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Thanks to anyone who can offer any feedback !! 🙏🤞 thanks @Shkunk1 @CMDR Sweeper 👍✌️ So, anyone else who has experience: What's better, Nord VPN or EXPRESS VPN??? I see the same channels advertising both (not at the same time) but should I consider them equal? Anyway tried both? Or even one? Looking for ANY feedback plz... I'll be checking here and my YT messages (if that's possible now?) lol.
It's only been recently known about. So I'm thinking Hollywood not wanting to touch it and glorify Nazi Germany at this time. I bet when the climate changes someone will pounce on it. It definately has the makings of an Oscar worthy movie though.
"In 1933, an unfunny Charlie Chaplin tribute act that went by the name of Adolph Hitler" Hahahahah. This line caught me so off guard, I literally just almost choked on my coffee.
Im sure the wehrmacht soldiers relished the opportunity to finnally get to shoot at the SS. From letters dating back to the invasion of Poland in 1939 there was already alot of resentment between the SS and Wehrmacht. In one report a Wehrmacht officer is complaining how they do all the real fighting and the SS mostly stays in the rear lines carrying out political orders. In another another officer witnessed the various warcrimes commited by the SS and was pleading with his superiors to do something about it as it damages the honor of the german military. Keep in mind, this was only in 1939 and already there was alot of bitterness and resentment between the groups
@@Barabel22 The Wehrmacht might not have been clean. Nobody says they were. But comparing the savagery and blood thirstiness of the average Wehrmacht soldier and the average SS member, they will still end up clean. It's like comparing somebody who has a drop of blood on them and somebody who is drenched in it. The SS was just that bad. And indeed there were Wehrmacht commanders who disagreed about having SS groups operating near them because of the morale issues that a common soldier would have from seeing such butchery going on.
Barabel22 you act as if a Wehrmacht soldier had any choice at all in what he was sent to do. Let’s see you get drafted Forced into a war told you kill who we say you kill or we kill you and your family. If you haven’t experienced that don’t judge them
@@RedKrossSquad Not to mention that they were Guinea pigs for the SS "soldier enhancement" programs. So sometimes they were bloodthirsty simply because they were pumped on meth or other experimental cocktails. Some who were still in their heads were quite glad to surrender.
Love this bit of history. So few fighting so many. The fact that the defenders were from opposite sides of the war gives me a warm feeling inside. I hope that they are all properly remembered and honoured.
SIMON: "His name was Zvonimir Čučković, and he's one you'll definitely want to remember." ME, TWO SECONDS LATER: "I can't remember a single letter of his name."
"Incredibly, someone at the castle answered." I have the most bizarre mental image of a Frenchman taking a pause from fighting back impending annihilation by the SS, and going upstairs to answer the phone.
Clemenceau’s great great grandson went to my high school. On Veterans Day this year, he came to speak to us about Georges Clemenceau and almost nobody at my school had heard of him. Really a shame.
Still think its awesome an should try to spread the word. Too many millennials have no clue what really happened in our country, an the world. Like what ethic group had slaves first. An I could go on, our history has been white washed for sure...
If you grew up in France, I doubt you never heard of Clemenceau. Not only are streets in nearly every city named after him, but our navy's flagship aircraft carrier bore his name for 36 years. On the other hand, what you probably never heard of is how he was of the opinion that the "Boches" should be kept vassals nearly forever and pay reparations that were far above what they could realistically pay without suffering from real hunger and other shortages. He was one of those people who just cannot have enough of victory and ravels in humiliating a defeated ennemy (which, granted, could be seen as normal in his time, and given France's suffering during the war, is partly justified - but for sure NOT the mark of a great man). Maybe if he'd listened to Wilson a bit more, we'd have escaped all other sorts of later horrors in the world's history. Concerning what our friend @Leroy Jenkins said, I can only guess that he is some type of (most likely white) nationalist who loves not only to comment on videos about war, pointing out how great France/USA/whateverhiscountry is (my first guesses having been cited) is and always has been, but more importantly tries to slowly make his worldview creep in through hidden means... Probably he is trying to allude to the fact that the Ottomans traded slaves in the 14th century, which they certainly weren't the "first" in history to do, but hey why bother when you have a narrative to follow? If my guess is wrong, I say sorry to him for my slight agressiveness. It's just that those half-informed historical opinions wielded in a way to belittle slavery or colonialism are a bit too common on this platform.
@@lionelfully I mean some or most French people probably heard of Clemenceau's name, but never bothered to actually research what he did, they'd be like "Oh so you're related to the guy who did something to get a street named after him" In my town, for example, we have a street named "Getulio Vargas", one of the better Military Dictators, but if you asked anybody who Getulio Vargas is, they'd either shrug and say "I don't know" or they'd answer something akin to "Oh it's that dictator who commited suicide"
Simon should do audio books. His voice is pleasant to the ears. I know he is reading from a script that someone else wrote but the way he talks, he sounds like the most knowledgeable person in the world on the subjects.
