I’m a student at the university of Kassel and they actually took the old Henschel factory and turned it into a campus, all of the major buildings still look pretty similar to how they did when it was still a factory and even the giant chimney is still standing, it’s pretty unique and I quite like the design.
@@larrysmith6797 every man has his own eagerness, lad. I barely said it could geniunely be a poetic place. An old Kassel and the Universitiy of literature.
I was stationed in Bad Hersfeld for 18 months and had occasion to visit Kassel several times. That area, especially the Fulda Valley, is beautiful. Some of my best memories.
The idea that in April 1945 there was a factory left standing in Germany is unreal, that it was still producing tanks is mind blowing. I will echo what Patton was reported to keep demanding; 'Where is my air support?' Pretty sure he said it a lot more colorfully. Mr. Felton, as always thank you.
Allied strategic bombing was far less effective then commanly belived in the english speaking world. There were only three times it was efficent: Bombing the train infrastructure everywhere 44/45, bombing a few specialized factories resulting in shortages for the germans (for a short time) and hitting the artifical fueld refineries in germany which couldnt be replaced. Sadly most of these things could have been achieved without flattening half the continent into dust.
@@noobster4779 They had only been effective in killing civilians,but that of course was the main target of Butcher Harris Churchill and the Rest of them assholes.
@@mjoelnir58 Yes because the Luftwaffe and the V series buzz bombs and rockets only hit strategic targets in England, or anywhere else, and the allies repaid with firebombing Dresden. London citizens spent their nights in subway tunnels because they were so roomy and comfortable, British children evacuated from the cities to the country and overseas during the war on all expenses paid holidays. Everybody has bloody hands where strategic bombing is concerned during WW2. Then again British bomber command also known for Dambuster raids, which were stopped when local resistance forces reported the flooding damage leading to civilian casualties. The Netherlands also remember operations Manna and Chowhound. Where allied bombers dropped tons of food and medical supplies in 1945.
imagine being a american tank commander, just driving along in '45, knowing that the germans don't have any real resistance left, but then you literally run into EIGHT KING TIGERS
Imagine being a German General faced/ torn between doing your duty, yet knowing you WILL lose, protecting your people, hoping you can see they safely through this strife...How do you surrender without units going rogue and protect your people from the inenvitable recriminations, soul searching and humiliations especially as have heard the rumours of war crimes. When you know your profession / your everything will collapse and you will be destroyed and penniless.
@@jackapgar5824 Maybe you could do something with your life, talking about Israeli war crimes. The Palestinians could help you say something about it. Salam
@@jackapgar5824 .. Not every soldier in the Wehrmacht was a war criminal, their only crime was representing Hitler and his party while fighting for the Fatherland, Germany, their country. These men fought a war on two fronts over the duration of years, I don't think any other military of that time could do that. They had never surrendered despite the odds, only when Berlin was breached, they knew that they had lost, it was the party officials, certain SS officers who carried out atrocities and I doubt that most of the SS was commissioned to the camps, most of them fought in the front lines, not everything is surface level for your consumption, there is more, especially regarding history of conflict.
@Dan Fraser: To me, it's especially poignant to contemplate Men who are fighting for a lost cause. Do we give them credit for it . . . or not (?) It requires some subtlety to answer that . . .
In the city of Kassel I did my conscription in the Supersommer of 1976 as a solider of the Jägerbataillon 42. Our Training Ground was the Dönche Valley, Mr. Felton is reporting about. Our tactical target for the "Zielansprache" in those hot days was a beer-garden with yellow parasols I will never forget since lifetime... Happy days of the youth! Thank You so much for Your stories, Mr. Felton!
Just like with their tanks the Germans started small with their Nazi Secret Weapons. The first creature was called Littlefoot, the second version Middlefoot and the last behemoth was BIGfoot. 😉😁 This information comes from reliable sources (aka "History Channel")😯
My grandfather fought in the war. He always talked about his time on the Remagen bridge, which he had crossed multiple times in his ambulance that he drove. Once I asked him whether they feared the Wehrmacht in the final days of the war, insinuating that it was essentially a spent force. He told me that perception may have been true, but that all the men knew that the Germans could still pull together enough assets to really hurt you, and that all the men he served with had a healthy respect for their foe - as well as for their own self-preservation. This story, I think, exemplifies this dynamic quite well.
Indeed it does. Many veterans report how the Germans were capable of mustering anything they had left for yet another counterattack, to the very end. The Africa corps had been kicked throught he desert for hundreds of miles, yet without as muchs as a breather they crashed into the US forces at Kasserine pass. During the landings on Sicily, about the entire German army was tied up in the biggest tank battle ever at Kursk, yet they managed to launch a counter attack that reached the beaches. On D-Day, they could hardly breathe because the air was full of Allied planes, yet one unit managed to push on and reach the sea. After Falaise the Allies kicked anything with a German helmet for hundreds of miles through France and Belgium, and the survivors mangled the Elite of the British Army: the First Airborne Division during Market Garden. Anyone knew the German army was a corpse in November 1944, but in December the corpse got up again and threw some nasty punches in the Ardennes. These are just the big examples, but there are countless more. Also thanks for sharing the story of your Grandfather.
the beauty of living in the world that men like your grandfather helped forge is that when i read that he fought in the war, i didnt immediately know for which side. nowadays we're friends!
Your grandfather knew what he was talking about. While the Battle of the Bulge might have been extraordinarily poorly planned it showed that even that late in the war much was possible. Pointless, yes, possible? Definitely. The Soviets, in their much-exaggerated victory in Berlin learned that one first-hand. Read "Panzers in Berlin" by Archer, et al, and see what the Soviets didn't want the World to know about the actual costs involved in beating a few ragged units, old men and young boys on their home turf.
In 1971, I had a conversation with a Mr. Green, a WWII veteran. He told me that late in the war, most organized resistance had collapsed, and the Third Army was rolling across southern Germany almost unopposed. The only thing slowing them down was having to handle so many surrendering German troops. He was in a jeep driving a couple miles ahead of the main army on a reconnaissance patrol, when they encountered a German NCO standing beside the road holding a white flag. They quickly determined that he was not armed. He kept saying in broken English, "We must to surrender to the Americans." They didn't have the time to deal with him, so they told him to wait and the entire Third Army would be along soon and accept his surrender. The NCO seemed agitated as they drove off and chased after them. A half mile further, they crested a hill and stumbled into an SS Panzer unit in front of them. He slammed on the brakes and began backing furiously, when his Lieutenant ordered him to stop. The German Commander calmly walked up to the Lieutenant, handed him his pistol and said, "I wish to surrender my men to the American Army." Mr. Green said that it was then that he noticed that all the tanks were neatly parked along the sides of the road and they had been washed like they were on parade. The men were clean shaven, dressed their cleanest uniforms, were standing in formation at attention with their arms neatly stacked in front of them. Mr. Green later learned that the German Commander had been ordered to fight to the last man to slow the advance of the Americans as much as possible. He chose to not waste the lives of his men on what he knew was a pointless mission. He said that he Americans treated the German Commander with great respect.
@@TormentedLion789 Unfortunately, no. Mr Green was a patient of mine in a nursing home in 1971. He was only 50 years old then, but, he was confined to a nursing home due to a farm accident and some subsequent medical issues. I told him that I had just received my notice from the draft board and would be reporting soon. He talked about his time in the army and told me this story, so it's just a personal anecdote. He was one of my favorite patients, and I remember it because it was such an interesting story.
BadWolf762 - over 5 million Soviet POW’s were killed in Nazi concentration camps. America gave Germany billions of dollars in aid after the war and rebuilt the German economy. The 1950’s were known in Europe as “The German Miracle”.
