I've got to say. I "found" your channel via TH-cam Algorithm. It been awhile since TH-cam suggested anything good. Your content is very educational and crucial. History is extremely important. Thank you for all you do sir!
Same here. If you really agree that History is extremely important., you REALLY gotta click the sub/bell icons on youtube(dot)com/Playitalready because he's working on some epic vids showing some amazing facts about ancient History that you probably weren't told. I'd pay $ to see a historian react to that, and I'm not alone. Those vids may take ages to make so in the meantime, it'd be better than nothing if you can watch his main vid about eternal religion/science part 1 (and its description) and then maybe his "Ancient Eastern Secrets, Missles..." vid. I'll probably, eventually, notice and read all comments IF it's on his channel's vids, or on my channel.
The invasion of the SU was actually done at the perfect time for Germany. The reorganization of the armed forces in the Soviet Union meant that the forces were at their weakest around 1941. Had Hitler invaded later, he would've gotten a much worse war as the Soviet troops would be at a much higher readiness state.
Completely agree. In support of your argument I offer that the Soviets had just learned a hard lesson in Finland about (not) coordinating armor with infantry and Stalin had just murdered a bunch of his generals. Given time - maybe a year - they would have been able to finish the reorganization you speak of.
plus, it was summer, and the german army was pretty much regarded to be invincible by how it defeated it's opponents. with hindsight it's pretty easy to say otherwise, but at the time everything was looking up for the germans
No, if they had actually defeated their enemies on the western front and in africa before fighting the Soviets it would’ve gone much better Not saying a land invasion of the UK that would be impossible, I’m saying focus on their colonies and try to repair after that gigantic hit to the air force (navy is a lost cause), it certainly is not impossible to have forced UK into submission It is completely realistic that Hitler takes a step back and moves back the invasion to pursue oil in the Middle East Heck he might even think its smart to try to start another revolution like in WWI and focuses on africa instead What I’m saying is that the dude in this video keeps trying to emphasize the nazis thought in such an extreme way that those are the decisions they would make But if they are so extreme there are literally dozens of realities where they make different weird decisions He doesn’t actually know what alternate history is, he confuses it with literal real history, his entire point is “they wouldn’t of done that that’s not how they thiught ” NO KIDDING WE KNOW THEY WOULD NOT OF DONE IT BECAUSE THEY DIDNT DO IT Alternate history is literally alternate meaning different, he tries to make it literally the exact same
@@kingmac6638 no. Had they done that they would've smashed their noses into a reformed Soviet Union army that would easily hold them at bay in a defensive war.
@@Heldermaior No, with the full force of the German military and everything under wraps in the west Germany would have had a much better time than they did ( and still lost) The army being reformed doesnt change anything really, all the most able micro commanders were killed, unless it happend 10 years later then no, the Soviet army wouldnt stand a chance on the first year
You should do more of Potential History's videos, especially the tank videos, which is his specialty. In them, he helps explain why the different nations made their tanks the way they did and dispels common misconceptions made about them.
I agree on this! This would be very fun to watch a reaction on to also understand the economics and political standpoint that affected the armored aspect for warfare. In general, Potential History reactions is a must!
24:12 I'd argue Britain was more prepared in 1940 to fight an amphibious landing than Germany was. British naval defences have always been very extensive and well made in British history, but after the command chain shock of losing France so quickly, The British reacted with extreme paranoia. Where I live there are known defensive bunkers next to the border of Scotland. Churchill taking over is really demonstrative of this shift, going from "oh no take it please mr Hitler we don't want war" to we will sacrifice our empire if it means killing Hitler. Southern England was *very* well fortified and Stalin level measures would have been taken to keep Jerry out of here, can't confirm but I hear Churchill greenlighted the idea of using poison gas on English beaches if Germans showed up. The Atlantik wall was huge, and numerically and totally more powerful than the British beach defences, but that was because it had to be. Vulnerable coastline in Europe was much more to defend than just southern England, pretty much the only choice for a potential suicidal German charge. And I'd argue per kilometer, the German defences were often more lacking, with 2nd rate troops and equipment being used more often, and each potential landing zone defended worse. The Americans metaphorically almost just walked into Utah beach unopposed for example. That would have been impossible in 1940 England
Indeed. What you said about D-Day is correct too. The idea of D-Day in a lot of people's minds is Omaha Beach, where everything went wrong because the Americans drifted south of their intended landing zone and ran into the worst possible defenses and terrain. All the other beaches were taken with relatively few casualties. The Canadians even surpassed their goal for the day and made it so far inland that I heard one anecdote from a veteran where a German soldier saluted a Canadian tank before realizing it was not German and diving for cover. The real battle came later, in the Normandy hedgerows, but even then the outcome was never in doubt.
@@squamish4244 yep. Omaha was a complete disaster in every way, but the others certainly weren’t. I mean even the one where they had to ascend up a cliff wasn’t as bad as Omaha, but Omaha is the famous one of course..
@@Mgbn78 One thing they couldn't show in SPR because it just wouldn't work cinematically is that the entire first wave at Omaha was wiped out. Hanks and co. would have been in the second wave.
Now hold on, I think it's a bit unfair to generalize the people who claim that myth as Nazi sympathisers, most of them are just wrongly informed people.
The thing that I love about your channel is not only that you love to help fill in the gaps to give us a better understanding but also that you are so welcoming of other perspectives and that you genuinely are willing to learn from things people have to say in the comments. It’s a very refreshing thing to see on the Internet, especially on TH-cam.
Another point about Sea Lion - the landings in Normandy took place on “friendly” soil occupied by the enemy. Germany would be landing directly on the home soil of their enemy, which ratchets up the degree of mobilization taking place directly around their landing zone. Imagine the allies trying to establish a beachhead not in Normandy, but directly on Germany’s beaches in the North Sea.
Your final comment is always so important when discussing this topic. So many arguments and debates can be stopped from happening and save everybody's time if we just get to that point of "could Germany have won in our reality, or are we going to change reality to reach for some possibility?"
It took British Brains, American Steel, and Russian Blood to win the war - Joseph Stalin Edit: I just wanted to add another quote from Stalin. As long as we keep sending in more men , eventually the enemy will run out of ammo - Joseph Stalin
As a history buff, your channel is one of the best the algorithm threw my way in a long while :D I just hate how much I like procrastinating watching you. Damn you for delaying me working on my dissertation.
Not trying to rag on the guy but he's just reacting to videos other people have made. He's not really teaching people things, rather he's just commenting on others work.
@@Ben-fk9ey just because you only watch him react doesnt mean thats all he makes. and also in these reactions he typically says whether or not things in the video is actually true
You must have had some real shit teachers (or not paid attention in class) if a reaction channel taught you more than actual school. I have had some amazing history teachers (and some shitty ones).
I think my favorite part about your channel, is just how personable and relatable you are. Obviously I only know you from the content you have put on TH-cam, but I do feel that you are a genuine guy, that I could see myself being friends with in the real world. I have also gained a better understanding of history, and I feel like you have opened up a lot of peoples eyes, mine included, to a different perspective on how to look at and talk about history. Love your content, keep up the great stuff! And I am really looking forward to that oversimplified reaction to the Cold War.
I really appreciate this channel and everything that it stands for, as well as the content going into it. I can tell that you really do care about your subscribers and creators like that are few and far in between. If I might suggest a channel I think you’d enjoy, I would suggest Ushanka Show, he discusses life in the Soviet Union and analyzes old KGB documents as well. It’s a really great channel. Once again, thank you for being such a great content creator, A. Wilkerson
I've been following since last week and my Forte in high-school was World War II I've got an A+ on world history and brought a Tiger Tank as a project for my class to talk about WWII. I love this channel! I love history! Keep up the work!
