Leo Major isn't just a hero to Canadians, but also to the Dutch. He single handily saved a town from being shelled an probably saved many civilians. What a legend.
TBH, as a Canadian he's kind of a very quiet shame more than a hero; the dude lied so frequently and so flagrantly about his achievements that it's basically impossible to take anything he actually achieved seriously.
the best thing about the Ghurkas, is when they retire to your home town in the UK and I'm yet to meet an exception to them being mild mannered, polite, and raising wonderfully polite children. no doubt they have their problems as all cultures do, but I'm yet to learn of them.
I live in Zwolle and leo major is a folk hero. in the street where he threw hand grenades is the street where i grew up with my parents and around the corner where the fight started is a street named after him
@@AprehamLincoln The Dutch owe a lot to the Canadians that fought in WW2, along with the Polish they fought through and liberated most parts of The Netherlands including my hometown of Groningen.
Pun deserved the VC for that action. He saved his base from an IED attack, he had enemy to both sides AND the front, and he fought them all off single-handedly, including hand-to-hand combat. If you saw it in a movie you'd think it was ridiculous and made up. Man deserves every medal you could throw at him.
I was at one of their shows last week and it was fkin awesome. As soon as Simon mentioned Finland I knew what was coming, and even though I knew about Simo from even before Sabaton, I will always listen to the story because that guy is an all-time badass of badasses.
Thanks for doing a story on York. As a lifelong Tennessean, he is almost a mythological character in our state. Fortunately the very most of his story is true.
He's my grandfather's uncle. My grandfather was named James Alvin Carol York. He fought in Korea. Also earned a Carnegie medal for saving a man's life out of a burning gas tanker. What a legacy.
I am not sure if Sgt. York's pacificism was truly accurate. I have heard his Mother and Pastor were more conscientious objectors than he was. The original movie, I understand, overplayed that. The man could shoot, that I understand.
@Isaac Fortner it's more a sense of patriotism and willingness to stand up for your ideals that is highly prevalent in the southern states and in some pockets of other states. Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas are rather large contributors of recruits in the armed forces. I knew a gentleman from Kansas that had been an incredible shot, so much so that when his commanding officer told him to hit the german man standing 500 yds from him between the eyes he shot him exactly square between the eyes no scope.
If you're planning to invade Russia, winter can actually be a good time for it. BUT you need good supply lines and extensive training in cold weather fighting. The Mongols did it, and ruled Russia for like 200 years. Although the system established by the Mongols of treating the serfs like crap was continued by the Russian Nobility, the Tsar, the Communists and then by the Oligarchs and Putin.
In the Draft of 1917, a man from Tennessee Overseas to the trenches he went, from the land of the free Into war he brought two things along, a rifle and his faith Joined the ranks as a private, assigned to 338th.
@@acommonspat5253 When his faith has been put to the tests the cal to arms he heeds On the eighth of October he went, made a sergeant for his deeds Fearless, leading the raid of the war, machine gun on the hill Charge the enemy taking the prisoners by power of his will
Biathlon (skiing and shooting) remains a fairly popular sport in Finland, from what my Finnish girlfriend has told me, at least relative to other countries. She participates here in the states and will likely continue to do so when she moves back to Finland in May. She also cuts and maintains a hole in the ice to go swimming in almost every day during the winter. Seriously, do NOT invade Finland in winter. Cold doesn't even slow them down, it only makes them stronger, lol.
A little disappointed you didn't include a short man from Texas (Audie Murphy), but the included four are definitely worth their spots in this video! There's always spot for him in the next one! I actually haven't heard of the last two from this set. Very interesting stories.
I think they only wanted one person from each country. And while I fully agree Audie Murphy was amazing, Alvin York is a great choice too. I think the real problem here is that covering just four people isn't nearly enough.
So delightful to see Leo Major here, the man who liberated my home town. I am ever so pleased that I got to shake his hand on our Memorial Day and say 'sank jou ' when i was a wee boy.
You 100% should've included Mj Robert Cain VC. The defence of Oosterbeek was an almost sure loss, but Major Cain reportedly disabled 6 tanks, 4 of which being Tigers, with a PIAT, and when he ran out of PIATs he decided to hip-fire a mortar. He had shrapnel wounds, perforated eardrums, and still managed to have a shave and wait for all of his men to retreat before withdrawing himself.
There are actually a few names I can think of that should be included but those 4 were all exceptional. I hadn't heard Pun's story before, so that was great to hear for the first time.
the Gurkhas are ABSURD warriors, got a local Nepal community in my hometown and I hang out at the smoke shop they own because these dudes are just great to me and have so many stories and they one day had me look into the Gurkhas... the stories are tremendous. Everyone allied with em who had contact with the Gurkhas, even secondhand, seemed to harbor an intense respect for their abilities, one which carried by word of mouth into the modern day.
I'm sure The White Death was pissed off when he woke up a week later and learned that he missed all the remaining fun! On a serious note though, I didn't know about him using the Iron Sights instead of his Scope to avoid any reflection giving away his position. Makes sense, but just makes his Feat EVEN MORE Legendary!
Also made for a smaller target. The scope on most military bolt action rifles sits clear of the receiver to allow use of the open sights when necessary
Häyhä pronounciation for English speakers: the letter Ä is always the same sound in Finnish (this does not apply to Swedish), since Finnish is a largely phonetic language, and that sound is the exact same as the A in the English words "and", "can" or "apple"... NOT like the A in "car" or "far" as both of those would be a regular A in Finnish. The letter Y in Finnish on the other hand is the same as the letter U in the English words "cure", "dune" or the first U in "bureau". Also on a partially related note... Those of you who know classical Latin and its reconstructed pronounciation might notice that the Finnish phonetics are largely based on Latin, as the written Finnish language as it exists today was standardised as recently as the protestant church reformation in the 1500-1800s. They pretty much just matched the phonetics of spoken Finnish to Latin letters, which was used by pretty much every European University scholar at the time. They matched the Latin alphabet on purpose after a short period where they tried matching with the German alphabet... that didn't really work as well with how Finnish and its dialects were pronounced. The letters Ä and Ö were added from Swedish (along with Å, which exists in the Finnish alphabet, even though it's never used), simply to signify two phonems that exist in Finnish but don't exist in classical Latin (at least not in the correct-ish pronounciation of Latin). As a side note, the letter C hasn't seen much use in Finnish, probably to avoid confusion with the letters K and S, since the letter C in classical Latin is the K sound and in ancient Greek it is the S sound. Same thing with the letter X... since that's just a K and S together so in Finnish it's just KS. X does exist in the Finnish alphabet, but much like C and Å it just isn't used except in foreign names.
