As of January1, 1944 the Germans had 1,509,945 deaths on the Eastern Front and approximately 4,500,000 wounded. In January 1944 they would suffer another 70,330 deaths and approximately 210,000 wounded.
As an American living in Halifax I once put a toonie into a donation box for WW2 vets. This old vet stopped me and pinned a poppy on my shirt and I was saying I'm not Canadian and he told me you are today. I never felt more welcome. You rock Canada.
My Grandfather served with The Americans in The First Special Service Force (The Black Devil's) . He said he had quite a few American friends as a result. 🇺🇲 🇨🇦
I'm Canadian, and my wife and stepchildren are Americans. We spent a day exploring the Canadian War Museum around Remembrance Day. As I was explaining Canada's role in World War I and World War II, I mentioned that Canada and the other dominions declared war on Germany alongside the UK on principle. We believed that Germany had no right to invade smaller countries, as it went against the rule of law. Canada took a week to debate its decision, and in the end, it chose to put itself in harm's way for the right reasons. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada all made similar choices based on principle. In contrast, the Americans remained neutral for about two years, using their Neutrality Acts while profiting from selling arms and supplies to both the Allies and Germany (Texaco). It wasn't until Japan attacked America that the U.S. declared war, and that decision was primarily based on national security. This difference illustrated that while Canada truly stood up for freedom, America was more talk than action at that time. My stepchildren were stunned by this perspective, which really puts Hollywood's propaganda films into context.
@@FredPaulToronto That is the Canadian perspective. The American perspective on Canada is King George told it's crown countries to obey and they bent the knee again to their master just like the Boer War and WW1. After all Canada ignored the plights and freedoms of countries England wasn't interested in all the while letting England victimize India and China and Africa. The difference is Canada followed. America was backstabbed and then led Your crown countries to victory. Canadians tried but failed on the beaches at Dieppe. America then let you ride along as our lil bro for D-Day. in Conclusion. Canadian Propaganda is just as narcissistic as every other countries.
"Gentlemen, the battle against Scharnhorst has ended in victory for us. I hope that if any of you are ever called upon to lead a ship into action against an opponent many times superior, you will command your ship as gallantly as Scharnhorst was commanded today" - Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser, HMS Duke of York, December 26 1943
@@drjerry5389 Yeah, December 26th 1943, during Battle of the North Cape (location-wise, battle happened at Barents Sea). It was on course to attack convoy JW 55B (Arctic convoy, Loch Ewe-Kola), but was intercepted by British surface fleet. Which was essentially the plan, JW 55B was supposed to be the bait to get Scharnhorst to show up.
@@tomservo56954 that Duke of York was the second son of George III and the rhyme refers to the ill-fated Walcheren Expedition during the French Revolutionary Wars. HMS DoY was, I believed, named after Albert, Duke of York, the future King George VI.
It's crazy to think that when this series started, I had just entered my freshman year of college. Now, I nearly have my undergraduate degree in History and Psychology. It's been four years of my life following this channel, and four years of war for those whom I am asynchronously linked. The war has two more years to go, and when it comes to an end I will be graduating my Masters program. It is mind-boggling to think that, were I born some eighty years ago, all of this time from my entering college to now would have been spent at war, on the battlefield, or in a bodybag. Looking back on the boy I was when I went to college for the first time and the man I am now, it makes me marvel at just what these men went through during the Second World War, and grieve for them all the more. What's more is putting myself in the shoes of those effected by the atrocities committed, and imagining spending these last four years watching as friends and family die, or my home burns, or any number of various pieces of my life falling apart. Spending the last four years watching monuments that I thought were so old, so timeless, that they could never be destroyed be obliterated by the oncoming storm of war. To say it breaks my heart is a gross understatement, and to say on this New Years Eve that I appreciate all the work your team does is also an understatement by several orders of magnitude. Thank you for all you do. - Connor
Mate I feel the same way, started with The Great War channel. I was 20, now I'm nearing on 29 and I cannot stress how much I've learned from this man and the team behind him.
Was just starting university when I started this series and now I gruaduated and I work full time, to the point where I was actually able to join the Time Ghost army and support them on patreon. I honestly can't imagine what it would be like to spend 4 years fighting in war
When this little story began I was a quite healthy man of 70. In that first yr I disposed of prostate cancer. In the second PAD began to restrict what I could do. In the third PAD got worse. Now at the beginning of the fifth I have a hard time just going out to feed my chickens. Through all this u kids have given my pleasure in the pains of old age. Thank you
@@Cancun771 or suffering heat strokes in North Africa, drowning in the waters of Tarawa Atoll, falling to your deaths over Germany, and many more. War is brutal and worse than Hell.
@@danielnavarro537 yeah, not everyone had the the luck of Nickolas Alkemade, Ivan Chisov or Alan Magee. All 3 survived freefall when their bombers were shot down.
@@penultimateh766 In Hell only sinners go there. In war there are sinners, innocent, children, and civilians caught in the crossfire. Here's where I got the video: ua-cam.com/video/GUeBMwn_eYc/v-deo.html
A sidenote this week on December 29 1943 is that Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe General Dwight Eisenhower will send out an order to all Allied commanders to avoid attacking the historic monuments of Italy as far as possible. However, he also added that in the event that a choice would have to made between saving the lives of Allied soldiers and destroying a famous building, then the famous building would have to go in this case.
Bravo. Indy, you and Sparty are seemingly in competition to see who can make the best episode. No clear winner, except those of us who witness your work. Bravissimo.
The BBC did a documentary on the sinking of the Scharnhorst in the early 70s, when most of the British and German veterans were still around and could give interviews. I saw it a couple years ago, it's out there somewhere if you want to go looking.
Ludovic Kennedy showed in that Scharnhorst documentary, he had more talent & professionalism in his little finger than any of the "journalists/reporters" that inhabit the BBC today. Not once did he even try to act in a partisan way towards the Scharnhorst (even it killed his father) and even praised their captain for his fighting skill.
My father was most likely in Pearl Harbor on this day in 1943, as a lieutenant commander and gunnery officer aboard the USS Belle Grove, LSD-2, an Ashland class dock landing ship. Having successfully landed troops and LCM’s on Makin Island in the Gilberts. She then went to Pearl for repairs and some refitting. She will see extensive action all during 1944. Rest In Peace, Dad.
I listen to old time radio shows while driving for work. Last week they had a Fibber McGee and Mollie episode from Dec 21 1943 and i thought of this series and all the team at Time Ghost. Almost right on the exact timeline.
What always seems to get lost is how brutally insane and recklessly apocalyptic this whole thing must've felt to the people who were there. Timeghost doesn't fall into that trap, there's no romance here.
Thank you for mentioning Canadians and all the other lesser known groups of people who contributed to WWII. While it is getting to be more recognized I always felt growing up that Canadians were really downplayed in international conflicts when we've been part of some major initiatives throughout the last century to try and protect people who can't protect themselves. Our military is pretty unique because we have pretty much no want for land given the size of Canada. So for lack of any military to really engage in expansion we've really committed to helping others. Thanks again from a Canuck who's always happy to learn more of her history.
I'm Canadian and in my mid 30's. Growing up it was the same for me. I think it was due to years of the "Peacekeepers" narrative that was fed to the public. We are definitely starting to see more of Canada's military history in both wars over the last decade. The good, the bad and the ugly.
Also just one of the benefits of having an alliance structure as strong as NATO - countries that aren't economic superpowers can afford to specialize. These days, Canada's army really seems like it's more suited to providing training and logistical support for allies rather than being an independent military force (just going by what the media says about the missions Canadian forces tend to be given)...but we don't really need to be an independent military force because we're not expecting to have to fight on our own.
