Peter Caddick-Adams (and Mr Bor) back again! If you have enjoyed this show, please don't forget to click like, leave a comment for other viewers and if you have not done so already please SUSBSCRIBE so you don't miss our next streams. You can also become a member of this channel and support me financially here th-cam.com/channels/UC1nmJGHmiKtlkpA6SJMeA.html. Links to any books discussed, WW2TV merchandise, our social media pages and other WW2TV shows to watch can all be found in the full TH-cam description. Lastly, my own book Angels of Mercy is always available online - more info here www.ddayhistorian.com/angels-of-mercy.html
This guy is so refreshing. He reminds us all how well the allies actually worked together well and his recognition of Americans and Canadians in good light is cool.
PC-A mentioning that - "Invading Germany in 1945 is a bit like approaching an archeological dig. We know something has happened there. We have no idea how deep it is." - is pure gold. Just goes on to show why he's a fantastic historian and writer.
My Dad served in the 103rd Infantry Division, Anthony MCauliffe's Division, and they liberated Kauffering II. I agree with PCA, the soldiers did suffer psychologicaly,however Dad was extremely proud for having been there.
Peter Caddick Adams is absolutely a gift from the history gods!! What a riveting presentation guys! I still can't get over the fact that we can see historians of Peter's caliber here FOR FREE! I urge all to consider becoming, as I have, one of Paul's Patreon supporters----this is too valuable a resource to risk losing. And Paul, I have probably seen somewhere between 75-100 hours of your programs over the years. I know---my bad----only maybe 80 hours or so------but I swear, if you had told me to come up with a list of five names that would NOT have been mentioned in ANY of your shows, not just the ones I've seen, I'm pretty sure Whitney Houston's name might have headed the list......thank you PCA for finally giving me something about Whitney that I can cling to!
I missed the live feed, but enjoyed the presentation immensely. It is nice to get a British historian's perspective for a change. The only histories of The Bulge I have read were written by American authors. Peter Caddick-Adams has a good grasp of the events and presents some thought provoking scholarship. I need to order his books to round out my knowledge. Good work WW2TV!
The more I hear him speak and how much more needs to be done on the Bulge - and for that matter a lot more on World War 2, I hope the host and Mr. Caddick-Adams are inspiring younger historians to take on these topics. I have four shelves of Bulge books and there's always room for more! Thanks for this terrific program and your channel.
In an oblique way the 14 July attempt, by leaving Hitler to run things alone,really was successful in finishing him. I greatly appreciate your presentations and how thought provoking and eye opening they are. The experts that are so ready to join you speaks volumes of your efforts and recognition. Thanks as ever
The Valkyrie plotters are seen as heros because they nearly killed Hitler. Their reasons had more to do with We can do it right, than Hitler is evil and crazy. LOL, amateurs and the general public have allowed themselves to believe that the war would've been over at that point. They would probably have treated with the Allies on the western front, but surrender to the Soviets was a non starter.
An outstanding presentation by PCA! His level of knowledge and is skill in presenting it is amazing! Stay to the end for a special appearance by Mr. Bor the wonder dog! 😀
Another brilliant presentation. It is deeply saddening that all the WWII Veterans will pass away in our lifetime. For those old enough to have grown up knowing this unique generation, I praise Paul and his guests for not only keeping this history alive but also for their in depth knowledge of the countless events that took place then.
When I was kid, I was disappointed that my father wasn't a W.W. 2 vet--- it seemed that most men of my childhood were Vets! Alas , my dad was born in 1934. I had teachers who had been in the war and some of my classmates fathers had been in the war. My Boy Scout commanders were Vets. Now, they're leaving quickly. What nerve they had.
My father, a supremely level-headed and capable maintenance warrant officer (tanks, halftracks, trucks, etc.) in Patton's 6th Armored Div., landed on D-Day, was at the "Bulge," and was "near" Berlin near the end. I wish I'd questioned him about his exact movements, but kids are stupid and Dad never talked the war.
His discussion of the lesser known aspects of the Bulge including the units that were "behind the scenes" deserves a full book on its own. I hope he does one. His books have been magnificent!
Thank you Paul for presenting the WWII TV series. Good that you got Peter to do the 10-fact video on the Battle of the Bulge. His presentation is great, informative, unique observations and insightful views. Very enlightening and inspiring！ I have ordered “Snow ＆ Steel” and very much looking forward to it. 👍💯🙏
Fantastic presentation. A perfect start and finish to the Battle of the Bulge series. Peter is a wonderful communicator and I look forward to his next visit
When you think nothing else can be said about the Battle of the Bulge, along comes PC-A with this great episode. Now I have another episode scratched of my catch up list.
Woody, this has been a most fantastic show with PC-A. His knowledge, his ability to switch from '44 to the present day and back is tremendous. It is hard to beat the first Battle of the Bulge show by PC-A, but PC-A did with this show. I'm thankful to be able to be part of this community.
As we wind down the war here in the vlog, I started thinking about the very few that are still alive that experienced that period, both home fires and the fight. Soon there's going to be that very last person that was in the action, and with their passing brings an end to a generation that through their bravery and hard work and willingness to endeavor to persevere we owe a great debt of gratitude.
Thanks for putting this channel together. I found you through Drach's channel and it's been fascinating going back over some of the old episodes over the holiday period. The standard and quality of your guests is truly outstanding. Hats off to you from a Brit down under.
Great wrap-up to an excellent series. Good variety of perspectives and approaches in the collection. Looking forward to future themes curated by Woody.
I appreciated the reference to NATO exercises in the Ardennes / Eifel in the 80's and siting a platoon position on top of old foxholes. I was there in March '83 alongside the Bundeswehr in Eifel Nationalpark between Schleiden and the Rursee, deep in the wooded hills in my 6x6 truck in freezing, foggy weather. Had just read "Company Commander" and "Battle of the Hurtgen Forest" by Charles MacDonald, and imagined what it must have been like in 1944.
Just caught up. Thanks guys. Again, superb show! So informative. The new book sounds excellent PCA, and within not being released until May gives me a chance to get "the pile" reduced a bit.
…rapt attention into how little detailed history people,in general,have even now, learned or know about World War 2. All the years past the end of the war,this program and others I’ve watched, have really opened my eyes.Will generations after mine know more? Or will history erase all further decoding of the complete picture? Thank goodness for people who do the hard work of putting pieces together like a puzzle so those seeking answers have a source of information.My father was in the Airborne push into Germany. And didn’t really give the answers I now wish I had asked. Now he’s gone and so are most of the people who were participants. I keep learning and I wish I had really tried harder to understand. I think with every passing year there are fewer of us that wonder.
