Battlefield S5/E3 - The Battle for Monte Cassino
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 พ.ย. 2012
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NBC Universal
Directed by Dave Flitton, Andy Aitken, James Wignall
Produced by Dave Flitton (series prod.), David McWhinnie, Ken Maliphant, David Rozalla
Written by Dave Flitton, Andy Aitken, James Wignall
Narrated by Jonathan Booth
Music by David Galbraith
Distributed by Public Broadcasting Service
Release date(s) 2001
Running time 6 116-minute episodes
Country USA
Language English
My grandfather was there when they bombed the abbey. He was just coming over the hill when the bombs dropped. He took me there when I was 17 and told me the story. The abbey was completely rebuilt, brick by brick. It looks exactly the same as it did before the bombs hit. We stayed at a small youth hostel. I remember the wonderful family that ran it. The wife kept trying to feed me more and more spaghetti because I was so skinny and tall and I had lost 50 lbs backpacking through Europe. That was the best trip of my life. RIP grandpa.
🍝 God blessed ✌️
My grandfather too. The USA saved their asses. My grandfather who came over on a boat and became an orphan ended up getting sent there to fight in the battle of monte Cassino. Look that shit up. Brutal ass fight. In my grandfathers World War II diary that we still have he wrote 17 pages one night explaining how he was not going to live this through. He did tho!
A good legacy. Carry it on with your grandkids or someone close.
My father in law drove a small tank for Patton . He was there ,Anzio,Cassino , all of it .
Americans have no Past. They dont understand the meaning of Historical Heritage. Its sad
My granddad was a gunner in the artillery from Glasgow he travelled all the way through Africa and up into Italy he was at monte cassino and said the polish army were very brave and lost many young men I visited the place 2 years ago and seen the polish graveyard he was a humble man and never really talked about what he seen rip to all the brave men who helped us have the life and freedom we have today John from Glasgow scotland
my great grandad from edinburgh was also at monte cassino, he was killed by a mine, my grandad has photos of him but barely remembers him because he was only 8 when he died
Last battle of ! I have 1950s ? Book, Titled , Monte Casino a battle in ! four Parts
The Germans call it one ? Two most ?
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My Grandad was a gunner in the artillery too. He was in Africa with the 8th Army and went up through Italy and he was at Monte Cassino and Anzio. He was also at Dunkirk early in the war.
AMEN ! Had a grand father in the 82nd A/B Div. And fought from Normandy , Holland "Operation Market Garden " and wounded on the Ardennes , " Battle of The Bulge " , and had classic PSTD issues . He passed nearly 23 years ago .
Also , lost a relative I'm Central , Highlands , SouthVietnam , tail end of bloody TET , about 2 weeks b-4 my 11th bday .
My grandfather was the American commander and top surgeon of a field hospital at the Battle(s) of Monte Cassino. He told us that nearby Mount Vesuvius actually erupted while he was putting soldiers back together and amputating limbs. He was from Winchester, KY (USA) and passed away in 1993.
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@@touristguy87 Listening to ZZ TOP .
😖 🎉😢. ;
This is so true, I recall my dear father telling me this. In fact he said that he went onto Mount Vesuvius where he could feel the heat through his boots
My father was in this battle. Not many from his company survived. He was, as he put it, "blown up" and reported killed in action. He woke up in an American field hospital near Rome. He contacted the Red Cross and got a message home to my grieving grandmother that he was alive and still in one piece. The remains of his company and the remains of "a London outfit", as he called them, were then used to guard infrastructure in Italy. He carried shrapnel in his leg for the rest of his life.
¹111
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Monte Casino was a bloody slug match , costing the Allies nearly 40000 casualties in a 6 month battle ! "A Hollow Victory " it was , for "Overlord " "DDAY " was the main topic by early June 1944 . Rome was taken by the USAs 5th Army under General Mark Clark ., and it would take nearly another year of hard fighting in Italy B-4 the Nazi- German troops capitulated .
Wow!
After completing officer training in Georgia USA in 1943, my father went on a celebration picnic and got bad poison oak. Mustering for departure to Africa in 1943, the doctor said to the puffed up lieutenant: "No way, you're staying home for now". My father had to wait for the next departing units, separated from all his buddies in OCS. Eventually departing and training with Mark Clark's 5th Army, he served in a different regiment from his buddies who were also in the 5th, but still battled at Salerno and the Gustav Line further north near the British 8th. So, my father was not in the assault on Monte Cassino on the day that Mark Clark sent all his friends' platoons under the same German guns on a path that involved a daylight river crossing and no cover. Few if any of these platoon lieutenants survived. My father survived to fight in other battles, but that poison oak saved his life from Clark's blundering on that fateful day.
Real Men!
Mark Clarke ! Worst general in Italy!
Cost so many lives by not routing the Germans! Go for liberator of Roma instead
Not Mark Clark's only blunder but somehow he remained a favorite of the top brass but certainly not to the lower ranks who survived his incompetence and arrogance.
Fickle finger of fate......thank you
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I worked as a direct care worker in assisted living facilities (and later as a nurse) and on occasion had the chance to hear some remembrances from some of the soldiers of WWII.
First, there was man I took care of who was also a combat medic, and was already on a ship to invading Japan when they dropped the bomb. Japan was mobilizing every grandparent and child to fight to the death to resist invasion (most of the fighting age men were already deployed or dead). If that actually happened there would be no Japanese people left. Hiroshima and Nagasaki saved what was left of the Japanese people. Don't let anyone tell you differently.
Second, was a German. Big guy, jovial (usually), really likable. He told me about two Allied soldiers who just kind of came strolling towards their tank position in some forest. The Germans cut them down. He seemed really kind of shook up at why those Allied soldiers would do that.
Third, was a guy who was at Normandy. He just described how he saw dead soldiers "piled like cordwood" on the beach after the invasion.
These newer generations who complain about transphobes, plastic straws, and Donald Trump have absolutely no idea how lucky they are.
Blame the media for this one. And the Clinton machine. It is easy to blame the younger generations, but I think it is misguided. We created the world they inhabit; they have yet to make their mark, and may not have the chance if we don’t get our act together, fast. But your stories, are wonderful, and so appreciated.
My grandfather was here,he survived but when he comeback to home wasn’t the same man😢🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹Giovanni Calabrese
This is not the Battle of Monte Cassino, it's the battle for Italy. The actual Monte Cassino conflict is summed-up in little over 7 minutes, starting at 1hr 16mins and ending at 1hr 23mins. It's still very good as a documentary, but there's a great deal of repetition, unlike other episodes.
All of these wwll documentaries heavily remind me of my Grandad and my GreatGrandad , they were both full-time professional Army officers in the Greek Royal Army. Miss you guys❗
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@@touristguy87 zipped !
Great heroes all of them. They will never be forgotten
my father was only 18 years old when he fought at the battle of monte cassino with the polish forces TOTAL RESPECT
To the Lost.
@Loco Polaco b's you would be over 80 if that was tru
Much respect my grandfather fought in the Philippines and Guam against the Japanese
@@roryennis2626 man that would have been hard ay those Japanese were crazy
@@mangukahaaotearoa9324 he worked for the CIA counter intelligence his division was called tropic lighting. I
My grandfather, Ryoichi Matsuda, fought in the Italy Campaign with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, F Company. Received a Purple Heart in 1944 but made it through the war. He passed away in September and he was my hero.
