Yes, it is true. My German grandfather, I am 72 years old, was grabbed for the Volkssturm in 1945. He wore a civilian overcoat and was handed a Panzer Faust. He had the iron cross from WWI. So he was told to go out and due his duty and attempt to take out a Soviet Tank. He had no luck with that and surrendered to the Russians when the fighting ceased. He survived to 1967. My mother had for many years the overcoat that he wore in those days in Berlin, beaten up but serviceable.
The day of American election I posted on /Pol/a picture of Hitler on his bunker titled,"We can still win this if Steiner, takes Virginia". One of the funniest nights on that God Forsaken website.
my great grand father was a WW1 veteran and was conscripted in the Volksstrum in late 44. He already had a iron cross 2nd from WW1 and recieved the bar to the 2nd class in 1945. He was captured and released in early 46.
My great grandfather was barely too young to serve in WWI but was drafted into the Volkssturm at the end of WWII. His wife and 5 children fled East Prussia from the red army while he was in active duty. The oldest of the children was my grandmother, 7 years old. They fled across the frozen vistula lagoon for Mecklenburg, where they had relatives that would grant them shelter in a small rural village. When the soviets finally arrived they hid in a forest nearby and the local men surrendered to the russians. After that all the women were raped and the owners of the farms were shot just because they were land owners. They didn't even know whether my great grandfather would ever return. Fortunately he survived the war and captivity and found them in 46. Another grandfather of mine was 14 when the war ended, being the youngest of his other brothers who were all killed in the war as well. Those stories teached me to be very grateful for the peaceful life that is given to my generation.
I served in West Germany during the 1980's. One of my coworkers had been in the Hitlerjügend, the German boy scouts. In April, 1945, his entire troop was drafted into the Army and given rudimentary training with Panzerfausts. His unit was given a veteran of the Russian front with a missing arm and sent to defend a railroad tunnel to defend it against the advancing Americans.
Upon arriving at the tunnel, the grizzled NCO told the kids that he was going to turn around for two minutes, and when he turned back, he wanted to see a pile of Panzerfausts and no kids. Mike and his friends took off, and survived the war.
Even more depressing are the german jewish war heroes from ww1 which were betrayed by the country they fought for. It's so disgusting if you think about it.
@@NeurosenkavalierEmilSinclair I agree. I also speculate that the majority of those old men that became part of the the VS, where also those that were part of the brown shirts in the early 1920's that helped Hitler rise to power. As the saying goes, "The chickens came home to roost." I have no sympathy for these old men.
Agreed, years ago I visited a Jewish cemetery in Munich, many headstones stated service to the fatherland WW1. So unbelievable what took place on such scale, even so many years later it staggers one to grasp the enormity of the appalling time. Pray God our earth does not suffer a worldwide conflagration again.
There aren't any significant "Volkssturm" forces in Ukraine. It's almost all photo ops and propaganda. It's not the battle of Berlin and the civilians aren't going to die for Zelenskyy's new world order.
A small note from Germany: In time of Holy Roman Empire, Germany was split into more than 300 states. The smallest ones had often armies with lesser than 50 men. Military unuseable, only a police and ceremonial force. With exeption of this ,giant' armies, the noble or spiritual ruler had only the possibillity to mobilize the ,Landsturm', a levie of fightable, but badly trained or armed men. Those units, also called Landmiliz, Landfahnen ( rural areas) Stadtgarde,Stadtwache, Stadtmilitär, Bürgerwehr, Bürgergarde, Bürgermiliz, Bürgermilitär ( towns). Those town militias often, but not allways,had uniforms and slightly better training.
There were civil militias even earlier in what now is Germany. Some years ago archeologists discovered the place of what perhaps was the first battle on Europe, several thousands years ago. There were lots of corpses in the very same place were they fell slain in the primitive fortification of a village. Archeologists found proofs of men and women of every age fought to defend their village. But all of them died and their foes won the battle. Our prehistory is also terrible.
Yeah, it is odd that Germany never got united. France was the eastern part of Charlemagne's empire left to one son. Germany to another son and Lothar got the land between. Lotharingia still exists as the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Italy, but it was multiple languages.
It is interesting that Germany went so quickly from all those tiny states into the most powerful nation in Europe in just a few decades. Where as here in Britain and France it took hundreds of years. One has to go back a long way in my country to read about local chieftains and Lords with their own armies who may of fought the Danes and Romans etc. And each other lol
Something often missed with units like this was the psychological effects on such troops. Many of the British Home Guard who had fought on the Great War suffered from PTSD while out on patrol. But they felt that they had to 'get on with things' because what they were doing meant relieving regular troops from such tasks. In the early days patrols were going out with just a couple of rounds each.
My old colleague and friend was in the Volkssturm. This was in my army days in Munster, West Germany in the early 80s. He was about 14 and had to join, his duty was an anti aircraft gun. He said the other man was quite old, they didn't fire at anything as they weren't good at identifying aeroplanes. He was captured and then sent home, but he was dragged back to his gun again, captured again and he asked to stay in captivity until the end of the war.
That's unusual. Normally, the minimum age to be drafted as an Flakhelfer was 16 years, or the corresponding year issues (Deadline - May 31 for each year). The same rule goes for RAD and Volkssturm.
@@DavidFraser007 What I said - unusual. As far as I know, also from relatives, the 16-year-old was not sent home from captivity. In this respect, the story may be true, I don't doubt it. We know how 14-year-olds act like that. They WANTED to help and save the fatherland. Some rules may have been circumvented. Otherwise, as I said, the practically absolute majority of school classes came from certain year issues as Flak-helpers into the Reich Air Defense, or were sometimes used for not physically hard work in the civilian sector. It was completely organized.
@@mikeromney4712 Volkssturm conscripts usually had to be 16 years old but in the final days of the war even some 8 year olds fought, 12 year olds were manning artillery
@@elenano2793 Right. But you can count on one hand these rare cases in which children have taken part in combat operations and these children did not belong to any military organization, but to the youth organization of the NSDAP. All cases of this personal commitment were voluntary and as you said in the last turbulent days.
My neighbour told me once how he could avoid to be sent to Volkssturm in the very last days. He was a teenager and due his work on family farm he had a wound at this thumb. He put some hair in it to cause a strong infection. In the medical examination for Volkssturm he was sent back home with the offical notice to recover first and to be recruited later. Lucky enough for him his calculation worked out, the "later" the war was over.
My dad was 14 years old when he was conscripted into the Volksturm, and he was stationed along the Rhine River to man anti tank positions. Thankfully, he was able to desert and get back home , where his parents kept him hidden in a potato cellar until after hostilities ceased. He told me quite a few harrowing tales about those times….
i know not what kind of tales , but p robbally they resemble Maya Angelou's _i know why the caged bird sings_ experience in Stamps Arkansas or Kurt Vonnegut's _Slaughterhouse5_ CF _the_splendors_of_Dresden.
Guys wsho tell war stories are usually liars. Guys who fought, are usually silent. My father served on the Russian front from 1941 until the bitter end as a medical doctor. The only time he spoke about his service was when he once remarked how he had been captured along with his entire field hospital by Czech partisans and how they had murdered everyone most gruesomely. He was saved by a Soviet captain, who happened on the scene of the carnage. My second oldest brother served as a 14 year old Hitler Youth boy as a fireman putting out the fires in Frankfurt, where a SS man on leave saved his life. He rarely spoke about any of this. The amount of cowards and liars who desserted and subsequently spoke about it as if it were something heroic are sickening. Unfortunately, we Germans produced our fair share of bastards like that - including the protector of pedophiles, Pope Benedict, who was a cowardly deserter and bragged about it on his web site when he was Cardinal Ratzinger.
@@gerardfrederick5504 That is silly, do you think everyone that has been in battles/wars are all silent about it? No, there are those that REVEL in telling about their experiences and for THOSE people it helps them cope - others it helps to be completely silent and to never think about it again. Only if true horror is involved with PTSD effects will they often remain silent but that does not mean that those that went through horrible events ALSO develop PTSD and thus choose to remain silent.. no. That is sillyto assume, what you are assuming - that most/everyone will be silent as opposed to vocal... What about those people that went through horrible battles and won many medals and CHOOSE to talk about their experiences? Everyone is different and how war effects anyone. Take a look at the many German veterans that won medals, who have been proven to have been in the thickest of battles - and yet they CHOOSE to talk about it, in as much detail as they can. Don't assume that they are liars due to talking of it because that is very silly.
My great grandfather, a WW1 veteran originally serving with the artillery on the western front, was also part of the Volkssturm. He was send to the french border and was captured by the French for a second time in less than 30 years. This probably lead to his slight dementia sometimes manifesting itself in an unusual fear. My mother recalls him once going on a rampage in the kitchen, late at night, whilst shouting: "The French are coming, the French are coming!" He died a few weeks later.
Many British WW1 veterans suffered the same. My late father once told me about about seeing the Home Guard, many of whom suffered from PTSD, and they had flashbacks while out on patrol. Interestingly my grandfather was also an artilleryman with the British Army at the Somme and Passchendaele. He was with the big 60 pounders.
@@bigblue6917 If I remember correctly, he was at the Somme, too. Although I don't know which brigade exactly. My goodness, it could be that our ancestors shelled each other.
@@magnus7857 To paraphrase a snippet I half-remember from Spike Milligan's account of he and his ex-comrades meeting German WW2 veterans they had fought against ... "A toast to inaccurate gunnery ! "
@@magnus7857 My wife's family is from Augsburg Germany. My family is from England. I have visited the house my father in law grew up in and the neighbourhood bomb shelter that he sheltered in is now a museum. My dad's uncle flew pathfinder mosquitos and likely took part in raids on Augsburg. Funny how things end up. Our children's grand parents generation were trying to kill each other. We have a good relationship now.
I think I'm right in saying that the Volkssturm were consecrated on the very same day that the British counterparts, the Home Guard (best known by being immortalised in 'Dad's Army' on the BBC), were stood down and disbanded. Very poignant symbolism of the shifting of fortunes during WW2.
@@raypurchase801 there are poc who consider themselves british to the core and gays have always been with us. do you have a point or are you just a s**t stirring drama queen? enquiring minds want to know. 2nd thought, no. we don't care. as my brit cousins say, bugger off.
Italian Carcano rifles were re-chambered into 8mm Mauser to simplify logistics. After the Germans took over Italy they had lots of Italian rifles stored. They planned to convert over a million rifles to arm the Volkstrum. Obviously this number was totaly un-realistic, only 15 000 conversions were made. Ian at Forgotten Weapons did a video on this.
@@alfnoakes392 The whole thing about Italy not fighting Is just stupid. Not only we fought, but when we had the, good, idea of surrendering in 1943 we ended up into a civil war while having to deal with the world war. There were still parts of Italy under axis control when Germany surrendered.
It Is a decision that still sounds stupid, why not try to produce Carcano ammunitions instead? Not that could have make any difference. But sending someone to fight with a single round rifle Is an horrible idea.
@@lanfrancoadreani9212 logistics. You aren't going to tool up and make new non-standard ammo in war time. Harder to get a cartiage accepted then a rifle. They needed weapons, convert a stock pile that you weren't using to your ammo. Single shot bolt action is simple and easy to train people to use.
Brilliant video as always. I recently spoke with my grandma and found out my great grandpa fought in WW1 in the Kaiser army for Austria Hungary against russians in Kaukasus region and lost all his toes due to frostbite. When he returned home to south Bohemia, he then recieved a cow from the bailiff as a wedding gift. Crazy times, maybe an inspiration for a future video? Would love to hear more WW1 stories to be honest. Can't believe WW1 is over for more than 100 years and still echoes in people alive today.
My mom's grandfather fought in the American Civil War as a 17 year old boy. She recalled many stories he told her as a child. He lived to be 104 and was still of sound mind when he passed. It would have been incredible if someone would have thought to record his stories.
