stevep
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Post by stevep on Jun 20, 2020 15:18:15 GMT
Interesting thanks. It does sound very much like Pakistani forces were leading the attack, if not possibly making up much of the numbers. Especially if as said this was a major step change in how organised and equipped the attackers were. A bit disappointed that people like bin Laden were mentioned as leaders of the resistance. From what I've read while he made visits and provided funds - the advantage of a very rich father - he kept well away from any fighting and was most noticeable for trying to get the guerillas to murder the westerners who were helping them. There were plenty of other, more significant leaders, most noticeably Ahmad_Shah_Massoud, the Lion of the Panjshir Valley, who rejected the reactionaries of the Taliban and fought them until they successfully managed to murder him. I'm also rather intrigued given the scale and organisation of the attack that the relief force, mainly rear area support staff with little fighting experience and heavily laden with supplies were able to reach the besieged troops without themselves getting massacred as it sounds like they were pretty much defenceless as they approached. That does sound odd unless the Afghans had called off the attack and were withdrawing before they arrived.
Many thanks. That differs in a number of ways from the Sabaton video, for instance: a) It suggests that the Soviet forces had the time and ability to construct trenches and lay minefields around the position.
b) That the Soviets lost both their radio operator and radio in the 1st attack. If so how were they able to call in artillery support and send the request for aid that prompted the vital reinforcements with new munitions.
c) That there were western as well as Pakistani experts aiding the Mujahideen. Which may have been the case but is a difference, Also a rather vague mention of "a whole bunch of mercenaries who had more “selfish interests” - possibly implying Pakistani regular forces?? This comment is a quote from "military historian and veteran of the war in Afghanistan, Victor Dobroselsky".
d) That the Mujahideen left their dead scattered around the battleground while the Sabaton video said they removed all the dead and wounded.
Probably both sources are right in some cases and wrong in others. Shows how difficult it is to tell anything about even a relatively modern conflict with any accuracy.  Thanks again for the additional link.
Steve
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jun 25, 2020 13:32:27 GMT
Ghost Division – Rommel's 7th Panzer Division – Sabaton History 073
In the night of 17 May 1940, confusing reports were reaching French High Command. They spoke of what was thought impossible: The German Army had broken through the Maginot Line in the north. Scattered and panicked soldiers spoke of a "Division Fantôme" - a Ghost Division! It was Generalmajor Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer Division that was wreaking havoc in the French rear. In an unauthorized push, Rommel had seized the opportunity to rush the French fortress garrisons by a surprise armor attack straight from the move. Now in open space and with the night sky illuminated by burning French tanks and trucks, it was crucial for the Ghost Division to exploit its tactical victory. Alone and cut off like an island in a sea of enemies, this was easier said than done.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 2, 2020 13:44:21 GMT
Nuclear Attack – Atomic Bombings – Sabaton History 074
At 0815 on 6 August 1945, the first atomic bomb, nicknamed "Little Boy", was dropped out of the B-29 "Enola Gay" and descended towards the Japanese city of Hiroshima. 43 seconds later, the city was engulfed in a flashing bright light and a shockwave of unimaginable heat and deadly pressure. From the hypocenter of the resulting mushroom-cloud, a blue-green fireball burned and blinded the city and its inhabitants with unprecedented power. 140.000 people were killed in the first few moments. Tens of thousands would die from wounds and radiation. The age of atomic warfare had begun.
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Jul 2, 2020 15:18:35 GMT
Nuclear Attack – Atomic Bombings – Sabaton History 074At 0815 on 6 August 1945, the first atomic bomb, nicknamed "Little Boy", was dropped out of the B-29 "Enola Gay" and descended towards the Japanese city of Hiroshima. 43 seconds later, the city was engulfed in a flashing bright light and a shockwave of unimaginable heat and deadly pressure. From the hypocenter of the resulting mushroom-cloud, a blue-green fireball burned and blinded the city and its inhabitants with unprecedented power. 140.000 people were killed in the first few moments. Tens of thousands would die from wounds and radiation. The age of atomic warfare had begun.
There are a couple of inaccuracies in the report but covers the main details. Interesting that Leo Szilard predicted a nuclear arms race, although I wonder if he considered the alternative US approach might have been to make sure that the USSR [and possibly no one else either] couldn't develop nuclear weapons. Which would have led to a very dark world! 
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 9, 2020 13:31:14 GMT
Primo Victoria – The D-Day Landings – Sabaton History 075
On D-Day, 6th June 1944, Operation Overlord began. The Western Allies unleashed their gigantic amphibious landing on the coast of Normandy. Preluded by a nightly airborne attack and supported by a massive armada of bombers and fleet artillery, their landing-crafts reached the fortified beaches. Against a hail of machine-gun bullets, the Allied soldiers stormed the beaches and overran the German bunkers and trenches. A new front was opened and the battle for France began.