Gives me a sense of pride that our nation, Canada, who was originally seen as "lol British colony" at the beginning of the 20th century, managed to take on enemy forces many times their own size, hit well above their weight and earn a reputation for being a feared and respected, yet brutal fighting force. At the same time, they're stereotyped as "nice, peaceful people" which kinda balances out, ironically.
@@McTeerZor "I think it was due to years of the "Peacekeepers" narrative that was fed to the public. " To be fair, the peacekeeping role was a point of pride since Pearson's Nobel Peace Prize and made up the bulk of Canada's non-NATO/Cold War deployments, particularly in the 1990's when that peacekeeping image was really pushed after Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, etc. It made sense to play up peacekeeping when the only other thing to talk about were budget cuts and the Somalia affair. There haven't been many "big" peacekeeping deployments since then so I think that image/reputation kinda dissipated.
@@flargus7919 I get the feeling that our experiences in Rwanda and the breakup of Yugoslavia made for a rather soured opinion of peacekeeping efforts. Those were not exactly success stories. There's also getting distracted with the whole Afghanistan thing.
Go Canada,my father landed D-day was wounded early September sent home. He had nothing but praise for the Canadian troops. So much is writing and said about the Americans and British. Thank-you Canada.
3:12 This week would be a good time to watch the fourth episode of the 2010 HBO miniseries *The Pacific* , with the Battle of Cape Gloucester portrayed and Robert Leckie and the 1st Marine Division seeing night action in battle against the Japanese. After this battle, they would later move to Pavuvu where Leckie gets treated for nocturnal enuresis due to combat stress.
To learn more about Canadians in Italy read Ortona, & The Liri Valley both by Mark Zuelke. Thank you for having the red ensign of Canada, it's a beautiful bit of bunting.
I always wished we had adapted it - or some variation thereof - as our official flag. But I'm just another old man mumbling into my soup, aren't I .... !
If and when the war ends 😉 I think I'll look back on the series and appreciate these end of year summaries for bringing the context of the larger scope back to the channel after weeks and weeks of focusing on individual days and moments that can make the war seem like it's a truly never-ending struggle.
Thank you for a great channel. I binged watched the week by week coverage of both wars this year, and it has been a joy to do so, so much that I when I caught up at around episode 200, I was disappointed I had to start waiting but every week is worth the wait.
I could bore for Britain on this topic… I love the WW2 in Real Time project because it does something I have not come across before, which is WW2 as something without the exactitude of hindsight. We get the political conflicts, the luck, the contingencies, the debates, the arguments, the plan and then the outcome…without any of it seeming inevitable. Previous WW2 stuff I have watched or read always has the benefit of looking back from a historical distance, the outcome is never really in doubt. WW2 in Real Time gives us back a flavour of the uncertainty people must have experienced at the time. It’s been a real education that I can’t recommend enough.
From December 23 to 29 1943, the 2e DIM (2nd Morrocan Infantery Division) fought in the battle of the Mainarde mountains. On 27 December 1943, the 8th regiment of Moroccan infantrymen seized the summit of the Mainarde (1478 meters) and further north, Monte Marrone (1805 meters) was occupied. The losses were heavy but this first result aroused the admiration of the Americans.
Another year gone just like that. You guys do a wonderful job with each video. I started watching in 2016 after i bought battlefield 1 and wanted to know about the first world war since i, as a dutch men, knew nothing about. I can say with certainty that this is one of the best history channels out there. May you people continue making these for many many years. Happy new year.
My father was US Navy during the war. Most of the time he was on convoy protection duty, in smaller ships making certain that the convoys weren't taken down. He was very upset because he got his North Atlantic campaign medal and his Pacific campaign medal, but he missed getting his Mediterranean campaign medal by one week. He was particularly upset over this because this was the only campaign where he was directly shot at -- providing close support for the Anzio landing...
The Scharnhorst only had 11 inch guns. I believe the Duke of York had either 14 or 15 inch guns. Makes a big difference. Also having her forward fire control radar knocked out was a huge blow.
@George 11 inch guns are still plenty deadly. Scharnhorst would have had to get a lot closer before being able to pierce Duke of York's belt armor than vice versa, sure - but in weather conditions like that, and with a hypothetical reversed radar advantage (like the Brits had over the Italians), it would have been quite possible. A close look at all the naval engagements of WW2 shows that *the majority* of engagements did not play out as one _should_ expect _if_ one only looked at the on-paper differences. (the most spectacular example probably being Hood blowing up in one hit - which, on paper, should have been impossible)
The mention of a blockade runner made my ears prick up. That's something I'd love to hear more about sometime. I'd imagine a ship would have to be pretty flippin fast to outrun a 40s destroyer or Corvette.
I visited Ortona in 2019. You can still see the bullet holes in some of the walls and the church has parts of the wall that have very clearly been rebuilt. You easily get a sense of what the Canadian troops had to deal with in the city. My guide even showed us a house where Canadian troops were sleeping and a young German threw a grenade inside.
I just realized something Churchill was insist on Italian camping which annoyed the American who wants to land in france. At first i think Churchill was a coward because he say Italy was a soft under belly but it turn out other way around to attrition warfare. But think about he's experience on amphibious landing like Gallipoli and Dieppe raid i understand why he's terrified on Normandy landing the risk is high
For those who lost track (because most of us probably have only a vague understanding of the geography of the area): that attack on Cape Gloucester on the western end of New Britain (the one with the neck-deep swamps where they captured an airfield as another step on the way to Rabaul) is attacking the far end of the same island that Rabaul is on. Given the terrain, I'm dubious about an eventual sweep across the island like we've seen and will see in other parts of the island hopping campaign - it's kinda hard to march underwater - but we're definitely getting to a point where Rabaul seems vulnerable to an attack. (I did some reading ahead and was surprised at what I saw. I look forward to learning the larger context.)
I've been eagerly following this series for the past 4 years (followed the Great War channel for a while before that) and I cannot thank you enough for all the history and stories I've learned from all your content over the years. Watching the war happen week-by-week for the past 4 years has given me an entirely new perspective and understanding of it. The content from this channel and TimeGhost is something I look forward to every week and has been a stable thing in my life/schedule for years now. Though I will be happy when the war ends I will greatly miss watching Indy, Sparty, Astrid, and everyone every week. Thank you TimeGhost for all the history you've shown me and not hiding the ugly parts. I hope that because of you, I and many others will never forget the suffering, tragedies, and heroics of those who lived, fought, and died in this war. Here's to 1944! Never Forget
I would like to say 1944 will be better and in many respects it will be, but for many millions the suffering will continue. Thank you for covering 1943 so well Time Ghost team.
@Oldworldblues227: 1944 will prove to be the bloodiest year of the war with at least one million people dying each and every month. The vast majority of those dead will be civilians..
Excellent! You put the proper historical perspective on this war over this past year and I look forward to the weekly reports coming in the new year. Thank you!
Colonel Potter's New Year's Eve toast: Here's to the new year. May she be a damn sight better than the old one; and may we all be home before she's over.
Cheers…. Man your vid and research…, unbelievably good… can’t not speak highly enough of.. As a child of Ww2 parents…, I come back to it.. it is the most profound story/ episode in all human existence… thank you so much for championing our knowledge of it.. and all the work you must do..🙏🙏🙏 What staggering trail of wow…🌹
Great episode to end the year on. It's amazing how, even though the Axis strategy had changed for the worse, it still takes the Allies almost two more years to defeat them. And many, many more lives lost. Thank you for all your hard work, Team, and see you next year!
