7 of WW2 Germany’s Most DEADLY & Effective Units - The Forces that Terrified the Allies
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- Опубліковано 30 чер 2024
- From fearsome armored divisions and elite paratroopers to notorious SS forces, witness their strategic brilliance and unwavering loyalty. Join us on an immersive journey through history as we reveal the untold stories behind these units that left an indelible mark on the battlefield.
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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:15 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH)
3:53 22th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend
7:18 Fallschirmjäger
9:44 7th Panzer Division
11:49 Panzer-Lehr-Division
15:45 Grossdeutschland Division
17:25 6th SS Mountain Division Nord
19:58 Elite Troops on the Losing Side
The Brandenburger Division was grossly overlooked. It had a memorable record of sabotage.
.....and failure. For example, its para battalion was wiped out by the Romanians (!) in 1944 and in 1942 it failed to stop the Russians successfully sabotaging the Caucasus oil fields, from which Germany did not get a single barrel!
Maybe because the Brandenburger were relatively late formed to a division unit. Long time there were a smaller spec ops unit.
@@adishankara3491 Even then its record was mixed or even invented. The book "Assault from Within", supposedly by an early war Brandenburger veteran, claims the unit captured Odessa using Tiger tanks in October 1941. Firstly, Odessa was taken by the Romanians and secondly the Tiger hadn't even entered production at that point. Nor is there any evidence that they stole millions of diamonds in a raid on South Africa, or that they led effective Arab resistance to the British invasion of Iraq from Jordan. Apart from these and other fictions, there are some real failures. For example, they were meant to capture Caucasus oil fields intact but failed everywhere to prevent the Red Army demolishing them.
They were undoubtedly very innovative as a special forces unit and had successes early in the war but there is so much BS around them that it is difficult to disentangle the truth,
One thing they don't get credit for is a role in the Battle of the Bulge, because they had already been disbanded as an SF unit. When Skorzeny was looking for fluent American English speakers for the operation he could only find a handful, and all but two of these were ex-Brandenburgers.
@@markaxworthy2508 The operations carried out by the members of the Brandenburg were extraordinary, especially on the Eastern Front. There were some exaggerated stories, but they were mostly true. The same has happened with British special troops with great successes and disgraceful failures.
@@geoland09 I have no problem with the Brandenburgers themselves. They were innovative and often effective. My problem is the post-war authors who only write hagioraphies, not histories. There are a number of stories in print about them for which there is no historical evidence whatsoever and others of their failures that are completely overlooked, or misrepresented as successes. Internet presenters aggravate the situation because they are in search of "likes" and "subscribers" and "patreons" and you don't get many of them with headlines like "Brandenburger operation a bit of a flop".
You forgot the 2nd Waffen SS Das Reich.
Yes they really shone w hen they murdered the people of Oradour-sur-Glane,. God knows what they did in Russia.
Destroyed by Russia, Britain and Canada.
You might want to edit the 12SS section, it says 22SS.
2SS was a more elite Div than the 12SS, and arguably better than the 1SS.
I would love to see this as a series covering all the countries that took part in WW2.
Wxc
This is a load of tosh. The senior German parachute divisions were extremely good., 1st W-SS Division missed the decisive battle of the war at Stalingrad and was withdrawn from Kursk to be used in a purely political role in Italy. 2nd W-SS Division was better. 12th W-SS Division took nearly 18 months to form and was effectively destroyed in two. Valuable volunteer junior leadership cadres were lost with it and it was never good again. Panzer Lehr's creation damaged the entire panzerwaffe because it diverted badly needed reinforcements from active panzer divisions at the front elsewhere. It was the best equipped German division in Normandy but did not excel compared with other armoured formations despite this. 6th SS Mountain Division ran away in its first action in Finland and spent most of the war in this backwater. The Grossdeutchland was the ONLY volunteer division in the entire German Army. It should have been good. Nevertheless it suffered possibly the heaviest casualties of any German division in the 3 years of its existence - three times its establishment strength!
@@markaxworthy2508The Leibstandarte met and Destroyed the russians in the Battle of Prokharovka!
They were moved to Sicily to Bolster Axis forces there!
