The Insane Move Germany Never Expected America to Make
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ต.ค. 2024
- By 1942, everything seemed to be going according to plan for the Wehrmacht. The German troops were dashing across Eastern Europe and Russia towards Stalingrad and the Caucasus, and the Soviets were desperately reeling before the onslaught.
Meanwhile, in Northern Africa, General Erwin Rommel had pushed the commonwealth forces back to Egypt, demonstrating the remarkable capabilities of German armed tactics.
Because of these victories, Hitler felt confident that the United States would mainly focus their efforts on the Pacific Theater, giving the Germans enough time to capture the Soviet oil fields that would supply their eventual confrontation against each other.
However, something unexpected happened.
In November, German and Italian intelligence detected a significant build-up of Allied ships near Gibraltar, but Germany disregarded the warning as simply another supply convoy to reinforce Malta.
The Italians, however, were not so sure, and they pleaded with Germany to investigate the anomaly. Still, Hitler had lost all faith in the Italians by then, and he refused their request.
The decision would prove costly for Germany, as what they believed to be a supply convoy was actually a transport fleet carrying 65,000 US servicemen, commanded by Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Operation Torch, the first American incursion on the Mediterranean, was about to begin…
As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Docs sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect. I do my best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Docs is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas. -
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Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was just as much of a badass as his father. He was the only General to go ashore in the first wave on D-Day despite being 56 years old and walking with a cane due to injuries he suffered in WW1. He not only survived his quick thinking in redeploying troops as they came ashore kept Utah beach from becoming the same mess that happened Omaha. He got the Medal of Honor for that and then died in his sleep of a heart attack a month later.
Death also had to wait till JR was asleep, he was too scared from trying to take Senior awake many many times.
Thanks for that small bio, j want to read more about him
What a story. Thank you.
TRJR did all this while being the unwanted political general. He had actively complaigned against FDR before the war. He was reassigned after kasserine pass because he was too lax on discipline and known to a soldiers officer. He was still suffering from his wounds in France in 1918. All around tough man who loved his country and died to protect it.
Maybe even more so!
My uncle was in the North African campaign in the Army 34th Red Bull division. He won a Silver Star for rescuing a soldier under machine gun fire in a public square.
Later, he was in the campaign for Rome. He was KIA near Mt. Pantano Italy. He's buried in the American Military Cemetery in Nettuno near Anzio with 7,800 other Americans. It includes a memorial for the 3,600+ MIAs in the Sicily-Rome campaign.
Never forget
34 Red Bull infantry motto is:
"Attack, Attack, Attack!"
1 of my great uncles was in North Africa, made it through the entire war. He was a Norwegian immigrant than became a US citizen. He came through physically unscathed. But when he cane back from the war he was always a bit jumpy. Uncle Olaf was his name. May he RIP.
He did not win a silver star. He was awarded a silver star. There is a huge difference.
@@bubbatime How many years were you in the Army?
Hand Salute to your uncle! ~2D Marine Recon "Doc"
Those German soldiers that got re-routed from Stalingrad to North Africa got really, really lucky. Arguably a better fate in my opinion.
At least the ones who survived to be taken prisoner. The ones who died, not so much.
@@RicktheCrofter the germans lost 1.5 million "POW" in the aftermath of ww2. Another genocide but history is written by the victors.
If they get to Eastern front Im sure the Stalingrad debacle would be different. Lots of equipment and manpower was sunk in Meditterranian. If those materials got in Eastern Front and Western Front that would be a bigger trouble for Allies later on.
Yeah, especially the ones who surrendered
@@sirmiles1820 The number of tanks the Germans lost wouldn't have made any difference on the Eastern Front, they only lost a couple dozen Tigers on those convoys. By August 1942, Rommel had only received 27 Panzer IV Ausf. F2s, armed with the L/43 gun.Germany never had enough tanks to win...period The US alone out produced Germany 10-1 and it as the same for the USSR. The only reason Germany got as far into the USSR as they did as because the USSR's doctrine sucked.
My wife’s uncle was in the Italian army and decided to surrender to the Americans. He was sent to the south and loved being in an American prison camp. He was given a uniform and had freedom to move around. He would drive into town and pick up supplies. The local girls like the Italian boys because there were no men around. He of course married an American girl and became a citizen. Rosario was a real nice guy. I liked him.
Sweet story. many similar
My mother worked in a POW admistratrion, she did the payroll for the POWs. As my mom would tell it they would pay the pows for being pows and extra if they took jobs on the local farms and what have you. The camp she worked at was in WI .
@@GeorgeSemel An amazing story!
Yes, back in the 70s I had a couple friends who were German POWs who never went home after the war. One told me he was 15 when they sent him to the front lines in central France. He said the Canadian POW camp was a big improvement over army life.
It was a similar story here in Australia. One funny incident had an Italian prisoner arriving back at the prison camp to late and the gates were locked. He banged on the gates until he woke the guards up to let him back IN! He had been having dinner with his Australian girlfriend and her family!
My father and the whole battalion was captured in North Africa by Field Marshal Rommel.
Then, flown to Capua Italy.
Then, on trains to Germany.
Then, marched to the Camp of blood and the Commandant was refered to as the screamer.
My father spent most of the war in Stalag 2B, but escaped in February of 1945.
He made it to freedom in April 1945.
That is the short version, but the longer version of his interment was horrendous.
My father named our first family dog, an Irish setter, IKE.
My father highly esteemed General Dwight Eisenhower.
Great story.
RIP your father.❤ 3:16
IKE was great. Now, the US would have an idiot like General Silly.
My father in law was a bombardier over north Africa. He was shot down twice and taken pow 2x. He did escape once. RIP Johnny....
Praise God from whom all blessings flow! Glad he made it back!
My grandfather used to say that he trained in North Africa and then went to Europe for the real fight. It was not until years after his death that I fully appreciated what that really meant and had thought it was strange to have American boot camp in Africa...
Germans was always the main threat in Europe, Italians was the side show
My wife’s grandfather was a gun tractor driver in North Africa and then down through Italy including monte casino. To look at him you wouldn’t imagine the reserves of inner strength that he must have had. I miss him.