Absolutely an outstanding channel and another excellent presentation. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and helping me understand what my Dad went through in this battle.
Col. Charles Codman, Patton's Aide de Camp, was the scion of an old and wealthy Boston family, and the wine buyer at Boston's fine grocery store S.S. Pierce before the war. His memoir, Forward is a series of letters he wrote home to his wife, and there are many dispatches from the drive across France where he lets his wife know about the conditions of the various vintages they'd purchased before the war, and the health of the vignerons they both new. There were always great wines at Patton's table.
I've read quite a bit about WW2 and I've also read quite a bit about the Holocaust but I've never had anyone draw a string between the two for me to read. I feel like I've been cheated. It is so logical to me and so horrible in its scope. It I thought that I was smarter than that. Thank you. A splendid piece of work, gentlemen. I feel at least a bit smarter.
Brilliant show, very informative. The information on the lack of knowledge of the scale of the Holocaust is fascinating. You have to wonder how nobody joined the dots of multiple camps where tens of thousands arrive on a regular basis but the camp doesn't grow to match the numbers. Surely with the excellent PR being carried out regularly over Germany, someone wondered about those camps.
Totally agree with PCA re Wolverhampton University and John Buckley at approx 1’33”. I was in the same year as Peter at Wolves and remember him as a very hard working enthusiastic fellow student who I’m delighted has gone on to success. John Buckley and the other lecturers at Wolves were great and I really enjoyed my time studying for my BA at Wolves 👍
One advantage early on historians had was access to people that were instrumental in these campaigns. We're fortunate to have a great archive of audio, video and stills of these folks and their stories. There's very few people left that's still alive that was in the war, both at home and in the fight. Historians with their archives are very soon to be the only one's who can accurately and truthfully tell of the war, there will be no one left to tell their side. That's why these smaller side stories are so important to know and understand, gathering as much info as possible before access is gone, so to give future historians the proper information to carry the story on.
Another long shitty day at work. New to channel so I’m catching up. Very well done. Reading Guadalcanal by Frank now. Just finished 5 different Ww2 books in last couple months
One of the most interesting authors among many! on this channel. Extremely knowledgable from the details to the big picture. I was interesting in reading his book and looked on Amazon where I also found Beevor's book among others. After reading multiple reviews, I bought PCA's book on the Bulge, first book of military history I've bought in years. I was that impressed. And having studied for my Masters in history, it's not that easy to impress me.
Just awesome.never considered SHAEF.I love the way you guys give an unbiased history. Paul any chance a show about 82nd airborne in ardennes.101 gets all the press
Several accounts explain this. Eisenhower threatened to resign and told Churchill that egotistical Monty directly insulted the dead and wounded US Troops. After Churchill made his comment he forced Montgomery to make a Statement about the US sacrifice in the battle funny how these experts did not mention this !
There's a very good book called Patton At Bay: The Lorraine Campaign, 1944 by John Nelson Rickard. Patton is good but he's been overbuilt by post-war historiography. Patton got stuck in the Lorraine campaign, especially at Metz and didn't know what to do. It's a very interesting campaign as a whole.
Patton's Lorraine campaign was the biggest failure of autumn 1944, prior to the Ardennes. 52,000 combat casualties and still failed to attain its goals. Patton never did get out of the Lorraine and breach the Siegfried Line. Instead he was transferred to the Ardennes, and another US Army took over the Lorraine.
I understand McAuliffe was slated for a divisional command before the bulge. The 101st would never have been left in casual hands. As ever another extremely relevant series of back stories well explained and knitted together. Hitler also made some clumsy prevarication about Stalingrad as well, that’s what autocrats do. Thank you as ever for your efforts to find the right people
It’s nice to hear an analysis of this battle without the usual parochialism that the Battle of the Bulge often engenders. It’s also nice to hear about the effective interconnection of British/Canadian and American forces in the days after the Ardenne.
Peter, is such a fantastic historian, this is a great show, I have Peters book Snow and Steel, looking forward to his book on the last 100 days WW2. Thanks Paul and Peter 👍
Montgomery’s press conference was taken out of context, he never really (at the press conference) inferred he had won the battle. Montgomery has his faults, but his performance in the Ardennes was exemplary, and the American and British willingness to accept the burdens and benefits of being partners in combat is a great marker in how to build a coalition.
It wasn't so much taken out of context as exploited by German propaganda. The Germans actually broadcast a fake BBC report which credited Montgomery at the expense of many of the American officers, and it had been heard by many of the US troops and officers who believed it to be a genuine BBC report. The sitution also wasn't helped by the London press, which tended take a similar line in their reporting as the German propaganda broadcast, and was sharply critical of the American officers largely responsible for their victory while giving a bit too much credit to Montgomery.
To also blow everyone's minds Kareem-Abdul- Jabar's father was one of the Black Panthers tank battalion. Fun fact Kareem Abdul-Jabar was an English major at UCLA and wrote a book about his father and his comrades.
My father was a Dentist in the Army Air Corps for 6 years (the duration). He told me he worked on flyers to get their teeth in good enough shape to fly in the non pressurized planes of the time. According to my Dad, healthy teeth were necessary to fly and in many recruits had problems because of lack of dental care caused by the Depresson and backwoods areas where there no Dentists. I think the B-29 was our first plane with a pressurized cabin. He worked at Mitchell Field on Long Island so I guess many he worked on went over to Europe.
Great show Paul, its a real service to hear Dr. PCA direct. Most important added dimension to my reading this past year is getting to hear direct and interact with authors I've read for years and valued. One thing I will look to see how Dr. PCA handles that didn't come up in this talk is about the imperatives and planning to get troops out of Europe and headed to the Pacific in prep for the invasions of Japan. D.M. Giangreco's recently revised and updated (highly recommend) "Hell to Pay" lays this out very well - crucial in the Decision of Eisenhower not to go into Berlin. One thing that might bear some real emphasis also is how bad the replacement situation, especially for infantry, was in the US Army - it really indicts Hodges and the wastage in the Hurtgen I think, considering what the prospects are going to the Pacific and/or even thinking about going into Berlin. For example the 99th was filled with ASTP troops pulled in as infantry replacements. What I gather from D.M. Giangreco and what the delay was from the Bulge per Dr. PCA is that it directly impacted on the planned invasion dates for Japan, since the U.S. wanted to start the troop transfers in January and couldn't, that didn't start till March. Also, the replacement stream was shut off to the ETO in late April-early May as well.
Listening to this in the last week of March (2022), is prophetic. The way he stated that the standoff around Ukraine in January still looked like the Cuban Missile Crisis. And how he said around 49:00 of "victory at all costs" and especially "in the Russian frame of mind, the human doesn't matter" (when it comes to tolerating losses). Massive *Oofs* trickled down my spine there...
