How Nazi Germany’s Blitzkrieg Tactics Sliced Through France | Greatest Tank Battles | War Stories

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 มิ.ย. 2024
  • At the outset of WWII, the Germans pioneered a new form of mobile armored warfare.This is the story of how the Nazi's unleashed the blitzkrieg on Western Europe as thousands of Panzer tanks raced across rugged terrain and crushed Allied defenses.
    War Stories is your one stop shop for all things military history. From Waterloo to Verdun, we'll be bringing you only the best documentaries and stories from history's most engaging and dramatic conflicts.
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ความคิดเห็น • 678

  • @WarStoriesChannel
    @WarStoriesChannel  2 ปีที่แล้ว +43

    It's like Netflix for history... Sign up to History Hit the world's best history documentary service with code 'WARSTORIES' for a huge discount! bit.ly/3kWiVNo

    • @petel7418
      @petel7418 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      No mention of Luftwaffe/Stukas In this doc even though it was the main thing In blitzkrieg..? First stukas, then panzers..

    • @matthewchase1363
      @matthewchase1363 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@petel7418 the first 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇

    • @djraythefurry0420
      @djraythefurry0420 ปีที่แล้ว

      I'm sad to see and say that David Fletcher has left the tank chats from the tank museum , tell tank Jesus aka David lol that the community he built misses him and hopes that he does well when you guys can lol 😂

  • @davidbradford4105
    @davidbradford4105 3 ปีที่แล้ว +425

    The radio gave the Germans a massive advantage. It link tanks together, tanks and artillery, and tanks and Stukas together.

    • @johnwinter7597
      @johnwinter7597 3 ปีที่แล้ว +27

      Thanks captain obvious

    • @davidbradford4105
      @davidbradford4105 3 ปีที่แล้ว +76

      @@johnwinter7597 I'm glad that I could bring clarity.

    • @normanberg9940
      @normanberg9940 3 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      Is it only me or does anyone else think the French build their tanks purposely ugly? Mind you it's the same story with their cars.

    • @thegreatreddragon2105
      @thegreatreddragon2105 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Well, tactics always prevail, as such wasn't clear enough for most of those "Allied powers"...
      Good point mate

    • @danijelkasunic7572
      @danijelkasunic7572 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      And most importantly, it brings together tanks and tanks! 😁

  • @brucelamberton8819
    @brucelamberton8819 3 ปีที่แล้ว +340

    It must be realised that in respect to the approx 2,500 German tanks in the invasion that over 1,800 were Panzer I, II, 35(t) and 38(t) light tanks, and there was only a little over 600 Panzer III and IV medium tanks. Not only that but the Panzer I and II were not equipped with cannons and only carried machine guns (albeit a heavy 20mm in the case of the Panzer II). France, on the other hand, had over 400 Char B1(s) heavy tanks with hull-mounted 75mm and turret-mounted 47mm cannons, and almost 450 Somua S-35 medium tanks with a 47mm cannon. As well as this the BEF had around 150 A10 and A13 Cruiser Tanks and around 25 A13 Infantry Tanks (i.e. Matilda II) all armed with the 40mm 2-pounder anti-tank gun, and around 25 close support tanks armed with a 94mm howitzer. So on paper at least, Germany was severely out-gunned - which shows just how dismal the British and French defence truly was.

    • @EK-gr9gd
      @EK-gr9gd 3 ปีที่แล้ว +21

      Only Panzer III, with 37 or 50 mm gun, were intended to fight tank on tank. Panzer II were just for recon and Panzer IV, at this time, were just for infantry support.

    • @leodesalis5915
      @leodesalis5915 3 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      Well basically eveytime the British or French tanks got into a fight with German tanks they held them off and cost them precious time, but due to the incredible speed of panzer 1's and 2's that allowed them to basically just go around as we didn't listen to our intelligence that the Germans would push through the Ardennes, and once they were through we never had time to set up defensive tank positions like we had every earlier battle and then alongside the Luftwaffe support there was nothing we could do but try to hold them as long as possible, many tankers never got to the beaches of Dunkirk as they were the ones that made the Germans think again about sending in their tanks and instead used the Luftwaffe to bomb Dunkirk, and as a result saved countless lives

    • @salvatorepitea5862
      @salvatorepitea5862 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Battle doctrine rules the day

    • @robertmaybeth3434
      @robertmaybeth3434 3 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      The allied leadership suffered from a total lack of imagination and "wrong war" disease. It has been said and said, the British and French in 1940 came prepared to re-fight world war 1, and in their ignorance their leadership foolishly assumed it would just be a repeat of 1918 ("We already beat them once, so why must we do it again?"). The dumb leadership could possibly be forgiven for falling under the spell of "victory disease" EXCEPT the new lessons had been there, for years, of what the new German tactics of the new kind of mechanized warfare could mean! In the Spanish civil war in the 1930's the Germans shook down their tanks and air tactics in an ideal "live-fire exercise" but the allies all but ignored it. In 1939 in Poland (where they showed what blitzgrieg could do), IF the allies had only observed, taken the lesson and adjusted their tactics and prepared, things might have been different in 1940! Instead the myopic allied leadership sat back, waited for the attack to come, based their defense and counter-attacks on all the wrong assumptions ("The Ardennes is impassable" etc.) and counted on their numerical superiority to hold back the German offensive. And we all know what happened after that.

