inventor of combined arms warfare. It simply isn't fvcking true. It was a well known concept taught at Staff Colleges all over the world since the 1890's and the British wars in North Africa. The Russians were the first to put into practice in the modern sense on the Eastern Front in 1915-1916, just as they also developed the idea and tactics of what the Germans came to call "Storm troopers" to be used for breaking trench lines.
Aussie's never saluted the british officer's as it only encouraged them.
Yes they did. With two fingers
I had an english upper class mate who had that uppitiness occasionally and I`d say: Hey shags, will I have to slap it out of you again?" and he`d smarten up.
An officer had to earn the respect of the Australian soldier. British officers considered an ANZAC soldier to be an insubordinate colonist.
So true
Nah, you've been listening to Pommie haters like Mel Gibson. The Aussie are British, though not so much today, but then again the British today are not the same people either. This applies to the Yanks as well. The clue is the language their Constitution is written in. British officers considered a British soldier to be a insubordinate little oik! No difference.
@@johnbobson1557 That's true. Officers was àlways a prick to the unranked. An common soldier was considered expendable.
Not sure about how a British officer thought of the rank and file. My grandfather, who died before I was born, served in the Pacific (?on Morotai). According to my father, my grandfather didn’t think much of any officer until they earned his respect. He was busted down to private from NCO several times because he was forever telling his superior officers exactly what he thought of them! I don’t think Australian soldiers from WW1 and WW2 would have been easy troops to manage until they had been in action a few times to knock the “10 foot tall and bulletproof” attitude off them.
A British officer complained to Montgomery about the fact that Aussie and Kiwi troops didn't salute him. Monty replied " Oh well, they're friendly enough. If you wave to them, they usually wave back . "
My uncle was a rat of Tobruk 2/48 Marched into Africa saw alot of his Friends die. He said the Germans showed Imense Chivalry towards wounded soldiers on both sides. They gave the Germans there first defeat of WW2. After Tobruk he marched out of Africa and Marched into New Guinea to fight the Japanese.
The situation was so dire in New Guinea that they were sent almost straight there and relieved the Emaciated remnants of the 39th Batallion.
They still had there summer african desert uniforms on. The Japenese soldier at the time showed no chivalry to captured or wounded soldiers.
His two collar lugs off his old uniform are in a tin and they have something written on them in Latin. I looked it up and it says translated to English.
NEVER DEFEATED And they werent. The 2/48 were a highly decorated brigade and were disbanded in 1946.
When he joined up in 1939 at woodside Adelaide he and another soldier were given the job of Guarding the Murray Bridge road Bridge with one at each end.
They each carried a 303 rifle and wore ww1 Uniform. Great Video ansd subscribed.
Your uncle was in the 9th division? My grandfather was in the 7th division. But I had an great uncle that was in the 9th division that fought in Tobruk except he was killed coming back home when an Italian aircraft bomb his ship.
My late grandfather served with the 9th Division 2/43rd
In Tobruk also from Murray bridge. Tough buggers those desert rats.
My dad was with the 10th Militia Battalion at Woodside, Dad was from the Wall Flat area near Murray Bridge and I have a photo of him with 2 other soldiers on the approach to the Murray Bridge railway bridge, dressed in WW1 uniforms and 303 rifles, they were horsing around with my dad standing over another soldier with his 303 and bayonet. Dad later joined the navy and was in Darwin when it was first bombed and later on convoy duty.
Nice story Ginger Megs.
The germans had been well aware of australians from WW1.
They had a rule of thumb that if the guys in the trench opposite you where Australians or Canadians it was trouble.
If you ever found out that the trench opposite you was manned by Australians and Canadians, then a big attack was coming.
I don't think this is entirely true but I get your drift
Rommel and his Officers were well aware of the Australians exploits during WW1, not necessarily at Gallipoli but in France, most notably their involvement against the German's Operation Michael in 1918, when they were stopped.
Andrew Hart, yes, Rommel probably knew about the Australians' actions during WWI, and that would influence his thinking later. Even so, he saw first-hand how this new generation of Aussies did so well in the desert. Thank you for your comment!
@@EmersusTech Sure, however not so much a 'New Generation', but rather an inherited Tradition of 'ANZAC' and a way of fighting to win against all odds.Some even viewed this Conflict as unfinished business from WW1. Including Veterans from the former. Cheers.
History has it that Rommel commented to the German High Command "Give me two divisions of Australian men and I will conquer the world for you"
Just another myth
Fake
That was very enjoyable, thank you very much.
