My dad was with the 194th or 197th Gilder Infantry Regiment, 17th Airborne Division. This is where he earned his purple heart after his Gilder got knocked out of the sky. Him and another guy were the only two survivors out of their stick. He was briefly captured, suffering wounds in his wrists and ankles and a skull fracture, I think. All I know is, he had a steel plate in his skull when he died in August of 1999. He had been first listed as MIA, but later changed to KIA, but Grandma Grace wouldn't believe them. She was later proven right when they got a letter from dad; he was alright and in a hospital in Belgium. Dad was a scout for their outfit only because he was full-blood Santee Sioux Indian. If you ever go up to the Santee reservation in Nebraska, there is a memorial there with his name on it: Pfc Clifford Sterling Robertson. My dad.
@@ronaldrobertson2332 But he was your father? If so, I would love to hear more about him, we are all descendants of the 17th paratroopers. If you would like more information on us and learn more about your father's service in WWII let me know,
My Dad was part of this. He was originally a Lancaster bomber pilot with the RAF, but flew a glider loaded with ammunition. He told me that the glider was overloaded and hit a chimney on a farmhouse, but he managed to land ok. After that he got some home leave then was recalled and flew a Douglas Dakota with Transport Command. I've still got his camouflage para smock.
War is full of incidents like this. There was an incident during the initial invasion of Iraq where marines who were watching a bridge didn't stop to think before firing. Killed a van full with a family who lived close by. It doesn't always go the way it did for this man in the video. He and that family got very, very lucky.
I thank you with all of my heart for this documentary on operation varsity. I was born in 1971 to a World War paratrooper from the 507 PIR 17th ABD. He died when I was seven but the woman who saved him and made him live again after coming home from operation varsity died six months after my birth. Operation varsity broke my father's heart and it killed him. My Mother's Love & Faith brought him back. I'm told that he never thought of those days until the day she died. That was the day he died a second time. For the next seven years and the first seven years of my life I saw my father go through moments of shell-shocked nightmares anger sadness depression drunkenness and crying. I could never understand the night terrors. Now I am 52 years old. This is the first time in my life I think I understand him. I thank God I found you and your documentary and some of the answers that a dead man can't answer. I'm waiting for the day when I joined him is not an option. I need to be at peace when I die. My father's name is Edward J Wojtal from New York City. His parents came from Poland before and during World War I. My father has a kill list of 24 krauts and a frau I remember grandma and she said to her son the day he left to go to the army: " 12:14 don't you dare let a SINGLE NAZI LIVE! I don't care if it's a man or woman or child because children grow up to be bigger Nazis' I'm so glad he didn't disappoint his mother
Its easy to call something superfluous in hindsight 80 years later. Considering how much trouble the Germans were giving them at river crossings perhaps it was the best options the generals had with the info they had available and based on their exp. Historians tend to be terrible armchair generals too cause they have hindsight and don't have people breathing down their necks for results in the midddle of the war.
Very good point... The Germans were protecting their Homeland and we're tenacious.... Ensure Eisenhower being so intelligent would have said we lose 50% of the people attacking them head-on.... Where are the paratroopers.lol Plus they talk about the paratroopers like we created them**** it was actually the Russians in the thirties that did it.
It’s impressive to see those members of the first airborne Battalion as they heroically leap from their C-130’s! In period correct black and white footage. It’s the little details that count.
@@andrewtaylor940 this is not some big budget documentary they do what they can with what they've got without using the same clips over and over again. If you want an actual documentary go find one.
I will forgive the small number of visual errors such as C130 aircraft; I liked the video. The narration is accurate as per the books I have read and my father's, God-rest-his-soul, stories. Cub, flew a CG-4A glider in this operation as a member of the 442nd Troop Carrier Group. He was the single pilot of the glider and responsible for a jeep-trailer of plasma and seven medics. He told accounts of paratroopers doing a war-dance in the early morning hours before they loaded into a C-47. That, upon arrival into Germany, around 9:00 AM, he could see the colored smoke left by the pathfinders to indicate the landing area. He would recount the experience of when he released from the tow-cable to start the descent into combat; the cable immediately slid across the top of the glider because the tow-plane pilots released the cable too soon and did not take it to the appropriate release area. He talked of flack concussions buffeting them from above, but that he was not worried because the Krauts were aiming for the larger planes flying above them. He described that in training he learned how to use the spoiler to drop quickly, but that it maintained airspeed and that his landing was only off by two fields, and that it was a good landing with only the removal of two barbed-wire fences. Then within minutes of landing, they had the front of the glider open and the trailer of plasma hooked-up to a jeep. The medics piled onto the jeep and trailer, drove off, and tended to wounded paratroopers; he was then alone in a field needing to urinate. So he walks over to a shell crater, started to... Hears a shell whistling overhead, and... He ends up in the crater! I miss my Dad; I miss his stores. He lived for 98 years and was definitely part of the greatest generation.
The 1953 Alan Ladd picture "Paratrooper" had to make do with contemporary footage of men parachuting from post-war British "Hastings" transport planes, possibly because no suitable wartime film of C-47s was available, so close in time to WW2.
So many great fascinating stories need to be recorded and shared. Thanks for sharing, first time I’ve heard of soldiers doing a war dance. The magnitude of the task at hand, knowing what they were up against and what they already went through they were stone cold bad asses. Much respect to your father and his brothers in arms.
