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pupsinpajamas t1_iwo1uw3 wrote

Suicidal moron. Atleast he was remembered.

47

DirtyDanTheManlyMan t1_iwo22r4 wrote

Skyrim’s release date was an homage to the armistice date of 11/11/11. Lol jk ww1 ended in 1918

−17

DefiantCondor t1_iwo33em wrote

Today you say? That exact text has popped up at least once lol in the last week.

−13

wats6831 OP t1_iwo3bv7 wrote

Replying to DefiantCondor (#550,711)

No I learned it from a documentary series on WW1.

Seems incredibly stupid that they just kept on fighting and all commanders were told to continue operations up until the very end even for territory that Germany had said it would give back to France in the agreement.

I don't understand any of it.

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TheNobleCannibal t1_iwo4c8f wrote

Replying to deegeese (#550,767)

Cowardice in the face if the enemy was punishable by death during ww1. So it was either a small chance of survival in the charge or no chance by being shot by your own officer.

−62

ivanthemute t1_iwo4m9k wrote

Replying to pupsinpajamas (#550,645)

Gunther was a suicidal moron. He was ready to die, or kill someone , against orders to stand fast, for no tactical or strategic gain. He shouldn't have "been remembered" except as an object lesson in what a stupid, incompetent, and overall worthless soldier is. The fact that he was awarded the DSC for pulling this stunt is even more abhorrent.

I saw action in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. Yes, different world than the trenches of WWI, but not that different.

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ivanthemute t1_iwo4x4w wrote

Replying to pupsinpajamas (#550,819)

Not just that, but his unit was given orders to stand fast, don't advance, don't retreat, repel any attacks but don't attack further.

He disobeyed a legal order and could have caught a court martial (NJP didn't exist back then) had he survived.

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ratt_man t1_iwo4zad wrote

Replying to TheNobleCannibal (#550,703)

He wanted to, he had been busted down to private from sargeant a short time prior. Some say he did the suicidial charge to regain his honor

Suddenly, Gunther jumped up and charged the machine guns. His fellow
soldiers shouted for him to stop, as did the Germans. In fact, the
machine gunners stood up and waved, urging him to turn around. Then,
Gunther fired a shot. The Germans had no choice. They fired back in a
five round burst.  One bullet struck Gunther in the left temple, and he
fell to the ground. Those who were there swore that the rumbling of
artillery stopped the very moment his body hit the earth.

104

PerBnb t1_iwo5ajn wrote

The famous war poet Wilfried Owen died a week before Armistice in some unnecessary action that led to no significant Allied progress

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Jaded_Prompt_15 t1_iwo6nlh wrote

Replying to ratt_man (#550,849)

He fought thru WW1...

He was probably legally insane by today's standards and just couldn't imagine life without war.

He might have had CTE from the constant explosions and gunfire.

He might have been trying to get last second revenge for friends who died.

Who knows why he did it, but there are lots of things that could have made it seem like a good idea at the time.

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scooterboy1961 t1_iwo6p15 wrote

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

7

fraserfraser t1_iwo7xle wrote

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in the year of nineteen eleven

−20

wats6831 OP t1_iwo8dei wrote

Replying to theguineapigssong (#550,912)

Not true.

They were told to hold the line, not advance and not retreat.

Germany had already agreed to give back the land it had gained (to France).

There was literally no point to continue, the peace agreement had already been signed by all parties.

6

SteakHoagie666 t1_iwo9hnj wrote

Replying to TheNobleCannibal (#550,803)

Always love the reddit historians who try to teach us a lesson without even reading the fucking article. The Germans who killed him even waved at him to stop. His unit was told not to advance. His unit tried to stop him. He just did it.

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phart_19 t1_iwob2d2 wrote

Apparently the last soldier to die in WW1 and WW2 were both American

Edit: The last to die in Europe

−1

Swagasaurus-Rex t1_iwoc7ov wrote

Reminds me of All Quiet on the Western Front. Just senseless needless death for a few meters of earth

106

ratt_man t1_iwoci0z wrote

Replying to Jaded_Prompt_15 (#550,942)

>He fought thru WW1...

no he had only been in europe for 5 months, most of that was spent behind the lines as supply sargeant. Until he got demoted and sent to the trenchs, dont get me wrong in the trenches must of been hell my grandfather spent a week in the trenches during the somme before being wounded. So not calling him out or anything but to say he fought through WW1 is not true

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w00tabaga t1_iwod19o wrote

Replying to wats6831 (#551,028)

Ehh, from what I’ve read he is actually correct. Some commanders didn’t believe the war would actually be over, some fought that morning to ensure they couldn’t be trapped by the enemy in case they tried attacking them, and some wanted some glory before the war was over. These cases were isolated, but it indeed did happen on small scales.

