As an English man, may I thank you for taking the time and interest in paying respect to those brave guys, especially as you are young guys yourself. I’m in my 60s and growing up I knew many guys in my town that took part in various theatres of WW2, in all three Services, many of whom were my relatives, aunts and uncles.
It's great watching this! Summer of 2019 me and my wife were walking a wonderful trail starting at La Roche and ending in Bouillon. We encountered many memory signs of WW2 along the trail; I remember one sign in the middle of nowhere telling something like "At this spot a few soldiers bravely managed to hold back the Germans, but was ultimately outnumbered and killed". Makes you stop and think of how it was then.
I have visited Bastogne and the Ardennes several times. And twice during the "Battle of the Bulge" memorial weekend. I love that part of the world. I enjoy your videos, and I appreciate all the work that you put into them. Thank You!
My dad, who was a gunner with the British Army was at The Bulge, he used to tell me about the cold and frost bite, which I think caused more casualties than the Germans.
My Grandad was in that, got sent home for a bit after it as it completely screwed him up for a little while, my dad remembers him coming home looking rough and completely changed, after some rest he went back into action and survived the war
@@vivians9392 Oh he did, give you some idea of what he was like, once my dad and my grandmother were walking through town during the war and they bumped into him thinking he was on the continent at war they asked what he was doing and he said he was home on leave, they asked why they hadn't seen him and he replied that he wanted some peace and quiet away from the war and was taking his leave elsewhere
I stumbled on to your channel by pure luck. This video touched my heart because my Dad (Sergeant Harold L. Gaskins) was there. He was in the 84th Infantry Division (Railsplitters). Thank you for your work and for posting this video.
Thank you so much for this outstanding video of La Roche. My mother's first husband was killed in action there during the Battle of the Bulge. I was able to visit La Roche in 1984. It will always be a special place.
My father Bill Hutchison was a combat sapper with the 51st Highland Division from Africa to Bremerhaven. He rarely spoke of the war so great to see this clip and thank you for sharing it. These memories mean a lot to me,
Thank you for the work you do to keep this history alive, and hopefully inspire some appreciation in current generations of the enormous sacrifices made by such young soldiers.
That's some great research and knowledge guys. Thank you. La Roche looks like a beautiful place now and looks to be well worth a visit once these lockdowns are finished. Fantastic work lads. Well done. 👏👏👏👏
I wonderr if you lads realize that 76 years from now the children and grandchildren of those watching this video today will be watching and it will serve as great a purpose then as it serves now, if not greater. You are doing a good thing. Thanks.
Outstanding documentary ! My father and grandfather were WWII and WWI , U.S.Army . I became a Marine due to who they were . That was in ‘72 . Thank you for helping to keep history alive . Yes , we must never forget !
Jst imagine how this two great nation Soldiers met up on the same town ,,, this must be an overwhelming reaction n happiness to meet your friend ,allied during this moment of struggle...
My beloved uncle was badly wounded in late December 1944 at Stavelot, Belgium. He spent about a year recovering in hospital in the USA and died in 1995. He was part of the USA 517th PIR, which wasn’t deployed to that area, but apparently he had been reassigned to the 507th. He made two combat jumps during the war. Like so many other veterans, he rarely spoke of his experiences, and we children were always instructed not to ask him about it.
Thank You so much for Your Hard Work. Much Respect! My father was in WWII and my Mother worked in the Factories here in the U.S. during the War. So Happy to see Your Work, it's really Good. I like All of Your photos, I am a History Buff and really enjoy all of this. Thank You.
Absolutely love your childish passion about WWII. It´s them war-buffs like you who are doing the most for keeping the memory alive about those tragic and epic years.
The horrible things they witnessed changed a lot of them forever. My mom said that my dad was very much changed when he returned. He would never talk to us about what he saw overseas of course. He always said we wouldn't understand.
I came across La Roche purely by chance, on a trip in my campervan back in 2018 and i stayed at a great camp site very close to the town. I am a fan of the "Band of Brothers" tv series and i have visited a few of the locations from the series, but La Roche was a wonderful town to visit and it will certainly be on my itenerary for my next visit hopefully this year. Well done to these younger lads providing us with such interesting footage and information on these sites.
Listen, your stuff about then and now is so good that I want you to continue this quest as long as possible. Great stuff. Good work. History dictates the future. Let us never forget the sacrifice for freedom. Thankyou for what you do.
Many thanks for this excellent video and all the background research which has gone into it. The meeting of US and British troops was the most impressive photo for me
Just discovered your channel ... excellent...will subscribe immediately. I've visited Normandy many times but feel a trip to the Ardennes is on the cards post this lockdown. I'll bring my Jeep GPW or Bedford MW. Yes please ...more pics of the British. Thanks again for your excellent channel. Love from the UK.
Winston Churchill said that the 51st Highland Division was his best fighting Soldiers and the only thing that was wrong with the Scots was that there wasn't enough of them lol
I worked wit a guy in the 70's he was in one of the Highland Divisions he was sent with a friend to join up with the Division in Glasgow. They were both Yorkshiremen..He told me they were both captured at Monte Cassino in Italy by the SS after the Americans pulled out overnight . They were taken to a road and were told they weren't going to be taken prisoners but if they kept walking down the road they would find the American lines. The guy said they were sure they were going to be shot in the back , but they weren't and continued walking and did indeed get to the American lines ,they were put into a camp fed and questioned .