@@DavidKutzler Wow what a good story , we never hear something in Germany . This men are always the bad Nazis that are fighting till death . Good to hear that some surrender and choose to live . 👍
It is an act of Ignorance to state that tank destroyers were not tanks. The Jagdtiger was the heaviest tank of WW2. Remember, the definition of tanks came from the creators of tanks. The British. All armoured : Check. Tracked: Check. Crew fights within vehicle: Check. Also remember that the very first tank model had no turrets either.
I want to be here when Mr Felton breaks the 1 million mark. I have learned so much about Ww2 through him. His narration makes it such a good time to listen. Greetings from Mallorca/Spain.
Greetings from Kassel. I was born in Kassel and lived for a while right next ot the Dönche and now an Englishmen is lecturing me about a small part of the history of my birth place. What time to be alive.
Kennst du das Land wo die Kartoffeln blühn , wo Mutter und Vater den Flug noch ziehn, wo Mensch und Tier aus einem Napfe fressen, das ist das Land der blinden Hessen!
@@supersarge24 Yes already talked a little bit with him about his experience during WW2. But he told me that it is really hard for him to talk about this topic. So I did not want to push him to much. It's a shame he experienced so much in these years but when he dies his memories are gone. Actually I should inform an historian. His memories should be recorded...
@@johannesappel4496 my grandfather was a tiger 2 commander in Belgium 44 after intense fighting with Sherman's his tiger was hit hard, he would later surrender to the American forces
1) Where can I get one and 2) Is the gun operational? And for the love of all that is WWII related and holey, tell me someone is planning on using this for serious WWII films. I've been saying for years now that RC vehicles are the way to go rather than using lackluster cgi or blatantly wrong vehicles.
I was wondering, that model must be rather large, it convinced me on the first scene it appeard. maybe half a meter long? bigger? I wanna see footage of the filming :)
@Semper Fi now it's getting complicated. People from Kassel are called Kassler, Kasselaner or Kasseläner. Your ancestry and the number of generations who lived in Kassel before you decide to which group you belong. Kassler: a foreigner who just lives in Kassel Kasselaner: Born and raised in Kassel Kasseläner: at least two generations had to live in Kassel before you. Heiligenröder are the village traitors. People who point the way to the rear of a Tiger tank ;) Heiligenrode is a village east of Kassel.
The great thing about Mark Felton productions (besides the subject matter content and historical narration) is that the video/image content is always going to be contextually relevant to the current audio segment playing. Most documentaries (even those professionally created for television broadcast) like to throw in 'filler' video segments that are sometimes poorly chosen or outright wrong for the associated audio narration. Rarely (if ever) do you see this in a Mark Felton production. Kudos to Mark!
no doubt so many times you see a video about the early days of the war in france or something, then they show a clip in the snow that is obviously russia. or a clip from the dessert in 1942, then they show an artillary barrage from D day. His videos for the most part seem relevant to the actual story he is telling. it's amazing
@@Paul-hy6rp That's correct. The Tiger collection consists of a Tiger 1, a Porsche turret Tiger 2, a Henschel turret Tiger 2, a Jagdtiger, and a Ferdinand. The Ferdinand is on loan to the museum, not sure if it's still there.
I am German. I would like to express my thanks. Their channel mainly represents the war events without moral evaluation. We must recognize that wars arise in this form, not on the failure of man on his own. The mostly simple men who faced each other, no matter which side, fought and died in faith in the supposed good that was imparted to them. All were incited against each other. And for all the lies and deceit that made her take up arms, her legacy and memory should be honored. Ich bin Deutscher. Ich möchte mal einen Dank aussprechen. Ihr Kanal stellt in der Hauptsache die Kriegsereignisse ohne moralische Wertung dar. Wir müssen erkennen, dass Kriege in dieser Form, nicht auf das Versagen des Menschen aus sich selbst heraus entstehen. Die meist einfachen Männer, die sich gegenüberstanden, egal welcher Seite, kämpften und starben im Glauben an das Vermeintlich Gute, welches ihnen vermittelt wurde. Alle wurden gegeneinander aufgehetzt. Und trotz all der Lüge und des Betruges, welches sie zur Waffe greifen ließ, sollte man ihr Vermächtnis und ihr Andenken in aller Ehren halten.
Truth. It is the Sociopaths who repeatedly rise to the top and set us to killing each other for one self-serving reason or another. We have not, nor is it likely we will EVER learn from history. We have yet another in charge right now and it's costing Hundreds of Thousands of lives already, and it is just a health issue we are at 'war' with. -Veteran '66-68
I’ve been to Bovington Tank Museum, and they have a King Tiger II there. It’s genuinely the only tank in the whole place that made my jaw drop. It’s so big, so intimidating and genuinely chills your blood to look at.
Mark, you do a fantastic job at presenting WW2 history - I very much appreciate it. I had the privilege of having grandfathers and great uncles, whom I was very close too, that served in WW2 in the European theater (U.S. Army, U.S Army Air Force). They have all since passed years ago. My young children will likely never meet a WW2 Veteran for they are now nearly all gone. You are keeping this history alive and by doing so honoring all that served - more importantly, you are ensuring the lessons are not forgotten. When it comes to WW2 history, I will be sharing these videos with my children, along with what their great grandfathers and great, great uncles passed on to me.
Even me who lives in this area didn't know there was still intense fighting ging on. Even more perplexing is how the Henschel Works still delivered in 1945 because next to all buildings got destroyed in the Kassel Firestorm bombing night.
@Flop s that's largely thanks to that being an era of pre guided ordinance. It's amazing Ja, but also sad when you think about how many bombs missed their intended targets & ended up coming through some poor bastard's living room 😔 Today we can shoot a rocket up a camel's ass from 30,000 miles away...All thanks to the boys at Peenemünde, especially Von Braun.
@@MrSniperdude01 More like the boys at Bell Labs who created the transistor. Von Braun's rockets were cool but couldn't hit the broad side of a battleship at 50 paces.
@@RCAvhstape The reports of V2 inaccuracy were deliberate. I mean, I ain't one to take credit away from Bell Labs for their achievements, but the myth surrounding V2 inaccuracy was an ULTRA wartime disinformation campaign to encourage constant recalibration, thereby hindering their performance. The Germans listened to Allied radio chatter to determine how far off target the rocket hit to make adjustments... This operation was similar to ULTRA's efforts against the Kriegsmarine in that they gave the Germans both false and true readings to not give away their trick, in essence, to keep the Germans guessing as to the effectiveness of the rocket. Leitstrahlstellung later improved the V2's performance in controlled tests, but the Germans were too hesitant to use it, due to fear of Allied jamming, except the Allies were none the wiser to that development until after the war.
@@_-.-_-_.._--.-_-_----_-.--_._- BS to your condescending tone ("You do realize..."). Even without Allied deception the V2 could at best hit an urban area.
Thank you Dr Felton. Another excellent war story. My father-in-law aged 21 met these King Tigers in 1944 in Normandy. He said they were truly terrifying as British tanks were completely outgunned. 50 years later, he was unable to look at them in Bovingdon museum.
Henschel I'm afraid,as built in the henschel factory it departed at the beginning of the video lol,cmon mate pay attention... I'm joking don't hate me 😉
Best. WW2. History. Channel. Ever. Also; least annoying narrative voice. Always great footage. Not the stock clips that get recycled on UA-cam ad nauseum.
I love the Felton WWII history stories. Your attention to historical detail is outstanding. Thank you. I will contribute to your cause. I appreciate it so much you have not idea!!! Thank you again.
