he has been referred to that in every history book i have ever read where he is mentioned. It would be interesting to know where that came from ... German ? Allies ?
I did not realize that the aftermath of Kursk was this much of a disaster for the Germans. They've been on the retreat - and being badly mauled - ever since August 1943.
The footage of Tojo saluting the troops reminded me of his recorded visit to the Philippines on May 5, 1943. He was impressed by what he perceived to be the enthusiasm of the Filipinos, especially when they "cheered" his motorcade while it travelled to the Manila Hotel. What he didn't know was that in the orchestrated shouts of "Banzai!" some brave and witty souls among the crowd shouted "Bangkay! (Tagalog: corpse)" instead. (Source: Kasaysayan - The Story of the Filipino People; Volume 7)
The more I read about Filipinos during the Second World War, the more I like them. The resistance movement in the Philippines (which was both large & very successful) should be more well known than it is.
The Japanese Army did not have a manpower shortage. It was still very much capable of offensives. The Japanese Navy on the other hand could do little to counter US Navy advances.
You need to understand the weight of forces, the Japanese forces in the Pacific were only a fifth of that on the continent, americans perceive it as a naval war but it was very much mainly a land war.
@@FurobaOA Even if the Japanese Army had the manpower, which is very doubtful, they did not have the logistics to invade and conquer both China and India in 1944. The submarine campaign against them is in high gear and they are losing shipping and supplies far above replacement levels.
Small note: The Royal West African Force was largely - but not solely - comprised on Nigerians. Recruits also came from Sierra Leone and Gold Coast/Ghana.
Max Hastings discusses these African units in Burma in Retribution. He mentions the troops being recruited in the belief that these men from Africa would be natural jungle fighters, that the non-Christian among them were sworn in on cold steel (a bayonet) rather than a Bible, and the units were jokingly referred to as the "cannibal battalions". He also mentions a soldier named Kewku Pong from the Gold Coast. Wounded and left for dead when his position was overrun, he found an abandoned Bren gun and fired at the Japanese until he was overcome by blood loss. He survived, barely, and received the Military Medal.
So, that's the week 79 years ago, when the village where my grandmother-in-law, then aged 12, lived was liberated. Or, rather, the territory, because her own village has been burnt down back in November, the village where she and others took shelter was burnt in December. In the scorched earth tactics, the retreating German armies were only interested at keeping villages at major roads intact. This week, in the morning, German soldiers made everyone in the village assemble in the barn and seal it. At several other places, they set the barn on fire, so the intent was clear. Soviet troops were already nearby, and planned to attack at then dusk. But then they've heard the screams and attacked immediately. Germans retreated. For little Nina, my future grandmother in law, the occupation has ended. But not the trouble.
Wow thank you Indy and team for shouting out Merrill's Marauders! My great-grandfather was a radio operator in their Orange combat team, and saw a lot of combat during his time in Burma. He earned a Purple Heart (shrapnel to the arm), Bronze Star, and was one of the few to return home alive. I was fortunate enough to hear some of his stories when I was younger. He went onto live a long life with my great-grandmother, whom he met right after getting home from the war, and he passed away in 2017 at the age of 95. Merrill's Marauders seem to rarely be mentioned in WWII history, so it made me really happy to hear you talk about them. I can't wait to hear more about them as the weeks go on!
This content is so GOATED. Indy has not missed as a speaker, the writing and research team puts in so much work, and Sparty grew on me so much since the beginning of WAH. Keep up the good work!
*IJA 15th Army:* "It's over, British curs! We have your 7th Indian Division surrounded!' *British Army:* "You underestimate our counter-intelligence & our ability to resupply our forces by air!"
Recall: in 1940 the Japanese PM was Admiral Yonai. He was against joining Germany and Italy in the Tripartite Pact in order not to further escalate the war. He was ousted and replaced by Tojo, of the Army. He had Shimada as the head of the Navy, basically a yes-man to Tojo. After the stuff that would be happening in a few months time (spoilers), PM General Tojo will be replaced by Navy Admiral Suzuki. Suzuki will bring Yonai back as Minister of Navy in an attempt to convince and counterbalance the other Navy guy in the Supreme War Council: Admiral Toyoda.
Well, a yes-man to Tojo insofar as Shimada was very much a "prowar now at any cost" guy... I think in that group of ultranationalist warhawk psychopaths Tojo was sort of a moderate and a compromise. There were politics within that group too, lol.
This week in the North Atlantic, HMCS Waskesiu (K330) while escorting convoy SC 153 sinks U-257. Waskesiu is a new River Class Frigate, one of the first batch of 33 ordered by the RCN in 1941, and the first to be completed on Canada's west coast. She was commissioned on June 16th 1943 at Victoria BC and was transferred to the Atlantic in July. The River Class Frigate was an improvement on the Flower Class Corvette, being larger with a more powerful twin engine (2 screw) design and almost double the range of the corvette. They were also more heavily armed. At 2:00 am on the 24th, Waskesiu picks up U-257 on sonar. They proceed to attack, dropping a pattern of depth charges. Undamaged the uboat surfaces under the cover of darkness and opens fire on Waskesiu with its deck gun, then crash dives back below the surface again. After several hours of searching and more depth charge attacks, Waskesiu is ordered to break off the search and rejoin the escort. However, just as the order comes, Waskesiu picks up another contact and her captain persuades the convoy commander to allow them one more attack. They drop another pattern of 10 charges, driving U-257 to the surface where Waskesiu is waiting. The frigate begins pounding the uboat with 4 inch gun fire scoring multiple hits, including 4 on the conning tower. Unable to sustain this pounding the surviving crew abandon the sinking u-boat. Only 19 of the 49 crew are picked up by Waskesiu, assisted by HMS Nene, the remainder are lost in the sinking. HMCS Waskesiu was the first of the new Royal Canadian Navy frigates to score a U-boat kill.
Minor addition/correction. In the Admin Box, as well as Indians, Ghurkas and Nigerians, there were also British troops there. 7th Indian, in common with most Indian Divs, had 1 British battalion per Brigade.
Awesome job bringing the Chinese/Burmese fronts into the mix!!!! Thank you because these and other crucial fronts are criminally under represented and explored.
My grandfather's brother was killed this week of the war 79 years ago (Feb 23, 1944). He was in the US army 179th infantry regiment, 45th infantry division at Anzio. He is buried in Italy and his family was never able to visit his grave, but a placeholder is at the local cemetery with the rest of his family, including my grandfather. This week is more personal for my mother and I and reminds me that this war's effects are never far away from anyone. Thank you again for making such a brilliant catalogue of history. Keep up the great work.
Last month was 79 years since we lost my great grandfather in the skies over Germany, but my great-grandfather's brother was at Anzio as well, in the 30th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division. I never met him, so I won't put words in his mouth, but I've been told he was a very kind man and I'm sure he would have had some meaningful words to express his sympathy for your family's loss and your great uncle's sacrifice. As for myself, I hope this show is helping to give you more context into what he was doing. I know it is doing that for me and my family. Thank you, Sam, for helping us all to never forget. - T.J.
I actually knew exactly what you were referencing when you talked about Hannibal. How the institution of Dictatorship has fallen from Fabian. Fabian, if his corpse were glued to magnets and his coffin full of copper coils, could generate enough electricity to power Mussolini's trains that didn't run in time.
