Battle damage today

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headwest
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Battle damage today

#1

Post by headwest » 23 Oct 2014, 16:45

Hi

I had come across an incredibly interesting website a while ago about a young group of russians who went around searching and digging up memorabilia from around Kiev i think it was. i cant remember the website now, something about Serpents Wall? they also did stuff on Chernobyl etc

anyway, it got me thinking about places that you can still go and see battle scars or damage still, one area in particular i was wondering about is the ardennes? are their still trenches, or old hardware/gear, building damage etc still around today here?

and in general, from cities, to forests, beaches, where can you still go find actual battle scars and damage today? and does anyone have pics they can share?

as a side note i did find another site about Berlin and off the beaten path so to speak where you can still see bullet holes in buildings and things like that. so really anything not part of the tourist traps today would be interesting

thanks!

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Geoff Walden
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Re: Battle damage today

#2

Post by Geoff Walden » 24 Oct 2014, 11:11

This is not going to be as detailed a reply as it might be because I don't have my files in front of me, but yes, there is a lot of battle damage left. You mentioned Berlin - there are many bullet pockmarks, both repaired and not, in several buildings there. In Munich, the statues in the Residenz courtyard have bullet holes in them, either from direct combat or soldiers shooting them up after taking the city. The Kongresshalle at the Nazi Party Rally Grounds in Nürnberg has several bullet marks on it, as well as what looks like the strike of a high explosive or shaped charge round. There used to be a house in Würzburg that was never repaired after 1945 bomb damage, but I don't know if it's still like that (bomb damage tends to eventually get repaired, even after 60+ years). There are bronze lion statues on a bridge over the Main River in Würzburg that have bullet holes in them (again, like the statues in Munich, these may be from GIs just plinking at the statues). There are a couple churches (at least) in Berlin that were not repaired/rebuilt after the war (Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, for one). There is one also in Nürnberg (Katherina Kirche).

In the Ardennes, you can still see trenches and foxholes (the "Band of Brothers" tours take folks right to these sites), and I have heard that you can still find cartridge cases and such by just digging around in the fallen leaves (I know you can still do that in Schweinfurt). About 10 years ago there was still battle damage to houses in Stavelot and other Belgian towns - bullet marks in bricks and such.


headwest
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Joined: 29 Aug 2014, 23:18

Re: Battle damage today

#3

Post by headwest » 24 Oct 2014, 23:38

HI Geoff

Thanks so much or that info, very interesting. My bucket list wish is to come tour europe and especially Germany one day.

i wonder if to the east its even easier to see things. this small band of people would dig a little and come up with all kinds of things.


i dont want to dig, but to be able to see Authentic battle damage would be interesting for me

thanks so much! I also found the site i was talking about and it is call "The Serpents Wall" i think a google search will bring it up

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Ponury
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Re: Battle damage today

#4

Post by Ponury » 25 Oct 2014, 21:31

Here you will find tangible traces of the war. In addition, more crime in nieobrażalnym size. On a square 600 x 400 meters killed 900,000 people here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treblinka_ ... ation_camp

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phylo_roadking
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Re: Battle damage today

#5

Post by phylo_roadking » 27 Oct 2014, 00:36

Headwest - you don't even have to go as far as the Continent to find battle damage from...WWI!

Dublin still shows plenty of battle damage on various buildings from 1916! 8O

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