@@ianmatthews3041 The Leibstandarte was a politically sensitive formation and tended to be conserved compared with the Das Reich and Totenkopf. It was held in reserve during the initial invasion of Russia. Nevertheless, it was so heavily weakened over the winter of 1941-42 that it missed almost the entire 1942-43 autumn/winter campaign rebuilding in France. It was whipped away prematurely from Kursk to northern Italy (not Sicily) to provide political support for Mussolini and saw no combat there against the Allies.
@@markaxworthy2508 Crap!
It went to Sicily as I said!
The Gebersjaeger were also an elite unit(s) producing many of the German sniper aces. They were recognised as the fitest fielding both Heer and SS Battalions.
Gebersjaeger is Alpine or Mountain Division.
Gebirgsjäger are the German equivalent of US Army Rangers, except more focused on Alpine terrain. The Bundeswehr still has one Brigade of Gebirgsjäger troops stationed in Bad Reichenhall.
i asume you read snipers on the eastern front too? :D
it must be noted that the gebirgsjäger actually were nearly completely destroyed during the whole time on the eastern front
they had about 20 percent of their strengh as they constantly were at the center of soviet attention and were battered and bruised and didnt get much new people or equipment
no not really
they are just mountain troops but they were mostly from the bavarian / austrian alps meaning they were brought up in lumberjack or agriculutral families
they were just tougher than the average boy from a city@@Fox_Cord
I’d like to add that the German alpine units tho proved their worth later in the conflict suffered in their first deployment,Norway and I read they also suffered in the Cassino region later during the defense of the gustav line against the so called North African French troops,which I have to say,where no better then animals
The best one was the Großdeutschland Division IMO it was literally the get out of jail free card for the German army whenever they were in trouble in certain situations.
“The Gross-Deutschland (Greater-germany, or GD) Motorised Infantry Regiment was one of the most elite units in the Wehrmacht. Its soldiers were specially selected from army units all over Germany, and were usually already experienced.” Operation Barbarossa the Complete Organisational and Statistical Analysis and Military Simulation Volume IIA, Askey Nigel page 471 lines 6-8
The Grossdeutschland ha a complex ToE but due to intense training the cohesion was high. In terms of strength it was more like a mechanised brigade. See Operation Barbarossa the Complete Organisational and Statistical Analysis and Military Simulation Volume IIA, Askey Nigel page 471
not that suprising when looking at the divisions/corps/regiments history. Had an absolute elite cadre and usually got the ebst equipment and stuff. its only logical that it would have a high combat power
@@tizi087 Indeed, the GD was a monster, some of the GDs component units were probably larger than the Panzer Lehr.
@@Bullet-Tooth-Tony- at one point it counted as a corps due to getting so many assets
@@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-The GD wen't from an infantry division to be better eqipped then many Panzer divisions, it was also known as the fire brigade due to it's power it was used wherever the enemy broke. the lines to hold him.
@@tiagomonteiro130 Yeah it had over 300 tanks as well, Panzer Lehr in comparison had 208 tanks.
"I had it( the 3rd SS panzer Division Totenkopf) under my command on frequent occasianations later on, and i think it was probably the best Waffen-SS Division i ever came across" citation from von Manstein.
I’m surprised 5th Wiking didn’t make it.
Das Reich, as well.
Why? This piece is a load of tosh. The senior German parachute divisions were extremely good. However, 1st W-SS Division was a political prestige formsation that missed the decisive battle of the war at Stalingrad and was withdrawn from Kursk to be used in a purely political role in Italy. 2nd W-SS Division was better. 12th W-SS Division took nearly 18 months to form and was effectively destroyed in two. Valuable volunteer junior leadership cadres were lost with it and it was never good again. Panzer Lehr's creation damaged the entire panzerwaffe because it diverted badly needed reinforcements from active panzer divisions at the front elsewhere. It was the best equipped German division in Normandy but did not excel compared with other armoured formations despite this. 6th SS Mountain Division ran away in its first action in Finland and spent most of the war in this backwater. The Grossdeutchland was the ONLY volunteer division in the entire German Army. It should have been good. Nevertheless it suffered possibly the heaviest casualties of any German division in the 3 years of its existence - three times its establishment strength!
Germans were the best fighter nations since Titonic order, Prussian Empire, and third Riech wars through military history recorded....thank you remarkable ( the front ) channel for sharing this Formedible military subjects video.
