092 - Sink the Bismarck! - The Pride of the Kriegsmarine's Demise - WW2 - May 30 1941
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- Опубліковано 29 тра 2020
- This week, the Battle of Crete continues as the Bismarck and Prinz Eugen set sail to the Atlantic, starting one of the most dramatic episodes in the histories of the Royal Navy and the Kriegsmarine.
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Between 2 Wars: • Between 2 Wars
Source list: bit.ly/SourcesWW2
Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: NN
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory ( / eastory )
Colorizations by:
- Norman Stewart - oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/
- Daniel Weiss
- Jaris Almazani (Artistic Man), artistic.man?ig...
- Carlos Ortega Pereira, BlauColorizations, / blaucolorizations
Sources:
- Imperial War Museum: A 6152, A 6155, A 3898, IWM A4057, HU 50190, HU 374, FL 2120, E 3464, E 450
- U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph
- Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
- Drawing of Churchill from Museon
- Battlecruiser Renown shape by Emoscopes from Wikimedia
Archive by Screenocean/Reuters www.screenocean.com.
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
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This is arguably one of the more dramatic weeks of 1941, at least so far. If you would like to read about some of these events in more detail, you might be interested to follow our World War Two day-by-day posts on Instagram or Facebook. We try to cover those topics that we couldn't in the episodes here on UA-cam, or provide some additional information to the events that we do cover here. You can find it as @world_war_two_realtime on Instagram (or here instagram.com/world_war_two_realtime ) or on Facebook here: facebook.com/TimeGhostHistory
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World War Two Damn you, I wanted a Chiang Kai-shake
I'm more of a Whataburger guy
I was wondering what the burger king ad was for
"...at least so far." You have a gift for understatement!
I wonder if Burger King will give you a thank-you present? Will Coke and Pepsi sponsor rival armies? I listen to re-broadcasts of radio shows from the 40s and 50s. It's interesting when they leave in the original ads, and I assume they get paid for them.
@@rthompsonmdog I think they'll need to do an official cooking episode with recipes.
That Burger King add almost got me for a couple of seconds lol
Me too^^ I snapped out of it at the goebbels burger but...for a moment...
Double Goebbels Burger? Thanks, but no, thanks :D
It still totally had me, even after Goebbel's burger. I was like, I want one of those! Funniest ending ever. And that's saying something from this crew!
I don't care who you are, that's funny. Lol. Thanks guys
Same
If you're binge-watching this series like I do every other month, drink every time Indy says "British evacuation."
Prefect drinking game
I’m waiting for soviet POWs
RIP liver.
I am waiting for another boming raid against the Germans.
I'm waiting for: „German forces pushed back" 41 will be ez but from then on I think I will be in serious danger of alcohol poisoning.
I'll have the Chiang Kai-Shake please.
That ad was really funny! I'm a happy patron with all the great content; even when I can't enjoy a Chiang Kai-Shake on the side :-)
Will that be all or do you want the full menu with Franco Fries and a Lord Halifax Hamburger?
@@WorldWarTwo I'll have one of everything.
@@WorldWarTwo I'm on a diet, so I'll take the Caesar Mussolini Salad and a Diet Göring Coke.
Brilliant
This week: The Commander of Crete is still waiting for a naval invasion.
This week 79 years ago, or this week today?
Yes.
There was an invasion - by the Italians as the battle for Crete was winding down. No one expects the Italians!
@@tommy-er6hh No, the Italians arrived at the request of the first commander of 'Festung Kreta' in August 1941, long after the end of the battle, they did not actively participate in the fighting
The German naval invasion happened right after the Bismarck arrived for the offshore bombardment.
ps . you didn't get the message about this week's sponsor.
Bismarck is like the villain who appears only for a few chapters, but he is so charismatic that he is remembered forever.
That reminds me of Cad Bane from Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2020), didn't show up often, but when he did, you liked him, as a villain, not as a character; he was a well respected bounty hunter.
@@snapshotinhistory1367 Right. That is absolutely the Star Wars bounty hunter that had almost no screen time and was never forgotten. No competition whatsoever at that category.
@@dr.victorvs When you saw him he was great, the longest you see him is in Season 4 when Obi-Wan goes undercover
We've reached the point in the series where I go watch LazerPig talk about the TRUE Battle of the Bismarck.
Starring the Piorun
Bismark: how many ship you pursuing with?
RN: 68
Bismark: *haha I'm in Danger*
Bismark: how many ship you pursuing with?
RN: Yes.
Bismark: ...
And the ironic thing is, it could have probably survived if it wasn't for an old biplane hitting its rudder with a dropped torpedo. All that tonnage is for nothing if you can't steer properly!
As Drachinifel said, "Bismarck walked into a bar, knocked out the popular old guy and then looked round as the place fell silent and all the other drinkers turned to stare." 68 v 1 seems harsh, but wars are not won by playing fair.
To be honest, they could have gotten it done a lot faster by just sending a few or even one carrier...
If the hood hadn’t sunk they’d be chasing the bismark with 69 ships, much sad
"Age of the Battleship is over." Don't tell Japan.
Nah men, unlike every most battleships in WW2 (Yes, including Bismarck and Missouri) are pretty useful. While the Yamato is a big useless battleship that Tojo just use for propaganda while every fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy got their asses kicked by the US Navy (yes, I’m also talking about the USS Enterprise CV-6 aircrafts bombing Japanese carriers and fleet)..
@@johnilarde8440 Battleships were largely rendered irrelevant by the early 1940s due to superior destructive capacity able to utilized by aircraft carriers. The Japanese, whilst in the past being able to make some truly impressive gains due to the element of surprise alone, had a fundamentally flawed strategy for pursuing their pacific campaign. The Japanese believed in fighting a series of decisive battles to win it all, similar to what happened at Tsushima without fully understanding the elements present that allowed that particular battle to be such a dramatic success. Against the United States, they were at a disadvantage when it came to industrial and logistical strength, raw resources, fleet strength, air capacity and especially intelligence, the latter of which would result in the disastrous Battle of Midway in 1942 where the Japanese simply did not stand a chance due to their plans being revealed which enabled the USN to critically outmaneuver them - a trend that continued throughout the rest of the war as well. The battleship was good for being a floating fortress which could hold certain areas of control or bombard important targets, but it wasn't capable of performing the maneuvers or projecting the level of force necessary to be a truly decisive force in naval combat. It's pretty obvious why battleships were quickly phased out of service in the wake of superior armament such as missiles and even more advanced CV designs coming to fruition in the 50s and 60s.
Japan actually pioneered effective carrier aviation. Only problem is that the IJN is divided in HOW to defeat the USN with WHAT weapons platform. The older higher ups still maintain the BB's anticipating a Jutland style battle while the younger junior officers saw the airplane as a superweapon...
@@axelpatrickb.pingol3228 Nobody doubts that, but you're right on the money when it comes to the gap in cohesion in regards to dictating their naval doctrine which could often be incredibly rigid. After major intelligence failures and insistence on strict adherence to a preset plan lead to the disaster at Midway, Japan simply kept falling into the same trap without any chance at attaining the decisive battle they so dearly wanted and trained for.
@@axelpatrickb.pingol3228 Japan didn't have the resources to adequately supply their navy with enough carriers OR big gun ships to face the might of the US navy plus those of its allies in a sustained naval conflict. This is illustrated by how rapidly Japans small pool of superb naval aviators was written off in less than a year of combat. Without an American style pilot training conveyor belt, Japan was unable to compete either in quantity or in quality.
So Bismarck was the Burger King of the ocean? Sounds chewy.
Piscator... Hello there
Punch it Chewy!
@Δημήτρης Ντάβος Another one was done this week for the Night Witches part two.
Price of a Nation, a Beast mad of Beef, Bismark with Pickels, King of the Burgers.
@@tkmjees This wookie steak is Chewie.
'The flagship of the navy, the terror on the seas
His guns have gone silent at last'
Also, I can see the meme about Freyberg waiting the German naval attack at Crete that never comes.
And a Double Göbbels Burger with Chiang Kai-shake please!
Chaps, just wait trust me the Kriegsmarine will be here any second now... Aaaaany second now.
@@BasedPeter And he's saying that over his shoulder as he looks out over the sea, to a surprised German soldier.
"And a Double Göbbels Burger with Chiang Kai-shake please!"
In the times of social distancing I just want to let you know that you can easily make those at home. You can find these and many other great recipes in the excellent German cookbook "Mein Mampf" by A. Hitler. (not to be confused with his similarly named workout guide "Mein Krampf", although that one might also be useful if you want to shed those pounds later on)
I read that the decrypts said the was going to be a naval invasion. And as we found out, there was an attempt but the Brit navy was able to inflict heavy losses so they gave up. So I think Freyberg wasn’t totally bonkers.
aaaaaaarrrrrgggghhh was expecting this!!!!
Bismarck: sinks HMS Hood
Royal navy: you've officially lost your life privileges.
Royal Navy: "You werent supposed to do that"
The Royal Navy
*ARE WE A JOKE TO YOU?*
"So, you have chosen death"
oi, you got a loicense for sinking HMS Hood?
“That wasn’t in the rule book!”
