Just got home. I would highly recommend it. VERY graphic in places, a little bit of a "John Wayne" ending, but a very good reminder of what made "The Greatest Generation" the greatest generation. Pretty sure I'd have cracked. Glad I haven't had to find out so far.
As always, a reminder to thank all who served.
Have not, but heard great things, like you say. Apparently VERY authentic in its presentation (someone did their homework thankfully).
The tank is a Sherman Firefly I believe. Up gunned Sherman. All gun, no armor (compared to the German tanks). The life (sometimes short) of a Sherman crewman had to be pretty extreme.
I remember reading something on a guy who worked re-fitting Shermans. He got them after they had been "punctured" (not "ronsoned", but the over pressured, scattered shrapnel type apparently). They hosed and scrubbed out the interior, patched the holes, and sent them back out. Sounded pretty horrific, would make a terribly depressing movie...
There are several Sherman types in the movie in addition to the Firefly, I'm pretty sure I saw 76mm long barrel and 75mm short barrel versions. Also, a good number of half-tracks and armored scout cars. I thought they did a really good job of portraying the "submarine-like" atmosphere inside a tank. Can't imagine what it would be like going into a battle knowing pretty much everything the Germans had, from Tigers to AT guns to Panzerschreks could punch a glowing hole in the armor. Add to that the tendency to burn when hit, those guys had some stones.
definitely on the must see list
My Dad had a Fury III.
I was really wanting to see it but our little theater didn't get it 
The one across the mountain did but with the kid and all I couldn't justify being away for that much extra time.
It's on my list.
Not yet but I will. One cool thing is that this movie is the first time a real German Tiger tank was used in a movie. Very scary and very cool at the same time.
By the way, only the Brits used the Firefly, our upguned tanks had a different, not quite as good 76mm gun.
I plan to see it. I have a copy of this book, Death Traps The Survival of an American Armored Division in World War II, by Belton Y Cooper. Mr Cooper's unit would recover and repair or cannibalize tanks. One part that sticks in my mind is the repair of partial penetration of the hull by a solid steel armor piercing round, they would grind the portion of the shell that protruded level with the hull plate. A coat of paint finished the repair.
Ah! That's the "story" I mentioned (probably not entirely accurately) above! Interesting, I will have to take a look at it (I suspect it can be a bit harsh at times).
Hell on Wheels!
Although not a tanker, I served in the Second Armored Division in the 80's. Got to wear the patch over the left breast pocket, unlike other most other units.
Fun Facts (Well, as fun as facts got in 2AD):
The first commander of 2AD was George S. Patton.
The 2AD song requires a siren, in honor of the one Patton had on his tank.
The first combat 2AD saw was against the French in Morocco.
Patton wasn't the only celebrity associated with 2AD:
I've got this one queued up: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270114/
Of course, I'll have to wait until Dr.Linda is out of town. She didn't make it through this one: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2347134 which I thought was pretty good. I didn't like the ending as much as the original, though.
aircooled wrote: Have not, but heard great things, like you say. Apparently VERY authentic in its presentation (someone did their homework thankfully). The tank is a Sherman Firefly I believe. Up gunned Sherman. All gun, no armor (compared to the German tanks). The life (sometimes short) of a Sherman crewman had to be pretty extreme. I remember reading something on a guy who worked re-fitting Shermans. He got them after they had been "punctured" (not "ronsoned", but the over pressured, scattered shrapnel type apparently). They hosed and scrubbed out the interior, patched the holes, and sent them back out. Sounded pretty horrific, would make a terribly depressing movie...
M4A3E8 is its designation. If the tank exists in the storyline prior to extreme late 1944, someone goofed on the accuracy part.
In reply to yamaha:
Don't forget that they up-gunned as many as they could in the field as well....They realized (almost too late) that the Sherman wasn't up to the task for tank on tank. In Africa they used their numbers to overwhelm the Germans, much like the Russians planned to do with NATO if push ever came to shove.
speaking of.... what the hell were our military leaders thinking? Did they not remember their history? Sheer numbers can easily overcome better engineering and the Russians were doing just that. IIRC from some of the old ICA mags I had back in the 80's the US Military expected a 30:1 ratio of tanks/armor/manpower if the Soviets ever stormed West. I don't care how good our military is, that is almost unsurmountable IMO.
In reply to yamaha:
Storyline is set in Germany. Don't recall any dates or locations given (they may have been, I just don't recall them), but given the fact that its set inside of Germany, fair weather and some of the opponents are Hitler Youth, I assume its well into 1945.
Want to see it for sure. With two small kids under 2, getting to the movies is a serious event. We did get to see "Gone Girl" last weekend. Thought that was pretty entertaining.
kazoospec wrote: In reply to yamaha: Storyline is set in Germany. Don't recall any dates or locations given (they may have been, I just don't recall them), but given the fact that its set inside of Germany, fair weather and some of the opponents are Hitler Youth, I assume its well into 1945.