Winston really loves amphibius assaults. Hope it goes better than Gallipoli this time, he has to be ready for D-day. 😉. Thank you all for your efforts to create all this for the past 8 years. Really your channels are the best. Happy new year and with victory this time. ✌✌✌
I’ve got an infinite amount of respect for the incredible effort and bravery the Canadians showed during the war. It’s one of the reasons I joined Canada’s Armed Forces this year and that was the best decision in my life.
Ww2 cndn forces inc luded many free poles, not prepared toward leniency when facing germans who had attacked poland and brutalized poles since1939. Besides poles tend to be tough sobs in general.. i worked with some in the 1960s who had served in various armies.
@@Raskolnikov70 I've got this sneaking suspicion that there's probably a valid reason for that by now, although the German submarines currently don't seem to be all the effective either.
@@Raskolnikov70 Yes, and pop history, in giving so must attention to the U-boats of the Kriegsmarine, too often forgets that the United States Navy's "Silent Service" was much more successful and did infinitely more damage to its enemies (the Japanese) and ultimately played a critical role in the defeat of the Empire of Japan.
It's weird watching this on New Years Eve and being like "Holy Crap this stuff happened on my Birthday." I wish you all luck and make a toast to hopefully a less crapper year down the road. It doesn't look like it but a man can hope for the best sometimes.
Happy New Year to the WW2 team ! Best of wishes, and above all, that your hard work succeed in promoting the kindness and love that this world needs by reminding us of what happens when we forget. Happy wishes from Canada!
1943 - the year I was born. I've been following the episodes wondering how the news of the war was received by my parents, mum with me in London and dad building bombers in an aircraft factory in the midlands. As communists I'm sure they were overjoyed at the Soviet successes since Stalingrad. But why isn't the red flag prominent among the flags of the allies on the wall behind you, Indy?
Indy and team: thanks for another year’s efforts to deliver such a brilliant, consistent, engaging, informative and comprehensive series. Really love tuning in each week for this. Have a great New Year’s!
The taking of Sicily/Southern Italy and the elimination of the Italian Armed forces completely opened the Mediterranean to allied shipping. Not having to go round the Cape freed up vast amounts of merchant shipping that could then be used to supply other theatres. It really was vital to Allied success.
I'm Canadian, and my wife and stepchildren are Americans. We spent a day exploring the Canadian War Museum around Remembrance Day. As I was explaining Canada's role in World War I and World War II, I mentioned that Canada and the other dominions declared war on Germany alongside the UK on principle. We believed that Germany had no right to invade smaller countries, as it went against the rule of law. Canada took a week to debate its decision, and in the end, it chose to put itself in harm's way for the right reasons. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada all made similar choices based on principle. In contrast, the Americans remained neutral for about two years, using their Neutrality Acts while profiting from selling arms and supplies to both the Allies and Germany (Texaco). It wasn't until Japan attacked America that the U.S. declared war, and that decision was primarily based on national security. This difference illustrated that while Canada truly stood up for freedom, America was more talk than action at that time. My stepchildren were stunned by this perspective, which really puts Hollywood's propaganda films into context.
Hi Indy Good episode to watch. So another year gone. Full of thrill especially stalingrad long awaited to see. Next year is about D-Day. Awaiting to see. Happy new year to Indy,sparty,astrid,timeghost team and fans. May this new year bring happiness.
Thank You Indy, Awesome week in review and a Incredible year of History. You do honor our hero's past. Best Wishes for the New Year to be super Fun for you and the crew.
Getting in a time machine here, seeing the change between dec 1942- dec 1943 is nothing compared to the change we see from dec 1943 to December 1944. The allies are gaining massive amounts of momentum and have decisively turned the tide of the war
As the Germans withdrew from Ortona the struggle continued elsewhere. Santa Nicola and Santa Tomassa were taken by 1 Brigade on 31 December before 3 Brigade took over to push forward to Torre Mucchia which was reached on 4 January 1944. On 23 December 5th Division took Arielli in an attack co-ordinated with a New Zealander thrust against the Fontegrande plateau. The latter attack aimed to isolate Orsogna but the German garrison there still held out. An attack on Christmas Eve had also been rebuffed and by the afternoon of Christmas Day it was clear to Freyberg that there could be no further advance for the time being. He commented that it was now more a question of being able to hold what the Division had rather than making any further gains. The new year of 1944 saw Eighth Army only 14 miles (24 km) forward from its positions of 28 November. Pescara was still eight miles away and Rome seemed farther away than ever since the average daily rate of advance was down to half a mile; from Termoli to San Vito it had been just over twice that. Herr’s LXXVI Panzer Corps was toughening its resistance and the weather was weighing in on the side of the Germans. Ahead of the Allies lay country no better than that they had already fought over; in other words, British superiority in armour would provide no advantage and the struggle would still fall on the shoulders of the poor bloody infantry. And those infantrymen were being worn down: of the 6,453 casualties in Eighth Army during December most were in the infantry. Since the Sangro the three divisions most involved had suffered almost 7,000 casualties: 8th Indian had 3,400,1st Canadian had 2,339 and 2nd New Zealand 1,200. All these factors combined to persuade Montgomery to stop offensive operations. It was probably his last decision as army commander as, on 30 December, he handed over to Sir Oliver Leese and prepared to leave for Britain to command the land forces for Operation OVERLORD, the invasion of north-west Europe. He bade farewell to Eighth Army by addressing the officers and men of Army HQ, as well as corps and divisional commanders, in the cinema at Vasto where he read his farewell message to his soldiers. In that message he commented: "It is difficult to express to you adequately what this parting means to me. I am leaving officers and men who have been my comrades during months of hard and victorious fighting, and whose courage and devotion to duty always filled me with admiration. …In all the battles we have fought together we have not had one single failure; we have been successful in everything we have undertaken.I know that this has been due to the devotion to duty and wholehearted co-operation of every officer and man, rather than to anything I may have been able to do myself.But the result has been a mutual confidence between you and me, and mutual confidence between a Commander and his troops is a pearl of very great price. …You have made this Army what it is. YOU have made its name a household word all over the world. YOU must uphold its good name and its traditions." Writing to Lord Louis Mountbatten less than a week earlier, Montgomery commented that ‘spectacular results’ had been achieved in Italy and that Eighth Army had fought over 700 miles of country from 3 September to 3 December 1943. That Rome had not fallen before the weather broke he attributed to a lack of grip at 15th Army Group which had resulted in both armies becoming bogged down. As Eighth Army faced a new year with a new commander how was it positioned? It had broken into the Winter Line but was unable to follow through with an advance to Pescara. Although the Canadian advance continued it met ‘strong enemy resistance … in the form of mortaring, machine-gun fire and minefields’. Alexander noted that the mountainous terrain of the Molise region ‘offered few chances of a decisive success to an army attacking … across the grain of the country. The further north we pushed our advance the more numerous and close together were the river lines’. Hitler had also ordered the reinforcement of the Italian theatre and, unusually for him, permitted giving up ground as a tactic. As a result according to OKW reports : "The impetus of the Allied attacks had been blunted and held at the point where the coastal strip between the impassable Maiella [mountains] and the sea is narrowest. To make the positions even stronger, Kesselring exchanged the battered 65th German Division (badly routed at Sangro) for the 334th German Division, which was at Genoa. With this, and with the help of the prevailing bad weather, the northern flank was saved till spring." Many Allied soldiers had thought of Italy as a country of permanent sunshine but were now learning the truth of the peninsula’s climate. Heavy snowfalls added to their misery and soldiers suffered from exposure and frostbite; some even succumbed to hypothermia. On New Year’s Day, 21st Indian Brigade recorded ten casualties, including two men who died from exposure; one company in each battalion was ‘withdrawn to thaw out’. In 17th Indian Brigade there were seventeen casualties from exposure but no fatalities. Units of 78th British Division were cut off in the mountains: 56th Recce and 6th Inniskillings were resupplied by air and Lt. Kendal Chavasse noted that he visited his squadrons on skis but that ‘I usually ended on my bottom when skiing downhill.’ On the night of 31 December he noted that he woke at 3.00am ‘to find 2 feet of snow on my bed’. But he believed that he enjoyed comparative luxury when he considered what others were enduring. In 5th British Division it was noted that the Moro had risen from ankle-depth to eight feet, while "those units … scattered in the high ground to the left flank were seriously hindered in their movement. Supply routes were closed and some transport was buried under the drifts. On 3rd January these troops had to be put on half rations, and some of these rations were successfully dropped from aircraft the next day. The dominating high ground of Mount Maiella looked more magnificent than ever, particularly with the red winter sun on its snowbound slopes. The New Zealanders reported that at least six stretcher-bearers were needed to carry a casualty in either snow or driving rain. And it was the latter that presented the main problem on the lower ground; sleet and rain created a quagmire of slush and mud through which both men and vehicles struggled. The weather might have stopped major operations but Eighth Army’s soldiers soon learned that it did not deter the Germans from patrolling or raiding on a small scale. Two attacks were made against 56th Recce’s positions in the mountains. On the first occasion local civilians warned of the approaching Germans and the attack was subjected to heavy artillery fire, which forced an enemy withdrawal while, on the second, a small patrol on skis was seen off with a fusillade of grenades and mortar bombs. More success attended German efforts on 19 January when they attacked a company of 2nd London Irish just after stand-to, capturing most of a platoon, wounding fifteen men and killing five. The company commander, Major Mervyn Davies, organized a swift counter-attack that, in the face of enemy machine-gun fire, pushed the Germans out of the area and rescued the captured platoon commander and four of his men. One German was captured and six killed. Eighth Army in Italy Long Hard Slog - Richard Doherty
Daredevils on skis, that's crazy. It's the dead of winter, everything freezes, or is muddy or swampy or impossible to see through, and everything is miserable and painful, but the war doesn't wait.
In fairness to Scharnhorst, she believed the gunflashes of Norfolk, a heavy cruiser, to be in fact a battleship (the other two cruisers, Belfast and Sheffield, had smaller gunflashes than the average light cruiser, making the comparison more substantial).
Norfolk took out Scharnhorst's forward radar with a lucky hit and later lost a turret to a direct hit from Scharnhorst's 11" guns during the Battle of North Cape. I have three of the ships from that battle on World of Warships, Scharnhorst, Duke of York and Belfast in her 1943 configuration
I served in one of the regiments that fought in Ortona (the Loyal Edmonton Regt). At the annual Association Dinner there'd be vets from that battle. The meaning behind that sign was that the 2 infantry bns that fought house by house were from Western Canada (the afore-mentioned L Edmn R and the Seaforth Highlanders who hailed from Vancouver). They were supported by the Three Rivers Tank Regt (not from the West but... oh well). Bert Hoffmeister commanded the 2nd Bde which was responsible to take the town. Hoffmeister had previously commanded the Seaforth Highlanders and was also from Vancouver. Decades later, while I was serving in Afghanistan, a Brit colleague showed me their new urban fighting manual. In it, as an annex, was the 1st Cdn Div after action report for Ortona. Hence, it is often said, that Canada wrote 'the book' on street and house to house fighting.Yeah, there was plenty of that going on before Ortona... just sounds cool to say.
Happy New Years everyone! How are you celebrating, and how are you planning to spend 2023?
Well, keeping up the war effort in the Time Ghost Army, of course! And, certainly, with friends and family. Happy New Year to all!
Same to you, I'll be spending on 2023 better then 1943 that's for damn sure.
As of January1, 1944 the Germans had 1,509,945 deaths on the Eastern Front and approximately 4,500,000 wounded. In January 1944 they would suffer another 70,330 deaths and approximately 210,000 wounded.
Happy New Year all
I hope to help my daughter to learn to crawl, walk and talk.
As an American living in Halifax I once put a toonie into a donation box for WW2 vets. This old vet stopped me and pinned a poppy on my shirt and I was saying I'm not Canadian and he told me you are today. I never felt more welcome. You rock Canada.
My Grandfather served with The Americans in The First Special Service Force (The Black Devil's) . He said he had quite a few American friends as a result. 🇺🇲 🇨🇦
We take rememberance day extremly sirously. Check out rememberance day 11th hour in toronto
Ww2 vets are all death now so stop lying noobtard
I'm Canadian, and my wife and stepchildren are Americans. We spent a day exploring the Canadian War Museum around Remembrance Day. As I was explaining Canada's role in World War I and World War II, I mentioned that Canada and the other dominions declared war on Germany alongside the UK on principle. We believed that Germany had no right to invade smaller countries, as it went against the rule of law. Canada took a week to debate its decision, and in the end, it chose to put itself in harm's way for the right reasons. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada all made similar choices based on principle.
In contrast, the Americans remained neutral for about two years, using their Neutrality Acts while profiting from selling arms and supplies to both the Allies and Germany (Texaco). It wasn't until Japan attacked America that the U.S. declared war, and that decision was primarily based on national security.
This difference illustrated that while Canada truly stood up for freedom, America was more talk than action at that time. My stepchildren were stunned by this perspective, which really puts Hollywood's propaganda films into context.
@@FredPaulToronto That is the Canadian perspective. The American perspective on Canada is King George told it's crown countries to obey and they bent the knee again to their master just like the Boer War and WW1. After all Canada ignored the plights and freedoms of countries England wasn't interested in all the while letting England victimize India and China and Africa.
The difference is Canada followed. America was backstabbed and then led Your crown countries to victory. Canadians tried but failed on the beaches at Dieppe. America then let you ride along as our lil bro for D-Day.
in Conclusion. Canadian Propaganda is just as narcissistic as every other countries.
"Gentlemen, the battle against Scharnhorst has ended in victory for us. I hope that if any of you are ever called upon to lead a ship into action against an opponent many times superior, you will command your ship as gallantly as Scharnhorst was commanded today" - Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser, HMS Duke of York, December 26 1943
Have they sunk Scharnhorst? When and where? My dad is on a unarmed Cruiseship in the northern sea at this very moment celebrating New Years eve!
An event so great it was Even mentioned in The unknown soldiers novel and radioplay.
Confusing everyone who had no idea what it was.
@@drjerry5389 Yeah, December 26th 1943, during Battle of the North Cape (location-wise, battle happened at Barents Sea). It was on course to attack convoy JW 55B (Arctic convoy, Loch Ewe-Kola), but was intercepted by British surface fleet. Which was essentially the plan, JW 55B was supposed to be the bait to get Scharnhorst to show up.
"Oh, the noble Duke of York
He had 10, 000 men
He led them up to the top of the hill
And he led them down again"
@@tomservo56954 that Duke of York was the second son of George III and the rhyme refers to the ill-fated Walcheren Expedition during the French Revolutionary Wars. HMS DoY was, I believed, named after Albert, Duke of York, the future King George VI.
It's crazy to think that when this series started, I had just entered my freshman year of college. Now, I nearly have my undergraduate degree in History and Psychology. It's been four years of my life following this channel, and four years of war for those whom I am asynchronously linked. The war has two more years to go, and when it comes to an end I will be graduating my Masters program.