I went to the village of itter literally every year for the first 13 years of my life, my father before me. We never knew the castle had such an amazing history. I am mindblown.
@@satanbritannia5210 After the downfall, a castle relieved Defeating the Nazis who held them besieged Gangl and Lee and their men set the prisoners free
@@swanpride First Episode introduces the french VIPs and Zvonimir Čučković as well as the two SS officers, and ends with the VIPs discovering that they've been abandoned. Second episode we are introduced to Gangl and Lee, their meetiing and the joint rescue team deploying, dealing with various issues and then it ends with them arriving at the castle to the less than enthusiastic welcome of the VIPs and fortifying the castle with the closing seen of Zvonimir Čučković on his bicycle nearing Innsbruck. Third episode deals with the attack and Major John T. Kramers receiving word from Zvonimir and marshalling the reinforcments with cuts going to and fro the castle battle and Kramers' part. Fourth and Final episode has a roughly equal split of the besieged force and Kramers' unit trying to reach them, with the death of Gangl, the retreat to the interior and the SS about to storm the interior when Kramers' unit finally arrives to secure and rescue the besieged group, finally summing up with an epilogue of the end of the battle, the fates of those involved, credits roll and thats a wrap.
I honestly did not know ANYTHING of this battle until I heard Sabaton song. WWII is one of my favorite wars to study and the fact that I somehow not know this makes me so sad. Since I've first heard the song, I've been so obsessed with this battle and like telling its story.
im from a military family an this kinda thing was my bedtime storys lol glad to see its normal to be entertained by such a story. it teaches that not everyones a soldier but everyone well do there bit
Ever since I was recommended to one of your videos, I've been hooked. I love that when I watch a video I come away with interesting facts and stories to tell others about. I follow like all of your channels and I always end up "smashing that like button" because I love all of the videos. I love learning about World War 2. It's my favorite war to learn about and discuss. I never thought I'd learn a new thing but this video was AMAZING. Thank you (and your team, of course) for all of your hard work and dedication to knowledge and your channels! Great stuff, man!
Another story worth telling: the general Wenck who, ordered to liberate Berlin, instead turned his army around to break out another army cut off by the Russians, take the survivors and together race towards the American lines to surrender there. A hero, if you ask me.
"t’s the end, the war has been lost . Keeping them safe ’til the river’s been crossed . 'Nicht ein schlacht, ein rettungsaktion ' Holding their ground ’til the final platoon. “Hurry up, we’re waiting for you” Men of the 9:th, and civilians too. Dispossessed, surrendering to the west."
The guy just simply knew which side to surrender to. He made the smart choice. Surrendering to the United States WAS the better option than surrendering to the Soviets, and he saved his fellow countrymen from that awful fate. Because Stalin would have had ZERO MERCY on Nazis...
@@maremaarten You and I are on the same page with that. I was simply stating that surrendering to the United States was the better of two options. Because after what Nazi Germany did to the Soviety Union for three years, I shudder to think what those captured by the Soviets would have been subjected to. Stalin was not a nice person. And he was rightfully pissed off at Germany for stabbing him in the back the way they did. It would have been so much easier for Wenck to cut his losses, and not do what he did. But he made the hard choice, and unquestionably the better one. I will not disagree with you there.
@@shindari I'd say it's far from simple, especially with all of what you said in mind being a factor. Rescuing those regiments probably took quite a bit of balls, routing the Russians just to surrender? I wonder how many would leave them all for dead and just run to safety immediately. Also (Not particularly related to anything you said) I find it hard to understand that people who yammer about Russia non-stop today think that the USSR under crazy ass Stalin wasn't planning his own campaigns for Europe.
Awesome! *starts singing Sabaton Please consider doing Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem! It took 80+ years to construct, many ancient historians said it was one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, Romans destroyed it in 70 AD (an amazing story itself) and the wealth taken from it was used to construct the Colosseum!
@@vitarius2465 Ah, yeah, now that you say it, I recognize it. Love their history channel...just realized you're talking about Herods Temple...I was referring to a song about this video lol
That was my first thought. It literally has EVERYTHING to make a great film. Between the actual battles, the possible character dynamics of the different prisoners, the enemy soldiers flipping to fight with the heroes, all set in a remote location. Even though the Ex Machina ending of "When all seemed hopeless, a giant army appeared from nowhere to save the day" is extremely cliche in film and tv, that's the way it happened.
It would...honestly, why the hell did nobody pick that one up yet? It would also be so topical because it features Germans standing up to do the right thing against other Germans.
@@dr.lyleevans6915 NO, the movie is not out yet, IMDb say it is in pre-prduction. The reason it has taken so long to do a movie is probably at untill recently showing Germany in any good light in WWII movirs was seen as a bad idea. I just cant see this story being too well received in the 50s and 60s, do you.
Rightists: "Why am I here with traitors?!" Leftists: "Why am I here with traitors?!" Neutrals: "Why am I here?" 4th Faction: "Dinner is at 1900 comrades."
