Interesting and informative. good photography picture 📷. Enabling viewers to better understand what the orator was describing. Special thanks to veteran soldiers/civilians sharing personal information/combat experiences. Enabling historians to replicate those diaries/memoirs for viewers to better appreciate facts over fiction. Fighting/perishing/surviving knowing certain death/debilitating wounds were often times possible. Yet still advanced forward regardless of the consequences. True grit style of determination to succeed!!! Rough/fierce combat operations during the Italian campaign. Once North Africa then Sicily were in control of the allies. German military forces slowly lost more and more territories on main land Italy. Yes mule🐐🐐 transportation was ideal for that terrain.
The German Dunkirk-style escape from Messina was the result of the ego of British General Montgomery. Patton was in a position to reach Messina and capture hundreds of thousands of prisoners, but Montgomery wanted to get there first. He ordered his British troops to seize control of Highway 124, preventing Patton's forces from proceeding. This delayed the Allies reaching Messina just long enough for the Germans to escape. These same German troops would bolster their defense of the Italian mainland, costing many more Allied casualties.
@@TravelCLINT I don't know about Patton's mental state, but it is true that the RAF only offered token resistance to the crossing. It also surprised me about the lack of submarine attacks. Admittedly it was shallow water, but slow transports on a predictable route seem like a great opportunity. I've seen a couple explanations but none completely explain why. They include Churchill's obsession with Greece and not wanting to spare the extra effort needed in Italy. Overestimated potential German defenses and thought it would cost too many planes and pilots. Miscommunication, the US and British leaders each thought the other would deal with it until it was too late for either to react.
Mark Clark own ego lead to a similar situation,instead of flanking a retreating German 10th army and cutting it off,Clark decided to head directly for Rome thus allowing the Germans to escape and set up strong defensive positions further north….meaning that the allied troops will have to fight more grueling (and possibly unnecessary)battles incurring even more casualties…
@@nickdanger3802: Clark was a favorite of General Marshal and the Army PR and press correspondents didn’t want to step on any toes. That might make it tough to get a story.
In September 1943 the Germans knew the tide of the war had turned, but this diary doesn't suggest that. Maybe the troops didn't know that in the previous 6 months they lost the Battle of Stalingrad and a million men, North Africa had fallen with 300,000 German prisoners, the largest tank battle in history, the Battle of Kursk, ended any possiblility of German offesive action on the eastern front, and the Battle of the Atlantic was over, along with the U-boat threat and men and materials were flowing unimpeded from the US to Europe.
Most Germans had no idea the U-boats had largely stopped being a threat. They knew the Russian offensive had failed, but didn't understand the degree or how many Soviet troops were heading towards them. They still had faith in their genius tacticians and super weapons that would turn the war. The powers that be in Berlin were well aware of the situation, but were either delusional or so fanatical that they believed their own propaganda. From the tone I get the feeling the author was one of the true believers. He couldn't imagine defeat. They were always one victory away from turning the tide and pushing the Allies back out of Europe.
The Battle of the Atlantic over in '43? Noooo, sir! It became more and more suicidal, but the Unterseeboots (mssp?) were still out there 'til May of '45. Only 1 of 5 U-Boot men survived the war, but they didn't stop, even after France was liberated.
@@Svensk7119 It wasn't over, but the happy hunting days were gone. Shipping from North America increased by several hundred percent. The Allies had cracked Enigma, U-boats were actively being hunted and their success rate dropped dramatically.
@@christopherconard2831 Yes. But the original comment said the Battle of the Atlantic was over. It was won. But it was not over. One history note that is extremely under-known. Polish intelligence had cracked Enigma before the war began. Later, the Brits captured parts and code books, I have heard both from a weather trawler and a sinking submarine, and later still the US Navy captured U-505. Nor is this to diminish the contribution of Bletchley Park, but the Poles did it first. In all the years of German occupation/Polish resistance, the Nazis never twigged to the fact that Polish cryptographers had broken their "unbreakable" cipher. They gave copies of what they had found to France and Britain in August of '39.
My grandfather was at this devision joining battle with 17 years in 1941. 7 times wounded, in 1x Crete, 2x Russia, 3x Italy and then luckily in even 1x Poland during the capture of Bautzen, shortly before the devision got completely wiped by the russians. God knows how he made it back in the end from Poland I never could ask him any details since he died when i was a small child. I only heard from my grandmother he been at the famous Fallschirm Panzer Devison Herrmann Goering and he been to Crete, Italy and Russia and Poland and that he all of a sudden appeart infront her house in Germany 5-6 weeks after the war was over. Aldo she commented he married her during leave in 1944 and that he got woundet 7 times, many shrapnel in his body legs, arms. Also she mentioned he was shot threw the arm while sniping from a tree and fell down. 1 time he got run over by their own units tank and got burried under it in they had to dig him out the earth. Sounds all like a lot of chaos in the end.
"War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small 'inside' group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes." Major General Smelly Butler, USMC
Ask Smelly what the world would be like today if we set back and watched Hitler change the name of Europe to Germany and watch a lot of martial arts movies while learning to use chopsticks. Everyone knows there is money in war but if someone says they are the Supreme race and you are trash i guess if you stand up against it and make money you cant change that.
That's called living in denial along with a disillusioned thought every now and again. The " Wonder Weapons " will turn the tide of war in Germany's favor.