-British Admiralty to the German OKM, probably
Just a personal dedication for myself - John David Knox - Stoker 2nd Class HMS Hood - Born 26th of May 1921, lost at age 19. RIP.
Rest in peace
Family member of yours, some Great-uncle or something like that?
Sorry for his loss as well as all the lives lost on the Hood. It was such a lucky hit from Bismarck, it's a shame the Hood didn't survive, it might've been an interesting battle and would've certainly damaged Bismarck even more.
@@smiglo112 Spot on wth Great Uncle :)
God bless him and all the souls lost on the Hood.
RIP
Admiral: "We should wait until we can pull together our ships and strike in force!"
Grand Admiral: "I want a big success now!"
Results: ...
at the same time, a larger force would've been more obvious and easier to find during a attempted breakout.
"We need a big success with capital ships so that Hitler won't cut our budget."
[Always Sunny theme plays]
[The Gang Gets All of the Capital Ships Sidelined For the Rest of the War]
@@KnightofAges mmaybe that donuts guy should be put in charge.
Who Would Win
*Pride of a Nation, a Beast Made of Steel*
Or
Some biplanes
The planes didn’t sink the bismarck, they could not do that but they doomed the bismarck so that the other bigger ships could destroy it.
Sir! Tiny planes are low and slow. I don't think we can hit them!
SIGN OF POWER
@@sgtpepper3161 Sounds like the rebel attack plan on the Death Star
World's most advanced battleship vs some stringy boi
It was news to me that some Spanish Republicans fought in Crete.
yes, the Spanish were there and were very afraid of being captured, since Germany had usually returned them to Franco's Spain - where the prisoners were shot. The Republicans had fled to France after the Spanish Civil War, there joined the Foreign Legion, were assigned to Syria, next fled to the British when France went Vichy (knowing they would be returned to Spain), then fought very well in Crete with "Layforce".
FYI: also there were Italians who landed by Malmo in the last stages of the fight for the island.
For a lot of them, the war started in 1936 and ended in 1945
@@alexblazquezvelarde8677 nope. Franco didn't die until the 70's
@@pedrolopez8057 bueno pero para la mayoría de los republicanos que lucharon en la 2a GM la lucha armada terminó en el 45,a no ser que volvieran a la península a luchar con los maquis
As an American, it's been news to me that there was any fighting in Crete. American grade school (for kids ages 5-18, I think other countries call it "primary school") really glossed over a lot of the war before Pearl Harbor. The only things before Dec 7 1941 that I definitely remember learning about are: The names of a few of the pre-war atrocities (i.e., Kristallnacht); the pre-war annexation of Czechoslovakia; the German (but not Soviet) invasion of Poland; the German invasion of France as it related to the Dunkirk evacuation; and the cash-and-carry and lend-lease deals that we made to support the British. Everything else besides that, I have learned from this channel, and even the stuff I did already know about I've learned more details about. (ex: I had no idea Rommel was involved in the French invasion. I only knew that he was the German commander in north Africa.)
In hindsight, American schooling on the subject is very much not great at all.
Fun fact: In Star Wars the Clone Wars, the Separatist ship Malevolence is based on the Bismarck
ahhh yes the famous cyborg admiral Lütjens, how could someone forget /s
Never knew that. All the more reason to rewatch it. 😂 Glad to see you here bro.
Wow, now i see why the RN really wants to sink bismarck. Can't have a battleship with giant emp cannon running around the atlantic.
Based on how?
Droid: "Sir, the enemy bombers are closing."
Admiral Lütjens: "Skywalker! **cyborg cough** Let them come."
Droid: "I have a bad feeling about this."
The Swordfish attack on the Sheffield actually helped the British a ton, and may have been what doomed the Bismarck. They attacked using magnetic torpedoes, which as the name suggest explode upon magnetic contact with a ship, but for a multitude of reasons the early magnetic torpedoes were very faulty. None of the torpedoes detonating showed the pilots this, and when they rearmed they did so with standard contact torpedoes which were significantly more reliable.
The infamous US Mark 14 torpedo had the same issues caused by very similar problems.
That intro made me laugh!
I know the Bismarck would be hunted down by the Royal Navy and sunk, I didn't know they sent 68 ships to go after it! Look like they really, really want it to die.
You know what they say, 'you sink one battlecruiser and then the entire Royal Navy tries to kill you for some reason'
"Hit the decks a-runnin' boys and spin those guns around,
When we find the Bismarck we gotta cut her down"
Shells as big as steers and those gun as big as trees
“The first shell hit the Bismarck, they new she couldn’t last. That mighty German battleship is just a memory.”
Thanks for reminding me. After this video I'm going to listen to "Sink the Bismarck!" by Johnny Horton and "Bismarck" by Sabaton.
I don't know where you are, but in the UK you can get a beer called "sink the Bismarck".
No blues brothers cover?
ua-cam.com/video/7bn7cS_MdZA/v-deo.html
DomKin ditto
I scrolled to far before I saw someone mention the Johnny Horton song
Does anyone else feel irrationally nervous with the Crete defeat? Like: "We can't afford to make these kind of mistakes."
Just wait for Fall of Singapore (February 1942) and Fall of Tobruk (June 1942) Latter almost toppled Churchill's goverment in a Vote of No Confidence but he straightened out with a good sppeech in Commons (where he overlooked his neglect of army budget that caused performance problems and instead raised Rommel and German Army to a godlike status) , repulsing of Panzer Army in El Alamein
Couple of interesting notes about the Swordfish and the sinking of Bismark. One of the reasons the planes had problems hitting Bismark was because the seas were rough and the pilots had problems figuring out when to drop so the torpedo would land in the crest, rather than trough, of the wave (thereby avoiding damage or loss of the torpedo). Because the Swordfish was an open cockpit biplane, the observer in the back of the plane that launched the torpedo that damaged Bismark's steering was able to stand up, lean over the side and give the pilot directions as to when to drop the torpedo. Another fun fact about the Swordfish - it was its replacement's replacement. Apparently, the Fairy Albacore, the Swordfish's replacement, was not as good as the Swordfish and the Royal Navy eventually replaced the Albacore with, you guessed it, the Swordfish. Later in the war the Swordfish was armed with rockets and used to hunt U-boats. Not bad for a fabric-covered biplane.
Bismarck Bismarck
Sailing in the ocean
Causing a commotion
Because it is so awesome
Narr Wahl! Dies ist Narr Wahl! Don't you let them touch your balls!
This week the 'Battle of Crete' continued:
On Sunday, May 25, at 0800 hours, the German Gebirgsjäger (Mountain-Hunter)-Rgt 85. (Col. August Krakau) advanced towards the area of Alikianos, 12 km (~7.5 mi) W of Chania, and met with vehement and obstinate resistance offered by the Greeks of 8th Infantry Regiment (840 all ranks under Lt. Col. Panaghiotis Karkoulas), and armed bands of Cretan irregulars. The Greeks would hold off the Germans for the whole day. Col. Krakau overestimated enemy presence in the area because of the Greek tenacious resistance and ordered his men to wait until dawn for a new effort. In the evening however, due to ammo shortage, the Greek regiment would be forced to a full withdrawal. The Greeks unnoticed, withdrew toward Therissos. There the regiment would dissolve and cease to exist as a fighting unit. The men would either return home or join resistance groups high on the Cretan mountains. In the Battle of Crete, 8th regiment's casualties accounted for 4 officers, 60 other ranks KIA and 4 officers, 20 other ranks WIA.
Meanwhile, vanguard units from KG Schätte advanced southwards aiming at the village of Kandanos, 55 km (34 mi) from Chania, a stronghold of Cretan irregulars. During the advance, the lead, 25-strong, element of the vanguard fell into an ambush laid by armed Kandanians. Only 7 Germans were captured alive, the rest were KIA. Kandanos would pay the price for its inhabitants audacity to resist foreign invasion. On June 3, 180 male Kandanians aged 15 and above would be massacred by the Fallis of mass murderer Horst Trebes, and the village would be razed to the ground
Also on May 25, at 1320 hours, the two battle-groups KG Utz and KG Ramcke, assaulted the town of Galatas, 5 km (3 mi) from the Cretan capital, Chania. The German troops had to advance frontally against well-camouflaged systems of trenches, MG nests, mortar positions, and wire entanglements. Greeks, Britons, Aussies, and Kiwis, had prepared strong defensive positions in and around the town.
The battle raged for the whole afternoon. Early in the evening, the fighting sides were closing in, and at 1900 hours, a savage hand-to-hand combat began. The German Mountain-Hunters and Fallis, and two battalions out of 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade (Brig. Lindsay Inglis) were locked together and fought with every weapon at hand possible. 2nd Lt. Charles Hazlitt Upham and his platoon of New Zealanders, of 20th Battalion (Lt. Col. James Thomas Burrows) from 4th Bde, distinguished themselves in the fighting. Lt. Upham received the Victoria Cross for his 'superb coolness, great skill and dash, and complete disregard of danger. His conduct and leadership inspired his whole platoon to fight magnificently throughout, and in fact was an inspiration to the Battalion.' (VC citation).