My Grandad was an officer in the Royal Army Service Corps attached to an infantry battalion in the 51st. He was the orderly officer when the battalion was on R&R in Antwerp over Christmas 1944. The alert went up and it was his job to get all the pissed up Glaswegian squaddies out of the bars and brothels and off to the front. They were all issued with 150 rounds of .303 ammunition. On VE Day in 1945 they all handed back between 50 and 75 rounds each, having drawn no more. But they’d all been through 3 bayonets each. Moral of the story? Don’t disturb a Glaswegian soldier’s Christmas leave! By the way, these lads sewed razor blades into their Tam o’ Shanters for bar fighting!
Good job guys! Thanks for featuring the British as well. I remember passing through La Roche in 2016 and now it will be a must see when I get back. -Bronson
My Dad was with the 10tth Mountain Division in Italy at the same time and I enjoyed the photo below the castle at the monument. I love this kind of stuff and try to find these views on my own sometimes. I went to Venice Italy and compared painting of St. Mark's Square with different views and positions in real life. I find that type of thing exhilarating. The closer you come to getting it "right" the more it feels like you are there and time has been suspended. Thanks so much for doing what I wish I were young enough to do for myself. Great thing that you guys do!
Glad you’ve done a video on the British contribution to the battle. Doing a then and now comparison is good to. One thing though the 51st Highland Division was infantry and British infantry divisions had no armour units within it. They had either armoured brigades or tank brigades attached to them when needed. The Sherman’s are either the 33rd Armoured Brigade which was independent of any divisions and attached to infantry divisions as needed or the 29th Armoured Brigade which was part of the 11th Armoured Division. Both of these units had Sherman’s. It’s hard to see any markings on the front of the tank which could tell which unit it was. The 34th Tank Brigade which also participated in the battle had Churchill tanks. Keep up the good work. You’ve made me want to visit the Ardennes the first chance I get.
Loved the video. I had a relation thst served in the British 9 para C Coy. I know he was dropped on D Day and he was part of C and B coy thst were tasked to take the Merville gun battery on sword beach. A lot of the guys were dropped in the wrong place but he was part of the force that eventually took the battery allowing the landings to take place on June 6. He was very reserved about what he did and where he was but I know he went on to fight in the battle of the bulge. He told me a couple of short stories but that's about it. He hated the boots he was issued with and eventually took the boots off a dead German and said they were the most comfortable he had ever worn. After the war he used to wear them in his job as a builder, had them for years he said. He also had a run in with some SS somewhere but thats all he would say other than they were evil. Can you guys please try and find out where and what 9 para C coy went on to do after the D Day landings. I would love to find out so I can pass the info onto his surviving nephew. You guys do a wonderful job keeping the memories of the heroes alive. Don't ever stop.
Go here: www.pegasusarchive.org 9th Battalion were part of 3rd Parachute Brigade, which was in the 6th Airborne Division. On the link you want the entries for Normandy, Ardennes and Rhine Crossing and it should include links to war diaries and some personal accounts. Within one parachute battalion you had three rifle companies, A, B & C plus a support company of heavier weapons (mortars, MGs etc). So the war diary will include mention of C Company. Also for more on 9th Battalion & D-Day I recommend the excellent book “The Day the Devils Dropped In” by Neil Barber.
I love history, not only the history of my own nation, USA, but the history of WW1 and WW2 because my ancestors not only faught in our US battles, with only one escaping the Andersonville Prison Camp here but I've got great grandfather's who faught in WW1 and 2 grandfather's who faught in WW2. Sadly, one passed in 2001 and my other passed in 2018. Neither talked about their experiences only that they served. I love seeing how things have chand between back then and now. On my father's father's side of the family we came from France. My 6X greats last name was Michel later changed to Tailon by his son, since that was his Uncle's last name on his mother's side. I'm not sure but I believe my family in France could have fought in WW1 as well as WW2. I've not dug any deeper into that side of my family as of yet. Keep uploading those then and now's they are a great part of all our past history.
THANK YOU........My uncle died in a tank, with the 4th Armored that first attacked the southern flank of the Germans near Bastogne. Buried in same cemetery as Patton.
I'm so glad you value the great sacrifices of these men and the heroic nature of what they did for all freedom loving people. Great job! Thanks for sharing. My Dad was flying P51 Recon over the Bulge during the initial breakout of the Germans. Unfortunately his Intel was too late to help warn the Allied Command.
Just subscribed and binge watching. I love this stuff, before and after shots are amazing. To just stand there and to know there was a tank shooting down the street is insane! It's crazy how many places are still almost the exact same. Seeing all these men going though hell is very sad. God bless them all.🙏😥
My father was an Irish guardsman and served alongside American units throughout the war, fighting in the Torch landings in North Africa, the Anzio debacle, Market Garden and during this action. It needed the combined effort of all the heroic allies to beat the outstanding German army and rid the world of the Nazis
I served with the 51st Highland Division in the late 1980’s until we where amalgamated in 1994, and I never knew the division had taken part in this action. That gives me some new research to do. Thanks for sharing.
You boys are superstars. I know you enjoy what your doing and passionate about it but still requires hard work. What people did for our freedom can never be forgotten. Everyone who contributed in beating the Nazi deserves that. Thank you.