Wow, this is such an amazing story. I love these channels because even if it's a topic you're not interested in, or a place you've never heard of, it always ends up crazy interesting and you just wanna know more.
You didn't mentioned the 3rd officer who helped defending the castle: SS-Hauptsturmführer Kurt-Siegfried Schrader. He survived the war. Stephen Harding talks about him in his book, ,,The Last Battle" There is also another story of German and Allied soldiers who teamed up: Operation Cowboy (look for it on Google). Mark Felton wrote a book about it, having the same title- Operation Cowboy. Great video !!
I mean the SS were well outnumbered even before the final wave of reinforcements arrived. "One man standing on a wall is worth ten men beneath it" as a wise man once said
"And it's the end of the line of the final journey! Enemies leaving the past! And it's American troops and the German Army, joining together at last!" Sabaton The Last Battle
"... For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, the horse was lost. For want of a horse, the rider was lost. For want of a rider, the message was lost. For want of a message, the battle was lost. For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost. All for the want of a nail ... " The Battle of Castle Itter was such a nail. Thanks so very much for this fascinating story, and for telling it so well. :)
You have left out the part when Borotra jumped over the castle walls, evaded enemy fire and aided Kramers in getting back to the castle, otherwise I am happy that more people talk about this video
Coincidentally, DVG Games recently released a solitaire game about this historical event simply called Castle Itter....though it is only a game, you get a feel for how the battle evolved and an immersive view of the overall situation.
Are you sure thats a good idea? Will the ending stay true to the story or events in the story stay the same? My bet is on things getting altered in some fashion...
Beggers can't be choosers. At the end of the day money spends the same no matter where it came from. Hell if terrorists, drug cartels, or Nazi's wanted to fund my projects I'd take it, Nord is pretty minor compared to those. Other than that this was probably filmed months ago, so whatever happened in the meantime with Nord they can feign ignorance since they can't predict the future, and it's unrealistic to simply expect them to not upload it after filming and eat the financial loss and wasted time, even before considering contract obligations with Nord.
It seems like it would make a good mini series. I have not read the book, but from what is explained, it has quite a lot that makes it not just a war story. A very intriguing story.
Truly the greatest generation. That American first lieutenant being only 27 years old and having the balls to take part in such a crazy scenario blows my mind. Even more crazy is how there were tens of thousands more courageous individuals like him among the allies (and the germans).
LOVED IT I'm a huge WWll buff, an I had only known a little about this battle. You really helped me experience it on a whole other level. You do a fantastic job Simon. Much love from across the pond in West Virginia!
"There was a photojournalist on hand to document the moment..." That "photojournalist" was none other than René Lévesque, one of the most influential canadian politicians of the post WW II era. Too bad you missed that.
You missed Kurt-Siegfried Schrader who was exempt from the treatment that was reserved for SS by the french prisoners who advocated for him And Josef Gangl didn't just died, he died while trying to move Reynaud out of harm's way Except this, excellent video! AND IT'S AMERICAN TROOPS AND THE GERMAN ARMY JOINING TOGETHER AT LAST!
1:35 - Chapter 1 - The mysterious castle 4:30 - Chapter 2 - The VIP Prison 7:30 - Mid roll ads 9:10 - Chapter 3 - Auf wiedersen , adolf 12:15 - Chapter 4 - The wolfs in the forest 15:10 - Chapter 5 - Assault on itter 18:10 - Chapter 6 - End game
Thanks mate for the wonderful video. History must be taught like this in schools and colleges. It will certainly kindle the curiosity of the students to know more.
Get NordVPN for 70% off right here: nordvpn.org/geographics
I already have Nord VPN and I highly recommend it to all of your followers who are concerned about security.
I'm now curious where you DO live if not in Britain...
@@Shkunk1 And I wholeheartedly recommend AGAINST NordVPN if you are concerned about security... Why? Because NordVPN really doesn't give a crap, they have had a breach a while ago and it has been covered and it was outrageous... So yes, I shy away from their services.
@Geographics you look a lot like vsauce...
Thanks to anyone who can offer any feedback !! 🙏🤞
thanks @Shkunk1 @CMDR Sweeper 👍✌️
So, anyone else who has experience: What's better, Nord VPN or EXPRESS VPN???
I see the same channels advertising both (not at the same time) but should I consider them equal? Anyway tried both? Or even one?
Looking for ANY feedback plz... I'll be checking here and my YT messages (if that's possible now?) lol.
I first read about this battle about 5 years ago, and I'm still amazed that nobody has made a movie about it.
I Know i would go see it.
Exactly my thought
This really really really needs to be a movie.
Yes, like many, I'm sure -- thinking the same thing.
It's only been recently known about. So I'm thinking Hollywood not wanting to touch it and glorify Nazi Germany at this time. I bet when the climate changes someone will pounce on it. It definately has the makings of an Oscar worthy movie though.
This HAS to be a movie. One of the most interesting minor battles of the war.