He gained experience. The Army actually trained beforehand in Ireland.
@@johnwren3976 my other grandfather was indeed trained at Ballykinler in Northern Ireland. A quiet young Norfolk estate gamekeeper and his first active service was clearing up the Normandy beaches on day two! Can you imagine?😳. A kinder more gentle man you could not imagine.
The bigger mistake than depleting the Eastern Front was lending the Americans seven divisions to train against. Imagine if something like the Kasserine had occurred in Normandy.
1:13 Ike was only a two star at that point. In his book, *At Ease,* he tells an amusing story about, later in the campaign, when his immediate subordinates were all very senior British officers, Marshal asked him if he wanted anything, and he asked for a third star because, "Everybody who reports to me outranks me."
lol
That would be an interesting situation lol
@@vthegoose It is a real tribute to Eisenhower's leadership that he made it work.
That is good. And it's a wonderful variation on the situation where a senior noncom is instructing a class of officer candidates: "I will call you 'Sir', and you will call me 'Sir', but you will MEAN it."
A favorite story of Ike:
Even after he became President he was reported to have said that his elder brother still tells him what to do!
To become President is one thing. But to bring off a successful “D Day” takes one man in a million!
It is always fascinating how widespread WWII was. From Europe, to Africa, to the pacific. Truly the entire world at war.
Balls
Lol
except south america lol, only brazil actually helped with some soldiers they sent to italy I think
Well they don't call it *world* war 2 for nothing ;)
Just wait..one misstep with Ukraine and we will something in common with the people that lived through ww2
Hence the name. World War. And it was the SECOND TIME it happened in 25yrs!
My father. Lt. Edwin Slavinsky, was with the initial amphibious landing in N. Africa. Later. his outfit landed at Sicily. As if 2 amphibious landings weren't enough, they subsequently landed at Anzio. where they were pinned down on the beach for weeks by heavy German fire, including the 88mm AAA used on the ground. The D day soldiers are deserving of the praise they got. But I feel that the men who began in Morocco and went on to Rome and farther north. deserved just as much.
The US Marines, in the pacific, had eight or nine D days. All worse than the European D day. People don’t think about that.
@@willisswenson3843 Rubbish where when Go and do a comparison Here is one
Tarawa 15 sqr km
2000 Japs 2500 Korean labourers
USMC 18000 troops one source says 35000
108 fighting ships
200+ planes
and it took 3 days
Excellent point
@@willisswenson3843 Oh please most of the time those DDays of the Marines were against very few enemy e.g. Tarawa 15sqr km 2000Japanese and 2500 Korean laborers some artillery, no ships, no planes. Versus
USMC 18000 troops 108 warships including 3 B/S 200+ planes and it took 3 days
Gee a bit over the top would you not say.
Educational for me....
Thank you...
Proud of my Father's service in the Pacific...
Rommel wrote, "I have always been amazed at how rapidly the Americans have adapted to modern mechanized warfare". "I attribute their success to a huge practical and material sense, and a lack of useless theories". Good information as usual. Thank You
Rommel was correct at the time, but I'm sure he wouldn't hold that opinion today. Today's American military is a woke joke. It makes me sad.
Rommel was extremely impressed by the US Army's halftracks since it basically was a GMC 4WD truck that had the rear end moved forward with sprockets for tracks bolted to the brake drums. He liked how anyone that could drive a car or truck could operate it and that it went real fast (45mph) on roads so used a captured one to speed around visiting his troops facing the US Army.
@@williammitchell5058 When they announced that we have our first female aircraft carrier captain, I told my brother, (a retired officer) "We traded Bull Halsey for Bull Dyke". I bet our enemies are shaking in their boots.
@@williammitchell5058 I wouldn’t dismiss the entire American armed forces because it’s “woke”. I’m in myself and I haven’t seen anything “woke” aside from a couple of failed army ads. The fact is that times change and military has to adapt.
@@lego473 Thank you my friend. Those are reassuring words. I will stand corrected.
Because many events were taking place during WWII, videos like this one are interesting to watch. It shows events and gives background information not often taught in school.
We certainly were not ready for an invasion of Normandy in 1941. It's hard to imagine a more fateful decision than the one that FDR made to attack in North Africa first.
Right, I agree ... changes nothing about FDRs shift to making the US SOCIALIST ... in which now we only debate how socialist we'll be ... undid the gold backing of money, etc., but broken clocks are right twice a day. He was right that he needed to stop waging WAR on his own industries, and cooperate with them too. (Imagine if presidents didn't wage war on the businesses of their nation ...? Nah ... we love inner-conflict without moral grounding.)
@@trumanhw so he was right about operation torch then?
It was the British
You are so correct--it would have been catastrophic.
that was an eye opening battle for the US. the invasion went well but the later battles didn't go well.
Roosevelt was the only general on D-Day( to land by sea with the first wave of troops. HE carried a cane in one hand(becasue of arthritis) and pistol in the other.At 56, he was the oldest man in the invasion,and the only one whose son also landed that day; Captain Quentin Roosevelt II was among the first wave of soldiers at Omaha Beach. Roosevelt utilized a Jeep named "Rough Rider", which was the nickname of his father's regiment raised during the Spanish-American War
My dad led a 1st Armored Division company in Morocco in the early 40's. Some 50 years later I heard the stories of his guys from the Cincy area from that conflict. I couldn't have been more proud of these guys in fighting through so much yet never yielding an inch to Rommell & the Germans.
The main problem with an invasion of Europe in 1942 would have been that of supply. No logistical infrastructure had been built up by that time and the Service of Supply was inexperienced and disorganized.. An interesting read on these subjects is the published diary of Harry C. Butcher, Eisenhower's Naval Aide. He kept a day-to-day record of the entire war, and I'd say 80% of it deals with logistical issues. Even up to the Battle of the Bulge, the main American problem of the war, and what dictated the pace of the advance of the armies, was supplying them. In the Bulge, the reason the US troops were caught by surprise is they were halted because the supply services could not keep up with them. That was 1944, after more than two years of experience. Imagine trying to supply a cross channel invasion in 1942 before the supply chain had been built up at all. That chain was 3000 miles long. It would have been a disaster. They might have succeeded in grabbing a toe hold on the continent, but it would have ended up being another Gallipoli, with the troops either being stuck on a tiny beach head or having to eventually be withdrawn. The African campaign not only got combat soldiers experience in fighting, but, even more important, gave the staff and supply services experience in supporting a large army in the field. this is what is generally overlooked in studying warfare.