Were there a lot of College boys along? Hence Operation Varsity. My Great Uncle paratrooper died when his unarmored plane exploded under machine-gun fire. My neighbor lived and saw hand to hand combat during the battle of the bulge. He'd killed men, was afraid of being a Dad and so never was. Wounded and needed surgery from time to time. It was the greatest generation but the generals were impatient and a lot went wrong on D. Day. They were so casual w/ American lives. Same with the Pacific theater. Beach-heading Islands, huge waste of men, material.
I just want to say thank you and well done to whomever makes these videos at Dark Documentaries. Each video is interesting and informative, and I appreciate how hard you all must work to vetting them and the hours you spend on making them. You are part of a very select group of history buffs on UA-cam that do it right. 👍🏼🇺🇸
Mark Felton is great - NO doubt,, all of those English Narrators have that great accent. But, Dark Docs has a cool voice too. Besides, it would be boring if everyone sounded the same.
Im a longtime viewer of the channel and i live in hamminkeln the Main drop zone. My grandfather often tells Me about the landing He was about 15 and lived on a farm a bit outside the village right in the Center of the dropzone. He had always good words about the American and british solider who landed There. He telled me the first ciggarett which He smoked was given to him by an GI :)
Absolutely amazing video. My grandfather was there. C Company 194th Glider infantry regiment 17th Airborne Division. I've always said the 17th is the forgotten division when it comes to history even though they were there for the Bulge and Varsity...as well as other places. So I greatly appreciate this video!
3rd batt 502nd here.. ...quote a few years behind operation varsity and market garden. Served as those before me. Funny part is I just had me 5th spine surgery on Nov 2nd. Watching this with staples in my back. All the pain and damage to my lower back and I wouldn't change a thing.
This is the Operation mentioned in Band of Brothers where Captain Nixon jumped with the 17th being one of only 4 to get out of the plane before it took a direct hit. What an operation. Took Brave men to do what they did.
Thanks to Dark Docs I learnt so much things that was kept secret during most of these wars, episcally Vietnam war, Vietnam War has to be favorite due to it making modern era what it is today.
Thank you for doing this. My father was an engineer on a B-24 with the 448th Bomb Group, 8th Army Air Force. That day after the initial assault his plane was one of, I believe, 256 B-24s that went across the Rhine, flying 100 feet off the deck dropping supplies through their bomb bay doors. His plane, unfortunately, was shot down…by small arms fire, I believe and one of only 15 that didn’t make it.
Thanks for another great episode DARK DOCS.U had my 💯 percent attention.I can hardly wait for the next one.Your voice and how you use it is over the top!
I like the choice of topic. Also, I think that this narrator is great; he has a pleasant voice, and I like his delivery, which has a slight sense of urgency, which for me, adds interest.
@D D I am confused as to the meaning behind your comment. The USA did not have a reason to enter the war until Japan attacked. The USA had an isolationist ideology at that time. Also, you wrote >> ". . . Hitler declared war on Germany." I am sure that this is some kind of typo, but taking that under consideration, I still do not see where you are headed with your comment. Is English your first language?
Canada declared war on Germany in Sept 1939 vs December 1941 for the Americans to do the same. I’d say we dragged you into it ;) Not matter what, unlike most modern wars, fighting fascism during WWII was a just cause in my opinion.
75+ % of all world war 2 footage is either lost or "too graphic for public view" and we only have whats been cleared for documentaries and personal footage
Dark Docs, thank you for providing information about wars etc. Barely anything you post i knew about beforehand. You are one of the best channels out there who post this type of content.
If you like these vids worth checking out both of Mark Felton's channels, covers a lot of mostly obscure WW2 events in great but easy to follow detail.
I'm a huge fan of your work and I'm also a huge military history buff. This was your best one yetI'm pretty well-informed about world war II but I did not know all this about operation varsity. And the soldier not throwing the grenade caps It off. Greatest one yet!
My Grandfather was a 1st Lieutenant in the Army Air Corp during WW2 an the D-Day invasion. He piloted C-130's, C-47's and gliders throughout the rest of the war.
I went to a regimental dinner where some of the original Op Varsity old boys were guests of honour. Great night and fantastic company; they had some stories to tell.
I love alot of your videos, very good information. But chill on the ads could ya? I DO appreciate that they're short as hell as least. Keep up the good work
@@johnjacobs1625 I'm sure he could, however I think he would have been very quiet about just as his brother was after he served in Korea. His brother was a tanker but I didn't know he even served until he passed away. He never talked about even being in the service. He knew however that I was going into the Navy back in 1980 and still never said a word.
Excellent video! I do not think that Varsity was over-planned. It kept the Germans off-balance, and allowed for a more swift move into Germany. They applied the lessons of Market-Garden to get this 99.99% right, instead of 90%.