It is. Its called The Last Battle
Near the end of the war the Americans fought the Russian's in a little known battle. Battle of Nis
@@davidfordcooper it's not out yet probably will be in 2021 or 23
@@aldini9329 I've definitely seen it
@@davidfordcooper was that starring burt Lancaster? Castle Keep i believe was the 1960s movie
Lee: I never thought id die side by side with a GERMAN
Gangl: What about side by side with a friend?
Everyone there: AYE!!! I could do that!
31, 32, 33...
@@OzzieTheHead A tank still counts as only 1!
I never thought I'd die side by side with a blackman
What about side by side with a friend.
Final battle scene in Mel Gibsons
" the patriot "
Gangl takes down an entire squadron and cocks his head a bit.
Lee:.....THAT STILL ONLY COUNTS AS ONE!
“He was finally able to rest after 6 long years” - excellent prose, your delivery of course equally so
He would also have been able to rest if he had survived for 3 more days...
"In 1933, an unfunny Charlie Chaplin tribute act that went by the name of Adolph Hitler" Hahahahah. This line caught me so off guard, I literally just almost choked on my coffee.
Lolol SAME!!!
I luckily wasn't drinking anything at the time
Hear Hear.
I choked on my donut. I will be taking a break from eating for the rest of this video now lol
I have coffee nose.
Im sure the wehrmacht soldiers relished the opportunity to finnally get to shoot at the SS. From letters dating back to the invasion of Poland in 1939 there was already alot of resentment between the SS and Wehrmacht. In one report a Wehrmacht officer is complaining how they do all the real fighting and the SS mostly stays in the rear lines carrying out political orders. In another another officer witnessed the various warcrimes commited by the SS and was pleading with his superiors to do something about it as it damages the honor of the german military. Keep in mind, this was only in 1939 and already there was alot of bitterness and resentment between the groups
Legitpenguins69 kinda sucks the Wehrmacht soldiers got sent to pow camps after fighting with the Americans
this was depicted in the series generation war, where an ss officer executes a girl in front of wehrmacht soliders
@@Barabel22 The Wehrmacht might not have been clean. Nobody says they were. But comparing the savagery and blood thirstiness of the average Wehrmacht soldier and the average SS member, they will still end up clean. It's like comparing somebody who has a drop of blood on them and somebody who is drenched in it. The SS was just that bad. And indeed there were Wehrmacht commanders who disagreed about having SS groups operating near them because of the morale issues that a common soldier would have from seeing such butchery going on.
Barabel22 you act as if a Wehrmacht soldier had any choice at all in what he was sent to do. Let’s see you get drafted Forced into a war told you kill who we say you kill or we kill you and your family. If you haven’t experienced that don’t judge them
@@RedKrossSquad Not to mention that they were Guinea pigs for the SS "soldier enhancement" programs. So sometimes they were bloodthirsty simply because they were pumped on meth or other experimental cocktails. Some who were still in their heads were quite glad to surrender.
If you want a more musical version of this story, check out "The Last Battle" by Sabaton.
I see you are a fellow man of culture.
I'll stick to "Doe, a deer; a female deer. Re (ray); a drop of golden sun...."
No kidding! Great song!
5th of May
i came here to say this lol
Love this bit of history. So few fighting so many. The fact that the defenders were from opposite sides of the war gives me a warm feeling inside.
I hope that they are all properly remembered and honoured.
That feel when the game has the antagonist as a unlockable character.
You just gave me DAO flashbacks
Castle Crashers...
Yeah Magus is similar to a Nazi. Spiffy uniform, but at the end of the day he's still a mass murderer who deserves to die.
Idiotic pointless hyperbole... Is everything a video game
SIMON: "His name was Zvonimir Čučković, and he's one you'll definitely want to remember."
ME, TWO SECONDS LATER: "I can't remember a single letter of his name."
His name translates to Ringpeace Squatter interestingly
Ja se sjećam.
I remember his last name cause it has 'Cuck' in it.
@@Deerkins as ć is also spoken as ch
@@Deerkins Tbh letters such as č.ć and š would be pretty good if they were introduced to english
Avengers Endgame is the most ambitious crossover ever...
Castle Itter: hold my beer
Ian h actually, it would be hold my stein.
Which contains beer
In German, that would be: "Halt mein bier!"
Halt mein lager
No, the "hold my beer" is in english, do you think a german would let another man hold his beer? Dont be silly.
Gangl has a street named after him as an honour for his sacrifice.
Such a tribute...
Where is it
@@yayhay1 Sepp Gangl-Straße in nearby town Wörgl, Austria
@@059metafrast thank you
"Incredibly, someone at the castle answered."
I have the most bizarre mental image of a Frenchman taking a pause from fighting back impending annihilation by the SS, and going upstairs to answer the phone.
Allo? Allo?
Peter Sellers would have been ideal for the part.
"Castle Itter, this is François, how may I direct your call?"
