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pupsinpajamas t1_iwo1uw3 wrote

Suicidal moron. Atleast he was remembered.

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ivanthemute t1_iwo4m9k wrote

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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Bad_Mood_Larry t1_iwotzrk wrote

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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ivanthemute t1_iwpixg6 wrote

Updated. Not sure why my damn phone changed the acronym.

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TryDiscombobulated17 t1_iwowkrj wrote

Where you said “object lesson” I think you probably wanted to use the word “abject”

Not trying to be a grammar nazi or anything just thought you might find the info useful

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TheNobleCannibal t1_iwo2zla wrote

He probably didn't do it because he wanted to.

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ratt_man t1_iwo4zad wrote

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.

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Jaded_Prompt_15 t1_iwo6nlh wrote

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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ratt_man t1_iwoci0z wrote

>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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minkju t1_iwodnc1 wrote

US soldiers who fought in the war were there for a couple months to maybe around a year. He definitely could imagine life without war.

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swanqueen109 t1_iwowfm9 wrote

5 months in that trench hell are enough to become insane.

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minkju t1_iwpr8y4 wrote

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

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Unsettleingpresence t1_iwoore4 wrote

He went against orders to stand down. The Germans tried to wave him off but he kept going so they shot him. He did what he did specifically because he wanted to, despite his superiors telling him not to.

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deegeese t1_iwo3wfg wrote

I bet if he really wanted to, he coulda found a way to procrastinate for 16 minutes.

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TheNobleCannibal t1_iwo4c8f wrote

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.

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pupsinpajamas t1_iwo4mk2 wrote

Nobody ordered him to do it. Maybe read the article?

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ivanthemute t1_iwo4x4w wrote

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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SteakHoagie666 t1_iwo9hnj wrote

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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deegeese t1_iwo50ay wrote

So if someone ordered you to charge a machine gun nest 16 minutes before armistice, you seriously wouldn’t be able to think of an excuse?

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dougaderly t1_iwob9et wrote

Fuck I can tie my shoes for twenty minutes if it means not charging a machine gun nest

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TheNobleCannibal t1_iwo5tuj wrote

No I would have kept fighting like everyone else.

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deegeese t1_iwoaykd wrote

Cool, cool.

Personally I’d rather go on living.

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Ryjinn t1_iwoie8f wrote

But everyone else wasn't fighting lol

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