British Newsreel. March 21, 1940.HMNZS Achilles was a Leander class cruiser which served with the Royal New Zealand Navy in World War II. She became famous for her part in the Battle of the River P...
British Newsreel. March 21, 1940.HMNZS Achilles was a Leander class cruiser which served with the Royal New Zealand Navy in World War II. She became famous for her part in the Battle of the River Plate, alongside HMS Ajax and HMS Exeter.She was the second of five ships of the Leander class light cruisers, designed as effective follow-ons to the York class. Upgraded to Improved Leander class, she was capable of carrying an aircraft, becoming the first ship to carry a Supermarine Walrus although this was removed before the war.Achilles was originally built for the Royal Navy, and was commissioned as HMS Achilles on October 10, 1933. She served with the Royal Navy's New Zealand Division from March 31, 1937 up to the creation of the Royal New Zealand Navy, into which she was transferred in September 1941, renamed as HMNZS Achilles. Her crew was approximately 60% from New Zealand.On the outbreak of the Second World War, Achilles started patrolling the west coast of South America looking for German merchant ships, but by 22 October 1939 she had arrived at the Falkland Islands, where she was assigned to the South American Division under Commodore Henry Harwood and allocated to Force G (HMS Exeter and Cumberland).In the early morning of 1939-12-13 a force consisting of Achilles, HMS Ajax and Exeter detected smoke on the horizon, which was confirmed at 06:16 to be a pocket battleship, thought to be Admiral Scheer but which turned out to be the Admiral Graf Spee. A fierce battle ensued, at a range of approximately 20 km (22,000 yards). Achilles took some damage: four crew were killed, and her captain, W. E. Parry was injured. In the exchange of fire 36 of Graf Spee's crew were killed. The range reduced to about four miles (7 km) at around 07:15 and Admiral Graf Spee broke off the engagement around 07:45 to head for the neutral harbour of Montevideo which she entered at 22:00 that night, having been pursued by Achilles and Ajax all day. She was forced by international law to leave with 72 hours. Faced with what he believed to be overwhelming odds, the captain of the Admiral Graf Spee, Hans Langsdorff, scuttled his ship rather than risk the lives of his crew.Following the battle, Achilles returned to Auckland, New Zealand on 23 February 1940, where she was refitted until June. After Japan entered the war, she escorted troop convoys, then joined the ANZAC squadron in the south west Pacific. While operating off New Georgia with U.S. forces, she was hit by a bomb on X turret on 5 January 1943. She was repaired at Portsmouth from April 1943 to May 1944, during which X turret was replaced by four two-pounders. Sent to the Eastern Fleet, Achilles then joined the British Pacific Fleet (Task Force 57) in May 1945 for final operations in the Pacific.After the war, Achilles was returned to the Royal Navy at Sheerness, Kent, England on 17 September 1946. She was then sold to the Indian Navy and recommissioned on 5 July 1948 as INS Delhi. She remained in service until decommissioned for scrap at Bombay on 30 June 1978. As part of the scrapping her Y turret was removed and given as a gift to the New Zealand government, it is now on display at the entrance of Devonport RNZN Base in Auckland.
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gunnermac. You have come up with a list of groups of people being killed. This happens in war. I could also go on about the rape of Dutch women by the allies "liberating" Arnhem.
The orders to "murder" British Commandos is in response to the attrocities they were intending to commit. They were told to take no prisoners, including civilians.
Anyway, I think you are brainwashed and ignorant. I have spoken to many people who lived under the Nazis and support what I say.
One example of Nazi "honour" - Oradour surGlane: I battalion of the 4th Waffen-SS ordered all the townspeople to assemble in the village square. All the women and children were then taken to and locked in the church while the village itself was looted. Meanwhile, the men were led to six barns and sheds where machine-gun nests were already in place.
The soldiers began shooting at them, aiming for their legs so that they would die more slowly. Once the victims were no longer able to move, the soldiers covered their bodies with fuel and set the barns on fire. The soldiers then proceeded to the church and put an incendiary device in place there. After it was ignited, women and children tried to flee from the doors and windows of the church but were met with machine-gun fire.
Two hundred forty-seven women and two hundred and five children died in the carnage. That night, the remainder of the village was razed.
One example of common-place Nazi practice of slaughtering un-armed civilians in direct contradition of both the agreed artciles of war and the Geneva conventions.
Clearly, you have never had any association with any military apart from your playstation.
Yes. We know about Oradour surGlane. As you said 247 people will killed. The English killed far more in Dresden. The village in France was targeted due to attrocities carried out by the Marquis. All sides had examples of bad deeds like this. The thing is that the Germans (nazis you call them) were honorable in the way they treated occupied countries - more so than the English.
gunnermac. OK. Lets compare directly. I know people who lived in Arnhem. Right throughout the German occupation, the Dutch families there were very well treated by the Germans. They Germans even walked on the pathways, careful not to trample over flowerbeds etc. When the English and allies came, they did horrible things to the Dutch. The raped many young girls, something that was never tolerated by the Germans. Anyway this is all off topic.
Gunnermac70: regarding Easycompany....ignore him, he's clearly a nutjob who enjoys stirring shit up with people. If you go to any video on here depicting Allied Commonwealth forces in WWII you'll find his lies and revisionist rantings on there. Ask him to back up any of his laughable delusions and he can't! because he knows it's complete made-up fantasy in his own head. I think easy is either a 12 yr old with too much time on his hands, or someone with a few mental issues going on.
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The orders to "murder" British Commandos is in response to the attrocities they were intending to commit. They were told to take no prisoners, including civilians.
Anyway, I think you are brainwashed and ignorant. I have spoken to many people who lived under the Nazis and support what I say.
Obviously you are the sort of scum we fought the second world war to be rid of.
Fuck off and die.
I battalion of the 4th Waffen-SS ordered all the townspeople to assemble in the village square. All the women and children were then taken to and locked in the church while the village itself was looted. Meanwhile, the men were led to six barns and sheds where machine-gun nests were already in place.
Cont...
Cont...
One example of common-place Nazi practice of slaughtering un-armed civilians in direct contradition of both the agreed artciles of war and the Geneva conventions.
Clearly, you have never had any association with any military apart from your playstation.
And while you're at it, please enlighten me as to the German honour displayed at Bergen-Belsen, Buchenwald, Ravensbruck, Treblenka, Sobibor...
I think easy is either a 12 yr old with too much time on his hands, or someone with a few mental issues going on.