I’m glad I found this channel! I have autism so my reading ability isn’t the best and I struggle to focus but I’ve wanted to read soldiers diaries from WW2 but it was difficult. So thank you for doing this! God bless!❤️
One of my best friends who I was with again today at our pal's jazz gig is also on the spectrum. You just keep on doing you brother with ZERO apologies. Cheers.
My grandfather was stationed in the CBI (China-berms-India) Theater, he served 4 years straight without coming home once, He was lucky, he was an airplane mechanic and loved doing his part to win the war, No wonder in my life I never heard him complain about petty things, I admire him more each day, He was Otto Orlowski Wheeling Illinois
That's something that, I personally, don't think is stressed enough in history classes. A woman who awaits the return of her husband or maybe her 5 sons (my grandmother and her sister in law had all sons at war) and the enlistment or draft is for the duration. There are no phone calls, no emails. There are letters on "onion skin" paper as thin as tissue wrapping paper done to reduce weight. Once the son or husband is heavy combat, or in an area that makes logistics difficult to impossible, or the whatever cargo carier is also mail carriers are sunk or shot down, it could be months upon months before a letter got home or caught up to the GI recipient. Your children, babies always to a mother, are somewhere on the planet. Are they hungry, hurt, suffering? Is my child mortally wounded and crying out for me as he did as a child having a bad dream? How many women received word their GI was MIA or MIA presumed POW? My aunt, at the start of the war, early 1942, was notified her son was POW of Japan. She had no idea what was happening only that he was alive. In 44, 45 the family presumed he was dead because there was no word. She refused. She said she would know. He was captured early when his ship was sunk. He was in the Batan death march, he survive cabanatuan, O'Donnell and when the allies were closing in he was placed on a troop ship while the Japanese were on a hospital ship. They were headed for Japan. The allies sunk his ship. He said he swam until he couldn't take anymore anything, made his peace, stopped swimming and was going to drown. That's when his feet touched sand. He collapsed and woke to recapture. He was sent to work in the mines and by chance was coming out when he saw the mushroom cloud over Hiroshima. After giving deposition at the war crimes tribunal of the Pacific he returned home. 1946. People have no idea what luxury communication is. With hand writing slowly dying, there is no understanding of loosing a loved one or simply being separated for years and how their handwriting is so incredibly like being able to touch someone. To a homesick, terrified 18 or 19 yo, in a place he never knew existed, a letter from home is like his mother is touching him. How much history have we learned thanks to the properties of the humble snail mail?
@@earthsucks9555 will we be able to? They were coming out of a depression that had shown everyone hardship and privation. Almost 3/4 of the GIs came from rural areas or small towns. They were all mostly in really good physical condition. The had a respect for authority. That doesn't mean what people think it does. I'm afraid if that happened today, if we ended up calling up over a million young men, how many would have the physical ability or the intestinal fortitude to gut through the battles, especially in the Pacific, that the men of the greatest generation did? I get woohoo mad. I don't know who's ignorant idea it was when generation naming went nuts, to call them the silent generation. Silent, really? I think they left a legacy that is screaming at us.
@@Me-fm9zk What a chump you are You clearly don’t realize the impact of the uncles, fathers, and grandfathers. You’re a pseudo intellectual- Read Schopenhauer
My Dutch in laws said the Germans coming from Normandy said the war was over. The allies had so much equipment that it was hopeless. The one German soldier asked for civilian clothing but you could be shot giving a German soldier clothes.
Si un soldado de un ejercito enemigo es sorprendido sin su uniforme que lo identifica como tal , puede ser fusilado de inmediato sin juicio marcial de por medio , por perfidía .
Market Garden was a mistake. The Brit 1st airborne took 80-90% casualties . They didn't act on intel that showed armor in the area and had no idea that 2 depleted SS panzer divs were in the Arnhem area to rest and refit. Your inlaws were right. But arrogance cost the allies a whole div of airborne and huge casualties in the 82nd and 101st airborne not to mention 30 corps that was the lead Brit element of the Garden side
@merchantoftruth6637I've heard stories of the Battle of the Bulge of surrounded Allied Armor that sugared their gas, sanded the oil, and literally walked away with the equipment running. They snuck out and had new equipment in 24 hours.
My Dad arrived in France just about 2 weeks after D Day. Even he was stunned looking up in the sky and seeing what seemed like an endless number of planes overhead. I can only imagine the despair the German Army must have felt witnessing a similar sight.
A old story I heard once that always stuck with me of that of a German captain whose men captured an American and while having him searched found some chocolate cake his wife had sent him from back home, he then realized that they would lose the war, they couldn’t get good meals a few hundred miles away from Germany but this guy being able to have some cake from across the world.
@@michaelsublet3283 I've had those Grandpa Simpson moments too. 😂 _"ya know, i remember when we fought against the...wait, no...that was a movie from 1986."_
@blackbird497 You are correct about the US getting their mail: the US Women's Army Corp 6888th battalion, led by Major Charity Adams, were the heroes who were dispatched to England to sort out the years-long backlog of US army mail that filled aircraft hangars (millions of unsorted items including cake that was being devoured by rats or had rotted over the months and years). Major Adams knew logistics and her soldiers were dedicated. They acted like detectives to get mail to the correct soldier, even when there were thousands of "Private John Smith" and the frontlines kept moving big distances or soldiers flew to different countries. Being black and female, the US Army treated these 6888th soldiers with much the same disdain that Hitler would have had for them (a sad irony that unfree women were 'fighting' for german freedom but not their own). But, in UK, there were no 'jim crow' laws and the battalion did well at work amd socially. They worked shifts around the clock to clear the backlog in much less than a year. So it is reasonable to assume that the Germans may have been surprised by how clever the US became at getting mail and parcels from USA to frontline troops, due to the 'six triple eights'. However, the brits were even better at mail. Even in WW1, brits in the trenches in france were getting their mail from home, in an extraordinarily efficient manner as the brits authorities knew the power of the postage stamp, recently postmarked from one's home village, during war. Nevertheless, it was a great moraleboosting and very practical achievement by the 6888th. Major Adams is really rather an unsung war heroine who should have our stamp of approval, our admiration and our applause.
I had 2 great uncles that landed in Normandy. They always said how weak the Germans were that they captured. Skin and bones. They were also very surprised at the lack of mechanization, as being told how advanced they were. Horses he said were everywhere. That's all they used. And bicycles. Stuff they'd read about during WWI.
Really, they created the battle of the bulge with horse and carriage? lol your uncles were full of bull sheet. Yet an inferior German force killed 20 million Russians while fighting on a western front.
Considering they started Operation Barbarossa with 600.000 horses I'm not surprised. You'd be lucky if 10% was motorized. Soviet Union was worse they had no logistics capability except for the 450.000 Trucks given to them through lend-lease
A lot of the coastal defenders were recovering wounded, the recovered that weren't fit for duty on the Eastern Front, some foreign units, as well as really old men or very young boys.
My dad landed D day + 3 and was immediately pushed to the front to do recon....he only shared memories with me..his only son a few months before he died..the greatest tragedy was a friendly fire incident ..an evening artillery attack by UK or US on Canadian positions..wiped out most of his friends...most of his quick fleeting stories sounded more like Vietnam than WW2..lots of confusion and chaos..he fought a war portrayed when he lived as a simple fight between right and wrong.. good and evil.. his reality was dirty messy and tragic...to the point he lost his legs below the knees...
This is fascinating. This guy, a major about to be a Lt. Colonel, felt he had to sit there and wait for orders from above to defend against an invasion. In the U.S. armed forces, even a Lieutenant would have acted first and explained himself later. Very, very different military cultures.
You are mistaken. Modern American soldiers may show initiative without the blessing of their superior but during WW2 it was not the case. German soldiers were trained at any level to act according to the situation. They aren't waiting for orders or to get their officers replaced.
Well if you are meant to be a reserve unit and taking part in an elastic defence is pretty important to know when to stay and when to go via cooperation with higher ups
Any Royal Marine no matter how lowly from a Marine upwards can and will act independently. Marines are an elite for a reason. If a Marine has an opinion he may express it to be considered and acted upon. God Save the King
I worked with German Military Veterans back in the Mid sixties in Germany while in the US Army, and thay all said we knew it was over, long before D Day, as when the germans didn't take Moscow in 1941, they knew They had lost the war.
I was 5 years old when my Father came home and told my Mother war had been declared. Although my country was not in a warzone, I can remember shortages as food was sent north for the Army in North Africa. But what emerged at the end of the war will horrify people for years to come. The concentration camps horrified the rest of the world.
Here is a thought to consider, in the book “the Victors “ GIs were asked about all the cultures they interacted with during WW2 which one was most like us? The Germans was the answer.