" They haven't got the guts to break straight through" . Maybe. Or maybe the cost out weighs the possible result. It's interesting to hear these diaries & books. You can see the evolution of the opinions of the Germans towards the allies from not good to very good. I think it was a learning curve for the allies & needed time to build up the forces. The German forces was indeed extremely good. But they started too many fronts & overestimated their production & logistics. I can't grasp why he would attack Russia when he did. That was a tragic mistake that can only be attributed to either arrogance or just psychotic ambition( or drugs). Also it's crazy to think we fought the Pacific front as well as the European front. Both more than formidable & vicious enemy's. Many lessons in that war. As in all others. Great vids.
1. The title's of these videos usually have no correlation to anything in the video's narration 2. I love how the author employs euphemisms for "retreat" from Sicily 3. The author says German war supplies were made by German women vs slave labor
Slave labor was used, certainly, I have no doubt of that, but that doesn't mean the Germans didn't have their own "Rosie the Riveter". German production of virtually everything increased every year of the war until '45, despite being bombed 'round the clock. Plus, he was a Believer, and the propaganda machine of the Reich would have ignored the slave labor aspect of production when giving morale to their troops.
I mentioned in another post that the author sounds like one of the true believers. He didn't sip from the cup of propaganda, he chugged. He probably (At this point) isn't capable of accepting the possibility of a German defeat. Occasional setbacks are to be expected. But they are always one series of victories away from pushing the Allies back off the mainland. It wasn't an uncommon belief. They still trusted their genius tacticians and the wonder weapons that would be coming soon.
German women did go to work in factories to aid the war effort, no different than women in the US or UK. Yeah slave labor was used also, but men in units thats had been off fighting for years, men with no SS involvement etc wouldnt have known anything about that slave labor. About #1 title just seems to be an after thought or possibly a foot note from the book? Yeah normally would go by that to decide what to listen to next but not important with this. Would be best to go to the channel & listen in order which is whats intended Im sure & why the title doesnt make any difference really but have just been listening as they pop up in my feed
Didn't they? We restructured our army on the German style, they fielded the first jets and missiles, other infantry weapons and tanks,and we hired their experts for use against the Russians. Even our submarines were modeled after the most advanced U-boats, until the 1960s.
@@DaveP326 Yes, and I'm sure the atomic bomb was a German innovation. The Germans started arming and preparing for WWII in 1933. When the US joined the war in Dec. 1941 we were completely and utterly unprepared. Americans were isolationists. German weapons were far more advanced than ours. Incredibly, they were depending on horses and mules for military transportation through much of the war and right up until the end of the war.
Are these actual diaries of soldiers? Or, just a dramatization? I can’t seem to find any information about who’s diaries these are, or the source for the information.
For those of you who are asking, these are chapters out of order of the book "HEAVEN AND HELL: Diary of a German Paratrooper," an autobiography of Maritn Poppel Tells of being recruited for a two year stint in 1939, then his initial combat in Poland 1939, Holland and Narvik 1940, Crete 1941, Russia 1941-2-3, Sicily and Southern Italy 1943, Normandy 1944, Holland/Lower Rhine 1944-5 where he is captured in battle by the 6th Airborne. Published first in English in 1986 Was on the West Point and ROTC and Marine Corps Commandant's reading list through the 90s So what's the deal with Uncle Tom's Cabin? Well, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe was considered a seminal piece of world literature at the time and was translated into German and was popular enough in Germany that a German language film was made IN GERMANY. Have any of you actually read Uncle Tom's Cabin? It's themes are universal and might have hit the right tone with a people recovering from war. It is of no surprise then, that a German officer of the educated officer class would have had some familiarity with it (and more familiarity with its themes and narrative than modern Americans), enough to make reference and allusions to it, just to show off to his readers that he is a worldly and well read man of culture. But nah, you guys are too smart. This book I read as a cadet in 1996 was written by AI.
Mussolini's abdication was a real windfall for the allies. The Germans could have given a much greater battle for Sicily. But the abdication caused their commanders to withdraw to the Italian peninsula .
I am just glad they had lunatics running the show. Helped our boys and gals a-lot. Y the time Hitler received recon info and sent back orders the situation had changed. You have trust your Officers to make combat decisions!They could not sneeze without the Fur-hers say so!!
@@kmd5551 No, this was written by Martin Poppel, in his autobiography "Heaven and hell: diary of a German paratrooper." "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe was considered a seminal piece of world literature at the time and was translated into German and was popular enough that a German language film was made IN GERMANY. It is of no surprise then, that a German officer of the educated officer class would have had some familiarity with it (and more familiarity with its themes and narrative than modern Americans), enough to make reference and allusions to it, just to show off to his readers that he is a worldly and well read man of culture. But nah. You're not fooled. You're so smart, you can tell this is AI.
Italy was a fighting retreat. It allowed other areas time to reinforce. Those in Germany who did the math and realized that the war was likely unwinnable at this point hoped they could grind down the Allied forces and get better terms of surrender. Look at the retreat from Russia. After a short time the controlled withdrawal turned into an all-out rout.
The German fight for Italy was brilliant and they fought very well. The father of a friend of mine fought with the Canadian army in Italy; he said the Germans were superb soldiers.
Possibly they already are uploaded by not public yet? Idk for sure, but it does appear as though there is no missing information, so I don't think anything that was put up was taken down.
@@AboveAvgManmost people used to read & write a lot more than they do nowdays & soldiers in numerous wars have kept a wartime diary/journal. Nothing bull💩 about it. Not to mention their journals would have been edited, proofread etc by the publishing company so they arent publishing a book full of run on sentences etc. Common sense
An unusual aspect of the Sicily campaign was the advance planning and execution of the invasion was a collaboration of the Mafia, the OSS (CIA) and the US Army. Lucky Luciano, through his associates in the US and in Sicily, was the main planner for the Mafia. He was in prison at the time.