It is mind-boggling to think that, were I born some eighty years ago, all of this time from my entering college to now would have been spent at war, on the battlefield, or in a bodybag. Looking back on the boy I was when I went to college for the first time and the man I am now, it makes me marvel at just what these men went through during the Second World War, and grieve for them all the more.
What's more is putting myself in the shoes of those effected by the atrocities committed, and imagining spending these last four years watching as friends and family die, or my home burns, or any number of various pieces of my life falling apart. Spending the last four years watching monuments that I thought were so old, so timeless, that they could never be destroyed be obliterated by the oncoming storm of war.
To say it breaks my heart is a gross understatement, and to say on this New Years Eve that I appreciate all the work your team does is also an understatement by several orders of magnitude. Thank you for all you do.
- Connor
I started with Indy the final year of High School back in 2014, I now have a masters in teaching. Time flies with Indy the Wise
Mate I feel the same way, started with The Great War channel. I was 20, now I'm nearing on 29 and I cannot stress how much I've learned from this man and the team behind him.
Was just starting university when I started this series and now I gruaduated and I work full time, to the point where I was actually able to join the Time Ghost army and support them on patreon.
I honestly can't imagine what it would be like to spend 4 years fighting in war
I started with them when I was in 7th grade with the Great War and now, I’m in my 2 year of college and two years to go. Time surely flies
I was getting ready for my final semester of college when Indy first entered our lives. I graduated with my history degree.
When this little story began I was a quite healthy man of 70. In that first yr I disposed of prostate cancer. In the second PAD began to restrict what I could do. In the third PAD got worse. Now at the beginning of the fifth I have a hard time just going out to feed my chickens. Through all this u kids have given my pleasure in the pains of old age. Thank you
Thank you so much! We're happy we can give you something that you enjoy, and we wish you all the best for the New Year
Are you still holding out in 2024?
Beautiful ending to cap the year.
The Pacific terrain was brutal. Imagine being killed by a bamboo branch.
@@Cancun771 or suffering heat strokes in North Africa, drowning in the waters of Tarawa Atoll, falling to your deaths over Germany, and many more. War is brutal and worse than Hell.
No reel needed, let the spirit of the time sing it so.
@@danielnavarro537 yeah, not everyone had the the luck of Nickolas Alkemade, Ivan Chisov or Alan Magee. All 3 survived freefall when their bombers were shot down.
@@penultimateh766 In Hell only sinners go there. In war there are sinners, innocent, children, and civilians caught in the crossfire.
Here's where I got the video: ua-cam.com/video/GUeBMwn_eYc/v-deo.html
@@penultimateh766 Given that hell is imaginary and war is real... Yeah, worse than hell.
A sidenote this week on December 29 1943 is that Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe General Dwight Eisenhower will send out an order to all Allied commanders to avoid attacking the historic monuments of Italy as far as possible. However, he also added that in the event that a choice would have to made between saving the lives of Allied soldiers and destroying a famous building, then the famous building would have to go in this case.
Monte Cassino: nervous sweating
Let's see how that goes.
I am embarrassed to admit I didn't know of the monuments men before the movie came out.
Meanwhile Polish cities that totally won't be used as Fortresses by retreating German Army think they had it though already...
Those Roman boats never stood a chance
Here in Vernon, B.C. we have a cadet camp, and at this camp all the roads are named after Canadian battles including an Ortona Road.
Also love in Vernon I have been following this channel for years
It is not the only one. I worked on Ortona Road in Borden.
I loved that outtro with the summary of 1943 and the final quote. Happy New Year, Timeghost Crew and Timeghost Army!
Yes, and Indy's delivery was so good.
Bravo.
Indy, you and Sparty are seemingly in competition to see who can make the best episode. No clear winner, except those of us who witness your work.
Bravissimo.
It literally brings tears to the eyes.
It's clear, who is winning in this competition .....
..... it's us.
The BBC did a documentary on the sinking of the Scharnhorst in the early 70s, when most of the British and German veterans were still around and could give interviews. I saw it a couple years ago, it's out there somewhere if you want to go looking.
Ludovic Kennedy showed in that Scharnhorst documentary, he had more talent & professionalism in his little finger than any of the "journalists/reporters" that inhabit the BBC today. Not once did he even try to act in a partisan way towards the Scharnhorst (even it killed his father) and even praised their captain for his fighting skill.
When I served with the seaforth higlanders of Canada in the early 90s, I had the privilege to meet Smokey smith. Smokey smith won the VC at Ortona.
Can’t ever forget the Ortona Dinner shenanigans. I know a Sgt who was one of the pallbearers of Smokey and have met the man.
@@HaloFTW55 were you the seaforth’s?
@@kingerikthegreatest.ofall.7860 Um, I just know a lot of Seaforth members sir. Been invited/around the armoury enough to know.
@@HaloFTW55 cool.
He won it in Normandy........
My father was most likely in Pearl Harbor on this day in 1943, as a lieutenant commander and gunnery officer aboard the USS Belle Grove, LSD-2, an Ashland class dock landing ship.
Having successfully landed troops and LCM’s on Makin Island in the Gilberts. She then went to Pearl for repairs and some refitting.
She will see extensive action all during 1944.
Rest In Peace, Dad.
This episode is amazing. Your program is amazing. The world must never forget, even as history tries to repeat itself.
Thank you so much! We appreciate your support
I listen to old time radio shows while driving for work. Last week they had a Fibber McGee and Mollie episode from Dec 21 1943 and i thought of this series and all the team at Time Ghost. Almost right on the exact timeline.
What always seems to get lost is how brutally insane and recklessly apocalyptic this whole thing must've felt to the people who were there. Timeghost doesn't fall into that trap, there's no romance here.
Thank you for mentioning Canadians and all the other lesser known groups of people who contributed to WWII. While it is getting to be more recognized I always felt growing up that Canadians were really downplayed in international conflicts when we've been part of some major initiatives throughout the last century to try and protect people who can't protect themselves. Our military is pretty unique because we have pretty much no want for land given the size of Canada. So for lack of any military to really engage in expansion we've really committed to helping others. Thanks again from a Canuck who's always happy to learn more of her history.
I'm Canadian and in my mid 30's. Growing up it was the same for me. I think it was due to years of the "Peacekeepers" narrative that was fed to the public. We are definitely starting to see more of Canada's military history in both wars over the last decade. The good, the bad and the ugly.
Also just one of the benefits of having an alliance structure as strong as NATO - countries that aren't economic superpowers can afford to specialize. These days, Canada's army really seems like it's more suited to providing training and logistical support for allies rather than being an independent military force (just going by what the media says about the missions Canadian forces tend to be given)...but we don't really need to be an independent military force because we're not expecting to have to fight on our own.
Gives me a sense of pride that our nation, Canada, who was originally seen as "lol British colony" at the beginning of the 20th century, managed to take on enemy forces many times their own size, hit well above their weight and earn a reputation for being a feared and respected, yet brutal fighting force. At the same time, they're stereotyped as "nice, peaceful people" which kinda balances out, ironically.
@@McTeerZor "I think it was due to years of the "Peacekeepers" narrative that was fed to the public. "
To be fair, the peacekeeping role was a point of pride since Pearson's Nobel Peace Prize and made up the bulk of Canada's non-NATO/Cold War deployments, particularly in the 1990's when that peacekeeping image was really pushed after Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, etc. It made sense to play up peacekeeping when the only other thing to talk about were budget cuts and the Somalia affair.
There haven't been many "big" peacekeeping deployments since then so I think that image/reputation kinda dissipated.
