My father was a B24 pilot tasked with radar jamming/ radio jamming missions. He flew over this area on 20 December 1944. So many planes were grounded that day, his crew came to believe they may have been the only plane in the sky that particular day because of the total lack of radio traffic they heard. England was socked in also and they needed to divert to a Scottish airfield when they returned.
My father was a pilot in those B-26s during this battle. 9th AF, 323rd BG, 455th SQN. He never spoke of it, but I dragged him to a reunion and listened to all of them (after a few beers lol) swap stories of their experiences there. Some tragic, some hilarious. If I recall, a Belgian town named Malmedy is nearby and they bombed the railroad yards there, at great cost. Great men, all of them. Love you and miss you Dad. What good fortune I had to be your son.
Hey Jim , my dad flew with 9th AAF , 391st BG flying out of Matching Green England from January 44 until the end of October . He was a Bombardier/Navigator and was credited with 78 missions and was awarded the "Distinguish Flying Cross" . I attended one of his reunions also . I'm sure that the stories we heard made us a couple of privileged guys . My dad was sent back to the states to be low level Bombardier instructor to the Bombardiers of B-29's hitting Japan . His B-26 named " Miss Behavin " was shot down in the opening days of the Bulge . But on a better note my dad turned 100 years old this past September . He is and always will be my hero . THE GREATEST GENERATION !!
My second cousin, 45 years older than me, took a bullet to his face/eye at a range of just 10' from a German soldier. It was January 17th and literally his first hour in combat having been thrown into the line to finish off pushing the Germans back. Surprisingly, having survived the gunshot, the German took him into his care and got him to a military prison where they provided a bit of care and shipped him to a convent. He was then found by the US Army some two months later. I don't believe my family found out his whereabouts for another two months. They did know he was missing though. My cousin said he didn't really remember much at all until the Army picked him up. Quite a man he was. I miss him.
How was his eye? Was it a minor injury or did he lose his eye or suffer other serious injuries? That would be terrible to be in a war. Life is short even without wars. What a waste of young people. Thanks for the story. Merry Christmas from Yacolt Washington. My family built 50 aircraft carriers and other ships at the Kaiser shipyard in Vancouver Washington. Some of the shipyard buildings are still there on the Columbia River.
@@patfromamboy He was given a glass eyeball to put in the socket. The bullet when in the eye and came out his temple so like anyone else I figure he was turning his head to avoid being shot. You could see the damage to his temple but it wasn't terrible to look at. The docs patched him up pretty good. Of course that may have taken years. Always with a bit of humor none of my Dad's family appreciated their time in the military. This particular cousin, on the rare occasion that he did mention his military service, said he was a buck private cleaning the general's toilets in the finest French chateau's they could requisition...and none of his words were kind when it came to generals. He came into France via the Mediterranean and said he didn't see any combat until being pulled into the line at the end of the Battle of the Bulge. He said he lasted about 60 minutes. Was sent out on patrol, walked up a small mound of dirt(his words) and there was a German on the other side who shot first. I still haven't found out what division he served in. As a side note he was well-known locally not only because he was the local post master for 20 years but because he was about the only person who flew RC airplanes in this rural area not to mention a top-notch mechanic who worked on everyone's tractors in a 20 mile radius. As a kid in the 70s I remember hundreds of people coming to watch him fly and to see his models. Imagine doing that with just one eye. I find it difficult to fly with two eyes.
A co-worker's brother stepped on a mine while on a patrol, losing a leg. The Germans, unable to give him medical care, brought him up to the lines, asked for a truce, and turned him over to the Americans.
Oh wow. I had absolutely no idea that there were jamming missions during this time. This whole series has wonderfully paired with the Battle of Bodenplatte campaign and other battles around this time that are in IL-2's flight sim. I've been hooked since the start.
I've mentioned elsewhere here that my father was one of the pilots flying the jamming missions. At the pre-flight briefing for one of these missions - one that only his plane and crew would fly - the officer in charge gave them no return orders for completion of the mission. It was assumed by command that they wouldn't return from that mission. At the insistence of his navigator, my father asked his commanding officer if he could return to land at a specific time to end the mission. His commander told him if he was still in the air he could return, but not any earlier. My dad said the look on his commander face told him he did think they would last that long. My father's crew had been obsessed with loiter time while doing their flight training in Lincoln, Nebraska. Their instructors were veterans of the air war in Europe and had many unofficial insights to share with the crews. Surviving the bombing runs was one thing. Keeping your plane in the air long enough to find an open air field in England was something all together different. Many of the Eight Air Force losses in this war were attributable to the difficulty of bad viability landings in England. That all said, my father's crew had learned how to extend the range of those B 24's far enough to give themselves a better chance of making it home. They survived that mission, but only because they were prepared in ways other crews may not have been. My father was a farmer before the war, and that is what he returned to. Three of his crewmen had been in college studying to be Electrical Engineers before the war. Of them, one became an electrical contractor, one eventually became the lead Nuclear Engineer for New Jersey Edison, and the last turned to law after the war and eventually served as the LT. Governor of Alabama. My father was an intelligent man, but the luck of the draw blessed him with a crew that was more than equal to the task set before them while in the service.