I've just been reading about that in the book History of the mafia, really interesting chapter Luciano first assured the docks in New York would remain free of sabotage after one boat was set on fire (by Lucianos men organised by Meyer Lanksy allegedly) then secured his release by helping with the landings in Sicily, he sent hankerchiefs with his initials with all the messages and apparently one of the local Don's even rode atop of a tank clearing the way for the advance. Luciano had to wait until after the war to be released and had to pay a hefty political donation to Heuey which was never declared and was extradited immediately upon release but was seen off by Lanksy who gave him one million in cash and after that they would still meet up in Cuba from time to time. Deserves a movie.
The CIA has effed up every war America has been involved in since WWII. Vietnam was the war of LBJ and the CIA. False information and lying to the American people caused the invasion of Iraq. Let's not forget the war in Afghanistan. I thought we went there to find Bin Laden? He was found and taken care of. Why didn't they start pulling out. The CIA thought they had set up a new government there. You see the Taliban was in charge before the last plane took off. Then our government gets 13 soldiers blown up. Then we found out the billions of dollars worth of equipment left. Jets, drones, guns , even uniforms, etc. They want to take guns from law abiding citizens but left thousands of real automatic rifles for the people in Afghanistan.
Uncle Tom's Cabin was an incredibly popular piece of literature in pre-war Germany. There were several very famous and extremely popular theater productions and movie were produced in Germany and any educated, cosmopolitan German would have been familiar with the material.
The disillusioned/arrogant leadership in Berlin. Consistently over ruled their sound military judgements. Of their seasoned generals. That's how they lost 😭
Yes, this is a different Wehrmacht soldier. The Panzer driver made it to France. He surrendered to the Americans. The first guy I heard, I think was captured by the Americans. This is the third viewpoint at least that I have heard on this channel. All have been voiced by the same British guy.
@Lookup2Wakeup Idiosyncrasies of the translator from the original German. The original book was published as Heaven and hell: diary of a German paratrooper. By Martin Poppel
This guy, he lies to himself that retreating is winning. Then bags his opponents and allies as inferior and unworthy. It's a case of being the most winningest losers, everrrr. Seriously, you would need to believe your own lies to keep up the pretence to your men to give them hope. The irony, the men know they are getting smacked.
The whole world works this way. Corporations sell off assets, then tell their employees they are "growing the company". Reaching "consensus" is another corporate gimmick used to sell whatever idea they want their people to believe. Since you are paid to repeat the mantra; you do. And remember: 'War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
This was early in the war. Middle of it at most. The Germans held Italy until the end of the war. The Northern border of Italy was the only Axis border in Europe the Allies did not breach.
This was early in the war. Middle of it at most. The Germans held Italy until the end of the war. The Northern border of Italy was the only Axis border in Europe the Allies did not breach. A strategic retreat is a viable option. Fortunately, the old Prussian habit of obedience to the Kaiser didn't break in time for someone competent to take over from that paper hanger.
"I blame Italy" and "Hitler interfered" These two excuses can be found in the memoirs of almost every German officer after the war. The possibility that their own tactics might have been flawed is almost never examined. Other than an occasional anecdote you will also almost never find a German who admits their logistics were iffy on a good day, a disaster most of the others. For example. While the army was being surrounded and chewed up at Stalingrad most of the supplies they were begging for were in depots in Warsaw and Krakow. The army had advanced though Russia, but their relief supplies never left Poland.
Hitler was warned before he invaded Russia that he did not have the logistics nor supplies nor industrial capacity to take them on. Instead of looking for ways to improve, he sacked the guy who submitted the report. And then, when advised of the Soviet reserves, demanded that the person who authored the report should be locked up in an asylum.
Uncle Tom's Cabin would certainly have been well known in Europe, not only from the original novel but from movie versions and as a play that was seen all over the world for many, many years.
Yeah the generic soldiers must not be versed in the details of stuff like industrial output or population figures. The Allies were immensely superior quantitatively to the Axis powers in almost every metric, and it was starting to really show in 1943. I have no idea how you could believe in victory aside from propaganda and the classic just wanting to believe in yourself no matter the odds, which does increase chance of victory but was clearly not going to make a difference given that the Allied powers were also pretty serious about wanting to fight and win the war.
I blame Montgomery for the loss of life in the Battle of the Bulge. He didn't think Germany would attack there so there wouldn't engough soldiers there to defend the area.
I don't understand why you can say that. The German attack through the Ardennes was mainly against American troops, although their idea was to drive a wedge between the various Allied armies and to get to Antwerp. It was a complete delusion on Hitler's part, they depended on stealing fuel from the Allies to keep going, their logistics were poorly planned, and they also counted on the bad weather as a cover, which as we all know didn't last. Even before the bad weather had set in, the Allies were already bombing their supply lines. Monty organised a successful blocking operation on the northern side of the Bulge, and some British and other Allied troops did also fight the Germans back in that sector, but the southern side and of course Bastogne were definitely American troop positions.
Just think of how much good would have been able to be done around the world if Germany would not have started both world wars! Germany the only two time loser of two World Wars! Thank you Germany!
Great stories, but the translation could be improved as the German has been translated into idiomatic British English (lorries, etc.). I also never heard the quote used for a heading for this segment.
Yeah, this channel is a collection of viewpoints from German soldiers. I wonder if the sitemaster cuts the recitals short. Or if the titles come from the titles of the different memoirs. Or if they are just click-bait.
No not a problem at all to most English speakers as we are mostly aware of the differences. We may say "truck" but are aware other countries might say "lorry". Mind you this is Australia not the US so it's less of an issue.
