My Grandfather fought with the 42nd Rainbow Division during Nordwind. He told me a story one day about the battle. His company pulled back from a hill they were defending under intense German pressure, in order to regroup. But no one told him and his foxhole buddy they were moving out. Dawn broke and the Germans were coming up the hill but they were totally alone. With no other real choice, they fired their rifles as fast as they could in every direction. His buddy scavenged the nearby abandoned holes for more ammo while my grandfather kept up the shooting. They burned through the majority of their ammo and tossed all of their grenades through out the day. My grandfather said he shot his Garand so much and so fast that eventually he warped the barrel on his rifle. The Germans quit trying to climb the hill and bypassed his position. After dark, which was mercifully early in Winter, they crawled away in order to try and make it back to US lines. Eventually, they linked up with a friendly unit and after some tense moments, made it into the US lines again. My grandfather went to trade in his rifle to get a new one and was informed he'd have to pay for the damaged US property. He was laughing when he recounted that part to me. He had some choice words for the supply clerk. Needless to say, he got a new rifle and didn't pay for the old one. After finding his old unit, they were all surprised to see him and his buddy. They assumed he was dead or captured. Later, when they retook the area, German prisoners from the battle recounted the battle for the insignificant hill. They thought a company or at least a full platoon was up there. After several attempts to take the hill and incurring casualties, they gave up and bypassed it for following units to deal with. My Grandfather told me this story after years of never talking about it. What prompted it was his visit to my house in Virginia and looking at my rifle collection. Before my Grandmother died, she encouraged him to tell us about his WWII experience as he was reluctant to bring up those old memories. I showed him my Garand and he spent a long time just holding it, saying nothing. Finally he looked up and said, "It's heavier than I remembered." Then he told the above story, more or less how I recounted it. He was always self-deprecating in his stories making it clear that he was no hero despite the fact the I know he won a Bronze Star for Valor. I've seen the medal and citation many times. He was also promoted to Sergeant on the battlefield for his leadership and placed in charge of his platoon. But he insisted that the real heroes never came home and all he did was try to keep he and his men alive. Eventually he told me a lot more and said he felt comfortable I could handle them as I was a war vet myself and former infantryman. I hope you enjoyed the story. My Grandfather joined his wife and comrades in 2016. He was simply the greatest man I ever knew and best role model I could have ever had.
Fascinating story to read. We can certainly learn much from the older generations, I have as well. Maybe mostly, how futile and meaningless it is for humans to slaughter each other.
You are a lucky man to hear his stories. My father took his to his grave. I was the youngest of his 5 children and tried everything from an early age through adolescence to get him to tell me stories about the war. He never did. He had a love for history and knew details about battles but never mentioned any personal experiences. Thank you for sharing this story about your grandfather. Great stuff!!!
My father flew 98 combat missions for China as a member of the Flying Tigers, but would only share 2 stories about those years. You are truly lucky to have such family history to cherish. All honor to your grandfather and his companions.
Fortunately, there are experts like Mark Felton who objectively bring the Second World War close to a generation that no longer knows anyone who has personally experienced this slaughterhouse. Mr. Felton you do a perfect job. Greetings from Germany.
There’s a WWII veteran in my neighborhood who eats at my local Coney Island. He was at Normandy in 1944, but her was under aged only 16 but lied to get in the army.
I have a degree in, and am a life-long student of military history...and with each excellent video produced by Dr. Felton, I realize just how little I know and how much is left to learn.
Thanks so much Dr Felton. My dad was in the 12th Div, 43rd Tank Btn. He was in the first tank hit by artillery on the morning of Jan. 16th, attacking across the open field South of Herrlisheim. The 12th Armored Division Museum website and members of the association have been a great help with details surrounding the story of Nordwind and my father’s participation on that day. His body was never found, but he is memorialized at Epinal. I’m forever grateful for his membership in our greatest generation. I’ve been following your productions. This one, and your earlier Panther vs Sherman production are very personal. Thank you again..
Nordwind doesn't get the attention like the Ardennes , in which my 82ND AIRBORNE Granfather was in , and had sustained wounds being a medic himself ! Nvertheless , Nordwind was to draw troops away from the Ardennes , and the fighting was as fierce . I knew a guy , who worked in the security outfit I was in , who eas in the 100th Infantry division , and fought around Bitche , France near the Vosges Mtn. area. He said constant fighting with against a formidable WaffenSS Division , 6th , in that area . He said the going was rough , but the allies prevailed . There were Free French Forces fighting along side too in some instances . At Epinal there's a big US of A cemetary there. 70th, 63rd , 45th , 3rd infantry , 36th infantry , 28th infantry , 44th infantry , 100th infantry , 103rd infantry , and later the 95th infantry all fought in that area France under 7th Army.
The Nordwind offensive wasn't given the attention like "The Battle of The Bulge" , which my 82ND AIRBORNE ,with rank of captain my grandfather was , and a medic , was in! He had some stories reluctantly told, for it brought back a harrowing , horrible time. Nordwind was really the last capability that Hitler had in the west. I had knew of a veteran in the 100th I.D. who was there, and he wasn't really all that enthused to talk about that either. Alot of bitter fighting in the Zwei - Brucken area ( near the voges mtns. ) . The U.S. 7th Army was in that area, and there's a big US of A cemetary there with all units that participated in that skirmish , on a plague at Epinal!
My grandpa was also in the 43rd. His tank was hit that same day and he was captured in the field south of Herrlisheim. He was a POW for the remainder of the war.
My Pa was in the 12th, 17th Armored Inf Btn, Co. C. He was wounded by shrapnel hitting his jeep on 2/5/45. The museum is a great resource to fill in some of the blanks, and this production furthers that goal. We were fortunate to visit the Colmar area in '15, using the Co. C "diary" which was almost a day by day accounting of what they endured.
My great uncle was killed serving with the 70th Infantry Division 274th Infantry during Northwind. He is buried at Epinal. Thank you for covering his contribution to Victory in Europe
My father in law was a charter member of 101 airborne. He fought at Bastone, was a glider soldier. They had to cover more aria with fewer men that the parachute guys, Thanks I will get your book from amazon for my kindle.
@@danielandries3240 He was drafted. He didn't volunteer to fight in Europe . He and his brother both lie buried in Europe .. I appreciate your comment but our family didn't have a dog in the fight and we paid for it dearly ...
The scope of his research is astounding. While the "big" battles like D-Day or Kursk are certainly worth the focus dedicated to them, the conflict as a whole was so much more.
There's a lecture by David Glantz on youtube on forgotten battles of the Eastern Front, which Soviet history has covered up because they were failures. And not just in 1941 and 1942, when defeats outnumbered victories by far, even relatively late in the war. A very interesting lecture. Also there was also the Burma theater, which is basically a whole front that has been forgotten.
My grandfather fought in the battle of the bulge as well as in and around Hagenau, before advancing further into Germany. He said that the fighting in Hagenau was very bloody with tons of house to house and room to room fighting. He said that they and Germans retook the town from each other three times. Finally, one day, low on ammunition and holding their part of the town, they heard tanks coming and they thought that the noise was German tanks. In my grandfather’s words they thought “they were done for,” luckily they were American tank reinforcements. Thank you for doing a video on this and including Hagenau, there is so little information I’ve been able to find about this. My grandpa’s unit was part of the 7th army force, but his regiment, or maybe his company even was actually attached to a unit under Patton for a lot of the campaign, my grandpa has a lot of stories about Patton in person. After further reading, my grandfather’s regiment the 255th was attached to the 100 infantry division from December 30 to beginning of February so he must have fought and defended Bitche from the German attacks there. Also, later at the end of the war his unit liberated the Landsberg concentration camp. He talked about marching the civilians from nearby through the camp, and forcing them to see it. The whole 63rd infantry division got the honor of the liberation, but only his battalion, the 1st battalion of the 255th infantry regiment took part apparently. He was in B company as a tech sergeant.