I agree with PCA that Eisenhower's decision not to advance on Berlin was the correct one, but wasn't it becoming clear that the population were dreading the arrival of the Soviets and the allies would have faced minimal military resistance had they reached the Capital first? Outstanding broadcast by the way, but then they usually are. Best wishes.
Firstly, I must complement WW2TV & PCA for another idea challenging show about an event we've been brought up with and think we know that already. You really these need fresh perspectives. 1) SHAEF wasn't all smell of roses and it's been over emphasised how much the top generals were at each others throat. But as PCA shows, the organisation, rationale & motivations of SHAEF is rock solid as the vast majority of its 22,000 staff are professionals who can deliver the advice the German High Command can no longer do. For every prima donna, there's vastly more selfless general staff to keep the alliance on track and there is the political oversight (Churchill scolding Monty in the Commons) to ensure it stays that way. 2) that the Bulge helps transform SHAEF into effectively NATO is something I didn't comprehend. I would hoped regards current events, NATO leadership doesn't fall into the same groupthink that made SHAEF believe a winter attack is impossible and against all logic, even though a critical analysis of ULTRA decrypted gave signs of an offensive brewing. Dangerous to assume you know your enemy inside out as I fear Brussels is doing now, regards its sanction threat. 3) PCA once agains confirms that the Allies were overwhelmed by the discovery of the death camps in Germany and no resources to cope with the survivors. Bradley already mentioned this in his 1951 memoirs that they did genuinely not know the scale of horror the Germans did. There was Enigma decrypts beforehand that suggested what was going on (the Germans used a coded language to mask their activities - the first version of H Denial) and the Polish underground started revealing the existence of the Operation Rheinhardt camps 1942 onwards. But But the Allies couldn't bring themselves to believe that that the Germans would perform this illogical systematic mass murder in a war they were guaranteed to lose. From an Irish perspective, I really despise bigots who claim the neutral Irish government knew about the death camps in 1943, when it's clear the Allies didn't even know the existence and scale till the first camps were liberated Jan 1945. Those bigots are performing their own version of H denial and are beneath contempt.
PCA is a great historian and speaker. May I consult Peter if Stimson had actually considered conducting an enquiry into the intelligence failure, like the Pearl Harbour failure? Many thanks, Paul and Peter.
Just finished Caddick-Adams' 'Snow and Steel' -- I am still defrosting -- and hats off for this monumental piece of research. To be fair, it was my re-introduction to the Ardennes after having read Whiting's work 20+ years ago (and found other interests in between). This battle is so much more than the 'Nuts' of Bastogne (which I think it all we know about it in the Netherlands). I particularly enjoyed the last chapter, in which the links between past and present are made -- how ex-SS trained Arabs (and Palestinians) for example -- history is not past. (Having read 'Sand and Steel' earlier -- in which the present seems further away -- the last of the trilogy is on the holiday reading pile)
Patton ran out of fuel not because there was no fuel, but because it was syphoned off to crazy Monty's Market Garden. So, fuel was taken away from a successful advance to be given to an operation that Monty knew was going to fail. They knew the panzer division was resting there, and went anyway.
The really weak point of Market Garden was that Montgomery, nor any other General ever conceived failure. No General does, otherwise what's the point of planning anything? What's the point of Generals? Certainly it could've been planned better. 7 days to get ready to drop 3 divisions into combat?
I think we shouldn't get stuck on the "Hitler as lunatic" idea. Yes, the "small solution" of aiming to cut off and maul/destroy a US Army might have been more viable but it does present a number of problems: 1) Hitler knew better than anyone that Germany had about three to six months left of military power left in it. There wasn't enough fuel in December 1944 for any major strategic offensive and fuel shortages were affecting operational level offensives at that time on other fronts. Germany's manpower was by this point almost exhausted and many of its formations were not able to be brought back up to full strength. Ammunition shortages were affecting all fronts due to supply issues caused by Allied bombing. 2) What this meant was that Germany was going to lose the war and for the Nazi regime that would be a definite end. For Germany as a state and a nation, it could well have meant division and conquest... or worse. 3) A small offensive could have (maybe) trapped a US Army and (maybe...) destroyed it but this would depend on surprise, concentration of forces and elsewhere immobilizing enough Allied operational-level units to give the two Panzer Armies time to trap and destroy the targeted army as a military force. Even if it had gone perfectly, there was a good chance that the US public would take the defeat as an affront to avenged, rather than as proof that the war was futile and should be ended. 4) For this reason and *in the strategic sense*, the offensive had to have as its aim the port of Antwerp in order to split the Allied armies and provide a sufficient *political* shock that the Allies would either agree to a ceasefire (end the war) or evacuate Holland & Belgium and regroup in the south, giving Germany enough time to put together a counteroffensive reserve in the East, where it would likely be used to retake the Hungarian oil fields and keep Germany fighting long enough to wear out the Soviets. 5) Remember your history! Hitler talked *explicitly* in his address to the generals about the "miracle" of the Seven Years War. That Frederick the Great held off several different enemies long enough for political changes (the death of Tsarina Catherine) to relieve the pressure and save Prussia from catastrophe. THAT was the aim of the offensive. To create the political conditions for that "miracle" to reoccur and save Germany from catastrophe once again. Remember that Hitler believed in Fate: that he had been fated to become Germany's savior and that Fate and Will would see Germany (and his regime) through the trial and so on. By destroying or routing *several* armies and retaking key territory, the aim was to demonstrate that Germany could not be defeated and that peace was a better prospect than war in 1945.
great show Paul. Always educational and enriching. He's very "posh" is Peter, but really passes on his knowledge in a captivating way. I'm glad your not "posh" Paul...lol.. Lovely dog though...bless him.
I'm not sure I would use the word posh myself. Like many of my guests he has an accent sure, but I would say it's more Home Counties and typical of a career military officer
Just a footnote, to put things into one perspective here! If Patton’s 3rd Army in May 1945 numbered altogether just under half a million men, then Bill Slim’s 14th Army in Burma was by then almost numbering (Slightly less than one million personnel) twice that size in terms of manpower!
I don’t think Devers was operating under the pressures actual and perceived as Patton. Richard Taylor, Zachary Taylor’s son writes in his memoirs that wherever he camped he sent out staff to look at all possible roads in the area I have been told that Patton did the same thing. I read some of Patton’s report on North Africa he goes from spanner size to tactics and more. A fine commander knows how to get the right people and correctly assess their input. I know Patton can be insufferable but he shouldn’t be underestimated, nor Montgomery. I frequently query if not that person who? Analysis is always valuable. Thank you as ever for your choice of guest, fine presentation and valuable insight and information
I know this off topic but I would like to hear from a historian on British General Alexander who I feel deftly handled the personalities of Patton and Montgomery during the north African and Sicilian campaigns. Alexander seems to me to be a General who isn't given his due study and credit.