I just found this channel and I love it! Fantastic commentary. I love listening to historians talk about WW2, the individuals in charge, and how alliances could have played out. Finally something good I've found on TH-cam!!!!!
Hi...really enjoyed this one...so glad you chose to do part 2 immediately instead of waiting. I commented on the first one about similar stuff, specifically Hitler declaring war on the US. You talked about the German Navy wanting unrestricted warfare so they could sink US ships, but it went even beyond that. In the summer of 1941, the US had drastically escalated their defensive and offensive actions in the Atlantic. The US had taken over the occupation of Iceland from the British, and had declared that US protected waters extended to cover that island...which meant the US had declared half the Atlantic as being US waters. Then, Roosevelt declared unrestricted warfare against all German ships anywhere in US protected waters, and by the end of the summer, US destroyers were actively escorting convoys all the way across the Atlantic to ports in Britain. Then, in September, the USA officially signed the Atlantic Charter and committed to the defeat of Nazism. In Hitler's mind, FDR had already declared war on him before he declared war on the US. 🖖💯✌
Man, your content is virtually unmatched when it comes to historical facts, your own opinions, and context. You’re very well-versed and knowledgeable in your field. What I like most about your vids is that you’re always dang near spot on with everything that you put out, and when it comes to your opinions on certain topics, you’re so logical and able to articulate your point that it’s almost impossible to disagree with you. You said that you read every comment and I know that this is an old video but I hope that you see this. Love your stuff man!!! Especially the WW2 stuff and the trivia 🤙 Anyone who disagrees with you enough to leave a nasty comment is either very uneducated or just a troll. Probably both. Maybe even a troglodyte.
Really good content and reaction - I really liked what you were both saying about changing the motivations and behaviours of everyone involved and how that's just not alternate history. For me, it's like when people say "if Titanic hit the iceberg head on, it wouldn't have sunk," as if any officer seeing an iceberg would just steer straight into it on its maiden voyage and kill hundreds of passengers. For it to be relevant and realistic, and most importantly credible, it has to be within what that person could reasonably do based on how they behaved in reality.
The allies at normandy also had complete secrecy with all the other advantages. Also you should react to The armchair historian he has some good content,
Not only that but they also manipulated the Germans. They had an entire fake battalion in Calais with a fake radio station with infantry marching, basically doing everything they could to convince that the main invasion was coming from Calais with a small diversion in Normandy
I really gotta say. These videos of yours, many books I’ve read like The Prince, Art of War (Both by Sun Tzu and Machiavelli, Machiavelli also did art of war but with his own touch and language) really do inspire me to become a historian and writer. Keep on doing these vids, their great, and really ignite a passion.
I've found your channel few days ago and together with oversimplified you allowed me to refresh my memory on history about many different times and places which I am very thankful for. Being Polish I do sometimes get teary and sad listening to the facts that brought the world to a peaceful state which I am so thankful to be able to experience. You are very knowledgeable and never biased when explaining things and I do have huge amounts of respect for how you lead your channels to success. Hope it will only go forward and that we will never have to add up more devastating pieces to the history for future People to learn. I am very fascinated with 1700-current history and wish that one day I could know about it as much you do.
I've watched some of your videos regarding reactions to WW1 and WW2 videos posted by other youtubers and I am delighted by your reasoning and opinions as well as the arguments you mention during these reactions. I appreciate your well done content and so I do believe I have to subscribe! Keep up the great work! 🤝 Greetings from Romania!
There is speculation that he hoped a dignified withdrawal would encourage Britain to change sides. Hess flew here to broker peace. Hitler wanted us to join Operation Barbarossa invading the Soviet Union from India through Afghanistan.
Who else got nostalgia shivers when you saw the medal of honor allied assault main menu? It's really funny how much I've learned about war and history from video games... You're a great source of good information. If I was a teacher I would assign your videos as homework for my students (given I teach middle/high school). Keep in keepin on!
Really love this channel i'm a big fan of history in general, most of my spare time is studying history. I can't be happy enough finding this channel few months ago. Awesome work keep going !
The BEF at Dunkirk were only part of the British Forces in France. Majority left with their equipment in Cherbourg. Also the British ANti-Invasion defences were far larger than the "Atlantic Wall", because we didn;t rely upon a single defensive line. I recomend you research CiC Edmund Ironside and his replacement CiC Alan Brooke
These are some of my favourite videos on the internet. Keep up the good work man! Would love it if you reviewed some more of Extra history (Great Northern war and their WW2 series perhaps?) cause they make some of the most detailed and skilled historic videos on this platform. Im so glad I found this channel.
Your sentiments about respectfully disagreeing remind me of a quote from the movie Troy, from Priam to Achilles: “You’re still my enemy tonight, but even enemies can have respect.”
I'm so happy i found this channel, i subscribed just after i watched 1 video 😂, i'm enjoying the videos so much. Keeps me educated and even motivated aswell. Thank you for the amazing content!
Yay finally !!! I have always wanted some good context on the German invasion of the Soviet Union scenario. I often try to debate with anyone who will listen my thoughts on the subject . I love that I have found this channel and I think you do a great job. Excellent video as always.
6:36 I remember hearing about it in some of the old documentaries in the 90's. These were the same documentaries that pushed some of the myths discussed in the previous video, particularly about taking Moscow.
@@thehorsecockexpress1068 Industrially, the US and Soviets were stronger. In population count, both were stronger. Navy wise, the US was stronger. Germany could not win against both powers crashing down upon them at the same time. Even more so with 20 smaller allies.
While people do tend to underestimate the overwhelming weight of economic and demographic forces opposed to the Axis that made victory exceedingly unlikely - I'd never say impossible when it comes to history. Many stranger things have happened and could have happened. Churchill being ousted, Stalin being assassinated/overthrown, FDR dying, Germany more effectively coordinating the economic resources of Europe, Japan providing a timely distraction in Siberia in light of any of the above, etc. could have thrown things in doubt overnight. Hitler was only doomed *if* the Americas and the Soviet Union both retained the will to fight on until the bitter end and didn't fight amongst themselves or seek their own separate advantage, no matter what. And that's not always a given.