Simon, I really appreciate that viewers enjoy the videos. There really are many enjoyable ones on my channel, imo. Thanks for your comment. You get a heart!
Australian & Kiwi forces have played major roles in many theatres & are often sent in as initial reconnaissance teams in modern wars, while receiving little recognition for their efforts. Thank you for sharing Rommel's respect for our boys.
AnoJanJan, yes, I totally agree that Aussies and Kiwis haven't gotten the recognition they deserve for their outsized contributions to the past two world wars and since then. Thanks for your comment!
I don't know what the Germans thought of Australians, but during his time in North Africa my old dad always said that when the shit hit the fan you could do far worse than be shoulder to shoulder with an Aussie or a Kiwi.
Terry Jacob, yes, I've never heard any bad things about Aussies. I did see a bad comment about Kiwis from a guy's dad, but I don't believe it. Everything else about Kiwis has been good/excellent! Thanks for watching and commenting!
I'm an Aussie and I agree, if thrown into a trench with an allie I would prefer they be Australian, American, New Zealander, or British.
My grandfather was 2nd1st casualty clearing in that part of the war he also completed Egypt Syria and new guinea as he always said it was a long war against a strong enemy but never hold it against the soldiers they were only doing what they were told god bless our soldiers then and now great report mate good to see
Mr ozboss, thanks for retelling what your grandfather told you. We shouldn't forget our history, notwithstanding all this rubbish/crap from the liberal media! Thank you for commenting and watching!
My grandpa fought in the African campaign in the 2/23rd Australian Battalion. The battalion was raised in Albury NSW, though he was from Melbourne. He wrote a book about his experiences which was documented with the sketches he made during his time. Before he left to go to war he thought about becoming a pastor but when he returned he was an atheist. He fought in the 2nd battle of El Alamein and lost many friends there. He was in signals and ended up a Captain by the end of the war. The war was the most central thing in his life. I wished I had talked to him about it more.
Noonday Axeman, thank you for retelling your grandpa's story. We need more people to tell while they still remember!
I'm always glad to get a notification that you've made another video. I wish I had enjoyed learning when I was young
Ash Dobbs, yes, I recognize your name and know that you've made some comments in the past. I appreciate your support!
We’re always learning. Everyday is an opportunity to learn something new.
My dad was a rear gunner in the first 1000 bomber raid over Germany
Then fought in the pacific
Blown twice out of a plane over BORNEO but survived had 4 kids then died in a car accident when we were kids
Molly Much, it's great that he fought in World War II. It's too bad that he died so young and didn't see you fully grow up. Thank you for your comment and watching!
My late father was part of the 6th Australian Division that took Tobruk. When they arrived the town water supply was still operating. Having spent the past two or three months existing on 2 litres (approx 2 US quarts) per day for drinking and all other needs my dad promptly found the Governors house and using bed sheets as towels had a long bath in hot soapy water. He even washed and iron his clothes. As I recall he was one of the few sober soldiers on parade the next morning - in clean iron clothes and clean shaven. His commander made a favourable comment. (BTW a Scottish soldier was charging three pence (about 2 or 3 cents) to watch dad in the bath. ha ha!)
Rommel had more respect for the Australians than Churchill did. When John Curtin became the Australian Prime Minister in 1941 he demanded the return of Australian troops to defend Australia after Japan attacked the USA in December of the same year and, due to the Axis pact, declared war on the Allies [including Australia]. Even though Australia had contributed hugely to the war in Europe and Africa Churchill was always one to bear a grudge. He never acknowledged, except occasionally and reluctantly with faint praise, what the Australians had done. He was all about the Empire serving Britain's needs and Curtin was all about saving his own country, Australia.
Churchill was a politician. 'nuff said! Thanks for your comment!
Don't forget that as a young British officer, Churchill was the architect of the Gallipoli disaster which cost so many ANZAC lives (as well as British obviously) of which he was pilloried for by his senior officers and politicians. So it's no surprise us Aussies reminded him of darker days in his career. having said that, my respect for Churchill knows no bounds.
As an New Zealand born Australian who had grandfathers and great uncles in both wars including the Middle East I would venture to say that Australian and New Zealand soldiers stuck together and had a generally shared distrust of British officers, I've heard the same from veteran South African soldiers in the middle east.