I think the North Africa campaign was better training for the allied high command rather than the grunts. Green grunts were more likely to risk their lives to storm the beaches of Normandy, so not many who landed had experience. But the generals knew more what they were doing. Thats for certain.
I heard that the US Army had huge trouble with MIA GI's creating a Black Market in stolen equipment along the supply line. Also their calenders didnt have "winter" is coming November in France so warmer Fighting gear was not sent over
@@Rusty_Gold85 It wasn't as much equipment as it was consumables, like fuel. Tanks & trucks would run out of gas. This happened to the Germans also, of course, but they didn't have replacements. The US did, but just couldn't get it to where it was needed because of the shambles left of the transportation facilities in Belgium and Northern France. There was the famous "Red Ball Express" system, but even this wasn't enough to keep the mechanized services supplied, and once the army advanced even further into Southern France and into Germany, the problem got worse. The Allied Air Forces would attack the transportation facilities when they were still in German hands, in order to slow the German retreat and capture the German troops in large numbers, but when the US Army moved into those areas soon after, they had to rebuild everything they had just bombed in order to move forward. The ability to supply troops and equipment is what dictated the pace of advance.
Well said and a good read. Thanks
@@Rusty_Gold85 we get winter here all the time in November here in Michigan especially back then. Well maybe not all the time now because global warming is f-ing everything up. Must have been dummies from down south not planning properly for colder environments.
Great to hear Allanbrooke's name mentioned. His grasp of the big picture of the African and European theatres doesn't get enough credit. His ability to reign in Churchill's flights of fancy doesn't either. We must be thankful Hitler didn't have such a tactician on his staff!
He did in Rommels Staff but the Allies decieved the germans into thinking the Allies were going to land in Greece therefore splitting up more of their Army. There is amovie coming out shortly about it ( remade twice before too)
I saw that last week. Very good except for the unnecessary love triangle plot!
@@Rusty_Gold85 I think you are talking about Operation Mincemeat which was conceived to distract the Germans before Operation Husky namely the invasion of Sicily.
Churchill grumbled about Brooke's perpetually offered caveats but didn't replace him.
Brooke once said words to the effect that Churchill was the best and worst man he had ever worked with.
This is one of the best history channels on TH-cam. Great content as usual. Love the old film footage. I'm a big history buff. Thank you.
Clear, concise, and historically accurate. Probably the best piece of WW2 education I have seen on the net. Keep up the high, and balanced standard. Thanks
JR.
Mark Felton is better and more accurate.
Clear, concise and accurate, but incomplete. The speaker skips over that fact that Montgomery drove Rommel and his armies back from El-Alamein to nearly Tunis, a distance of around 1400 miles, where, already well beaten, Patton had only to complete the pincer movement and finish the Germans off. I doubt Eisenhower or Patton and the American forces would have been ready to face Rommel's troops were they not already well beaten if not defeated..
This is very good. Excellent supporting video. Thank you.
I thought I’d drop a knowledge on people. Today (Australian time) is the anniversary of the battlefield debut of the Kilroy was here meme in Tunis 1943. The far more famous version of the “foo was here” meme that debuted in train carriages in 1915/16 and followed the 1st AIF around.
Ah, I remember seeing Kilroy. Should bring that back in Ukraine.
@@manowa3395 the Ukraine gives me a headache…why people care so much about that corrupt shit hole is beyond me…there are wars going on in a few countries right this minute, China is committing genocide and has been for some time…get off zolensky’s nuts already, he’s as corrupt as they get
Your doing the lord’s work
@@kurtru5selcrowe607 I got that Info from the latest episode of ww2 week by week.
Our Australian brothers and sisters fought bravely and made severe sacrifices in both wars. May you and the nation continue to be blessed.
As my British father would say, "Brilliant Content." Ditto from his Canadian born son who served 20 years ago the US Air Force.
This could only happen in a free West bought by the blood of many.
Thanks for your service in our Air Force!
The US Army had to make its mistakes somewhere and they thought the French would welcome the American force as, not British. My dad toured parts of north Africa, attached to 88 Division I'm always interested in stories about Torch and beyond.
Have you red "Army at Dawn"?
The US army was ready to fight the French
@@whitezombie10 how would that even happen
Its a great "What If" the 5 panzer army was ruched to Stalingard to break the encirclement, insted of as histroical being ruched to Tunisia.
The us army wouldnt be as strong as they are today without making failures
Good narration is a real skill. You have changed your approach and adapted beautifully. Now it's much easier to watch AND listen your vids 👍😁
really excellent reporting - thank you
Wow. I spent much of my youth reading about WWII and watching documentaries, but the majority of this content was entirely new. Impressive
*How are you a BeTTer Person, cuz of a LIFE Spent on HitLer???*
@@JustindeEugeneWhyIQuitDeMonRat strategy in fighting evil isn't a bad thing to learn
in my time in the reserves, i got to hear first hand from a german soldier there at the time. long story short, he dropped his rifle, surrendered. he lived. most of the men with him wanted to resist and died.
just before the war was over, he got out of an Italian prison. he said we wore his german uniform and started to walk home.
he survived, was often held, but he lived
So he surrender like coward
@@nicblank09 I will have my way with your mother
Yes. His mane was Feldwebel Muschi von Schneeflocke.
@@nicblank09 no, he surrendered like a smart man. The Germans weren't going to hold Africa so dying was useless
@@nicblank09 not really. he was starving, dying, literally dying of thirst, and was very sick from diphtheria. he spent 2 months in a make shift hospital before he was strong enough to walk short distances. he also stated that when it rained over there the flowers would grow fast and bloom and the scent was powerful and made it hard to breath.
Considering our lack of experience from the grunt to the general, invading Africa was the best way to go. The American army needed to be exposed to war to get itself ready for Europe.