    • @dennishorne1220
      @dennishorne1220 2 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      It’s so easy to criticize wars and battle tactics 80 years after the fact isn’t it?

  • @MrWolf-kd8yh
    @MrWolf-kd8yh 3 ปีที่แล้ว +51

    My grandfather fought for Germany he was part of the 6th army during the battle of France before being deployed to the east.
    Ultimately he was captured at stalingrad and endured many years at a Russian prisoner of war camp before returning home in the mid 1950s to live out a long peaceful life. God bless

    • @noahhess4955
      @noahhess4955 3 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      Wow. He is a lucky man to have made it out of there as many did not. My grandfather was a U-boat Cpt. Thankfully he survived the war as well

    • @ajayb.7240
      @ajayb.7240 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      God bless your family

    • @zulubeatz1
      @zulubeatz1 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      My great uncle fought at Stalingrad and was captured and survived also! (I am part Austrian) His name was Piffer I wish I knew which unit he was in. being Tyrolean I suspect Jaeger.

    • @MrWolf-kd8yh
      @MrWolf-kd8yh 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@zulubeatz1
      That is incredible!
      My Grandfather was the first lieutenant in his regiment. Please excuse me I can't remember precisely which unit he was in but he was part of the 44th infantry division within the 6th army. During captivity he lost almost 80 pounds of body weight moving around different Russian labour camps during his ordeal before release.
      The younger brother of my Grandfather started off the war in the East as part of the the 439th Regiment of the 134th Division and was at the battle of Moscow then later he was one of 9 survivors out of 1,000 men in his regiment to die in the battle of Kursk where he was injured.
      Later he lived through the war as part of the 512th heavy tank destroyer battalion as a loader for the Jagdtiger when he surrendered to the Americans in May 1945.
      Best wishes to your family and maybe even one day we can both sit down with tall glass of Pilsner and tell other stories.
      Best regards and I salute to you!

    • @michaelscott5653
      @michaelscott5653 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I hope your grandfather wasn't with the 6th army in Stalingrad!

  • @samuelparker9882
    @samuelparker9882 3 ปีที่แล้ว +117

    The moment when the German army found out that the 88 flak cannon was a tank killer as well. Thanks to Rommel. He lived a charmed life up until the very end. He was lucky in WW1 and WW2.

    • @fergusmallon1337
      @fergusmallon1337 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      But his luck did run out.

    • @VisualdelightPro
      @VisualdelightPro 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      He is against Rooservelt's Nazism.

    • @micksmith5123
      @micksmith5123 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      He had to kill himself to save his family...

    • @timberry4709
      @timberry4709 3 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      The German's figured out the usefulness of the 88 against ground targets in the Spanish Civil War where it was also used in both direct and indirect fire roles. In 1938 the 88 was designated to be used against bunkers and "other strong targets" (i.e. tanks). This is why there were armor piercing rounds available for the 88.

    • @davidmuir7711
      @davidmuir7711 2 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      Made his own luck. An intelligent resourceful leader, and one to respect. Where have these men gone?

  • @kenflagler635
    @kenflagler635 3 ปีที่แล้ว +96

    Back in the 70's when I was really young, I would watch World At War. Still love WW2 DOCS. This one is great. Thanks.

    • @picklerix6162
      @picklerix6162 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I use to watch it on PBS with my father on the weekends. My father was part of the American occupation forces after Germany surrendered.

    • @scottyfox6376
      @scottyfox6376 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      As a kid I was always excited to hear that mournful music of World At War, good memories to be sure.

    • @robertbennett9949
      @robertbennett9949 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Were you told then that 82% of German casualties were inflicted on the Soviet front? And that it was Germany on December 11th. 1941 which declared was on the USA, at a time when the Gerrman army had already been driven back from Moscow, losing territory which it would not regain?

    • @demarcusfaulkner7411
      @demarcusfaulkner7411 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I would watch it on the history channel with my great grandfather he was at the battle of the bulge.

    • @demarcusfaulkner7411
      @demarcusfaulkner7411 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@robertbennett9949 what I was told is the Russians took the bront of the fighting which allowed the allies to advance and beat the Germans. Thanks for that it saved allot of lives.

  • @thomashogan9196
    @thomashogan9196 3 ปีที่แล้ว +141

    It was a shock to the system to see David Fletcher (Tank Museum) with a haircut and basic grooming.

    • @karlflavell968
      @karlflavell968 3 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      He wasn't making bizarre comments either.

    • @thomashogan9196
      @thomashogan9196 3 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      @@karlflavell968 Yes, but don't we miss that part?

    • @generalfrog4658
      @generalfrog4658 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      A very young David

    • @thomashogan9196
      @thomashogan9196 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @peadar colmain I love the man. Nobody does tanks like him. His Albert Einstein hairdo is iconic.

    • @thomashogan9196
      @thomashogan9196 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @peadar colmain Allright. Meeeow.

  • @musicmann6812
    @musicmann6812 2 ปีที่แล้ว +96

    When the Germans headed through the ardenn, there was a five mile traffic jam of tanks and armored vehicles, and other vehicles with big guns like the 88's in tow.. a french piolet spotted it, and when he reported it, his superiors dismissed it and said it was impossible, had they acted on that information, they could have destroyed half of the Germans tanks that took part in the battle of France. . They could have won the war just from that one bit of info. 😤

    • @musicmann6812
      @musicmann6812 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @Bronze Wolf very true..