Hi there, Haguenau is my place of birth. The mini series Band of Brothers has a full episode about Haguenau and is pretty accurate. You may also like to read "OPERATION NORDWIND 1945 Hitler's last offensive in the West ", by Steven Zaloga, 2010 Osprey Publishing Ltd. Haguenau's local history association also issued books but only in French.
@@andrewchesler2029 very cool, my grandpa’s father was from Berlin, two of my grandpa’s uncles died in WW1, one in Flanders and one on the eastern front I think. Some of my family fought in the Wehrmacht too, I don’t know where. Our family has been out of contact for the most part since 1938. Ive been trying to locate them.
What division was the 255th under , and Hagenau was depicted in "Band of Brothers ." It was a rough fight that wasn't suppose to be . The 101st was transfered there right after "The Battle of The Bulge ."
As a German and French speaker, I have to say that Dr. Felton’s pronunciation of words in said languages is spot on! Einfach spitze, Herr Dr. Felton. LG aus München, Chris King.
My dad was with General George S. Patton....He was blown out of 3 sherman tanks, recieved several purple hearts, but stayed in the fighting as so many of the greatest generation did...He was top machine gunner 50 cal. He talked about the direct hits from 88s...I lost him in 1975 to lung cancer...People.....We have a heritage....GOD bless America....
You may be able to read of these events in a book, but there's nothing like a spoken commentary to infuse a sense of dynamism and urgency which bring it to life. Dr Felton does this in spades.
What I especially appreciate about you and other select presenters is your abilities to put these important pieces of history into relevant contexts so they can be better comprehended. I’ve seen a number of you guest each other and support each others efforts, as things should be but rare. And, of course, the well presented and clearly chronicled battle descriptions. I thought the footage superlative, you can’t beat reality. Thank you so much for your efforts
Thank you for producing this video. It has special meaning to me as my uncle, SGT James F. LaPatka who fought in and survived the Battle of Herrlisheim, was KIA Feb. 5, 1945 by a German sniper while his unit, Co. B/66 AIB of the 12th Army, was closing the Colmar Pocket.
Watching Band of brothers I realized what agony and courage it was. Kudos to them. they all deserved the Medal of honor. I am a war veteran of 4.5 years in the fight for the independence and integrity of Croatia, but I have never been in such a situation. There were terrible battles, but this. Some guys were in the snow for 2 years on the Velebit and Dinara mountains. Kudos to them. Volunteer - Zadar - Croatia - Adriatic sea coast
All of Mr. Feltons documentaries are 1st rate in all aspects. Beats the crap out of the History channel. I particularly love the neutral unbiased presentation. Outstanding.
I highly reccomend Dr. Felton's book "Operation Swallow " , it is very true to form for him. It reads like a novel and carries a very similar rhythm to his excellent narrations. I have read several of Dr. Felton's books, and each has been excellent. After you read the first one you'll be hooked and rush out to buy more. Happy New Year, Dr.and Mrs. Felton and to all the subscribers and viewers.
Thanks Brian - I have notifications set for al of Dr. Felton's videos, but I'm certain his books will be even better. I'll be looking them up on amazon tonight. yet another WWII rabbit hole for me to explore, and I'm not complaining about that! Who'd think after the disappointments of the History Channel and Military Channel we'd end up getting better quality on TH-cam - and there's a quite a few excellent channels here fro WWII info - Mark Felton's being the finest IMHO.
@Abu Dabu : I do watch his channel on a regular basis. You still haven't supplied any evidence for your allegation. Supply some evidence of the facts that he is narrating, that are false.
Always loved learning about the history of WW2 but Mark Felton takes it to another level. So many things I did not know and delivered with an excellent, informative and captivating narration.
@Dan Pearl The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between the United States and Russia will expire in February 2021 unless both parties agree to an extension, which could last for up to five years
I've looked around for operation nordwind documentaries for so long now but haven't had any luck. Thanks Mark Felton for this amazing video. You never fail to impress.
Enjoyed this! My father B P Watts was wounded severely in the battles for Hatten France. He was a heavy machine gunner In the 79 Inf. 315 Div. Co H. He never talked about the war so thanks. He only would talk to our Preacher, who was also in the war in that area at the same time, who would eat Sunday dinner with us sometimes. From that I learned He was injured after the third time taking the town and losing it. He said he set his machine gun in the second floor of a house that was located in the center of a street with a Y arrangement. He said He, his Company CO.and 2 other soldiers were standing at the entrance of the building which had stairs going down to a basement He said, there was a knock out German tank in a field across from them, so they thought, since it had been their the other times they had taken the town. This time the tank fired a round, hitting a tree in front of them. They were all blown into the basement, killing all but him, and his CO. lay across him.This was on the 16th of Jan.The Germans took the town again as the Americans were trying to retake it Four days later they succeeded and he was found by a Group of Black soldiers. Father said this was the first time he had seen black inf. in the war. The 79th was a part of Patten 3 Army but was transferred to The 7 when the 3th and the 7th meet. One other thing my father said was the war would have been over twice as fast if all had fought instead of running. Another thing I have ask myself since Looking at ww1&2 deaths in my county why were there so few blacks death in ww2 verse ww1?
History might call such battles "footnotes" in terms of scope to other battles but for the men who waged the battle, I'm guessing they weren't thinking "It's OK, that bullet which just missed my head was just a footnote."
By this point, soldiers on both sides had been shot at so much, it probably was just a footnote. Except for the newer troops. Probably more like front page headline to them.
My Grandfather witnessed Hatton being overrun at one point with an entire company next to him getting completely wiped out. The fighting was intense taking buildings only to retreat then recapture. That was dangerous business. He said at one point The dead Germans were being stacked like cord wood.
Been a WWII history buff for 45 years and thought I knew about most of the major battles. But every week Dr. Felton puts up a new video and quickly realize how little I actually know.
This was one of the best laid out in my opinion of a little known action in late war Germany/France. I don’t know how you do it, but the through research made me feel like i was hovering above the battles as a spectator. Thank you very much for your work Mark!
Finally someone is talking about this. My father was in the 103rd and caught in the middle but my research was turning up very little. Jan 19th, Seisenheim is not mentioned here but was fought at this time. I never heard of the Gambsheim bridge head attack but Seisenheim was in the area. The 411th regiment was to move thru and hook up with the 410th. 6 Tigers were in town. It did not go well. Casualties were high. The book From Bruyeres to Brenner said The food prepared for one company fed the battalion. My father talked little of WW2, occasionally mentioning certain towns. He believed attack was supposed to make a name for a politician or his son. Thank you Mark!
I knew *of* this event, but virtually nothing *about* it. The educational work of Dr. Felton and a very few others is reason enough for the Internet to exist. Thank you, sir!
Lt. Richard E. Vensel, who attended flight training with my grandfather in 1944 was killed in action as a platoon leader with I Company, 222nd Inf Reg, 42nd Division on January 26th, 1945. The 222nd would in 2001 be awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for their stand during Operation Nordwind.
@@wbl5649 G Company took a decent chunk of casualties attempting to rescue the remains of the surrounded E Company on or about the 25th-26th. It’s not surprising your dad was hit then. Heroes all of them.
@@StonedSquirelStudios thanks much for that info...fortunately my dads injury was not fatal...and he then went on through Germany than Austria where they ended up
23 minutes and 18 seconds never passed so quickly! These contributions to our history are fascinating, informative and just downright entertaining. Thank you Dr. Felton for keeping this alive for us and future generations. Happy New Year, Sir.