➡️ Take a look at all the Then & Now photographs of this video on www.snafu-docs.com/wwii-then-now-british-troops-meet-american-troops-in-the-ardennes We would like to point out that we could've covered the British attack on La Roche a bit more in-depthly. The video was shot during a last-minute decision, leaving us with no time to properly research the town before going there. Nevertheless, we hope you enjoyed watching this video and I would love to do another video solely on the British during the Battle of the Bulge. As for the unforms at the end. The US Army wanted to standardize all army uniforms with the M43 Uniforms. This resulted in Paratroopers getting rid of their M42 Jump Outfits after Normandy. Most of the airborne units that were dropped for Market Garden had their M42 uniforms replaced with regular M43 uniforms. That is why it is uncommon to see a person with an M42 Jump Jacket during the Battle of the Bulge. Also thank you to all who commented about the British 'officer' being in fact the tank driver and not an officer. Our appologies, this was stupid mistake! We're all learning here :)
You should consider doing a separate video later down the line. Here in the UK, unless people do some digging, when someone mentions Ardennes WW2 they will only know about USA/GERMANY being there.
@@johnwayne6501 Nothings new, the British were written out of Korea, give it another 30 years and they will be written out of Iraq and Afghanistan too.
My father, a field gunner with 53rd (Welsh) Div took me through his route from Normandy to Hamburg/Flensburg on a series or maps back in the late seventies.... There is the middle of his route, around Christmas 1944 was the northern perimeter of the Bulge. The Bulge was an American affair, but the direction taken by the advancing Germans put some British units into the fray. Pa was quite funny. He said "We thought we could have a bit of a rest and were thinking about Christmas. It was bloody cold. Bloody cold. And then they did this..."
The British saved the Americans - the Americans didn't have anything that could react fast enough to the German attack to actually defeat it. It was all they could do just to hold it where they did. It was the British pivoting south that forced the Germans to halt and face them, and then start to withdraw. That gave the US enough breathing space to reposition and bring in reinforcements to counter attack fully.
Joey and Florent- I just started reading Peter Caddick-Adams' "Snow and Steel" and have been watching your videos about the BOTB. Great stuff. Your video's really help when reading about the battle.
I visited Bastogne about 5 years ago. I could only spend a day there.,Watching your videos is showing me a lot I missed. Thank you for what you are doing. Hopefully one day, I can make it back to Europe.
Fascinating stuff. Always been a passion of mine to read books, photographs, videos etc from both wars. In hospital once I spoke to 3 elderly gentlemen. One was at Monte Cassino, one was part of the Normandy landings and the 3rd was a Japanese prisoner of war. I was truly humbled and grateful for these gentlemen to tell me their stories. I salute them.
The “British officer” you mention in the Sherman is the Driver, not the tank commander, the machine gunner would sit to his right and the gunner and loader would be behind them with the commander
Maverick 41 - Thank you for your reply - I thought it may be them as they were attached to the 51st Div for this action - normally part of the 33rd independent armd brigade - my wife’s uncle was a sergeant tank commander in that regiment commanding a Sherman Firefly (17 pounder gun ) it was a friend of his (Joe Elkins) who may have got Michael Wittmann. They lost there tanks for the Rhine crossing and did crossing with Buffalo amphibians again with the 51st.
Lot of ill feeling was generated by Montgomery talking up the British contribution. Such was the level of animosity, Churchill had to tell the House of Commons that American casualties were literally hundreds of times as many as the British losses,as they had done most of the fighting. Montgomery was credited by various German generals for tidying up the battle lines, and turning a series of desultory fights into a set piece battle,of that there is no doubt, but his exaggeration of his role alienated many American commanders. I do believe the British and Commonwealth role in Europe from D-day onwards, especially in the massive tank battles around Caen which tied down the bulk of the German panzer divisions, has been poorly represented in msm and contemporary historical books, but the Bulge was overwhelmingly an American fight.
there's a rather good book available from the usual places online that covers in a lot of detail the British contribution, it's called: The Battle of the Bulge: Britain's Untold Story. Well worth a read.
I am a massive, massive fan of Montgomery. I'll defend him to the hilt. But yeah he was his own worst enemy with the boasting. It alienated allies and made things like Caen look worse when he promised to take it easily, rather than the valiant difficult fight it actually was. Leaving aside the argument of whether the plan was to take it or just draw the panzer divisions into his meat grinder... the boasting didnt help. It's honestly a wonder he and Patton didnt get along more, considering how similar they were in many respects. Maybe that was the problem.
@@AtheAethelingBernard Law Montgomery grew up in Tasmania Australia and he adopted the Australaian ...in yer face .. attitudes and didn't suffer fools gladly. he was a real go getter par excellence. He financed his own continued military education by buying a 10 dollar pack horse then riding it in a prestigious steeplechase in India and he beat the whole field and took the first prize. His race winnings made his career. The big tragedy in his life was the loss of his wife to blood poisoning ... he never married again. From then on Montgomery concentrated exclusively on his Army career . Like Churchill we were lucky we had such a man his many abilities were recognised when he led all the N.A.T.O Forces after the war into the late 1950s - there was no one else who was good enough to replace him! He was truly an extraordinary man..
