Adolf Hitler has ordered that the entirety of the German offensives be focused on Stalingrad and the Caucasus Mountains. The belief is held by many that German conquest of the oil in this region would win them the war. In his book "Wages of Destruction" historian Adam Tooze comments on the absurdity of this all. Here is what Tooze had to say about the assumption by Nazi synthetics industrialist Carl Krauch that he would be able to raise air fuel production to 3 million tons following the conquest of the caucuses: "Here was the perverse logic of Barbarossa in a nutshell. The conquest of the oilfields of the Caucasus, 2,000 kilometres deep in the Soviet Union, was not treated as the awesome military-industrial undertaking that it was. It was inserted as a precondition into another gargantuan industrial plan designed to allow the Luftwaffe to fight an air war, not against the Soviet Union, but against the looming air fleet of Britain and the United States." p.452
I know Germany did a very strong job industrializing through the last half of the 19th into the 20th, but is there any sort of historical precedent for this kind of industrial plan (developing and repairing the oil fields, and upgrading their production and the refinery capacity to make use of it) succeeding to give such confidence, or was it simply fear of being seen to fail?
@Alex Funk "It was kind of standard operating procedure for the Nazis. You just go ahead with whatever plan you came up with, regardless of whether realistic or not, and you just state that you will fix any problem along the way." I've read elsewhere that the Prussians had a long-standing military tradition of preferring fast aggressive manoeuvre over military intelligence and cautious planning. That worked for them in Austria, Denmark and France 70 years or so before WW2. Maybe it won't work out for them this time? If it does go wrong, Germany's officer elite could always blame that idiot Austrian Corporal for the failure.
It's actually crazy just how many battles start with massive bombardments where they unleash everything they have, only for the defenders to be still there and the offensive to meet heavy resistance.
true john milton but in reality i believe that artillery bombardment is just not that effective against prepared positions, the chance of actually hitting a position directly which is needed for damage is just too small. All you are doing is suppressing the enemy, which is why creeping barrages are the most effective. I find it baffling that they did not even attempt a creeping barrage.
There's a theory out there that artillery, bombs, and unguided rockets are less about stopping power and focus on shell shock value. One figure suggests only 10% of an infantry force needs to be killed this way for mass shock and hysteria to set in, rendering a force unfit for combat. In the case of the Red Army in 1942, clearly short term state pride and fear of refusing or failing orders were stronger than long term psychological trauma.
There has been plenty of cases where a massive bombardment did what it was supposed to do. But it has to be planned well, executed well and there has to be proper concentration of required artillery. The Germans overall never managed to get the same concentration of artillery as the Allies and Soviets would in the 2nd half of the war, but in the 1st half, with their enemy usually on the back foot and reeling it was usually enough.
@@aidenhall8593 Thing is with the creeping barrage, it works best in trench warfare for limited advances. Which was the case all the time in WW, as after all artillery only has a limited range. Once the advance moved out of the range of artillery it was usually end game for the advance and relocating the artillery forward took time. And the pace of operations and advance in WW2 was WAY faster then in WW1. Which meant creeping barrages were of limited value. And overall I doubt the Germans even had the amount of artillery pieces for such operations. The massive bombardment they unleashed for this operation was probably mild to what Germans troops got to experience later in the war on a regular basis. But for the 62nd army, whose units consisted of shattered divisions in name only, with soldiers tired, on the backfoot, suffering from lack of sleep and supplies it was probably massive.
Indy...that was an incredible narration at the very last 3 minutes of this video...simply breathtaking, your ability to narrate the tension and aprehension is simply awesome...congrats my friend and all the TG team.👏👏👏
i really like this quote about the battle "The street is no longer measured by meters but by corpses... Stalingrad is no longer a town. By day it is an enormous cloud of burning, blinding smoke; it is a vast furnace lit by the reflection of the flames. And when night arrives, one of those scorching howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure"
The normal danger with field telephone lines was that enemy artillery or bombs would cut them, but Stalingrad just took the circle of hell one stage lower.
This is amazing. I have seen a lot of documentaries and read a lot about the Stalingrad battle. But Indy tells the action has develops so mesmerizingly... I felt Chuikov's desperation to fall back, but also the resolution of everybody to hold the line against all. Just amazing. I was heartbroken when Indy said “and the week comes to an end”. Thank you for all your work!!!
Sgt. Zaitsev had been part of a Marine Battalion Machinegun unit(armed with Maxims and PPSh-41's) of the 284th Rifle Division that fought around Mamayev Hill(Kurgan). He had recently been issued a Sniper rifle after using a "regular" rifle without optics to take out German MG-34 positions on the hill. After which he became a Sniper team commander until late in the battle when he was wounded. Until 1942 he was a Navy accountant at the Soviet Pacific Fleet, and had volunteered to be sent Stalingrad. He was around 27 years old at the time and lived until 1991. He was educated and had worked at a factory construction site before joining the Soviet Navy. At a younger age he was a hunter in central Russia, which is when he learned to shoot and face off with sometimes dangerous animals. After the war he met several times with Gen. Chuikov at various veteran anniversaries.
The final portion of the video about Stalingrad is chilling, to say the least. Can you imagine what goes on in somebody's mind when they realize the fullest extent of "fighting until their last drop of blood" against such an overpowering enemy? I know it is overused to the point where it has lost its meaning, but we're really lucky that we weren't born in a time when we would have had to live such a deadly reality.
You really have to feel for Chuikov, its impossible to command an army when you're too busy fighting for your life. On the other hand, had he moved across the river the morale hit would have destroyed his army. A man can fight harder if he knows his boss is in it just as deep as he is.
Also he already/will get his command post blown apart/destroyed multiple times already and come out alive everytime. He did his best. Fortune is on his side. His thinking of moving make sense. Had he stay there, without hindsight like we had, he may have been killed next time another command post of his is destroyed. Keep having to move/losing contact after having command post destroyed didn't really help him as well
Well, but simultaneously it's also really hard to stay in touch and issue commands when there a mile-wide river in between. So it made both morale and practical sense.
@@789know: Chuikov had 8 command posts. Mamayev Kurgan Tsaritsyn Bunker Mouth of Reka Tsaritsa Barrikady oil depot Near Pencil Ravine Near 62nd Landing by KO Near Tennisschlager West of Tennisschlager
Reading between the lines, I rather get the impression that Stalin didn't expect Chuikov and his men to survive, but he was prepared to spend their lives if it meant buying Zhukov enough time to prepare his double-envelopment. The Volga's too broad to easily bridge, which limits the danger of a German breakthrough: the city's a trap, and Chuikov has the dubious honour of being the cheese.
We will never know, but contemporary sources do reference the dramatic shift in sentiment before and during Stalingrad. Barbarossa was a disaster but a lot of the retreat following that was strategic, with the soviets using the time honoured Russian tactic of trading space for time. But as German advances grew greater and greater there was a sense of panic, in that maybe the reason the red army was retreating so rapidly was not because this was a strategic move but they were just getting crushed by the nazis. Stalingrad changed that. It showed the world that the red army could take the hardest punch the nazis could throw at them, and stop them, and beat them.
The line earlier in the episode about how the Germans seemed to be looking forward to a winter offensive seems odd. I feel like both sides knew that any continuation of the action into the winter could only aid the Soviets. Hence the frenzy of activity this week in Stalingrad.
@@yes_head A winter offensive over frozen ground was deemed a better option than the autumn/spring quagmire of the southern steppes. The Germans couldn't know how hard the winter would become.
@@michailtavonius3360 Like they didn't know how crappy the Russian roads would be? I'd say then they lost that war through an astonishingly poor understanding of the land they were going to be attacking.
Tremendous respect to Chuikov and his 62nd Army at Stalingrad and to Vandegrift and the 1st Marine Division at Guadalcanal for standing up to wave after wave of attack by the Wehrmacht and the Japanese respectively and just refusing to give in. Just amazing courage, resolve and resilience.
@@srinivasgorur-shandilya1788 Really? German army would not have steam for anything apart from anchoring the front on the Volga. I think, they would still get surrounded by the reserves massing in the back. Soldiers on both sides of the war went through something horrible, but I really dont think Germans could do much more, even if they eventually managed to push Soviets out...
@@Spectification But Stalingrad is a gate to Caspian sea and it's oil. It's very important transport hub. Controlling Stalingrad is like controlling Suez canal, or Panama canal, but on scales of central Russia. It could cause huge logistic problems to USSR.