Kudos to all the American soldiers who fought for Americas freedom
All honor and respect to your Grandpa. My dad was machinist mate on escort carrier in Pacific. His twin brother flew the Hump in China/Burma. They weren't even 25 .
Amazing that Japanese-Americans fought for the country that treated them as an internal enemy.
He sounds like he was of Japanese descent? Considering all that happened to Americans of Japanese descent, I am speaking of the internment camps, his patriotism sets an outstanding example. It is important to recall that this very illiberal shameful decision was enacted by FDR, a democrat, who also confiscated all gold, held by U.S. citizens upon an executive order, previous to this insult. The roots of authoritarianism were always present within this political party.
@@westpointsnell4167 I think we owe them more than “kudos” at this point. We may owe them our own sacrifice. We are in it now. It’s time to wake up to what we are in the middle of, historically, and take action.
One of my many uncles,at 18 , fought in Nth Africa As a member of the Long range desert group. He was then deployed to sail to Italy and take part of the invasion. He fought right up to monte Casino ,when he was taken Prisoner. He managed to join an escape He was one of many "Free Men" who wandered about Italy trying to get back to what ever remained of his unit. He was taken Prisoner again and was sent to a Prison in Germany. it was there he contracted TB. The German medical team removed some of ribs to see if that would ease his breathing. At wars end he was repatriated to New Zealand and was one of the 1st in the world to be cured of TB using streptomycin .He was a particularly tough man. He had a small collection of souvenirs he had picked up during his time during the the war. He had a passion for fly fishing and part of his kit was a Ghurka Kukri ( !) . On one of his fishing trips on a lake,the boat was flipped by strong wind gust. He spent several hours in the cold water supporting one of my Aunts who had gone fishing with him. He got severely water logged and was on the verge of hypothermia when they were rescued. I saw his former Commander,Sir Bernard Freyburg VC as a little boy .A truly brave leader,unlike the type we have in todays Woke world.
Wow, great story. Thank you for sharing 🇺🇸🇺🇸
A hero.
Thank you my uncle James Howard Barnett. From North Africa to central Italy. Wounded by a bouncing betty he was a kind and easy going man. Wounds physical and mental, he never spoke of his service to our country,,. But he would mention the airplanes.. he loved those fighter planes.
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My dad had a few world war 2 veterans living in his property most without known families or living relatives. Upon their passing these folks were destitute and on housing benefit. My dad paid for their interment and the plot is part of our family heritage, legacy. soldier kazimierz sawicki, Roman Catholic Christian who was a sergeant of polish 6th carpathian infantry and a veteran of monte Cassino being awarded a military cross and other service medals. A family friend and neighbour. My dad is Muslim his name is Mohammed.
your father was a kind and decent man thank you for what he did for these men
God bless you and your Dad.
Very touched this
Beautiful
Much respect to your dad. What a good man. My grandad fought at Monte Cassino, after Dunkirk and the battles in Africa. Today, I don't think we can even imagine what they went through and saw.
***** 5 stars for another great WWII video. You have an excellent collection of these. Enjoy them immensely.
of course it's all pirated
Agreed
My hero, my father fought with the 45.th Div. 180 inf. I was born shortly after his coming home in and around Nov. of 1945. My father was a medic and never carried a gun. He was as many a true American Hero.
I had a similar situation except that dad came home earlier. He had volunteered as early as age would allow and after fighting with the Calgary tank regiment from Monte Casino through to the Gothic line his regiment was transferred to Belgium and fighting up through Holland into Germany. When the Germans surrendered he volunteered to go to Japan and so came home with the expectation of going to Japan. He got married and Japan surrendered so he did not have to go.
Yes, he was. We are shaming his memory today, and I pray we get our act together fast, because so many men fought and sacrificed everything for our freedom, and we shame them with our pettiness, and corruption. A complete lack of respect and gratitude for the sacrifice of everyone who fought in defense of our most fundamental human rights. We are pathetic. It disgusts me. For my part, I left a career in academia, in protest of wokeness, speak out often, and have lost friends, colleagues, and even family members, due to their own weakness and willful ignorance. It isn’t even a sliver compared to your Dad, or the Americans who now sit locked up, in prison cells, for dissent, or the heroes of all wars past.
Let's hope it was at least 9 months after Dad returned home.
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@@chrisberkeley6921 You really are a POS, aren't yo?
my fathers war
I only wish I had taken the time to listen more and learn
god bless you dad RIP
He knows buddy. Chin up. 🍻
Vets used to not air there bs to the world. My grandpa shot 5 or 6 " in cannons. Barely said a word If u ask him about a other weapon hed stop talking. " that wasn't me'
What army / div / company? was he with ? I did listen! Maybe I can help ?
@@robertwoodroffe123 Royal Engineers Railway Company he served from 1920 to 1957 served in Norway North Africa Sicily and Italy regular soilder finished as a Major QM awarded Mention in despaches and was awarded the MBE for his work in Italy
@@Jeffybonbon and you didn’t listen?
My uncle DSO !
My dad wanted to fly like his older brother! But 20% red green colour blind , so luckily taken in by army! Before and Instead of becoming tail gunner for RAF ! Which because of his weapons skills !
So ended up in Italy ! The company on point 202 air supplied like Indian s , Gurkas and Wessex! 15 March to 25 th ?
Survived that and made head of new Sinper Squad! No4 T,s made them pay !
Note , RAF don’t issue DSO ! Royal Navy, avenger, Navel aviator! Instructor , mentioned in despatches !
Pink mist !! Almost Casino! And two other times ! Mortars blow sideways ! So if hits top of garden wall arch ! Italian style!
Second pink mist escape!?
Extremely interesting. Immensely proud of my Father who was 77th (Highland) Field Regiment Royal Artillery. (1st Army Tunisia Cap Bon, Sicily, Italy Monte Cassino) RIP Dad. Died Dec 2004 aged 83. Thank you.
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My Granddad fought with the 8th Army in this Campaign with the Artillery. Lost most of his friends at Monte Cassino. Very humble and kind man! Seeing this makes me realise how brave he and my uncles really were.
Mat Cooper my granddad grandad died at monte Cassino, after clearing the town he got shot by a sniper.
Same. great uncle. Wounded by shrapnel from a hand grenade and flown home. That was almost at the end just before the poles took the monastery.
Mat Cooper Dlgkks
Lays
Excatly same story as my Granddad - he was in the Coldstreams. Lost all his pals... WE are the lucky ones... Don't give it away. #RIP
Doomed to fail from the beginning
Many brave men on both sides gave there lives here and we should never forget about them
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@@touristguy87 Grow up
@@MrAli171 ...stop being a pretentious asshole, now demonstrated twice...at least
@@MrAli171 you apparently don't realize that telling people to "grow up" makes you sound like a bossy 5 year old girl
@@touristguy87 Putting a sleeping message under a comment about brave men shows your lack of intelligence
Almost an hour and a half in and they finally talk about the last fight to take Monte Cassino yet they described it as the Poles just walking into an abandoned position. This documentary is NOT about the several battles for Monte Cassino and gloss over all of the bitter fighting on both sides on this one set of hills in this small sector of the line. If you are looking for a documentary on the Monte Cassino battles, this is not the video to watch.