@@12yearssober Calls to mind the story of the last Confederate war widow. A veteran of the war, about the age of your great=grandfather, married a young woman in the 1920s. He clinched the deal by pointing out to her that if they got married, his veteran's pension, which his home state was paying him, would continue to be paid to her after his death, which at his age would not have been too far off. She liked the proposal, married him, and drew his pension until her death sometime around the Fifties or so. Btw, great handle. Not controversial at all.
I don't like it. First he's comparing the Ukrainians to the SS by making a video about Ukrainians that only 'eventually' rose up to the Germans, and now he's comparing Ukrainian civilian defense to the Volkssturm - that did lose their war. Where are your affiliations, doctor Felton?
My grandfather was part of the Volkssturm. He was 14 years old and sent, with other young boys, to the Netherlands if I recall correctly. When they showed up to report for duty, the senior official in charge told them all to go home instead
I’ve always wanted to know more about the volksturm, thank you Mark. Another subject I’ve been long curious about are the experiences of the men in so called “Ost Battalions”. How they were used in combat, their willingness or unwillingness to fight, and what happened to them once they were captured or the war ended.
@@fj1659 They were, operation keelhaul. And it was a war crime. Obviously Germany committed far more war crimes than the west. But this and the bombing of civilians are the best examples of allied war crimes IMO. And it was also very sad men who joined because they either hated Stalin or just didn't want to starve to death were abandoned by the west and sent to the USSR to be murdered.
My great uncle survived WW1 on the Western Front in the German Army only to be rounded up and put into the Volksturm in Potsdam in 1945. He somehow managed to survive this too. Whenever I have a rough day I think of him and feel better about my lot in life!
I was always under the impression that Volkssturm units were ineffective at best and more often than not an absolute suicide mission. So my heart sank when I saw those civilians with ill fitting helmets, assault rifles and yellow armbands in Ukraine. Thanks for pointing out that motivation played a big part as did professional leadership - or lack thereof.
there is a very good movie about this from germany, Die Brücke. It's about a group of Volksturm teenage boys, who had the senseless duty of protecting a meaningless bridge in a small village.
It is worth noting that while the teenage lads of the Hitler Jugend and the grandads of the Volkssturm were battling against the might of the Red Army, very many Nazi bigwigs were making ready to scuttle off to safety. In effect those young lads and elderly men were helping to buy time for those 'higher-ups' fleeing the sinking ship.
@@cantbanme792 Потому что ему НЕКУДА было бежать. Вот он и решил обставить всё так, будто он решил умереть вместе с народом. Ну что сказать, истеричный человек, но умный
I've told this story a few times before on youtube video comment sections and got a lot of hatred towards my grandfather because people think I'm lying, but here it goes: My Grandfather (he is 92 now) was born and raised in Saxony, and like everyone else, he was forced into the Hitler Jugend (Hitler Youth) at a young age. There he was "tested" for his "aryan" traits and heritage. Due to him being a straight A student, and what the NSDAP considered to be of ideal German heritage he was deemed a prime candidate for the SS. It was decided that he was to be conscripted into a Napola (Boarding school grooming kids/teens for becoming officers in the SS). He tells gut-wrenching stories about how they would have school announcements about school pupils that had previously died "a hero's death for their Führer and country", but I won't get into that now. Luckily (as he did) his parents despised Hitler, the NSDAP, and everything they represented. They knew that they would do everything they could to keep him from being sent to the SS boarding school. They succeeded. On Febuary 12th, 1945 his Hitler youth group was ordered to help the war effort in Dresden, and he was ordered to be at his local train station that morning. When he got there he noticed that he was the only one from his group that showed up. He saw his group leader, he went to him and asked where everyone else was, and the disillusioned group leader told him: "Go home, boy. The war is lost and there isn't anything you can do that would change that." He followed orders and went back home. A day later Dresden was bombed... He was then forced into the Volkssturm a few weeks before he turned 15 in 1945. No uniform, no relevant training, nothing. He was grouped with three old men, given one "old Russian machine gun" (according to him), merely trained how to shoot, reload, and fix weapon jamming and sent out to fight the same day. Long story short, his location was hit by artillery fire, the men he was with were killed/mortally wounded and he started running. Running away from the war, and everything it had caused for him and the people he knew. Scared of being shot for "being a traitor" he hid in a forest surrounding his home town for a few days until he spotted American troops entering it. He says he broke out into tears of joy and immediately ran home, grateful to see those that he stills considers his personal heroes. To this day he still tears up about that journey. Everytime he tells the story he mentions "some fanatical idiots shooting at a Sherman tank with a rifle and pistols. The last thing those poor souls saw was the Sherman aim it's barrel at them. And what did they die for? For nothing!" In a blink of an eye he could have been forced into the SS, and the atrocities they committed. He probably wouldn't have survived the war, but he did. He's still alive today and I couldn't be more grateful.
I don't know if he served in the Volkssturm, but my great grandfather fought in the German army in ww2, at one point taking a round in the side of the head (ear). He survived although he was almost completely deaf after that, and lived till 2003, dying 1 day before I was born at 99 years of age. My parents named me after him.
One of the main reasons the SS Werewolves never materialized was that all the people who could've carried the plan out were killed fighting in the Volksturm and Hitler Youth. The insurgents in Iraq were able to carry out a costly insurgency against the US because the Iraqi Army dissolved during the initial invasion, leaving thousands of men with basic military training alive to join various factions after the war. Additionally, there were tens of thousands of capable civilians with various reasons to join insurgent groups, ranging from dislike of the Americans to peer pressure to lack of job prospects.
There were werewolves. They were much more active in the east than the west and not advertised to prevent escalation. They were hunted and executed when caught. Mostly young boys. I read a book, yes i forgot the name, where it was described in a chapter.
@@logoseven3365 Another event which altered German public opinion firmly in favor of the Americans, British and French, was the Berlin Airlift. It was a true Hearts &Minds operation and very successful.
Nah, I believe the main reason why Germany didn't have much of a guerrilla post WW2 was because the German people itself got destroyed, not much on the phisical aspects but on the moral fight. They Lost the willingness to fight After being bombed raped into the Oblivion. Plus they immediately started to instigate a strong propaganda against the population making them feel Like Monsters.
They did carry out the assisanation of the newly appointed mayor of Aachen and a few sorties against the Russians in the east. But most were disorganized and lost the will to carry on with stringent curfews and checkpoints in place by occupational forces.
You remind us that wars aren't just lines on a map - there are human stories and human costs. Looking at the faces of those old men and young boys gave me tremendous respect for them, as well as sorrow, and deepened my despisement for the leaders who put them there.
The most common weapon of the VS was the Italian Carcano rifle. The Germans had taken many thousands from the disarming of the Italian army in 1943, and had them conveniently stashed in depots in northern Italy (they had decent amounts of ammo for them as well, but nothing like enough to sustain any kind of combat for any length of time) . Just a short distance away was Austria, and they went out from there. Also many French and Russian rifles were used. Ammunition was a problem, and many VS were given as few as five to ten cartridges. There was even a program to convert the Italian Carcanos to the standard German service cartridge, although they really did not get very many converted over.
Thoughts of an elderly Volkssturmer: Let's see, five and a half years ago, when we started this war, we had the best armed forces in the world, bar none. That was quickly proven in Poland, in Norway, in France, everywhere our forces went, by triumph after triumph. Now, in 1945, millions of our elite fighting men have been killed, crippled, or imprisoned. We have no more divisions of trained men, no Panzer corps, no Luftwaffe, no fuel, no great leaders, no experienced comrades to help us. They give us weapons unlikely to be effective against the millions of well-equipped, battle hardened troops assaulting us. Our backs are against the burning walls of our homeland, and they expect us to save the war for them. Well, Scheisse.
Similar to what's happening in Ukraine right now. Civilians told to defend against a massive force with only patriotism and simple guns to win the conflict. I would have hoped the world had learned from these WW2 stories, but no.
@@alm5992 'Civilians told to defend against a massive force with only patriotism and simple guns to win the conflict.'' *Actually trained soldiers fighting against poorly equiped under trained under supplied troops.
@@alm5992 At least the Ukrainians have the big advantage that their enemies are giving up left and right because they didn't want to fight in the first place. And they have a much higher morale, because they don't defend an evil dictator but instead fight against one.
@@Khabaal87 I hear other people say ridiculous things like this. Did the Ghost of Kiev tell you this personally? Maybe those 13 guys on that island told you.
Ive read that the whole concept was a bit strange from the German perspective... With such a traditional respect for specialisation and professionals many German civilians expressed severe doubts about things like the Volksturm. If the regular army...the professionals.... couldn't handle the situation...what hope did anyone else have? In addition... regular soldiers were reportedly horrified when their fathers (or even grandfathers) were called up...so there was a definite morale effect on the Army! This philosophy reportedly applied even more strongly to the calls from the Nazi Party for "partisan" type action even after defeat... that was most definitely NOT something Germans naturally took on...
The Boers managed to keep Britain fighting for three years with only a home guard. Prior to the well known war of 1899-1902, the Boers won a war against Britain with the same commando system in 1879-1881. The Boers system, as explained by Deneys Reitz, had its flaws: the Boers had huge discipline issues and a few battles were lost because men thought the situation untenable and retreated without orders. That being said, don't underestimate a civilian force fighting for their own independence.
They were military age men, skilled horsemen and marksmen facing infantry they could out manoeuvre and outshoot. Not old men facing better equipped enemies with tanks that they couldn't outrun. H.G wells wrote a sci fi book that showed trench warfare between the Brits and Boers that 'tanks: broke. You are correct about civilians being a threat but missed the massive difference in quality between the 2 groups (mainly physical) and their enemies (mainly tanks, artillery) and the style of defense ( static Vs more elastic).
@@cameronwixcey9692 Mate, the initial call-ups of both the OFS and ZAR was for men between 18 and 55. Once the second British offensive began, however, it was all hands on deck, and a lot of old men - as old as 80 years - and kids as young as 7 joined the ranks. As for manoeuvring, you are once again correct - for the first half of the war. From the start of the winter in 1901 the Boers' horses gave out and the last part of the war - the real Guerilla phase - was fought with horses that was taken from the enemy. Many men were also on foot by then. Read D. Reitz's book, Commando! on the subject, or R.W. Schikkerling's Commando Courageous. The fact is, however, that the Boers had military experience - if only against native tribes. Both Reitz and Schikkerling makes a point of the motivation of the Boers, stating that the weak and unwilling fled, leaving the best and most loyal to fight until the bitter end. In a modern conflict, hand held weapons such as Javelins, NLAW's, Stingers etc. provides a foot soldier with enough firepower to counter tanks and aircraft. This will be especially helpful in urban warfare, or, once the insurgents can hide between the civilians - as in Afghanistan and Iraq. Point is, a well motivated civilian who survives enough contacts can become a very dangerous foe.
@@henrykeyter53 yup the mujahadein rebels in Afghanistan were supplied with, and trained in the use of powerful Stinger missiles. The Russian army lost hundreds of choppers from 1984 to 1988... the C.I.A supplied these to Pakistan and then Pakistan shipped the Stingers to the rebels through eastern Afghanistan...
There were other VG weapons including the VG2 and VG5. I'm not sure how many VG3 and 4 were made, but the 2 and 5 were each over 10,000. Ian McCollum has videos on Forgotten weapons of them. That's not including simplifying production of existing weapons. It's an interesting time frame from a firearms perspective.
Also mp3008 captured weapons from Eastern front like converted PPSH 41 to 9mm small numbers of kar 98ks also used G71 G98 Italian weapons captured stens Volkstumgewehr.
My Grandfather served in WW2 and was in the 701st Tank Batallion attached to the 102nd Infantry Division. His unit came across Volkssterm soldiers opposing his unit. He told me they were old men or young kids. The young kids he said would have rather been chasing Girls, going to school or playing Sports. He said the old men would have rathered to have enjoyed their retirement and spending time with their families and Grandchildren rather than fighting that late in life.
My great grandpa fought in WW1 as an infantry runner. My grandpa fought in WW2 in the Army in Europe, my great uncle was in the Korean War as an Air Force pilot, my dad was in Vietnam as a Navy Corpsman, my brother was in Desert Storm and I was in Somalia... I hope I am the last one in my family to serve...