Despite allied resistance however, the Germans were forcing their way into the town and made a dangerous gap through which they broke into the mass of the allies, but the situation was restored by 10th New Zealand Brigade's overall commander Lt. Col. (Acting Col.) Howard Kippenberger's bold decision to launch a counter-attack with two companies (under Maj. Bert Thomason) out of 23rd Battalion (Lt. Col D. F. Leckie), the remaining two light tanks despatched to the 18th New Zealand Battalion (Lt. Col. John R. Gray) and all the available allied units in the area (elements from the Greek 6th Infantry Rgt.). The battle was brutal. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, but the Germans suffered the most and were forced to give ground. Shortly before midnight, they abandoned Galatas. The town was recaptured by the New Zealanders and the Greeks.
In the evening of May 25, the German III./1. FschJgBtl (Maj. Karl Lothar Schulz) & II./2. FschJgBtl (Cpt. Erich Pietzonka), were ordered by Col. Bruno Bräuer to assault the positions of the Greeks and Australians defending the airfield at Heraklion. The Greek pockets of disorganized resistance were easily outflanked, after short skirmishes. The dark of night however, forced Col. Bräuer to wait for first light.
During the night of May 25-26, an unexpected order arrived at the fightimg units at Galatas. Brig. (Acting Major General) Edward Puttick, overall commander of 2nd New Zealand Division, issued a redeployment order to a new defensive line, right at the very moment a Greek Infantry Regiment was preparing positions on the hills overlooking Galatas in anticipation of the new German effort the next morning. Brig. Puttick based his decision for the redeployment on the lack of artillery and air support. The battalions of 5th New Zealand Bde (Brig. James Hargest) were positioned on the right flank of 19th Australian Infantry Brigade (Brig. George Vasey), on the new Daratso line, outlined near the village of Daratso and the Kladissos river estuary, 3km (1.8 mi) E of Galatas, while 4th New Zealand Bde (Brig. Lindsay Inglis) was ordered into 2nd NZ Division's reserve. The Greeks continued holding the hills overlooking Galatas.
On Monday, May 26, the German troops entered Galatas unopposed, after the allies had withdrawn.
The village presented a horrific scene; dead were laying everywhere, Germans next to Greeks, New Zealanders, British and Australians.
Sergeant Major (Oberfeldwebel Stoßtruppführer) Max Burghartswieser was one of the four German soldiers who received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for acts of bravery in the 'Battle of Galatas'.
Early in the morning on May 26, at 0700 hours, the two German battalions of Fallis resumed their advance against the Heraklion airfield. They made contact with the Australians of 2/4th Infantry Battalion (Lt. Col. Ivan Dougherty) attached to the British 14th Infantry Brigade (Brig. Brian Herbert Chappel), who before a large enemy force were forced to withdraw. The Greek 7th Infantry Regiment (877 all ranks under Lt. Col. Evanghelos Chairetis) trying to restore the defensive line, dashed forward and attacked the Germans, but the attack failed due to the lack of heavy weapon support. The Greeks suffered serious casualties, including the regiment's CO Col. Chairetis and XO Cpt. Chardalakis (both were WIA).
Also on May 26, the Greek Higher Military Command (Maj. Gen. Αchilles Skoulas) based in the capital Chania, informed the C-in-C of 'CreForce' that due to lack of ammo, food supplies, potable water, and inability to communicate with its fighting units, the Greeks were desperate and requested immediate reinforcements. Greek fighting units would soon begin disintegrating if no help arrives.
Lt. Gen. Bernard Freyberg (C-in-C 'CreForce') informed of Brig. Puttick's withdrawal from Galatas, and of the Greek precarious situation at Chania, came to the conclusion that Crete was lost and signalled Gen. Archibald Wavell (C-in-C 'Middle East Command') informing him that his troops had reached their limit while administration and logistics were very difficult. He asked him to consider the option of evacuation.
Gen. Wavell would respond later on that night that the longer Crete could hold out, the better.
Ironically, Maj. Gen. Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen (overall commander of Air-Corps VIII.) sent a similar signal on the very same day to Col.-Gen. Alexander Löhr (C-in-C 'Unternehmen Merkur') stating that the Fallschirmjäger 'were overstretched, and lacking in discipline' (sic). He asked for reinforcements and heavy weaponry if the operation was to continue at all.
(End of Part 1)
(Part 2)
In the meantime, Gen. Freyberg ordered the formation of a brigade-sized force, comprised of 1st Battalion, The Welsh Regiment (Lt. Col. A. Duncan), 1st Battalion, The Rangers, The King's Royal Rifle Corps (Major R. R. C. Boileau), and 102nd Light Anti-Aircraft and Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery 'Northumberland Hussars' (a 578-strong force with no arty equipment, used as infantry), under the overall command of the New Zealander, former 4th Bde's CO Brig. Lindsay Inglis (the remaining units of 4th NZ Brigade were put under Lt. Col. Howard Kippenberger of the 10th). The new Composite Brigade was ordered to deploy at the foot of the peninsula where the Greek ammunition depots were located, on the road connecting Chania and Suda Bay, while the non-combatant personnel from administrative units were ordered to begin a long trek towards the tiny port of Sfakia, ~80 km (~50 mi) through the mountains to the S.
Meanwhile, at Heraklion, two coys of Fallis under Cpt. Walter Burckhardt from Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1. (Col. Bruno Bräuer) made a second attempt to seize the airfield of Heraklion. The British 2nd Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment (Lt. Col. C. H. V. Cox) from 14th Infantry Brigade was well dug-in however and defended it obstinately. Since the area was dominated by strong British forces, the Fallis did not manage to approach the airfield.
Also on May 26, a mixed Greco-Australian force supported by one light tank, attacked and took the village of Stavromenos, 11 km (6.8 mi) W of Rethymnon, thus expanding the defensive line in order to defend reliably the town. The allies captured ~100 Germans prisoner; 42 seriously wounded Fallis were discovered in the village.
On the same day, in the evening, the entire Gebirgsjäger-Rgt. 141. (Col. Maximilian Jais) arrived in Crete. The German plan anticipated that a major attack against the Cretan capital Chania would take place on May 27, launched by elements from Gebirgsjäger-Rgt. 100. (Col. Willibald Utz), Fallschirmjäger-Rgt. 3. (Col. Richard Heidrich), Gebirgsjäger-Rgt. 85. (Col. August Krakau) & Gebirgsjäger-Rgt. 141. (Col. Maximilian Jais).
At 0100 hours of Tuesday, May 27, Layforce's A (Lt. Col. F. B. Colvin) and D (Lt. Col. George Young) Commando Battalions, a 750-strong ad hoc formation of commando units under Col. Robert Laycock, landed from a Royal Navy flotilla at Suda bay in order to carry out raids on the German lines of communications for enabling an evacuation to take place. The bulk of the lightly-armed commandos was ordered to occupy the areas of Megala Chorafia, some 5 km (~3 mi) to the E of Suda bay, and Hani Babalis some 5 km (~3 mi) SE from Suda, while 200 commandos were ordered to cover the escape route to the S, the road to Sfakia.
Meanwhile, at Rethymnon, at dawn on May 27, the Fallis of Fallschirmjäger-Rgt. 2. (Col. Alfred Sturm) resumed the attack against the Greek gendarmerie's stronghold at 'Kastellakia'. The Gendarmerie Field Battalion's 11th Coy under Cpt. Georgios Chalkiadakis defended obstinately the area. The German attack failed and the Fallis returned to their starting positions. Later in the morning, the Aussies of 2/1st (Lt. Col. Ian Campbell) and 2/11th (Lt. Col. Ray Sandover) Infantry Battalions, supported by two light tanks, attacked the former Greek Orthodox Church at Perivolia, now turned into an advanced ammo depo. The first tank received a direct hit and was destroyed. The second tank, after accidentally firing against friendly troops killing two, lost a track and was immobilized too. Despite the loss of both tanks the Australians advanced against the German stronghold, accepting severe losses. Soon, before obstinate German resistance however, the allied attack foiled.
Early in the morning, on May 27, Gen. Archibald Wavell (C-in-c 'Middle East Command') informed British PM Winston Churchill that 'Crete is no longer tenable' (sic).
Later on the same day, Gen. Wavell received approval to evacuate.
After a fierce Luftwaffe bombing of identified positions, I./141. Gebirgsjägerbataillon under Maj. Hans Förster, II./100. GebJgBtl under Maj. Otto Schury, and Gebirgsjäger-Rgt. 85. under Col. August Krakau launched at 1000 hours on May 27, their attack on the Composite Brigade's elements defending the Cretan capital, Chania. The attackers advanced rapidly and the allied Composite Brigade began disintegrating under the German pressure and the lack of ammunition, and soon was forced to surrender. 1,300 all ranks were either KIA, WIA or made prisoner. Only 350 managed to escape captivity and began a long trek through the mountains towards Sfakia.
At 1700 hours vanguard elements of KG Utz and KG Ramcke entered Chania. The mayor officially surrendered the Cretan capital to Col. Willibald Utz at 1800 hours and requested that he spared its citizens. Col. Utz responded: 'The German soldiers have entered Chania as victors and not enemies. There will be no plundering or retribution. Any soldier who plunders will be shot' (sic). The German flag was raised in the central square of Chania. The city became the German Kommandantur's HQ.