A favorite story from Italy front there, Douglas Fairbanks jr. in his book about the war "A Hell of a War" where you would NEVER know how highly decorated he was and just how brilliant and well respected, he talks about going ashore BEFORE the invasion of the "boot", and gathering intelligence. Then bombs start dropping and he is stuck in a movie theater, trying to not be caught out as a spy. The manager of the theater is there also, recognizes him, and begins to berate him about the quality of his last movie as it was a total "bomb" (joke intended), He's trying to. placate the manager, because there are military forces there also and if they recognize him he's potentially facing a firing squad. He was so nervous, and the Italian manager so wonderfully Italian with gestures and volume, that he has to decide between going out into the bombing or inside for the attack on his acting skills. As soon as he feels the least bit safer, he leaves. It was still dangerous, but he said his couldn't take anymore criticism about his acting and hoped he could do a better job acting like just your average person in the still dangerous bombardments.
Truk and Rabaul are now the largest POW camps in the Pacific. With regards to the plan of hitting the USN carrier groups with land-based air- the IJN and IJA no longer have the quality or quantity of aircrew. They also don't have an answer to the improvements of USN radar and AA defenses. There is the proximity fuse, the F6F Hellcat, the 5"30 gun, direction finding radar, a plethora of 40mm Bofors and 20mm Oerlikon guns. The end result is that the throw weight of AA fire from a USN carrier TF has increased ELEVEN times since 1942.
It's always amazing what crushing industrial and scientific superiority can do to your war effort. "Their planes dominate the skies!" "Okay, two things. One, we can design better planes and train airmen just as good. Two, they can't dominate the skies if the skies ARE FULL OF LEAD."
An interesting thing to note this week on February 21 1944 is that the 2nd Battalion of the US 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) will arrive at Ningbyen in Burma. General Joseph Stilwell, who did not wear any rank insignia and was wearing a dirty field jacket, talked to some soldiers from this unit. They did not realise who he was and had even made some jokes about his older age. In essence, this visit would repair some of the damage he had made two days earlier when he neglected to visit the same troops at Shingbiyan, disappointing them.
@@ChrisCrossClash Some of these rather interesting footnotes can be found on the World War 2 Database (ww2db) website, as well as some other World War 2 websites (unfortunately I forgot the names already as it was quite a while ago lol).
A side note this week on February 22 1944 is that United States Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau will declare in a press release that the United States would stop purchasing gold from countries that had not yet broken relations with Axis nations. This was done out of fear that the gold may have been looted from conquered nations.
Operation Ichi-Go is definitely something I'm excited to learn more about. For a war so famous for dramatic twist, turns and changes of fortunes, that such a large campaign happened but ultimately had little bearing on the ultimate outcome of everything in the later stages of the war is fascinating. In a way it truly highlights the horror of war - so much destruction and lives lost to gain nothing. Like a whole lot of the war in China it's not very well known in the west and I would love to learn more, especially as far as the affect it had in weakening the Kuomintang's governance and setting up their eventually defeat by the Communist.
Oh boy, the first of the large offensives of 1944 is soon to hit! Can't wait to hear you guys cover Ichi-Go! It's so hard to find proper information about this massive offensive in the west..
It's funny and ironic that the first tactical moves from the Japanese upon entering the war were attacking airbases and destroying planes on the ground, and also attacking naval bases and trying to destroy ships at anchor. Both of those tactics came back to bite them in the ass, but 1000 times worse
The first tactical moves of the Japanese were basic land combat. Attacking the western allies in 1941 was diverting about a quarter of their land forces and most of their Navy. Their air forces were already super experienced when they went after the Western allies.
Finally some mention of Ichi-Go and U-Go! I am soooooo happy that this documentary series is not going to neglect these often overlooked operations! Great job!
This was the week my dad earned his ulcers. Flying 14 hour days in Fox Moths, picking up Indian and African wounded to be taken to hospital at Cox's Bazaar .
At last, XIVth Army is no longer forgotten, but the three week Battle of the Admin Box, signalling the start of the break out of Allied troops in Burma, only gets a line or two in the final week of the battle…
If I'm not mistaken, this week a famous photograph was taken of Theodore James Miller, a marine, a participant in the Battle of Eniwetok. This shot was named ''thousand-yard stare'' after two days of constant fighting.
There is an article about that posted under the community tab on this channel. Just FYI if you didn't know that exists. They post articles there to cover some events or interesting tidbits that can't fit into the weekly episodes.
Imphal especially is insanely complicated. Basically 5 different battles on the five axes of approach. With the added complication of a separate but linked battle going on up the road at Kohima. Slim’s description of it in Defeat into Victory is great.
I always look in anticipation to Saturdays because I know another episode in this war awaits me. However, my excitement is short lived because they are over so quickly. Of course, I know an episode of WAH is soon to arrive but those episodes usually make me sad and angry. But often I have a pleasant surprise during the week when a Special Episode or Spies and Ties pops up when least expected! Thank you all for the hard work and dedication it takes to make this retired lady happy!
thanks for your work. I learned a lot about my father's war. He was a gunnery officer on hms Liverpool against Germans, then hms formidable in the pacific.
I'm so glad that in the picture you always show of "Smiling" Albert Kesselring, he's not actually smiling. That would just freak me out to no end if that was the case haha
Thank you for the lesson. Being able to see the events around the world as part of a timeline rather than from one perspective is most enlightening. A special on the Special Warfare units of the various countries would be interesting.
I think Tojo was becoming a megalomaniac to an extent, but not to the same degree that Hitler was. Notice how, unlike Hitler, Tojo is not focusing on a "total victory" anymore, but rather is adjusting his objectives to fit changing circumstances.
the British (and other western european powers) delusions of restoring a colonial empire after the war is such an interesting aspect of the late period of the war
"Fun" fact: Nearly all the colonial empires will use former german SS soldiers in their colonial wars do to their "expertice" in fighting "bandits"/partisans. Most famous example woulod be the french foreign legion that was a basically a german unit post war (because german soldiers volunteered on mass to escape brutal french slave labour) but the dutch would also employ the dutch SS members in Indonesia, wehre they got a chance to "clean their records by service". The dutch literally used the same term for their reconquest of Indonesia as the germans used for anti partisan operations: "Polizeiaktion"/police action. It implies the people you are fighting are just bandits and criminals.... Its always interesting how the countries that were occupied by a foreign power and suffered brutal treatmeant (and would not get tired of pointing that out for the next decades) turned around 1 second after the war was over and returned to occupy and enslave non europeans everywhere. Hypocracy was really big with the "greatest generation" everywhere.
@@noobster4779 I knew about this from a personal anecdote told to me by the father of an old Army buddy. He was in the US Air Force back in the 50's and had taken part in the evacuation of the French Foreign Legion from Dien Bien Phu after their defeat there. "The Frenchies were all speakin' German!", he said with a chuckle...
In Tower of Skulls Richard Frank mentions that Mutaguchi's guilt over starting this whole thing back at Marco Polo bridge was part of the rationale when deciding to launch the invasion of India in 1944.
The words are used so often there's the risk that they'll lose their meaning... but how else can one verbally express their admiration and appreciation... Another fine episode... Thank you.
This would be a good time to watch the 1952 film "5 Fingers"by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The movie deals with the spy "Cicero" in Ankara, who has been handing out information on the Germans for a while. By late February 1944 he has decided that his activities are too dangerous, but he has a final request for plans regarding D-day... Period covered: 1943-February 1944 IMDB grade: 7.7/10
There is a huge difference between invading a tiny island with an 8,000 soldier garrison and invading the Japanese home islands with populations in the millions. Remember, no one in 1944 knows that the Soviets will join the war or that the atomic bombs function/exist. For Japan, the allies getting close by ocean is bad, but they are pretty sure they can't invade. (If you look at Japanese plans for the defense of Kyushu, they knew where the landings would happen and the US was forecasting hundreds of thousands of allied casualties from the operation) So there is little to be done at sea, but the Japanese can use their land army to regain the initiative. If China can be defeated, then those million troops can go off of occupation duties. If India can be threatened, then it might rise up, or at the very least divert allied naval power and shipping to the Indian ocean. It looks dumb to us in hindsight because we know how the war ends. It wasn't clear then that "US gets in bomber range of Japan" was going to end the war. Also, at this time, the US is standing up 20th air force in China to bomb Japan.
