Virtual Battlefield Tours - Google Street View Links

Started by ArizonaTank, February 13, 2015, 12:42:59 PM

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Jack Nastyface

Now, the problem is, how to divide five Afghans from three mules and have two Englishmen left over.

ArizonaTank

Quote from: Jack Nastyface on February 27, 2015, 01:17:25 AM
Pegasus Bridge, over the Orne River Canal:  http://goo.gl/maps/BVNdF

Very cool!  Complete with German AA gun.   I don't know why, but I always thought the canal was wider. 

I couldn't find a good battle map online, but from one I see it looked like the gliders landed on the west side to the north?  But the map was not really clear.  But if correct, taking a gander from D514, looks very flat out there.  No wonder they decided to go with gliders.
Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.

ArizonaTank

#17
Buchholz Station, Buchholz Belgium, Battle of the Bulge, December 16, 1944

Buchholz station was the scene of an intense firefight that started with the Americans getting caught off guard while eating breakfast, but ended in the Germans being held off.  The link below, is to the main road.  I am not certain, but there is a rail line just north of the road, so I assume that was where the station was.  In fact, if you switch to satellite view of the area, you can see what appears to be the outline of old foundations of a rail station, just north of this link.  Buchholz Station was even a scenario in the original AH Squad Leader game (no. 7 I believe).

https://www.google.com/maps/place/4760+Losheimergraben,+Belgium/@50.372996,6.318591,3a,75y,105.52h,83.73t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sctz2FAxMAZkM47fKKUcJXw!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x47bf84d60010488b:0xbbef7d9b4f034490

This is an excerpt describing the fighting at Buchholz station, from page 84 of Hugh Cole's excellent official history of the battle.  Available here:  http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/7-8/7-8_5.htm#p77

About 0745 L Company, at the Buchholz station, had taken advantage of the lull in the shelling and was just lining up for breakfast when figures were seen approaching through the fog, marching along the track in a column of two's. First thought to be friendly troops, the Germans were almost at the station before recognition brought on a fusillade of American bullets. The enemy scattered for the boxcars outside the station or sought shelter in ditches along the right of way and a close-quarters fire fight began. A 3-inch tank destroyer systematically worked over the cars, while the American mortar crews raked the area beside the track. A few Germans reached the roundhouse near the station, but Sgt. Savino Travalini, leader of the antitank platoon, went forward with a bazooka, fired in enough rounds to flush the fusiliers, then cut them down with his rifle as they broke into the open. (Sergeant Travalini was awarded a battlefield commission as second lieutenant.) K Company, ordered up to reinforce the outnumbered defenders at the station, arrived in time to take a hand in the affray. By noon the Germans had been repelled, leaving behind about seventy-five dead; L Company had suffered twenty-five or thirty casualties.

Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.

ArizonaTank

Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.

ArizonaTank

Ortelsburg, Battle of Tannenberg, August 29, 1914, East Prussia (now Szczytno, Poland)

The Battle Tannenberg, the greatest German victory of WWI, was a huge sprawling affair.  The end of fighting, saw a major portion of the Russian Second Army surrounded by the Germans.  There were a few attempts by the Russians to cut through the encirclement from the outside.  One of these attempts saw the Russians attempting to push southwest, through the East Prussian (now Polish) town of Ortelsburg (now Szczytno).
 
The below excerpt from Prit Buttar's "Collision of Empires: The War on the Eastern Front in 1914" describes the fighting.