During the night of May 27-28, the entire Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 141. (Col. Maximilian Jais) advanced against the allied Daratso line, but as it advanced, it was exposed to heavy fire and the advance stalled. A spirited bayonet charge by elements from 5th New Zealand Infantry Bde (Brig. James Hargest) and 19th Australian Bde (Brig. George Vasey), inflicted heavy casualties (~300 KIA or WIA) on the Germans and relieved the pressure decisively.
In the wee hours of Wednesday, May 28, the Anzacs of the fear of encirclement, received orders to withdraw towards Megala Chorafia, and link up with the commandos there.
Meanwhile, after the capture of Chania the Greek units on the island began disintegrating, with the exception of the Gendarmerie Field Battalion and the Greek Cadets. Small armed bands from the remains of the infantry regiments were established in order to cover the evacuation of the allied forces from the port of Sfakia. The bands of armed Cretans occupied the hills surrounding the fishing village of Sfakia.
(End of Part 2)
(Part 3)
Early in the morning on Wednesday, May 28, Gen. Wavell, C-in-C 'Middle East Command' ordered the evacuation from Crete to proceed. The new problem the allies were now facing was how to lift tens of thousands of men. The evacuation plan anticipated that it would begin during the night of May 28-29.
Before first light on Thursday, May 29, the first 700 allied troops were embarked at Sfakia. At Heraklion, Brig. Chappel, overall commander of the British 14th Infantry Bde, decided to evacuate, and ordered all the troops to follow specific routes leading to the Heraklion pier, designated as the embarkation area. By 0100 hours on May 29, Heraklion was evacuated. 4,000 allied troops boarded six RN destroyers.
At Megala Chorafia, the German Gebirgsjäger-Regiment 85. (Col. August Krakau) launched a sudden and overwhelming assault against the 5th New Zealand Bde (Brig. James Hargest) at 0630 hours on May 29. One of the most brutal battles on Crete, ensued. Sgt. Alfred Hulme from 23rd New Zealand Battalion would become the second New Zealander on Crete who received the Victoria Cross for conspicuous gallantry. The New Zealanders held throughout the day, but facing severe casualties and ammo shortage, they realized that it would be impossible to ensure holding the line against a serious enemy force, so, during the night of May 29-30, the New Zealanders and the Australians of 19th Bde (Brig. George Vasey) began withdrawing to the S. The Commandos of Layforce (Col. Robert Laycock) with two light tanks, provided the rearguard of the Anzacs withdrawing from the area. At 1100 hours on May 30, the commandos after suffering heavy casualties began also withdrawing to the S. The commandos began a long two-day trek across the Cretan White Mountains (highest summit 2,453 m (8,048 ft) and over 30 summits over 2,000 m (6,562 ft) high) towards Sfakia. They were not in organized groups, they lacked potable water and were under constant air attacks. By the end of the allied evacuation, 571 of the 750 commandos sent to Crete would be listed as KIA, WIA or MIA. Only 23 officers and 156 other ranks succeeded in evacuating Crete.
On the same day, news of the allied capitulation at Chania reached the allied fighting units at Rethymnon. The information that influenced troop morale though, was King George's and the Greek government's evacuation. The Greeks and Aussies decided to surrender in order to avoid further destruction and bloodshed. At 1300 hours KG Wittmann established contact with the Fallis of III./2. FschJgBtl (Cpt. Oskar Wiedemann) at Rethymnon and entered the town. The day was spent with mopping up operations. In a series of skirmishes in and around the town, hundreds of allies were taken prisoner. Col. Campbell with a few men, would make it to the mountains and eventually reach Sfakia. All Fallis POW were released. After a detachment was left to guard the prisoners, KG Wittmann resumed the advance eastwards, the road to Heraklion was now open. Soon, contact was made with a reconnaissance patrol from Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 1. (Col. Bruno Bräuer) which had been holding out in the Heraklion area since the afternoon of May 20th.
I./2. FschJgBtl (Maj. Walter Kroh) was ordered to advance and take the aifield in Heraklion, which was to the S of the city. The German battalion advanced, and captured the city and its airfield, unopposed.
Before first light on Friday, May 30, Royal Navy 'Force D' (three destroyers and three light cruisers under Rear-Admiral Irvine Gordon Glennie) embarked 6,000 allied troops at Sfakia (550 were wounded) and left for Alexandria, while 'Force C' (four destroyers under Rear-Admiral Edward Leigh Stuart King) was on its way there. RAF Vickers Wellington medium bombers, began bombing raids targeting Maleme.
Meanwhile, the German command had failed to realize that the main allied evacuation occured S, in the small port of Sfakia, Maj. Gen. Ringel expected that the allies would retreat towards Rethymnon, so, no German significant force had been sent to Sfakia. In consequence of that, the Germans were caught unaware as vanguard elements of KG Utz encountered determined rearguard action a few kilometres N of the village, early in the morning on May 30. Greek gendarmes, Army Academy cadets, and ~800 armed irregulars would hold out against repeated attacks, to protect the allied line of retreat. The German attack made some progress in the afternoon, and German elements managed to infiltrate a point about 4 km (2.5 mi) from the cove.
On the night of May 30-31, Lt. Gen. Bernard Freyberg (C-in-C 'CreForce') accompanied by the Naval Officer in charge Cpt. John Anthony Vere Morse, escaped to Egypt in a Short S.25 Sunderland flying boat. Command in Crete devolved upon Maj. Gen. C. E. Weston.
Gen. Archibald Wavell (C-in-C 'Middle East Command') ordered Gen. Weston to leave Crete the next night, as the night of May 31-June 1 would have to be the last of the allied evacuation. The Middle East Command estimated that no less than 3,000 troops would be left behind.
The last Greek units still able to resist, surrendered on Saturday, May 31.
5,256 Greek troops and gendarmes made prisoner. The Greek troops from Crete were released shortly. The Greek troops from the mainland, would be kept prisoner for a few weeks and they would be too released free to return home. The gendarmes on the other hand, would be treated harshly because they were not covered by the Geneva Conventions, the members of the Gendarmerie did not have the status of 'combatant'. 148 gendarmes (mostly officers and NCOs) would be executed by the Germans within the first two-three days of the occupation of the island.
4,000 allies abandoned Crete on that Saturday, as the rearguard positions at Sfakia demonstrated a determined rearguard action. The rearguard force just N of the cove was comprised of elements from 19th Australian Brigade, a few light tanks of C Squadron, 3rd (King's Own) Hussars (Maj. G. W. Peck), 2/3rd Australian Field Regiment (Maj. I. J. Bessell-Browne), 'S' Royal Marine Composite Battalion (Maj. R. Garrett), and the Commandos of Layforce. Soon, the bulk of allied forces would surrender. Some, would escape towards the mountains finding refuge among Cretan villagers.
-----------------
Trivia: On the night of May 30-31, two students from the Athens University of Economics and Business, Emmanuel 'Manolis' Glezos (1922-2020) and Apostolos 'Lakis' Santas (1922-2011) undertook one of the first acts of resistance in occupied Europe, when they climbed on the Athens Acropolis and tore down the Nazi swastika flag that was left flying since the day the Germans entered Athens (Sunday, April 27). The two 19-yo lads, hid the flag inside a dried well, below the Acropolis hill. The flag was never recovered. Following the incident, the German occupation authorities issued arrest warrants for the unknown perpetrators, and the regime sentenced them to death in absentia. After the incident, the German authorities ordered the lowering of the flag every evening.
Thanks, great summation of the events in the final days of the BoC. As a child, in my hometown of Rethymno, I heard a lot of old timers saying that if they had a few machine guns and more ammo for their old riffles they would have obliterated the Germans. In fact Rethymno never fell to the Germans. When word came that Chania had fallen, it was a big surprise for the Australians and the Greeks still fighting there. Also, the battle for Galatas must have been horrific. Greeks and Allies showed great courage and resolve but were once again let down by their commanding officers.
Stelios Polychronakis From the ground soldiers often dont understand why they lost a battle despite winning their fight. However, by this time it became obvious Crete couldnt be held. The Germans were too numerous and elite troops that once supplied would succeed no matter what the resistance was.
Germans lost 6000 men at crete, many more dead than wounded due to the many failed airborne attacks and yet they overpowered around twice as many Allied troops and local resistance causing 20.000+ casualties most of them surrenders.
Quick question "Fallis" are Fallschirmjäger?
If so, it would ve better yo abreviate them "FJ" as they are commonly known like that.
Excellent, excellent work.
Would %100 start going to Burger King if the sponsorship were real
Sadly, there was a revolution in the Burger kingdom. The head of state is the Burger President, who is in fact a mere puppet of a Burger Junta.
Royal Navy Mediterranean Commander Admiral Andrew Cunningham's orders "It takes three years to build a ship , it takes three hundred years to build a tradition. His Majesty's Navy must sail to aid the army in Crete"
4:53 "they manage to knock out most of the guns, and set a few fires aboard the ship"
everyone on the bridge was erased from existance when a shell landed inside, and every gun was blasted to the point rodney sailed up and torpedoed bismark
Yeah but neither British battleship could penetrate Bismark's main belt and its anti-torpedo baffles worked. So it was a "unsinkable" hulk. If the crew didn't scuttle it, its very likely that the Bismark might have been captured and while they wouldn't have been able to take it as a prize because of the Uboats, it would have been insult to injury.
