This was posted from a discussion w/ a German WWII veteran about the allied forces he faced.
http://www.quora.com/What-did-the-German-soldiers-of-WWII-think-of-British-US-Canadian-and-Soviet-soldiers
Quote[/I have had the benefit of having a frank, open, and long conversation with a survivor of the 276th Volksgrenadier Division. During this conversation, I asked him what his comrades thought of various adversaries and allies. To limit it to the above:
Russians: Propaganda depicted them as subhumans, not worthy of any degree of respect. Experience showed them as capable soldiers. He did note that because of the cruelty inflicted on the Russian people by large portions of the German military (In particular, the SS) the Russians were returning the favor as they entered Europe. When I asked if they were feared, all he would respond with is that he was glad he was able to surrender to the Americans instead.
English: Competent, professional, but a bit slow. British forces tended to only attack with absolutely overwhelming force, and while he respected their individual skill, he held British commanders as overly cautious.
Americans: "Enthusiastic amateurs with a disposition to aggression I'd never seen in any other nation's sons." If there was something he noticed different between Americans and the other European Allies, it was how they reacted to an attack. The other allies would immediately return fire and edge their way to a more favorable position. Americans would immediately return fire, bring a punishing rain of artillery or air power on top of whatever they were fighting, and move to counterattack as soon as the rain of death ended. While he did not believe that an American infantryman or tanker was particularly skilled compared to British or German counterparts, they more than compensated for it with sheer, unadulterated, unapologetic combat aggression.
Which, by the way, I'm totally willing to believe.quote]
Heh. Yeah, that's about what I'd expect.
We do know how to fuck shit up. Now hold my beer and watch this...
In all seriousness, the U.S. military still has that aggressive attitude along with an excellent level of training and skill.
I worry about these very late in life reminisces. Memory does fade or gets confused. Also, with the History Channel, television, and movies, how much could be influence from these?
Would feel better if this were shared much closer to the events.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on April 14, 2015, 10:31:33 PM
We do know how to fuck shit up. Now hold my beer and watch this...
O0
FWIW...I think the saying from WWI was:
The French fight for Honor
The Germans fight for Country
The British fight for Duty
The Canadians fight for souvenirs.