    • @frags7792
      @frags7792 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      And that is how France lost their ground within weeks...

    • @nicholasthuya7683
      @nicholasthuya7683 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@frags7792 days*

    • @jameson32
      @jameson32 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Wonder how many millions of lives that pilot may have saved if the French acted on the information and stopped their advance, as they absolutely could have. I bet the war would have been won at least a year earlier.

    • @musicmann6812
      @musicmann6812 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@jameson32 A LOT.. for sure..

  • @Sturminfantrist
    @Sturminfantrist 3 ปีที่แล้ว +48

    Funny this old French Tanker with a german name STEINBACH but we in germany have also a lot of de Maiziere`s, Marseilles , Hennies, Faure ect. their ancestors were Hugenottes and fled from persecution in catholic france to Germany Prussia during 1600`s
    we also have some german ppl with engl or scottish names they came here during 30 years war as Mercennaires and stayed

    • @LeeSeulYeon
      @LeeSeulYeon 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      It might be some alsacians names too. They're really similar to German names :)

    • @santagemma6212
      @santagemma6212 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Sure German women made them stay

    • @Sturminfantrist
      @Sturminfantrist 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@santagemma6212 Yep this sweet blend german Chicks are sticky one made my northafrican father stay ;)

    • @user-ir2fu4cx6p
      @user-ir2fu4cx6p 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Sturminfantrist What part of northafrica he was and what year he come to Germany .

    • @Sturminfantrist
      @Sturminfantrist 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@user-ir2fu4cx6p
      He was born in Constantine Algeria in 1933 and few years later his Family relocated to Tunesia and he grow up in Tunis Rue Okba ibn Naffa my Grandpa buyed a House there. My Father lived for a while in France and belgium before he came to germany met my Mother in late 1958 or early 59 iamborn1960 in lower saxony,

  • @wazza33racer
    @wazza33racer 3 ปีที่แล้ว +36

    Its important to keep in mind that the German anti-tank guns being described in these battles was the Pak 36. Ive seen one up close and they are..............small and quaint. By comparison the Flak-88 the the germans were forced to use on the Matilda's is a beast of weapon.

    • @hothe65
      @hothe65 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      An anti tank gun only has to be slightly better than the armour it faces. True the 88mm was awesome but the British 17 pounder was actually better!

    • @nicholasthuya7683
      @nicholasthuya7683 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@hothe65 and extremely long (to the point it was unnecessarily long”
      The British had to put the firing breech sideways just so they could it it into the Sherman firefly

  • @wolfu597
    @wolfu597 3 ปีที่แล้ว +83

    The Allies had tanks that were superior in terms protection and numbers.
    However, one big flaw of both the French and British high-command, was that they considered the tank to be an infantry support weapon, so they were widely dispersed amongst the infantry divisions. Most of the heavy allied tanks couldn't go faster than an infantry mans walking pace, not to mention that their means of communications were also hopelessly obsolete compared to those of the german Panzers.

    • @picklerix6162
      @picklerix6162 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Actually, the French had modern tanks and were more than a match for the German tanks. It was their tactics that were obsolete.

    • @theepicgamer5862
      @theepicgamer5862 3 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      @@picklerix6162 none of the French takes had radios, all German tanks had radios, with that alone gave the Germans a very big lead

    • @canuzzi
      @canuzzi 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@picklerix6162 The tanks were better from a armor and gun point. But they were fighting with old tactics and especially one important thing was missing. Every german tank had a radio - the french and British had none beside some command vehicles. This made the Blitzkrieg possible and change quickly tactics and get support to weak points.

    • @DerpyTurtle0762
      @DerpyTurtle0762 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Yes, they had decent tanks but their armored doctrine held them back

    • @ericamborsky3230
      @ericamborsky3230 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@canuzzi Every British tank had a radio that could transmit in addition to receive. The British Expeditionary Force more or less had its act together on the tactical and operational level, they were just not in the critical areas and their flank that was held by the French collapsed due to issues at the highest levels of French command

  • @thomascrowley9122
    @thomascrowley9122 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    "Losing war is one thing. Losing home is another"

  • @CMDRFandragon
    @CMDRFandragon 3 ปีที่แล้ว +31

    In your best GTB narrator voice
    3 and a half million men, 16,000 health guns, 3000 tanks but no tactical sense

  • @witchking8497
    @witchking8497 3 ปีที่แล้ว +56

    The French vet at the 14 min mark hits the key of it, Radio. Every German tank had one. At best French command tanks had one, for the most part other tanks communicated with flags. Even more crippling than the differences in armament for the course of the campaign.

    • @johnstevenson1709
      @johnstevenson1709 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Every British tank had a radio but the allies simply had no tactics to counter the German tactics of movement and speed

    • @witchking8497
      @witchking8497 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      @@johnstevenson1709 but British tanks were a small minority of the Allied Tanks...and for the most part not in the critical sectors. Still radio #1, #2 would be eliminating any reserves to put together the forces for the move into Belgium and the Low Countries.

    • @michaelscott5653
      @michaelscott5653 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Not even the French commander-in-chief, Gamelin, had radio or any other form of modern communications!

    • @cobraccc7474
      @cobraccc7474 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      The Polish had radios, am transistsor

  • @sam8404
    @sam8404 3 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    It's awesome you were able to license this show for your channel. I've been looking all over for Greatest Tank Battles but all I can find are low quality rips. Are you planning on uploading the entire series?