−4

Salmol1na t1_iwogh0g wrote

Looks like OP watched All Quiet OTWF on Netflix recently

−11

Wretschko t1_iwoioj7 wrote

A major general ORDERED his officers to keep attacking despite knowing that the armistice was going to take place in hours and he didn't care that his junior officers might get killed as a result.

"Because he had taught English, [Maj. Gen. Charles P. Summerall, Pershing’s commander of the V Corps] prided himself that he possessed a literary turn of phrase. “We are swinging the door by its hinges. It has got to move,“ he told his subordinates as he ordered them to cross the Meuse River on the war’s last day. “Only by increasing the pressure can we bring about [the enemy’s] defeat. ... Get into action and get across.“ His parting shot was: “I don’t expect to see any of you again, but that doesn’t matter. You have the honor of a definitive success — give yourself to that.“"

What a dick.

Excellent article about the Armistice Day clusterfuck by American commanders that apparently led to nearly 7,000 needless deaths from the Army Times.

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Crayshack t1_iwomy8f wrote

Everyone knew the Armistice was coming. Setting the specific time for it was to give everyone time to spread the word to avoid confusion. By 10:59, everyone had been informed and was just waiting for the clock to tick down. This guy didn't want to live in a world without the war. Maybe he thought it was one last chance for glory, maybe he was severely depressed, maybe he had a psychotic break, or maybe something else. We will never know exactly what was going through his head, just that everyone around him though he was crazy and tried to stop him. The Germans only shot him after waving him off and telling him to stand down didn't work.

1,006

markedbeamazed t1_iwootk3 wrote

Should of just chilled out until the time came.

1

madmollie2 t1_iwor16b wrote

All war deaths are terrible but being the last one to die just seems so tragic.

8

Bad_Mood_Larry t1_iwotzrk wrote

Replying to ivanthemute (#550,816)

To be fair he also might of been just suicidal which i think is a bit more sympathetic. His motives are unclear maybe he was a glory hound getting that last sniff of combat or maybe he just wanted to die for some reason. Who knows its not like suicide was talked in the open back then and the guy did seem to be generally depressed. That being said the award (btw it was the DSC) was unnecessary.

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degorolls t1_iwouw8i wrote

Of course he was American. 😂

−10

DK2037 t1_iwoxuwv wrote

Somebody had to be last. If it wasn’t him, I would have been another guy 30 minutes before.

1

Gruffleson t1_iwoxz3a wrote

I have read most actions that morning sadly was initiated by US officers who didn't want to come home and say they didn't actually do anything in the war.

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Whittling-and-Tea t1_iwp0crf wrote

Replying to R4G (#552,434)

If you haven't go watch the netflix movie based on the book all quiet on the western Front. The movie is called "im Westen nichts neues". Haven't read the book yet, but I've heard people say it's better than the movie.

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R4G t1_iwp0vlw wrote

Replying to Whittling-and-Tea (#552,449)

I read the book 12 years ago and don’t remember much of it (I rushed through it for school). I’ll definitely check out the movie. Paths of Glory is one of my favorite films.

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kaznoa1 t1_iwp5u5u wrote

Bro was stat padding

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fiction_for_tits t1_iwp8om3 wrote

Replying to Whittling-and-Tea (#552,449)

It's a good movie for the most part but "based on the book" is extremely generous.

I don't just mean in the film adaptation loses details kind of way, I mean thematically and experientially they're quintessentially different stories, and I'm pretty sure that they just threw the title on there to give it a bump above like, "The Forgotten Battle" and "Siege of Jadotville."

This isn't to undermine your point or to tell people not to watch it. Just go in with that knowledge because knowledge is power or whatever Shao Khan said at the beginning of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.