My father flew Typhoons with the 2nd Tactical Airforce at this battle. One mission he flew involved attacking an armoured German unit that had trapped an American unit. Allies working together ensured the Battle of the Bulge was never going to end in a German victory
Another fantastic episode. I hope everyone likes and comments to help them out. Its amazing to have grown up watching the history channel documentaries go from mediocre to pathetic, and now have channels on youtube putting out stuff better than they ever did.
You're absolutely right. this series is better than what the history channel could ever make. I feel like the narrator is starting to become another penguinz0, known for his voice.
@@ChefPoirotProductions1 I think he's also improved a lot (and continues to improve) as a narrator. Every bit of the channel has gotten better over time, and I'm excited to see where it's going to be this time next year.
This was a truly fabulous series completely worth my time. You good folks always put out the absolute best quality of videos and show it so well with your animation just my favorite war channels on TH-cam.
This along with the operations room are my absolute favorite ways to learn about military history. Thank you for doing this it is clearly a labor of love and your effort as appreciated
My Dad was an Aviation Engineer in the 820th EAB, building new or rehabilitating existing airfields across France, Belgium, and later Germany for use by the 9th AAF / 19th Tactical. He was at Liege/Bierset Advanced Landing Ground A-93 when the Bulge happened. His Company was sent to man a roadblock to attempt stopping German tank columns. Said for the 1st time in his life, he didn't think he'd make it home, the Air Corps was grounded by the bad weather, and the latrine grapevine informed them of the massacre of surrendered American troops at Baugnez crossroads near Malmedy. Said the guys all looked at each other and said, well, if we're overrun, there's no use in surrendering, they'll shoot us anyway - we may as well take as many of the bastards with us as we can.
Hopefully, you can always count on imbecile fascists and totalitarists to shoot themselves in the foot, or each other, all suffocated that they are by their hatred for everything and everyone. Goering was clearly one of the worst. Him and Hitler were TOTAL INCOMPETENTS. Hitler, particularly, barely had ANY education or culture, didnt even finish school... Can you imagine if he was good in History and had a clue that you just *dont* invade Russia? Or if he had had *any* true management skills?
@@justalonesoul5825 think of a German political leader who's name started with "Hit"...then fill in the missing letters. Anyway, the Jagdwaffe's effort to support the German Army was pretty costly. If I remember my readings from Donald Caldwell's JG26 unit histories, as a whole, over 500 fighter pilots were either KIA, MIA or POWs BEFORE Operation Bodenplatte took place.
@@nickmitsialis "think of a German political leader who's name started with "Hit"...then fill in the missing letters." Yeah, you think *that* was the problem? That I couldnt get who was implied by that? Dude, is it your own entourage that makes you think that some people could actually be *that* retarded? The point is that it doesnt make any sense why the person who I was actually answering to would write HitXX, that's nonsensical and/or plain stupid. Is he scared of a name or something? Does he think it will make the horrors disappear if he travestites the name? That it will hurt his "legacy"? Hitler. There, you see? Nothing happened....
@@justalonesoul5825 It took me a sec to figure it out, too but...wait, did you say I have an Entourage? How? I don't even have 'content'. Must be my witty personality. 🙂
Fascinating. I wasn't aware of any use of air power during the Battle of the Bulge due to weather. I'd also never come across airborne radio jamming of ground targets. Thanks for adding to my awareness and knowledge. Brilliant video
Concerning Radio Jamming : In 1940 , scientist RV Jones discovered that the Luftwaffe were using radio beams so their bombers could navigate over their targets at night over Britain. The first navigation radio transmission set up the Luftwaffe used was called Knickebein , which was then jammed by the British . But the jamming was done from the ground . The next system the Luftwaffe used was called X-Gerät followed by Y-Gerät . Which was again jammed . The radio beam navigation system , followed by the subsequent jamming , became known as the battle of the beams . .
Credit to the RNZAF that played a pivotal role in the Ardennes , many of whom did not see Christmas that year . The cemetery at Hotton bears witness to their bravery . One such individual Typhoon pilot Flt. O Bruce Lawless RNZAF was awarded the British DFC and both the US and French equivalents for his part in the Wacht offensive .
Thanks very much for bringing the air war element of the Battle of the Bulge into the light, I have watched many many documentaries about WWII and had understood the air war was mostly about the supply drop’s and the glider borne reinforcements of the medical staff, but it was obviously much more involved than is detailed in most documentaries. The most interesting thing I learnt from your presentation was the Jackal missions, early airborne ECM that was far more advanced than I thought was achievable by any side, and I really don’t understand how some historians can argue about the usefulness and effectiveness of the sorties and equipment equipment. Thanks again for sharing your research, knowledge and understanding of the air battle. 😀👍🇬🇧🏴🇺🇦
My Father was there. I have a picture of him and a friend 2:51 in front out a destroyed Tiger2 tank. He said when the weather cleared the bombing went on hour after hour.