Landed on D-Day. Actually engaged and killed soldiers. Took four machine gun bullets. Lost his finger. He only lived because one of them struck his cigarette case.
@@Robert-un7br Hit by friendly fire of all things - In 1939, Doohan enlisted in the Royal Canadian Artillery, 14th (Midland) Field Battery of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. From there, he was moved to the 13th Field Regiment of the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division in their 22nd Field Battery. By 1940 he was a Lieutenant and was sent to train in Britain prior to Operation Overlord. He first saw combat landing in the 2nd Wave in a Recce Party at Juno Beach on D-Day. The 13th Field Regiment was interspersed with the Regina Rifle Regiment landing at "Nan" Sector of Juno Beach. After shooting two snipers, Doohan led his men to higher ground through a field of anti-tank mines, where they took defensive positions for the night. Crossing between command posts at 23:30 that night, Doohan was hit by six rounds fired from a Bren gun by a nervous Canadian sentry: four in his leg, one in the chest, and one through his right middle finger. The bullet to his chest was stopped by a silver cigarette case given to him by his brother. His right middle finger had to be amputated, something he would conceal on-screen during most of his career as an actor, sometimes with a flesh-colored glove with a "faux finger." Doohan graduated from Air Observation Pilot Course 40 with eleven other Canadian artillery officers and flew Taylorcraft Auster Mark V aircraft for 666 (AOP) Squadron, RCAF as a Royal Canadian Artillery officer in support of 1st Army Group Royal Canadian Artillery. All three Canadian (AOP) RCAF squadrons were crewed by artillery officer-pilots and accompanied by non-commissioned RCA and RCAF personnel serving as observers. Although he was never actually a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Doohan was once labelled the "craziest pilot in the Canadian Air Force". In the late spring of 1945, on Salisbury Plain north of RAF Andover, he slalomed a plane between telegraph poles "to prove it could be done", earning himself a serious reprimand.
I've had the honor and privilege of standing in Alvin York's house, having a conversation with his son. I've also visited his grave side a few times. You should read about Albert Roche. The First Soldier of France. "Come and fight a Gurkha!"
I respect that decision. We had a KIA and were going to have a proper memorial ceremony in theater. I agree with that. Good friend. Then the ceremony was put on hold for 2 hours because some General wanted to be there and I lost my cool and threw a tantrum. He didn't bother to see the guy when he was alive! Why should we wait for some lazy general who suddenly wants to be there and can't even bother to be on time?! Ain't got time for generals, there's a war on.
Sgt. York lived just south of me and even being from Kentucky his legacy gives me pride in the stubbornness of my fellow hill folk. On another note, I learned early on, be friends with the Gurkha people. Ninjas have nothing on these tough folk. Them the Montagnards, and the Kurds, are some of the fiercest fighters on this planet.
@@benjaminlang2473 not entirely true, Josef "Sepp" Gangl very easily qualify for this in my opinion. He is currently hailed as the hero of the Austrian Resistance by the Austrian Resistance themselves, for leading his own Wehrmacht-men and French prisoners (one of whom turned out to be Charles de Gaulles sister) alongside Captain John C. Lee Jr. and his 12th US Armored Division against the SS in the battle of castle itter, and ultimately laying down his own life in the process.
Go watch Gary Cooper's 1941 movie ''Sergeant York". Hollywood took some liberties (as always) but got the gist of it right - same with the Audie Murphy Autobiography "To Hell and BacK"
Leo Major isn't only credited for liberating a town all by himself from a large German force, but for also saving thousands of civilians from the bombs that would have been dropped on the town in a short while. He is a Canadian Hero, but he is also a Dutch hero too, a true legend who didn't let losing an eye stop him from doing the near impossible.
I'm not sure the exact root of Major's disdain for Montgomery, but there was a general feeling among Canadian officers, and perhaps enlisted men that the battle for the Scheldt and the liberation of Holland should have been started before the autumn of that year, as the autumn rains would make the task all the more difficult. And they blamed Monty's well established timidity for that. I've read sources that said the terrain was the most difficult to fight in during the war. Maybe they mean in Europe, but I think that's arguable. But it does serve to point out that if it wasn't the worst, it was very bad.
@Rod Challis I've also heard Montgomery was known to send his soldiers to their deaths, he fought like brits did in ww1, just rush the machine gun and pray,
@@rodchallis8031 there was also al ot of bitterness that post dday the canadians had to stop and wait for the brits instead of just taking caen, which caused an extra like 3-5 months of fighting and all sorts of extra deaths. just because monty didnt want the brits to be shown up by one of the colonies. he has a lot of canadian blood on his hands
Would be amazing if you would make an episode on Anders Lassen. A dane fighting in the english army during WW2. He recived 3 military crosses and the victorian cross.
Dipprasad Pun against the talibans reminds me of star wars. In a way that the talibans have the aim of star troopers and the guy is some kind of Jedi to avoid all those bullets. Truly a legend
Leo Major was a leg, and I'm surprised his story, much like other Canadian feats, aren't mentioned more! thank you for at least shining light to the Canadian effort!
You got it wrong with Leo Major. He refused the distinguished service medal from Montgomery for singly handedly capturing 93 German soldiers he received the one for Zwole and then the second for his actions in Korea
Lists like these have hundred of men that could take the place. Audie Murphy literally starred in a Hollywood movie about his man actions in WW2, and the movie had to tone it down to make it believable. Sadly PTSD followed him the rest of his life.
