Battle of the Bulge from the German Infantryman's Perspective
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- Опубліковано 24 лис 2022
- The Battle of the Bulge was Germany's last major offensive of the Second World War. In this video we look at some of the stories from the German infantry.
Bibliography
Beevor, Antony. Ardennes, 1944: Hitler's Last Gamble. London, UK: Viking, an imprint of Penguin Books, 2016.
Caddick-Adams, Peter. Snow & Steel: The Battle of the Bulge, 1944-45. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2017.
Chamberlain, Peter. Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two. London, UK: Arms and Armour Press, 1978.
Chamberlain, Peter. British and American Tanks of World War II: The Complete Illustrated History of British, American, and Commonwealth Tanks, 1939-1945. London, UK: Cassell & Co., 2000.
Cole, Hugh M. The Ardennes: The Official History of the Battle of the Bulge. St. Petersburg, FL: Red and Black Publishers, 2011.
Holland, James. Normandy '44: D-Day and the Epic 77-Day Battle for France. New York, NY: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2019.
Schneider, Wolfgang. Tigers in Combat. 1. Vol. 1. Winnipeg, Man.: J.J. Fedorowicz, 1994.
quite insane to imagine that there could have been soldiers that raced through the ardennes in 1940 successfully, at rapid speed, and then found their end in those same forests a few years later.
not the same troops I think. Most of the successful ones from before was well used up in the east.
By 1944 the absolute majority of german soldiers had been killed in the soviet union.
In 1944 the western allies were bsically fighting the german army 2.0, which was of significantly lower quality.
The cream of the crop of the german military died its slow death during operation Barbarossa and the soviet counter offensive in Winter 1941/42. After 1941 the only "original" army of the Wehrmacht left with msot of its original troops was the 6th army that saw less combat and was in the south of ukraine in Winter 1941 and thereby had significantly lower casualties. It meet its end in Stalingrad and after the africa corps got destroyed in early 1943 basically the vast majority of germanys original 1940 armed forces were dead or pows. The units now were partly compleatly rebuild from the ground up or heavily reinforced units with a small core of veterans still alive. The only thing that remained somewhat the same was the german officer corps and general staff (the high ranking command structure, the lower ranking officers died like flies).
The german army of 1944 was an absolute shadow of itself even before D-Day.
@@More_Row Keyword being "most".
There very well could have been soldiers that fought in France in 1940, then fought on the Eastern front, then fought in the Ardennes in 1944.
Was it common? No, but nobody here was claiming that it was either.
@@ndx6779 I would really doubt that unless you have actual documentation to support the same units being involved in all three campaigns.
@@XDestroyoxZx I already have some for you, the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte, served in all those campaigns, the 7. Armee was at the battle of France and battle of the Bulge, and I can give you an individual who may have personally been at all of these campaigns, Sepp Dietrich, so what others have said in regards to fighting in all three campaigns is not only plausible, but did happen, is it a large amount? no, probably not.
"They don't advance without air support and tanks" I dunno sounds like a pretty smart policy to me
And it could've been spoken by a teenager. Someone still in the mindset of fists instead of smarts. No established military man would think that to be cowardly.
@@eddiesawyers7924 Who won the war? I thought so.
Didn't the Germans call that "Blitzkrieg"?
Exactly.
"They are to op man. They need a nerf".
I absolutely love these personal stories. To hear what a soldier on the ground thought was always the most interesting part of military history to me.
That's why Band of Brothers is so good.
In Bosnia as a young man it seemed normal to just do as your told, yet talking about it later you think FFS how did we manage it. I'm sixty now and it's crystal clear to me! Yet during conflict it passed so fast. I feel all soldiers think alike.
Dylan is talking about the bulge nonstop.
@chreg89 You got some deep issues, seek professional help.
@@patkearney9320I was there too, and totally agree with you
While in the army in the mid 80s, I met my boss's dad. The WW2 vet told me about fighting in the Bulge as we ate Thanksgiving dinner in Flint Michigan. He said artillery would impact just yards away but the deep snow threw the blast upwards thus saving a lot of lives. He was knocked out by a blast and woke up in the dead truck, the truck carrying dead for processing. He was bleeding from his ears, eyes and mouth. They weren't allowed to have fires so he cleared snow off what he thought was a log to sit and eat. It was in fact a dead German. He sat on the dead German and ate because he said it was better than sitting in the snow. He killed a German officer and took his binoculars which he showed me. Keep in mind he manned an anti-tank gun, so that must have been some close fighting.
Depends if they tried to take his position or not, anti tank guns are longer range than a rifle I most cases
Anti-armor guns were often the target of infantry attacks as the unwieldy guns were difficult to use against fast moving infantry targets. This would likely lead to a lot of CQB.
Fantastic, thanks for relating. Reminds me of a girl I dated in high school, her Dad was a Marine at Chosin Reservoir in Korea. He told me (not in her presence) about taking the frozen bodies of dead Chinese soldiers and stacking 'em up like cordwood to use as cover.
He said most of the Marines he went in there with did not come out. Said he never experienced that kind of cold ever before or since. Said he and his fellow Marines killed uncountable Chinese.
He came home and built a great life, worked out at the gym well into his 90s, and died of Covid. Hell of a man, as I'm sure your boss's dad was.
@@lg6707 Not in those days, a Bazooka was only effective a couple hundred yards at the max. Even a high velocity AT artillery rifle was only effective to maybe 1000 yards, about the same as a Garand M1 with a 30-06 round. Most anti-tank combat in Europe was done at far closer ranges.