@@srinivasgorur-shandilya1788 Exactly. We know it with hind sight and the original comment was exactly that, hindsight. I understand why Soviets and Germans did, what they did, but as we know now, the Russians at this point are massing significant reserves.
@@gwtpictgwtpict4214 i meant the Soviets had troops east of the volga north and south of the river many divisions and im guessing planning for operation Neptune i wonder how long they were planning this ???? and if theu were luring the germans in further east
@@Norg1 If Stalingrad falls the Germans secure their left flank and can concentrate on the Caucases and the oil. The Russians need that oil too. I think the Russians saw the opportunity to overextend, and then defeat the Germans at Stalingrad, but that needed Stalingrad to hold.
@@WorldWarTwo Wow there are so many episodes in this World War 2 series it is amazing it is a whole 8 seasons worth show and your work is amazing and superb Indy a d team.Do you work with Drachinifel on matters relating to ships I love your Great War series as well .
I never realized how hard Stalingrad was fought (without really thinking about it, as I was just aware that it dragged on for a while) and I admit my ignorance. Again, such great work, guys. In the beginning I was fascinated by your work as it showed me the perspective of the contemporary citizen, the speed and the incredible scope of destruction. How can the contemporary average person even start to understand this, being exposed to propaganda of different degrees of subtlety and visciousness? The scope of the series has become different now, as the timeline is told with almost perfect vision and hindsight, and, for instance, the human loss (including WOH with Spartacus' excellent work, of course) becomes clear. I find that experience deeply moving. The series provides an insight in history that I never thought possible in this format, big respect.
Highly recommend to visit Stalingrad ( Volgograd now). You cannot compare this experience with anything else, I assure you will hardly hold tears from the mixed feelings of sorrow, admiration of the bravery, terror soldiers and civilians experienced.
@@rcgunner7086 In terms of bloodlines it is similar, but in terms of achievements Verdun turned into pointless static battle. While Stalingrad became a turning point of WWII.
The hindsight significance of a battle in any war is completely meaningless to the man fighting in the battle. Countless people have been through the worst circles of hell in unknown and insignificant battles. The significance doesn't diminish the experience in any way for them.
@@jonathanallard2128 Union soldier: Why are you fighting? Confederate soldier: 'Cuz you're down here! That's all the reason the ordinary soldier needs to see on the front line...
I think this episode might be Indy's best showing yet. The urgency and tention when describing the desperate fighting in Stalingrad almost made me feel like i was there.
An interesting sidenote this week on October 15 1942 is that *Alfred Jodl* , Chief of Operations Staff of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), suggested to Adolf Hitler that he should order Vichy France to beef up its defences in its North African held territories. This was because they had received intelligence recently suggesting that there were a possibility of an Allied attack there soon (a reference to Operation Torch which is currently still in planning).
However, Hitler rejected this suggestion as he thought the Italians would object to any moves that strengthened France.
"We've analyzed their troop movements, sir, and there is a danger. Should I have vichy reinforce africa?" "Africa? In our moment of triumph? I think you overestimate their chances!"
@@hypppo That's actually true, as many of the French who remained loyal to Pétain (not just passive, I am talking of really loyal), did it because they believed he had a plan to defeat Germany
The diplomacy between 'neutral' Vichy France, Italy and neutral-but-friendly Spain posed Nazi Germany a few dilemmas in that theatre, especially as Hitler became increasingly less interested in diplomacy, in his 'allies' (you can't have allies if you are never yourself anyone's true ally- Nazi Germany could truly expect few allies and no friends given its aims and actions). He no longer rated Italian military capacity, had fading hopes Vichy France would contribute as an ally and couldn't see any way feeble, fascist Spain could really matter, and really wanted to just be Generalissimo in the Eastern Front, doing what (he imagined) he did best.
There will be no battle in history that will simultaneously evoke bravery, resilience, death and unimaginable horror and destruction as the fight for Stalingrad
"The street is no longer measured by meters but by corpses ... Stalingrad is no longer a town. By day it is an enormous cloud of burning, blinding smoke; it is a vast furnace lit by the reflection of the flames. And when night arrives, one of those scorching howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure"
From my recollection (not of the battle, I wasn't there, but of Beevor's book amid others), it was written by a German soldier in a letter home - possibly retrieved from his corpse by Soviet soldiers. Many the German letters back to home are extremely well-written and eloquent, reflective on the horrors of war, but their self-portrayal as victims in a conflict they started truly jars. The final story of Germany's war may be: they may not have got the war they wanted, but they got the war they asked for. Present-day German military historians remain baffled at the high international regard for German military prowess.
Hi All, Try the book "Last Letters from Stalingrad", various editions. I have never read it, it was on the book shelf of a guy I knew. Thanks, take care.
I recalled seeing an engraved wall in the Mamayev Kurgan memorial complex, facing Northeast against a row of statues. While I can't read Russian back then (nor do I now), the engravings could be roughly translated as such: "Storms of iron battered them in the face, yet they all advanced again and again. Superstition and fear gripped the enemy: 'Are those on the attack mortal!?' "
@@EpicMRPancake there’s no propaganda needed in that holy place. I’d suggest you watch a video of the honor guard at the complex, it’s available on UA-cam
@@pyatig I mean 'Are those on the attack mortal?" is something Soviet propogandists wrote, rather than something we have records of some German commander or soldier saying. I'm not saying it isn't solemn or awesome, I just think what was really said and felt at the time is more compelling to hear about.
@@EpicMRPancake Diary of Wilhelm Hoffman, soldier in the 267th Infantry Regiment, 94th Infantry Division of the German 6th Army. Entry on October 27: "...The Russians are not men, but some kind of cast-iron creatures: they never get tired and are not afraid of fire.". Close enough, right? Not everything said about bravery of men in any battle is a propaganda.
There are a lot of history channels, but only here do we have a breathtaking presentation that gives life to what we see and hear. Documentaries often are a little dusty, this is a real new way of learning these tragic events in depth and tho many know how it ends, I am more captivated than on the end of Avengers : Endgame. Immense respect for all the work from Indy and the team !!
The heroic defence of Stalingrad by the tenacious 62nd Army really gets to Indy, you can see that. Not surprising though; truth is, it does stand virtually alone in the annals of military history as the most costly, most determined, and miraculous stand by any army anywhere.
Stalingrad is reminding me a lot more of the big battles of WW1 more than any WW2 battle so far. No real clever manourvers, just weeks upon weeks of bombardment and a unending grind for inches of terrain.
That is just the nature of urban combat. It is still a war of fire & maneuver, but the nature of the terrain - if stubbornly defended, as it was with Stalingrad - greatly limits the opportunities for any large advances. You're essentially fighting through fortifications.
Some of the battles during the American island hopping campaign in the pacific were like that, though just on an infinitesimally small scale compared to the mind numbing numbers of people and equipment involved in this particular war.
18:55 dear god. The chills. My grandfather ( He was a red army solider before he moved to the states post war) would always just stare off in the distance but clearly not stare at anything in particular and would just stay silent everytime i brought up Stalingrad. After watching this series and especially that end i now understand why he struggled so much to talk about this.
The level of narrative of this channel is getting to legendary levels. Indy has been ON FIRE this last months. Today was a thing of beauty: The narration, the intonation, the intensity, the wording of the script, the music and all that completely enhanced by the terrific visual content. Man this is really a memorable channel indeed.
Thank you Juselara, we were able to hire new researchers, writers, editors, graphic designers, proofreaders, all over the summer - glad it's starting to shine through in the videos. It's all thanks to the TimeGhost Army.
So glad you included the quote from Vasilli Zaitsev. His self written account, "Notes of a Russian Sniper" is my favorite first hand account of the battle and the everyday conditions for the men who fought in it!
I have read over fifty books on WWII. I have learned more from your channel.. I am an old man (and Time Ghost Army private) and learning is difficult. The graphics, video clips and pictures help me to understand. Most all thanks Indy and I wish I still had to wear a tie like Indy instead of sweats.
Hey Bill! Thank you for deciding to support us, we could never do this without help from people like you. You have our gratitude and we hope you'll continue to enjoy our content and learn more from it. Cheers!
Wow. I'm just blown away at how Indy and the entire TimeGhost team can seemingly place us right there alongside the armies who fought and died in this war. The tension and the desperation was palpable in every syllable uttered. It's like I'm hearing the most incredible story ever told.