In so many summaries of this campaign we hear "And then the skies cleared. Allied air power turned the tide .." This was a very good insight into the back and forth of what really happened, an ongoing struggle.
Operations Room & the Intel Report has provided the only series that presents all the tactical events that occurred during the Battle of Budge . Well done ! .
I am in a group that does historical air campaigns in the game IL-2. We just finished a Battle of the Bulge campaign and it is really cool to see some of the real history.
My father was a infantry Lt. with the 106th Div 203rd regiment company E. He was the heavy weapons platoon leader. They fought for 3 days until they were without ammunition, food and more importantly hundreds of injuries US soldiers. The surrender was a decision not of cowardice nor was it fear. They were never reinforced, never resupplied and there would be no effort to extract the wounded. Faced with complete devastation, the decision to surrender was the best option and most logical one. As for me being born in 1948, I appreciate the decision.
My grandfather was a paratrooper with the 517th PRCT the jumped into S. France during Op. Dragoon and ended up in this battle. I'm sure he appreciated you boys' grandfather's who were up there giving him cover. 517th ATTACK!!!!
I remember reading an iterigation of a German pilot where he stated that the day after destroying many aircraft at an allied airfield, he over flew the airfield only to find that all the aircraft had been replaced with shiny new ones. He stated that at that point he knew the war was over for the Luftwafle.
So EW was used in the Battle of the Bulge. That’s something new. So B-24s perform the Growler/Prowler and Raven role while the Allied air forces perform like Apaches and A-10s. That’s how CAS evolved and improved in subsequent wars.
CAS developed almost completely _during_ the Second World War. The British use of "cab rank" aircraft on call from a forward observer in an armoured vehicle, upon which the US moved to a flight of aircraft covering a column of vehicles with a direct radio link between the flight commander and the column. The aircraft could attack targets directed by the ground force and act as spotters for enemy ahead of the column. Together with smoke for designating targers and identifying friendly forces, that's most all there is. Everything else is refinement of the procedures.
I knew EWar was a thing since WW1 (even if it wasn't called that then), but I never knew they equipped bombers with radio location and jamming equipment, but seeing as they already carry heavy bomb loads, swapping it out with bulky and heavy jamming equipment makes sense.
Bombers could carry jamming equipment as well as normal bombloads. But some aircraft, such as those of 100 Group RAF, would be fitted out with multiple transmitters or complementary systems
My classmate Paul flew B24s during the war and survived, includindg the Ploesti oil field raids, and survived! Not sure if he flew during these raids. I was a fresh graduate student in 1980. He had been working in the field since the War, but was pursuing a master’s degree in his early sixties.
My grandfather was a B 26 marauders pilot part of the 456th bomber squadron his nickname was Bob the dates lined up on his military record card that we have he was in the battle of the bulge
In Dec 1944 my cousin Lt Russell Kline was assigned as a replacement pilot with the 355th FS of the 354th FG. The 354th had recently converted to the P-47D. On the 18th he was a member of a flight of four Thunderbolts on a bombing mission over the Ardennes. They encountered a group of FW-190's. Lt Kline shot one down for his only confirmed aerial kill. He would fly 77 combat missions in P-47's and P-51's by War's end.
For all the vaunted tech the Nazi's employed in WWII the Allies ran rings around them in the use of tech, science and the military application thereof. WWII was the basis for much of the tech we know today both military and civilian. Out of that war sprang a miracle of technology and knowledge. Arguably the greatest time for scientific knowledge the world has ever seen.
my Grandfather was Ch Signal Officer for the 9th, a lot of young talent that would go on to more success. while they did a lot of improvising, on the spot, in Real time. Stuff didn't come out of a Lab or factory perfect or there were later developments. Gramps would have been 40+, had studied Physics at Princeton. it was the young who pushed the potential forward, but they needed someone w rank to get them what they wanted or needed. Trust / confidence or necessity. get it, got it.
Thank you for this masterful series! It’s such a gift to people like me who wouldn’t ordinarily have access to this kind of information. For people reading this, you may also enjoy Victor Davis Hanson’s Hillsdale Lecture on the air war in WW2.
I sort of understand Hitler's desire to take the initiative, rather than descend into a declining war of attrition against the Strategic Bombing effort. The former bore some slight chance. The latter spelt utter destruction.
My would-be-uncle, through whom I received my name in 1947, was KIA on 01.01.45 as a radioman/waist gunner as part of a B-26 crew over Stadtkyll, Germany during “The Battle of the Bulge”. An 88 Flak burst took the left wing/engine off and was engulfed in a ball of flame, as it spun-out down through the clouds. The only surviving crew member was the pilot who became a P.O.W. This way of dying was the worst nightmare of the medium bomber crews, as I was informed by reunion survivors with whom I visited at reunions. My uncles outfit was the 322nd Bomb Group, 451st Bomb Squadron flying out of France at the time.
