Question of the Hour

[Rhibwolf]

this is tough!
I did find this, however....  13 Aug 1914
Stephen Burton of the Coldstream Guards rebuked his men. He said: "These French troops are our Allies; they are going to fight with us against the Germans." Whereupon one man said: "Poor chaps, they deserve to be encouraged," and took off his cap and waved it, and shouted "Vive l'Empereur!" 
-perhaps a big hint, (units involved, dates, location, ??)or allow us to "tap out"

 

[redleafjumper]

Okay, okay, here's a big hint:  Every British officer involved in this action, except the one killed, was knighted by the emperor of the allies with whom they charged.  The allies took 66 casualties and the French suffered 800 killed and some 400 wounded and lost 3 guns.

 

[Rhibwolf]

Best I could do....
Operating with the British army under the Duke of York, Austria's General Peter Ott undertook a personal reconnaissance of a reported French force near Cambrai.  With only 300 British and Austrian light cavalrymen he ran into a strong force of French cavalry at Villers-en-Cauchies. Withdrawal was the most sensible option, but then Ott discovered his emperor Francis I was close by and in imminent danger of capture. Spurring his men on to the attack, Ott scattered the first French opponents but then ran into formed French infantry backed by cannons. Without stopping to think about the almost-suicidal position against some 12,000 men, the Allied cavalry continued their assault over-running the guns and breaking both the infantry and its supporting cavalry.

What followed was a 12-kilometre pursuit that left some 1200 Frenchmen killed, wounded or captured.  Ott's stunning victory came at a cost of 66 casualties.

 

[redleafjumper]

Bingo.  Villers-en-Cauchies: Austrian Lt. General Otto had only 2 squadrons of the British 15th Light Dragoons (160 men) and 2 squadrons of Austrian Hussars (112 men) available.  Major Aylett commanded the two British squadrons and was the officer wounded (not killed as I earlier stated) in the action.  The allies were horribly outnumbered by the French regulars who were estimated at between 3,000 to 10,000 cavalry, infantry and cannon.  The squadrons believed that they were acting to save Emperor Francis I from being intercepted by the French.  The action took place 24 April 1794.  The officers charged shouting "Vive l'Empereur!" while the men stayed with the traditional "Huzzah!"

 

[Rhibwolf]

Man, I feel like I just gave birth to a history book.  That was a hard find.  Good question mate.

 

[redleafjumper]

Thanks Rhibwolf, the Napoleonic period is a bit of a specialty of mine. 

Let's do a WW2 navy one shall we?

What  Norwegian port gave its name to a class of German ship?

 

[larry Strong]

I am probably wrong here,

Sleipnes Norway,

http://www.fallingrain.com/world/NO/9/Sleipnes.html

Torpedo Boats of the Norwegian Sleipner class

http://www.german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/captured/torpedoboats/tiger/index.html

 

[redleafjumper]

A good guess, but I did specify "ship".

 

[AJFitzpatrick]

I think it was Narvik which I think were Destroyers

 

[larry Strong]

Kudo's to you Sir


http://www.german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/ships/destroyer/zerstorer1936a/index.html

 

[redleafjumper]

Well done!  Narvik it is.

Let's do another navy one from WW2 shall we?

What ship shadowed the KM Bismarck by radar from 23 May until the morning of 25 May 1941?

 

[probum non poenitet]

HMS Suffolk, I think.

 

[redleafjumper]

Well-done probum non poenitet!  The County Class heavy cruiser Suffolk with its modern radar is the vessel that maintained contact with the KM Bismarck in the days leading up to the sinking of the German battleship.

Here's another question on the Bismarck: 

What vessel or vessels had a nearly identical side silhouette to that of the KM Bismarck?

 

[probum non poenitet]

Tirpitz ...

EDIT: and weren't Scharnhorst and Gneiseneau 'mini-mes'?

 

[redleafjumper]

Yes, the KM Tripitz, as the KM Bismarck's sister ship qualifies, but there are two other vessels that also share that (clue) larger ship's profile.

The KM Scharnhorst and the KM Gneisenau are different in not having the second aft turret.  What are those other vessels?

 

[Koenigsegg]

Were the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau not the "Gneisenau Class"?
and the Bismarck and Tirpitz the "Bismarck Class"?
Some people consider the Gneisenau Class to be battlecruisers, however most people call them Battleships...

And now, to try to answer your question...The Lutzow, Prinz Eugen and Seydlitz were similar in profile to the Bismarck class, especially from a far ways away.  they were part of the Admiral Hipper Class of heavy cruisers.  The Prinz Eugen was even painted very similar to the Bismarck.

*Edit:  Woops, bad spelling!

 

[geo]

Battleships: Bismark & Tripitz
Pocket Battleships: Deutschland, Lutzow, Adms Scheer & Graff Spee  (Modern commentators favour classifying these as "heavy cruisers" and indeed the Kriegsmarine itself reclassified these ships as such (Schwere Kreuzer) in 1940
Battlecruisers: Scharnhorst & Gneisenau
Heavy Cruisers: Adms Hipper& Bluchers , Prinz Eugen,

 

[redleafjumper]

Koenigsegg  is correct - I forgotten about the Seydlitz, but the Hipper class of heavy cruiser had the same side profile as the KM Bismarck, however when viewed from the front or rear the broad battleship beam is readily evident.
Good information from others as to Kriegsmarine vessels.

 

[Koenigsegg]

Woohoo!
My first foray in this thread and I get something right!

Okay, I'm done.

 

[geo]

(pat on the back & a kick in the pants)
(your turn to ask a question )