The big mistake, I think, was Anzio.
ANZIO WAS A BIIIG MISTAKE...AS ONE GERMAN OFFICER SAID AFTER OUR TROOPS HAS LOST MANY G.I'S '''NEXT TIME WHY DIDNT U START FROM THE TOP'''' GE WAS RITE/BUT WE WER SOOO STUPID IN A HURRY ///BAD DECISION
North Africa and Sicily-Italy in hindsight were instrumental in weeding out poor American peacetime generals who werent suited to current combat tactics. Several were removed and reassigned to England or the States. By D Day, they had practical fighting generals in charge, not theoretical paper pushers that cost them high casualty rates in N. Africa, Sicily and Italy. The same could be said for other allies, like the Canadians, who underwent a big change in their upper command structure early in the war after some disasterous defeats and losses at Dieppe and in Italy.
@@johnkidd1226 I think this will be the case very soon.
Anzio WAS a big mistake. Instead of slogging through the mountains of the boot of Italy which took the rest of the war, They should have invaded through Mercedes and swept through the plains of Vichy France
@@intercommerce Agreed.
Your postings are very good. They are comprehensive yet concise.
It is so funny how this whole war turned on the smallest of events.
Great historical description of Allied and Axis strategies during this phase in the war. I learn something new every day.
Great analysis dude. Thank you for more info on major history.
Had Churchill been weak and made peace with Germany, I doubt Europe would be free today. He was almost alone in keeping freedom alive.
Old Bulldog himself!
This video is a sweeping view of the developing battle lines of WW2, and took a great deal of research to present accurately. Well done, Dark crew/staff.
See my posted comment.
This was GREAT. I learned so much from this episode. Thanks Dark for doing what you do, on ALL your channels!
Thank you. And thank our brave fighters in WWII (including my Dad, Joseph, USN.)
The main point that everyone seems to be ignoring or missing is that supply is a key essential. As touched upon in this video, if one cannot build up ones forces more quickly then the enemy then failure will almost certainly follow, whether they be American or commonwealth. I will say this however, proper training and experience in planning were absolutely necessary when confronting the German army of the period as they were well led, well equipped, experienced and tough.
Planning ability was probably due to so many men previously being in industry before the war.
so why did they ultimately fail?
@@henrimatisse7481 largely because they ended up fighting the British empire & commonwealth, the Soviet Union and the United States.
@@rob5944 yep,its a numbers game,the only reason the war took so long was because germany was so much better at fighting,
@@humility-righteous-giving it must be mentioned that they used slave labour, though balanced against this was their slowness in employing women in arms factories etc. Moreover Hitler and his government failed to put their economy on a war footing. I was surprised to learn that the convoy system that saved Britain from possible starvation was instigated by an American officer during WW1, curiously Great Britain had used convoys since the age of sail. I guess that it just hadn't occurred to anyone, or they just avoided the strategy in fear of a turkey shoot once the ships were found....Of course we now appreciate that a group of vessels are almost as hard to find in the huge expanse of a ocean as a single craft, and that allows them to be escorted of course.
Dark Docs - I was critical of your documentaries early on because yo talked so fast, you couldn't be understood. You have slowed some, yeah! However, you content has vastly improved so that I can't wait for the next one. Thank you for your efforts on all of your channels. I enjoy them all.
Love history, great presentation 👍🏻🇺🇸
FDR and The Greatest Generation are unmatched! Thank you :)
My mother had a cousin that landed in North Africa as a M4 driver. There was a delay moving out since the GI's had to finish assembling the Jeeps and trucks that arrived in crates. Her cousin was a carpenter by trade so he and others began making camp furniture out of the crates. Fredendall thought he and the other craftsmen would be handy repairing buildings for his headquarters during advances so awarded him with a battlefield commission so he could lead a platoon of jackleg handymen. That saved his life due to his tank getting blown apart during it's first engagement. Said his platoon did repair buildings and made crates for officers that loaded those up with war booty to ship home for free until the war ended.
War 'booty'..... Such as, pray??
@@suzyqualcast6269 What ever the Germans didn't want.
As always great video just wish you had mentioned General Patton as this was when he first started in his pursuit of facing and beating General Rommel. But I get it you were trying to stay on point and not to distract from the actual theme of the original story you were going with . Again awesome as always 👍
Patton! It's not about dying for your country! It's about making the other bastard die for his!
Note that the fighting against Rommel had already been going on for two years. 'The United States officially entered the war in December 1941 and began direct military assistance in North Africa on 11 May 1942. Fighting in North Africa started with the Italian declaration of war on 10 June 1940.'
“We defeated the wrong enemy.”
I'm not sure where you got the idea that Patton "pursued and beat" general Rommel, who incidentally was a Field Marshal. The afrika corps was already in full retreat, having been driven back by the 8th army at the second battle of El Alamein. My country's troops, the second NZ division, being the only fully motorized div in that army took several "hooks" to try to cut off the retreating German and Italian forces as part of this pursuit as they were driven back to where they tried to make a stand prior to operation Torch. It was the 8th army that broke the afrika corps as an effective fighting force, destroying many of their tanks before the Torch landings. Rommel wasn't even around for much of this phase of the campaign, having been evacuated to Germany for health reasons.
@@HaurakiVet Excellent comment.
My father was a fire control officer on a tin can. He told me he hated the French. When
I asked why, he said the bas@&ds tried to kill me.
Did he ever tell you why he thought that?
@@mgbsecteacher Because they were shooting at him?
@@davidlawrence3106 - Exactly.
@@navret1707 why were they trying to kill him?
@@SpiralSniperz because the French navy has no honor like the rest of the nazi collaborating country
Getting access to important warfare supplies like oil and certain minerals is the best first step for the Allies to take. While the US has some of its own supplies, the British were cut off of what they needed and it was used to support the Axis powers. While the US had needed to get some battle experience before sending troops to France, I think this was more of a tactical approach than focusing on training American men.
Wonder what the thoughts were when the Allies invaded Italy, from what it sounds like the American and British were still butting heads during that operation. I think the American army in Italy likely played a role in turning Italian support against the Axis, there were a lot of Italian American immigrants who probably interacted with distant relatives that still lived in Italy at the time.