G'day Dark, It's always a tough decision between lengthy planning and getting the job done in time for it to make a difference and be relevant to future operations. As was discovered in Montgomery's insane plan to execute Operation Market Garden with only 7- or 8-days’ notice; Varsity was probably 'over-planned'. They say the first casualty of any plan is the plan itself. This seems to have applied here. Alarm bells should have rung when various units, either ground or airborne, were dropped, or couldn't make it before Zero hour. I'm a military historian and some would consider me an 'armchair general', yet I did wear a uniform and I have studied this operation and Market Garden in great detail, concentrating on the diaries and records of those who took part. 'Official histories' can deviate from reality for a whole host of reasons. I would have tried to persuade Eisenhower that the Rhine, being a long river, would be best attacked by large forces of paratroopers in several locations, simultaneously, swiftly followed at each location by amphibious crossings with the paratroopers flanking and going behind the Nazis attacking the Allied river crossings. This might have split the German forces trying to respond to each Allied crossing point. If one Nazi tactic was proven again and again, it was that the Germans could always be depended on to make rapid counter-attacks. I think the one great mistake of this operation was the use of smoke screens; in this case the screens were a double-edged sword; working for the Allies on the ground but not in the air. The result was they also benefited the Germans. However, one cannot escape the fact that the larger the attacking force; the larger the number of potential casualties. Don't worry about the criticism of your use of C-130 footage; people don't understand the difficulty in finding images from the battle in question. You were simply showing paratroopers in action. (Besides, I worked closely with 'Hercs' and I always love to see them.) For instance, the only footage extent of US forces landing at Omaha Beach is a mere, short shot of half a dozen men running up the beach as one falls dead from Nazi machine gun fire. This tiny clip has been shown thousands of times because that's all there is. The rest of the footage shot by brave combat photographers on Omaha was lost to history when, at the end of the day a large duffle bag of the exposed film cans was accidentally dropped in the sea while being loaded on-board a US warship. I'm guessing that images for newsreels back home and in England were not high on the agenda of the planners of Operation Varsity. Another excellent video, Dark. You and Dr Mark Felton are the most reliable and interesting UA-cam producers on this platform. Cheers, BH
These gliders more likely exploded because of the ammunition/explosives onboard. Fuel tanks leak when hit and these gliders would be vunerable to fire.
Duncan McGee You’ve peeked my interest, how does gas react and what would the reaction be in the gliders? I’m not being a wise guy just curious. If you have the time to answer or I suppose I could google it.
@@mathewmcdonald3657 gasoline doest combust unless its in a mist. Otherwise it just has a flame on the surface. When it comes to the gliders, Jim had the answer.
@@duncanmcgee13 Years back a friend of mine had a video made by a guy dispelling gun myths (before mythbusters!!!), in it the guy shoots a full fuel tank from out of a car with an M2 .50 cal on a tripod, at first he shoots it with ball ammo, then he shoots it with tracers that clearly light off before they strike the tank, then he says "Before I get letters about fumes burn and not gas" he takes another gas tank from a vehicle that's half full and shoots it with tracers clearly near the top above the level of fuel that he'd marked on the outside of the tank with a piece of chalk. If that's doesn't set things to rest then I don't know what will. And yes he even burned a sample of the gas from each tank to prove it wasn't water or something.
I went there with the Army. Right to the copse of trees that Colonel Jeff Nicklin (Winnipeg Blue Bombers) was gunned down in. The farmhouse on the DZ is still there and riddled with MG fire. I jumped into Normandy in 94 too. 2 Commando Canadian Airborne Regiment.
My mother's cousin died when the c46 he was on was shot down over Hamminkeln during the operation. 11 men made it out of the burning transport before it crashed and exploded
My Dad jumped with the 6th airborne division into Hamminkeln. I visited with my son in 2012 and was given a book in German about the operation. Went to the hatchet shaped woods where he landed . very sobering. I was given a buckle from a parachute that had been found in the field.
The guy gets criticized for not jumping with his men yet if he jumps when the shots of novacaine will inevitably numbs his legs and they snap like toothpicks when trying to land....
More soldiers came in on gliders by far, than airborne. But they kicked ass and took names once they found each other, being spread over a hundred acres by the wind. Pretty famous quote comes out of this, no spoilers. :)
I never realized these Operations were not reinforced with future drops but 1 entire drop. Massive scale and honestly very demoralizing to the German troops that paratroopers were dropped continuously for hours. Such a site to see.
I think they made a movie about Varsity . It is the Bridge at Remagen. Fun story about making this movie . They were filming it in Czechoslovakia in 1968. During the summer invasion of warsaw packt to crush the Prague spring the Soviet command almost confused the filmed tanks and military vehicles with a being a real part of Nato army but quickly realized their mistake and didnt start shooting.
The movie was crap historically, it blames the British for the failure of the market garden but in reality, it was the Americans screwed up. In the movie, it shows only a little bit, why the hold was happening, American and British troops were still fighting in Nijmegen. The question is why were they still fighting a couple of days later?Then you get a shot of an American mouthing off to a tank commander saying how bad he is. The problem is it was the Americans' job to capture the bridge over Nijmegen, Gavin failed to do so, he was running around like a girl looking for enemies in a wood near the landing zone. So he hid behind browning (British) general who knew straight away it is was a mess, so he agreed later on that the landing zone should be secured. By the time he had arrived, surprise had been lost and the bridge was in german hand. The point is quality general would have got the bridge and not hide behind others. The Americans say it was Browning's fault, not so as Gavin was told, get the bridge, get the damn bridge. Soon as he landed he just ignored the bridge and went chicken. Nijmegan is only 15 miles from Arnhem. It is the first time history an American general hides behind British general for his own failure and the same lied was told for 76 years.
@Gareth Thomas Nothing to do with Monty the Americans screwed up. Read about the debacle at Nijmegen, it supposed to be the Americans' job but it took the brits and Americans to clear the town and capture the bridge. That is why they never got to Arnhem. Why was the bridge not captured soon as the Americans landed when they had complete surprise? Why did they allow the bridge to fall into German hands? Why were the germans allowed to capture Nijmegen and fortify it? Why did it take two armies to remove the germans?
I like the idea of smoke cover. It’s too bad they couldn’t have somehow used smoke bombs fired via battleship cannons to just blind the entire landing of Normandy .
‘At the onset to WW2 they were deployed’ WW2 started mid 1939 and the German airborne landings in Crete 1940 impressed everyone, enough to organize their own air infantry. The US entered the war Dec 41.
