How many years...?

[Leandros]

Why is the date today important.....?

[Contact]

Are you feeling ok ? :hmmm:

[FIREWALL]

Oh-Oh !!! :88):doh::yep:

[HunterICX]

Invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany.
70 years ago now.

HunterICX

[Raptor1]

Ah, I was about to make a thread on it, beat me to it! (And it didn't help much that Subsim was down for so long...)

[Contact]

So it happened..

[SteamWake]

On this date in:

1807Former Vice President Aaron Burr was found innocent of treason.

1905Alberta and Saskatchewan became the eighth and ninth provinces of Canada.

1923The Japanese cities of Tokyo and Yokohama were devastated by an earthquake that claimed some 150,000 lives.

1932New York City Mayor James "Gentleman Jimmy" Walker resigned following charges of graft and corruption in his administration.

1942A federal judge in Sacramento, Calif., upheld the wartime detention of Japanese-Americans as well as Japanese nationals.

1951The United States, Australia and New Zealand signed a mutual defense pact, the ANZUS treaty.

1969A coup in Libya brought Moammar Gadhafi to power.

1972American Bobby Fischer won the international chess crown in Reykjavik, Iceland, defeating Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union.

1981Albert Speer, a close associate of Adolf Hitler who ran the Nazi war machine, died at a London hospital at age 76.

1983A Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 was shot down by a Soviet jet fighter after the airliner entered Soviet airspace; 269 people were killed.

1998Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals hit his 56th and 57th home runs of the season, breaking the National League record set by Hack Wilson in 1930.

2004More than 1,100 people were taken hostage by heavily armed Chechen militants at a school in Beslan in southern Russia; more than 330 people, most of them children, were killed during the three-day ordeal.

2007Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, announced that he would resign in the wake of fallout over his guilty plea in a Minnesota airport gay sex sting. (Craig later reversed his decision, saying he would serve out the rest of his term.)

2008Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain's choice to be his running mate on the Republican ticket, revealed that her 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, was pregnant.

[Oberon]

http://www.achtungpanzer.com/articles/images/7tp_5.jpg

So it begins...

[Raptor1]

On this date in:

1807Former Vice President Aaron Burr was found innocent of treason.

1905Alberta and Saskatchewan became the eighth and ninth provinces of Canada.

1923The Japanese cities of Tokyo and Yokohama were devastated by an earthquake that claimed some 150,000 lives.

1932New York City Mayor James "Gentleman Jimmy" Walker resigned following charges of graft and corruption in his administration.

1942A federal judge in Sacramento, Calif., upheld the wartime detention of Japanese-Americans as well as Japanese nationals.

1951The United States, Australia and New Zealand signed a mutual defense pact, the ANZUS treaty.

1969A coup in Libya brought Moammar Gadhafi to power.

1972American Bobby Fischer won the international chess crown in Reykjavik, Iceland, defeating Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union.

1981Albert Speer, a close associate of Adolf Hitler who ran the Nazi war machine, died at a London hospital at age 76.

1983A Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 was shot down by a Soviet jet fighter after the airliner entered Soviet airspace; 269 people were killed.

1998Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals hit his 56th and 57th home runs of the season, breaking the National League record set by Hack Wilson in 1930.

2004More than 1,100 people were taken hostage by heavily armed Chechen militants at a school in Beslan in southern Russia; more than 330 people, most of them children, were killed during the three-day ordeal.

2007Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, announced that he would resign in the wake of fallout over his guilty plea in a Minnesota airport gay sex sting. (Craig later reversed his decision, saying he would serve out the rest of his term.)

2008Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain's choice to be his running mate on the Republican ticket, revealed that her 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, was pregnant.

Omitting the most important event, I see...

Oh, that 7TP is ugly

[Biggles]

And tomorrow it's....well alot of years since the war ended (September 2nd, 1945). 60 000 000 lives later...:nope:

[Raptor1]

And tomorrow it's....well alot of years since the war ended (September 2nd, 1945). 60 000 000 lives later...:nope:

Actually, the very last action of WWII, the Soviet occupation of the Kurils, ended today on September 1st. The Japanese surrender was announced on August 15th but Soviet troops in Manchuria continued to advance for quite some time after that.

[Oberon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReR3Xfbw7v0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnP-KlNVE2E&feature=related

Lets not forget that the Poles put up one hell of a fight, despite being outnumbered, outgunned, nowhere to retreat and thousands of miles from help. Those who went on to serve in the Battle of Britain were known for their courage, ferocity and determination, amply demonstrated in about seven days time at the Battle of Wizna.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wizna

(Song by Swedish power-metal group Sabaton about Wizna)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fq7jUua40s

[Task Force]

yep, Today WW1s big brother started up...:yep:

[Thomen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReR3Xfbw7v0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnP-KlNVE2E&feature=related

Lets not forget that the Poles put up one hell of a fight, despite being outnumbered, outgunned, nowhere to retreat and thousands of miles from help. Those who went on to serve in the Battle of Britain were known for their courage, ferocity and determination, amply demonstrated in about seven days time at the Battle of Wizna.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wizna

(Song by Swedish power-metal group Sabaton about Wizna)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fq7jUua40s

One of my grandfathers (the other served on uboats) took part in the Poland Campaign in an Engineers Regiment. He was quite impressed with the fight the Poles put up and spoke with the highest respect of the Polish soldiers and their bravery.

[Sailor Steve]

yep, Today WW1s big brother started up...:yep:
Hmm...

I would be more inclined to call it WW1's son, myself.