Britain had oil, Gas and coal from the British Isles but it also had the ability to supply from its colonies.
The Germany navy was no match for the Royal Navy so there was never a danger of being cut off.
Very informative history ! Thank you !
Nice little quickie. Always love to learn more. Thanks!!
The Germans made the mistakes of 1) declaring war on the USA. 2) opening a second front before he was ready for it.
They needed to stop at the early victories near its borders. They would always be doomed to run out of resources as they expanded territories and spent too much money on “Super Weapons”.
Enjoyed the clip. If I recall my histories correctly, the times were very different then. Britain while bruised by those recent events was playing for the same outcome (from their point of view) as with WWI, they wished to preserved their Empire. A key to that was to maintain their relative control over the Suez Canal. I recall my ROTC Professor telling of how Churchill asking or imploring the American politicians about the soft underbelly of Europe being Italy. And in order to attack Italy you had to have a staging arena, North Africa, Egypt. What was not mentioned in that lecture, again, if memory serves, is that by the described efforts in this clip much of the pressure was taken off of the USSR. Things are rarely either one or the other, exclusively.
I had an uncoe who served in North Africa. He was a real tail gunner in a bomber. Not sure which one. But he earned a silver star for actions during a bombing run. He said that one thing the surprised him was that if the German’s equipment broke down in the desert, they would just abandon it. He said the American troops would came along, tinker with it and drive off in it. He said one day, a young American soldier, actually fixed a German tank and drove it back to their staging point. He claimed this was because so many American boys had their own “hot rods while
My dad served in the Pacific in WWII and saw heavy action. I have in my home office his captured Japanese rifle that he sent home right after he captured it. It has all of the Emperors seals still on it and like my dad was, it's priceless to me. One of the best things we did was to put our armies under American command like we did in WWI under Gen John J Pershing. My Grandmother was related to Gen Pershing and I remember a picture of her on his lap as a very little girl.
My wife's Dad (Pap) and one Uncle (Floyd) served in the Pacific theather. Her Mother worked in the factory building F6F fighters. Pap strung communication cables, and radio wire in the Phillipines as part of his Navy duties; he always was prepared to jump down due to snipers. Floyd killed 3 Japanese soldiers in hand to hand combat when jumped at a water hole; brought home that Camullis military knife and gave it to his Mother, who later gave it to me. Everyone needs to be taught the scarifices your Dad, my in-laws, and others made. They got up everyday to 'fight in a war'.
@@johnshields9110 Amen.. Also many thanks for your families sacrifices. My son many years ago for a school project did it on his Grandfather. He had the USS Vicksburg, a large pic of my rifle and other info. Some soon to be Karen soccer moms were up set because all projects were displayed and they didn't like it. He even described the seals and very few had them. He won 1st place and it and 2 other got to stay up and he was super popular over that. The principle have him his 1st place at the assembly..
@@veekatore8983 Sounds like that was a great project! Our educators of today, plus Karens, have lost us 'our way'. One of my Uncles kept the last full clip of his M1 rifle when he turned it in after coming away from the Batle of the Bludge. He passed it on to one of my older brothers, who later gave it to me.
@@johnshields9110 That's awesome! I understand how precious that is to you. I would even frame it and hang it where people can see it and when people ask you then you can tell of your Uncles courage and sacrifice ....
@@johnshields9110 These educators and "Karens" are trying to stop Putin's aggression in Europe while corrupt Republicans and Trump cultists collaborate with him. So-called conservatives today spit on the graves of the heroes who fought the Nazis.
I have learned much by watching your documentaries, your hard work is appreciated thank you very much.TR Junior was one of the unsung heroes although he would probably recognize that there were so many who fought for our country selflessly. He was definitely a man of fortitude. I had heard before that the president was actually a brilliant tactician, because he listen to his advisors and considered all the aspects of the information very well. Also I do believe that he realized the gravity of his position and relied heavily on Providence. Thank God for those who stand for what is right. past ,present and future.
All of TR's boys in the fight. Raised surrounded by their friends & relatives in the most-privileged class and didn't forsake the country and culture that had allowed their ancestors make their fortunes.
@@billolsen4360 I knew Bill Olson when I was a young kid in Monterey Park
@@jamesreed1554 Sorry, not me. Used to work in Monterey Park area in the early nineties repairing Pac Bell facilities in down in manholes but lived in Long Beach then Pasadena.
@@billolsen4360 thanks for answering I used to go to St Thomas Aquinas down by the gas company, hang out with my buddy Bill His dad was a world war II historian I learned a lot from him he was also a photographer. Bless and be blessed.
When I was younger, my thinking was based solely on large set tactics; which I called strategy. I didn't accept other factors so couldn't really say it was strategic thinking. Hubris, and not technical competence has been the source of the greatest tides turned in wars throughout history.
Nice and enjoyable video. Thanks for your efforts.
You guys should do an entire WW2 series. That covers from the beginning til the end of the war. I really enjoyed the battle breakdown in this video. Please make more
I learned a lot from this video. Especially about TRjr. Thanks for posting this.
Italian intelligence was actually quite good. Big mistake on Germany’s part.
But you don’t want Italy next to you in battle.
Canaris was in charge of the Abwehr, but he wanted Germany to lose the war. The foreign intelligence was terrible, but their domestic counter intelligence of the Gestapo and SD and their threat of reprisals were something feared in German controlled territories.
Germans thought the Americans were weak and unfit. Germany was wrong in both wars.
@@tracycase4520 The "green" Americans made a poor showing at the Kasserine Pass and then they got better under Patton. Both Japan and Germany underestimated USA willingness to fight.
@@peterdebrie that's disrespectful, not all Italians were cowards or weak!
My dad Pfc Raymond F. Danford is shown wading ashore in the invasion footage At 5'4" he is shown carrying his 03 Springfield out of the water with a WW1 Trench Knife on his belt. After North Africa he won on the 1st Day of the Sicily Invasion under General Patton.
That’s amazing. I’ve always wondered how many people have got to see their fathers, grandfathers etc
My dad was a part of Operation Torch. The first word in his diary: Arzew.