Awesome video as always... Say, I am familiar with both the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions but whatever happened to the 17th? This is the first I am hearing of them do tell more... Thanks... Cheers...
Great video as always. Noted you said the Americans trained para's before WWII in 1940. Just thought you should know, It was already rolling mate, everyone else had been fighting a year by that point already.
Why only mention the US airborne and their creation in the first 2 mins, Varsity was 'technically' British led and planned, coming under 21st Army Group, Monty's in over all command much like Normandy and Market Garden. About 2/5ths were British and Commonwealth in all services. Varsity wasn't to merely as implied to "Support" Monty's crossing. Varsity and Plunder were a joint Op like 'Market' and 'Garden' ... First Airborne Army was I think replaced as HQ unit by US XVIII corp(memory?) though like before it was a joint US/UK command shared roughly equally.
First: wasn’t this operation a rehab-chance for Montgomery because now he had a second attempt after the failing of Market Garden (Arnhem sept 1944) ? Second: you can hear the lessons learned from Market Garden, like: landing on top of the target, landing in one run and especially, not far from Ground forces (they would be there in 48 hours, in Arnhem 30 corps would be there in 3 days, but .........)
I had learned of Operation Varsity as it was the only time the M22 Locust tank was used as it was intended, and I was hoping to more about that...and they weren't even mentioned Aight...good to hear about those kids, tho.
Operation "Plunder", you gotta be kidding me. Its not even veiled in a euphemism. Haha something tells me they wouldn't be able to get away with naming it that today.
My dad was with the 194th or 197th Gilder Infantry Regiment, 17th Airborne Division. This is where he earned his purple heart after his Gilder got knocked out of the sky. Him and another guy were the only two survivors out of their stick. He was briefly captured, suffering wounds in his wrists and ankles and a skull fracture, I think. All I know is, he had a steel plate in his skull when he died in August of 1999. He had been first listed as MIA, but later changed to KIA, but Grandma Grace wouldn't believe them. She was later proven right when they got a letter from dad; he was alright and in a hospital in Belgium. Dad was a scout for their outfit only because he was full-blood Santee Sioux Indian. If you ever go up to the Santee reservation in Nebraska, there is a memorial there with his name on it: Pfc Clifford Sterling Robertson. My dad.
Deep respect for your Dad's service and sacrifice.
Respect 🫡
Good day Are you a member of the Scions of the 17th Airborne Division?
@@patriciabowers-fo6yl No ma'me, I am not. I do recognize the "Talons from Above" icon, though.👍
@@ronaldrobertson2332 But he was your father? If so, I would love to hear more about him, we are all descendants of the 17th paratroopers. If you would like more information on us and learn more about your father's service in WWII let me know,
My Dad was part of this. He was originally a Lancaster bomber pilot with the RAF, but flew a glider loaded with ammunition. He told me that the glider was overloaded and hit a chimney on a farmhouse, but he managed to land ok. After that he got some home leave then was recalled and flew a Douglas Dakota with Transport Command. I've still got his camouflage para smock.
Superb! The soldier who withheld his grenade that saved the innocent!
Sometimes it just takes a moment to think.
Sounds familiar
put a tear in my eye. knew something like was coming. but still.
Be merciful. That’s what his letter said.
War is full of incidents like this. There was an incident during the initial invasion of Iraq where marines who were watching a bridge didn't stop to think before firing. Killed a van full with a family who lived close by. It doesn't always go the way it did for this man in the video. He and that family got very, very lucky.
I thank you with all of my heart for this documentary on operation varsity. I was born in 1971 to a World War paratrooper from the 507 PIR 17th ABD.
He died when I was seven but the woman who saved him and made him live again after coming home from operation varsity died six months after my birth.
Operation varsity broke my father's heart and it killed him.
My Mother's Love & Faith brought him back.
I'm told that he never thought of those days until the day she died.
That was the day he died a second time.
For the next seven years and the first seven years of my life I saw my father go through moments of shell-shocked nightmares anger sadness depression drunkenness and crying.
I could never understand the night terrors.
Now I am 52 years old.
This is the first time in my life I think I understand him.
I thank God I found you and your documentary and some of the answers that a dead man can't answer. I'm waiting for the day when I joined him is not an option.
I need to be at peace when I die.
My father's name is Edward J Wojtal from New York City.
His parents came from Poland before and during World War I.
My father has a kill list of 24 krauts and a frau
I remember grandma and she said to her son the day he left to go to the army:
" 12:14 don't you dare let a SINGLE NAZI LIVE!
I don't care if it's a man or woman or child because children grow up to be bigger Nazis'
I'm so glad he didn't disappoint his mother
Bless you and your family for all your being there to keep us free 🙏
Its easy to call something superfluous in hindsight 80 years later. Considering how much trouble the Germans were giving them at river crossings perhaps it was the best options the generals had with the info they had available and based on their exp. Historians tend to be terrible armchair generals too cause they have hindsight and don't have people breathing down their necks for results in the midddle of the war.
rockit730 anything Montgomery planned ended in disaster.. especially anything involving paratroopers. Market garden anyone ?
I agree with logan
@rockit730
You're even better at being an armchair General than the narrator is.
@ROBERT DEAN
So are you.
Very good point...
The Germans were protecting their Homeland and we're tenacious....
Ensure Eisenhower being so intelligent would have said we lose 50% of the people attacking them head-on....
Where are the paratroopers.lol
Plus they talk about the paratroopers like we created them**** it was actually the Russians in the thirties that did it.