Hey @Vlogging Through History I enjoy your content a lot. WW2 is one of my favorite periods of history to study and learn about (The second being the Medieval Era; Feudal Europe and the Dark Ages). So when I heard you speak about the comments here I wanted to share some of my thoughts I've collected over watching several of your videos covering WW2. One thing is I learned about the oil demand in Germany, while I knew oil was pretty scarce in Germany, I had no idea that it wasn't as bad as it seemed when you mentioned in your Part 1 Video "They could have used the oil they had to fight the Western Allies." I had always felt like attacking the Soviet Union was going to be a necessity to keep the German War Machine going, so this was an interesting insight that got my brain turning. With that being said though, I would love to hear your thoughts on some of your theories how Germany could have won the war. - I definitely agree with the statement, a war with Russia was inevitable. The ideologies was always going to cause a war. But personally, I think the Germans could have waited on that. Take advantage of the tentative peace they had, collected the resources they got from trading, buffered the Great Atlantic Wall and possibly could have repelled the allies in Africa to collect some of Great Britain's oil fields. Had Germany adopted the allies' idea of "Europe First" but instead "The West First" it could've changed things. Here's why I think that: - Many historians will elude to the idea that Great Britain was close to capitulating during the bombing campaigns. Had Hitler just continued to bomb the airfields and their Radar Defense Array along the coastlines, it very well could have turned the public opinion against Churchill and likely forced the government to vote him out in favor of someone who would call for a peace treaty. Could Germany have actually invaded Great Britain? Absolutely not, their navy was just vastly inferior to Great Britain, but the air supremacy definitely could have made them seek a ceasefire where Hitler could have turned them into a puppet state much like Vichy France and collected even more resources for the war effort to then turn their attention on Stalin. However, this is still reliant on IF they can hold the line in Africa and IF they can make Great Britain surrender in time before the Americans inevitably declare war on them, which could be "possible", Rommel was, in my opinion, an amazing leader overall in the Africa Campaign. However, point still being, Italy under Mussolini was...as Churchill put it, "Germany's soft underbelly." so we still have to think that the South was going to be a lost cause no matter what. - Now with Great Britain out of the picture (going off the assumption the Germans are able to hold the line in Africa and keep America out of the war long enough) and the West secured, Germany would obviously turn it's attention to their Political Rival, Stalin. No longer enduring allied bombings of Berlin and their factories, Germany could possibly start churning out more tanks and airplanes, possibly even invest into the new "Wonder Weapons" everyone talks about. The question still remains, could Russia be taken over? This is where I get hesitant in my answer. Stalin was a dictator with an iron stranglehold over his people. The Red Army was deathly loyal to their country, look at Stalingrad where Commissars threw wave after wave after wave of men into the city, across the Volga, to turn into fodder against German Machine Guns, even obeying the doctrine of "Not One Step Back" where Stalin ordered his men to shoot anyone who retreated as they were to be seen as cowards and traitors who betrayed The Motherland. These men and women were totally insane, but this is the effect Stalin had over them, the effect of Nationalism. So invading Russia would still turn into a Total War doctrine where the Germans would have to fight city to city, town by town, house by house, door by door. I do think eventually another civil war would erupt to overthrow Stalin, but I have to give this one to the Soviets, I don't think the Germans would be able to outlast Russian Stubbornness long enough to see a civil war happen, especially if they have to defeat them before Winter sets in. I personally do not think anything changes in the decision making from the Real Timeline to this Alternate Timeline. Let me know what you think, where you disagree, or where you think there is some legitimacy in my theories. As a disclaimer, this is all a pretty thrown together theory. I have absolutely zero desire to see a world where Hitler could have won.
I found this and part one via TH-cam recommendations. I must say, im very happy I did! Love your content and appreciate that I now how a channel to see discussion about WW2 "what if" scenarios. I'm happily hitting the subscribe button. Thank you!
I just stumbled across your channel and I have found we both have a profound love for History! Been binging your videos all weekend! Can’t wait for more.
The song Horse Soldier, Horse Soldier by Corb Lund would be absolutely amazing to see you react to. It’s a brief run through of some of the most notable cavalry engagements in history and it would be cool to hear you talk about the units and battles that the song mentions in more detail!
Good thing I found this channel. I really like this stuff but I find the channels that usually cover it to focus too much on trying to be snarky and funny instead of portraying history in a straight forward and non-biased way Subscribed!
Just found this channel via youtube's algo, the way you speak about things and the way you respectfully disagree and add things to the conversation of the video makes the video all the more interesting. I can't help but think of a possibility of you doing a collab with Potential History and how awesome it would be. Regardless good vid keep it up
Hey, yesterday i watched a video about myterious weapons from the germans in ww2 (i gues it was called "18 incredible fururistic german weapons" or so). There are wire guided air to air rockets and such stuff. Maybe someone like you who have the knowlege can talk a bit about these things :D
I would love it you did a history based book club! Where we read a book about a historical time/event or a auto/biography based on a historical figure!
Your content is awesome, I now listen to it when doing anything around the house or driving somewhere, you make learning about history that much more enjoyable :D
Military History Visualized did an excellent video on the viability of Operation Sea Lion. He makes lots of good points, but in the end there’s one where no amount of luck of the dice were going to change things - logistics. Even with a largely unchallenged landing (followed by resistance) you would have had the issues of resupplying a major force by sea against the focused armed forces of Great Britain supplied by the majority of its economy by land. Short of capitulation - something totally inconsistent with Britain’s character - Germany was never going to win that sort of conflict even with early victories.
May I suggest watching the Kantai Kessen video by Drachinifel? It is an interesting look at the Japanese naval doctrine and why the decisive naval battle was not possible.
have to agree, every point i was going to make starts with "if nazis were not natzis" thats just required for germany to have any scenario where they end up with fighting chance.
The reason why I and many other people watch History teachers or Historians on TH-cam is that it fits with the location to get your info, I watch you guys because you guys are fairly decent people who have actual knowledge and background on what is being talked about. I also love how you have admitted that you dont know all which is an important point to make. I am an aspiring History teacher and I have met people who dont know what they are saying but are either too proud, nervous, scared, or stupid to accept the fact that people can be wrong especially in a sense of power. Even with my act of learning and remembering aspects and key historical events that many people dont remember, I am human and I strive for people to call me out if I was wrong about it (I dont want them to waddle and whimper that I was wrong nor yell and insult me for being a complete dumbass). Just as you said, those comments dont help out in the discussion as a whole. Some of these videos you are discussing are made by those who have that same passion and strive for facts and a clearer narrative so we can advance the conversation onto something else and more. I think I said enough, dont know if you will read this for being a couple weeks old, but keep up the reviews mate, cheers
I find that we live in a culture that demand perfection and not being wrong on certain topics but not only that we demand moral perfection and can't allow ourselfs to be wrong or have views that majority of people disagree with, I think this breeds resentment towards history and how people remember it, the phrase ''history is written by the victors'' spring to mind, the phrase is both right and wrong, it's wrong in that historians try their best to be as accurate as possible from multiple sources and review eachother's works, while it's incorrect because how historians right about history and how the general public and society remembers it and how it reacts to things like it is made by the victors not historians and I think this is why some people want their side or people they are accociated with to be good or not as bad as people think.
Time to throw my own little suggestion into the hat. If you want to check out more Potential History vids, then let me suggest "The Winter War: The War that Became a Meme". I find that one to be quite an interesting watch. Also their "Meme Tanks" videos are really interesting if you want to give those a look as well.
Hey I recently found your channel and am really interested in it. I started to study History and Anglistics in Germany and started to binge all your videos. I look forward to see more.
Here's a question for you: Has there ever been a war that would have been won if a single decision hadn't been made? Sure, many that would likely have been avoided (e.g., Treaty of Versailles), but I am curious if you know of one where a leader "would have won" if he had/hadn't done some one thing.
American Revolution could have been lost if Casmir Pulaski hadn’t rallied the American Cavalry and charging which saved Washington from being encircled in Long Island which could have ended the revolution.
There is some evidence that the "halt" was triggered by a combination of pressures. One was Hitler allowing Goering to take a first shot. The other was reluctance to commit armor to the attack by Von Ronstat and Kleist. This hesitance was partially due to Flanders marshes but also because Charles De Gaulle led an offensive at abberville which he lost but in the process killed a shocking (to the germans at least) number of tanks. Reportedly this made Kleist in particular skittish about the Marshes where the tanks would have been more vulnerable than at Abberville.
I really enjoyed watching both of those videos! 👍🏻 I have a question for you. I know it's completely hypothetical and comes right out of fantasy land, but what if the German army never took any POWs in the Soviet Campaign? I don't mean the Wehrmacht should have shot them dead immediately though. What if they would have just disarmed them and taken their military equipment (boots, helmets, uniforms etc.)? After that those men, that surrendered to German forces where allowed to go wherever they pleased. I read about this strategy somewhere, sadly I forgot it. A Chinese general never took POWs, but released them right after they surrendered and handed over their weapons. They just had to promise that they never would fight him again. This went so far, that entire armies surrendered to him without firing a single arrow, because they knew he would spare them. So they could go back to their families unharmed. With his attitude he won the war. I would be really interested what you got to say about this.
Nice idea, but fighting for the motherland was not simply a choice for the soldiers. If you were an able-bodied male of fighting age, you would be forced to fight, unless given exemptions for other essential work. So you may have survived the Germans, but you weren’t going to survive your countrymen.
Let's say the Germans let them home and join their families but you forgot the fact that Russia was led by freaking Stalin! He would send you back, or to Gulag or kill you right off.