Hi, I enjoy your videos covering WW2 and other war events because I’m into it as well. I have one small request, could you make a video about john Chapman the double Medal of Honor. I think you’ll do a great job covering that event. Thank you for your vides
Jane’s Combat WWII Fighters was a game set during this period of the war. Was the very first video game my family had on a computer and blew everyone away that ever came to see it.
Dad was sent in by a special gun squad to pierce the line in Bastogne directly by Patton and his officers. He made it within a day . On the way he was caught experiencing many aircraft coming in and witnessed a dog fight between an ME 109 and a Thunder bolt. The Thunder bolt couldn't shake the 109 and they witnessed the piolet bail . There wasn't anything they could do because the pilot dropped in occupied territory. They also waved as a P 51Mustang flew over. The Mustang banked and came back to attack them . Him and his men were in that deep and made it within a couple days of breaking the line . Dec 24 . 😎
While my father was involved in the Pacific, all of my Mothers brothers served in Europe. They were all a part of the 442 Combat Group, the most highly decorated Army Combat Group. They helped rescue the Texas Rangers in Italy. All my Uncles came home with PTSD though at that time it was called “battle fatigue “. Meanwhile all their families were held in concentration camps back home.
Thank you for including the B-24 ‘Jackal’ program. Very rarely does it get mentioned. The German Ardennes offensive was a ‘pie in the sky’ dream that never came close to achieving its goals. Providing enough fuel for your campaign by relying on captured American fuel? Great plan, Adolph. Seriously, everything hinged on taking Elsenborn ridge on the first day. The Wehrmacht never achieved that first day’s mission. Everything else was just throwing more men and material into the meat grinder.
My uncle in the Royal Canadian Air Force flew a Typhoon against the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge. With the Spits flying top cover, he described it as a Turkey shoot as the roads were congested with German equipment.
My father was a B24 pilot tasked with radar jamming/ radio jamming missions. He flew over this area on 20 December 1944. So many planes were grounded that day, his crew came to believe they may have been the only plane in the sky that particular day because of the total lack of radio traffic they heard. England was socked in also and they needed to divert to a Scottish airfield when they returned.
Great story thanks for sharing this important history
That might have been RAF Prestwick. Prestwick has a long standing reputation for its favourable weather conditions.
Nice to be flying an aircraft that had a fairly long range ...
.
England being foggy? Well I never! :D
What was your father’s name and how old would he be today?
My father was a pilot in those B-26s during this battle. 9th AF, 323rd BG, 455th SQN. He never spoke of it, but I dragged him to a reunion and listened to all of them (after a few beers lol) swap stories of their experiences there. Some tragic, some hilarious. If I recall, a Belgian town named Malmedy is nearby and they bombed the railroad yards there, at great cost. Great men, all of them. Love you and miss you Dad. What good fortune I had to be your son.
Hey Jim , my dad flew with 9th AAF , 391st BG flying out of Matching Green England from January 44 until the end of October . He was a Bombardier/Navigator and was credited with 78 missions and was awarded the "Distinguish Flying Cross" . I attended one of his reunions also . I'm sure that the stories we heard made us a couple of privileged guys . My dad was sent back to the states to be low level Bombardier instructor to the Bombardiers of B-29's hitting Japan . His B-26 named " Miss Behavin " was shot down in the opening days of the Bulge . But on a better note my dad turned 100 years old this past September . He is and always will be my hero .
THE GREATEST GENERATION !!
He never spoke of it, but you sure will on the youtube comments section, what a HERO your generation must be, lolol...
@@mitch_the_-itch Fool
@@mitch_the_-itchwhat kind of dumbass take is this?
@@mitch_the_-itch Nothing wrong with being proud of what your father did. Don't be an a-hole.
My second cousin, 45 years older than me, took a bullet to his face/eye at a range of just 10' from a German soldier. It was January 17th and literally his first hour in combat having been thrown into the line to finish off pushing the Germans back. Surprisingly, having survived the gunshot, the German took him into his care and got him to a military prison where they provided a bit of care and shipped him to a convent. He was then found by the US Army some two months later. I don't believe my family found out his whereabouts for another two months. They did know he was missing though. My cousin said he didn't really remember much at all until the Army picked him up. Quite a man he was. I miss him.
How was his eye? Was it a minor injury or did he lose his eye or suffer other serious injuries? That would be terrible to be in a war. Life is short even without wars. What a waste of young people. Thanks for the story. Merry Christmas from Yacolt Washington. My family built 50 aircraft carriers and other ships at the Kaiser shipyard in Vancouver Washington. Some of the shipyard buildings are still there on the Columbia River.