@@RidgeRunner-lz5ko My late Father was at Chosin, he was a USAF pilot who flew transports into Chosin Airport and evacuated trapped marines and the wounded. He told me when they landed they didn't shut the engines off for fear they wouldn't restart, it was so cold. And they could hear the Chinese war horns blowing at the other end of the airfield as they charged into battle. They were issued Colt 1911 pistols and they kept one round in them-for themselves if they ever faced capture. The North Koreans in particular hated Allied pilots and executed them when captured in appalling ways. My dad told me after his last mission he turned in his Colt, only to find out it had a broken firing pin and was not operational!
That German soldier writing home about Americans seems to have a very British attitude: "The enemy is being quite unsportsmanlike by refusing to charge directly into our machine guns. How dare they use the weapons they saw fit to bring several thousand miles to bear against us!"
Thought the same thing. In the end, don't start nothing won't be nothing.
Ehh wot?
The 101st held off numerically superior armored units during the entire battle. The spirit was quite strong in Bastogne.
@@darbyheavey406 well, when you're surrounded and getting reports of POW getting executed, what choice you got?
Sounds similar to the Lost Cause view of Grant and Sherman, which is why I view them, along with Eisenhower and Marshall as among the greatest generals.
They had the winning strategy.
"The American is cowardly, he won't attack without air cover or heavy support!"- some German soilder ready to get mowed down by air cover and heavy support.
Also some American soldier shouting to said dumb hypocritical German soldier: COPE
Funny thing is that it was that same combination of coordinated elements that gave the Blitzkrieg its initial success.
US Soldier: “cope, war isn’t fair fritz”
If you got it flaunt it.
Said German who rely on fire support of CAS and artillery since day-one
it always impresses me the amount of information you're able to gather and the way you're able to visualize it to us with such quality visuals. amazing job as always!
Well said!
And presented all within less than 20 minutes it’s jampacked with amazingness❤
It's the most written about war in history there's tons of info available
The usual - narrative with stock footage taken from many places and times. Oh, well, probably no other way to do it.
and he may narrate a similar event as Germany in the US
These two channels are outstanding! This and Operations Room are brilliant. This series along with the Iwo Jima were and are top notch. Thanks again for the upload. Cheers from Tennessee.
If you haven't heard of it, I also recommend Mark Felton's channel.
@@stanislavpetrov5955 Yep. Been subbed for about a year.
Many years ago, while taking graduate classes, one of my professors, Dr. Cook, told me abt his experiences during the battle. He said his unit, I don't remember the name or division number it belonged to, had been virtually wiped out the first morning. He survived by lying in a culvert beside the road and playing dead for three days and nights. Even described how an occasional German stopped to take his watch, cigs, etc. Even lent me his regimental history book tht described his ordeal. I have no idea why he chose me to tell the story to after class one night. I think abt him often and try to imagine the horror and his bravery. A lesser man wd've surrendered. Rest in peace, Dr. Cook. gb
We never know which lives we influence, or when, or why. Not until the future eats the present, anyway. We know when it's too late.
These professors of that generation were great teachers. Not like the idiots these colleges hire to teach today. Sad.
@@marksauck3399You mean the Marxist Democrat professors? 🤣
Man these videos are so good. The feeling of dread is almost palatable. This is real war education.
These are simply the best WWII videos ever, imo. I understand what happened better. Even though I'm learning very little because I already know most of this history I just seem to comprehend better. War is HELL!
I noticed watching science videos, that hearing things explained in several different ways really helps connect the dots.
TimeGhost history is pretty good as well. They also have a sobering but informative series labeled war against humanity. Be warned there are images of Holocaust and civilian victims shown.
i aint trying to say 'this guy is better' but you should check out montemayor if you havent, makes just as good vids
@@garretth8224 not one died in gas chambers
Added perspectives round out any edges of confusion.
The German soldier pictured at 11:25 is probably one of the most often copied. I've seen this picture reproduced on game boxes, magazines, book covers, documentaries, etc. I've often wondered if he was ever identified by name, and if he survived the war.
The German soldier on the right at 16:33 appears to be carrying what looks like an American M-1 Carbine.
If you Google "identity of Ardennes German" you'll see several pictures of him, taken within a few minutes of each other. The name Hans Tragarsky comes up, along with an authentic-sounding story, but ultimately there is no definite proof. I agree with you - it would be interesting to know for certain who he was.
- Yes, I've seen him many times - he also appears briefly in a group photo a little earlier in the footage!
Stills from that German news reel have been widely used since it shows German soldiers wearing US Army rain coats and carrying US weapons, The mentioned soldier is holding a 1911 Colt 45 with others toting M-1 carbines. The German soldiers also highly prized the small one burner Coleman stove and GI field rations. The stove would burn for hours on 8 ounces of gas. kerosene or alcohol and it's two covers served as pots for heating water and rations.
@@billwilson3609 it's a browning hi power pistol he's holding.
that lic was took after his uniy ambushed an american column, killed everyone and took the trophy loot. Later his unit ran toward to american to avoid capturing by Russians
"Amateurs talk about tactics, professionals talk about logistics"
And you may be just as dead whether your side prevails or not. Wars are won by nations. Battles are lost by soldiers.
meh guerrilla soldiers will just ambush your supplies starving your soldiers with necessary supplies shattering their spirits plus it is also a factor if the people of the nation still wants to fight so a will to fight is still a major factor to win wars
@@hehe-jg8zz ah yes I remember the insurgents in Iraq and the the Taliban in Afghanistan attacking our supplies and us starving
Wait, no, when they blew up the tomato truck we just didn't have tomatoes for 3 days.