No chance The Russians , Greeks, British, Mongols, Japanese and French were all superior than the Germans
Titonic? you are a morooooon
no wonder the jews kick your ass all over the place
There are races of people who more than match any German division.
The Maori batallion of the new Zealand division were ferocious, smart, born warriors. They were the spearhead of nearly every significant 8tg army operation. Their breakout at minqar Qaim is the stuff of legend
yeah but neonazis get a homoerotic tingle when they see germans in hugo boss uniforms@@RobCraig-wf3yi
@@RobCraig-wf3yi What about the Gurkhas
Over all, the german soldiers were able to inflict a kill ratio of around 1 to 2,5 to 3. Meaning, for every killed german soldier, they were able to take 2,5 to 3 enemies with them to Walhalla. Respect and RIP.
Rest in piss
Not sure why you would respect them
@@goldenhawk352 there were definitely not all bad, but it’s hard for me to have any kind of respect for the German soldiers due to the overwhelming amount of crimes of the regime
@@goldenhawk352 The difference is the Nazis biggest goal was murdering entire races of people, not just some rogue soldiers doing fucked up shit which of course has happened with the US plenty of times
@@goldenhawk352his name says air force reserve so I’m pretty sure he does but all armies commit war crimes even America but it’s funny that he is a soldier and can’t respect other soldiers as well
Not to mention the Germans had the best fighter pilots in the air war. Erich Hartmann would rack up 350 kills for example
Really? Somehow I find it hard to believe because...they lost...
Except over Britain
@@ozymandiasultor9480 According to your comment, I don't want to make it too complicated. For example, in games you can lose the round and still have a kill/death ratio of 10:1.
Do you understand the point I'm trying to make?
@@ozymandiasultor9480
They didn't lose because lack of skill.
They couldn't cope with the Poles in the Battle of Britain tho.
German paratroopers (the green devils) were amongst the best troops of the German Wehrmacht. They captured a well defended Crete, a novelty in history, stalled the 3 massiv, combined Allied attacks at Monte Cassino, and fought the Soviets in North Finland. It was British Fieldmarshal Alexander who after 3 attacks at Monte Cassino informed Churchill, that these "Green Devils" were probably the best soldiers of the world.
Hitler considered Fallschirmjagger's 7th Division to be the best German troops.
These very same "elite" paratroopers turned tail and ran at Sealow Heights...
@@MREScout at the Seelow Hights, the Germans were outnumbered 5:1, outgunned 10:1 and had a sixth of the Soviet tanks. They had little fortifications. It was a wonder that they held 3 days.
And the 9th Fallschirmjäger was a freshly created division, not a veteran Force like the feared 1st Fallschirm-Jäger-Divisionen or the Fallschirmpanzer
Their first miraculous success was capturing Fort Ebenmael in Belgium.
They were involved in an attempt to capture General Josip Broz Tito, they failed many were hacked to death by axes and knives as ammo was low others were shot out of the sky.....my Grandad was there he hated Germans to his dying days as much as Australians hated Japanese....never forget never forgive....🇭🇷🇦🇺
The Wehrwolf Commandos, made up from Hitler Jurgend trained in Partisan tactics were mistakenly believed to be a 'stay behind and fight after the defeat' unit, as they ended up been, however most of their hidden weapons caches were hidden so well they weren't found until years later!
The Wehrwolves were more bark than bite, as it turned out 😏
@@redaug4212 Looked like it, but still a few innocent civilians got killed because of them
And were too scared to fight after the surrender. Got turned in by ordinary decent Germans
and they never got properly used and iffed up on the little they try'd to do
@@richardcaves3601 Easy likely, they were only kids and the country wanted peace not war that it was in ruins
The Fallschirmjager were the best they had .
Yes. The two senior German parachute divisions were extremely good. However, otherwise this piece is a load of tosh. 1st W-SS Division missed the decisive battle of the war at Stalingrad and was withdrawn from Kursk to be used in a purely political role in Italy. 2nd W-SS Division was better. 12th W-SS Division took nearly 18 months to form and was effectively destroyed in two. Valuable volunteer junior leadership cadres were lost with it and it was never good again. Panzer Lehr's creation damaged the entire panzerwaffe because it diverted badly needed reinforcements from active panzer divisions at the front elsewhere. It was the best equipped German division in Normandy but did not excel compared with other armoured formations despite this. 6th SS Mountain Division ran away in its first action in Finland and spent most of the war in this backwater. The Grossdeutchland was the ONLY volunteer division in the entire German Army. It should have been good. Nevertheless it suffered possibly the heaviest casualties of any German division in the 3 years of its existence - three times its establishment strength!