I think I read somewhere that roughly 25% of the German economies total output of all war related production and resource development in 1942 was spent just in the battle of Stalingrad... I tend to think the Germans lost their chance to crush the Soviet Union after Barbarossa in 1941, but the above stated fact makes a compelling argument in favor of the war being decided by the outcome of the battle of Stalingrad.
It's the first time I feel that a media really conveyed the fierceness and sadness of the greatest battle in human history. Thank you Indy and crew for your work
Great narration and writing by Indy and team about the events in Stalingrad. Good job! It really reinforces how much rested on the few defenders in Stalingrad, and what a heroic job they did.
The Gallant stand of the 37th Guard rifle division and the rest of 62nd army in stalingrad against such an overwhelming firepowers and numbers is something that i rarely heard in popular media The more i heard about stalingrad,the more i hate that dog shit they call enemy at the gates, the way the movie depict red army soldiers is straight up insult.
In addition, the book "enemy at the gates" is also excellent, being an account of the whole battle, though it's a shame the title was tarnished by the movie
You would se a gallant if not More astonishing stand of The German 9th army in April 1945 lead by Busser and The Underrated Defencive Legendary General gothard Heinrici , Holding out 3 days on zeelow heights even against overwhelming odds of 10 to 1 and No air cover and Few Tanks , Fuel , Men and A shortage of ammo making the Soviets waste a huge artillery barage Making it fall on Empty Lines they had withdrawn from earlier so typical of Gothard Heinrici tactics, and they inflicted Heavy Casualties on the Soviets who suffered +30k casualties and hundreds of tanks destroyed , just 1 week before the battle took place Hitler Took away thousands of men , ammo , fuel and Dozens of tanks in 7 battle hardened Panzer Divisions to Prague from Heinrici thinking the Soviet offensive was not aimed at Berlin if he didn't do so Heinrici could have held out Georgy Zhukov army and Ivan Konev Army for more than a week too bad gothard Heinrici wasn't Always Given More attention by the German High Command
@@interestingengineering291 Yeah You are kind of Right about that because all theose men Crossing the Volga under heavy attacks from German dive bombers and fighters and artillery would result in catastrophic casualties and thousands of soldiers would choke on smoke and others would drown and others would be captured by the Germans
This series is flying by though. I feel like we just went over the Battle of Britain. We're 6 months from Patton in Africa, then it's only a short time from then to Sicily then before we know it D-Day will be upon us.
All your content is terrific. The only downside of that is that the longer (>20 minute) episodes contain so much value-added detail it makes a viewer wish all the episodes were as long. It's not lost on me that there's a trade-off given resource constraints and market norms. But the quality of your research and your high production values are near unique and hopefully will give you more flexibility in the future.
Indy, you are brilliant narrator, but this episode second half... Man, i feel ypu words, all of them. You are incredible, you and awesome people behind this work...
This week on October 14 1942, the *Pistol Pete Showdown mission* of the 2003 video game *Medal of Honor: Rising Sun* begins as part of the Guadalcanal campaign. In this level as *Corporal Joseph Griffin* , you are to locate and rescue a lost Allied patrol, as well as to destroy the Pistol Pete artillery. You will meet up with Major Martin Clemens along the way and make your escape across a bridge.
Fabulous commentary Indy It's almost impossible to comprehend the violence of a massive modern armoured force trying desperately to conquer a sliver of territory less than a kilometer wide .
Red Army in Stalingrad: We're digging in, baby! To the bitter end. USA on Guadalcanal: We're digging in, baby! To the bitter end. Rommel: Hey, what about me?
It wasn't just bluster or a slogan either, they meant it. On September 28th a German soldier fighting in Stalingrad by the name of William Hoffman recorded in his diary: "Our regiment is involved in constant heavy fighting. After the elevator was taken the Russians continued to defend themselves just as stubbornly. You don't see them at all, they have established themselves in houses and cellars and are firing on all sides, including from our rear - barbarians, they use gangster methods. In the blocks captured two days ago Russian soldiers appeared from somewhere or other and fighting has flared up with fresh vigour. Our men are being killed not only in the firing line, but in the rear, in buildings we have already occupied. The Russians have stopped surrendering at all. If we take any prisoners it's because they are hopelessly wounded, and can't move by themselves. Stalingrad is hell. Those who are merely wounded are lucky, they will doubtless be at home and celebrate victory with their families..."
@@FilipSzB i know, i was refering to the overall weight of the phrase compared to churchil's speech, and since most people knows it as the "we'll fight in the beaches" speech i called it that way
The amount of carnage at Stalingrad just boggles my mind, and we still have a few months to go there. I think the only other battle that could rival it is Okinawa in a few years. Excellent coverage, feels like I'm actually there watching these battles happen.
Fierce as it was it wasn't even close to the battle of Stalingrad..... Battle of Okinawa (~2months) casualties/losses/captured: USA ~ 70.000 Japan ~125.000 Battle of Stalingrad (~5months) casualties/losses/captured: Axis ~1.000.000 Soviets ~1.100.000
@@dietergermann2803well, Stalingrad is "Verdun of the east", the defender defends the City to death with a horrific number of casualties against the enemy onslaught.
@@DawidKov in fact the bloodiest battle in WWII is not in any of these written places it is an unnamed quota, in a forest in southern Ukraine * The SS division entered the forest from the west (they didn't take prisoners, they killed everyone) * The Russian Guards Division entered the forest from the east (Russians did not accept SS as prisoners, they would kill them immediately) Commanders of both divisions were given the task of "conquering and clearing the forest" you can guess the result ...
Always love your humane and well-researched videos. As Operation Mars and Operation Uranus draw closer, I would really like a feature video on the non-German armies on the Eastern Front. Germans relied on them heavily after Barbarossa, but there is frustratingly little detailed information or videos on them. It would be the perfect timing to look into them :D
Outstanding idea. We've always heard of the German forces, granted they bore the brunt of this theater. But its as if history gives only passing notes if you will, on those such as Romanian, Hungarian and others that fought on the Eastern Front as well.
Unfortunately we don't have any plans to do whole episodes dedicated to non-German armies. We think their stories will be covered well enough in the regular series and other special episodes (like this one for example: ua-cam.com/video/eBMjRtf7iWA/v-deo.html)
Viewing it in real time also gives a better perspective on how much of a closely run "nail-biter" the campaign was for both sides, with the historical outcome by no means predetermined.
Let no one forget that it was not weather nor simple exhaustion that halted the march of the fascist monsters. It was blood, the blood of the brave defenders of the Hero City Stalingrad. Farmers, industrial workmen, fathers, brothers, and sons all under one red banner. A war not for ideology but for simple basic survival.
Authoritarians fighting authoritarians. There is not denying that the Soviets stopped the Nazis but they replaced a huge evil by a big evil and didn't matter who win, millions will not know liberty for decades to come
I’ve watched a million documentaries about stalingrad but Indy sucks me right back in with another episode! Please make a million more ol chap! You ARE appreciated!
Wow, this was an amazing episode. Something I really appreciate of this series is how Indy's narration allows us to feel not just how the commanders and leaders felt, but the average soldiers as well. I have never seen a documentary which made me feel for a character like this episode made me feel for Chuikov, heck, I never knew he had requested to cross the Volga, and I don't blame him at all either. Great episode guys, not just as an informative documentary, but as a narrative film.
It wasn't cowardice that caused him to request the move, he had a great deal of difficulty managing the battle with his HQ constantly under attack. But the morale effect of staying on the west bank was deemed more important.
@@brucetucker4847 Yeah of course, as I said, I don't blame him. The constant attacks make it all the more impressive that he managed to keep control of things.
Wow! Just WOW! I have run out of words to describe this series. So I will just say, thank you so much. I look forward to these episodes every week with great anticipation. We currently live in a troublesome and chaotic time, but, during this period in our history, there was no guarantee of Allied victory, and a real fear of defeat. Perhaps that can give us some perspective.
Awesome video Indy, in particular towards the end... I could almost feel the beating hearts and the fierce fighting spirit of the defenders of Stalingrad in the same room as I!
I am 25 years old and I would have been at the frontlines back then, well in a camp as I am jewish but that is besides the point, being, that I could imagine what it would entail, but by all that is dear war has a way with the minds of men. Keep up the good work, may we never forget
Its hard to imagine what the soldiers on both sides must have been thinking and feeling. I draw a blank when I try to place myself in the position of those men.