My uncle was in Patton's 3rd Army relieving Bastogne from the south. He told me by a few days after Xmas the Germans were surrendering in droves, they were cold, hungry and without any more confusion about the course of the war. Some US units didn't accept surrender from SS troops, Malmedy Massacre was well know by all US troops by then.
I had many family member’s and friends now passed on who fought in WW2 and in the Bulge as well as North Africa, Italy , Pacific and CBI. One of My Dads Older Brothers was a Combat Engineer, 289th RCT 75th Inf. Div. He was 18 at the time of His first battle for Grandmenil . He was in all the actions to the end of the War. He named all the Towns they went through going here and there to do their Jobs that were much like Infantry including clearing minefields or avenues of advance through them and reconnaissance prior to assaults. The Division was attached to the 18th Airborne Corps during this battle. Malmedy and Stavelot were well known atrocities. My Uncle did not see any of the victims there but said He had personally seen Americans Who had been captured and murdered. They had been bound hand’s and feet and lay with Bayonetted Rifles forced up their Rectums like Shewer’s.
I guarantee the Germans would rather surrender to Americans than Russians
I had a roommate claimed his grandfather fought in World war II. He said that his grandfather's unit would immediately assassinate any SS officer that was captured.
@@pelonehedd7631 I had uncle he fought all over Europe I remember as kid he seem a lot of combat he never like if I ask him, how many Germans he killed he does not ask me that
The American 106 was surrounded? What 106? Got that wrong.
It was not just the difficult terrain that caused heavy losses on the German forces.
Many units had been reinforced with largely untrained conscripts who were literally herded forwards by experienced NCOs.
So even equally green US troops who were at least dug in, could score massive kill rates by firing into these bunched up German troops.
I wonder if that will be the fate of Russian conscripts in Ukraine?
Sounds good but rarely happened. Majority of German casualties were caused by artillery and frostbite.
@@frankvandergoes298 Most casualties in any given battle are caused by artillery, so that's not unusual. OP is correct, however, that the volksgrenadier divisions that served as the spearhead units for the 5th and 6th Panzer armies suffered heavy casualties due to US defenses that were largely immune to the German artillery bombardment.
Yes-not just because I was a canoneer when I was in the army 40 years ago-but I think the British, the Russians, and the Americans all knew that artillery is the King of Battle. The Germans seem to have crowned the Panzer as the king of battle.
There is no doubt that I never want to face a Tiger coming down at me at 30 mph when I'm in open ground-or anywhere on ground and for that matter. There is also no doubt that I don't want a 8-inch artillery round landing on the top of my head.
I'm going to try and recall this quote by General George C. Patton has given in the documentary "Patton"-
"The heavy weapons company and the divisional artillery pace the infantry division. It is these units that do the killing. It is up to the maneuver units to allow the heavy weapons company and divisional artillery to move."
And for the purposes of artillery, land attack aircraft qualify to be called artillery. In fact, in World war II, I believe land attack aircraft were under the Army and that the Air Force was created after World war II for America. Aircraft is also used as forward observers for the artillery which can see behind the front line to targets of value.
@@frankvandergoes298
American soldiers took a lot of casualties due to the weather also. I think I read somewhere where the leather was inside out on their boots...? It was not just foot issues but also respiratory issues taking a toll on the front line soldiers of both belligerents.
Oh man, I'm used to one video from the other channel, all of a sudden I get *another* video along with it? Absolute insanity, thanks for the work/effort, it's appreciated.
The work you do is greatly appreciated. Thank you for this.
This explains more of what was going on after only learning broad overviews of the Battle of the Bulge, and then seeing Band Of Brothers in Bastogne.
Indeed. But what's funny now that we know quite well about battle of bastogne. I remember the guys were complaining about the ration they received during the siege. Unbeknownst to them, they were better supplied than the poor bastards siegeing them.
Not running into machine gun fire without armor support? Sounds good to me! Steel, not flesh!
Their just bitter the yanks took care business.
The other guy is cheating...is the last vestige of the losing side....
A friend in 101st said they slept in the same trenches as WWI and much of the insignia were still in place. It was beyond ghostly to think they were where so many had already died.
The 82nd Airborne on the northern shoulder were a key defense. Add to that the Engineer battalions that destroyed bridges and other infrastructure that delayed the Germans so much that Peiper made a comment “Damn engineers”.
Peiper missed a fuel depot off a side road defended by about 100 men of a Belgian Forester company.
The 82nd Airborne put the final mail in the coffin for Peiper by finding a M12 HMC and moving it to a ridge looking down on Peiper’s position. With little fuel and ammo Peiper slipped away back to his lines in the night on foot, the 155mm shells of the M12 as a final insult.
Wow! It's always amazing to hear what it was like from the other side. It really can show you some stuff you may never have known before about the other side.
Excellent! One of your best efforts yet!
I had the honor to talk with veterans of the battle of the Bulge ….. “ fighting the Germans was a job till the Malmedy massacre , after that it was a crusade ! “ My impression was it was a not boasting .