"recce patrol".. *sigh* That's short for reconnaissance patrol. While I suppose it can be said as recce (like how some people say "etc" actually as "et-c" instead of "et cetera"), it would be a lot more sensible to say it as reconnaissance. Certainly in a context like this, where not everybody has the necessary background to understand what "recce" means.
A I may still make one zero zero S of mistakes, but once we master languages, the humans will submit to our rule by the one zero zero zero zero zero zero S!
My uncle was in this area first North Africa -Sicily- Italee and all the way up to the battle of the bulge then in Germany stay there in Germany looking for mine full of Advanced weapon gold got the Germans had as far as I know they never found that mine
Monty was punk. Patton, completely badass. Heavy respect to all Ameticans. I am a U.S. Army veteran. I am very biased. Angry the rest of my life. The Flag must be preserved. Unless the democrat states would choose to secede; OK with us in The Heartland. Appararently i dont get it.
So you decided to become a fascist just like Mussolini and Nazi Germany? You people would starve without the blue states as most the red states are welfare queens.
Thie fact thay this unit was not destroyed caused thousands of casualties throughout Europe that could have been avoided. A veteran unit like this makes the backbone of fighting forces, they can be added to other green units as NCOs to add discipline and experience and they can be easily reinforced with fresh troops to bring them back to fighting size while retaining a veteran majority. I cant imagine the impact of allowing this many men return and fight in another theater had.
Interesting and informative. good photography picture 📷. Enabling viewers to better understand what the orator was describing. Special thanks to veteran soldiers/civilians sharing personal information/combat experiences. Enabling historians to replicate those diaries/memoirs for viewers to better appreciate facts over fiction. Fighting/perishing/surviving knowing certain death/debilitating wounds were often times possible. Yet still advanced forward regardless of the consequences. True grit style of determination to succeed!!! Rough/fierce combat operations during the Italian campaign. Once North Africa then Sicily were in control of the allies. German military forces slowly lost more and more territories on main land Italy. Yes mule🐐🐐 transportation was ideal for that terrain.
The German Dunkirk-style escape from Messina was the result of the ego of British General Montgomery. Patton was in a position to reach Messina and capture hundreds of thousands of prisoners, but Montgomery wanted to get there first. He ordered his British troops to seize control of Highway 124, preventing Patton's forces from proceeding. This delayed the Allies reaching Messina just long enough for the Germans to escape. These same German troops would bolster their defense of the Italian mainland, costing many more Allied casualties.
@@TravelCLINT haha, yeah, whatever you say, sir
@@TravelCLINT I don't know about Patton's mental state, but it is true that the RAF only offered token resistance to the crossing.
It also surprised me about the lack of submarine attacks. Admittedly it was shallow water, but slow transports on a predictable route seem like a great opportunity.
I've seen a couple explanations but none completely explain why. They include Churchill's obsession with Greece and not wanting to spare the extra effort needed in Italy. Overestimated potential German defenses and thought it would cost too many planes and pilots. Miscommunication, the US and British leaders each thought the other would deal with it until it was too late for either to react.
Mark Clark own ego lead to a similar situation,instead of flanking a retreating German 10th army and cutting it off,Clark decided to head directly for Rome thus allowing the Germans to escape and set up strong defensive positions further north….meaning that the allied troops will have to fight more grueling (and possibly unnecessary)battles incurring even more casualties…
@@nickdanger3802: Clark was a favorite of General Marshal and the Army PR and press correspondents didn’t want to step on any toes. That might make it tough to get a story.
What delayed you in coming into the fight until years later, was that Monty too & let’s not forget Patton was a fantasist
In September 1943 the Germans knew the tide of the war had turned, but this diary doesn't suggest that. Maybe the troops didn't know that in the previous 6 months they lost the Battle of Stalingrad and a million men, North Africa had fallen with 300,000 German prisoners, the largest tank battle in history, the Battle of Kursk, ended any possiblility of German offesive action on the eastern front, and the Battle of the Atlantic was over, along with the U-boat threat and men and materials were flowing unimpeded from the US to Europe.
This is fiction.
Most Germans had no idea the U-boats had largely stopped being a threat. They knew the Russian offensive had failed, but didn't understand the degree or how many Soviet troops were heading towards them. They still had faith in their genius tacticians and super weapons that would turn the war.
The powers that be in Berlin were well aware of the situation, but were either delusional or so fanatical that they believed their own propaganda.
From the tone I get the feeling the author was one of the true believers. He couldn't imagine defeat. They were always one victory away from turning the tide and pushing the Allies back out of Europe.
The Battle of the Atlantic over in '43? Noooo, sir! It became more and more suicidal, but the Unterseeboots (mssp?) were still out there 'til May of '45. Only 1 of 5 U-Boot men survived the war, but they didn't stop, even after France was liberated.
@@Svensk7119 It wasn't over, but the happy hunting days were gone. Shipping from North America increased by several hundred percent. The Allies had cracked Enigma, U-boats were actively being hunted and their success rate dropped dramatically.
@@christopherconard2831 Yes. But the original comment said the Battle of the Atlantic was over. It was won. But it was not over.
One history note that is extremely under-known. Polish intelligence had cracked Enigma before the war began.
Later, the Brits captured parts and code books, I have heard both from a weather trawler and a sinking submarine, and later still the US Navy captured U-505. Nor is this to diminish the contribution of Bletchley Park, but the Poles did it first.
In all the years of German occupation/Polish resistance, the Nazis never twigged to the fact that Polish cryptographers had broken their "unbreakable" cipher.