"I started this war killing Germans in Africa, and here I am killing Germans in Germany". It's set in mid-late April 1945.
For point of reference: Hitler killed himself on April 30th and the German forces in Berlin surrendered on May 2nd. May 4th, most of the rest of Germany surrendered.
So it looks like it's a the VERY end of the war. Of course, surrender does not mean everyone stops fighting. That has to be an interesting time.
Bobzilla wrote: In reply to yamaha: Don't forget that they up-gunned as many as they could in the field as well....They realized (almost too late) that the Sherman wasn't up to the task for tank on tank. In Africa they used their numbers to overwhelm the Germans, much like the Russians planned to do with NATO if push ever came to shove. speaking of.... what the hell were our military leaders thinking? Did they not remember their history? Sheer numbers can easily overcome better engineering and the Russians were doing just that. IIRC from some of the old ICA mags I had back in the 80's the US Military expected a 30:1 ratio of tanks/armor/manpower if the Soviets ever stormed West. I don't care how good our military is, that is almost unsurmountable IMO.
Back in the mid 80's I was deployed to Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). I was in a transportation unit that ferried the field units to and from the main forward training area at Grafenwoehr, in what was then known as the "Fulda Gap" where it was thought the Warsaw Pact forces were most likely to make their assault. The units stationed in and around West Germany were basically sacrificial, and designed to slow down the onslaught just long enough for US and NATO reinforcement ground troops to fly in and gear up at the POMCUS sites scattered around the country. Combat life expectancy for units varied based on one's proximity to the "Fulda Gap" and the Czech and East German borders. If you were near Grafenwoehr (or "Graf" as we called it) you could expect to be overrun within minutes. Berlin was basically toast, and it was widely expected that our tactical missile batteries would use battlefield nukes if necessary to protect NATO headquarters, which is one of the reasons we were always alerted to Anti-Nuclear weapons demonstrations by the locals and routinely advised where not to go in-country when off-duty. We also did a lot of escape and evasion and NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical) training as well because, well we were basically cannon fodder. While a lot of units have stood down since the fall of the USSR, i'm pretty sure some (or a lot) of that battle plan is still in place, and you can bet Putin is aware of it as well. Sorry about the Ninja edits, close to 30 years makes the brain foggy..
Bobzilla wrote:kazoospec wrote: In reply to yamaha: Storyline is set in Germany. Don't recall any dates or locations given (they may have been, I just don't recall them), but given the fact that its set inside of Germany, fair weather and some of the opponents are Hitler Youth, I assume its well into 1945."I started this war killing Germans in Africa, and here I am killing Germans in Germany". It's set in mid-late April 1945.
Then the timeline is accurate, that isn't just an upgunned sherman, it is a continuation of them that included the 76mm, a better turret, more armor, and wider tracks/much improved suspension.
Bobzilla wrote: In reply to yamaha: Don't forget that they up-gunned as many as they could in the field as well....They realized (almost too late) that the Sherman wasn't up to the task for tank on tank. In Africa they used their numbers to overwhelm the Germans, much like the Russians planned to do with NATO if push ever came to shove.
The sherman really didn't have any competition in North Africa as there were only a few tigers there, no panthers, and the smaller German panzers lacked guns with enough power to destroy a sherman. This is why the Germans used ambush tactics with their 88mm flack guns. You want a funny one, look into the churchill series British tanks. Armor even a tiger would be jealous of.
I always thought it was funny that my Dad was in the 2nd AD in Germany, as a Chaplin, and had to sport the "Hell on Wheels" patch.
Did some reading last night on the Tiger, which lead to more reading on German super heavy tanks and rail guns.
Is there any video of the German railway guns?
In reply to PHeller:
Anzio Annie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P34MwQ5RfM
Another U.S. made WW2 movie where they make it seem like we came in, kicked some ass and defeated the Germans? More truthful is that the Russians defeated the Germans and we sat out of it as long as we could then came in late and did some mopping up. It would be interesting to learn more about WW2 history from the Russian POV. That being said, I like me some Sherman tanks, but since I barely ever get out to a movie, I'll probably see it when it becomes free with Amazon Prime.
06HHR wrote: If you were near Grafenwoehr (or "Graf" as we called it) you could expect to be overrun within minutes.
Seems about right...
Really looking forward to seeing the movie. When I was a little kid, the guy that lived next door was a Tanker. His Sherman was hit in the Battle of the Bulge. While the rewards was escaping the tank, it was hit again. Apparently, the second hit blew my neighbor about twenty yards from the tank.
I can't imagine what those guys went through.
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