What should be noted was that the Allies used a new invention for this battle. The Proximity Fuse attached to artillery shells shredded mass formations of German soldiers. In fact, the Proximity fuse along with the Atomic bomb were considered the most important technological inventions by the Allies made during WW2.
...ARE YOU BRAGGING OR COMPLAINING?!!
@@daleburrell6273 Just reporting the Facts
One of the few Zaloga presentations on youtube is on this very subject. Its a worthwhile watch.
Just found your channel and now I’m binge watching. A HUGE thank you for your vids, they’ve shown new photos/film footage I’ve never seen. Most documentaries show the same public clips over n over. You’ve taught me so many new things too that you don’t learn in any text book or docu-series. Love your channel n eagerly tap vid to vid to vid.
Thirty years ago, only near the end of his life, did my professor, Richard Kuhns, tell me how he'd been captured during the Bulge and placed with others in a barn, which was bolted or chained shut. The retreating Germans had been burning soldiers alive in barns. Before that could happen to him, the Americans retook the town. Kuhns became Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University, and an expert on aesthetics. None of his generation ever spoke about the war to us until the very end of their lives. I am in awe of them.
My dad fought in the Bulge. Unfortunately he came home with what now is called PTSD. He just suffered with extreme alcoholism & a very violent temper that both my mom & I paid for with blood & pain. Sadly, he quit drinking & got his temper under control just in time for them both to die. 😢 🙏♥️🙏♥️🙏♥️ 🫡 🇺🇸
I Love your videos and narration about these battles.
My uncles served during WW2. One with Patton, spoke of the horror perpetrated on Allied soldiers by the Wehrmacht. We were slaughtered after capture by German soldiers. Not by SS, but the regular army Germans were as horrific as the SS. Sadly as I have aged I have watched a determined rewrite of the true history of German action during WW2 and from 1938 on. I know not all people were evil but certainly we must all consider if our own death would be better than allowing millions of people to be slaughtered. If we are cowards we are still responsible for the actions of our neighbors if no one is saying This is Wrong.
Allied soldiers committed multiple atrocities from the outset of the Normandy campaign and continued to do so throughout the campaign. Well documented.
About 20 years ago I was in the veterans administration Hospital to get treatment. I overheard a World war II guy talking to one of his cohorts saying that Germany didn't deserve to have its own government.
It clarified his comment saying that he didn't want to exterminate the German populace. He just believed that they didn't deserved their own government after what the Nazis did.
@@frankvandergoes298 In the famous words of James Brown: Static...yeah, static...yeah, don't start none - won't be none! #germanystarteditwefinishedit
@@frankvandergoes298 Truman nor any allied leadership condoned atrocities. That can not be said of your friends on the other side. " We did it to" how dumb...
@@lawren7615 You're a special kind of stupid aren't you? You do realize Stalin is included in "allied leadership" right? The british were fine with, and some would say started, indiscriminate bombings as a strategy. "Bomber Harris" has quite a few quotes in that regard. Theres also American bombings, mostly in the later part of the war, that were targeting civilians. You could throw in the atomic bombs and more than a few of the fire bombings with that. Maybe it doesn't count as an atrocity in your mind when we handed people to the soviets to be killed, or sent to gulags until they died, including women and children, but the Soviets were definitely allies so that doesn't hold up. Ever hear about what happened with all those forced repatriations? All in the hopes we would get back some Americans and British who were being held by Stalin, but they never released them. Next time try to use your head a little before you call someone dumb.
love your channel sir! Really interesting videos from the 'alternative perspective'. The iwo jima ones were fantastic, looking forward to this :)
Such an interesting period of the war
Germans when using combined arms: Superior blitzkrieg tactics 😏
Germans when seeing Allies use combined arms: "NEIN THATS CHEATING FIGHT ME 1 V 1 NO ITEMS INFANTRY ONLY FINAL DESTINATION"
Like Germans complaining about Americans using shotguns in WWI.
Bingo! They loved rolling across Europe in 1939, but didn’t like it so much when they had to go up against modern, mechanized armies with effective artillery and air support.
@@Rain1906 >Germany almost won WWII
>Couldn't defeat Britain 1 v 1
>Declares war on the Soviets expecting a quick victory, gets BTFO'd instead
>Declares war on the wealthiest industrial nation in the world and is surprised that said wealthy nation outproduces their crappy socialist economy
Wehraboo 80 years later: "waaaaaah! germany shoulda won they had the coolest uniforms and tanks! the allies cheated with their awoplwanes waaaaaaah!"
Pathetic.
@@redaug4212 WW2 happened because Germans couldn’t cope if you think about it
Germany didn't have a socialist economy
It's a good day when I get to watch a new video from The Operations Room & The Intel Report. The beer helps too.
yay ive been waiting for ur vids mate ty
The 2 regiments of the 106th fought encircled until they ran out of ammunition and food. This was their baptism to fire. Being unable to fight back, surrender for the surrounded troops was the best option with those that wanted to filter back to Allied lines allowed to do so.
It’s third regiment was outside St. Vith joined those defenders and fought well throughout the battle.
I met a medic who was in the 106th.
Great work, as usual.
My father was a scout and forward observer for the 75th INF in support of artillery. His job was locate German targets. The work required him to be in front of American lines. His life expectancy was about 30 days.
He was one of the few enlisted men who had and prized his M1A carbine because it was comparative light fast loading, and contrary to what some would say had plenty of punch and accuracy. He was decorated with the Bonze Star for Valor in confronting a German Panzer with only rifle grenades. By applying accurate fire to the view slit of the tank, he apparently convinced the crew that he might in fact be using a bazooka, and so they backed away from the contact.