The glory and legend of these elite warriors will live forever!
They have no glory.
@@rossgage9730
Then why are you here?
@@browngreen933 it's a free world last time I checked.
This piece is a load of tosh. The senior German parachute divisions were extremely good. 1st W-SS Division missed the decisive battle of the war at Stalingrad and was withdrawn from Kursk to be used in a purely political role in Italy. 2nd W-SS Division was better. 12th W-SS Division took nearly 18 months to form and was effectively destroyed in two. Valuable volunteer junior leadership cadres were lost with it and it was never good again. Panzer Lehr's creation damaged the entire panzerwaffe because it diverted badly needed reinforcements from active panzer divisions at the front elsewhere. It was the best equipped German division in Normandy but did not excel compared with other armoured formations despite this. 6th SS Mountain Division ran away in its first action in Finland and spent most of the war in this backwater. The Grossdeutchland was the ONLY volunteer division in the entire German Army. It should have been good. Nevertheless it suffered possibly the heaviest casualties of any German division in the 3 years of its existence - three times its establishment strength!
@@markaxworthy2508 ?? only volunteer?? SS 33 Charlemagne mostly by French, they fought in the defense of Berlin.. the Wiking?? all foreigners that wanted to fight against communism joined the waffen SS, they couldnt join regular Whermacht bc they werent germans, U had Soviet Waffen SS, Latvian, Stonian, Netherlands, French, Ukranian and even Belgium waffen SS divisions
The 1st Panzer Division (not to be confused with the 1st SS Panzer) and the 2nd and 3rd Panzer Divisions were also considered very elite units.
The 1st Panzer Division was one of the best manned and equipped divisions in the invasions of Poland (1939), France (1940) and the Soviet Union in 1941. In Poland, it was practically the spearhead of German forces in the south. In France, it was one of the fastest and aggressive divisions through the Ardennes drive and one of the first divisions to reach the coast near Dunkirk. During Operation Barbarossa, it was part of Army Group North and basically steamrolled through the Baltics to Leningrad (today’s St. Petersburg). In October, it was moved to Army Group Centre and took part in the final drive to Moscow, attempting to flank Moscow to the north, and was one of the units that could see Moscow in the distance. It also held up the Soviet counterattack with amazing skill and stubbornness, and took part in the Rzhev meat grinder of 1941-42 where the Germans and Soviets attempted to encircle each other. Later on in 1943, the division was sent to Greece to recuperate and hold back a false flag British landing in Greece. Later that year, it was sent to Army Group South to stem the Soviet advance, defending skillfully and withdrawing with amazing skill. It also helped relieve trapped units and fought the breakout out of the infamous “Hube’s Pocket” and basically was thrown around the whole Southern Front of Russia to help stop the Soviets from breaking through until the war’s end.
Until the Pervitin ran out 😂
I would include the 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions of the Afrika Korps. There were also elite Luftwaffe units such as JG 26 and JG 52 as well as U Boat formations.
While the CO OP rescue mission was doubtless a daring undertaking, the much better example for the Fallschirmjäger would have been the battle of Monte Cassino. For their tenacious action around Cassino town and mountain, they received international fame and were even praised and respected by their enemies.
The Green Devils
More German soldiers died after surrendering than on the battlefield. They would have been better off fighting till the bitter end. I'm sure they wished they had when they were locked up in Eisenhowers D.E.C. camps. (Disarmed Enemy Combatants) VERY different from POW camps. History bruh.
Source?
@@russvague2748 Senator Homer Capeheart spoke the following to the U.S. Senate on Feb. 5, 1946, in which he said
"Since the end of the war about 3,000,000 people, mostly women and children and over-aged men have been killed in eastern Germany and south-eastern Europe. About 15,000,000 people have been deported or had to flee from their homesteads and are on the road. About 25 % of these people, over 3,000,000 have died. About 4,000,000 men and women have been deported to Eastern Europe and Russia as slaves.! It seems that the elimination of the German population of Eastern Europe, at least 15,000,000 people, was planned in accordance with decisions made at the "Yalta Conference". Churchill had said to Mikolajczyk when the latter protested during the negotiations at Moscow against forcing Poland to incorporate eastern Germany, "Don't mind the five or more million Germans. Stalin will see to them. You will have no trouble with them., as they will cease to exist"..!!
