JAN 20, 19 .. ON THE RAILS AGAIN ..
Cap, somewhat casually it seems, left Novosibirsk on schedule, to the minute, without any DRAMA, and traveled on the Trans Siberia Railway heading east for a stopover in Mariinsk for a few days. He is now on the ground in Mariinsk. This stopover is, so far, strictly as a tourist. Cap was just intrigued with the town when they went through there on the train TO Novosibirst FROM Krasnoyarsk a week ago. When something peaks Cap’s interest, he likes to explore, as you all may well know! We chatted briefly while he was underway, but the connections were very spotty. He is, however, safely in his hotel in Mariinsk.
Just wanted to let you all know he was successfully on the move again. That should not come as any surprise to those of you following!!
Smiles and hugs to one and all. Patti and Cap
- JAN 19, 19 .. AN UNDERSTATEMENT : WE NEVER REALLY KNOW DO WE?
- JAN 21, 19 (Part 3 of 3) .. SOME THOUGHTS ON WORLD WAR II AND RUSSIA
8 thoughts on “JAN 20, 19 .. ON THE RAILS AGAIN ..”
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Hello Mr. Cap !! Caught up on all your posts & the photo blog as well. Especially enjoyed the WW 2 monument & WW 2 Museum. I was impressed that they had a memorial to the victims of Stalin. Enjoying a quiet day here in Nevada. Two NFL title games (which I luckily won $$ on) BOTH went into OT. I will e-mail you a more detailed letter just please MAKE SURE you stay RESTED up ! God Bless
Tom, I need YOU to tell me JUST HOW I CAN REST UP! I am in a NO REST CYCLE it seems to me. It sure means a lot to me and to Patti as well when we know you are keeping up with us as best you can and as your time allows.
Russian friends of mine here say this : Hitler killed his enemies. Stalin killed his own people. Russia paid a terrible price in WWII. A price I am feeling as I traverse this land. When Germany invaded Russia, the German troops got all the way to Moscow. And then Tom, the weather in Moscow brutally froze overnight. The German military could not move their vehicles because they were frozen into the ground.
And then Tom, and then Mister Tom, here came the Russian Army. All the way to Berlin marched the Russian Infantry! It is a wonder that Russia let-up on their occupation of East Germany.
And we in the United States seem to think the Russians are the bad guys. That Tom I do not understand but I DO UNDERSTAND Stalin was no friend in the final analysis. You got me started here Tom. YOU come here, you walk Russian soil with Russian people, and then Tom, maybe you too would be another American who actually feels the pain of WWII in Russia as felt by the Russian people!
Good on you Mister Tom and thank you for following us. Cap in Mariinsk, in RUSSIAN SIBERIA and proud of it. Patti in Anchorage, Alaska.
Reading about Stalin in Wikipedia, it says in 1938 the Soviet Union and Germany had a peace pact. Then, the SOVIET UNION invaded Poland. This was followed by Germany ending the pact and invading Russia, getting as far as Moscow before they were turned back successfully. Interesting facts …
Hmmmm. Patti
Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Several weeks later, Russia invaded Poland on September 17, 1939 to protect its Western front, Russia not wanting Germany to occupy all of Poland right up to the border with Russia. This (odd situation) campaign ended on 6 October with Germany and the Soviet Union dividing and annexing the whole of Poland under the terms of the German–Soviet Frontier Treaty.
Operation Barbarossa (German: Unternehmen Barbarossa) was the code name for the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, which started on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. The operation stemmed from Nazi Germany’s ideological aims to conquer the western Soviet Union so that it could be repopulated by Germans, to use Slavs (especially Poles) as a slave-labour force for the Axis war effort, and to seize the oil reserves of the Caucasus and the agricultural resources of Soviet territories.
And Russia paid a dear price for this invasion by Germany on September 22nd, 1941.
Somewhere back in time (June 24th, 1812) the French wandered into Russia. A book, War and Peace, was written about this invasion. I have heard that the French troops could not withstand the cold winter weather and? That was that! Russia kicked some ass.
Being here has been an education for your truly! Much Love .. Cap
My reading indicates Germany and the Soviet Union secretly agreed to divide Poland between the two countries. The Nazis staged events that made it appear the Poles were acting against German-speaking Poles. On that pretext, Germany invaded. Sixteen days later, the Soviet invaded Poland from the East. Germany eventually took all of Poland and kept going into the Soviet Union.
The Germany army reached within 3 km of Moscow. They broke off their first assault and headed for Leningrad in order to keep supply lines open. (St. Petersburg). The siege of that city lasted 872 days before it was lifted.
Cold weather halted the German’s second advance on Moscow and that’s when things went very, very bad for the Germans.
Your words .. “Cold weather (I’m adding that it got to minus 45°F) halted the German’s second advance on Moscow and that’s when things went very, very bad for the Germans.” Truer words never spoken.
I quote : By the end of November, German reconnaissance units were just 12 miles from Moscow, so close they could see the towers of the city through their binoculars. So close and yet so far. By the beginning of December, the thermometer had dropped to 45 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. It’s not true that the Germans were unaware of the Russian winter. But with limited supply capacity, priority was given to fuel and ammunition. Besides, who needs winter clothing if Moscow was supposed to be captured before General Winter struck?
When the counter offensive began on December 5, the Soviet armies punched through an enemy more scarecrow than human. German weapons were frozen, German soldiers were frozen, and sometimes the soldiers froze to the weapons. The survivors could only watch helplessly as the attackers, warmly clad in fur-lined jackets and boots, and camouflaged in white snowsuits, emerged like ghosts through the mist and snow. The Russian Infantry kicked ass all the way into Berlin!
Thanks for your interest. Cap
I’m glad that you are experiencing WWII from the mouths of ordinary Russian citizens, rather than from the politicians. It’s the people who suffered, not their leaders. I heard stories from the granddaughter of a survivor of the Siege of Leningrad (St. Petersburg) that brought tears to my eyes.
Oh Yes! You can’t imagine the number of times I’ve been at one of the Victory Monuments and someone (often a young Russian) would point to a name on one of the walls and quietly say, “That was my grandfather.” Whew. It gets intense. It’s the leaders and the politicians who start these wars! Living in West Germany for four years often I was told, “What could we, ordinary citizens do?” Hitler Youth Brown Shirt members turned on their own parents. Odd. Never once, in over four years, did I meet or talk with a member of the German army who fought on the Western Front, the front our troops entered from France. All of them claimed to have been on the Eastern Front fighting the Russian infantry. Thanks .. Cap