Spot on. Crack infantry regiments had tried to take it against the well-dug-in German paratroopers. They sent in the 'mad' Poles to finally take it. I'm sure the other troops would have loved to take it.
The Polish pilots also had an extraordinary record in the Battle of Britain. the didn't wait for orders , but bolted out to their planes at the sound of the siren. They used to fly straight at the enemy aircraft, leaving it for their opponent to dive out of the way, though seemingly not before being sent crashing down.
A Wing Commander, on hearing of their 'kill rate, expressed disbelief and decided to go up and see for himself. He was about to attack a German plane when a Pole nipped in before him. After that, he believed. Alas, and, I'm afraid characteristically, the Poles es were not permitted to take part in the Victory Parade after the war.
@Larry Gates You can label it as criticizing but for viewers who already know this history, this comment helps them to avoid wasting their time thinking the video will add to their knowledge.
My dad fought at El alamein and torbruk with the 8th Army. He then went on and fought in Salerno , Monte Casino and various other areas of Italy. He, along with all the other allied soldiers are heroes to me . My dad was born and bred in Glasgow , Scotland , the best of the best .
È monte cassino scrivi Come mangi
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My grandfather was a devils last issue Durham light infantry. Dunkirk to Normandy. Don't ask him about the war I was told.
Thank you for putting this up. Battlefield is my favorite military history series.
My father was a tank sargent in a unit of the British army known as Popski's Private army. After North Africa against Rommel they went thru Palestine and from there to Italy . First Sicily then the mainland on to the battle of Monte Cassino. He told my brother and me all the stories. Sadly he died aged only 49 in 1968.
Popski's Private Army was the name given to a Yugoslav partisan group commanded by Vladimir Peniakoff. They operated in the Balkans.
My husband and I
just finished a trip to Italy and visited the Monte Cassino Cemetary
. I'm from Poland but moved to Canada in the mid eighties , and now
know that Canada took in more surviving Polish soldiers from this
battleground and their families than from any other country after the
War , as they couldn't return to their native Poland (Russia) . I
have had a strong gift(?) of clairvoyance since a little girl and
wasn't sure what to expect , if anything. This memorial struck us
both as being very powerful and the feelings ran rampant, my husband
says he was overcome with an inexplicable sadness, and felt like
crying while walking through the gravestone markers. I first felt the
heaviness and angst walking by myself down the stairs and then down
the wide passageway towards the staged gravestones. I first felt him,
the incredible pain in my chest and around my diaphragm . He then
materialized, was right there stuck in Limbo, helmet, clothes
shredded , blood . He leaned close to me and the message came from
behind my left ear, him telling me his name and asking me(pleading)
to tell his Mom that he is OK. I guess the spirits can sense or know
that I can see them, no idea why this seems to be the case. I am
going to look though the listing of the dead soldiers on the board at
the memorial and see if his name is there. Then try to comply with
his wish, knowing of course that his mother is gone, but perhaps his
living relatives would like to know this . The dreadful scene
appeared in front of me , the stillness, the hundreds of mangled
bodies with missing and twisted limbs strewn everywhere, and laying
there in situ, the awful smell of death, sweat and urine, smoke and
gunpowder. The stillness. The unholy screaming emotion of fear
coarsing through this historic site. The visage was of that
particular battlefield as it was in a moment in time in May, 1944.
For some reason, and I have no idea how to explain it, but many times
when I am present at a site or place such as this, regardless of Era
or timeframe, these types of (historic) experiences unfold to me with
more regularity than I would welcome. The spirits from that long ago
time are woven through space time and are as real (to me) as the
visitors walking through the graves. The soul lives on, I think , and
know, that reincarnation is real , and the old adage that Nobody gets
out of this World alive- as trite and self evident as that statement
posits- can extend to a sobering scenario in which our lives'
transgressions may in fact play out in the afterlife in a revolving
nightmare like an old movie stuck on replay ad nauseum.
So what was his name? my great uncle died May 23 1944 R.I.P Francis McGinn, Gunner: 1st Anti-Tank Regiment Royal Canadian Artillery.
Ursula YOU'RE REALLY pretty. YOU'RE SO BEAUTIFUL. I FELL IN LOVE WITH YOUR FACE. YOU'RE FACE IS SO PRETTY
In your mind's eye did you see pieces of flesh, hair, teeth and bone meal? That artillery made be called "The King of Battle" but it kills in cold blood and even those lucky enough to survive it are never quite the same afterwards.
@@456swagger OH YEAH
My grandfather was at monte Cassino...he's now 98 and lives in Huddersfield, England. Jozef piwawaski
Hi, just had to reply, your grandfather is a war hero and a very brave man and will always be remembered with the other soldiers who fought at Monte Cassino. Full respect to him. My grandfather fought there too and lived near Huddersfield till he sadly passed away, Wladyslav Lipinski. Best wishes to you and your grandfather, Andy
My grandfather was also at Monte Cassino and living in Dewsbury/Mirfield until he died a couple of years ago, it's strange how close people can be!
Yeah, it's amazing how so many of these hero's ended up living so close to one another and fought together at that battle. We're lucky to have such great people in our lives. Your granddad was a hero, definitely someone to be very proud of and to always remember, Regards Andy
My father was there too Lee. What heroes they were :)
Lee Kirby So much of the poles who fought at the british side during ww2 went to live in the UK? My grandfather fought with the Belgian SAS ( secret air service) which was also formed by the british. He told me a lot of stories and few missions he did was with polish forces during normandy campaign and in Holland. He always highly praised them. Tough sons of bitches these poles...
Between binge watching this channel and History March channel I feel like this area has been in constant war for 2500yrs. RIP to all unfortunate that died there through history.
Imagine the terror of being a soldier on a landing ship, then you hit the beach and the enemy say "Ciao" and help you ashore.
These old ww2 documentary is good!!!..
Well, they did mention the Canadian army twice in passing and that's an improvement and something for the 25,000 casualties Canada suffered in the Italian campaign.
@M S The Germans called the allies Anglo - Americans which was made of The British, Canada & Aus & US... All come from the same cloth i guess.
So true . The usa kinda stole the victory from the poms .australians are never mentioned either
Small part = small mention. British 8th had 5 times the casualty. Don't complain after not putting out.
@M S Nobody said that mate just saying American war story's typically get over told over the British ones, even in British schools. Without the USA we would have lost or faced an entire U.S.S.R Europe neither are a good option. Just want more of a recognition of the many British and Commonwealth countries that gave their lives aswell.
Canadians are liberal pussies..
Tribute to the german defenders, especially the green devils, of monte cassino !!!
They repelled all enemy assaults and in the end they took a shit right on the allied soldiers head by just leaving their positions without the allies could do something about it. Wonderful soldiers!
+Anullu22 Who fought for a xenophobic pig.
Even if I am a Pole .... I have to agree with the a very positive opinion about these German paratroopers, defending bravely the Monte Cassino stronghold. They were a seasoned field soldiers, the comrades to each other, with a fantastic fighting spirit within them, and with a really great sense of the soldier honour !!!!. They were at that time a respectful unique elite UNIT, inside the German war killing machine !!!!
Eram somente mais covardes nazistas que se achavam superiores, mas que na verdade eram a pior espécie de ser humano que já existiu, eram lixos a serviço de um imbecil chamado Hitler.