Russian forces outside the encirclement made two attempts to reach their comrades. On 29 August the Russian 4th Cavalry Division, which together with Blagoveschensky's VI Corps had been tasked with protecting the eastern flank of Second Army, probed into Ortelsburg, held at that time by only a small force of German cavalry. Generalmajor Hennig, commander of 35th Infantry Division , personally drove in search of reinforcements, coming under fire from Russian troops to the north of the town. By the time he encountered half a dozen companies of 176th Infantry Regiment hurrying down the road from the north, news of the fighting in Ortelsburg had already reached the marching column. A spearhead had already been dispatched, passing Hennig on a parallel road north of Ortelsburg. The expression 'marching' is used here in its loosest sense; the footsore soldiers walked along in groups rather than ranks, and had abandoned many of their packs and other items during their long journey, but they still had their rifles. Hennig hurried back to Ortelsburg at the head of the column. Ahead of him the spearhead from 176th Infantry Regiment, mounted on a mixture of horse -drawn wagons and bicycles, rushed a small Russian defensive position north of Ortelsburg and entered the town at 7 p.m. The remaining Russian cavalry put up no significant resistance and withdrew to the southeast. Hennig and the rest of the troops from 176th Infantry Regiment appeared two hours later. 82 During the evening Blagoveschensky gathered together something approaching a division of infantry and attempted to recapture Ortelsburg. Early the following morning two squadrons of the 10th Jäger cavalry regiment, sent north by Schmettau, arrived as welcome reinforcements for the Germans in the town. The first probing attacks began shortly after dawn, and rapidly developed into heavy fighting. Despite having no artillery or machine guns, the troops of 176th Infantry Regiment, who had enjoyed only a single day of rest in the previous eleven and had been marching almost continuously the rest of the time, held on grimly. Pressure was particularly strong from the northeast, eventually driving the defenders from a seminary on the edge of the town. As the Russians attempted to penetrate further, infantrymen occupying the church tower near the market square stopped them, until artillery made the position untenable.


This link is showing the church and town center, where much of fighting occurred. 
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.563313,20.994714,3a,75y,207.71h,92.76t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s9rA3B6sb34zHiaiNrC0IlA!2e0

The town was pretty much destroyed in the fighting.  This is a link to an old postcard, showing the destruction.  http://www.deutsche-schutzgebiete.de/webpages/Ortelsburg_Rastenburger_Strasse_.jpg

Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.

ArizonaTank

Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.

ArizonaTank

Prokhorovka, Battle of Kursk, Russia, July 12, 1943

The crescendo of the Battle of Kursk, has to be the tank fight at Prokhorovka.  The largest tank battle in history started when two Russian Tank Corps, attacked the German II SS Panzer Corps.  Approximately 250, German tanks and assault guns, and 500 Russian tanks were engaged in hellish combat in a relatively small area.  Tiger tank ace Michael Wittman, whose Tiger was rammed by a T-34 during the fight, made his name here.

This view is looking northwest, toward the crest of Hill 252.2, defended by the Germans.  The monument to battle can be seen.
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.014105,36.667883,3a,75y,39.42h,75.97t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sf6rApx87VEOYdJH4XnLWNw!2e0

On top of Hill 252.2, looking across the German lines.  The Russians would have been coming from Prokhorovka to the left.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Prokhorovka,+Belgorod+Oblast,+Russia,+309000/@51.021362,36.667963,3a,75y,103.11h,90.95t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sh5XRD7-n4YcXfDfYr-Mwbg!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x4125fb03129ed2cb:0x422810fbf0f64856

The Russians would have been coming from up this road.  Looks like a small museum to the left.
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.018411,36.675281,3a,75y,35.74h,69.81t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sZ_Eept6K_VlRy6ITd2oeNQ!2e0
Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.

ArizonaTank

#22
Vionville, Lorraine, France, Battle of Mars-La-Tour, August 16, 1870

This is the critical battle of the Franco-Prussian War, that doomed Napoleon III's Second Empire, and created Otto Von Bismarck's 2nd Reich.  The Prussians launched an audacious attack against superior French forces.  Through superior Prussian coordination and slow, clumsy French reactions, the Prussians achieved a surprise victory.  The battle also saw the last great, successful cavalry charge in Europe.  This was von Bedow's Prussian cavalry's famous "Deathride". 

This view is south of Vionville, along the path of the "Deathride", looking towards French lines.  As you can, see great cavalry country. 
https://www.google.com/maps/@49.093872,5.9533356,3a,60y,174.79h,83.57t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1soT2zKCBm0QiVkTFpAEl0OA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

A great virtual tour of the battlefield is also at:
http://johnsmilitaryhistory.com/Mars-la-Tour.html

Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.