Since Rodney was firing from technical point-blank range, spotters were actually able to follow shells to their targets, meaning that they were able to track a 16-inch shell hitting the front of the B turret and blowing the back face straight into the bridge. So yeah, setting a few fires is something of an understatement when the two battleships managed to turn pretty much everything above deck into a graveyard
@@jamestheotherone742 actually, both expeditions to examine the Bismark concluded that it was foundering at the time the order to set scuttling charges was given. It might have taken until the evening or next day, but Bismark was going down as a result of all that battle damage. The scuttling effort hastened the inevitable, but the British were not going to get that hulk back to base as a prize.
It's irrelevant that it may have been the scuttling charges that sank the Bismarck. It was a flaming ruin, and was never going to go anywhere than the bottom of the ocean sooner or later.
@@TheEulerID Not irrelevant, at least not amongst historians and veterans from both sides of the battle. There was quite the controversy over who got the credit for ultimately killing the ship. Not so much now that all of the veterans and even most of the contemporary historians are gone, but that is the context of this discussion.
*HMS Hood:* It's over Bismarck! I have the high seas!
*Bismarck:* You underestimate my power!
Well HMS Hood did lose after 1 hit .. I would swap it with outdated world war 1 era biplanes instead.
PoW was still under a refit/armament program and had extra workers on the ship working on that at the time IIRC which lead to multiple gun failures. It wasnt so much enemy fire as it was the ship not being ready for war that caused those problems.
My Grandad was one of three civilian volunteer sailors transferred off the hood a the final opportunity before her final voyage. He proceeded to be transferred off two further ships shortly before their sinking by the wars end.
Bismarck: Oh? Your approaching me?
Hood: I can't get near you without throwing torpedos at you
Bismarck: then you may come close as you like
As per an excellent Drachinifel video Bismarck and Prinz Eugen had to turn away due to torpedos at Denmark Strait
The real irony is that the only ship that could have launched them was Hood.
Even when she had already been sunk, she still sought to strike a blow against her killer. In doing so she likely saved Prince of Wales from being torpedoed herself.
@@bairdrew late this year the Japanese will show what they think of the Prince of Whales.
@@ScooterWeibels I'm sure they will, by air maybe...
6 dislikes are the Vichy French high command
AND THE WINGED HUSSARS ARRIVED !
Oh sorry, wrong CD
My brother told me about that song (and Sabaton in general) just last week. Attack of the Dead Men kicks me in the gut.
not quite, Polish destroyer ORP "Piorun" took part in this operation. She found Bismarck in stormy weather alerting Royal Navy
I'm being reminded of Extra Credit's series on the Bismarck
That was an absolutely amazing series.
This time, Bismarck didn't have a plan
When Extra Credits was actually good.
It was the non-Bismarckian Bismarck.
sink the bismarck. Sink The Bismarck. SINK THE BISMARCK!
Wait, Spanish republicans? Are we going to hear more about how those guys got to Crete?
I wonder about it two. I found that it is mentioned in "Crete: The Battle and the Resistance" of Antony Beevor.
Based on some quick searching, it seems these were 50 Middle East Commando. To start from the beginning, a lot of Spanish Republicans fled to France after the civil war and were interned in refugee camps. When the war started, many were recruited into the French Army, and some were sent to serve in Syria with the 6th Regiment of the French Foreign Legion. After the Fall of France, a group of about sixty Spanish Republican soldiers stole two trucks and escaped across the border into Palestine, where they joined the British Army as commandos.
50 Commando was deployed to Crete to try to retake Maleme Airport, but by the time they arrived it was too late and instead they formed part of the rearguard as the main force evacuated, eventually being forced to surrender to the Germans. Since the Germans generally sent Spanish prisoners to concentration camps rather than treating them as POWs, the Spanish commandos threw away everything that might give away their nationality and successfully claimed that they were from Gibraltar.
My source, with other stories about the exploits of Spanish Republicans during the war: www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/churchills-spaniards.html
@@imperium3556 ¡Muchas gracias!
@@imperium3556 Most interesting. I hope these men get some sort of a Biography special or something because that is a Story that deserves to be heard. However, I would remember reading that Germans handed captured Spanish republicans over to Franco with predictable results.
Nearest airport to Madrid, if flying Easy-jet, perhaps
Missed a good opportunity to mention the Polish Destroyer "ORP Piorun" messaging the Bismarck with signal lamps while she was being shelled into oblivion. The Polish destroyer flashed "I am a Pole" repeatedly all throughout the night, terrorising the Nazi crew.
Apparently the Piorun tried several times to ram the Bismarck, and got so close they could even use their AA guns and small arms. Seriously brave crew.
Oh and it was the old HMS Rodney that scored the most damaging hits on Bismarck, with her monstrous 16-inch shells, and Lutjens was 'probably' killed very early on, when the Bismarck's bridge was literally vapourised by one of Rodneys enourmous HE shells.
And a final note on HMS Hood, as she was going down, reports from both sides noted that her forward turret fired one last salvo in defiance, literally as the ship was slipping beneath the waves. The 3 crew who survived only did so because of a large 'bubble' which propelled them to the surface, probably from Hoods' boilers. Otherwise she would have been lost with all hands.
I'd highly recommend watching Drachinifel's video on the battle, there were acts of incredible bravery on both sides and it really should be remembered.
I’m actually a little let down Burger King didn’t sponsor this.
I was was about to get in the car to go buy a Chiang Kai Shake.
@@kirbyculp3449 That's the part that tipped me of that it was a joke. He seemed damn serious about the sponsorship at first and why would they advertise them if they aren't sponsored by them?
*To the tune of "Stop the Pigeon"*
Sink the Bis-marck! Sink the Bis-marck! Sink the Bis-marck! Sink that Bismarck...
HOW????
Tail Her! Nail Her! Wail Her! Flail Her!
SINK THAT BISMARCK, NOW!!!!
I thought it was Catch the Pigeon? Anyway, a real throw back to the 70s and maybe 80s TV in Australia.
@@markfryer9880 It was Catch the Pigeon but in America it was Stop the Pigeon
A couple of interesting facts from the sinking of the Bismarck. The first ship to open fire was actually a Polish ship, the Piorun, who signaled either "I am a Pole" or "Three salvoes in honor of Poland" before doing so. She also basically charged the Bismarck solo and got to within 20 feet before having to break off because of low fuel.
Second, the Rodney scored the only battleship on battleship torpedo hit in history during the battle, albeit when the Bismarck was already practically sunk. A lot of dreadnoughts and super dreads were built with torpedo tubes as a relic of pre-dreadnought thinking, and while most like the Japanese Nagato class had their removed during modernizations in the 30s, Rodney kept hers long enough to see use.
I never knew there were so many ships involved. I always figured it was a normal size task force, maybe 20 ships or so. Kinda gives full meaning to Johnny Horton's line "We gotta sink the battleship that's causing such a fuss".
One thing not mentioned is HMS Rodney is the only battleship to torpedo another ship in combat, that ship being the Bismarck.
meanwhile in world of warships everyone in a bismark spends more time trying to use their torpedoes than their guns
Rodney carried 24.5 inch torpedoes which were forerunners of the Japanese 'Long Lance' torpedoes.
The fog was gone the seventh day and they saw the morning sun
Ten hours away from homeland the Bismarck made its run
The Admiral of the British fleet said turn those bows around
We found that German battleship and we're gonna cut her down
The British guns were aimed and the shells were coming fast
The first shell hit the Bismarck they knew she couldn't last
That mighty German battleship is just a memory
Another brilliant show. Thanks for your efforts everyone.
Amazing video Indy,Spartacus and the entire team! Keep up the good work!
Denmark strait is always nasty weather, I cruised through there pre corona last August, even high summer we hit heavy weather and the ship was tossing, and this was a big cruise ship.
The time of the Battleship is over.
The time of the Swordfish is now!
Ever since I got caught up I so look forward to Saturday's. Thank you Indy!
Indy's mid-war silliness is the best!
I was SO excited when this channel finally have a non-patreon sponsor, but then the reveal
:-)
Some details from the sinking of the Hood I always found interesting.
1. In all reality she should have gone down with all hands. Bursting compartments producing air bubbles saved those three fortunate royal sailors against all odds and with the kind of luck you almost have to put down as some form of divine intervention.
2. One of the things that almost certainly saved HMS Prince of Wales was a torpedo in the water, that forced Bismarck to break contact and maneuver. By all reports this torpedo was almost certainly fired from the Hood. A mechanical malfunction in her death throes? A final act of defiance? We'll never know, but we do know it's pretty much the only time a fixed torpedo tube on a battleship or battlecruiser had an actual impact on a battle.
If you're interested in a moment by moment recounting of Operation Rheinübung and the sinking of the KMS Bismarck, I strongly suggest this video by the absolutely stellar naval historian Drachinifel.
ua-cam.com/video/n69kV4gVoDw/v-deo.html
Your point number 2. Is actually totally incorrect HMS Prince of Wales was not going be sunk. It technically in better shape than the Bismarck and had the range and was already hitting Bismarck, it was the right thing for it to slip away, but it wasn't saved at all due to the maneuvering of Bismarck.