@Geoffrey Lyons Audie Murphy's story is of legendary status. There are many men that have as impressive of stories, but his always stands out because of how he toned his down because he didn't think anyone would believe him. Truly epic.
Kinda hope sabaton would make a song about major one day. Both his exploit in ww2 and korea could warrant one imo (but that might just be my bias as a French Canadian ahah, his unit is based in my hometown). What he did in korea was mostly glanced over in this video. It's far more impressive once you know the full story and context. Just to add a bit, the third US infantry division (about 15k soldiers) had failed to take that hill a few days prior. Then Leo and 18 men take it and hold it for 3 days straight until the US division came back to drive out the Chinese army
Taking a guy out with a tripod is epic. You hear real stories like that, but for those who have never served, let me tell you something about morale... and portable toilets. Stories of valor inspire us lesser soldiers. And when we need to poo, we'll often write something on the wall. One man army stories are great, so we'll invent our own. And it becomes a thread. My favorite was "I heard Sergeant so and so killed a man with his bare hands", I heard sergeant so and so killed 10 men with just his multitool.". But the final line of graffiti that still makes me laugh, "I heard Master Sergeant Woody killed 30 men with a Tickle Me Elmo". Which was clearly untrue, but it still makes me laugh. But yeah, these guys shown, those are the ones where before you talk about them, you stop smiling, and you start the story with "so no shit, this guy..."
The man who attempted to assault Pun's position and kill him at close range clearly was not aware of who he was coming for. Anyone who has read anything about the Gurkhas knows that getting into close combat with one is a bad idea.
Simo - " I will Finnish you! " I have had a lot of Mosins over the years and the Finn rifles are definitely the best. Their fine machining makes for a very smooth and fast bolt. The second best are the WW1 era Remington made Mosins. Finn and US Mosins usually shoot better with .308 bullets, whilst all others shoot best with the .311-.312 bullets also used in .303 British and 7.7 Arisaka
Simo Haya was a real life super hero. He was probably blasted with gamma rays, struck by lightning, and bitten by a radioactive snow cobra all at once. Or maybe something even more incredible
If I heard you correctly Simon you said - -40 degrees Celsius equals -45 degrees Fahrenheit. I remember Samantha Carter saying on Stargate that -40 degrees Fahrenheit equals- 40 degrees Celsius. I Googled it to make sure before I left this comment. Out of the more than 100 videos this is the first mistake I caught on you. In my book that makes you almost perfect referring to doing your homework for these videos. If you were perfect you wouldn't be human. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into your videos, thumbs-up and have a nice day.
A deeper examination showed that Alvin York did not take the German position or the prisoners by himself. The other members of his platoon bore some resentment that the success of that operation and the resulting media campaign around Sgt. York portrayed him as the sole actor in overcoming the Germans that day.
I dont comment often, but if you want to do a story about a military bad ass, try Charles Upham, only soldier to ever receive two VC's for combat military service
I like how Simon makes different backgrounds for the millions of channels he has. It seems like all of them are set in some red-brick cellar. Yet they are all slightly different lol.
This could have been made up purely of stories of VC recipients. Or a normal fight for a Gurkha. Two I like are Clarkson's ex father in law who earned a VC during the Arnhem campaign. He was in command of many men but after a rather disasterous engagement in a wood a lot of them were killed. This made the fellow decidely miffed (anyone who knows about British people will know that making someone British decidedly miffed is a poor choice) so he grabbed himself a PIAT then went around expressing his displeasure to several German tanks. Second is a VC recipient in the Korean War who basically turned himself into a human grenade launcher. He was probably slightly miffed as well.
Already covered them on this channel as well as 2 or 3 of his other channels. You all must be new here. Go check his past uploads. Biographics, Today I Found out. You will find them. The Biographics videos are the most in depth in my opinion. Sorry if I came off rude. Just trying to be helpful.
Wow! I can't decide who was most badass of the lot! Actually for sheer badassery I'm going to pick Pun the Gurkha. 17 minute firefight, enemies on 3 sides, fires hundreds of rounds before knocking out the last enemy by throwing his tripod and then returns to his quarters only slightly out of breath but otherwise without a scratch. Badass! Ironically his battle had the least impact or strategic value, he defended a checkpoint where York captured half an army, Major single-handedly liberated a city and Simo killed more men than cancer. I place Simo last not because I don't appreciate the strategic and psychological importance of snipers but somehow something about this method of fighting just doesn't sit well with me.
To elaborate on Leo major's exploit in the Korean War, he took hill 355 with only 18 men and the support of a mortar platoon (the support was once they had gained some ground in the center of the Chinese camp atop the hill and the Chinese tried to take it back). A few days prior to this event, the 3rd US infantry division attempted to take that hill and had to give up. Here's a direct quote from the commander of the mortar platoon mentioned in the first paragraph: The commander of the mortar platoon, Captain Charly Forbes, later wrote that Major was "an audacious man ... not satisfied with the proximity of my barrage and asks to bring it closer...In effect, my barrage falls so close that I hear my bombs explode when he speaks to me on the radio." Major and his 18 men held out the hill for 3 days until the 3rd US infantry division came back to drivout out the Chinese with them.
@@Jet-ij9zc Bloody hell. Majors definitely the most audacious and intelligent of the lot but the Philippines incident isn't quite "one man army" stuff. Pun's incident was unplanned, chaotic, very dramatic and mostly sheer blind luck. He should have bought a lottery ticket that day but its the way he threw himself into battle, against the most ridiculous odds and emerged not just victorious but unscathed that is the studf of legend. Inspiring lots of little future Gurkhas legend.
Try looking up Sgt. Roy Benavidez ,a green beret . Then get back to me on what a one man army is . Not saying the people you covered aren't good , but Sgt. Benavidez took it to another level .
@@CaptHollister that's really disappointing to hear, but it's also true. His name was never mentioned in my history classes when I was a student, I only found out about him from a website that was called BadassOfTheWeek or something like that.
@@CaptHollister As a 40 years old who love WW history and from Quebec city...im quite angry about the fact i never heard his story lol *Je me souviens* Right....feel like we remember the wrong things sometimes....
