![]() In 2017, the German Army was banned from publishing song books containing Panzerlied and other marching songs by the Minister of Defence Ursula von der Leyen as part of new efforts at denazification. Panzerlied was composed in 1933 by Oberleutnant Kurt Wiehle. It is still used today by the Chilean and Brazilian armies The modern-day German Army has discontinued its use, due to the song's Nazi origins. It is one of the best-known songs of the Wehrmacht and was popularised by the 1965 film Battle of the Bulge. Oscar died in 1955.The Panzerlied ( English: "Tank Song") was a Wehrmacht military march of the Nazi era, sung primarily by the Panzerwaffe, the tank force of Nazi Germany during World War II. ![]() Oscar now, quite fairly, had gained a certain reputation of being extremely unlucky, and was therefore not allowed on another ship again and instead he was transferred first to the offices of the Governor of Gibraltar and then sent back to the United Kingdom, where he saw out the remainder of the war living in a seaman's home in Belfast called the "Home for Sailors". HMS Legion would itself be sunk in 1942, and HMS Lightning in 1943. Oscar managed to survive once again, and he was picked up and transferred to HMS Lightning and then to the same HMS Legion which had rescued the crew of HMS Cossack. But then, on 14 November 1941 Ark Royal too was torpedoed, this time by U-81 and sank around 30 miles from Gibraltar. When the captain of HMS Ark Royal saw Oscar, he allegedly said something like: "Is that the cat from the battleship Bismarck ? He is more than welcome onboard the Ark Royal!" At this point the cat got known by the new nickname "Unsinkable Sam", as a reference to the cat's luck after surviving two sinkings. Again, Oscar survived, and was brought to shore at Gibraltar and then tranferred to the Aircraft Carrier HMS Ark Royal. On 24 October 1941, Cossack was escorting a convoy from Gibraltar to Great Britain when it was hit by a torpedo fired from U-563, after which it was towed towards Gibraltar but eventually sank after a huge explosion. HMS Cossack returned to the Mediterranean sea where it went on escort duties. It managed to survive the sinking and a few hours later, the cat was found floating on a board and picked up from the water by the British destroyer HMS Cossack. The cat was on the ship during the entire battle of the Denmark Strait and of course also on board when Bismarck sank. The cat was supposedly owned by an unknown crewman, but was seen as Bismarcks ship cat by almost the entire crew. One thing I found when I read about Bismarck caught my interest and it is in fact a really interesting story! From when Bismarck first set sail, it always had a ship cat onboard, which original name given by the Germans is unknown. May we all listen to this anthem of the great name "Bismarck", graced by both the famous "Iron Chancellor" and "Terror of the Seas." From the sinking of HMS Hood with a perfect shot, to its demise involving half-a-dozen British ships, the Bismarck shall retain its legacy as the formidable "King of Ocean" due to the skill and marksmanship of its crew even in the face of insurmountable peril in the middle of the vast ocean. The story of the ship, though rather short and easy to summarize, shall remain a legend among naval stories and one of my favorites of all time. ![]() Though I understand the Bismarck was impractical by the time it was commissioned, I have still grown a fondness for the vessel unmatched by any other warship. It's already been 3 years since this song released, and it's aging really well so far say what you will, but few songs compare to this even today in my opinion, and Sabaton has only gotten better and more consistent at creating great music over time. Today, as of writing this comment February 14th 2023, marks the 84th anniversary of Bismarck's launch.
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