New Hollywood blockbuster coming to Queensland Bottom photo...50mm? I think they mean 50. cal? D company 6RAR - Against over 2000 VC and NVA...
Even weirder is that its going to be a Hollywood movie... Only a couple of Australian movies made on Vietnam, one was a telemovie, the other was a semi comedy!? <iframe width="640" height="360" src="" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I think it's a needed change of pace. American based Vietnam movies have an obvious anti-government feel, and indifference to life attitude that kind of tick me off. WW2 movies show respect and patriotism. Vietnam movies show rebellion and cowardice. Now I'll admit that's a pretty serous generalization, but Vietnam war movies are a genre of their own with depressing and frustrating storylines.
I agree that they tend to try and do too much...very serious too. Great war movies for me are the ones that focus on just a small group of men during one operation...I mentioned my favourite WW2 is "We dive at dawn"...good example of telling a small story well with a small group of people you can get to know and care about.
Agreed......looks like the Aussies are finally getting noticed across the Pacific here in the U.S! Though not how I thought, I was thinking Galipoli, or Kokoda, or El Alamein...but I'm absolutely okay with the Aussie Vietnam combo......badass.
Im not sure WHY we are getting noticed...and on a Vietnam story. Perhaps its a chance to do something different, without the constraint of the "stigma" attached to US Vietnam movies? Gallipoli has been done...so well I don't think anyone needs to do another IMO. Kokoda would be a more obvious choice as the Americans could be weaved in without too much trouble...Tobruk has been done too, but it was a bit cheezy IMO. Did you know? The North Vietnamese military ordered their forces to NOT engage the Australians after Long Tan, but to go around us if contacted...our (ground) war was as good as over from there.<iframe width="640" height="360" src="" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe> Theres been some songs generated by Australians over the war, heres one of my favourite.
I think it does have to do with the stigma, and who doesn't like Australia, I can't think of a single fellow American who look at Australia in a negative way. I did not know the North Vietnamese were that scared of the Aussies, I knew they put up serious fights, and inflicted sometimes twice as many casualties as American units, but I had no clue they had that much respect from the VC and NVA.
Soviet design, 12.7 mm. The SG43 was designed by P.M. Goryunovin 1942 to provide a wartime replacement for the elderly Maxim Model 1910, and even used the old Maxim’s wheeled carriage. DShK 1938, SG43 and other Soviet machine-guns
You guys need more coffee and less beer this early in the morning... From Opana's article The mg being tested is clearly the 7.62mm SG-43. I'd also like to see anybody hold a .50 caliber belt in their "cupped" hand as the soldier on the left is doing.
Vietnam was a war that nobody wanted to fight, yet it lasted 30 years. Terrible terrible loss of life and land.
Yeah France at the bottom of it all... Ho Chi Minh once lived in Boston USA - also Hornsey UK and Paris...and was "supported closely but clandestinely by the United States office of strategic services" during WW2...he also sent a number of letters to the US government pleading to be recognised, these didn't go up the chain and instead were binned...a number of opportunities to avoid war...but this is all a much bigger story that cant be told in a paragraph.
Unfortunately, I don't think there is one person or country solely to blame for the conflict, but rather everyone involved made decisions that ultimately escalated and elongated the war.
A Battle of Long Tan movie "teaser" trailer has come out. One late afternoon in 1966, in a Vietnamese rubber plantation, 108 young and mostly inexperienced Australian and New Zealand soldiers held off a force of 2500. This is their untold story." An ANZAC story as the devastating artillery came from the Kiwi's fire base. (American artillery was also employed).The battle ended when Australian armour moved into the battle field spraying 50 cal down on the Vietnamese many hours after the battle started. Americans were involved, as my memory says that Americans helped by air dropping more ammunition close to the battle - they couldn't land so just dropped very low and pushed the ammo boxes over the side, many smashing open once hitting the ground...the Aussies still appreciated it! One cant fight without ammo. "Danger Close" 108 Australians against 2500 Vietnamese. <iframe width="640" height="360" src="" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> As one can imagine many service men say they were at the battle...many more than 108. So most are telling porky pies (lies). One of my work collegues when I worked for Defence said he was there as a young Lieutenant...he was even interviewed in an official documentary on the battle...some have come out since and said they don't remember him. Just had a quick look on the AWM site - " "Troops from 6RAR return to Nui Dat from Long Tan on board 1 Squadron's APCs. ... of Lieutenant Peter Dinham's 2 Platoon, A Company, led by Sergeant Frank ..." My work collegue was a Colonel Peter Dinham so the AWM mark him as there. As you can see from the trailer Australians used M-16s as well as the SLR - So Kodiak Beer can see them in action...anyone notice the Owen sub machine gun too?