I am absolutely loving these videos, they really do help bring things to life. Just looking at the hedgerows behind the guys helps make the bocage real.
Careful lads, not being able to brew tea properly is a sure sign of being a Boche fifth columnist 😉 , it's how Anthony Quayle gave himself away in Ice Cold In Alex 😃
Having served with 2 para my entire military career I became an expert in brewing up and clearing up my gear within minutes and ready to move off again. Tip … dig a small hole just enough to fit the burner in, with a small groves for air flow then most of the heat is directed to the bottom of the mess tin and not escaping for a faster brew.
It's a bit like this when I meet up with one of my oldest friends... I even have the same jacket as James. You can't wear it with chinos like Al's else it starts looking like you are the superhero Beige Man who comes to generally tone down overly bright colours wherever they have been a slight bother
James, Al, if you ever do another one of these series and try to use hexy, you need to smash it first, either on something hard, or your knee in a pinch. You can then light one of the sharp edges and pile the other pieces on!
Oh, wow, that's gold! Two old blokes ( well, I'm 61 yo) making tea, having difficulty setting up the chairs EVERYTIME trying to make fire... I can watch that for hours!😅 please, get a pocket size torch flame, to light the Esbit burner.
Did a micro tour of this area while family waited in the car while on holiday, was fascinating to see it in person, also visited the Meehan Stick crash site memorial near Brecourt and this year visited Upottery where they took off from, where there is also a memorial for them.
I would respectfully suggest that both of our intrepid heroes are rather larger than most of the gents who were expected to use these pieces of 'furniture'
Would love to see Al do a version of his brilliant "How Global Finance Really Works" on here with how the Allied and the Axis communicated 🤣 But love these videos and looking forward to the next ones.
Living in Somerset gives you an insight into how the bocage was, such an easy place to defend but terrible to attack. Really shows you what these men went through.
I was driving round normandy this year and visiting mainly Point 103 (Outside Tilly-Sur-Suelles). The idea of brewing up is something I never thought about. It's a great way to explore Normandy but the Girlfriend likes the beaches near Cabourg more haha.
Can't help thinking James would find opening the milk easier with a compo tin opener (what the US Army calls a P38?) - or just a penknife. All you need is two holes...
When I was reenacting we used a little pressure pump WW2 US Army stove, filled with petrol from the jeep. It took a few minutes to get it primed and going, but then it was impressive. Al and James should invest. And a stove top espresso machine - I'm not sure there was a pot, espresso, M1, but I did have a pot, coffee, pouring M1941 or something. Somewhere I have a coffee grinder made from a WW1 37mm shell in the 1920s, but that's not official issue. It's not actually that good either.
Visiting and discussing the Bocage issue. So many of the US infantry were based in and trained in Devon and Cornwall which for historical reasons are very similar to the Bocage. Why was it such a surprise to them. Possible answers - a fixation on the landings, getting ashore, getting established, getting resupplied, getting reinforced; secondly the need to keep the landing area secret. Training for the Bocage would have been noticed and potentially the whole deception effort negated leading to adequate defence against the landings. We may never know for sure.
@@etherealbolweevil6268 it's not all bocage and I think there was also some overconfidence in thinking that they'd roll through light resistance or round it all.
In the UK, the process of delineating one's property was to dig a ditch along the boundary throwing the soil onto your property and then planting a hedge on top of the soil. One assumes the French did similar, so if you encounter a 3ft bank there is a good chance there is a 3ft ditch on the other side, giving defenders a 6ft wall of soil to protect them.
@@lauriepocock3066 bocage is often ridge, ridge with stones and hedge on top. The famous hedge cutters for tanks only really dealt with a third of the problem. Often they simply blew holes in it, although that's slow to set up and to retire safely from. (It could throw out a lot of stones as deadly projectiles).
@@WW2WalkingTheGround If there is a next time - tell him to break the squares up (so the water will boil faster) and use the lighter on one of the sharp, triangular edges of broken square. You can also light pieces of the waxed board the hexe comes in and put the broken pieces over it. So - who got to clean the mess tins, afterward? Presumably not the talent...
Thing is, all that effort, and you're still drinking tea with carnation in it - and mud and grass and twigs and bugs and everything else that lands in it.
@@nickcummins3084 it's probably step up from WW2 ration tea with the milk already in it in powdered form. I've never tried any WW2 British rations but when reenacting, one of the unit got hold of US Korean War rations which were similar to WW2 issue. It was pretty horrible.