One of these days Simons kid is going to ask him about some obscure historical event for homework or something like that and hes going to have a huge smile and say "I have a video on that"
Check out Foreo at foreo.se/uxyc and use the code "PROJECTS20" for an exclusive discount. Thank you FOREO for the sponsorship!
so you're shilling face vibrators now?
wait. HOW MANY HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS?
dude. just borrow your significant otters Rabbit.
💩💩
Can't help you with this one. I can't pay 100$ for skin care and if I buy it for my girlfriend she'll kill me.
@@deforged Just Lick a 9 Volt Battery and do the same 😅😂 It's basic Electrolysis by looks if it
Proof Jesus healing energy warning it's intense❤
Leo Major isn't just a hero to Canadians, but also to the Dutch. He single handily saved a town from being shelled an probably saved many civilians. What a legend.
He is a hero! I drive by the street named after him every day. What a legend, we will never forget him.
TBH, as a Canadian he's kind of a very quiet shame more than a hero; the dude lied so frequently and so flagrantly about his achievements that it's basically impossible to take anything he actually achieved seriously.
@@iusethisnameformygoogleacc1013 as a Canadian I've done some googling and can find nothing about any lies, you got a source?
@@Jeemdeecreationsuntil feds rename the street
Feds? As in FBI agents? I doubt they'll come to my country to remember our streets.
6:11 -40 Celsius is the same as -40 Fahrenheit. It's the only time they are the same temperature in either scale.
I tried to do the conversion in my head and gave up during the video
It's crazy.
That distracted me so much I had to go back 30 seconds to catch what he said after. It's not hard to get temperature conversions right 😡😂
Yeah, I caught that, too. :)
??? This exact fact was mentioned in the episode (or maybe late movie) of Stargate SG-1 that I watched last night!! What coincidental timing
u can probably do an entire video on Gurkha one-man armies lol all of their stories are just so insane its incredible
I would love to see Simon do a video on just the Gurkhas alone.
@@methos4866 The Fat Electrician has 👍
Damn right!
the best thing about the Ghurkas, is when they retire to your home town in the UK and I'm yet to meet an exception to them being mild mannered, polite, and raising wonderfully polite children. no doubt they have their problems as all cultures do, but I'm yet to learn of them.
Gurkhas make Chuck Norris look like a little girl 😂
I live in Zwolle and leo major is a folk hero. in the street where he threw hand grenades is the street where i grew up with my parents and around the corner where the fight started is a street named after him
As a Canadian, I appreciate how much you folks loved Leo Major and I love the relationship our two countries have developed since the war.
@@AprehamLincoln as a fellow Canadian , i can second that.
It's a bucket list item to walk the streets of your city. While handing maple syrup to everyone I meet of course.
@@AprehamLincoln The Dutch owe a lot to the Canadians that fought in WW2, along with the Polish they fought through and liberated most parts of The Netherlands including my hometown of Groningen.
Pun deserved the VC for that action. He saved his base from an IED attack, he had enemy to both sides AND the front, and he fought them all off single-handedly, including hand-to-hand combat. If you saw it in a movie you'd think it was ridiculous and made up. Man deserves every medal you could throw at him.
Agreed! What a total bad-ass. The Gurkhas' fearsome reputation is well earned.
The moment when Simon talks about stuff Sabaton already sang about and you get really happy :D
I love Sabaton. Historic rock.
I was at one of their shows last week and it was fkin awesome. As soon as Simon mentioned Finland I knew what was coming, and even though I knew about Simo from even before Sabaton, I will always listen to the story because that guy is an all-time badass of badasses.
Thanks for doing a story on York. As a lifelong Tennessean, he is almost a mythological character in our state. Fortunately the very most of his story is true.
To be fair he's a legend all over the south. I studied about him in high school in Alabama.
He's my grandfather's uncle. My grandfather was named James Alvin Carol York. He fought in Korea. Also earned a Carnegie medal for saving a man's life out of a burning gas tanker. What a legacy.
I am not sure if Sgt. York's pacificism was truly accurate. I have heard his Mother and Pastor were more conscientious objectors than he was. The original movie, I understand, overplayed that. The man could shoot, that I understand.
Yeah, I knew one of his direct descendants, who is also a decorated military officer. Seems to run in the family!
@Isaac Fortner it's more a sense of patriotism and willingness to stand up for your ideals that is highly prevalent in the southern states and in some pockets of other states. Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas are rather large contributors of recruits in the armed forces. I knew a gentleman from Kansas that had been an incredible shot, so much so that when his commanding officer told him to hit the german man standing 500 yds from him between the eyes he shot him exactly square between the eyes no scope.
Everyone: do not invade Russia in winter. Russia: do not invade Finland in winter.
Me: .... planning to invade Russia in the winter...
Also me: ... shit.....
If you're planning to invade Russia, winter can actually be a good time for it. BUT you need good supply lines and extensive training in cold weather fighting.
The Mongols did it, and ruled Russia for like 200 years. Although the system established by the Mongols of treating the serfs like crap was continued by the Russian Nobility, the Tsar, the Communists and then by the Oligarchs and Putin.
Nobody invades Finland in winter.
@@granatmof the Mongols are the exception to every rule.
0:45 Alvin York
5:12 Simo Hayha
10:10 Leo Major
13:18 Dipprasad Pun
Where's Audie Murphy?!
@@ANobodyatall sad day...
@@ANobodyatall and Dan Inouye!?
@@ANobodyatall or Charles Upham
In the Draft of 1917, a man from Tennessee
Overseas to the trenches he went, from the land of the free
Into war he brought two things along, a rifle and his faith
Joined the ranks as a private, assigned to 338th.
You're in the sniper's sight
The first kill tonight
Time to die!
You're in the bullet's way
The White Death's prey
Say goodbye!
There, on that day.
Alvin York, entered the frey, saving the day.
82nd all the way!