  • @malldollar4886
    @malldollar4886 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Sometimes you come across such a great show, you actually go to On Demand to binge watch it!!

  • @JeffreyOrnstein
    @JeffreyOrnstein 3 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Excellent! I have not seen this episode before!

  • @shainemaine1268
    @shainemaine1268 3 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    This channel started out so strong

  • @DanTheArtisan91
    @DanTheArtisan91 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Really love this channel and all videos ive seen from it even if i can't watch i just play it on the background while gaming and listen thank you for the great content

  • @ghostdiv7sion194
    @ghostdiv7sion194 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    this series is just awesome

  • @tertiusdejager1440
    @tertiusdejager1440 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Strategy was one of Germany's best advantages.

    • @nikolay_2134
      @nikolay_2134 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Strategy and Amph Pharmaceuticals

  • @thishominid871
    @thishominid871 3 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    David Fletcher (see The Tank Museum) sighting!

  • @benjaminrush4443
    @benjaminrush4443 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Another Great War Story. Thanks again.

  • @pierredecine1936
    @pierredecine1936 3 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    Battle of France
    Germany: 141 divisions 7,378 guns 2,445 tanks 5,638 aircraft 3,350,000 troops Italians in the Alps 22 divisions 3,000 guns 300,000 Italians

    • @EK-gr9gd
      @EK-gr9gd 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      The Italians in the Alps were quite ineffective. The French checked their assault without problems. The Italians had the same problem as the French, they weren't ready for war. For different reasons.

    • @EK-gr9gd
      @EK-gr9gd 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@user-ir2fu4cx6p
      Who threatened whom?

    • @thetruthcompany5635
      @thetruthcompany5635 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Btw: This is not the story of the Blitzkrieg! The secret and the newidea in the strategy of the Blitzkriges was - as before in Poland - the cooperation between air force and fast, strong pacer armies! Wherever the German tanks met resistance, the Luftwaffe appeared in the form of the Ju 87 Stuka and eliminated this resistance!The Blitzkrieg was not a pure tank war, it was a new form of warfare, which was characterized by cooperation between tactical air force and fast tank armies! But not a single word about Luftwaffe and Stukas in this documentary! Without the support of the Luftwaffe, especially the Stuka Dive Bomber Ju 87, the Blitzkrieg would not worked! Besides, Rommel's and Guderian's tanks were all connected with each other by radio contact, but the tanks of the Allies were not, they fought each for himself.

    • @Roscoe.P.Coldchain
      @Roscoe.P.Coldchain 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Yes the French fought like girls

  • @jahoney42
    @jahoney42 2 ปีที่แล้ว +20

    No one talks about how the German Blitzkrieg was a good battlefield/tactical way to win battles, but how it was a crappy way to win a war. No one talks about the German army of World War Two was the least mechanized army of all the major combatants in World War Two. 80 percent of the German Army was horse drawn.

    • @zerotwouzumaki9610
      @zerotwouzumaki9610 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Mostly due to needing to conserve oil.

    • @zerofuckkksgiven8027
      @zerofuckkksgiven8027 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Also the Germans weapons were way better then most everyone also!

    • @pesthizid
      @pesthizid 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Crappy way to win? I would call it smart.
      BTW.....the german Blitzkrieg was the bible for following wars.
      Look at the US Forces in Iraq.

    • @adityakumar4087
      @adityakumar4087 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      German science was better than the Allies.

    • @wade3878
      @wade3878 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      You are not wrong regarding the high fraction of horse drawn units. But Germany was able to conquer huge parts of Europe, Russia and Africa.
      The push on Stalingrad was basically the only occasion where more motorised and/or mechanised units would have made a huge difference (Less time for the defenders to gather troops etc.).
      The main negative impact was a lack of fuel and supplies (Africa), and/or the weather conditions (Russia).
      So where would have an increase of mobile units won them the war?

  • @Bearclaw_Jake
    @Bearclaw_Jake 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    It's worth mentioning that france declared war on Germany and also attacked Germany in 1939 "saar offensive". I realize the treaty france had with Poland. This just made it sound like the french were just sitting around wondering if Germany was going to attack.

    • @khalidgagnon8753
      @khalidgagnon8753 ปีที่แล้ว

      Sort of.... The sarr offense went 10-miles then fell back.... Gamelon was a coward

  • @heastoida8993
    @heastoida8993 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Communication was a key point in ww2 battles.. often communication was so bad that many soldiers died because of friendly fire.. when is was in the austrian army or bundesheer, my sergeant told us so..

  • @garycleveland6410
    @garycleveland6410 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Panzer III were initially armed with the 37 mm guns. Later models were upgunned with the long barreled 50mm gun.

  • @raginasiangaming910
    @raginasiangaming910 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    More so than tanks, radios and command and control structure gave the Germans a decisive advantage. The army that can make quick decisions based on battlefield conditions is much more likely to gain and maintain initiative and win. Similarly, the widespread use of radios, which allowed tank-to-tank and tank-to-air communications was absolutely decisive. This was really the first example in history of an armored spearheaded using CAS to blast a path into enemy lines.

  • @semuapenuh
    @semuapenuh 3 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    It was completely the result of the lack of ability of the French and British commanders on how to use their superiority. In addition to speed and mobility, command and control, spying and logistics are also important as Subutai a Mongol army commander did more than 700 years ago.