I love German tanks. So I envy you for it haha On second thought, maybe it's better like this, I'd get arrested for constantly trying to sneak inside that factory.
@@not-a-theist8251 Aw man, Germans really are mean :'c look at you taunting me with your awesome and random night experiences, the most unusual thing I've seen while waiting for the bus was a vintage car What were they even doing with a howitzer at night 🤣
I was stationed in Frankfurt a/M as a member of the U.S. Army’s Third Armored Division Band from June 1975 until August 1977. For two years in a row we marched in the famous 20 kilometer-long Kassel RosenMontag (Rose Monday) Parade, which takes place two days before Ash Wednesday during Fasching. Also I attended a congregation of the German Church of God, or Gemeinde Gottes, which had its main bible school for pastoral training in Fritzlar, which I have also visited. So when you brought out the map and started recounting the battle, my ears perked up and I could definitely relate to the geography. However, at the time I had no idea that the Henschel factory that produced the King Tiger was located in Kassel-fascinating!! Thank you for sharing another amazing historical account from WWII!
Been watching since you had about 20k subscribers. To see the channel grow to almost a million is glorious! Fantastic videos mark me and the guys at work have you on all the time.
My father, Herod Lowery Sr., was in Kassel on VE Day. My dad was all of 20. He landed in Nomandy on June 21, 1944 at 19. My dad was a tank wrecker driver, 544th Ordnance, First Army. Thanks Dr. Felton! Your stuff is great!
Kassel suffered greatly from placing the Henschel factory just off the town centre. As Allied bombing took out the factory, it necessarily hit the highly populated areas as well. What was once regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in Germany became, after the war, a great example of Bauhaus reconstruction and the Documenta modern art festival. The city is well worth a visit! 🇩🇪
Weird how you say that Kassel was once one of the most beautiful cities in Germany -implying that it no longer is- and then give examples (Bauhaus "Kiste" style, etc) and then tell us it is worth the visit. It is, by the way. I went-through in 2010 and immensely enjoyed it.
Nicely done Mark. using the RC King Tiger to fill in the footage from the war. Also nicely done with the story of the factory tigers fighting from the factory workers till they could fight no more.
like the stories when Focke-Wulf and Messerschmitt plants were bombed. brand spanking new fighters were sent up as defense. you jump into one, paint still wet, plastic dust covers on the seat, only to get shot down about 15min later by a P-51 or a lucky waist gunner
Mark historians like you and yarnhub are what ensure we never forget the path our forefathers walked but also to educate folks on the fascinating tools of war in with those paths were laid. Love your videos thank you!
I love American doctrine. Germans: "We have superior tanks" America: "We have lots of shells. Like a lot. When the artillery piece fails, we have more artillery. Also more shells"
No cite, but I've read that the US had a lot of guys who grew up fixing up jalopies and that made recovery and maintenance a worthwhile thing to do. Again, no cite, but I've also read that American tanks were a lot easier to fix.
@JAG There's a scene in the film "Saving Private Ryan" in which a German 20mm crew uses their weapon to clear US infantry from a Tiger I they just knocked out in street fighting. Pretty nasty.
Been watching you for years! I am a life long Kasseler🙂 I live a Stones throw from the current and old Thyssen factories. I love this town and this Video made my day🙂
I just love that Mark includes a lot of original footage in his presentations I've not seen before--& I've been a bit of a student of military history for 30+ years...
A Video about my homecity... Thanks! Sadly the war changed the face of Kassel a lot. Only very few cities were destroyed to a higher percentage than Kassel and a lot of historical buildings and hundreds of old city houses were destroyed alongside the factories. Even near the small village outside Kassel were I live you can find several bombcrates until today (created when allied planes attack some heavy AA guns). Because of this destruction Kassel today has a lot of typical after war building areas that are not really a nice view- but still it is a very green city and we have the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe World Heritage Site that is always worth a visit! But again Thank you for your excellent videos....
a video on my hometown, never expected that to happen :D side fact: the city of kassel was so much damaged due to allied bombing in 1943, that it was rebuild according to city plans the nazis made before the war. this changed most of the city´s street structure and when you look at pre-war photos, you think it´s a completely different city.
@@cambium0 Main target of allied bombing raids had always been the City centers and their inhabitants despite what they tellling you nowadays.Ask Bomber Harris.
Kassell is a university town, oder? I worked in Frankfurt many years ago and I believe one of our summer temporary colleagues left to attend school there. This would have been approximately 1975.
@@hnldude It has a university, but it´s not a typical university town. in the 70s they founded a college kind of thing which became a full university sometime later.
Lol they we’re fighting on their own land, streched supply lines shouldn’t be a problem. But yes you are right resources like oil we’re very scarce for the germans
I have a family member who's grandfather is from Kassel and served on the Eastern front in the Wehrmacht. Her other grandfather was an infantry soldier of the Kings Regiment, he became one of the British POWs under the Japanese in Burma. Both survived the war.
The way you pronounce words from the German language is very close to flawless and you are the only non German historican that I know of who even made such efforts at all. It somehow was odd at first because I always expect English speakers to anglicize" anything not originating from that particular language but you try to keep it as precise as possible, just as you do with the content of your videos. No American heroism, no facist farytale propaganda, you just focus on historical facts of the war itself and you do an outstanding job at it
Gotta hand it to Mark for his pronunciation of German names and words. You would also note that when Mark pronounces American rank of Lieutenant, its LOO-tenant, instead of LEFT-tenant
I'll bet you just loved the german pronunciation in Hogans Heroes then! Americans tying to speak not german, but english with a fake german accent. Loved the show for it's comedy but this was just stupid. they had so many guest actors that were required to feature this fake german accent since they weren't going to do actual german, some of them did it pretty good, others not so much.
@@censusgary yes I read that general burkhalter was a hungarian. he was so good as were all of them. I think it might be the IFC that has all of hogans heroes in HD. they look like they were made last week
Its unbelieveable how much content you put out Mark Felton. I love it, i subscribed you because i get Information i wouldn‘t get here in Germany as a German like this. I thank you for your work. Iam happy That i learned english and Can See our history with different eyes too.
When Kassel was destroyed in October 1943, more than 10.000 people died and 80% of the houses were destroyed. My grandmother told me that you could see the fire in the night from our smalltown more than 40 miles away. The people gathered silently, then someone said: "What would we do now if it wasn't for our Fuehrer?!" An old man murmured sarcastically: "I bet we all, us and them, would sleep in peace and harmony."
@Jack WehrungMy great-grandfather was summoned to appear before the mayor of his smalltown after he had told a harmless joke about Hitler and was threatened with "serious consequences" if this happened again. The joke was only heard by five other people and he confronted two of them but they denied to have reported him. In this way people started to mistrust their own neighbours. It's not important how many people were actually arrested, the mere possibility of being reported and the people's insecurity is much more important. And most people new a story about someone who was arrested or reported.
Another great video Mark. My dad's AAA battery was attached to the 80th Division,317th Infantry at this time. The 317th did not advance on Kassel but stayed behind mopping up the XX Corps Rhine bridgehead at Mainz. My dad was wounded in the leg on 3-28-45 but didn't have to be evacuated and he crossed the river on April 1. They remained with the 80th for a few more weeks and were present at Buchenwald after it was liberated. My dad was very proud of his association with the 80th Blue Ridge Division as he was a native of Virginia where the division was originally formed.