Very interesting. Thank you very much for this post.
Thank you. Very informative documentary.
No mention of General George Patton? He accepted French surrender. Being both diplomatic and speaking french. He also replaced General Fredenhall who was responsible for the defeat at Kasserine Pass.
No body wants to acknowledge the existence of Patton because he wiped the floor with everybody around him.
He destroyed Rommel and the British built him up because Montgomery struggled to deal with him.
@@bighands69 … No one acknowledges the Patton contribution? Seriously?… plenty of Generals wanted to down play Patton. However Patton was impossible to ignore
The first real battle for most of our US troops in North Africa was at Kasserine, as I understand it. Green troops up against battle-hardened Wehrmacht soldiers. Always thought Fredenhall was a convenient fall guy to a great extent.
Always very well narrated; you should have your own show on The History Channel.
One of my great uncles was in the initial invasion of Italy. He survived: Kasserine Pass, Sicily, Normandy, and the Bulge without a physical scratch. However, mentally, he hated the Germans for the rest of his life. My late uncle owned a gas station that had their last name, Falls, on it. One day, a veteran from WW2 came in and my uncle overheard, “I knew a Falls one. He was the meanest son of a bi*** in the unit!” My uncle asked him what his name was, and it happened to be Bill, my great uncle! Small world.
Terrific production! Well synced video, graphics and dramatic narrator who is EZ to understand!
Excellent narrative, and footage. You might think about slowing it down a little you are presenting a lot of information.
Brooke was perfectly correct on insisting that no landing be made in Europe in 1942. The main British effort in North Africa, while hugely successful, left little in the way of manpower to send to Europe. The Indian and ANZAC forces were quite rightly in their own countries to counter the Japanese threat. Also, while rich in manpower and equipment, the US forces needed time to train and gain experience. If a landing had gone ahead, US casualties would have been horrific. I am not slighting US arms - as a Royal Navy veteran I have worked alongside American ships too often to doubt their calibre. Torch enabled US forces, maybe most importantly Eisenhower, to find out what facing the Heer, Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe meant. The inexperienced Commonwealth forces who were sent to reinforce Montgomery maybe had a small advantage by having troops around them who had been in France etc, but they still needed that experience.They all learnt, and learnt well. The testament to Torch and, maybe to a lesser extent, Sicily, was lowered casualties in all Allied armies on June 6th 1944, and the forging of a truly strong alliance which continues to this day.
Great story describing how the war could have been much different.
The tragic loss of those landing craft and troops due to the rough sea conditions simply proves that the sea is never your friend and will actively try to kill you if you give it half a chance. The North Atlantic at any time of year can be a nasty and unforgiving piece of water.
Rest in Peace guys.
A man who spent his life on cargo and fishing boats told me his prayer, "Oh Lord, the sea is so big and I am so small." He started from Sweden at 14 years and was sunk four (4) times, twice in WW2! He was a Cape Horner. I wrote a magazine article on him. He was a fishing boat cook and made a delicious, golden, fish chowder.
Awesome Video!! Please share this with others!
A usual, great intro. I like that the edge in your voice is getting softer compared to the early days. Cheers.
As an amateur history enthusiast, especially about WW II, I rate this video as fabulous!
See my posted comment.
My dad was in the 509th PIB and was dropped into N. Africa. Then, he was sent to Europe and made more jumps. I have a few of his pictures from the war.
The industrial strength and available manpower of the United States were our two greatest assets in WW2. The fact that Hitler and his generals had no real idea of what to expect was another one.
Very interesting video. Thanks 👍
Great video. Excellent narration.
Another excellent, balanced insight. There are even some intelligent comments and questions (along with the unfortunately common unbalanced). I was listening to Professor Michael Clarke (who was formerly head of RUSI) a week or so ago on Sky News. The professor said that Putin ought to be viewed as a very old fashioned dictator in that he saw territory was security. The portrayal of Hitler in this video (not just this video but I think a commonly accepted view) as a person fixated on retaining territory at all costs despite unsustainable logistic issues does bear comparison to Putin in Ukraine.
Obviously the logistic issues from Russia to Ukraine are much more direct than Italy across the Mediterranean to North Africa, but times have changed and it does appear that Putin has failed (or was failed by his commanders) to respect logistics with the importance it bears. I can’t remember who said it “soldiers win battles; logistics win wars”.
It’s a terrible indictment of the military but perhaps the dreadful losses at Dieppe, the landings in Torch and the rout at the Kasserine pass were ultimately necessary for the Allied High Command to understand the weaknesses in lack of experience. Cold comfort for those whose bodies now lie in those places.
You need to stop listening to propaganda. Russia is doing well in Ukraine. The Ukrainian military is screwed.
I must agree. There are also other similarities between Putin and Hitler in their aggressive wars. Both used red flag ops as an excuse to the world for why it was necessary. Neither was believed. Both had already invaded/attacked other countries without cause. Both accused their opponents (victims) of doing what they themselves were doing. Both ignored the advice of others who knew better. Both also greatly underestimated the strength of the other countries they were fighting. Both painted the opponent as some kind of devil, and made use of the negative feelings of some citizens and inflamed that with incredibly hostile propaganda.
Hopefully it comes to pass that both were entirely routed and defeated so badly there could be no question about it.
@@freedomofpress5605 well, let’s start by saying that everyone is entitled to an opinion. Then, I would say that propaganda is not the prerogative of any one side in a conflict.
The issue is then to analyse, as best as possible, what is being said and what is being shown and making a decision as to where reality lies. I’m not a great fan of the BBC except in their news reporting. I am minded - I would suggest that the majority of people in truly democratic countries are of the same persuasion, that the invasion by Russia was wholly unjustified; that the objectives of Russia, in so far as we might understand them to be, have not been reached; that the Ukrainian military, albeit heavily boosted by Western aid, has performed extremely well.
I do accept that Putin expected that his land grab of the east of Ukraine, where the majority of the population speak Russian and have Russian blood in them, to be relatively simple and quick. It is, in fact, turning out to be anything but.