Some years ago now, for I am slowly becoming ancient, I got to listen to von Luck give a lecture on Operation Goodwood. Given all the Naval support the allies had from the start, I don't think there was an way the Germans could have pushed the invasion back, though they did come close to convincing the Allied command that it might be wise to retreat from Omaha Beach. I also had a friend who drove an infantry landing craft in the second wave on Omaha. As his wave started in, he noticed lights coming on along the beach far in the distance and though 'gee, that's great!. They are already putting up lights!" Of course, as he got closer, he realized he was actually watching the flash from the MG42's. Obviously that was somewhat of a disappointment, but it did give him a little story to tell for the rest of his life.
Omaha was almost a failure because they had no tanks. The tanks that were supposed to support the infantry were launched so far out they sunk before they could reach the beaches. A logistical failure mostly not told.
@@blackvulcan100 Very true. Also very true that the strongest German defensive formation on the beach was stationed there didn't help either. Wouldn't have mattered if the Allies had tanks or not on Utah.
@@thomasjamison2050 Utah they landed at the wrong place but luck was on their side it was one of the least defended parts of the beach. We have landed at the wrong place but the war now starts here .Forgot who said that. Pont du hoc now that is worth seeing.
In the film The Longest Day Howard was played by the actor Richard Todd. Todd, himself, had taken part in the capture of Pegasus Bridge and knew Howard. In the film another actor portrayed Richard Todd which must have been an interesting experience for both of them.
Todd dropped with 6th airborne, he was not part of operation deadstick. He was on the bridge at one point to deliver a message, he did know Howard. Also, the beret Todd wore in the film was his beret from Normandy. Lord Lovetts piper was bill millan.
@@tobytaylor2154 In the film Sink The Bismarck the actor who played Captain John Leech, the captain of the Prince of Wales, was played by the actor Esmond Knight. Knight actually served in one of the turrets of the Prince of Wales during the battle with Bismarck. His turret was hit during the battle and Knight lost one eye and was blinded in the other. He later regained some sight in the eye and he could return to acting.
@@bigblue6917 not really relevant to this but interesting. Can't get better than "theirs is the glory" an absolutely crap film as film making goes but by far one of the best war films by miles........why? Every British para in the film is playing themselves on the real battleground straight after the war whilst the battle ground is exactly how it was. So every damaged building, tank etc is the real deal from the battle.
I have to say von Lucks segments are the most fascinating to me. Just for the random fact alone that his motorcycle from his specific reconnaissance unit was captured years earlier in Africa was later recaptured and returned to him(still with the existing unit identifiers) all the way back in France, to the same unit fighting in combat with eachother once again. Between von Lucks random fate and chivalry stories and Usha Bartmanns attempts to survive the utter chaos of the eastern front, these videos make my day.
He said it was a DKW motorcycle. In 1959 my father bought a brand spanking new DKW 4-door car in Dartmouth NS. It had a 3-cylinder, 2-stroke, air-cooled engine. We drove that sucker across the country and back. I believe DKW went on to become Audi.
Motorcycle with the German units: "Africa hot, temp gauge in red, sand in filters!" after captured: "England winter cold brrr!, oil frozen, thaw with hot tea" return to Germans: "Need maintenance, use genuine DKW parts please."
How to crack a British POW: give him a cup of tea and talk about your summer vacation in London. Great reading! Always informative to hear both sides of the battle.
Thats not what I have heard, many times. Most of the General staff tried to persude Hitler that Calaise was a rous to split the Panzer divisions, which is what hitler did , and probably caused the Landings to succeed. Impressed by his English
@@MrDaiseymay It wasn't just Hitler. There is a story of a man who single-handedly manipulated the entire German intelligence apparatus that the invasion was going to be at Calais and that Normandy was a ruse. He was a Spanish man and unfortunately I forgot his name.
You still would have lost the war as soon as you got near the coast the battleships would have torn you to pieces. All you would succeed in doing is getting more people killed.
I lost two Great Uncles in the 1914-18 war and a Uncle in the 1939-45 war and for what so evil can start again in another Country and all I will say is thank God that Peace has Remained in Europe for 78 years
Hitler was just like Trump, and Trump is identical to Hitler. The intelligence of a child and the patience of a child, he wants what he wants and he wants it now.
My educational background is economics and I've never forgotten what one of my professors said related to WWII: At the peak of WWII, 1944, the United States produced enough war material to not only arm itself, but most of its allies, executing a two front world war to victory using only 60% of its industrial capacity. The US was and has been the only true modern superpower the world has ever known.
You are correct. The total number of Transports, trucks and Jeeps simply GIVEN to the Soviets was between 500,000 and 1,000,000. General Motors was exceedingly productive and FDR and the US Military were in a generous mood.....Stalin was fighting from the East. April 30, 1945, the Nazi's defending Berlin saw American Jeeps and Transports coming from the WEST and the EAST, at the same time!
@@stevencohen-musial2380 Not to support anything having to do with post war Russian military efforts, or their bullshit propaganda programs, or their respect for strong man idiots... the only REAL difference we made with the Russians was in trucks. They barely had any, and our numbers greatly improved logistics. Planes and tanks only really accounted for something like 10% of their forces.. not a joke by any means, but not the material support we like to think we gave (me included). It probably would have made more of an impact to swap the planes and tanks out for more Fords.
The greatest strength of the United States Army is that even the lowest ranking soldier has carte blanche to attack any opposing force and will not suffer any consequences for doing so unless given an order not to do so.
That was really good. I shed a little tear when he mentioned how his former commanding officer gave their rations to the starving woman and children in a Russian village and how the Russian defenders let them retreat in response to his generosity. Why is it that we allow those who’ve lost all sense of humanity (if they ever possessed any) to push us around as flags on a map?
I once visited a veteran by the name of Ernie Sedgwick. I was only supposed to be there for 5 minutes, ended up staying 4 hours. He was at Pegasus Bridge that night, so it's likely he was one of the men faced in Escoville later. Ernie was also at Dunkirk, when he was in the Durham Light Infantry. He later transferred to the paras, fought at Pegasus, and later again fought at Oosterbeek during Market Garden. He told me where (just to the side of the bridge) British soldiers used to go for a poo, something they don't often show in the films. He also told me of the death of his friends, the Gronert twins there. At the time I spoke with him he was 92, but he was still a huge mountain of a man, even at 92 years old I reckon Ernie could still give a good account of himself. Can only imagine what he was like in his youthful prime.
We stand on the shoulders of mighty, great men. Here we are again, watching a possible conflict get out of control and embroil us all. Then there is the un-elected WEF bureaucrats ready to dictate to world. Will we learn our history, and respect those that fought so hard to give us our freedom.
Nice that the Germans fell for the Calais ploy. Quite an achievement to convince the Germans of the existence of non-existent invasion army. The British are really good at that sort of thing.
Man-o-man some of the stories I could tell from my grandfather who was in the wehrmacht , and my grandmother who lived through the bombings In Frankfurt and dealing with the gestapo who threatened her life
Excellent storytelling and fascinating bits such as the return of the motorcycle from the North Africa campaign. My only ask would be to change up the picture of the destroyed tank to include other scenes that might enhance the storytelling. Thanks!!
My cousin's grandfather was a paratrooper killed immediately prior to the Normandy invasion. His grandmother was 19 and pregnant at the time (she's still alive, though in poor health). My aunt only recently found out the precise details of her father's death).
you share one grandfather but because a cousin is the child of an aunty or uncle that aunty or uncle would have a child with someone outside of the family and that someone would give said cousin a grandfather
The photo you use for your channel is of Sgt Ian Thomas 25th Battalion 2nd NZ Division. The photo was taken on 15th July 1942 at 7:30pm prior to a night attack attack on Ruweisat Ridge Egypt. "I was sitting on the start line with my back towards the enemy, i was wounded that night" Sgt. Thomas said of this photo. Pretty cool aye
I read Von Luck's book Panzer Commander many years ago. Fantastic read, one of the better World War II stories for sure. If I recall correctly I think he was a prisoner of war in Russia till 51 or 53. A long time.
Look, I am a veteran and respect all of our vets of WWII. But saying when the Allies landed in Normandy "we knew it was over" is a bit off the mark. Over 150 German divisions in the east. The Allies in the west faced 60 at the most? And the western Allies had a hell of a time doing it. We owe the vast majority of our thanks to the Red Army. The USSR sacrificed more and just did most of the fighting. The real turning point of WW II in Europe was the battle of Stalingrad. The Red Army wiped out the entirety of the German 6th Army. And a Panzer division as well. Just offering perspective. Great video sir. Thank you.
34:07 😂 Well There you go! The operation wasn't a _complete loss..._ The man got his bike back! You take whatever little victories you can get on the beaches of Normandy, eh?