Great details lads. Much appreciated. I rode down to Bastogne from Liege (obvs!) a couple of years ago and was surprised to see how heavily involved the Brits were, on the field maps. Visited La Roche to. Keep at it hey
Few comments: The 51st HD was not an armoured division..the 3 tanks would have been from an armoured unit supporting them. The Tank Destroyer with the American Unit Badges on its plinth, commentating the two American Armoured Units, is a British TD...an Achilles. It's gun is not a 76mm as the plaque says, but is the British 17 PDR. A completely different and more lethal weapon. The American 84 th Infantry Division is called "The Rail Splitters...." in honour of Abraham Lincoln who fought in the unit in one of the early frontier wars.
Very true, thanks for the additional information! Most people won't understand the cohesion and order of battle of a division, As researchers we are well aware of this, but try to keep the information in the videos a bit lighter. I was very fortunate to meet a railsplitter two years ago. He was M Co (Heavy Weapons) / 334th, part of the mortar (81mm) platoon. Still call him every now and then. His name was David Marshall.
My Dad was in 1st battalion Black Watch who were first into La Roche. They were part of 154 Brigade which was made up of 1st and 7th Battalions Black Watch and 7th Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. They attacked together and it was the 1st Bat. Who reached there first but the full storey was they were only part. The 152 Brigade had successfully reached and secured Ronchamps.
The British smock the American is wearing is a British Denison smock, it’s a normal over the head version of the smock with half zip, the ones with full zip were only issued to officers 👍🏻
The Denison smocks were still issued up to the early 1970's when I served in the British Army - Royal Engineers . A good friend of mine who served with 1 Para, including Northern Ireland, still has his smock. Denisons are now fetching high prices.
I seems the man with the Denison smock is also wearing British Para boots and gaiters. Maybe pants as well. Possible he was a British para posing with a Thompson smg and an American helmet? Great video and attention to detail.
My Dad hurried to get there with Patton's Third Army in the Horowitz Motor Carriage M8 he commanded. Thank you guys you work, I'd love to go there some day.
It's amazing just how brave young men and women can and will be when the time calls. . . How many WW1 veterans said those exact same words. " I can't see today's youth being that brave"? ? Look how their children responded
@@begley09 how true that is. . These are people who no one has ever said NO to. . Entitled misinformed and dangerous to today's society. Wokeness in all its forms must be dismissed
It’s nice to see the younger generation taking interest in the events of WW2.Great research,keep up the good work.
As an English man, may I thank you for taking the time and interest in paying respect to those brave guys, especially as you are young guys yourself. I’m in my 60s and growing up I knew many guys in my town that took part in various theatres of WW2, in all three Services, many of whom were my relatives, aunts and uncles.
It's great watching this! Summer of 2019 me and my wife were walking a wonderful trail starting at La Roche and ending in Bouillon. We encountered many memory signs of WW2 along the trail; I remember one sign in the middle of nowhere telling something like "At this spot a few soldiers bravely managed to hold back the Germans, but was ultimately outnumbered and killed". Makes you stop and think of how it was then.
I have visited Bastogne and the Ardennes several times. And twice during the "Battle of the Bulge" memorial weekend. I love that part of the world. I enjoy your videos, and I appreciate all the work that you put into them. Thank You!
Thanks for sharing and watching!
My dad, who was a gunner with the British Army was at The Bulge, he used to tell me about the cold and frost bite, which I think caused more casualties than the Germans.
Can you imagin Stalingrad in the winter?
that wasn't worse because of low humidity. My uncle from winnipeg told me it was -40 there but he never felt so cold as over here in the netherlands
Your channel certainly helps me with my 65 year study of WWII. My desire to learn more shall never end, it seems.
Ive watched your videos before and the "then and now" WW2 format is top stuff. Long may it continue in 2021.
You bet!!
@@SNAFUDOCS Some of my reply's have disappeared, was it you or TH-cam?
@@nickdanger3802 Definitely not my friend
@@SNAFUDOCS 2nd attempt
The Ardennes Offensive Part 1 - A Calculated Risk
British Army Documentaries
th-cam.com/video/ArtVmlqEeho/w-d-xo.html
My Grandad was in that, got sent home for a bit after it as it completely screwed him up for a little while, my dad remembers him coming home looking rough and completely changed, after some rest he went back into action and survived the war
@Jennine Lataquin
I don't think anybody cares
Bless him! I hope he fully recovered and had a good life
.
@@vivians9392
Oh he did, give you some idea of what he was like, once my dad and my grandmother were walking through town during the war and they bumped into him thinking he was on the continent at war they asked what he was doing and he said he was home on leave, they asked why they hadn't seen him and he replied that he wanted some peace and quiet away from the war and was taking his leave elsewhere
I stumbled on to your channel by pure luck. This video touched my heart because my Dad (Sergeant Harold L. Gaskins) was there. He was in the 84th Infantry Division (Railsplitters). Thank you for your work and for posting this video.
Thank you so much for this outstanding video of La Roche. My mother's first husband was killed in action there during the Battle of the Bulge. I was able to visit La Roche in 1984. It will always be a special place.
My father Bill Hutchison was a combat sapper with the 51st Highland Division from Africa to Bremerhaven. He rarely spoke of the war so great to see this clip and thank you for sharing it. These memories mean a lot to me,
Thank you for the work you do to keep this history alive, and hopefully inspire some appreciation in current generations of the enormous sacrifices made by such young soldiers.
Thankyou for being one of the first people to tell the story of every nationally that died in a major battle
Please keep your amazing footage to remain the memory for further generations
That is our goal, thank you!