@BasedHuWhiteMan wtf dude??? I am well aware of the allied warcrimes and I find it unfair that they aren't more commonly known. However, I was just joking that the Wochenschau - especially in the episodes from 1944 and 1945 told - in hindsight - obvious lies... really, it is not that hard to prove... for example, every time it tells of "Zähe Kampfhandlungen an der Ostfront" "tough acts of combat on the easternfront" it just means that the Wehrmacht is actually loosing.
6:38 I had an older friend, who was in West Germany during the Cold War. He got to interview some of the German WW2 vets. One of the guns they hated the most was the Browning M2. Because even if they were hiding behind a wall, the .50 BMG rounds would still go through it.
Mark your videos are awesome. I would love it if you did one of the German counterattack near the Elbe River on April 13&14 1945. It was the first time in the war the US 2 Armored division had to conduct a retreat. The attack was launched by elements of the German 12th Army near a town called Magdeburg. Very little has been written on this battle. Thanks
My grandparents who lived in Kassel during the war were absolutely bombed out several times. My grandpa had to move 7 times during the war. Everytime staying in Kassel tho.
see thats just amazing, im in my hotelroom in kassel starting the video and its about kassel. the very city i arived 3h ago. coincidence? i dont think so. thank you so much for your awesome content
Thank you for such dedication to history and to your channel, which my family has become accustomed to hearing aloud every evening. Wonderful work and content!
I’m a student at the university of Kassel and they actually took the old Henschel factory and turned it into a campus, all of the major buildings still look pretty similar to how they did when it was still a factory and even the giant chimney is still standing, it’s pretty unique and I quite like the design.
I am eager to dwell in places like these, they are poetic. :")
I'm not eager to dwell at any place in Germany with a giant chimney.
@@larrysmith6797 every man has his own eagerness, lad.
I barely said it could geniunely be a poetic place.
An old Kassel and the Universitiy of literature.
I was stationed in Bad Hersfeld for 18 months and had occasion to visit Kassel several times. That area, especially the Fulda Valley, is beautiful. Some of my best memories.
Germany saved Europe from a communist take over. At least delayed it
The idea that in April 1945 there was a factory left standing in Germany is unreal, that it was still producing tanks is mind blowing. I will echo what Patton was reported to keep demanding; 'Where is my air support?' Pretty sure he said it a lot more colorfully.
Mr. Felton, as always thank you.
Same happened in the Red October tractor factory in Stalingrad. Does beggar belief, I suspect that quality control might have suffered slightly...
Allied strategic bombing was far less effective then commanly belived in the english speaking world. There were only three times it was efficent: Bombing the train infrastructure everywhere 44/45, bombing a few specialized factories resulting in shortages for the germans (for a short time) and hitting the artifical fueld refineries in germany which couldnt be replaced. Sadly most of these things could have been achieved without flattening half the continent into dust.
@@noobster4779 They had only been effective in killing civilians,but that of course was the main target of Butcher Harris Churchill and the Rest of them assholes.
@@mjoelnir58 They needed killing, they brought the Nazis into power and supported them right to the end.
@@mjoelnir58 Yes because the Luftwaffe and the V series buzz bombs and rockets only hit strategic targets in England, or anywhere else, and the allies repaid with firebombing Dresden. London citizens spent their nights in subway tunnels because they were so roomy and comfortable, British children evacuated from the cities to the country and overseas during the war on all expenses paid holidays. Everybody has bloody hands where strategic bombing is concerned during WW2. Then again British bomber command also known for Dambuster raids, which were stopped when local resistance forces reported the flooding damage leading to civilian casualties. The Netherlands also remember operations Manna and Chowhound. Where allied bombers dropped tons of food and medical supplies in 1945.
I see a new Felton story I stop everything to watch. You're the best, Mark...
Watch your videos mate, keep goin with them. Cheers
Couldn’t agree more!
Same thing. Felton episode drops I’m watching it.
One of the few channels I actually have the bell on...
Agree 👍🏻
The amount of research that goes into these productions and the rate at which Mark produces them, is a testament to his love of history.
imagine being a american tank commander, just driving along in '45, knowing that the germans don't have any real resistance left, but then you literally run into EIGHT KING TIGERS
Imagine being a German General faced/ torn between doing your duty, yet knowing you WILL lose, protecting your people, hoping you can see they safely through this strife...How do you surrender without units going rogue and protect your people from the inenvitable recriminations, soul searching and humiliations especially as have heard the rumours of war crimes. When you know your profession / your everything will collapse and you will be destroyed and penniless.
@@mwnciboo Thats war, don't justify wehrmacht war crimes ya nerd. Do something with your life
@@jackapgar5824 Maybe you could do something with your life, talking about Israeli war crimes. The Palestinians could help you say something about it. Salam
@@mwnciboo Why didn't Davy Crockett and Cie. surrender at Alamo? They certainly would have had honorable treatment, señoritas y tequila à gogo.
@@jackapgar5824 .. Not every soldier in the Wehrmacht was a war criminal, their only crime was representing Hitler and his party while fighting for the Fatherland, Germany, their country. These men fought a war on two fronts over the duration of years, I don't think any other military of that time could do that. They had never surrendered despite the odds, only when Berlin was breached, they knew that they had lost, it was the party officials, certain SS officers who carried out atrocities and I doubt that most of the SS was commissioned to the camps, most of them fought in the front lines, not everything is surface level for your consumption, there is more, especially regarding history of conflict.
A lot of these late war desperate fights make for very interesting stories.
And a futile waste of life.
Still a good video.
@Dan Fraser: To me, it's especially poignant to contemplate Men who are fighting for a lost cause. Do we give them credit for it . . . or not (?) It requires some subtlety to answer that . . .
Men who were fighting with everything left for a desperate battle against the bolshevists
@@antiquatedideas1107 Patton: "We fought the wrong army."
@@falconmoose1589 Patton wasn't the only US General or politician to think that.
In the city of Kassel I did my conscription in the Supersommer of 1976 as a solider of the Jägerbataillon 42. Our Training Ground was the Dönche Valley, Mr. Felton is reporting about. Our tactical target for the "Zielansprache" in those hot days was a beer-garden with yellow parasols I will never forget since lifetime... Happy days of the youth!
Thank You so much for Your stories, Mr. Felton!
Thank you for sharing, and for your duty served!
Mark Felton: "King Tigers and The Battle of Kassel"
History Channel: "Bigfoot - Elusive Primate or Nazi Secret Weapon?"
Just like with their tanks the Germans started small with their Nazi Secret Weapons.
The first creature was called Littlefoot, the second version Middlefoot and the last behemoth was BIGfoot. 😉😁
This information comes from reliable sources (aka "History Channel")😯
Def black ops
@ukkowalski its so secret that it evolved into 4d secrecy, we wouldn't be able to understand its secret complexity as we are mere mortals
Hail Hydra!
Any idea on colours and camo pattern? Humbrol chart?
My grandfather fought in the war. He always talked about his time on the Remagen bridge, which he had crossed multiple times in his ambulance that he drove. Once I asked him whether they feared the Wehrmacht in the final days of the war, insinuating that it was essentially a spent force. He told me that perception may have been true, but that all the men knew that the Germans could still pull together enough assets to really hurt you, and that all the men he served with had a healthy respect for their foe - as well as for their own self-preservation. This story, I think, exemplifies this dynamic quite well.
Indeed it does. Many veterans report how the Germans were capable of mustering anything they had left for yet another counterattack, to the very end.
The Africa corps had been kicked throught he desert for hundreds of miles, yet without as muchs as a breather they crashed into the US forces at Kasserine pass. During the landings on Sicily, about the entire German army was tied up in the biggest tank battle ever at Kursk, yet they managed to launch a counter attack that reached the beaches.