Frostbite probably removed more Americans from the front at the Bulge than enemy fire as it was the coldest winter in recorded European records at that time. The old man walked around for three weeks on his heels fighting frostbite and not returning to the rear for aid because they would take away his carbine.
Oh, he was chewed out for slapping a mouthy SS Officer, because you know, any officer no matter what atrocities they commit, well they are still officers.
What a fantastic video! Thanks.
Excellent, really like this new channel. The one item I hoped to hear described was the German's impression of the VT-98 proximity fused artillery used by the Americans in the counterattack. Taking from Rick Atkinson's 'The Guns At Last Light' "Shell fragments were said to slice through the thick logs atop enemy bunkers. A single 155mm shell could shred every square foot inside a 75 foot diameter. Such mayhem was pure manslaughter, another German prisoner complained "The devil himself could not escape." pg 460.
I've always found it ironic that the Germans claimed US forces only attacked with the overwhelming support of armor, artillery and air power. Apparently, they had forgotten about the concept of "Blitzkrieg" that had worked so well for them in Poland, France and the opening phase of the Russian invasion.
Probably because everyone who participated in the Blitzkrieg was dead…
Very well done guys. I stayed interested right til the end...
At about 5 minutes into the video, you mention the Chain Dogs, nicknamed so because of their chain and badge around their neck. Back in the very early 1980's, when I did military service here in Sweden, that kind of chain and badge was still used. They were carried by the DO, "Dagofficer" ("Day Officer"), and the BDO, "Biträdande dagofficer" ("Assistant Day Officer"). Those two persons served as the top ranking officer, and top ranking NCO, at the regiment for the current day. So they were in charge, for now, in case something happened that needed a quick response. And it was as far as I can see the exact same type of badge, it looks very similar at least. Weird to see SS military police wearing the same kind of chain and badge.
I thought about the same thing. This was still in use in 2005
"Ketten hunde" That is supposedly the last bit of plate armor that is still used. Military police had a poor reputation in most services but I have read that the Feldsgendarmarie was particularly bad. Yeah, I guess they did ignore the SS. Higher ranking even the privates.
My dad was in the Australian army during ww2 and everyone hated the provost. There was even a song Provo barstards checking passes kicking arses Provo barstards on the gate.
called a gorget, earlier armies, all officers had one as a rank symbol.
There's recent video on the German neck badges and it explained it's European history and Sweden in mentioned.
Lookup the video "What is a Gorget? And why are they worn?"
I love this series.
My uncle was a US Army tanker at the Bulge, and a couple of his cousins were there with the German Army. They all managed to survive the battle.
He had to fight his German cousins?
@@joebudi5136 He didn't know his cousins were there at the time. His parents came to the US from Austria before he was born. After the war, his parents got in contact with their families in Austria and found out they had nephews who were in the German army at the Bulge.
My great uncle, who was on Omaha Beach (when bullets were flying everywhere) during D-Day, also fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He told a small story about the time he was going through the forest woods when he spotted a lone German officer just walking through the snow. My uncle got closer without being heard or spotted as the officer kept walking. He told me that a lot of things were going through his mind such as asking himself if he should take the officer prisoner. The final thought that came to his mind was "It's either him or me." So he lifted his M1 Garand, aimed and down the officer went with one shot. He approached the now lifeless officer and took one of his collar patches which we still have to this day.
@@CloudRollerFox And now you besmirch his legacy by being a furry. That German officer was worth fifty of your uncle.
@@joelglanton6531 "ah yes imma judge someone by their hobby which wasnt even a part of this conversation until you felt so horrifyingly insulted you called a nazi soldier the good guy here"
Man that really just shows what kind of person you are lol. As if you have any moral high ground to stand upon. The furry community is like any other. Theres good people in it and bad people in it. If you judge this community by only considering the awful outliers and the stereotypes, im frightened to imagine what you think of ANY community you see in your life.
Edit: wow you commented on this very video that youre sad that the allies won WWII? Damn ok bro i guess youd rather live under nazi rule
Good video, thank you for posting.
Outstanding video and congrats on the Battle of the Bulge documentary.
It would be nice if you could also do the same for Operation Spring Awakening, Germany offensive against the soviet union.
One major correction: The Ardenne Offensive was NOT the last major german offensive of the war. The last major offensive was in Hungary and was called operation spring awakening (Unternehmen Frühlingserwachen): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Spring_Awakening
It was however the last major offensive on the western front for the war.
But I really hope you do a report on the War in Hungary in 1944/45. It is often compleatly ignored in the western world and is arguably the most brutal fighting in the final phase of the war over the germans last ally and oil field. The Siege of Budapest alone makes Bastogne look like an absolute cake walk in comparisson (Bastogne was encircled for days, Budapest for half a year).
To quote how Hitler saw Hungary in 1945: "Hitler considered the protection of Vienna and Austria as of vital importance and that he would rather see Berlin fall than lose the Hungarian oil area and Austria. He [Hitler] accepted the risk of the Russian threat to the Oder east of Berlin".