It was more than just Ultra which helped Slim prepare for Admin Box. He had worked out the need for air supply a long time before 2 weeks previous. Working out how to combat the Japanese infiltration/surrounding tactics was THE key innovation Slim brought to 14th Army, and it took time, foresight and planing, as well as much of 1943.
You could argue the British strategy is a many-headed beast in WW2. Churchill is always open to special operations and outside-the-box thinking. Britain has a very long strategic tradition where they fight with sea power and drain the enemy in minor theatres over time. But on the other hand, British commanders are ordered to preserve their men and materiel and be risk-averse, because the war has costed Britain dearly. Also, the senior leadership wants to maintain their armies for the post-war order. And then you have the problem of generating victories and having initiative to maintain the British political position among the Allied powers. So its a very precarious situation. We will see in 1944 how spectacularly Bernard Montgomery is going to make things harder and harder for Great Britain, in particular during Ardennes and the political meltdown afterwards.
One of the brilliant things that the week by week approach brings is to illustrate and expand on the sheer damn complexity of the Pacific war. It’s a really massive strength of this series to put it all into context. Chapeau.
When I was in high school I pulled over on the side of the road to answer a phone call. This was in 2006 so service was horrible. Another car pulled over and it was an old gentleman asking for directions. He was on his way to Washington for a reunion. He was a part of Merrill’s Marauders. We got to talking and became pen pals for several years. Sadly he passed when I was in college but not before he sent me some of his old memorabilia. RIP Mr. Clyde Miller, of Montgomery Texas. You were a wonderful man.
Antony Mann made a dramatic war movie about Norwegian resistance vs German heavy water program that culminates with the attack on the ferry “Hydro”. The Heroes of Telemark, is well worth watching as its mostly historically accurate, with exception of the mission being led by a Swedish scientist (Kirk Douglas) he’s a Hollywood invention. Richard Harris’ character more closely resembles the person whose memoir the story is based on. Its also Douglas’ fictious character who forces Hollywood’s favorite WWII tropes on the movie; partizans don’t kill collaborators (oh yes they did) and saboteurs’ bombs never killed any innocent civilians (they most certainly did).
It seems to me that Merril's Marauders may be a reference to Rogers' Rangers (Seven Years' War). Similar function and alliterating name. If anyone hasn't, go ready Northwest Passage by Kenneth Roberts, the first book I read as a kid with a realistic depiction of war. Had a big impact on me for sure.
The name 5307th Composite Unit almost seems designed to mislead the enemy, but giving high numbers to units was often a sign that they were considered of low importance or even undesirable. For example, in the German Army the 999th Division was actually a punishment unit (it never fought as a complete division - some bits were sent to Tunisia and were captured, others were sent to occupy Greece, where a number deserted to the Communist partisans). (Later note) On the other hand the Americans seem to have been partial to unit designations with four digits. George Koval, who was a Soviet spy, was at one time in the 3410th Specialized Training and Reassignment Unit. Like the 5307th, one of those unit names that don't say very much.
Another great video! I know there are big plans for videos on the D-Day invasion (rightfully so) however will we have a somewhat of a special on the invasion of Saipan as well? It was the largest invasion in the Pacific too that point and is regarded as the D-Day of the Pacific for it's massive numbers that landed. Love the content! Happy to be apart of the time ghost army!
I think that Operation Overlord will be only one that will get the special treatment out of all the big operations. I sure Ichi-Go, U-Go, Bagration, Saipan and Bulge will get detailed overviews, but not to the same extent, since it's time consuming to make those specials.
@@extrahistory8956 Yeah I wasn't thinking for a 24 hour vid, but maybe a 15 minute special episode or something. Though I know they are slammed with the D-Day one. That's just a video pivotal and interesting battle for the island that has a lot of repercussions for later in the war.
@@the_beef4762 Only D-Day will be getting a special. The massive specials they've done (Pearl Harbor, D-Day) are expensive and need extra funding, in addition to there being a lot more work involved. We'd have heard of fund-raising efforts for another special if one was in the works. Saipan will no doubt get plenty of coverage but likely in the regular weekly episodes & in the community content tab.
Not the first time they've fought. They had the spotlight all the way back in early 1941, when they advanced over 1,000 km into Italian Somalia in less than 2 weeks during the East African campaign.
With the PH attack, the IJN showed that a large carrier task force could overwhelm and severely damage an isolate island group's defenses. Starting in late 1943, the USN did that to island group after island group after ...
Tojo was Army Minister, not War Minister. The pre-Cabinet era "War Ministry" had been dissolved. The Army Minister was the more powerful between the Army and Navy Ministries, which had lead many to call the Army Minister the "War Minister," but it was not a position in the Cabinet of the Empire of Japan. Keep up the good work! Always love hearing more on the Japanese side of the War.
I just got a new book "Jatkosota päivä päivältä" by Ilkka Enkenberg (Continuation war day by day), so I decided to include what happened on the Finnish front this week. 21.2.1944 - 27.2.1944: Soviet Union (later SU) bombs Helsinki to boost peace feelers. The attack lasted 11 hours with three phases; at evening the planes attempted to get above the city, at night fall the dive bombers would attack the anti-air batteries and before sunrise the large bomber formations would try to reach the city. SU attacked with almost 900 airplanes and they dropped aproximately 5000 bombs (weight not mentioned in the book). About 300 hit Helsinki. 21 were killed and 60 buildings were destroyed. Nine SU airplanes were shot down. Oulu was also bombed three times during the week. Aprox. 146 buildings were destroyed and four people killed. 21.02. Paasikivi receives peace terms from Kollantai (SU Stockholm ambassador). 22.02. SU tries to bomb Turku with over 100 bombers but bad weather and heavy anti-air fire prevents this and only 15 bombs hit. 24.02. Mannerheim orders war lights/illumination to be used in all of Finland 25.02. Dagens Nyheter (swedish newspaper) publishes SU peace terms for Finland
Germans manufactured more fighters because they gave up production of bombers to achieve that, effectively giving up the air support mission of Luftwaffe to defend Germany from air raids. Massive success of the bombing campaign, decidedly NOT a failure.
Speer rationalized the production process. In addition to that they pretty much gave up making spare parts in order to produce new planes figuring the planes would not have a long life and it was better to create new ones. They also built , according to one source 143 underground factories for war production. The V weapons were produced at Dora a underground factory.
@@caryblack5985 The underground building doesn't get mentioned enough in these discussions. Every time the Allies hit a factory, the Germans would rebuild it underground. The massive bomber raids quickly became less effective at stopping production, and as a result the Allies switched over to things like firebombing civilian housing.
SPOILER Postwar there was an interesting difference between Japanese trial defendants and German ones. Japanese ones seem to have been more resigned and willing to get executed for the team, or in this case the Emperor. The German ones were less so, sometimes passing off what they were charged with as following orders, or else the fault of people like Hitler, who were now conveniently dead.
I saw a show a number of years ago where some divers when down and had a look at the sunken ferry that was carrying the heavy water in Norway. The barrels holding the heavy water were still intact and still filled with the heavy water.
@@WorldWarTwo If I recall correctly, they brought one of barrels up so they could test it with a hydrometer to see if it was still filled with heavy water, it was, and the rest they left where they were. It was an episode of PBS Nova called "Hitler's Sunken Secret" and first aired in 2005.