@@alex_g_wood it's an "M1941" jacket. Strictly the US Army jacket, field, olive drab and M1941 is a reenactor name. Original ones in decent condition are expensive but a reproduction of reasonable quality will run you around £60 to £150 depending on make and quality. I have one of the £80 bracket and the cotton is almost right (not quite a tight enough weave) but the lining is a mix with some rayon or something in (about 20%) but slightly on the thin side. If you are looking for a period jacket the USN N-1 in OD3 is a similar colour but a slightly better jacket as jackets go. The B-10 USAAF jacket is also quite good but even reproductions are expensive. Bear in mind, that on the M1941 the capacity of each pocket is about most of a pack of cards. If you try to put a modern phone in, it *will* fall out in the local Co-op.
The other popular repro jacket is the "tankers jacket" (jacket, cold weather). It's impossible to make it look in any way smart if you unzip it, though.
Does France have looser trespassing laws or is the Normandy battleground area treated as a public/national park like the US Civil War battlefields are?
A lot of the land is private farmland but Jim and Al only walked (and brewed up!) in areas open to the public. The invasion beaches are public access and many have memorials, and of course cemeteries, where you can pay your respects to the fallen.
Beginning to think living history group should offer training courses for desk historians 😂 Step 1. Lighting a fire lighter. Step 2. Use of a tin opener
Apparently neither was in the Boy Scouts. Tin of condensed milk ? Put one hole in one side of the lid, then another hole in the other side of the lid, ... and pour ... 🙄
It's better than no milk. Although if there's an obliging cow to hand in a nearby field... But neither Al nor James look like they've milked cows before. My grandfather was a dairy farmer so I have. And I'm absolutely terrible at it
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 91 | คู่เอก "คมอาวุธ vs อเล็กเซย์"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/V0RkEfYFsgM/mqdefault.jpg)
I am absolutely loving these videos, they really do help bring things to life. Just looking at the hedgerows behind the guys helps make the bocage real.
Thank you for watching! Glad you’re enjoying the series so far.
Must be hundreds of hours of footage of James and Al struggling with chairs and hexis…
We can confirm that this is not entirely wrong!
Yes 😂
@@WW2WalkingTheGround this is rubbish 2 old farts never watch 1 more second.
@@Eric-kn4yn two old highly educated farts, both very well educated in Word war one and two. Just having a chat.
I wanna watch them all!😅
Careful lads, not being able to brew tea properly is a sure sign of being a Boche fifth columnist 😉 , it's how Anthony Quayle gave himself away in Ice Cold In Alex 😃
Having served with 2 para my entire military career I became an expert in brewing up and clearing up my gear within minutes and ready to move off again. Tip … dig a small hole just enough to fit the burner in, with a small groves for air flow then most of the heat is directed to the bottom of the mess tin and not escaping for a faster brew.
I'm guessing you had better collapsible stools 😂
@ we sat on our packs.
@rockyrowlands3652 much more sensible!
Honestly I could watch/ listen to these talk ww2 forever 👍
It's a bit like this when I meet up with one of my oldest friends... I even have the same jacket as James. You can't wear it with chinos like Al's else it starts looking like you are the superhero Beige Man who comes to generally tone down overly bright colours wherever they have been a slight bother
Fond memories of sitting under a bivvy in the pouring rain, S10 on making a brew and avoiding being asphyxiated by hex blocks 😂
Great content. Good work 👍
Was there last year, would recommend everyone visit Normandy
Having just finished James's book on the Battle for Normandy I find this series fascinating .Returning to Normandy next year.
@@davidmathie9512 I've been toying with requesting said book for Christmas.
James, Al, if you ever do another one of these series and try to use hexy, you need to smash it first, either on something hard, or your knee in a pinch. You can then light one of the sharp edges and pile the other pieces on!
Really enjoying this series. Thanks gentlemen.
Glad to hear it! Thank you for watching.
Als laugh at 1:27 is like my car starting in the morning. made me chuckle
On a serious note I am absolutely loving this its like we have ways with visuals 😍
Oh, wow, that's gold! Two old blokes ( well, I'm 61 yo) making tea, having difficulty setting up the chairs EVERYTIME trying to make fire... I can watch that for hours!😅 please, get a pocket size torch flame, to light the Esbit burner.
Yet another great episode 👍👍
Really enjoyed the video can't wait for the next one
Hoora. Every day is a school day. Thanks guys.
Did a micro tour of this area while family waited in the car while on holiday, was fascinating to see it in person, also visited the Meehan Stick crash site memorial near Brecourt and this year visited Upottery where they took off from, where there is also a memorial for them.