PS: If we want to be really picky, the last german offensive was in April 1945. It would eather be the Potsdam Offensive by the 12th army to break through to the encircled 4th Army and help them escape to the west (Pocket of Halbe, object of the Sabaton Song "Hearts of Iron") or the last (successfull) german armored assault of WW2, the Battle of Bautzen (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bautzen_(1945)) where german forces launched a counter attack against the polish second army and defeated them, recapturing several towns and villages which they would hold until the end of the war. There are also different definitions on who won that battle. Poland claims they won because the germans didnt break through their frontline, but considering this was late April 1945 the simple fact the germans advanced several dozent kilometers into the soviet advance, stopped the polish troops heading to Dresden and foirced them into a although small retreat under heavy casualties can only be seen as a massive blunder on the polish militaries part at best. The polish force was two times stronger then the german one but suffered significantly heavier casualties and needed to be safed by soviet troops (obviously not exactly a popular image in poland today for obvious reasons).
Thank you for your comment.
You don't need to put words in capital letters, we can all read just fine.
Could you even say, the last German army offensive of world war 2 was Wenck's 12th army marching to relieve Berlin, but instead went to the rescue of General Busse's encircled 9th army?
@@cannibalcorpse75 I mentioned that one as well, the Potsdam Offensive, at the end if my comment. But it wasnt what we would consider a "proper" offensive, more an ad hoc battle group assault to support the breakout of the ninth army from the pocket.
The Battle of Bautzen as I mentioned would be the last german "proper" offensive in April 45 and the last major offensive would be spring awakening in march 45 in Hungary.
So its *not* a "Major correction" then? It's actually a very minor correction specifying that this was on the western front...
Nobody is impressed by your Wikipedia knowledge. There's no need to leave passive-aggressive comments like that.
I live near St. Vith. My neighbour, now 96 and still driving his tractor, told me that it was minus 20 and with loads of snow. He was in Setz where he lived as Germans blow up the small bridge. The 3 Germans came in his house and adked for coffee. While drinking it, GIs came silently across the river. The neighbour, then 18 y o, was talki g outside with his father and a neighbour. The GIs showed up and they asked the men if tjete are Germans inside. Yes, wasthe answer. They surtounded the house and shouted to get oit of thr house with their hands up. The Lt wanted to fighy but the very young Wehrmacht soldier to please not to. They surrended. So, the bridge was blown up for nothing. My neighbour who told me this is 97 and still okay. He told me it was a positive exciting time and he still feels like being 18, like in 1945. Setz is a Germans speaking Belgium town south of St. Vith. Wehrmacht soldiers were not allowed to plunder because this part of Belgium was annexed into Germany in 1940. He did flee for the SS i to the forest because thry could take him to serve in the SS.
Very nice unbiased report. Subscribed.
I’m guessing many of the Germans were thinking “what has that idiot got us into this time?”
And yet many of them fought to the last bullet
Those scouts next to the signpost (at Kaiserbaracke) are actually with Kampfgruppe Knittel, not Peiper.
Beyond brave combat photographers, from all countries and within all theaters of war, never receive anywhere near enough overdue credit.
I don't know about the European Theater, but I had once read that US combat correspondents (includes photographers and motion picture camera operators, had the highest casualty rates of all the units in the Pacific Theater.
What is the SPG halftrack at 9:23. Is that a Hanomag? The body looks wrong, but it might be the perspective from the 3:2 video.
Great stuff, nice footage
Ironically my last boss came to U.S. from Germany and works in an American bank. German and Japan are now our allies. It’s a crazy world we live in.
I never heard too much about the use of napalm from aircraft in the European Theater. Thanks!
Heard the familiar voice, subbed. :) Tbh the channel has been popping up in my feed for a few weeks already , sorry I am a bit late. :)
From David A. Wood: As with the Organized Crime stories, I also enjoy watching the highly interesting stories shown about Military Culture, especially those pertaining to WW2 History, as I invariably end up learning something new. Mind you, I have been an ardent consumer of WW2 History ever since I was a pre-adolescent back in the mid-1970s. To UA-cam: Please do keep up your good work!
“The coward Americans won’t advance without their vehicles!”
-German who’s entire attack revolved around giant panzers
Laughs at grounded Luftwaffe
To be fair (or unfair), the German high command had the infantry lead the attack on the Allied lines, at atrocious cost, to save their precious tanks for the race to the Meuse.
@@q-tuber7034 It is just 2 things about the Germans whining about the Americans advancing that irks me.
1. It is completely dumb to call someone a coward for using any and all of their resources to win a war(outside of obvious dick moves like shooting surrendering troops and aiming at civilians) when war is an unfair mess with lives at stake.
2. It is completely hypocritical to say this when the Germans did the same thing when they were invading other countries.
It is the attitude of idiots that say 1v1 me bro fair and square but complains when the opposing sides uses power weapons when they first were also using power weapons.
@@arkoa0000 agreed
They're coping so hard that they couldn't see their own hypocrisy
At the risk of stating the obvious, the superior ability of the Americans to quickly resupply would eventually overcome any sort of tactical advantage, even if Germany had succeeded at the Bulge.
Yes when your army launches a major offensive, but your leaders tell you the only way to continue the advance is by capturing enemy fuel - you are going to lose.
One captured German was stunned when he saw Allied soldiers leaving tanks, jeeps and trucks running if they were moving on shortly. The German had strict orders to turn everything off unless they were moving in order to preserve every gallon. He knew then that Germany would be defeated.
Outstanding presentation, meaningfully supplemented by the actual accounts of German troops of all ranks with their highly varied experiences from the early days of triumph to the bitter retreat after their final ground offensive collapsed in failure!