Thanks for your service man! This old Marine sends a "Semper Fi!" to you and your family! And I concur with your last. No more wars, please. Old men should stop wars, not start them.
My family's military history in this country goes back to the Civil War. (Though I think we skipped WWI... at least, on the American side.) Only the dead have seen the end of war.
The problem with Volkssturm units is generally, that they are of very uneven quality. They are specifically usefull in cities where the combat value of armour is generally modest.
Many of them didn't even have a gun they had to steal one off a dead Russian, they only gave them very little ammunition, mix-matched uniforms and vehicles that broke down every other day.
Volksturm units fought bravely in Frankfurt o.d.Oder, Breslau, Königsberg. With a handful of Knights Cross winners...although the KC was handed out in 45' for actions that would barely get you the EKII in 1940...
Mark, is there any chance you could do a piece on the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and the internal conflict there after 1945? this is such an important part of history, especially at the moment - and I for one always greatly appreciate the balanced and informative view you bring to all your videos. You are the man for the job!!
Mark,when I heard you mention that volkstrum had a lot of different weapons,it brought to mind when Gen Mark Clark expressed how hard it was to fight in Italy with so many different nationalities with so many different weapons that fought with the allies.
The British were also short of men by 1944. The Army in NE Europe got smaller and smaller after D Day. I have read that no less than 100,000 Royal Navy personnel were transferred to the Army at this time. (seems a lot).
Sidenote: Reminds me of the Ukrainian civiliens volunteering to defend their country against a Russian invasion as I write this, using rifles, maybe tank missiles ("Panzerfaust 4.0") and self-built Molotov cocktails. My thoughts as a German and former soldier on the topic itself: While I have to respect the determination, courage and sacrifice of the men, the waste of human life here is heart breaking. The last year of the war claimed about as many German lives as the 4-5 years before. In other words: Had the Nazi Germany gouvernment surrendered in May 1944 instead of organizing the Volkssturm, they would have halved the German casualties of the whole war! By then, anyone knew that the War could no longer be won. My late uncle and godfather was drafted - I'm not sure if into the Volkssturm or the army - at the age of 16. He was lucky and survived. The British captured his unit somwhere in Northern Germany and he could go home pretty soon. Thank you for remembering these men.
@@jb6027 precisely. The events in Ukraine join similar lines to the end of the Third Reich, namely the call to arms of a citizen militia by irresponsible leaders enhanced by massive amounts of propaganda. Oh and foreign legions too ;)
@@AFGuidesHD you can tell this to the Paraguayan people who sent their children at one point, losing over 70% of male population, simply because president Solano Lopez didn't believe in giving up. Nice Churchill quote though.
My maternal Viennese grandfather was recruited into the Volkssturm in early 1945. I don't think he ever fired a shot though. He was a World War I veteran who had served on the Russian and Italian fronts with Feldjägerbattalion 14.
One of the amazing things to me about the VS was that there was such a squabble over who controlled this quasiformal organization. Internal power struggles all the way to the end- and not an issue of differences about how to best employee these forces, or who was most fit to lead them, just plain old fashioned greed and narcissism
The people at the top were desperately afraid of being tried for war crimes after the war. Or for being summarily shot upon surrender. So that struggle for power at the end was in reality a struggle to control their own destiny up until the very end.
Power struggles were a feature of the Nazi regime, as Adolf Hitler wanted his officials to clique with each other. Competition would keep NSDAP factions from amassing too much power that would threaten Hitler, and the struggle for power and resources would weed out the shirkers. Adolf Hitler positioned himself like the sun, with Martin Bormann as his close companion, while the three main factions of government (Reichsluftminister Hermann Goering, SS chief Heinrich Himmler, and Armaments Minister Albert Speer) behaved like warring planets, with Bormann limiting their access to Hitler. The latter kept power by dint of his position as commander in chief of the Wehrmacht, which included the Waffen SS under his direct control as a de facto bodyguard force.
My grandfather was in the Volkssturm in the battle for Remagen. He was already 50 years old at that point with a limp from serving in the first world War. He was captured by the American Army and imprisoned in Reims.
He was lucky to be captured by the Americans. My client, a german pilot, flew his ME 262 to Greece to be captured by the British. He became an American citizen. He told me lots of stories like using the Autobahn to land the first jets.
@@TRHARTAmericanArtist But he was the breadwinner in the family, leaving behind my mother, aged 10 and my uncle aged 11. They had very little to eat and starved. Fortunately my parents lived in Wiesbaden and that city was relatively undamaged by bombing unlike Frankfurt.
@@TRHARTAmericanArtist Fun fact, the Americans bombed Frankfurt in December of 1944. They used aluminum chaff to confuse German radar. My mother and her parents used it as tinsel on there Christmas Tree.
I visited the Untenwelten in Berlin a few years back. They have a collection of equipment and weapons found in Berlin since the war: Soviet and German. In the pile was a Sten gun. Not the German version, but British horizontal magazine. At the time we wondered how it had got there. Of course they were issued to German units including Volksturm, German ammunition amongst other supplies, being compatible.
The germans copyed the Stan "Gerät Potsdam" wars its Name. It wars nearly a 1:1 Copy. Later they made a different copy called MP 3008. But it is also possible that the germans Used Real Stans. The British airdropped many Stan Guns over France to Support the Resitance, but the Wehrmacht captured most of the Stan Guns
The problem of supply had been going on for quite some time and was not confined to the very end in Berlin. One of the little known facts about D-Day was that many of the German troops facing the landings were equipped with foreign guns and ammunition scrounged from the Eastern Front or Italy - this was a particular problem with the Russian medium guns as the available ammunition was limited. In addition, many of the Axis troops in Normandy were from countries invaded by Germany who had basically been told 'fight for us or die'. Many German officers were more worried about a bullet in the back than they were of the Allies. Everybody assumes the Germans were one homogenised race, all fighting for the same cause, but this was simply not the case.
@@cmsxcb absolutely. I have a good friend whose dad was wounded at Cassino and transferred to 1st Polish armoured headquarters. He had a friend who claimed he was captured by the Germans in 1939. His friend said an officer instructed all who understood German to step forward and shot those that didn’t. The German speakers were given the choice of enlisting in the Wehrmacht or joining their comrades. Polish units all recruited from Wehrmacht POWs. Famously 1PAD had trucks of kit following their columns for Polish POWs who wanted to join them. Ideal recruits often trained by the Polish Army and Wehrmacht and with something to prove. The SS were famously multinational, though most were from European fascists, or ethnic minorities ill treated by Stalin. Some of Das Reich who participated in the massacre Oradour were from Alsace Loraine. I know of a Ukrainian SS unit that killed its German officers and defected to the Maquis. Some Nazi war criminals were thus able to escape justice such as Anton Gecas. Similarly with kit. Many strongpoints on the Atlantic Wall were salvaged from French tanks. Some tanks that invaded in 1940 were Czech. Later they became the platforms for SPGs and Tank Destroyers, built in Czech factories. There was a unit in France that converted captured chassis and guns into assault guns. Only the other day I saw a picture of an assault gun built on a T34 chassis. Specific to the Sten, they had then in abundance and they’d been designed to use German ammo. So an ideal weapon for them to expropriate. All somewhat ironic given the racist nature of Nazi Germany. Given your reply, I’m sure you’re already familiar.
@@callumgordon1668 Yeah. The Sten is a fascinating development originally designed to use the massive amounts of 9mm ammunition captured from the Italians in Operation Crusader. Ideal for parachuting behind enemy lines but a bloody awful weapon to use. I know many of the units in North Africa refused to turn in their Thompsons when they were supplied with Stens. Another weapon the Germans copied was the Bren gun - or rather, they took over the existing factory when they invaded Czechoslovakia. British Brens were made in the same Enfield factories as the Sten. In addition, Brens were also produced in Canada but, for some reason, most were sent to China to help the Nationalists.
I had worked with a Scotsman 40 years ago, who said he was in the UK home guard in 1940. He claimed that he was first issued a pike because rifles were in short supply.
Yikes. I remember reports of drilling with brooms, but not actually being issued mêlée weapons! Shades of the Japanese preparations for the Allied invasion, such as handing out bamboo spears
My Granddad was part of the Home Guard outside of London during the war. Ps Wonderful biography Mark Felton. You do an excellent job and I’m so glad to hear of your success for all your hard work. Thank you
left out the best part, how they were grouped into battalions based on their medical issues..for example they were called "Magen" (stomach) battalions for men with digestive issues, and "ohren " (ear) battalions for the deaf and partially deaf!
The key takeaway from this is that even middle-aged men can be organized into an effective fighting force IF they had proper military training at some point in their lives. This is the main reason why eliminating universal military service was a mistake.
I'm in my 50's and am in great shape. I can out hike the vast majority of men half my age and regularly do so. Don't know if I would hold up to the fear that comes in actual combat, no one does until it happens. But I also fear death less than a younger man because I've already lived most of my life. If it was in defense of my homeland and the invaders were a hated enemy, I wouldn't feel so bad dying for that cause. So when he spoke of the brave and very accomplished Volkssturm group of factory workers in their 50s, it makes sense to me.
Read about the Boer War mate. We fought Britain for three years with no training whatsoever. There is little that can motivate a man as much as the knowledge that he is really fighting for his independence. Also: old men make better soldiers because they can't run away ;-p
@@drott150 Except that almost all of those factory workers HAD WWI military experience, the majority being WWI combat vets. You can't just teach someone arms handling skills and small unit tactics overnight. BTW, Hitler, Goering, Donitz, Rommel all were WWI combat vets...most the top Nazis were.
@@MrSloika I didn't hear him saying the majority were WWI combat vets, although being in their 50s I'm sure many were. Regardless, most of them engaged in purely defensive, close city fighting with enemy armor. That wasn't an experience most WWI vets had. So, although general combat experience is always helpful, much of the WWII era city fighting was not relatable. The Volkssturm were basically there to take a few shots at the enemy as they approached, quickly expending themselves in most cases to death or rapid surrender.
I don’t think theres not a day go by where I don’t watch at least one of Marks mini documentaries. They are prefect timed with the information Mark provides.
It always breaks my heart to think that aging WW1 veterans were assigned to train kids how to fight. They knew the horrible brutality and pointlessness of war better than anybody but were forced to see their kids and grandkids in to oblivion
@@kommando5562Well some German veterans though that. On the grounds of that if the Russians ( really Soviets) did to the Germans what had been done to them during the German invasion of the USSR than it was indeed better to fight to the death. I can’t say that the Soviets were nice, I am saying that they had reasons.
Thank you Mark Sir. I told the lecturers of University of Keleniya History Division Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 to watch your program. They can learn a lot. Thanks Sir 😊
this shows how effective militias can be if properly motivated and how any man wil way his options at all times, fighting the western powers would mean death, surrendering would mean a hot meal and perhaps even a warm bed (in reallity the western powers also made them clear mines and also committed atrocities towards them though much less than the soviets) fighting the soviets would mean death, surrendering would likely also mean death or slavery and abuse for them for their families and home it would mean not much better treatment, old men would fight not just for themselves but more so for their wives and kids and in lue of them their nation. being feared can detere someone from taking up arms better than being loved, but it also makes men fight to the bitter end rather than surrender
I am afraid the whole surrender and get a hot meal trope was largely false regarding the western powers . Often you where killed outright or even tortured and it wasn't a rare occurance German Civilians where often starved and raped by the allied militaries and otherwise mistreated I would imagine after the Russian / Ukraine war I honestly think the rest of Europe would go to the end rather than surrender on both miltary and civilian terms Trusting the other side to behave in good faith is folly
Another timely segment would be one about Stepan Bandera, the Ukrainian hero/villian of World War 2. Timely because Putin mentioned "Banderites" in his going-to-war speech.
The Banderas are crazy right-wing extremists... They arent better than those, who are willingly attacking Ukraine.. (and I am not speaking of those poor Russian consripts that were fooled by their commanders and Putin)
@@oliveryt7168 Thats Western media lies dude. Captured RUssian POWs were forced to say that they were forced by Putin to fight. It's plain disinformation man.