The ANZAC capture of many thousands of Italians is somewhat nuanced, a friends father, an Australian NCO told me that many of the Italians were not Fascist's who supported Mussollini, many were not fond of the Germans and infact the Germans were not very pleased with the Italian soldiers feeling they were disappointing soldiers and very very forward in telling them so.
He also remembered speaking with two captured Italian soldiers ( in broken English) who had friends and relatives successfully and happily living in Australia and expressed an interest in emigrating !?
Many Italians fought under suffrance and their heart was just not in it, although fascist companies fought very hard.
I understand many Italians were put under overall German command and it wasn't an easy association much of the time!
The comments further back about most Australian soldiers were from cities and larger towns compared to the bush and outback is correct, however by the standards of today the cities were not that large and even so they were not like well established European cities, with a sedate genteel civility, Australia was only 140 something years old in European settlement ( although has the oldest continuing Indigenous history in the world of between 65,000 to 75,000 years) and was still in a pioneering stage and as with my 2nd generation Scottish origin grandfather from a southern NZ city, they were often competant horsemen, riflemen, wagonmen and drivers due to early adoption of motor transport in both Australia and New Zealand, many were very capable at improvisation and often worked and travelled seasonally in rural areas that were quite undeveloped just outside some of the larger towns, especially during the great depression that hit Australia hard when many men travelled the country seeking work or just food and a bed.
The two nations were largely rural farming exporters with a comparatively underdeveloped manufacturing industry as yet.
Comparing an English city dweller to colonial settlers across the world living in a larger settlement is not complimentary IMO.
Jus sayin'
My dad was in Trobuk. He said Rommel was a brilliant tactioner and all the battles were so hard fought. I think sometimes the tenacity of the Australian's has been overlooked
Denise, yes, I totally agree that the Australians were tenacious! Thanks for the comment!
My great uncle Stan was in the Australian 6th division along with one of my cousins. He told me for the most part the Italian's heart was not in the battle (hence the number of prisoners), these are my words perhaps because it was "Mussolini's dreamed up war"? He also said the Germans were very good at fighting. He recalled shooting the Germany paratroopers in Crete as they were coming down in their parachutes he said "we made the bastard's wriggle". Later in the war the 6th Divison returned to fight the Japanese. I am happy to say they both survived the war however suffered PTSD.
gtpumps, yes, I believe many Italians' heart weren't in the fight like the other combatants, as you wrote. Thanks to your great-uncle's and cousin's contributions! My great-uncle fought with the US Army in Italy. Thanks for your comment and watching!
@@EmersusTech another great uncle Warrant Officer Cyril Luke is buried in Italy. He was an Royal Australian Airforce (RAAF) pilot flying with the British 43 Squadron (it was quite common having RAAF pilots in RAF squadrons). While flying his Spitfire (MH659) was shot down by anti aircraft fire near Anzio 5th February 1944. I have other great uncles and cousins who fought in the Pacific War as well. One of them was Lt John Douglas (2/1 Australian Pioneer Battalion) who won the Military Cross in Borneo.
@@gtpumps My mum`s partner was an aircraft mechanic in NG who had to fly those he fixed first. Shot down and walked out, his co-pilot never made it.
"Big and powerful men". Yes because there were a lot of young blokes from the bush used to shearing, mustering, fencing and mining (the old way). Lumping hay bales and timber, and stock feed. Doing work contracting as it became available like railways, telegraph lines, dams, clearing scrub for farms and being general hands on the big stations if not expert stockmen or shearers. It was just natural hard work that they did all year round and were well fed on Australian beef and lamb. I edited this because I forgot rabbit, which was eaten a lot and roo. They were crack shots too, well those blokes who went hunting for Rabbits, roo's, dingo's and foxes
Christopher, yes, that come straight from the ole Desert Fox himself. He wrote down what he thought!
Did the Aussies actually eat Kangaroos?
Kangaroo and wallaby meat is available in Aussie butcher shops..... it is leaner than beef and very nice as I can personally attest. Last time I had some was in an oven bag with a glass of red wine tipped into the bag... on a low and slow bbq with the l;id down........ it was awesome.@@glennduke5853
I have a photo of my father and one other aussie at a british army gunnery school in the middle east.the two aussies do look bigger than their british counterparts.
An excellent video ü thanks. As a Kiwi I appreciate Rommel's praise fo New Zealanders as well as for Aussies.