The Kriegsmarine after the defeat worked for the allies doing minesweeping. Army engineering units were put to work clearing minefields on beaches and on land
For future possible project, it may or may not be your thing, we hear a lot about the p51, how the Americans were the great designers of the best fighter ever, I know they put it all together in record time but was it not done to British specification and then was only average until the British put a merlin in it, did the Americans hog the result
What's the last serious battle the Allied forces have before the end of the war? Is there one for the Brits and Commonwealth forces and a different one for the Americans?
Montgomery press conference was only held to defend Eisenhower, who was getting hammered by the British press for the American retreat in the Ardennes. Montgomery said captains win battles and he gave Eisenhower credit as team captain. Montgomery also lavishly praised the American soldiers. Prior to that press conference both Bradley and Patton had been giving the impression that Bradley was still in command of the whole battle and gave no acknowledgement to Montgomery for his help. This got so bad that Bedell Smith had to issue a SHAEF press statement on January 5th 1945 pointing out that Montgomery was in command of US 1st and 9th Armies and had been since December 20th. Montgomery therefore did nothing that Bradley and Patton hadn't been doing. Montgomery actually said nothing that was wrong in his press conference.
You are very biased. It’s very dangerous. He insulted the Americans so gravely the the important US press raised hell and president Roosevelt had to tell Churchill to shut up little Monty or there would be a real problem. Since all food and 70 % of the food and 60 % of the trucks ships and planes came from america Churchill always a Realist caved in.
As for Ultra and the cracking of the Enigma code machines...there was a fine line trod... Do you openly act on your intel and confirm that you have been intercepting and decoding German radio traffic...or do you soldier on cautiously while bracing for what you found out ahead of battles🤔 Classic case of Catch 22🤓
Whatever is wrong with American generals, American common soldiers are self-motivated, able to flex and adapt, quite willing to engage and are flat unmovable on defence. My grandfather and uncle were in the Wehrmacht. They said that of all the allied troops they fought, British, Russian, French, American Airborne troops were the ones they REALLY feared. It was the American 101st Airborne dividion the Germans could not defeat at Bastogne. It was these American paratroopers who refused to surrender at Bastogne and held up the German attack for many days, allowing other American forces to regroup and mount a wildly successful counter attack.
After the Bulge Bradley carried out his maneuver, and took over Germany, meanwhile helping Monty out of the mud puddle he was stuck in. Read 'Top Secret' by Ralph Ingersol
Paul - there are other books out there. I really suggest you read some others. Top Secret is good, but it is very old-school. And BTW another way of looking at it, is that Monty helped Bradley and the Americans out of the mud puddle of the Ardennes offensive
@@WW2TV indeed. But of my reading I find zingersil most convincing. As for Monty, ...I love Churchill, in but he was so concerned with the empire and imperial prestige - and I admire him for that - that he miscalculated in his hiring and firing of generals, and after Alamain Monty seemed like the guarante of imperial prestige. Then - for reasons I'm not too clear about, though I have ideas, he felt stuck with. Monty was a screw up... But the war was such a hiddious mess, no one man nade that much of a diffirence...
Open your strategic eyes. The US army was planning a bloody campaign for Japan, with 90% of the Units being American. Strategic decisions on the number of divisions and replacements (erroneous in my view) meant the US Army could not afford the losses.
@@WW2TV , Hello yes absolutely. Thank you for putting in so very much effort with your team and gusts to produce these series of videos. In years to come, these will be looked upon as ground breaking. Please keep up the great work you all do.
When I was in the Army stationed in Germany n 1969-71 I twice encountered Soldiers from Patton's Army who were visiting Europe 25 years later and both claimed they were in Prague, not Pilsen, in full force in 1945 and had to back out and let the Russians pretend they had "liberated"the Czech Capitol. These were 2 separate encounters a year apart and they did not know each other. They both got angry when I sugested, as the history books said, that they were in Pilsen, halfway to Prague ,or that they were advance units not full force ?
Peter Caddick-Adams (and Mr Bor) back again! If you have enjoyed this show, please don't forget to click like, leave a comment for other viewers and if you have not done so already please SUSBSCRIBE so you don't miss our next streams. You can also become a member of this channel and support me financially here th-cam.com/channels/UC1nmJGHmiKtlkpA6SJMeA.html. Links to any books discussed, WW2TV merchandise, our social media pages and other WW2TV shows to watch can all be found in the full TH-cam description. Lastly, my own book Angels of Mercy is always available online - more info here www.ddayhistorian.com/angels-of-mercy.html
This guy is so refreshing. He reminds us all how well the allies actually worked together well and his recognition of Americans and Canadians in good light is cool.
Extremely knowledgable guest and your own questions were insightful. Thank you for this and so many other great shows.
Just outstanding. Peter is utterly incredible to listen to.
PC-A mentioning that - "Invading Germany in 1945 is a bit like approaching an archeological dig. We know something has happened there. We have no idea how deep it is." - is pure gold. Just goes on to show why he's a fantastic historian and writer.
My Dad served in the 103rd Infantry Division, Anthony MCauliffe's Division, and they liberated Kauffering II. I agree with PCA, the soldiers did suffer psychologicaly,however Dad was extremely proud for having been there.
No. The 101st Airborne Division was MCaulife's division....some of the same paratroopers who also fought brilliantly at Normandy on D-Day.
@@lurking0death after the Ardennes campaign was over, Anthony MCauliffe commanded the 103rd infantry Division until the end of WW2.
Peter Caddick Adams is absolutely a gift from the history gods!! What a riveting presentation guys! I still can't get over the fact that we can see historians of Peter's caliber here FOR FREE! I urge all to consider becoming, as I have, one of Paul's Patreon supporters----this is too valuable a resource to risk losing. And Paul, I have probably seen somewhere between 75-100 hours of your programs over the years. I know---my bad----only maybe 80 hours or so------but I swear, if you had told me to come up with a list of five names that would NOT have been mentioned in ANY of your shows, not just the ones I've seen, I'm pretty sure Whitney Houston's name might have headed the list......thank you PCA for finally giving me something about Whitney that I can cling to!
couldn't agree more. I'm a very proud Patreon supporter of ww2tv. This is important work that he is doing and he needs our support!
I missed the live feed, but enjoyed the presentation immensely. It is nice to get a British historian's perspective for a change. The only histories of The Bulge I have read were written by American authors. Peter Caddick-Adams has a good grasp of the events and presents some thought provoking scholarship. I need to order his books to round out my knowledge. Good work WW2TV!