It’s impressive to see those members of the first airborne Battalion as they heroically leap from their C-130’s! In period correct black and white footage. It’s the little details that count.
c130s?
im pretty sure c-47s were used, not c130s. C130s were developed in 1950s.
You do understand that sometimes they use footage that may not be 100% suitable right?
L_ky I know that, but the video editor apparently doesn’t. I assume he’s hoping for work on a Michael Bay historical movie.
@@andrewtaylor940 this is not some big budget documentary they do what they can with what they've got without using the same clips over and over again. If you want an actual documentary go find one.
Read the disclaimer at the video description
I will forgive the small number of visual errors such as C130 aircraft; I liked the video. The narration is accurate as per the books I have read and my father's, God-rest-his-soul, stories.
Cub, flew a CG-4A glider in this operation as a member of the 442nd Troop Carrier Group. He was the single pilot of the glider and responsible for a jeep-trailer of plasma and seven medics.
He told accounts of paratroopers doing a war-dance in the early morning hours before they loaded into a C-47. That, upon arrival into Germany, around 9:00 AM, he could see the colored smoke left by the pathfinders to indicate the landing area.
He would recount the experience of when he released from the tow-cable to start the descent into combat; the cable immediately slid across the top of the glider because the tow-plane pilots released the cable too soon and did not take it to the appropriate release area.
He talked of flack concussions buffeting them from above, but that he was not worried because the Krauts were aiming for the larger planes flying above them.
He described that in training he learned how to use the spoiler to drop quickly, but that it maintained airspeed and that his landing was only off by two fields, and that it was a good landing with only the removal of two barbed-wire fences.
Then within minutes of landing, they had the front of the glider open and the trailer of plasma hooked-up to a jeep. The medics piled onto the jeep and trailer, drove off, and tended to wounded paratroopers; he was then alone in a field needing to urinate.
So he walks over to a shell crater, started to... Hears a shell whistling overhead, and... He ends up in the crater!
I miss my Dad; I miss his stores. He lived for 98 years and was definitely part of the greatest generation.
The 1953 Alan Ladd picture "Paratrooper" had to make do with contemporary footage of men parachuting from post-war British "Hastings" transport planes, possibly because no suitable wartime film of C-47s was available, so close in time to WW2.
Thanks for that David , great story .
So many great fascinating stories need to be recorded and shared. Thanks for sharing, first time I’ve heard of soldiers doing a war dance. The magnitude of the task at hand, knowing what they were up against and what they already went through they were stone cold bad asses. Much respect to your father and his brothers in arms.
Did you see in the news where the Army plans on shutting down the Pathfinder School?
Were there a lot of College boys along? Hence Operation Varsity. My Great Uncle paratrooper died when his unarmored plane exploded under machine-gun fire. My neighbor lived and saw hand to hand combat during the battle of the bulge. He'd killed men, was afraid of being a Dad and so never was. Wounded and needed surgery from time to time. It was the greatest generation but the generals were impatient and a lot went wrong on D. Day. They were so casual w/ American lives. Same with the Pacific theater. Beach-heading Islands, huge waste of men, material.
I just want to say thank you and well done to whomever makes these videos at Dark Documentaries. Each video is interesting and informative, and I appreciate how hard you all must work to vetting them and the hours you spend on making them.
You are part of a very select group of history buffs on UA-cam that do it right.
👍🏼🇺🇸
Even more interesting when I listen to it in Mark Feltons voice
The man himself!
The sweet velvet voice of the Felt-man himself.
Especially along with his trademark intro music
Mark Felton is great - NO doubt,, all of those English Narrators have that great accent. But, Dark Docs has a cool voice too. Besides, it would be boring if everyone sounded the same.
Does it contain fewer inaccuracies in Felton's voice?
"Losses were high..."
Hold my beer
-Operation Market Garden
Laughs in Operation Bagration. ( I know it's not airborne related but eh)
Im a longtime viewer of the channel and i live in hamminkeln the Main drop zone. My grandfather often tells Me about the landing He was about 15 and lived on a farm a bit outside the village right in the Center of the dropzone. He had always good words about the American and british solider who landed There. He telled me the first ciggarett which He smoked was given to him by an GI :)
This is so much better than anything the history channel is producing these days. Thank you for putting this together.
That corpsman, thanking his mother. It's those small details that make up the real history.
L
I love layering about storys like that.
Absolutely amazing video. My grandfather was there. C Company 194th Glider infantry regiment 17th Airborne Division. I've always said the 17th is the forgotten division when it comes to history even though they were there for the Bulge and Varsity...as well as other places. So I greatly appreciate this video!
I have to say, as a veteran you make the most intriguing films. Very good work man keep it up.
3rd batt 502nd here.. ...quote a few years behind operation varsity and market garden.
Served as those before me.
Funny part is I just had me 5th spine surgery on Nov 2nd. Watching this with staples in my back. All the pain and damage to my lower back and I wouldn't change a thing.
"The Parachute Test Regiment"
You mean, the Balls of Solid Titanium Regiment.
lol. yeah great point and much better name
Lol
This is the Operation mentioned in Band of Brothers where Captain Nixon jumped with the 17th being one of only 4 to get out of the plane before it took a direct hit. What an operation. Took Brave men to do what they did.
Thanks to Dark Docs I learnt so much things that was kept secret during most of these wars, episcally Vietnam war, Vietnam War has to be favorite due to it making modern era what it is today.
Thank you for doing this. My father was an engineer on a B-24 with the 448th Bomb Group, 8th Army Air Force. That day after the initial assault his plane was one of, I believe, 256 B-24s that went across the Rhine, flying 100 feet off the deck dropping supplies through their bomb bay doors. His plane, unfortunately, was shot down…by small arms fire, I believe and one of only 15 that didn’t make it.