Another cracking instalment and debacle in the bocage against the chairs 😅
Love how gingerly they both sit down, absolutely no confidence in their own chair assembly skills.
I would respectfully suggest that both of our intrepid heroes are rather larger than most of the gents who were expected to use these pieces of 'furniture'
@@stevenrandall6389 I had one of the WW2 folding beds fail under me and at the time I was barely 10 stone
Might need to spring for a Zippo for the next brew up.
Would love to see Al do a version of his brilliant "How Global Finance Really Works" on here with how the Allied and the Axis communicated 🤣
But love these videos and looking forward to the next ones.
Living in Somerset gives you an insight into how the bocage was, such an easy place to defend but terrible to attack. Really shows you what these men went through.
Saving the time to see this, tea, donut & feet up, perfect 😊
I was driving round normandy this year and visiting mainly Point 103 (Outside Tilly-Sur-Suelles). The idea of brewing up is something I never thought about. It's a great way to explore Normandy but the Girlfriend likes the beaches near Cabourg more haha.
Tea making effort has shown improvement but still more effort required. C+
Can't help thinking James would find opening the milk easier with a compo tin opener (what the US Army calls a P38?) - or just a penknife. All you need is two holes...
Would be more fun if Al secretly replaced the tin opener with a left handed one 😂😂
Next episode: James lights the Hexi first time.........but spills the can of coronation milk
When I was reenacting we used a little pressure pump WW2 US Army stove, filled with petrol from the jeep. It took a few minutes to get it primed and going, but then it was impressive. Al and James should invest. And a stove top espresso machine - I'm not sure there was a pot, espresso, M1, but I did have a pot, coffee, pouring M1941 or something.
Somewhere I have a coffee grinder made from a WW1 37mm shell in the 1920s, but that's not official issue. It's not actually that good either.
Just get that brew on! 🤣
Please get the legendary Ray Mears involved for all future field craft requirements before something goes badly wrong! 😂
The dream!
The drop zone map 😍
I get the impression that when James needs some DIY done he gets a man in lol. 🤣✌️
It's usually the gorgeous Ben Willbond 😂
Since he fixed his own carb on his car, it doesn’t seem like it
@@Harmon1ca cars and chair assembly are clearly entirely different skill sets
It's ten if you include Band Beach to the east of Ouistram.
You need one of those pointy tin openers which put two holes in the top of the tin, do you can pour the milk from the can
You can still achieve the same effect with an issued compo tin opener (P38 to the Americans).
At some point James needs to fill the case with sand soaked in petrol to do the tea properly
Perhaps at WHWFEST V we can have a brew off
Visiting and discussing the Bocage issue. So many of the US infantry were based in and trained in Devon and Cornwall which for historical reasons are very similar to the Bocage. Why was it such a surprise to them. Possible answers - a fixation on the landings, getting ashore, getting established, getting resupplied, getting reinforced; secondly the need to keep the landing area secret. Training for the Bocage would have been noticed and potentially the whole deception effort negated leading to adequate defence against the landings. We may never know for sure.
@@etherealbolweevil6268 it's not all bocage and I think there was also some overconfidence in thinking that they'd roll through light resistance or round it all.
The reason why your traction Avant conked out was the dodgy French fuel, I've got a 2cv which doesn't like the fuel as well
@@ianburns2430 On this occasion it was grit and dirt in the carb. The joys of French summer air mixed with no air filter.
In the UK, the process of delineating one's property was to dig a ditch along the boundary throwing the soil onto your property and then planting a hedge on top of the soil. One assumes the French did similar, so if you encounter a 3ft bank there is a good chance there is a 3ft ditch on the other side, giving defenders a 6ft wall of soil to protect them.
@@lauriepocock3066 bocage is often ridge, ridge with stones and hedge on top. The famous hedge cutters for tanks only really dealt with a third of the problem. Often they simply blew holes in it, although that's slow to set up and to retire safely from. (It could throw out a lot of stones as deadly projectiles).
@ we have a lot of flint in our ridges
I love these videos. However James cannot get Al get past two sentences, without going into melancholy for the sound of his voice knowing something.
Jim doesn’t like a comedian seeming to know more than him. Sounds like his big bruv!
heh waiting for the bonus bonus full uncut uncensored edition
Basically a lot of James failing to light a Hexi (again!) and Al laughing
@@WW2WalkingTheGround If there is a next time - tell him to break the squares up (so the water will boil faster) and use the lighter on one of the sharp, triangular edges of broken square. You can also light pieces of the waxed board the hexe comes in and put the broken pieces over it.