Thank you, Peter's books are very very good
The more I hear him speak and how much more needs to be done on the Bulge - and for that matter a lot more on World War 2, I hope the host and Mr. Caddick-Adams are inspiring younger historians to take on these topics. I have four shelves of Bulge books and there's always room for more! Thanks for this terrific program and your channel.
In an oblique way the 14 July attempt, by leaving Hitler to run things alone,really was successful in finishing him. I greatly appreciate your presentations and how thought provoking and eye opening they are. The experts that are so ready to join you speaks volumes of your efforts and recognition. Thanks as ever
You're welcome Jon
The Valkyrie plotters are seen as heros because they nearly killed Hitler. Their reasons had more to do with We can do it right, than Hitler is evil and crazy. LOL, amateurs and the general public have allowed themselves to believe that the war would've been over at that point. They would probably have treated with the Allies on the western front, but surrender to the Soviets was a non starter.
Deep battle. Destroy the “Leader’s” trust in the Wehrmacht and the “Leader” destroys thenWehrmacht 🤔
An outstanding presentation by PCA! His level of knowledge and is skill in presenting it is amazing! Stay to the end for a special appearance by Mr. Bor the wonder dog! 😀
Another great guest. I truly enjoyed him.
Another brilliant presentation. It is deeply saddening that all the WWII Veterans will pass away in our lifetime. For those old enough to have grown up knowing this unique generation, I praise Paul and his guests for not only keeping this history alive but also for their in depth knowledge of the countless events that took place then.
When I was kid, I was disappointed that my father wasn't a W.W. 2 vet--- it seemed that most men of my childhood were Vets! Alas , my dad was born in 1934.
I had teachers who had been in the war and some of my classmates fathers had been in the war. My Boy Scout commanders were Vets. Now, they're leaving quickly. What nerve they had.
@@jamesbinns8528 Amen brother
My father, a supremely level-headed and capable maintenance warrant officer (tanks, halftracks, trucks, etc.) in Patton's 6th Armored Div., landed on D-Day, was at the "Bulge," and was "near" Berlin near the end. I wish I'd questioned him about his exact movements, but kids are stupid and Dad never talked the war.
His discussion of the lesser known aspects of the Bulge including the units that were "behind the scenes" deserves a full book on its own. I hope he does one. His books have been magnificent!
Thank you Paul for presenting the WWII TV series. Good that you got Peter to do the 10-fact video on the Battle of the Bulge. His presentation is great, informative, unique observations and insightful views. Very enlightening and inspiring！ I have ordered “Snow ＆ Steel” and very much looking forward to it. 👍💯🙏
Fantastic presentation. A perfect start and finish to the Battle of the Bulge series. Peter is a wonderful communicator and I look forward to his next visit
Thanks!
Thanks very much
When you think nothing else can be said about the Battle of the Bulge, along comes PC-A with this great episode. Now I have another episode scratched of my catch up list.
Thoroughly enjoyed the presentation, thank you both.
Excellent talk, felt I should be taking notes while listening to Peter.
I have watched several of these programs and have learned so much and put so much information together into a cohesive story. Thank you so much.
Woody, this has been a most fantastic show with PC-A. His knowledge, his ability to switch from '44 to the present day and back is tremendous.
It is hard to beat the first Battle of the Bulge show by PC-A, but PC-A did with this show.
I'm thankful to be able to be part of this community.
And now I have to go back and watch the first Battle of the Bulge show.
Catching up on this and the way Peter puts it across is so so well. Wish i could have him as a tutor for a history degree.
As we wind down the war here in the vlog, I started thinking about the very few that are still alive that experienced that period, both home fires and the fight. Soon there's going to be that very last person that was in the action, and with their passing brings an end to a generation that through their bravery and hard work and willingness to endeavor to persevere we owe a great debt of gratitude.
Glad to have found this channel, great stuff!
Welcome aboard!
Peter never disappoints… great!
What a great show! I can't wait to read PCA's new book.
Thanks for putting this channel together. I found you through Drach's channel and it's been fascinating going back over some of the old episodes over the holiday period. The standard and quality of your guests is truly outstanding. Hats off to you from a Brit down under.
There’s a lot of great content here. I did the same and binged over the holidays 😎
Thank you. I hope you'll stick around and maybe become a member or Patron
I’m here from Drach 2.. love it
Good one!
Thanks Peter, thanks Woody!
Great wrap-up to an excellent series. Good variety of perspectives and approaches in the collection. Looking forward to future themes curated by Woody.
Excellent discussion. Thank you.
I appreciated the reference to NATO exercises in the Ardennes / Eifel in the 80's and siting a platoon position on top of old foxholes. I was there in March '83 alongside the Bundeswehr in Eifel Nationalpark between Schleiden and the Rursee, deep in the wooded hills in my 6x6 truck in freezing, foggy weather. Had just read "Company Commander" and "Battle of the Hurtgen Forest" by Charles MacDonald, and imagined what it must have been like in 1944.
Brilliant.
Just caught up. Thanks guys. Again, superb show! So informative. The new book sounds excellent PCA, and within not being released until May gives me a chance to get "the pile" reduced a bit.
What an excellent, thought provoking presentation.
From Peter to Paul 😊
Peter is a treasure. He really is.
…rapt attention into how little detailed history people,in general,have even now, learned or know about World War 2. All the years past the end of the war,this program and others I’ve watched, have really opened my eyes.Will generations after mine know more? Or will history erase all further decoding of the complete picture? Thank goodness for people who do the hard work of putting pieces together like a puzzle so those seeking answers have a source of information.My father was in the Airborne push into Germany. And didn’t really give the answers I now wish I had asked. Now he’s gone and so are most of the people who were participants. I keep learning and I wish I had really tried harder to understand. I think with every passing year there are fewer of us that wonder.
Hello there folks. PCA is outstanding as always. Thanks to all involved.
Absolutely an outstanding channel and another excellent presentation. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and helping me understand what my Dad went through in this battle.
Thank you, a brilliant episode, so informative and engaging
Col. Charles Codman, Patton's Aide de Camp, was the scion of an old and wealthy Boston family, and the wine buyer at Boston's fine grocery store S.S. Pierce before the war. His memoir, Forward is a series of letters he wrote home to his wife, and there are many dispatches from the drive across France where he lets his wife know about the conditions of the various vintages they'd purchased before the war, and the health of the vignerons they both new. There were always great wines at Patton's table.