As always the ladies and gentlemen of the TG team,have creaed another exemplary episode,my thanks and congratulations on the stelar episode, also I would love to hear Indy's ferocious eagle scream,during...future events. I wish all of you well and I hope you guys keep outdoing yourselves. PS: Great choice on Indy's tie,really brings out the beauty his light blue eyes. Cheers ladies and gents!
Holy smoke... I had no idea that Mid-October 1942 was so decisive for Stalingrad. It is still mind-blowing to imagine there are survivors or any will to fight in the soviet lines after such a punch in the guts.
That ending was amazing. Indy rally is outdoing himself I read so many books about the battle I know that in a month operation Uranus will start and yet every episode I worry that the soviets will break that the Germans will take Stalingrad
Easily one of the top episodes of the series so far. You guys are on an absolute roll. The drama, the tension, I can't think of any documentary series that portrays how absolutely screwed the Allies were. Despite knowing what happens I'm constantly concerned the Allies might lose. Absolutely stunning production, scripting, presentation and musical choices. The World War II in Real Time has easily surpassed The Great War in every measure.
"And on October 14th, 1942, all hell breaks loose on Stalingrad" (11:49)... I am speechless, big bravo Indy & the team for the breathtaking narration of the scary facts of the utterly violent offensive of Stalingrad
I didn't know that Chuikov had possibly been relieved. It's interesting. But I still greatly admire this mans bravery in the face of the enemy. If he was honored after this battle. Then I'm glad. Nice video.
In a deliberate symbolic move the 8th Guards(former 62nd) Army was then sent northwards to the center of the front, coming under command of 1st Belorussian Front; Stalin was determined that the Army that had defended Stalingrad would take part in the capture of Berlin (Battle of Berlin). On 2 May 1945, Chuikov took the surrender of the German General Weidling, the commander of the Berlin Defensive Area, and the rest of the Berlin garrison.
Once again Time Ghost's team stuns me with the sheer quality of their content. The research, the animations, the editing - and the icing on the cake - Indy's chilling and mesmerizing narration! You guys not only make history come to life, you make the past feel like present. A big virtual hug to you guys, from distant Brazil :)
@@WorldWarTwo awesome, now that's one lucky person! I'd love to participate and contribute to such an amazing channel. Keep up the good work guys, and thanks for all you've already accomplished.
Mr. Neidell is such a great speaker! He really manages to invoke feel into it, although i lack the vocabulary to describe it in better words, but he's the bees knees.
Scott called the ceasefire because he thought they may be firing on their own ships in all the confusion. His light carriers actually mostly ignored this order because with their advanced radar technology they were sure of what they were firing at
This one video is single best episode you have made, out of all the WW2 videos AND the Great War videos (so around 1000 video's?) as well. Breathtaking episode, brilliantly done!
"There is no land for us beyond the Volga", this statement by Vasily Zaitsev to Chuikov this morning the 16th becomes the rallying word of the defenders of Stalingrad. Those words go out today through the grapevine of battered Soviet Unions in the city as just a simple truth: the soldiers will not cross the river...they will remain...they will fight...and they will die...Chuikov himself will write: "We swore to fight to the last drop of blood and only death could relieve us of that oath. We obeyed a call of our hearts...". Thank you Indy...
Adolf Hitler has ordered that the entirety of the German offensives be focused on Stalingrad and the Caucasus Mountains. The belief is held by many that German conquest of the oil in this region would win them the war.
In his book "Wages of Destruction" historian Adam Tooze comments on the absurdity of this all.
Here is what Tooze had to say about the assumption by Nazi synthetics industrialist Carl Krauch that he would be able to raise air fuel production to 3 million tons following the conquest of the caucuses:
"Here was the perverse logic of Barbarossa in a nutshell. The conquest of the oilfields of the Caucasus, 2,000 kilometres deep in the Soviet Union, was not treated as the awesome military-industrial undertaking that it was. It was inserted as a precondition into another gargantuan industrial plan designed to allow the Luftwaffe to fight an air war, not against the Soviet Union, but against the looming air fleet of Britain and the United States." p.452
I know Germany did a very strong job industrializing through the last half of the 19th into the 20th, but is there any sort of historical precedent for this kind of industrial plan (developing and repairing the oil fields, and upgrading their production and the refinery capacity to make use of it) succeeding to give such confidence, or was it simply fear of being seen to fail?
there's a meme about Wages of Destruction that like 1984 no one has read it, so grats on getting a copy
Even if the Germans took Baku and the oil fields, wouldn’t the Soviets just sabotage them so the Germans couldn’t use them?
@@lucaszerafa178 Brits and American will bomb field
(Brits already have plan for that)
@Alex Funk "It was kind of standard operating procedure for the Nazis. You just go ahead with whatever plan you came up with, regardless of whether realistic or not, and you just state that you will fix any problem along the way."
I've read elsewhere that the Prussians had a long-standing military tradition of preferring fast aggressive manoeuvre over military intelligence and cautious planning. That worked for them in Austria, Denmark and France 70 years or so before WW2. Maybe it won't work out for them this time?
If it does go wrong, Germany's officer elite could always blame that idiot Austrian Corporal for the failure.
It's actually crazy just how many battles start with massive bombardments where they unleash everything they have, only for the defenders to be still there and the offensive to meet heavy resistance.
true john milton but in reality i believe that artillery bombardment is just not that effective against prepared positions, the chance of actually hitting a position directly which is needed for damage is just too small. All you are doing is suppressing the enemy, which is why creeping barrages are the most effective. I find it baffling that they did not even attempt a creeping barrage.
There's a theory out there that artillery, bombs, and unguided rockets are less about stopping power and focus on shell shock value. One figure suggests only 10% of an infantry force needs to be killed this way for mass shock and hysteria to set in, rendering a force unfit for combat.
In the case of the Red Army in 1942, clearly short term state pride and fear of refusing or failing orders were stronger than long term psychological trauma.
Iwo Jima in a couple of years...
There has been plenty of cases where a massive bombardment did what it was supposed to do. But it has to be planned well, executed well and there has to be proper concentration of required artillery. The Germans overall never managed to get the same concentration of artillery as the Allies and Soviets would in the 2nd half of the war, but in the 1st half, with their enemy usually on the back foot and reeling it was usually enough.
@@aidenhall8593 Thing is with the creeping barrage, it works best in trench warfare for limited advances. Which was the case all the time in WW, as after all artillery only has a limited range. Once the advance moved out of the range of artillery it was usually end game for the advance and relocating the artillery forward took time. And the pace of operations and advance in WW2 was WAY faster then in WW1. Which meant creeping barrages were of limited value. And overall I doubt the Germans even had the amount of artillery pieces for such operations. The massive bombardment they unleashed for this operation was probably mild to what Germans troops got to experience later in the war on a regular basis. But for the 62nd army, whose units consisted of shattered divisions in name only, with soldiers tired, on the backfoot, suffering from lack of sleep and supplies it was probably massive.
Indy...that was an incredible narration at the very last 3 minutes of this video...simply breathtaking, your ability to narrate the tension and aprehension is simply awesome...congrats my friend and all the TG team.👏👏👏
Yea indy is the best i never miss his episodes
You're breathtaking!
Agreed he brought it to life very well
Totally buy that music did about 50% of the work lol
I concur with OP wholeheartedly.
Let just sink in that sentence:
"Communication was possible only by radio - because all telephone lines had melted".
That was one hell of a battle!
i really like this quote about the battle
"The street is no longer measured by meters but by corpses... Stalingrad is no longer a town. By day it is an enormous cloud of burning, blinding smoke; it is a vast furnace lit by the reflection of the flames. And when night arrives, one of those scorching howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure"
Yeah, it was hell indeed.
Hotline Stalingrad
Only Verdun comes close
The normal danger with field telephone lines was that enemy artillery or bombs would cut them, but Stalingrad just took the circle of hell one stage lower.
This is amazing. I have seen a lot of documentaries and read a lot about the Stalingrad battle. But Indy tells the action has develops so mesmerizingly... I felt Chuikov's desperation to fall back, but also the resolution of everybody to hold the line against all. Just amazing. I was heartbroken when Indy said “and the week comes to an end”. Thank you for all your work!!!
Thank you for being a fan! Your appreciation means the world to us.