I used to work in a hotel in Norway that catered to many German tourists. Mostly elderly. I got the opportunity to discuss the war on many occasions which was interesting because like everyone here, I only knew the history from the victors point of view. Like everything else, there were differing opinions but the consensus was that most felt that the war was folly and they had little chance of prevailing. Many knew this from the start but more said it was after the invasion of the UK was called off.
Germany never had a navy or airforce capable of invading the uk. This was made very clear in the battle of britain where british fighter planes and bombers defeated the german airforce. Another reason for germany's inability to achieve what it wanted to was britains new weapon that they had just invented, radar. This gave britain a huge advantage in the battle of britain. But the main reason germany were unable to attemt an invasion of britain was that britains navy was literally almost ten times bigger than germanys. This is the main reason why germany never even attempted to invade britain, they just didnt have the ability to do so
At the start Germany seem invincible like it was going to conquer the world. I wonder if any of them actually thought that from the start. Halfway through most people could see it. But at the start? You'd have to be very knowledgeable in economics to know that Germany could keep up, and there was no internet back them to give you all that info.
as if they could do anything to us we aren't fully prepared to do to ourselves. humanity is its own worst enemy, we never learn. we allow the animal to win. hate is a disease, and those afflicted are sick.
The book "D-Day through German eyes" discusses this a lot. The germans couldn't believe that the allies landed with jeeps, the germans were still using horses, yet the Americans had sent thousands of jeeps halfway across the world.
I really enjoyed this, if I could give some feedback perhaps instead of a picture of a static tank, you could have put up a map of the area with areas highlighted which you were talking about.
I have looked pretty closely at the military capabilities of the combatants associated with D-Day and the thereafter western front. the truth is most of the German fighting units were so understrength at this time of the war that they would not have even met the minimum requirements for combat ready in the German Line of battle unit definitions. They also had very limited petroleum, especially high octane av gas and the mechanized units were also highly restricted in movement by fuel limits. On the other side, due to American fuel supplies the allies had almost unlimited fuel (they also had very high octane Av gas, again provided by America, which gave the allied fighters a decisive qualitative advantage at this time in the war). As the German's are stating in this video the allies had complete air superiority and it was almost impossible for German mechanized units to move in day light without being torn to shreds. For all intents and purposes the war was already over at this point...we just needed a year of set moves to make the point. The eastern front completely finished the German nation as an offensive threat, it took their men, their equipment and their last petroleum sources.
@@Galexsy-b2z that is one of the strategic questions that has been asked over the decades....had German made the african front more serious to hold the oil earlier in the war would it have made a difference? I personally have always said that once Germany declared war on the 2nd biggest manufacturing capacity country (Russia) and then by a large order of magnitude the 1st largest manufacturing capacity that the war was a fait accompli at that point.
My uncle was 101st airborne. I remember spending two weeks in the summer months every year with him and my aunt. The most boring people ever. I had no clue my uncle was even in the war until he died. He never once spoke of. I wish so bad I had known because the times spent in the summers would have been full of questions. I was so young though, I probably wouldn’t have known exactly what to ask. I’m not sure if when the soldiers returned from war, if they had things they brought home but an old trunk in the barn was always of interest to us kids, but we were warned never to disturb the trunk. I have a feeling it was full of his things from his time in military and war. 🤷♀️
The fog of war affects all armies. The indecision and lack of action by the Germans near Normandy was not unusual. The term SNAFU comes to mind and always seems to be present. Once the first bullet is fired most plans come apart and confusion reigns.
The Germans were already collapsing in the East before the allies landed. The Germans had like 80% of their armies in the east. The allies had it easy.
My great grandfather, Rittmeister Erhard Von Rügen, a member of the land-owning Junker nobility, fought with honour and distinction in the 47th Panzer Corps to preserve the Reich. His pictures still adorn the halls in some of our residences. Now we are all friends, and the Allies made us see the folly of our ways. However, as our family coat of arms says, a wolf never forgets... Even as we speak, our Leopard main battle tanks roam the Ukrainian steppes eyeing the Russian border with hunger in their eyes as their forefathers, the Tiger tanks, once did!
As a British man, I respect your country, your people and the pride you have in the achievements of your elders. My grandfather was a dam buster. Navigation. The only thing he told me about the war.... Respect your enemies. He died shortly after telling me that. I am glad we are allies and friends now. We should never have been enemies at all.
Grandfather first world war ,. Father second world war . I don't know how lucky I am not to involved in any war . Appreciate every one who helped to make world a safer place. Unfortunately we have not learnt from this. Why do we continually destroy everything thats good.. TOTALLY BEWILDERED.
The reason we humans continually destroy everything that's good has spiritual roots which are clearly explained yet widely rejected; it can be summed up with one word, sin.
The audio version of that D-day book from the German point of view, was here on TH-cam. I remember listening to it last year, it's absolutely fascinating. I remember one of the Germans was shocked that the allies didn't use horses, that everything was mechanized. Apparently much of the Germans transport still relied on the horse.
My uncle said as soon as the gates dropped on the boats the bullets were coming in and said you had to jump into the water in a hurry. He did not talk about the war much but said when you stuck a bayonet into a man that you couldn’t just pull it back out you had to put your foot on him and pull. Said sometimes you had to fire the gun to loosen it enough. Said that toward the end soldiers would get shot and the bullets would be wooden. Said they new the end was near then.
“Historical novels” are good. For example, if you really want to know what Ancient Rome was like, you do not go to the scholarly “The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire”. You read a historical novel about it. One of the best books I have ever read was, “Confessors of the Name” which is set in 250 AD. Many historical novel writers have brilliant insight and do an astounding amount of research.
Haha! Yes. My research showed why Hitler killed Geli Raubal and how he got away with it. And I discovered the name of a man who lived in the the same town as Maria Anna Schicklgruber and may have been Hitler's mystery grandfather. The Holocaust? It was all about blood. Hitler's blood.
Thank you for sharing this... I really like to hear "the other guys" POV at historical times such as D-Day. It seemed to cut off at the end- is their a follow-on to finish the story? Regardless, what is presented is awesome and thanks again for sharing.
Yes. And a particularly good example of that was Ike's decision NOT to attack June 5th, but then to attack June 6th in the face of conflicting weather reports which might have produced disaster. Instead it produced indecision and lack of preparation by the Germans, with Rommel off the scene and in Germany, to cite one example.
Well it was hard to move toward the sea when they were being bombed and had Airborne Troops landing in their rear. So yes. The attack was complicated for the defenders to address.
@@SeattlePioneer "Conflicting weather reports"? You people really do overestimate Eisenhower, I suppose that is to be expected. Eisenhower was a liaison man who was there to go between the politicians and the military. There was no conflict, long range weather aircraft provided information that there would be a brief interval in the bad weather starting on the 6th June.
Interesting and informative. Orator presented the documentary very well. Historians did a very good job presenting actual facts from fiction. Every German officer/infantry soldier knew once the allied forces landed on the French coast. And settled in they were there to stay & head inland. Fortunately for the allies the disillusioned/arrogant/amphetamine addict Hitler. Slept through the invasion landing. Not allowing to be disturbed. And worse yet being adamant about the invasion being a military diversion. The German generals were fools not to attack immediately. Regardless of the consequences of hitlers wrath. Both sides fought/perished/survived those fierce combat operations. Knowing certain death/debilitating wounds were often possible. Yet still fought on, that's true grit style determination to succeed.
The astute Germans (several senior officers among them) knew that Barbarossa was grabbing a tiger by the tail: only a matter of time until ‘game over.’
The Germans conducted numerous war gaming exercises to hone strategy for _Barbarossa_ . In every case the exercise demonstrated that lack of supply would hamper the pace of advance, and in most cases even a fully supplied force was shown to be insufficient for defeating the Soviets. They had every indication it could not succeed, but attacked anyway. With this knowledge, many German leaders knew by late 1941 that they were in deep trouble.
HItler knew that, too, but that was where the Jews were. The rest were already in Axis hands. He squandered military resources to keep the Holocaust rolling.
This story shows vividly how the fact the assassination attempt on Hitler failed probably helped win the war against Germany more than if it had succeeded. The fact that Hitler survived an assassination attempt made him extremely paranoid and he purged his officer ranks. This of course removed many experienced and competent senior staff from the equation. And provided very strict orders that robbed his remaining general staff of any volition. Thus Hitler was left micro-managing the rest of the war and this "Fuhrer factor" was extremely helpful the Allies. Had Hitler been killed by the assassination attempt, someone more competent would likely have succeeded him and Germany might have managed in the end to retain a lot of its territory, or managed to fend off the Allies while being rolled over by the Stalinist regime. Either way would have been worse for Europe than how things turned out, as a great deal of territory would have been left in fascist or communist hands for decades.