Charlie O. Thank you for this story. My father was with the 100th at Remling...awarded Bronze Star for his actions there. These images bring his stories to life.
The 100th suffered bout 800 sum kia and 31/2 thousand wounded.The sons of bitche!7th army ran in2 sum bitter defense of the nazis.800 kia from the time it la ded in europe 10/45 till wars end.Quite high losses.The 7th army had sum hard fighting in the vosges,alsace,andlorraine areas.The nazis put up sum under estimated defence in those areas.
Thank you Mr Felton for being the highlight of our 2020! Much appreciation for the quality videos and hope for another great year of amazing little known War Stories!
My uncle fought in the 409 regiment, 103 Division, Seventh army. He left me unit history books that describe fighting in the Voges mountains and part of the winter offensive described in this video. Thank you for the great story telling!
My father was wounded in the Colmar cleanup in the 75th. He said mud was everywhere nothing moved well. He hid wounded in a tank track of tall mud from a German-French woman sniper.
My Dad was there with the 44th division, 156th artillery battalion battery B. He said the 105 howitzers started firing continuously on New Year’s Eve and didn’t stop for 3 days. They had to cool the cannons off with the snow.
If anyone's looking for a good book for the campaign before Nordwind, I'd recommend Keith Bonn's "When the Odds Were Even-- The Vosges Mountain Campaign"-- fascinating look at the battles in this little reported sector.
I'm so glad you posted this. Several years ago I was visiting with my Dad and he was reading a book about the Vosges campaign and he showed me a picture in the book and told me how he recognized that particular road and scene and was certain he was there when the picture was taken. I couldn't remember the name of the book but your post just jogged my memory! Thanks!
I've been to the Vosges and Colmar/Mulhouse many times but for my WWI research. It's a fascinating area clearly showing it's French/German history. There are incredible WWI battlefields to explore.
My great uncle served in the 70th and was referred to as pops since he was 35 at the start of the war when he joined. He survived the battle of the bulge. My mother talks about him from time to time.
Every time I see that notification, I drop everything. Every-time I hear that intro, I know I’m in for amazingly choreographed and well researched information on some of the most interesting parts of human history. Thank you so much Mark for providing that to us!
Hey Mark, great footage of mortars. I was a mortarman in the Iraq war. Ever think about doing a weapons loadout video specifically for the infantry including Mortars, scouts, paratroopers, etc?
That’s an awesome idea. Not sure if Dr. Felton has any videos like that, but I know you can find videos on the topic by another excellent history professor over on the channel Military History Visualized.
Lots of different infantry loadouts were used by various branches and countries across time. I like your idea, but, I think it should be a multi episode series. Lots of material to cover, how do you cram basic U.S. weapons and field kit into just One episode. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE
It might be better to look to the channel Battle Order for that one, his coverage of tactical formations is pretty extensive and he's open to suggestions.
Once again, Dr Felton released historical information, that as a a historian, I was dumbfounded to not be largely aware of. Thanks to Dr. Felton we can now understand the true and consequential nature of this very important battle.
Speaking of anti-tank weapons, here's something I learned recently. According to General James Gavin of the 82d Airborne his troops captured truckloads of German "Panzerfaust" anti-tank weapons, figured out how to use them, and use them they did. They liked them too! And on the other side, the Germans were impressed by the American bazooka and developed their own, the "Panzerschreck." A good idea's a good idea, no matter where it comes from.
@@greglaplante7593 Right, the "bazooka" was a comic musical instrument played by Bob Burns, a member of the Spike Jones Orchestra. If you listen to a Spike Jones recording you can usually hear the bazooka honking in the background.
@@greglaplante7593 Yes, the bazooka-on-steroids was the Panzershreck. Certainly believable it made a lot of smoke. Was a heavy sonofabich. But Wayne is referring to the Panzerfaust, a much lighter and more portable weapon. Effective against a surprising thickness of armor, but, IIRC with a shorter range than the bazooka. But if you have no bazookas, a Panzerfaust is nice to have!
Your videos are some of the highest quality I’ve watched. You have a great way of personifying the soldiers that no other channel can touch. I’m firm supporter of you and your work! Please keep the videos coming! I will be joining your Patreon soon
@@chrispatten3482 He was addicted to meth. Absolutely nothing in the world can convince a person on meth that they are wrong or that a plan might not work. On a similar note, don't go to the casino when high on meth.
That’s exactly why you don’t listen to drug addicts that have reached rock bottom. By this time hitlers mind was gone and just paranoid thoughts running rampant inside his head 24/7,, through hitlers drs they succeeded in ending the war for Germany years before the actual end of the war, if Hitler was sober minded no doubt Germany would have won ww2, or it would have ended in a stalemate from just the Mas loss of life
@@mottthehoople693 No, it would. The Alsatian ex-permafrost clay is pretty hard, and the shells usually wouldn't go very deep as a result, meaning most inexplosed projectiles are gone by now.
My grandfather was a founding officer of the original US Army Airborne Rangers- known as Darby's Rangers. My great uncles were in the Pacific theater, one a Sargeant at Okinawa, the other an admiral. Thanks for the video!
Very nice upload, good coverage of operation nordwind. My father fought in this battle against the Americans at wingen sur moder. He was a sturmpioneire, Zweite Zug, Erste Kompanie, 6th SS Pioneer Battalion, 6th SS Gebirgsjager Division NORD. He lead a machinegun section, he still had his original issued mg34 until he surrendered to the amis in March 1945. He was shown the new mg42, he didn't like the new machinegun and preferred his mg34. Before war with Russia broke out he was with the totenkopf standarten 9, then the order came that his standarten was to relocate and he and his unit boarded a ship for Norway where they marched through Norway to Finland and formed the kampfgruppe NORD. He respected the Americans, he said they weren't as brutal as the Russians were in combat, the Americans gave a "fair fight". After the battle of wingen, my father marched back towards Germany with his unit through the town of Bucholz where a memorial is located to this division, they were attacked by jabos (fighter bombers) and suffered 150 casualties. His unit later took up positions at boppard where he saw as he described the amis forming up on the other side of the Rhine and started to cross the Rhine in boats. I've been very fortunate to meet many veterans of ww2, many my father's friends, who served in the Luftwaffe as pilots and some as fallshirmjager, others served in the army. I've met with veterans of the American trailblazer division who fought at wingen and witnessed old enemies having a beer together. Now all these people are long gone, only their descendents survive them, the stories and the history remembered by them.
Josef, this isn't the first time I've heard of German soldiers disliking the MG-42. The father of a friend of mine was in the German Army during WW2, and he said his father HATED the thing! Why? Well, as my friends Dad put it: "That damn gun fired too fast! The whole platoon were turned into packhorses carrying ammunition to keep the machine guns going, twice the amount we carried for the MG-34's! Besides, you don't need to shoot a man eight times with a Mauser cartridge! Once or twice is enough!" Something people don't think about. Machine guns are very handy to have around, but somebody's got to carry the ammo!
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 I never thought at the time when I was a child to ask my father why he didn't like the new machinegun, and refused to turn in his mg34, what you say about your friends father is interesting, and what he disliked about the new machinegun. My father would talk about the versality of the mg34 that it could fire single shot, he can shoot at aircraft with a special tripod and sight, he talked about a small drumel that can carry 50 rounds and attach to the gun, he said they used this drumel when firing from the hip and on the assault. He said they were trained to fire in 5 round bursts and every 5th round in the belt was a Spitzer bullet (tracer).
@@josefmueller2077 Josef, everything your father said about the MG34 was certainly true, it was rugged, reliable, and certainly versatile. From what I've learned about the MG42 the only thing it had going for it was it was much simpler, faster, and less expensive to produce than the MG34 was, but that seemed to be the extent of it. The US copied some features of the MG42 when the M-60 machine gun was developed, but just a few. The MG42 does survive today as the MG3, but it's my understanding that the rate of fire was slowed down considerably. Interestingly, the best rate of fire for an infantry machine gun today is exactly the same as it was in World War One, around 600 rounds per minute, anything more is really a waste of ammunition.