Into the fires of hell, the Argonne, a hero to be
Entered the war from over the sea
Intervene, 1918, all the way from Tennessee
Hill 223
Men of culture I see. 🤘
@@acommonspat5253
When his faith has been put to the tests the cal to arms he heeds
On the eighth of October he went, made a sergeant for his deeds
Fearless, leading the raid of the war, machine gun on the hill
Charge the enemy taking the prisoners by power of his will
Biathlon (skiing and shooting) remains a fairly popular sport in Finland, from what my Finnish girlfriend has told me, at least relative to other countries. She participates here in the states and will likely continue to do so when she moves back to Finland in May. She also cuts and maintains a hole in the ice to go swimming in almost every day during the winter. Seriously, do NOT invade Finland in winter. Cold doesn't even slow them down, it only makes them stronger, lol.
Sounds like you shouldn’t invade Finland in the summer either. 😂
A little disappointed you didn't include a short man from Texas (Audie Murphy), but the included four are definitely worth their spots in this video! There's always spot for him in the next one!
I actually haven't heard of the last two from this set. Very interesting stories.
I too could not believe Audie Murphy wasn't in this. Guy was an absolute beast.
A man of the wild? A man thrown into combat where bodies lie piled?
I think they only wanted one person from each country. And while I fully agree Audie Murphy was amazing, Alvin York is a great choice too. I think the real problem here is that covering just four people isn't nearly enough.
Audie's story is pretty well known. Outside of where these troops came from, or a Sabaton song, no one knows who they are.
I think Simon has done a piece about Murphy individually…
So delightful to see Leo Major here, the man who liberated my home town. I am ever so pleased that I got to shake his hand on our Memorial Day and say 'sank jou ' when i was a wee boy.
Simo No Scope, with a 505 to 0 kdr using just the starting gear. Freakin Legend
You 100% should've included Mj Robert Cain VC. The defence of Oosterbeek was an almost sure loss, but Major Cain reportedly disabled 6 tanks, 4 of which being Tigers, with a PIAT, and when he ran out of PIATs he decided to hip-fire a mortar. He had shrapnel wounds, perforated eardrums, and still managed to have a shave and wait for all of his men to retreat before withdrawing himself.
Fun fact: His daughter was once married to Jeremy Clarkson.
There are actually a few names I can think of that should be included but those 4 were all exceptional. I hadn't heard Pun's story before, so that was great to hear for the first time.
Think I saw a video on Cain before. What a madlad.
@@captainfunktastic2255And Clarkson made a fantastic documentary about him.
the Gurkhas are ABSURD warriors, got a local Nepal community in my hometown and I hang out at the smoke shop they own because these dudes are just great to me and have so many stories and they one day had me look into the Gurkhas... the stories are tremendous. Everyone allied with em who had contact with the Gurkhas, even secondhand, seemed to harbor an intense respect for their abilities, one which carried by word of mouth into the modern day.
I'm sure The White Death was pissed off when he woke up a week later and learned that he missed all the remaining fun!
On a serious note though, I didn't know about him using the Iron Sights instead of his Scope to avoid any reflection giving away his position. Makes sense, but just makes his Feat EVEN MORE Legendary!
Also made for a smaller target. The scope on most military bolt action rifles sits clear of the receiver to allow use of the open sights when necessary
Häyhä pronounciation for English speakers:
the letter Ä is always the same sound in Finnish (this does not apply to Swedish), since Finnish is a largely phonetic language, and that sound is the exact same as the A in the English words "and", "can" or "apple"... NOT like the A in "car" or "far" as both of those would be a regular A in Finnish.
The letter Y in Finnish on the other hand is the same as the letter U in the English words "cure", "dune" or the first U in "bureau".
Also on a partially related note...
Those of you who know classical Latin and its reconstructed pronounciation might notice that the Finnish phonetics are largely based on Latin, as the written Finnish language as it exists today was standardised as recently as the protestant church reformation in the 1500-1800s.
They pretty much just matched the phonetics of spoken Finnish to Latin letters, which was used by pretty much every European University scholar at the time. They matched the Latin alphabet on purpose after a short period where they tried matching with the German alphabet... that didn't really work as well with how Finnish and its dialects were pronounced.
The letters Ä and Ö were added from Swedish (along with Å, which exists in the Finnish alphabet, even though it's never used), simply to signify two phonems that exist in Finnish but don't exist in classical Latin (at least not in the correct-ish pronounciation of Latin). As a side note, the letter C hasn't seen much use in Finnish, probably to avoid confusion with the letters K and S, since the letter C in classical Latin is the K sound and in ancient Greek it is the S sound. Same thing with the letter X... since that's just a K and S together so in Finnish it's just KS.
X does exist in the Finnish alphabet, but much like C and Å it just isn't used except in foreign names.
Legitimate badasses!!!
The actor James Doohan (Scotty, Star Trek) wasn't far short of this accolade himself.
Landed on D-Day. Actually engaged and killed soldiers. Took four machine gun bullets. Lost his finger. He only lived because one of them struck his cigarette case.
@@Robert-un7br Still a bit of a badass though.
@@stuartkseels I’m agreeing with you. I think he was badass as hell.
@@Robert-un7br Hit by friendly fire of all things - In 1939, Doohan enlisted in the Royal Canadian Artillery, 14th (Midland) Field Battery of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. From there, he was moved to the 13th Field Regiment of the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division in their 22nd Field Battery. By 1940 he was a Lieutenant and was sent to train in Britain prior to Operation Overlord.
He first saw combat landing in the 2nd Wave in a Recce Party at Juno Beach on D-Day. The 13th Field Regiment was interspersed with the Regina Rifle Regiment landing at "Nan" Sector of Juno Beach. After shooting two snipers, Doohan led his men to higher ground through a field of anti-tank mines, where they took defensive positions for the night. Crossing between command posts at 23:30 that night, Doohan was hit by six rounds fired from a Bren gun by a nervous Canadian sentry: four in his leg, one in the chest, and one through his right middle finger. The bullet to his chest was stopped by a silver cigarette case given to him by his brother. His right middle finger had to be amputated, something he would conceal on-screen during most of his career as an actor, sometimes with a flesh-colored glove with a "faux finger."