I couldn’t imagine knowing you are going to lose and lose badly, that everything you did previously meant nothing and will never mean anything. It has to be truly devastating and traumatizing
One major factor in considering the lack of prompt and strong German counterattacks on the Allies landing at Normandy is the fact that for a good 6 months or more the Allies had been feigning an attack at the Pas De Calais and at other locales at a later date. Operation Fortitude was under the larger umbrella of Operation Bodyguard, and both operations were very complex and large scale. The book Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies by Ben Macintyre is a fascinating account of Operation Fortitude. Although there were 5 main double agents used by the British in this operation, there were dozens of other significant actors and the story is difficult to follow much of the time. However, the book is well worth the effort to understand the sophistication and scale of British deception efforts. And the double agents themselves are captivating characters in their own right. A very interesting read. For those of you wary of reading a long book the TH-cam documentary Spies of War - The D-Day Spies | Full Documentary @ th-cam.com/video/5c2Yl0FNPB8/w-d-xo.html is a short presentation of the book.
@@gammonsandwich1756 aye, but not like they plucked him off the civvie street and plonked his padded bottom down a jump seat. Even the greenest pongo knows to keep his trap shut for at least 24-48 hours. Imagine that ...😄 Here's a cup of hot char , now tell us your objectives....and off he goes
My friends dad who was in the first days landings, was a tourist during the war, wanted to enter a museum, was refused entry as he was wearing shorts, he didn't argue, but went for a swim in the sea instead!
I think the movie, Hacksaw Ridge, gives a very good sense of how U,S, citizens respond to the actions of the Axis powers. U.S. citizens reactions varied from disgust to anger to rage but there is a huge difference between the effectiveness of soldiers - no matter how well-trained - who are merely following orders as compared to soldiers who are determined to do their part to stop what they consider to be unjustified attacks of themselves, their neighbors, their nation or the nations anywhere in the world that they consider to be dedicated to similar philosophical principles. When the similarity of the philosophy of the British and the citizens of the United States was taken into account, it became clear by 1940 that the United States would eventually defend the British Isles. What no one could have known (although some undoubtedly suspected) what what the full-scale use of practically every manufacturing facility in the United States to produce war machinery and ammunition would mean to the war effort. Both the Germans and Japanese were very good at producing very good equipment but the United States was able to produce weapons and ammunitions in such quantities as to overwhelm all other considerations. Rosie the Riveter helped turn the tide.
@@petew5289 It is easy to agree that the German tanks were "better" than the Shermans but a) the Sherman tanks were more maneuverable, the Shermans were much easier and quicker to repair in the field and the parts were less expensive and more readily available. When you combine those factors with the ratio of nearly 9 to 1, the advantage of the "superior" tanks is far less than it would otherwise have been. The Sherman tanks were designed to provide a combination of mobility where Jeeps couldn't go and protection from small arms fire. There weren't designed to engage bigger tanks with more powerful guns. When the Allied tank commanders managed to avoid head-to-head tank battles, the Shermans were entirely adequate for doing what they were designed to do - times tens of thousands.
@@petew5289 I've seen references to more like 86,000. Another misconception is that they were under-gunned. Early in the war, yes. Later in the war when they had 105s and 120s, not so much.
@@bughunter1766 Sherman's were very under under gunned haveing only 76mm on the early models also the ammo lockers were badly designed and this was why the nick name for them was ronsons
Hey Germans, I was born May, 1961 I think Americans love y'all. Come see me in Scottsdale, AZ. Not during the summer. We'll do Mexico, Grand Canyon, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sanoran desert Jeep rides, Western Cowboy Horse rides, Swim... Oktoberfest, then cruise over. 🌵🇺🇲😎😎🇩🇪🌵
I’m glad I found this channel! I have autism so my reading ability isn’t the best and I struggle to focus but I’ve wanted to read soldiers diaries from WW2 but it was difficult. So thank you for doing this! God bless!❤️
👍....stay strong & enjoy the diaries
I'm so glad you are here and understanding. This is a good channel and you will enjoy it. I learned so much from here.
Me too, I can't consentrate and don't like to read. Great history
One of my best friends who I was with again today at our pal's jazz gig is also on the spectrum. You just keep on doing you brother with ZERO apologies. Cheers.
I can't find American diaries from any wars!
If know of any please let me know. Thanks
My grandfather was stationed in the CBI
(China-berms-India)
Theater, he served 4 years straight without coming home once,
He was lucky, he was an airplane mechanic and loved doing his part to win the war,
No wonder in my life I never heard him complain about petty things, I admire him more each day,
He was Otto Orlowski
Wheeling Illinois
That's something that, I personally, don't think is stressed enough in history classes. A woman who awaits the return of her husband or maybe her 5 sons (my grandmother and her sister in law had all sons at war) and the enlistment or draft is for the duration. There are no phone calls, no emails. There are letters on "onion skin" paper as thin as tissue wrapping paper done to reduce weight. Once the son or husband is heavy combat, or in an area that makes logistics difficult to impossible, or the whatever cargo carier is also mail carriers are sunk or shot down, it could be months upon months before a letter got home or caught up to the GI recipient. Your children, babies always to a mother, are somewhere on the planet. Are they hungry, hurt, suffering? Is my child mortally wounded and crying out for me as he did as a child having a bad dream? How many women received word their GI was MIA or MIA presumed POW? My aunt, at the start of the war, early 1942, was notified her son was POW of Japan. She had no idea what was happening only that he was alive. In 44, 45 the family presumed he was dead because there was no word. She refused. She said she would know. He was captured early when his ship was sunk. He was in the Batan death march, he survive cabanatuan, O'Donnell and when the allies were closing in he was placed on a troop ship while the Japanese were on a hospital ship. They were headed for Japan. The allies sunk his ship. He said he swam until he couldn't take anymore anything, made his peace, stopped swimming and was going to drown. That's when his feet touched sand. He collapsed and woke to recapture. He was sent to work in the mines and by chance was coming out when he saw the mushroom cloud over Hiroshima. After giving deposition at the war crimes tribunal of the Pacific he returned home. 1946.
People have no idea what luxury communication is. With hand writing slowly dying, there is no understanding of loosing a loved one or simply being separated for years and how their handwriting is so incredibly like being able to touch someone. To a homesick, terrified 18 or 19 yo, in a place he never knew existed, a letter from home is like his mother is touching him.
How much history have we learned thanks to the properties of the humble snail mail?
Your grandpa & mine too saved the world
@@earthsucks9555 will we be able to? They were coming out of a depression that had shown everyone hardship and privation. Almost 3/4 of the GIs came from rural areas or small towns. They were all mostly in really good physical condition. The had a respect for authority. That doesn't mean what people think it does. I'm afraid if that happened today, if we ended up calling up over a million young men, how many would have the physical ability or the intestinal fortitude to gut through the battles, especially in the Pacific, that the men of the greatest generation did?
I get woohoo mad. I don't know who's ignorant idea it was when generation naming went nuts, to call them the silent generation. Silent, really? I think they left a legacy that is screaming at us.
Another stupid “My uncle, my dad, my grandpa” story.
Make your own life story!!
@@Me-fm9zk
What a chump you are
You clearly don’t realize the impact of the uncles, fathers, and grandfathers.
You’re a pseudo intellectual-
Read Schopenhauer
My Dutch in laws said the Germans coming from Normandy said the war was over. The allies had so much equipment that it was hopeless. The one German soldier asked for civilian clothing but you could be shot giving a German soldier clothes.
Si un soldado de un ejercito enemigo es sorprendido sin su uniforme que lo identifica como tal , puede ser fusilado de inmediato sin juicio marcial de por medio , por perfidía .
Market Garden was a mistake. The Brit 1st airborne took 80-90% casualties . They didn't act on intel that showed armor in the area and had no idea that 2 depleted SS panzer divs were in the Arnhem area to rest and refit. Your inlaws were right. But arrogance cost the allies a whole div of airborne and huge casualties in the 82nd and 101st airborne not to mention 30 corps that was the lead Brit element of the Garden side
@merchantoftruth6637I've heard stories of the Battle of the Bulge of surrounded Allied Armor that sugared their gas, sanded the oil, and literally walked away with the equipment running. They snuck out and had new equipment in 24 hours.
My Dad arrived in France just about 2 weeks after D Day. Even he was stunned looking up in the sky and seeing what seemed like an endless number of planes overhead. I can only imagine the despair the German Army must have felt witnessing a similar sight.