Maribel Farnsworth, thank you very much! I will be researching more about NZ, but it takes a lot of time. So, sooner or later, I'll have a video. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for covering this topic it was really interesting :) Just some feedback though, I think you might need to level up the production quality a bit, join the audio clips a bit together, make things a bit smoother. I liked the content, and making things a bit smoother will make it easier to watch :)
AussieBattleCat, thanks for the tips. I'll try to keep them in mind! Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@EmersusTech No worrıes I enjoyed the topic :)
It's so strange that the Germans had respect for the Aussies seeing that we were on opposite sides. At the end of the day we are all brothers who fought a war for the rich men on this planet. I have so much respect for Germans and have met many and they are wonderful people. God bless Germany, may you all live peaceful lives.
From an Aussie brother.
Person of Earth, yes, there were gentlemen on both sides -- even on the German side. There was real honor -- I wonder if we still have that today? Thank you for watching and commenting!
@@EmersusTech Cheers my friend.
It’s nice to hear this as an Australian growing up in the 1970/80 , so proud of our sons dads and grandfathers and super pissed off with the immigrants who just bagged Australia and it’s just continuing today with immigration who don’t respect our lucky county today .
kick them out
Totally agree many don't deserve our country
We fought blood and sweat for our country's for us not for those immigrations to come in
Sure don't. Every time I visit the West Island I make a point of ordering a Skippy Burger.
It's Australias "leaders" that you should be pissed at, they don't listen to the wishes of the people they are supposed to represent.
You sould do one about the ANZACs in the battle of Passchendaele in WW1. Since the war the town has made the history of Australia necessary in its schools.
It's not Passchendaele, but Villers-Bretoneaux, which is just north of Amiens.
It was actually Vilersbreteneux,I attended an Anzac day there a few years ago,yes Australians recaptured the town with hard fighting.Children from Victoria raised the money to rebuild the school it is remembered to this day.Spending Anzac day in the area and touring the battlefields and sadly war graves was an experience,if you can get there I recommend it,the French and Belgians have never forgotten.
When I saw the title I just HAD to watch this video.
An uncle of mine was one of the Rats of Tobruk and both of my father's brothers fought at the Battle of Bardia.
Dad had been recorded as MIA at the fall of Crete several months earlier. He was only captured 18 months later after fighting with the Cretan resistance.
HIs brothers were then brought back to Australia to be sent over Kokoda in New Guinea.
Jeff, wow -- 18 months with the Cretan resistance! In most history books, they act as if there was almost no lingering resistance after the surrender. I didn't know that! Thanks for the information and for your family fighting. I presume that your dad made it back safely to Australia after the war? For this contribution, you get a heart!
Proud to say my father was one of those in the 6th Division. He was a migrant from Poland and Jewish but jumped at the opportunity to serve his adopted country of Australia. We march on his behalf on ANZAC day, "Lest We Forget."
standupandbecounted972, it's wonderful to hear stories like your father's -- joining the military of a new country! Thank you for taking the time to comment after watching the video!
You get a heart!
Fun Fact: The PNGs didnt care and didnt find it racist at all that we called them a "Golly Wogs".
And I miss the Golly Wog biscuits we had, they were the best Arnotts biscuits.
The.Drunk-Koala, well, you had to call them something! It doesn't seem to be in a mean spirit anyway. Thanks for your comment and for watching!
Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels or the B**Ng Train my grandad called em, and he had Aboriginal blood!
It must also be remembered that volunteer armies are invariably better and more enthusiastic than conscripts. But Rommel (along with Aussies themselves) certainly did not rate 'certain' British Divisions but Rommel did rate the 7th Armoured Brigade (the original Desert Rats -a combination of artillery and infantry), and especially the Guards Brigade. Rommel said: -"The British Guards Brigade was almost the living embodiment of the virtues and faults of the British soldier - tremendous courage and tenacity combined with a rigid lack of mobility. At one battle this division had mauled our German units". Rommel also rated the legendary British Commandos very highly, so much so that Hitler ordered any captured Commandos to be executed, but Rommel refused. He also rated the British 70th Division who relieved the battle-weary Aussies at Tobruk in August-Sept 1942 and broke out, pushing Rommel back to the point that he abandoned the siege.
Regards individual bravery, the Aussies and New Zealand lads are right up there - God bless them all, their offensive capabilities are legendary.
Unintentionally, the British are almost inadvertently demeaned at the expense of the ANZACS, Canadians etc, and I do understand why. Some comments you generally see are quite derisory however, so to provide balance, the comments about the British Paras at Arnhem (our offensive arm along with Commando Units) are similar as those ascribed to the ANZACS.