When the french arrived with their mules the US troops laughed at them, treating them like beggars. Mules proved the most efficient way get supply in the region. I remember when i was a kid old north African men in Paris still laughing back 40 years later.
@odeus predrinn Lafayette is dead, all modern french are descended from the street trash post-terror
odeus predrinn but youtube is still an American invension
Gee Varghese that may be the case, but spelling certainly isn’t. *Invention
Louis Wallis u can spell the way u like..modern English came from Europeans languages...
Americans are stupid? What? Jeez.
My grandfather fought with the South African sixth armoured division at Monte Cassino, he never spoke of his experiences much but from what we could gather it must have been traumatic. We all owe the men who fought against the axis powers a great deal of gratitude, and it pains me to see how people who are so privelaged to be living in the first world in the modern era can so disparagingly call 2016 "the worst year ever" because a few celebrities passed away and a few elections went sour for them. Had it not been for their forefathers sacrifice we wouldn't have had elections in the first place
I can understand that. My Dad was also there. He got wounded there.. He never talked about it . All I know was from my uncle and letters to my MUM we found after she died...
they weren't D day Dodgers... Shame on you Lady Aster....
.
Jacques François my grandfather Alexander Meotiek fought in the battle of Monte casino he was a polish soldier. he barely survived. he got blown up by a wounded Nazi who was playing dead when my grandfather came close to him the Nazi solider blew himself up and injured my grandfather.
Dad's cousin was captured in N Africa and put in Italian prison camp. Escaped and hid until Allies arrived. Stories of those prisoners can be googled up as Camp 59 Italian prison camp.
Yep, thanks forefathers for fighting for modern, decadent materialism. Thanks for dying for the degenerate satan worshippers that run this nation so they can flood the west with millions of others that shouldn't be here.
@@cascadianapplications7124 yes the start of the evil small hats take over.
Kudos to all American soldiers who fought in a far away land
My uncle which I am named after drove a tank for Gen. Patton was killed there in Italy, I got a letter that was sent to my grandmother by the Gen. said he so wished he could have sent him home to be burred but it was imposable to do so.
Germany against the rest of the world, Germany had world class soldiers.
And meth
About the allied army and its generals : Here is the story of the Normandy campaign in a nutshell. Acute German shortages on the one hand, and on the other an Allied cornucopia which could provide an overwhelming level of firepower and a remorseless stream of replacements that could compensate for the grossest tactical bêtise. Add skilled public relations and a press hungry for heroes, and you had the circumstance so propitious that even Montgomery and Patton could seem like great commanders.
Well done ! Pro/level videos, Cool maps, great writing. Thank you!
Luges don't mess around
thankk you for making these doc's available..I think they are the most accurate and complete records of those battles and campaigns!!
....these PIRATED docs....
Outstanding...thanks much for posting.
I am Polish-American. My family was takien by Russians to Siberia during WWII. Men joined the Wladyslaw Anders Army, and fought the battle of Monte Cassino.
+Jadwiga Wadolowska
Ever hear of the tame bear the Polish artillery had? He used to carry boxes of shells to the guns!
My grandfather made a box from Wood they used to make railway tracks
my neighbor, Joseph Jasenovich when he was 19 he rode the first ambulance over the pontoon bridge at Remagen to see if the bridge was safe, a G.I. walked ahead of him and since they were under fire Joe wanted him to walk a little faster.
My first wife's father, Stan Jackowski, was in a Russian concentration camp after Russia and Germany invaded Poland. He escaped when the Germans attacked their ally Russia, and made his way down to Egypt. He later fought with the Polish air force and after the war migrated to Canada. A very good man. May he rest in peace.
@@pbecke that sounds like bullshit
There is a Polish Artillery supply regiment with a Bear carrying an Artillery shell as its insignia. The Bear was called Wojtek and it would help the Pols to carry live rounds to the guns. The Bear lived out the rest of it's life after the war in a Scottish Zoo. My Grandfather also has an Italy star for his service, an Africa star and one for the landing on Sword. I often wonder why the hell he bothered? They were betrayed and so have we. The freedom they fought for has been squandered to the point we are now minorities in our own country.
What do you mean by "The freedom they fought for has been squandered and we are now minorities in our own country." I wish to give you the benefit of a doubt but your statement is disturbing. Who do you mean by 'we' and in what way is that we a "minority" in our own country
@@TedPope Really? Are you completely ignorant? Have you seen what's going on in the UK? 'We' is UK born citizens. That's people born in the UK regardless of color. Fanatical Islamist's and African thugs are tearing our country apart. So now can you see what i meant by squandered. You can take your far right insinuations and stick them were the sun doesn't shine.
I'm Polish. My grandfather lost his leg in the battle of Monte Cassino. I have never met him though...
Amazing documentary. Thanks for the upload.
I love reading the comments..... Everyone is a grand strategy expert and a human rights warrior.
+Michael Bond No.You would have lost it in 1939.
And History Professor!!
Of course we are. We are looking at the war 70 years later with the full knowledge of everything that went right and wrong and information that nobody at the time possessed. Let us have our fun.
Anyway, what's wrong with being a human rights warrior? Our values have evolved since WW2, in part *because* of WW2.
Nothing fuckin changed. The bankers are still causing wars, and the stupid population are believing its saving people lives and spreading democracy. Huh.......
Lol - Trump's a little bitch, a sucker for the 6 million and their continuous whining @Marcos 989
100 Fallschirmjager basically held back a whole division supported by bombers and massive artillery. I bet they wont be making any films about them..
Olz Dee ,they should do really,the airborne boys done well
You mean like the one you commented on?
alan brooke He said films, not documentaries.
Olz Dee Fallschirmjager a worthy advisory of the 101st and 82nd Airborne Division. They are one of the best units of the Wermarcht.
Oliver Porciuncula Yes, they were. The 1st Fallschirmjäger division, which fought most notably in Crete and Monte Cassino, is considered by many to be the best infantry division of World War 2.
My grandfather was in the 5th army here. Out of his two and a half years deployed, this was the one that stuck with him the most. Those men left their souls out there. Unreal.
gotta love how people suddenly become fucking expert historians with random facts from who knows where
Yeah, I've proven over and over on these forums that I know how to win a war from back here behind my keyboard. I'm definitely the genius they need to call next time they want to stick their big noses in some other country's business.
Damn it Smurf, you took the best line! Koodos
Hah sums up pretty much every video on youtube with a bit of war documentary in them :P
AI LUTOU NOSSOS BRAVOS SOLDADOS BRASILEIROS !!!!!!!!!!!!
It's amazing what the fallschirmjäger withstood, is really impressive and admirable, imagine surviving a bombing of that magnitude and having to get up to fight for days !! They fought against half world and came out victors in this battle, the best!
victors? No they lost!
@@ngatibroffessor1840 he ment that they hold Cassino for some time after the bombings
@@hutzelpuper3102 And I'm saying they still lost...
@@ngatibroffessor1840 They lost what?
@@Oscar-df9sc the war
My great father was in this battle, 3eme Division Infanterie Algérienne General de Monsabert,3eme Régiment Tirailleurs Algérien ( Algerian Indigenous Skirmishers) General de Linares, he did Monte Cassino, the Belvédère and Mont Maio 1943/1944 after he did Débarquement of Provence ( Toulon, Marseille august 1944 mostly Notre Dame de la Garde, He finish the WW2 in Kilstett near Strasbourg ( German border) wounded. I have a Croix de Guerre and Médaille Militaire of my great father, sorry for my english.