Thank you entire team for another wonderful episode It would be interesting to see the logistical build up stats of men and materials leading up to the full fledged force for dday
Notice the strategic contrasts between Germany and Japan. Germany is insisting on trying to hold every front it can, while post-Tarawa Japan is becoming less and less concerned with fronts and positions and focusing on just knocking out the Americans in the Marianas, even though Japan has no idea when the Americans will actually try to recapture the Marianas and doesn't know just how the Americans will attempt to do so.
@@astrobullivant5908 it wants to knock China out of the war and cause problems for the British in India. They don't want to take India, just cause a general uprising or at least enough mischief to hamper the British.
Another great one! A few inquiries of interrest ,how many IJA soldiers were in the Gilbert Islands,? when the Task Forces and Marines went by in the nights. Somehow 2 million IJA troops were in China at this time , though that was reduced slowly until 50% were bck in Japan by 1945. .Hats off to the 18th Army holding out in Narva ,though after the Finns are taking care of ,once again not without a struggle ,they will be blugeoned to the maximum.. I appreciate the turn toward Burma,I bought a huge 700 page book about that campaign, but haven't got into it yet,!.Hopefully the Sino-Indo-Burma Theatre will have me drive to its pages.Always liked that ''Merrill's Marauders'' epithet ,and always laugh at talking baout the 5307 Composite group..LOL. General Truscott was considered one of the best Armour Generals ,by Patton ,behind Patton ,Devers and Truscott it became very painfully thin on talent!
This thing about the establishing of bridgeheads - in the Soviet case, rivers were seen as major boundaries and obstacles favouring a defender, and trying to negate this by establishing bridgeheads as fast as possible was a major concern. US forces may have thought in similar terms, perhaps because there are major rivers in the USA. The British for one reason or another did not think like that. Perhaps the relatively small size of Britain played a role.
It should also be noted that despite the norwegian resistance's best efforts, out of the 47 people onboard DF Hydro, 14 norwegians died and four germans. The rest of those onboard survied/were saved. It was the last of the sabotage operations against the heavy water production during the war. The people behind the sinking are: Fenrik Knut Haukelid (the one in charge) Sergeant Knut Lier-Hansen (from Milorg) Rolf Sørlie (from the local resistance movement) Einar Skinnarland (radio operator) Gunnar Syverstad (lab assistant at the factory) Kjell Nielsen (transport manager at the factory)
Such a great quote from Weinburg’s A World at Arms regarding how the Red Army always bumped river crossings. I much appreciated Indy’s analysis that this was possible because Soviet forces bee-lined to the /b/next/b/ river crossing during the confusion of initial break through before defenders could consolidate.
They were good at throwing pontoon bridges across rivers that were just below the surface of the water, which disguised them somewhat from Axis air reconnaissance. The North Koreans used a similar type of bridge to cross a river in August 1950.
Does anyone know the tittle of the music that started playing during Indy's closing notes about Tojo ? I've heard it in many videos across the channel and it's splendid
Our community manager Ian is dealing with just an awful flu, high fever, and headaches. Wish him a speedy recovery!
Best wishes!
That sucks. Get well soon, Ian!
Get well soon Ian 🙏 prayers for you 🙏 .
Get better soon Ian!!
Get well soon, Ian! 🤞
I appreciate Indy's commitment to Smiling Albert ever since first encountering the epithet
It’s done its work on me. From now on he’ll always be “Luftwaffe boss, ‘Smiling’ Albert Kesselring”
Right? He cant just say Albert Kesselring. We all know its Smiling Albert Kesselring
What exactly is the history behind that?
The photo of Kesselring used isn't the best for the epithet - there are some pictures with full-teeth smiles.
he has been referred to that in every history book i have ever read where he is mentioned. It would be interesting to know where that came from ... German ? Allies ?
I did not realize that the aftermath of Kursk was this much of a disaster for the Germans. They've been on the retreat - and being badly mauled - ever since August 1943.
At this point I'm wondering how the Germans will ever stabilize the Eastern Front.
Ever since Stalingrad. It seems like Kursk was just a pipedream that used up much of their resources.
I'm sure once Steiner shows up everything will be fine.
@@yes_head My fuhrer!..
After Stalingrad it all went badly. The victory at Kharkov last year was one of the last major victories
The footage of Tojo saluting the troops reminded me of his recorded visit to the Philippines on May 5, 1943. He was impressed by what he perceived to be the enthusiasm of the Filipinos, especially when they "cheered" his motorcade while it travelled to the Manila Hotel. What he didn't know was that in the orchestrated shouts of "Banzai!" some brave and witty souls among the crowd shouted "Bangkay! (Tagalog: corpse)" instead.
(Source: Kasaysayan - The Story of the Filipino People; Volume 7)
Heh, corpse in Malay is similarly "bangkai" too, seeing that Malay and Tagalog shares the same ancestral language.
That got a loud laugh out of me. Thank you.
The more I read about Filipinos during the Second World War, the more I like them.
The resistance movement in the Philippines (which was both large & very successful) should be more well known than it is.
As a Filipino citizen, thank you for sharing this information.
Spoiler Alert! The Americans will land at Leyte in October 1944.
@@leonbaylon1893 Last half of the year is going to busy for TimeGhost. I don't envy them. lol
"Sir, he Americans have broken through the central Pacific and are threatening the inner defenses of our empire"
"Clearly, we must invade India"
😂
The Japanese Army did not have a manpower shortage. It was still very much capable of offensives. The Japanese Navy on the other hand could do little to counter US Navy advances.
You need to understand the weight of forces, the Japanese forces in the Pacific were only a fifth of that on the continent, americans perceive it as a naval war but it was very much mainly a land war.
@@watcherzero5256most of the dying was on land but the decisive actions that directly led to the end of the war happened at sea
@@FurobaOA Even if the Japanese Army had the manpower, which is very doubtful, they did not have the logistics to invade and conquer both China and India in 1944. The submarine campaign against them is in high gear and they are losing shipping and supplies far above replacement levels.
Small note: The Royal West African Force was largely - but not solely - comprised on Nigerians. Recruits also came from Sierra Leone and Gold Coast/Ghana.
14th Army was the most diverse of all Allied armies of WW2.
Max Hastings discusses these African units in Burma in Retribution. He mentions the troops being recruited in the belief that these men from Africa would be natural jungle fighters, that the non-Christian among them were sworn in on cold steel (a bayonet) rather than a Bible, and the units were jokingly referred to as the "cannibal battalions". He also mentions a soldier named Kewku Pong from the Gold Coast. Wounded and left for dead when his position was overrun, he found an abandoned Bren gun and fired at the Japanese until he was overcome by blood loss. He survived, barely, and received the Military Medal.
You don’t say … given that they were britains colonies in west Africa that’s pretty obvious fucking dumbass
@@ahronthegreat Rough morning?
@@hilariousname6826 Rough life*
So, that's the week 79 years ago, when the village where my grandmother-in-law, then aged 12, lived was liberated. Or, rather, the territory, because her own village has been burnt down back in November, the village where she and others took shelter was burnt in December. In the scorched earth tactics, the retreating German armies were only interested at keeping villages at major roads intact.
This week, in the morning, German soldiers made everyone in the village assemble in the barn and seal it. At several other places, they set the barn on fire, so the intent was clear.
Soviet troops were already nearby, and planned to attack at then dusk. But then they've heard the screams and attacked immediately. Germans retreated.
For little Nina, my future grandmother in law, the occupation has ended. But not the trouble.