ArizonaTank

#23
Battle of Tsushima, May 27 - 28, 1905, Tsushima Straits, Sea of Japan

Admiral Togo's flagship the Mikasa, sits in Yokosuka, Japan.  Togo achieved a stunning victory against an equal Russian force.  The Mikasa was set into concrete in the early 60s, so does not have trouble staying afloat, like other old ships.
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.284998,139.67412,3a,90y,88.1h,101.65t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1slhxexX8jqrIIvawbZkpXsQ!2e0!3e2

Google even lets you walk the decks
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.285548,139.674437,3a,75y,109.09h,83.8t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1sdACSWu2EYiQAAAAGOw22xw!2e0!3e11

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mikasa+Park/@35.284948,139.674582,3a,75y,184.26h,78.08t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1sdxA6kqOwAogAAAAGOwxHGw!2e0!3e11!4m2!3m1!1s0x6018400b8f29b8ad:0x53ec1e307c8cfd37

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mikasa+Park/@35.284774,139.674217,3a,75y,39.25h,83.05t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1szXMkwzXGYS9v1YV2809aIg!2e0!3e2!4m2!3m1!1s0x6018400b8f29b8ad:0x53ec1e307c8cfd37

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.284892,139.674214,3a,75y,92.56h,76.23t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1sHZ2GiPm2HINveoXOrHFAig!2e0!3e2

and here is another Tsushima survivor, the Protected Cruiser Aurora, docked in St. Petersburg.  But Google street view doesn't have any good views of the ship.  Like the USS Constitution, Aurora is still a commissioned ship, manned by active duty sailors.  One source says the ship went into overhaul in September 2014 for two years.  So these photos must have been taken just before the ship was moved.
https://www.google.com/maps/@59.955254,30.3426478,3a,15y,274.07h,90.88t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1swsTrtUQkbYFDIWUSCWoj8w!2e0!5s20120701T000000!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

https://www.google.com/maps/@59.955516,30.336746,3a,75y,93.62h,90.03t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1siPH0HuQxdZcPHzbGrLfTYQ!2e0

Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.

ArizonaTank

#24
Battle of the Boyne, Drybridge, County Meath, Ireland, July 1690

The last time two crowned kings of England met each other on the battlefield, was actually not in Britain, but in Ireland.  Catholic James II and Protestant William III, fought with mostly non-English armies.  Despite James' strong defensive position, William won a crushing victory, by outmaneuvering the Catholic forces.  The Battle of the Boyne finished any Catholic hopes of taking back the English throne.

James had taken up a strong defensive position, at a hook in the Boyne River at Drybridge.  William took up camp across the river.  Early on the morning of the battle, William marched about a third of his forces south to cross further upstream, and turn James' flank.  James, detected the movement, but thought the force was much larger, so he sent about 2/3 of his force south to meet William's flanking force.  Now that James force at Oldbridge was weakened, William's main attack, came directly across the river.  Oldbridge estate is the approximate center of much of the fighting.

Much of the battle was fought here, Oldbridge Estate. 
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Donore,+Co.+Meath,+Ireland/@53.723267,-6.42314,3a,75y,323.74h,92.89t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1sYI-OomLgmLhireVtAWjg3Q!2e0!3e5!4m2!3m1!1s0x486738f75ef7f26f:0xa00c7a99731fff0

Main crossing from Williams side
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Donore,+Co.+Meath,+Ireland/@53.725342,-6.425076,3a,75y,168.79h,80.3t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1siSl_CYMdRDdQLGM6k-XicQ!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x486738f75ef7f26f:0xa00c7a99731fff0

The only saving grace for James that day, was that his crack French and Irish cavalry, had not gone south with the main body.  The cavalry attack Williams forces from these hills, creating havoc among the Protestant forces.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Donore,+Co.+Meath,+Ireland/@53.715169,-6.410213,3a,75y,335.8h,69.55t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sUZeVPLURYelwB3hX3GF8HQ!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x486738f75ef7f26f:0xa00c7a99731fff0

While the main battle raged at Oldbridge, the flanking forces were stopped by a rough marshy area with tangled underbrush, and could not engage each other.

In the end, James forces at Oldbridge could not hold and they retreated.  The climax of the battle was up this hill (Donore Hill), where James' forces made their last stand at a churchyard.
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.704673,-6.407956,3a,75y,57.6h,81.63t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1swTiMftKcQK4Is2r1ZdfBtg!2e0

Some interesting videos and information about the battle thanks to the BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/events/battle_of_the_boyne#default
Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.

ArizonaTank

#25
oops double post
Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.

