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Post by Wing on Nov 3, 2006 6:54:03 GMT -5
Normandy? *legasp*
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Post by Qualerei on Nov 3, 2006 8:00:52 GMT -5
What about Normandy ? It's a perfectly normal, boring, ugly place, lol. Was all destroyed during the war, and the guys who rebuild it didn't do such a great job.
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Post by Desert Stallion on Nov 3, 2006 8:10:35 GMT -5
That's really too bad about Normandy. I wish they kept all the historical places historical, but I guess that's an unpractical approach. Call it a historian's approach.
Rommel's personal life... Let's see, he was a violinist, mechanic, skier,photographer, eh, what else?
Oh, I read in several different books that when he was young he attempted to build an airplane with a friend. The books differ on whether or not they got off the ground. Even though he didn't have a flier's liscense, evidently he flew himself around Africa at times. That reminds me of a few close calls he had. I'd better go post them in that forum.
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Post by Qualerei on Nov 3, 2006 9:08:48 GMT -5
Yeah, I think he was fired upon by Italian divisions at a time, 'cause they had never seen a plane like his and thought he was an ennemy, lol. From what I read, he was fascinated by planes when he was young, and even wanted to study to become an engineer, but his father convinced him otherwise...
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Post by Wing on Nov 3, 2006 15:54:46 GMT -5
I heard that it was a glider he built...I have a picture of it somewhere...and yeah, I heard about his plane too, a Fiesler Storch, 'twas. Actually, I saw a model Storch (w/ bonus action figure of Rommel--seriously!) at my local model store when I was last there to buy some paints for a model Stuka. My favourite story involving him flying around in that little Storch of his was when he dropped notes on divisions that weren't moving fast enough. This one half-track division stopped for no apparent reason in the middle of the desert, and he dropped a note saying "Don't make me come down there..."
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Post by Qualerei on Nov 3, 2006 16:20:28 GMT -5
You're jokin', aren't you ? I mean... seriously ! Droping notes ? *tries to picture it and dies with laughter* "don't make me come down here"... oh my god... last time I laughed that much was when Klink said Himmler's the perfect aryan type...
You build models too ?
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Post by Wing on Nov 3, 2006 17:11:54 GMT -5
'Course I do: models rock! But I lost my Stuka bombing sight...*tears* It's so tiny. Yeah, dropping notes...sounds like fun.
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Post by Desert Stallion on Nov 3, 2006 19:06:38 GMT -5
Poor thing. Those bombing sights can be slippery, or so I'm told. I tried to do models for a while, but then I ran out of time to do them.
His first time in Africa, he went up in his plane to look over the terrain. A sandstorm was coming and one pilot told him it was too dangerous, but Rommel didn't believe him. He took off, almost managed to kill himself, and landed again, claiming it was rather difficult to see the enemy positions. Nice try to save face, but he did tell the pilot that the pilot was right.
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Post by Qualerei on Nov 3, 2006 20:58:51 GMT -5
Lol, great one ! And just like him. The man was fortunate to have enough luck to make up for his recklessness... (and here goes another drawing idea, only that one would rather be a short comic strip). First pic with Rommel taking off, to the pilot's dismay, second pic with his plane in the storm, third pic with him coming back and trying to save face. And maybe a bonus one with Monty as a witness, asking Patton if he thinks Rommel's got a flying license... lol. By the way, where did you find this anecdote ?
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Post by Desert Stallion on Nov 3, 2006 21:55:43 GMT -5
I believe I found it in the book by Desmond Young, a British soldier who fought in Africa and was captured by the Africa Korp. His biography on Rommel is one of my personal favorites. It's the book on which the movie, The Desert Fox, is based.
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Post by Qualerei on Nov 3, 2006 22:32:33 GMT -5
Oh, yes, this guy. I wondered where I heard the name, and then I remembered I saw him at the beginning of the movie. Ah, and still another book to read. The Desert Fox sure is expensive. Why isn't there a library dedicated to him so I can borrow these ?
By the way, I was thinking of something ; how do you pronounce his name ? In France, the most common pronunciation would be "Erouinn Rommél", and the "e" of Rommel is pronounced just like in "bet". I'd say the Germans would pronounce it "Errvin Rommél", although I'm not sure. What of the US ?
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Post by Desert Stallion on Nov 4, 2006 8:42:38 GMT -5
Let's see. Erwin is pronounced like Er (as in fur) win (as in win or thin), and Rommel is like "Rom" (as in "bomb") "mel" (as either "full" or "tell"; I've heard it both ways.) Does that help?
Yes, the Desert Fox is an expensive fella to keep up with. Thankfully my library has two or three of the books I use.
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Post by Qualerei on Nov 4, 2006 10:25:02 GMT -5
*rueful sigh* My library doesn't seem to care about people who like to read in english, so I don't have that option. Maybe if I go visit my brother in England... but that's a big if. Or in Australia - I'm going there this summer.
Ah, I see how it's pronounced (I just realized after writing that it's kinda weird to "see" a pronunciation). Wonder how people from other countries pronounce it...
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Post by Desert Stallion on Nov 5, 2006 9:09:34 GMT -5
There's a really neat story about Rommel and his son Manfred from David Irving's book, but I've got to copy it off by hand, so it'll take a minute...
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Post by Qualerei on Nov 5, 2006 9:51:53 GMT -5
Hey, great ! Even though it's Irving telling it, it should be accurate (since Hitler probably isn't mentioned). Speaking of Irving, I think I read somewhere he's going to be in jail because of the stuff he wrote. That being said, I also have to admit that he writes pretty well, I read something he wrote about Goebbels' diary, and it was pretty hilarious.
"everybody lies in his diary. Okay, lie might be a little harsh. Everybody is a hero in his own diary."
"It always amuses me the way people write in their diaries certain euphemisms for relations with the opposite sex. I won't describe to you which words I use in my diary, but -- okay, I will. I might write, "Lucy came 'round, and was amiable." It seems pretty harmless, but it's code. This becomes obvious if you slip up and write, "Lucy came round and was amiable twice."
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