Wow thank you Indy and team for shouting out Merrill's Marauders! My great-grandfather was a radio operator in their Orange combat team, and saw a lot of combat during his time in Burma. He earned a Purple Heart (shrapnel to the arm), Bronze Star, and was one of the few to return home alive. I was fortunate enough to hear some of his stories when I was younger. He went onto live a long life with my great-grandmother, whom he met right after getting home from the war, and he passed away in 2017 at the age of 95. Merrill's Marauders seem to rarely be mentioned in WWII history, so it made me really happy to hear you talk about them. I can't wait to hear more about them as the weeks go on!
This content is so GOATED. Indy has not missed as a speaker, the writing and research team puts in so much work, and Sparty grew on me so much since the beginning of WAH. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much!
WAHluigi
*IJA 15th Army:* "It's over, British curs! We have your 7th Indian Division surrounded!'
*British Army:* "You underestimate our counter-intelligence & our ability to resupply our forces by air!"
@Retired Bore That doesn't surprise me!
To put it a different way, as General Slim said: when the Japanese surround you, he is ALSO surrounded.
Recall: in 1940 the Japanese PM was Admiral Yonai. He was against joining Germany and Italy in the Tripartite Pact in order not to further escalate the war. He was ousted and replaced by Tojo, of the Army. He had Shimada as the head of the Navy, basically a yes-man to Tojo.
After the stuff that would be happening in a few months time (spoilers), PM General Tojo will be replaced by Navy Admiral Suzuki. Suzuki will bring Yonai back as Minister of Navy in an attempt to convince and counterbalance the other Navy guy in the Supreme War Council: Admiral Toyoda.
Well, a yes-man to Tojo insofar as Shimada was very much a "prowar now at any cost" guy... I think in that group of ultranationalist warhawk psychopaths Tojo was sort of a moderate and a compromise. There were politics within that group too, lol.
Being a member of the Diet was a dangerous job and many were assassinated by ultra-nationalists. It became known as "government by assassination"
This week in the North Atlantic, HMCS Waskesiu (K330) while escorting convoy SC 153 sinks U-257. Waskesiu is a new River Class Frigate, one of the first batch of 33 ordered by the RCN in 1941, and the first to be completed on Canada's west coast. She was commissioned on June 16th 1943 at Victoria BC and was transferred to the Atlantic in July. The River Class Frigate was an improvement on the Flower Class Corvette, being larger with a more powerful twin engine (2 screw) design and almost double the range of the corvette. They were also more heavily armed.
At 2:00 am on the 24th, Waskesiu picks up U-257 on sonar. They proceed to attack, dropping a pattern of depth charges. Undamaged the uboat surfaces under the cover of darkness and opens fire on Waskesiu with its deck gun, then crash dives back below the surface again. After several hours of searching and more depth charge attacks, Waskesiu is ordered to break off the search and rejoin the escort. However, just as the order comes, Waskesiu picks up another contact and her captain persuades the convoy commander to allow them one more attack. They drop another pattern of 10 charges, driving U-257 to the surface where Waskesiu is waiting. The frigate begins pounding the uboat with 4 inch gun fire scoring multiple hits, including 4 on the conning tower. Unable to sustain this pounding the surviving crew abandon the sinking u-boat. Only 19 of the 49 crew are picked up by Waskesiu, assisted by HMS Nene, the remainder are lost in the sinking. HMCS Waskesiu was the first of the new Royal Canadian Navy frigates to score a U-boat kill.
Yay!
Finally some recognition of Grzegorz Brzęczyszczykiewicz - after all he started it all! (also good for you Indy for catching the joke)
Minor addition/correction. In the Admin Box, as well as Indians, Ghurkas and Nigerians, there were also British troops there. 7th Indian, in common with most Indian Divs, had 1 British battalion per Brigade.
Awesome job bringing the Chinese/Burmese fronts into the mix!!!!
Thank you because these and other crucial fronts are criminally under represented and explored.
My grandfather's brother was killed this week of the war 79 years ago (Feb 23, 1944). He was in the US army 179th infantry regiment, 45th infantry division at Anzio. He is buried in Italy and his family was never able to visit his grave, but a placeholder is at the local cemetery with the rest of his family, including my grandfather. This week is more personal for my mother and I and reminds me that this war's effects are never far away from anyone. Thank you again for making such a brilliant catalogue of history. Keep up the great work.
Last month was 79 years since we lost my great grandfather in the skies over Germany, but my great-grandfather's brother was at Anzio as well, in the 30th Infantry Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division. I never met him, so I won't put words in his mouth, but I've been told he was a very kind man and I'm sure he would have had some meaningful words to express his sympathy for your family's loss and your great uncle's sacrifice.
As for myself, I hope this show is helping to give you more context into what he was doing. I know it is doing that for me and my family.
Thank you, Sam, for helping us all to never forget.
- T.J.
Really appreciate all the effort the team puts into these episodes
I actually knew exactly what you were referencing when you talked about Hannibal.
How the institution of Dictatorship has fallen from Fabian. Fabian, if his corpse were glued to magnets and his coffin full of copper coils, could generate enough electricity to power Mussolini's trains that didn't run in time.
My boy Hannibal is timeless.
Thanks!
A favorite story from Italy front there, Douglas Fairbanks jr. in his book about the war "A Hell of a War" where you would NEVER know how highly decorated he was and just how brilliant and well respected, he talks about going ashore BEFORE the invasion of the "boot", and gathering intelligence. Then bombs start dropping and he is stuck in a movie theater, trying to not be caught out as a spy. The manager of the theater is there also, recognizes him, and begins to berate him about the quality of his last movie as it was a total "bomb" (joke intended), He's trying to. placate the manager, because there are military forces there also and if they recognize him he's potentially facing a firing squad. He was so nervous, and the Italian manager so wonderfully Italian with gestures and volume, that he has to decide between going out into the bombing or inside for the attack on his acting skills. As soon as he feels the least bit safer, he leaves. It was still dangerous, but he said his couldn't take anymore criticism about his acting and hoped he could do a better job acting like just your average person in the still dangerous bombardments.
Lol that's the most Italian thing ever
Truk and Rabaul are now the largest POW camps in the Pacific. With regards to the plan of hitting the USN carrier groups with land-based air- the IJN and IJA no longer have the quality or quantity of aircrew. They also don't have an answer to the improvements of USN radar and AA defenses. There is the proximity fuse, the F6F Hellcat, the 5"30 gun, direction finding radar, a plethora of 40mm Bofors and 20mm Oerlikon guns. The end result is that the throw weight of AA fire from a USN carrier TF has increased ELEVEN times since 1942.
It's always amazing what crushing industrial and scientific superiority can do to your war effort.
"Their planes dominate the skies!" "Okay, two things. One, we can design better planes and train airmen just as good. Two, they can't dominate the skies if the skies ARE FULL OF LEAD."
That's a nice turn of phrase with the POW camps 😆👍
Another point is that the Americans have a bunch of brand new aircraft carriers that they didn't use last year.
@@flankspeed "Self-Administered POW Camps" is one of my favorite terms to come out of this war :)
They've unfortunately got some manned cruise missiles called "kamikazes" coming out later this year
An interesting thing to note this week on February 21 1944 is that the 2nd Battalion of the US 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) will arrive at Ningbyen in Burma. General Joseph Stilwell, who did not wear any rank insignia and was wearing a dirty field jacket, talked to some soldiers from this unit. They did not realise who he was and had even made some jokes about his older age. In essence, this visit would repair some of the damage he had made two days earlier when he neglected to visit the same troops at Shingbiyan, disappointing them.