I am normally not a fan of "Guy reacts to the hard work of other content creators", yet you do a fine job of adding to the work and I appreciate that sir.
This is a good one as time ghost is probably my favourite for small snippets of events and covering things. My overall favourite episode of theirs is the between two wars on how hitler won the Olympics. That’s a video I would recommend
@@wesleywilkinson6629 The content put forth by TimeGhost, and before it just Indy, on WW1, WW2, and their between-two-wars series are excellent. Some of the most informative stuff on TH-cam.
Germany could not win WWII. No matter what Germany did they lost when they invaded Poland. Winning a war is logistics plain and simple. War is not romantic. Bravery, élan and small squad tactics have no influence on war. It's logistics, nothing else.
I would like to see you do an analysis of a video on the changes caused by the war on the home front especially the gearing up of production and the reactions of some industrial leaders. Thank you.
The problem with the whole “just don’t attack the Soviets thing” is that the Soviets would have also attacked the Nazis eventually. Stalin was waiting for the German war machine to collapse on the Western front, then, once he smelled blood, he’d go in for the kill
Another issue is Hitler's paranoia. Winston Churchill had sent Stalin a letter asking about the possibility of Russia invading Germany. Stalin showed this letter to Hitler, hoping it'd strengthen their relationship and buy Russia more time, however it did the exact opposite, causing Hitler to form a conspiracy theory of Stalin and Churchill working together, and Britain only holding strong out of hopes that Russia would come to their rescue. In Hitler's eyes, he would have to invade the Soviet Union in order to knock Britain out of the war.
Re: Dunkrik, I have seen people suggesting that the BEF where allowed to leave by Hitler as a sort of peace offering to try and get the British to drop out of the war after the French were beaten. This was even something I heard on History Channel shows when I was a teen so I imagine its a myth that has persisted for awhile now.
Great video man, and thank you for all the amazing content you make. I have two question/comments. The first being the impossibility of the invasion of britain. The way I always heard it, was that the RAF was at breaking point shortly before the germans moved their focus to civilian targets. So if they would not have changed focus, wouldn't the air supremacy of the Brits falter? Then the focus could be shifted to naval targets to at least hurt the navy bad enough for the landing. I don't believe the British isles would be easy to hold of it were possible to conquer them at all. I am also certain that this would not have ended the war, or even would have enabled Germany to win in the end, but it would change a lot. Second thing, are you going to finish your reaction to God's and Generals video, or are you letting that one go? Again: thanks for all the great content!
@@darklysm8345 No. Even if the Germans had captured Moscow, the Soviets were going to continue fighting. And if the Germans had actually captured the Caucasus, they would of had to rebuild the oil wells after the Soviets would have destroyed them, which would have taken time the Germans couldn't afford. The Germans also lacked the logistical ability to transport large quantities of oil from the Caucasus while the war was still going on.
Late but i remember british bombing worked initially due to germany being being more mobilised at the start with and having more planes available for strategic bombings having an early superiority in the channel until a decision was made (not sure by hitler or not) to change targets towards British cities to lower morale which failed. This allowed britiain to rebuild thair airforce and ever since maintained air superiority
You mentioned the inevitability of fighting the USA. I think that inevitability is a bit more likely than you mentioned. Mostly through geography and degrees of separation. Canada was long in the war by the time the USA was brought in. Further, Canada was in the war as a sovereign nation rather than a British colony unlike WW1, proof being the choice by Canadian parliament to declare war 1 week later than England. So let's pretend a hypothetically scenario where England has fallen in Operation Sea Lion (which I agree is extremely unlikely to have happened but I'm talking worst of the worst case scenario). Hitler did seem throughout the war to have a bit of an ego problem. I could very likely see him looking at Canada in a revenge scenario and wanting to take them out after siding with England being that they could not go behind the "but we're a colony" excuse, anymore. A German invasion of Canada would have certainly provoked the USA to move to defense for its own interest considering proximity and FDR as well as MacKenzie King had already been making plans for ways to defend North America from German invasion if necessary. So I imagine that the inevitability of war with the USA is more than just a musing, it would be an almost certainty in any scenario.
On your trip to England could you explore one of my 18th great grandfather's castles that he had constructed? Ashby De La Zouch and Kirby Muxloe are two that still have some construction standing today after 500+ years. If it's too far out of the way I understand. Love your content btw.
"Was it possible for these guys to take over the world?" "Not for THESE guys, it wasn't." Fascists always come strong out of the gate, but they never have the internal fortitude to go the distance.
Found you with TH-cam algorithm and im happy af ! As a history love this is trully fascinating channel Greetings from Georgia (not the state but the country ) !
Yay, happy to see you reacted to both vids!!!! Keep up the great stuff man, would love to see more alternate history hub stuff. He has a load you would love!
The Germans were very correct that they couldn't do it when they gave up on Sealion. You can even boil it down to a single number of a specific type of equipment. Op Overlord: Air Superiority - Yes, Naval Superiority - Yes, Landing Craft - Hundreds; Operation Sealion: Air Superiority - Questionable, Naval Superiority - No, Landing Craft - 2 prototypes.
I've got to say. I "found" your channel via TH-cam Algorithm. It been awhile since TH-cam suggested anything good. Your content is very educational and crucial. History is extremely important. Thank you for all you do sir!
I found it the same way and I agree 100%
facts
Same here.
If you really agree that History is extremely important., you REALLY gotta click the sub/bell icons on youtube(dot)com/Playitalready because he's working on some epic vids showing some amazing facts about ancient History that you probably weren't told. I'd pay $ to see a historian react to that, and I'm not alone.
Those vids may take ages to make so in the meantime, it'd be better than nothing if you can watch his main vid about eternal religion/science part 1 (and its description) and then maybe his "Ancient Eastern Secrets, Missles..." vid.
I'll probably, eventually, notice and read all comments IF it's on his channel's vids, or on my channel.
This was me today 100%
@@airplayrule wtf are u talking
The invasion of the SU was actually done at the perfect time for Germany. The reorganization of the armed forces in the Soviet Union meant that the forces were at their weakest around 1941. Had Hitler invaded later, he would've gotten a much worse war as the Soviet troops would be at a much higher readiness state.
Completely agree. In support of your argument I offer that the Soviets had just learned a hard lesson in Finland about (not) coordinating armor with infantry and Stalin had just murdered a bunch of his generals. Given time - maybe a year - they would have been able to finish the reorganization you speak of.
plus, it was summer, and the german army was pretty much regarded to be invincible by how it defeated it's opponents. with hindsight it's pretty easy to say otherwise, but at the time everything was looking up for the germans
No, if they had actually defeated their enemies on the western front and in africa before fighting the Soviets it would’ve gone much better
Not saying a land invasion of the UK that would be impossible, I’m saying focus on their colonies and try to repair after that gigantic hit to the air force (navy is a lost cause), it certainly is not impossible to have forced UK into submission
It is completely realistic that Hitler takes a step back and moves back the invasion to pursue oil in the Middle East
Heck he might even think its smart to try to start another revolution like in WWI and focuses on africa instead
What I’m saying is that the dude in this video keeps trying to emphasize the nazis thought in such an extreme way that those are the decisions they would make
But if they are so extreme there are literally dozens of realities where they make different weird decisions
He doesn’t actually know what alternate history is, he confuses it with literal real history, his entire point is “they wouldn’t of done that that’s not how they thiught ” NO KIDDING WE KNOW THEY WOULD NOT OF DONE IT BECAUSE THEY DIDNT DO IT
Alternate history is literally alternate meaning different, he tries to make it literally the exact same
@@kingmac6638 no. Had they done that they would've smashed their noses into a reformed Soviet Union army that would easily hold them at bay in a defensive war.
