Kelly Xu
brown bodies??? Ursula should congratulate him, not raise doubts. Operation Gomorrah was considered an enormous success by the crews. It was a turning point, it would push the war nearer to its conclusion, it would help those troops, the ‘brown bodies’ who at some future date were going to have to land again on European soil and battle their way to the end. ‘A good prang,’ his flight engineer, Geoff Smythson, had written in his log book. A good show, the solicitor said yesterday, slavering in anticipation of the poor pig. I would like to know what does "brown bodies" here mean. Thanks.
May 28, 2015 3:33 PM
Answers · 6
Likely refers to Indian soldiers taking part in World War 2, "brown" referring to skin color. Not a very socially or politically correct way to refer to a race. I might be wrong though, I dislike history books or works of fiction that tie in to real life.
May 28, 2015
Syrial has offered a good guess. Yes, the reference is to World War II. Operation Gomorrah was an important turning point in the war with Germany. The 'brown bodies' referred to the colour of the American infantry soldiers' uniforms, because most of their clothing, shoes and equipment were coloured brown. So, the brown bodies referred to the uniforms worn by the American soldiers. Here's an interesting link to Operation Gomorrah: http://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/operation-gomorrah/
May 28, 2015
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!