Above the monastery acquired Polish flag flew. Great army of General Anders.
I suppose you all know, they sent some of the best infantry up Monte Cassino, where the German paratroopers were well dug-in. It was a killing field. In the end they called upon the Poles to take the summit - which they did : mad, but glorious 'nutters'.
It was the same with the Polish pilots in the Battle of Britain. Mad as hatters, but unbelievably effective. When a Wing-Commander heard of their record rate of 'kills', he thought he'd go up, himself, and see if it was true. He was about to go after a German plane, when a Polish plane beat him to it. They went straight for the enemy, and it was for them to get out of the way - before being shot down ! After that he beleved the statistics.
Pathetically, though alas characteristically, after the war, they were not permited to taske part in the victory parade !!!!!!
I have just returned from Monte Cassino after a stay with friends from there, this film shows the route taken by the allied forces to liberate Italy from the clutches of the Germans. Having had many conversations, a visit to the monastery and taking time to pay respects to the fallen at the cemetery, I found this documentary to be accurate and in line with what I was told by the very people that lived through the experience.
Those on here talking about historical situations where the British have shown aggression are moving away from the subject matter. It is fine that you have an opinion about other situations but why not find that particular thread and comment in the correct way instead of hijacking this one.
If Mr Churchill did use other countries to fight battles on his behalf then it was because they also knew of the need to succeed against the aggressor. Most of those countries still fight alongside us to this day under NATO and it's because they want to. The war graves I visited were mostly British fallen with the next largest section being Canadian, followed by Ghurka's and some French. Over 1000 Texas Rangers lost their lives in the battle for Monte Cassino as did many Polish.
Show some respect to those that help free us.
"liberate Italy from the clutches of the Germans" wow you must be fucking joking...
“IM GOING TO BEAT THAT ‘GENTELMAN’ TO MESSINA” 😂
Monty chose the most direct route for himself, making Patton's men go much further. His plan backfired lol.
I.love it
@Robert Bonneau butthurt much
My father was a pilot of one of the B-26s that bombed the Abbey. He was a very devout Catholic but had no qualms about flattening the monastery.
Even not, when they realized their mistake?
This battle is all about the GORKHA RIFLE 9 battalion.
I am from NEPAL and miss you my great grandfather and my villagers ❣️💖
Godnes me.Poles must have been the one of greatest soldiers of 2nd world war. Respect!
+essppe The Polish victory was made possible by the breakthrough of the Free French at Belvedere (A remarkable achievement on its own) The Germans were forced to take troops away from the Cassino sector to try and halt the French. The Poles were attacking against a much weakened position than it had been during the earlier attacks, though I agree the Poles did a mavellous job. I believe however that the best troops engaged by any one during the Italian campaign were the Gurkhas.
Another British LIAR !!!! Even Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis or Africanos, they are not like ugly colonial Brits !!!! Have you ever been at the former battlefield of Monte Cassino Monastery ???? Use over there even the remote control drone ..... and what you can see, what you can observe from above ???? >> It is the biggest cemetery of general's Anders his Polish soldiers (around 1700), who soaked the soil of that fighting ground with their own blood !!!! >> On the German side, there were killed around 500 Poles (from Silesian and Pomeranian regions), wearing German uniforms, and being forced to join German army during German occupation of Poland !!!! They were buried on the nerby a much smaller German soldiers cemetery, but their family names written on their graves, are yelling the TRUTH !!!! Unfortunately, these soldiers in German uniforms they were Poles as well !!!!
you can yell all you want kid, but you really can't deny that those 2k+ dead Poles, which were heroes of course, were just a tiny percentage of combined allied losses (54 thousands) in Cassino battle. Seriously, only 4% of men who died trying to take Monte Cassino were Poles, yet here in Poland everybody thinks it was a polish battle... It was an ALLIED battle. Period. And none of those brave men from allied armies forced Germans from the monastery - French breakout flanked them and there was a danger of encirclement, so they just left. By themselves. Nobody beaten them at the Cassino.
Hey the good old Battlefield series, I have few of these on VHS.
THANK YOU FOR GREAT DETAIL VIDEO AS GREAT LIST ABOUT WHAT WENT DUE WARTIME
Yes Luga, thanks for uncle monty's casino
Erwin Rommel the Desert FOX.....!
My Grandad fought under General Anders at Monte Cassino . You could see him disappear off back there sometimes with a thousand yard stare .
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@@touristguy87 👍
To all commentators bragging about, or ranting with regards to the lack of honorable mentions: are you serious? For crying out loud, this is an amazing series of documentary, aiming to help in carving in our minds, how this world of ours came close to its destruction. Watch and think people! Watch and think... Jesus!..
great video.. thanks for posting
In December 1943 the German command notified the Vatican and the Allies that the monastery would not be used for military reasons. Ignoring this and, coupled with faulty intelligence, the Allied bombing succeeded in killing 230 people, including monks and citizens of nearby Cassino, and no Germans. The bombing also killed many Allied troops who were up to 17 miles away from the targeted monastery; these poor shots also killed some Germans. Once the monastery was no longer an important religious site, the rubble was occupied by Germans. As the narrator observes, the destruction was a violation of International Law; were there sanctions against the Allies? Perhaps it was the Allies that paid for its reconstruction?
+Brian Smith passed events proved that the word of the Germans could not be trusted, like the one when Hitler said, after he overrun Czechoslovakia, "I have no more territorial ambitions," then he invades Poland.. in any case the bombing did a lot to raise morale and the Monastry is just a building, bricks and mortar which could be rebuilt if destroyed and it was rebuilt.
+Brian Smith History is written by the victor and the war crimes of the Allies ("Slaughter Harris'" moral bombing, use of nuclear weapons on civilians, sinking of Japanese "hell ships", etc.) were never of any importance after the war. One of the great propaganda lies of war: "The enemy intentionally inflicts casualties and commits crimes. When we do the same, then it's either a necessary evil or an accident." I can recommend Sir Arthur Ponsonby's classic "Falsehood in War-Time" on the subject.
This is partially the the Nuremburg Trials had the taint of victor's justice. Not that the Nazis' crimes weren't appaling, but Allied commanders and those responsible were sometimes hardly any better.
+Corristo89 You are wrong, history is not always written by the victor, that is a myth, there are many books written by Germans that had been translated into English which can be easily obtained. I FLEW FOR THE FURHER, and PANZER LEADER and THE DEVIL'S GUARD being three of the more well known. I remember reading a book written by a Japanese destroyer captain but I no longer have that book. In regards to the bombings the Germans were the first to bomb civilian targets, Gurnica in Spain, and then cities in Poland followed by Rotterdam. Harris believed he could win the war by bombing alone, there fore avoiding the slaughter of the trenches, we now know with the benefit of hindsight that he was wrong, but back then there were many who believed that.