I was stationed in Germany during the 70s and I talked to Germans about the war. One guy told me he was put in when he was15 years old, in November 1944, he was given a rifle and told to start firing on the American Troops which would arrive shortly. Him and a friend of his realized it this was hopeless and that they would be killed, so they tossed their rifles and made a run for it. The SS however caught up with them. Both of them were going to be hung for dessertion, but before the SS got the chance to it, the German army had to hightail it, because the American army was coming in fast. Then the American soldiers got a hold of him and they were ready to shoot him but declded against it. He said he was lucky he was not issued a uniform, but was wearing civilian clothing. Otherwise they would have done it.
The most disturbing thing about the Volkssturm to me was the fact most were armed with a single panzerfaust. No personal weapon, just an obvious suicide mission to try to take out one tank.
The timing of this video is interesting as we see regular people in Ukraine fighting the invading Russian army. Militia and other irregular units can be very effective. Disparaging them is inaccurate. This video gives an example of them fighting effectively even against overwhelming odds as the Soviets invaded Berlin. The Viet Cong were militia in some ways, and they fought effectively in the Vietnam war. In the American Revolution, militia units did a great deal to turn the war in favor of the colonists with victories at King's Mountain, Cowpens, and Guilford Courthouse. At the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812, many of the men fighting under General Jackson were essentially militia, and they performed well. Militia rarely perform as well as real troops when used as real troops would be used, but they can be very effective in some roles.
My opinion on the relation of this video and the Ukrainian people taking up arms is best summed up by quoting Reznov (as played by Gary Oldman) from World at War: The old... the young... the weak... If they stand for Germany... they die for Germany. Building by building. Room by room. One rat at a time."
@@Sneedmire Thankfully it didn't turn out that way, here we are approaching a year of the war and Russia's military has taken a far worse beating than Ukraine's.
Great overview of the Volkssturm! There's little I can add except did anyone notice the guy wearing an M1916 stahlhelm? Just for everyone's information, according the the Hague and Geneva Conventions civilians are not supposed to fight and are not accorded POW status if they do, however they do have to be tried in court (a military court will do) before any punishment is inflicted. It's the reason the Germans bent over backwards to identify Volkssturm members as legitimate combatants, either by armband (permitted by the Conventions) or uniforms of some type.
I believe it depends on whether or not civilian militia clearly identify themselves as combatants - e.g. wearing colored bandanas/armbands, open-carrying their weapons, etc. that differentiates them from criminals/saboteurs/ _francs-tireurs
@@Mikey-xz4vn The US didnt care about that in Afghanistan, and yes the Taliban wore black headgear so were identifiable in the most when the US first went in! Be clear there are unlawful combatants in Ukraine, at least according to US descriptions of what that means!
My grandfather brought a panzerfaust his unit had seized from a Volkssturm outfit during the final days of the war. We still have it (although for legal reasons we had to have it disarmed) and its remarkable just how simple it is to use and how perfect a weapon it is for a last-ditch civilian force to use. You gotta give it to the germans, they know how to build things for a specific purpose. The STG44 is still one of my favorite rifles to this day
The Hitler Youth soldiers getting Iron Crosses at the bunker are often portrayed in films as also being rewarded with sweets! Thanks for the great video, Mark! I am a fan of the show about the UK Home Guard called Dad's Army, the one where they go to arrest the German parachutist off the church steeple is really funny!
Great video and very timely. What about a video covering the use of Privateers by countries with small navies when fighting countries with larger navies? The English used them against the Spanish Armadas in the 1600’s (remember Sir Francis Drake) and the Americans used them against the English during the American War of Independence.
@@JonatasAdoM Yeah, but the panzerfaust was a one shot, disposable weapon capable of rapid mass production. I don't know how quickly an rpg can be manufactured. The Ukrainians need something that can be rapidly produced and used effectively with minimal training.
Please don't forget how close you have to get to have the chance to score a hit, especially for a civilian with little to no practice, in short it would be suicidal
On the internet I found the result of such "brillant" policies. A group of Ukranian Kids tried to Attack a Russia column in an open area with molotovs. I let you Imagine the aftermath. St this point the responsible thing to do Is to surrender, NATO cavalry already openly said that they are not coming. I really don't see the Strategy of the Ukranian president here, what Is he hoping for?
Thats the best way to get their homes leveled with artillery. If they dont have any insignia, uniform, armband or anything, I believe the Geneva agreement does not provide them protection. Thats nasty btw. If the men understand what the situation is then its maybe different.
My mum often wondered what happened to her dad in 1945. He went out on air raid duty in Leipzig and never returned. Was he killed during the raid and his body never recovered or was he snatched and sent to fight the Russians?
My great grandfather lost his leg in WW1 and then fought in the Volkssturm in the endfight for Berlin. He was reported missing and was never seen again. I hope you are fine, whereever you are now.
Perhaps a story about the legendary and brave Hanke the defender of Breslau who left hundreds of thousands to die while he fled at the last minute with all the loot he could carry.
I am 56 now. 30 years ago I spend three years fighting in a war defending my country. This situation is similar to situation of 90 percent of old people mobilised to Volksturm. If a need to go to trenches again today I would be 100 percent usefull soldier in defence.
Yes, it is true. My German grandfather, I am 72 years old, was grabbed for the Volkssturm in 1945. He wore a civilian overcoat and was handed a Panzer Faust. He had the iron cross from WWI. So he was told to go out and due his duty and attempt to take out a Soviet Tank. He had no luck with that and surrendered to the Russians when the fighting ceased. He survived to 1967.
My mother had for many years the overcoat that he wore in those days in Berlin, beaten up but serviceable.
What happened to the coat?
grandpa was an absolute legend
How long did the Russians keep him?
@@Mr_Fancypants some say richie apriel gave it to tony to wear.
I’m glad to hear your grandfather survived!
With men like these Steiner will be be able to launch his attack and turn things around! Right?
Of course
The day of American election I posted on /Pol/a picture of Hitler on his bunker titled,"We can still win this if Steiner, takes Virginia". One of the funniest nights on that God Forsaken website.
@@lanfrancoadreani9212 Based /pol/tard
"Das war ein BEFEHL!" Hitler said calmly.
Fegelein!
my great grand father was a WW1 veteran and was conscripted in the Volksstrum in late 44. He already had a iron cross 2nd from WW1 and recieved the bar to the 2nd class in 1945. He was captured and released in early 46.
Glad he survived both world wars.
My great grandfather was barely too young to serve in WWI but was drafted into the Volkssturm at the end of WWII. His wife and 5 children fled East Prussia from the red army while he was in active duty. The oldest of the children was my grandmother, 7 years old. They fled across the frozen vistula lagoon for Mecklenburg, where they had relatives that would grant them shelter in a small rural village. When the soviets finally arrived they hid in a forest nearby and the local men surrendered to the russians. After that all the women were raped and the owners of the farms were shot just because they were land owners. They didn't even know whether my great grandfather would ever return. Fortunately he survived the war and captivity and found them in 46.
Another grandfather of mine was 14 when the war ended, being the youngest of his other brothers who were all killed in the war as well. Those stories teached me to be very grateful for the peaceful life that is given to my generation.
You must be proud of him. 👍
@Ariovistvs thanks for sharing your story. Did the soviets rape the little girls? Do you know how many years the rape of the population last?
Thats awesome. What a life.
I served in West Germany during the 1980's. One of my coworkers had been in the Hitlerjügend, the German boy scouts.
In April, 1945, his entire troop was drafted into the Army and given rudimentary training with Panzerfausts. His unit was given a veteran of the Russian front with a missing arm and sent to defend a railroad tunnel to defend it against the advancing Americans.
Upon arriving at the tunnel, the grizzled NCO told the kids that he was going to turn around for two minutes, and when he turned back, he wanted to see a pile of Panzerfausts and no kids. Mike and his friends took off, and survived the war.
Thanks for sharing this bit of history
@@sillyone52062 that nco knew the bullshit that was flying around was not worth the kids lives. I salute him for saving the kids.
@@sillyone52062 The man deserved a medal for that act alone - after all, he saved the kids.
@@sillyone52062 Love it! He did his REAL duty!
It's depressing to think of a WW1 vet having survived that hell, only to join the VS and die in WW2.
Even more depressing are the german jewish war heroes from ww1 which were betrayed by the country they fought for. It's so disgusting if you think about it.
@@NeurosenkavalierEmilSinclair I agree. I also speculate that the majority of those old men that became part of the the VS, where also those that were part of the brown shirts in the early 1920's that helped Hitler rise to power. As the saying goes, "The chickens came home to roost." I have no sympathy for these old men.
Agreed, years ago I visited a Jewish cemetery in Munich, many headstones stated service to the fatherland WW1. So unbelievable what took place on such scale, even so many years later it staggers one to grasp the enormity of the appalling time. Pray God our earth does not suffer a worldwide conflagration again.
I was thinking the same thing. So sad
"The official uniform of the Volkssturm consisted of an armband". Says a lot without saying much.
Same in Ukraine today. The Territorial Defense Forces often just wear a yellow armband.
@@theodorkorner1497 more like yellow tape ☹️
@@user-njyzcip Or even that...
@@theodorkorner1497 "Leading untrained men to war is to throw them away"
@@carbonara2144 Could be could be not. Partisan War can be very effective. Just look at Afghanistan were both the Soviets and the West failed.
I love that Dr. Felton is trying to create connections with modern events without directly saying so. The past is never the past.
The past is merely a prelude!
History doesn’t repeat itself, but it always rhymes
Are you implying that ukraine is using a volksturm?
National service still a part of life in eastern Europe.
There aren't any significant "Volkssturm" forces in Ukraine. It's almost all photo ops and propaganda. It's not the battle of Berlin and the civilians aren't going to die for Zelenskyy's new world order.
A small note from Germany: In time of Holy Roman Empire, Germany was split into more than 300 states. The smallest ones had often armies with lesser than 50 men. Military unuseable, only a police and ceremonial force. With exeption of this ,giant' armies, the noble or spiritual ruler had only the possibillity to mobilize the ,Landsturm', a levie of fightable, but badly trained or armed men. Those units, also called Landmiliz, Landfahnen ( rural areas) Stadtgarde,Stadtwache, Stadtmilitär, Bürgerwehr, Bürgergarde, Bürgermiliz, Bürgermilitär ( towns). Those town militias often, but not allways,had uniforms and slightly better training.
thanks for the history lesson. we moderns forget those beginnings.
There were civil militias even earlier in what now is Germany.
Some years ago archeologists discovered the place of what perhaps was the first battle on Europe, several thousands years ago.
There were lots of corpses in the very same place were they fell slain in the primitive fortification of a village.
Archeologists found proofs of men and women of every age fought to defend their village. But all of them died and their foes won the battle.
Our prehistory is also terrible.
Yeah, it is odd that Germany never got united. France was the eastern part of Charlemagne's empire left to one son. Germany to another son and Lothar got the land between. Lotharingia still exists as the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Italy, but it was multiple languages.
It is interesting that Germany went so quickly from all those tiny states into the most powerful nation in Europe in just a few decades. Where as here in Britain and France it took hundreds of years. One has to go back a long way in my country to read about local chieftains and Lords with their own armies who may of fought the Danes and Romans etc. And each other lol
The USA copied the burger militia. They have training centers all over the world.
Something often missed with units like this was the psychological effects on such troops. Many of the British Home Guard who had fought on the Great War suffered from PTSD while out on patrol. But they felt that they had to 'get on with things' because what they were doing meant relieving regular troops from such tasks. In the early days patrols were going out with just a couple of rounds each.
My father was one of them He stood at the top of achurch tower with one bullet
@@ijg4427 All things considered you have to admire them. Serving in two world wars many suffering from the first.
@@ijg4427 One bullet? If you are supposed to fight until the last bullet then what can you do when the enemy comes?