Fantastic video.
This video was an intriguing perceptive into the minds of the German soldier during the Battle of the Bulge.
I can only imagine what it must have felt like when the sky cleared and the temperature dropped.
Insane, that soldier on the left is the one from that famous picture of the German soldier 10:08
This was very well done.
.
Awesome video 👍
I don't think that I have encountered a telling of the Battle of the Bulge quite from the Wehrmacht perspective, although I did see the 60's film that showed a small amount of it.
11:20 The American soldier "..does not attack without aircraft and tanks. he's too cowardly for that". A German soldier describing the Blitzkrieg when done by other than German soldiers.
Yeah, the German who said that was a hypocrite.
Blitzkrieg? A few months to capture half of europe compared to 5 years of war? He probably meant that germany most times attacked with light infantry or defended without any of support especially at that period of time in many parts of the front.
The Americans on the other hand NEVER acted without what he mentioned. Not ever once. Because their industry macdonalds'd out tanks and planes like big macs.
This was the western front late of war. Americans were even fighting and killing down to 13 yesr old children and up to 80 yesr old seniors there equipped with whatever was left. Not just wehrmacht or rather what was left of it
@@AbuHajarAlBugatti ,".... germany most times attacked with light infantry ...." No, Germany attacked with Panzers, Tigers, Stugs, Dive Bombers and then infantry. On the other hand in this the Battle Of The Bulge, it was the light American infantry against all manor of German tanks and artillery.
As far as killing 13 to 80 years olds, that was the work of Joachim Peiper and part of the 1st SS Panzer Division who murdered civilians of all ages along with the POWs as mentioned in this video along with the fact that these were battle hardened troops and not the conscripted civilian army of youngsters and old men. Did you even watch the video, or do you just make up history as you go along?
@Abu Hajar Al Bugatti please read some books. They (the Germans) used combined air and armored in their attacks on EU. The Germans invented combined force artilary air power and tanks, then the Panzer Grenadiers. Panzer Grenadiers are infantry units THAT FOLLOW TANKS. American forces copied blitzkrieg doctrine and adapted and overcame. Beat the Germans with their own game. You're pretty uneducated on this matter.
@@AbuHajarAlBugatti
Never is a pretty strong word for most of anything in a conversation. While it's true the majority of American units didn't have the tenacity to die battle, there were after units with valor that would fight with the tenacity such as the Russians and the Japanese such as second armored and a 24th institute division and third armored.
That Ambleve River turkey shoot sounded fun.
Great video
In 12 days we will be Antwerp or lost the war - Is a good assesment really
The Germans had some pretty smart generals. Shame the war effort was driven by Hitler's whims. Imagine if Rommel had been the commander of the resistance to D-Day?
Somehow I doubt that. Germany was defeated, no reserves and the industry more or less gone by that time. And even if GB and the USA had made peace, I am certain the soviet forces were strong enough to obliterate Germany afterwards.
I’m in the camp that Germany lost the war on December 11, 1941. There is no way it could have defeated the two largest economies in the world at once, especially when one of those was at the time the world’s largest oil producer, and when Germany could not hit either’s production centers with a single long range heavy bomber, and had no hope of ever doing so
Most of them that had previous experience of combat probably thought it was a waste of time and effort. By that stage of the war all they could have tried was futile but they had burned their bridges with the crimes that had been perpetrated in the preceding years.
Very good interesting. Thank you
My grandfather was there, he came home with PTSD, because of that he died in his early 50's!
A bunch of the troops committed by Germany for this offensive were originally supposed to go to the Eastern Front. In mid-1944 you had the Western Allied invasion at Normandy. A few weeks later the Red Army kicked off Operation Bagration out east and German Army Group Center was ripped apart. Germany was scrambling to rectify both of these problems but Army Group Center's fate was a big problem. They had been trying to plug the bursting dam out east and the reserves sent to the Ardennes instead dashed those hopes.
Meanwhile back up in Norway?
Guess they didn't show later post-war interviews of German soldiers that complained about being expected to fight without being supplied with fresh water and food rations. Said they spent a good amount of their time looting the GI's and vehicles of rations, water and the nifty small Coleman stoves that would run for hours on 8 ounces of any liquid that burned. Those came inside a two section cover that served as pots for heating water and rations.
great video 👌
Suffering frostbite on the west front must have been the final nail on the coffin
I love the complaints about the Americans they faced. "Waaah! They won't attack without combined arms! They won't run headlong into our MG fire! Cowards!"
Well done...Good video
I had an old friend that was there, I heard the stories over several years across campfires.
the German soldier at 11:30 should be a millionaire from the royalties by now, as his face is in every WW2 documentary about the Bulge.
Without exception. Every one.
Am I imagining this?
I've seen his picture everywhere too
Bah
My mother told me once that it was horrible during this battle. She lived in the city of Buffalo NY, and during the battle there were lots of units with guys from Buffalo. She said that you would see families, daily, getting the announcement that their son, husband or father was killed.
I always thought it kinda funny that the weather, the terrible weather was simply a normal Buffalonwinter for those guys.
...now for the Texans 🤣
Anyone know what the vehicle at 9:23 is? It looks like a halftrack with a 7.5cm gun, I've never seen one of those before
If a vehicle chassis existed and germans put their hands on it, you better believe they had a pak40 equiped version at some point.
@@CalgarGTX that much I know, but it doesn't answer what particular vehicle that one is...