I've read quite a bit about WW2 and I've also read quite a bit about the Holocaust but I've never had anyone draw a string between the two for me to read. I feel like I've been cheated. It is so logical to me and so horrible in its scope. It I thought that I was smarter than that. Thank you. A splendid piece of work, gentlemen. I feel at least a bit smarter.
Brilliant show, very informative. The information on the lack of knowledge of the scale of the Holocaust is fascinating. You have to wonder how nobody joined the dots of multiple camps where tens of thousands arrive on a regular basis but the camp doesn't grow to match the numbers. Surely with the excellent PR being carried out regularly over Germany, someone wondered about those camps.
Briĺltant Paul. Great guest. Arrived on my feed at just the right moment
Totally agree with PCA re Wolverhampton University and John Buckley at approx 1’33”.
I was in the same year as Peter at Wolves and remember him as a very hard working enthusiastic fellow student who I’m delighted has gone on to success.
John Buckley and the other lecturers at Wolves were great and I really enjoyed my time studying for my BA at Wolves 👍
Fascinating, thank you.
One advantage early on historians had was access to people that were instrumental in these campaigns. We're fortunate to have a great archive of audio, video and stills of these folks and their stories. There's very few people left that's still alive that was in the war, both at home and in the fight. Historians with their archives are very soon to be the only one's who can accurately and truthfully tell of the war, there will be no one left to tell their side. That's why these smaller side stories are so important to know and understand, gathering as much info as possible before access is gone, so to give future historians the proper information to carry the story on.
2nd time thru. Absolutely brilliant!
This was great
Another long shitty day at work. New to channel so I’m catching up. Very well done. Reading Guadalcanal by Frank now. Just finished 5 different Ww2 books in last couple months
Thanks for subscribing. I'm glad you are enjoying our content and I hope you will consider becoming a member of Patron at some point
One of the most interesting authors among many! on this channel. Extremely knowledgable from the details to the big picture. I was interesting in reading his book and looked on Amazon where I also found Beevor's book among others. After reading multiple reviews, I bought PCA's book on the Bulge, first book of military history I've bought in years. I was that impressed. And having studied for my Masters in history, it's not that easy to impress me.
Super as always
Just awesome.never considered SHAEF.I love the way you guys give an unbiased history.
Paul any chance a show about 82nd airborne in ardennes.101 gets all the press
Maybe a show on the 82nd will happen. I have a huge list of themes and topics to get through this year
@19:55
Wow, I'm a bit surprised that Churchill had to put Ol Monty, back in his place?!?
Really?
Because of over the top American whining and complaining lead by the embarrassed Bradley, who Montgomery had to come down and do his job for.
@@lyndoncmp5751 A little parochial are we Lyndon?
Several accounts explain this. Eisenhower threatened to resign and told Churchill that egotistical Monty directly insulted the dead and wounded US Troops. After Churchill made his comment he forced Montgomery to make a
Statement about the US sacrifice in the battle funny how these experts did not mention this !
History is being honest. Otherwise it’s politics.
Outstanding series filling in the gaps and adding to my perceptions. Thank you
Thank you Joe, and do please consider subscribing and becoming a member if you haven't already
Another fantastic show with Peter.
Thank you
PCA is great!! What is the yule tree doing on the back? Rave season!
It was Christmas when we recorded
Such a fantastic show, Woody!
There's a very good book called Patton At Bay: The Lorraine Campaign, 1944 by John Nelson Rickard. Patton is good but he's been overbuilt by post-war historiography. Patton got stuck in the Lorraine campaign, especially at Metz and didn't know what to do. It's a very interesting campaign as a whole.
Patton's Lorraine campaign was the biggest failure of autumn 1944, prior to the Ardennes. 52,000 combat casualties and still failed to attain its goals. Patton never did get out of the Lorraine and breach the Siegfried Line. Instead he was transferred to the Ardennes, and another US Army took over the Lorraine.
I had Rickard on to talk about Simmonds, but I will have him on to talk about Patton at some point
@@WW2TV Nice! I'll have to hunt down that vid now! :D
I understand McAuliffe was slated for a divisional command before the bulge. The 101st would never have been left in casual hands. As ever another extremely relevant series of back stories well explained and knitted together. Hitler also made some clumsy prevarication about Stalingrad as well, that’s what autocrats do. Thank you as ever for your efforts to find the right people
It’s nice to hear an analysis of this battle without the usual parochialism that the Battle of the Bulge often engenders. It’s also nice to hear about the effective interconnection of British/Canadian and American forces in the days after the Ardenne.
A friend of my father who was in the 82nd always bristled at any criticism of Montgomery !
Great discussion, thank you.
Great to see Mr Bor!
Peter, is such a fantastic historian, this is a great show, I have Peters book Snow and Steel, looking forward to his book on the last 100 days WW2. Thanks Paul and Peter 👍
Thanks for the nice words
Montgomery’s press conference was taken out of context, he never really (at the press conference) inferred he had won the battle. Montgomery has his faults, but his performance in the Ardennes was exemplary, and the American and British willingness to accept the burdens and benefits of being partners in combat is a great marker in how to build a coalition.
It wasn't so much taken out of context as exploited by German propaganda. The Germans actually broadcast a fake BBC report which credited Montgomery at the expense of many of the American officers, and it had been heard by many of the US troops and officers who believed it to be a genuine BBC report.
The sitution also wasn't helped by the London press, which tended take a similar line in their reporting as the German propaganda broadcast, and was sharply critical of the American officers largely responsible for their victory while giving a bit too much credit to Montgomery.
To also blow everyone's minds Kareem-Abdul- Jabar's father was one of the Black Panthers tank battalion. Fun fact Kareem Abdul-Jabar was an English major at UCLA and wrote a book about his father and his comrades.
Title? And author is Lou Al or Kareem ?
My father was a Dentist in the Army Air Corps for 6 years (the duration). He told me he worked on flyers to get their teeth in good enough shape to fly in the non pressurized planes of the time. According to my Dad, healthy teeth were necessary to fly and in many recruits had problems because of lack of dental care caused by the Depresson and backwoods areas where there no Dentists. I think the B-29 was our first plane with a pressurized cabin. He worked at Mitchell Field on Long Island so I guess many he worked on went over to Europe.
What a fascinating fact. Thank you for sharing
Great show Paul, its a real service to hear Dr. PCA direct. Most important added dimension to my reading this past year is getting to hear direct and interact with authors I've read for years and valued.
One thing I will look to see how Dr. PCA handles that didn't come up in this talk is about the imperatives and planning to get troops out of Europe and headed to the Pacific in prep for the invasions of Japan. D.M. Giangreco's recently revised and updated (highly recommend) "Hell to Pay" lays this out very well - crucial in the Decision of Eisenhower not to go into Berlin. One thing that might bear some real emphasis also is how bad the replacement situation, especially for infantry, was in the US Army - it really indicts Hodges and the wastage in the Hurtgen I think, considering what the prospects are going to the Pacific and/or even thinking about going into Berlin. For example the 99th was filled with ASTP troops pulled in as infantry replacements.
