Heroic Actions On The Battlefield

reply to post by Hellmutt


Not quite true - Thomas Durrant was recommended for a VC by Kapitänleutnant F.K. Paul, the captain of the ship Durrant was firing on when he was killed. This happened in the aftermath of the St. Nazaire Raid.

The Charge of the Light Brigade.
Music: Iron Maiden - The Trooper (not complete)

Wiki

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyed and thundered;
Stormed at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

This is simply the most heroic thing I have ever seen. This is the SAS doing their thing. I watched this live.



Words cannot describe what those guys did that day.

reply to post by mad scientist



This is precisly why it pains me when I see new agencies and people on forums bash these men for this operation. They say that the Spetsnaz ignored hostage safety and things like that, while they litteraly were running out of the building with kids in their arms while getting ginned in the back.

All Spetsnaz are senior ranks. The Spetsnaz are proffesionals at what they do, and I can put my money down on the fact that they were training for the assault for the few days while "negotiations" were being held. Alpha is more of a field unit, while Vimpel was designed for operations in foreign countries and such. Either way both are experts in storming buildings. You see, no matter how you twist it, in such a situation you can't have a flawless or even a "good" outcome. The building is an old soviet school, the gym is packed with hundreds of hostages, and some of the bandits are standing on bombs - even if one accidentaly takes his foot off the bomb blows up. Then you have sentries all around the building. The way the situation was handled was as good as it could have been.

Keep in mind the assault was spontanuos. Explosions were heard from inside the building, and the Spetsnaz decided they couldn't wait any longer. They were simply going into the building and escorting/carrying out as many people as they could. The Beslan mothers who got their kids back thanked them, and those who lost their kids that day never blamed them, while in many parts of the world they were labled failures and blamed for a bad opperation. Heck I don't even call this an opperation - this was saving lives.

Regards,
Maestro

I've seen a documentary with a reconstruction of The Charge of the Light Brigade. It turns out that the Light Brigade never had direct fire from more than one direction at the time. First "canons from the left", then "canons from the right", etc. And the canons couldn't have fired more than 200 shots during the time it took to ride from A to B. In fact, they didn't all die. The Light Brigade didn't die. They say perhaps 200 of the 600 died. And the rest of them were quietly disbanded after the event. They invented the myth about the Light Brigade. A propaganda stunt.

Look at Operation Red Wing Afghanistan 2001.

4 Navy SEALs sent to eliminate a Al Quedia LT.

Were comprimised by two old sherpards and a boy, The SEALs decided not to kill the shepards, but they should have. The Shepards turned their location to Al Queda, while Evac they were spotted going down a mountain trail.

over 250+ Al Queda Fighters with higher ground advantage against 4 SEALs.

Battle ensued, One SEAL made it alive with 2 bullet wounds and hit with An RPG.
those 3 other SEALs died, one won the Medal of Honor for his actions a Ltjg.

The SEALs killed over 160 of the al Queda Force.

The most heroic action I've read about that was undertaken in battle was done by two SFOD-D sniper operatives.

Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart and Master Sergeant Gary Gordon volunteered to set up a perimeter around Super Six-Four and protect the 160th crew members(the ones that were still alive) until the convoy could arrive.

Both were killed in action defending the crash site.

Shattered OUT...

reply to post by Otts


As well as the ports of Hastings, etc., Lord admiral Jean devienne of france also joined up with the scots and raided northern england from scotland. He was one of my ancestors.

before you become a hero you have to DIE, so with that being said anybody who has died in battle for his/her country is a hero

Oberst (Colonel) Birger Kristian Eriksen



Birger Kristian Eriksen

He was the commander of Oscarsborg Fortress when Nazi Germany attacked Norway in the early hours of 9 April 1940. He gained lasting recognition for ordering the fortress under his command to open fire on the vanguard forces of Operation Weserübung and sinking the 14,000 ton heavy cruiser Blücher.

he had in fact opened fire against the German invaders contrary to standing Norwegian military orders to first fire warning shots at intruders.

German cruiser Blücher - Wikipedia

At 04.21 hours, (Norwegian time) the fortress' guns opened fire on the Blücher. The three German-made Krupp 280 mm (11 in) guns (only two were manned due to a lack of trained gunners) of the fortress, installed in 1893 (aptly named Moses, Aaron and Josva), were obsolete, so the defenders held fire until the warships were at point-blank range (most sources state that fire was opened at a range of 1,600 to 1,800 metres (about 1 mile). The first 28 cm shell hit the Blücher right in front of the aft mast,[4] and created an inferno of flames and smoke in the midship area up to the fore mast.[5]

Obsolete German-made canons from 1893. I believe Moses fired the first shot.



Blücher sinking

At 7.22 hours, the Blücher capsized and sank. Of the 2,202 crew and troops on board[9], some 830 died (at least 320 of them crewmen).