As for the Hell,. ships, what does a submarine commander see through his periscope or an attack pilot throw his bomb aimer, they have no way of knowing what the ships are carrying, they could well be carrying troops, it was a known fact that the Japanese had violated the Red Cross by painting Red crosses on the side of troop transports
The nuclear weapons, in 1939 the Japanese Army entered Nanking, they killed with fire, sword and beastality 250'000 people, men, women and children, World War Two had not yet begun. In 1945 the United States dropped atomic devices on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing 250'000 people, men, women abd children, World War Two came to an end. Millions of angry words have been written about Hiroshima and Nagasaki, few people today remember Nanking
What happened at Nanking happened again in 1945 in Manila, where the Japanese murdered another 200'000 people. The atomic bombs made an invasion of Japan unnecessary and may well have prevented World War Three breaking out in 1945, the atomic bombs were the lesser of two evils.
They should have paid
With regards to Warsaw and Rotterdam. THe first was a legitimate military target, as a large part of the polish army had retreated into the city and was preparing to fight street by street. Secondly, the same happened in Rotterdam, a large dutch force held the city, and surrendered only after the order to bomb it was given. By the time the dutch surrendered, the germans could not get radio contact with the bombers and cancel the mission.
respect to polish soldiers they show their toughness in this battle together with wojtek! give me polish soldiers and german technologi and i will win every war........
You'd still lose against an army of drafted TH-cam users (probably the worst soldiers ever) with pre-war technology if they are resuplied by the US and Soviet production lines and have a casualty replacement pool of over one billion (according to official TH-cam statements)!
Dream on poor Boy.
Paco yakO Victory is never sure (Gengis Kahn)
You sound like joseph goebbels
My Uncle, Noel T Hamlyn was there. He was in the South African Signals seconded to some of the South African Regiments. He was first in Madagascar, and then in the Western Desert.
Amazing!
Kudos to all the Allies who fought in the Italian Campaign. Definitely an underestimated and important field of the second world war, much like the war in Russia.
We will remember them.
how on earth was the war in russia underestimated
Dylan Baynham I think he meant the fighting conditions, which were much more similar to the eastern front than the western front in 1944-1945. Slow, sluggish, and brutal combat.
@@ronswanson8155 because war is not a TH-cam video that's y!!
Weren't future US Senators Inouye (D-HI) and Bob Dole (R-KS) gravely injured in this campaign? I am 95% Inouye was and 90% dure Dole was. Just an observation is all
the italian campaign was proportionally much tougher than northwest europe because of the mountainous terrain and the quality of the german opposition. many of their toughest units, like the 5th mountain, 90th light and the 1st paratrooper were deployed. but most of all, kesselring didn't have his hands tied by hitler in the same way as german commanders in the western and eastern fronts. but then again, his job was mostly a delaying action
@@benmarshall5132Smiling Albert against the Dunce Mark Clark was not a fair fight.
I'm so glad Kesselring's superb defence of Italy extended the war in Europe by a year.
why? I understand if it's b/c by extending the war we get to read/see more events, battle tactics, the performance of new crafts, weapons, and the skill and training of troops that had been building up in the years prior, and would almost feel like a waste if the Allies didn't get a chances to use all that whoop-ass that had been made.Although it has a lot more to do w/ the nut job leading the Nazi's and not really the Gothic line. Churchill wanted troops to stay in that area, and was a big driver for military action there so as to beat the Soviets, and have a powerful force in that area. Another reason for not wrapping things up quicker was some less then competent officers. The defenses were good for how quick they were built and having to deal w/ the lack of supplies as well as the significant action that Italian worker (forced or otherwise) that delayed things and provided very poor quality cement, and other construction mat'ls. Anywaysss, take it light --KB
Neither lengthened nor shortened the war; the Italian campaign was a sideshow and that was all. Most positive thing was keeping Mark Clark from commanding something important
@@gruntforever7437 Without the unnecessary Italian Campaign the war would have ended in 1944.
My father and his mule were there. Part of the Cypriot Mulers, who acted as resuppliers.
My Grandfather fought here, and got seriously injured from shrapnel in a battle the allies lost and had to hide for 3 days injured as the Nazis advanced passed him shooting the injured, he lost a lung and he also lost his brother in another battle here only 2 weeks before. It's no wonder I was ever born
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@@touristguy87 you must be Russian
@@markwalsh9026 you must be an idiot
Either way you're an absolute bell end
@@markwalsh9026 LOL getting insulted by a Brit is an invitation for homosexual sex
Brazil also sent a force of 25,000 men to fight in the Italian Campaign, the only South American country to contribute troops to WW2.
I'm from Canada.
Where are you from?
This is a great docuseries.
Western Actor James Arness, aka Matt Dillon from Gunsmoke, was at Anzio. He was 6'6, and thus the 1st off his landing craft. He took a german mg 42 across the legs/thighs running up the beach,, which is why he walked with a limp the rest of his life.
He was also in the black n white war movie "Battleground," ,(1948 ? ) about the Battle of the Bulge, which he was not involved in. But he was so young its almost hard to recognize him. He had a two line part as a private.
Having lost and Uncle in this campaign, I have watched many versions what transpired. This film glosses over so many things like terrible house to house fighting which the Canadians and others were faced with and the significant involvement of the Black Devil's commando brigade, thatthe true horror of what went on in Italy is not conveyed. This film does not come close to depicting the true story!
Came here after Sven Hassel's book :)
Greetings, to «ODESsmmmmmmmmmmmmm
GREETINGS, to ODESSA!
the Italian Alps and the Hindu Cush both make Cheyenne mountain look like a sand castle.
liked, even this: the most apologist for Montgomery of this good series
Brother of my great-grandmother fought at the battle of Monte Cassino as Polish soldier. He died few months later. He was only 22
@Ignatz Rosenbaum Why "not good"?
many Indian soldiers gave their lives,so that we could live
indians who were licking the toes of the british
@@kishanchali8752 no Indians and other Asians who are ruling streets in Britain nowadays and whites will be minority by 2030.
Once ruled one 3rd of the WORLD and now getting BEATEN in their own country.
PUSSY🖕
nonsens.
@@thomaskristensen3201 why nonsesne? Do you even read? 4th Indian division was the main force that attacked monte cassino at first. Gorkhas from Nepal, Sikhs, and Rajputs from India fought here. All those vets who fought excellently in north africa died here due to stupidity of Freyberg. Especially, 1/9 Gorkhas and Maoris of NZ were instrumental in weakening Nazis here, which became helpful in Poles' capture. REad first before completely dismissing someone's sacrifice.
My dad's armoured regiment supported an Indian division in the Liri Valley, he had the greatest respect for their courage and discipline.
1:28 The fourth engagement (May 11-18), spearheaded by the Polish Corps, which faced fierce counterattacks and suffered heavy losses, finally took the hill. The Germans had already decided to retire to a new defensive line farther north, and, when the lead Polish troops gained the summit of the hill on May 18, they found it unoccupied, except for some wounded soldiers unable to travel. More than 900 Polish troops had died in the battle; the large white “Monument to the Battle of Monte Cassino” in Warsaw commemorates the bravery and sacrifice of these troops - Encyclopedia Brittanica
This doesn't sound like just walk into abandoned place
Hard fighting on Sicily, but it was no Iwo Jima.
I’m very proud of 442 as a Japanese
Mark Clark will forever - and rightly - be remembered for his incredible blunder in giving up the chance to capture an entire Germany army for the sake of glory. His colossal blunder would end up costing tens of thousands of Allied troops their lives, as his 'liberation' of Rome (it had already been evacuated of German troops) allowed 50,000-odd German soldiers to withdraw and strengthen the Gothic Line in northern Italy.