@@patfromamboy He was given a glass eyeball to put in the socket. The bullet when in the eye and came out his temple so like anyone else I figure he was turning his head to avoid being shot. You could see the damage to his temple but it wasn't terrible to look at. The docs patched him up pretty good. Of course that may have taken years. Always with a bit of humor none of my Dad's family appreciated their time in the military. This particular cousin, on the rare occasion that he did mention his military service, said he was a buck private cleaning the general's toilets in the finest French chateau's they could requisition...and none of his words were kind when it came to generals. He came into France via the Mediterranean and said he didn't see any combat until being pulled into the line at the end of the Battle of the Bulge. He said he lasted about 60 minutes. Was sent out on patrol, walked up a small mound of dirt(his words) and there was a German on the other side who shot first. I still haven't found out what division he served in. As a side note he was well-known locally not only because he was the local post master for 20 years but because he was about the only person who flew RC airplanes in this rural area not to mention a top-notch mechanic who worked on everyone's tractors in a 20 mile radius. As a kid in the 70s I remember hundreds of people coming to watch him fly and to see his models. Imagine doing that with just one eye. I find it difficult to fly with two eyes.
A co-worker's brother stepped on a mine while on a patrol, losing a leg. The Germans, unable to give him medical care, brought him up to the lines, asked for a truce, and turned him over to the Americans.
"Doesn't remember much" definitely did some nazi shit in that time
My daddy was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne and love watching these videos. I am 62 years old now.
So was mine 😊 I'm 58
Oh wow. I had absolutely no idea that there were jamming missions during this time. This whole series has wonderfully paired with the Battle of Bodenplatte campaign and other battles around this time that are in IL-2's flight sim. I've been hooked since the start.
I've been reading WWII histories for 50 years and this was the first I heard about it, too.
This channel is excellent, I've learned much.
I've mentioned elsewhere here that my father was one of the pilots flying the jamming missions. At the pre-flight briefing for one of these missions - one that only his plane and crew would fly - the officer in charge gave them no return orders for completion of the mission. It was assumed by command that they wouldn't return from that mission. At the insistence of his navigator, my father asked his commanding officer if he could return to land at a specific time to end the mission. His commander told him if he was still in the air he could return, but not any earlier. My dad said the look on his commander face told him he did think they would last that long.
My father's crew had been obsessed with loiter time while doing their flight training in Lincoln, Nebraska. Their instructors were veterans of the air war in Europe and had many unofficial insights to share with the crews. Surviving the bombing runs was one thing. Keeping your plane in the air long enough to find an open air field in England was something all together different. Many of the Eight Air Force losses in this war were attributable to the difficulty of bad viability landings in England. That all said, my father's crew had learned how to extend the range of those B 24's far enough to give themselves a better chance of making it home. They survived that mission, but only because they were prepared in ways other crews may not have been.
My father was a farmer before the war, and that is what he returned to. Three of his crewmen had been in college studying to be Electrical Engineers before the war. Of them, one became an electrical contractor, one eventually became the lead Nuclear Engineer for New Jersey Edison, and the last turned to law after the war and eventually served as the LT. Governor of Alabama. My father was an intelligent man, but the luck of the draw blessed him with a crew that was more than equal to the task set before them while in the service.
@@cdjhyoung thank you very much for sharing this. It's an incredible story.
This is a topic that deserves to be discussed more
So, no RAF or USAF friends then?
@@scottgiles7546 Say that again?
@@scottgiles7546 Do airforce members and vets really talk about history that much?
@@scottgiles7546 Yeah, people have just loads of RAF and USAF friends who sit around and talk about this battle, Nimrod.
@@grantorino2009 why you so agressive?
My father flew Typhoons with the 2nd Tactical Airforce at this battle. One mission he flew involved attacking an armoured German unit that had trapped an American unit. Allies working together ensured the Battle of the Bulge was never going to end in a German victory
But you make comments in youtube, lol... The Fruit has fallen far from the tree in this case, lol.
@@mitch_the_-itchWOW, What kind of fruit are you. Cling ons such as you do nothing but take. Get a job son, make something of yourself.
Stupid ass comment @@mitch_the_-itch
Another fantastic episode. I hope everyone likes and comments to help them out. Its amazing to have grown up watching the history channel documentaries go from mediocre to pathetic, and now have channels on youtube putting out stuff better than they ever did.
You're absolutely right. this series is better than what the history channel could ever make. I feel like the narrator is starting to become another penguinz0, known for his voice.
@@ChefPoirotProductions1 I think he's also improved a lot (and continues to improve) as a narrator. Every bit of the channel has gotten better over time, and I'm excited to see where it's going to be this time next year.
@@lane9668 I agree
This was a truly fabulous series completely worth my time. You good folks always put out the absolute best quality of videos and show it so well with your animation just my favorite war channels on TH-cam.
This is a truly outstanding series. Well done!
This along with the operations room are my absolute favorite ways to learn about military history. Thank you for doing this it is clearly a labor of love and your effort as appreciated
Check out Historigraph, Vector Historia and Kings and Generals too.
There is always a battle of the bulge when I go too the strip club!
@@donkeypox1943 Good one!