@@Heldermaior No, with the full force of the German military and everything under wraps in the west Germany would have had a much better time than they did ( and still lost)
The army being reformed doesnt change anything really, all the most able micro commanders were killed, unless it happend 10 years later then no, the Soviet army wouldnt stand a chance on the first year
You should do more of Potential History's videos, especially the tank videos, which is his specialty. In them, he helps explain why the different nations made their tanks the way they did and dispels common misconceptions made about them.
I agree on this! This would be very fun to watch a reaction on to also understand the economics and political standpoint that affected the armored aspect for warfare. In general, Potential History reactions is a must!
@@crazyand2099 He had a Winter War video?
@@crazyand2099 it got deleted? Why?
@@crazyand2099 I'm going to watch it now.
Did he make a video about how terrible the t34 actually is instead of praising it like gods gift to tankery?
24:12 I'd argue Britain was more prepared in 1940 to fight an amphibious landing than Germany was.
British naval defences have always been very extensive and well made in British history, but after the command chain shock of losing France so quickly, The British reacted with extreme paranoia.
Where I live there are known defensive bunkers next to the border of Scotland. Churchill taking over is really demonstrative of this shift, going from "oh no take it please mr Hitler we don't want war" to we will sacrifice our empire if it means killing Hitler.
Southern England was *very* well fortified and Stalin level measures would have been taken to keep Jerry out of here, can't confirm but I hear Churchill greenlighted the idea of using poison gas on English beaches if Germans showed up.
The Atlantik wall was huge, and numerically and totally more powerful than the British beach defences, but that was because it had to be. Vulnerable coastline in Europe was much more to defend than just southern England, pretty much the only choice for a potential suicidal German charge. And I'd argue per kilometer, the German defences were often more lacking, with 2nd rate troops and equipment being used more often, and each potential landing zone defended worse. The Americans metaphorically almost just walked into Utah beach unopposed for example. That would have been impossible in 1940 England
My point is usually 1 they dont have the ships or supplies 2 Invading English beaches for the most part would be a bitch
Considering the situation with the Coventry bombings I have no trouble believing Churchill was opposed to using poison gas
Indeed. What you said about D-Day is correct too. The idea of D-Day in a lot of people's minds is Omaha Beach, where everything went wrong because the Americans drifted south of their intended landing zone and ran into the worst possible defenses and terrain. All the other beaches were taken with relatively few casualties.
The Canadians even surpassed their goal for the day and made it so far inland that I heard one anecdote from a veteran where a German soldier saluted a Canadian tank before realizing it was not German and diving for cover.
The real battle came later, in the Normandy hedgerows, but even then the outcome was never in doubt.
@@squamish4244 yep. Omaha was a complete disaster in every way, but the others certainly weren’t. I mean even the one where they had to ascend up a cliff wasn’t as bad as Omaha, but Omaha is the famous one of course..
@@Mgbn78 One thing they couldn't show in SPR because it just wouldn't work cinematically is that the entire first wave at Omaha was wiped out. Hanks and co. would have been in the second wave.
Actually, alot of Nazi sympathisers do spread the claim Germany let the British escape on Dunkirk as an act of mercy
yeah and the french between british men and the german army were just there to eat baguette
Now hold on, I think it's a bit unfair to generalize the people who claim that myth as Nazi sympathisers, most of them are just wrongly informed people.
@@edenub6791 And he didn't. He said that alot of Nazi sympathisers spread the myth, not that everyone that believe it are sympathisers
@@Aragorn195 huh, must have misread it.
Went to the comments to see if anyone made this point
The thing that I love about your channel is not only that you love to help fill in the gaps to give us a better understanding but also that you are so welcoming of other perspectives and that you genuinely are willing to learn from things people have to say in the comments. It’s a very refreshing thing to see on the Internet, especially on TH-cam.
It's slowly becoming a ritual for me to eat a late night snack while watching your videos
Same
late night snacks bad
same except for just my entire dinner.
same here....
Same
Another point about Sea Lion - the landings in Normandy took place on “friendly” soil occupied by the enemy. Germany would be landing directly on the home soil of their enemy, which ratchets up the degree of mobilization taking place directly around their landing zone. Imagine the allies trying to establish a beachhead not in Normandy, but directly on Germany’s beaches in the North Sea.
We only need to look at Okinawa to see how hard that would be, and Okinawa was with massive air, navy and number superiority, the Germans had neither
Your final comment is always so important when discussing this topic. So many arguments and debates can be stopped from happening and save everybody's time if we just get to that point of "could Germany have won in our reality, or are we going to change reality to reach for some possibility?"
It took British Brains, American Steel, and Russian Blood to win the war - Joseph Stalin
Edit: I just wanted to add another quote from Stalin.
As long as we keep sending in more men , eventually the enemy will run out of ammo - Joseph Stalin
I see I'm not the only one who likes that quote
*Sad Charles de Gaulle noises*
The one and only time that I agree with Stalin
British brain - you mean Market Garden?
@@joaquingarciameschio9582 Basicly all decryption they did but also being the bulk of the allied Airforce for much of the war
You are pure gold. So far, this is the best channel I’ve found in 2021.
Heart
As a history buff, your channel is one of the best the algorithm threw my way in a long while :D
I just hate how much I like procrastinating watching you. Damn you for delaying me working on my dissertation.
This guy has taught me more history then my past history teacher’s
Not trying to rag on the guy but he's just reacting to videos other people have made. He's not really teaching people things, rather he's just commenting on others work.
We’re they actually history teachers? 😛
@@Ben-fk9ey just because you only watch him react doesnt mean thats all he makes. and also in these reactions he typically says whether or not things in the video is actually true
Clearly your English teacher didn’t teach you jack shit
You must have had some real shit teachers (or not paid attention in class) if a reaction channel taught you more than actual school.
I have had some amazing history teachers (and some shitty ones).
“There are people who say there hitler”
*Quietly slides out of the conversation*
I think my favorite part about your channel, is just how personable and relatable you are. Obviously I only know you from the content you have put on TH-cam, but I do feel that you are a genuine guy, that I could see myself being friends with in the real world. I have also gained a better understanding of history, and I feel like you have opened up a lot of peoples eyes, mine included, to a different perspective on how to look at and talk about history. Love your content, keep up the great stuff! And I am really looking forward to that oversimplified reaction to the Cold War.
I really appreciate this channel and everything that it stands for, as well as the content going into it. I can tell that you really do care about your subscribers and creators like that are few and far in between. If I might suggest a channel I think you’d enjoy, I would suggest Ushanka Show, he discusses life in the Soviet Union and analyzes old KGB documents as well. It’s a really great channel.
Once again, thank you for being such a great content creator,
A. Wilkerson
Nice that you are finising the series! Cant wait for more content :)
I've been following since last week and my Forte in high-school was World War II I've got an A+ on world history and brought a Tiger Tank as a project for my class to talk about WWII. I love this channel! I love history! Keep up the work!
I just found this channel and I love it! Fantastic commentary. I love listening to historians talk about WW2, the individuals in charge, and how alliances could have played out. Finally something good I've found on TH-cam!!!!!
Huzzah! So good to see you continuing the series!
Hi...really enjoyed this one...so glad you chose to do part 2 immediately instead of waiting.