A old story I heard once that always stuck with me of that of a German captain whose men captured an American and while having him searched found some chocolate cake his wife had sent him from back home, he then realized that they would lose the war, they couldn’t get good meals a few hundred miles away from Germany but this guy being able to have some cake from across the world.
That's from the movie " Battle of the Bulge" from 1965.
@@michaelsublet3283hahahahaha
@@michaelsublet3283 I've had those Grandpa Simpson moments too. 😂
_"ya know, i remember when we fought against the...wait, no...that was a movie from 1986."_
@@michaelsublet3283Like it might have put been in the movie, because it actually happened. Who’d thunk.
@blackbird497 You are correct about the US getting their mail: the US Women's Army Corp 6888th battalion, led by Major Charity Adams, were the heroes who were dispatched to England to sort out the years-long backlog of US army mail that filled aircraft hangars (millions of unsorted items including cake that was being devoured by rats or had rotted over the months and years). Major Adams knew logistics and her soldiers were dedicated. They acted like detectives to get mail to the correct soldier, even when there were thousands of "Private John Smith" and the frontlines kept moving big distances or soldiers flew to different countries. Being black and female, the US Army treated these 6888th soldiers with much the same disdain that Hitler would have had for them (a sad irony that unfree women were 'fighting' for german freedom but not their own). But, in UK, there were no 'jim crow' laws and the battalion did well at work amd socially. They worked shifts around the clock to clear the backlog in much less than a year. So it is reasonable to assume that the Germans may have been surprised by how clever the US became at getting mail and parcels from USA to frontline troops, due to the 'six triple eights'. However, the brits were even better at mail. Even in WW1, brits in the trenches in france were getting their mail from home, in an extraordinarily efficient manner as the brits authorities knew the power of the postage stamp, recently postmarked from one's home village, during war. Nevertheless, it was a great moraleboosting and very practical achievement by the 6888th. Major Adams is really rather an unsung war heroine who should have our stamp of approval, our admiration and our applause.
I had 2 great uncles that landed in Normandy. They always said how weak the Germans were that they captured. Skin and bones. They were also very surprised at the lack of mechanization, as being told how advanced they were. Horses he said were everywhere. That's all they used. And bicycles. Stuff they'd read about during WWI.
Really, they created the battle of the bulge with horse and carriage? lol your uncles were full of bull sheet. Yet an inferior German force killed 20 million Russians while fighting on a western front.
Considering they started Operation Barbarossa with 600.000 horses I'm not surprised. You'd be lucky if 10% was motorized. Soviet Union was worse they had no logistics capability except for the 450.000 Trucks given to them through lend-lease
A lot of the coastal defenders were recovering wounded, the recovered that weren't fit for duty on the Eastern Front, some foreign units, as well as really old men or very young boys.
The cream was largely on the Eastern Front.
@@davidwallace4665 They attacked the Soviets with 600,000 horses and only 10% mechanized? A bit surprising that they made it to Stalingrad.
Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this. Thank you 👍.
My dad landed D day + 3 and was immediately pushed to the front to do recon....he only shared memories with me..his only son a few months before he died..the greatest tragedy was a friendly fire incident ..an evening artillery attack by UK or US on Canadian positions..wiped out most of his friends...most of his quick fleeting stories sounded more like Vietnam than WW2..lots of confusion and chaos..he fought a war portrayed when he lived as a simple fight between right and wrong.. good and evil.. his reality was dirty messy and tragic...to the point he lost his legs below the knees...
Good job you tried to make it sound epic with embellishments and flourishes, instead you did the opposite and made it and you sound slow.
@@thomgizzizyou had nothing to add. Be quiet.
@@thomgizzizFound the Kraut
That’s what I learned about war. It’s all based on lies.
Another stupid “My uncle, my dad, my grandpa” story.
Make your own life story!!
This is fascinating. This guy, a major about to be a Lt. Colonel, felt he had to sit there and wait for orders from above to defend against an invasion. In the U.S. armed forces, even a Lieutenant would have acted first and explained himself later. Very, very different military cultures.
You are mistaken. Modern American soldiers may show initiative without the blessing of their superior but during WW2 it was not the case. German soldiers were trained at any level to act according to the situation. They aren't waiting for orders or to get their officers replaced.
Well if you are meant to be a reserve unit and taking part in an elastic defence is pretty important to know when to stay and when to go via cooperation with higher ups
Any Royal Marine no matter how lowly from a Marine upwards can and will act independently. Marines are an elite for a reason. If a Marine has an opinion he may express it to be considered and acted upon. God Save the King
@@MickCampin-jp9kbquite right guv'na
@@thomasboller4379...no you're the one that is mistaken. Get your crap straight!!!!!
I worked with German Military Veterans back in the Mid sixties in Germany while in the US Army, and thay all said we knew it was over, long before D Day, as when the germans didn't take Moscow in 1941, they knew They had lost the war.
Excellent video sir. Appreciated it greatly. Cheers
I was 5 years old when my Father came home and told my Mother war had been declared. Although my country was not in a warzone, I can remember shortages as food was sent north for the Army in North Africa. But what emerged at the end of the war will horrify people for years to come. The concentration camps horrified the rest of the world.
Here is a thought to consider, in the book “the Victors “ GIs were asked about all the cultures they interacted with during WW2 which one was most like us? The Germans was the answer.
In 32 years in the Army, and visiting several countries and experiencing several cultures, I felt the same about Germans.
And yet , in the U.S. and I'm sure some other countries , there's too many Holocaust deniers .
These diary entries that you are sharing are absolutely fascinating , Thankyou
I’m really enjoying these stories. I’m glad I subscribed. They are interesting to listen to while working.
I would definitely love to hear more Normandy stories. Thank you!
Some years ago now, for I am slowly becoming ancient, I got to listen to von Luck give a lecture on Operation Goodwood. Given all the Naval support the allies had from the start, I don't think there was an way the Germans could have pushed the invasion back, though they did come close to convincing the Allied command that it might be wise to retreat from Omaha Beach.
I also had a friend who drove an infantry landing craft in the second wave on Omaha. As his wave started in, he noticed lights coming on along the beach far in the distance and though 'gee, that's great!. They are already putting up lights!" Of course, as he got closer, he realized he was actually watching the flash from the MG42's. Obviously that was somewhat of a disappointment, but it did give him a little story to tell for the rest of his life.
Greetings from Australia. I'm glad he survived to tell the story.....he was lucky. Kindest regards to you, sir.
👍👍
Omaha was almost a failure because they had no tanks. The tanks that were supposed to support the infantry were launched so far out they sunk before they could reach the beaches. A logistical failure mostly not told.
@@blackvulcan100 Very true. Also very true that the strongest German defensive formation on the beach was stationed there didn't help either. Wouldn't have mattered if the Allies had tanks or not on Utah.
@@thomasjamison2050 Utah they landed at the wrong place but luck was on their side it was one of the least defended parts of the beach. We have landed at the wrong place but the war now starts here .Forgot who said that. Pont du hoc now that is worth seeing.
In the film The Longest Day Howard was played by the actor Richard Todd. Todd, himself, had taken part in the capture of Pegasus Bridge and knew Howard. In the film another actor portrayed Richard Todd which must have been an interesting experience for both of them.
When Lord lovett arrives the piper was the senior piper of the regiment at time of filming, the pipes were the ones that were in use on D Day.
Todd dropped with 6th airborne, he was not part of operation deadstick. He was on the bridge at one point to deliver a message, he did know Howard. Also, the beret Todd wore in the film was his beret from Normandy. Lord Lovetts piper was bill millan.
@@tobytaylor2154 In the film Sink The Bismarck the actor who played Captain John Leech, the captain of the Prince of Wales, was played by the actor Esmond Knight. Knight actually served in one of the turrets of the Prince of Wales during the battle with Bismarck. His turret was hit during the battle and Knight lost one eye and was blinded in the other. He later regained some sight in the eye and he could return to acting.
@@bigblue6917 not really relevant to this but interesting. Can't get better than "theirs is the glory" an absolutely crap film as film making goes but by far one of the best war films by miles........why? Every British para in the film is playing themselves on the real battleground straight after the war whilst the battle ground is exactly how it was. So every damaged building, tank etc is the real deal from the battle.
How the Allies got that armada across the channel without being detected was nothing short of incredible!!
Lies and deceit were the allied offensives even before a shot was fired.
One of the benefits of air supremecy, I guess.
The date should have the germans at the ready!
I have to say von Lucks segments are the most fascinating to me. Just for the random fact alone that his motorcycle from his specific reconnaissance unit was captured years earlier in Africa was later recaptured and returned to him(still with the existing unit identifiers) all the way back in France, to the same unit fighting in combat with eachother once again. Between von Lucks random fate and chivalry stories and Usha Bartmanns attempts to survive the utter chaos of the eastern front, these videos make my day.