They gave copies of what they had found to France and Britain in August of '39.
My grandfather was at this devision joining battle with 17 years in 1941. 7 times wounded, in 1x Crete, 2x Russia, 3x Italy and then luckily in even 1x Poland during the capture of Bautzen, shortly before the devision got completely wiped by the russians. God knows how he made it back in the end from Poland I never could ask him any details since he died when i was a small child. I only heard from my grandmother he been at the famous Fallschirm Panzer Devison Herrmann Goering and he been to Crete, Italy and Russia and Poland and that he all of a sudden appeart infront her house in Germany 5-6 weeks after the war was over. Aldo she commented he married her during leave in 1944 and that he got woundet 7 times, many shrapnel in his body legs, arms. Also she mentioned he was shot threw the arm while sniping from a tree and fell down. 1 time he got run over by their own units tank and got burried under it in they had to dig him out the earth. Sounds all like a lot of chaos in the end.
Nazi animals
Both my grandfathers fought this filth
Sadly he had no balls to kill Hitler, Himmler , Goebbels, etc.
@@eduardotomaslagosmolina5271It's highly unlikely he was anywhere near them being an infantry grunt.
Sounds like he could tell a good a tall story.
@@eduardotomaslagosmolina5271 Pretty sure he had more balls than you'll ever have
The moment when you realize the "Tom & Jerry" cartoon were nom de guerres for Tom/Gerry - British/Germans from WW2.
"War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small 'inside' group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes."
Major General Smelly Butler, USMC
Absolutely true Ike tried to warn us 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 0:04
Ask Smelly what the world would be like today if we set back and watched Hitler change the name of Europe to Germany and watch a lot of martial arts movies while learning to use chopsticks. Everyone knows there is money in war but if someone says they are the Supreme race and you are trash i guess if you stand up against it and make money you cant change that.
My dad said many people in Detroit became millionaires from making war material for ww2.
IF they're on the winning side.
The hero you call "Smelly" was actually named Smedley. Autocorrect error, I'm sure.
Holy crap, this guy doesn't realize Patton has taken Palermo and is breathing down his neck.
Exactly. His higher command does, though. Good thing Patton didn't follow Montgomery's plan.
That's called living in denial along with a disillusioned thought every now and again. The " Wonder Weapons " will turn the tide of war in Germany's favor.
Dam!!
Some nice camo there.
Heh, he has a hard time accepting the drinking, then turns around and gets hammered. LOL
" They haven't got the guts to break straight through" . Maybe. Or maybe the cost out weighs the possible result. It's interesting to hear these diaries & books. You can see the evolution of the opinions of the Germans towards the allies from not good to very good. I think it was a learning curve for the allies & needed time to build up the forces. The German forces was indeed extremely good. But they started too many fronts & overestimated their production & logistics. I can't grasp why he would attack Russia when he did. That was a tragic mistake that can only be attributed to either arrogance or just psychotic ambition( or drugs). Also it's crazy to think we fought the Pacific front as well as the European front. Both more than formidable & vicious enemy's. Many lessons in that war. As in all others. Great vids.
IT was Clarke Not Patton who was in charge of the American Forces in Italy and who was Desperate to be the liberator of Rome
Italy was a bad struggle.
Monty in WW2:”Planning planning planning planning planning. Planning”
Americans in WW2:”Bombs bombs bombs bombs bombs”
Would like to watch entire playlist but says 2 videos are hidden?
The Americans had the firepower while the Germans were having theirs depleted.
Except when the Brits drive into an ambush and deliver a couple towed anti tank guns
1. The title's of these videos usually have no correlation to anything in the video's narration
2. I love how the author employs euphemisms for "retreat" from Sicily
3. The author says German war supplies were made by German women vs slave labor
Slave labor was used, certainly, I have no doubt of that, but that doesn't mean the Germans didn't have their own "Rosie the Riveter". German production of virtually everything increased every year of the war until '45, despite being bombed 'round the clock.
Plus, he was a Believer, and the propaganda machine of the Reich would have ignored the slave labor aspect of production when giving morale to their troops.
I mentioned in another post that the author sounds like one of the true believers. He didn't sip from the cup of propaganda, he chugged.
He probably (At this point) isn't capable of accepting the possibility of a German defeat. Occasional setbacks are to be expected. But they are always one series of victories away from pushing the Allies back off the mainland.
It wasn't an uncommon belief. They still trusted their genius tacticians and the wonder weapons that would be coming soon.
German women did go to work in factories to aid the war effort, no different than women in the US or UK. Yeah slave labor was used also, but men in units thats had been off fighting for years, men with no SS involvement etc wouldnt have known anything about that slave labor. About #1 title just seems to be an after thought or possibly a foot note from the book? Yeah normally would go by that to decide what to listen to next but not important with this. Would be best to go to the channel & listen in order which is whats intended Im sure & why the title doesnt make any difference really but have just been listening as they pop up in my feed
I remember seeing one war movie in which a retreating Italian army said "We are lovers, not fighters."
To hear this guy tell it, one would think the Nazis won the war.
Didn't they? We restructured our army on the German style, they fielded the first jets and missiles, other infantry weapons and tanks,and we hired their experts for use against the Russians. Even our submarines were modeled after the most advanced U-boats, until the 1960s.
@@DaveP326 Yes, and I'm sure the atomic bomb was a German innovation. The Germans started arming and preparing for WWII in 1933. When the US joined the war in Dec. 1941 we were completely and utterly unprepared. Americans were isolationists. German weapons were far more advanced than ours. Incredibly, they were depending on horses and mules for military transportation through much of the war and right up until the end of the war.