@@flargus7919 I get the feeling that our experiences in Rwanda and the breakup of Yugoslavia made for a rather soured opinion of peacekeeping efforts. Those were not exactly success stories.
There's also getting distracted with the whole Afghanistan thing.
Love this channel for how it gives such a good top-down view at what's going on simultaneously during the war. Appreciate the work that you all do.
An excellent episode to close out the year. To 1944! To the end of the War! A Happy New Year to all!
There's a very good reason why just about every Canadian city or town has a street, road or avenue named "Ortona".
Been watching this channel since 2019. And on my 18th birthday I wake up to this beauty. Keep up the good work fellas!
Go Canada,my father landed D-day was wounded early September sent home. He had nothing but praise for the Canadian troops.
So much is writing and said about the Americans and British.
Thank-you Canada.
3:12 This week would be a good time to watch the fourth episode of the 2010 HBO miniseries *The Pacific* , with the Battle of Cape Gloucester portrayed and Robert Leckie and the 1st Marine Division seeing night action in battle against the Japanese. After this battle, they would later move to Pavuvu where Leckie gets treated for nocturnal enuresis due to combat stress.
The night counterattack by the Japanese in that episode was portrayed very well.
To learn more about Canadians in Italy read Ortona, & The Liri Valley both by Mark Zuelke. Thank you for having the red ensign of Canada, it's a beautiful bit of bunting.
I always wished we had adapted it - or some variation thereof - as our official flag. But I'm just another old man mumbling into my soup, aren't I .... !
If and when the war ends 😉
I think I'll look back on the series and appreciate these end of year summaries for bringing the context of the larger scope back to the channel after weeks and weeks of focusing on individual days and moments that can make the war seem like it's a truly never-ending struggle.
Most amazing channel ever on YT. Can not understand why subs are not 10x bigger. God bless the Time Ghost Army.
Because YT deboosts serious history content in favor of clickbait and top-10 videos about nonsense.
This channel is amazing, thanks for all you do.
Thank you for a great channel.
I binged watched the week by week coverage of both wars this year, and it has been a joy to do so, so much that I when I caught up at around episode 200, I was disappointed I had to start waiting but every week is worth the wait.
Thank you for your support and for your dedication!
I could bore for Britain on this topic… I love the WW2 in Real Time project because it does something I have not come across before, which is WW2 as something without the exactitude of hindsight. We get the political conflicts, the luck, the contingencies, the debates, the arguments, the plan and then the outcome…without any of it seeming inevitable. Previous WW2 stuff I have watched or read always has the benefit of looking back from a historical distance, the outcome is never really in doubt. WW2 in Real Time gives us back a flavour of the uncertainty people must have experienced at the time. It’s been a real education that I can’t recommend enough.
From December 23 to 29 1943, the 2e DIM (2nd Morrocan Infantery Division) fought in the battle of the Mainarde mountains. On 27 December 1943, the 8th regiment of Moroccan infantrymen seized the summit of the Mainarde (1478 meters) and further north, Monte Marrone (1805 meters) was occupied. The losses were heavy but this first result aroused the admiration of the Americans.
Another year gone just like that. You guys do a wonderful job with each video. I started watching in 2016 after i bought battlefield 1 and wanted to know about the first world war since i, as a dutch men, knew nothing about. I can say with certainty that this is one of the best history channels out there. May you people continue making these for many many years. Happy new year.
My father was US Navy during the war. Most of the time he was on convoy protection duty, in smaller ships making certain that the convoys weren't taken down. He was very upset because he got his North Atlantic campaign medal and his Pacific campaign medal, but he missed getting his Mediterranean campaign medal by one week. He was particularly upset over this because this was the only campaign where he was directly shot at -- providing close support for the Anzio landing...
The Scharnhorst only had 11 inch guns. I believe the Duke of York had either 14 or 15 inch guns. Makes a big difference. Also having her forward fire control radar knocked out was a huge blow.
Duke of York had ten 14" gun in a quad turret with superfiring double turret forward and a quad turret aft
Scharnhorst was incapable of sinking Duke of York, realistically speaking. Hence the famous quote.
@George
11 inch guns are still plenty deadly.
Scharnhorst would have had to get a lot closer before being able to pierce Duke of York's belt armor than vice versa, sure - but in weather conditions like that, and with a hypothetical reversed radar advantage (like the Brits had over the Italians), it would have been quite possible.
A close look at all the naval engagements of WW2 shows that *the majority* of engagements did not play out as one _should_ expect _if_ one only looked at the on-paper differences.
(the most spectacular example probably being Hood blowing up in one hit - which, on paper, should have been impossible)
The mention of a blockade runner made my ears prick up. That's something I'd love to hear more about sometime. I'd imagine a ship would have to be pretty flippin fast to outrun a 40s destroyer or Corvette.
The German blockade runners were interned German & Italian vessels in Allied Singapore that were put to use once Japanese conquered the city.
Happy New Year everyone, may we not forget that war is hell but also that peace at any cost is just as terrible.
I visited Ortona in 2019. You can still see the bullet holes in some of the walls and the church has parts of the wall that have very clearly been rebuilt. You easily get a sense of what the Canadian troops had to deal with in the city. My guide even showed us a house where Canadian troops were sleeping and a young German threw a grenade inside.
I just realized something Churchill was insist on Italian camping which annoyed the American who wants to land in france. At first i think Churchill was a coward because he say Italy was a soft under belly but it turn out other way around to attrition warfare. But think about he's experience on amphibious landing like Gallipoli and Dieppe raid i understand why he's terrified on Normandy landing the risk is high
For those who lost track (because most of us probably have only a vague understanding of the geography of the area): that attack on Cape Gloucester on the western end of New Britain (the one with the neck-deep swamps where they captured an airfield as another step on the way to Rabaul) is attacking the far end of the same island that Rabaul is on.
Given the terrain, I'm dubious about an eventual sweep across the island like we've seen and will see in other parts of the island hopping campaign - it's kinda hard to march underwater - but we're definitely getting to a point where Rabaul seems vulnerable to an attack. (I did some reading ahead and was surprised at what I saw. I look forward to learning the larger context.)
I've been eagerly following this series for the past 4 years (followed the Great War channel for a while before that) and I cannot thank you enough for all the history and stories I've learned from all your content over the years. Watching the war happen week-by-week for the past 4 years has given me an entirely new perspective and understanding of it.
The content from this channel and TimeGhost is something I look forward to every week and has been a stable thing in my life/schedule for years now. Though I will be happy when the war ends I will greatly miss watching Indy, Sparty, Astrid, and everyone every week.
Thank you TimeGhost for all the history you've shown me and not hiding the ugly parts. I hope that because of you, I and many others will never forget the suffering, tragedies, and heroics of those who lived, fought, and died in this war.
Here's to 1944!
Never Forget
I would like to say 1944 will be better and in many respects it will be, but for many millions the suffering will continue. Thank you for covering 1943 so well Time Ghost team.
1944 will be the worst year of the war. Probably the worst year of the entire century.
1944. The death rate from here on out will rise ever more rapidly all the way to the end.
@Oldworldblues227: 1944 will prove to be the bloodiest year of the war with at least one million people dying each and every month. The vast majority of those dead will be civilians..
a sense of change hangs heavy in the air at the dawn of 1944...
Happy New Years to all.
Excellent! You put the proper historical perspective on this war over this past year and I look forward to the weekly reports coming in the new year. Thank you!
Colonel Potter's New Year's Eve toast: Here's to the new year. May she be a damn sight better than the old one; and may we all be home before she's over.
Cheers…. Man your vid and research…, unbelievably good… can’t not speak highly enough of..