@@theofarmmanager267 If you think the BBC is at all reliable, we have nothing to discuss. LOL BTW: You may want to search for military analysis from someone that is not a paid propagandist. There are several even in the US that have a very different view of what you do but they are for the most part censored. Have you read the comments from the mercenaries that ran from Ukraine? You will have to get past mainstream media to get their complete stories. Educate yourself and your opinion will change. ,,,,,,,,,, "truly democratic countries"? LOL
@@freedomofpress5605 that’s only the instance when you have been correct. We have nothing to discuss.
One correction is that most of the losses in Tobruk were not British. They were Australian, and Commonwealth troops.
They fought valiantly, which delayed Rommel and allowed Monty lay his trap at El Alemain.
Finally someone Knowledges that fact. How many times does these 'history' channels and documentaries say British forces? It was the Aussies and let's not their experience that they passed on to US troops the Pacific (Papua New Guinea) during the early days of the Pacific war.
@@julieinthenorthwest4594
Not just the Aussies either. It was a hodge-podge of Commonwealth troops from NZ, S. Africa, India... even some Poles and Czechs.
As one who has French blood running in my veins, any mention of Vichy France burns me with humiliation.
Imagine being german then, humiliated and guilt tripped for eternity.
@@H.Kirsch Steven Spielberg was talking about making Schindler's List. He said once the German actors put their uniforms on he no longer saw them as actors, they were murderers.
Until the night when Spielberg and all the other Jews in the cast and crew were holding Passover. Spielberg said the German actors came in, covered their heads with yarmulkes and joined the Jews. Speilberg said he never again held anyone accountable for the sins of their ancestors.
@Alfred Wedmore The verdict by most historians is that the French made the correct decision. A very obviously correct decision - fight to your utter and complete destruction or surrender and everyone lives? I'm assuming Patrick is an American, some of them have an odd mindset whereby when facing unwinnable odds they would rather go extinct and eventually be forgotten rather than living and having a legacy.
You should be humiliated by the current condition of France, not about when Paris was clean and the streets were safe.
Perhaps the deeds of the French commando's on D Day led by Phillipe Keiffer will ease your humiliation
Excellent documentary thank you
Well done and fascinating, Thx!
The Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa
while allowing American armed forces the opportunity to engage in the fight against Nazi Germany on a limited scale.
By the time operation Torch took place the British and Commonwealth troops, together with contingents from occupied European countries pushed Germans from El Alamein all the way through Libya into Tunisia (about 2000 km / 1250 miles)
At that point, Germans were mostly out of arms and ammunition but still kicked the US ass at Kasserine pass.
German losses at Kasserine were 201 killed, 536 wounded, and 252 missing.
American losses totaled 300 killed, 3,000 wounded, and 3,000 missing.
In short, this is another yank commercial spot where everybody is to blame, but they manage to secure the victory.
General Theodore Roosevelt Junior was short of stature, well loved by his troops and knew all his troops
My Dad was a young boy in Iowa during the war. He could remember seeing truckloads of German prisoners being taken out to work on farms. They smiled and waved to the kids on their way to school, and generally seemed very happy not to be in Siberia or dead.
Unfortunately your dad has that wrong. We didn't have German pows coming over. Not to mention the fact that there was no war anywhere near the United States front during world War ii. It was namely in Africa and europe. We actually didn't start bringing Germans over and it was namely scientists until after the war. So unfortunately your dad lied to you about what he saw because there were no German pows being shipped back to the United States at that time.
@@billdover3165 "Thus, in late 1942 and early 1943 the U.S. government constructed dozens of camps in isolated areas of the South and Southwest. Between April and August 1943, prisoners of war totals in the United States grew from less than 5,000 to more than 130,000. As the number of Axis POWs in the United States increased, the federal government established camps beyond the South and Southwest. The U.S. Army supervised the construction and operation of these facilities. By the end of World War II, the United States interned nearly 400,000 Axis prisoners of war in more than 400 camps across the country."
- 'Working with the Enemy: Axis Prisoners of War in Iowa during World War II'; THE ANNALS OF IOWA 70 (Summer 2011). © The State Historical Society
of Iowa, 2011.
@@billdover3165 "Eventually, they relented and put tens of thousands of enemy prisoners to work, assigning them to canneries and mills, to farms to harvest wheat or pick asparagus, and just about any other place they were needed and could work with minimum security."
- 'German POWs on the American Homefront'; Smithsonian Magazine, September 15, 2009
@@michaelhorning6014 Even a lowly tech sergeant like Bill Mauldin wrote in _Up Front_ to the effect of it was cost effective to haul German prisoners back out of the theater of war in merchant ships that would otherwise have returned empty... burning bunker oil for little use.
Made the doggies envious...
@@w.reidripley1968 not to mention not having to ship food from the USA to feed them. Europe was chronically short of everything during the War, especially food.
Hitler was his own worst enemy, he made so many blunders during the war.
Excellent video! I am so proud of my father's "greatest" generation and of my family members who served, including my Father and my Uncle Alex. Hooah! God Bless their immortal souls, and that of my favorite tank commander, General Patton!
They were Brainwashed into killing off their own kind. No Honor in that!
Great video❤. I feel like I have unlocked a new level! You are so good!👍
It was Admiral King, not General Marshal, who wanted to refocus commitment to the pacific theater (and repeatedly threatened to do so). And after the fall of Tunis, the axis commanders knew that something like Torch was coming, just not that it would happen so quickly.
Ah yes, Admiral King. That great, political, blustering buffoon.
In all due respect the Axis was finished after el alemein in North Africa which was the decisive battle. This is not to detract from the HUGE contribution of the USA to WW2 European war
well and you can see WHY the Germans really were OVER the Italians at this point. Italy was supposed to take care of their plan to become "great again". Germany had to invest troops in Greece and North Africa when the Italians could not finish what they had started. German officers reportedly were also unhappy with Italian officers. Italian officers were fed better than the enlisted men, and kept a distance from them. Germany had a good officer corp that tried to look after their men. Mind you, Germany wasn't giving Italy any better tanks and gear. But tying up German troops meant air crews had no breaks. Even in Russia if the Germans lost a plane it also lost a trained flight crew.