@@russvague2748 official sources are a bit scarce and the numbers purposely vague. You gotta do some serious digging and reading between the lines to find out what happened AFTER the war was officially over.
What have the Soviet's got to do with Eisenhower and how the west treated POWs?
@@redaug4212 The numbers are few million killed by allies and a few million by Soviets. Both numbers put together add up to more than they ever killed on the battlefield.
The Brits and Canadians were fighting most of the elite heavy SS Panzer divisions around Caen and beyond on the western front. The USA were fighting mostly stomach divisions until they later encountered the already mauled 17th Grenadiers and 2nd SS.
By the conclusion of Normandy campaign, the 12th SS Hitler Jugend had lost almost 2/3 of it's force. They had to be withdrawn refitted. After Normandy they were still effective but were frittered away in useless operations that just reduced their strength even further. Same for the Falschrimjäeger Battalions. Their last big operation was during the Ardennes Offensive where they were practically obliterated.
Ya Guess they shouldn't have murdered all those Canadians eh??
Yes, the Ardennes Offensive, was an operation bound for disaster, from the beginning of planning.
It was totally reliant upon the expectation of they're ability & luck!! To access Allied Fuel & munitions, food, etc!! In sufficient quantities?!?
Most Allied Tanks, Armoured Mechanised Support Vehicles - Were Petrol Engined, Not Diesel - As the Axis Tanks & Vehicles predominately used!!
As well, it was apparently a commonly shared & known attitude, by British & Commonwealth, American, French & Russian Commanders.
That they'd rather be facing a Division of Crack Older Aged Waffen SS than a single Battalion of the Hitler Youth, as they were Indoctrinated Zealot Nazis and Always Fought To The Last!! Whereas older & more experienced Nazi troops were more likely inclined to surrender, a lot quicker than the Hitler Youth.
Such a sorry state of affairs, when the only option left to allied commanders? Was to have no choice but to use Aircraft, Artillery and Flame Throwers, on 12-17yo Boys!!! 😪
Hitler, by then? Had been receiving daily injections, of both Pervatan & Eukadal, by his Personal Physician, for years. The Palsied Hand Tremors filmed, of Hitler!! Showing this common side effect, of both Methamphetamine and Opioids.
So when this Psychological and Pharmacological Maniac! Committed his Entire Western Front Strategic Reserve! Of 14 Divisions, on the Insanely Inept Plan!!
Not surprised. ☹️🥺🙃🤬
This piece is a load of tosh. The senior German parachute divisions were extremely good. 1st W-SS Division missed the decisive battle of the war at Stalingrad and was withdrawn from Kursk to be used in a purely political role in Italy. 2nd W-SS Division was better. 12th W-SS Division took nearly 18 months to form and was effectively destroyed in two. Valuable volunteer junior leadership cadres were lost with it and it was never good again. Panzer Lehr's creation damaged the entire panzerwaffe because it diverted badly needed reinforcements from active panzer divisions at the front elsewhere. It was the best equipped German division in Normandy but did not excel compared with other armoured formations despite this. 6th SS Mountain Division ran away in its first action in Finland and spent most of the war in this backwater. The Grossdeutchland was the ONLY volunteer division in the entire German Army. It should have been good. Nevertheless it suffered possibly the heaviest casualties of any German division in the 3 years of its existence - three times its establishment strength!
@@markaxworthy2508 Not sure if you're referring to my reply or having an aneurysm.
@@wernervanderwalt8541 Perhaps you would be better advised to go with the aneurysm theory? It saves having to give a more considered reply!
i believe the 12th was hitlerjugend
it was the 12. SS Panzer Division "HJ" and its a common mith that the SS units are better at Fighting than normal Wehrmacht units. The SS often got better Equipment than there counter parts
and equipment doesnt equal combat power^^
@@tizi087 Oh, but it does. If you have a division whose organization gives them twenty tanks, and put them against a straight leg-infantry division with no tanks, guess which one is going to have more combat power?
Granted, you need a sufficient number of troops trained in the equipment's use and tactics, leadership, and of course, good logistics. But assuming both sides have all of that, the side with tanks is going to win. That's combat power...