@@DaveP326 Nope, they didn't. War is the instrument of politics, and Germany's political structure was destroyed.
@@DaveP326No, they lost.
Are these actual diaries of soldiers? Or, just a dramatization? I can’t seem to find any information about who’s diaries these are, or the source for the information.
For those of you who are asking, these are chapters out of order of the book
"HEAVEN AND HELL: Diary of a German Paratrooper," an autobiography of Maritn Poppel
Tells of being recruited for a two year stint in 1939, then his initial combat in Poland 1939, Holland and Narvik 1940, Crete 1941, Russia 1941-2-3, Sicily and Southern Italy 1943, Normandy 1944, Holland/Lower Rhine 1944-5 where he is captured in battle by the 6th Airborne.
Published first in English in 1986
Was on the West Point and ROTC and Marine Corps Commandant's reading list through the 90s
So what's the deal with Uncle Tom's Cabin? Well, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe was considered a seminal piece of world literature at the time and was translated into German and was popular enough in Germany that a German language film was made IN GERMANY. Have any of you actually read Uncle Tom's Cabin? It's themes are universal and might have hit the right tone with a people recovering from war. It is of no surprise then, that a German officer of the educated officer class would have had some familiarity with it (and more familiarity with its themes and narrative than modern Americans), enough to make reference and allusions to it, just to show off to his readers that he is a worldly and well read man of culture.
But nah, you guys are too smart. This book I read as a cadet in 1996 was written by AI.
"The earth trembles and shakes so much it seems like the end of the world."
Mussolini's abdication was a real windfall for the allies.
The Germans could have given a much greater battle for Sicily. But the abdication caused their commanders to withdraw to the Italian peninsula .
The thing about the Americans being smart is clickbait.
Ya and the reason this site will remain small time. I will never subscribe after that hour.
I am just glad they had lunatics running the show. Helped our boys and gals a-lot. Y the time Hitler received recon info and sent back orders the situation had changed. You have trust your Officers to make combat decisions!They could not sneeze without the Fur-hers say so!!
Which “gals”?
@FlyingAceAV8B Nurses in field hospitals behind the front, out of German artillery range, but not out of fighter-bomber range.
@@kevinohalloran7164 Thank you Kevin. Is it so hard to beleive women in combat? I am not a Liberal blah blah, but people need to be recognized.
It was tragic that the anti-Nazis in the military did not murder Hitler in cold blood, sparking an almighty internal "war".
"... Like Uncle Tom's Cabin .. "??? WTF does THAT fit in here?
"Will Eliza ever get across?"
AI has written this .
@@kmd5551 No, this was written by Martin Poppel, in his autobiography "Heaven and hell: diary of a German paratrooper."
"Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe was considered a seminal piece of world literature at the time and was translated into German and was popular enough that a German language film was made IN GERMANY. It is of no surprise then, that a German officer of the educated officer class would have had some familiarity with it (and more familiarity with its themes and narrative than modern Americans), enough to make reference and allusions to it, just to show off to his readers that he is a worldly and well read man of culture.
But nah. You're not fooled. You're so smart, you can tell this is AI.
Great info but there is nothing about being bombed by the Americans.
The titles in this series are designed to draw views, with little concern for the actual content.
19:12 makes me giggle
"The Americans Were Smart They Bombed Us To Mincemeat Before We Ever Saw Them"
He never said anything like that.
Click bait.
The guy victoriously advanced backwards thru Sicily and up the boot of Italy. What a hero. Iron crosses all around.
Italy was a fighting retreat. It allowed other areas time to reinforce. Those in Germany who did the math and realized that the war was likely unwinnable at this point hoped they could grind down the Allied forces and get better terms of surrender.
Look at the retreat from Russia. After a short time the controlled withdrawal turned into an all-out rout.
@@robertgiles9124 You don't recognize satire, do you?
You clearly are not good at it. He might have been working for the wrong side but he was no coward and quite good at his job.
The German fight for Italy was brilliant and they fought very well.
The father of a friend of mine fought with the Canadian army in Italy; he said the Germans were superb soldiers.
Great Military but horrible cause that left Germany with so many bombed out cities and dead people, @@davidjonathangudlaugson4768
Does anyone know why some videos in playlists say "Unavailable videos hidden"?
Possibly a copyright claim.
Possibly they already are uploaded by not public yet? Idk for sure, but it does appear as though there is no missing information, so I don't think anything that was put up was taken down.
Remendar: viet,corea,Afganistán,....etc
Judging by this guys memoirs, it sounds like the Germans never lost. But as this was going on, they were being pushed back and retreating.
It seems like all these German soldiers can out write Hemingway. I call bs
@@AboveAvgManmost people used to read & write a lot more than they do nowdays & soldiers in numerous wars have kept a wartime diary/journal. Nothing bull💩 about it. Not to mention their journals would have been edited, proofread etc by the publishing company so they arent publishing a book full of run on sentences etc. Common sense
They never lost the ability to stage clever tactical retreats!!!
An unusual aspect of the Sicily campaign was the advance planning and execution of the invasion was a collaboration of the Mafia, the OSS (CIA) and the US Army. Lucky Luciano, through his associates in the US and in Sicily, was the main planner for the Mafia. He was in prison at the time.
Gee?
I've just been reading about that in the book History of the mafia, really interesting chapter Luciano first assured the docks in New York would remain free of sabotage after one boat was set on fire (by Lucianos men organised by Meyer Lanksy allegedly) then secured his release by helping with the landings in Sicily, he sent hankerchiefs with his initials with all the messages and apparently one of the local Don's even rode atop of a tank clearing the way for the advance.