His name makes it clear that it was indeed fate.
He said it was a DKW motorcycle. In 1959 my father bought a brand spanking new DKW 4-door car in Dartmouth NS. It had a 3-cylinder, 2-stroke, air-cooled engine. We drove that sucker across the country and back. I believe DKW went on to become Audi.
Motorcycle with the German units: "Africa hot, temp gauge in red, sand in filters!"
after captured: "England winter cold brrr!, oil frozen, thaw with hot tea"
return to Germans: "Need maintenance, use genuine DKW parts please."
How to crack a British POW: give him a cup of tea and talk about your summer vacation in London. Great reading! Always informative to hear both sides of the battle.
Nigel Patterson narrating never gets old. I can listen to him for hours.
A fine telling from one who was defending.
I would like to thank Goring, head of the Luftwaffe, for his help in world war 2.
Isn't he the one that absconded to England?
It just goes to show how vital the Allied deception was.
What I find truly amazing is Von Lucks’ account of how the German High Command was completely fooled by the Pas-de-Calais ruse..
Thats not what I have heard, many times. Most of the General staff tried to persude Hitler that Calaise was a rous to split the Panzer divisions, which is what hitler did , and probably caused the Landings to succeed. Impressed by his English
@@MrDaiseymay Good job he did,eh.
@@MrDaiseymay Will we ever know the truth I wonder ?
@@MrDaiseymay It wasn't just Hitler. There is a story of a man who single-handedly manipulated the entire German intelligence apparatus that the invasion was going to be at Calais and that Normandy was a ruse. He was a Spanish man and unfortunately I forgot his name.
You still would have lost the war as soon as you got near the coast the battleships would have torn you to pieces. All you would succeed in doing is getting more people killed.
I lost two Great Uncles in the 1914-18 war and a Uncle in the 1939-45 war and for what so evil can start again in another Country and all I will say is thank God that Peace has Remained in Europe for 78 years
Pretty sure Rommel tried to explain to Hitler that they “ Couldn’t Fight Everyone” ? Hitler was not a great “ listener” ? 🤔
Hitler was just like Trump, and Trump is identical to Hitler. The intelligence of a child and the patience of a child, he wants what he wants and he wants it now.
My educational background is economics and I've never forgotten what one of my professors said related to WWII: At the peak of WWII, 1944, the United States produced enough war material to not only arm itself, but most of its allies, executing a two front world war to victory using only 60% of its industrial capacity. The US was and has been the only true modern superpower the world has ever known.
You are correct. The total number of Transports, trucks and Jeeps simply GIVEN to the Soviets was between 500,000 and 1,000,000.
General Motors was exceedingly productive and FDR and the US Military were in a generous mood.....Stalin was fighting from the East.
April 30, 1945, the Nazi's defending Berlin saw American Jeeps and Transports coming from the WEST and the EAST, at the same time!
USA! USA! USA!
Rome was the first superpower
@@stevencohen-musial2380 Not to support anything having to do with post war Russian military efforts, or their bullshit propaganda programs, or their respect for strong man idiots... the only REAL difference we made with the Russians was in trucks. They barely had any, and our numbers greatly improved logistics. Planes and tanks only really accounted for something like 10% of their forces.. not a joke by any means, but not the material support we like to think we gave (me included). It probably would have made more of an impact to swap the planes and tanks out for more Fords.
@@Malignard your logic is pretty air tight.
Will there be a part 2? These stories just seem to end half way through a story? They are so good.
Agreed!
My impression is he's running certain chapters of WW2 memoirs thru an AI voice over. Hopefully he'll make a Playlist of all the Seperate accounts
There's a part 10.
This is part of the Playlist "memoir of a German tank commander" this is part 5 of 6
The greatest strength of the United States Army is that even the lowest ranking soldier has carte blanche to attack any opposing force and will not suffer any consequences for doing so unless given an order not to do so.
That was true then, not so much now with the stupid rules of engagement.
I am always enthusiastic at such first hand narrations as I can feel what the atmosphere was from the German side!
That was really good. I shed a little tear when he mentioned how his former commanding officer gave their rations to the starving woman and children in a Russian village and how the Russian defenders let them retreat in response to his generosity.
Why is it that we allow those who’ve lost all sense of humanity (if they ever possessed any) to push us around as flags on a map?
Amazing to hear such an intelligent, clear rendition. Even documentaries often lack this impartiality.
I once visited a veteran by the name of Ernie Sedgwick. I was only supposed to be there for 5 minutes, ended up staying 4 hours.
He was at Pegasus Bridge that night, so it's likely he was one of the men faced in Escoville later.
Ernie was also at Dunkirk, when he was in the Durham Light Infantry. He later transferred to the paras, fought at Pegasus, and later again fought at Oosterbeek during Market Garden. He told me where (just to the side of the bridge) British soldiers used to go for a poo, something they don't often show in the films. He also told me of the death of his friends, the Gronert twins there.
At the time I spoke with him he was 92, but he was still a huge mountain of a man, even at 92 years old I reckon Ernie could still give a good account of himself. Can only imagine what he was like in his youthful prime.
We stand on the shoulders of mighty, great men. Here we are again, watching a possible conflict get out of control and embroil us all. Then there is the un-elected WEF bureaucrats ready to dictate to world. Will we learn our history, and respect those that fought so hard to give us our freedom.
Sounds a sober and honest account. Thank you
At least the Germans found Waldo!!
Nice that the Germans fell for the Calais ploy. Quite an achievement to convince the Germans of the existence of non-existent invasion army. The British are really good at that sort of thing.
@@retiredbore378That's because we have total idiots running or should I say ruining the country.
Were. Were good at that sort of thing.
Man-o-man some of the stories I could tell from my grandfather who was in the wehrmacht , and my grandmother who lived through the bombings In Frankfurt and dealing with the gestapo who threatened her life
Excellent storytelling and fascinating bits such as the return of the motorcycle from the North Africa campaign. My only ask would be to change up the picture of the destroyed tank to include other scenes that might enhance the storytelling. Thanks!!
My cousin's grandfather was a paratrooper killed immediately prior to the Normandy invasion. His grandmother was 19 and pregnant at the time (she's still alive, though in poor health). My aunt only recently found out the precise details of her father's death).
Is this not a first cousin? Your cousin's grandfather should be your grandfather 😅
@@OnSolThree You only share one set of grandparents with your cousins. Our mutual grandfather served on the USS New York in the Pacific.
the cousin would have two grandfathers on both their parents' sides
you share one grandfather but because a cousin is the child of an aunty or uncle that aunty or uncle would have a child with someone outside of the family and that someone would give said cousin a grandfather
Thanks, man. Most informative. Worth a second listen.
The photo you use for your channel is of Sgt Ian Thomas 25th Battalion 2nd NZ Division. The photo was taken on 15th July 1942 at 7:30pm prior to a night attack attack on Ruweisat Ridge Egypt. "I was sitting on the start line with my back towards the enemy, i was wounded that night" Sgt. Thomas said of this photo. Pretty cool aye
That's pretty cool alright. Especially as I'm from New Zealand
Kiwis rock. Understated but highly effective.
@@gusjackson3658 I wonder if they still would be today. Leftie politics makes me wonder if they'd still be reliable.
@@kevinh5349 They are still snapped up all over the world. Multitaskers without borders.
Great work of getting good info. Thanks
I'm a bit skeptical. He makes it seem give a captured allied soldier a cig and some small talk, then they'll spiil the beans. Of course.
Hi Everyone. enjoy!
Let me know if you would like more Normandy videos. Von Luck certainly makes it sound like disorganized chaos on the German side.
Yes please. Very interesting
I see no video only a picture of a blown up Panther. Could have added at least a map for us to follow your troop placement and movements.
Yes Normandy from the German point of view .
Any American diaries?
I read Von Luck's book Panzer Commander many years ago. Fantastic read, one of the better World War II stories for sure. If I recall correctly I think he was a prisoner of war in Russia till 51 or 53. A long time.
It's even more tragic to hear how the Germans fought on for such a horrible cause, despite so many thinking it was useless and/or hating Hitler.
Yeah, they all hated Hitler after losing the war.
Order followers can only perform one trick.
@peterhuston7888 Out of curiosity, what was the horrible cause the Germans fought for?
Very few hated Hitler. Very many loved Germany
@@rp-xrptHe jEwS!!!!!!! REEEEEEE
Great book. Just listened to full audiobook a while back.
What’s the old line from the movie “Sir I see American Ships!” “How many?” “All of them!”
Very interesting perspective.