HJ got creamed in Normandy by allied artillery and fighter-bombers. Barely 20% got out. The replacement unit got smashed to pieces after the Bulge.
@@mspicer3262 this Was meant in the way of Panzer IV vs Panther.
A Well led unit with high choesion with Panzer IV will win against the unit where Training etc are lower.
Same with your example, as during Barbarossa germany motorized divisions defeated tank divisions, simply due to better doctrine and leadership. The scouts found the tanks and the the mobile AT units engaged them.
@@tizi087 See? You are saying that equipment matters. In my example, if you had one division that has 20 Panzer IIIe medium tanks, and another division was equipped with 20 Panzer IVj medium tanks, the equipment one has will provide them with a significantly greater level of firepower. Guess which one?
As to Barbarossa, there were bad Soviet commanders, and bad German ones. The Germans did have the element of surprise, and the Soviets suffered from some strategic paralysis. German equipment was also vastly superior to most of what the Soviets were using at the time.
The Soviets still won the war, because they had far more tanks, planes and artillery pieces than the Germans did. That is basically what the meat-grinder of the Eastern Front came down to, sheer weight of numbers. The Soviets had more equipment, which equalled more combat-power, which broke the Germans back...
Hi, I am from New Zealand
But I thought the Wehrmachts 352 infrantry Division should be included amongst these Strong German Fighting units of WW2
Everywhere this Division went it shone in Battle
At 11:03 : That's not von Funck but Hasso von Mateuffel, another German Tank General and later Member of Paliament. He rose from commanding a batallion over a brigade to the whole Ghost Division. But he only commanded the Division after von Funck from 20th August 1943 to 1.st Janauary of 1944.
Can you do video's on the elite units of all other WWII combatant countries. I'm sure if it becomes a series it will be very good.
panzer lehr might have been good soliders but it was in many ways a silly use of personal who would have been off being used to train new tank crews.
it was an unwise decision to take the training personnel and use them for front line combat because it meant as often units lost personnel then they would be replaced by lower quality and under trained personnel.
good observation but war is chaos
They were pretty much running out of men to train by that time, not to mention fuel to do any training.
@@jdee8407 fuel definitely true especially after romania switch sides and they lost access to polesti. but they still in 1943-44 had sufficient new personnel to train but by late 1944 they were certainly scrapping the bottom of the barrel and by 45 had got to the volkstrum stage.
Same problem with the Luftwaffe. The Allies rotated pilots out to train new ones. Germany kept them in combat until they got killed. Günther Rall often said the fate of every German soldier, sailor, or airman "was either the iron cross or the wooden cross".
@@JonMartinYXD Yup and when the Germans lost pilots over Britain or soldiers in Operation Barbarossa in Russia, these were all quality, experienced men who could not be replaced with the same quality but inexperienced conscripts..
the 6th SS nord should not of been on the list.. The performance was so abysmal at at the start, they had to be retrained.. the Finish army was not impressed.. No mention of the Fallschirm-Panzer-Division 1. Hermann Göring .. Why is that? Also, the Brandenburg regiment should of been on this list which was extremely elite in every sense of the word. They wernt front line troops but spec Ops.
Geetlys is that you bro? I didnt know you had a history channel this is good as your Star Wars one keep it up bro i watch both channels! Now
One of the few things that I feel the movie Fury portrayed well was the absolute merciless attitude the US soldiers had towards the SS, as did the other Allied forces. By this point they had been responsible for massacring surrendered soldiers from practically every major allied fighting force and along with the discovery of the concentration camps, made prospects of being taken alive much more slim compared to the German regulars, whom it would still be a gamble. Some Allied officers had to make it a standing order to NOT shoot surrendering SS it was so common.
I'M SURE THE SS DID NOT GIVE THE AMERICANS MUCH OF AN OPPORTUNITY TO MASSACRE THEM. I.E. NOT MANY OF THEM SURRENDERED TO THE AMERICANS OR THE RUSSIANS
That comment is just wrong in almost every aspect. First of all there is absolutely nothing Fury got right. It’s probably the most ridiculous Hollywood movie almost comical. Furthermore, the WaffenSS did never kill PoWs that was absolutely against all German rules which were adhered to, to the very end. The opposite is unfortunately true for the Allies. Captured WaffenSS suffered horrible tortures before getting killed by the red army as evidenced by countless reports. That the US and English committed the same war crimes by killing WaffenSS soldier PoWs is inexcusable and a horrible war crime which , like all other allied war crimes, never got justice
@@jimmybold5903 Exactly spot on.