ArizonaTank

#26
Santa Maria Infante, Italy, Allied Rome Offensive, May, 11 -14 1944

In May of 1944, the Allies began a major offensive to push towards Rome.  Part of this effort, was the US 351st Infantry Regiment's attack on Santa Maria Infante.  The regiment's objective was 1900 meters up a narrow road that ran along a ridge.  Defending the ridge, with pillboxes, barbed wire, mine fields, artillery, mortars and assault guns, was the 94th Fusilier Recon Bn, of the German 71st Infantry Division.  The German defenders fought tenaciously, and it took the 351st, 3 days of hard fighting in difficult terrain to get to Santa Maria Infante. 

This fight is recorded in great detail, in the official US Army history volume, Small Unit Actions (the narrative is only from the US side however)
http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/smallunit/smallunit-smi.htm

This is the Google street view, of the approximate position of the German forces (the "spur" in the text), looking south towards to oncoming 351st.  This battle is somewhat unique, in that its main focus was along this ridge road and you can pretty much follow the axis of the US advance with Google.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.283599,13.740327,3a,75y,192.46h,70t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1seWeYbZx8uWfA5PMAkZ0Dbg!2e0

This is the starting point of the US attack.  The cemetery mentioned in the text is to the left.  The camera is facing north, towards the German defenses.  Follow this road until you get to Santa Maria Infante, and you will see that in three days of hard fighting, the Americans did not get far.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.273694,13.738814,3a,75y,337.06h,75.08t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sMMGMcsiaEj_Sz5jNAMYyiw!2e0
Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.

ArizonaTank

#27
Battle of Cameron, Camaron De Tejeda, Veracruz, Mexico, April 30, 1863

Every April 30th, French Foreign Legionaries everywhere, stop to remember the Battle of Camaron.   The battle was a "last stand" by 65 French Foreign legionnaires fighting up to 2,000 Mexican Army troops.

The French army invaded Mexico in 1861, over what was claimed to be issues of free trade. 

As part of French siege of Puebla in 1863, a company of the French Foreign Legion was dispatched to strengthen the guard of a supply convoy.  Along the route, the 3rd Company, 1st Battalion, was surrounded by Jaurista forces.  The French took up defensive positions in the Hacienda Camaron.  The Mexican's offered surrender three times during the day.  But the  legionnaires made an oath on the wooden hand of their commander, Captain Danjou, that they would fight to the death.  After nearly 10 hours of combat, the last five legionnaires, charged with bayonets, only three were subdued and captured. 
   
When these last three legionaries were brought before the Mexican commander,  Col Milan, he reportedly said:  "Is this all of them?  Is this all the men who are left?  These are not men, these are demons." 

Today, Captain Danjou's wooden hand is a revered object for the French Foreign Legion.

This is the Mexican monument to the battle.  According to James Ryan's book, "Camerone, the French Foreign Legion's Greatest Battle,"  it is about 30 meters from the location of the Hacienda were most of the fighting occurred. 
https://www.google.com/maps/@19.0230767,-96.6131568,3a,75y,170.9h,80.26t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1spPDeeXZF6A-bxMsO20eQ6A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

This large monument is just north of the village, and holds the ashes of the dead from the battle.  It was erected in the 60s by the French Government.
https://www.google.com/maps/@19.026595,-96.614089,3a,47.4y,79.78h,86.93t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sOQvvmM57IfG8j_5Fs79vSQ!2e0
Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.

ArizonaTank

#28
The Battle for Skyline Ridge, Okinawa, Japan, April 19, 1945

The Battle for Okinawa lasted from early April through mid-June 1945.  It was a bitterly fought campaign, with some of the highest casualty counts during the entire Pacific War. 

On April 19th, the US 184th Infantry and 32nd Infantry, part of the US 7th Division, pushed south along the eastern shore, and ran into fierce opposition from the Japanese 11th Independent Infantry Battalion defending "Skyline Ridge."   