Also it the wasn't the only Torpedo fired by a Battleship in combat, HMS Rodney did it too against Bismarck, Bismarck was hit by that Torpedo too becoming the only time a Torpedo from a battleship hit another ship.
@@Alex-cw3rz One major reason PoW retreated was that its main gun batteries were suffering severe mechanical problems because they were so new. If it had been KGV she would have had every chance of staying in the battle and inflicting crippling damage on the Bismarck then and there. Bismarck's heavier guns were at least balanced by KGV's better armor layout, and Prinz Eugen would have been very lucky to survive getting anywhere near torpedo range of a KGV-class with properly functioning main guns - one salvo of 10 14-inch HE shells could easily have turned her into a smaller Hood.
@@brucetucker4847 yes all very true. I would say KGV although having a smaller calibre gun did have a heavier bursting charge than the Bismarcks, so less penetration and range, but more boom from a shell from a KGV hit. And there is a good chance KGV may have been able to sink Bismarck as even with malfuncting guns POV was the first ship to hit the other side.
@@Alex-cw3rz I didn't say it was the only time a fixed tube was used. Just the only time it had an actual major impact on the conflict at hand. Rodney's torpedo was one of many and Bismarck was destined to meet her watery grave regardless. Another example of a fixed torpedo tube on anything less maneuverable than a submarine actually doing something useful would be the KMS Blucher being sunk in Norway during Operation Weserübung and the battle of Drobak Sound, but that's an island so doesn't count for our purposes.
As Bruce Tucker points out PoW was not better shape than the Bismarck. She was having severe issues which is why she was retreating in the first place. Bismarck and Prinz Eugen could have absolutely pressed the engagement, denied Prince of Wales her retreat and almost certainly sunk her. With only the intervention of HMS Suffolk and HMS Norfolk possibly offering some reprieve to the retreating Prince of Wales. Considering the damage Bismarck and Prinz Eugene did to Prince of Wales, this is not at all unreasonable. You can have the finest guns in all the land, but the way her turrets were jamming, nevermind issues with the guns themselves, you have to admit it's not exactly a rosy outlook when your broadside keeps sporadically reducing from an optimal ten to anything less. Prince of Wales was also getting quite close to Prinz Eugen's torpedo range, which undoubtedly would have been a bad thing for Prince of Wales.
Indy, glad you're feeling better (at least I hope so). Thanks for this, and these... Great stuff!
This was an excellent episode thank you for it. I particularly enjoyed the graphics for the Bismark hunt.
Lots of colour in this tie, which is here to party. Hope you and the rest of the team are doing great.
Great, now I want Burger King
Indy just arrived in Bavaria on Friday, doing well considering the circumstances. Astrid, Indy and Anna are now preparing a fashion show for you ;-) stay tuned in the next weeks!
@@spartacus-olsson Very glad to hear he's doing well Spartacus, appreciate the update! And I'm certainly looking forward to *that*. Say hi to everyone
Gotta get everything on the ww2 Burger King menu
I'll have the smoked Himmler burger please.
I love all the spontaneous off the cuff moments throughout these episodes. Very entertaining.
I just discovered this series. This is fantastic!
At 1:51 the Renown is labeled as HSM Renown rather than HMS.
Yes, we noticed the mistake too late unfortunately
His Sexy Majesty's Renown.
@@Gonboo Id tell you to take my red arrow, but this aint reddit. Take my thumbs up anyway
Hsm ?
@@neiltappenden1008 HSM stands for High Seas Mavis...
I just want to know how many people heard song Sink the Bismarck from Johnny Horton before Sabaton did they take on the story
It was one of my dad's favorites, so yeah.
Indy, you rock, Dude.... take something I THOUGHT I knew everything about, but you make it sound like it's BREAKING NEWS! Well done everybody that make these vids possible!
I love your videos every morning I wake up and the first thing I do while I drink coffee is watching your videos. Thanks for that.
"The age of the battleship is over"
I sense spooky foreshadowing to a later date in the war.....
Nah. The Bismarck just wasn't well designed enough. The Yamato is a more advanced ship and is going to be highly effective.
@@seneca983 is that a joke?
@@Alex-cw3rz: Yeah, but let's not spoil it. :)
@@seneca983 Advanced? yeah, the Wave Motion Gun was really ahead of its time.
@@brucetucker4847: Haha! (And the Wave Motion Engine as well.)
8:58 yes australians, that *is* the uncle of current tasmanian senator eric abetz
@Jim lastname check the pinned comment up top - while I'm not eric's greatest fan the mods may not look kindly on ripping into living politicians, espeically ones in office
That was unexpected for a non-Aussie to see :o
@@pnutz_2 no, Google Tall poppy syndrome!, Part of Aussie tradition!
@@willatkins9686 The promotion of braindead bogan sentiments at the expense of actually useful people? Nice and proud "mate"
The UA-cam Channel BazBattles did a great video on the Battle of the Denmark Straight and the subsequent sinking of the Bismarck. I've known this story since I was a kid from a National Geographic documentary in the 90s. I've been waiting for this episode for some time and it did not disappoint.
Great job Indy and the whole WW2 team!
Superb research, graphics, editing and presentation.
What more can I say......
"It's a trap!" - Admiral Ackb...Lutjens
The bismarck sank the HMS Hood.
This angered the Royal Navy, who punished him severely.
I have seen it quoted in many places on the Internet that the apparently antique Swordfish was apparently responsible for the destruction of a higher tonnage of Axis shipping than any other allied aircraft. I would imagine that might be a trifle creative and include ships like the Bismarck that were crippled by Swordfish and finished off by other means as well as the mines it laid. Besides the Bismarck, there was the battle of Taranto where the Italian navy was mauled with 1 battleship sunk and two that suffered massive damage along with a heavy cruiser. A couple of dozen Swordfish based in Malta accounted for over 450,000 tons of Axis shipping in 9 months. The
The Swordfish also accounted for a significant number of U-Boats, including the first ever sunk by an aircraft (in Normandy). Swordfish assisted with the sinking of 9 German destroyers at the second battle of Narvik.
Of course the Swordfish was extremely vulnerable to enemy fighters as the six lost in the "channel dash" showed, but overall they had relatively light losses.
It might be that the unglamorous Swordfish is the most underrated aircraft of WW II.
Eurocentric numbers. The entire tonnage of German and Italian shipping sunk was a small fraction of Japanese losses. US Navy SBDs sank 130,000 tons of Japanese warships at the Battle of Midway alone, representing more fleet combat power than every German and Italian capital ship sunk in the entire war. But the real ship killers on both sides were submarines; by the end of the war US submarines had sunk more than six _million_ tons of Japanese ships.
@@brucetucker4847 As I say, there are numerous quotes on the Internet, and I suspect it is somewhat creative and no doubt includes mines and all manner of other things. It's also about tonnage, not the type of tonnage either and, for that matter, about a single model of aircraft.
Also, submarines were, indeed, what sunk the most tonnage. US submarines decimated Japanese merchant shipping.
However, that's entirely irrelevant to a claim that's about a single aircraft model.
Nice to see your fully recovered Indy.
I LOVED the "Burger King Sponsorship" at the end, Very Clever Indy!!! :-D
Numbers are a little bit misleading here. Not all or every 68 Royal Navy ships engaged Bismarck one at a time or at once. After Battle of Denmark Strait on 24th May 1941 where HMS Hood (a World War I era , 23 year old battlecruiser which has not been modernised or restored in shipyard time ever since and its original construction sacrificed armor for speed) sunk and HMS Prince of Wales was forced to retreat , HMS Suffolk and HMS Norfolk shadowed Bismarck , then lost her in fog. Before that though , carrier HMS Victorious which wwass in range launched a torpedo attack with nine Swordfish torpedo bombers which damaged Bismarck slightly. After Radio Triangulation location which is known of RF/DF (which British Y Service became a master of) due to Bismarck's long radio report to Kriegsmarine HQ in France (German naval commanders were notorious for using radio too long , never thinking they could be tracked and broadcast location could be located) , gave a rough idea of Bismarcks location , RAF Coastal Command Catalina flying boat discovered her location still one day sailing time out of Luftwaffe air cover range. Thanks to speedy cooperation between RAF and Royal Navy , carrier HMS Ark Royal incoming from Gibraltar came into range and Swordfish torpedo bombers from her second strike hit Bismarck twice with torpedoes. That sealed fate of Nazi Germany's Death Star (sorry most popular historians are still obssesed Bismarck in this juvenile manner) Interesting thing is Bismarck had an extensive anti aircraft defence batteries yet they failed to shoot down a single Swordfish aircraft , "Stringbags" as their pilots called them , because their canvas freame allowed AA shels to pass through without serious damage ! (one Swordfish retuned and landed back to HMS Ark Royal with 128 bullet holes yet its crew survived) One of the torpedoes launched by HMS Ark Royals Swordfish bombers , jammed and damaged Bismarck's rudder beyond repair. In night time four Royal Navy destroyers led by Admiral Phillip Vian (same one who captured German supply ship Altmark off Norway in February 1940) launched constant torpedo attacks on ever circling Bismarck , they did not hit her due to heavy counterfire from German battlewagon. But these ceaseless night torpedo attacks exhausted German crew beyond their limits. In the morning HMS Rodney (a Nelson class battleship with 16 inch guns ) and HMS King George V (first new King George V class after HMS Prince of Wales) caught Bismarck and literally "executed" her. Bismarck tried to fight back but Royal Navy battleships opened fire from a longer rage with better accurancy. Under their constant bombartment (400 medium or large caliber shells hit German battleship) all gun turrets of Bismarck was knocked out , her upperstructure along with bridge (where Admiral Lutjens and Captain Lindemann died) was totally destroyed and newest German battleship of her era was smashed beyond recognition , aflame from bow to stern and listing to the port. HMS Rodney also got close enough to score a torpedo hit on Bismarck (only incident when a battleship torpedoed another in the war) Finally her crew decided to scuttle her with scuttling charges while HMS Rodney and HMS King George V retreated from scene to return to Britain due to fuel shortage. Light cruiser HMS Dorsetshire remained in the scene , launched coup de grace , three torpedoes to finish wrecked German battleship. Between her torpedoes and scuttling of her crew , Bismarck sank at 10:35. Only 110 of her crew was picked up by HMS Dorsetshire and destroyer HMS Maori (both could and were ready to torpedo the wreck of Bismarck again if she did not sink after first salvo so whether Bismarck sunk due to scuttling of her crew to finish her off or enemy torpedoes , is largely a pointless academic question)
There was a TV program a few years ago about the undersea archeological expedition examining Bismark. Video footage showed the enormous amount of damage the ship took, but also that the ship was more intact than is normal for a ship that has sunk in water that deep. When asked if the German scuttling charges or British shelling and torpedoes had caused the sinking, the expert merely said, "Yes". In other words, the German crew were right in saying they scuttled the ship, but the Royal Navy had damaged the Bismark so much it would have sunk anyways.
