Saturday, March 9, 2019

Tank Duel in Cologne

(Source)
In March of 1945, U.S. forces were pressing forward to the Rhine. During their advance they captured the ancient German city of Cologne, Köln auf Deutsch -
Cologne was founded and established in Ubii territory in the 1st century AD as the Roman Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, the first word of which is the origin of its name. An alternative Latin name of the settlement is Augusta Ubiorum, after the Ubii. "Cologne", the French version of the city's name, has become standard in English as well. The city functioned as the capital of the Roman province of Germania Inferior and as the headquarters of the Roman military in the region until occupied by the Franks in 462. During the Middle Ages it flourished on one of the most important major trade routes between east and west in Europe. Cologne was one of the leading members of the Hanseatic League and one of the largest cities north of the Alps in medieval and Renaissance times. Prior to World War II the city had undergone several occupations by the French and also by the British (1918–1926). Cologne was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany during World War II, with the Royal Air Force (RAF) dropping 34,711 long tons (35,268 tonnes) of bombs on the city. The bombing reduced the population by 95%, mainly due to evacuation, and destroyed almost the entire city. With the intention of restoring as many historic buildings as possible, the successful postwar rebuilding has resulted in a very mixed and unique cityscape. (Source)
While I didn't live far from Cologne when I was stationed in Germany, I never really visited the city. We drove through it on the way to Bonn once for a fußball tournament (what some of you would call soccer, or football, auf Englisch) and we saw the cathedral from a distance, I never did think to go there and see the scene of what was a rather famous tank battle, one caught on film by U.S. Army combat photographers.

Pershing versus Panther...



I have read a couple of accounts of this battle, some say the entire Panther crew died, some say they survived. As luck would have it, while searching for a decent version of the film which doesn't reek of politics of a certain type that we crushed in 1945, I found the clip from the History Channel above (back when they showed actual history). The interview with the commander of the Pershing was interesting indeed, I need to track that episode down.

What's more, during that search I found the following clip -



If you have Amazon Prime (which I do) you can watch the whole documentary, in four parts! (Watch that preceding video on YouTube, the link to the Amazon series is under the video.)

Guess what I'll be doing this weekend?

Yup, no time to blog right now. I'm still reading Peter Caddick-Adams' book Snow & Steel as well. It's fascinating reading, a nice new look at the Battle of the Bulge. I also need to get a copy of one of the author's other books Sand & Steel, a look at D-Day and the liberation of France. Mr. Caddick-Adams is an excellent writer, I highly recommend his books. (Which I note are many, I'm going to be a busy lad when I retire!)

Anyhoo, gotta run, that series isn't going to watch itself!



20 comments:

  1. I think I read somewhere that there was only one dead crewman in the Panther, but I admit I could be wrong.

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    1. You might be right, I'll know more after watching that series. I hope!

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  2. Hoo boy......that's a lot of reading since the Bulge book is over nine hundred pages... his D-Day tome is over a thousand........time to put one of 'em in the cart.......thanks Sarge.

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    1. And it is a well-written, gripping book. You know what's coming but the anticipation as he covers the run up to the battle is intense!

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  3. I've seen that duel a couple times. Re-reinforced my lack of desire to be in one. ugh....

    Found a neat tube of you vid a couple days ago about how we managed material needs in the Korean war. It was fascinating, after I got past the politician. Amazing information.... I had no idea.

    The Big Picture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0Eu6nSpLq8&t=1512s And there were tanks!!!!

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    1. Dang, that was an excellent video. I watched the whole thing before commenting. I never knew of Operation Rollup, so once upon a time we were recycling without the progs urging us on. Excellent stuff.

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    2. Yeah, I've watched it a few times since he posted it. I am still amazed at what they did.

      Do you know about W. E. Deming? That guy didn't make much of a ripple here until later, but he made WAVES in Japan. Part of the reason they were the power house they were (and in some areas, still are) in manufacturing.

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    3. As I watched that film, my thought was that with the destruction of Japanese industry during the war, they would have had to start fresh. That and the need to refurbish all of that equipment for Korea probably is what boosted Japanese industry to be the power house they are in industry now. I mean, I drive a Japanese car, The Missus Herself drives a Japanese car, they are reliable. Didn't know of Deming until that film. Pretty amazing.

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    4. Deming was a real brain. We learned about him in college. Our econ prof was a Bird Col. in the Air Follies. Every class, "not to brag, but I make more than 99.2% of all American citizens." He was a turd, but I found out about Deming. He almost single-handedly is responsible for their manufacturing prowess during the 60s-80s....

      Mitutuyo precision tools are TOP quality. Japan makes some great stuff to this day. I almost got to visit there in the mid-90's. I wish I could've made that trip. Konichiwa, OAFS-san.

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  4. I have what the lady at 3:00 has. One of the things my Dad brought home.

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  5. this is tank equivalent of OK Corral, the most storied, researched and famed tank duel of ww2
    here have another one made for History/Discovery back when they have been dealing weith real hsitory and not relaity shows and aliens
    https://youtu.be/mCNz7OC8YIs

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    1. Ah yes, Michael Wittman. Thanks for the link, Paweł!

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  6. I'm not gonna say that we are brothers from a different mother, but I just happen to be reading SPEARHEAD by Adam Makos https://smile.amazon.com/Spearhead-American-Gunner-Enemy-Collision/dp/0804176728/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E1M4MO17TIH6&keywords=spearhead+makos&qid=1552140127&s=gateway&sprefix=Spearhead%2Caps%2C214&sr=8-1. If you liked Makos' previous book, A HIGHER CALL, the story of an incredible action between a B-17 and a German ace, you will love SPEARHEAD.

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    1. I have a copy of A Higher Call, excellent tale. Looks like I need to get a copy of Spearhead, kind of wild that when I opened that link, didn't even have to read anything, I recognized the Pershing's gunner right off the bat.

      Thanks for the tip Dave!

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  7. Cologne brings back a memory. My Anglia (English Ford) developed an oil leak. The local German Ford dealer refused to sell me an identical gasket saying, "Das ist für einen deutschen Ford. Nicht für einen englischen Ford". Sitting in a gasthaus with a view of the cathedral, fabricated a gasket out of a beer coaster that fixed the problem. Beautiful city.

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    1. It is a lovely place, wish I could've spent more time there.

      But Germany has many lovely spots, couldn't see all of 'em. So I focused on what I could.

      (I went through the whole American Volkswagen versus German Volkswagen thing as well, my Dutch mechanic thought the Germans a bit too regimented in their thinking. But, well, they are Germans aren't they?)

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  8. I had forgotten the name of the old Roman province--"Germania Inferior".
    No wonder the Germans have been so historically bellicose. Tribal/national inferiority complex!
    --Tennessee Budd

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