Thanks for another great episode DARK DOCS.U had my 💯 percent attention.I can hardly wait for the next one.Your voice and how you use it is over the top!
I like the choice of topic.
Also, I think that this narrator is great; he has a pleasant voice, and I like his delivery, which has a slight sense of urgency, which for me, adds interest.
Exactly!
@D D I am confused as to the meaning behind your comment.
The USA did not have a reason to enter the war until Japan attacked. The USA had an isolationist ideology at that time.
Also, you wrote >> ". . . Hitler declared war on Germany." I am sure that this is some kind of typo, but taking that under consideration, I still do not see where you are headed with your comment. Is English your first language?
i love this channel! some other channels use like stock videos of people sitting at a table? interview or presentation
i live near the drop zone , wow
Commie
Be safe next time
Go see it
Time to bust out a metal detector
Thanks for mentioning the Canadians, my wife grandpa was a founding member of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion.
d meinhertzhagen us Americans drag you guys into some shit storms eh. Lol
Canada declared war on Germany in Sept 1939 vs December 1941 for the Americans to do the same. I’d say we dragged you into it ;)
Not matter what, unlike most modern wars, fighting fascism during WWII was a just cause in my opinion.
@@My_Alchemical_Romance We don't mind, our soldiers are always looking for deployments, lol. You Yanks always manage to find some for us to join in.
My dad was paratrooper and glider trooper his tab on his cap had parachute and glider together
Whoa I didn’t know we had c-130’s with ‘nam era gear in the 1940s
He has said he uses stock footage. I just watched a documentary on WW2 combat footage. It isn't indexed, cataloged, and some is lost or misplaced.
75+ % of all world war 2 footage is either lost or "too graphic for public view" and we only have whats been cleared for documentaries and personal footage
Yeah, I noticed that too. 1st flight was 1954. It's such a great plane, it goes through time warps.
@G Petro damn bro you guys do gods work keep it up guys
Read the disclaimer in the description.
There are few docs about operations once the allies entered Germany. Thank you for this excellent effort!
by far my favorite channel on youtube, good work
Dark Docs, thank you for providing information about wars etc. Barely anything you post i knew about beforehand. You are one of the best channels out there who post this type of content.
If you like these vids worth checking out both of Mark Felton's channels, covers a lot of mostly obscure WW2 events in great but easy to follow detail.
@@gabrielredwood8432 Yeah. I just got onto Mark Felton as well, thank you for the recommendation though.
I agree completely chad. Hell, I spent 28 months in the 82nd 40 years ago and didn't know half this stuff.
I'm a huge fan of your work and I'm also a huge military history buff. This was your best one yetI'm pretty well-informed about world war II but I did not know all this about operation varsity. And the soldier not throwing the grenade caps It off. Greatest one yet!
My Grandfather was a 1st Lieutenant in the Army Air Corp during WW2 an the D-Day invasion. He piloted C-130's, C-47's and gliders throughout the rest of the war.
Always know its gonna be a good day when I see a new video up
My Great Grandfather flew gliders during this operation. Used to tell my Mom stories about it when she was little.
tell us some Joe , it adds real depth .
Share these videos with like minded people with respest for greatness, this channel deserves more subscribers
9:40 Amazing!
The soldier that showed restraint from throwing the grenade was badass
I went to a regimental dinner where some of the original Op Varsity old boys were guests of honour. Great night and fantastic company; they had some stories to tell.
Love this channel
Great doc man!
I love alot of your videos, very good information. But chill on the ads could ya? I DO appreciate that they're short as hell as least. Keep up the good work
Thumbs up TWICE. Thanks for the great video. Dad was there 508th PIR . JJ USN VF-142 F-14 1975-79
My mother's cousin was in Company C 513th Regiment 17th Airborne
SSGT Robert "Pete" Thomas.
@@johnstark4723 I bet Pete could tell some stories, back in the day! JJ
@@johnjacobs1625 I'm sure he could, however I think he would have been very quiet about just as his brother was after he served in Korea. His brother was a tanker but I didn't know he even served until he passed away. He never talked about even being in the service. He knew however that I was going into the Navy back in 1980 and still never said a word.
@@johnstark4723 I get it Dad didn't talk about it Much either! But I was Glad Went to a Couple Paratrooper ReUnions in Ohio, in the 90's. JJ
This doc's narrator has a voice that is terse and urgent. Makes the documentary dramatic, to match the actual dramatic historical event.
I really enjoy your videos and your narration is the best out there!
You should do a video on the First Special Service Force. My great grandfather was part of it and it’s an amazing story.
I was in a mass tac jump in Florida, there were 35 C-41’s and close to 8500 jumpers. Nothing like this.
AIRBORNE...
This channel is my new addiction lol
I learned that in June of 1940, we had c-130’s!
Ummm maybe time travel 😜?
C130 uses turboprop engines. These didn't exist during WWII.
@@mbisson5816 Like U.S.S. Eldridge. . . *;-)*
you need to watch some dark skies bud
Usually it isn't one of the first clips to show the wrong aircraft or the wrong army.
Nice video as always
Excellent video! I do not think that Varsity was over-planned. It kept the Germans off-balance, and allowed for a more swift move into Germany. They applied the lessons of Market-Garden to get this 99.99% right, instead of 90%.
Respect 👊🏻
This is the greatest narrator on UA-cam. I fucking love his voice, and I'm not even gay.
