Loving the WWII theme? Who has been to france, normandy? | Forums

[Ithilenia]

Hia,

was just wondering who else loves the WWII theme in games, like COD 1,2,..., board games like Axis&Allies etc etc..movies, series, cardgames.

Two years ago my wife and me with a good friend of mine and his wife we went for a two week holiday at Normandy, france. Sightseeing every town/beach, point of interest that has the WWII theme on it. Just to get a good picture what happened here, besides seeing it on TV back home.

It was...very impressive. Normandy is like one big open musea under the bright sky and blazing sun.

1. Pont Du Hoc, with the amazing heroic story of allied troops
2. St. Mere Eglise, where the para is snared at the Church tower (A wwII para doll is still hanging there at the tower)
3. Deadman corner, where a tank was blown up with a allied soldier (i believe it was the tankcommander) hanging out of his tank at the corner of a Y-spitting crosspoint, and in the Y the house that was first Axis, then Allied then Axis and then again under allied control.
4. etc etc...like the beaches
5. The many many memorials scattered over Normandy...

But the one thing that impressed us the most were the thousands and thousand deaths and the many many many graveyards scattered in Normandy. Germans soldiers, some of the age of 16 and 15 y/o, the thousands white crosses for the soldiers who stormed the beaches, Resting in Peace at the USA memorial, the stories that were told by the survivors, all of them heroic tales. Living in Peace and harmony is such underrated if you see all that.

So have you been to Normandy, France? And what impressed you the most?

if you reply, please stay clear of any political statements and current world situations.

Cheers,

PSN: Rhomark

[MAZIO89]

i aint been to normany but ive been to belgium and went in the trenches an stuff, it was a trip with school tho now thinking of it it might have been ww1 ops lol. ive liked ww2 for some time but have always like ancient warfare the most like the romans,greekschinese etc. but since i got ruse i have got into it more. watching band of brothers again and just started the book and various docos on t.v

[Ithilenia]

Originally posted by MAZIO89:
i aint been to normany but ive been to belgium and went in the trenches an stuff, it was a trip with school tho now thinking of it it might have been ww1 ops lol. ive liked ww2 for some time but have always like ancient warfare the most like the romans,greekschinese etc. but since i got ruse i have got into it more. watching band of brothers again and just started the book and various docos on t.v

ancient warfare? Then go Ages of empire games It will rock yer world.

Trenches in belgium I have seen some also, a quick snapview while driving by to france.

There is a story though for belgium I believe, it could be france..but here it goes:

Since WWI Belgium invested in a bunker that could stop anything and anyone. There was no way the enemy of WWI could overrun this bunker. Huge canons, supported by I believe turreded machineguns,(although I am not sure).

So when WWII was rolling on through belgium, the soldiers were at easy & just waiting to let the nazi's come in range. Suddenly those soldiers were hearing airplanes and thought, no bomb can penetrate this bunker so we are safe. A few minutes later they heard German soldiers shouting through the corridors of the bunker. The bunker was taken over without a single German death and I believe a single Belgium death.

The germans send their Fallschimjäger (paratroops) on top of the bunker. The belgiums did not expected this at all, this was a total new strategy.

The same friend with who I did go to Normandy with, loves to tell this story....he was also a german fallschimjäger who loves strategy...

Cheers,

PSN:Rhomark

[MAZIO89]

rah, thats crafty i like things like that, the total unexpected. yea ive got age of empires 2 on ps2 the comp here aint gd enuf to play nething on it.

[vincenty82]

I have not seen the western front but i have seen all the major battle grounds and places on the estern front. If you have not seen concentration camps (german and russian) you have not seen anything. 18yo 19yo fighting in normandy?... try 5 and 6 yo in cattle trains for 3 days without watter food and toilet squized amongst other 40ppl. Transported to a place that everything was taken from them: clothes, famili and life. And all this in the name of purification of the nations... the leftovers like hair were used to insulate the hulls of submarines and human fat to make soap... I pray for no more war..

[Ithilenia]

Originally posted by vincenty82:
I have not seen the western front but i have seen all the major battle grounds and places on the estern front. If you have not seen concentration camps (german and russian) you have not seen anything. 18yo 19yo fighting in normandy?... try 5 and 6 yo in cattle trains for 3 days without watter food and toilet squized amongst other 40ppl. Transported to a place that everything was taken from them: clothes, famili and life. And all this in the name of purification of the nations... the leftovers like hair were used to insulate the hulls of submarines and human fat to make soap... I pray for no more war..

well that is totaly true. Here in The Netherlands we have many so called transportation camps from the WWII. Its not a pretty sight at all, the air in those camps are different, the total atmosphere there is different. Those camps are a legacy of a black page in our history books.

But then again, japanese camps were horrid too and the two nuclear bombs on the japanese cities too.

War...it brings up the worst and the best in us. Best to have war in games then in real life.

[vincenty82]

I agree on the atmosphere... there is something wrong in the air in thoes places. Can you imagine allied trops comming to the rescue and finding thoes camps? War is inded an awfull thing and i hope that nobody will have to go throug this.

[MAZIO89]

i read somewhere before that he ordered oxford to be left alone cos he wanted to make it the new capital of england. cant beat the romans tho man