[Jimbuna]

Approximate numbers of civilian and military deaths:

WWI 37 million
WWII 56 million

I still couldn't imagine WWI being any less horrific though :o

[Knipper]

September 1, 1939 was a truly momentous day in the history of mankind. I think on this anniversary a tip o' the hat and a little silent reflection on those that died on all sides is in order, including the 28,000-odd German submariners, most of whom probably weren't Nazi's. Time to break out my World at War DVD's methinks....

Funny the server should go down today of all days, or was that deliberate?

[Raptor1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReR3Xfbw7v0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnP-KlNVE2E&feature=related

Lets not forget that the Poles put up one hell of a fight, despite being outnumbered, outgunned, nowhere to retreat and thousands of miles from help. Those who went on to serve in the Battle of Britain were known for their courage, ferocity and determination, amply demonstrated in about seven days time at the Battle of Wizna.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wizna

(Song by Swedish power-metal group Sabaton about Wizna)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fq7jUua40s

It wasn't just Wizna, the Poles demonstrated their fighting ability throughout the invasion. For example, at Westerplatte (At the very beginning of the invasion), the Poles held on for 7 days and inflicted many casualties on the Germans who outnumbered and outgunned them by far.

The general belief that Poland surrendered quickly and without a fight is a myth, the invasion of Poland lasted only slightly less than the Battle of France despite the fact that the western Allies were much better off in numbers, position and equipment (Which in many cases outclassed the Germans').

BTW, I think somebody vandalized the Battle of Wizna wiki article, the German tank losses are way overstated.

[Knipper]

'S right Raptor. What those folk did was legendary. They flew with the RAF in the Battle of Britain, fought at Arnhem (when the Brits could be bothered to supply planes to drop them in) as well as Monte Casino and of course, let's not forget the Warsaw uprising. Even now, the Poles and the Brits have a very 'special' relationship, at least all the ones I know think we have. Which is kind of surprising really when you think of all the times we Brits let them down.

[Platapus]

I wonder how many Americans knew this? For many Americans, WWII started 7 Dec 41. :nope:

Never could forgive those Germans from bombing Pearl Harbour. :stare:

[Oberon]

Aye, I didn't mean just Wizna, but the campaign as a whole, I mean, the tenecity of the Poles and their spirit. Well, I'm glad they were on our side :up:

[Knipper]

I wonder how many Americans knew this? For many Americans, WWII started 7 Dec 41. :nope:

Never could forgive those Germans from bombing Pearl Harbour. :stare:

HAH! :haha: Only today the Polish president told Vlad Putin something along the lines of that each nation was entitled to it's own version of history. I don't think this is quite what he had in mind though. :rotfl:

However, for the Brits it was 3rd September 1939, but for the Poles, it was 1st.

[bookworm_020]

HAH! :haha: Only today the Polish president told Vlad Putin something along the lines of that each nation was entitled to it's own version of history. I don't think this is quite what he had in mind though.

A bit of a love / hate relationship there!:oops:

[Task Force]

I wonder how many Americans knew this? For many Americans, WWII started 7 Dec 41. :nope:

Never could forgive those Germans from bombing Pearl Harbour. :stare:

I DID!!!:yep:

[August]

I wonder how many Americans knew this? For many Americans, WWII started 7 Dec 41. :nope:

Never could forgive those Germans from bombing Pearl Harbour. :stare:

Thank God George Washington knew what to do or we'd all be speaking Confederate today...

[Torplexed]

I wonder how many Americans knew this? For many Americans, WWII started 7 Dec 41. :nope:

Never could forgive those Germans from bombing Pearl Harbour. :stare:

"....Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?"
"Don't stop him...he's on a roll." ;)


http://www.humorgazette.com/images/bluto.jpg

[Melonfish]

dec 7 41 america comes charging into the war blowing their bugle in the traditional Cav charge.
uk asks: "Where the F**k have you been?"

actually wasn't it dec 9th hitler declared war on america? alot of people don't realise that germany declared on america.
much like the japanese were trying to time the decloration to the actual attack but they got held up in translation and had to bring it After the attack.

sep 3rd today, chaimberlain tells hitler we can't stand by and watch him annihilate europe and we declare on germany along with france.

[Oberon]

No such undertaking has been received :salute:

[Biggles]

actually wasn't it dec 9th hitler declared war on america?

Actually, it was the 11th, but it is indeed true that Germany declared war on the United States. This is, btw, the only time the Third Reich formally declared a war on another nation. In all the other cases, they used the element of surprise, or was attacked themselves.

[Sailor Steve]

actually wasn't it dec 9th hitler declared war on america? alot of people don't realise that germany declared on america.
December 11th, my dad's 13th birthday. (Already mentioned by Biggles, but I had to toot my old man's horn)

[August]

December 11th, my dad's 13th birthday. (Already mentioned by Biggles, but I had to toot my old man's horn)

Yep that's my birthday as well (1959)

[Biggles]

I beat you to it then, my birthday is the 10th! (In 1990 but still...)

[TLAM Strike]

Actually, the very last action of WWII, the Soviet occupation of the Kurils, ended today on September 1st. The Japanese surrender was announced on August 15th but Soviet troops in Manchuria continued to advance for quite some time after that.

Some consider Operation Vistula (April 1947) and the subsiquent guerrilla fighting the last action of WWII.

http://www.polandinexile.com/vistula.html

Also September 18, 1931 could be considered the real start of WWII when a couple of renigade Japanese Colonels invaded China.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukden_Incident