Fantastic video and analysis. Thank you for keeping history alive with your videos. My Grandfather was in the RAF navel command in WW2 and was my main direct source to the war. He passed away 12 years ago, and with ever year that goes by I learn more about this period of history. My only regret is that I wish I'd asked him more questions.
Nothing like watching these winter battles in my low heat house before I get the wood stove going. I feel the cold like the guys in the old videos. It must have been freezing....
Best WW2 channel on TH-cam!!! I’ve learned so much about the war and sacrifices from your channel. Thank you so much and keep up the awesome work. I look forward to your next video sir. Thanks!!!
Good stuff Mark. Ive studied WW2 for 50 yrs. (Im 70), My Uncles were both in Stalingrad, my Dad was in the 90th INf Div and was wounded taking a bridge over the Rhein. My Mom was BDM teletype operator. She jumped trains after the war to get out of Pomerainia nd down to a safer place, Muncih. So I have been soaked in this stuff, but Mr Felton invariably shows me something new.
Another great job, Mark! I think you've even improved the use of maps and unit locations so we can really see who/what was where. You're becoming an industry standard! Keep 'em coming.
My other half knows by ear now. When she hears lower, short and brisk arpeggios in brass she knows it you. When she hears crisp drawn-out brass notes accompanied by cannonfire she knows it's Drachinifel. I watch many channels related with history, thanks to all of you. Best wishes for the new year.
Mr . Felton this job is incredible , history rescue . Is incredible , Vídeos , footages , maps . Congratulations , thanks . I learn very with their job . 👍🇧🇷
Thanks for the great video Mark. My dad fought in the US Army XXI Corps and use to tell me stories about fighting in the Colmar Pocket. Your video helps me to understand better what was happening at this time.
I read about Operation Undertone, the allied operation again Nordwind, so watching this was very interesting. It's very different to hear from your grandparents what happened and actually seeing the images. I want to take a moment to thank the US 7th army for their bravery/courage and for liberating and defending my little village in the north of Alsace (near Wingen) against the Nazis.
Love your videos Mark. Well done. I visited the Colmar Pocket area in Alsace. This is where Audie Murphy received the Medal of Honor for the fighting that took place
The voice over / script, and the historical video's are combined / edited into something that is very professional - i wish we'd had these videos when i was studying history - i would have learned much more ! Thanks for the excellent work!
Hitler was an idiot. Look at the technical ability, manpower, and resources wasted on the V2 rocket, which was never anything better than a terror weapon. The rocket had no strategic or tactical value whatsoever. Same for the ME262, when those resources should have gone into more mass production of the excellent FW190. Germany was doomed from the beginning mainly due to lack of oil resources.
They weren’t crap until circa late 43 when his mind started to get addled by drugs, and the general staff were no longer given the opportunity to really showcase other options for military operations or give differing opinions, his word became final, even if it was non-sensical BS.
My Grandfather fought with the 42nd Rainbow Division during Nordwind. He told me a story one day about the battle. His company pulled back from a hill they were defending under intense German pressure, in order to regroup. But no one told him and his foxhole buddy they were moving out. Dawn broke and the Germans were coming up the hill but they were totally alone. With no other real choice, they fired their rifles as fast as they could in every direction. His buddy scavenged the nearby abandoned holes for more ammo while my grandfather kept up the shooting. They burned through the majority of their ammo and tossed all of their grenades through out the day. My grandfather said he shot his Garand so much and so fast that eventually he warped the barrel on his rifle. The Germans quit trying to climb the hill and bypassed his position. After dark, which was mercifully early in Winter, they crawled away in order to try and make it back to US lines. Eventually, they linked up with a friendly unit and after some tense moments, made it into the US lines again. My grandfather went to trade in his rifle to get a new one and was informed he'd have to pay for the damaged US property. He was laughing when he recounted that part to me. He had some choice words for the supply clerk. Needless to say, he got a new rifle and didn't pay for the old one.
After finding his old unit, they were all surprised to see him and his buddy. They assumed he was dead or captured. Later, when they retook the area, German prisoners from the battle recounted the battle for the insignificant hill. They thought a company or at least a full platoon was up there. After several attempts to take the hill and incurring casualties, they gave up and bypassed it for following units to deal with.
My Grandfather told me this story after years of never talking about it. What prompted it was his visit to my house in Virginia and looking at my rifle collection. Before my Grandmother died, she encouraged him to tell us about his WWII experience as he was reluctant to bring up those old memories. I showed him my Garand and he spent a long time just holding it, saying nothing. Finally he looked up and said, "It's heavier than I remembered." Then he told the above story, more or less how I recounted it. He was always self-deprecating in his stories making it clear that he was no hero despite the fact the I know he won a Bronze Star for Valor. I've seen the medal and citation many times. He was also promoted to Sergeant on the battlefield for his leadership and placed in charge of his platoon. But he insisted that the real heroes never came home and all he did was try to keep he and his men alive. Eventually he told me a lot more and said he felt comfortable I could handle them as I was a war vet myself and former infantryman.
I hope you enjoyed the story. My Grandfather joined his wife and comrades in 2016. He was simply the greatest man I ever knew and best role model I could have ever had.
Fascinating story to read. We can certainly learn much from the older generations, I have as well. Maybe mostly, how futile and meaningless it is for humans to slaughter each other.
thank you for sharing! enjoyed the story of such a fine warrior!
Some American soldiers survived but got shot in the knee! What could’ve they done if they weren’t shot in the knee?
You are a lucky man to hear his stories. My father took his to his grave. I was the youngest of his 5 children and tried everything from an early age through adolescence to get him to tell me stories about the war. He never did. He had a love for history and knew details about battles but never mentioned any personal experiences. Thank you for sharing this story about your grandfather. Great stuff!!!
My father flew 98 combat missions for China as a member of the Flying Tigers, but would only share 2 stories about those years. You are truly lucky to have such family history to cherish. All honor to your grandfather and his companions.
Fortunately, there are experts like Mark Felton who objectively bring the Second World War close to a generation that no longer knows anyone who has personally experienced this slaughterhouse. Mr. Felton you do a perfect job. Greetings from Germany.
There’s a WWII veteran in my neighborhood who eats at my local Coney Island. He was at Normandy in 1944, but her was under aged only 16 but lied to get in the army.
I knew my great-grandfather. He fought in the war on both sides.
This is not as uncommon a peculiarity as you'd expect in Alsace.
@@11Survivor
That’s an amazing story. Do you know the circumstances of his service?
True words. Mark does a superb job for us.
@@garylawless3608 Conscripted by the germans, deserted and joined the french.
I have a degree in, and am a life-long student of military history...and with each excellent video produced by Dr. Felton, I realize just how little I know and how much is left to learn.
Graet
Thanks so much Dr Felton. My dad was in the 12th Div, 43rd Tank Btn. He was in the first tank hit by artillery on the morning of Jan. 16th, attacking across the open field South of Herrlisheim. The 12th Armored Division Museum website and members of the association have been a great help with details surrounding the story of Nordwind and my father’s participation on that day. His body was never found, but he is memorialized at Epinal. I’m forever grateful for his membership in our greatest generation. I’ve been following your productions. This one, and your earlier Panther vs Sherman production are very personal. Thank you again..
That's exceptionally intriguing. Thanks for sharing. God Bless your father and those who gave their lives for their cause. Gone, but not forgotten
Nordwind doesn't get the attention like the Ardennes , in which my 82ND AIRBORNE Granfather was in , and had sustained wounds being a medic himself !