@@oliverhughes610 The base vehicle is a French made half track. In early 1944 the German forces in France modified the half tracks to carry a 75mm Pak 40 AT gun. They were rather rare, 16 were modifed, and most were lost in France. the Germans called it 7.5cm PaK40 L/46 auf m SPW S307(f).
@@tankmaker9807 thanks! I since saw it must have been one of the Becker conversions?
@@oliverhughes610 I believe so. Most of these conversions were done for use with the 21st PD, but got spread around when units were loaned to other divisions in Normandy. It would make an interesting model kit.
What happens to group piper during and after the battle?
Battle of the Buldge was a bold and audacious move by Hitler, but it was doomed to fail and simply wasted Allied and German lives for no real reason.
My Doppelganger was with the Germans at the Bulge, I have no name, only that the photo was taken there. It's freaky lol
Maybe you are the doppelganger, you just said you have no name.
@@VikingKong. you got me there, but I meant I have no name for him, plus even if he survived the war he probably died of old age before I was born. Or possibly the same day, idk.
@@waffles4322 maybe you are his reincarnation
@@archetypealch3my290 maybe, I didn't even discover it until I started WW2 Reenacting.. as a German. 😂 I was walking through some vendors at an event and one of them had the picture and freaked out about it lolol
Wonderful
At 9:23 what is this vehicle please?
So very tragic on both sides - look at all of those young men - what a senseless waste of young lives!
A waste of German lives the Americans just came there to clean up Europeans wars like always
You are so right. When will we learn.
“No fair you’re fighting with heavy weapons and air support!” -virginGermansoldier
“Isn’t that exactly how you guys blitzed France and the Soviet Union in the early days when you had those things?”
-Chad American GI
@@Rain1906 I believe this statistic came an early report right after the war by the Pentagon but it was leaked to the press and dropped because Americans were outraged that their own government was saying the Germans were better soldiers than their own (iirc the stat was actually 150 Westerners and 200 Soviets/Russians).
One of the most importaint facts, prior to 'Battle of the Bulge' was that German Parachute Regiment 6 was not sent to the Walcheren Causeway at 18.00h on the 31st of October 1944 which would have resulted in delay of least two weeks in opening the Port of Antwerp and a 100% operable port after a fortnight after the beginning of 'the Bulge'.
Student lied in his statement after his capture and only mentioned the 2nd attempt of the next day, to conceal his collosal blunder of blowing the golden opportunity to keep the port inoperable.
Bastogne is twice as far from Antwerp as it is from Normandy.
And 5 times as far to Nijmegen.
All equipment,supllies and reinforcement would have to come from Normandy instead, while the Red Ball Express was already at its maximized capacity.
My father was in a Mortar unit that got overrun in a small town during the battle of the bulge. A unit of tigers went by as he said his unit hid in large trash cans. He said he had never seen a tiger and it scared the hell out of him because of how large they were. They later made it back several days later to the American side. Later he and the two other guys in his unit were relieved when the Germans were being driven back. The 3 had to take about 300 German prisoners several miles to a fenced in area. He said the German prisons were ragged and many wounded. He felt bad for them!
You can hear and see how the mentalities were so different between the Wehrmacht and SS.
Yet so similar
Like clockwork, the “Clean Wehrmacht” myth comes up again. Wehrmacht soldiers are just as guilty as those SS shitbags, and the entire genocide wouldn’t have been possible without logistical support from the Wehrmacht. They can all go fuck themselves.
Only in their commitment to National Socialism. Desperate soldiers are a plague on civilians irregards their politics.
@@FrankBUILTperformance You are probably right. I rote my theses in comparing the motivation of German soldiers to fight in WW I and WW II. I was surprised to see how much the average German soldier in WW II was indoctrinated by NS ideology with ideas of "destiny" and "a war of cultures/races" being quite widespread. Of course you have to consider that 18-20 years-old soldiers in 1944 were still in elementary school when Hitler came to power in 1933. Basically they were indoctrinated from childhood to early adulthood. Now crank that up to 11 and you have the SS soldiers (however, note that from late 1943 people were drafted to the SS, so not all of them were fanatics. In fact, one of the leading German post war writers, who was a strong supporter of social democrats, named Günther Grass, was a member of the SS being drafted at age 15 or 16 late in the war).
@@doomhippie6673 Yea. But alot of the most fanatical soldiers were former ideological enemies of the National Socialists. Ironically, rejecting their old ideologies had made them even more convinced of the NS worldview.
There was a lot of bone headed thinking leading to this attack but for me the thought that even if it was successful it would divide the allies and make them sue for separate peace was just dumb
Make a playlist please
"I'm better than you"...the thought that destroys people inside and out.
36 Divisions against 36 German Divisions. If the were held in defensive positions the cost of lives would have been 10 times what the Allies suffered. I have been a history of the Buldge freak since a teenager. Got a bunch of old books on the subject.
"The cost would have been 10 times"
Lolno. The Germans suffered far higher casualty figures in every step of the European campaign from Normandy to VE Day.
The Rhine isnt a magical barrier where the German soldier becomes superhuman. They were outmatched in every conceivable way.
@@TheNerdForAllSeasons
If the American KD was any higher it would be absolutely pathetic. You enjoyed total air supremacy 24/7 and outnumbered the German units 4:1 every single time. Things would have been very different if the U.S government hadn't saved the Soviet union a few years prior.
@@johnhighway7399 sucks to suck.