On D-Day, they could hardly breathe because the air was full of Allied planes, yet one unit managed to push on and reach the sea.
After Falaise the Allies kicked anything with a German helmet for hundreds of miles through France and Belgium, and the survivors mangled the Elite of the British Army: the First Airborne Division during Market Garden.
Anyone knew the German army was a corpse in November 1944, but in December the corpse got up again and threw some nasty punches in the Ardennes.
These are just the big examples, but there are countless more.
Also thanks for sharing the story of your Grandfather.
Not to mention it just takes one nazi who's not willing to surrender or one random fragment from a mortar to end your life.
the beauty of living in the world that men like your grandfather helped forge is that when i read that he fought in the war, i didnt immediately know for which side. nowadays we're friends!
@@pezpengy9308 ❤️
Your grandfather knew what he was talking about. While the Battle of the Bulge might have been extraordinarily poorly planned it showed that even that late in the war much was possible. Pointless, yes, possible? Definitely. The Soviets, in their much-exaggerated victory in Berlin learned that one first-hand. Read "Panzers in Berlin" by Archer, et al, and see what the Soviets didn't want the World to know about the actual costs involved in beating a few ragged units, old men and young boys on their home turf.
In 1971, I had a conversation with a Mr. Green, a WWII veteran. He told me that late in the war, most organized resistance had collapsed, and the Third Army was rolling across southern Germany almost unopposed. The only thing slowing them down was having to handle so many surrendering German troops. He was in a jeep driving a couple miles ahead of the main army on a reconnaissance patrol, when they encountered a German NCO standing beside the road holding a white flag. They quickly determined that he was not armed. He kept saying in broken English, "We must to surrender to the Americans." They didn't have the time to deal with him, so they told him to wait and the entire Third Army would be along soon and accept his surrender. The NCO seemed agitated as they drove off and chased after them.
A half mile further, they crested a hill and stumbled into an SS Panzer unit in front of them. He slammed on the brakes and began backing furiously, when his Lieutenant ordered him to stop. The German Commander calmly walked up to the Lieutenant, handed him his pistol and said, "I wish to surrender my men to the American Army." Mr. Green said that it was then that he noticed that all the tanks were neatly parked along the sides of the road and they had been washed like they were on parade. The men were clean shaven, dressed their cleanest uniforms, were standing in formation at attention with their arms neatly stacked in front of them.
Mr. Green later learned that the German Commander had been ordered to fight to the last man to slow the advance of the Americans as much as possible. He chose to not waste the lives of his men on what he knew was a pointless mission. He said that he Americans treated the German Commander with great respect.
This is a fantastic story. Do you have any sources on it?
@@TormentedLion789 Unfortunately, no. Mr Green was a patient of mine in a nursing home in 1971. He was only 50 years old then, but, he was confined to a nursing home due to a farm accident and some subsequent medical issues. I told him that I had just received my notice from the draft board and would be reporting soon. He talked about his time in the army and told me this story, so it's just a personal anecdote. He was one of my favorite patients, and I remember it because it was such an interesting story.
And then the Germans were sent to Eisenhowers "Disarmed Enemy Forces" concentration camps to die.
BadWolf762 - over 5 million Soviet POW’s were killed in Nazi concentration camps. America gave Germany billions of dollars in aid after the war and rebuilt the German economy. The 1950’s were known in Europe as “The German Miracle”.
@@DavidKutzler Wow what a good story , we never hear something in Germany . This men are always the bad Nazis that are fighting till death . Good to hear that some surrender and choose to live . 👍
Germans: The situation is beyond beyond hopeless. Lets counter attack!
It is an act of Ignorance to state that tank destroyers were not tanks. The Jagdtiger was the heaviest tank of WW2.
Remember, the definition of tanks came from the creators of tanks. The British. All armoured : Check. Tracked: Check. Crew fights within vehicle: Check.
Also remember that the very first tank model had no turrets either.
Offense is the best defense. :D
Scott, That’s perfect!
Little willie has a tureet
ROFLMAO - made my day!
I want to be here when Mr Felton breaks the 1 million mark. I have learned so much about Ww2 through him. His narration makes it such a good time to listen. Greetings from Mallorca/Spain.
Takes me back to what the history channel use to be.
Now it’s all stupid stuff that has almost nothing to do with history
"Real History with Mark Felton"- History Channel please make it happen🤩
They were never this good
I'm not saying it was aliens, but it was aliens.
Disney owns the history channel what do you except ahhahaha
Greetings from Kassel. I was born in Kassel and lived for a while right next ot the Dönche and now an Englishmen is lecturing me about a small part of the history of my birth place. What time to be alive.
Kennst du das Land wo die Kartoffeln blühn , wo Mutter und Vater den Flug noch ziehn, wo Mensch und Tier aus einem Napfe fressen, das ist das Land der blinden Hessen!
One of my neighbors is 95. He fought in a king tiger number 122 or 124.
You should ask him about his experiences!
@@supersarge24 Yes already talked a little bit with him about his experience during WW2. But he told me that it is really hard for him to talk about this topic. So I did not want to push him to much. It's a shame he experienced so much in these years but when he dies his memories are gone. Actually I should inform an historian. His memories should be recorded...
@@johannesappel4496 Yeah, I hope he'd be willing ti share some of the less painful things before he passes. A rare survivor of a rare beast
@@johannesappel4496 my grandfather was a tiger 2 commander in Belgium 44 after intense fighting with Sherman's his tiger was hit hard, he would later surrender to the American forces
@@johannesappel4496 he probably committed some war crimes or saw them committed without being able to do anything. No surprise he doesn't talk
It's nice to learn more history about the Tiger IIs. They have got be one of the best looking tanks of WWII along with the JS-2.
Who is the lucky owner of that RC King Tiger model?
1) Where can I get one and 2) Is the gun operational?
And for the love of all that is WWII related and holey, tell me someone is planning on using this for serious WWII films. I've been saying for years now that RC vehicles are the way to go rather than using lackluster cgi or blatantly wrong vehicles.
I was wondering, that model must be rather large, it convinced me on the first scene it appeard.
maybe half a meter long? bigger?
I wanna see footage of the filming :)
Mark Felton himself..a gift to himself for winning the 100.000 subscribers plaque.
@@PvtPartzz www.armortek.co.uk/product/king-tiger/
@@PvtPartzz its an armourtek 1/6 scale
When the German civilian led the GI’s around sgt. Wilms’ King Tiger and knocked it out reminded me of a mini Thermopylae
Heiligenröder haben noch nie getaugt! ;)
@Semper Fi now it's getting complicated. People from Kassel are called Kassler, Kasselaner or Kasseläner. Your ancestry and the number of generations who lived in Kassel before you decide to which group you belong.
Kassler: a foreigner who just lives in Kassel
Kasselaner: Born and raised in Kassel
Kasseläner: at least two generations had to live in Kassel before you.
Heiligenröder are the village traitors. People who point the way to the rear of a Tiger tank ;) Heiligenrode is a village east of Kassel.
It reminded me of a traitorous bastard that I hope was dealt with later with a slow painful death.
So many pro nazi types around here.
@GENERAL FRANCO The traitor saved a lot of lives from a hopeless fight.
The great thing about Mark Felton productions (besides the subject matter content and historical narration) is that the video/image content is always going to be contextually relevant to the current audio segment playing. Most documentaries (even those professionally created for television broadcast) like to throw in 'filler' video segments that are sometimes poorly chosen or outright wrong for the associated audio narration. Rarely (if ever) do you see this in a Mark Felton production. Kudos to Mark!
no doubt so many times you see a video about the early days of the war in france or something, then they show a clip in the snow that is obviously russia. or a clip from the dessert in 1942, then they show an artillary barrage from D day. His videos for the most part seem relevant to the actual story he is telling. it's amazing
Thank you, Mark, for keeping the love of history alive. I now have a 12 year old grandson watching your videos!