Nvertheless , Nordwind was to draw troops away from the Ardennes , and the fighting was as fierce .
I knew a guy , who worked in the security outfit I was in , who eas in the 100th Infantry division , and fought around Bitche , France near the Vosges Mtn. area. He said constant fighting with against a formidable WaffenSS Division , 6th , in that area . He said the going was rough , but the allies prevailed . There were Free French Forces fighting along side too in some instances .
At Epinal there's a big US of A cemetary there. 70th, 63rd , 45th , 3rd infantry , 36th infantry , 28th infantry , 44th infantry , 100th infantry , 103rd infantry , and later the 95th infantry all fought in that area France under 7th Army.
The Nordwind offensive wasn't given the attention like "The Battle of The Bulge" , which my 82ND AIRBORNE ,with rank of captain my grandfather was , and a medic , was in! He had some stories reluctantly told, for it brought back a harrowing , horrible time.
Nordwind was really the last capability that Hitler had in the west.
I had knew of a veteran in the 100th I.D. who was there, and he wasn't really all that enthused to talk about that either. Alot of bitter fighting in the Zwei - Brucken area ( near the voges mtns. ) . The U.S. 7th Army was in that area, and there's a big US of A cemetary there with all units that participated in that skirmish , on a plague at Epinal!
My grandpa was also in the 43rd. His tank was hit that same day and he was captured in the field south of Herrlisheim. He was a POW for the remainder of the war.
My Pa was in the 12th, 17th Armored Inf Btn, Co. C. He was wounded by shrapnel hitting his jeep on 2/5/45. The museum is a great resource to fill in some of the blanks, and this production furthers that goal. We were fortunate to visit the Colmar area in '15, using the Co. C "diary" which was almost a day by day accounting of what they endured.
Nobody comes close to Dr. Felton's detailed videos. We are blessed to receive this for free.
My great uncle was killed serving with the 70th Infantry Division 274th Infantry during Northwind. He is buried at Epinal. Thank you for covering his contribution to Victory in Europe
Former Infantry, I salute your great uncle Charles ❤
I have been to the Epinal American Cemetery in Dinozé. It is a very peaceful place.
My father in law was a charter member of 101 airborne. He fought at Bastone, was a glider soldier. They had to cover more aria with fewer men that the parachute guys, Thanks I will get your book from amazon for my kindle.
@@danielandries3240 He was drafted. He didn't volunteer to fight in Europe . He and his brother both lie buried in Europe .. I appreciate your comment but our family didn't have a dog in the fight and we paid for it dearly ...
Thanks for his courage we are still speaking English here today. My father was a ww2 marine
Each one of your videos demonstrates how vast the second world war was. Several forgotten operations on multiple fronts.
The scope of his research is astounding. While the "big" battles like D-Day or Kursk are certainly worth the focus dedicated to them, the conflict as a whole was so much more.
This one shows how important good communication was.
There's a lecture by David Glantz on youtube on forgotten battles of the Eastern Front, which Soviet history has covered up because they were failures. And not just in 1941 and 1942, when defeats outnumbered victories by far, even relatively late in the war. A very interesting lecture.
Also there was also the Burma theater, which is basically a whole front that has been forgotten.
And one could argue that the Italian campaign too?
Not 2 much on the operations in burma @ that time.And,the struggles in the atlantic;vital victory of eto.
My grandfather fought in the battle of the bulge as well as in and around Hagenau, before advancing further into Germany. He said that the fighting in Hagenau was very bloody with tons of house to house and room to room fighting. He said that they and Germans retook the town from each other three times. Finally, one day, low on ammunition and holding their part of the town, they heard tanks coming and they thought that the noise was German tanks. In my grandfather’s words they thought “they were done for,” luckily they were American tank reinforcements. Thank you for doing a video on this and including Hagenau, there is so little information I’ve been able to find about this. My grandpa’s unit was part of the 7th army force, but his regiment, or maybe his company even was actually attached to a unit under Patton for a lot of the campaign, my grandpa has a lot of stories about Patton in person.
After further reading, my grandfather’s regiment the 255th was attached to the 100 infantry division from December 30 to beginning of February so he must have fought and defended Bitche from the German attacks there.
Also, later at the end of the war his unit liberated the Landsberg concentration camp. He talked about marching the civilians from nearby through the camp, and forcing them to see it. The whole 63rd infantry division got the honor of the liberation, but only his battalion, the 1st battalion of the 255th infantry regiment took part apparently. He was in B company as a tech sergeant.
Hi there, Haguenau is my place of birth. The mini series Band of Brothers has a full episode about Haguenau and is pretty accurate. You may also like to read "OPERATION NORDWIND 1945 Hitler's last offensive in the West
", by Steven Zaloga, 2010 Osprey Publishing Ltd.
Haguenau's local history association also issued books but only in French.
Your grandpa is my hero! Hug him for me.
My grandfather fought there also (German side) ! That is very interesting, 'cause he told me rather the same stories.
@@andrewchesler2029 very cool, my grandpa’s father was from Berlin, two of my grandpa’s uncles died in WW1, one in Flanders and one on the eastern front I think. Some of my family fought in the Wehrmacht too, I don’t know where. Our family has been out of contact for the most part since 1938. Ive been trying to locate them.
What division was the 255th under , and Hagenau was depicted in "Band of Brothers ." It was a rough fight that wasn't suppose to be . The 101st was transfered there right after "The Battle of The Bulge ."
Well done Mark!!! This is what the history channel used to be. You know? Non biased, and informative!!
As a German and French speaker, I have to say that Dr. Felton’s pronunciation of words in said languages is spot on! Einfach spitze, Herr Dr. Felton. LG aus München, Chris King.
You are right , he is really good.
Schöne Grüsse aus Österreich und wünsche guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr.
Although: BASS-TONE is American
Mark Felton makes history addictive
My dad was with General George S. Patton....He was blown out of 3 sherman tanks, recieved several purple hearts, but stayed in the fighting as so many of the greatest generation did...He was top machine gunner 50 cal. He talked about the direct hits from 88s...I lost him in 1975 to lung cancer...People.....We have a heritage....GOD bless America....
A really great synopsis of a battle never covered in history books!!!
You may be able to read of these events in a book, but there's nothing like a spoken commentary to infuse a sense of dynamism and urgency which bring it to life. Dr Felton does this in spades.
What I especially appreciate about you and other select presenters is your abilities to put these important pieces of history into relevant contexts so they can be better comprehended. I’ve seen a number of you guest each other and support each others efforts, as things should be but rare. And, of course, the well presented and clearly chronicled battle descriptions. I thought the footage superlative, you can’t beat reality. Thank you so much for your efforts
Your videos are the gifts that keep on giving for this WW2 armchair historian. Thank you.
Преступники они
Learned something more about the Bulge action. Thanx Dr. Felton.
Is it immature that I giggled at "Bulge action?"
@@bokane1963 I don't really know at this point
There's a lot of 'Bulge action' over the Christmas period ...
Well most people are born in September and November so....
@@bokane1963 Yes. Yes it is. I had no idea I was making a funny comment. It just never occurred to me it could be perceived that way.
Thank you for producing this video. It has special meaning to me as my uncle, SGT James F. LaPatka who fought in and survived the Battle of Herrlisheim, was KIA Feb. 5, 1945 by a German sniper while his unit, Co. B/66 AIB of the 12th Army, was closing the Colmar Pocket.
My condolences about your uncle.
Watching Band of brothers I realized what agony and courage it was. Kudos to them. they all deserved the Medal of honor. I am a war veteran of 4.5 years in the fight for the independence and integrity of Croatia, but I have never been in such a situation. There were terrible battles, but this. Some guys were in the snow for 2 years on the Velebit and Dinara mountains. Kudos to them.
