AV 1/3 Aureus ND 18mm./1.74g.

So panzerman, are you a WW2 fan/historian? Your name kinda gives that one away!

 

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All of the above! Also, one of my relatives was decorated with the Knights Cross for valor/ he knocked out 66 heavy Russian tanks in 1945. He was a "Konigstiger" commander. I am a history buff also, esp. hence my interest in coinage. I collect 650BC to 1969(Biafra AV 5 piece Proof Set) I had 15 relatives served in U-Boots/Afrika Korps/Panzer Divisions....all survived the War. In photo, he is standing in front of his Tiger, guy with badly banged up head!

 

Great history!

 

My father was a gunner on a halftrack with the US 12th Armor Div. The German Army called the 12th Armored Division the "Suicide Division" for its actions during Operation Nordwind in France, and they were nicknamed the "The Mystery Division" when they were temporarily transferred to the command of the Third Army under General George S. Patton, Jr., to cross the Rhine River. My father was wounded in the leg by shrapnel.

Since your relatives were on the German Eastern front, they probably never fought against my father's unit.

 

Schwere SS-Panzerabteilung 503 (Uncles Unit) knocked out 1000+ Soviet tanks, most Josef Stalin-2s (JS-II) they lost 39 tanks....pretty good record. Most action was in Danzig sector 1945. General Patton advocated that the US/Brits including volunteers from defeated German units keep going East and take out Stalin's horrible regime, but he was killed in a "mysterious" accident in 1945. That so called "accident" could have been an a plot by Soviet agents.

 

A lot of conspiracy theories about that accident. Even one that includes a joint operation by US and Soviet agents. Something strange happened. I wonder if we'll ever know the truth.

 

Yeah, Operation Unthinkable is what that was ironically called. Probably best that didn't happens as the Americans would have been driven into the Atlantic. The Chinese used similar tactics as the Soviets', in the Korean War and they pushed us back to the 38th Parallel.

Very cool history panzerman!
I like the pictures!

 

Here is a photo, being awarded Knights Cross by commander of unit, Fritz Herzig.

 

@panzerman
Very interesting.
Did you have any relatives that fought at Kursk in 43?

 

If it had been implemented after Japan's defeat, do you think reinforcements from the Pacific would have had much of an effect? If not ship them to Europe, then perhaps have them invade the USSR from the east? I wonder if defeated Japanese troops would have been implemented. The British had no problem using them to reestablish colonial control in Vietnam and Indonesia right after the war. And Chiang Kai-Shek reportedly turned down an offer to use a million Japanese in his civil war.

 

I don't think that would have worked out very well; the Soviets had just taken Manchuria and were poised to scoop up more territory had the US not dropped the bomb and ended the war. They had over 2 million men on the Asian front alone and that's not counting the communist Rebels in China, Korea, and Vietnam. All of whom would have sided with the Reds.

As for Europe, that would have been a bloody nightmare! While I don't think they could have take Britian, thanks to the British navy, I could certainly see them driving the US back to France.
I don't have the exact numbers of troops in Europe at the time but I'm sure the USSR had substantially more tanks and infantry.
I'll post some exact figures and sources tommow.

 

Had forgotten the USSR attacked Japanese-controlled China and Korea. Still though, even if the US/British had a chance, I think the general public would mostly likely have said a resounding no to another horrible war right after finishing one. And it would probably have looked very bad to others if we suddenly turned on and attacked one of our allies (however bad the USSR was).

 

Really? I thought under the war treaty, Japan was to disband all of its military infrastructure, assets, and destroy all of its weapons and war machines.

 

Invading Russia is NEVER a good idea, unless you are the Mongols.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Surrendered_Personnel

The following from: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_Kai-shek

 

Cool, learned something new thanks.

 

No problem. I personally enjoy seeking out and reading interesting yet little known facts like these. Did you know there was a battle in WWII where Americans and Germans fought side-by-side?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_for_Castle_Itter

 

cool, thanks for the link!

 

Yes, my Uncle Toni was with GrossDeutschland panzer Grenadier Div. He was in infantry unit.

 

That was my father's unit although my father did not take part. He was wounded not long before and was convalescing in a field hospital.