Those King Tigers in the museum are beautiful
Yes, they are . I saw a Panther II in the Patton Museum at Fort Knox (USA) back in 2000.
yeah most of the museum shots are from Bovington, they have a fantastic collection there, I seem to remember they have two King Tigers There.
@@Paul-hy6rp Yes, one has the pre-production "shot trap" turret and the other is the production version ua-cam.com/video/LkdfbmGRR0Y/v-deo.html
@@Paul-hy6rp That's correct. The Tiger collection consists of a Tiger 1, a Porsche turret Tiger 2, a Henschel turret Tiger 2, a Jagdtiger, and a Ferdinand. The Ferdinand is on loan to the museum, not sure if it's still there.
@@jacobs.9797 I'm afraid it's gone back to America, I was lucky to see it and get some nice pics while it was here on loan.
I am German. I would like to express my thanks. Their channel mainly represents the war events without moral evaluation. We must recognize that wars arise in this form, not on the failure of man on his own. The mostly simple men who faced each other, no matter which side, fought and died in faith in the supposed good that was imparted to them. All were incited against each other. And for all the lies and deceit that made her take up arms, her legacy and memory should be honored.
Ich bin Deutscher. Ich möchte mal einen Dank aussprechen. Ihr Kanal stellt in der Hauptsache die Kriegsereignisse ohne moralische Wertung dar. Wir müssen erkennen, dass Kriege in dieser Form, nicht auf das Versagen des Menschen aus sich selbst heraus entstehen. Die meist einfachen Männer, die sich gegenüberstanden, egal welcher Seite, kämpften und starben im Glauben an das Vermeintlich Gute, welches ihnen vermittelt wurde. Alle wurden gegeneinander aufgehetzt. Und trotz all der Lüge und des Betruges, welches sie zur Waffe greifen ließ, sollte man ihr Vermächtnis und ihr Andenken in aller Ehren halten.
Well said and so true... History should be shown without bios so we may learn from the mistakes of our predecessors
Well said!! Besser kann man es nicht sagen!
Truth. It is the Sociopaths who repeatedly rise to the top and set us to killing each other for one self-serving reason or another. We have not, nor is it likely we will EVER learn from history. We have yet another in charge right now and it's costing Hundreds of Thousands of lives already, and it is just a health issue we are at 'war' with. -Veteran '66-68
@@boggy5715 "Bias" NOT "Bios". Kind of an "oops" moment there, Boggy.
@@rogeranderson8763 Which health issue are you alluding to? I thought that we were talking about a particular late-war King Tiger here.
I’ve been to Bovington Tank Museum, and they have a King Tiger II there. It’s genuinely the only tank in the whole place that made my jaw drop. It’s so big, so intimidating and genuinely chills your blood to look at.
It's the Jagdtiger that got me. It is massive
@@46FreddieMercury91oh I forgot about that thing. Absolute beast!
Small point: either call it a King Tiger or a Tiger II, not both.
Quality that place is.
Been there a few times , when on military courses.
Mark, you do a fantastic job at presenting WW2 history - I very much appreciate it.
I had the privilege of having grandfathers and great uncles, whom I was very close too, that served in WW2 in the European theater (U.S. Army, U.S Army Air Force). They have all since passed years ago.
My young children will likely never meet a WW2 Veteran for they are now nearly all gone.
You are keeping this history alive and by doing so honoring all that served - more importantly, you are ensuring the lessons are not forgotten.
When it comes to WW2 history, I will be sharing these videos with my children, along with what their great grandfathers and great, great uncles passed on to me.
I am enjoying these snippets of lesser known stories.Thank you Mark Felton for your knowledge.
Even me who lives in this area didn't know there was still intense fighting ging on. Even more perplexing is how the Henschel Works still delivered in 1945 because next to all buildings got destroyed in the Kassel Firestorm bombing night.
I was stationed in Fulda back in the 80's. 11th ACR. We used to go to Kassel sometimes to hang out at the clubs.
@Flop s that's largely thanks to that being an era of pre guided ordinance.
It's amazing Ja, but also sad when you think about how many bombs missed their intended targets & ended up coming through some poor bastard's living room 😔
Today we can shoot a rocket up a camel's ass from 30,000 miles away...All thanks to the boys at Peenemünde, especially Von Braun.
@@MrSniperdude01 More like the boys at Bell Labs who created the transistor. Von Braun's rockets were cool but couldn't hit the broad side of a battleship at 50 paces.
@@RCAvhstape
The reports of V2 inaccuracy were deliberate. I mean, I ain't one to take credit away from Bell Labs for their achievements, but the myth surrounding V2 inaccuracy was an ULTRA wartime disinformation campaign to encourage constant recalibration, thereby hindering their performance. The Germans listened to Allied radio chatter to determine how far off target the rocket hit to make adjustments... This operation was similar to ULTRA's efforts against the Kriegsmarine in that they gave the Germans both false and true readings to not give away their trick, in essence, to keep the Germans guessing as to the effectiveness of the rocket. Leitstrahlstellung later improved the V2's performance in controlled tests, but the Germans were too hesitant to use it, due to fear of Allied jamming, except the Allies were none the wiser to that development until after the war.
@@_-.-_-_.._--.-_-_----_-.--_._- BS to your condescending tone ("You do realize..."). Even without Allied deception the V2 could at best hit an urban area.
Thank you Dr Felton. Another excellent war story. My father-in-law aged 21 met these King Tigers in 1944 in Normandy. He said they were truly terrifying as British tanks were completely outgunned. 50 years later, he was unable to look at them in Bovingdon museum.
When having a Porsche really meant something..
Maus
The Tiger was made by Henschel. Porsche had also submitted a prototype for the Tiger I, but it was not accepted.
Henschel I'm afraid,as built in the henschel factory it departed at the beginning of the video lol,cmon mate pay attention... I'm joking don't hate me 😉
Yes, at least the turret part...
@@billace90 that's a myth,it's called the porsch turret,they didn't actually make it,check the bovington tank chat on the king tiger
Best. WW2. History. Channel. Ever. Also; least annoying narrative voice. Always great footage. Not the stock clips that get recycled on UA-cam ad nauseum.
As always, a good and detailed story from Dr. Mark. I just don’t understand why there are people who are giving this a thumb down?!?
Videos been up 15 minutes and already has nearly 5,000 views. Such a statement for a amazing channel.
Dr felton delivers again, I am now set for tonights episode before bed, god bless and stay safe mate. 👍🏴
UA-cam's like 98% garbage, but you're in the 2% of actual great content man
What I like:
Mark Rober
Mark Felton
Drew durnil
Epic Rap battles of history
My cousin likes:
Spycakes
The frustrated gamer
Camodo gaming
Beautiful OB
I love the Felton WWII history stories. Your attention to historical detail is outstanding. Thank you. I will contribute to your cause. I appreciate it so much you have not idea!!! Thank you again.
The kind of military history i'd watch over and over again
Greetings from Kassel.
They still build tanks a Kilometer or so down the road where I live.
I love German tanks. So I envy you for it haha
On second thought, maybe it's better like this, I'd get arrested for constantly trying to sneak inside that factory.
@@fabiana7157 😂😂
I've randomly seen a self-propelled howitzer late at night while I was waiting for the bus about a year ago.