Volunteer - Zadar - Croatia - Adriatic sea coast
Thank you for your service, sir! For the world!
The war in Croatia was no picnic. Names like Split and Vukovar will never be forgotten.
All of Mr. Feltons documentaries are 1st rate in all aspects. Beats the crap out of the History channel. I particularly love the neutral unbiased presentation. Outstanding.
I highly reccomend Dr. Felton's book "Operation Swallow " , it is very true to form for him. It reads like a novel and carries a very similar rhythm to his excellent narrations.
I have read several of Dr. Felton's books, and each has been excellent. After you read the first one you'll be hooked and rush out to buy more.
Happy New Year, Dr.and Mrs. Felton and to all the subscribers and viewers.
Thanks Brian - I have notifications set for al of Dr. Felton's videos, but I'm certain his books will be even better. I'll be looking them up on amazon tonight. yet another WWII rabbit hole for me to explore, and I'm not complaining about that! Who'd think after the disappointments of the History Channel and Military Channel we'd end up getting better quality on TH-cam - and there's a quite a few excellent channels here fro WWII info - Mark Felton's being the finest IMHO.
No plagiarism?
@Abu Dabu : Evidence for your statement?
@Abu Dabu : I do watch his channel on a regular basis. You still haven't supplied any evidence for your allegation.
Supply some evidence of the facts that he is narrating, that are false.
Always loved learning about the history of WW2 but Mark Felton takes it to another level. So many things I did not know and delivered with an excellent, informative and captivating narration.
DR M F DOES IT AGAIN THANK YOU HAVE A BETTER YEAR ,FOR US ALL .
@Dan Pearl things are going to get worse, before they get worse.
You called him Dr. Motherf'er? wtf lol
@Dan Pearl The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between the United States and Russia will expire in February 2021 unless both parties agree to an extension, which could last for up to five years
I've looked around for operation nordwind documentaries for so long now but haven't had any luck. Thanks Mark Felton for this amazing video. You never fail to impress.
Thank you for bringing attention to the lesser known but important events of WW2.
I love learning about the WWII history, that history books have long forgotten or erased. Thank you for your time and effort I enjoy every video
Enjoyed this! My father B P Watts was wounded severely in the battles for Hatten France. He was a heavy machine gunner In the 79 Inf. 315 Div. Co H. He never talked about the war so thanks. He only would talk to our Preacher, who was also in the war in that area at the same time, who would eat Sunday dinner with us sometimes. From that I learned He was injured after the third time taking the town and losing it. He said he set his machine gun in the second floor of a house that was located in the center of a street with a Y arrangement. He said He, his Company CO.and 2 other soldiers were standing at the entrance of the building which had stairs going down to a basement He said, there was a knock out German tank in a field across from them, so they thought, since it had been their the other times they had taken the town. This time the tank fired a round, hitting a tree in front of them. They were all blown into the basement, killing all but him, and his CO. lay across him.This was on the 16th of Jan.The Germans took the town again as the Americans were trying to retake it Four days later they succeeded and he was found by a Group of Black soldiers. Father said this was the first time he had seen black inf. in the war. The 79th was a part of Patten 3 Army but was transferred to The 7 when the 3th and the 7th meet. One other thing my father said was the war would have been over twice as fast if all had fought instead of running. Another thing I have ask myself since Looking at ww1&2 deaths in my county why were there so few blacks death in ww2 verse ww1?
History might call such battles "footnotes" in terms of scope to other battles but for the men who waged the battle, I'm guessing they weren't thinking "It's OK, that bullet which just missed my head was just a footnote."
By this point, soldiers on both sides had been shot at so much, it probably was just a footnote.
Except for the newer troops. Probably more like front page headline to them.
@Josef D And today you can hear "populist" leaders beating the same drums and dancing to the same lies..
My Grandfather witnessed Hatton being overrun at one point with an entire company next to him getting completely wiped out. The fighting was intense taking buildings only to retreat then recapture. That was dangerous business. He said at one point The dead Germans were being stacked like cord wood.
@lati long The tragedy that was WW2 is both wide & deep and usually seen from the nationalist perspective of the viewer.
@Josef D my grandfather was in his early 30s during the war
Been a WWII history buff for 45 years and thought I knew about most of the major battles. But every week Dr. Felton puts up a new video and quickly realize how little I actually know.
Finally someone gave nordwind the respect it deserves. Im going to buy your book.
If Magellan TV is listening: Give Mark a series and I'll buy a subscription.
Im a simple man, I see mark felton, I click
Also, your stories on the ww2 podcast are excellent. Best episodes of the series in my opinion. I could listen to you for hours.
This was one of the best laid out in my opinion of a little known action in late war Germany/France. I don’t know how you do it, but the through research made me feel like i was hovering above the battles as a spectator. Thank you very much for your work Mark!
Also it’s terrifying to know that Himmler had the ability to “direct” armies
Finally someone is talking about this. My father was in the 103rd and caught in the middle but my research was turning up very little. Jan 19th, Seisenheim is not mentioned here but was fought at this time. I never heard of the Gambsheim bridge head attack but Seisenheim was in the area. The 411th regiment was to move thru and hook up with the 410th. 6 Tigers were in town. It did not go well. Casualties were high. The book From Bruyeres to Brenner said The food prepared for one company fed the battalion. My father talked little of WW2, occasionally mentioning certain towns. He believed attack was supposed to make a name for a politician or his son. Thank you Mark!
I knew *of* this event, but virtually nothing *about* it. The educational work of Dr. Felton and a very few others is reason enough for the Internet to exist. Thank you, sir!
Lt. Richard E. Vensel, who attended flight training with my grandfather in 1944 was killed in action as a platoon leader with I Company, 222nd Inf Reg, 42nd Division on January 26th, 1945. The 222nd would in 2001 be awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for their stand during Operation Nordwind.
My dad was in G company, 222nd. He got an injury on January 26 which earned him a Purple Heart
@@wbl5649 G Company took a decent chunk of casualties attempting to rescue the remains of the surrounded E Company on or about the 25th-26th. It’s not surprising your dad was hit then. Heroes all of them.
@@StonedSquirelStudios thanks much for that info...fortunately my dads injury was not fatal...and he then went on through Germany than Austria where they ended up
Platoon Leaders always have such horrendous casualty rates. Leading from the front.
@@wbl5649 I wonder how he felt about DeGaulle.
Thank you for your excellent analysis as always Mark. You may be one of the most neutral historical commentators left. Kudos my friend!
Bravo
23 minutes and 18 seconds never passed so quickly! These contributions to our history are fascinating, informative and just downright entertaining. Thank you Dr. Felton for keeping this alive for us and future generations. Happy New Year, Sir.
Possibly the best of Mr Felton's many fine WW2 documentaries.
Charlie O. Thank you for this story. My father was with the 100th at Remling...awarded Bronze Star for his actions there. These images bring his stories to life.
The 100th suffered bout 800 sum kia and 31/2 thousand wounded.The sons of bitche!7th army ran in2 sum bitter defense of the nazis.800 kia from the time it la ded in europe 10/45 till wars end.Quite high losses.The 7th army had sum hard fighting in the vosges,alsace,andlorraine areas.The nazis put up sum under estimated defence in those areas.
Thank you Mr Felton for being the highlight of our 2020! Much appreciation for the quality videos and hope for another great year of amazing little known War Stories!
Who would have known? Thank you Dr. Felton. You’re an amazing educator and make WW2 more interesting than any other channel I have watched.
Mark Felton to oversee production for the "History Channel". My kind of heaven.
My uncle fought in the 409 regiment, 103 Division, Seventh army. He left me unit history books that describe fighting in the Voges mountains and part of the winter offensive described in this video. Thank you for the great story telling!