Where do you get all these info and stories from? 😂😂
@@ChrisCrossClash Some of these rather interesting footnotes can be found on the World War 2 Database (ww2db) website, as well as some other World War 2 websites (unfortunately I forgot the names already as it was quite a while ago lol).
The action in Burma from this week is covered in James Holland's "Burma '44", a pretty good read.
Frank McLynn and Feargal Keane wrote excellent books on Burma. Holland adds little to them but he certainly gets the attention. (See also: Beevor)
After watching Episode 235, I am proud to be a Time Ghost Patreon support. Great work team!
A side note this week on February 22 1944 is that United States Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau will declare in a press release that the United States would stop purchasing gold from countries that had not yet broken relations with Axis nations. This was done out of fear that the gold may have been looted from conquered nations.
Operation Ichi-Go is definitely something I'm excited to learn more about. For a war so famous for dramatic twist, turns and changes of fortunes, that such a large campaign happened but ultimately had little bearing on the ultimate outcome of everything in the later stages of the war is fascinating. In a way it truly highlights the horror of war - so much destruction and lives lost to gain nothing. Like a whole lot of the war in China it's not very well known in the west and I would love to learn more, especially as far as the affect it had in weakening the Kuomintang's governance and setting up their eventually defeat by the Communist.
The weakening of the KMT was hugely consequential.
Military history not visualized had a guest speaker on the subject a while back
@@vincentdracen one of my favorite videos
Oh boy, the first of the large offensives of 1944 is soon to hit! Can't wait to hear you guys cover Ichi-Go! It's so hard to find proper information about this massive offensive in the west..
Ichi = 1, Go translates as operation or strategy game?
@nodirips_85 From what I understand it translates to: Operation number one.
The Japanese have more aircraft here than at Pearl Harbor... of course, that doesn't really carry the weight one may think in 1944.
It's funny and ironic that the first tactical moves from the Japanese upon entering the war were attacking airbases and destroying planes on the ground, and also attacking naval bases and trying to destroy ships at anchor. Both of those tactics came back to bite them in the ass, but 1000 times worse
The first tactical moves of the Japanese were basic land combat. Attacking the western allies in 1941 was diverting about a quarter of their land forces and most of their Navy.
Their air forces were already super experienced when they went after the Western allies.
Finally some mention of Ichi-Go and U-Go! I am soooooo happy that this documentary series is not going to neglect these often overlooked operations! Great job!
This was the week my dad earned his ulcers. Flying 14 hour days in Fox Moths, picking up Indian and African wounded to be taken to hospital at Cox's Bazaar .
Love the channel!
Thank you Dan!
Can't wait for this channel to cover the Battles of Imphal n Kohima. The Stalingrad's of the East.
At last, XIVth Army is no longer forgotten, but the three week Battle of the Admin Box, signalling the start of the break out of Allied troops in Burma, only gets a line or two in the final week of the battle…
@@thebrigadier1496 exactly, XIVth army still living up to their self-given nickname 80 years on 😢
If I'm not mistaken, this week a famous photograph was taken of Theodore James Miller, a marine, a participant in the Battle of Eniwetok. This shot was named ''thousand-yard stare'' after two days of constant fighting.
There is an article about that posted under the community tab on this channel. Just FYI if you didn't know that exists. They post articles there to cover some events or interesting tidbits that can't fit into the weekly episodes.
@@ahorsewithnoname773 I thought the information was important for this video. I'll be more correct next time
He was killed at Jaluit IIRC and is buried at The Punchbowl National Cemetery.
Would love an in-depth review on the battle of imphal and Kohima. Good work as always.
Imphal especially is insanely complicated. Basically 5 different battles on the five axes of approach. With the added complication of a separate but linked battle going on up the road at Kohima.
Slim’s description of it in Defeat into Victory is great.
I always look in anticipation to Saturdays because I know another episode in this war awaits me. However, my excitement is short lived because they are over so quickly. Of course, I know an episode of WAH is soon to arrive but those episodes usually make me sad and angry. But often I have a pleasant surprise during the week when a Special Episode or Spies and Ties pops up when least expected! Thank you all for the hard work and dedication it takes to make this retired lady happy!
Thanks for your support Anne!
thanks for your work. I learned a lot about my father's war. He was a gunnery officer on hms Liverpool against Germans, then hms formidable in the pacific.
HMS Formidable is the only aircraft carrier in history to have engaged major surface forces of the enemy with gunfire (Battle of Cape Matapan).
@@peterdavy6110 didn't know that, thanks. Dad was on the Liverpool then, but was at Okinawa. 2 kamikaze hits, lucky Formidable had steel decks.
I'm so glad that in the picture you always show of "Smiling" Albert Kesselring, he's not actually smiling. That would just freak me out to no end if that was the case haha
See the photo at the bottom en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Kesselring#/media/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_141-2629,_Albert_Kesselring.jpg
Thank you for the lesson.
Being able to see the events around the world as part of a timeline rather than from one perspective is most enlightening.
A special on the Special Warfare units of the various countries would be interesting.
Tojo seemed to be succumbing to the classic megalomania. They get in charge, and think that only they can save the world.
I think Tojo was becoming a megalomaniac to an extent, but not to the same degree that Hitler was. Notice how, unlike Hitler, Tojo is not focusing on a "total victory" anymore, but rather is adjusting his objectives to fit changing circumstances.
@@astrobullivant5908 I agree.
the British (and other western european powers) delusions of restoring a colonial empire after the war is such an interesting aspect of the late period of the war
That's what led to the Vietnam wars
@@nathangoode1089 and the Suez Crisis, and many brutal decolonisation wars, like in Indonesia, Kongo, Algeria
"Fun" fact:
Nearly all the colonial empires will use former german SS soldiers in their colonial wars do to their "expertice" in fighting "bandits"/partisans. Most famous example woulod be the french foreign legion that was a basically a german unit post war (because german soldiers volunteered on mass to escape brutal french slave labour) but the dutch would also employ the dutch SS members in Indonesia, wehre they got a chance to "clean their records by service".
The dutch literally used the same term for their reconquest of Indonesia as the germans used for anti partisan operations: "Polizeiaktion"/police action. It implies the people you are fighting are just bandits and criminals....
Its always interesting how the countries that were occupied by a foreign power and suffered brutal treatmeant (and would not get tired of pointing that out for the next decades) turned around 1 second after the war was over and returned to occupy and enslave non europeans everywhere. Hypocracy was really big with the "greatest generation" everywhere.
@@noobster4779 What exactly was the opinion on the Dutch East Indies during these years around WWII in the Netherlands themselves?
@@noobster4779 I knew about this from a personal anecdote told to me by the father of an old Army buddy. He was in the US Air Force back in the 50's and had taken part in the evacuation of the French Foreign Legion from Dien Bien Phu after their defeat there. "The Frenchies were all speakin' German!", he said with a chuckle...
In Tower of Skulls Richard Frank mentions that Mutaguchi's guilt over starting this whole thing back at Marco Polo bridge was part of the rationale when deciding to launch the invasion of India in 1944.
Great... now I can't get the mental image of Tojo wearing multiple hats, stacked on top of each other, out of my head. Thanks Indy! ^^
The words are used so often there's the risk that they'll lose their meaning... but how else can one verbally express their admiration and appreciation... Another fine episode... Thank you.
Oh, happy to hear that your new patron is Grzegorz Brzeczyszczykiewicz. From Szczebrzeszyn, of Chrzaszczyrzewoszczyce. I once met the guy... 😁👍
Smiling Albert Kesselring. I'm glad Indy will never let us forget his nickname :P
This would be a good time to watch the 1952 film "5 Fingers"by Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
The movie deals with the spy "Cicero" in Ankara, who has been handing out information on the Germans for a while. By late February 1944 he has decided that his activities are too dangerous, but he has a final request for plans regarding D-day...