That's some great research and knowledge guys. Thank you. La Roche looks like a beautiful place now and looks to be well worth a visit once these lockdowns are finished. Fantastic work lads. Well done. 👏👏👏👏
I wonderr if you lads realize that 76 years from now the children and grandchildren of those watching this video today will be watching and it will serve as great a purpose then as it serves now, if not greater. You are doing a good thing. Thanks.
Another brilliant video guys. Amazing information & footage. The before and after bring us right back to their footsteps. 👍
Great video about a tragic time in a beautiful part of Belgium. Thank you for this wonderful mini tour.
Outstanding documentary ! My father and grandfather were WWII and WWI , U.S.Army . I became a Marine due to who they were . That was in ‘72 . Thank you for helping to keep history alive . Yes , we must never forget !
Jst imagine how this two great nation Soldiers met up on the same town ,,, this must be an overwhelming reaction n happiness to meet your friend ,allied during this moment of struggle...
My beloved uncle was badly wounded in late December 1944 at Stavelot, Belgium. He spent about a year recovering in hospital in the USA and died in 1995. He was part of the USA 517th PIR, which wasn’t deployed to that area, but apparently he had been reassigned to the 507th. He made two combat jumps during the war. Like so many other veterans, he rarely spoke of his experiences, and we children were always instructed not to ask him about it.
Thank You so much for Your Hard Work. Much Respect! My father was in WWII and my Mother worked in the Factories here in the U.S. during the War. So Happy to see Your Work, it's really Good. I like All of Your photos, I am a History Buff and really enjoy all of this. Thank You.
Absolutely love your childish passion about WWII. It´s them war-buffs like you who are doing the most for keeping the memory alive about those tragic and epic years.
You look at their faces and think how young they were
It's hard to grasp as I am probably their age, probably older
Yeahhhhh!! You can see that some clearly have Italian heritage.
at times I think they are older...late 20's....but been told they are 19...22....war can make a young man look old.
@@johnwayne6501 I was thinking the same thing war aged then.
The horrible things they witnessed changed a lot of them forever. My mom said that my dad was very much changed when he returned. He would never talk to us about what he saw overseas of course. He always said we wouldn't understand.
I came across La Roche purely by chance, on a trip in my campervan back in 2018 and i stayed at a great camp site very close to the town.
I am a fan of the "Band of Brothers" tv series and i have visited a few of the locations from the series, but La Roche was a wonderful town to visit and it will certainly be on my itenerary for my next visit hopefully this year.
Well done to these younger lads providing us with such interesting footage and information on these sites.
Listen, your stuff about then and now is so good that I want you to continue this quest as long as possible. Great stuff.
Good work. History dictates the future. Let us never forget the sacrifice for freedom. Thankyou for what you do.
We want the same! We have incredible stuff planned for 2021. Thank you for watching
Fascinating video both, I for one would love to see more content on the British forces during BOTB. Keep up the great work
You guys are amazing. Thankyou for keeping the memory of these men going. It’s great what you do 👍🇬🇧
Many thanks for this excellent video and all the background research which has gone into it. The meeting of US and British troops was the most impressive photo for me
Great to hear about the British in the Bulge, fascinating stuff, great images then and now. Keep the videos and pictures coming. Subscribed. 👍
Just discovered your channel ... excellent...will subscribe immediately. I've visited Normandy many times but feel a trip to the Ardennes is on the cards post this lockdown. I'll bring my Jeep GPW or Bedford MW. Yes please ...more pics of the British. Thanks again for your excellent channel. Love from the UK.
Winston Churchill said that the 51st Highland Division was his best fighting Soldiers and the only thing that was wrong with the Scots was that there wasn't enough of them lol
I worked wit a guy in the 70's he was in one of the Highland Divisions he was sent with a friend to join up with the Division in Glasgow. They were both Yorkshiremen..He told me they were both captured at Monte Cassino in Italy by the SS after the Americans pulled out overnight . They were taken to a road and were told they weren't going to be taken prisoners but if they kept walking down the road they would find the American lines. The guy said they were sure they were going to be shot in the back , but they weren't and continued walking and did indeed get to the American lines ,they were put into a camp fed and questioned .
when where and link please.
Twaddle.
@@terrydeering7363 You never get the link i note.
My Grandad was an officer in the Royal Army Service Corps attached to an infantry battalion in the 51st. He was the orderly officer when the battalion was on R&R in Antwerp over Christmas 1944. The alert went up and it was his job to get all the pissed up Glaswegian squaddies out of the bars and brothels and off to the front. They were all issued with 150 rounds of .303 ammunition. On VE Day in 1945 they all handed back between 50 and 75 rounds each, having drawn no more. But they’d all been through 3 bayonets each.
Moral of the story? Don’t disturb a Glaswegian soldier’s Christmas leave! By the way, these lads sewed razor blades into their Tam o’ Shanters for bar fighting!
Good job guys! Thanks for featuring the British as well. I remember passing through La Roche in 2016 and now it will be a must see when I get back. -Bronson
Thank you Bronson, hope to see you soon!
My Dad was with the 10tth Mountain Division in Italy at the same time and I enjoyed the photo below the castle at the monument. I love this kind of stuff and try to find these views on my own sometimes. I went to Venice Italy and compared painting of St. Mark's Square with different views and positions in real life. I find that type of thing exhilarating. The closer you come to getting it "right" the more it feels like you are there and time has been suspended. Thanks so much for doing what I wish I were young enough to do for myself. Great thing that you guys do!