Doohan graduated from Air Observation Pilot Course 40 with eleven other Canadian artillery officers and flew Taylorcraft Auster Mark V aircraft for 666 (AOP) Squadron, RCAF as a Royal Canadian Artillery officer in support of 1st Army Group Royal Canadian Artillery. All three Canadian (AOP) RCAF squadrons were crewed by artillery officer-pilots and accompanied by non-commissioned RCA and RCAF personnel serving as observers. Although he was never actually a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Doohan was once labelled the "craziest pilot in the Canadian Air Force".
In the late spring of 1945, on Salisbury Plain north of RAF Andover, he slalomed a plane between telegraph poles "to prove it could be done", earning himself a serious reprimand.
My names Hayden York. My grandfather is named James Alvin Carol York. Alvin York is my grandfather's uncle. Thank you this was cool AF.
You are related to a true American icon. 🇺🇸
His story is fascinating to me.
I've had the honor and privilege of standing in Alvin York's house, having a conversation with his son. I've also visited his grave side a few times. You should read about Albert Roche. The First Soldier of France. "Come and fight a Gurkha!"
You know you're in for a good time when 2 of the 4 people talked about have a song made about them by Sabaton
Leo Major dissed Monty? LEGEND!
Even my ten year old laughed at that.
I respect that decision. We had a KIA and were going to have a proper memorial ceremony in theater. I agree with that. Good friend. Then the ceremony was put on hold for 2 hours because some General wanted to be there and I lost my cool and threw a tantrum. He didn't bother to see the guy when he was alive! Why should we wait for some lazy general who suddenly wants to be there and can't even bother to be on time?! Ain't got time for generals, there's a war on.
Monty was probably the least liked Allied General. He championed Market Garden and it's failure was ultimately blamed on him.
Sgt. York lived just south of me and even being from Kentucky his legacy gives me pride in the stubbornness of my fellow hill folk. On another note, I learned early on, be friends with the Gurkha people. Ninjas have nothing on these tough folk. Them the Montagnards, and the Kurds, are some of the fiercest fighters on this planet.
Don't forget the Chechnyans. Lol
Everyone of these guys deserves their own movies.
There is already a great movie about Alvin York called Sergeant York (1941). The Warner Archive Blu-Ray is the one to get.
@@georgebailey98 cool!
There really needs to be a movie about Simo Hayha, if one hasn't been made
My girlfriend is from Finland, the guy is a legend over there to this day. I'm German. We, um... don't really have any war heroes.
@@benjaminlang2473 Well, let me help you with th...oh, I see. Disregard.
Uh, no thanks. No need to ruin another legend with cheesy movie.
There already is, it's called unsurprisingly "The White Death".
@@benjaminlang2473 not entirely true, Josef "Sepp" Gangl very easily qualify for this in my opinion. He is currently hailed as the hero of the Austrian Resistance by the Austrian Resistance themselves, for leading his own Wehrmacht-men and French prisoners (one of whom turned out to be Charles de Gaulles sister) alongside Captain John C. Lee Jr. and his 12th US Armored Division against the SS in the battle of castle itter, and ultimately laying down his own life in the process.
I read about Alvin York for the first time about a year ago on CNN article. What an unsung hero who should be recognized more in our generation.
Go watch Gary Cooper's 1941 movie ''Sergeant York". Hollywood took some liberties (as always) but got the gist of it right - same with the Audie Murphy Autobiography "To Hell and BacK"
Leo Major isn't only credited for liberating a town all by himself from a large German force, but for also saving thousands of civilians from the bombs that would have been dropped on the town in a short while. He is a Canadian Hero, but he is also a Dutch hero too, a true legend who didn't let losing an eye stop him from doing the near impossible.
Never heard that Major turned down a badass award just because Montgomery was going to pin him. That's awesome!
That's my favourite part of his story. Leo had no time for idiots.
I'm not sure the exact root of Major's disdain for Montgomery, but there was a general feeling among Canadian officers, and perhaps enlisted men that the battle for the Scheldt and the liberation of Holland should have been started before the autumn of that year, as the autumn rains would make the task all the more difficult. And they blamed Monty's well established timidity for that. I've read sources that said the terrain was the most difficult to fight in during the war. Maybe they mean in Europe, but I think that's arguable. But it does serve to point out that if it wasn't the worst, it was very bad.
@Rod Challis I've also heard Montgomery was known to send his soldiers to their deaths, he fought like brits did in ww1, just rush the machine gun and pray,
@@rodchallis8031 there was also al ot of bitterness that post dday the canadians had to stop and wait for the brits instead of just taking caen, which caused an extra like 3-5 months of fighting and all sorts of extra deaths. just because monty didnt want the brits to be shown up by one of the colonies. he has a lot of canadian blood on his hands
In part 2 you need Audie Murphy, Ben Salomon and Jack Churchill... all insane stories.
Also Lauri Törni AKA Larry Thorn. A man who joined three different armies to fight commies :D
I saw the title and immediately assumed that Simo must be in the video and I was not disappointed. Rest in peace Simo.
2 of the 4 stories I knew, thanks to Sabaton:
82nd all the way and white death are awesome songs.
Gotta love Sabaton. Historical metal is a genre of metal we never knew we needed.
Would be amazing if you would make an episode on Anders Lassen. A dane fighting in the english army during WW2. He recived 3 military crosses and the victorian cross.
0:50 - Chapter 1 - Alvin York
3:30 - Mid roll ads
5:15 - Chapter 2 - Simo Hayha
10:15 - Chapter 3 - Léo Major
13:25 - Chapter 4 - Dipprasad pun
You could do one of these episodes just featuring Gurkhas.
Yes!
Canadians too, for that matter.
Goku isn't real though...
Or your mom....
Dipprasad Pun against the talibans reminds me of star wars. In a way that the talibans have the aim of star troopers and the guy is some kind of Jedi to avoid all those bullets. Truly a legend
In a legendary force, too!
Not to mention the tripod thrown was clearly a cover story for an obvious force push
There is an Alvin C.York statue in Nashville near the capitol building.
This is Sabaton History...and we did a song about it.