How did he even hear the phone
"Excause me a while, i think the Phone is ringing"
Literally EVERYBODY ELSE: *keeps fireing
The first reality TV show concept ever tested... Sounds like a miracle there had been no casualties within the prisoners.
Clemenceau’s great great grandson went to my high school. On Veterans Day this year, he came to speak to us about Georges Clemenceau and almost nobody at my school had heard of him. Really a shame.
Still think its awesome an should try to spread the word. Too many millennials have no clue what really happened in our country, an the world. Like what ethic group had slaves first. An I could go on, our history has been white washed for sure...
They never heard of Roy Rodgers either.
Leroy Jenkins ok boomer
If you grew up in France, I doubt you never heard of Clemenceau. Not only are streets in nearly every city named after him, but our navy's flagship aircraft carrier bore his name for 36 years.
On the other hand, what you probably never heard of is how he was of the opinion that the "Boches" should be kept vassals nearly forever and pay reparations that were far above what they could realistically pay without suffering from real hunger and other shortages. He was one of those people who just cannot have enough of victory and ravels in humiliating a defeated ennemy (which, granted, could be seen as normal in his time, and given France's suffering during the war, is partly justified - but for sure NOT the mark of a great man). Maybe if he'd listened to Wilson a bit more, we'd have escaped all other sorts of later horrors in the world's history.
Concerning what our friend @Leroy Jenkins said, I can only guess that he is some type of (most likely white) nationalist who loves not only to comment on videos about war, pointing out how great France/USA/whateverhiscountry is (my first guesses having been cited) is and always has been, but more importantly tries to slowly make his worldview creep in through hidden means... Probably he is trying to allude to the fact that the Ottomans traded slaves in the 14th century, which they certainly weren't the "first" in history to do, but hey why bother when you have a narrative to follow?
If my guess is wrong, I say sorry to him for my slight agressiveness. It's just that those half-informed historical opinions wielded in a way to belittle slavery or colonialism are a bit too common on this platform.
@@lionelfully I mean some or most French people probably heard of Clemenceau's name, but never bothered to actually research what he did, they'd be like "Oh so you're related to the guy who did something to get a street named after him"
In my town, for example, we have a street named "Getulio Vargas", one of the better Military Dictators, but if you asked anybody who Getulio Vargas is, they'd either shrug and say "I don't know" or they'd answer something akin to "Oh it's that dictator who commited suicide"
Simon should do audio books. His voice is pleasant to the ears. I know he is reading from a script that someone else wrote but the way he talks, he sounds like the most knowledgeable person in the world on the subjects.
He did the Damn Interesting podcast some while back. Still one of my favorite podcasts, despite its almost never release schedule.
I went to the village of itter literally every year for the first 13 years of my life, my father before me. We never knew the castle had such an amazing history. I am mindblown.
Being German it was kept very tidy. There wasn't a lot of litter at Itter.
very good sir
Oh no... Really? Sailing the seas of cheese are we?
booooo!
Sit in the corner and think about what you've done.
badumm-ts
18:38 "I recognize that the council has made a decision, but given that it's a stupid ass decision I have elected to ignore it."
😂😂😂
ITS AMERICAN TROOPS AND THE GERMAN ARMY JOINING TOGETHER AT LAST
unknown nostalgia One last fight, it’s the death throes of the 3rd reich, justice shall be done the final battle remains!
I came to the comments just for this \m/
@@bigmcdick4916 Ammo is running low, they're depleting their machine guns
Every bullet counts until surrender is announced
IT'S THE END OF THE LINE OF THE FINAL JOURNEY...
@@satanbritannia5210 After the downfall, a castle relieved
Defeating the Nazis who held them besieged
Gangl and Lee and their men set the prisoners free
I can't believe I've never heard of this story before. Absolutely amazing, almost movie-like in how it proceeded. Thank you for retelling it to us.
You could also make a great mini-series out of it....
@@swanpride First Episode introduces the french VIPs and Zvonimir Čučković as well as the two SS officers, and ends with the VIPs discovering that they've been abandoned. Second episode we are introduced to Gangl and Lee, their meetiing and the joint rescue team deploying, dealing with various issues and then it ends with them arriving at the castle to the less than enthusiastic welcome of the VIPs and fortifying the castle with the closing seen of Zvonimir Čučković on his bicycle nearing Innsbruck. Third episode deals with the attack and Major John T. Kramers receiving word from Zvonimir and marshalling the reinforcments with cuts going to and fro the castle battle and Kramers' part. Fourth and Final episode has a roughly equal split of the besieged force and Kramers' unit trying to reach them, with the death of Gangl, the retreat to the interior and the SS about to storm the interior when Kramers' unit finally arrives to secure and rescue the besieged group, finally summing up with an epilogue of the end of the battle, the fates of those involved, credits roll and thats a wrap.
You channelled the History Guy: “history ... that deserves to be remembered.” Love his ending tagline. :)
I honestly did not know ANYTHING of this battle until I heard Sabaton song. WWII is one of my favorite wars to study and the fact that I somehow not know this makes me so sad. Since I've first heard the song, I've been so obsessed with this battle and like telling its story.