Glad you’ve done a video on the British contribution to the battle. Doing a then and now comparison is good to.
One thing though the 51st Highland Division was infantry and British infantry divisions had no armour units within it. They had either armoured brigades or tank brigades attached to them when needed. The Sherman’s are either the 33rd Armoured Brigade which was independent of any divisions and attached to infantry divisions as needed or the 29th Armoured Brigade which was part of the 11th Armoured Division. Both of these units had Sherman’s. It’s hard to see any markings on the front of the tank which could tell which unit it was. The 34th Tank Brigade which also participated in the battle had Churchill tanks.
Keep up the good work. You’ve made me want to visit the Ardennes the first chance I get.
Lest We Forget.
Thank you fellas for sharing this.
Loved the video. I had a relation thst served in the British 9 para C Coy. I know he was dropped on D Day and he was part of C and B coy thst were tasked to take the Merville gun battery on sword beach. A lot of the guys were dropped in the wrong place but he was part of the force that eventually took the battery allowing the landings to take place on June 6.
He was very reserved about what he did and where he was but I know he went on to fight in the battle of the bulge. He told me a couple of short stories but that's about it. He hated the boots he was issued with and eventually took the boots off a dead German and said they were the most comfortable he had ever worn. After the war he used to wear them in his job as a builder, had them for years he said. He also had a run in with some SS somewhere but thats all he would say other than they were evil.
Can you guys please try and find out where and what 9 para C coy went on to do after the D Day landings. I would love to find out so I can pass the info onto his surviving nephew. You guys do a wonderful job keeping the memories of the heroes alive. Don't ever stop.
Go here: www.pegasusarchive.org
9th Battalion were part of 3rd Parachute Brigade, which was in the 6th Airborne Division. On the link you want the entries for Normandy, Ardennes and Rhine Crossing and it should include links to war diaries and some personal accounts.
Within one parachute battalion you had three rifle companies, A, B & C plus a support company of heavier weapons (mortars, MGs etc). So the war diary will include mention of C Company.
Also for more on 9th Battalion & D-Day I recommend the excellent book “The Day the Devils Dropped In” by Neil Barber.
@@HydroSnips thank you so much
Literally 30 seconds to find en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9th_(Eastern_and_Home_Counties)_Parachute_Battalion
I love history, not only the history of my own nation, USA, but the history of WW1 and WW2 because my ancestors not only faught in our US battles, with only one escaping the Andersonville Prison Camp here but I've got great grandfather's who faught in WW1 and 2 grandfather's who faught in WW2. Sadly, one passed in 2001 and my other passed in 2018. Neither talked about their experiences only that they served. I love seeing how things have chand between back then and now. On my father's father's side of the family we came from France. My 6X greats last name was Michel later changed to Tailon by his son, since that was his Uncle's last name on his mother's side. I'm not sure but I believe my family in France could have fought in WW1 as well as WW2. I've not dug any deeper into that side of my family as of yet. Keep uploading those then and now's they are a great part of all our past history.
THANK YOU........My uncle died in a tank, with the 4th Armored that first attacked the southern flank of the Germans near Bastogne. Buried in same cemetery as Patton.
I'm so glad you value the great sacrifices of these men and the heroic nature of what they did for all freedom loving people.
Great job! Thanks for sharing.
My Dad was flying P51 Recon over the Bulge during the initial breakout of the Germans. Unfortunately his Intel was too late to help warn the Allied Command.
Just subscribed and binge watching. I love this stuff, before and after shots are amazing. To just stand there and to know there was a tank shooting down the street is insane! It's crazy how many places are still almost the exact same. Seeing all these men going though hell is very sad. God bless them all.🙏😥
My father was an Irish guardsman and served alongside American units throughout the war, fighting in the Torch landings in North Africa, the Anzio debacle, Market Garden and during this action. It needed the combined effort of all the heroic allies to beat the outstanding German army and rid the world of the Nazis
Amazing video and I absolutely love your detail and knowledge. That’s dedication. Keep it up. This is stuff you don’t find on TV
I appreciate that! We will continue!
I served with the 51st Highland Division in the late 1980’s until we where amalgamated in 1994, and I never knew the division had taken part in this action.
That gives me some new research to do.
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, brother!!!
You're doing an amazing job!!!
More content like this would be great!!!
Anything, WW2.
Excellent video. Thank you. RS. Canada
You boys are superstars. I know you enjoy what your doing and passionate about it but still requires hard work. What people did for our freedom can never be forgotten. Everyone who contributed in beating the Nazi deserves that. Thank you.
➡️ Take a look at all the Then & Now photographs of this video on www.snafu-docs.com/wwii-then-now-british-troops-meet-american-troops-in-the-ardennes
We would like to point out that we could've covered the British attack on La Roche a bit more in-depthly. The video was shot during a last-minute decision, leaving us with no time to properly research the town before going there. Nevertheless, we hope you enjoyed watching this video and I would love to do another video solely on the British during the Battle of the Bulge. As for the unforms at the end. The US Army wanted to standardize all army uniforms with the M43 Uniforms. This resulted in Paratroopers getting rid of their M42 Jump Outfits after Normandy. Most of the airborne units that were dropped for Market Garden had their M42 uniforms replaced with regular M43 uniforms. That is why it is uncommon to see a person with an M42 Jump Jacket during the Battle of the Bulge.