Leo Major was a leg, and I'm surprised his story, much like other Canadian feats, aren't mentioned more! thank you for at least shining light to the Canadian effort!
I drive by a street named after him every day to work, everyone here knows his story. You are right, what a legend!
It would have been funny if he yelled Hey! Catch! When he threw the tripod. 😂😂😂
Love that you're talking about ww1 and showing modern warfare cosplayers. good job.
You got it wrong with Leo Major. He refused the distinguished service medal from Montgomery for singly handedly capturing 93 German soldiers he received the one for Zwole and then the second for his actions in Korea
Just curious what part was incorrect he stated that he turned Down the award
The writers got it wrong
@@ryan123136 The one he turned down was not for Zwolle, but for capturing 93 German soldiers.
@@wowplayer160 where. Everything said is correct to history.
@@simonrancourt7834 thank you
Sabaton-
82nd all the way is about Alvin York.
White Death is about Simo Hayha
I live in Zwolle, they named a street after him.
Zwollywood jatoggg
There
On that day
Alvin York entered the fray
Saving the day
82nd all the way….
Went straight to the comments to find another Sabaton enjoyer definitely my fav song by them
Into the fires of hell, the Argonne, a hero to be
Enter the war from over the seas
Intervene, 1918, all the way from Tennessee
*Gurkah are literally fearless!!*
*Their one of the best fighters in the world and not given enough recognition & respect!!*
Knew at start of video there would be atleast 1 gurkha...there legends!! And the uk are lucky to have them fight with us.
I feel like Audie Murphy should have made this list
Lists like these have hundred of men that could take the place. Audie Murphy literally starred in a Hollywood movie about his man actions in WW2, and the movie had to tone it down to make it believable. Sadly PTSD followed him the rest of his life.
To Hell and Back
@Geoffrey Lyons Audie Murphy's story is of legendary status. There are many men that have as impressive of stories, but his always stands out because of how he toned his down because he didn't think anyone would believe him. Truly epic.
I knew #1 would be...#1 lol cause how badass he is
Alvin York was a legend. I mean if Sabaton does a song about you, you know they did something special.
Or not so good. See the song "Father"
Kinda hope sabaton would make a song about major one day. Both his exploit in ww2 and korea could warrant one imo (but that might just be my bias as a French Canadian ahah, his unit is based in my hometown).
What he did in korea was mostly glanced over in this video. It's far more impressive once you know the full story and context.
Just to add a bit, the third US infantry division (about 15k soldiers) had failed to take that hill a few days prior. Then Leo and 18 men take it and hold it for 3 days straight until the US division came back to drive out the Chinese army
I'm American, and I want Sabaton to do a song about Leo Major.
Taking a guy out with a tripod is epic. You hear real stories like that, but for those who have never served, let me tell you something about morale... and portable toilets.
Stories of valor inspire us lesser soldiers. And when we need to poo, we'll often write something on the wall. One man army stories are great, so we'll invent our own. And it becomes a thread. My favorite was "I heard Sergeant so and so killed a man with his bare hands", I heard sergeant so and so killed 10 men with just his multitool.". But the final line of graffiti that still makes me laugh, "I heard Master Sergeant Woody killed 30 men with a Tickle Me Elmo". Which was clearly untrue, but it still makes me laugh.
But yeah, these guys shown, those are the ones where before you talk about them, you stop smiling, and you start the story with "so no shit, this guy..."
-40° is where Celsius and Fahrenheit meet.
I have felt weather that cold. It Is VERY Cold.
Me too. "Talk of your cold! through the parka's fold, it stabbed like a driven nail." -- Robert Service, "The Cremation of Sam McGee".
What a man.that last guy.
The man who attempted to assault Pun's position and kill him at close range clearly was not aware of who he was coming for. Anyone who has read anything about the Gurkhas knows that getting into close combat with one is a bad idea.
In this video there is only existing sabaton songs or future sabaton songs.
When the video started with WW1, I knew it would be Sgt Alvin York. A very good edited version on Sgt York record.
Simo - " I will Finnish you! "
I have had a lot of Mosins over the years and the Finn rifles are definitely the best. Their fine machining makes for a very smooth and fast bolt.
The second best are the WW1 era Remington made Mosins.
Finn and US Mosins usually shoot better with .308 bullets, whilst all others shoot best with the .311-.312 bullets also used in .303 British and 7.7 Arisaka
For every 253 Russian’s who died Häyhä would have one confirmed kill
However it could be closer one in 128 by some estimates
Definitely Avengers material
Simo Haya was a real life super hero. He was probably blasted with gamma rays, struck by lightning, and bitten by a radioactive snow cobra all at once. Or maybe something even more incredible
Captain Finland
If I heard you correctly Simon you said - -40 degrees Celsius equals -45 degrees Fahrenheit. I remember Samantha Carter saying on Stargate that -40 degrees Fahrenheit equals- 40 degrees Celsius. I Googled it to make sure before I left this comment. Out of the more than 100 videos this is the first mistake I caught on you. In my book that makes you almost perfect referring to doing your homework for these videos. If you were perfect you wouldn't be human. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into your videos, thumbs-up and have a nice day.
The Ghurka made his Grandfather proud no doubt
A deeper examination showed that Alvin York did not take the German position or the prisoners by himself. The other members of his platoon bore some resentment that the success of that operation and the resulting media campaign around Sgt. York portrayed him as the sole actor in overcoming the Germans that day.
Simo Hayha aka The White Death.
Most accomplished Sniper in History
Worth noting that Alvin York was the subject of the 1941 Hollywood movie 'Sergeant York' starring Gary Cooper in the titular role.....
Loving the ww1 b-rolls of glock and m16 variant aha
I dont comment often, but if you want to do a story about a military bad ass, try Charles Upham, only soldier to ever receive two VC's for combat military service
Or Crispus Attucks
I could imagine Simon reading the script and calling out Danny for making it up...
I comment every episode just to help boost the algorithm 😅
You should have included the New Zealander Charles Upham who twice got the Victoria Cross, was captured, escaped Colditz, and then rejoined the battle
I like how Simon makes different backgrounds for the millions of channels he has.