Clark could have captured all of these troops, about 1/8 of all German fighting strength in Italy after Monte Cassino, continued north and perhaps prevented the Gothic Line from being successfully formed at all.
Failing that, a weaker Gothic Line may have been broken in the fall of 1944 and all of Italy would have fallen to the Allies in a matter of days.
Instead, the Gothic Line would hold for almost a year, before the Allies succeeded in breaking it on April 19, 1945 and overrunning the Po Valley in two weeks. The Germans surrendered on May 5.
With a few exceptions were only remembered by our failures
Josh Twyman Mark Clark had plenty of failures. If he was a German or British General he would have sacked after the Salerno landings.
Mark Clark was the worst US General of WW2 and he had some real competition
@@joshtwyman6319Many competent American generals of WW2 are remembered well. Patton is practically fetishized. Nimitz is also famous and rightly so. He even has a carrier class named after him. Eisenhower needs no explanation.
But Clark was a vain piece of trash.
@@gruntforever7437Boy did he ever lol. And yet, he managed it. Funny how he is only remembered _because_ he was such a fuck-up.
Força expedicionárioa do Brasil ( FEB ) participou da campanha dos aliados na Itália e a FEB estava presente na Batalha por Monte Cassino com grande êxito. Pesquisem e descobrirão grandes feitos da FEB e histórias incríveis de sua participação na Campanha na Itália.
Brazil should have joined the Axis.
My dad was in the 36th Div. Field Artillery at Monte Cassino. I have heard many a bloody story about this battle from him and his friends that served with him there.
I stand up to salute the Polish Army !!!
Hitler quipped about the Italian Army that they always wound up on the winning side.
The Terrain of the Main Italian Peninsula is a defenders dream while the opposite is true for the Attackers.
There's good background on this campaign in Eisenhower At War by his grandson David E. He didn't think too highly of its underpinnings, Churchill's notion that the Anglo-American forces would roll through Italy into the Balkans, putting them in command of eastern Europe. Churchill took his eye off the ball of defeating Germany for the sake of imperial goals.
It's funny how people perceive the Polish effort in the IIWW ONLY through the 1939 September Campaign.
You can find HUNDREDS UPON HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF POLISH SOLDIERS, THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE WAR - fighting and dying on EVERY SINGLE FRONT in almost every single major operations - from Tobruk to Falaise, from "The Battle of Britain" to Arnhem, from the setting of the most effective intelligence gathering organization throughout the WHOLE of Europe, to the Eastern Front, from the 1940 France Campaign, to the 1944 France Campaign - up till the liberation of a big part of the Netherlands...
...and at Cassino of course...
Fighting and dying throghout the whole Europe, while their "allies" simply BETRAYED them, and -at the end- not a single one of them was EVEN "INVITED" to the so-called "victory" parade in London...("victory" for WHO?)
PS.
Cześć i Chwała Bohaterom.
So what would you have had Britain do? I would argue that the allies greatest mistake was not attacking Germany immediately, but Britain could not do that without France. The reason is simple, Britain was a Naval power, its army has always been a small, professional force. As a result it takes Britain some time to train and equip the armies of a size required to fight a Continental war. Its a constant error many Continentals make when talking about the old British Empire. The Professional army rarely numbered above 150 - 200,000 men, about half of those based in various territories. Britains true power lay in her fleet.
I suppose we could have sent the men of the BEF to Danzig, but that requires shipping and supplying an army through waters heavily contested by a powerful, modern enemy fleet backed up by the most powerful airforce in the world at the time. While we could pull that army back out of France (which we did at Dunkirk), in Poland we would have lost it... and that army constituted ALL the troops available to us in Europe at the time... all 250,000 of them. That was the sum total of our Territorials and Professionals not in the territories (which Japan was eyeing up at the time). Had we lost those men then chances are Britain would have HAD to sue for Peace, we would have been utterly open to invasion.
At the end of the war, again, what could we do? Churchill tried to convince the US to guarantee Poland's Freedom, but the Roosevelt thought he could reason with Stalin, and believed Churchill was overstating the case. Without US backing, what do you expect Britain to have done? Declare war on the USSR immediately after WW II ended? With what? Britain was damned close to Bankruptcy. No other European power was in a position to do so either, France was shattered by the war, obviously we had just crushed Germany. We. could. do. nothing. And that is the worst part about it.
Poland got screwed over badly, but you always seem to overestimate exactly what Britain could have done. Had you been an Island Nation, then I am sure the Royal Navy could have done much more, but lets face it, in a land war? In 1939? No one did very well against the Wermacht in the first couple of years, our tactics were all wrong, training was all wrong, had Britain landed troops in Poland, Poland would still have fallen. Our only real option was to attack Germany as soon as we could, and the French were still thinking along WWI terms. To be honest, everyone was still thinking in WWI terms until Poland and the Fall of France.
alganhar1
I'm not blaming "JUST" the British.
FIRST > CONCERNING 1939/1940:
You should (and could) have attacked the Germans on the Western Front in 1939 - PERIOD.
Although it's true that with the French army's attitude like the one they displayed with their graphiti's over their trenches in 1939 ("We will not die for DANZIG" & other b***s of the sort - as it was already a 100% German city) you (the Brits) could do little in fact.
For this part I don't blame JUST the British, but the whole Allied "effort" AT ALL.
AS FOR THE FRENCH I CAN SAY JUST ONE THING:
THEY DIDN'T WANT TO DIE FOR "DANZIG"?
GOOD!
THEY DIED ANYWAY! - AND BY THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS - AND NOT JUST FOR "DANZIG" (or RATHER GDAŃSK), BUT FOR THE WHOLE FRANCE AND UNDER THE MOST BRUTAL OCCUPATION THEY EVER FACED - CRUSHED BY THE BOOTS OF THE GESTAPO.
Though - I must say to You that the British "ATTITUDE TOWARDS WAR" was in that time not much different than the one of the French.
I still remeber a discussion at the Br. Parliament at which (I think) Churchill proposed bombing raids over Germany in response to the bombings of civilian population of Warsaw and the bombings of civilian refugees columns all over Poland.
This proposal was staten by Churchill (as far as I remember), but one conservative MP (I don't remember the name) stood up and opposed himself, stating that the "British has no mandate to bombard PRIVATE PROPERTY OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS".
(...PARANOIA!!!...)
You would also had your "response" coming quite soon: Coventry.
Was it REALLY necessary to have your butts kicked to realize what Hitler was aiming for?
You must have got SHOCKED to realize his goal was nothing less but GLOBAL DOMINATION?
SECOND > CONCERNING "WHAT COULD (OR "SHOULD") HAVE YOU DONE?
Now! - I guess it's obvious for both of us that you do not make History on "IF"s...
...but since You asked me what could you do, my answer is quite simple:
> DECLARE WAR ON THE USSR
(THEN! - NOT IN 1945 WHEN STALIN WAS ALREADY - ALSO THANKS TO YOUR OWN "PASSIVENESS" - ALL TOO POWERFUL).
YES! - AS SIMPLE AS THAT!
The Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact was SINCE THE BEGINNING just a temporary solution for the Germans (or rather - FOR HITLER!) to have his hands free on Poland in the East and to have an Ally in its conquest, and to turn its Armies on the West.
The German casualties in the war against Poland would have been MUCH higher, if the soviets wouldn't have intervened against it, from the 17th September onwards.