Also thank you to all who commented about the British 'officer' being in fact the tank driver and not an officer. Our appologies, this was stupid mistake! We're all learning here :)
You should consider doing a separate video later down the line. Here in the UK, unless people do some digging, when someone mentions Ardennes WW2 they will only know about USA/GERMANY being there.
Thanks for the additional information. There's no perfection. Saying that, you're doing a fine job with this. Thank you.
I'm 58 yrs old and I had NO clue the british were in the area. Just to show you not many has been written on it. I love reading WW2 stuff.
I would also like to mention, you probably already know.. the black watch was a Canadian unit. Thanks great walk through history.
@@johnwayne6501 Nothings new, the British were written out of Korea, give it another 30 years and they will be written out of Iraq and Afghanistan too.
Very well done my friend!! I am a subscriber fan!!
You guys are doing an amazing job with your then and now pictures
My father, a field gunner with 53rd (Welsh) Div took me through his route from Normandy to Hamburg/Flensburg on a series or maps back in the late seventies.... There is the middle of his route, around Christmas 1944 was the northern perimeter of the Bulge. The Bulge was an American affair, but the direction taken by the advancing Germans put some British units into the fray. Pa was quite funny. He said "We thought we could have a bit of a rest and were thinking about Christmas. It was bloody cold. Bloody cold. And then they did this..."
i bet it suddenly went from freezing cold to red hot.
The British saved the Americans - the Americans didn't have anything that could react fast enough to the German attack to actually defeat it. It was all they could do just to hold it where they did. It was the British pivoting south that forced the Germans to halt and face them, and then start to withdraw. That gave the US enough breathing space to reposition and bring in reinforcements to counter attack fully.
Been there often in the past with veterans of 6th AB. Thank you for the wonderful video.
Joey and Florent- I just started reading Peter Caddick-Adams' "Snow and Steel" and have been watching your videos about the BOTB. Great stuff. Your video's really help when reading about the battle.
Glad you like them!
Excellent Young Man,keep up the Great Work.👍🇬🇧
Thank you guys for keeping these memories alive. Great job.
What a good job these 2 young film makers do in preserving the history of these important events
We are glad you think so. Thank you for watching!
You blokes are doing a great thing here. I love these videos.
I visited Bastogne about 5 years ago. I could only spend a day there.,Watching your videos is showing me a lot I missed. Thank you for what you are doing. Hopefully one day, I can make it back to Europe.
The comparison pictures are great, thank you for this video
Brilliant. Well done 👍🏻👏🏻
Gentlemen - excellent video. I really enjoy the then v. now photos. It keeps history alive.
Spr gr8 video tq 4 upload👏👏👏👍
Nice cool thanks for the before and after pictures and video !
Fascinating stuff. Always been a passion of mine to read books, photographs, videos etc from both wars. In hospital once I spoke to 3 elderly gentlemen. One was at Monte Cassino, one was part of the Normandy landings and the 3rd was a Japanese prisoner of war. I was truly humbled and grateful for these gentlemen to tell me their stories. I salute them.
Very interesting! Thank you for sharing pics and information. ❤
Thanks for good video. La Roche is on the list now. Love you to make more videos from the British actions In the Ardennes.
Glad you like them!
The “British officer” you mention in the Sherman is the Driver, not the tank commander, the machine gunner would sit to his right and the gunner and loader would be behind them with the commander
Thank you sir! We need to do better next time. This was a stupid mistake, but we'll try to have our tank knowledge on point next time.
So what who cares.
SNAFU DOCS Have you any idea to which unit/regiment the three tanks belonged
@@michaelallen2698 i believe they were from the 1st Northamptonshire yeomanry
Maverick 41 - Thank you for your reply - I thought it may be them as they were attached to the 51st Div for this action - normally part of the 33rd independent armd brigade - my wife’s uncle was a sergeant tank commander in that regiment commanding a Sherman Firefly (17 pounder gun ) it was a friend of his (Joe Elkins) who may have got Michael Wittmann. They lost there tanks for the Rhine crossing and did crossing with Buffalo amphibians again with the 51st.
Lot of ill feeling was generated by Montgomery talking up the British contribution. Such was the level of animosity, Churchill had to tell the House of Commons that American casualties were literally hundreds of times as many as the British losses,as they had done most of the fighting. Montgomery was credited by various German generals for tidying up the battle lines, and turning a series of desultory fights into a set piece battle,of that there is no doubt, but his exaggeration of his role alienated many American commanders. I do believe the British and Commonwealth role in Europe from D-day onwards, especially in the massive tank battles around Caen which tied down the bulk of the German panzer divisions, has been poorly represented in msm and contemporary historical books, but the Bulge was overwhelmingly an American fight.
I agree with your comments, the Brit's had to deal with tiger tanks in their sector of D day and the Americans actually encountered none !
there's a rather good book available from the usual places online that covers in a lot of detail the British contribution, it's called: The Battle of the Bulge: Britain's Untold Story. Well worth a read.
I am a massive, massive fan of Montgomery. I'll defend him to the hilt. But yeah he was his own worst enemy with the boasting. It alienated allies and made things like Caen look worse when he promised to take it easily, rather than the valiant difficult fight it actually was. Leaving aside the argument of whether the plan was to take it or just draw the panzer divisions into his meat grinder... the boasting didnt help.