This story would make for one of the COOLEST and most interesting world war 2 movies ever
This NEEDS to be a movie.
im from a military family an this kinda thing was my bedtime storys lol glad to see its normal to be entertained by such a story. it teaches that not everyones a soldier but everyone well do there bit
Ever since I was recommended to one of your videos, I've been hooked. I love that when I watch a video I come away with interesting facts and stories to tell others about. I follow like all of your channels and I always end up "smashing that like button" because I love all of the videos.
I love learning about World War 2. It's my favorite war to learn about and discuss. I never thought I'd learn a new thing but this video was AMAZING. Thank you (and your team, of course) for all of your hard work and dedication to knowledge and your channels!
Great stuff, man!
I learned about this from the band Sabaton from their album The Last Stand
"...an unfunny Charlie Chaplin tribute act..." hahahahaha, love it!
if i ever get the chance to use this. oh you betcha i will......however the dictator speech is timeless.....rip charlie....rip
I didn't think I would see a worse Chaplin tribute act than Private Baldrick. I was wrong.
Then he follows with "genocidal tramp." Wow.
@@ieuanhunt552 yes nothing matches Pvt. Baldrick's horrifying slug impression of Charlie Chaplin.
*video starts*
"Oh didn't even notice this was from Today I found out"
*checks channel name*
"wait there's something fishy going on here"
simon you are a gift of knowledge to all of us
He actually just reads scripts that his team writes for him. You really thought he knew everything that he narrates? Lol 😆
1st Lt. Lee as they set out for Castle Itter on that spring afternoon: "May the 4th be with us."
Another story worth telling: the general Wenck who, ordered to liberate Berlin, instead turned his army around to break out another army cut off by the Russians, take the survivors and together race towards the American lines to surrender there. A hero, if you ask me.
"t’s the end, the war has been lost
.
Keeping them safe ’til the river’s been crossed
.
'Nicht ein schlacht, ein rettungsaktion
'
Holding their ground ’til the final platoon.
“Hurry up, we’re waiting for you”
Men of the 9:th, and civilians too.
Dispossessed, surrendering to the west."
The guy just simply knew which side to surrender to. He made the smart choice. Surrendering to the United States WAS the better option than surrendering to the Soviets, and he saved his fellow countrymen from that awful fate. Because Stalin would have had ZERO MERCY on Nazis...
@@shindari yeah but he sacrificed hundreds of his own men to save thousands of surrounded comrades.
@@maremaarten You and I are on the same page with that. I was simply stating that surrendering to the United States was the better of two options. Because after what Nazi Germany did to the Soviety Union for three years, I shudder to think what those captured by the Soviets would have been subjected to. Stalin was not a nice person. And he was rightfully pissed off at Germany for stabbing him in the back the way they did.
It would have been so much easier for Wenck to cut his losses, and not do what he did. But he made the hard choice, and unquestionably the better one. I will not disagree with you there.
@@shindari I'd say it's far from simple, especially with all of what you said in mind being a factor. Rescuing those regiments probably took quite a bit of balls, routing the Russians just to surrender? I wonder how many would leave them all for dead and just run to safety immediately. Also (Not particularly related to anything you said) I find it hard to understand that people who yammer about Russia non-stop today think that the USSR under crazy ass Stalin wasn't planning his own campaigns for Europe.
That's the best WWII story I've ever heard! You cannot make this stuff up!
Awesome! *starts singing Sabaton
Please consider doing Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem! It took 80+ years to construct, many ancient historians said it was one of the most beautiful buildings in the world, Romans destroyed it in 70 AD (an amazing story itself) and the wealth taken from it was used to construct the Colosseum!
Has Sabaton done a song on this? If not, we need to suggest it. 😁
Samantha R yes they have! It’s called ‘The Last Battle’. Great song
@@vitarius2465 Ah, yeah, now that you say it, I recognize it. Love their history channel...just realized you're talking about Herods Temple...I was referring to a song about this video lol
5th of May is just around the corner 1945 the fuhrers reigns at its end
@@samanthar1214 the last battle is about thos video. Not Herod
This would make an epic movie!
That was my first thought. It literally has EVERYTHING to make a great film. Between the actual battles, the possible character dynamics of the different prisoners, the enemy soldiers flipping to fight with the heroes, all set in a remote location. Even though the Ex Machina ending of "When all seemed hopeless, a giant army appeared from nowhere to save the day" is extremely cliche in film and tv, that's the way it happened.
That’s what Sabaton said. So they said screw it we’ll make a song instead
It would...honestly, why the hell did nobody pick that one up yet? It would also be so topical because it features Germans standing up to do the right thing against other Germans.
I think there is one. It is called “last battle”
@@dr.lyleevans6915 NO, the movie is not out yet, IMDb say it is in pre-prduction.
The reason it has taken so long to do a movie is probably at untill recently showing Germany in any good light in WWII movirs was seen as a bad idea. I just cant see this story being too well received in the 50s and 60s, do you.