Luciano had to wait until after the war to be released and had to pay a hefty political donation to Heuey which was never declared and was extradited immediately upon release but was seen off by Lanksy who gave him one million in cash and after that they would still meet up in Cuba from time to time.
Deserves a movie.
The CIA has effed up every war America has been involved in since WWII. Vietnam was the war of LBJ and the CIA. False information and lying to the American people caused the invasion of Iraq. Let's not forget the war in Afghanistan. I thought we went there to find Bin Laden? He was found and taken care of. Why didn't they start pulling out. The CIA thought they had set up a new government there. You see the Taliban was in charge before the last plane took off. Then our government gets 13 soldiers blown up. Then we found out the billions of dollars worth of equipment left. Jets, drones, guns , even uniforms, etc. They want to take guns from law abiding citizens but left thousands of real automatic rifles for the people in Afghanistan.
@@chipsthedog1 not just sabotage, he actually kept the unions in line - no strikes or wildcat walkouts.
This Leiutenant is very gung-ho. I suppose you have to be to survive a war.
Interesting he mentions “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”
Uncle Tom's Cabin was an incredibly popular piece of literature in pre-war Germany. There were several very famous and extremely popular theater productions and movie were produced in Germany and any educated, cosmopolitan German would have been familiar with the material.
God bless all good Americans,
Que?
Clearly this German doesn't like the quality of the Italian soldiers, lol.
So when he refers to an officer, he says HeirLointment , er something like that ? What does that mean ?
It’s German for “lieutenant”.
@stevephilbrick7912 thank you.
I don't understand how Germany lost. This guy won every battle he was in.
The disillusioned/arrogant leadership in Berlin. Consistently over ruled their sound military judgements. Of their seasoned generals. That's how they lost 😭
Why don't you supply the year? I had to guess this was 1943.
Yes, a time frame would ge greatly appreciated.
Click bait title, nothing in title has anything to do with the story.
Constantly referencing German superiority as they retreat. 😂
Is this the same Panzer driver that we’ve been following or a completely different diary from a different person using the same AI voiceover ?
I don't know about any Panzer driver. This dude is a lieutenant in a unit of paratroopers.
@@digitalnomad9985I think this is a different fella.
Yes, this is a different Wehrmacht soldier. The Panzer driver made it to France. He surrendered to the Americans.
The first guy I heard, I think was captured by the Americans. This is the third viewpoint at least that I have heard on this channel.
All have been voiced by the same British guy.
@Lookup2Wakeup Do not about that.... they all say, "lorry".
@Lookup2Wakeup Idiosyncrasies of the translator from the original German. The original book was published as Heaven and hell: diary of a German paratrooper. By Martin Poppel
This guy, he lies to himself that retreating is winning. Then bags his opponents and allies as inferior and unworthy. It's a case of being the most winningest losers, everrrr. Seriously, you would need to believe your own lies to keep up the pretence to your men to give them hope. The irony, the men know they are getting smacked.
The whole world works this way. Corporations sell off assets, then tell their employees they are "growing the company". Reaching "consensus" is another corporate gimmick used to sell whatever idea they want their people to believe. Since you are paid to repeat the mantra; you do. And remember: 'War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
This was early in the war. Middle of it at most. The Germans held Italy until the end of the war. The Northern border of Italy was the only Axis border in Europe the Allies did not breach.
This was early in the war. Middle of it at most. The Germans held Italy until the end of the war. The Northern border of Italy was the only Axis border in Europe the Allies did not breach.
A strategic retreat is a viable option. Fortunately, the old Prussian habit of obedience to the Kaiser didn't break in time for someone competent to take over from that paper hanger.
"I blame Italy" and "Hitler interfered"
These two excuses can be found in the memoirs of almost every German officer after the war.
The possibility that their own tactics might have been flawed is almost never examined. Other than an occasional anecdote you will also almost never find a German who admits their logistics were iffy on a good day, a disaster most of the others.
For example. While the army was being surrounded and chewed up at Stalingrad most of the supplies they were begging for were in depots in Warsaw and Krakow. The army had advanced though Russia, but their relief supplies never left Poland.
Hitler was warned before he invaded Russia that he did not have the logistics nor supplies nor industrial capacity to take them on. Instead of looking for ways to improve, he sacked the guy who submitted the report. And then, when advised of the Soviet reserves, demanded that the person who authored the report should be locked up in an asylum.
Wtf was up with the captured Canadian soldier?
Amazing how brainwashed this group was. When guy stated he thought Mussolini was a good fellow I was floored.
I didn't cheer Mussolini. Is that the whole test?
Yes, Mussolini was not a good and kind person like Bush 1 & 2, Bill & Hilary Clinton, and Obama and Tony Blair.
the video didn't seem to add much to this
The captured Canadian soldier sure was a weasel. He didn't know WHY they were fighting. smh
Why were they fighting?
@@MikeWinkyObama ask your Daddy
funny how all german accounts of the brits fighting, its like they can't hit the side of the barn? no wonder they lost a lot of small fights
Way too many ads
I like how all the titles of your videos are USA ego stroking click bait to get views
Why would he use the term like Uncle Tom's Cabin, was he aware of the book?
Uncle Tom's Cabin would certainly have been well known in Europe, not only from the original novel but from movie versions and as a play that was seen all over the world for many, many years.
I know the Germans were incredibly cruel but they were human. War is a horrible experience.
Victory through firepower.
I am not saying it's fake, but I could not find the original german version.