Oof looks like someone studied this in depth 👍
Very good summery, the onyl thing I'd add is that Dorsetshire could have picked more crew out of the sea but had to flee because they suspected that there where U-boats in the area.
I think a lot of this "Battleships are obsolete" that Indy is pushing isn't accurate to the time period, most battleships and battlecruisers sunk by airpower where in harbour, where any kind of ship, Battleship, Aircraft Carrier, Cruiser, U-boat whatever, is vulnerable (again to any sort of attack that can get close enoug, Airpower could most easily sink ships in port (Pearl Harbour, Taranto, Tirpitz) but Submarines could do it to (HMS Queen Elizabeth and Valiant in Alexandria, Royal Oak in Scapa Flow) and so could Battleships (Mers-El-Kabir). IIRC I can think of 5 that where sunk by Airpower alone while at sea (Prince of Wales, Repulse, Roma, Yamato and Musashi), and the force disparity between Yamato and the USN/RN really meant it was just a matter of choice how it would be sunk IMO. Compared to 6 Battleships/Battlecruisers destroyed in Battleship-on-Battleship actions (Hood, Bismark, Kirishima, Sharnhorst, Fuso, and Yamashiro). You can throw in Hiei as either (rendered combat ineffective by gunfire, then finished off by aircraft). At any rate with such even numbers I find it hard to say that "Aircraft made Battleships obsolete," and more "Battleships operating on their own instead of as part of a combined force where vulnerable." and "Aircraft meant that after a Naval Power had achieved control of the sea and managed to bottle up opposing ships in port they could still strike them then."
@@dernwine I do agree with your argument, with the following caveat. What was demonstrated was not that battleships were obsolete (they were not, as I mentioned in a separate post), but that they could only operate freely under an umbrella of air power. The issue really lies in the fact that naval strategy, like all human endeavours, suffers from extremist views, in this case the battleship cadre versus the airpower cadre. Both have valid points. However, in defending their point of view they take their argument to the extreme, then use isolated cases to validate their argument. In another theatre of war, General Chennault figured airpower alone would carry all before it; that is until the Japanese army, who weren't familiar with his theory, overran his airfields. What the Bismark episode demonstrated more than anything else is that Naval Operations were now a combined arms affair, much as land warfare had become. As an aside, I wonder if around this point the Germans were wishing they had completed Graf Zeppelin.
@@dernwine I don't think you're entirely wrong, but on the other hand you'd have seen a lot more battleships sunk by carriers in the Pacific, probably with no corresponding losses going the other way, if the fleet commanders hadn't wised up and stopped trying to use battleships as battle-winning ships in open waters. Yamamoto considered charging Spruance's carriers with his battleships after losing the Japanese carriers at Midway, but thought better of it and recalled them as he realized the only likely result was getting one or more Japanese battleships crippled where the Japanese would have no way to recover them and they'd be easy meat for American submarines and aircraft to finish off. There were battleships present at several later carrier battles, but they were used solely as escorts and both sides concentrated their air attacks entirely on enemy carriers. When that finally changed at Leyte Gulf, it was a disaster for the battleships, and the only reason a battleship-on-battleship action followed shortly after was that the Japanese lured the American fleet carriers away by using their own now-toothless surviving carriers as a bait force.
Thanks for sharing
You almost had me fooled there with that advert at the end. Great work, all!
"How many ships do you want to hunt and destroy the Bismarck?"
"Yes."
With sinking of Bismarck , using of capital ships as surface commerce raiders era was coming to a definite end. Operation Rheinubung had been a clear failure for German Navy. Bismarck’s main mission had been commerce raiding , attacking enemy convoys , she had failed on that one , she did not sink a single enemy merchant ship. Admiral Lutjens was ordered not to engage capital ships of Royal Navy , an orders which both tied his hands but also impossible to fullfill in face of Royal Navy Home Fleet superiorty and willingness to engage. Neither Bismarck / Prinz Eugen duo nor Scharnhorst and Gneisenau (had they sortied from Brest as planned) had effective air cover , recon support or any cooperation from Luftwaffe. That doomed Bismarck from the start as as soon as she get out of Skajerak.
As a result not only Bismarck failed to find a merchant ship to attack or a convoy , actually BdU (German Navy submarine command) and Admiral Doenitz in a vain attempt to save her , actually pulled out most of their U-Boats in Atlantic out of their patrol zones and messed whole U-Boat patrol schedule for more than two weeks during Allied convoys sailed across Atlantic unharrassed by U-Boats. So ironically , the first and last sortie of Bismarck actually saved Allied convoys at sea rather than threatened them.
In summary even losses between capital ships are not equal. HMS Hood a 1918 era battlecruiser a much older ship with weaker armor went down with 1.400+ crewmembers , a bitter loss to be sure for Royal Navy. But Royal Navy still had 14 more battleships as capital vessels and three more in construction ready to be put to sea within 12 months. When Bismarck went down , German Navy lost 2.200+ crewmembers. Besides Bismarck was a new ship , just been complated and she was one of four capital ships German Navy all had including Tirpitz which was not put into sea yet. So German Navy lost %25 of its battleship strength when Bismarck went down.
According to Goebbels , Hitler had been inconsolable and beyond melancholy due to loss of Bismarck. When Admiral Raeder was called upon to Reichs Chancellory in June 1941 , Hitler in a slightly angered attitude , grilled him why Bismarck did not had finished off HMS Prince of Wales in Battle of Denmark Strait ! never occuring to him his orders not to take risk by Royal Navy capital ships in first place , limited maneuver room of Admiral Lutjens in first place.
The loss of Bismarck marked a turning point in the German naval war. Its humiliating failure, together with the failure of the battle cruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst to inflict any substantial damage on British maritime assets, brought to a close the dominance of the big surface ships in the Kriegsmarine. Never again was one to sortie into the deep Atlantic. Virtually overnight the U-boat became the Kriegsmarine’s preferred ship, the only possibility for defeating Great Britain at sea. Admiral Raeder’s influence on Hitler declined; that of Dönitz rose considerably
Convoy PQ17 destruction was a Uboat/Luftwaffe affair as the will we/won't we indecision regarding the deployment of the surface raider force from Norway took on almost comical proportions. When it did sail, it was too late and at the first sign that the force was discovered by Allied reece planes, was promptly withdrawn as quick as it could. The Barents Sea defeat was the icing on the cake regards the impotence of the Kriegsmarine capital fleet. I I just wish Scharnhorst had not sortied at North Cape as she was fighting a losing battle the moment she broke radio silence.
@Jim lastname Thank you
Really, it’s just yet another example of battleships in WWII being forced into secondary roles they were never designed for, where they prove cost-ineffective at best or outright bad at worst. The Iowas being forced into AA roles (when they were originally intended to chase down enemy capital ships) is another example, albeit one that didn’t get them sunk.
Also, Hood was nowhere near as weakly armoured as commonly made out to be, in fact she was roughly equal to Bismarck in terms of capabilities.
@@bkjeong4302 All navy's planned heavily on battleships. And all those hopes were killed. The US battleships were sunk at Pearl Harbour (partly risen, repaired and brought to action again). British and Dutch battleships were drowned with the Hood and in Indonesian waters. Yamato did not do any sevice but support or last ditch effort in a no-return mission. But all those battleships live on in memories, despite having failed in their hoped for roles. The air carrier groups proved to be superior in this war. But some of the Navys high command never got that while in the war. The most successful naval commander in high command was Nimitz, who was trained in submarines. The best active Admiral at sea was Spruance (mostly in command at Midway - a turning point in the Pacific war) a previous group commander supporting air carriers.
