If you are a WWII soldier

My great grandfather, yeah.

He used to tell my grandfather stories, and my granfather would tell me the stories. Apparently, my greatgrandfather had an exciting life.

 

Sorry, Great Grandfather

If he was at Cassino, he must have had an eventful life. You should share some of those stories (please)!

Is it true that the Goums had a ponytail as they believed that Allah would use it to pull them into paradise if they were killed? I read that somewhere and I have always wondered if it were true.

 

Pony Tails! :-? :-?

Come on! Shows you how little the western world knows about the rest of the world

Yeah, my greatGfather served in Italy, he first entered the war after the landings in sicily. He later moved on to fight the germans in Cassino and then corsica. He also was part of the last waves of men landing in operation anvil, but he later withdrew from the war in late 1944 due to the cold

Anyways, here is one storie:

My greatGfather was guiding some of his comrades and a detail of pack mules up a mountain to resupply their company, when they were spotted by a german artillery observer on the other cliff. One minute later, mortar and artillery rounds came crashing on the detail. My greatGfather suffered lots of shrapnel wounds on one arm as he tried to scamper into a ditch. Sudenly, a crazed pack mule jumped over the ditch and scampered of a cliff with a goum on its back crying out 'intabeh ayoha lhemar!!!' When the shelling stopped, my greatgrandfather came out and saw the section a bloody mess, but miracoulously some survivers started coming out from ditches and holes in the ground muttering that they would have only tea for dinner. My greatgrandfather got lucky. He later went up to an Italian woman and asked for some water to boil tea in arabic, she was so afraid the poor woman gave him a couple of eggs. Ever since, my grnadfather told me that his father praised the 'good old italian hospitality!'

 

I have a few more stories ill tell u later

But this one was the funniest

 

Great story DesertWolf but what does "'intabeh ayoha lhemar!!!'" mean?

 

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Translation,
"Sod this for a game of soldiers?"

 

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I certainly wouldn't blame him for saying something like that, under the circumstances!

 

I'll take that as a no then
Thanks for the story DesertWolf - keep them coming!

 

'Intabeh ayoha lhemar' means 'watch out u ******* donkey!'

Ok heres another one:

During the corsica battle, my greatGfather and a number of goams were crossing a small river in rubber rafts, to then form up and attack a village half a kilometer away from them. My greatGfather was veryu excited as reports were germans had armor in the village and it was the first time my greatGfather would see german armor. (The reports later proved to be false which brings up a question i always wanted to ask, what armor did the germans have in corsica? at the time of the landings?). Anyways, while crossing, A french liaison officer ordered the goams to disembark quickly and to wade to shore as they formed dangerous targets bunched up together in a raft. My greatgfather complied and he waided up all wet to the bank like the rest of the moroccans. After a quick march whith no action to the scenec of the village, gunfire erupted from Mgs into the goam ranks. They quickly hit the dirt while the NCOs urged them to attack rather than allowing them to get pinned down. Finally, the attack went through against the germans who were slicing the morccans down like hay. After a quick charge through lawns, gardens, and houses, the goams manged to close with the germans and due to their bravery and numbers, managed to clear the village. During the action, my greatGfather saw to of his friends from their originall village in morocco die. He also suffered a slight wound in the forehead due to a small piece of concete hitting his head when a bullet slammed into a wall next to him.
The goams then started talking bitterly about their lack of mortar and artillery support in the skirmish. My ggrandfather believes he was able to kill a german who was sniping at the goams from a rooftop but he admitts that he is not sure due to the hectic activity going on around him.

It is surprising how my grandfather remebers what his father told him about the war in such detail and then relating it to me later on. Sadly enough, my grandfather is also dead now, and i think i have to carry on the tradsition and tell my future children the stories

 

Well, for starters, you're telling a whole new audience on this forum! Thank you so much for these stories.

 

Thanks for your stories, it is only through education that e can prevent further wars of such great scale, maybe the film and game industry shouldn't glorify war.

 

News on the 'Ponytail' by way of Tankpark - It was actually a 'Top Knot', and was worn by Gurkhas, not Goums. Either my source or my memory were playing tricks!

Also curtousy of Tankpark is the following poem, written about the Gurkha:

written by Lt.Paul Hunter, 2nd.RTR Burma,1941.

Tough and fearless Johnny Ghurka,
Rifle slung across his shoulder,
Very small of stature he,
With his daring and his courage,With his fearful bloody Kukri,
Make him feared the most of warriors,
All his foes fear him greatly,
But his friends respect and love him,
Colour bars do not include him,
He is whiter than the whitest,
Shaven head though whispy crested,
Crested with a few dark lank hairs,
This is so his Gods do reach him,
When upon the day of reckoning,
He may be pulled up to heaven,
Pulled up by his hairy topknot,
Others cause of lack of handhold,
Will be left on earth to rot,
Fond of liquor, white man's pleasures,
he is not a servile creature that so many Indians are,
For is he ????? not one of India (word/words missing through time).

To fight and join the British Army he must leave his state Nepal,
He must cross the Himalayas, cross these mountains in their vastness,
Cross them not with mules or horses,
But upon his own two feet,
Fighting is his very lifeblood,
From his country warriors come,
Warriors Britain never conquered,
Men so agile, tough, tenacious,
Even Britain did withdraw,
Now this small state, north of India,
Gives to us her trusty manhood,

 

Ghurkas were indians ibelieve no?

 

Nepalese.

 

Although the Nepalese do serve in the Indian army.

 

And still serve in the British Army, though not as many as there used to be.

 

do the ghurkas still carry the big knives

 

yeh they are called kukris and the officers carry them to

 

Of course, very good soldiers they are too. Sneaky little bu**ers.

 

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B****Y Good blokes to have alongside you when you are in trouble.