Look, I am a veteran and respect all of our vets of WWII. But saying when the Allies landed in Normandy "we knew it was over" is a bit off the mark. Over 150 German divisions in the east. The Allies in the west faced 60 at the most? And the western Allies had a hell of a time doing it. We owe the vast majority of our thanks to the Red Army. The USSR sacrificed more and just did most of the fighting. The real turning point of WW II in Europe was the battle of Stalingrad. The Red Army wiped out the entirety of the German 6th Army. And a Panzer division as well. Just offering perspective. Great video sir. Thank you.
This is the personal account of one officer, not a historical overview
@@reginabillotti Well they should get it right then. Every member of the wehrmacht knew about the fighting in the east. Every single one of them.
34:07 😂 Well There you go! The operation wasn't a _complete loss..._
The man got his bike back!
You take whatever little victories you can get on the beaches of Normandy, eh?
I used to work in a hotel in Norway that catered to many German tourists. Mostly elderly. I got the opportunity to discuss the war on many occasions which was interesting because like everyone here, I only knew the history from the victors point of view. Like everything else, there were differing opinions but the consensus was that most felt that the war was folly and they had little chance of prevailing. Many knew this from the start but more said it was after the invasion of the UK was called off.
Germany never had a navy or airforce capable of invading the uk. This was made very clear in the battle of britain where british fighter planes and bombers defeated the german airforce. Another reason for germany's inability to achieve what it wanted to was britains new weapon that they had just invented, radar. This gave britain a huge advantage in the battle of britain. But the main reason germany were unable to attemt an invasion of britain was that britains navy was literally almost ten times bigger than germanys. This is the main reason why germany never even attempted to invade britain, they just didnt have the ability to do so
At the start Germany seem invincible like it was going to conquer the world. I wonder if any of them actually thought that from the start. Halfway through most people could see it. But at the start? You'd have to be very knowledgeable in economics to know that Germany could keep up, and there was no internet back them to give you all that info.
@@nicholashughes2841 Without America, All you Brits would be speaking German now.
@@darrinrentruc6614 Without the UK all you Americans would be speaking French.
@@simmorg290: since France came to our aid just the opposite is true.
I had an edible earlier and I thought this said “when the ALIENS landed we knew it was over”. Did a hard double take.
as if they could do anything to us we aren't fully prepared to do to ourselves. humanity is its own worst enemy, we never learn. we allow the animal to win. hate is a disease, and those afflicted are sick.
@@tilda140 Lighten up over there, guy.
The book "D-Day through German eyes" discusses this a lot. The germans couldn't believe that the allies landed with jeeps, the germans were still using horses, yet the Americans had sent thousands of jeeps halfway across the world.
I really enjoyed this, if I could give some feedback perhaps instead of a picture of a static tank, you could have put up a map of the area with areas highlighted which you were talking about.
I agree, considering how little effort it would take to do that, and the clarity it would certainly provide.
I have looked pretty closely at the military capabilities of the combatants associated with D-Day and the thereafter western front. the truth is most of the German fighting units were so understrength at this time of the war that they would not have even met the minimum requirements for combat ready in the German Line of battle unit definitions. They also had very limited petroleum, especially high octane av gas and the mechanized units were also highly restricted in movement by fuel limits. On the other side, due to American fuel supplies the allies had almost unlimited fuel (they also had very high octane Av gas, again provided by America, which gave the allied fighters a decisive qualitative advantage at this time in the war). As the German's are stating in this video the allies had complete air superiority and it was almost impossible for German mechanized units to move in day light without being torn to shreds. For all intents and purposes the war was already over at this point...we just needed a year of set moves to make the point. The eastern front completely finished the German nation as an offensive threat, it took their men, their equipment and their last petroleum sources.
meth is a hell of a drug
I often wonder what the war would have looked like if Hitler hadn’t made his Russian blunder. His ego killed any hope of victory on any battlefield.
@@thomgizzizpanzerchocolade moment
@davidlj53 I always wonder if the axel forces had won in North Africa and used resources from there would they have beating the red army
@@Galexsy-b2z that is one of the strategic questions that has been asked over the decades....had German made the african front more serious to hold the oil earlier in the war would it have made a difference? I personally have always said that once Germany declared war on the 2nd biggest manufacturing capacity country (Russia) and then by a large order of magnitude the 1st largest manufacturing capacity that the war was a fait accompli at that point.
You sure sound like another favorite narrator I listen to quite regularly.
Mortis Media. I'm inclined to think you are one and the same..
It's AI my guy😂
I really enjoy the channel, could you cite the source document please?
What a great video. So much action.
audio surely. the static tank photo is ... a photo.
My uncle was 101st airborne. I remember spending two weeks in the summer months every year with him and my aunt. The most boring people ever. I had no clue my uncle was even in the war until he died. He never once spoke of. I wish so bad I had known because the times spent in the summers would have been full of questions. I was so young though, I probably wouldn’t have known exactly what to ask. I’m not sure if when the soldiers returned from war, if they had things they brought home but an old trunk in the barn was always of interest to us kids, but we were warned never to disturb the trunk. I have a feeling it was full of his things from his time in military and war. 🤷♀️
Oh score! another incredible war history channel.
Always crazy to me how many people came together to hide DDAY, the ghost army and operation bodyguard, as well as Agent Garbo.
Great footage. 😂
The fog of war affects all armies. The indecision and lack of action by the Germans near Normandy was not unusual. The term SNAFU comes to mind and always seems to be present. Once the first bullet is fired most plans come apart and confusion reigns.
That darned enemy has plans, too! Indecision and dithering is rife. Pearl Harbor and then Clark Field in the Philippines. For a start.
You sound like some former Army Officer who spent too much time at the war college!
The Germans were already collapsing in the East before the allies landed. The Germans had like 80% of their armies in the east. The allies had it easy.
Mike Tyson " Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth"
"Everyone has a plan until they're punched in the face." Mike Tyson
It's all over now baby blue
Or the big o singing it's over
In his high pitched voice!
My great grandfather, Rittmeister Erhard Von Rügen, a member of the land-owning Junker nobility, fought with honour and distinction in the 47th Panzer Corps to preserve the Reich.
His pictures still adorn the halls in some of our residences.
Now we are all friends, and the Allies made us see the folly of our ways.
However, as our family coat of arms says, a wolf never forgets...
Even as we speak, our Leopard main battle tanks roam the Ukrainian steppes eyeing the Russian border with hunger in their eyes as their forefathers, the Tiger tanks, once did!
Lets hope it works better than tigers...
As a British man, I respect your country, your people and the pride you have in the achievements of your elders.
My grandfather was a dam buster. Navigation.
The only thing he told me about the war.... Respect your enemies.
He died shortly after telling me that.
I am glad we are allies and friends now. We should never have been enemies at all.
Grandfather first world war ,. Father second world war . I don't know how lucky I am not to involved in any war . Appreciate every one who helped to make world a safer place. Unfortunately we have not learnt from this. Why do we continually destroy everything thats good.. TOTALLY BEWILDERED.
The reason we humans continually destroy everything that's good has spiritual roots which are clearly explained yet widely rejected; it can be summed up with one word, sin.
The reading was good. However, map would be far more useful than a tank photo.
A random recommendation by TH-cam. Loved it, need more!
The attack by von luck is mentioned in his book which is a great read. As are 2 volumes of a book named dday through German eyes or some such.
Read this book years ago. Great Read!
The audio version of that D-day book from the German point of view, was here on TH-cam. I remember listening to it last year, it's absolutely fascinating. I remember one of the Germans was shocked that the allies didn't use horses, that everything was mechanized. Apparently much of the Germans transport still relied on the horse.
Great stuff very enlightening
My uncle said as soon as the gates dropped on the boats the bullets were coming in and said you had to jump into the water in a hurry. He did not talk about the war much but said when you stuck a bayonet into a man that you couldn’t just pull it back out you had to put your foot on him and pull. Said sometimes you had to fire the gun to loosen it enough. Said that toward the end soldiers would get shot and the bullets would be wooden. Said they new the end was near then.
Another stupid “My uncle, my dad, my grandpa” story.
Make your own life story!!
@@Me-fm9zkanother stupid and rude comment by someone obviously unhappy with their life..
Amazing battlefield account. Thank you!
“Historical novels” are good. For example, if you really want to know what Ancient Rome was like, you do not go to the scholarly “The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire”. You read a historical novel about it. One of the best books I have ever read was, “Confessors of the Name” which is set in 250 AD. Many historical novel writers have brilliant insight and do an astounding amount of research.
Haha! Yes. My research showed why Hitler killed Geli Raubal and how he got away with it. And I discovered the name of a man who lived in the the same town as Maria Anna Schicklgruber and may have been Hitler's mystery grandfather. The Holocaust? It was all about blood. Hitler's blood.
Yeah, a great read of the last days in the bunker is called The Bunker. Written by a journalist (James O'Donnell) and very readable.