  • @HOTSHTMAN53
    @HOTSHTMAN53 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Me seeing the thumbnail: “oh nice, a video about the soviet union.”
    the video: “this is the battle of france”
    Me: “oh…okay then. Battle of france it is…”

  • @challenger2031
    @challenger2031 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    In all seriousness this series is just a joy to watch. The balance in audio could be better in terms of the narrative and the explosions but the overall program is brilliantly done, the veterans and historian actors talking about the significance and brutal reality of tank warfare is something quite difficult to take in but wars happen all over the world but seeing the battles unfold using state of the art technology to reinact the battles is incredible.

    • @tomghzel
      @tomghzel 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      True! I didn't notice it on the black barron video, but on this one yes! (About the audio)

  • @LegacyTeams
    @LegacyTeams ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank you for the English voice overs!

  • @EK-gr9gd
    @EK-gr9gd 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Ralf Raths is the Director of the Panzermuseum Munster. It started an English Channel in 2020.

    • @kingcobra7183
      @kingcobra7183 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The English Channel? The one germany couldn't invade?

  • @haadbajwa7565
    @haadbajwa7565 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Excellent Documentaries.

    • @thetruthcompany5635
      @thetruthcompany5635 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      No! What a bad documentary! This is not the story of the Blitzkrieg! The secret and the newidea in the strategy of the Blitzkriges was - as before in Poland - the cooperation between air force and fast, strong pacer armies! Wherever the German tanks met resistance, the Luftwaffe appeared in the form of the Ju 87 Stuka and eliminated this resistance!The Blitzkrieg was not a pure tank war, it was a new form of warfare, which was characterized by cooperation between tactical air force and fast tank armies! But not a single word about Luftwaffe and Stukas in this documentary! Without the support of the Luftwaffe, especially the Sttuka Dive Bomber, the Blitzkrieg would not worked! Besides, Rommel's and Guderian's tanks were all connected with each other by radio contact, but the tanks of the Allies were not, they fought each for himself.

  • @darknight9302
    @darknight9302 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thanks.

  • @raphaelcharpy6092
    @raphaelcharpy6092 3 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Battle of Stonne reduced to a skirmish !!!!!!!!!! A shame

    • @lapinmalin8626
      @lapinmalin8626 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      La bataille qui aurait juste pu arrêté net le Blietzkrieg réduit à une escarmouche bordel
      C'est même pas une honte juste de la propagande anti française

  • @johnhough9593
    @johnhough9593 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Communication is everything in war… no wonder Guderian started out as a signals officer.

  • @suriil9875
    @suriil9875 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Facing blitzkrieg was like
    6h00 am : we are under attack! (Soldiers run to grab rifles)
    6h15 am : platoon is ready, where are enemies? Eh... At Paris already

  • @jensleck547
    @jensleck547 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    i love these Dokumenarys🤩🤩🤩

  • @nayan8989
    @nayan8989 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    One of the best documentary. Your show should have been run on TV channel for larger audience. Hat's off.

  • @arunaamarasingha2091
    @arunaamarasingha2091 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    good videos please add the story of battle of kursk

  • @bremnersghost948
    @bremnersghost948 3 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    Even though it was seen as a failure at the time, The Attack at Arras has to be a Contender for the Battle that turned WW2 in the Allies favour. The Confusion, Delay & Bizarre Decisions made by the German High Command immediately afterwards saved the BEF and enabled Britain to keep fighting until the Soviets & US became involved.

    • @thetruthcompany5635
      @thetruthcompany5635 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Btw.: This is not the story of the Blitzkrieg! The secret and the new idea in the strategy of the Blitzkriges was - as before in Poland - the cooperation between air force and fast, strong pacer armies! Wherever the German tanks met resistance, the Luftwaffe appeared in the form of the Ju 87 Stuka and eliminated this resistance!The Blitzkrieg was not a pure tank war, it was a new form of warfare, which was characterized by cooperation between tactical air force and fast tank armies! But not a single word about Luftwaffe and Stukas in this documentary! Without the support of the Luftwaffe, especially the Sttuka Dive Bomber, the Blitzkrieg would not worked! Besides, Rommel's and Guderian's tanks were all connected with each other by radio contact, but the tanks of the Allies were not, they fought each for himself.

  • @dgrays2800
    @dgrays2800 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Playing Forgotten Hope 2 but watching this first. great doco.

  • @fratersol
    @fratersol 3 ปีที่แล้ว +23

    They didnt mention the Stukas devastated the allied tanks

    • @neganrex5693
      @neganrex5693 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The show is about tanks not airplanes. Watch the video on Stukas.

    • @TheNolife96
      @TheNolife96 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@neganrex5693 Yeah Ok but the " greatest tank battle " was too a big part of aviation devastating tanks, i mean it's cool to got a video for each but when you want to tell an history do it in one time with all the details cuz there's a lot of miss there

    • @neganrex5693
      @neganrex5693 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@TheNolife96 You are right. The Russian planes took a major toll on German tanks like the German planes was on the Russian tanks. The plane was the weapon of chose on both fronts when it came to tiger and panther tanks.

  • @donaldvandergriff6590
    @donaldvandergriff6590 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Been to the entire Sedan area, including walking the ground at Stonne. Beautiful area.

  • @loudelk99
    @loudelk99 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    The allies were ready to fight the last war, the Germans had no intention of repeating that mistake.