@@carbonara2144 roller skate bayonet charges. There is some footage of home guard practicing it.
@@cameronwixcey9692 You got to be kidding.
My old colleague and friend was in the Volkssturm. This was in my army days in Munster, West Germany in the early 80s. He was about 14 and had to join, his duty was an anti aircraft gun. He said the other man was quite old, they didn't fire at anything as they weren't good at identifying aeroplanes. He was captured and then sent home, but he was dragged back to his gun again, captured again and he asked to stay in captivity until the end of the war.
That's unusual. Normally, the minimum age to be drafted as an Flakhelfer was 16 years, or the corresponding year issues (Deadline - May 31 for each year). The same rule goes for RAD and Volkssturm.
@@mikeromney4712 I have no idea if it was unusual, but he was young enough that he was considered to be too young to be a POW and sent home.
@@DavidFraser007 What I said - unusual.
As far as I know, also from relatives, the 16-year-old was not sent home from captivity. In this respect, the story may be true, I don't doubt it.
We know how 14-year-olds act like that. They WANTED to help and save the fatherland. Some rules may have been circumvented. Otherwise, as I said, the practically absolute majority of school classes came from certain year issues as Flak-helpers into the Reich Air Defense, or were sometimes used for not physically hard work in the civilian sector. It was completely organized.
@@mikeromney4712 Volkssturm conscripts usually had to be 16 years old but in the final days of the war even some 8 year olds fought, 12 year olds were manning artillery
@@elenano2793 Right. But you can count on one hand these rare cases in which children have taken part in combat operations and these children did not belong to any military organization, but to the youth organization of the NSDAP. All cases of this personal commitment were voluntary and as you said in the last turbulent days.
My neighbour told me once how he could avoid to be sent to Volkssturm in the very last days. He was a teenager and due his work on family farm he had a wound at this thumb. He put some hair in it to cause a strong infection. In the medical examination for Volkssturm he was sent back home with the offical notice to recover first and to be recruited later. Lucky enough for him his calculation worked out, the "later" the war was over.
Smart boy.
Coward
@@heart0fthedrag0nmore like coward
@@ProtoIndoEuropean88 The situation was hopeless at that point. Can you really blame him?
@@ProtoIndoEuropean88
Ever been under fire? Lived through a war? If not then keep your opinion to yourself
My dad was 14 years old when he was conscripted into the Volksturm, and he was stationed along the Rhine River to man anti tank positions. Thankfully, he was able to desert and get back home , where his parents kept him hidden in a potato cellar until after hostilities ceased. He told me quite a few harrowing tales about those times….
What kind of tales ??
i know not what kind of tales , but p robbally they resemble Maya Angelou's _i know why the caged bird sings_ experience in Stamps Arkansas or Kurt Vonnegut's _Slaughterhouse5_ CF _the_splendors_of_Dresden.
Guys wsho tell war stories are usually liars. Guys who fought, are usually silent. My father served on the Russian front from 1941 until the bitter end as a medical doctor. The only time he spoke about his service was when he once remarked how he had been captured along with his entire field hospital by Czech partisans and how they had murdered everyone most gruesomely. He was saved by a Soviet captain, who happened on the scene of the carnage. My second oldest brother served as a 14 year old Hitler Youth boy as a fireman putting out the fires in Frankfurt, where a SS man on leave saved his life. He rarely spoke about any of this. The amount of cowards and liars who desserted and subsequently spoke about it as if it were something heroic are sickening. Unfortunately, we Germans produced our fair share of bastards like that - including the protector of pedophiles, Pope Benedict, who was a cowardly deserter and bragged about it on his web site when he was Cardinal Ratzinger.
@@gerardfrederick5504 That is silly, do you think everyone that has been in battles/wars are all silent about it? No, there are those that REVEL in telling about their experiences and for THOSE people it helps them cope - others it helps to be completely silent and to never think about it again. Only if true horror is involved with PTSD effects will they often remain silent but that does not mean that those that went through horrible events ALSO develop PTSD and thus choose to remain silent.. no. That is sillyto assume, what you are assuming - that most/everyone will be silent as opposed to vocal...
What about those people that went through horrible battles and won many medals and CHOOSE to talk about their experiences? Everyone is different and how war effects anyone. Take a look at the many German veterans that won medals, who have been proven to have been in the thickest of battles - and yet they CHOOSE to talk about it, in as much detail as they can.
Don't assume that they are liars due to talking of it because that is very silly.
Pretty ballsy of you calling a 14 year old kid a coward. He should have died for the Fuhrer? Take a deep breath.
My great grandfather, a WW1 veteran originally serving with the artillery on the western front, was also part of the Volkssturm. He was send to the french border and was captured by the French for a second time in less than 30 years.
This probably lead to his slight dementia sometimes manifesting itself in an unusual fear. My mother recalls him once going on a rampage in the kitchen, late at night, whilst shouting: "The French are coming, the French are coming!"
He died a few weeks later.
Many British WW1 veterans suffered the same. My late father once told me about about seeing the Home Guard, many of whom suffered from PTSD, and they had flashbacks while out on patrol.
Interestingly my grandfather was also an artilleryman with the British Army at the Somme and Passchendaele. He was with the big 60 pounders.
@@bigblue6917 If I remember correctly, he was at the Somme, too. Although I don't know which brigade exactly.
My goodness, it could be that our ancestors shelled each other.
@@magnus7857 To paraphrase a snippet I half-remember from Spike Milligan's account of he and his ex-comrades meeting German WW2 veterans they had fought against ... "A toast to inaccurate gunnery ! "
@@magnus7857 My wife's family is from Augsburg Germany. My family is from England. I have visited the house my father in law grew up in and the neighbourhood bomb shelter that he sheltered in is now a museum. My dad's uncle flew pathfinder mosquitos and likely took part in raids on Augsburg. Funny how things end up. Our children's grand parents generation were trying to kill each other. We have a good relationship now.
@@magnus7857 But they were wily enough to live and reproduce. Darwinism or sheer dumb luck?
I think I'm right in saying that the Volkssturm were consecrated on the very same day that the British counterparts, the Home Guard (best known by being immortalised in 'Dad's Army' on the BBC), were stood down and disbanded. Very poignant symbolism of the shifting of fortunes during WW2.
Home Guard reactivated in late forties, and stood down again in the fifties
Look up Home Service Force 1982 to 1992.
i just binge watched Dad's Army. classic and drawn from life.
@@skylongskylong1982 Wow, thanks for the info - I'd never heard of that before! Great stuff. :-)
@@jessebianchi2631 Couldn't be made today.
Too many white people.
No gays represented.
@@raypurchase801 there are poc who consider themselves british to the core and gays have always been with us.
do you have a point or are you just a s**t stirring drama queen?
enquiring minds want to know.
2nd thought, no. we don't care. as my brit cousins say, bugger off.
Italian Carcano rifles were re-chambered into 8mm Mauser to simplify logistics. After the Germans took over Italy they had lots of Italian rifles stored. They planned to convert over a million rifles to arm the Volkstrum. Obviously this number was totaly un-realistic, only 15 000 conversions were made.
Ian at Forgotten Weapons did a video on this.
Mannlucher Carcano?
For Sale: 1 million Italian rifles. Never fired, only dropped once. (Sorry... couldn't resist a joke the Brits usually tell about the French)
@@alfnoakes392 The whole thing about Italy not fighting Is just stupid. Not only we fought, but when we had the, good, idea of surrendering in 1943 we ended up into a civil war while having to deal with the world war. There were still parts of Italy under axis control when Germany surrendered.
It Is a decision that still sounds stupid, why not try to produce Carcano ammunitions instead? Not that could have make any difference. But sending someone to fight with a single round rifle Is an horrible idea.
@@lanfrancoadreani9212 logistics. You aren't going to tool up and make new non-standard ammo in war time. Harder to get a cartiage accepted then a rifle. They needed weapons, convert a stock pile that you weren't using to your ammo. Single shot bolt action is simple and easy to train people to use.
Brilliant video as always.
I recently spoke with my grandma and found out my great grandpa fought in WW1 in the Kaiser army for Austria Hungary against russians in Kaukasus region and lost all his toes due to frostbite. When he returned home to south Bohemia, he then recieved a cow from the bailiff as a wedding gift. Crazy times, maybe an inspiration for a future video? Would love to hear more WW1 stories to be honest. Can't believe WW1 is over for more than 100 years and still echoes in people alive today.
My mom's grandfather fought in the American Civil War as a 17 year old boy. She recalled many stories he told her as a child. He lived to be 104 and was still of sound mind when he passed. It would have been incredible if someone would have thought to record his stories.
Yeah I'd definitely love more WWI videos.
@@12yearssober Calls to mind the story of the last Confederate war widow. A veteran of the war, about the age of your great=grandfather, married a young woman in the 1920s. He clinched the deal by pointing out to her that if they got married, his veteran's pension, which his home state was paying him, would continue to be paid to her after his death, which at his age would not have been too far off.
She liked the proposal, married him, and drew his pension until her death sometime around the Fifties or so.
Btw, great handle. Not controversial at all.
I did a bit of research and i couldnt find a single record of austrian troops in the caucasus in ww1. Maybe you mistook it with the carpathians?
@@wilhelmtellmemore9543 Hey, maybe. Grandma is 77yo now :)
Ah this will be an interesting video to watch given tha parallel events that have been happening in the last few days as well. Thank you Dr Felton.
I think that’s why he made it
How true
The Volkssturm was, is, and always will be a stupid idea.
It's nothing compared to ww2. The Germans killed 3-4 millions Russian pows
I don't like it. First he's comparing the Ukrainians to the SS by making a video about Ukrainians that only 'eventually' rose up to the Germans, and now he's comparing Ukrainian civilian defense to the Volkssturm - that did lose their war. Where are your affiliations, doctor Felton?
My grandfather was part of the Volkssturm. He was 14 years old and sent, with other young boys, to the Netherlands if I recall correctly. When they showed up to report for duty, the senior official in charge told them all to go home instead
I’ve always wanted to know more about the volksturm, thank you Mark. Another subject I’ve been long curious about are the experiences of the men in so called “Ost Battalions”. How they were used in combat, their willingness or unwillingness to fight, and what happened to them once they were captured or the war ended.
As far as i know US/GB pows of the osttruppen were handed over to the Sovjets and often executed
Yes, I fully agree. I confess to having an almost fascination with them.
@@fj1659 They were, operation keelhaul. And it was a war crime. Obviously Germany committed far more war crimes than the west. But this and the bombing of civilians are the best examples of allied war crimes IMO. And it was also very sad men who joined because they either hated Stalin or just didn't want to starve to death were abandoned by the west and sent to the USSR to be murdered.
My great uncle survived WW1 on the Western Front in the German Army only to be rounded up and put into the Volksturm in Potsdam in 1945. He somehow managed to survive this too. Whenever I have a rough day I think of him and feel better about my lot in life!
I was always under the impression that Volkssturm units were ineffective at best and more often than not an absolute suicide mission. So my heart sank when I saw those civilians with ill fitting helmets, assault rifles and yellow armbands in Ukraine. Thanks for pointing out that motivation played a big part as did professional leadership - or lack thereof.
Ukraine uses Volkssturm alot. Its called Territorial Defense Brigades now.
there is a very good movie about this from germany, Die Brücke. It's about a group of Volksturm teenage boys, who had the senseless duty of protecting a meaningless bridge in a small village.
Saw that movie awhile ago and haven't been able to remember the name, or get it out of my head. Thank you for naming it.
Great movie indeed, "The Bridge" .
It has a horrific scene where one of the boys illustrates perfectly how NOT to operate a panzerfaust inside a building. It is a great anti-war film.
It was refilmed several times. All versions well done.
@@MrPanzerTanzer there is actually only one remake. A TV move from the german TV Channel pro 7 and it was pretty weak
It is worth noting that while the teenage lads of the Hitler Jugend and the grandads of the Volkssturm were battling against the might of the Red Army, very many Nazi bigwigs were making ready to scuttle off to safety. In effect those young lads and elderly men were helping to buy time for those 'higher-ups' fleeing the sinking ship.