Interesting..what is this extract from?
617 squadron RAF hit the Saumur tunnel which stopped alot of Germen reinforcements just after D Day
0:28 Whoa! Is that same the Helmut guy from the other diary where he was with Sigfried, Schult, etc?
Thank you for sharing this... I really like to hear "the other guys" POV at historical times such as D-Day. It seemed to cut off at the end- is their a follow-on to finish the story? Regardless, what is presented is awesome and thanks again for sharing.
...WE KNOW HOW IT ENDS-(!)
@@daleburrell6273 Who won? The good guys or the bad guys (both "guys" being subjective) 🤣😂
Excellent narration. Needs to have a video or slide show though.
The Germans were confused because "Ike" made it so
Either way, eventual defeat for the Axis was inevitable....
Yes. And a particularly good example of that was Ike's decision NOT to attack June 5th, but then to attack June 6th in the face of conflicting weather reports which might have produced disaster. Instead it produced indecision and lack of preparation by the Germans, with Rommel off the scene and in Germany, to cite one example.
Well it was hard to move toward the sea when they were being bombed and had Airborne Troops landing in their rear. So yes. The attack was complicated for the defenders to address.
Hilter fucked it up by demanding the 262 to carry bombs instead of mas producing the fighter
@@SeattlePioneer "Conflicting weather reports"? You people really do overestimate Eisenhower, I suppose that is to be expected. Eisenhower was a liaison man who was there to go between the politicians and the military. There was no conflict, long range weather aircraft provided information that there would be a brief interval in the bad weather starting on the 6th June.
I highly recommend, Normandy 44 . Great read .
Interesting and informative. Orator presented the documentary very well. Historians did a very good job presenting actual facts from fiction. Every German officer/infantry soldier knew once the allied forces landed on the French coast. And settled in they were there to stay & head inland. Fortunately for the allies the disillusioned/arrogant/amphetamine addict Hitler. Slept through the invasion landing. Not allowing to be disturbed. And worse yet being adamant about the invasion being a military diversion. The German generals were fools not to attack immediately. Regardless of the consequences of hitlers wrath. Both sides fought/perished/survived those fierce combat operations. Knowing certain death/debilitating wounds were often possible. Yet still fought on, that's true grit style determination to succeed.
I would have appreciated some maps showing these movements.
German indecision on D-DAY hastened their demise.....
They still lasted much longer in the West than they should have due to Allied mistakes.
Not judging, I wasn't there; But still...
There’s a BUNNY on the tank!
where
The astute Germans (several senior officers among them) knew that Barbarossa was grabbing a tiger by the tail: only a matter of time until ‘game over.’
The Germans conducted numerous war gaming exercises to hone strategy for _Barbarossa_ . In every case the exercise demonstrated that lack of supply would hamper the pace of advance, and in most cases even a fully supplied force was shown to be insufficient for defeating the Soviets. They had every indication it could not succeed, but attacked anyway. With this knowledge, many German leaders knew by late 1941 that they were in deep trouble.
HItler knew that, too, but that was where the Jews were. The rest were already in Axis hands. He squandered military resources to keep the Holocaust rolling.
Is this from Blood Red Snow?
This story shows vividly how the fact the assassination attempt on Hitler failed probably helped win the war against Germany more than if it had succeeded.
The fact that Hitler survived an assassination attempt made him extremely paranoid and he purged his officer ranks. This of course removed many experienced and competent senior staff from the equation. And provided very strict orders that robbed his remaining general staff of any volition.
Thus Hitler was left micro-managing the rest of the war and this "Fuhrer factor" was extremely helpful the Allies. Had Hitler been killed by the assassination attempt, someone more competent would likely have succeeded him and Germany might have managed in the end to retain a lot of its territory, or managed to fend off the Allies while being rolled over by the Stalinist regime. Either way would have been worse for Europe than how things turned out, as a great deal of territory would have been left in fascist or communist hands for decades.
I couldn’t imagine knowing you are going to lose and lose badly, that everything you did previously meant nothing and will never mean anything. It has to be truly devastating and traumatizing
They earned it.
One major factor in considering the lack of prompt and strong German counterattacks on the Allies landing at Normandy is the fact that for a good 6 months or more the Allies had been feigning an attack at the Pas De Calais and at other locales at a later date. Operation Fortitude was under the larger umbrella of Operation Bodyguard, and both operations were very complex and large scale.
The book Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies by Ben Macintyre is a fascinating account of Operation Fortitude. Although there were 5 main double agents used by the British in this operation, there were dozens of other significant actors and the story is difficult to follow much of the time. However, the book is well worth the effort to understand the sophistication and scale of British deception efforts. And the double agents themselves are captivating characters in their own right. A very interesting read.
For those of you wary of reading a long book the TH-cam documentary Spies of War - The D-Day Spies | Full Documentary @ th-cam.com/video/5c2Yl0FNPB8/w-d-xo.html is a short presentation of the book.
Is the voice AI? Totally fine if it is, I'm just curious if it is because if interesting how this stuff is changing
So much for the vaunted German military efficiency. And the British doctor.... WTF?!! Some chit chat and a cup of tea and he spilled the beans?!! 😂
He was a doctor, not a soldier.
@@gammonsandwich1756 aye, but not like they plucked him off the civvie street and plonked his padded bottom down a jump seat. Even the greenest pongo knows to keep his trap shut for at least 24-48 hours. Imagine that ...😄 Here's a cup of hot char , now tell us your objectives....and off he goes
Or did he? we dont know. Hard to make assumptions on someone who was there from the safety of our homes all these years later
And you think that D Day would have succeeded in 1940? Not likely.
My friends dad who was in the first days landings, was a tourist during the war, wanted to enter a museum, was refused entry as he was wearing shorts, he didn't argue, but went for a swim in the sea instead!
I think the movie, Hacksaw Ridge, gives a very good sense of how U,S, citizens respond to the actions of the Axis powers. U.S. citizens reactions varied from disgust to anger to rage but there is a huge difference between the effectiveness of soldiers - no matter how well-trained - who are merely following orders as compared to soldiers who are determined to do their part to stop what they consider to be unjustified attacks of themselves, their neighbors, their nation or the nations anywhere in the world that they consider to be dedicated to similar philosophical principles. When the similarity of the philosophy of the British and the citizens of the United States was taken into account, it became clear by 1940 that the United States would eventually defend the British Isles. What no one could have known (although some undoubtedly suspected) what what the full-scale use of practically every manufacturing facility in the United States to produce war machinery and ammunition would mean to the war effort. Both the Germans and Japanese were very good at producing very good equipment but the United States was able to produce weapons and ammunitions in such quantities as to overwhelm all other considerations. Rosie the Riveter helped turn the tide.
The Germans produced between 3to 4000 tanks throughout the war America produced between 30000 35000 Sherman's
@@petew5289 It is easy to agree that the German tanks were "better" than the Shermans but a) the Sherman tanks were more maneuverable, the Shermans were much easier and quicker to repair in the field and the parts were less expensive and more readily available. When you combine those factors with the ratio of nearly 9 to 1, the advantage of the "superior" tanks is far less than it would otherwise have been. The Sherman tanks were designed to provide a combination of mobility where Jeeps couldn't go and protection from small arms fire. There weren't designed to engage bigger tanks with more powerful guns. When the Allied tank commanders managed to avoid head-to-head tank battles, the Shermans were entirely adequate for doing what they were designed to do - times tens of thousands.
@@rogermetzger7335 in the 6 day war in 67 the Israelis actually used Sherman's that they dragged out of the desert and repaired
@@petew5289 I've seen references to more like 86,000. Another misconception is that they were under-gunned. Early in the war, yes. Later in the war when they had 105s and 120s, not so much.
@@bughunter1766 Sherman's were very under under gunned haveing only 76mm on the early models also the ammo lockers were badly designed and this was why the nick name for them was ronsons
Why do you have multiple channels????
Well, even if the orders to counter-attack early had come through, and Göring’s 1000 aircraft arrived, the German defense of Normandy was doomed.
Wish there are some running videos as well for better illustration of the story :)
Hey Germans,
I was born May, 1961
I think Americans love y'all.
Come see me in Scottsdale, AZ.
Not during the summer.
We'll do Mexico, Grand Canyon, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sanoran desert Jeep rides, Western Cowboy Horse rides, Swim...
Oktoberfest, then cruise over.
🌵🇺🇲😎😎🇩🇪🌵
"Small talk".
That's a funny way to spell torture.
An excellent audio account of the German version of the invasion. It would be nice to accopany it with at least a map of the operations.
But that would give away our plans!
Listening to this as an American, thank God, Is like seeing the dark side of the moon.