Fury?

poniatowski

poniatowski

Well-known member
Okay, as a former tanker who knows tactics and gunnery, and as a historian who has operated Shermans and interviewed about a dozen WWII tankers, I wonder if "Fury" is worth seeing? If the crews act like unseasoned mooks (like the crew of the Memphis Belle in the movie of the same name), or they do unrealistic tactical solutions (as in rushing a machine gun nest, without cover at squad level as in Saving Private Ryan), then I don't care to see it. I've had enough of Hollywood BS and, quite frankly, its neophyte notions about the military and especially its members. I've been in a combat zone, so I don't really need that "Gosh! This must be what it's like to be in a combat zone!" feeling (because it's NOT, knowing I can go home safely afterward), I just want a realistic depiction of tankers as men who live on the tanks, maintain, fight and often die in them.

Any opinions?

:D Ron
 
I never was in a combat zone. I was crew chief in the Flakpanzer Gepard (twin Oerlikon guns 35mm) AAA in the 80ies. 8) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5iL1EkSkRs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
We were in support of Tank units and Armoured Infantry. So we had to understand the tactics of the "Supported Units" as well as/and of course Fixed and Rotary wing tactics. We trained a lot with other NATO Troops in Germany . Cold War you know. Leopard I and II; M1; Challenger name it. Great times.
I think I will go and watch the movie !!!
Rgds,
Francis
 
Thanks Francis, let me know what you think, fellow 'tread head'! You were on an awesome vehicle. I crewed M109'A0'; A1 and A6 (Paladin), M60 'Patton' and M1IP Abrams. Plus support vehicles like M113 series, M577, 548. I drove more for the Patton Museum and private collectors. I think the rarest vehicle I ever rode in was a JagdPanzer Mk IV L70 I didn't get to drive that one.

:D Ron
 
ebeeby said:
I saw it. And it was surely made in Hollywood.
Click to expand...

Thanks, what a shame. It was bad enough with the buffoonish M24 TC in Battle of the Bulge (Telly Savalas), but I think when they try to be 'super realistic' and fail, it's really quite disheartening. To tell you the truth, I thought Oddball and his crew hit it close to accurate in Kelly's Heros, other than their uniforms and 'going independent', but the crew dynamics were pretty close to what I've known. Of course, they never show all of the tactical planning that goes into a real operation in any movie, not even Band of Brothers came close. But then, who wants to see that?

There was also an old movie, 'The Tanks are Coming' that took it a bit more on target, but there were shortcomings to that one as well. Still fun and the tankers didn't look like Hollywood stars trying to look like tankers.

:D Ron
 
I thought it was pretty good. Very very violent. Some of the tactical stuff with the following was definitely Hollywood. I thought they did a good jobshowing people inside the tank.I have never been in anything that intense. But I think they missed the overwhelming melancholy feeling – longing for home.
 
I watched the movie, thought it was OK. Obviously the story was pure Hollywood. Having said that, there were bits and pieces that were right on. I was impressed to see a real operating Tiger 1. The tactics used to deal with it were somewhat accurate, but compressed for the sake of filmmaking. I could also see glimpses of truth in the characters. Over the years, I have spoken with many combat vets from WW1 Doughboys to guys back from Afghanistan. I knew several WW2 vets very well. One in particular I was close to for almost 30 years. He was an infantryman in the 83rd Infantry Division (Charlie Company, 1st Battalion 329th Infantry Regiment to be exact) in the ETO and fought from the Bulge to the end. Over the years, he provided me with an intimate look at the experiences and attitudes of a combat G.I. in Europe. In the movie, some may see Brad Pitt's portrayal as over the top. But if you look at it the same way you would look at an impressionist painting, there is some truth there. By VE Day, our Army was a hard, tough outfit led by hard, tough men. For instance, my friend would talk about his platoon leader, who won a battlefield commission. A real tough guy, universally respected and feared by his men. Lt. Springer by name. On one occasion the platoon was ordered to attack into enemy fire and was understandably reluctant. Lt. Springer, who carried a Thompson, said if anyone failed to move out when he gave the word, he would shoot them. Guess what, everyone got up and moved. My friend spoke of the experience of war as being reduced to the level of an animal. Always cold, filthy and exhausted, at the lowest level of human existence. I vividly remember his attitude toward the SS troops they encountered. An exact quote: "yeah, they were tough, but when we rounded them up and ran them down the street after we cleaned out a town, they sh-t their pants like anybody else. They knew what was coming and they got it". I've spoken to several other GIs who also spoke of culling out the SS prisoners and shooting them. "Take these prisoners back to the stockade and be back in 5 minutes".
I could go on, but you get the idea. As far as the movie goes, we should be thankful Hollywood makes movies like this at all.
Steve
 
Joe, you are right on with that!

Yes, I've had 'old tanker' friends who said they always liked being pitted against SS divisions, because they didn't feel bad about killing them, whereas they saw Wehrmacht formations as soldiers similar to themselves.

I can strongly recommend "Strike Swiftly" by Marv Jensen, who was in the 70th Tank Battalion (independent) during WWII. I had a good friend from there, Ralph Erickson, who went from Africa to Sicily, and onto the beach on D-Day. Yup, some pretty tough customers.... even a Sergeant named Rambo in the unit (and he was tougher than the movie version! :wink: )

Well, I might have to see this, or at least get the DVD, you've piqued my interest and I do like historic movies. I've worked in buttoned-up tanks for gunnery and maneuvers, including Shermans during mock-battles and I can tell you this, those guys in WWII sure had a lot to contend with in those things!

Yes, interesting, the Tiger 131 belongs to Bovington Tank Museum and it took a lot of work over a couple of years to get it back into running condition. Also, none of the tankers or tank-destroyer troops I've talked to expressed much concern about the Tiger, because there were so few of them and they would just back off and let artillery or air take them out. They worried most about the more numerous tanks such as the Mk IV's, 'Stugs' and especially the Panther. Maybe it was different for tankers from other units or areas where more Tigers might have been encountered. From what I heard, by the end of the war, US tanks wouldn't use hypervel (AP) rounds against Tiger I or II's (Unless they were in an M36 or Pershing), they'd use White Phosphorous Smoke and try to burn the crews out.

:D Ron
 
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