  • @MrDlt123
    @MrDlt123 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Its refreshing to see stories regarding some of the lesser-known tanks and tank battles prior to the Normandy invasion.

    • @shaneneilson10
      @shaneneilson10 ปีที่แล้ว

      This isn't the battle of Normandy

    • @jaydoneash2098
      @jaydoneash2098 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@shaneneilson10he said prior to it

  • @tamirj.b.n9814
    @tamirj.b.n9814 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Facing the blitzkrieg is like playing war thunder with 10 other people who'd rather doing anything else

  • @TheYeti308
    @TheYeti308 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Ya think the boys went on a beer run, when things quieted down.

  • @onlinejobspakistan629
    @onlinejobspakistan629 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    You are doing great work I am from Pakistan and I want to know about Pakistan and India wars of 1965 and 1971 and indo-china war 1962. so please make stories on these wars

    • @robertmaybeth3434
      @robertmaybeth3434 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Mr pakistan, this show is from a Canadian-made show on American military channel called "greatest tank battles". I too would like to see even more tank battles illustrated similarly but this show is about 5 years old and no new ones are being made.

    • @anevolvingape5573
      @anevolvingape5573 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      This channel is about the greatest tank battles and not about goats and donkeys clashing.

    • @doubledwaffle7605
      @doubledwaffle7605 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@anevolvingape5573 Right. If anything maybe make one how about proper sanitation and not crapping in the street.

  • @Area51UFOGynaecology
    @Area51UFOGynaecology 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    best episode

    • @thetruthcompany5635
      @thetruthcompany5635 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      No! It is a bad documentary! This is not the story of the Blitzkrieg! The secret and the new idea in the strategy of the Blitzkriges was - as before in Poland - the cooperation between air force and fast, strong pacer armies! Wherever the German tanks met resistance, the Luftwaffe appeared in the form of the Ju 87 Stuka and eliminated this resistance!The Blitzkrieg was not a pure tank war, it was a new form of warfare, which was characterized by cooperation between tactical air force and fast tank armies! But not a single word about Luftwaffe and Stukas in this documentary! Without the support of the Luftwaffe, especially the Stuka Dive Bomber, the Blitzkrieg would not worked! Besides, Rommel's and Guderian's tanks were all connected with each other by radio contact, but the tanks of the Allies were not, they fought each for himself.

  • @cloudforest4087
    @cloudforest4087 ปีที่แล้ว

    What a scary piece of history.

  • @williamschlenger1518
    @williamschlenger1518 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    The 88 flack gun changed the war.

    • @steveperreira5850
      @steveperreira5850 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Most certainly it prolonged the war. It was the best artillery piece of the entire war by far.

  • @olivierdk2
    @olivierdk2 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Hungary wasn't conquered, they joined the Axis, the following year, they participated in the invasion of Yugoslavia and USSR.

  • @detroit12870
    @detroit12870 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    It's a real shame that the stupidly loud explosions in ALL of these videos drown out the far more important story dialogue

    • @jcartiii
      @jcartiii 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      it adds realism

  • @ruslanaskliucevic3337
    @ruslanaskliucevic3337 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    super

  • @user-ue1ze8bd8g
    @user-ue1ze8bd8g 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    MV rất hay, i like it 🙁💛😞

  • @pierredecine1936
    @pierredecine1936 3 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    15:40 - "we shot our 75mm gun" - so the video shows them firing the 47mm lol

    • @Titan_Ruler622
      @Titan_Ruler622 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Are you blind?

    • @pierredecine1936
      @pierredecine1936 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Titan_Ruler622 why would you ask that ?

    • @pierredecine1936
      @pierredecine1936 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Titan_Ruler622 15:45 - when they fire the 75mm - the gun barrel is horizontal, not upward at the tower ...

    • @sam8404
      @sam8404 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@pierredecine1936 ok after watching it a few times it seems they did animate it correctly; you can see smoke coming out of the hull mounted cannon and not the turret, which is correct.
      He wasn't firing at the tower, he said he advanced past it and was firing at enemies on the ground.

    • @steveperreira5850
      @steveperreira5850 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      You have to remember this is the history channel, and it really isn’t professional history, this is entertainment, and it’s like there’s no editor, they had to meet the deadline, and accuracy and facts be damned

  • @Akeno0002
    @Akeno0002 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    The charb1 driver was driving and shooting the tank at the same time lol

  • @incredibleXMan
    @incredibleXMan 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    It seems difficult to believe that noone on the allied side thought that it was plausible that the Germans could attack through the Ardennes. Surely someone could have scouted the area and ascertained it was possible?

    • @redseagaming7832
      @redseagaming7832 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      One word that best describes the incompetence of the French High command traditionalism they thought it was going to be the same thing as World War one so all their military plans were based on that

    • @RouGeZH
      @RouGeZH ปีที่แล้ว +2

      The French knew very well that the Ardennes could be crossed. Heck it was the crux of France's 1914 plan: counter-attacking the German advance in Belgium with a strike through the Ardennes.
      What the French didn't forsee in 1940 was how fast the Germans crossed it, because they didn't wait for the artillery, they used aviation as fire support.

    • @incredibleXMan
      @incredibleXMan ปีที่แล้ว

      @@RouGeZH that is interesting. I think it was a combination of French errors and German tactics that France fell so quickly.