Today we tend to forget how in the German intentions the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact was nothing less, but a pretext to gain a perfect starting point, for what was later to be called op. "Barbarossa".
On the contrary - Stalin believed he gained a PERMANENT ally in Hitler, NO MATTER WHAT TODAY COMMUNISTS, NEO-COMMUNISTS and LEFTIST IDIOTS LIKE TO SAY.
Do NEVER FORGET how (just as a "tiny" example) French communists, following the orders of Moscow were backing up the German invasion of France (until it was over and they all went to hell, closed in concentration camps).
Anyway - in 1940 - with Britain under the threat of the Luftwaffe, "cornered" to its islands, Hitler would have been as eager to attack the soviet union, as he was WITHOUT any British-Soviet "war" (that would practically never took place anyway).
Let's also not forget that Hitlers' aim was first of all THE EAST. The "Drang nach Osten" was his immediate goal, since the beginnings of his "career" - so war between Nazi Germany and the USSR would have broken out in ANY WAY.
Furtermore - if Britain had declared war on the USSR in 1939, he would have been (VERY PROBABLY) EVEN MUCH EAGER TO ATTACK IT, HOPING IN AN "EXCHANGE OF ALLIANCES" with the British Empire.
Do never also forget that ANY "invasion plan" of Britain on behalf of the Germans was simply a FABLE.
They just did not have the strenght to cross the British Channel (one thing is to conquer Creta - another thing is to conquer the British Isles, guarded by the might of the RN).
Consider now the scenario in 1940/41 in which Britain is an enemy BOTH of the Germans and the Soviets.
You could have used that as a "leverage" to USE AGAINST STALIN'S PRIVATE POWER, AND TO MAKE HIM GIVE CONCESSIONS TO YOUR ALLIES IN EXCHANGE OF AN ALLIANCE - concessios to your Allies, that were already dying hand in hand with your soldiers on the West and in Africa.
Ultimately, that would have been a useful tool to - if not keeping Stalin "under complete control" - at least to contain stalin's power in East.
THIRD >
...you already HAD such a "leverage", although of a "minor caliber" - it was the the so-called "Northern Convoys" (in which even Polish ships participated) - through the Northern and White Sea, heading to Murmansk, with oil, tanks, radio equipment, transportation equipment and ANYTHING was needed for a war...
You probably forget how DESPERATE the USSR was in 1941/42.
THAT (not 1945) was the time to put pressure on Stalin.
YET - you DID VERY little at that time...
FOURTH AND FINAL >
You asked me "WHAT COULD WE DO?".
I'll respond you in another way:
>>>WHAT DID YOU DO, ALTHOUGH YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE EVER DONE IT!
(...just among MANY other things...)
In 1944 the Warsaw Uprising broke out.
I remember I saw satirical "vignettes" in many British newspapers (among them the "Guardian") picturing Poles as a sort of "stupid gangsters" (HISTORICAL WORDS) "with an itchy trigger-finger, ALWAYS READY TO DISRUPT THE EFFORT OF THE GLORIOUS RED ARMY - OUR MOST BELOVED AND GLORIOUS ALLY".
NOW! - that's something MORE than just "we could't do much more..." - ISN'T IT?
...and as I also can understand such "feelings" were not among the WHOLE of the British population, the FACT still remains, that there was an anti-Polish campaign in your (mainly left winged, but NOT ONLY) - media.
I can also understand that this was the time when the so-called "Cambridge five" (was that their correct name?) used to spree their "influence" upon the "echelons" of the British ruling class, and still today we don't know how much that "influence" was big or WHERE did it finally reach?
...but one thing is to have some communists that openly manifest whom they stand with - ANOTHER THING is BEING INFLUENCED by them in your foreign policy...
At the Nuremberg tribunal Katyń passed over an "embarassing silence", although EVERYBODY knew already THEN that your "BELOVED ALLY" did it.
>>> ANOTHER EXAMPLE:
In 1995 or '96 (I don't remember anymore) - after the fall of the communist regime in Poland, the finally legal Polish government issued an extradiction request for a woman.
Her official name was Helena Wolińska-Brus, although her TRUE name was Fajga Mindlak-Danielak. She was a STALINIST PROSECUTOR of Jewish origins, that organized political processes, ordered arbitrary arrests of the members of the Polish Home Army and other organisations (some of them have worked for the MI5 in the past and gave you and IMMENSE INTELLIGENCE HELP in defeating the nazi regime). She ordered arrests, tortures, death penalties among people that were never even agents - just simply "UNWANTED ELEMENTS" in the new stalinist so-called Poland.
You DENIED THE EXTRADICTION (I must say - also under pressure from zionist organisations in the UK).
That's ALSO A "STATEMENT" - A STATEMENT OF "WHOM YOU STAND BY".
So tell me - WHAT WAS THOSE POLISH AND CZECH PILOTS IN 303rd RAF FIGHTING DIVISION (the BEST-SCORING RAF DIVISION) FIGHTING FOR?
...just to FINISH (I wrote even TOO MUCH)...
> THE QUESTION WAS:
WHAT COULD WE DO MORE?
> MY response is:
YOU COULD HAVE SHOWN SOME BALLS!
PS.
Tell me - HOW can we trust you today (undependently it's the French or the British)?
How can we trust NATO?
How can we trust the WHOLE "West"?
No, my friend!
We are alone!
...and if the russki's move today - we WILL BE ALONE AGAIN!...
...and we DON'T GIVE A DAMN!
We'd rather DIE ONE UPON THE OTHER THAN FACE ANOTHER OCCUPATION - THAT I PROMISE YOU.
2serveand2protect WOW. Respect.
Just to be fair, the Polish pilots and paratroopers are lionized for their bravery and willingness to bring the fight in close to the enemy.
Unfortunately, it was the wrong enemy. Poles fought against Germany (which occupied Poland for ~5 years) unknowingly benefiting their occupiers for the next 45 years.
Such destruction is a shameful testament to the idiocy of human beings.
It was a war they bombed a historic building which is regrettable but if German troops had withdrawn it wouldn't have happened but in the end it was a fortified position. Religion and religious discrimination has been the cause for many brutal slaughters and wars.
+thomas sease You are telling me something I already know. For whatever reasons, war is destructive in more ways than just physical damage.
+cluxseltoot so you were just making a vague statement about human tendencies? Why? Most people with even the slightest understanding of human history know that. So thanks captain obvious. What color is the sky again??? Or did you have an overarching point?
Just watched this again and read your comment. Yes, please tell me 'What color is the sky again'. As you appear to be a very clever fellow - please let us all know.
its actually karma, the Christians destroyed the Roman temple that was there to put their monastery there, what comes around goes around
My Father fought here,. He was attached to the Canadian 3rd Armoured Brigade. Their Sherman's had a Black Gauntlet on Mudguards.He lost many good lads, lads who he never forgot to his Dying Day. TY and RIP USA Canadians Australians. You saved Europe later, it seems to be lost by Ignorant leaders.
It was a horrendously tough battle for all concerned. My friend's Uncle was totally vapourised, along with his platoon of men.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
In glorious 240p.
+MMYUMMY Gaming and now in glorious 360p
"Hitlers greatest allie The clown"
my grandfather was in monte Casino too but he wasn't a normal soldier he was a Major
We fought the wrong enemy, as Patton confirmed.