What I gather from D.M. Giangreco and what the delay was from the Bulge per Dr. PCA is that it directly impacted on the planned invasion dates for Japan, since the U.S. wanted to start the troop transfers in January and couldn't, that didn't start till March. Also, the replacement stream was shut off to the ETO in late April-early May as well.
Listening to this in the last week of March (2022), is prophetic.
The way he stated that the standoff around Ukraine in January still looked like the Cuban Missile Crisis.
And how he said around 49:00 of "victory at all costs" and especially "in the Russian frame of mind, the human doesn't matter" (when it comes to tolerating losses).
Massive *Oofs* trickled down my spine there...
I agree with PCA that Eisenhower's decision not to advance on Berlin was the correct one, but wasn't it becoming clear that the population were dreading the arrival of the Soviets and the allies would have faced minimal military resistance had they reached the Capital first?
Outstanding broadcast by the way, but then they usually are. Best wishes.
Fuel capacity of a King Tiger, don't worry about it. We don't have enough fuel to fill it anyway.
Peters' new years resolution is to get his books sorted out..lol..
Firstly, I must complement WW2TV & PCA for another idea challenging show about an event we've been brought up with and think we know that already. You really these need fresh perspectives.
1) SHAEF wasn't all smell of roses and it's been over emphasised how much the top generals were at each others throat. But as PCA shows, the organisation, rationale & motivations of SHAEF is rock solid as the vast majority of its 22,000 staff are professionals who can deliver the advice the German High Command can no longer do. For every prima donna, there's vastly more selfless general staff to keep the alliance on track and there is the political oversight (Churchill scolding Monty in the Commons) to ensure it stays that way.
2) that the Bulge helps transform SHAEF into effectively NATO is something I didn't comprehend. I would hoped regards current events, NATO leadership doesn't fall into the same groupthink that made SHAEF believe a winter attack is impossible and against all logic, even though a critical analysis of ULTRA decrypted gave signs of an offensive brewing. Dangerous to assume you know your enemy inside out as I fear Brussels is doing now, regards its sanction threat.
3) PCA once agains confirms that the Allies were overwhelmed by the discovery of the death camps in Germany and no resources to cope with the survivors. Bradley already mentioned this in his 1951 memoirs that they did genuinely not know the scale of horror the Germans did. There was Enigma decrypts beforehand that suggested what was going on (the Germans used a coded language to mask their activities - the first version of H Denial) and the Polish underground started revealing the existence of the Operation Rheinhardt camps 1942 onwards. But But the Allies couldn't bring themselves to believe that that the Germans would perform this illogical systematic mass murder in a war they were guaranteed to lose.
From an Irish perspective, I really despise bigots who claim the neutral Irish government knew about the death camps in 1943, when it's clear the Allies didn't even know the existence and scale till the first camps were liberated Jan 1945. Those bigots are performing their own version of H denial and are beneath contempt.
PCA is a great historian and speaker.
May I consult Peter if Stimson had actually considered conducting an enquiry into the intelligence failure, like the Pearl Harbour failure? Many thanks, Paul and Peter.
Just finished Caddick-Adams' 'Snow and Steel' -- I am still defrosting -- and hats off for this monumental piece of research. To be fair, it was my re-introduction to the Ardennes after having read Whiting's work 20+ years ago (and found other interests in between). This battle is so much more than the 'Nuts' of Bastogne (which I think it all we know about it in the Netherlands). I particularly enjoyed the last chapter, in which the links between past and present are made -- how ex-SS trained Arabs (and Palestinians) for example -- history is not past.
(Having read 'Sand and Steel' earlier -- in which the present seems further away -- the last of the trilogy is on the holiday reading pile)
Patton ran out of fuel not because there was no fuel, but because it was syphoned off to crazy Monty's Market Garden. So, fuel was taken away from a successful advance to be given to an operation that Monty knew was going to fail. They knew the panzer division was resting there, and went anyway.
"Monty knew was going to fail" = Bullshit
The really weak point of Market Garden was that Montgomery, nor any other General ever conceived failure. No General does, otherwise what's the point of planning anything? What's the point of Generals? Certainly it could've been planned better. 7 days to get ready to drop 3 divisions into combat?
Interesting a few gems spoken against Monty in this video Ive not known about before - Market Garden served a purpose.
I think we shouldn't get stuck on the "Hitler as lunatic" idea. Yes, the "small solution" of aiming to cut off and maul/destroy a US Army might have been more viable but it does present a number of problems:
1) Hitler knew better than anyone that Germany had about three to six months left of military power left in it. There wasn't enough fuel in December 1944 for any major strategic offensive and fuel shortages were affecting operational level offensives at that time on other fronts. Germany's manpower was by this point almost exhausted and many of its formations were not able to be brought back up to full strength. Ammunition shortages were affecting all fronts due to supply issues caused by Allied bombing.
2) What this meant was that Germany was going to lose the war and for the Nazi regime that would be a definite end. For Germany as a state and a nation, it could well have meant division and conquest... or worse.
3) A small offensive could have (maybe) trapped a US Army and (maybe...) destroyed it but this would depend on surprise, concentration of forces and elsewhere immobilizing enough Allied operational-level units to give the two Panzer Armies time to trap and destroy the targeted army as a military force. Even if it had gone perfectly, there was a good chance that the US public would take the defeat as an affront to avenged, rather than as proof that the war was futile and should be ended.
4) For this reason and *in the strategic sense*, the offensive had to have as its aim the port of Antwerp in order to split the Allied armies and provide a sufficient *political* shock that the Allies would either agree to a ceasefire (end the war) or evacuate Holland & Belgium and regroup in the south, giving Germany enough time to put together a counteroffensive reserve in the East, where it would likely be used to retake the Hungarian oil fields and keep Germany fighting long enough to wear out the Soviets.
5) Remember your history! Hitler talked *explicitly* in his address to the generals about the "miracle" of the Seven Years War. That Frederick the Great held off several different enemies long enough for political changes (the death of Tsarina Catherine) to relieve the pressure and save Prussia from catastrophe. THAT was the aim of the offensive. To create the political conditions for that "miracle" to reoccur and save Germany from catastrophe once again. Remember that Hitler believed in Fate: that he had been fated to become Germany's savior and that Fate and Will would see Germany (and his regime) through the trial and so on.
