Hello. My name is Scott. I've always been a history buff and like most warm-blooded American males I've been fascinated with WWII since I was a kid. Got started on very general books about it as well as History Channel documentaries, and have since graduated to more scholarly works. I've become very interested in the Eastern Front over time, if only for the fact that it was such a complex, interesting, horrific and inspiring theater of the conflict. I don't think it can be said that the USSR won the war in Europe on their own, but I do think an argument can made but their remarkable reversal in the face of incredible odds played an instrumental role in turning the tide of the war. By no means do I pretend to be an expert in either WWII or the war in Eastern Europe, but I am in the process of learning more about it. I'm particularly interested in the defense of Stalingrad and hope to get my hands on Chuikov's memoirs of that battle. In terms of what I like, I'm a history buff, although I'm more interested in the personalities, narratives and events of the war than militaria, vehicles, weapons and so on (although I'd like to own a Moisin Nagant someday). In addition to non-fiction books, I enjoy historical fiction and am in the process of reading James Jones' Thin Red Line at the moment. I like the film adaption as well. I prefer philosophical works set in wars than I do blatant action and adventure, although I can turn my brain off and enjoy that sort of thing, like Fury. Some of my favorite WWII movies include Downfall, Thin Red Line, Das Boot, Stalingrad, Letters from Iwo Jima, Valkyrie, and Come and See (one of my favorite films period, but a hard movie to watch). I don't play video games as much as I used to but because I have an ancient laptop I can only really play classic war games like Close Combat 3, Call of Duty 2, Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin, Silent Hunter III, and some others. I'm not very good at any of them but it's fun to kill fascists regardless. I'm here to learn as much as I can and willingly admit I am a novice here. I have aspirations of possibly writing a short story set in the Eastern Front, possibly Stalingrad, and I noticed you have an fiction section here. If I get around to writing something, I look forward to posting it and it being torn apart for its historical inaccuracies! Seriously, I am sure there will be some, so being on a board full of WWII scholars is a good place to be.
Welcome aboard and enjoy! We can always use good historical fiction writers. I really liked W.E.B. Griffin's "Brotherhood of Arms", "The Corps", "Men at War" and "Honor Bound" series, and Leon Uris' "Battle Cry", from that genre.
Howdy Scott, good to have you join us. I'm more of a reader myself and play few video games, but there are many lurking about the joint who do. Historical fiction is good, with my favorite movie, Mr. Roberts, being of that genre. I like novels also but must confess that I got bored with From Here To Eternity when I tried to read it earlier in the year.
Welcome to this forum Scott ! It's good to have someone like yourself as a part of our corner of the internet!
Welcome to the forum. As it so happens, I just wrapped up a campaign in Close Combat 3. Glad to have you aboard
Hi Scott. Good historical fiction is what piqued my interest in WW2 when I was just a boy. The Cruel Sea, From Here to Eternity, and others led to my serious reading on WW2. I read fiction during the day and non-fiction at night. It's nice to hear from another voice.
