What Theater of War interests you most? And Why?

motherfunker

Just thought I'd start a thread to see what peoples main WW2 interests are and what started or fuelled this interest.

I have always had an interest in WW2, my first memories of this as an actual interest was reading my brothers copies of "The world at war", I think that is what they were called anyway. I always loved war films and playing war, was sickened when I got too old and had to stop playing. Over the years I read many war books, everything from WW1 to Iraq, but my interests kept leaning towards the Eastern Front, the first book I read was "war of the rats" which led me to "Stalingrad", this book opened the floodgates and I have been obsessed with all things Eastern Front ever since. This really was total war, no holes barred, what the people in this conflict went through could never be comprehended by any of us, I believe we can only do them the service of keeping an open mind and not judging them by the things that happened in those years.

Lockstep

I have to say, operation Barbossa intersts me enormously.

Sundy

kickoutthejams wrote: »

I have to say, operation Barbossa intersts me enormously.

Me too. Have you read the book?

Cato

Spanish civil war, although it wasent technically WW2 it was "warm up" to it. it was a testing ground for modern tactics and equipment for the Italians and the Germans, it was also an ideological battlefield and the first fight against Nazism witch attracted many all over the world to opposing sides, Russians also sent equipment in the form of tanks and planes, more importantly though, im part spanish and i had relatives involved in it...

Lockstep

Sundy wrote: »

Me too. Have you read the book?

A specific book?

Tell me more.......

kerryman12

eastern front - total war. Always some what overlooked this side of the iron curtine due to the later cold war i guess. WW2 was won and lost here.

TerrorFirmer

Eastern Front, Italian theater interests me as well. Reason: The only theater generally in public awareness is the Western Front from 1944 onwards and it's fascinating to read about such an epic struggle....Western Front was almost meaningless in comparison, in all aspects.

Mushy

Operation Babarossa for me too. Always liked Russian history, so this is no different.

Dinter

Definitely the Mediterranean theatre is my favourite.

It had so many spectacular battles like the invasion of Cyprus, the defence of Monte Casino, the siege of Malta or the invasion at Anzio or Sicily to name a few. I realise the numbers were great yet this campaign always seems to be much more personal. They always struck me as solely won on tactics rather than the bludgeoning force that’s so familiar from the Eastern front or Blitzkrieg.

I think this is due to the fact they were not as well publicised as the more important events taking place in France or Russia. I’ll have to go with Stalin’s quote of “one death is a tragedy; a million is a statistic” to explain it. When you think of the vast numbers involved at Kursk or on D-Day, I find it harder to empathise with those participants then I do with a half dozen clapped out biplanes defending Malta from the wrath of the Italian Regia Aeronautica!

Dr Strange

I have to go with Poland (Danzig in particular), Crete, France (Brest, Brittany) and Eastern Front as well as Balkans because of family members involvements in these theatres.

ojewriej

Poland mostly - for obvious reasons (I'm Polish). But Europe in general.

From Polish theatre I'm particularly interested in the resistance movement - polish Home Army was unbelievably organised, they had weapon factories, court system, their own post, media (radio and press), schools and colleges even - everything underground. They started Warsaw Uprising - in my opinion one of the most tragic battles of II World War, our last attempt to prevent Soviets froming a government After the war they were proclaimed traitors by our puppet government and ruthlessly hunted by Soviets. Most of the officers were imprisoned or killed by NKVD. It's some story.

Mushy

Actually another part I love is the Battle of the Somme, especially the area around Paschendale. This arose from a particular Iron Maiden song.

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=c20-fm_WNew

Was even going to do my LC Special Topic on PAschendale alone, partly cos of the song, partly cos of the interest in the Battle as a whole. Really was something.

Kaiser_Sma

I suppose japans expansion into china and the rest of south east asia, the land based aspects of the pacific theatre and japans conflict with the russians and the commenwealth, possibly because i've heard the least about it. Even though i'm learning more, i still now a lot less about it then the european theatre.

helimachoptor

When I was in primary school I did a project on the Battle of El Alamein.
For my history special topic for the LC I did the July Plot. But I also really like the Pacific theatre andmost of my last few books have been about that.

Ghost Soldiers is a great read btw.

stevoman

id have to say stalingrad. I have often thought about being able to walk around that city, sort of like a ghost and take in the battle as it was happening.

ollaetta

For me it's Normandy, an interest that long predates Band of Brothers or Private Ryan.

Why? Years ago my place of work had a contract with a taxi company and we usually had the same guy, a man in his 60s called Paddy. On the 40th anniversary of D-Day in '84 he arrived into the office while we were discussing the war and happened to mention that the poor June weather we were having was similar to that on D-Day. It turned out that Paddy was a real live veteran who had landed at Asnelles (Gold Beach). He told us of how they had worked their way up the mined beach led by a Cavan man who had volunteered to go first.

