What have you learned about WW2 recently?

I'm drinking lots of Polish beer at the moment. Going for a Virtuti Militari.

 

The RAF Regiment deployed in ETO.

 

The "Ghost Army" of the U.S. Army was a top-secret unit officially called the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops. They used inflatable tanks, fake radio transmissions, and sound effects to deceive German forces. This 1,100-man unit staged over 20 deception operations in Europe between 1944 and 1945, often making it appear as though tens of thousands of Allied troops were preparing for an assault in one location while the real attack was elsewhere. Their efforts likely saved thousands of lives by confusing the enemy and diverting resources.

 

And Japan launched 9,000 balloon bombs across the Pacific in WW2 - only a few reached North America, but one killed six civilians in Oregon, the only WW2 deaths on U.S. soil from enemy action.

 

For each ship built by Japan during the war, the US built 16.
Each US serviceman deployed in the Pacific was supported by the equivalent of 4 tons of supplies, each Japanese serviceman was supported by the equivalent of 1 kilo of supplies.
60% of all Japanese military war dead died from starvation.

 

The RAF regiment was huge!

Here's something useless but fun.

In his youth Winston Churchill served in the 21st Lancers. His father wanted him to become a Rifleman in the King's Royal Rifle Corps (KRRC or 60th) but young Winston went for the more expensive route as a cavalryman (this is why his father wanted him to become an infantryman). Anyway, in 1921 it was amalgamated with the 17th and became the 17th/21st Lancers or the Death or Glory Boys.

During WW II an American officer was doing liason work between the Americans and the British. He had to locate the commanding officer of the 17th/21st Lancers. "He finally found their HQ, and wandering into the presence of the Colonel of that famous and dashing regiment, said, 'Where can I find the boss of the 17-bar-21 outfit?" The Colonel's reply was not recorded but it must have certainly disturbed the Colonel whose famous regiment, with a glorious history included fighting at Balaclava and Omdurman, to be compared to a Texas ranch.

 

Royal Canadian Regimental Band in WW II.

The RCR fought initially in Italy and when pulled off the line for rest, the band (drums and bugles) reassembled (1943) for practice.

Didn't know the tune so I looked it up. It's actually an older tune put to newer lyrics.

link

The original song was Lillibulero which dates back to the English Revolution (read that in S&T magazine decades ago):

 

The (Negro) Triple Nickel (555) Parachute Infantry Battalion was used as smoke jumpers to fight the fires caused by those Japanese incendiary bombs.

 

I learned about the Triple Nickle from Riter's post above

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/555th_Parachute_Infantry_Battalion_(United_States)_

 

Reading the book: Black Earth by Timothy Snyder, among other details I noticed ithe following:
" The world's problem as Hitler saw it, was that Jews falsely separated science and politics and made delusive promises for progress and humanity. The solution he proposed was to expose Jews to the brutal reality that nature and society were one and the same."

Stefan.

 

With my interest in Occupied Netherlands/Flemish Belgium saw a feature made by Dutch TV about a descendant of an Indian Soldier who was serving with the Third Reich and stationed in Zandvoort, on the Dutch coast. Have located an English language programme on French TV Hitler's Indian Soldiers: The Free India Legion. These soldiers were originally fighting for Britain but taken prisoner by the Germans and Italians, largely in the North Africa campaign. Indian Nationalist Subhas Chandra Bose reached Berlin in April 1941 and established the Free India Centre there. And an Indische Legion was established.
The Occupied Dutch seemed to take to the Reich's Indian soldiers, including the young women.
Have to admit had not really considered the Indian solders who fought for the Reich, and how they were viewed both by the British and by the Indians in the run up to Indian independence. Fascinating aspect of the war.

 

The

The footage of the inflatable "tanks" used in the deceptions is fun to watch. I imagine later on we had conversations like this:

Her: What did you do during the war?
Him: I blew up tanks.
Her: Sounds dangerous!
Him: You have no idea!

 

I think in these days some of the NS party leaders considered the Indians as aryans.
Stefan.

 

I think that the more mystical Nazis such as Himmler possibly felt an affinity with the Indians, I am not sure how Hitler viewed the Indians, but Indian nationalists could be a threat to the British Empire so there was a pragmatic case to offer support. and pause ideological concerns.
Not sure how many members the Indian Legion recruited at their peak, I think the above programme stated 3,000 which is not a large number compared with how many Indians fought for Britain .

 

Text moved to new thread 14/5/2025: After capture: Free Indian Legion in German service

 

Learned about the glass mine which had a miniumum of metal (avoid detection).

 

Baby Nancy on the Utah

USS Utah History - Baby Nancy

 

Sounds similar to the Schu mine. My dad told me about these and Bouncing Betties that he said were deadly.

Schü-mine 42 - Wikipedia.