'twas ever thus.
except hitler. he stayed. that's the surprising fact. that man stayed and died with his people.
@@cantbanme792 Well yes, that is true. That much at least was to his credit.
S
@@cantbanme792 Потому что ему НЕКУДА было бежать.
Вот он и решил обставить всё так, будто он решил умереть вместе с народом. Ну что сказать, истеричный человек, но умный
I've told this story a few times before on youtube video comment sections and got a lot of hatred towards my grandfather because people think I'm lying, but here it goes:
My Grandfather (he is 92 now) was born and raised in Saxony, and like everyone else, he was forced into the Hitler Jugend (Hitler Youth) at a young age. There he was "tested" for his "aryan" traits and heritage. Due to him being a straight A student, and what the NSDAP considered to be of ideal German heritage he was deemed a prime candidate for the SS.
It was decided that he was to be conscripted into a Napola (Boarding school grooming kids/teens for becoming officers in the SS). He tells gut-wrenching stories about how they would have school
announcements about school pupils that had previously died "a hero's death for their Führer and country", but I won't get into that now.
Luckily (as he did) his parents despised Hitler, the NSDAP, and everything they represented. They knew that they would do everything they could to keep him from being sent to the SS boarding school.
They succeeded.
On Febuary 12th, 1945 his Hitler youth group was ordered to help the war effort in Dresden, and he was ordered to be at his local train station that morning. When he got there he noticed that he was the only one from his group that showed up. He saw his group leader, he went to him and asked where everyone else was, and the disillusioned group leader told him: "Go home, boy. The war is lost and there isn't anything you can do that would change that." He followed orders and went back home.
A day later Dresden was bombed...
He was then forced into the Volkssturm a few weeks before he turned 15 in 1945. No uniform, no relevant training, nothing. He was grouped with three old men, given one "old Russian machine gun" (according to him), merely trained how to shoot, reload, and fix weapon jamming and sent out to fight the same day.
Long story short, his location was hit by artillery fire, the men he was with were killed/mortally wounded and he started running.
Running away from the war, and everything it had caused for him and the people he knew.
Scared of being shot for "being a traitor" he hid in a forest surrounding his home town for a few days until he spotted American troops entering it. He says he broke out into tears of joy and immediately ran home, grateful to see those that he stills considers his personal heroes. To this day he still tears up about that journey. Everytime he tells the story he mentions "some fanatical idiots shooting at a Sherman tank with a rifle and pistols. The last thing those poor souls saw was the Sherman aim it's barrel at them. And what did they die for? For nothing!"
In a blink of an eye he could have been forced into the SS, and the atrocities they committed. He probably wouldn't have survived the war, but he did. He's still alive today and I couldn't be more grateful.
I don't understand why your comment would attract hatred. It's quite a plausible story, and very thought-provoking: "What if ...?" Thanks for posting.
in war weird stories happen.
Im happy for you that he survived ;)
@@vk2ig The one I've gotten the most is that people are outright calling him a liar, and other nonsense along those lines. Thanks for reading!
Well I think it's a perfectly plausible and interesting story.
A great story. Your grandpa has quite a history!
I don't know if he served in the Volkssturm, but my great grandfather fought in the German army in ww2, at one point taking a round in the side of the head (ear). He survived although he was almost completely deaf after that, and lived till 2003, dying 1 day before I was born at 99 years of age. My parents named me after him.
So your grandfather was a nazi. Got it
How proud you must be! May he rest in peace 🕊️
your Great Great father was 14 when WW1 ended. there is no way he fought in it
@@rtwfreak2012 look at his comment history, full of nazi stuff
@@dakotabishop8009 excuse me?
,,The old. The young. The weak. If they stand for Germany, they die for Germany."
reznov?
that game was a masterpiece
"CHERNOV, WHY AM I NOT HEARING GUNSHOTS?!?!"
same for soviet union all those years back
Another great clip by Mark Felton! Thanks for sharing.
Perfect topic for the events taking place these days.
One of the main reasons the SS Werewolves never materialized was that all the people who could've carried the plan out were killed fighting in the Volksturm and Hitler Youth.
The insurgents in Iraq were able to carry out a costly insurgency against the US because the Iraqi Army dissolved during the initial invasion, leaving thousands of men with basic military training alive to join various factions after the war. Additionally, there were tens of thousands of capable civilians with various reasons to join insurgent groups, ranging from dislike of the Americans to peer pressure to lack of job prospects.
There were werewolves. They were much more active in the east than the west and not advertised to prevent escalation.
They were hunted and executed when caught. Mostly young boys. I read a book, yes i forgot the name, where it was described in a chapter.
@@logoseven3365 Another event which altered German public opinion firmly in favor of the Americans, British and French, was the Berlin Airlift. It was a true Hearts &Minds operation and very successful.
Nah, I believe the main reason why Germany didn't have much of a guerrilla post WW2 was because the German people itself got destroyed, not much on the phisical aspects but on the moral fight. They Lost the willingness to fight After being bombed raped into the Oblivion. Plus they immediately started to instigate a strong propaganda against the population making them feel Like Monsters.
@@lanfrancoadreani9212 don't forget the rape of Berlin after the end
They did carry out the assisanation of the newly appointed mayor of Aachen and a few sorties against the Russians in the east. But most were disorganized and lost the will to carry on with stringent curfews and checkpoints in place by occupational forces.
You remind us that wars aren't just lines on a map - there are human stories and human costs. Looking at the faces of those old men and young boys gave me tremendous respect for them, as well as sorrow, and deepened my despisement for the leaders who put them there.
But most importantly wars are lines on a map
@@eutropius2699 lol
@@The_last_prime thx dawg
They are the fathers and sons of nazis fuckem
The most common weapon of the VS was the Italian Carcano rifle. The Germans had taken many thousands from the disarming of the Italian army in 1943, and had them conveniently stashed in depots in northern Italy (they had decent amounts of ammo for them as well, but nothing like enough to sustain any kind of combat for any length of time) . Just a short distance away was Austria, and they went out from there. Also many French and Russian rifles were used. Ammunition was a problem, and many VS were given as few as five to ten cartridges. There was even a program to convert the Italian Carcanos to the standard German service cartridge, although they really did not get very many converted over.
They also used gewehr 98s and other old weapons from ww1 and below they also had some Kar98ks mp40s but in small numbers
I remember visiting some military graveyards in Northern Norway. Some Germans was only 16 years old.
Thoughts of an elderly Volkssturmer:
Let's see, five and a half years ago, when we started this war, we had the best armed forces in the world, bar none. That was quickly proven in Poland, in Norway, in France, everywhere our forces went, by triumph after triumph. Now, in 1945, millions of our elite fighting men have been killed, crippled, or imprisoned. We have no more divisions of trained men, no Panzer corps, no Luftwaffe, no fuel, no great leaders, no experienced comrades to help us. They give us weapons unlikely to be effective against the millions of well-equipped, battle hardened troops assaulting us. Our backs are against the burning walls of our homeland, and they expect us to save the war for them. Well, Scheisse.
Similar to what's happening in Ukraine right now. Civilians told to defend against a massive force with only patriotism and simple guns to win the conflict. I would have hoped the world had learned from these WW2 stories, but no.
@@alm5992 'Civilians told to defend against a massive force with only patriotism and simple guns to win the conflict.''
*Actually trained soldiers fighting against poorly equiped under trained under supplied troops.
@@alm5992 At least the Ukrainians have the big advantage that their enemies are giving up left and right because they didn't want to fight in the first place. And they have a much higher morale, because they don't defend an evil dictator but instead fight against one.
You're right. Better to surrender and see your women raped by the hundreds of thousands and your country chopped into pieces.
@@Khabaal87 I hear other people say ridiculous things like this. Did the Ghost of Kiev tell you this personally? Maybe those 13 guys on that island told you.
Ive read that the whole concept was a bit strange from the German perspective... With such a traditional respect for specialisation and professionals many German civilians expressed severe doubts about things like the Volksturm. If the regular army...the professionals.... couldn't handle the situation...what hope did anyone else have? In addition... regular soldiers were reportedly horrified when their fathers (or even grandfathers) were called up...so there was a definite morale effect on the Army! This philosophy reportedly applied even more strongly to the calls from the Nazi Party for "partisan" type action even after defeat... that was most definitely NOT something Germans naturally took on...
Eh. Germany, like a lot of countries, had a history of civilian militias. The Volkssturm was basically just a logical revival of what had come before.
The Volksturm is just the mirror image of the child warriors as seen in Africa or Iraq.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure they were not "volunteers," unless young.
The Boers managed to keep Britain fighting for three years with only a home guard. Prior to the well known war of 1899-1902, the Boers won a war against Britain with the same commando system in 1879-1881. The Boers system, as explained by Deneys Reitz, had its flaws: the Boers had huge discipline issues and a few battles were lost because men thought the situation untenable and retreated without orders. That being said, don't underestimate a civilian force fighting for their own independence.
That being said, don't underestimate a civilian force fighting for their own -independence- survival.
They were military age men, skilled horsemen and marksmen facing infantry they could out manoeuvre and outshoot. Not old men facing better equipped enemies with tanks that they couldn't outrun. H.G wells wrote a sci fi book that showed trench warfare between the Brits and Boers that 'tanks: broke.
You are correct about civilians being a threat but missed the massive difference in quality between the 2 groups (mainly physical) and their enemies (mainly tanks, artillery) and the style of defense ( static Vs more elastic).
@@cameronwixcey9692 Mate, the initial call-ups of both the OFS and ZAR was for men between 18 and 55. Once the second British offensive began, however, it was all hands on deck, and a lot of old men - as old as 80 years - and kids as young as 7 joined the ranks.
As for manoeuvring, you are once again correct - for the first half of the war. From the start of the winter in 1901 the Boers' horses gave out and the last part of the war - the real Guerilla phase - was fought with horses that was taken from the enemy. Many men were also on foot by then. Read D. Reitz's book, Commando! on the subject, or R.W. Schikkerling's Commando Courageous.
The fact is, however, that the Boers had military experience - if only against native tribes. Both Reitz and Schikkerling makes a point of the motivation of the Boers, stating that the weak and unwilling fled, leaving the best and most loyal to fight until the bitter end.
In a modern conflict, hand held weapons such as Javelins, NLAW's, Stingers etc. provides a foot soldier with enough firepower to counter tanks and aircraft. This will be especially helpful in urban warfare, or, once the insurgents can hide between the civilians - as in Afghanistan and Iraq. Point is, a well motivated civilian who survives enough contacts can become a very dangerous foe.
@@henrykeyter53 shut up
@@henrykeyter53 yup the mujahadein rebels in Afghanistan were supplied with, and trained in the use of powerful Stinger missiles. The Russian army lost hundreds of choppers from 1984 to 1988... the C.I.A supplied these to Pakistan and then Pakistan shipped the Stingers to the rebels through eastern Afghanistan...
This is a phenomenonal presentation. Keep it up mark
"They have robbed the cradle and the grave equally for the force they have now."
Ah the Volkssturm.
They're more well known for their last ditch rifles than the unit themselves, least they don't have to fight anything with that.
I read the title and the first thing that came to mind was Volkssturm Gewehr.
You're wrong as we have found valuable troops facing paratroopers in Bastogne
@@badbotchdown9845 do not mistake Volkssturm with Volksgrenadier units
There were other VG weapons including the VG2 and VG5. I'm not sure how many VG3 and 4 were made, but the 2 and 5 were each over 10,000. Ian McCollum has videos on Forgotten weapons of them. That's not including simplifying production of existing weapons. It's an interesting time frame from a firearms perspective.
those "last ditch" weapons are extremely interesting.
Also mp3008 captured weapons from Eastern front like converted PPSH 41 to 9mm small numbers of kar 98ks also used G71 G98 Italian weapons captured stens Volkstumgewehr.
There's a guy/small company in Germany making reproductions, last I checked.