Paddy retired a few years later and died shortly afterwards. For me, knowing him made the war and D-Day in particular very real and I've kept that interest up ever since.

ojewriej

ollaetta wrote: »

For me, knowing him made the war and D-Day in particular very real and I've kept that interest up ever since.

I know exactly what you mean. Reading about the war in the book can't compare to someone showing you his bullet wounds and telling the story behind them. This is why I got hooked, and I think this is why I'm interested in the war more on tactical than strategic level - it makes it so much more real. Citizen Soldiers by Ambrose is by far my favourite WWII book.

mossym

was in bastonge in one of the museums a couple of years back. old american guy there mentioned to me as i walked past that i was pretty young to be in a ww2 museum in the middle of nowhere, told him i was really interested in ww2, and turned out he was one of the first up utah beach. spoke to him for about an hour, really nice guy. made it all a lot more real

ollaetta

Your story from Bastogne reminded me that when I first visited Normandy in 1987 I went to the museum at Pegasus Bridge which was then housed in the same building as the famous Gondree cafe. There was a short video showing and there was just me, my wife and an English couple in their 60's watching it.

The man became quite emotional and had to leave. We met them outside afterwards and it turned out that he was the navigator on one of the gliders that had landed there 43 years before and that was his first visit back.

I have met many veterans in the intervening years and they still fill me with awe.

helimachoptor

Just as a side not on the veterans thing. About 5 years ago I met a US army Ranger who was in Mogadishu. He was the cousin of a guy I worked with.

He's been shot 3 or 4 times and showed the wounds. His retelling of what happened last for about 2 hours in a pub with him in tears and pretty much every lad in the pub (about 70) listening. Place was silent. If his recounting of his experience was amazing I would love to hear from a D-day veteran.

Sundy

kickoutthejams wrote: »

A specific book?

Tell me more.......

The book with the same title as the operation "Babarossa". A very interesting read, took me a while to get through it though

Hagar

*Bumped*

At OP's request. Thread may interest new posters.

Mahatma coat

South Pacific for me, I know a few guys who were there with the ANZAC's and I also met a few old guys in Bougainville who had fought the japanese as part of the resistance, one of them told me a great tale,

the Standard Japanese Rifle took 5 rounds in the clip, mosy japanese soldiers loaded five rounds in cocked it and off ya went,

The Bougainvillians realised that the rifle could be 'half cocked' and a sixth round could be inserted int the open breach, effectivley giving you six rounds over the Japanese 5,

so whenever the boys got a JKap rifle they would do this little trick,

cue advancing japanese soldier, up pops Bouganvillian and fires off 5 rounds in quick succession, Jap thinks 'I have him now he has to reload' fortunatley for the Bougainvillians it took over 2 years for word of this trick to filter back to the Japanese

that and I've been to Vanauatu and Guadalcanal, amazingly beautiful places. went to the place where JFK's PT Cruiser wnet down

Prefabsprouter

he Ostfront and especially the fall of the Eastern Provinces of the Reich. Fascinating stuff

Fratton Fred

For me its the Sea wars, particularly Narvik (My Grandfather was involved on one of the Destroyers).

I'm still fascinated by the navy, my one and only regret in life is not joining.

Lockstep

Belgium interests me.

I lived in the country for a while and the Ardennes stuff is extremely interesting.

tc20

for me it would be northern Europe, from Normandy through to crossing the Rhine. Like a lot of the folks here, i've always had an interest in WW2, but i also lived in germany for a couple of years in the early-mid 90s. I lived in Aachen, which is right on the borders of Holland and Belgium. What struck me first was the street scapes - you would see a row of houses which were original, and in the midst of them there would be a couple of houses obviously less than 50years old (at the time). i dont think Aachen suffered from much bombing, more of the damage was suffered from artillery.
I was working with an American telecoms company, and we were contracted with another US firm, and had German transport agents (Ziegler). One of the German lads would bring in a local newspaper and everyday there was a column "today in history" which would show a photo of the local area during WW2 and a short piece about it.
One of the engineers from the company we were working with was a lovely (and wonderfully batty) Welshman, who told me that he never got to meet his father - he was killed when the glider he was flying in crashed during the D-Day invasion. His mother was pregnant with him at the time.
Also, living so close to the borders, it was an area which saw quite a bit of action. Margraten US cemetery was close by, on the road to Maastricht, where around 9000 servicemen are buried. It was the first war cemetery i had been too, and its a very moving, poignant place.
Malmedy isn't too far away either, were the Germans massacred 90 or so captured US soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge.