A chemist I worked with who has passed away was there at Kasserine Pass where he helped direct fire for a 105 mm howitzer. He told me his best friend got captured during the fighting. They were reunited when Patton's Third Army took a German prison camp during the European campaign. He told me he was never so scared when Rommel's tanks came up Kasserine Pass and the only thing between Rommel's tanks and the U.S. supply depot was two 105 mm howitzers and a piper cub recognizance plane. They knocked out the front tank and inexplicably the column turned around. Days later he got drunk and passed out under his jeep. Early that morning he got kicked in the boots to wake up. He came out from under the jeep to take a swing at whoever rudely woke him up but then he sees it was General George Patton. He salutes Patton who then says what were you doing under there soldier? He told Patton that he got drunk and passed out because he lost his best friend. General Patton told the soldier he was the only man in this outfit so far that knew what he was doing. May Colgate graduate Herman Zanot rest in peace, he was a great chemist, a good supervisor and a good soldier who did his duty.
I would say there is no argue lol. It was designed as an anti-aircraft gun, and used as all three. Anti-aircraft, anti-tank, and anti-personnel. No fuselage, armor, or flesh was safe 💥
Mind blowing they get people from both sides on these shows. I used to watch these on the military channel all the time after school and never realized how lucky we all are to hear first hand experiences from specific battles.
Ben Wilson that’s what happens when you have no choice but to follow the orders of the fuhrer...if every step were decided by him and him alone, the battle would’ve been vastly different
@@Bahamut998 - Remember that even on the Tiger 1 (Pzkw VIa), the side armor was only half the thickness as the front armor, and well within the capabilities of AP from a 75 mm gun at 1000 yards. German tanks did not become "mobile pillboxes" until late 1944.
Mt brother was captured during his trek through Kasserine Pass. The tank he was in was attacked. His best buddy, was killed. He and other survivors were forced on a death march from Kasserine Pass. His daughter, my niece has his history. I was a little girl during the war, so I have forgotten much of what happened. He was a POW and it was months and months before we got word that he was not missing in action. The American Red Cross found the few survivors in a prison camp in Germany, I think it was Stalag 17? Anyway, I remember him telling that if not for the American Red Cross finding these survivors they may have starved. A lot of the WW2 boys had bad experience with the Red Cross, but in his experience, they thanked God for them.
The title was changed on this video to make it look more accurate. But it is still doctored at 40:30 to make it look like Patton took Tunisia. Here a German soldier says, "Und this was the end." Well, that didn't happen until May-13-1943 after Patton had long since left. But by then, the Americans had taken Bizerte and the British had taken Tunis itself, both on May-07-43. Only after that, on May-13-43, did the Axis surrender, with 267,000 troops slowly coming in from all over Tunis. .
Yeah, this is a very pro-US point of view. Even not mention the Royal Navy, who was the only reason for the shortages of fuel, tanks, munitions, all of the Afrikakorps. The Royal Navy destroyed over 90% of the Axis convois in these days.
@@michaelschmid9567 Exactly, NSDAP Germany made a serious tactical error not to first control/take out the Allied bases on nearby Mediterranean Islands. Major tactical blunder. Don’t wage a war with an enemy base (or two) in your backyard.
@@michaelschmid9567 That is correct. Britain had naval superiority all through WWI and WWII. Britain had a huge navy, it had to, it had colonies all over the globe.
“I don’t want to bash the Americans but they were inexperienced” well he was right, the American soldiers in it even said themselves they were not battle experienced yet. Made me chuckle a little and was like well you are right.
Yeah some of the performance of the Americans (and the other allies honestly) didn't always thrill in Africa and Italy. Everyone looked good kicking the Italians around. Then the Germans had to show up. We we're definitely aided greatly by German logistical difficulties.
@@nickdanger3802 An Army of 300,000 pushed back by an Army of 3.3 million. An Army of 2.8 million pushed back by an Army of nearly 4 million and having come out of a massive military purge and entering a massive reorganization campaign. Where is your point?
@@youraveragescotsman7119 First combat with the Heer. As I understand it. 1940 The 400,000-man BEF was the largest fully motorized force in the world. Fairly certain some of the 3.3 million Germans were engaged with French forces and France had the largest army in Europe and more tanks than Germany. 1941 In five months, the Axis advanced 800 miles on a front that became over 1,000 miles wide. The Red Army had over 20,000 tanks. Up to 1942 the only light anti-tank weapon in Heer inventory was the 7.92mm AT rifle. The only AT gun was the 37mm, DP 88's belonged to the Luftwaffe which had a separate chain of command. Tanks; Pz I, Pz II, Pz III with 37mm, Pz 38t with a different 37mm and Pz IV with a LV 75mm. SP guns and tank destroyers were next to non-existent. 1943 The Germans had 3 years' experience, Tigers and up gunned Pz III's and Pz IV's. The first time US armor met German armor the US had the already outdated M3 medium. Hansard WAR SITUATION HC Deb 11 February 1943 on line
As a Veteran I can tell you personally that officers come with clouds. Good officers have a cloud with fair weather following them. Bad officers bring clouds with Rain-Hail-Typhoons
@@markrobinson1135 Patton knew you could not win a war whispering sweet nothings in his men ear like we do today. Patton's dark cloud didn't just make his men fear him but the enemy as will. No wonder we can't seem to win a war anymore. Now we leave wars half done and throw in the tow like we are doing with Biden the puppet.
George was good for the soldiers moral because he planned well then stood and fought unlike the previous leadership. He was succeeded by the excellent Gen. Omar Bradley who worked well with the British 1st. Army in Western Tunisia, under Gen. Anderson and the British 8th Army, under Gen. Montgomery in Eastern Tunisia, and went on to defeat the Axis forces. In the end, 250,000 surrendered!
This should make us to believe, that Patton took Tunisia? The credit goes to the Royal Navy, they enabled the victory over the DAK by cutting of all supplies. Or the bad performance of the Italian Navy, what was numerical superior, but could not win much fight against the Royal Navy. A bit background info would also not be bad, for example that the supply situation for the DAK was so bad since the DAK got pushed back to Tunisia, that it was only a matter of time until they had to surrender. Under all this, the German victory at the Kasserine Pass was a miracle. What is also not mentioned in this video, that after the defeat at the Kasserine Pass, the US troops was on the brink of getting destroyed by the Germans. The Germans had pressed the US troops to the desert, where they could not withstand a week more. Only a massive British counterattack on the east, forced Rommel to withdraw the Panzers from the US troops in the west, and fight the British in the east. All in all, North Africa was not the glory for the US troops.
I had an uncle that went to North Africa as a M4 driver. The US Army advance to the east was delayed as mechanics assembled transport trucks and Jeeps that were shipped in crates on assembly lines set up on the docks. My uncle got bored so started making benches and tables out the crates since he was a journeyman carpenter. His work was noticed by General Fredendall's staff so they gave him a battlefield commission to the rank of captain so he could lead a company of tradesmen scrounged up from the enlisted ranks to build and repair structures for command headquarters. His tank got destroyed in the first engagement with the Germans. My uncle went thru the war repairing building and building crates for US officers that had war booty to ship back to the States since they didn't have to pay for any shipping charges.
I cannot believe this video leaves out that the German attack on Sidi bou Zid was spearheaded by over 20 German Tiger tanks! The Americans would not face this many Tigers in one fight until the Battle of the Bulge nearly two years later.
It wasn't twenty. That's not possible. There was one Tiger battalion active in Africa at the time. They had already lost two Tigers out of their initial twenty. Another one was in bad shape and they were using it as a source of spare parts. They had two companies, but they sent only one company down to Sidi bou Zid. Therefore they had a maximum of nine Tigers in the battle - probably about six.
Im pretty sure the ballistic drop of the 75mm German gun was more than 10 cm at 1000 yards since the muzzle velocity was only 2500 fps, maybe he meant 15-20 feet
The first battles were needed to test and gain experience in combat. The Germans by then were very experienced in armor tactics. We know why the British did so poor then turned it around. They could decode German messages. This was not known by American commanders. People beat up on the Sherman but it did what it was designed for and that was to support the infantry. They could of built a heavy tank as Patton wanted but it meant production of the Sherman would be cut. At the time they felt they were needed more than a heavy tank.
Messages were not decoded. German generals as a rule used messengers or dispatch riders. Most, if not all of them did not trust telephones or even the Enigma machine.
Patton never actually faced Field Marshal Rommel in North Africa and of the supposed 300 tanks facing the allies approximately 100 were light Italian tanks and most were facing the 8th army on the Eastern flank, only fifty to sixty tanks were available to stop the America and British forces in the West who themselves had five hundred tanks. The American ‘tankers’ were brave men, but their commanders were inexperienced, believing that tanks should charge blindly forward and fire on the move, assuming that their pure numbers would win through. The German commander, having routed the Americans on three occasions diverted most of his tanks on the Western Flank to try to stop the more experienced British armor who were pushing down from the North after landing on the North African Mediterranean coast. When the Americans actually advanced successfully most if not all of the German armor had been with drawn back to the North East where they reformed to face the oncoming 8th army. who destroyed most of the German armor. before they fell back to the coast and finally surrender. Patton led a powerful army against an already defeated Africa Corps. As said Patton never once faced Rommel or a powerful German army. Teach us history but be honest in that teaching.
@@terrysmith9362 'Where were about half of 8th Army's tanks made?' With the USA not being in the war until after Germany could no longer win, and with their nearest enemy being morre than 3,000 miles from their homeland, that is all they have got.
And why don’t you finish the rest of the story! 250,000 African corp Germans surrender to Patton! 😮 Montgomery had 3x a bigger army than Rommel and couldn’t stop him until America got involved! 😮
That nice German guy who didn’t want to “bash the Americans” by saying they were inexperienced! It was their first battle, ffs! They _were_ inexperienced, especially the guy commanding them!
They learned it from Muslims. They're called Mechanical Clocks. Without this, there would be no German Engineering. That's what this new Generation refer to as "The Backstory". aka History.
Ok ok... why does the animation of the tanks show the tracks with absolutely horrible track tension??? Any tanker knows that if the tracks were that loose, you would throw track immediately
Had Rommel had his backside kicked by the British, and then retreated all the way to Tunisia, only to flatten the US in Kasserine Pass? Is that correct?
Rightly so if it hadn't been for Rommel's apparent sneak attack on British forces to the east(which he thought he had ample opportunity to do asthe green back U. S forces were chasing their tails with no real tactics then to sit+wait to see what the fox would do next) Rommel suffered a disaster losing at least a third of his armour to the battle hardened British(who'd had their fair share of Rommel's brilliance in the past) or if he hadn't been recalled to Germany-U. S armour+ forces would have been wiped out to a man(unless surrendering) American bravado leads before all campaigns same as when given lesson by a Scottish major in 1917 in latest tatics in fighting trench warfare-the U. S commander graciously thanked the Scottish major then instructed his men to ignore all they've been told as the Scot+all his allies had been at it for 3 years+still hadn't beat the central powers-so they went on to fight 1914 15 tactics that went as bad for them as it had originally in 1914-15 battles at that time
Yeah, they said, hey, let's get rid of Rommel. They actually mentioned Rommel specifically during the strategic planning. They said, that guy, Rommel, has got to go! They finally decided after all the previous battles, but Rommel lived and was eventually forced to commit suicide by the Germans many years later.
Rommel had no chance. He had no fuel, no replacement nothing. He did what he could with what he had. By the way, he was not even authorized to go on the attack. He also was not in command, von Arnim was.
@@Sauce_Sensei US didn't lose They just went home. when they did, Exactly what we were afraid of happening in vietnam happened which was a lot of people getting killed
The Germans began the war knowing they would always have more experience and superior machines. God only knows how lopsided the casualties were during the beginning of the war when they were able to keep up supplies to their forces. They had to be overwhelmed with masses before the allies ever seemed to get an upper hand. They were truly an incredible foe and if you can't respect their army during that time you are an absolutely blind idiot, amazing tenacity on both sides.
Define "superior machines". Just because a tank has thicker armor and a bigger gun doesn't make it superior. There are far more qualities that have to be taken into consideration, like easy of manufacture and reliability, both of which German tanks were sorely lacking.
Excellent Video in clearly explaining of Tanks attacking in North African Battle fields German commanders staffs leaded their Armors Divisions with excellent talents but lack of continuous supports with lack of Air covering acted as lethal factors against German attempt
Description of Sherman tank is that it's formidable, yet one on one it was woefully inadequate because it's armour was poor in comparison, gunshot trajectories didn't help by the sounds of it.
The Sherman was described as the right tank, for the wrong war. The Armor was an inch and a half thick, the gun was horrible. It was short and low velocity.
Until the long barreled Panzer 4 showed up, it held it's own. The Brits thought it was fine tank. The Americans were ignorant in tank warfare. You would think they would have done some recon or used some artillery on on the cacti being the only cover in the area.
Sgt Melford Smith (a neighbor) was a tank commander for Gen.Patton thruout WWII> Told me he learned early on to sit high in the turret b/c IF hit by an 88, force of expanding gases blew him clear out of turret> Said it made a sound like "RONK" as round penetrated & churned the interiror> He lost 7 tanks that way but crew did not survive, said it was like spaghetti & meatballs inside his tank. Said go to a Vet cemetary & U'll find graves w/5 soldiers buried together> A Tank Crew. He said Shermans were reliable and were medium tanks b/c had to be loaded onto ships, so weight was a limitation on armor. He said the short barrel 75mm gun was Accurate, he could hit the SEAM at base of a Panzer's turret but Patton used tactic of Aritllery TOT (Time on Target) where a few dozen Shermans would LOB shells onto a single Panzer so over-pressure destroyed its SUSPENSION (whells came off) never mind if thick armor was intact. Patton used the Panzer's WEIGHT against itself> but the most important FACTOR was Patton split his forces into TWO armies to do 12 hour shifts, never let up, so Germans fought around the clock 24/7, got NO SLEEP After a week or 2 they were on the run after El Guettar where Patton destroyed entire German armor unit
@BekGrou PRIMUS Source and citation please! Especially that the Panzer 2 was able to destroy them efficiently? Please explain the armament of the Panzer 2 and how that was accomplished. How many total tanks did the Allies have in N. Africa? Most of the destruction of the Shermans were done by antitank guns and then Panzer 3 with a long barrel and other more modern tanks! The 5 cm short barrel had to be in close. I welcome to see back up your claim and the source!
The American TDs short barrel 75mm was already being upgraded to a higher velocity longer barrel gun that could penatrate the Germans new Mark IV armor.
They knew the 75 mm short barrel was weak they put in a British 19 pounder antitank gun for a test and it worked great ,range, accuracy, Penetration ,but because it was British the top brass said no and who knows how many lives that cost.the German's called it a knocking devise when it bounces off.
The M3's 75mm gun was capable of taking out the medium German tanks since those only had additional armor in front of the driver and bow gunner. Firing down from a hilltop enabled the M3 gunners to target their thinner armor on top of hull, turret and engine deck. What Patton did different was for them to hide behind the hillcrest then come forward to a planned position when signaled by an infantryman that was timing the advance of approaching tanks. The M3 gunner could look over the hilltop to identify the tank the infantryman was timing so adjusted his sights when driving down to their firing position. The battle lasted for hours due to the German tankers driving in all directions to avoid being hit from above.
This documentary is INACCURATE on the BATTLE OF EL GUETTAR segment. Firstly, Panzer Regiment 7, German 10th Panzer Division where those Panzerkampfwagen.IV Ausf.G "Mark IV Special" was never mentioned by name. Secondly, there was NO mention of the U.S. 899th Tank Destroyer Battalion with their M10 Tank Destroyers (B and C Companies) who fought alongside the U.S. 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion, where they played a major role in STOPPING the advance by the German 10th Panzer Division, who was actually part of the German 5th Panzer Army, NOT the veteran AfrikaKorps, at the Battle of El Guettar.
As an American, I think Erwin Rommel was the last German Knight. Loyalty, honor, and dignity, betrayed by a scumbag politician. Seems like there's a lot of that going around, even now. When will we learn?
Patton was in his Element here and was probably the only General they had around who could put some Backbone into the American Army..Rommel could be very impulsive and was a bit of a chancer in Battle sometimes it worked spectacularly other times it was a bit of a flop at best! ..It would be an interesting hypothetical exercise to rerun the North African campaign with Patton as lead for the Allies and Rommel still for the Axis ...
@@michaelschmid9567 Patton was a great leader of Men and he inspired them with his agressive spirit But he was also a Butcher and we mainly only hear of his Flair in the St Lo Battle when his Army " Broke Out" and his Can do attitude in Late 44 The fact that he out Thought Eisenhower and had already started re orientating his Troops to Saw off the Base was Inspired as it really opened up his own flanks etc
Field Marshall Erwin Rommel studied some of the strategic , and tactical moves from General "Stonewall Jackson ." A confederate general during the American Civil War.
For what purpose? just a little light reading piece of military history he may have been interested in-certainly wasn't looking for any tactical advice, war had moved on+Rommel certainly had nothing to learn from this confederate a pretty much unknown outside of civil war circles in U. S
The war in Africa was almost lost by the time Americans came. And even then the brave Germans put up a stubborn fight against the overwhelming logistical power of US. If the yanks had the luck to face the Germans of 1939-1940, they would have been humiliated beyond imagination. They would have cried for their mothers and begged mercy from german officers.
In North Africa and Normandy the German Army used the 8.8cm Flak as a dual purpose weapon. It out ranged the tank guns and had plenty of space to exploit its advantage.
These guys who upload someone else’s material and just plug a sponsor at the beginning of the video are extremely smart. It took this man hardly any time at all to make this video (Less then 1 minute is actually his) and now he’s getting paid for views. Genius man.
The person, who translates from Arabic to English, did not correctly translate the old Tunisian men speech. The translator missed many important information.
Didn't have lookout's outside the pass (hey a bunch of German tanks are coming) put half track's on a hill without knowing a way out and the Germans had perfect line of sight.
North Africa, and particular Lybia and Tunesia, are up to today full of allied and axis anti tank and anti person mines. Because both side used mines in an excessive way. After they left, they let the local population alone with this problem. So it is there until today.
@@michaelschmid9567 My question wasn't for you, but I've been there too, Egypt. I drove through the desert and for hundreds of kilometres there are physical danger signs. My question was for the OP.
Was it criminal sending shermans in against the panzers and 88s? They thought they had a good tank, but once it was shown to be deficient, the generals should have been held responsible for sending them back in before improvements were made to the shermans and the tactics.
No, the Royal Navy defeated the Nordafrika-Korps. The Nordafrika-Korps surrendered only after having no more rounds/gas/shells. Because all supply convoy got destroyed by the Royal Navy.
@@youraveragescotsman7119 yeah, when your enemy have no more supply, its easy to roll over them. So, what exactly was the military ingenious of the 8th army, who outnumbered and outgun the DAK, where the Royal Navy cut off all supplies, so that the German forces had no gas, no grenades, not anything? For that reason, the rest of the world admire Rommel: Because he could steamrolling the 8th army across the desert, EVEN he was outnumbered and outgunned! Of course, at the end the DAK lost. As Napoleon. Still, Rommel and Napoleon are remembered as the most brilliant military leader of there time.
@@michaelschmid9567 Rommel outnumbered the 8th Army for quite awhile when he first arrived in Africa, along with having the ability to read ALL their battleplans due to the American Attaché's codes being broken. The defeat at Alem al Halfa and then El'Alamein was quite crushing for the Germans, then they ran away.
@@youraveragescotsman7119 WHEN did the DAK outnumber the 8th army? Are you trying to write alternate history? So please, on what battle did the DAK outnumber the British?
It's great to see the veterans sharing there story to the young generation.. Thank you so much . May God bless them n long life..
A chemist I worked with who has passed away was there at Kasserine Pass where he helped direct fire for a 105 mm howitzer. He told me his best friend got captured during the fighting. They were reunited when Patton's Third Army took a German prison camp during the European campaign. He told me he was never so scared when Rommel's tanks came up Kasserine Pass and the only thing between Rommel's tanks and the U.S. supply depot was two 105 mm howitzers and a piper cub recognizance plane. They knocked out the front tank and inexplicably the column turned around. Days later he got drunk and passed out under his jeep. Early that morning he got kicked in the boots to wake up. He came out from under the jeep to take a swing at whoever rudely woke him up but then he sees it was General George Patton. He salutes Patton who then says what were you doing under there soldier? He told Patton that he got drunk and passed out because he lost his best friend.
General Patton told the soldier he was the only man in this outfit so far that knew what he was doing.
May Colgate graduate Herman Zanot rest in peace, he was a great chemist, a good supervisor and a good soldier who did his duty.
Aa
Great story. Thank you.
Patton didn't get along with his wife.
He's good with tanks
David Craig. Yes liked that part of the film,, you seem to be the only god Dam man in this out fit that knows what he is doing,,carry on,,,yes sir,,,
Great story man.
Patton really was a fantastic commander, everyone that served under him respected him
The German 88mm Flak gun was arguably the best all round gun of the war. Its shoots tanks, destroys soft targets and even airborne targets!
It was designed as an anti aircraft gun
@@johnatkinson7126 It was. I believe it was Rommels Afrika Korps that decided it would also make a rather good armour killer (and it did!)
@cesarretamoza5243 emojis! How old are you ten
I would say there is no argue lol. It was designed as an anti-aircraft gun, and used as all three. Anti-aircraft, anti-tank, and anti-personnel. No fuselage, armor, or flesh was safe 💥
Mind blowing they get people from both sides on these shows. I used to watch these on the military channel all the time after school and never realized how lucky we all are to hear first hand experiences from specific battles.
This is like our history lessons but more enjoyable and more in depth at the same time great video.
are you serious? this is a blatant takeover that war stories series used to repost the greatest tank battles episodes series of 2000s
Erwin Rommel was one of the best General of the tank battle and his way of battle tactics is still teaches in military academy .
His retreat in North Africa, so far, so fast.
Ben Wilson that’s what happens when you have no choice but to follow the orders of the fuhrer...if every step were decided by him and him alone, the battle would’ve been vastly different
he also studied john monash's battle tatics for mobile warfare .it had been done in ww1.
Go read the history, Rommel always ignored orders.
no if he was one of the best general germans wouldnt have lost the ww2
Mobility was the best asset of the M4, so charging straight at the panzers, without preliminary recon, was almost the dumbest move possible.
Straight towards them might have been fine, they however were driving right _between_ them. Flanked on both sides...
@@Robert-jz7hq and without recon they didn't know it
Kind of irrelevant in open deserts against a German tank with a much deadlier gun that can hit from much further.
@@Bahamut998 - Remember that even on the Tiger 1 (Pzkw VIa), the side armor was only half the thickness as the front armor, and well within the capabilities of AP from a 75 mm gun at 1000 yards. German tanks did not become "mobile pillboxes" until late 1944.
Mt brother was captured during his trek through Kasserine Pass. The tank he was in was attacked. His best buddy, was killed. He and other survivors were forced on a death march from Kasserine Pass. His daughter, my niece has his history. I was a little girl during the war, so I have forgotten much of what happened. He was a POW and it was months and months before we got word that he was not missing in action. The American Red Cross found the few survivors in a prison camp in Germany, I think it was Stalag 17? Anyway, I remember him telling that if not for the American Red Cross finding these survivors they may have starved. A lot of the WW2 boys had bad experience with the Red Cross, but in his experience, they thanked God for them.
A "Death March"?
@@gimpycanuck2 basically a march where you let the weak die.. It saves food.. Saves transport costs..
@@TheSparky1942 I get that as it's self explanatory, but I am curious as to what occurred, what were the circumstances.
Something wrong with your story. Rommel was well known for treating prisoners OK. Perhaps no well but strictly according to the Geneva accords.
I can imagine running out of water was beyond inevitable and how they both went many days with little to none
The title was changed on this video to make it look more accurate. But it is still doctored at 40:30 to make it look like Patton took Tunisia. Here a German soldier says, "Und this was the end." Well, that didn't happen until May-13-1943 after Patton had long since left. But by then, the Americans had taken Bizerte and the British had taken Tunis itself, both on May-07-43. Only after that, on May-13-43, did the Axis surrender, with 267,000 troops slowly coming in from all over Tunis. .
Yeah, this is a very pro-US point of view. Even not mention the Royal Navy, who was the only reason for the shortages of fuel, tanks, munitions, all of the Afrikakorps. The Royal Navy destroyed over 90% of the Axis convois in these days.
@@michaelschmid9567 Exactly, NSDAP Germany made a serious tactical error not to first control/take out the Allied bases on nearby Mediterranean Islands. Major tactical blunder. Don’t wage a war with an enemy base (or two) in your backyard.
@@michaelschmid9567 That is correct. Britain had naval superiority all through WWI and WWII. Britain had a huge navy, it had to, it had colonies all over the globe.
Patton and Rommel never faced each other in battle.
Rommel didn’t have enough tanks or ammunitions and men…I respected Rommel for genius tactics ideas.
Rommel the magnificent Commandant
The 75mm M3 was sure good enough to deal with a Pz 4
“I don’t want to bash the Americans but they were inexperienced” well he was right, the American soldiers in it even said themselves they were not battle experienced yet.
Made me chuckle a little and was like well you are right.
Yeah some of the performance of the Americans (and the other allies honestly) didn't always thrill in Africa and Italy. Everyone looked good kicking the Italians around. Then the Germans had to show up. We we're definitely aided greatly by German logistical difficulties.
I laughed at the same moment. The Americans were woefully inexperienced and overly confident. It is an easy way to ensure disaster.
1940 British Expeditionary Force (BEF) evacuated from France.
1941 Red Army pushed from the new border in Poland to Moscow.
@@nickdanger3802
An Army of 300,000 pushed back by an Army of 3.3 million.
An Army of 2.8 million pushed back by an Army of nearly 4 million and having come out of a massive military purge and entering a massive reorganization campaign.
Where is your point?
@@youraveragescotsman7119 First combat with the Heer. As I understand it.
1940 The 400,000-man BEF was the largest fully motorized force in the world. Fairly certain some of the 3.3 million Germans were engaged with French forces and France had the largest army in Europe and more tanks than Germany.
1941 In five months, the Axis advanced 800 miles on a front that became over 1,000 miles wide. The Red Army had over 20,000 tanks.
Up to 1942 the only light anti-tank weapon in Heer inventory was the 7.92mm AT rifle. The only AT gun was the 37mm, DP 88's belonged to the Luftwaffe which had a separate chain of command. Tanks; Pz I, Pz II, Pz III with 37mm, Pz 38t with a different 37mm and Pz IV with a LV 75mm. SP guns and tank destroyers were next to non-existent.
1943 The Germans had 3 years' experience, Tigers and up gunned Pz III's and Pz IV's.
The first time US armor met German armor the US had the already outdated M3 medium.
Hansard WAR SITUATION HC Deb 11 February 1943 on line
Georgie was screwed up but in a good way. We needed guy like that who could lead and inspire.
As a Veteran I can tell you personally that officers come with clouds.
Good officers have a cloud with fair weather following them.
Bad officers bring clouds with Rain-Hail-Typhoons
@@markrobinson1135 Patton knew you could not win a war whispering sweet nothings in his men ear like we do today. Patton's dark cloud didn't just make his men fear him but the enemy as will. No wonder we can't seem to win a war anymore. Now we leave wars half done and throw in the tow like we are doing with Biden the puppet.
George was good for the soldiers moral because he planned well then stood and fought unlike the previous leadership. He was succeeded by the excellent Gen. Omar Bradley who worked well with the British 1st. Army in Western Tunisia, under Gen. Anderson and the British 8th Army, under Gen. Montgomery in Eastern Tunisia, and went on to defeat the Axis forces. In the end, 250,000 surrendered!
Goes to show you what cutting off a supply line can do to an elite force.
Your thumbnail looks like german general hoth dressed up for Halloween like patton.
This should make us to believe, that Patton took Tunisia? The credit goes to the Royal Navy, they enabled the victory over the DAK by cutting of all supplies. Or the bad performance of the Italian Navy, what was numerical superior, but could not win much fight against the Royal Navy.
A bit background info would also not be bad, for example that the supply situation for the DAK was so bad since the DAK got pushed back to Tunisia, that it was only a matter of time until they had to surrender.
Under all this, the German victory at the Kasserine Pass was a miracle. What is also not mentioned in this video, that after the defeat at the Kasserine Pass, the US troops was on the brink of getting destroyed by the Germans. The Germans had pressed the US troops to the desert, where they could not withstand a week more. Only a massive British counterattack on the east, forced Rommel to withdraw the Panzers from the US troops in the west, and fight the British in the east.
All in all, North Africa was not the glory for the US troops.
41:19 Looks like a KV-1 got into the fightin' there
And yes, i mean this as a joke, gotta love this documentaries
I had an uncle that went to North Africa as a M4 driver. The US Army advance to the east was delayed as mechanics assembled transport trucks and Jeeps that were shipped in crates on assembly lines set up on the docks. My uncle got bored so started making benches and tables out the crates since he was a journeyman carpenter. His work was noticed by General Fredendall's staff so they gave him a battlefield commission to the rank of captain so he could lead a company of tradesmen scrounged up from the enlisted ranks to build and repair structures for command headquarters. His tank got destroyed in the first engagement with the Germans. My uncle went thru the war repairing building and building crates for US officers that had war booty to ship back to the States since they didn't have to pay for any shipping charges.
War booty is another way of saying thievery. The Germans do it it gets a different name.
That was a funny story, thanks for sharing.
I cannot believe this video leaves out that the German attack on Sidi bou Zid was spearheaded by over 20 German Tiger tanks! The Americans would not face this many Tigers in one fight until the Battle of the Bulge nearly two years later.
It wasn't twenty. That's not possible.
There was one Tiger battalion active in Africa at the time. They had already lost two Tigers out of their initial twenty. Another one was in bad shape and they were using it as a source of spare parts.
They had two companies, but they sent only one company down to Sidi bou Zid.
Therefore they had a maximum of nine Tigers in the battle - probably about six.
Im pretty sure the ballistic drop of the 75mm German gun was more than 10 cm at 1000 yards since the muzzle velocity was only 2500 fps, maybe he meant 15-20 feet
The Germans may have used one of the 75mm round with a muzzle velocity of 3000 fps
When he says 10cm.. I think he means 10cm in the crosshair.. Which is about a meter at the target ( sorry, i dont do feet and inches)
The first battles were needed to test and gain experience in combat. The Germans by then were very experienced in armor tactics. We know why the British did so poor then turned it around. They could decode German messages. This was not known by American commanders. People beat up on the Sherman but it did what it was designed for and that was to support the infantry. They could of built a heavy tank as Patton wanted but it meant production of the Sherman would be cut. At the time they felt they were needed more than a heavy tank.
Could 'have', not could 'of'.
@@thejacal2704 Thank you, it made a big difference.
Messages were not decoded. German generals as a rule used messengers or dispatch riders. Most, if not all of them did not trust telephones or even the Enigma machine.
Patton never actually faced Field Marshal Rommel in North Africa and of the supposed 300 tanks facing the allies approximately 100 were light Italian tanks and most were facing the 8th army on the Eastern flank, only fifty to sixty tanks were available to stop the America and British forces in the West who themselves had five hundred tanks. The American ‘tankers’ were brave men, but their commanders were inexperienced, believing that tanks should charge blindly forward and fire on the move, assuming that their pure numbers would win through. The German commander, having routed the Americans on three occasions diverted most of his tanks on the Western Flank to try to stop the more experienced British armor who were pushing down from the North after landing on the North African Mediterranean coast. When the Americans actually advanced successfully most if not all of the German armor had been with drawn back to the North East where they reformed to face the oncoming 8th army. who destroyed most of the German armor.
before they fell back to the coast and finally surrender. Patton led a powerful army against an already defeated Africa Corps.
As said Patton never once faced Rommel or a powerful German army. Teach us history but be honest in that teaching.
Where were about half of 8th Army's tanks made?
does it matter. Who were manning the tanks.
@@terrysmith9362
'Where were about half of 8th Army's tanks made?'
With the USA not being in the war until after Germany could no longer win, and with their nearest enemy being morre than 3,000 miles from their homeland, that is all they have got.
And why don’t you finish the rest of the story!
250,000 African corp Germans surrender to Patton!
😮
Montgomery had 3x a bigger army than Rommel and couldn’t stop him until America got involved! 😮
History, my favorite!
Africa
@@3uteboys Asia
@@ДушманКакдела no
interesting but my god they repeat so many lines, so many times, could shave 10 minutes off the video
Made for TV, it's a recap after 5 mins of adverts.
That nice German guy who didn’t want to “bash the Americans” by saying they were inexperienced! It was their first battle, ffs! They _were_ inexperienced, especially the guy commanding them!
German Engineering 🇩🇪👌
They learned it from Muslims. They're called Mechanical Clocks. Without this, there would be no German Engineering. That's what this new Generation refer to as "The Backstory". aka History.
You know it was actually an American that invented the Chassis for the Panzer
German Tanks get me heard
@@jkranites what are you talking about it?
@@hellboundrubber4448I'm not sure the muslims invented engineering?
That's kind of late, in the backstory.
Rommel was a gentleman soldier. He was up against a superior force of the Allies. With adequate resources, he would have won.
Das boot
Ok ok... why does the animation of the tanks show the tracks with absolutely horrible track tension??? Any tanker knows that if the tracks were that loose, you would throw track immediately
Patton was controversial but a great leader that any soldier would follow
Interesting I never heard of the two actions before Kasserine.
Kasserine Pass was a series of battles in and around the pass.
Had Rommel had his backside kicked by the British, and then retreated all the way to Tunisia, only to flatten the US in Kasserine Pass? Is that correct?
Reads about right.
Fantastic animation.
At the start of the north African campaign in 1941 ww2 Erwin Rommel was Hitler's best general
Great Video. When were these interviews recorded? thnx
I'm American, and this seems scary af from the u.s perspective
weel most of americans are ethnically german
Rightly so if it hadn't been for Rommel's apparent sneak attack on British forces to the east(which he thought he had ample opportunity to do asthe green back U. S forces were chasing their tails with no real tactics then to sit+wait to see what the fox would do next) Rommel suffered a disaster losing at least a third of his armour to the battle hardened British(who'd had their fair share of Rommel's brilliance in the past) or if he hadn't been recalled to Germany-U. S armour+ forces would have been wiped out to a man(unless surrendering) American bravado leads before all campaigns same as when given lesson by a Scottish major in 1917 in latest tatics in fighting trench warfare-the U. S commander graciously thanked the Scottish major then instructed his men to ignore all they've been told as the Scot+all his allies had been at it for 3 years+still hadn't beat the central powers-so they went on to fight 1914 15 tactics that went as bad for them as it had originally in 1914-15 battles at that time
@@SpaceTravel1776it is a ethincity actually
@@SpaceTravel1776 It is an ethnicity. Wow.
Agree. Some point like will they learn their mistakes yet. That was closer to the beginning of the video though.
The British decided Rommel needed removing
Yeah, they said, hey, let's get rid of Rommel. They actually mentioned Rommel specifically during the strategic planning. They said, that guy, Rommel, has got to go! They finally decided after all the previous battles, but Rommel lived and was eventually forced to commit suicide by the Germans many years later.
@@SpaceTravel1776 The Fox died so say we all
My great uncle was a pilot in the North African Campaign. He is buried in Tunisia.
:(
Rommel had no chance. He had no fuel, no replacement nothing. He did what he could with what he had. By the way, he was not even authorized to go on the attack. He also was not in command, von Arnim was.
Rommel had a history of attacking without order to attack, That made him so succesful in the french campaign.
great one
By 1942 Germany was already losing the War being over extended
Actually autumn 1942 saw Germany at the zenith of its territorial gains.
Then El Alamein and Stalingrad happened.
@@lyndoncmp5751 and its loss of the battle of the Atlantic
Amazing video!!!
what was rommel and his army
Brave, Sharp, Legend
I am an American and we are back to back champs 🏆
We certainly had some help along the way, too.
@@MichaelGalanopoulos the Americans are the help
*Vietnam has joined the chat
@@LawAndTheory is what the allies said, just a lot more dramatic and not sarcastic
@@Sauce_Sensei US didn't lose They just went home. when they did, Exactly what we were afraid of happening in vietnam happened which was a lot of people getting killed
Patton it's over Rommel I have the high ground. Rommel you underestimate my powers.
Patton and Rommel never faced each other in battle.
The Germans began the war knowing they would always have more experience and superior machines. God only knows how lopsided the casualties were during the beginning of the war when they were able to keep up supplies to their forces. They had to be overwhelmed with masses before the allies ever seemed to get an upper hand. They were truly an incredible foe and if you can't respect their army during that time you are an absolutely blind idiot, amazing tenacity on both sides.
Define "superior machines". Just because a tank has thicker armor and a bigger gun doesn't make it superior. There are far more qualities that have to be taken into consideration, like easy of manufacture and reliability, both of which German tanks were sorely lacking.
The number of the beast
Excellent Video in clearly explaining of Tanks attacking in North African Battle fields German commanders staffs leaded their Armors Divisions with excellent talents but lack of continuous supports with lack of Air covering acted as lethal factors against German attempt
Rommel had the balls to be up in the action
Win is a win..and lost is a lost no matter what is the alibi..
Shouldn't the title be Patton vs Von Arnim? Rommel and Patton never faced each other in battle.
Many Indian soldiers fought in World War II. Many were highly decorated.
18 y.o.'s then: massive tank battles to the death and no retreat. 18 y.o.'s now: bumps into a wall, "ow, my p*$sy hurts."
@Charlie B11 tough ones are still out there and will take this country back.
I thought the 75 could go through the front of a panzer 4 ausf G especially the caliber of these M3 half tracks
There was no “US tank war” against Rommel
Rommel was a respectable general even if was from nazy Germany.
Wow nice 👍🏼
as patton said we defeated the wrong enemy
patton said a lot things..
he had a press converence every 6hrs
.
Without their numbers Sherman tanks were inferior. But as russians said quantity have a virtue by it own.
Not really.
I always wonder what happen to those inside the tank after it got destroyed by the other side
Dead probably
They die.
Best not thought about as it's horrible.
@@owen368 🤓👍
Description of Sherman tank is that it's formidable, yet one on one it was woefully inadequate because it's armour was poor in comparison, gunshot trajectories didn't help by the sounds of it.
The Sherman was described as the right tank, for the wrong war.
The Armor was an inch and a half thick, the gun was horrible. It was short and low velocity.
Until the long barreled Panzer 4 showed up, it held it's own. The Brits thought it was fine tank. The Americans were ignorant in tank warfare. You would think they would have done some recon or used some artillery on on the cacti being the only cover in the area.
Sgt Melford Smith (a neighbor) was a tank commander for Gen.Patton thruout WWII> Told me he learned early on to sit high in the turret b/c IF hit by an 88, force of expanding gases blew him clear out of turret> Said it made a sound like "RONK" as round penetrated & churned the interiror> He lost 7 tanks that way but crew did not survive, said it was like spaghetti & meatballs inside his tank. Said go to a Vet cemetary & U'll find graves w/5 soldiers buried together> A Tank Crew. He said Shermans were reliable and were medium tanks b/c had to be loaded onto ships, so weight was a limitation on armor. He said the short barrel 75mm gun was Accurate, he could hit the SEAM at base of a Panzer's turret but Patton used tactic of Aritllery TOT (Time on Target) where a few dozen Shermans would LOB shells onto a single Panzer so over-pressure destroyed its SUSPENSION (whells came off) never mind if thick armor was intact. Patton used the Panzer's WEIGHT against itself> but the most important FACTOR was Patton split his forces into TWO armies to do 12 hour shifts, never let up, so Germans fought around the clock 24/7, got NO SLEEP After a week or 2 they were on the run after El Guettar where Patton destroyed entire German armor unit
Americans were just lucky that Germans had very limited tank supply and 90% being on Eastern Front.
@BekGrou PRIMUS Source and citation please! Especially that the Panzer 2 was able to destroy them efficiently? Please explain the armament of the Panzer 2 and how that was accomplished.
How many total tanks did the Allies have in N. Africa? Most of the destruction of the Shermans were done by antitank guns and then Panzer 3 with a long barrel and other more modern tanks! The 5 cm short barrel had to be in close.
I welcome to see back up your claim and the source!
not much point of a tank destroyer that cant destroy the enemy tanks
Obviously you don't have experience with the inner workings of the US Army
The American TDs short barrel 75mm was already being upgraded to a higher velocity longer barrel gun that could penatrate the Germans new Mark IV armor.
They knew the 75 mm short barrel was weak they put in a British 19 pounder antitank gun for a test and it worked great ,range, accuracy, Penetration ,but because it was British the top brass said no and who knows how many lives that cost.the German's called it a knocking devise when it bounces off.
The M3's 75mm gun was capable of taking out the medium German tanks since those only had additional armor in front of the driver and bow gunner. Firing down from a hilltop enabled the M3 gunners to target their thinner armor on top of hull, turret and engine deck. What Patton did different was for them to hide behind the hillcrest then come forward to a planned position when signaled by an infantryman that was timing the advance of approaching tanks. The M3 gunner could look over the hilltop to identify the tank the infantryman was timing so adjusted his sights when driving down to their firing position. The battle lasted for hours due to the German tankers driving in all directions to avoid being hit from above.
Our tanks was out dated to. We needed the M-26 tank sooner with 105 MM gun tank destroyer that could even take out a king tiger.
This documentary is INACCURATE on the BATTLE OF EL GUETTAR segment. Firstly, Panzer Regiment 7, German 10th Panzer Division where those Panzerkampfwagen.IV Ausf.G "Mark IV Special" was never mentioned by name. Secondly, there was NO mention of the U.S. 899th Tank Destroyer Battalion with their M10 Tank Destroyers (B and C Companies) who fought alongside the U.S. 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion, where they played a major role in STOPPING the advance by the German 10th Panzer Division, who was actually part of the German 5th Panzer Army, NOT the veteran AfrikaKorps, at the Battle of El Guettar.
As an American, I think Erwin Rommel was the last German Knight. Loyalty, honor, and dignity, betrayed by a scumbag politician. Seems like there's a lot of that going around, even now. When will we learn?