Midway was the first sea battle ever, where the fleets never saw their opponents.
And all surface fleet engagements that were answered by a great number of planes failed to succeed.
Jim lastname I don’t think it should offend Indy or the team to have cultivated such a passionate community.
very moving broadcast!
The Catalina that spotted Bismarck and made her sinking possible flew from RAF Castle Archdale on Lough Erne in Northern Ireland. Today the site is a camping and caravan site which I have stayed at many times!
There's a small-ish museum on the site that tells the story of the Catalinas that once graced the Lough's water.
You honestly had me with the burger king for a moment ngl
Who would win:
Germany's most advanced battleship
*Or*
Some biplanes
Who would win:
The heavy cruiser aiding Germany's most advanced battleship
Or...
Some funny bomb thrown by the Americans after the war.
(The cruiser)
*Germany's most advanced battleship infused with parts of an alien
@@oaples8790 That's just an SCP, it isn't real
Just like in the Korean war when an old soviet Biplane shot down a US jet fighter
I had read about the Denmark Strait battle and I had not understood how the Hood and Prince of Wales mistook the Prinz Eugen for the Bismarck until I started playing World of Warships and had a look at the models. They largely have the same silhouette except for the difference in scale, and it was not standard practice to have the cruiser leading the formation. That was why the British ships were not firing at Bismarck.
I love your channel keep up the great stuff
i know this is a year too late, but my dad came across the reason that the Hood and P.O.W. targeted different ships when engaging Bismark and P. Eugen. the most powerful ship typically leads, and Bismarck was leading, but had used her guns the day before and had destroyed her own naval radar system when she fired (i don't recall the exact details), the lack of radar on Bismarck meant that P. Eugen had to take point.
So one british ship fired on the lead vessel assuming it was Bismarck, and the other id'd Bismarck and changed targets
“We gotta sink the Bismarck for the world depends on us”
Churchill: Set every ship to sail!
Royal Navy: Will forty-something do?
Churchill: NO!
Royal Navy: I can do 68, maximum.
Churchill: Hmm... So be it.
Some outdated biplane: Yoink! I get all the glory!
Hit the decks a-runnin' boys and spin those guns around
When we find the Bismarck we gotta cut her down
Never found American war propaganda and culture to be very good (except for Hollywood films, but that’s just the country paying movie people to do it for them), even today they suck at it and allow themselves to look terrible constantly. This song was not an exception, only the mildly humorous (mainly due to its over the top jingoism) “goodbye mama I’m off to Yokohama” really does anything for me as far as inspiration. But then again American music of the period mostly sucked aside from jazz and those wartime propaganda songs were based mainly on the style of the time. But like “over there” is among the most cringeworthy and low effort propaganda pieces I’ve ever heard or seen. And America freaking reused it again even in the more modern atmosphere of WWII! Outclassed totally by the British and even more so by the Germans. American marshall culture blows despite being the world’s greatest military power for the past several decades.
@@TheLocalLt I'm pretty sure that 'Sink the Bismarck' is a British song since the Americans weren't even in the war at this point.
KaptenN it was composed by Johnny Horton, an American singer
If you haven’t listened to Sink the Bismarck by Johnny Horton yet, you should.
"... finds that his Mathilda tanks are vulnerable to German 88mm anti-tank guns..." Bit of a common problem for a great many nations during the War.
Matildas were well armoured - in France in 1940 most German projectiles - 37 mm etc. had just bounced off their armour, but the 88 easily destroyed them.
The 88 was pretty much the only thing the Germans had which could touch the Matilda II at the time. It was certainly not ideal for them to be using those weapons as AT guns, they were designed and designated as anti aircraft guns and using them on tanks deprived them of their use against airstrikes. They were also very heavy and difficult to move around compared to dedicated AT guns, which was not great for tactical mobility.
Of course that all changed once the new generation of German dedicated AT weapons like the 75mm PaK 40 came into service. The 88s then went back to their anti aircraft role.
Ahhh, I've been so excited to watch this episode! I love Naval History. I'm a little surprised that he didn't play Sabaton though. But it was a GREAT episode!
Even more hilarious is that the Bismarck basically shot itself on the foot when it fired its own guns as it damaged its forward radars.
Truly a magnificent piece of German engineering.
I understand the Bismarck was built using cutting-edge welding techniques which made welds strong but brittle, so torpedo and shell hits cracked the welds and caused disproportionate damage. The torpedo hit after wouldn't have jammed the rudder if the welding hadn't cracked. Also, the couldn't blow the rudder off and steer with engines for fear the whole stern would come off - which it did when struck by a shell in the final battle. Someone once said the Bismarck was strongly built. Nope. Untried technology can have ubforeseen problems. They had to redo the welding on the Tirpitz.
In a mess deck aboard HMS Rodney a rating composed a piece of doggerel after sinking Bismarck -
‘Within the span of seven days
From view to chase and kill
The pride of Hitler’s Navy learned
The might of Britain’s will’
After dispatching Bismarck , HMS Rodney went to Boston , USA for further modernisation and engine rectification. Most of British battlewagon's crew were billeted and quartered with civilian families homes in Boston (giving a good impression of British war effort for PR purposes and closing US support for UK) Since the repairs took several weeks to complete, Rodney's crew was furloughed to local Civilian Conservation Corps camps. In the interim, some members of the crew struck up lasting relationships with American civilians
Wait hold on, we let a bunch of British troops live in civilian homes in Boston? Didn't we fight a war over this?
About time! Thank you! 👍🏻😎🇺🇸
Started watching this series about 2 weeks ago
Hmmm how many uboats could've been made with all that material and time spent on the Bismarck... If only Hitler listened to Doenitz...
"the age of the battleship is over"
Japan: hold my sake
US: hold my burger. Boys deploy all CVs!
Lots of great content! Fantastic episode !
Thanks!
There is something about the Kreigsmarine ships that just says beautiful. Like just how their superstructure is built looks so gorgeous
"Can I order one Double Goebbels Burger? With some Vichy Fries to go, please."
In the 19th century: Bismarck conquered Europe
In the 20th century: Bismarck sank
:-0
1815: Blücher defeats Napoléon
1915: Blücher is sunk
1940: Blücher is sunk again
Bismarck united Germany*
Except Otto Von Bismarck never conquered Europe, he did however unite the German principalities not already incorporated into the Austrian Empire, creating a singular German nation state.
There may have been a small war with France.
@@moleratical7634 Also beat the snot out of the Danes and Austrians.
I feel sure there must have been invasions of Poland and Belgium in there somewhere too, if only in spirit.
@BHgaming: Too often he gets all the glory. Blücher needs some of it too.
*Man I am so happy That I found this channel recently and have so many episodes to binge watch 😂*
*I'm also playing a great & fun WWII game called "Enlisted", with your channels content about World War Two I am sure when I get closer to the present episdoes there will probably be a Enlisted sponsored episode out. Its great to be able to play & listen too excellent WWII topics... I'm fighting in the Stalingrad Campaign right now so I cannot wait till I get too operation Barbarossa's episode. Another great channel covering Stalingrad is "Tikis" Stalingrad series that I recently found and its amazing... would love to see you guys over here do some collabs with him.*
The channel is "Tiki History" on UA-cam not just Tiki lol.
Some years back I read of an analysis by the Royal Navy of the cause of the sinking of HMS Hood. The analysis determined that plunging shellfire that penetrated the thin deck armor was greatly amplified by the detonation of the deck mounted loaded torpedo launcher literally shattering the hull of the ship.
The report was not released until years after the war, but the deck mounted torpedo launchers on capital ships were quietly removed during the war.
From what I understand what limited analysis could be done based on the wreck indicates that the torpedoes did not actually detonate, and the magazine explosion was definitely not the result of plunging fire penetrating the deck armor - the range was too short for that and any shell hitting the magazines would have to have passed through the belt armor and not the deck.
@@brucetucker4847 I was not aware of this. Do you have any references to this so I could read? Thank You.
May the Crew Rest In Peace.
.
Bismarck: sights HMS Rodney
Bismarck: Why do I hear boss music?
Current Objective: Survive.
If World War Two was Hogwarts. Then Indy Neidell is Dumbledore. His writing is Wizardry and his content is Magic! Legendary status forever!
By that logic...
Their are Indy-bash fics involving the phrase 'The greater Good'
That was an awesome comment!
I'm going to make those shakes now. Thanks...
On May 26th the Polish destroyer ORP Piorun was the first to spot the Bismarck on its race to Brest after the Royal Navy lost contact 17 hours earlier. Arriving first on the scene Piorun charged at Bismarck, introducing herself by flashing “I am a Pole” and then opened fire with three salvos. Piorun then exchanged fire with Bismarck (4.7 inch versus 15 inch) for an hour closing to within 12,000 meters. Piorun and HMS Maori then shadowed Bismarck until daybreak when HMS King George V and HMS Rodney arrived and could range their 14 and 16 inch guns.