My Grandfather served in WW2 and was in the 701st Tank Batallion attached to the 102nd Infantry Division. His unit came across Volkssterm soldiers opposing his unit. He told me they were old men or young kids. The young kids he said would have rather been chasing Girls, going to school or playing Sports. He said the old men would have rathered to have enjoyed their retirement and spending time with their families and Grandchildren rather than fighting that late in life.
Best channel on TH-cam, without a doubt. Thanks for all that you do, Dr. Felton!
Thanks Mark for the upload. It is perfect to listen to while I work out.
My great grandpa fought in WW1 as an infantry runner. My grandpa fought in WW2 in the Army in Europe, my great uncle was in the Korean War as an Air Force pilot, my dad was in Vietnam as a Navy Corpsman, my brother was in Desert Storm and I was in Somalia... I hope I am the last one in my family to serve...
Do you have a son?
That would certainly be a worthwhile dream...
Thanks for your service man! This old Marine sends a "Semper Fi!" to you and your family!
And I concur with your last. No more wars, please. Old men should stop wars, not start them.
Lieutenant Dan is that you?
My family's military history in this country goes back to the Civil War. (Though I think we skipped WWI... at least, on the American side.) Only the dead have seen the end of war.
The problem with Volkssturm units is generally, that they are of very uneven quality. They are specifically usefull in cities where the combat value of armour is generally modest.
Many of them didn't even have a gun they had to steal one off a dead Russian, they only gave them very little ammunition, mix-matched uniforms and vehicles that broke down every other day.
We'll see the concept in action soon enough.
Ukraine. Kiev. "Volunteers". Russian encirclement.
@@Sneedmire The VDV and Russian troops around kiev will meet each other in hell in the next few days, dont worry
@@Sneedmire blame what you do on the enemy -Russian government
@@Sneedmire So how's that going for you now, comrade?
Volksturm units fought bravely in Frankfurt o.d.Oder, Breslau, Königsberg. With a handful of Knights Cross winners...although the KC was handed out in 45' for actions that would barely get you the EKII in 1940...
Mark, is there any chance you could do a piece on the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and the internal conflict there after 1945? this is such an important part of history, especially at the moment - and I for one always greatly appreciate the balanced and informative view you bring to all your videos. You are the man for the job!!
Great detail about the logistics and use of captured weapons, thanks for another interesting story Dr Felton!
This is a hell of a conincidental time to release this video on this topic
made on purpose.
What are you referring to?
Awesome Work Mark Thanks!!!👍 Greetings from Helsinki, Finland 🇫🇮
Mark,when I heard you mention that volkstrum had a lot of different weapons,it brought to mind when Gen Mark Clark expressed how hard it was to fight in Italy with so many different nationalities with so many different weapons that fought with the allies.
The British were also short of men by 1944. The Army in NE Europe got smaller and smaller after D Day. I have read that no less than 100,000 Royal Navy personnel were transferred to the Army at this time. (seems a lot).
retooled aircrew in training etc. too.
The VS was probably best used in urban house to house combat where the panzerfaust was an effective tank killer.
It made a great close range artillery/recoilless rifle weapon. You could take out a machine gun in a building, etc.
yes, if by "best" you mean giving free meat to the Russian Meat Grinder...
Like the Javelins of today.
@@LadyFairChildVideo what's your point?
@@theoneandonlyhooda what is your point?
Sidenote: Reminds me of the Ukrainian civiliens volunteering to defend their country against a Russian invasion as I write this, using rifles, maybe tank missiles ("Panzerfaust 4.0") and self-built Molotov cocktails.
My thoughts as a German and former soldier on the topic itself: While I have to respect the determination, courage and sacrifice of the men, the waste of human life here is heart breaking. The last year of the war claimed about as many German lives as the 4-5 years before. In other words: Had the Nazi Germany gouvernment surrendered in May 1944 instead of organizing the Volkssturm, they would have halved the German casualties of the whole war! By then, anyone knew that the War could no longer be won.
My late uncle and godfather was drafted - I'm not sure if into the Volkssturm or the army - at the age of 16. He was lucky and survived. The British captured his unit somwhere in Northern Germany and he could go home pretty soon.
Thank you for remembering these men.
Politicians don't care about the people who they supposedly represent. Only money and power.
Yes, I suspect that the timing of this video is in no way a accident. Well done Dr. Felton.
@@jb6027 precisely. The events in Ukraine join similar lines to the end of the Third Reich, namely the call to arms of a citizen militia by irresponsible leaders enhanced by massive amounts of propaganda. Oh and foreign legions too ;)
“Nations that went down fighting rose again, but those who surrendered tamely were finished.” - Winston Churchill
@@AFGuidesHD you can tell this to the Paraguayan people who sent their children at one point, losing over 70% of male population, simply because president Solano Lopez didn't believe in giving up. Nice Churchill quote though.
A motivated man in his 50s is a dangerous, yet underestimated creature.
Where that many motivated men in their 50s in 1945?
My maternal Viennese grandfather was recruited into the Volkssturm in early 1945. I don't think he ever fired a shot though. He was a World War I veteran who had served on the Russian and Italian fronts with Feldjägerbattalion 14.
One of the amazing things to me about the VS was that there was such a squabble over who controlled this quasiformal organization. Internal power struggles all the way to the end- and not an issue of differences about how to best employee these forces, or who was most fit to lead them, just plain old fashioned greed and narcissism
In my country the letters for the USA are VS... I read your comment thinking it was about that country..... and everything fits!
@@Blackadder75 no one cares
The people at the top were desperately afraid of being tried for war crimes after the war. Or for being summarily shot upon surrender. So that struggle for power at the end was in reality a struggle to control their own destiny up until the very end.
@@thisguy2720 cares, it seems
Power struggles were a feature of the Nazi regime, as Adolf Hitler wanted his officials to clique with each other. Competition would keep NSDAP factions from amassing too much power that would threaten Hitler, and the struggle for power and resources would weed out the shirkers. Adolf Hitler positioned himself like the sun, with Martin Bormann as his close companion, while the three main factions of government (Reichsluftminister Hermann Goering, SS chief Heinrich Himmler, and Armaments Minister Albert Speer) behaved like warring planets, with Bormann limiting their access to Hitler. The latter kept power by dint of his position as commander in chief of the Wehrmacht, which included the Waffen SS under his direct control as a de facto bodyguard force.
“Silver in their hair, gold in their hearts, and lead in their bones.” Man these guys could make jingoism out of anything
the gold is in their teeth. Makes more sense that way.
@@shelbynamels973 lol
My grandfather was in the Volkssturm in the battle for Remagen. He was already 50 years old at that point with a limp from serving in the first world War.
He was captured by the American Army and imprisoned in Reims.
He was lucky to be captured by the Americans. My client, a german pilot, flew his ME 262 to Greece to be captured by the British. He became an American citizen. He told me lots of stories like using the Autobahn to land the first jets.
@@TRHARTAmericanArtist But he was the breadwinner in the family, leaving behind my mother, aged 10 and my uncle aged 11. They had very little to eat and starved. Fortunately my parents lived in Wiesbaden and that city was relatively undamaged by bombing unlike Frankfurt.
@@loafer1989 - Thank goodness that they made it out alive.
@@TRHARTAmericanArtist Fun fact, the Americans bombed Frankfurt in December of 1944. They used aluminum chaff to confuse German radar. My mother and her parents used it as tinsel on there Christmas Tree.
@@loafer1989 I did hear that before. Well she made a bad thing good. I love Christmas 🌲
I visited the Untenwelten in Berlin a few years back. They have a collection of equipment and weapons found in Berlin since the war: Soviet and German. In the pile was a Sten gun. Not the German version, but British horizontal magazine. At the time we wondered how it had got there. Of course they were issued to German units including Volksturm, German ammunition amongst other supplies, being compatible.
The germans copyed the Stan "Gerät Potsdam" wars its Name. It wars nearly a 1:1 Copy. Later they made a different copy called MP 3008. But it is also possible that the germans Used Real Stans. The British airdropped many Stan Guns over France to Support the Resitance, but the Wehrmacht captured most of the Stan Guns
The problem of supply had been going on for quite some time and was not confined to the very end in Berlin. One of the little known facts about D-Day was that many of the German troops facing the landings were equipped with foreign guns and ammunition scrounged from the Eastern Front or Italy - this was a particular problem with the Russian medium guns as the available ammunition was limited. In addition, many of the Axis troops in Normandy were from countries invaded by Germany who had basically been told 'fight for us or die'. Many German officers were more worried about a bullet in the back than they were of the Allies.
Everybody assumes the Germans were one homogenised race, all fighting for the same cause, but this was simply not the case.
@@cmsxcb absolutely. I have a good friend whose dad was wounded at Cassino and transferred to 1st Polish armoured headquarters. He had a friend who claimed he was captured by the Germans in 1939. His friend said an officer instructed all who understood German to step forward and shot those that didn’t. The German speakers were given the choice of enlisting in the Wehrmacht or joining their comrades. Polish units all recruited from Wehrmacht POWs. Famously 1PAD had trucks of kit following their columns for Polish POWs who wanted to join them. Ideal recruits often trained by the Polish Army and Wehrmacht and with something to prove.
The SS were famously multinational, though most were from European fascists, or ethnic minorities ill treated by Stalin. Some of Das Reich who participated in the massacre Oradour were from Alsace Loraine. I know of a Ukrainian SS unit that killed its German officers and defected to the Maquis. Some Nazi war criminals were thus able to escape justice such as Anton Gecas.
Similarly with kit. Many strongpoints on the Atlantic Wall were salvaged from French tanks. Some tanks that invaded in 1940 were Czech. Later they became the platforms for SPGs and Tank Destroyers, built in Czech factories. There was a unit in France that converted captured chassis and guns into assault guns. Only the other day I saw a picture of an assault gun built on a T34 chassis.
Specific to the Sten, they had then in abundance and they’d been designed to use German ammo. So an ideal weapon for them to expropriate.
All somewhat ironic given the racist nature of Nazi Germany. Given your reply, I’m sure you’re already familiar.
@@callumgordon1668 Yeah. The Sten is a fascinating development originally designed to use the massive amounts of 9mm ammunition captured from the Italians in Operation Crusader. Ideal for parachuting behind enemy lines but a bloody awful weapon to use. I know many of the units in North Africa refused to turn in their Thompsons when they were supplied with Stens.
Another weapon the Germans copied was the Bren gun - or rather, they took over the existing factory when they invaded Czechoslovakia. British Brens were made in the same Enfield factories as the Sten. In addition, Brens were also produced in Canada but, for some reason, most were sent to China to help the Nationalists.
If you need to know the origins of the famous comedy act "I look up to him, and down on him" (John Cleese, Ronnie Barker & Ronnie Corbett) 1:44 is it
Great work as usual, sir. I still hope to see a video covering Marshal's and Grand Admiral's batons one day. lol. Have a great day, Dr.
I had worked with a Scotsman 40 years ago, who said he was in the UK home guard in 1940. He claimed that he was first issued a pike because rifles were in short supply.
Yikes. I remember reports of drilling with brooms, but not actually being issued mêlée weapons! Shades of the Japanese preparations for the Allied invasion, such as handing out bamboo spears
I have a Luftschutz helmet my brother found on a Manhattan street several years ago. Original leather liner is completely dried out and falling apart.
My Granddad was part of the Home Guard outside of London during the war. Ps Wonderful biography Mark Felton. You do an excellent job and I’m so glad to hear of your success for all your hard work. Thank you
I really like
Your videos Mr. Felton, they’re the best on TH-cam for military history
left out the best part, how they were grouped into battalions based on their medical issues..for example they were called "Magen" (stomach) battalions for men with digestive issues, and "ohren " (ear) battalions for the deaf and partially deaf!
Sir Mark. No matter what the topic I learn something every time.
🇺🇸🏴🇬🇧
I second that.
@@TRHARTAmericanArtist Carried.