@@not-a-theist8251
Aw man, Germans really are mean :'c look at you taunting me with your awesome and random night experiences, the most unusual thing I've seen while waiting for the bus was a vintage car
What were they even doing with a howitzer at night 🤣
The grandson of the king tiger then - the Leopard II A7v?
@@fabiana7157 delivering it somewhere I guess :p
"Heavy armour"
Tigers: Callin us fat?
Thicc
@@deltasource56 beat me to it lol
Well, you do have a mastodon painted on the side...
Kaleb THECrazy
No, “big boned”.
@@at6686 lol ye
Friend- "Whats your favorite porsche"?
Me - *Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B*
Friend-... Whhat..?
That would be my reply every time someone asks what Porsche is my favorite.
Tigers were not made by Porsche. They were made by Henschel
Well... That's not the name of that tank
The Porsche farm tractor!
@@bsolutions525:- Porsche designed the "Ferdinand" , the "Elephant" and the "Maus" tanks.
I was stationed in Frankfurt a/M as a member of the U.S. Army’s Third Armored Division Band from June 1975 until August 1977. For two years in a row we marched in the famous 20 kilometer-long Kassel RosenMontag (Rose Monday) Parade, which takes place two days before Ash Wednesday during Fasching. Also I attended a congregation of the German Church of God, or Gemeinde Gottes, which had its main bible school for pastoral training in Fritzlar, which I have also visited. So when you brought out the map and started recounting the battle, my ears perked up and I could definitely relate to the geography. However, at the time I had no idea that the Henschel factory that produced the King Tiger was located in Kassel-fascinating!! Thank you for sharing another amazing historical account from WWII!
And....came back again for a Visit Mr. Gross? If so,....we welcome you for a nice Beer!!
@@Wuestenkarsten Vielen Dank! Ich wurde gerne wieder besuchen, wenn das Pandemie vorbei ist. Prost!
Thank you Mark , awesome video .
Ah yes another wonderful video from Dr. Felton. Thank you sir for providing such quality content.
Been watching since you had about 20k subscribers. To see the channel grow to almost a million is glorious! Fantastic videos mark me and the guys at work have you on all the time.
Thank you very much!
My father, Herod Lowery Sr., was in Kassel on VE Day. My dad was all of 20. He landed in Nomandy on June 21, 1944 at 19. My dad was a tank wrecker driver, 544th Ordnance, First Army. Thanks Dr. Felton! Your stuff is great!
Ahhh!! Always good to watch professor Felton before bed!
TY for all your hard work and content contributions
Kassel suffered greatly from placing the Henschel factory just off the town centre. As Allied bombing took out the factory, it necessarily hit the highly populated areas as well. What was once regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in Germany became, after the war, a great example of Bauhaus reconstruction and the Documenta modern art festival. The city is well worth a visit! 🇩🇪
Well, bombing it was so what necessary unlike the war crimes named moral bombing...
Weird how you say that Kassel was once one of the most beautiful cities in Germany -implying that it no longer is- and then give examples (Bauhaus "Kiste" style, etc) and then tell us it is worth the visit. It is, by the way. I went-through in 2010 and immensely enjoyed it.
YES. I was in Kassel last year beautiful city,friendly people, a lot of history,Wilhemshõhe,Hercules 💯♥️
Stationed just outside Kassel with electronic intelligence 68 to 71. Indeed, a beautiful city!
Mark - I love how you added the black and white footage of an RC tiger 2 into the video!!
Nicely done Mark. using the RC King Tiger to fill in the footage from the war. Also nicely done with the story of the factory tigers fighting from the factory workers till they could fight no more.
Mark blew up! Glad to see you getting the attention you deserve.
Thanks Mark!
I am from Göttingen(home of the Horten 229), 50km north of Kassel. When the Allies bombed Kassel you were able to see the fire from Göttingen.
Lass uns in Wilhelmshöhe treffen
@@yja8500 Ach, dann komme ich auch vorbei 😂
@@yja8500 Aber bitte keine Heiligenröder!! ;)
Jo treffen uns in Wilhelmshöhe und trinken ein nörti
Und in Goppeln konnte man 2 Tage Zeitung lesen in der Küche nach dem Bombenangriff
Still had the new tank smell...Dang.
jim hale
Probably didn’t bother with the warranty though.
like the stories when Focke-Wulf and Messerschmitt plants were bombed. brand spanking new fighters were sent up as defense. you jump into one, paint still wet, plastic dust covers on the seat, only to get shot down about 15min later by a P-51 or a lucky waist gunner
Thank you to Mr. Feltons' parents for giving us Mark. A veritable font of information. Masterful.
I love your videos. Makes me miss the days of the history channel. When they actually covered history.
Mark historians like you and yarnhub are what ensure we never forget the path our forefathers walked but also to educate folks on the fascinating tools of war in with those paths were laid. Love your videos thank you!
Imagine being in a Sherman tank and facing a King Tiger just watching your rounds bounce off it
I met my family from Kassel...was nice to get some stories about the place at the time. Thanks for shedding a bit more light on this part of Germany!!
I live in Kassel i did never heared about this before. Thank you Dr Felton.
Yet another gr8 story with narration and pictures / videos. Love you Mark ! ❤
I’ve been falling asleep to your videoes for the past year. Keep it up👌
I clicked on that notification faster then the MG42 shoots.
That's impossible
Brrrrrrrrt!
Brrrrrt für die Welt!
I love American doctrine.
Germans: "We have superior tanks"
America: "We have lots of shells. Like a lot. When the artillery piece fails, we have more artillery. Also more shells"
No cite, but I've read that the US had a lot of guys who grew up fixing up jalopies and that made recovery and maintenance a worthwhile thing to do. Again, no cite, but I've also read that American tanks were a lot easier to fix.
@@quintrankid8045 both make sense, especially since Germany has always had a tendency to over-engineer things
You can be the best fighter in the world if you get jumped by 15 guys at once your gonna lose.
'Erxleben'...good grief. Those names are hilarious, even for other Germans.
If you produce enough quantities of garbage, it can beat less numbered quality in an open battle.
When you are infantry up against a weapon nicknamed "Meat Chopper" you know you are well and truly screwed.
And we were still using those same quads in Vietnam. Check out "Vietnam Gun Trucks".
@JAG There's a scene in the film "Saving Private Ryan" in which a German 20mm crew uses their weapon to clear US infantry from a Tiger I they just knocked out in street fighting. Pretty nasty.
@@dpeasehead that scene is hard to watch
Meat chopper aka "pink mister".
"Politically Correct" They were actually called "Kraut Choppers" by the Americans.
Been watching you for years! I am a life long Kasseler🙂 I live a Stones throw from the current and old Thyssen factories. I love this town and this Video made my day🙂
I just love that Mark includes a lot of original footage in his presentations I've not seen before--& I've been a bit of a student of military history for 30+ years...
A Video about my homecity... Thanks! Sadly the war changed the face of Kassel a lot. Only very few cities were destroyed to a higher percentage than Kassel and a lot of historical buildings and hundreds of old city houses were destroyed alongside the factories. Even near the small village outside Kassel were I live you can find several bombcrates until today (created when allied planes attack some heavy AA guns). Because of this destruction Kassel today has a lot of typical after war building areas that are not really a nice view- but still it is a very green city and we have the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe World Heritage Site that is always worth a visit!
But again Thank you for your excellent videos....
a video on my hometown, never expected that to happen :D
side fact: the city of kassel was so much damaged due to allied bombing in 1943, that it was rebuild according to city plans the nazis made before the war. this changed most of the city´s street structure and when you look at pre-war photos, you think it´s a completely different city.