It's honestly a wonder he and Patton didnt get along more, considering how similar they were in many respects. Maybe that was the problem.
@@AtheAethelingBernard Law Montgomery grew up in Tasmania Australia and he adopted the Australaian ...in yer face .. attitudes and didn't suffer fools gladly. he was a real go getter par excellence.
He financed his own continued military education by buying a 10 dollar pack horse then riding it in a prestigious steeplechase in India and he beat the whole field and took the first prize.
His race winnings made his career. The big tragedy in his life was the loss of his wife to blood poisoning ... he never married again. From then on Montgomery concentrated exclusively on his Army career . Like Churchill we were lucky we had such a man his many abilities were recognised when he led all the N.A.T.O Forces after the war into the late 1950s - there was no one else who was good enough to replace him! He was truly an extraordinary man..
Thank you guys ...as always excellent video
I paused the video at 3:55 and looked at the 'then and now' comparison. So little has changed - remarkable!
Great details lads. Much appreciated. I rode down to Bastogne from Liege (obvs!) a couple of years ago and was surprised to see how heavily involved the Brits were, on the field maps. Visited La Roche to. Keep at it hey
Thanks buddy! More coming!
It's nice to see young guys so interested and knowledgeable about the war, nice work! Rob (UK).
I enjoyed the different approach of your video; fresh.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent again. Loved all photos. Thank you so much for your hard work into presenting this.
Love the before and after photo comparisons. Nice job.
THANK YOU.....VERY SPECIAL, My Uncle died in a Tank Battle while with the 4th Armored, buried in the same cemetery, Patton is buried in.
Yes, more! I wish one day i could have the privilege of visiting the areas in your videos. Thanks for showing us.
Maybe one day!
Few comments:
The 51st HD was not an armoured division..the 3 tanks would have been from an armoured unit supporting them.
The Tank Destroyer with the American Unit Badges on its plinth, commentating the two American Armoured Units, is a British TD...an Achilles.
It's gun is not a 76mm as the plaque says, but is the British 17 PDR.
A completely different and more lethal weapon.
The American 84 th Infantry Division is called "The Rail Splitters...." in honour of Abraham Lincoln who fought in the unit in one of the early frontier wars.
Very true, thanks for the additional information! Most people won't understand the cohesion and order of battle of a division, As researchers we are well aware of this, but try to keep the information in the videos a bit lighter.
I was very fortunate to meet a railsplitter two years ago. He was M Co (Heavy Weapons) / 334th, part of the mortar (81mm) platoon. Still call him every now and then. His name was David Marshall.
Good info. The 17 pdr. did use 76.2mm rounds so...
i find the before and now shots more than fascinating,brilliant!...keep it up.
My Dad was in 1st battalion Black Watch who were first into La Roche. They were part of 154 Brigade which was made up of 1st and 7th Battalions Black Watch and 7th Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. They attacked together and it was the 1st Bat. Who reached there first but the full storey was they were only part. The 152 Brigade had successfully reached and secured Ronchamps.
Wow thank you for making this video, it's so important to tell their stories. Bravo!
Excellent! I love the then and now perspective!
A valuable addition to the story of WW2, well done...and thank you.
Well done, brilliant comp
Brilliant compared photos. Yes do more. Cheers guys. Mickietoobad.
Thanks my friend!
Hey bedankt mannen. Voor de knappe video. Was november 2021 nog daar. Grtz 👍🏻
fantastic research, fantastic photos thank you.
Those photos are wild, nice job
Excellent job guys. You are exceptionally well informed about even the smallest details.
My favourite picture is the memorial one. Brilliant video. Thank you.
The British smock the American is wearing is a British Denison smock, it’s a normal over the head version of the smock with half zip, the ones with full zip were only issued to officers 👍🏻
The Denison smocks were still issued up to the early 1970's when I served in the British Army - Royal Engineers . A good friend of mine who served with 1 Para, including Northern Ireland, still has his smock. Denisons are now fetching high prices.
I seems the man with the Denison smock is also wearing British Para boots and gaiters. Maybe pants as well. Possible he was a British para posing with a Thompson smg and an American helmet? Great video and attention to detail.
Fantastic as usual ...thank you
My Dad hurried to get there with Patton's Third Army in the Horowitz Motor Carriage M8 he commanded.
Thank you guys you work, I'd love to go there some day.
Weer een geweldige reportage zo mooi wat jullie doen
Your videos are awesome...it amazing to see the before and after...looking forward to more videos....greetings from NW Michigan
Great knowledge guys really good you keep these memories alive, outstanding.
Awesome job lads.....keep up,can't stop watching
Another stunning then and now video, very informative. Keep it coming SNAFU.
Thank you for this. Extremely interesting and very well done, and yes, may we never forget.
Sadly, I cannot imagine today's youth being as brave.
We send the brightest and best of our youth off to places like Afghanistan to get maimed or killed.
No all hide from a non lethal virus
It's amazing just how brave young men and women can and will be when the time calls. . . How many WW1 veterans said those exact same words. " I can't see today's youth being that brave"? ?
Look how their children responded
@@mark3427 with today's standards, you can't even say man or woman because some dont identify as either.
@@begley09 how true that is. . These are people who no one has ever said NO to. . Entitled misinformed and dangerous to today's society. Wokeness in all its forms must be dismissed
I'm digging your post bro!....Good Job