As a child of Ww2 parents…, I come back to it.. it is the most profound story/ episode in all human existence… thank you so much for championing our knowledge of it.. and all the work you must do..🙏🙏🙏
What staggering trail of wow…🌹
Great episode to end the year on. It's amazing how, even though the Axis strategy had changed for the worse, it still takes the Allies almost two more years to defeat them. And many, many more lives lost. Thank you for all your hard work, Team, and see you next year!
Watching your videos allow us to see the unbelievable complexity of war.
Winston really loves amphibius assaults. Hope it goes better than Gallipoli this time, he has to be ready for D-day. 😉. Thank you all for your efforts to create all this for the past 8 years. Really your channels are the best. Happy new year and with victory this time. ✌✌✌
I’ve got an infinite amount of respect for the incredible effort and bravery the Canadians showed during the war. It’s one of the reasons I joined Canada’s Armed Forces this year and that was the best decision in my life.
Ww2 cndn forces inc luded many free poles, not prepared toward leniency when facing germans who had attacked poland and brutalized poles since1939. Besides poles tend to be tough sobs in general.. i worked with some in the 1960s who had served in various armies.
Thank you so much!! We love you. I developed software for CAF & Bundeswehr and do my very best to serve our troops.
Interesting to hear of the Kriegsmarine surface fleet
They tend to get overlooked in most pop-history coverage of the war in favor of the U-boats.
@@Raskolnikov70 I've got this sneaking suspicion that there's probably a valid reason for that by now, although the German submarines currently don't seem to be all the effective either.
Connor Barbour Won't be hearing much of it from now on. Except, perhaps, E boats.
@@Raskolnikov70 Yes, and pop history, in giving so must attention to the U-boats of the Kriegsmarine, too often forgets that the United States Navy's "Silent Service" was much more successful and did infinitely more damage to its enemies (the Japanese) and ultimately played a critical role in the defeat of the Empire of Japan.
@@diarradunlap9337 well, the Japanese were pretty incompetent when it came to defending their merchant fleet. Britain not so much
It's weird watching this on New Years Eve and being like "Holy Crap this stuff happened on my Birthday."
I wish you all luck and make a toast to hopefully a less crapper year down the road. It doesn't look like it but a man can hope for the best sometimes.
One of the best episodes so far. Is amazing how this channel has evolved.
The clock has just ticked over as I watched this have a safe and happy 23', good luck it's going to be grand.
Happy New Year to the WW2 team ! Best of wishes, and above all, that your hard work succeed in promoting the kindness and love that this world needs by reminding us of what happens when we forget.
Happy wishes from Canada!
Happy New Year! Thank you very much, we appreciate your support! We're doing the best we can to show the world to Never Forget
1943 - the year I was born. I've been following the episodes wondering how the news of the war was received by my parents, mum with me in London and dad building bombers in an aircraft factory in the midlands. As communists I'm sure they were overjoyed at the Soviet successes since Stalingrad. But why isn't the red flag prominent among the flags of the allies on the wall behind you, Indy?
I'm pretty sure it is there, just not in frame
The monologue at the end was written so beautifully . It gave me chills! Amazing
17:23 Happy New Years Indy & gang! eternal love & gratitude from Canada 🇨🇦❤️🥳🎉
A brilliant episode to close out the year. Thank you for your tremendous work.
Thank you for the fantastic year and this fantastic documentary !
Thank you Indy and crew for yet another year of excellent coverage and as Spartacus would say .. Never forget. Live long and prosper.
Thank you to the team for this weekly coverage of the two wars. This is truly amazing. Gratitude. Happy new year 2023 !
Happy New Year to everyone 🎆
Excellent episode concluding an excellent year.
What, no phone call to begin the episode? No one worth calling today, Indy? Happy New Year to all at TimeGhost....
Indy and team: thanks for another year’s efforts to deliver such a brilliant, consistent, engaging, informative and comprehensive series. Really love tuning in each week for this. Have a great New Year’s!
The taking of Sicily/Southern Italy and the elimination of the Italian Armed forces completely opened the Mediterranean to allied shipping. Not having to go round the Cape freed up vast amounts of merchant shipping that could then be used to supply other theatres. It really was vital to Allied success.
Good video! Love your animated maps! Thanks again for making these videos available to the general public: much appreciated.
As a Canadian I feel proud!
Good.
Me too!
It makes me feel good, knowing
That in some obscure way
They were connected with me
And me with them.
- 'Ypres, 1915', Alden Nowlan
Happy New Year TimeGhost Army!
I'm Canadian, and my wife and stepchildren are Americans. We spent a day exploring the Canadian War Museum around Remembrance Day. As I was explaining Canada's role in World War I and World War II, I mentioned that Canada and the other dominions declared war on Germany alongside the UK on principle. We believed that Germany had no right to invade smaller countries, as it went against the rule of law. Canada took a week to debate its decision, and in the end, it chose to put itself in harm's way for the right reasons. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada all made similar choices based on principle.
In contrast, the Americans remained neutral for about two years, using their Neutrality Acts while profiting from selling arms and supplies to both the Allies and Germany (Texaco). It wasn't until Japan attacked America that the U.S. declared war, and that decision was primarily based on national security.
This difference illustrated that while Canada truly stood up for freedom, America was more talk than action at that time. My stepchildren were stunned by this perspective, which really puts Hollywood's propaganda films into context.
Hi Indy
Good episode to watch.
So another year gone.
Full of thrill especially stalingrad long awaited to see.
Next year is about D-Day.
Awaiting to see.
Happy new year to Indy,sparty,astrid,timeghost team and fans.
May this new year bring happiness.
Awesome video, we finally made It past 1943, here's to a new year for 1944.
God bless the heroes of Ortona - 🍁
Thank You Indy, Awesome week in review and a Incredible year of History. You do honor our hero's past. Best Wishes for the New Year to be super Fun for you and the crew.
Takk!
I was actually waiting for that Citino quote for a long time. Well put
Great episode! Tack tack!
Getting in a time machine here, seeing the change between dec 1942- dec 1943 is nothing compared to the change we see from dec 1943 to December 1944. The allies are gaining massive amounts of momentum and have decisively turned the tide of the war
Woah! Spoilers!
Great job. One of the best episodes. Totally enjoy this channel. Always look forward to a new episode. Keep up the good work.
Happy New Year to all of you in the studio and pls continue the great work!!!👍👍👍
Happy new year TG
Thanks, and Happy New Year!
Well done! Loving this Ira. Masterfully played sir. Respect.
Bravo! Merry New Year!!
and with that...goodbye 2022...may the future be better...
To the future!
As the Germans withdrew from Ortona the struggle continued elsewhere. Santa Nicola and Santa Tomassa were taken by 1 Brigade on 31 December before 3 Brigade took over to push forward to Torre Mucchia which was reached on 4 January 1944. On 23 December 5th Division took Arielli in an attack co-ordinated with a New Zealander thrust against the Fontegrande plateau. The latter attack aimed to isolate Orsogna but the German garrison there still held out. An attack on Christmas Eve had also been rebuffed and by the afternoon of Christmas Day it was clear to Freyberg that there could be no further advance for the time being. He commented that it was now more a question of being able to hold what the Division had rather than making any further gains.