    • @BFVK
      @BFVK ปีที่แล้ว

      @@incredibleXMan RouGeZH is right.
      In addition, french commanders imagined a secondary armored force through the Ardennes as something possible. But not a large main armored force.

    • @incredibleXMan
      @incredibleXMan ปีที่แล้ว

      @@RouGeZH so did the French have a contingency if the Germans attacked through it slowly?

  • @thekameleon9785
    @thekameleon9785 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    The Dutch had 1 tank in may 1940 and it was in a garage being worked on.

  • @SuperDevilDoctor
    @SuperDevilDoctor 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Very good documentary... although the new Thumbnail image showing Tiger II tanks circa 1944 is very misleading. (This is about the Battle of France, May-June 1940).

  • @saropoulosioannis8924
    @saropoulosioannis8924 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    In battle of France prevailed the superior tactics of the Germans. And BTW the so called Lightning War, it was just a War of movements.. According to the Doctrine of the Combined Forces, a german armored division included a battallion of antitank guns, two to three battallions of infantry, a battallion of anti aircraft artilery , a company of engeneers( Grenadiers ) and a detachment of mechanics. On the other side Allies were thinking the tank war as a solid tank on tank fight . (Operation Crusader is the brightest ex.)And plus the fact , that german were able to coordinate all those units by radio .

  • @imranhazim5434
    @imranhazim5434 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    22:50 I cannot believe Wolfpack tactic really work.

  • @willhatfield493
    @willhatfield493 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    No radios, and not having true armor companies working as one will gitcha every time.

  • @dardalion3199
    @dardalion3199 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    If you can't pierce an enemy tank's armor, did they try to knock out the tracks? The tracks always seem vulnerable on most tanks.

    • @johnpaul3099
      @johnpaul3099 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      The turret can still shooy

    • @nicholasthuya7683
      @nicholasthuya7683 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Most tanks could be destroyed by shooting the tracks and barrel off
      Then a snapper team with explosive satchel charges or an artillery barrage could finish it off

  • @homefront3162
    @homefront3162 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    What was it like? Fun, just oodles of fun

  • @Pazuzu4219
    @Pazuzu4219 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Kursk was the largest tank battle in history and stalingrad was the largest and deadliest battle in all of human history.

  • @Gangkoyt
    @Gangkoyt 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    I watched this when I was kid and if I’ve being even today Idgaf about the Effects being not good it’s good enough and not essential I personally like them by the words of sun tzu- IT IS REAL TO ME!

    • @babyyoda1050
      @babyyoda1050 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Same i watched this with my brother all the time

  • @ivanpetrov6075
    @ivanpetrov6075 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Not a single word of the Battle of Hannut which was the largest tank battle of the campaign.

  • @jpmtlhead39
    @jpmtlhead39 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    What many dont realize until today is the real dimension of the French defeat in terms of human casualties.
    In just 5 weeks the French army sustained 100.000 thousand KIA soldiers,not mention injured or captured but KIA.
    Not even in the worst Battles of WW1 a single nation lost so many men in such short time.
    It was a Real Catastrophe for the French Army and Nation,and an Overwhelming and Astonishing victory from the German Whermacht.

  • @EvoPulpPatriot
    @EvoPulpPatriot 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    the 88 finished any chance of that armor making a difference

  • @HistorysHaven
    @HistorysHaven 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    France probably used crusty bread shells as ammunition IMO

  • @fratersol
    @fratersol 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    The Stuckas defeated the french couter attack...

  • @generalfrog4658
    @generalfrog4658 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    The French build the maginot line, and the Germans just go around it

    • @ericamborsky3230
      @ericamborsky3230 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      That was the plan. Most of France's strategic resources and heavy industry were right along the border with Germany. The plan was to create strong fortifications to force the Germans to attack someplace else so that France would not lose all of its heavy industry in the first weeks of the war. The Maginot line did what it was intended to, but things kind of fell apart.

    • @johnhough9593
      @johnhough9593 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Napoleon- “He who sits behind his defenses has already lost the war” … and yeah, He was French.

  • @ashleybishop9937
    @ashleybishop9937 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Did so well until about the 26 min mark, a British Medium mk 3 not in service in France!

  • @TheMrcassina
    @TheMrcassina 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    David Fletcher's mustaches are armored

  • @gawaineross7607
    @gawaineross7607 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Where was the air support for these tanks? Didn't the Allies have any fighters available?

    • @youraveragescotsman7119
      @youraveragescotsman7119 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      The RAF did put up a few sorties, but there wasn't much they could do to stop the Luftwaffe at that point.

  • @edwardchristensen414
    @edwardchristensen414 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Maybe next time you can use a Commondore 64 for graphics?

  • @dunexapa1016
    @dunexapa1016 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    @ 21:00 park in the open ... surrounded by woods ... no guards posted ????

  • @marcelodizon5109
    @marcelodizon5109 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The french tanks have a single gear when advancing while three gears when retreating.plus 2 option buttons of surrendering,red button for surrendering after fight,yellow button surrendering without a fight

    • @didierpaya9069
      @didierpaya9069 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      le troll inculte de service...

    • @BFVK
      @BFVK ปีที่แล้ว

      @@didierpaya9069 Et oui... c'est comme la vermine, pas moyen de s'en débarrasser...
      Les chars français de 40 sont assez mauvais comme ça pour ne pas avoir besoin d'en rajouter.

