World War 1 & 2

[antichrist]

Michael would ideal in a Vichy Gambit, Chinese variation.

[MichaelBaron]

At 81, I'm a bit old for it now. But in my younger days I spent 15 years as a volunteer in the Army Reserve

So that means...you would go and fight overseas on foreign soil for foreign people + ''ideals of democracy'' (correct me if I am wrong). Ok answer accepted.

[Ian Murray]

So that means...you would go and fight overseas on foreign soil for foreign people + ''ideals of democracy'' (correct me if I am wrong). Ok answer accepted.

Nah, just in it for the money

[antichrist]

So that means...you would go and fight overseas on foreign soil for foreign people + ''ideals of democracy'' (correct me if I am wrong). Ok answer accepted.

Compare this lady's chosen plight with your own cushy set up

https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/vide...f-an-awakening

Who will remember you or care on your demise?

[antichrist]

Michael would ideal in a Vichy Gambit, Chinese variation.

that is rolling if the Chinese invade

[antichrist]

Hardly.

However there were numerous grounds for exemption or deferment during the Vietnam ballot

https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/viet_app

They could not always escape the ballot but once in there "escape" overseas engagement. The relevant para from your link could be

"All national servicemen were liable for military service in Australia and overseas, or 'special overseas service', while with the Army full-time. Officially, national servicemen could not be posted according to their wishes and therefore could not choose whether or not they served in Vietnam, although a national serviceman could apply to his commanding officer to remain in Australia on compassionate grounds. The general impression given by serving Army officers at the time is that more national servicemen were keen to serve in Vietnam than were needed, and that those unwilling to serve there were transferred to units serving only in Australia. Commanding officers were understandably reluctant to have any soldier who actively opposed participation in the war and who therefore might be a danger to other members of the unit. For most of the war the Government denied that this practice existed. In September 1971, with the level of Australian involvement in Vietnam decreasing markedly, the Minister for the Army, Andrew Peacock, stated that although national servicemen would continue to be sent to Vietnam, they would not be compelled to go.9"


My Vietnam vet obsessed mate told me that they had to sign to agree to go overseas but that a lot of pressure was placed on them to agree. That they would be shamed etc.

[Ian Murray]

They could not always escape the ballot but once in there "escape" overseas engagement. The relevant para from your link could be

"All national servicemen were liable for military service in Australia and overseas, or 'special overseas service', while with the Army full-time. Officially, national servicemen could not be posted according to their wishes and therefore could not choose whether or not they served in Vietnam, [B]although a national serviceman could apply to his commanding officer to remain in Australia on compassionate grounds. ....

I'm not sure how it worked in practice (I did my Nasho under the 1951-59 scheme) but 'compassionate grounds' may well have been extended to reluctance to fight.

Under the 1965-72 scheme, it was two years fulltime. The first year was full-on infantry training (cf three months in the US), making them probably the best 21yo grunts in the business, before deployment to SVN. Most of them, to my knowledge, were really keen to go at that stage.

[antichrist]

There were numerous cases, at least of Yanks, of throwing grenades into the sargent's at night. They were called pineapple??? Maybe the authorities wanted to prevent this.

[Ian Murray]

There were numerous cases, at least of Yanks, of throwing grenades into the sargent's at night. They were called pineapple???

Fragging

[Scott Colliver]

At 81, I'm a bit old for it now. But in my younger days I spent 15 years as a volunteer in the Army Reserve

Disappointing

[Kevin Bonham]

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[antichrist]

Ian Murray's claim that the Aussie 9th Army in the Middle East were the first to defeat German forces may be incorrect. That occurred in December 1941.

The Serbian Partisans of Yugoslavia (Germany occupied) forced the Surrender of the 6th Company of the German army. And good on them. Germany had been carrying out a policy of killing 100 Serbs for every German killed and the killing of 50 Serbs for every German soldier injured. Eventually this policy was halved in penalty due to the opposition to Germany it aroused as well Germany eventually could not find sufficient number of Serbs to take retribution upon. They were all being wiped out. Another disadvantage for Germany was that their war supply factories in Serbia were severely short of labour due to the German revenge killings.

Australia suffered no such retribution for it's action in the M/E.

Hats off to the Serbs on this day of their national sorrow.

[antichrist]

Germany had never apologised to the Serbian people for the massacres they performed . Monuments for the massacres were bombed by NATO forces during the bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999. When the Serbs were taking revenge for their sufferings of WW2.

[Ian Murray]

Ian Murray's claim that the Aussie 9th Army in the Middle East were the first to defeat German forces may be incorrect. That occurred in December 1941.

The Serbian Partisans of Yugoslavia (Germany occupied) forced the Surrender of the 6th Company of the German army. ...

I'm not sure of the historical context you're thinking of, but an infantry company is only 100-odd strong.

The Australian force at Tobruk was 9 Division (~14,000). We've never had the numbers to raise a full Army (100K - 150K)

[antichrist]

I'm not sure of the historical context you're thinking of, but an infantry company is only 100-odd strong.

The Australian force at Tobruk was 9 Division (~14,000). We've never had the numbers to raise a full Army (100K - 150K)

I was just making the point that the Serbs were the first to give the Germans a bloody nose, though unfortunately short lived and they were punished 100 Serbs killed for one German pure aryan. Initially they would grab 100 Jews until they ran out of Jews. Then they picked on the commos. Tito's mob.

Then NATO in 1999 bombed their monuments to their WW2 victims. A class act.

Imagine if Australia had 100 white privilege folk killed for every AXIS forces member we took out.