I've heard it said that before the German defeat at el Alemein the Swedes taught their students German in school. After the defeat they switched to teaching them English.
no but it detracts from the fact the it was the Soviets who did 90% of the fighting to subdue the Nazis in Europe.
The real issue is why it took the US & UK so long to open a real western front to take the pressure off the Soviets.
They only invaded Normandy in 1944 as they realized the Soviets would be able to sweep through Germany to the Atlantic.
@@qarljohnson4971 Maybe things could've been different had the Soviets not helped the nazis invade Poland at the outset of the war. 😉
@@sbsb69 Stalin spent most of the 1930s trying to make peace treaties with the Western powers, who refused.
It was only desperation that Stalin approached Hitler with a non aggression treaty, knowing Hitler's supreme hatred of Communists.
Anyhow by many accounts it was that margin of extra Polish (now Ukraine) territory that may have saved Moscow from being reached before winter set in. So it can be argued that that non aggression treaty saved Europe from Nazi Victory.
Fantastic video. It might have been good to add that there was bad blood between the Vichy French and British, because a few years before, the British destroyed a French fleet when it looked like they were going to surrender the ships to the Germans. So the fact is that it had to be Americans in French North Africa if there was to be any chance of convincing the French to join them.
The UK attacked that fleet as the French was dragging their feet on action acceptable to the British. They couldn't risk having the fleet fall into Axis possession. About 1,300 French were killed. That attack in July 1940 showed FDR that Britain was serious about resisting Hitler. Afterwards, FDR released 50 overage destroyers to the British.
Suggest you read "England's last war with France" Fighting Vichy 1940-42. By Colin Smith. An excellent book. One of the observations he makes is that in the joint naval exercises in the Med, the French Admiral made it clear that he hated the English. His reason being that his great great great grandfather had died at Trafalgar! Not the best start for a wartime alliance.
@asdsdasdad Such was the ongoing resentment in the French leadership towards Britain that after the armistice, treacherous Vichy Prime Minister Pierre Laval tried to convince Hitler to let the French air force join the Luftwaffe in bombing London. Thankfully Hitler rejected the notion.
As soon as I heard your voice you got a like from me. It’s perfect for this content. Thanks!
Great video. Thanks
The Americans always do the right thing, after they have exhausted all the alternatives.
@Alfred Wedmore Thanks, it is a very famous quote but I did not know when it happened.
@@grahamt5924 It is a grey area quote, there is no proof that he ever said it but many historians agree that it does sound like something he would say.
You can argue this both ways. No question, American troops were green at the onset, but that didn't necessarily preclude an invasion of France because of it. When U.S. troops hit the beaches of Normandy in June 1944, 18 months after Operation Torch, for the overwhelming majority, it was still their first combat. A strategic decision was made to lead primarily with untested soldiers, because it was felt by U.S. high command that men with combat experience might be less willing to take the necessary personal risks required to secure the beachheads. In addition, it also has to be considered that the extra 18 months given the Germans to build their Atlantic Wall didn't make the task of assaulting it any easier.
One must also consider the argument that British interests in having the Americans clear the Mediterranean before invading Western Europe had as much to do with protecting British colonial assets than it did in serving strictly Allied military objectives. Once the threat of a German invasion of England itself had been turned back, protecting Egypt, Suez and the sea routes to East Africa, India and beyond became a top strategic priority for the British.
i was just thinking about all the concentration camps and how many lives could have been saved with an earlier invasion.
But also the case that the invasion of Dieppe by Canadians and British a few months earlier showed how easily an amphibious assault can go wrong. Even in June 1944 Normandy required some good luck for the Allies - and total air domination - to succeed.
Fantasy
sure i bet some areas of the first wave had green troops, but all of them? Also, that does so little justice in not mentioning the following waves. It's not like the green troops were going to do it all. Plus, there was also the need for experienced leadership. I can't help but mention one of the other commenters here mentioning roosevelt jr., a general going deploying on a first wave for dday.
@@tannerrich2388 Perhaps, or the extra bloodshed that could have come with failure
French put up more resistance fighting for Africa against the Allies than for their own country fighting the Nazis 🤦♀️
A very well done video. As per usual on Stalins involment vs Japan at the end of WW2. 💪🏻🙏🏻✨
Very informative, thank you 🙏
Well, there was also the invasion of Italy, which knocked out a certain number of warm bodies that Hitler could call upon, and while it wasn't the 2 front war some wanted, it was still, a two front war and put pressure on the Axis. The Anzio near-disaster was an expensive lesson that helped ensure the successful planning of Normandy. It was still risky, but those lessons paid off.
I was told by an old soldier that the first on the beaches were British in American uniforms.
The British had more training in beach landings but the French would defiantly turn on them.
@@bantalee2002 France is a founding member of NATO. They would never side with the Russians if things got worse.
Besides, if they did end up siding with the Russians and a full scale war starts, they would practically be surrounded from all sides by the remaining NATO members.
It's the dumbest decision they could possibly make
@@bantalee2002 B.S.
I do know from two books, about American nurses in WWII, that the ONLY time female nurses were allowed to go in with the initial force, and one autobiography and another book that interviewed nurses in the military....that there were Americans in the first landing with just some help from the English (who had been training the nurses and the Army). But several US nurses in that truly dangerous first landing have written about the only landing with women, and how dangerous those first few days were. Indeed, a very dangerous time in North Africa for all the US nurses.
@Stephens Familiar with anecdotal evidence?
Trump Univ.?
@@Mark-gg6iy no, from Nina Jankowicz and the ministry of truth.
There was a guy that worked for my father back when I was a kid, who was over in Europe back in WW2 fighting for the united states'army. He said that right after WW2 was just finishing up, that his tank battalion was ordered to guard this little town. Nobody was supposed to enter without being identified, but this train was coming full speed down the tracks without slowing down at all. He was fixing to give the order to open fire to the whole team, but luckily when the train comes out of this tunnel he sees a Soviet flag flying in the air. The train was carrying supplies and solders , and had it been destroyed by his team it would have possible started WW3! The thought of the whole situation, is really interesting to say the least.
Learned a lot here, thank you
You're probably the BEST documentarian working today. Wish I could help you.
Great video young man, keep up the great work.👍