I commented on the first one about similar stuff, specifically Hitler declaring war on the US. You talked about the German Navy wanting unrestricted warfare so they could sink US ships, but it went even beyond that. In the summer of 1941, the US had drastically escalated their defensive and offensive actions in the Atlantic. The US had taken over the occupation of Iceland from the British, and had declared that US protected waters extended to cover that island...which meant the US had declared half the Atlantic as being US waters. Then, Roosevelt declared unrestricted warfare against all German ships anywhere in US protected waters, and by the end of the summer, US destroyers were actively escorting convoys all the way across the Atlantic to ports in Britain. Then, in September, the USA officially signed the Atlantic Charter and committed to the defeat of Nazism. In Hitler's mind, FDR had already declared war on him before he declared war on the US. 🖖💯✌
Man, your content is virtually unmatched when it comes to historical facts, your own opinions, and context. You’re very well-versed and knowledgeable in your field. What I like most about your vids is that you’re always dang near spot on with everything that you put out, and when it comes to your opinions on certain topics, you’re so logical and able to articulate your point that it’s almost impossible to disagree with you. You said that you read every comment and I know that this is an old video but I hope that you see this. Love your stuff man!!! Especially the WW2 stuff and the trivia 🤙
Anyone who disagrees with you enough to leave a nasty comment is either very uneducated or just a troll. Probably both. Maybe even a troglodyte.
Really good content and reaction - I really liked what you were both saying about changing the motivations and behaviours of everyone involved and how that's just not alternate history. For me, it's like when people say "if Titanic hit the iceberg head on, it wouldn't have sunk," as if any officer seeing an iceberg would just steer straight into it on its maiden voyage and kill hundreds of passengers. For it to be relevant and realistic, and most importantly credible, it has to be within what that person could reasonably do based on how they behaved in reality.
The allies at normandy also had complete secrecy with all the other advantages. Also you should react to The armchair historian he has some good content,
Not only that but they also manipulated the Germans. They had an entire fake battalion in Calais with a fake radio station with infantry marching, basically doing everything they could to convince that the main invasion was coming from Calais with a small diversion in Normandy
@@mahmoud6843 that’s is also true
@@judepruitt7622 slight mistake I made. The fake army was in Britain in the area closest to Calais. Sorry
Would be nice if you did Epic History TV World War 1 videos.
Yes. One of the best WW1 documentary on TH-cam.
He did one on Epic history tv but he got a strike
He did? shame
I really gotta say. These videos of yours, many books I’ve read like The Prince, Art of War (Both by Sun Tzu and Machiavelli, Machiavelli also did art of war but with his own touch and language) really do inspire me to become a historian and writer. Keep on doing these vids, their great, and really ignite a passion.
I've found your channel few days ago and together with oversimplified you allowed me to refresh my memory on history about many different times and places which I am very thankful for. Being Polish I do sometimes get teary and sad listening to the facts that brought the world to a peaceful state which I am so thankful to be able to experience. You are very knowledgeable and never biased when explaining things and I do have huge amounts of respect for how you lead your channels to success. Hope it will only go forward and that we will never have to add up more devastating pieces to the history for future People to learn. I am very fascinated with 1700-current history and wish that one day I could know about it as much you do.
I've watched some of your videos regarding reactions to WW1 and WW2 videos posted by other youtubers and I am delighted by your reasoning and opinions as well as the arguments you mention during these reactions. I appreciate your well done content and so I do believe I have to subscribe! Keep up the great work! 🤝 Greetings from Romania!
I love your content so much it helped reinvigorate my love for history so now I think I may pursue a career as a historian.
As someone who is literally starting that path in 17 days. I recommend it
A odd amount of people actually believe he let them leave Dunkirk. I've met a few, not many but a few.
There is speculation that he hoped a dignified withdrawal would encourage Britain to change sides. Hess flew here to broker peace. Hitler wanted us to join Operation Barbarossa invading the Soviet Union from India through Afghanistan.
Congrats on 50k!
Who else got nostalgia shivers when you saw the medal of honor allied assault main menu?
It's really funny how much I've learned about war and history from video games...
You're a great source of good information. If I was a teacher I would assign your videos as homework for my students (given I teach middle/high school).
Keep in keepin on!
Really love this channel i'm a big fan of history in general, most of my spare time is studying history. I can't be happy enough finding this channel few months ago. Awesome work keep going !
The BEF at Dunkirk were only part of the British Forces in France. Majority left with their equipment in Cherbourg.
Also the British ANti-Invasion defences were far larger than the "Atlantic Wall", because we didn;t rely upon a single defensive line.
I recomend you research CiC Edmund Ironside and his replacement CiC Alan Brooke
I usually don't watch reaction videos. but your reaction videos, the knowledge you add, i love it.
These are some of my favourite videos on the internet. Keep up the good work man! Would love it if you reviewed some more of Extra history (Great Northern war and their WW2 series perhaps?) cause they make some of the most detailed and skilled historic videos on this platform. Im so glad I found this channel.
Your sentiments about respectfully disagreeing remind me of a quote from the movie Troy, from Priam to Achilles:
“You’re still my enemy tonight, but even enemies can have respect.”
That thing about comments just shows how good of a person he is
I'm so happy i found this channel, i subscribed just after i watched 1 video 😂, i'm enjoying the videos so much. Keeps me educated and even motivated aswell. Thank you for the amazing content!
Yay finally !!! I have always wanted some good context on the German invasion of the Soviet Union scenario. I often try to debate with anyone who will listen my thoughts on the subject . I love that I have found this channel and I think you do a great job. Excellent video as always.
6:36 I remember hearing about it in some of the old documentaries in the 90's. These were the same documentaries that pushed some of the myths discussed in the previous video, particularly about taking Moscow.
Germany picked a fight with too many stronger powers at once.
none of them were stronger alone
@@darklysm8345 I think the US and Soviet Union were plenty stronger than them from the start.
@@TheSkyGuy77 none were singley stronger. Start of WW2 the US military was not even top 10
@@thehorsecockexpress1068
Industrially, the US and Soviets were stronger.
In population count, both were stronger.
Navy wise, the US was stronger.
Germany could not win against both powers crashing down upon them at the same time. Even more so with 20 smaller allies.
@@darklysm8345 Both the USSR and USA were stronger alone
While people do tend to underestimate the overwhelming weight of economic and demographic forces opposed to the Axis that made victory exceedingly unlikely - I'd never say impossible when it comes to history. Many stranger things have happened and could have happened. Churchill being ousted, Stalin being assassinated/overthrown, FDR dying, Germany more effectively coordinating the economic resources of Europe, Japan providing a timely distraction in Siberia in light of any of the above, etc. could have thrown things in doubt overnight. Hitler was only doomed *if* the Americas and the Soviet Union both retained the will to fight on until the bitter end and didn't fight amongst themselves or seek their own separate advantage, no matter what. And that's not always a given.
Hey @Vlogging Through History I enjoy your content a lot. WW2 is one of my favorite periods of history to study and learn about (The second being the Medieval Era; Feudal Europe and the Dark Ages). So when I heard you speak about the comments here I wanted to share some of my thoughts I've collected over watching several of your videos covering WW2. One thing is I learned about the oil demand in Germany, while I knew oil was pretty scarce in Germany, I had no idea that it wasn't as bad as it seemed when you mentioned in your Part 1 Video "They could have used the oil they had to fight the Western Allies." I had always felt like attacking the Soviet Union was going to be a necessity to keep the German War Machine going, so this was an interesting insight that got my brain turning.
With that being said though, I would love to hear your thoughts on some of your theories how Germany could have won the war.
- I definitely agree with the statement, a war with Russia was inevitable. The ideologies was always going to cause a war. But personally, I think the Germans could have waited on that. Take advantage of the tentative peace they had, collected the resources they got from trading, buffered the Great Atlantic Wall and possibly could have repelled the allies in Africa to collect some of Great Britain's oil fields. Had Germany adopted the allies' idea of "Europe First" but instead "The West First" it could've changed things. Here's why I think that:
- Many historians will elude to the idea that Great Britain was close to capitulating during the bombing campaigns. Had Hitler just continued to bomb the airfields and their Radar Defense Array along the coastlines, it very well could have turned the public opinion against Churchill and likely forced the government to vote him out in favor of someone who would call for a peace treaty. Could Germany have actually invaded Great Britain? Absolutely not, their navy was just vastly inferior to Great Britain, but the air supremacy definitely could have made them seek a ceasefire where Hitler could have turned them into a puppet state much like Vichy France and collected even more resources for the war effort to then turn their attention on Stalin. However, this is still reliant on IF they can hold the line in Africa and IF they can make Great Britain surrender in time before the Americans inevitably declare war on them, which could be "possible", Rommel was, in my opinion, an amazing leader overall in the Africa Campaign. However, point still being, Italy under Mussolini was...as Churchill put it, "Germany's soft underbelly." so we still have to think that the South was going to be a lost cause no matter what.