This is an incredible story! Your recommendation led me to get the audiobook. The extra context for the story is fascinating!
Rightists: "Why am I here with traitors?!"
Leftists: "Why am I here with traitors?!"
Neutrals: "Why am I here?"
4th Faction: "Dinner is at 1900 comrades."
Wow, this is such an amazing story. I love these channels because even if it's a topic you're not interested in, or a place you've never heard of, it always ends up crazy interesting and you just wanna know more.
This would make a great movie, maybe some day we'll get one.
Holy crap...I love reading about WW2 and I have NEVER heard about this. This is incredible!
You didn't mentioned the 3rd officer who helped defending the castle: SS-Hauptsturmführer Kurt-Siegfried Schrader. He survived the war. Stephen Harding talks about him in his book, ,,The Last Battle"
There is also another story of German and Allied soldiers who teamed up: Operation Cowboy (look for it on Google). Mark Felton wrote a book about it, having the same title- Operation Cowboy.
Great video !!
According to TV Tropes this would be an example of "Enemy Mine."
That shade on hitler was 🔥
For real, "charlie chaplin tribute act" had me dying lmao
Brilliant, and totally stolen.
@@WintrBorn From where? I tried Googling the phrase after reading your comment and this video is one of the only search results
markdturnock I meant I have now totally stolen that for my personal use.
Not to mention he had a yee-yee ass haircut.
Great video guys! I can't believe I've driven past this castle and I didn't know the story!
Simon, this channel is amazing and I can’t stop watching every video on this channel compared to biographics.
Thank you for another flawless delivery of history, your videos are both educational and entertaining 👍🏽
Its wild to think i had school skiing trip in Grafenweg which is just down the road from itter castle last year
Historians, writers, Simon. Thank you so much.
I mean the SS were well outnumbered even before the final wave of reinforcements arrived.
"One man standing on a wall is worth ten men beneath it" as a wise man once said
But if that one man standing on the wall has no ammunition left, he might as well be worth nothing.
@@omegastar19 ey didn't say they were losing :)
@@omegastar19 hard to climb a wall when you get kicked in the face.
WALLS WERE ONLY USEFUL BEFORE THE 20TH CENTURY AFTER THAT BULLET HAD THE ABILITY TO PIERCE WALLS
@@syedferoz2188 not thick stone walls. But modern artillery made short work of forts, castles and walls
"And it's the end of the line of the final journey! Enemies leaving the past! And it's American troops and the German Army, joining together at last!"
Sabaton
The Last Battle
"... For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, the horse was lost. For want of a horse, the rider was lost. For want of a rider, the message was lost. For want of a message, the battle was lost. For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost. All for the want of a nail ... " The Battle of Castle Itter was such a nail. Thanks so very much for this fascinating story, and for telling it so well. :)
This sounds like the plot of a Wes Anderson movie honestly
You have left out the part when Borotra jumped over the castle walls, evaded enemy fire and aided Kramers in getting back to the castle, otherwise I am happy that more people talk about this video
Also the injured SS officer who had been recuperating at the castle who stayed to help the prisoners and led the defence efforts
"Unfunny Charlie Chaplin Tribute Act" is my new favorite way to refer to Hitler
Coincidentally, DVG Games recently released a solitaire game about this historical event simply called Castle Itter....though it is only a game, you get a feel for how the battle evolved and an immersive view of the overall situation.
Yep, fantastic game. Following the devs progress of the game on BGG is actually what brought this battle to my attention.
Absolutely one of the best stories of WW2, and one of your best deliveries, Simon. I also agree with the calls for a movie on this - what a corker!
I got to know this thanks to the Sabaton song The Last Battle. I love this story, there needs to be a movie about this!
I was like "where did I hear about this"
Sabaton was it... the Bismark song goes hard!
Sabaton: fun and educational.
Thanks
I need Quentin Tarantino to make a movie about this.
Are you sure thats a good idea? Will the ending stay true to the story or events in the story stay the same? My bet is on things getting altered in some fashion...
I dunno, Tarantino has never been great with duality. He thrives in stark contrasts
Nah, no thanks. Ill take the people who directed saving private ryan, black hawk down, tears of the sun, hotel rwanda instead.
Ty for this the sacrifice of these men deserves to be remembered and honored
Your probably the only UA-camr still supporting NordVPN
Beggers can't be choosers. At the end of the day money spends the same no matter where it came from. Hell if terrorists, drug cartels, or Nazi's wanted to fund my projects I'd take it, Nord is pretty minor compared to those. Other than that this was probably filmed months ago, so whatever happened in the meantime with Nord they can feign ignorance since they can't predict the future, and it's unrealistic to simply expect them to not upload it after filming and eat the financial loss and wasted time, even before considering contract obligations with Nord.
What's the matter with Nord ?
@@anonimato1987 Long story short they had a security breach and didn't tell anyone for months.
dlphnsfn 28 *you’re
shirvan from caspianreport does
Thank you for doing all you do, Geographics team! One of my favorite channels on UA-cam.