My Dad was an Aviation Engineer in the 820th EAB, building new or rehabilitating existing airfields across France, Belgium, and later Germany for use by the 9th AAF / 19th Tactical. He was at Liege/Bierset Advanced Landing Ground A-93 when the Bulge happened. His Company was sent to man a roadblock to attempt stopping German tank columns. Said for the 1st time in his life, he didn't think he'd make it home, the Air Corps was grounded by the bad weather, and the latrine grapevine informed them of the massacre of surrendered American troops at Baugnez crossroads near Malmedy. Said the guys all looked at each other and said, well, if we're overrun, there's no use in surrendering, they'll shoot us anyway - we may as well take as many of the bastards with us as we can.
Learning about Goering's air campaign was fascinating,he pretty much destroyed his own fighter arm in one day.
@@AaronRMG "HitXX" ? TF is that?
Hopefully, you can always count on imbecile fascists and totalitarists to shoot themselves in the foot, or each other, all suffocated that they are by their hatred for everything and everyone. Goering was clearly one of the worst. Him and Hitler were TOTAL INCOMPETENTS. Hitler, particularly, barely had ANY education or culture, didnt even finish school... Can you imagine if he was good in History and had a clue that you just *dont* invade Russia? Or if he had had *any* true management skills?
@@justalonesoul5825 think of a German political leader who's name started with "Hit"...then fill in the missing letters.
Anyway, the Jagdwaffe's effort to support the German Army was pretty costly. If I remember my readings from Donald Caldwell's JG26 unit histories, as a whole, over 500 fighter pilots were either KIA, MIA or POWs BEFORE Operation Bodenplatte took place.
@@nickmitsialis "think of a German political leader who's name started with "Hit"...then fill in the missing letters."
Yeah, you think *that* was the problem? That I couldnt get who was implied by that? Dude, is it your own entourage that makes you think that some people could actually be *that* retarded? The point is that it doesnt make any sense why the person who I was actually answering to would write HitXX, that's nonsensical and/or plain stupid. Is he scared of a name or something? Does he think it will make the horrors disappear if he travestites the name? That it will hurt his "legacy"?
Hitler. There, you see? Nothing happened....
@@justalonesoul5825 It took me a sec to figure it out, too but...wait, did you say I have an Entourage? How? I don't even have 'content'. Must be my witty personality.
🙂
The amount of effort you put into your videos is crazy!
Fascinating. I wasn't aware of any use of air power during the Battle of the Bulge due to weather. I'd also never come across airborne radio jamming of ground targets. Thanks for adding to my awareness and knowledge. Brilliant video
Concerning Radio Jamming : In 1940 , scientist RV Jones discovered that the Luftwaffe were using radio beams so their bombers could navigate over their targets at night over Britain. The first navigation radio transmission set up the Luftwaffe used was called Knickebein , which was then jammed by the British . But the jamming was done from the ground . The next system the Luftwaffe used was called X-Gerät followed by Y-Gerät . Which was again jammed .
The radio beam navigation system , followed by the subsequent jamming , became known as the battle of the beams .
.
Credit to the RNZAF that played a pivotal role in the Ardennes , many of whom did not see Christmas that year . The cemetery at Hotton bears witness to their bravery . One such individual Typhoon pilot Flt. O Bruce Lawless RNZAF was awarded the British DFC and both the US and French equivalents for his part in the Wacht offensive .
New Zealand consistently punched above it's weight in WW2
Thanks very much for bringing the air war element of the Battle of the Bulge into the light, I have watched many many documentaries about WWII and had understood the air war was mostly about the supply drop’s and the glider borne reinforcements of the medical staff, but it was obviously much more involved than is detailed in most documentaries. The most interesting thing I learnt from your presentation was the Jackal missions, early airborne ECM that was far more advanced than I thought was achievable by any side, and I really don’t understand how some historians can argue about the usefulness and effectiveness of the sorties and equipment equipment. Thanks again for sharing your research, knowledge and understanding of the air battle.
😀👍🇬🇧🏴🇺🇦
This page and the Operations Room are hands down my favorite pages on TH-cam.
Very well Done. Just an absolute treasure on TH-cam. You should all be proud of what you've accomplished. A Job well Done.
Lots of new detail. This really refresh's an old subject...
My Father was there. I have a picture of him and a friend 2:51 in front out a destroyed Tiger2 tank. He said when the weather cleared the bombing went on hour after hour.
The jamming missions by the B-24's is a new bit of knowledge for me. Well done!
In so many summaries of this campaign we hear "And then the skies cleared. Allied air power turned the tide .." This was a very good insight into the back and forth of what really happened, an ongoing struggle.
Brilliant. Don't know how you produce such fine content
My dad was 9th Army Air Corps and was in the air war at this battle. He was radio operator/gunner on a B26.
Operations Room & the Intel Report has provided the only series
that presents all the tactical events that occurred during the Battle of Budge . Well done !
.
This series has been a real education. It is amazing how little I knew about this great battle. Thank you very much.
This has been an outstanding series. Thanks!
I really love the vintage looking artwork you choose for some of your thumbnails.
The research that goes into each of these videos is mind blowing
I am in a group that does historical air campaigns in the game IL-2. We just finished a Battle of the Bulge campaign and it is really cool to see some of the real history.