- Now with Great Britain out of the picture (going off the assumption the Germans are able to hold the line in Africa and keep America out of the war long enough) and the West secured, Germany would obviously turn it's attention to their Political Rival, Stalin. No longer enduring allied bombings of Berlin and their factories, Germany could possibly start churning out more tanks and airplanes, possibly even invest into the new "Wonder Weapons" everyone talks about. The question still remains, could Russia be taken over? This is where I get hesitant in my answer. Stalin was a dictator with an iron stranglehold over his people. The Red Army was deathly loyal to their country, look at Stalingrad where Commissars threw wave after wave after wave of men into the city, across the Volga, to turn into fodder against German Machine Guns, even obeying the doctrine of "Not One Step Back" where Stalin ordered his men to shoot anyone who retreated as they were to be seen as cowards and traitors who betrayed The Motherland. These men and women were totally insane, but this is the effect Stalin had over them, the effect of Nationalism. So invading Russia would still turn into a Total War doctrine where the Germans would have to fight city to city, town by town, house by house, door by door. I do think eventually another civil war would erupt to overthrow Stalin, but I have to give this one to the Soviets, I don't think the Germans would be able to outlast Russian Stubbornness long enough to see a civil war happen, especially if they have to defeat them before Winter sets in. I personally do not think anything changes in the decision making from the Real Timeline to this Alternate Timeline.
Let me know what you think, where you disagree, or where you think there is some legitimacy in my theories. As a disclaimer, this is all a pretty thrown together theory. I have absolutely zero desire to see a world where Hitler could have won.
Congratulations to my fellow Swede for winning the giveaway!
I found this and part one via TH-cam recommendations. I must say, im very happy I did! Love your content and appreciate that I now how a channel to see discussion about WW2 "what if" scenarios. I'm happily hitting the subscribe button. Thank you!
Great video, man! I'm greatly enjoying your content and commentary on this video. Keep it up!
I just stumbled across your channel and I have found we both have a profound love for History! Been binging your videos all weekend! Can’t wait for more.
The song Horse Soldier, Horse Soldier by Corb Lund would be absolutely amazing to see you react to. It’s a brief run through of some of the most notable cavalry engagements in history and it would be cool to hear you talk about the units and battles that the song mentions in more detail!
I really want to see that now, great song
Good thing I found this channel. I really like this stuff but I find the channels that usually cover it to focus too much on trying to be snarky and funny instead of portraying history in a straight forward and non-biased way
Subscribed!
The medal of honor vanguard music brought back so many memories it was my first shooter game my papa though me how to play
Just found this channel via youtube's algo, the way you speak about things and the way you respectfully disagree and add things to the conversation of the video makes the video all the more interesting. I can't help but think of a possibility of you doing a collab with Potential History and how awesome it would be. Regardless good vid keep it up
Hey, yesterday i watched a video about myterious weapons from the germans in ww2 (i gues it was called "18 incredible fururistic german weapons" or so). There are wire guided air to air rockets and such stuff. Maybe someone like you who have the knowlege can talk a bit about these things :D
Respect your channel and enjoy content
I would love it you did a history based book club! Where we read a book about a historical time/event or a auto/biography based on a historical figure!
Awesome Work Bro 👍 Greetings from Helsinki Finland 🇫🇮🇺🇸🇫🇮🇺🇸
These videos remind me of history class in high school, good times
Your content is awesome, I now listen to it when doing anything around the house or driving somewhere, you make learning about history that much more enjoyable :D
I've always loved history, but sadly I've never had a teacher who seemed to care much about teaching it
I found these vids from the yt algorithm from watching oversimplified and I loved it. You add stuff that other don't have time to add or forget to add
Again yay, congrats on 50k
I like your commentary on these videos as it adds an additional element and I learn more
Military History Visualized did an excellent video on the viability of Operation Sea Lion. He makes lots of good points, but in the end there’s one where no amount of luck of the dice were going to change things - logistics. Even with a largely unchallenged landing (followed by resistance) you would have had the issues of resupplying a major force by sea against the focused armed forces of Great Britain supplied by the majority of its economy by land.
Short of capitulation - something totally inconsistent with Britain’s character - Germany was never going to win that sort of conflict even with early victories.
found your Ultimate General series and subscribed ever since.Cheers from Estonia
"It would take them longer to mobilise than it did" is hitlers motto, lol.
Love these videos man. Been awhile since TH-cam has suggested someone worth watching. Keep up the great work. Wish you the best
May I suggest watching the Kantai Kessen video by Drachinifel? It is an interesting look at the Japanese naval doctrine and why the decisive naval battle was not possible.
You Should do a Podcast; I would listen to it everyday.
have to agree, every point i was going to make starts with "if nazis were not natzis" thats just required for germany to have any scenario where they end up with fighting chance.
The reason why I and many other people watch History teachers or Historians on TH-cam is that it fits with the location to get your info, I watch you guys because you guys are fairly decent people who have actual knowledge and background on what is being talked about. I also love how you have admitted that you dont know all which is an important point to make. I am an aspiring History teacher and I have met people who dont know what they are saying but are either too proud, nervous, scared, or stupid to accept the fact that people can be wrong especially in a sense of power. Even with my act of learning and remembering aspects and key historical events that many people dont remember, I am human and I strive for people to call me out if I was wrong about it (I dont want them to waddle and whimper that I was wrong nor yell and insult me for being a complete dumbass). Just as you said, those comments dont help out in the discussion as a whole. Some of these videos you are discussing are made by those who have that same passion and strive for facts and a clearer narrative so we can advance the conversation onto something else and more. I think I said enough, dont know if you will read this for being a couple weeks old, but keep up the reviews mate, cheers
I find that we live in a culture that demand perfection and not being wrong on certain topics but not only that we demand moral perfection and can't allow ourselfs to be wrong or have views that majority of people disagree with, I think this breeds resentment towards history and how people remember it, the phrase ''history is written by the victors'' spring to mind, the phrase is both right and wrong, it's wrong in that historians try their best to be as accurate as possible from multiple sources and review eachother's works, while it's incorrect because how historians right about history and how the general public and society remembers it and how it reacts to things like it is made by the victors not historians and I think this is why some people want their side or people they are accociated with to be good or not as bad as people think.
Time to throw my own little suggestion into the hat. If you want to check out more Potential History vids, then let me suggest "The Winter War: The War that Became a Meme". I find that one to be quite an interesting watch. Also their "Meme Tanks" videos are really interesting if you want to give those a look as well.
Love seeing a new video from VTH
I luv this guy + ive been here since 15k subs.
Hey I recently found your channel and am really interested in it. I started to study History and Anglistics in Germany and started to binge all your videos. I look forward to see more.
Here's a question for you: Has there ever been a war that would have been won if a single decision hadn't been made? Sure, many that would likely have been avoided (e.g., Treaty of Versailles), but I am curious if you know of one where a leader "would have won" if he had/hadn't done some one thing.
Technically neapolean 1st , neapolean 3rd and Bismarck was one of main reason if we see by modern times
Maybe the war between Ceaser and Pompey?
American Revolution could have been lost if Casmir Pulaski hadn’t rallied the American Cavalry and charging which saved Washington from being encircled in Long Island which could have ended the revolution.