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Post by eurowatch on Jul 16, 2020 13:35:40 GMT
Uprising – The 1944 Warsaw Uprising – Sabaton History 076
August 1944. After nearly 5 years of suffering and oppression at the hands of the Nazis, the Polish resistance in Warsaw was ready to rise up against the German occupation. With the Red Army approaching towards the Vistula from the east, the insurgents planned to take over much of the Polish capital and hold it until help from their Allies arrived. In the early morning hours of August 1, groups of armed young men broke the curfew and stormed official buildings and German warehouses. But as insurgents fought for their lives and future, the outside world however, remained eerily quiet to their pleas for help.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 24, 2020 13:43:02 GMT
The Ballad of Bull Pt.2 – Combat Medics – Sabaton History 077
Sometimes war is killing, sometimes war is saving lives.
In the first episode we have seen Leslie "Bull" Allen become a hero, not through the death of his enemies, but by saving his comrades' lives. And there were others like him. Soldiers and medics, whose first duty it was to preserve lives during war, even when it meant endangering their own safety. Here are three short stories of men and women, who served as medics at the front line of the Second World War, and became heroes to their country.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Jul 30, 2020 13:32:37 GMT
Coat Of Arms – The Greco-Italian War – Sabaton History 078
Morning of October 28th, 1940.
The Italian ambassador to Greece had entered the house of Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas. An unacceptable ultimatum in hand, he demanded subjugation under Italian rule. Refusal would mean war. An ardent Ochi! was the answer. No, the Greek would not bow to fascist demands, but instead fight for the defense of their country and their honor. What followed were months of bitter fighting in the harsh environment of Epirus and the Macedonian mountains.
The Greco-Italian War.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Aug 6, 2020 13:35:45 GMT
40:1 Pt. 2 – Another Polish Last Stand – Sabaton History 079
At the end of September 1939, Poland was burning. Trapped in an ever shrinking corridor between the Wehrmacht and the Red Army, the last remaining Polish forces were still holding out. Isolated, short of ammunition and supplies, and without hope for relief. The last Polish Army, the SGO Polesie, was making its way towards the Vistula, as it was cut off by German motorcycle troops. Determined to sell their lives dearly, the SGO Polesie dug in and prepared for a last stand.
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Post by eurowatch on Aug 13, 2020 13:33:42 GMT
The End of the War to End All Wars – The Great War – Sabaton History 080
November 11, 1918. The end of the Great War. A war that was also dubbed "the war to end all wars". And many truly wished that the war's countless horrors, which had caused the terrible deaths of millions of soldiers and civilians, and had left so many of its survivors crippled and scarred for the rest of their lives, would never repeat themselves. But could this truly be the war that ended the need for war? Was there a solution that promised everlasting peace? Could war even be outlawed? Or was mankind doomed to repeat itself?
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Aug 20, 2020 13:31:21 GMT
Uprising Pt. 2 – The Liberation of Paris 1944 – Sabaton History 081
Mid-August 1944. The battle for France enters its decisive phase. With the Allied spearheads just 100 km away from Paris, the Résistance prepares for its long-awaited uprising. While collaborators and fascist officials flee the city in panic, many insurgents are eager to immediately rise up against the occupation and fight the Germans in the streets. But there is need for caution. The Germans are still there in force, and they have tanks and machine guns. The fear that this might turn into "another Warsaw" if the Allies don't show up in time is very real.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Aug 27, 2020 13:37:07 GMT
Killing Ground - The Battle of Fraustadt - Sabaton History 082
Poland, February 1706. Near the small town of Fraustadt the taste of battle fills the air. General Rehnskiöld of the Swedish Empire readies his 10,000 soldiers.
Their enemy? The numerically superior Saxon army of General Schulenburg, numbering 20,000.
At stake? The fate of thrones and empires.
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Post by eurowatch on Sept 3, 2020 13:34:57 GMT
The Final Solution - The Holocaust – Sabaton History 083
Since Adolf Hitler's rise to power, the Jews of Germany had suffered years of harsh anti-Jewish policies, harassment and public humiliation. The Nazis wanted the Jews to never feel safe or welcome again. With the Third Reich's expansion and the start of the Second World War, more and more European Jews fell victim to persecution, ghettoisation and violence.
It was hard to imagine that the crimes against them could get any worse. But by December 1941, the Nazis began preparing for a "Final Solution of the Jewish question".
It aimed at nothing less than the extermination of all Jewish life in Europe.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Sept 10, 2020 13:33:38 GMT
Carolus Rex - Charles XII of Sweden - Sabaton History 084
In 1697, just 15 years old - Charles XII ascended to the Swedish throne. By the grace of God, he was anointed King - Carolus Rex. Charles would not ask for obedience, nor would he make any concessions to his rule. His authority was divine and his judgment law. Determined to rule the Swedish Empire with absolute power, Charles set out to restore the might and glory of the kingdom.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Sept 17, 2020 13:33:06 GMT
The Last Battle – The Strangest Fight of WWII – Sabaton History 085
On the 5th of May 1945, the Second World War in Europe is literally in its final days. As the German lines and Nazi state collapse into free fall, some Nazi hardliners remain fighting until the very moment surrender is announced. At Castle Itter, the lines are blurred as US and German soldiers fight side by side in a medieval castle, home to some of the highest profile prisoners of the war.
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Thanks again for the additional link.