There is always a battle of the bulge when I go too the strip club!
Where i can get this campaign?
Bodenplatte was until 2 years ago insufficiently covered. Thank You!
I think Mark Felton made a video about it, named "Bodenplatte; Death ride of the Luftwaffe".
13:30 Galland was so distraught by this failure that he apparently changed his name and assumed the identity of Admiral Gensoul, of Mers El Kebir fame
So is it a wrong photo, wrong quote attribution or he actually changed his name :) I don’t know what to believe anymore
My grandfather was a navigator and bombardier in a Martin b-26 Marauder flying missions during the Battle of the bulge.
Excellent ! Informative, entertaining and interesting !!!
Yet another fantastic video. SO glad you decided to start this channel!
My father was a infantry Lt. with the 106th Div 203rd regiment company E. He was the heavy weapons platoon leader. They fought for 3 days until they were without ammunition, food and more importantly hundreds of injuries US soldiers. The surrender was a decision not of cowardice nor was it fear. They were never reinforced, never resupplied and there would be no effort to extract the wounded. Faced with complete devastation, the decision to surrender was the best option and most logical one. As for me being born in 1948, I appreciate the decision.
13:22 Admiral Gensoul, disguised as Adolf Galland, comments on the air war above Mers-El-Kébir in the Ardennes - or so …
My grandfather was a paratrooper with the 517th PRCT the jumped into S. France during Op. Dragoon and ended up in this battle. I'm sure he appreciated you boys' grandfather's who were up there giving him cover.
517th ATTACK!!!!
I remember reading an iterigation of a German pilot where he stated that the day after destroying many aircraft at an allied airfield, he over flew the airfield only to find that all the aircraft had been replaced with shiny new ones. He stated that at that point he knew the war was over for the Luftwafle.
Luftwaffle lmaoo
So EW was used in the Battle of the Bulge. That’s something new. So B-24s perform the Growler/Prowler and Raven role while the Allied air forces perform like Apaches and A-10s. That’s how CAS evolved and improved in subsequent wars.
Compass Call
There is always a battle of the bulge when I go too the strip club!
CAS developed almost completely _during_ the Second World War. The British use of "cab rank" aircraft on call from a forward observer in an armoured vehicle, upon which the US moved to a flight of aircraft covering a column of vehicles with a direct radio link between the flight commander and the column. The aircraft could attack targets directed by the ground force and act as spotters for enemy ahead of the column. Together with smoke for designating targers and identifying friendly forces, that's most all there is. Everything else is refinement of the procedures.
Absolutely fabulous video, seriously so entertaining to watch while being incredibly informative
I knew EWar was a thing since WW1 (even if it wasn't called that then), but I never knew they equipped bombers with radio location and jamming equipment, but seeing as they already carry heavy bomb loads, swapping it out with bulky and heavy jamming equipment makes sense.
Bombers could carry jamming equipment as well as normal bombloads. But some aircraft, such as those of 100 Group RAF, would be fitted out with multiple transmitters or complementary systems
Amazing channel! Thank you and all your team for the hard work!
The best Narrator by far.
An Excellent synopsis of the battles I am so interested in. Thank You!
Really enjoying this channel and their older sister the operations room! Military history is simplified and yet full of detailed knowledge!
Your channels quickly become one of my favorite
My classmate Paul flew B24s during the war and survived, includindg the Ploesti oil field raids, and survived! Not sure if he flew during these raids. I was a fresh graduate student in 1980. He had been working in the field since the War, but was pursuing a master’s degree in his early sixties.
An interesting perspective on the battle of the bulge. Well done. Thank you.
Simply amazing. Keep up !
Outstanding work
Love your vids dude keep it up
Outstanding!!! Great video again! Cheers from Tennessee
I like this series very much. nice job.
13:23 Galland is captioned as Adm. Gensoul.
Absolutely a fantastic video
Love this channel, well done Intel Report.
My grandfather was a B 26 marauders pilot part of the 456th bomber squadron his nickname was Bob the dates lined up on his military record card that we have he was in the battle of the bulge
Thanks guys!
Thanks for this. Informative.
Always excited for Fridays now!
In Dec 1944 my cousin Lt Russell Kline was assigned as a replacement pilot with the 355th FS of the 354th FG. The 354th had recently converted to the P-47D. On the 18th he was a member of a flight of four Thunderbolts on a bombing mission over the Ardennes. They encountered a group of FW-190's. Lt Kline shot one down for his only confirmed aerial kill. He would fly 77 combat missions in P-47's and P-51's by War's end.
Again, excellent. Thank You
Very much enjoyed your video so I gave it a Thumbs Up
Just a heads up, at 13:23 the on screen graphic shows 'ADM GENSOUL' when you're quoting Adolf Galland, right picture, wrong name :-)
awesome work 👍
Love all these comments by the sons of veterans. These docos are so good.