By destroying or routing *several* armies and retaking key territory, the aim was to demonstrate that Germany could not be defeated and that peace was a better prospect than war in 1945.
great show Paul. Always educational and enriching. He's very "posh" is Peter, but really passes on his knowledge in a captivating way. I'm glad your not "posh" Paul...lol.. Lovely dog though...bless him.
I'm not sure I would use the word posh myself. Like many of my guests he has an accent sure, but I would say it's more Home Counties and typical of a career military officer
@@WW2TV aye Paul. In Middlesbrough...it would still be posh..lol...knows his stuff though.
Just a footnote, to put things into one perspective here! If Patton’s 3rd Army in May 1945 numbered altogether just under half a million men, then Bill Slim’s 14th Army in Burma was by then almost numbering (Slightly less than one million personnel) twice that size in terms of manpower!
Another great show! Thank you. PCA & Whitney Houston.....who'd have thought!! :)
.04 Who was the grumpy looking German soldier? He makes it into almost every presentation or documentary on Operation Wacht am Rhein.
His identity is still debated
At 1:16:00 what you are describing is Kentucky
I don’t think Devers was operating under the pressures actual and perceived as Patton. Richard Taylor, Zachary Taylor’s son writes in his memoirs that wherever he camped he sent out staff to look at all possible roads in the area I have been told that Patton did the same thing. I read some of Patton’s report on North Africa he goes from spanner size to tactics and more. A fine commander knows how to get the right people and correctly assess their input. I know Patton can be insufferable but he shouldn’t be underestimated, nor Montgomery. I frequently query if not that person who? Analysis is always valuable. Thank you as ever for your choice of guest, fine presentation and valuable insight and information
I know this off topic but I would like to hear from a historian on British General Alexander who I feel deftly handled the personalities of Patton and Montgomery during the north African and Sicilian campaigns. Alexander seems to me to be a General who isn't given his due study and credit.
The DUKW trucks would've been useful after the Rhine in their basic role. Still rivers to cross, and mountains have big lakes.
It's still perfectly usable as a truck (albeit a little more awkward to load an unload. It's just a deuce-and-a-half with a boat hull built around it
The US war games in Tennessee in 1942 may have helped US units prepare in similar terrain to the Ardennes.
The Kriegsmarine after the defeat worked for the allies doing minesweeping. Army engineering units were put to work clearing minefields on beaches and on land
The British army had x-ray machines in the Boer War - IN THE FIELD.
For future possible project, it may or may not be your thing, we hear a lot about the p51, how the Americans were the great designers of the best fighter ever, I know they put it all together in record time but was it not done to British specification and then was only average until the British put a merlin in it, did the Americans hog the result
That's on my list for the future
I always wondered why nearly every memoir had their unit liberating a 'concentration camp.'
All the training in the world can’t make up for real battle experience
What's the last serious battle the Allied forces have before the end of the war? Is there one for the Brits and Commonwealth forces and a different one for the Americans?
It's all a single campaign really - pushing into Germany
Montgomery press conference was only held to defend Eisenhower, who was getting hammered by the British press for the American retreat in the Ardennes. Montgomery said captains win battles and he gave Eisenhower credit as team captain. Montgomery also lavishly praised the American soldiers.
Prior to that press conference both Bradley and Patton had been giving the impression that Bradley was still in command of the whole battle and gave no acknowledgement to Montgomery for his help. This got so bad that Bedell Smith had to issue a SHAEF press statement on January 5th 1945 pointing out that Montgomery was in command of US 1st and 9th Armies and had been since December 20th. Montgomery therefore did nothing that Bradley and Patton hadn't been doing. Montgomery actually said nothing that was wrong in his press conference.
You are very biased. It’s very dangerous. He insulted the Americans so gravely the the important US press raised hell and president Roosevelt had to tell Churchill to shut up little Monty or there would be a real problem. Since all food and 70 % of the food and 60 % of the trucks ships and planes came from america Churchill always a
Realist caved in.
As for Ultra and the cracking of the Enigma code machines...there was a fine line trod...
Do you openly act on your intel and confirm that you have been intercepting and decoding German radio traffic...or do you soldier on cautiously while bracing for what you found out ahead of battles🤔
Classic case of Catch 22🤓
Whatever is wrong with American generals, American common soldiers are self-motivated, able to flex and adapt, quite willing to engage and are flat unmovable on defence. My grandfather and uncle were in the Wehrmacht. They said that of all the allied troops they fought, British, Russian, French, American Airborne troops were the ones they REALLY feared. It was the American 101st Airborne dividion the Germans could not defeat at Bastogne. It was these American paratroopers who refused to surrender at Bastogne and held up the German attack for many days, allowing other American forces to regroup and mount a wildly successful counter attack.
After the Bulge Bradley carried out his maneuver, and took over Germany, meanwhile helping Monty out of the mud puddle he was stuck in.
Read 'Top Secret' by Ralph Ingersol
Paul - there are other books out there. I really suggest you read some others. Top Secret is good, but it is very old-school. And BTW another way of looking at it, is that Monty helped Bradley and the Americans out of the mud puddle of the Ardennes offensive
@@WW2TV indeed. But of my reading I find zingersil most convincing. As for Monty, ...I love Churchill, in but he was so concerned with the empire and imperial prestige - and I admire him for that - that he miscalculated in his hiring and firing of generals, and after Alamain Monty seemed like the guarante of imperial prestige. Then - for reasons I'm not too clear about, though I have ideas, he felt stuck with. Monty was a screw up... But the war was such a hiddious mess, no one man nade that much of a diffirence...
Or maybe it was because Monty was the best candidate? If not him who else for 21AG?
Open your strategic eyes. The US army was planning a bloody campaign for Japan, with 90% of the Units being American. Strategic decisions on the number of divisions and replacements (erroneous in my view) meant the US Army could not afford the losses.
You are off on your math here Edmund. The US / DUKE balance for the invasion of Japan was more like 60 /40
What about a programme dedicated to the assassination attempts on Hitler?
The German attempts you mean? That would be interesting at some point
@@WW2TV , Hello yes absolutely. Thank you for putting in so very much effort with your team and gusts to produce these series of videos. In years to come, these will be looked upon as ground breaking. Please keep up the great work you all do.
Thank you Ian
When I was in the Army stationed in Germany n 1969-71 I twice encountered Soldiers from Patton's Army who were visiting Europe 25 years later and both claimed they were in Prague, not Pilsen, in full force in 1945 and had to back out and let the Russians pretend they had "liberated"the Czech Capitol.
These were 2 separate encounters a year apart and they did not know each other. They both got angry when I sugested, as the history books said, that they were in Pilsen, halfway to Prague ,or that they were advance units not full force ?