Period covered: 1943-February 1944
IMDB grade: 7.7/10
There is a huge difference between invading a tiny island with an 8,000 soldier garrison and invading the Japanese home islands with populations in the millions.
Remember, no one in 1944 knows that the Soviets will join the war or that the atomic bombs function/exist.
For Japan, the allies getting close by ocean is bad, but they are pretty sure they can't invade.
(If you look at Japanese plans for the defense of Kyushu, they knew where the landings would happen and the US was forecasting hundreds of thousands of allied casualties from the operation)
So there is little to be done at sea, but the Japanese can use their land army to regain the initiative.
If China can be defeated, then those million troops can go off of occupation duties.
If India can be threatened, then it might rise up, or at the very least divert allied naval power and shipping to the Indian ocean.
It looks dumb to us in hindsight because we know how the war ends. It wasn't clear then that "US gets in bomber range of Japan" was going to end the war.
Also, at this time, the US is standing up 20th air force in China to bomb Japan.
this has been on my list since someone mentioned it a week ago........ now I know it starred the legendary "MacArthur Park" singer
@@ericcarlson3746 The movie is easily accessible in youtube
It was more than just Ultra which helped Slim prepare for Admin Box. He had worked out the need for air supply a long time before 2 weeks previous. Working out how to combat the Japanese infiltration/surrounding tactics was THE key innovation Slim brought to 14th Army, and it took time, foresight and planing, as well as much of 1943.
You could argue the British strategy is a many-headed beast in WW2. Churchill is always open to special operations and outside-the-box thinking. Britain has a very long strategic tradition where they fight with sea power and drain the enemy in minor theatres over time. But on the other hand, British commanders are ordered to preserve their men and materiel and be risk-averse, because the war has costed Britain dearly. Also, the senior leadership wants to maintain their armies for the post-war order. And then you have the problem of generating victories and having initiative to maintain the British political position among the Allied powers. So its a very precarious situation. We will see in 1944 how spectacularly Bernard Montgomery is going to make things harder and harder for Great Britain, in particular during Ardennes and the political meltdown afterwards.
Britain was already starting to run low on manpower at this point as well.
the audio clarity once again, almost better than the content and the presentation - another chart topper
Cheers Indy And Team I look forward to seeing this every week
Thank you for your support Daniel, really glad you're loving the content!
One of the brilliant things that the week by week approach brings is to illustrate and expand on the sheer damn complexity of the Pacific war. It’s a really massive strength of this series to put it all into context. Chapeau.
Hearing about Tojo wanting to launch an attack after years of constant losses sounds like something I wouldn't believe if I read it in a novel.
Any crazier than moustache man thinking he's going to retake conquered German territory lost in the east since 1943?
@@Raskolnikov70 yes.
Deleting our comments now?
Great episode as always, loving the detail and style
When I was in high school I pulled over on the side of the road to answer a phone call. This was in 2006 so service was horrible. Another car pulled over and it was an old gentleman asking for directions. He was on his way to Washington for a reunion. He was a part of Merrill’s Marauders. We got to talking and became pen pals for several years. Sadly he passed when I was in college but not before he sent me some of his old memorabilia. RIP Mr. Clyde Miller, of Montgomery Texas. You were a wonderful man.
I hear 'tojo takes personal control' and there's no glowy-eyes meme for a thumbnail. missed opportunity there
Antony Mann made a dramatic war movie about Norwegian resistance vs German heavy water program that culminates with the attack on the ferry “Hydro”. The Heroes of Telemark, is well worth watching as its mostly historically accurate, with exception of the mission being led by a Swedish scientist (Kirk Douglas) he’s a Hollywood invention. Richard Harris’ character more closely resembles the person whose memoir the story is based on. Its also Douglas’ fictious character who forces Hollywood’s favorite WWII tropes on the movie; partizans don’t kill collaborators (oh yes they did) and saboteurs’ bombs never killed any innocent civilians (they most certainly did).
Thank you Indy. ❤
It seems to me that Merril's Marauders may be a reference to Rogers' Rangers (Seven Years' War). Similar function and alliterating name.
If anyone hasn't, go ready Northwest Passage by Kenneth Roberts, the first book I read as a kid with a realistic depiction of war. Had a big impact on me for sure.
There's a bridge near me in NH named for the Marauders... Merrill was a roads commissioner for a time and it was his favorite.
The name 5307th Composite Unit almost seems designed to mislead the enemy, but giving high numbers to units was often a sign that they were considered of low importance or even undesirable. For example, in the German Army the 999th Division was actually a punishment unit (it never fought as a complete division - some bits were sent to Tunisia and were captured, others were sent to occupy Greece, where a number deserted to the Communist partisans).
(Later note) On the other hand the Americans seem to have been partial to unit designations with four digits. George Koval, who was a Soviet spy, was at one time in the 3410th Specialized Training and Reassignment Unit. Like the 5307th, one of those unit names that don't say very much.
Another great video! I know there are big plans for videos on the D-Day invasion (rightfully so) however will we have a somewhat of a special on the invasion of Saipan as well? It was the largest invasion in the Pacific too that point and is regarded as the D-Day of the Pacific for it's massive numbers that landed. Love the content! Happy to be apart of the time ghost army!
I am sure it will be covered in detail. They probably will not cover it the same way as D Day can be covered as a 24hour event.
I think that Operation Overlord will be only one that will get the special treatment out of all the big operations. I sure Ichi-Go, U-Go, Bagration, Saipan and Bulge will get detailed overviews, but not to the same extent, since it's time consuming to make those specials.
@@extrahistory8956 Yeah I wasn't thinking for a 24 hour vid, but maybe a 15 minute special episode or something. Though I know they are slammed with the D-Day one. That's just a video pivotal and interesting battle for the island that has a lot of repercussions for later in the war.
@@the_beef4762 Only D-Day will be getting a special. The massive specials they've done (Pearl Harbor, D-Day) are expensive and need extra funding, in addition to there being a lot more work involved. We'd have heard of fund-raising efforts for another special if one was in the works.
Saipan will no doubt get plenty of coverage but likely in the regular weekly episodes & in the community content tab.
14:29 Nigerians fought in WW2!!!!!!. wow!!!!!!!!!
I learn everyday from this channel
Not the first time they've fought. They had the spotlight all the way back in early 1941, when they advanced over 1,000 km into Italian Somalia in less than 2 weeks during the East African campaign.
Thanks guys for the tremendous work you've done.
You don't know WWII if you don't follow WWII by week! This has been such a trip guys! I can't recommend this channel enough.
Great commentary, as usual. Such a pleasure to catch each episode!
I look forward to these every Saturday ty ww2 team!
Always look foreward to your series.
With the PH attack, the IJN showed that a large carrier task force could overwhelm and severely damage an isolate island group's defenses. Starting in late 1943, the USN did that to island group after island group after ...
Tojo was Army Minister, not War Minister. The pre-Cabinet era "War Ministry" had been dissolved. The Army Minister was the more powerful between the Army and Navy Ministries, which had lead many to call the Army Minister the "War Minister," but it was not a position in the Cabinet of the Empire of Japan.
Keep up the good work! Always love hearing more on the Japanese side of the War.