The delay caused to the landings in Oslo allowed the Norwegian royal family, parliament and cabinet to escape. Norway's gold reserves were also moved out of reach of the invaders and ultimately shipped abroad for Norway's use during the war.

Because of this incident, the Norwegian King was able to flee (and continue the battle from London).

[edit on 2008/11/28 by Hellmutt]

I think that the charge of the 1st Newfoundland Regiment at Beaumont-Hamel during the Battle of the Somme was pretty heroic. The Regiment charged through a hole in the No-Man's-Land barbed wire, resulting in the deaths of roughly 600 soldiers. There were also many wounded, with only 69 men out of 801 in fighting condition the next day. The memorial in the shape of a carbou still stands at Beaumont-Hamel today.

[edit on 28-11-2008 by ShadeWolf]

Originally posted by ShatteredSkies
The most heroic action I've read about that was undertaken in battle was done by two SFOD-D sniper operatives.

Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart and Master Sergeant Gary Gordon volunteered to set up a perimeter around Super Six-Four and protect the 160th crew members(the ones that were still alive) until the convoy could arrive.

Both were killed in action defending the crash site.

Shattered OUT...

This is about the battle in Mogadishu right?
I remember the movie Black Hawk Down lol, actually I was looking for someone to name that one.

reply to post by -0mega-


Yes, this was Operation Gothic Serpent in the Bakara Market.

The two Delta operators actually comprised a team of three, but one of the operators had suffered an injury prior to the launch of the operation and that chalk left without the third operator.

How they would have faired with a third operator, is anyone's guess, but I think it would have only post-poned the inevitable.

Heroes, every last one of them.

Shattered OUT...

Eiliv Austlid

The War Cross has finally been given to Eiliv Austlid. He saved the Norwegian government in a suicide attack against the Germans during WWII. The government was only a few hundred meters away, when Eiliv Austlid's company attacked the germans. He died in the attack, but the government was able to flee because of him. Unfortunately, a powerful minister (and the first Secretary-General of the UN!), Trygve Lie, lied about the event. After Eiliv Austlid saved the government, Trygve Lie's lies prevented him from getting the recognition he deserved, instead making him look like a failure who made a stupid mistake. But the lies have now been exposed.


Eiliv kan få Krigskorset for å ha reddet regjeringen i 1940 (in norwegian)

Google translated - norwegian -> english


The history books will now be corrected...

Shame on Trygve Lie and those who tried to cover up the truth!

The reason Trygve Lie lied, was to cover up that he was in fact the one that was responsible for them ending up in that situation in the first place. Trygve Lie ordered the Norwegian soldiers to move forward asap without taking the time sending scouts ahead. They knew that the German paratroopers were there somewhere, and moving ahead without sending scouts was "suicidal" and a terrible mistake. It was a terrible decision that was made by Trygve Lie, and not Eiliv Austlid. Orders are orders, and must be obeyed...

reply to post by ShadowXIX


While I can appreciate your thoughts on Thermopylae and the consideration of Leonidas, your facts are incorrect.



I have studied Greek and Roman history in their entirety all of my life as well as war history, war strategy, and the politics of war.

There were 300 Spartan's, 7000 other assorted Greeks, plus approximately 4000 Helot's present.

The reason the Helot's, who were slaves, were not counted, was both because they were slaves, who were armed, as well as being slaves they were deemed as sub-human, so did not count and were not included because of their low social status.

Thermopylae, to me was the greatest battle ever, and Leonidas the greatest warrior ever.

Yep, I may be biased, especially being told I was Leonidas in a past life.

Leonidas, stood against the corruption of the politicians who played games with his men and were bought by emmisaries of Xerses, in the month of August, the ritual or festival of Carnea was observed.

The reason only 300 Spartan's were remembered at the Battle of Thermopylae is that Leonidas sent the other Greeks away because he wanted to show the Greek nations that Spartan's were the only true warriors, receiving all the glory of having battled to the bitter end with Xerses forces, in essence, he was a gloryhound, but only in the aspect of his ego matching his might as a true warrior-King.

The Greek's were always bitter rivals between each nation and were always susceptible to betrayal from within, which is why the saying of "beware of Greeks bearing gifts" is so appropriate, especially since the Trojan Horse is what led to the downfall of Troy the Greek's having learned their lesson of betrayal from within.

In actuality, what most people do not know, is that Leonidas set a trap for Xerses at Thermopylae, knowing full well of the goat path that the Persian "Immortals" used to get behind their defenses at the wall. King Leonidas, knowing full well of the betrayal of fellow Greeks, counted on this, knowing they would get sick of real battle because for two days the King made the Persian pay dearly for their attempt at passing through the Hot Gates, and after the second day, Leonidas sent the other Greek's away, belittling them as messengers to tell the other nations of Greece of their glorious battle. He used this to his full advantage at Thermopylae, setting up the pass as a great chokepoint to bottle up the Persian's who were numbered approximately at 200,000, with assorted supply bearers and various other people who brought their number well above 1 million.