There’s a video series on UA-cam that does and in depth from the beginning of the battle to the end by TIK. Great stuff.
@@whiteguymcgee4997 sadly TIK is not weekly episodes, but his research and long video are amazing and detail.
@@nuzulqreshna3575 no but he does have 25+ of them which is a nice start
@@whiteguymcgee4997 i love when he puts them all together
Sgt. Zaitsev had been part of a Marine Battalion Machinegun unit(armed with Maxims and PPSh-41's) of the 284th Rifle Division that fought around Mamayev Hill(Kurgan). He had recently been issued a Sniper rifle after using a "regular" rifle without optics to take out German MG-34 positions on the hill. After which he became a Sniper team commander until late in the battle when he was wounded. Until 1942 he was a Navy accountant at the Soviet Pacific Fleet, and had volunteered to be sent Stalingrad. He was around 27 years old at the time and lived until 1991. He was educated and had worked at a factory construction site before joining the Soviet Navy. At a younger age he was a hunter in central Russia, which is when he learned to shoot and face off with sometimes dangerous animals. After the war he met several times with Gen. Chuikov at various veteran anniversaries.
Ah, but did he have a love triangle with a radio operator and an NKVD propaganda officer?
@@umjackd 😂😂😂
His memoirs were published in English earlier this year, actually!
Great info on Vasily Zaitsev. He was a hero of the Battle of Stalingrad and for the Soviet Union for sure.
@@umjackd I don't think Chernova made it up. Well, not ALL of it. Just most of it!
The final portion of the video about Stalingrad is chilling, to say the least. Can you imagine what goes on in somebody's mind when they realize the fullest extent of "fighting until their last drop of blood" against such an overpowering enemy? I know it is overused to the point where it has lost its meaning, but we're really lucky that we weren't born in a time when we would have had to live such a deadly reality.
No-one can decide the age in which they are born, but all have to make the best of it.
if i can't beat them back, then i won't retreat, i shall die where i stand!
Its bone chilling to imagine such a situation - and then place yourself in it.
The sheer brutality brutality of Stalingrad!
Check back in a few years to see if we are still so lucky
You really have to feel for Chuikov, its impossible to command an army when you're too busy fighting for your life. On the other hand, had he moved across the river the morale hit would have destroyed his army. A man can fight harder if he knows his boss is in it just as deep as he is.
Also he already/will get his command post blown apart/destroyed multiple times already and come out alive everytime. He did his best. Fortune is on his side. His thinking of moving make sense. Had he stay there, without hindsight like we had, he may have been killed next time another command post of his is destroyed.
Keep having to move/losing contact after having command post destroyed didn't really help him as well
Well, but simultaneously it's also really hard to stay in touch and issue commands when there a mile-wide river in between.
So it made both morale and practical sense.
What a commander he was
@@789know:
Chuikov had 8 command posts.
Mamayev Kurgan
Tsaritsyn Bunker
Mouth of Reka Tsaritsa
Barrikady oil depot
Near Pencil Ravine
Near 62nd Landing by KO
Near Tennisschlager
West of Tennisschlager
Stalin would have had him shot either way.
Reading between the lines, I rather get the impression that Stalin didn't expect Chuikov and his men to survive, but he was prepared to spend their lives if it meant buying Zhukov enough time to prepare his double-envelopment. The Volga's too broad to easily bridge, which limits the danger of a German breakthrough: the city's a trap, and Chuikov has the dubious honour of being the cheese.
We will never know, but contemporary sources do reference the dramatic shift in sentiment before and during Stalingrad. Barbarossa was a disaster but a lot of the retreat following that was strategic, with the soviets using the time honoured Russian tactic of trading space for time. But as German advances grew greater and greater there was a sense of panic, in that maybe the reason the red army was retreating so rapidly was not because this was a strategic move but they were just getting crushed by the nazis. Stalingrad changed that. It showed the world that the red army could take the hardest punch the nazis could throw at them, and stop them, and beat them.
The line earlier in the episode about how the Germans seemed to be looking forward to a winter offensive seems odd. I feel like both sides knew that any continuation of the action into the winter could only aid the Soviets. Hence the frenzy of activity this week in Stalingrad.
@@yes_head A winter offensive over frozen ground was deemed a better option than the autumn/spring quagmire of the southern steppes. The Germans couldn't know how hard the winter would become.
@@michailtavonius3360 Like they didn't know how crappy the Russian roads would be? I'd say then they lost that war through an astonishingly poor understanding of the land they were going to be attacking.
@@yes_head what can expect from an enemy that under estimates their enemy so entirely to not even understand their land
Tremendous respect to Chuikov and his 62nd Army at Stalingrad and to Vandegrift and the 1st Marine Division at Guadalcanal for standing up to wave after wave of attack by the Wehrmacht and the Japanese respectively and just refusing to give in. Just amazing courage, resolve and resilience.
We owe a lot to the defenders of Stalingrad. The world would be a very different place if they had not shown the incredible courage they did.
@@srinivasgorur-shandilya1788 Really? German army would not have steam for anything apart from anchoring the front on the Volga. I think, they would still get surrounded by the reserves massing in the back.
Soldiers on both sides of the war went through something horrible, but I really dont think Germans could do much more, even if they eventually managed to push Soviets out...
@@Spectification we know that now, in hindsight. But put yourself in the shoes of someone there, with the nazis seemingly unstoppable.
@@Spectification But Stalingrad is a gate to Caspian sea and it's oil. It's very important transport hub. Controlling Stalingrad is like controlling Suez canal, or Panama canal, but on scales of central Russia. It could cause huge logistic problems to USSR.
@@srinivasgorur-shandilya1788 Exactly. We know it with hind sight and the original comment was exactly that, hindsight. I understand why Soviets and Germans did, what they did, but as we know now, the Russians at this point are massing significant reserves.
"There is no land for us beyond the Volga!"
acctually there was alot of land east of the volga
@@Norg1 Not for the soldiers in Stalingrad, none of them would get the chance to cross the Volga while the enemy were in Stalingrad.
@@Norg1 Geographically, yes, lots of it. But you're missing the point, we stand here or we fall.
@@gwtpictgwtpict4214
i meant the Soviets had troops east of the volga north and south of the river many divisions and im guessing planning for operation Neptune
i wonder how long they were planning this ???? and if theu were luring the germans in further east
@@Norg1 If Stalingrad falls the Germans secure their left flank and can concentrate on the Caucases and the oil. The Russians need that oil too. I think the Russians saw the opportunity to overextend, and then defeat the Germans at Stalingrad, but that needed Stalingrad to hold.
When he said "There is no land for us across the Volga"
Everyone knew this was literally a fight to the death💀
The narration at the end was mesmerising. Almost brought tears to my eyes. Well done Indy and the team. The choice of music and script was amazing.
Thank you!
@@WorldWarTwo Wow there are so many episodes in this World War 2 series it is amazing it is a whole 8 seasons worth show and your work is amazing and superb Indy a d team.Do you work with Drachinifel on matters relating to ships I love your Great War series as well .
I never realized how hard Stalingrad was fought (without really thinking about it, as I was just aware that it dragged on for a while) and I admit my ignorance. Again, such great work, guys.
In the beginning I was fascinated by your work as it showed me the perspective of the contemporary citizen, the speed and the incredible scope of destruction. How can the contemporary average person even start to understand this, being exposed to propaganda of different degrees of subtlety and visciousness?
The scope of the series has become different now, as the timeline is told with almost perfect vision and hindsight, and, for instance, the human loss (including WOH with Spartacus' excellent work, of course) becomes clear.
I find that experience deeply moving. The series provides an insight in history that I never thought possible in this format, big respect.
Thank you!
Of course modern weapons are so so much more deadly and destructive than WW2 era gear that's it's difficult to understand as well.
Highly recommend to visit Stalingrad ( Volgograd now). You cannot compare this experience with anything else, I assure you will hardly hold tears from the mixed feelings of sorrow, admiration of the bravery, terror soldiers and civilians experienced.
Eternal glory to the defenders of Stalingrad. It's on my visiting list. Best wishes from Switzerland.
The Russian Verdun.
@@rcgunner7086 In terms of bloodlines it is similar, but in terms of achievements Verdun turned into pointless static battle. While Stalingrad became a turning point of WWII.
The hindsight significance of a battle in any war is completely meaningless to the man fighting in the battle.
Countless people have been through the worst circles of hell in unknown and insignificant battles. The significance doesn't diminish the experience in any way for them.