It seems like all of them are set in some red-brick cellar. Yet they are all slightly different lol.
Great topic 🎉 TY
This could have been made up purely of stories of VC recipients.
Or a normal fight for a Gurkha.
Two I like are Clarkson's ex father in law who earned a VC during the Arnhem campaign. He was in command of many men but after a rather disasterous engagement in a wood a lot of them were killed. This made the fellow decidely miffed (anyone who knows about British people will know that making someone British decidedly miffed is a poor choice) so he grabbed himself a PIAT then went around expressing his displeasure to several German tanks.
Second is a VC recipient in the Korean War who basically turned himself into a human grenade launcher. He was probably slightly miffed as well.
I like Desmond Doss, but Alvin York resonates more deeply for me
-40 degrees Celsius is -40 degrees Fahrenheit
Oh only -40 that makes it much less impressive.... Simon exaggerated😑
No mad jack churchill or roy benavidez?
Nor Aimo Koivunen, the Finnish meth monster.
Or Carlos Hathcock
I think he did a full video on mad jack Churchill on Biographics
Already covered them on this channel as well as 2 or 3 of his other channels. You all must be new here. Go check his past uploads. Biographics, Today I Found out. You will find them. The Biographics videos are the most in depth in my opinion. Sorry if I came off rude. Just trying to be helpful.
@David Dodson I found it helpful thanks!
Sergeant York's daughter and son in law came to my US History class in high school and told us stories about him.
Roy Benavidez must be added to this list he was the absolute most bad ass one man army ever
Taliban vs the terminator made me laugh just because of the deadpan delivery. I like this subject. It's good to hear you talking about heroes.
Wow! I can't decide who was most badass of the lot! Actually for sheer badassery I'm going to pick Pun the Gurkha. 17 minute firefight, enemies on 3 sides, fires hundreds of rounds before knocking out the last enemy by throwing his tripod and then returns to his quarters only slightly out of breath but otherwise without a scratch. Badass! Ironically his battle had the least impact or strategic value, he defended a checkpoint where York captured half an army, Major single-handedly liberated a city and Simo killed more men than cancer. I place Simo last not because I don't appreciate the strategic and psychological importance of snipers but somehow something about this method of fighting just doesn't sit well with me.
To elaborate on Leo major's exploit in the Korean War, he took hill 355 with only 18 men and the support of a mortar platoon (the support was once they had gained some ground in the center of the Chinese camp atop the hill and the Chinese tried to take it back).
A few days prior to this event, the 3rd US infantry division attempted to take that hill and had to give up.
Here's a direct quote from the commander of the mortar platoon mentioned in the first paragraph: The commander of the mortar platoon, Captain Charly Forbes, later wrote that Major was "an audacious man ... not satisfied with the proximity of my barrage and asks to bring it closer...In effect, my barrage falls so close that I hear my bombs explode when he speaks to me on the radio."
Major and his 18 men held out the hill for 3 days until the 3rd US infantry division came back to drivout out the Chinese with them.
@@Jet-ij9zc Bloody hell. Majors definitely the most audacious and intelligent of the lot but the Philippines incident isn't quite "one man army" stuff. Pun's incident was unplanned, chaotic, very dramatic and mostly sheer blind luck. He should have bought a lottery ticket that day but its the way he threw himself into battle, against the most ridiculous odds and emerged not just victorious but unscathed that is the studf of legend. Inspiring lots of little future Gurkhas legend.
More of these stories would be awesome to hear!
There's a lot of websites dedicated to telling them.
@@granatmof I'm a member of a few of them, but its Simon's delivery of the facts that keeps it entertaining.
@@peterhughes7099 - I would have thought Rommel falls into that class?
All absolute legends. True warriors.
One of your best videos so far
Dude´s nickname is The White Death, nuff said
OMG that last dude! The Terminator actually took more damage!
Alvin York and Francis Pegahmagabow, insane that both fought in the same war.
All these stories have one thing in common -a whole army unloads everything they have on one person -and miss.
I guess Star Wars was pretty accurate with how much the stormtroopers miss
Simo the man. Kind of old boy I'd love to hear war stories from.
"Sounds familiar" at 5:24 is cutting deep. At 5:47 it is a mockery. But at 5:53 this is just plain carnage.
Afghans versus Ghurkas?
There's a CoD videogame that would make Evangelion look like a toddler smashing plush toys together! 😱😵🤯
12:40 Leo Major Roasted Montgomery worse than anyone other ever could
Try looking up Sgt. Roy Benavidez ,a green beret . Then get back to me on what a one man army is . Not saying the people you covered aren't good , but Sgt. Benavidez took it to another level .
He deserves a badass heavy metal song written about him.
I thought it might be about York. His home is about 30 miles from my home town. There’s a park, his old home place and a high school named for him.
Leo is a legend in my hometown ❤Zwolle.
I'm glad to hear that because in Canada almost no one knows him, especially here near his hometown.
He's remembered every year here on liberation day man
@@CaptHollister that's really disappointing to hear, but it's also true. His name was never mentioned in my history classes when I was a student, I only found out about him from a website that was called BadassOfTheWeek or something like that.
@@CaptHollister As a 40 years old who love WW history and from Quebec city...im quite angry about the fact i never heard his story lol *Je me souviens* Right....feel like we remember the wrong things sometimes....
@@enkilqc Je me souviens... de rien
One of these days Simons kid is going to ask him about some obscure historical event for homework or something like that and hes going to have a huge smile and say "I have a video on that"
You should listen to Sabaton's songs While Death and 82 all the way
m.ua-cam.com/video/ZgfCUxFE7XA/v-deo.html
What about John Basilone ?!?! I heard he did some amazing feats himself.
I can't even be distinguished in Call of Duty.
I joke, but really, these stories are amazing.
All these are definitely the definition of Heroes.
May I suggest you do a story on roy benavidez
Awesome stories! Thanks for telling them!
Amazing men, all. But a video on One-man Armies can never truly be complete without a Gurkha tale.