  • @estebanlara3702
    @estebanlara3702 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Did the 88 gun already have armor piercing shells at this time? That means the Germans did plan to use it vs tanks in an emergency.

    • @BFVK
      @BFVK ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The 88 is designed as a multi purpose gun. The main task is AA, but AT and AP were planed as secondary use "in case of emergency".
      During the Spanish War the 88 were tasked to defend airfields, with prior target on tanks if the airfield in under ground attack.
      But I don't know if the special AA shell were already producted.

  • @karenstaniforth1338
    @karenstaniforth1338 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    NEVER TRY IT BUT I KNOW ABOUT IT

  • @BA-gn3qb
    @BA-gn3qb 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    Insert commercial here.
    Then repeat everything afterwards, doubling the length of the video. 👎👎

  • @PappyGunn
    @PappyGunn 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    If I remember correctly, the Germans armored thrust went right between the French and English. The worse possible place for the Allies. The Brits got flanked while the Germans held them by the nose in Belgium, then encircled, then routed. I have to look into this a bit more, I'm more of an air war enthusiast.

    • @phlm9038
      @phlm9038 หลายเดือนก่อน

      The Germans thrust went right between the French and English fighting in Belgium and the French and English stationed more at the south near the Somme and the Aisne rivers. The Allies in Belgium were encircled by the Germans and cut off from the rest of their troops.

  • @ronaldreagan5535
    @ronaldreagan5535 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Germans had better fast moving tactics and air superiority. The battle was lost for 🇫🇷🇬🇧 before it began.

  • @iratecomputeruser4160
    @iratecomputeruser4160 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    The French were wedded to the idea that tanks were only support units for the army. To this end, the French tanks had no radios, and were expected to get orders from their army commanders in the middle of battle! As Charles de Gaulle later noted, it was as though the General Staff had orders to deliberately frustrate the army command! As an example, the army reported that *100,000 pigeons* had been mobilized to carry orders!

  • @VVhistory
    @VVhistory 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Fun

  • @scarletmacaw
    @scarletmacaw 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    What a great movie about the major tank offensive“The Battle of the Bulge” with Robert Shaw.

    • @challenger2031
      @challenger2031 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Here here, cracking war film

  • @sikorskydiosdeloshumillado3690
    @sikorskydiosdeloshumillado3690 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Lastima.a me gustaría verlo sud español

  • @robertmarks317
    @robertmarks317 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Money and the military tech it buys ensures victory. Germany knew that from 1935 on, and no nation prepared or spent on modern military arms like Germany did. Such an underestimation by all the countries of Europe. Poland started to get the money and buy the arms in the summer of '39. Much much too late! My father was a tank driver hit right east of Krakow and escaped through Romania. Those tanks were useless, but the German armor was not the Tiger type yet.

  • @paultynan8705
    @paultynan8705 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Harry Martin...My step Grandfather was a tank gunner. He had to run off the field with a broken ankle! Great man and survived! He taught me all about Flag Day! RIP Harry!

  • @eliasjarjoura445
    @eliasjarjoura445 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    I've Always wondered what's the track in the beginning?

    • @timberry4709
      @timberry4709 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      If you are referring to the still with the picture of de Gaulle... It threw me off too.
      There's actually a bit of "trick photography" going on. Take a look at the soldier walking next to the tank. The eagle national emblem is supposed to be over his right breast pocket not the left. The photograph has been reversed. The tank is a Mk II, probably an Ausf A, with the reworked front end. The original hull front was rounded.

    • @eliasjarjoura445
      @eliasjarjoura445 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@timberry4709 I was talking about the music at the beginning !!!

    • @timberry4709
      @timberry4709 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@eliasjarjoura445🤣

  • @robertpayne2717
    @robertpayne2717 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Tanks by British and French Doctrine are for the support of The Infantry....Russian and German Doctrine dictates that Infantry support the Tanks....

  • @lllPlatinumlll
    @lllPlatinumlll 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    17:50 When the guy calmly tells you his commander slaughtered surrendering troops?

  • @HungLe-ih8yk
    @HungLe-ih8yk ปีที่แล้ว

    The biggest problem of allied tanks early in the conflict is the tiny gun :)

  • @0Turbox
    @0Turbox 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Germans, the first who discovered the War Thunder concept , and btw. Char b1 flanking is a bit of a stretch ;)

    • @0Turbox
      @0Turbox 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @hugbug67 Nah, rushing single tanks ;) Char B1's are painfully slow and Jackson was for sure not the inventor of flanking maneuvers, this is as old as Horses are in human service.

  • @Bobby-fj8mk
    @Bobby-fj8mk ปีที่แล้ว

    It's amazing how French and British air power couldn't stop the breakout from the Ardennes.
    They only had to hit the fuel trucks and Hitler's tanks would have ground to a halt.

    • @wade3878
      @wade3878 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      In this phase of the war, the German air force was superior in numbers and experience.
      Also, the Allies believed that the Germans would never take the main route through the Ardennes. So, they focused their air forces on the Maginot line and the Northern Coast .

    • @Bobby-fj8mk
      @Bobby-fj8mk 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@wade3878 - yes but the Germans actually created a terrible road block in the Ardennes
      so they were sitting ducks for over 2 days.

  • @gdotts3468
    @gdotts3468 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    So I would love to know how did the German Armored Division get through the forest did they cut down trees and make roads just how long did it take