@@jonathanallard2128
Union soldier: Why are you fighting?
Confederate soldier: 'Cuz you're down here!
That's all the reason the ordinary soldier needs to see on the front line...
The way Indy describes Stalingrad reminds me of when he was describing Verdun during The Great War. Such a massive slaughter, in such a small area.
It is amazing how many divisions were being jammed into such a small space, even if they were not necessarily full-strength.
Wow, that's how it's supposed to be done. Such a great episode, I can't wait for the next one next week. Thanks guys!
You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed this episode!
I think this episode might be Indy's best showing yet. The urgency and tention when describing the desperate fighting in Stalingrad almost made me feel like i was there.
An interesting sidenote this week on October 15 1942 is that *Alfred Jodl* , Chief of Operations Staff of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), suggested to Adolf Hitler that he should order Vichy France to beef up its defences in its North African held territories. This was because they had received intelligence recently suggesting that there were a possibility of an Allied attack there soon (a reference to Operation Torch which is currently still in planning).
However, Hitler rejected this suggestion as he thought the Italians would object to any moves that strengthened France.
"We've analyzed their troop movements, sir, and there is a danger. Should I have vichy reinforce africa?"
"Africa? In our moment of triumph? I think you overestimate their chances!"
@@zaphikel4578 More french troops in africa means more fighting men for the allies
@@hypppo That's actually true, as many of the French who remained loyal to Pétain (not just passive, I am talking of really loyal), did it because they believed he had a plan to defeat Germany
The diplomacy between 'neutral' Vichy France, Italy and neutral-but-friendly Spain posed Nazi Germany a few dilemmas in that theatre, especially as Hitler became increasingly less interested in diplomacy, in his 'allies' (you can't have allies if you are never yourself anyone's true ally- Nazi Germany could truly expect few allies and no friends given its aims and actions).
He no longer rated Italian military capacity, had fading hopes Vichy France would contribute as an ally and couldn't see any way feeble, fascist Spain could really matter, and really wanted to just be Generalissimo in the Eastern Front, doing what (he imagined) he did best.
Hitler did so many things that made them weaker lol.
This video constitutes a masterpiece. The research, the writing, and the presentation are all superb.
Thank you!😎
There will be no battle in history that will simultaneously evoke bravery, resilience, death and unimaginable horror and destruction as the fight for Stalingrad
if the Russians captured you alive they cut off your genitals and all your limbs
terrorific
@@cuentaprincipal3225 sources? Don’t make shit up
@UCBORZSqK_4tvBz6nWsU42-Q you’re an i ignorant fool
@@Cardan011 Did I wear your secretary's face? Virgin
"The street is no longer measured by meters but by corpses ... Stalingrad is no longer a town. By day it is an enormous cloud of burning, blinding smoke; it is a vast furnace lit by the reflection of the flames. And when night arrives, one of those scorching howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure"
Shivering...
Who is the author of that quote?
@@userrrfriendly1908 I'm pretty sure it was Chuikov.
Edit: I should've been more sure because I was wrong. Correct answer is below.
Isn’t this from grossman’s Stalingrad?
From my recollection (not of the battle, I wasn't there, but of Beevor's book amid others), it was written by a German soldier in a letter home - possibly retrieved from his corpse by Soviet soldiers. Many the German letters back to home are extremely well-written and eloquent, reflective on the horrors of war, but their self-portrayal as victims in a conflict they started truly jars.
The final story of Germany's war may be: they may not have got the war they wanted, but they got the war they asked for. Present-day German military historians remain baffled at the high international regard for German military prowess.
Hi All, Try the book "Last Letters from Stalingrad", various editions. I have never read it, it was on the book shelf of a guy I knew. Thanks, take care.
I recalled seeing an engraved wall in the Mamayev Kurgan memorial complex, facing Northeast against a row of statues.
While I can't read Russian back then (nor do I now), the engravings could be roughly translated as such:
"Storms of iron battered them in the face, yet they all advanced again and again. Superstition and fear gripped the enemy: 'Are those on the attack mortal!?' "
I prefer the badass things they said at the time to stuff Soviet propogandists put in after the fact.
@@EpicMRPancake there’s no propaganda needed in that holy place. I’d suggest you watch a video of the honor guard at the complex, it’s available on UA-cam
@@pyatig I mean 'Are those on the attack mortal?" is something Soviet propogandists wrote, rather than something we have records of some German commander or soldier saying. I'm not saying it isn't solemn or awesome, I just think what was really said and felt at the time is more compelling to hear about.
@@EpicMRPancake Diary of Wilhelm Hoffman, soldier in the 267th Infantry Regiment, 94th Infantry Division of the German 6th Army. Entry on October 27: "...The Russians are not men, but some kind of cast-iron creatures: they never get tired and are not afraid of fire.". Close enough, right? Not everything said about bravery of men in any battle is a propaganda.
@@extraho88 There you go, that's what I meant.
There are a lot of history channels, but only here do we have a breathtaking presentation that gives life to what we see and hear. Documentaries often are a little dusty, this is a real new way of learning these tragic events in depth and tho many know how it ends, I am more captivated than on the end of Avengers : Endgame. Immense respect for all the work from Indy and the team !!
Might be one of my favorite episodes of the year thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
The entire Stalingrad section of this video is honestly incredible. Great narration and great work.
The heroic defence of Stalingrad by the tenacious 62nd Army really gets to Indy, you can see that. Not surprising though; truth is, it does stand virtually alone in the annals of military history as the most costly, most determined, and miraculous stand by any army anywhere.
“The soldiers will not cross the river. They will remain, they will fight, and they will die”
Wow that gave me chills. Well done Indy!
Stalingrad is reminding me a lot more of the big battles of WW1 more than any WW2 battle so far.
No real clever manourvers, just weeks upon weeks of bombardment and a unending grind for inches of terrain.
It’s unbelievable that they were able to hold on
After WW1, the last thing the Germans wanted to do was fight such a battle, but there they were.
That is just the nature of urban combat. It is still a war of fire & maneuver, but the nature of the terrain - if stubbornly defended, as it was with Stalingrad - greatly limits the opportunities for any large advances. You're essentially fighting through fortifications.
Some of the battles during the American island hopping campaign in the pacific were like that, though just on an infinitesimally small scale compared to the mind numbing numbers of people and equipment involved in this particular war.
18:55 dear god. The chills. My grandfather ( He was a red army solider before he moved to the states post war) would always just stare off in the distance but clearly not stare at anything in particular and would just stay silent everytime i brought up Stalingrad. After watching this series and especially that end i now understand why he struggled so much to talk about this.
The level of narrative of this channel is getting to legendary levels. Indy has been ON FIRE this last months. Today was a thing of beauty: The narration, the intonation, the intensity, the wording of the script, the music and all that completely enhanced by the terrific visual content. Man this is really a memorable channel indeed.
Thank you Juselara, we were able to hire new researchers, writers, editors, graphic designers, proofreaders, all over the summer - glad it's starting to shine through in the videos. It's all thanks to the TimeGhost Army.
So glad you included the quote from Vasilli Zaitsev. His self written account, "Notes of a Russian Sniper" is my favorite first hand account of the battle and the everyday conditions for the men who fought in it!
I have read over fifty books on WWII. I have learned more from your channel.. I am an old man (and Time Ghost Army private) and learning is difficult. The graphics, video clips and pictures help me to understand. Most all thanks Indy and I wish I still had to wear a tie like Indy instead of sweats.
Hey Bill! Thank you for deciding to support us, we could never do this without help from people like you. You have our gratitude and we hope you'll continue to enjoy our content and learn more from it. Cheers!
"Go back to the abyss that awaits you and your master"- Gandalf (Chuikov)
"The world of men will fall, this is my hour"- Witch King of Angmar(Paulus)
Then who are the Rohirrims ? ^^
@@Cancoillotteman Soviet armies at the flanks during Operation Uranus.
And Aragorn's army coming from the sea are the Americans in North Africa.
Who are Éowyn and Merry though ?
@@blede8649 soldiers going to Paulus' HQ maybe ?
Wow. I'm just blown away at how Indy and the entire TimeGhost team can seemingly place us right there alongside the armies who fought and died in this war. The tension and the desperation was palpable in every syllable uttered. It's like I'm hearing the most incredible story ever told.
It's striking how much more quality detail fits in a 20 minute video than in a 14 minute video.