Battle-hardened and much-decorated veteran SS Commander Wilhelm Bittrich stated of the Paras: - ""In all my years of fighting, I have never seen men fight so hard", whilst SS Section-Commander Alfred Ringsdorf said regards Arnhem: - "This was a harder battle than any I had fought in Russia. It was constant, close-range, hand-to-hand fighting, the English were everywhere. We fought to gain inches, firing from yards away. It was absolute hell". Towards the end of the battle, when it was clear the British were totally outnumbered he said" The only way we are going to get these out is feet first. I felt dreadfully sorry for the British". SS Captain Kraft (after the battle) assessed the Paras: -"They were about 25 years of age on average, and the best type mentally and physically, they were well-trained, particularly for independent fighting and good combat value. They fought savagely. They were led by officers who were the finest in the whole British army. Towards the end of the fighting, many gave themselves up because of hunger, but having already resisted beyond the norms of human endurance, still fought on. Defying normal military logic, their actions could not be objectively assessed".
The Aussies and New Zealanders were superb though, especially in the heat of the North African desert, you have studied the Rommel papers obviously as he says as much, certainly about their offensive abilities, whereas he states British troops were strong fighting from a position, which reflected their overall battle doctrine of relying on armour and artillery, rather than primarily just infantry like the ANZACS. But like you I cannot find any quotation for taking hell and keeping it, in reference to the Aussies and NZ lads. American author Samuel W Mitcham claims that Rommel said this, but fails to provide any reference, so I suspect he too was simply repeating the old cliche. Personally, although he clearly rated them, I don't think he actually did say this as he clearly rated his own Panzer Divisions above anyone! Mitcham also states that in the end, Rommel rated the New Zealanders most of all, but again fails to actually highlight any such quote.
Nicholas Moss, thank you for your thoughtful comments. I agree with your entire comment, except the first paragraph. I may be misunderstanding it, but it appears that you are saying that the British took Bardia and the Aussies only attacked on January 21st, 1941. That would contradict not only what Rommel wrote, but also what official history states. Again, I may be misunderstanding what you are writing. If so, I apologize in advance. If you are saying that the British cleared the way in front of Bardia beforehand and then the Australians assaulted, later, then I certainly agree. Although I didn't use the source below for the video, it agrees with what I stated in the video, about the prisoners being double what Rommel wrote. Please see below.
www.awm.gov.au/collection/E84311
"Bardia was the site of the first battle fought by Australian troops in the Second World War. On the morning of 3 January 1941, troops of the 16th Brigade of the 6th Australian Division attacked and broke through the western face of the defensive perimeter, while the 2/6th Battalion mounted a diversion in the south. Troops of the 17th Australian Brigade joined the fighting later in the morning to clear the southern portion of the Italian defences, while the 16th Brigade advanced toward Bardia itself. Bardia was captured late in the afternoon of 4 January, but Italian resistance in the southern portion of the perimeter, which had been particularly determined, did not cease until the morning of 5 January; the diversionary force had encountered the toughest fighting of all. The attack had cost the 6th Division 130 men killed and 326 wounded but netted them approximately 40,000 Italian prisoners and large quantities of arms, rations, equipment, and alcohol. All of which was put to good use by the Australians."
Thank you for watching and commenting!
@@EmersusTech Yes I think you are right, I think I misunderstood the sub-note there in the Rommel papers, so rightly I have amended my OP (my apologies). On the bottom of page 93 Rommel says "On 19th December, Wavell's forces appeared in front of Bardia and began to lay siege to the fortress. Under the cover of RAF bombs and shells of the Royal Navy, the superb Australian infantry stormed the fortress and forced 20,000 Italians to surrender." Then the sub-note in the Rommel diaries (page 94) states "Only the 7th Armoured Division followed up the Italian rout and appeared in front of Bardia. The assault was delayed until the arrival of a fresh infantry division, the 6th Australian and the assault was at last launched on 3rd January". That is what I misunderstood, as Rommel seems to refer to them on 19th December but they hadn't arrived. They were clearly involved however from that later date, and then bravely holding on to Tobruk for 241 days before being relieved by Poles and the British 70th division who broke out of Tobruk and pushed the Germans back, and joined up with the New Zealanders, forcing Rommel to abandon his siege of Tobruk.
@@OldWolflad Nicholas, no problem! I'm impressed by your looking into it and commenting on it! We all make mistakes -- including me! Like the Aussies say, "No worries, mate!"