Also the Soviets could have won the Soviet Polish war had Stalin had an IQ above 7.
There is some evidence that the "halt" was triggered by a combination of pressures. One was Hitler allowing Goering to take a first shot. The other was reluctance to commit armor to the attack by Von Ronstat and Kleist. This hesitance was partially due to Flanders marshes but also because Charles De Gaulle led an offensive at abberville which he lost but in the process killed a shocking (to the germans at least) number of tanks. Reportedly this made Kleist in particular skittish about the Marshes where the tanks would have been more vulnerable than at Abberville.
I really enjoyed watching both of those videos! 👍🏻
I have a question for you. I know it's completely hypothetical and comes right out of fantasy land, but what if the German army never took any POWs in the Soviet Campaign? I don't mean the Wehrmacht should have shot them dead immediately though. What if they would have just disarmed them and taken their military equipment (boots, helmets, uniforms etc.)? After that those men, that surrendered to German forces where allowed to go wherever they pleased.
I read about this strategy somewhere, sadly I forgot it. A Chinese general never took POWs, but released them right after they surrendered and handed over their weapons. They just had to promise that they never would fight him again. This went so far, that entire armies surrendered to him without firing a single arrow, because they knew he would spare them. So they could go back to their families unharmed. With his attitude he won the war.
I would be really interested what you got to say about this.
Nice idea, but fighting for the motherland was not simply a choice for the soldiers. If you were an able-bodied male of fighting age, you would be forced to fight, unless given exemptions for other essential work. So you may have survived the Germans, but you weren’t going to survive your countrymen.
Let's say the Germans let them home and join their families but you forgot the fact that Russia was led by freaking Stalin! He would send you back, or to Gulag or kill you right off.
I am normally not a fan of "Guy reacts to the hard work of other content creators", yet you do a fine job of adding to the work and I appreciate that sir.
Can you watch The Cuban Missile Crisis Day by Day by TimeGhost History, please?
This is a good one as time ghost is probably my favourite for small snippets of events and covering things. My overall favourite episode of theirs is the between two wars on how hitler won the Olympics. That’s a video I would recommend
@@wesleywilkinson6629 The content put forth by TimeGhost, and before it just Indy, on WW1, WW2, and their between-two-wars series are excellent. Some of the most informative stuff on TH-cam.
20:30 yea, he’s pretty good. He is no Lazerpig. He actually shows his sources and doesn’t screech when pushed too.
Germany could not win WWII. No matter what Germany did they lost when they invaded Poland. Winning a war is logistics plain and simple. War is not romantic. Bravery, élan and small squad tactics have no influence on war. It's logistics, nothing else.
I would like to see you do an analysis of a video on the changes caused by the war on the home front especially the gearing up of production and the reactions of some industrial leaders. Thank you.
The problem with the whole “just don’t attack the Soviets thing” is that the Soviets would have also attacked the Nazis eventually. Stalin was waiting for the German war machine to collapse on the Western front, then, once he smelled blood, he’d go in for the kill
This.
Another issue is Hitler's paranoia. Winston Churchill had sent Stalin a letter asking about the possibility of Russia invading Germany. Stalin showed this letter to Hitler, hoping it'd strengthen their relationship and buy Russia more time, however it did the exact opposite, causing Hitler to form a conspiracy theory of Stalin and Churchill working together, and Britain only holding strong out of hopes that Russia would come to their rescue. In Hitler's eyes, he would have to invade the Soviet Union in order to knock Britain out of the war.
Re: Dunkrik, I have seen people suggesting that the BEF where allowed to leave by Hitler as a sort of peace offering to try and get the British to drop out of the war after the French were beaten. This was even something I heard on History Channel shows when I was a teen so I imagine its a myth that has persisted for awhile now.
You should react to some of Mark Felton Production’s videos. They are really interesting!
I think Felton's videos are tho narrow to expand on. So would be really hard.
Thanks for the videos VTH
Great video man, and thank you for all the amazing content you make.
I have two question/comments.
The first being the impossibility of the invasion of britain. The way I always heard it, was that the RAF was at breaking point shortly before the germans moved their focus to civilian targets. So if they would not have changed focus, wouldn't the air supremacy of the Brits falter? Then the focus could be shifted to naval targets to at least hurt the navy bad enough for the landing. I don't believe the British isles would be easy to hold of it were possible to conquer them at all. I am also certain that this would not have ended the war, or even would have enabled Germany to win in the end, but it would change a lot.
Second thing, are you going to finish your reaction to God's and Generals video, or are you letting that one go?
Again: thanks for all the great content!
I recently found your channels, great vids!
Given what the Germans were going up against, they were lucky to get as far as they did.
@Jonathan Dupuy More like they are lucky to get so far today after what they did.
They still could win
@@darklysm8345 lol nope
@@CriftPro lmao germans only were two obejtives away from victory, one is caucasus and the other is Moscow
@@darklysm8345 No. Even if the Germans had captured Moscow, the Soviets were going to continue fighting. And if the Germans had actually captured the Caucasus, they would of had to rebuild the oil wells after the Soviets would have destroyed them, which would have taken time the Germans couldn't afford. The Germans also lacked the logistical ability to transport large quantities of oil from the Caucasus while the war was still going on.
Late but i remember british bombing worked initially due to germany being being more mobilised at the start with and having more planes available for strategic bombings having an early superiority in the channel until a decision was made (not sure by hitler or not) to change targets towards British cities to lower morale which failed. This allowed britiain to rebuild thair airforce and ever since maintained air superiority
You mentioned the inevitability of fighting the USA. I think that inevitability is a bit more likely than you mentioned. Mostly through geography and degrees of separation. Canada was long in the war by the time the USA was brought in. Further, Canada was in the war as a sovereign nation rather than a British colony unlike WW1, proof being the choice by Canadian parliament to declare war 1 week later than England.
So let's pretend a hypothetically scenario where England has fallen in Operation Sea Lion (which I agree is extremely unlikely to have happened but I'm talking worst of the worst case scenario). Hitler did seem throughout the war to have a bit of an ego problem. I could very likely see him looking at Canada in a revenge scenario and wanting to take them out after siding with England being that they could not go behind the "but we're a colony" excuse, anymore. A German invasion of Canada would have certainly provoked the USA to move to defense for its own interest considering proximity and FDR as well as MacKenzie King had already been making plans for ways to defend North America from German invasion if necessary. So I imagine that the inevitability of war with the USA is more than just a musing, it would be an almost certainty in any scenario.
Congratulations on 50k man 🎉
Whoa are we gonna breeze past how his daughter apparently has a TH-cam channel w more subscribers than him?
which channel is it
Yeah which is it
On your trip to England could you explore one of my 18th great grandfather's castles that he had constructed? Ashby De La Zouch and Kirby Muxloe are two that still have some construction standing today after 500+ years. If it's too far out of the way I understand. Love your content btw.
"Was it possible for these guys to take over the world?"
"Not for THESE guys, it wasn't."
Fascists always come strong out of the gate, but they never have the internal fortitude to go the distance.
A candle that burns bright and fast
Found you with TH-cam algorithm and im happy af ! As a history love this is trully fascinating channel
Greetings from Georgia (not the state but the country ) !
Germany couldn't win cause they didn't have a significant surface Navy. The best they could have done is captured a huge island called Europe.
Yay, happy to see you reacted to both vids!!!! Keep up the great stuff man, would love to see more alternate history hub stuff. He has a load you would love!
The Germans were very correct that they couldn't do it when they gave up on Sealion. You can even boil it down to a single number of a specific type of equipment. Op Overlord: Air Superiority - Yes, Naval Superiority - Yes, Landing Craft - Hundreds; Operation Sealion: Air Superiority - Questionable, Naval Superiority - No, Landing Craft - 2 prototypes.
I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS KEEP GOING PLEASE!