I would love to hear those.
@@maureenstevens6824one book is called “Report After Action: The Story of 103rd Infantry Division”…it’s excellent
My father was wounded in the Colmar cleanup in the 75th. He said mud was everywhere nothing moved well. He hid wounded in a tank track of tall mud from a German-French woman sniper.
German french woman a sniper?The ironies!
My dad was a cook in the 75th. He would drive food up to the front lines in the dark of night, not having much idea of where he was.
Without taking any position and always reporting neutral. Excellent work Mister Felton
I love how you give attention to the lesser known footnotes of ww2 ....it was such a broad and complex war all over the globe
>echoing your victories of 1940 when the Soviets are literally one river-away from overrunning Berlin
"Alright boys, they took a sliver of France they can't hold, let's turn the armies around and head back to Moscow."
PRIORITIES!
Whacko Hitler.
Fake it till you make it, or fake it till they take it.
Same thing really.😆
Warsaw was lost in January 1945. Soviets were on the Vistula but got to Oder very quickly
Every time Mark Felton uploades I learn so much history that's the main reason I love his channel
My Dad was there with the 44th division, 156th artillery battalion battery B. He said the 105 howitzers started firing continuously on New Year’s Eve and didn’t stop for 3 days. They had to cool the cannons off with the snow.
If anyone's looking for a good book for the campaign before Nordwind, I'd recommend Keith Bonn's "When the Odds Were Even-- The Vosges Mountain Campaign"-- fascinating look at the battles in this little reported sector.
I agree! Bonn’s book is excellent.
I think I'll look this up!!!
I'm so glad you posted this. Several years ago I was visiting with my Dad and he was reading a book about the Vosges campaign and he showed me a picture in the book and told me how he recognized that particular road and scene and was certain he was there when the picture was taken. I couldn't remember the name of the book but your post just jogged my memory! Thanks!
Yep, great read!
Thanks Paul. Just looked it up and my local library has it here in the Badger state.
I've been to the Vosges and Colmar/Mulhouse many times but for my WWI research. It's a fascinating area clearly showing it's French/German history. There are incredible WWI battlefields to explore.
My great uncle served in the 70th and was referred to as pops since he was 35 at the start of the war when he joined. He survived the battle of the bulge. My mother talks about him from time to time.
John Wayne was about the same age but used it to side-step the draft.
He did become a great American patriot though when the fighting was over.
My son told me he was watch this mark. I finished his sentence for him , been watching your videos for a couple years, great work
Naturally, I never heard of any of this conflict. And fortunately. Mark Felton informed me well, as usual.
Every time I see that notification, I drop everything. Every-time I hear that intro, I know I’m in for amazingly choreographed and well researched information on some of the most interesting parts of human history. Thank you so much Mark for providing that to us!
Hey Mark, great footage of mortars. I was a mortarman in the Iraq war. Ever think about doing a weapons loadout video specifically for the infantry including Mortars, scouts, paratroopers, etc?
Thank for your service Amish 👊
That’s an awesome idea. Not sure if Dr. Felton has any videos like that, but I know you can find videos on the topic by another excellent history professor over on the channel Military History Visualized.
Lots of different infantry loadouts were used by various branches and countries across time. I like your idea, but, I think it should be a multi episode series. Lots of material to cover, how do you cram basic U.S. weapons and field kit into just
One episode. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE
It might be better to look to the channel Battle Order for that one, his coverage of tactical formations is pretty extensive and he's open to suggestions.
И газвагонов.. говорят ездили по улицам а от туда люди стучали..
I've learned more from this channel & other YT channels than ALL school years!😉This is BEST WW2 channel on YT!
Same Amanda 😎 bit of a shame I guess cuz history is the future
School history is too censored and narrow minded lol
Once again, Dr Felton released historical information, that as a a historian, I was dumbfounded to not be largely aware of. Thanks to Dr. Felton we can now understand the true and consequential nature of this very important battle.
Another work of excellence by this world class historian, educator and author. It just doesn't get any better than this!!
Speaking of anti-tank weapons, here's something I learned recently.
According to General James Gavin of the 82d Airborne his troops captured truckloads of German "Panzerfaust" anti-tank weapons, figured out how to use them, and use them they did. They liked them too!
And on the other side, the Germans were impressed by the American bazooka and developed their own, the "Panzerschreck." A good idea's a good idea, no matter where it comes from.
The panzerscrheck was called ‘ stove pipe ‘ because it made so much smoke when fired. The bozooka was named after a funny pipe interment.
@@greglaplante7593 Right, the "bazooka" was a comic musical instrument played by Bob Burns, a member of the Spike Jones Orchestra. If you listen to a Spike Jones recording you can usually hear the bazooka honking in the background.
@@greglaplante7593 Yes, the bazooka-on-steroids was the Panzershreck. Certainly believable it made a lot of smoke. Was a heavy sonofabich. But Wayne is referring to the Panzerfaust, a much lighter and more portable weapon. Effective against a surprising thickness of armor, but, IIRC with a shorter range than the bazooka. But if you have no bazookas, a Panzerfaust is nice to have!
Mark, you are one of the finest historical narrators I've ever heard. Thank you for your work.
Your videos are some of the highest quality I’ve watched. You have a great way of personifying the soldiers that no other channel can touch. I’m firm supporter of you and your work! Please keep the videos coming!
I will be joining your Patreon soon
Yet, another awesome presentation of material not well known. Thank you Dr. Felton.
It's always a delight to watch the latest video's of Mark Felton..
German commander: "The ardennes assault was a failure. What do we do next?"
Hitler: "Do the same thing but smaller, that'll do the trick!"
The same thing, but smaller, and no strategic target.
I suspect that this Hitler wasn't the military genius that he believed.
@@chrispatten3482 He was addicted to meth. Absolutely nothing in the world can convince a person on meth that they are wrong or that a plan might not work. On a similar note, don't go to the casino when high on meth.
That’s exactly why you don’t listen to drug addicts that have reached rock bottom. By this time hitlers mind was gone and just paranoid thoughts running rampant inside his head 24/7,, through hitlers drs they succeeded in ending the war for Germany years before the actual end of the war, if Hitler was sober minded no doubt Germany would have won ww2, or it would have ended in a stalemate from just the Mas loss of life
@@chrispatten3482 He should have sticked with politics, and let the war be fought by capable officers.
Love your work Mark. All the best for the new year!
Echo E C h o ECHO that !
So interesting seeing the tiny town where I grew up on that battle map. It’s an area you don’t normally associate with major tank battles so close by.
bet it would be a waste of time having a metal detector
@@mottthehoople693 No, it would.
The Alsatian ex-permafrost clay is pretty hard, and the shells usually wouldn't go very deep as a result, meaning most inexplosed projectiles are gone by now.
My grandfather was a founding officer of the original US Army Airborne Rangers- known as Darby's Rangers. My great uncles were in the Pacific theater, one a Sargeant at Okinawa, the other an admiral. Thanks for the video!
Very nice upload, good coverage of operation nordwind. My father fought in this battle against the Americans at wingen sur moder. He was a sturmpioneire, Zweite Zug, Erste Kompanie, 6th SS Pioneer Battalion, 6th SS Gebirgsjager Division NORD. He lead a machinegun section, he still had his original issued mg34 until he surrendered to the amis in March 1945. He was shown the new mg42, he didn't like the new machinegun and preferred his mg34. Before war with Russia broke out he was with the totenkopf standarten 9, then the order came that his standarten was to relocate and he and his unit boarded a ship for Norway where they marched through Norway to Finland and formed the kampfgruppe NORD. He respected the Americans, he said they weren't as brutal as the Russians were in combat, the Americans gave a "fair fight".