Patton was in his Element here and was probably the only General they had around who could put some Backbone into the American Army..Rommel could be very impulsive and was a bit of a chancer in Battle sometimes it worked spectacularly other times it was a bit of a flop at best! ..It would be an interesting hypothetical exercise to rerun the North African campaign with Patton as lead for the Allies and Rommel still for the Axis ...
need some simulations eh?
It would be interesting how Patton would lead Axis Africa Corps...would he manage better than Rommel?I think nobody could
I don't understand this Patton hype. Patton had 3 weeks in France, where he could shine. But except this? I think, Rommel is an other calibre.
@@michaelschmid9567 Patton was a great leader of Men and he inspired them with his agressive spirit But he was also a Butcher and we mainly only hear of his Flair in the St Lo Battle when his Army " Broke Out" and his Can do attitude in Late 44 The fact that he out Thought Eisenhower and had already started re orientating his Troops to Saw off the Base was Inspired as it really opened up his own flanks etc
The first time Germans lost on land was by Australian forces at Tobruk
The first time the Germans lost on land was at the gates of Moskau, if you count the bigger battles. And some smaller battles before.
I love Lucy Worsely!
At 41.19 there is a burning KV!!!
Good spot!
''The US Tank War With Rommel's Afrika Corps'' US and UK and Canadian tank war with Rommel's Afrika corps
Field Marshall Erwin Rommel studied some of the strategic , and tactical moves from General "Stonewall Jackson ." A confederate general during the American Civil War.
For what purpose? just a little light reading piece of military history he may have been interested in-certainly wasn't looking for any tactical advice, war had moved on+Rommel certainly had nothing to learn from this confederate a pretty much unknown outside of civil war circles in U. S
The war in Africa was almost lost by the time Americans came. And even then the brave Germans put up a stubborn fight against the overwhelming logistical power of US.
If the yanks had the luck to face the Germans of 1939-1940, they would have been humiliated beyond imagination. They would have cried for their mothers and begged mercy from german officers.
Excellent educational entertainment that is easy listening. Thanks for sharing!
they show flak 88 and say hundreds of anti tank guns WTF
In North Africa and Normandy the German Army used the 8.8cm Flak as a dual purpose weapon. It out ranged the tank guns and had plenty of space to exploit its advantage.
@@photoisca7386 I know but its still not a at gun u genius
Defense usually wins...if you're the occupier
greta film
Rommel was not at Alamein when this battle started.
So?..
@35:00 translation is completely inaccurate. plus it serves no purpose voicing translation with a strong native accent.
This channel is late with this upload.
A rerun for other likewise channels.
I wonder why the Shermans did so well in Africa against German tanks but got their butts handed to them in Europe.
In Europe the German practically sniped advancing Sherman’s with 88s and other long ranged high velocity guns in defensive positions the whole time
Open fields vs. Normandy which was hilly forested terrain.
North Africa was tank paradise.
It doesn't matter how good you were is the resolute that matters thank you sand of north Africa and cold weather of stalingrad
Whitout airplanes, us where lost
Look what you fought for guys! Isn't this great!?
40:13 you're welcome
The problem with Sherman tanks aganst Tiger and Flak 88 Atgun is till modification M4A2 HVSS. After that the German superiority is ended
Much better than usual American stuff which completely ignored non American allies even when they do massive amounts toward victory...
"We fought the wrong enemy!" - General George S. Patton
These guys who upload someone else’s material and just plug a sponsor at the beginning of the video are extremely smart. It took this man hardly any time at all to make this video (Less then 1 minute is actually his) and now he’s getting paid for views. Genius man.
The person, who translates from Arabic to English, did not correctly translate the old Tunisian men speech. The translator missed many important information.
What was their objective - in N Africa? What were they hoping to accomplish?
The Germans backed up Mussolini who was trying to go for the old roman empire kind of thing, but failed.
I'll swear i saw two centurions. 1:40
Flak 88 is bestest
So the narrator is talking about Shermans and the video shows Grants which don't rate a mention.
The US tank destroyers were using a gun that was first designed in 1897.
Quantity over quality maybe
we should have mined that pass with anti tank mines
Didn't have lookout's outside the pass (hey a bunch of German tanks are coming) put half track's on a hill without knowing a way out and the Germans had perfect line of sight.
North Africa, and particular Lybia and Tunesia, are up to today full of allied and axis anti tank and anti person mines. Because both side used mines in an excessive way. After they left, they let the local population alone with this problem. So it is there until today.
Were you there?
@@thejacal2704 yep
@@michaelschmid9567 My question wasn't for you, but I've been there too, Egypt. I drove through the desert and for hundreds of kilometres there are physical danger signs.
My question was for the OP.
So why did the Sherman tanks suck so bad???
Was it criminal sending shermans in against the panzers and 88s? They thought they had a good tank, but once it was shown to be deficient, the generals should have been held responsible for sending them back in before improvements were made to the shermans and the tactics.
Artillery is what defeated Rommel not tanks. Finally Monkey gomery realized it on end.
No, the Royal Navy defeated the Nordafrika-Korps. The Nordafrika-Korps surrendered only after having no more rounds/gas/shells. Because all supply convoy got destroyed by the Royal Navy.
@@michaelschmid9567
And their massive defeats at the hands of 8th Army, who were steamrolling across the deserts while chasing the Afrika Korps.
@@youraveragescotsman7119 yeah, when your enemy have no more supply, its easy to roll over them.
So, what exactly was the military ingenious of the 8th army, who outnumbered and outgun the DAK, where the Royal Navy cut off all supplies, so that the German forces had no gas, no grenades, not anything?
For that reason, the rest of the world admire Rommel: Because he could steamrolling the 8th army across the desert, EVEN he was outnumbered and outgunned!
Of course, at the end the DAK lost. As Napoleon. Still, Rommel and Napoleon are remembered as the most brilliant military leader of there time.
@@michaelschmid9567
Rommel outnumbered the 8th Army for quite awhile when he first arrived in Africa, along with having the ability to read ALL their battleplans due to the American Attaché's codes being broken.
The defeat at Alem al Halfa and then El'Alamein was quite crushing for the Germans, then they ran away.
@@youraveragescotsman7119 WHEN did the DAK outnumber the 8th army? Are you trying to write alternate history? So please, on what battle did the DAK outnumber the British?