The key takeaway from this is that even middle-aged men can be organized into an effective fighting force IF they had proper military training at some point in their lives. This is the main reason why eliminating universal military service was a mistake.
but we have nukes so just threaten each other till we all die from fallout. enough of the tiny squabbles like Ukraine. just missle each other
I'm in my 50's and am in great shape. I can out hike the vast majority of men half my age and regularly do so. Don't know if I would hold up to the fear that comes in actual combat, no one does until it happens. But I also fear death less than a younger man because I've already lived most of my life. If it was in defense of my homeland and the invaders were a hated enemy, I wouldn't feel so bad dying for that cause. So when he spoke of the brave and very accomplished Volkssturm group of factory workers in their 50s, it makes sense to me.
Read about the Boer War mate. We fought Britain for three years with no training whatsoever. There is little that can motivate a man as much as the knowledge that he is really fighting for his independence. Also: old men make better soldiers because they can't run away ;-p
@@drott150 Except that almost all of those factory workers HAD WWI military experience, the majority being WWI combat vets. You can't just teach someone arms handling skills and small unit tactics overnight. BTW, Hitler, Goering, Donitz, Rommel all were WWI combat vets...most the top Nazis were.
@@MrSloika I didn't hear him saying the majority were WWI combat vets, although being in their 50s I'm sure many were. Regardless, most of them engaged in purely defensive, close city fighting with enemy armor. That wasn't an experience most WWI vets had. So, although general combat experience is always helpful, much of the WWII era city fighting was not relatable. The Volkssturm were basically there to take a few shots at the enemy as they approached, quickly expending themselves in most cases to death or rapid surrender.
I don’t think theres not a day go by where I don’t watch at least one of Marks mini documentaries. They are prefect timed with the information Mark provides.
I am always excited when you produce a new video! I have bought a couple of your books (in digital form) from Amazon, they were terrific.
Always a good break with a Mr. Felton video!
Mark, do you have information about Volkssturm use in the Battle for Aachen? I've seen conflicting reports about their actual deployment there.
_The Volkssturm was founded on 10/18/1944, Aachen was captured on 10/21/1945 . . ._
It always breaks my heart to think that aging WW1 veterans were assigned to train kids how to fight. They knew the horrible brutality and pointlessness of war better than anybody but were forced to see their kids and grandkids in to oblivion
With the red army coming, in many cases it was better to die in battle
@@kommando5562 good, the germans didn't deserve anything better. Sowed the wind, reaped the whirlwind
@@destroyer1667You agree Russians deserve the same fate today in Ukraine yes?
Reaped the whirlwind yes?
@@kommando5562Well some German veterans though that. On the grounds of that if the Russians ( really Soviets) did to the Germans what had been done to them during the German invasion of the USSR than it was indeed better to fight to the death.
I can’t say that the Soviets were nice, I am saying that they had reasons.
@@graceneilitz7661 it was better to with western Allie’s in many cases too as they also did a lot of rape. And it wasn’t good either
Thank you Mark Sir. I told the lecturers of University of Keleniya History Division Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 to watch your program. They can learn a lot. Thanks Sir 😊
Really good job! So many details you don't get unless you read a book and expertly put together Kudos to you Mr. Felton.
this shows how effective militias can be if properly motivated
and how any man wil way his options at all times, fighting the western powers would mean death, surrendering would mean a hot meal and perhaps even a warm bed (in reallity the western powers also made them clear mines and also committed atrocities towards them though much less than the soviets)
fighting the soviets would mean death, surrendering would likely also mean death or slavery and abuse for them
for their families and home it would mean not much better treatment, old men would fight not just for themselves but more so for their wives and kids and in lue of them their nation.
being feared can detere someone from taking up arms better than being loved, but it also makes men fight to the bitter end rather than surrender
Clear mines? Reminds me of that Danish movie "Land Of Mine". It's on Yt.
I am afraid the whole surrender and get a hot meal trope was largely false regarding the western powers . Often you where killed outright or even tortured and it wasn't a rare occurance
German Civilians where often starved and raped by the allied militaries and otherwise mistreated
I would imagine after the Russian / Ukraine war I honestly think the rest of Europe would go to the end rather than surrender on both miltary and civilian terms
Trusting the other side to behave in good faith is folly
Another timely segment would be one about Stepan Bandera, the Ukrainian hero/villian of World War 2. Timely because Putin mentioned "Banderites" in his going-to-war speech.
The Banderas are crazy right-wing extremists... They arent better than those, who are willingly attacking Ukraine.. (and I am not speaking of those poor Russian consripts that were fooled by their commanders and Putin)
@@oliveryt7168 They were fooled??? How the fuck do you fool someone into a coordinated invasion? Where did you hear this?
@@oliveryt7168 depends. Some nazis infiltrated the OUN to kill Polish civilians. The majority were innocent.
Banderites were neo-nazi war criminals. They slaughtered 250,000 polish civilians in the most barbaric ways, axes, pitchforks, sickles etc
@@oliveryt7168 Thats Western media lies dude. Captured RUssian POWs were forced to say that they were forced by Putin to fight. It's plain disinformation man.
I was stationed in Germany during the 70s and I talked to Germans about the war.
One guy told me he was put in when he was15 years old, in November 1944, he was given a rifle and told to start firing on the American Troops which would arrive shortly.
Him and a friend of his realized it this was hopeless and that they would be killed,
so they tossed their rifles and made a run for it. The SS however caught up with them.
Both of them were going to be hung for dessertion, but before the SS got the chance to it, the German army had to hightail it, because the American army was coming in fast.
Then the American soldiers got a hold of him and they were ready to shoot him but declded against it.
He said he was lucky he was not issued a uniform, but was wearing civilian clothing.
Otherwise they would have done it.
Thanks!
The most disturbing thing about the Volkssturm to me was the fact most were armed with a single panzerfaust. No personal weapon, just an obvious suicide mission to try to take out one tank.
The timing of this video is interesting as we see regular people in Ukraine fighting the invading Russian army.
Militia and other irregular units can be very effective. Disparaging them is inaccurate. This video gives an example of them fighting effectively even against overwhelming odds as the Soviets invaded Berlin. The Viet Cong were militia in some ways, and they fought effectively in the Vietnam war. In the American Revolution, militia units did a great deal to turn the war in favor of the colonists with victories at King's Mountain, Cowpens, and Guilford Courthouse. At the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812, many of the men fighting under General Jackson were essentially militia, and they performed well. Militia rarely perform as well as real troops when used as real troops would be used, but they can be very effective in some roles.
If evey one listend to Genral Patton none of this would have happend and comunisum would have been truned to dust.
@@johns3544 Mr Churchill warned the allies but they would not listen.
@@ddpeak1 ya he was also wanting to go after the basterds
My opinion on the relation of this video and the Ukrainian people taking up arms is best summed up by quoting Reznov (as played by Gary Oldman) from World at War:
The old... the young... the weak... If they stand for Germany... they die for Germany. Building by building. Room by room. One rat at a time."
@@Sneedmire Thankfully it didn't turn out that way, here we are approaching a year of the war and Russia's military has taken a far worse beating than Ukraine's.
Great overview of the Volkssturm! There's little I can add except did anyone notice the guy wearing an M1916 stahlhelm?
Just for everyone's information, according the the Hague and Geneva Conventions civilians are not supposed to fight and are not accorded POW status if they do, however they do have to be tried in court (a military court will do) before any punishment is inflicted. It's the reason the Germans bent over backwards to identify Volkssturm members as legitimate combatants, either by armband (permitted by the Conventions) or uniforms of some type.
I believe it depends on whether or not civilian militia clearly identify themselves as combatants - e.g. wearing colored bandanas/armbands, open-carrying their weapons, etc. that differentiates them from criminals/saboteurs/ _francs-tireurs
Absolutely right
@@Mikey-xz4vn The US didnt care about that in Afghanistan, and yes the Taliban wore black headgear so were identifiable in the most when the US first went in! Be clear there are unlawful combatants in Ukraine, at least according to US descriptions of what that means!
I expect no mercy and will afford no mercy if I am in such a situation. To hell with uniforms and rules..
@@Willy_Tepes Do you have an assault keyboard?
My grandfather brought a panzerfaust his unit had seized from a Volkssturm outfit during the final days of the war. We still have it (although for legal reasons we had to have it disarmed) and its remarkable just how simple it is to use and how perfect a weapon it is for a last-ditch civilian force to use.
You gotta give it to the germans, they know how to build things for a specific purpose. The STG44 is still one of my favorite rifles to this day
The way u market ur videos with current events 10/10
The Hitler Youth soldiers getting Iron Crosses at the bunker are often portrayed in films as also being rewarded with sweets! Thanks for the great video, Mark! I am a fan of the show about the UK Home Guard called Dad's Army, the one where they go to arrest the German parachutist off the church steeple is really funny!
Great video and very timely. What about a video covering the use of Privateers by countries with small navies when fighting countries with larger navies? The English used them against the Spanish Armadas in the 1600’s (remember Sir Francis Drake) and the Americans used them against the English during the American War of Independence.
You mean British right?.
Has Mark ever covered something that far back?
@@grisom5863 No, I was replying to Mike dever comment. He wrongly put english instead of british.
@@lordjazoijua94
Sorry the comment was for Mike not you. Otherwise you'd see your name at the top left like this reply has.
A modernized panzerfaust would be very useful to certain modern volksturm today. Mark Felton is what the History Channel should have been.
Panzerfaust 3 would like to meet you in a chilis parking lot good sir
There is the AT4.
The RPG more or less took that role.
Same for the Ak-47 and it's variants.
@@JonatasAdoM Yeah, but the panzerfaust was a one shot, disposable weapon capable of rapid mass production. I don't know how quickly an rpg can be manufactured. The Ukrainians need something that can be rapidly produced and used effectively with minimal training.
Please don't forget how close you have to get to have the chance to score a hit, especially for a civilian with little to no practice, in short it would be suicidal
Current events packaged in a historical context. Brilliant. The Best history professional in the business.
Ive been searching for a good volksstrum video for so long. Thank you Mark!
It’s sad that there are events going on right now that will likely appear on this channel some time in the future
Reminds me of the ongoing situation in Ukraine. Guns handed out like toys to civilians, and instructed how to make and use Molotov cocktails.
The making of M.C's is purely a 'feel good" action. They are useless against artillery, tanks or infantry with automatic weapons.
On the internet I found the result of such "brillant" policies. A group of Ukranian Kids tried to Attack a Russia column in an open area with molotovs. I let you Imagine the aftermath. St this point the responsible thing to do Is to surrender, NATO cavalry already openly said that they are not coming. I really don't see the Strategy of the Ukranian president here, what Is he hoping for?
@@lanfrancoadreani9212 he is hoping for the survival of his country. No one is forcing the Ukrainian children to attack.
@@richardsamuelgustavo He is not ukrainian.
Thats the best way to get their homes leveled with artillery. If they dont have any insignia, uniform, armband or anything, I believe the Geneva agreement does not provide them protection. Thats nasty btw. If the men understand what the situation is then its maybe different.
My mum often wondered what happened to her dad in 1945.
He went out on air raid duty in Leipzig and never returned.
Was he killed during the raid and his body never recovered or was he snatched and sent to fight the Russians?
Half of the pleasure of coming to Mark's videos are the incredible comments. Cheers to all!
My great grandfather lost his leg in WW1 and then fought in the Volkssturm in the endfight for Berlin. He was reported missing and was never seen again. I hope you are fine, whereever you are now.
Perhaps a story about the legendary and brave Hanke the defender of Breslau who left hundreds of thousands to die while he fled at the last minute with all the loot he could carry.
Always an outstanding video and presentation.
I am 56 now. 30 years ago I spend three years fighting in a war defending my country. This situation is similar to situation of 90 percent of old people mobilised to Volksturm. If a need to go to trenches again today I would be 100 percent usefull soldier in defence.
Awesome another informative n interesting story about least covered story of men n boys during the final years of the war. Kudos for vid.
Another brilliant video Dr Felton. It will be very interesting to watch a video about the current events with the comments from you Sir.
Surprised you didn’t make a video on them already
Everyone: "should we surrender?"
Hitler: "Got you covered fam"
*Sends in Volksstrum.*