SS: Prepare to die!
103rd Infantry Division: *BOO!*
It seems like it would make a good mini series. I have not read the book, but from what is explained, it has quite a lot that makes it not just a war story. A very intriguing story.
"Made a career out of being a nobody." LOLOLOLOL!!!
Great video! Gotta get the book!! Thanks Simon!!
You beat Indy Neidell to the Sabton History episode of The Last Battle
Sabaton , acttually caused me to look up more on this engagement. Good song and just a fascinating story.
The story of Castle Itter had gone unnoticed, until Simon whistled it to the world.
*Laughs in Simple History Channel*
Laughs in Sabaton
5TH OF MAY, V-DAY'S JUST AROUND THE CORNER.
1945, THE FUHRER'S REIGN'S AT ITS END.
Jenny at the gates, as the SS open fire
There's no time to waste, the final battle has begun!
After the downfall, a castle besieged
Facing the Nazis awaiting relief
Gangl and Lee and their men set the prisoners free
An it's the end of the line of the final journey
Enemies leaving the past
And it's American troops and the German army
Joining together at last!
Truly the greatest generation. That American first lieutenant being only 27 years old and having the balls to take part in such a crazy scenario blows my mind. Even more crazy is how there were tens of thousands more courageous individuals like him among the allies (and the germans).
LOVED IT I'm a huge WWll buff, an I had only known a little about this battle. You really helped me experience it on a whole other level. You do a fantastic job Simon. Much love from across the pond in West Virginia!
History that deserves to be remembered? That's The History Guy's line. Good channel.
"There was a photojournalist on hand to document the moment..." That "photojournalist" was none other than René Lévesque, one of the most influential canadian politicians of the post WW II era. Too bad you missed that.
Really! Wow... very cool!
You gotta forgive the guy, I mean, Canada is just so forgettable sometimes...
shindari woof
God forbid someone doesn’t get every little fact about an event in the 1940s especially when the vid is about America and Germany. You’re despicable
Wow! I never knew that! Thanks for the tidbit. I love little details like that.
Thanks Simon. Just bought the book. Great video!
AND ITS THE END OF THE LINE, OF THE FINAL JOURNEY!
Bloody amazing video, the kind of forgotten history that must be remembered
Well, now I'm upset that I was less than one hour away. Grumble.
This new format is totally awesome. Original format was very good, but this seems to be moving in a great direction
You missed Kurt-Siegfried Schrader who was exempt from the treatment that was reserved for SS by the french prisoners who advocated for him
And Josef Gangl didn't just died, he died while trying to move Reynaud out of harm's way
Except this, excellent video! AND IT'S AMERICAN TROOPS AND THE GERMAN ARMY JOINING TOGETHER AT LAST!
Even your ad reads are interesting, your narration is impeccable.
*I DO WANT TO TELL YOU ABOUT 'NORD VPN* .....
skip
Tap the right hand side of your screen a few times.
Ieuan Hunt well that is how one skips
What an amazing vid and story! Thanks for putting this together. Very eye opening
Jenny at the gates, as the SS open fire
There's no time to waste, the final battle has begun
After the downfall, a castle besieged. Facing that nazi's awaiting relief, Gangl and Lee and their men set the prisoners free
And it's the end of the line, of the final journey! Enemies leaving the past! And it's American troops and the German army, joining together at last!
Excellent video!! Thank you so much for the information about this battle !!
Mark my words, this will be a Tarantino movie.
Thank you for bringing this battle to light I am a WWII buff and this is the first I've heard of this battle
Unfunny Charlie Chaplin tribute act 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Someone had way too much fun writing this episode, brilliant team
1:35 - Chapter 1 - The mysterious castle
4:30 - Chapter 2 - The VIP Prison
7:30 - Mid roll ads
9:10 - Chapter 3 - Auf wiedersen , adolf
12:15 - Chapter 4 - The wolfs in the forest
15:10 - Chapter 5 - Assault on itter
18:10 - Chapter 6 - End game
:55 - *Not the only time the Allies fought on the same side as the Wehrmacht. Still a great story
Indeed - Operation Cowboy was another example.
“ un funny charley Chaplin act” yes !!!! Best hitler roast
Oh my goodness, calling him the "The unfunny Charlie Chaplin tribute act".
Thanks mate for the wonderful video. History must be taught like this in schools and colleges. It will certainly kindle the curiosity of the students to know more.
I find it especially delightful to hear and Englishman mocking Hitler mercilessly. That just fits neatly.
I agree. I love how he refers to Hitler as Charlie Chapman act lol
I can only imagine that conversation on the telephone.
I did nazi the Chaplain jokes coming...
WOW! I consider myself fairly well read on WWII, and I had never heard this story. Thank you!
US and Wehrmacht soldiers also fought together in' "Operation Cowboy" against the SS in April '45 .
I LOVE this battle! I’m so glad someone made a video on it!