It can't be our fault.

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toad
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Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2008 5:00 pm

It can't be our fault.

Post by toad »

I've been thinking about some things in that book "With the help of God and a few Marines" some more.
In it they talked about the arrogance of the Prussian officers, While they had snipers the marksmanship of the regular German soldiers weren't all that great and the regulars showed a hesitation to close fast and use the bayonet and go hand to hand. Some of the Prussian officers said they thought the Marines must be drunk, or savages. In the later part of the campaign (Chateau Thirrey IIRC) a German officer asked the Marines where were the machines that automatically fired 75 mm rounds. The Marines would move their 75 mm almost to the front line and hump the rounds out quickly. It seems that these German officers couldn't wrap their minds around the concept that they had made mistakes in their planning and training, so they would come up with bizarre reasons they were getting waxed by a small group of infantry.
Now we have the same mindset in Washington, "It's not our fault if things aren't working out, it is the fault of [insert scapegoat here].
It is never their fault. :evil:
TheArmsman
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Re: It can't be our fault.

Post by TheArmsman »

Which edition or author are you reading? Have not heard of that one, and would like to learn more.
When death is inevitable, style counts.

Survival trumps programming.
toad
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Re: It can't be our fault.

Post by toad »

https://www.amazon.com/Help-God-Few-Mar ... ew+marines

I tend to remove too many books from my kindle memory to soon and then have memory problems about what was in them. It currently cost a $ 0.99
and has a little too much bumbf in it but there are enough nuggets to make it worth while.

I liked the mention of the 36th Texas, they weren't particularly well trained in conventional warfare but they enjoyed hunting Germans and getting close to them.
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Windy Wilson
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Re: It can't be our fault.

Post by Windy Wilson »

toad wrote:"It's not our fault if things aren't working out, it is the fault of [insert scapegoat here].
It is never their fault. :evil:
What's Dem-speak for Kulaks, saboteurs, and enemies of the state?
The use of the word "but" usually indicates that everything preceding it in a sentence is a lie.
E.g.:
"I believe in Freedom of Speech, but". . .
"I support the Second Amendment, but". . .
--Randy
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Termite
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Re: It can't be our fault.

Post by Termite »

toad wrote:Now we have the same mindset in Washington, "It's not our fault if things aren't working out, it is the fault of [insert scapegoat here].
It is never their fault. :evil:
And thus we get Donald Trump.....
"Life is a bitch. Shit happens. Adapt, improvise, and overcome. Acknowledge it, and move on."
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Vonz90
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Re: It can't be our fault.

Post by Vonz90 »

I don't know anything about that book, but considering that the quote about "God and a few Marines" was giving credit to Marines for the actions of an Army machine gun company, I would take it with a grain of salt. There is a lot of hyperbole around about the Marines in WW1 especially. For instance, the "Devil Dogs" thing was made up completely and Teufelshunde isn't even a word used in German.

The Germans were basically done at this point and all of their spring 1918 offensive battles followed the same pattern with initial gains being unsustainable logistically. That part of the offensive was intended to draw the reserve away from the main attack anyway (which was against the British). The Marines fought well but big picture they lost 2k men plus four times that many wounded to hold / take ground that did not have a ton of significance.
toad
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Re: It can't be our fault.

Post by toad »

Actually the book does give specific kudos to that Army machine gun company. I'd really appreciate it if you would go troll some one else.
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Vonz90
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Re: It can't be our fault.

Post by Vonz90 »

toad wrote:Actually the book does give specific kudos to that Army machine gun company. I'd really appreciate it if you would go troll some one else.
Different points of view = trolling. Okay then.
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