Arnhem in the Netherlands is an amazing place to visit to commemorate the Airborne Forces.
I like it that lots of the military footage is from the wrong era and even completely different conflicts. "It's a feature, not a flaw," people!
@therealman I can't read :(
G'day Dark, It's always a tough decision between lengthy planning and getting the job done in time for it to make a difference and be relevant to future operations. As was discovered in Montgomery's insane plan to execute Operation Market Garden with only 7- or 8-days’ notice; Varsity was probably 'over-planned'.
They say the first casualty of any plan is the plan itself. This seems to have applied here. Alarm bells should have rung when various units, either ground or airborne, were dropped, or couldn't make it before Zero hour.
I'm a military historian and some would consider me an 'armchair general', yet I did wear a uniform and I have studied this operation and Market Garden in great detail, concentrating on the diaries and records of those who took part. 'Official histories' can deviate from reality for a whole host of reasons.
I would have tried to persuade Eisenhower that the Rhine, being a long river, would be best attacked by large forces of paratroopers in several locations, simultaneously, swiftly followed at each location by amphibious crossings with the paratroopers flanking and going behind the Nazis attacking the Allied river crossings. This might have split the German forces trying to respond to each Allied crossing point.
If one Nazi tactic was proven again and again, it was that the Germans could always be depended on to make rapid counter-attacks. I think the one great mistake of this operation was the use of smoke screens; in this case the screens were a double-edged sword; working for the Allies on the ground but not in the air. The result was they also benefited the Germans.
However, one cannot escape the fact that the larger the attacking force; the larger the number of potential casualties.
Don't worry about the criticism of your use of C-130 footage; people don't understand the difficulty in finding images from the battle in question. You were simply showing paratroopers in action. (Besides, I worked closely with 'Hercs' and I always love to see them.)
For instance, the only footage extent of US forces landing at Omaha Beach is a mere, short shot of half a dozen men running up the beach as one falls dead from Nazi machine gun fire. This tiny clip has been shown thousands of times because that's all there is.
The rest of the footage shot by brave combat photographers on Omaha was lost to history when, at the end of the day a large duffle bag of the exposed film cans was accidentally dropped in the sea while being loaded on-board a US warship.
I'm guessing that images for newsreels back home and in England were not high on the agenda of the planners of Operation Varsity.
Another excellent video, Dark. You and Dr Mark Felton are the most reliable and interesting UA-cam producers on this platform.
Cheers, BH
I agree. It was very cold in the Arden, the Nazi's fired at treetops that splintered onto our men. My neighbor was reconnaissance and wounded.
I don't know when you changed that intro thing but it looks great.
It was an "easy" daylight jump for the troopers, but what they went through afterwards was hell.
Got this video fresh.
Whatching that glider fold up 20 feet from the ground in the mist was cold.
Do a video about the miracle on the vistula
That war was insane
Some gliders did explode. They were carrying jeeps with gas containers.
Thats not how gas works
These gliders more likely exploded because of the ammunition/explosives onboard. Fuel tanks leak when hit and these gliders would be vunerable to fire.
Duncan McGee You’ve peeked my interest, how does gas react and what would the reaction be in the gliders? I’m not being a wise guy just curious. If you have the time to answer or I suppose I could google it.
@@mathewmcdonald3657 gasoline doest combust unless its in a mist. Otherwise it just has a flame on the surface. When it comes to the gliders, Jim had the answer.
@@duncanmcgee13
Years back a friend of mine had a video made by a guy dispelling gun myths (before mythbusters!!!), in it the guy shoots a full fuel tank from out of a car with an M2 .50 cal on a tripod, at first he shoots it with ball ammo, then he shoots it with tracers that clearly light off before they strike the tank, then he says "Before I get letters about fumes burn and not gas" he takes another gas tank from a vehicle that's half full and shoots it with tracers clearly near the top above the level of fuel that he'd marked on the outside of the tank with a piece of chalk.
If that's doesn't set things to rest then I don't know what will.
And yes he even burned a sample of the gas from each tank to prove it wasn't water or something.
I went there with the Army. Right to the copse of trees that Colonel Jeff Nicklin (Winnipeg Blue Bombers) was gunned down in. The farmhouse on the DZ is still there and riddled with MG fire. I jumped into Normandy in 94 too. 2 Commando Canadian Airborne Regiment.
My mother's cousin died when the c46 he was on was shot down over Hamminkeln during the operation. 11 men made it out of the burning transport before it crashed and exploded
My Dad jumped with the 6th airborne division into Hamminkeln. I visited with my son in 2012 and was given a book in German about the operation. Went to the hatchet shaped woods where he landed . very sobering. I was given a buckle from a parachute that had been found in the field.
The guy gets criticized for not jumping with his men yet if he jumps when the shots of novacaine will inevitably numbs his legs and they snap like toothpicks when trying to land....
Yeah but as far as I understood it he withheld that information so the guy criticized him could not have known of the condition.
love the new intro!
cool videos
🇬🇧 We can never repay what we owe these men. 👍👍👍👍👍
More soldiers came in on gliders by far, than airborne. But they kicked ass and took names once they found each other, being spread over a hundred acres by the wind. Pretty famous quote comes out of this, no spoilers. :)
I never realized these Operations were not reinforced with future drops but 1 entire drop. Massive scale and honestly very demoralizing to the German troops that paratroopers were dropped continuously for hours. Such a site to see.
This sounds alot like the plot for A Bridge Too Far.
pretty decent movie.
