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@realDonaldTrump YOU MAGNIFICENT BASTARD! I READ ALL YOUR BOOKS!
I see what you did to Woodward and your enemies.
Now I can't stop laughing.
In World War One, the best assault troops were German flamethrower operators.
@realDonaldTrump YOU MAGNIFICENT BASTARD! I READ ALL YOUR BOOKS!
I see what you did to Woodward and your enemies.
Now I can't stop laughing.
In World War One, the best assault troops were German flamethrower operators.
They used the two-man flamethrower, one of the best infantry weapons ever invented.
Equally important, they used hand grenades.
The two weapons in concert were devastating.
Equally important, they used hand grenades.
The two weapons in concert were devastating.
The commander of the flamethrower arm was Bernhard Reddemann, a middle-aged fire chief.
Reddemann invented the small-unit special-operations tactics still in use today.
He coined the term "shock troop" (Stosstrupp).
He coined the term "shock troop" (Stosstrupp).
The flamethrower regiment used a shock troop of three or four flamethrowers for the "Crazy Chaps Tactic."
The men advanced in broad daylight, using the natural terrain as cover.
They shouted to each other, yodeled, sang, laughed.
The enemy was flummoxed.
Advances were deadly.
What they hell were these guys doing?
They shouted to each other, yodeled, sang, laughed.
The enemy was flummoxed.
Advances were deadly.
What they hell were these guys doing?
They were GRADUALLY GETTING CLOSER is what they were doing.
Appearing insane the whole time.
When they were about 50 yards away, a flamethrower loaded with special "Red" oil fired a "covering jet" that made a huge cloud of thick, black smoke.
Appearing insane the whole time.
When they were about 50 yards away, a flamethrower loaded with special "Red" oil fired a "covering jet" that made a huge cloud of thick, black smoke.
The remaining two or three flamethrower squads and hand-grenade throwers charged forward under the cover of the smoke and took the objective.
IT WORKED EVERY TIME.
There was no learning curve.
IT WORKED EVERY TIME.
There was no learning curve.
Flamethrower operators were chosen on the basis of intelligence and physical strength.
Once a month, they were required to pass a test of SPRINTING for a full kilometer while carrying a full 70-pound flamethrower.
They were tested regularly on their grenade-throwing accuracy.
Once a month, they were required to pass a test of SPRINTING for a full kilometer while carrying a full 70-pound flamethrower.
They were tested regularly on their grenade-throwing accuracy.
The regiment was unique in all military history in that it had a standing invitation for any man to approach headquarters with an idea.
The headquarters had an attached workshop and testing company.
The soldiers would explain their idea for a weapon modification or new tactic.
The headquarters had an attached workshop and testing company.
The soldiers would explain their idea for a weapon modification or new tactic.
The worksop would make the modification, and then the testing company would give it a try. It did the same with the new tactic.
ONLY THEN would the men inform the commander, who would listen to the explanation and then approve it for adoption.
ONLY THEN would the men inform the commander, who would listen to the explanation and then approve it for adoption.
He was a fire chief, not a combat soldier.
Therefore he LISTENED to his combat veterans.
They went to the workshop or testing company FIRST, without asking the boss for permission.
Therefore he LISTENED to his combat veterans.
They went to the workshop or testing company FIRST, without asking the boss for permission.
Bernhard Reddemann pushed for flamethrowers to become a strategic weapon by adding several regiments, but he was ignored.
Before the war, Reddemann was the most respected firefighter in the world.
He invented the entire communications systems still in use today.
Before the war, Reddemann was the most respected firefighter in the world.
He invented the entire communications systems still in use today.
AFTER the war, he was reviled as a bloodthirsty monster who burned people alive.
He pointed out that the flamethrower was mainly a PSYCHOLOGICAL weapon.
He pointed out that the flamethrower was mainly a PSYCHOLOGICAL weapon.
Before flamethrowers, taking a fortified strong point cost massive numbers of lives on both sides.
You had to drag special point-blank artillery pieces to the target by hand and blow it up.
With a flamethrower, you fired one jet into the air, and the enemy surrendered.
You had to drag special point-blank artillery pieces to the target by hand and blow it up.
With a flamethrower, you fired one jet into the air, and the enemy surrendered.
Facts didn't matter.
Reddemann was blacklisted, his wife divorced him, he went insane, and he died of alcoholism at the age of 69.
It's not even known where he's buried.
Reddemann was blacklisted, his wife divorced him, he went insane, and he died of alcoholism at the age of 69.
It's not even known where he's buried.
The memorial to the fallen of the flamethrower regiment was a wooden cabinet that held the Death Book.
It disappeared.
I traced it to the Bundeswehr Pioneer School, where it was last known to be. https://www.bundeswehr.de/de/organisation/heer/organisation/ausbildungskommando/ausbildungszentrum-pioniere?view=canonical
It disappeared.
I traced it to the Bundeswehr Pioneer School, where it was last known to be. https://www.bundeswehr.de/de/organisation/heer/organisation/ausbildungskommando/ausbildungszentrum-pioniere?view=canonical
They said they no longer had it and couldn't tell me where it had gone.
About three years ago, I was contacted by the head of the German Firefighter's Museum, who asked me if I knew anything about the memorial.
I told him I'd traced it to the Pioneer School.
About three years ago, I was contacted by the head of the German Firefighter's Museum, who asked me if I knew anything about the memorial.
I told him I'd traced it to the Pioneer School.
So he went there in person, and they gave him permission to go on the weekends and rummage through their massive, stuffed-full attics.
This is what he was looking for.
This is what he was looking for.
On my birthday in 2013, I got an e-mail:
"I FOUND IT!"
"I FOUND IT!"
AND.
The original death book was still inside.
It lists the names, dates, and place of death of all the fallen.
The original death book was still inside.
It lists the names, dates, and place of death of all the fallen.
The memorial now resides in the German Firefighter Museum.
I had a hand in saving a bit of history.
The Crazy Chaps Tactic works every time.
Because the people it's used on have no learning curve.
None whatsoever.
END
I had a hand in saving a bit of history.
The Crazy Chaps Tactic works every time.
Because the people it's used on have no learning curve.
None whatsoever.
END
ADDENDUM:
Mr. President, it's absolutely fantastic that so many people have no idea what my thread means.
I commend you and @jaredkushner.
Yet again. https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/09/politics/jared-kushner-trump-rage-book/index.html
Mr. President, it's absolutely fantastic that so many people have no idea what my thread means.
I commend you and @jaredkushner.
Yet again. https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/09/politics/jared-kushner-trump-rage-book/index.html
