Thread
Let's talk about the Biden administration [sic] and Space Force.
Biden and his cronies hold Space Force in contempt.
And THAT is a massive advantage for Space Force.
Guess what Space Force is like?
The German Guard Reserve Pioneer Regiment of World War One.
These guys.
Flamethrower pioneers.
Because not a single Allied nation could figure out how to make good flamethrowers OR how to use the weapon effectively, they all said, "This thing sucks. We don't need it."
And they ALSO concentrated on the flamethrower and ONLY the flamethrower.
Troops were told that the flamethrower was useless, so they had nothing to fear from it.
Here's what troops were NOT told:
Flamethrower pioneers were experts in all forms of close combat.
Since the German regiment was a volunteer unit, and since both the kaiser and crown prince had close personal friendships with the men, there was an endless rush to get in.
In order to qualify, you had to:
Learn rifle and pistol marksmanship, use of hand grenades, use of heavy and light machine guns, use of grenade launchers, and master the art of close combat with edged weapons AND while unarmed.
Only men with incredible physical strength were chosen.
The final test was to SPRINT for a full kilometer while wearing a 70-lb flamethrower.
If you watch ANY World War One movie, here's how they present flamethrowers:
WARNING: VIOLENCE.
See how the flamethrower operators just march upright like robots until they're killed?
That's not how they carried out attacks.
The flamethrower was always used IN CONJUNCTION WITH hand grenades.
Since the flamethrowers had only 10 seconds' worth of fuel, the operators didn't just spray in all directions.
They had about 15 minutes' worth of igniters, and attacks were usually over by then.
I have the flamethrower regiment's death book. No flamethrower operators were killed in the two attacks they made on the Lost Battalion, the subject of that movie.
In four years, about 900 flamethrower troops died, but an unspecified number of them were hand-grenade throwers, machine gunners, and grenade-launcher crews.
We also don't know how many died in hand-to-hand combat.
A 12-man shock troop had only FOUR men on the two flamethrowers. The rest were protecting those four.
To this day, nobody's replicated the ingenious igniter the Germans devised. All of today's flamethrowers use either Bunson burners or blank rifle cartridges, both of which can fail in the heat of battle.
The Germans carried out almost all of their attacks at night or at dawn. In Italy, they climbed above the Italian trenches and slid down the mountainside.
AT NIGHT.
The attacks were so fast and violent that almost 90 percent were successful.
But nobody knows this. They cling to fantasy.
Just like the pre-defunct Biden administration.
I'll end with my most recent acquisition.
Four-man German flamethrower squad, equipped for close combat in trenches.
At least two of them are over six feet tall.
END
@ThomasWic How cool that you’ve been able to amass quite a collection of WWI photos! Wow! You should do a book on just this!
@GardenGunGuy I learned that the hard way by being laughed at.
@GardenGunGuy @MadBeachBimbo @ThomasWic
I have the one on the right. I did a painting out of it
Would love to see it.
That is BEAUTIFUL!!!! You really were able to capture great detail and emotion!!! The courage this young man had is astounding!! Please let me know when it is finished. Yo should be very very proud of yourself.
@GardenGunGuy I must buy one. Thanks.
@RKBing Snark wasn’t nice. I’m new and respectful and you are like this.
I think Amazon and Barnes& Noble carry them.
The publisher is Schieffer books in PA
@masterblaster Thanks very much. Thomas’ grasp of obscure yet fascinating history plus his ability to weave a very interesting narrative should make for amazing reading.
@MadBeachBimbo
When the Chem School was shutting down, we were tasked with destroying historic equipment, especially flame throwers. I almost cried
@YMKYMFOI @ThomasWic Yes, they are incurious because they think they already know everything.
@Zeedub85 @YMKYMFOI @ThomasWic
People who don’t know anything about a subject tend to make fun of it. It is fear, they are showing...
@YMKYMFOI @ThomasWic the irony will be sweet when, the Space Force, discounted and mocked by the Biden gang, are the ones that take them down. Their first scalp! As sparse and plugged as it is, will be a sight to behold
@YMKYMFOI @ThomasWic
If they don’t know of it or can’t conceive of it it doesn’t exits or can’t happen.
Ie. elephants can’t cross the alps
On hubris hitler attacked Russia on the same date that Napoleon began his disastrous retreat
Written as only “The World’s Only Living Expert in WWI Flamethrowers” could do!! Thank you!!
@ThomasWic
Unusually tall for that era.
The lower classes got their name from the fact that their growth was stunted due to illness, malnutrition particularly protein deficiency. They were way shorter than the aristocracy. Do you suspect the flamethrower crews were mostly from families with rank?
How I would love to sit and view your postcard collection with you. Would be a journey through the past.
I can listen to you talk about history all day. To sit and see the photos themselves would be just amazing.
Jeez Thomas. Just reading this I get this feeling of dread.
You can just picture troops in WWI and what they were feeling watching these troops approach them while they sheltered in their trenches.
The occasional resounding boom of the grenades, the suddenly flash of the flames piercing the dark...Inevitably followed by the cries of dying soldiers.
The feeling of fear gripping them as they got closer. It’s quite terrifying.
I cannot wait to read the book you write on it.
And we think WE have problems... 😂
I love becoming interested in subjects I’d never even thought about before.
@ThomasWic ...you sir, have succeeded in actually piquing my interest in german flamethrowers...how in the hell???
@ThomasWic
Your historical information and presentation of it is fascinating!
Thank you for the history lesson!