My mother-in-law was raised in Austria, and she told my stories that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. She told of how the German Army would "enlist" men into the Army. she told me that there were usually 4 men in uniform, 3 reg. Army and 1 Officer, they would bring all the people out of the house and line them up, they would take the men to one side and hold a gun on them while the others held machine guns on the rest of the family. The officer would ask " will you join our Army, if not we will kill your family first and then shoot you" She told me more things, if anyone is intrested, send me a reply.

I wonder if HuberSG's mother-in-law has any opinion regarding the lack of resistence when Hitler marched into Austria in 1938.

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Originally posted by HuberSG:
My mother-in-law was raised in Austria, and she told my stories that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. She told of how the German Army would "enlist" men into the Army. she told me that there were usually 4 men in uniform, 3 reg. Army and 1 Officer, they would bring all the people out of the house and line them up, they would take the men to one side and hold a gun on them while the others held machine guns on the rest of the family. The officer would ask " will you join our Army, if not we will kill your family first and then shoot you" She told me more things, if anyone is intrested, send me a reply.

This method of "enlistment" is not unusual. One of the causes of War of 1812 was Britain's involuntary impressment of US citizens into their navy!

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Originally posted by 20802653:

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Originally posted by HuberSG:
My mother-in-law was raised in Austria, and she told my stories that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. She told of how the German Army would "enlist" men into the Army. she told me that there were usually 4 men in uniform, 3 reg. Army and 1 Officer, they would bring all the people out of the house and line them up, they would take the men to one side and hold a gun on them while the others held machine guns on the rest of the family. The officer would ask " will you join our Army, if not we will kill your family first and then shoot you" She told me more things, if anyone is intrested, send me a reply.

This method of "enlistment" is not unusual. One of the causes of War of 1812 was Britain's involuntary impressment of US citizens into their navy!

I wonder what those supposed US citizens were doing when stopped by the RN... I also wonder just how many had suddenly discovered their US citizenship in 1808.

Anyway it was largely an excuse, a beard to hide naked acquisitiveness. The US though that it could bag Canada while the British Army was busy in the Peninsular and the RN was blockading Brest. Casting around for a cassus belli they hit upon the impressment issue and I've no doubt that the American South was wailing a bit as well.
Unfortunately by the time your lot had got going Wellington was over the Pyrenees and the Russians and Prussians were half way to Paris...

So tell me, what would happen back then, if the USN fired on a RN ship that failed to heave to to be boarded? Not a civilian flagged ship, a RN ship.
You really don't think there would have been war over that?

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Originally posted by gumbydammit:
So tell me, what would happen back then, if the USN fired on a RN ship that failed to heave to to be boarded? Not a civilian flagged ship, a RN ship.
You really don't think there would have been war over that?

Rather depends whether there was any physical damage to anyone's ears, that seems to have been the standard.

By the way I assume you're referring to the Cheseapeake affair? This was actually before the RN started 'pressing common or garden Americans interestingly, that happened after 1808 when the West Africa station became busy. By the standards of the time though the RN was out of line a bit over the Chesapeake but then most navies and armies reserved the right to hunt deserters wherever they were suspected and Leopard's captain was entirely correct in suspecting that the USN was knowingly recruiting deserters.

How about the Trent Affair? The USN stopped a civilian ship and removed the Confederate emissaries to Great Britain. Plenty of sabers were rattled in Great Britain over that.

But yes, the Chesepeake. Her Captain refused to heave to and submit to inspection of the crew. She was fired upon by a RN ship. Is that not an act of war?

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Originally posted by gumbydammit:
How about the Trent Affair? The USN stopped a civilian ship and removed the Confederate emissaries to Great Britain. Plenty of sabers were rattled in Great Britain over that.

But yes, the Chesepeake. Her Captain refused to heave to and submit to inspection of the crew. She was fired upon by a RN ship. Is that not an act of war?

Hmm maybe, depends whether she was knowingly carrying deserters or not. By the standards of the time aiding deserters was similar to aiding the enemy.

The Trent issue is murkier in some ways, involving as it does civil war (I wonder if the RN ever took ships containing rebel emissaries during your revolt?). The ostensibly diplomatic nature of the Trent's passengers is somewhat different to deserters though.
On an entirely practical level I'd have been inclined to beach the San Jacinto's captain on the grounds that he was particularly stupid.

Really doesn't matter whether it was carrying deserters, or alleged deserters. Attack the ship of another nation to inspect the crew?

Come on, do you seriously think, or believe, that had a USN vessel fired on a RN vessel for not heaving to and submitting to an inspection of her crew, that there would not have been war?

A merchant vessel is one thing, but a Navy vessel was, and is, considered sovereign territory.

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Originally posted by HuberSG:
My mother-in-law was raised in Austria, and she told my stories that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. ... She told me more things, if anyone is interested, send me a reply.

Yes, please do post more. You might consider creating a "children's stories of war" discussion.

I heard this story in the late 1980s from D, the mother of one of my friends. D told this story of her childhood as we walked the campus of the State Capitol, keeping our eyes open for certain legislators with whom we could not get appointments, to lobby them while they/we ran to their next meeting.

D personally met Adolf Hitler when he singled her out of a crowd of children. He presented her with a new pair of shoes to fit her feet; all of the children received new shoes.

She could still see the hundreds of pair of shoes as she reflected on Hitler giving her a pair of shoes; putting the shoes on ... The later realization those shoes were taken from a Jewish girl - Hitler, himself, proudly gave to her the shoes taken from another little girl - to wear upon her feet.

Two little girls. One lived, one probably died. The name of one is remembered, the name of one is unknown. Both are remembered; remembered because of a message felt passed one child to another via a pair of little girl's shoes.