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tremynci t1_iwp8u40 wrote

Replying to imnotreallyapenguin (#552,530)

I watched that the year the Library of Congress finished restoring it. Just amazing: it was, I believe, the first film to win both Best Picture and Best Director. The boots scene is haunting.

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Irish618 t1_iwpg0hd wrote

Replying to R4G (#552,434)

Hell, a lot of people died despite knowing the Armistice was coming. Commanders actually ordered assaults that morning, trying to get as much ground as possible before the war ended.

280

RealisticDelusions77 t1_iwpgbgd wrote

Replying to R4G (#552,434)

In the War of 1812, the US wasn't doing too good until Andrew Jackson won the Battle of New Orleans by killing over 2000 British troops.

The bummer was that the peace treaty had been signed in Europe 15 days earlier, but news traveled a lot slower back then.

15

Brownie-UK7 t1_iwph9v7 wrote

I remember reading that both sides fired off huge volley of artillery during that last morning so that they didn't have to lug it back with them. WW1 was the biggest tragedy of the last 150 years - particularly as it was so unnecessary. Plus a huge factor that lead up to the rise of the Nazis and WW2 was due to the ridiculously harsh punitive reparations defined at the Treaty of Versailles.

19

goinginforguns t1_iwpj4ux wrote

Replying to Whittling-and-Tea (#552,449)

The book is my favorite novel, hands down. It’s less a straight war-is-awful story (as the 2022 Netflix movie portrayed it) and really more about about being a child growing up into a young man and being robbed of innocence and hope against a backdrop of trauma and violence. And so many poignant and wonderful moments between the narrator (Paul) and his comrades. The movie completely left out the dynamic between Paul and his mother - it replaced this with the diplomacy in the rail carriage - but that relationship is beautiful and tragic … and one I suspect many of us can relate to. I can not recommend the book more for any guy between the age of 13-35, it’s just still so relevant and timely. Should be required reading.

78

Happy_alt_1 t1_iwpk563 wrote

Replying to TheKidNerd (#553,224)

The most gripping scene from that entire movie, so well executed but oh man... I have watched this movie (1930) with history class back in 2012/2013 and I still vividly remember the boots scene because it is so beautifully done, displaying a haunting set of events. Here is a description, which I would urge you to not read if you want to see the movie.

>!&gt;!At some point in the story, one of the classmates (don't remember his name, let's call him A) has become wounded and his leg(s?) needed to be amputated. Some of A's classmate/friends are standing around him and they see A still got his new pair of boots that were send from home. One of the friends (B) basically says that the wounded A should give the boots to him because A doesn't have a need for them anymore. Some arguing ensues after which the classmates except one of them (let's call him C) leaves where A tells C that he should give B, A's boots. At which point A dies.!<!<

>!&gt;!What ensues is the most griping sequence of scenes from this movie. B gets the shoes and dies from any of the horrors of the 1st world war, say a bullet in the trenches. The shoes get passed to D, who dies of say gas. The shoes get passed to E, who dies of say a gatling gun. The shoes get passed to F who dies of say a shell. So basically you have a sequence of deaths of the classmates followed through the perspective of the boots, showing the horrible ways people could die in the trenches!<!<

Edit: Spoilertags

38

DuncanDisordely t1_iwpkbnc wrote

Replying to TacTurtle (#552,148)

I think what makes those to die late in the war (especially last 2 days) particularly awful was there was an understanding by high ranking generals that an armistice was going into effect. Yet so many allowed or even encouraged attacks to go ahead for highly questionable chances of success.

IIRC the head of the American expeditionary force even had to answer questions from congress about his orders in the days running up to 11th November.

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kcooke7919 t1_iwpksi2 wrote

Replying to Doodle_Brush (#553,405)

War, in general, is not necessary. Humans act like fucking idiots. Do you understand my point, now? And I'm not referring to a country defending itself against invaders.