After the battle of wingen, my father marched back towards Germany with his unit through the town of Bucholz where a memorial is located to this division, they were attacked by jabos (fighter bombers) and suffered 150 casualties. His unit later took up positions at boppard where he saw as he described the amis forming up on the other side of the Rhine and started to cross the Rhine in boats.
I've been very fortunate to meet many veterans of ww2, many my father's friends, who served in the Luftwaffe as pilots and some as fallshirmjager, others served in the army. I've met with veterans of the American trailblazer division who fought at wingen and witnessed old enemies having a beer together. Now all these people are long gone, only their descendents survive them, the stories and the history remembered by them.
Josef, this isn't the first time I've heard of German soldiers disliking the MG-42. The father of a friend of mine was in the German Army during WW2, and he said his father HATED the thing! Why? Well, as my friends Dad put it:
"That damn gun fired too fast! The whole platoon were turned into packhorses carrying ammunition to keep the machine guns going, twice the amount we carried for the MG-34's! Besides, you don't need to shoot a man eight times with a Mauser cartridge! Once or twice is enough!"
Something people don't think about. Machine guns are very handy to have around, but somebody's got to carry the ammo!
Total respect..
@@brianjones7660 Thank you, happy New year's to you aswell
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 I never thought at the time when I was a child to ask my father why he didn't like the new machinegun, and refused to turn in his mg34, what you say about your friends father is interesting, and what he disliked about the new machinegun. My father would talk about the versality of the mg34 that it could fire single shot, he can shoot at aircraft with a special tripod and sight, he talked about a small drumel that can carry 50 rounds and attach to the gun, he said they used this drumel when firing from the hip and on the assault. He said they were trained to fire in 5 round bursts and every 5th round in the belt was a Spitzer bullet (tracer).
@@josefmueller2077 Josef, everything your father said about the MG34 was certainly true, it was rugged, reliable, and certainly versatile. From what I've learned about the MG42 the only thing it had going for it was it was much simpler, faster, and less expensive to produce than the MG34 was, but that seemed to be the extent of it. The US copied some features of the MG42 when the M-60 machine gun was developed, but just a few.
The MG42 does survive today as the MG3, but it's my understanding that the rate of fire was slowed down considerably.
Interestingly, the best rate of fire for an infantry machine gun today is exactly the same as it was in World War One, around 600 rounds per minute, anything more is really a waste of ammunition.
Fantastic video and analysis. Thank you for keeping history alive with your videos. My Grandfather was in the RAF navel command in WW2 and was my main direct source to the war. He passed away 12 years ago, and with ever year that goes by I learn more about this period of history. My only regret is that I wish I'd asked him more questions.
So much blood spilled in the Ardennes during both world wars. May their souls rest in peace.
Mark, it is obvious you are absolutely passionate about what you do. Cheers mate
Excellent video and coverage of an oft forgotten battle.
Excellent Narration & Info. Thanks.
Nothing like watching these winter battles in my low heat house before I get the wood stove going. I feel the cold like the guys in the old videos. It must have been freezing....
@@brianjones7660 Didn't they sleep on top of the warm engines?
Best WW2 channel on TH-cam!!! I’ve learned so much about the war and sacrifices from your channel. Thank you so much and keep up the awesome work. I look forward to your next video sir. Thanks!!!
very complete documentation of an operation left in the shadows..... thank you, Mark, and a very fulfilling 2021 to everyone!
I really enjoy Dr.Felton’s unvarnished accounts of historical battles, he presents the facts as they unfolded. Happy New Year to all!
Good stuff Mark. Ive studied WW2 for 50 yrs. (Im 70), My Uncles were both in Stalingrad, my Dad was in the 90th INf Div and was wounded taking a bridge over the Rhein. My Mom was BDM teletype operator. She jumped trains after the war to get out of Pomerainia nd down to a safer place, Muncih. So I have been soaked in this stuff, but Mr Felton invariably shows me something new.
I had no idea Himmler was given command on the Western Front!
Once again Mark you have taught me another fact of WW2, Thank You...again.
After that failed, Himmler was given command of forces in the East intended to prevent the Russians from surrounding Berlin
A fantastically detailed and well put together video, as always. Thanks Mark!
Another great job, Mark! I think you've even improved the use of maps and unit locations so we can really see who/what was where. You're becoming an industry standard! Keep 'em coming.
My other half knows by ear now. When she hears lower, short and brisk arpeggios in brass she knows it you.
When she hears crisp drawn-out brass notes accompanied by cannonfire she knows it's Drachinifel.
I watch many channels related with history, thanks to all of you. Best wishes for the new year.
MARK FELTON BEST HISTORY CHANNEL ON TH-cam - THIS IS HISTORY !!!
Mr . Felton this job is incredible , history rescue . Is incredible , Vídeos , footages , maps . Congratulations , thanks . I learn very with their job . 👍🇧🇷
K
Just about to say the same
Just a heads up, you don’t have to space before the punctuations.
William Jacobson Thankyou in your help to educate people to the glorious English language.
@@williamjacobson8321 happy New year , pardon me . Will Win me difficult at gramatic . I am studing all day . I go to get better .
Thanks for the great video Mark. My dad fought in the US Army XXI Corps and use to tell me stories about fighting in the Colmar Pocket. Your video helps me to understand better what was happening at this time.
Your dad must have had amazing and fascinating stories of the fighting in Colmar Pocket! I’d love to do more research on that region during WWII!
As a Colmar inhabitant, I can just say: Merci 🙂
@boris boris I'm Polish 😅
das heißt DANKE !
lol, jk
@Deniz Julian Metinoğlu T. yes
Good voice tone on the commentary. It helps to keep the audience focused on what's most relevant.
Too nice historic video with clear explaining of events which occurred at that time thanks for sending
I read about Operation Undertone, the allied operation again Nordwind, so watching this was very interesting.
It's very different to hear from your grandparents what happened and actually seeing the images.
I want to take a moment to thank the US 7th army for their bravery/courage and for liberating and defending my little village in the north of Alsace (near Wingen) against the Nazis.
Love your videos Mark. Well done. I visited the Colmar Pocket area in Alsace. This is where Audie Murphy received the Medal of Honor for the fighting that took place
The father of a friend of my daughters was a "First Scout" for Patton. He was one of those that relieved Bastone.
The voice over / script, and the historical video's are combined / edited into something that is very professional - i wish we'd had these videos when i was studying history - i would have learned much more ! Thanks for the excellent work!
Thank you sir, listening to you as i go to bed gives me my best rest!
Once again an OUTSTANDING JOB DR.FELTON!!! Keep up the good work Sir and Happy New Year!!!
Hitler’s plans were, generally speaking, pretty crap. 10/10 for effort though.
Lol wtf are u doing here
Love your videos my guy glad to see. You appreciate history aswell.
As said so well by Churchill, no one single individual did more to aid us, the allies in winning WWII than Adolph Hitler himself.
Hitler was an idiot. Look at the technical ability, manpower, and resources wasted on the V2 rocket, which was never anything better than a terror weapon. The rocket had no strategic or tactical value whatsoever. Same for the ME262, when those resources should have gone into more mass production of the excellent FW190. Germany was doomed from the beginning mainly due to lack of oil resources.
They weren’t crap until circa late 43 when his mind started to get addled by drugs, and the general staff were no longer given the opportunity to really showcase other options for military operations or give differing opinions, his word became final, even if it was non-sensical BS.
I hope everyone had a good Christmas :)
You too Hanz up
Done.
Well I woke up above ground so yeah
@Deniz Julian Metinoğlu T. 2020 is about to turn 2021 and start drinking 😬
@@caseyholland7860 May God help us. Although, the drinking age in the UK is 18.. that would explain a lot.
Thanks, Dr. Felton!
Thank you for sharing Dr. Felton