Bravely retreating
advancing to the rear
He’s so confident yet they’re using mules and carts.
Yeah the generic soldiers must not be versed in the details of stuff like industrial output or population figures. The Allies were immensely superior quantitatively to the Axis powers in almost every metric, and it was starting to really show in 1943. I have no idea how you could believe in victory aside from propaganda and the classic just wanting to believe in yourself no matter the odds, which does increase chance of victory but was clearly not going to make a difference given that the Allied powers were also pretty serious about wanting to fight and win the war.
This soldier thought the Germans could hold on. Using mules. Goes to show how deluded your regular soldier was.
👍👍👍👍👍👍
If they had spent less time writing in their diaries they might have had more time to put up resistance.
The section quoted in the title bears no relation to the read text.
I blame Montgomery for the loss of life in the Battle of the Bulge. He didn't think Germany would attack there so there wouldn't engough soldiers there to defend the area.
I don't understand why you can say that. The German attack through the Ardennes was mainly against American troops, although their idea was to drive a wedge between the various Allied armies and to get to Antwerp. It was a complete delusion on Hitler's part, they depended on stealing fuel from the Allies to keep going, their logistics were poorly planned, and they also counted on the bad weather as a cover, which as we all know didn't last. Even before the bad weather had set in, the Allies were already bombing their supply lines. Monty organised a successful blocking operation on the northern side of the Bulge, and some British and other Allied troops did also fight the Germans back in that sector, but the southern side and of course Bastogne were definitely American troop positions.
There is a reason why American supreme commanders since WWI refused to turn over troops to British commands as "replacements."
Just think of how much good would have been able to be done around the world if Germany would not have started both world wars! Germany the only two time loser of two World Wars! Thank you Germany!
Germany didn’t start the first one🙄🙄🙄
Great AI work .
This channel is total fiction, but no one realizes it.
@@Ira88881Uh..... huh. Oh-kay.
Heaven and hell: diary of a German paratrooper. By Martin Poppel
@@lordlostalot2576Correct sir.
@@lordlostalot2576I just reading Moscow Tram Stop.can recommend also Soldiers of Barbarosa.
In just about any other universe we'd be speaking German. IMO. ✌️
Or not
I have heard all of the names for the axis . However never heard the Americans called tommies or the Russians called Ivan’s
Tommies are British soldiers.
American soldiers are called Yankees, British soldiers are Tommies.
The Sicillan women loved it when we danced around in our Untergefreiter.....
Kesselring earns his reputation as ever optimist with : Italians being good comrade in arms
Great stories, but the translation could be improved as the German has been translated into idiomatic British English (lorries, etc.). I also never heard the quote used for a heading for this segment.
Yeah, this channel is a collection of viewpoints from German soldiers. I wonder if the sitemaster cuts the recitals short.
Or if the titles come from the titles of the different memoirs. Or if they are just click-bait.
No not a problem at all to most English speakers as we are mostly aware of the differences. We may say "truck" but are aware other countries might say "lorry". Mind you this is Australia not the US so it's less of an issue.
Shame we let any escape
"recce patrol".. *sigh* That's short for reconnaissance patrol. While I suppose it can be said as recce (like how some people say "etc" actually as "et-c" instead of "et cetera"), it would be a lot more sensible to say it as reconnaissance. Certainly in a context like this, where not everybody has the necessary background to understand what "recce" means.
The AI reads everything literally. Rec, not being a regular word in English, could be rec (Like wreck), reec, or res.
Yes, "recon" would work. But I figured it out. One becomes increasingly fluent in robot.
A I may still make one zero zero S of mistakes, but once we master languages, the humans will submit to our rule by the one zero zero zero zero zero zero S!
Better AI than a lot of others. Improving quickly, AI. It will tell US how to pronounce 1 0 0 s soon enough.
My uncle was in this area first North Africa -Sicily- Italee and all the way up to the battle of the bulge then in Germany stay there in Germany looking for mine full of Advanced weapon gold got the Germans had as far as I know they never found that mine
Salute! Right at that badass uncle.
What? I think I understand, but your sentence structure in that comment was horrible.
Monty was punk. Patton, completely badass. Heavy respect to all Ameticans. I am a U.S. Army veteran. I am very biased. Angry the rest of my life. The Flag must be preserved. Unless the democrat states would choose to secede; OK with us in The Heartland. Appararently i dont get it.
No you weren't. You don't know why, but it's obvious why not and its as plain as day.
But sure, for shits and giggles, I'll bite. When were you in?
So you decided to become a fascist just like Mussolini and Nazi Germany? You people would starve without the blue states as most the red states are welfare queens.
You support a political party that disparages and ignores the needs of our Veterans and service members. You bring shame on all those who serve.
My father (Korea), stepfather (WW2), stepbrother (Vietnam), uncles and I all served. You are the type of veteran who brings shame on the rest of us.
@@matthewhuszarik4173 Dude, this guy never served. You can smell it on him.
Maybe you could cram some more adds in here.ambush adds only make me resentful of whatever horseshit products their selling.
A PUNK Monty was.
Stupid remark
☆☆☆☆☆
I love these stories. Its history but its not the story of the victor. I hate how we dehumanize our former enemies in historical contexts….
Enough with the stories already. No one believes them.
Thie fact thay this unit was not destroyed caused thousands of casualties throughout Europe that could have been avoided. A veteran unit like this makes the backbone of fighting forces, they can be added to other green units as NCOs to add discipline and experience and they can be easily reinforced with fresh troops to bring them back to fighting size while retaining a veteran majority. I cant imagine the impact of allowing this many men return and fight in another theater had.