But somehow they missed the tiger tank factory
@@cambium0 Main target of allied bombing raids had always been the City centers and their inhabitants despite what they tellling you nowadays.Ask Bomber Harris.
@@cambium0 they didn´t. most factories could not work until 1944 due to repair
Kassell is a university town, oder? I worked in Frankfurt many years ago and I believe one of our summer temporary colleagues left to attend school there. This would have been approximately 1975.
@@hnldude It has a university, but it´s not a typical university town. in the 70s they founded a college kind of thing which became a full university sometime later.
Thank you for this insight into the history of my hometown! Greetings from Kassel!
All quite in the house,a new video from mark has landed.Thanks.
morning routine:
shower
get changed
make tea
watch some mark felton.
thank you Mark. please keep doing what you're doing.
Those things must've drunk fuel like beer. As if German resources weren't stretched enough.
Lol they we’re fighting on their own land, streched supply lines shouldn’t be a problem. But yes you are right resources like oil we’re very scarce for the germans
Ja the war is completely lost. Let's make 8 more of these monstrosities then retreat!
@@noudlindeman1931 theh had no supply to put in a line, genius
Well don't forget the Allies were fighting 2 wars so allot of air was sent to the Pacific towards the end of the war in Europe.
@@touristguy87 A snotty, irrelevant comment like this just makes you look small, petty & stupid. Take it somewhere else, genius.
I have a family member who's grandfather is from Kassel and served on the Eastern front in the Wehrmacht. Her other grandfather was an infantry soldier of the Kings Regiment, he became one of the British POWs under the Japanese in Burma. Both survived the war.
The way you pronounce words from the German language is very close to flawless and you are the only non German historican that I know of who even made such efforts at all. It somehow was odd at first because I always expect English speakers to anglicize" anything not originating from that particular language but you try to keep it as precise as possible, just as you do with the content of your videos. No American heroism, no facist farytale propaganda, you just focus on historical facts of the war itself and you do an outstanding job at it
Gotta hand it to Mark for his pronunciation of German names and words. You would also note that when Mark pronounces American rank of Lieutenant, its LOO-tenant, instead of LEFT-tenant
I'll bet you just loved the german pronunciation in Hogans Heroes then! Americans tying to speak not german, but english with a fake german accent. Loved the show for it's comedy but this was just stupid. they had so many guest actors that were required to feature this fake german accent since they weren't going to do actual german, some of them did it pretty good, others not so much.
@@fredgarv79 Some of the actors playing Germans in “Hogan’s Heroes” were actual German immigrants. Not all of them, though.
@@censusgary yes I read that general burkhalter was a hungarian. he was so good as were all of them. I think it might be the IFC that has all of hogans heroes in HD. they look like they were made last week
Its unbelieveable how much content you put out Mark Felton. I love it, i subscribed you because i get Information i wouldn‘t get here in Germany as a German like this. I thank you for your work. Iam happy That i learned english and Can See our history with different eyes too.
Thanks!
"Hans, der Ami is coming! Lets build some King Tigers!"
"Klaus, kannst du denn nicht schneller schrauben!"
irgendwie lustig und auch irgendwie nicht
Das ist ganz formidabel witzig. Auch wenn es natürlich heißt "Kannst du denn nicht schneller fahren Klaus."
Klaus, you drive like my mutter!
It couldn't have been that hard. The Königstiger I put together just required the Tamiya instruction sheet and glue.
Klaus, du fahrst wie Kapitan Langsam!
I’m a simple man, I see King Tiger, I tap.
T-tap? Wheres click gang at
@@bridge2far927 *T A P* they are not here.
@@mr.megalodonmegalodon758 OK
When Kassel was destroyed in October 1943, more than 10.000 people died and 80% of the houses were destroyed. My grandmother told me that you could see the fire in the night from our smalltown more than 40 miles away. The people gathered silently, then someone said: "What would we do now if it wasn't for our Fuehrer?!" An old man murmured sarcastically: "I bet we all, us and them, would sleep in peace and harmony."
probably apocryphal, remarks like that in public would get you lined up for a sedition 'trial' pretty quickly.
@Jack WehrungMy great-grandfather was summoned to appear before the mayor of his smalltown after he had told a harmless joke about Hitler and was threatened with "serious consequences" if this happened again. The joke was only heard by five other people and he confronted two of them but they denied to have reported him. In this way people started to mistrust their own neighbours. It's not important how many people were actually arrested, the mere possibility of being reported and the people's insecurity is much more important. And most people new a story about someone who was arrested or reported.
Another great video Mark. My dad's AAA battery was attached to the 80th Division,317th Infantry at this time. The 317th did not advance on Kassel but stayed behind mopping up the XX Corps Rhine bridgehead at Mainz. My dad was wounded in the leg on 3-28-45 but didn't have to be evacuated and he crossed the river on April 1. They remained with the 80th for a few more weeks and were present at Buchenwald after it was liberated. My dad was very proud of his association with the 80th Blue Ridge Division as he was a native of Virginia where the division was originally formed.
Thanks for your history lessons
Last time I was this early, the Wochenschau didn't have to lie to tell of german victories.
HAHAHAHA. Greatest comment today.
@BasedHuWhiteMan wtf dude??? I am well aware of the allied warcrimes and I find it unfair that they aren't more commonly known. However, I was just joking that the Wochenschau - especially in the episodes from 1944 and 1945 told - in hindsight - obvious lies... really, it is not that hard to prove... for example, every time it tells of "Zähe Kampfhandlungen an der Ostfront" "tough acts of combat on the easternfront" it just means that the Wehrmacht is actually loosing.
Dang, I misread it and thought it was the Tiger King.
Psh King Tiger tanks are wayyy more interesting than those pillow biters
Vs Oddballs Sherman baby. Stop spreading bad vibes!
Long live the king
Mark teaches better than My history teacher in online class
Thanks for another excellent presentation. 😃👌👌👏👏👏👏
One of the best channels on UA-cam
As always well researched tid bit of info during WWII. Very interesting.
Kudos to you. Looking forward to viewing these lesser known facts.
6:38
I had an older friend, who was in West Germany during the Cold War.
He got to interview some of the German WW2 vets.
One of the guns they hated the most was the Browning M2.
Because even if they were hiding behind a wall, the .50 BMG rounds would still go through it.
Mark your videos are awesome. I would love it if you did one of the German counterattack near the Elbe River on April 13&14 1945. It was the first time in the war the US 2 Armored division had to conduct a retreat. The attack was launched by elements of the German 12th Army near a town called Magdeburg. Very little has been written on this battle. Thanks
A true historian.. thanks mark
Fantastic Historical work you do Sir. I Thank You.
Such a pity that so many young men on both sides still lost their lives so late in the war.
0:03 that is a SICK model and great camera angle..... that looks so cool
nice work
My grandparents who lived in Kassel during the war were absolutely bombed out several times. My grandpa had to move 7 times during the war. Everytime staying in Kassel tho.
Very fortunate to have survived 7 bombings.
My morning Sabatical .. Mark felton & a cuppa tea
As always, love your work.
see thats just amazing, im in my hotelroom in kassel starting the video and its about kassel. the very city i arived 3h ago. coincidence? i dont think so. thank you so much for your awesome content
I've learned more from this show than I did in highschool history class.
clear video, accurate, balanced in conveying history is the felton style. Moreover, comments are opened and free to express opinions.
Felton the best👍
you are fooled by a model tank film
Mark Felton is the reason why we all still have UA-cam.
Thank you for such dedication to history and to your channel, which my family has become accustomed to hearing aloud every evening. Wonderful work and content!