What most do now know or realize is that the Persian's were cowards, they had to be driven to battle with whips and threat of torture, while the Spartan's approached battle and death willingly.

Before anyone asks me, I thought the movie "300" sucked, it was not historically accurate enough for my liking, but then again it is Hollywood and we all know they get paid to lie as a profession.

Go tell the Spartans, thou who passest by,
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie.

This saying is appropriate because Leonidas in essence told the politician's who were betraying Sparta and all of Greece with their complicit, tacit, and implicit betrayal of his beloved nation that he and his Spartan's were the only true followers of the law because to betray ones nation was a sin against Sparta and all they stood for which was to protect that which was theirs.

The Greeks always fought amongst themselves, but when it came to battling another outside force they would come together, this time however Xerses has learned the lessons of his father Darius and had approached the correct politician's within all of Greece by sending emmisaries, spy's, and gold aplenty to buy them or their cooperation.

Leonidas knew his dieing at Thermopylae would unite all of Greece as a wake up call because of the prophecy at the Oracle of Delphi of the death of a King.

Hear your fate, O dwellers in Sparta of the wide spaces;
Either your famed, great town must be sacked by Perseus' sons,
Or, if that be not, the whole land of Lacedaemon
Shall mourn the death of a king of the house of Heracles,
For not the strength of lions or of bulls shall hold him,
Strength against strength; for he has the power of Zeus,
And will not be checked till one of these two he has consumed.

This was in essence, Leonidas seeking out how to use the system against itself, and bypass the bogus orders where he was told to stand down by the corrupt politician's.

What most do not know as well, is that the Oracle of Delphi, is a nexus point where travelers flocked and the Oracle would pay the slaves of their master's for information and the "prophecies" were in actuality the religious taboos mixed with actual intelligence collected from the travelers coming to pay their respects to the Oracle.

Today's modern equivalent to the Oracle of Delphi is the C.I.A.


[edit on 22-8-2009 by SpartanKingLeonidas]

The Saint Patrick's Battalion.

was a unit of several hundred immigrants and expatriates of European descent that fought as part of the Mexican Army against the United States in the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848. Many of the battalion's members deserted or defected from the U.S. Army. Primarily made up of Irish and German immigrants, the battalion also included Canadians, English, French, Italians, Poles, Scots, Spaniards, native Mexicans and Swiss, mainly Roman Catholics.[1] Disfranchised Americans were also in the ranks, including African Americans who had been slaves in the American South.[2] Coming from many different national and ethnic backgrounds, all members of the battalion were granted Mexican citizenship upon entering Mexican service — none of the members, except for the few Americans, had ever been U.S. citizens.

Wikipedia



A part of history that I have failed to find in both American and Mexican history books. People should know.

[edit on 8/23/2009 by 3vilscript]

[edit on 8/23/2009 by 3vilscript]

[edit on 8/23/2009 by 3vilscript]

[edit on 8/23/2009 by 3vilscript]

reply to post by Hellmutt


He finally received the war cross today!



Austlid døde som helt (in Norwegian)


Austlid died as a hero (Google translated)

24-3-2010


Defense Harald Sunde presented the medal to Austlid children Bjørnar Austlid, Gunnhild Oppi Gard Austlid and Hallvard Austlid during a ceremony at Akershus fortress today

[---]

The government decided in Council 2 October assigning War Cross with sword postmortem captain Eiliv Austlid. The medal ranks ahead of all other Norwegian orders and medals

Originally posted by bravo40
before you become a hero you have to DIE, so with that being said anybody who has died in battle for his/her country is a hero

My one grandfather fought on Vimy Ridge as a Canadian..He survived

My other grandfather was a U-boat commander..He didn't survive

They are both heroes in my book..they fought for their respected countries and did so with honour, and I'm proud to be related to them both..

Here's an unusual one. At the time of the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940, a company of Royal Netherlands Marines was being prepared to be sent overseas to the Dutch East Indies (ex. modern Indonesia) and were instead diverted to defend one of the bridges over the Maas River leading into Rotterdam. German paratroopers landed inside the city so it was crucial that the panzers and infantry link up with them. The 100 or so marines held off an entire panzer division and it's accompanying panzergrenadiers (what we would called mechanized infantry) for 2 days and surrendered only when the Germans threatened to carpet bomb the city. The German division commander expected that he was up against an entire regiment instead of a mere company and the Germans were stunned into admiration. From then on the Germans referred to the Royal Netherlands Marines as the Zwarte Duivels or the Black Devils due to their black uniforms.