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Wrong war, but cool story, as recounted to me this morning by my 89 year old dad: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/le-quesnoy/the-liberation-of-le-quesnoy
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@MiketheSnow made I larf
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Lovely vibe on our road, lots of people making an effort. Quite emosh to be honest. 😢
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@Catogrande said in VE Day 75 years ago:
@sparky Yep. Not too shabby down here either. Fire up the barbie, partly for the delights of Ms Cato No1's jerk chicken
yum, yum!
plus some BBQ ribs but mainly as an excuse to drink beer.
BBQ=beer. That is the rule.
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@Catogrande said in VE Day 75 years ago:.
BBQ=beer. That is the rule.
It's not a rule.
It's a law of physics, BBQs don't cook unless the chef has a beer in hand. Machpants First Law
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@Machpants Apologies. I'm just a layman here.
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@pakman said in VE Day 75 years ago:
Wrong war, but cool story, as recounted to me this morning by my 89 year old dad: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/le-quesnoy/the-liberation-of-le-quesnoy
It would be sad if that account on the official NZ History site is what ended up as "true' version.
The storyboards and plaques around Le Quesnoy tell a slightly different version.
The NZ Division was given a morning to take the village or the bombardment would start as soon as the artillery arrived. LQ was holding out easily . Anyone that has been there will attest to the metres thick walls and ramparts built in a special 'star' design so that every wall could be covered by another. A salient was forming as the rest of the front line moved into Belgium and beyond and the command was going to sacrifice the village with shelling to remove the germans that remained.
The kiwis asked for a chance to take it and only through some very clever spotting of a 'weak' point did they do so. This weak point is a 6 inch ledge below a 10 metre wall. Orchard ladders lashed together allowed one person at a time to make the climb.
End story is that they saved the village and villagers being bombarded.
The funny part (according to the local info) is that while the 4th were chasing out the Hun with their daring-dos and reaching the town square first the second had apparently walked through the gate at the other end of town but didn't advance very far because the locals broke out the cider supplies and started a party.I much prefer these versions.
If you get a chance to go there do so. Even without this WWI kiwi connection it is a very cool little place with incredible defenses. Make sure you let them know you are a kiwi and they will slip an extra pastry into your bag at the bakery. So neat to see NZ flags and street names on the other side of the world too.
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@Crucial said in VE Day 75 years ago:
@pakman said in VE Day 75 years ago:
Wrong war, but cool story, as recounted to me this morning by my 89 year old dad: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/war/le-quesnoy/the-liberation-of-le-quesnoy
It would be sad if that account on the official NZ History site is what ended up as "true' version.
The storyboards and plaques around Le Quesnoy tell a slightly different version.
The NZ Division was given a morning to take the village or the bombardment would start as soon as the artillery arrived. LQ was holding out easily . Anyone that has been there will attest to the metres thick walls and ramparts built in a special 'star' design so that every wall could be covered by another. A salient was forming as the rest of the front line moved into Belgium and beyond and the command was going to sacrifice the village with shelling to remove the germans that remained.
The kiwis asked for a chance to take it and only through some very clever spotting of a 'weak' point did they do so. This weak point is a 6 inch ledge below a 10 metre wall. Orchard ladders lashed together allowed one person at a time to make the climb.
End story is that they saved the village and villagers being bombarded.
The funny part (according to the local info) is that while the 4th were chasing out the Hun with their daring-dos and reaching the town square first the second had apparently walked through the gate at the other end of town but didn't advance very far because the locals broke out the cider supplies and started a party.I much prefer these versions.
If you get a chance to go there do so. Even without this WWI kiwi connection it is a very cool little place with incredible defenses. Make sure you let them know you are a kiwi and they will slip an extra pastry into your bag at the bakery. So neat to see NZ flags and street names on the other side of the world too.
@Crucial Pleased to say your version is in essence what my dad told me this morning.
Will make a point of visiting...
VE Day 75 years ago