Cheers!
Thank you for watching!
And there's me wondering "How much oil have the Germans got left?" A most compelling series with outstanding production values.
Basically however much oil the Romanians can produce.
I think I read somewhere that roughly 25% of the German economies total output of all war related production and resource development in 1942 was spent just in the battle of Stalingrad...
I tend to think the Germans lost their chance to crush the Soviet Union after Barbarossa in 1941, but the above stated fact makes a compelling argument in favor of the war being decided by the outcome of the battle of Stalingrad.
It's the first time I feel that a media really conveyed the fierceness and sadness of the greatest battle in human history. Thank you Indy and crew for your work
It’s amazing how much was put into the battle of Stalingrad, and the effort put into these awesome episodes
Yeah
This was when the Germans threw in their finest and realized they would lose.
Stalin's "Not a step back" order was brutal but essential!
Great narration and writing by Indy and team about the events in Stalingrad. Good job!
It really reinforces how much rested on the few defenders in Stalingrad, and what a heroic job they did.
What a fantastic presentation, relentlessly gripping, a masterpiece in narration.
Thank you! That's very high praise!
The Gallant stand of the 37th Guard rifle division and the rest of 62nd army in stalingrad against such an overwhelming firepowers and numbers is something that i rarely heard in popular media
The more i heard about stalingrad,the more i hate that dog shit they call enemy at the gates, the way the movie depict red army soldiers is straight up insult.
There is a very good German movie simply titled Stalingrad you may consider watching, it does a much better job than that enemy at the gates trash.
In addition, the book "enemy at the gates" is also excellent, being an account of the whole battle, though it's a shame the title was tarnished by the movie
You would se a gallant if not More astonishing stand of The German 9th army in April 1945 lead by Busser and The Underrated Defencive Legendary General gothard Heinrici , Holding out 3 days on zeelow heights even against overwhelming odds of 10 to 1 and No air cover and Few Tanks , Fuel , Men and A shortage of ammo making the Soviets waste a huge artillery barage Making it fall on Empty Lines they had withdrawn from earlier so typical of Gothard Heinrici tactics, and they inflicted Heavy Casualties on the Soviets who suffered +30k casualties and hundreds of tanks destroyed , just 1 week before the battle took place Hitler Took away thousands of men , ammo , fuel and Dozens of tanks in 7 battle hardened Panzer Divisions to Prague from Heinrici thinking the Soviet offensive was not aimed at Berlin if he didn't do so Heinrici could have held out Georgy Zhukov army and Ivan Konev Army for more than a week too bad gothard Heinrici wasn't Always Given More attention by the German High Command
@@cheriefsadeksadek2108 except in Stalingrad there was no place to fall back to
@@interestingengineering291 Yeah You are kind of Right about that because all theose men Crossing the Volga under heavy attacks from German dive bombers and fighters and artillery would result in catastrophic casualties and thousands of soldiers would choke on smoke and others would drown and others would be captured by the Germans
Simply incredible, most well narrated episode yet! I didn't think it was possible but Indy just continues to get better and better!
Hard to believe that it's still two and a half years until Hitler will be ranting about Fortnite
A man of culture I see
Steiner's attack will capture Stalingrad soon!
DAS WAR EIN BEFEHL!
This series is flying by though. I feel like we just went over the Battle of Britain. We're 6 months from Patton in Africa, then it's only a short time from then to Sicily then before we know it D-Day will be upon us.
Don't forget the dinosaur romance novels. He HATES those.
This is the best of the WW2 documentaries. I would like to see an entire segment dedicated to Stalingrad and the chronology of the fighting.
Just as we think Stalingrad can’t get any more hellish, it keeps going up and up and up.
All your content is terrific. The only downside of that is that the longer (>20 minute) episodes contain so much value-added detail it makes a viewer wish all the episodes were as long.
It's not lost on me that there's a trade-off given resource constraints and market norms. But the quality of your research and your high production values are near unique and hopefully will give you more flexibility in the future.
9:53 that answers a question I had always had of 'what else was the wehrmacht doing while stalingrad was going on?'
They were on the offensive in the Caucasus and defending at Rzhev and at Leningrad.
Indy, you are brilliant narrator, but this episode second half... Man, i feel ypu words, all of them. You are incredible, you and awesome people behind this work...
This week on October 14 1942, the *Pistol Pete Showdown mission* of the 2003 video game *Medal of Honor: Rising Sun* begins as part of the Guadalcanal campaign. In this level as *Corporal Joseph Griffin* , you are to locate and rescue a lost Allied patrol, as well as to destroy the Pistol Pete artillery. You will meet up with Major Martin Clemens along the way and make your escape across a bridge.
Damn, that one brings back memories!
I played that game as a kid, good times.
Thanks for the information
I loved that game. What was the game where you played a Russian soldier attacking those buildings?
@@Patrick_Cooper Hmm is it Call of Duty 1's Parlov's House level possibly? Not sure which one you might be referring to exactly.
Fabulous commentary Indy
It's almost impossible to comprehend the violence of a massive modern armoured force trying desperately to conquer a sliver of territory less than a kilometer wide .
Red Army in Stalingrad: We're digging in, baby! To the bitter end.
USA on Guadalcanal: We're digging in, baby! To the bitter end.
Rommel: Hey, what about me?
"There is no land for us beyond the Volga" truly is the soviet "Will fight them on the beaches"
Well is is more like "we shall never surrender"
It wasn't just bluster or a slogan either, they meant it. On September 28th a German soldier fighting in Stalingrad by the name of William Hoffman recorded in his diary:
"Our regiment is involved in constant heavy fighting. After the elevator was taken the Russians continued to defend themselves just as stubbornly. You don't see them at all, they have established themselves in houses and cellars and are firing on all sides, including from our rear - barbarians, they use gangster methods.
In the blocks captured two days ago Russian soldiers appeared from somewhere or other and fighting has flared up with fresh vigour. Our men are being killed not only in the firing line, but in the rear, in buildings we have already occupied.
The Russians have stopped surrendering at all. If we take any prisoners it's because they are hopelessly wounded, and can't move by themselves. Stalingrad is hell. Those who are merely wounded are lucky, they will doubtless be at home and celebrate victory with their families..."
@@FilipSzB i know, i was refering to the overall weight of the phrase compared to churchil's speech, and since most people knows it as the "we'll fight in the beaches" speech i called it that way
No one in Britain ever had to fight them on any British beaches unlike in the USSR where it was not a slogan but a life and death reality.
The amount of carnage at Stalingrad just boggles my mind, and we still have a few months to go there. I think the only other battle that could rival it is Okinawa in a few years. Excellent coverage, feels like I'm actually there watching these battles happen.
Try looking up the "Rhzev Meatgrinder". Generally the battles on the Eastern Front were extremely bloody.
Fierce as it was it wasn't even close to the battle of Stalingrad.....
Battle of Okinawa (~2months) casualties/losses/captured: USA ~ 70.000 Japan ~125.000
Battle of Stalingrad (~5months) casualties/losses/captured: Axis ~1.000.000 Soviets ~1.100.000
Verdun would be a rival, or the battle of the Somme (I.WW).
@@dietergermann2803well, Stalingrad is "Verdun of the east", the defender defends the City to death with a horrific number of casualties against the enemy onslaught.
@@DawidKov in fact the bloodiest battle in WWII is not in any of these written places
it is an unnamed quota, in a forest in southern Ukraine
* The SS division entered the forest from the west
(they didn't take prisoners, they killed everyone)
* The Russian Guards Division entered the forest from the east
(Russians did not accept SS as prisoners, they would kill them immediately)
Commanders of both divisions were given the task of "conquering and clearing the forest"
you can guess the result ...
Indy's Stalingrad narration is worthy of history's greatest battle - superbly researched and delivered. Simply brilliant!
Even though I know how events will soon unfold, for a moment I thought Stalingrad will fall. Great narration.
Always love your humane and well-researched videos. As Operation Mars and Operation Uranus draw closer, I would really like a feature video on the non-German armies on the Eastern Front. Germans relied on them heavily after Barbarossa, but there is frustratingly little detailed information or videos on them. It would be the perfect timing to look into them :D
especially the SS Legionarries
I second this!
Outstanding idea. We've always heard of the German forces, granted they bore the brunt of this theater. But its as if history gives only passing notes if you will, on those such as Romanian, Hungarian and others that fought on the Eastern Front as well.