I appreciate your considered and well-written comment.
Balanced essay, Thank You
One of Australian soldiers who fought in North in North Africa was my relative. Thank you for this wonderful video.
Patricia, you're welcome! I'm glad you liked it! You get a heart for such a nice comment!
My father was a Rat Of Tobruk, he was with the 2/7 Field Coy Royal Aust Engineers. He was involved in Operation Lightfoot in Oct 1942, and big offensive against Rommel's men. Being the engineers they went before the infantry to life mine fields and clear wire entanglements. On that night they came under mortar and machine gun fire, he sent his men back with the electronic detectors and belly crawled with a bayonet probing for and lifting the mines. He was awarded the Military Medal for that. He was sent to PNG from North Africa like a lot of others. He passed in 1988, I miss him like hell. RIP Sgt M. J. Pettigrew MM. MiD.
Matt, well, he deserved more than a medal for his bravery! Bravo for him! It takes stories like these to realize how much our guys endured -- I'm not taking away anything from our younger heroes, but that WWII generation was something else! Thank you so much for your comment! You get a heart!
German commander Erwin Rommel was even quoted as saying: ". "If I'd had one division of Māori, I would have taken the canal in a week. If I'd had three, I'd have taken Baghdad."
Nonsense b
@@advanceaustralia9026 True. One of the few comments that Rommel actually made about allied troops. It was in a Rommel diary and referred to his attacks towards the Suez Canal and his forlorn hopes for a thrust towards Baghdad. Most of Rommel's praise was directed at the fighting qualities of some of the Italian troops and at how badly they were led by their officers and poor quality weaponry..
The average height of British soldiers in WW2 was only 5' 7" so the sight of much taller and rangy Kiwis and Aussies would have impressed anyone, not just Rommel.
Louisa von Dart, even my late father said to me, when speaking about Australians, "Those Australians, they're big guys. You know, they came from prisoners!" My dad was actually a prison guard later in life for decades, so he knew a lot about them. He used to say that he was like a prisoner that got paid and was allowed to go home for a bit, before he had to go back to prison -- almost every day! (I paraphrased that some, but that's roughly what he said). Thanks for watching and commenting!
Yet, it's the short Aussies that go the hardest, because for Australians, it's the fight in the man, not the man in the fight!
Average height of an Australian man in 1920 was 173cm which is also about 5'7 can't imagine the average height would've gotten so much bigger in 20 years by 1940
@@samsativa245
Selection process for the 6th Division was particularly tough. It was the first Division raised for overseas service and standards were high. As for height it would not have been especially high, but no doubt higher than average.
The Italians they faced in the early battles were in large part poorly trained and unwilling conscripts, and much lower in stature and physical strength.
@@EmersusTech I would not like working in a prison, I would probably agree with your Grandad!
The book 'Tobruk' by Peter Fitzsimons is a great read of the Aussies in the lead up to that siege, and covers also a lot of Rommel's insights into that battle front.
It also covers a good deal of Rommels demise after his battles, being forced to commit suicide at Hitler's order.
About 20,000 Italian POW soldiers were held in Australia during WW2
johndoe-im7sj, yes, I read that there was a high number -- many of whom later stayed or came back. Thanks for watching and your comment!
I don't believe that line Aussies to take it and NZ'ds to hold it. Rommel had just spent 8 months trying to remove the diggers from Tobruk. The Australian 9th Div held it very well.
Peter Castles, sorry for the late reply. Yep, love the Aussies! They really held on tight! Thanks for watching and commenting!
I don't think the German experiencing Australians in WWI was limited to Gallipoli. More likely the canning that the 5 Australian divisions gave Germans on the Western Front under the leadership of General Sir John Monash.
PaythePiper, I was just briefly mentioning Gallipoli -- not to the exclusion of the Western front. You're not the first person to mention this, but I wasn't trying to give a full list of where the Australians fought. Thanks for your comment and for watching!
@@EmersusTech No worries. I'd probably lean towards their actions on the Western Front as opposed to Gallipoli though, as thats were the German machine gunners learnt to surrender nice and early... Thanks for the reply
Rommel also made comments about how resourceful and stubborn the Australian forces were with regard to them using artillery over open sights as at guns to counter his tanks. Wouldn’t be the first or last time the Australians used something designed for a purpose for a completely different purpose.
hollowman1345, that doesn't surprise me at all. Diggers were adaptable in both world wars!