I think they made a movie about Varsity . It is the Bridge at Remagen. Fun story about making this movie . They were filming it in Czechoslovakia in 1968. During the summer invasion of warsaw packt to crush the Prague spring the Soviet command almost confused the filmed tanks and military vehicles with a being a real part of Nato army but quickly realized their mistake and didnt start shooting.
Luckiller 01 A bridge too far is about operation Market Garden
A bridge four far took it a bridge too far though
The movie was crap historically, it blames the British for the failure of the market garden but in reality, it was the Americans screwed up. In the movie, it shows only a little bit, why the hold was happening, American and British troops were still fighting in Nijmegen. The question is why were they still fighting a couple of days later?Then you get a shot of an American mouthing off to a tank commander saying how bad he is.
The problem is it was the Americans' job to capture the bridge over Nijmegen, Gavin failed to do so, he was running around like a girl looking for enemies in a wood near the landing zone. So he hid behind browning (British) general who knew straight away it is was a mess, so he agreed later on that the landing zone should be secured. By the time he had arrived, surprise had been lost and the bridge was in german hand. The point is quality general would have got the bridge and not hide behind others. The Americans say it was Browning's fault, not so as Gavin was told, get the bridge, get the damn bridge. Soon as he landed he just ignored the bridge and went chicken. Nijmegan is only 15 miles from Arnhem. It is the first time history an American general hides behind British general for his own failure and the same lied was told for 76 years.
@Gareth Thomas Nothing to do with Monty the Americans screwed up. Read about the debacle at Nijmegen, it supposed to be the Americans' job but it took the brits and Americans to clear the town and capture the bridge. That is why they never got to Arnhem. Why was the bridge not captured soon as the Americans landed when they had complete surprise? Why did they allow the bridge to fall into German hands? Why were the germans allowed to capture Nijmegen and fortify it? Why did it take two armies to remove the germans?
Just a history note: Market-Garden dropped close to 35,000 troops vs Operation Varsity 16K via Cornelius Ryan's A Bridge to Far in Sept 44; not to
Thanks for mentioning the Canadians.
I like the idea of smoke cover. It’s too bad they couldn’t have somehow used smoke bombs fired via battleship cannons to just blind the entire landing of Normandy .
Nikolai Shriver smoke works against you as much as it works for you (pre thermal imaging).
‘At the onset to WW2 they were deployed’
WW2 started mid 1939 and the German airborne landings in Crete 1940 impressed everyone, enough to organize their own air infantry. The US entered the war Dec 41.
Never going to understand why Churchill did not sack the prissy egomaniac Montgomery.
because he was the best general in the ETO by a country mile..
Market Garden ...@@johndawes9337
OK...aside from the C130 issue, I think many of these excellent little docs could benefit from the judicious use of battlefield maps
Awesome video as always... Say, I am familiar with both the 82nd and 101st Airborne divisions but whatever happened to the 17th? This is the first I am hearing of them do tell more... Thanks... Cheers...
Great video as always.
Noted you said the Americans trained para's before WWII in 1940. Just thought you should know, It was already rolling mate, everyone else had been fighting a year by that point already.
what did the pilots of the gliders do after landing? did they have other duties except to pilot the gliders?
They fought as infantry.
Losing 80 planes isn't success it's a means to an end...
my great uncle was a glider pilot in the 6th airborne in varsity
He never had the makings of a varsity athlete
I see what you did there... 😂👍🏼
The US started trains paratroopers in 1940 before the war. WW2 started September 1939. You must have heard about it. It was in all the papers
before the US joined the war, i think he meant to say, since they joined in 41 with the pearl harbour incident
60 mile smokescreen by the Brits, damn Impressive!
Not hard for the British. I mean, look at London!
@@joeyjamison5772 are you alluding to the pea supers of the 50's? Because London and the UK isn't like that anymore. 😂
@@handlesarefeckinstupid I hope not!
Do Project Aqueiline
Why only mention the US airborne and their creation in the first 2 mins, Varsity was 'technically' British led and planned, coming under 21st Army Group, Monty's in over all command much like Normandy and Market Garden.
About 2/5ths were British and Commonwealth in all services.
Varsity wasn't to merely as implied to "Support" Monty's crossing. Varsity and Plunder were a joint Op like 'Market' and 'Garden' ... First Airborne Army was I think replaced as HQ unit by US XVIII corp(memory?) though like before it was a joint US/UK command shared roughly equally.
In other words Varsity was the OPPOSITE of Market-Garden ('a Bridge too far') all at once, support ALREADY WITHIN REACH, immediate resupply
My great grandpa was a part of this!
Serious question. How many adds is considered necessary?
imagine the stones on those guys climbing intowooden gliders.
First: wasn’t this operation a rehab-chance for Montgomery because now he had a second attempt after the failing of Market Garden (Arnhem sept 1944) ? Second: you can hear the lessons learned from Market Garden, like: landing on top of the target, landing in one run and especially, not far from Ground forces (they would be there in 48 hours, in Arnhem 30 corps would be there in 3 days, but .........)
Can you imagine pitching this to 6th airborne after they heard what happened to 1st?
Just insane.
I had learned of Operation Varsity as it was the only time the M22 Locust tank was used as it was intended, and I was hoping to more about that...and they weren't even mentioned
Aight...good to hear about those kids, tho.
Operation "Plunder", you gotta be kidding me. Its not even veiled in a euphemism. Haha something tells me they wouldn't be able to get away with naming it that today.
*shows footage from the freaking Vietnam and Korean Wars in a WW2 documentary, thinking we wouldn't notice*
Me: ugh...
Did i see a C-130 taking off in black and white to make it look old?
Dark doc should get an insurance for his voice
Good