The new year of 1944 saw Eighth Army only 14 miles (24 km) forward from its positions of 28 November. Pescara was still eight miles away and Rome seemed farther away than ever since the average daily rate of advance was down to half a mile; from Termoli to San Vito it had been just over twice that. Herr’s LXXVI Panzer Corps was toughening its resistance and the weather was weighing in on the side of the Germans. Ahead of the Allies lay country no better than that they had already fought over; in other words, British superiority in armour would provide no advantage and the struggle would still fall on the shoulders of the poor bloody infantry. And those infantrymen were being worn down: of the 6,453 casualties in Eighth Army during December most were in the infantry. Since the Sangro the three divisions most involved had suffered almost 7,000 casualties: 8th Indian had 3,400,1st Canadian had 2,339 and 2nd New Zealand 1,200.
All these factors combined to persuade Montgomery to stop offensive operations. It was probably his last decision as army commander as, on 30 December, he handed over to Sir Oliver Leese and prepared to leave for Britain to command the land forces for Operation OVERLORD, the invasion of north-west Europe. He bade farewell to Eighth Army by addressing the officers and men of Army HQ, as well as corps and divisional commanders, in the cinema at Vasto where he read his farewell message to his soldiers. In that message he commented:
"It is difficult to express to you adequately what this parting means to me. I am leaving officers and men who have been my comrades during months of hard and victorious fighting, and whose courage and devotion to duty always filled me with admiration. …In all the battles we have fought together we have not had one single failure; we have been successful in everything we have undertaken.I know that this has been due to the devotion to duty and wholehearted co-operation of every officer and man, rather than to anything I may have been able to do myself.But the result has been a mutual confidence between you and me, and mutual confidence between a Commander and his troops is a pearl of very great price. …You have made this Army what it is. YOU have made its name a household word all over the world. YOU must uphold its good name and its traditions."
Writing to Lord Louis Mountbatten less than a week earlier, Montgomery commented that ‘spectacular results’ had been achieved in Italy and that Eighth Army had fought over 700 miles of country from 3 September to 3 December 1943. That Rome had not fallen before the weather broke he attributed to a lack of grip at 15th Army Group which had resulted in both armies becoming bogged down.
As Eighth Army faced a new year with a new commander how was it positioned? It had broken into the Winter Line but was unable to follow through with an advance to Pescara. Although the Canadian advance continued it met ‘strong enemy resistance … in the form of mortaring, machine-gun fire and minefields’. Alexander noted that the mountainous terrain of the Molise region ‘offered few chances of a decisive success to an army attacking … across the grain of the country. The further north we pushed our advance the more numerous and close together were the river lines’. Hitler had also ordered the reinforcement of the Italian theatre and, unusually for him, permitted giving up ground as a tactic. As a result according to OKW reports :
"The impetus of the Allied attacks had been blunted and held at the point where the coastal strip between the impassable Maiella [mountains] and the sea is narrowest. To make the positions even stronger, Kesselring exchanged the battered 65th German Division (badly routed at Sangro) for the 334th German Division, which was at Genoa. With this, and with the help of the prevailing bad weather, the northern flank was saved till spring."
Many Allied soldiers had thought of Italy as a country of permanent sunshine but were now learning the truth of the peninsula’s climate. Heavy snowfalls added to their misery and soldiers suffered from exposure and frostbite; some even succumbed to hypothermia. On New Year’s Day, 21st Indian Brigade recorded ten casualties, including two men who died from exposure; one company in each battalion was ‘withdrawn to thaw out’. In 17th Indian Brigade there were seventeen casualties from exposure but no fatalities. Units of 78th British Division were cut off in the mountains: 56th Recce and 6th Inniskillings were resupplied by air and Lt. Kendal Chavasse noted that he visited his squadrons on skis but that ‘I usually ended on my bottom when skiing downhill.’ On the night of 31 December he noted that he woke at 3.00am ‘to find 2 feet of snow on my bed’. But he believed that he enjoyed comparative luxury when he considered what others were enduring. In 5th British Division it was noted that the Moro had risen from ankle-depth to eight feet, while
"those units … scattered in the high ground to the left flank were seriously hindered in their movement. Supply routes were closed and some transport was buried under the drifts. On 3rd January these troops had to be put on half rations, and some of these rations were successfully dropped from aircraft the next day. The dominating high ground of Mount Maiella looked more magnificent than ever, particularly with the red winter sun on its snowbound slopes.
The New Zealanders reported that at least six stretcher-bearers were needed to carry a casualty in either snow or driving rain. And it was the latter that presented the main problem on the lower ground; sleet and rain created a quagmire of slush and mud through which both men and vehicles struggled.
The weather might have stopped major operations but Eighth Army’s soldiers soon learned that it did not deter the Germans from patrolling or raiding on a small scale. Two attacks were made against 56th Recce’s positions in the mountains. On the first occasion local civilians warned of the approaching Germans and the attack was subjected to heavy artillery fire, which forced an enemy withdrawal while, on the second, a small patrol on skis was seen off with a fusillade of grenades and mortar bombs. More success attended German efforts on 19 January when they attacked a company of 2nd London Irish just after stand-to, capturing most of a platoon, wounding fifteen men and killing five. The company commander, Major Mervyn Davies, organized a swift counter-attack that, in the face of enemy machine-gun fire, pushed the Germans out of the area and rescued the captured platoon commander and four of his men. One German was captured and six killed.
Eighth Army in Italy Long Hard Slog - Richard Doherty
Daredevils on skis, that's crazy. It's the dead of winter, everything freezes, or is muddy or swampy or impossible to see through, and everything is miserable and painful, but the war doesn't wait.
Happy New Year Indy & team! Great work as always.
Happy new year from BC, Canada 🇨🇦
Great Linear reporting of the war
Would liked to have seen more about Ortona than the 10 second acknowledgement.
There is one post at the Day-by-Day coverage about Ortona!
Love the ending!! Happy New Year!!
Thank you! Happy New Year!
@@WorldWarTwo it's a New Year buts it's not Happy
Happy New Year WWII crew! I hope to get overseas again (Space A ). See some of that world I saw years ago. This time enjoying myself!
Excellent episode especially last speech
Happy New Year Time Ghost!
Thank you for the lesson.
In fairness to Scharnhorst, she believed the gunflashes of Norfolk, a heavy cruiser, to be in fact a battleship (the other two cruisers, Belfast and Sheffield, had smaller gunflashes than the average light cruiser, making the comparison more substantial).
Norfolk took out Scharnhorst's forward radar with a lucky hit and later lost a turret to a direct hit from Scharnhorst's 11" guns during the Battle of North Cape.
I have three of the ships from that battle on World of Warships, Scharnhorst, Duke of York and Belfast in her 1943 configuration
happy new years time ghost fam bam
I served in one of the regiments that fought in Ortona (the Loyal Edmonton Regt). At the annual Association Dinner there'd be vets from that battle. The meaning behind that sign was that the 2 infantry bns that fought house by house were from Western Canada (the afore-mentioned L Edmn R and the Seaforth Highlanders who hailed from Vancouver). They were supported by the Three Rivers Tank Regt (not from the West but... oh well). Bert Hoffmeister commanded the 2nd Bde which was responsible to take the town. Hoffmeister had previously commanded the Seaforth Highlanders and was also from Vancouver.
Decades later, while I was serving in Afghanistan, a Brit colleague showed me their new urban fighting manual. In it, as an annex, was the 1st Cdn Div after action report for Ortona. Hence, it is often said, that Canada wrote 'the book' on street and house to house fighting.Yeah, there was plenty of that going on before Ortona... just sounds cool to say.
Fabulous series, much appreciated. I’m almost 60 and when I was born ww2 had been over ~20 years. That’s just not that long ago, really.
good episode to highlight the changes in 1943 and how the war is not yet over
Thank you!
and one of the allied combatants in the Battle of the North Cape was the Norwegian destroyer RNN Stord firing torpedoes at Scharnhorst from 400 yards