As always, great coverage of widely divergent, complex actions. We’ll done!
thnx
I just got a new book "Jatkosota päivä päivältä" by Ilkka Enkenberg (Continuation war day by day), so I decided to include what happened on the Finnish front this week. 21.2.1944 - 27.2.1944: Soviet Union (later SU) bombs Helsinki to boost peace feelers. The attack lasted 11 hours with three phases; at evening the planes attempted to get above the city, at night fall the dive bombers would attack the anti-air batteries and before sunrise the large bomber formations would try to reach the city. SU attacked with almost 900 airplanes and they dropped aproximately 5000 bombs (weight not mentioned in the book). About 300 hit Helsinki. 21 were killed and 60 buildings were destroyed. Nine SU airplanes were shot down.
Oulu was also bombed three times during the week. Aprox. 146 buildings were destroyed and four people killed.
21.02. Paasikivi receives peace terms from Kollantai (SU Stockholm ambassador).
22.02. SU tries to bomb Turku with over 100 bombers but bad weather and heavy anti-air fire prevents this and only 15 bombs hit.
24.02. Mannerheim orders war lights/illumination to be used in all of Finland
25.02. Dagens Nyheter (swedish newspaper) publishes SU peace terms for Finland
Pulling a hanibaal barak in them is the least I expected
Germans manufactured more fighters because they gave up production of bombers to achieve that, effectively giving up the air support mission of Luftwaffe to defend Germany from air raids. Massive success of the bombing campaign, decidedly NOT a failure.
Speer rationalized the production process. In addition to that they pretty much gave up making spare parts in order to produce new planes figuring the planes would not have a long life and it was better to create new ones. They also built , according to one source 143 underground factories for war production. The V weapons were produced at Dora a underground factory.
@@caryblack5985 The underground building doesn't get mentioned enough in these discussions. Every time the Allies hit a factory, the Germans would rebuild it underground. The massive bomber raids quickly became less effective at stopping production, and as a result the Allies switched over to things like firebombing civilian housing.
Because of growing fighter pilot shortages, increasingly German bomber pilots found themselves transferred to the fighter arm.
It’s as good as it get guys😊… very much appriciated
Oh! So Indy's aware of Polish 1970 war comedy 'How I Unleashed World War II'? Neat
"Tojo, wearing all of his hats, will go on the offensive soon."
I KNEW Tojo was a TF2 character!
Oh no! Grzegorz Brzęczyszczykiewicz! He started the damn war! 😬
Cool movies indeed.
Tojo becomes the fall guy to protect the Emperor from War crimes trials.
True, but wasn't he really behind a lot of the atrocious decisions much more than the emperor?
SPOILER
Postwar there was an interesting difference between Japanese trial defendants and German ones. Japanese ones seem to have been more resigned and willing to get executed for the team, or in this case the Emperor.
The German ones were less so, sometimes passing off what they were charged with as following orders, or else the fault of people like Hitler, who were now conveniently dead.
I really had no idea Tojo was just as delusional as Hitler 😂😂😂
Thank you for everything you've taught me so far as I binge this playlist!
Your videos provide fantastic facts about history. Thank you…
I really shouldn't laugh but "Tojo, wearing all of his hats-" Makes me chuckle.
Allies: Prime Minister Tojo?
Tojo: *puts on army commander hat*
Allies: ARMY COMMANDER PRIME MINISTER TOJO!
Excellent, as always
The water sank b/c it was heavy.... 🤣🤣🤣
Japan: As expected! I knew you would do that!
Britain: Ah, but I knew you would do that too!
I saw a show a number of years ago where some divers when down and had a look at the sunken ferry that was carrying the heavy water in Norway. The barrels holding the heavy water were still intact and still filled with the heavy water.
That's crazy! Did they do anything with the barrels?
@@WorldWarTwo If I recall correctly, they brought one of barrels up so they could test it with a hydrometer to see if it was still filled with heavy water, it was, and the rest they left where they were.
It was an episode of PBS Nova called "Hitler's Sunken Secret" and first aired in 2005.
Britains greatest Battle is slowly but surely approaching. I'm really looking forward to it.
Thank you entire team for another wonderful episode
It would be interesting to see the logistical build up stats of men and materials leading up to the full fledged force for dday
Notice the strategic contrasts between Germany and Japan. Germany is insisting on trying to hold every front it can, while post-Tarawa Japan is becoming less and less concerned with fronts and positions and focusing on just knocking out the Americans in the Marianas, even though Japan has no idea when the Americans will actually try to recapture the Marianas and doesn't know just how the Americans will attempt to do so.
Japan's focus in 1944 is on winning the land war while allied land power is busy elsewhere.
@@porksterbob Which land war? In 1944, Japan is planning on waging a fairly new land war against British India.
@@astrobullivant5908 it wants to knock China out of the war and cause problems for the British in India. They don't want to take India, just cause a general uprising or at least enough mischief to hamper the British.
Another great one! A few inquiries of interrest ,how many IJA soldiers were in the Gilbert Islands,? when the Task Forces and Marines went by in the nights. Somehow 2 million IJA troops were in China at this time , though that was reduced slowly until 50% were bck in Japan by 1945. .Hats off to the 18th Army holding out in Narva ,though after the Finns are taking care of ,once again not without a struggle ,they will be blugeoned to the maximum.. I appreciate the turn toward Burma,I bought a huge 700 page book about that campaign, but haven't got into it yet,!.Hopefully the Sino-Indo-Burma Theatre will have me drive to its pages.Always liked that ''Merrill's Marauders'' epithet ,and always laugh at talking baout the 5307 Composite group..LOL. General Truscott was considered one of the best Armour Generals ,by Patton ,behind Patton ,Devers and Truscott it became very painfully thin on talent!
There were under 30,000 Japanese troops in the Gilbert Islands, half Marines and half Army.
@@watcherzero5256 Thanks for the info ,a lot of waiting time for them .
Absolutely mindboggling that Indy can place Grzegorz Brzęczyszczykiewicz!
Nice to hear you cite Martin Gilbert
In 4 months I hope I hear you cite Stacey.
14:27. Here to acknowledge 🇳🇬. 16:10 also.
Ol' Tojo overextended his forces. Cheers from Texas. I hope your community manager recovers soon.
This thing about the establishing of bridgeheads - in the Soviet case, rivers were seen as major boundaries and obstacles favouring a defender, and trying to negate this by establishing bridgeheads as fast as possible was a major concern. US forces may have thought in similar terms, perhaps because there are major rivers in the USA. The British for one reason or another did not think like that. Perhaps the relatively small size of Britain played a role.
It should also be noted that despite the norwegian resistance's best efforts, out of the 47 people onboard DF Hydro, 14 norwegians died and four germans. The rest of those onboard survied/were saved. It was the last of the sabotage operations against the heavy water production during the war.
The people behind the sinking are:
Fenrik Knut Haukelid (the one in charge)
Sergeant Knut Lier-Hansen (from Milorg)
Rolf Sørlie (from the local resistance movement)
Einar Skinnarland (radio operator)
Gunnar Syverstad (lab assistant at the factory)
Kjell Nielsen (transport manager at the factory)
"Slowing down in Italy"
You know what's not slowing down?
Breaking Bad.
Haven't seen anything like it since The Wire.
Such a great quote from Weinburg’s A World at Arms regarding how the Red Army always bumped river crossings. I much appreciated Indy’s analysis that this was possible because Soviet forces bee-lined to the /b/next/b/ river crossing during the confusion of initial break through before defenders could consolidate.
They were good at throwing pontoon bridges across rivers that were just below the surface of the water, which disguised them somewhat from Axis air reconnaissance. The North Koreans used a similar type of bridge to cross a river in August 1950.
Does anyone know the tittle of the music that started playing during Indy's closing notes about Tojo ? I've heard it in many videos across the channel and it's splendid
Ichigo is go. Also, the offensive in China was approved at the end of January.
I hope Stillwell gets his backside over the mountains and back into china