−18

minkju t1_iwpr8y4 wrote

Replying to swanqueen109 (#552,314)

Oh for sure, all it takes is just one horrible day to change your life. He got sent to the trenches at the very end after working supply lines. My point was that the original commenter made it seem like everyone who was a World War One vet came out like some totally changed person who saw nothing but non stop trench warfare, when that really wasn’t the case at all

4

RatherNerdy t1_iwps9m1 wrote

I bet he was less solid after that

1

bobhargus t1_iwpum25 wrote

how many died AFTER 11:00 in similar stupid last second attacks or from wounds taken during those attacks? shouldn't dying FROM the war even after the war is over still count as a casualty of war? even if it's decades later from injury, disease, or even suicide?

6

IdlyCurious t1_iwq175p wrote

Replying to DuncanDisordely (#553,388)

But we do have to remember that an armistice is a "pause" - they didn't know fighting would not start back up. So there's sense in wanting to be a better strategic position when/if fighting resumes.

18

DaddyJBird t1_iwq4h7k wrote

Replying to R4G (#552,434)

Well there’s always that Japanese soldier that remained at his post for like 25 years because he was never to.d the war had ended. My time frame may be off but I know the dude was in the jungle a long time.

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Pleasant_Series_8044 t1_iwq4kr5 wrote

Another sad drawback to the quiet quitting epidemic. Won't people think of the military industrial complex?

0

MrBlueandSky t1_iwq7ka3 wrote

Soldiers were " press until the final hour so they knew they were serious about the armistice terms"

Because that makes sense. Let's show them how serious we are about peace, by killing as much people as we can before it starts

1

leoleosuper t1_iwq9cyg wrote

Replying to Crayshack (#551,876)

IIRC I've seen this posted before, maybe not to TIL, but apparently he just wanted a story to bring home. He rushed them, the Germans and his buddies shouted at him, then the Germans shot him.

8

WhapXI t1_iwqc020 wrote

Replying to nav17 (#554,827)

Grossly oversimplified but on a macro level it’s basically right. Wealth and power concentrated in the hands of people whose only goal to increase their wealth and power at the expense of each other. Ideas of prestige and imperial ambition and nationalism and revanchism are the puppet show they play for the masses while the ones in charge hope to make money.

1

Khelthuzaad t1_iwqd4z3 wrote

On the other part of Europe, Russia was in full civil war with armies sent by the Antante, Hungary attacks Romania and neighbouring countries and Greece is in full conflict with Turkey.

Peace barely settles in around 1923.

1

ixkamik t1_iwqgq7d wrote

Maybe he didn't get the memo...

1

cyrusm t1_iwqj6z8 wrote

What an asshole.

−1

Victoresball t1_iwqn0me wrote

Replying to Irish618 (#553,157)

that makes slightly more sense since it was an Armistice and not an immediate peace treaty. The war wasn't over, just on hold while a peace treaty was being negotiated.

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almosttape t1_iwqopxi wrote

This wasn’t an isolated incident either. There were 11,000 casualties from the time the armistice was declared at 5:45am and the time the fighting stopped at 11:00am.

4

THE-BS t1_iwqqhjp wrote

Rumor has it, this was Lieutenant Dan's grandfather

1

Iheartriots t1_iwqtzm8 wrote

There were a group of Tommies, wearing the Mons Star, awarded in 1914 that died at 900am. They had served the entire war in the trenches and died on the last day.

7

PsychedelicHobbit t1_iwqvyuu wrote

Damn, he Leroy Jenkins’d himself right into enemy lines.

1

_grey_wall t1_iwqvzjl wrote

They made a movie about a similar guy. Great movie, just released a few weeks back.

1

duskrat t1_iwr6tda wrote

Replying to Irish618 (#553,157)

Long time ago, I talked to a man who was there. He said they poured all they had into German territory until 11.00 a.m. He also said he didn't really believe the war was over until that night, when the soldiers made campfires and he saw all the fires lit up and burning.

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[deleted] t1_iwr79d9 wrote

He died as he lived. A moron.

−1

SalamanderDrake t1_iwr7sg1 wrote

Just watched the remake of "All Quiet on the Western Front", it does show a similar action, although fictional of the main character from the German side of the conflict.

When I was in France, we got stuck in Arras on Bastille day, cause my friend was trying to visit the grave of his great grandfather, I think the last Canadian to die on the Western Front, at least that was the story. He was somewhere east and north of Arras, we never really found the grave.

&#x200B;

Anyway, we spent the day drinking outside this little French cafe, listening to heavy metal with an old French biker who really liked Mötörhead. Interesting day, lol.