Unfortunately we don't have any plans to do whole episodes dedicated to non-German armies. We think their stories will be covered well enough in the regular series and other special episodes (like this one for example: ua-cam.com/video/eBMjRtf7iWA/v-deo.html)
@@WorldWarTwo Fair enough :) Thank you for the answer
Good God, I feel the energy and the heat coming toward us from your studio and from Stalingrad, well done guys👍👍.
The battle of Guadalcanal has always been so confusing to me but I finally understand it thanks to this.
Viewing it in real time also gives a better perspective on how much of a closely run "nail-biter" the campaign was for both sides, with the historical outcome by no means predetermined.
Last time I was this early, Halder was still chief of staff of the OKH.
Anytime I hear that name I can only hear TIK saying: ..."I hate Halder"....
Let no one forget that it was not weather nor simple exhaustion that halted the march of the fascist monsters. It was blood, the blood of the brave defenders of the Hero City Stalingrad. Farmers, industrial workmen, fathers, brothers, and sons all under one red banner. A war not for ideology but for simple basic survival.
Yes, too many lose sight of that.
Authoritarians fighting authoritarians. There is not denying that the Soviets stopped the Nazis but they replaced a huge evil by a big evil and didn't matter who win, millions will not know liberty for decades to come
This was possibly the best episode to date
Thank you!
I’ve watched a million documentaries about stalingrad but Indy sucks me right back in with another episode! Please make a million more ol chap! You ARE appreciated!
I doubt I can do the full million, but I'll do as many as I can.
I swear that Indy was about to cry in last few seconds of this video and who on the world could blame him.
Wow, this was an amazing episode. Something I really appreciate of this series is how Indy's narration allows us to feel not just how the commanders and leaders felt, but the average soldiers as well. I have never seen a documentary which made me feel for a character like this episode made me feel for Chuikov, heck, I never knew he had requested to cross the Volga, and I don't blame him at all either.
Great episode guys, not just as an informative documentary, but as a narrative film.
It wasn't cowardice that caused him to request the move, he had a great deal of difficulty managing the battle with his HQ constantly under attack. But the morale effect of staying on the west bank was deemed more important.
@@brucetucker4847 Yeah of course, as I said, I don't blame him. The constant attacks make it all the more impressive that he managed to keep control of things.
I know how this all ends, yet Indy paints such a vivid picture I am at the edge of my seat to see who will win the day in Stalingrad
Wow! Just WOW! I have run out of words to describe this series. So I will just say, thank you so much. I look forward to these episodes every week with great anticipation.
We currently live in a troublesome and chaotic time, but, during this period in our history, there was no guarantee of Allied victory, and a real fear of defeat. Perhaps that can give us some perspective.
Great channel.
Can't get enough ww2, you bring a fresh and detailed look into something that is incomprehensibly savage and excruciatingly heroic.
Awesome video Indy, in particular towards the end... I could almost feel the beating hearts and the fierce fighting spirit of the defenders of Stalingrad in the same room as I!
Thank you!
I am 25 years old and I would have been at the frontlines back then, well in a camp as I am jewish but that is besides the point, being, that I could imagine what it would entail, but by all that is dear war has a way with the minds of men.
Keep up the good work, may we never forget
Its hard to imagine what the soldiers on both sides must have been thinking and feeling. I draw a blank when I try to place myself in the position of those men.
This channel and its content is better than History Channel,unbelievably high quality of facts and literary knowledge.I am gobsmacked.BRAVO
Thank you very much! Glad you enjoy our work!
The chills man! The chills. What an episode.
This episode is the best one in the series when it comes to narration. Also the best narrated episode on Stalingrad on UA-cam.
This episode was bone chilling. We love you Indy!
As always the ladies and gentlemen of the TG team,have creaed another exemplary episode,my thanks and congratulations on the stelar episode, also I would love to hear Indy's ferocious eagle scream,during...future events. I wish all of you well and I hope you guys keep outdoing yourselves. PS: Great choice on Indy's tie,really brings out the beauty his light blue eyes. Cheers ladies and gents!
Holy smoke... I had no idea that Mid-October 1942 was so decisive for Stalingrad. It is still mind-blowing to imagine there are survivors or any will to fight in the soviet lines after such a punch in the guts.
Once again, last bit for Stalingrad was mesmerizing.
The fact that Stalingrad factory’s were being exchanged multiple times throughout one day just shows you how savage and horrific that fighting was.
This is the best history program in the nation.
Thank you!
That ending was amazing. Indy rally is outdoing himself I read so many books about the battle I know that in a month operation Uranus will start and yet every episode I worry that the soviets will break that the Germans will take Stalingrad
Easily one of the top episodes of the series so far. You guys are on an absolute roll. The drama, the tension, I can't think of any documentary series that portrays how absolutely screwed the Allies were. Despite knowing what happens I'm constantly concerned the Allies might lose. Absolutely stunning production, scripting, presentation and musical choices. The World War II in Real Time has easily surpassed The Great War in every measure.
The sadness that overcomes me at each end of the episode though😔, Great work guys just simply lovely stuff💯👍
Thank you!
"And on October 14th, 1942, all hell breaks loose on Stalingrad" (11:49)... I am speechless, big bravo Indy & the team for the breathtaking narration of the scary facts of the utterly violent offensive of Stalingrad
I didn't know that Chuikov had possibly been relieved. It's interesting. But I still greatly admire this mans bravery in the face of the enemy. If he was honored after this battle. Then I'm glad. Nice video.
In a deliberate symbolic move the 8th Guards(former 62nd) Army was then sent northwards to the center of the front, coming under command of 1st Belorussian Front; Stalin was determined that the Army that had defended Stalingrad would take part in the capture of Berlin (Battle of Berlin). On 2 May 1945, Chuikov took the surrender of the German General Weidling, the commander of the Berlin Defensive Area, and the rest of the Berlin garrison.
@@legatvsdecimvs3406---That hardly surprises me. Thanks for responding.
Once again Time Ghost's team stuns me with the sheer quality of their content. The research, the animations, the editing - and the icing on the cake - Indy's chilling and mesmerizing narration! You guys not only make history come to life, you make the past feel like present. A big virtual hug to you guys, from distant Brazil :)
Thanks Klaus! Brazil isn't as distant from us as you might think, we have a team member working for us from there at the moment 😄
@@WorldWarTwo awesome, now that's one lucky person! I'd love to participate and contribute to such an amazing channel. Keep up the good work guys, and thanks for all you've already accomplished.
@Klaus keep an eye out for our 2022/23 internship program, i believe we will be advertising it very soon
@@WorldWarTwo wonderful! I'll definitely check it out!
Mr. Neidell is such a great speaker! He really manages to invoke feel into it, although i lack the vocabulary to describe it in better words, but he's the bees knees.
Scott called the ceasefire because he thought they may be firing on their own ships in all the confusion. His light carriers actually mostly ignored this order because with their advanced radar technology they were sure of what they were firing at
Great unbiased coverage please never stop making videos! Indy you are the best news anchor! CNN should hire you!
Best episode, thanks to the author. I give you a standing ovation.
I love listening to you, Indy. I never miss out of one of your episodes :)
The stalingrad segment has got to be the best segment of any WW2 episode.
The final minute had similar energy to The Great War.
I know the outcome of this battle and yet the suspense you conjure is just compelling! Bravo.
Thks Indy. You made my day, again!
A deep bow from The Netherlands for your fascinating documentaries.
Wow, Stalingrad. What a battle, what a massive sacrifice
Verdun on the Volga. I read many books of this battle but This presentation beats them all.
Thank you for that high praise Edmund
Thank you for dropping the other party from that phone conversation. It's more entertaining now, it tickles my imagination.
This one video is single best episode you have made, out of all the WW2 videos AND the Great War videos (so around 1000 video's?) as well. Breathtaking episode, brilliantly done!
"There is no land for us beyond the Volga", this statement by Vasily Zaitsev to Chuikov this morning the 16th becomes the rallying word of the defenders of Stalingrad. Those words go out today through the grapevine of battered Soviet Unions in the city as just a simple truth: the soldiers will not cross the river...they will remain...they will fight...and they will die...Chuikov himself will write: "We swore to fight to the last drop of blood and only death could relieve us of that oath. We obeyed a call of our hearts...".
Thank you Indy...
One of your best episodes ever. This battle was surreal.
hello