For all the vaunted tech the Nazi's employed in WWII the Allies ran rings around them in the use of tech, science and the military application thereof. WWII was the basis for much of the tech we know today both military and civilian. Out of that war sprang a miracle of technology and knowledge. Arguably the greatest time for scientific knowledge the world has ever seen.
my Grandfather was Ch Signal Officer for the 9th, a lot of young talent that would go on to more success. while they did a lot of improvising, on the spot, in Real time. Stuff didn't come out of a Lab or factory perfect or there were later developments. Gramps would have been 40+, had studied Physics at Princeton. it was the young who pushed the potential forward, but they needed someone w rank to get them what they wanted or needed. Trust / confidence or necessity. get it, got it.
Good video, I really enjoyed it!
Lots of good photos I have never seen before
This channel related to The Operations Room?
Yes, this is the sister channel to that one
Both channels are telling the point of views from the Allied and German perspectives. Great channels.
Have you done a video about the use of the proximity fuse during the Battle of the Bulge?
Always love these very detailed and informative videos.. from a historic and fair perspective.
Great video, thanks
I read one time that "The Bulge" was at least part of the reason so many veterans settled in southern California, Nevada, and Arizona after the war.
Excellent video..!
Thank you for this masterful series! It’s such a gift to people like me who wouldn’t ordinarily have access to this kind of information. For people reading this, you may also enjoy Victor Davis Hanson’s Hillsdale Lecture on the air war in WW2.
No other war will ever come near the sheer number of aircraft in the air on any given day. The things all those pilots saw.
Excellent report. Two points reinforced - steel not flesh, and, combined arms wins battles and wars.
I sort of understand Hitler's desire to take the initiative, rather than descend into a declining war of attrition against the Strategic Bombing effort. The former bore some slight chance. The latter spelt utter destruction.
He was a drug addict. There were no rational decisions. This was all just one big board game to him..
My would-be-uncle, through whom I received my name in 1947, was KIA on 01.01.45 as a radioman/waist gunner as part of a B-26 crew over Stadtkyll, Germany during “The Battle of the Bulge”. An 88 Flak burst took the left wing/engine off and was engulfed in a ball of flame, as it spun-out down through the clouds. The only surviving crew member was the pilot who became a P.O.W. This way of dying was the worst nightmare of the medium bomber crews, as I was informed by reunion survivors with whom I visited at reunions. My uncles outfit was the 322nd Bomb Group, 451st Bomb Squadron flying out of France at the time.
Hi, I enjoy your videos covering WW2 and other war events because I’m into it as well. I have one small request, could you make a video about john Chapman the double Medal of Honor. I think you’ll do a great job covering that event. Thank you for your vides
Awesome video!
Great video thank you
Jane’s Combat WWII Fighters was a game set during this period of the war. Was the very first video game my family had on a computer and blew everyone away that ever came to see it.
My favorite game ever on the PC
I love this channel
Dad was sent in by a special gun squad to pierce the line in Bastogne directly by Patton and his officers. He made it within a day . On the way he was caught experiencing many aircraft coming in and witnessed a dog fight between an ME 109 and a Thunder bolt. The Thunder bolt couldn't shake the 109 and they witnessed the piolet bail . There wasn't anything they could do because the pilot dropped in occupied territory. They also waved as a P 51Mustang flew over. The Mustang banked and came back to attack them . Him and his men were in that deep and made it within a couple days of breaking the line . Dec 24 . 😎
all these film clips just 2-4 seconds, is there anywhere to watch these films at longer length?
While my father was involved in the Pacific, all of my Mothers brothers served in Europe. They were all a part of the 442 Combat Group, the most highly decorated Army Combat Group. They helped rescue the Texas Rangers in Italy. All my Uncles came home with PTSD though at that time it was called “battle fatigue “. Meanwhile all their families were held in concentration camps back home.
Really enjoyed this series!
Thank you for including the B-24 ‘Jackal’ program. Very rarely does it get mentioned.
The German Ardennes offensive was a ‘pie in the sky’ dream that never came close to achieving its goals. Providing enough fuel for your campaign by relying on captured American fuel? Great plan, Adolph.
Seriously, everything hinged on taking Elsenborn ridge on the first day.
The Wehrmacht never achieved that first day’s mission. Everything else was just throwing more men and material into the meat grinder.
The first ELINT missions. Look what it is now.
The air attack on the Peiper group’s Spearhead was at the bridge over river Amblève, not river Lienne.
@15:05 is that German on the right holding an M1 Carbine?
I'd never heard of the radio jamming or signal location before
The RAF were flying ECM missions as early as 1942 as a friend's grandfather was the Squadron Leader of 515 Squadron flying Defiants.
My uncle in the Royal Canadian Air Force flew a Typhoon against the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge. With the Spits flying top cover, he described it as a Turkey shoot as the roads were congested with German equipment.
Good video coverage! Yes, air power by American and British and Russian made a big difference! 🩸⭕🩸⭕
Hope you cover air war over burma in ww2 like flying tigers
If you think it's worth donating at least $ 1.00 a month you get special access for future content and to vote on future videos.