1

BlueFalconPunch t1_iwr94hn wrote

Replying to R4G (#552,434)

11k casualties on the last day...hundreds killed.

1 American commander had his unit charge and attack on the last day for access to bathing facilities...he killed hundreds for a bath they could have without bloodshed in a few days.

The AEF commander Pershing was called before congress to explain the hundreds of dead for no reason...he said the French commander told him to keep fighting because the armistice wasn't signed yet. Eventually everyone forgot about it and no one was held accountable

2

master_a_skywalker69 t1_iwra545 wrote

Replying to Gunship_unelite (#555,677)

It was required reading for an elective for me. I no can read good and spark noted through high school but this is one of the few I read cover to cover. It gets the Dumbass Easy Reading seal of approval (and it’s a good book).

5

RunsWithApes t1_iwraomf wrote

I'll bet this had to due with the insane PTSD (called Shell Shock) soldiers experienced back then. Fighting in the trenches during WWI was probably so psychologically traumatizing, he probably felt there was nothing left to live for.

1

FrostyBallBag t1_iwrdtg8 wrote

I thought i heard a couple of Americans didn’t hear abour Armistice and killed some German guy who was trying to be friends. Just after Armistice. Anyone else heard that?

1

ambientsound12 t1_iwreh0l wrote

Replying to DaddyJBird (#554,748)

If it is at all the story I am thinking of, of it was a Japanese soldier on one of the Philippine Islands. They actually sent SEVERAL groups of people to the island, including groups of his own family, with bullhorns and pamphlets from Japan and his family, telling him the war was over. HE didn't believe it because he assumed Japan would never surrender (he didn't know about nuclear warheads....) and that all of it was a bunch of traps. They tried to save him for years but he just refused to believe Japan would lose in spite of his family and his own government telling him otherwise. Commitment or stupidity, take your pick.

4

Well_why_not1953 t1_iwri63b wrote

Nope. An ancestor of mine died about 10 years later from complications of mustard gas. That the thing about war, soldiers don't quit dying just because the bullets stop. Buddy of mine died a few years ago from complications of wounds received in Viet Nam.

2

DartzIRL t1_iwrq2mc wrote

A coupole of those who died had been there for the whole show.

Augustin Trébuchon had been with the French army since it kicked off, had been through the worst of the war, and had been sent forward to tell people that there'd be hot soup when the war ended. A sniper ended his war fifteen minutes early.

George Edwin Ellison had been in the British Army since just before the start of the war, having previously had about ten year's service. A sniper ended his war an hour and a half early.

Marcel Terfve of Belgium had been in the army since 1914. Having spent three years in the trenches before trying for promotion, His war also ended fifteen minutes early.

George Lawrence Price, from Canada, had been in the military for just over a year, having been conscripted. His war ended two minutes early.

The final day of the war was above average for fatalities. Everyone tried extra hard with the finish line in sight

1

RGJ587 t1_iwrt6x7 wrote

Replying to Guac__is__extra__ (#555,278)

IIRC, he knew the war was over, and knew it wasn't a trick. But he was a loyal soldier following orders and refused to stand down unless his commanding officer told him to do so.

It was an honor thing for him, not a "I don't believe you" thing.

−2

dion101123 t1_iwrzxlv wrote

Isn't this what the new Netflix movie is about? All is quite on the western front

0

kchoze t1_iws7jw4 wrote

Replying to Anomaly-Friend (#554,328)

We don't know what he was thinking, but I find it highly unlikely he thought he could "get a few more kills" (that's CoD thinking, not actual war). A lone charge against a machine gun nest was a suicidal action. More likely, he felt so much shame and dishonor from his demotion, and the war ending before he could get it back, that he couldn't bear to go back home and chose suicide by enemy instead.

5

Well_why_not1953 t1_iwsplqg wrote

Replying to neomage2021 (#560,930)

Yes i can read quite well but evidently I was too subtle for you. I was illustrating a point. (pointing out a fact) I have seen war first hand. Always worried about the last to die. I now know that they continue dying. So the man who received the distinction of being the last to die was actually not the last. Just because others took longer to die does not mean they did not die in combat on the western front. If you had seen these things you would understand it.

2