So - who got to clean the mess tins, afterward? Presumably not the talent...
where can i learn about d day? the knowledge these guys have is amazing, i ant to learn what they know
Well, for a start I believe that Mr Holland has published a book on Normandy 44
Will you be visiting the 'operation crossbow' heavy sites ?
Thing is, all that effort, and you're still drinking tea with carnation in it - and mud and grass and twigs and bugs and everything else that lands in it.
@@nickcummins3084 it's probably step up from WW2 ration tea with the milk already in it in powdered form. I've never tried any WW2 British rations but when reenacting, one of the unit got hold of US Korean War rations which were similar to WW2 issue. It was pretty horrible.
James, where did you get that excellent blouson jacket you are wearing?
@@alex_g_wood it's an "M1941" jacket. Strictly the US Army jacket, field, olive drab and M1941 is a reenactor name. Original ones in decent condition are expensive but a reproduction of reasonable quality will run you around £60 to £150 depending on make and quality. I have one of the £80 bracket and the cotton is almost right (not quite a tight enough weave) but the lining is a mix with some rayon or something in (about 20%) but slightly on the thin side.
If you are looking for a period jacket the USN N-1 in OD3 is a similar colour but a slightly better jacket as jackets go. The B-10 USAAF jacket is also quite good but even reproductions are expensive.
Bear in mind, that on the M1941 the capacity of each pocket is about most of a pack of cards. If you try to put a modern phone in, it *will* fall out in the local Co-op.
The other popular repro jacket is the "tankers jacket" (jacket, cold weather). It's impossible to make it look in any way smart if you unzip it, though.
What about the dd tank on Mir Winters plan
Its obvious james and al has dedicated wives who make their tea😂
James, what is your source for "no trenches, only scrapes @ Brecourt Manor"? Thanks.
Carnation milk in tea now there's a thought 😮
Caned condensed milk used in this way used to be quite common. Well that was also about 60 years ago
It was the only way to reliably have access to milk, until a method of drying, to powder milk, was created. Both world wars were fought on it.
There used to be a tube of ‘condemned milk’ in the Brit 24 hour rat packs in the 70’s and early 80’s
It’s actually quite delicious!
@@WW2WalkingTheGround They were using evaporated milk, not sweetened condensed?
They should be brewing their tea in a slit trench. Much more realistic and better protection from the wind!
Did James ever get to interview any vetrans of the "Royal Corps of chair engineers" ? The RCCE ? The men on whom the generals steaked there arses. 😂
Unfortunately due to how the initials of the unit sounded when said in the accent of the average Tommy they were referd to as the Arses 😂
Does France have looser trespassing laws or is the Normandy battleground area treated as a public/national park like the US Civil War battlefields are?
A lot of the land is private farmland but Jim and Al only walked (and brewed up!) in areas open to the public. The invasion beaches are public access and many have memorials, and of course cemeteries, where you can pay your respects to the fallen.
Maybe talk about 11th airborne in pacific. The only airborne unit in the Pacific and not chairs!
There were the Para Marines and Japanese units. And are you counting just PTO or also CBI?
Don't you mean 'Krapped Out Factor'?
what is the book James looking in?
The book is “The D-Day Atlas” by Charles Messenger with a foreword by a certain James Holland 😉
Beginning to think living history group should offer training courses for desk historians 😂 Step 1. Lighting a fire lighter. Step 2. Use of a tin opener
0. Sitting on a chair
wow Al first to assemble the chair, gotta say i'm disappointed James
We imagine he's been practicing every day since...
I like the American answer to Bocage…. Take a blow torch and welding gear to German beach defenses .. Voila, Cullen cutter to fit to your Sherman!
Apparently neither was in the Boy Scouts. Tin of condensed milk ? Put one hole in one side of the lid, then another hole in the other side of the lid, ... and pour ... 🙄
Why did they need to invent trenches for Brecourt Manor on TV?
Tea made with carnation milk! Urgh!
It's better than no milk. Although if there's an obliging cow to hand in a nearby field... But neither Al nor James look like they've milked cows before. My grandfather was a dairy farmer so I have. And I'm absolutely terrible at it
Just as it should talking absolutely rubbish about anything unscripted and honest just like a cupa should be.
Brilliant history, but truly rubbish field craft and survival skills! 😂😂
Sod hexi,s let's see them try ration pack bog roll 🥐