K, L and I companies of the 32nd Infantry, attacked this part of the ridge.  This view is looking out from the ridge towards the positions of the advancing Americans.
https://www.google.com/maps/@26.231029,127.7589475,3a,75y,74.99h,77.59t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1srKx53cXO9YrFgfdnjjZI6g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!5m1!1e4?entry=ttu

Skyline Ridge was finally taken after 3 days of hard fighting.  Details of the fighting can be found 
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-Okinawa/USA-P-Okinawa-9.html

The below, describes the fighting on this portion of Skyline Ridge

Down below along the coastal flat Company I, 32d Infantry, 7th Division, went through Ouki and, following tanks and armored flame throwers, moved against the lower tip of Skyline Ridge, while Company L maneuvered into position on the right (west) for a frontal attack against the ridge. One platoon of Company I assaulted the nose of the ridge after the flame tanks backed away, found that all Japanese at this point had been killed, and occupied the forward face of the tip at 0710. Mortar fire covered the crest and prevented further gain. By this time the leading platoon of Company L, under 1st Lt. Lawrence T. O'Brien, had climbed up the slope of Skyline to the right (west) and started west along the side of the ridge. One hundred yards ahead a northward jog in the ridge and a dip in the crest allowed the enemy on the reverse slope to fire eastward through the dip to the forward face of Skyline. Machine-gun fire, directed against O'Brien's platoon, now came through the depression, and O'Brien and his men dashed to an abandoned pillbox on the crest. This brought the platoon within grenade range of Japanese on the other side, and the men were forced to scatter. Knee mortar shells began to fall, plummeting almost straight down. Watching the sky, the men could see the descent of the small black objects in time to dash from the calculated point of impact.

To the right of O'Brien's men another platoon of Company L started up the slope and came into the line of fire of a machine gun that kept silent until the men were exposed. With its first burst the gun wounded nine men, almost half the platoon, which fell back disorganized to the base of the ridge. Meanwhile the third platoon of Company L, which had taken refuge from mortar fire in burial tombs near the lower tip of the ridge, was trapped inside by a Japanese machine gun that put a band of fire across the entrances of the tombs when anyone tried to get out. In the Ouki coastal area combat patrols of Company B protected the regiment's left flank, encountering several strong points and killing numerous enemy soldiers. 
 
Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.

ArizonaTank

#29
Battle of Towton, War of Roses, North Yorkshire, England, March 29, 1461

During England's War of the Roses, civil war, the two houses of the Plantagenet line fought a long battle between the villages of Towton and Saxton.  Edward Duke of York became Edward IV, after soundly defeating the Lancastrian Henry IV.   

Towton was possibly the largest, and bloodiest battle ever fought in England (the exception may be Boudicca's defeat to the Romans at the Battle of Watling Street).  Likely 50,000 men met on these gently rolling fields.  The weather during the battle was atrocious, with strong winds and driving snow.  An initial round of arrow volleys from the Yorkists could not be effectively countered, as the Lancastrians were blinded firing into the driving snow, and the strong winds made their arrows fall short.  This forced the Lancastrians to close for melee.  After many hours of beating on each other, with breaks for the sides to rest and clear away some of the dead, the battle could have gone either way.  In late afternoon, the Earl of Norfolk arrived, with several thousand fresh men to reinforce the Yorkists.  This tipped the battle and the Lancastrians broke and fled.  Henry IV was forced to flee England.

This view is looking parallel to the two opposing lines.  The Lancastrians were in the north (on the left), facing the Yorkists to the south.   
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.839573,-1.275628,3a,75y,134.21h,74.64t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sKyOM0bd866Bu45istCv4cw!2e0

Behind this bush and barely visible, is the Towton Cross.  A small monument erected in 1929, said to be made of materials from a never completed chapel that Richard III was erecting in honor of the Yorkist victory (but never completed because of his death at Bosworth)
https://www.google.com/maps/@53.841797,-1.274667,3a,75y,278.85h,66.58t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sVzaalSWExwQZbpbZkiGVgA!2e0

a much better image of the Towton Cross
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Towton,+Tadcaster,+North+Yorkshire+LS24,+UK/@53.841754,-1.274843,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m5!1e2!3m3!1s21151309!2e1!3e10!4m2!3m1!1s0x4879476b1179395f:0x9bf2c249fa53e17f

For the boardgamers out there, Towton is one of the subjects of GMT's excellent "Blood and Roses".
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/132019/blood-roses
Johannes "Honus" Wagner
"The Flying Dutchman"
Shortstop: Pittsburgh Pirates 1900-1917
Rated as the 2nd most valuable player of all time by Bill James.