The Allies began killing surrendering German soldiers on the beaches of Normandy.
The Allied soldiers were even ordered to not take any prisoners, because this would slowdown the advance.
Yet never a single allied soldier or officer had been brought to justice committing these warcrimes.
?? Thats a myth, during the war no Allied soldier knew about holocaust during war. And western allies were not saints.. just to name u one massive crime, bombing German citys systematicaly, day and night is not a war crime??? Allied soldiers also killed surrendering soldiers... and it is normal in war.. Yes they were saints if look at soviet soldiers, and their massive rap3s, but in war no side is a saint... of free of any crime
The SS killed U.S. POW's at Malmedy. @@jimmybold5903
Iirc, I read way back, that 12th SS Panzergrenadiers had a significant number of veteran NCOs who served on the Eastern front. That made for a potent and deadly combination.
12th SS was made up with battle hardened NCOs with younger hitler youth soldiers. A deadly cocktail.
You missed at least an honor mention to the 33rd SS Charlemagne who fought bravely in the later days and was in the Battle of Berlin.
Great video.
The Charlemagne Division was rubbish. It never fought as a division and was largely destroyed piecemeal by the Russians without making any impact on the fighting. Only a few hundred of its men were trapped in Berlin. The stories about them coming from Berlin are almost entirely from their own survivors and are undermined by untraceable Iron Cross claims. Three times French volunteer units were sent to the Eastern Front and all three failed in combat.
@@markaxworthy2508 I disagree. Charlemagne was only created in late 44 and had very little time and opportunity to prove itself, it did fight as a small division of 7340 men in the bielorussian front in Feb 45 but it quickly suffered heavy losses as the russian pushed thrue with massive superiority.
It did prove itself though in the Battle of Berlin where it was reffited as a Assault Battalion. In the Town Hall sector it was constantly assaulted and still managed to destroy 14 soviet tanks with panzerfausts helding them for 48h. In the Central Gov sector on 4 days of fighting it destroyed 62 tanks of 108 knocked out in that area. Several men recived the Knights Cross and Iron Cross. There are numberous reports from other units there that these men fought to the end without giving up one foot of ground, until the death, house by house and street by street. This was mainly due to ideological fanatism, friendliness towards NS and/or anti-communist feelings. Nonetheless, they fought with pride and honor a lost battle and for that i think they deserved a mention as they were not “piecemeal” like you mentioned.
@@ConeTutoriais
Despite the smokescreen put up in books like "Hitler’s Gauls", it is apparent the record of French service in German uniform was poor. The first battalion of volunteers of the LVF had to be withdrawn from the line in December 1941 within a week of deployment despite the German front then being in crisis. It then spent the next year reduced to rear-area anti-partisan operations.
In January 1943 control of French recruitment was handed over to the Waffen-SS. By September only 1,500 suitable volunteers had come forward. The unit finally saw action in August 1944 - a laggardly year and a half after its formation began. It went into action on 9 August and had been virtually wiped out within a fortnight.
On 10 August 1944 the Charlemagne Division was ordered formed. It consisted basically of exiled Frenchmen who had compromised themselves in various ways either by directly serving the Germans or in the more ruthless security arms of the Vichy regime. Notwithstanding the title “division”, these scrapings were only ever sufficient to form a mixed brigade of at most 8,000 men. Furthermore, this brigade never managed to get more than four infantry battalions into action. In effect, there never was a Charlemagne “division”.
Charlemagne units first entered the line on 24 February 1945. Within two days “Charlemagne was now beginning to be torn apart.” (p.111 of "Hitler's Gauls"). Thereafter it was basically a tale of isolated units of Frenchmen under no central divisional control and having lost or abandoned any heavy equipment, falling back within the body of German forces.
By early April, only 1,100 men could be reassembled out of the line. Of these, over a third had had enough and were transferred to a construction battalion. The remainder were only partly recommitted when the Reich was in absolute extremis. On 24 April the unit was ordered to Berlin. Only some 400 volunteers were taken. These volunteers seem mostly to have been selected by judicious use of peer group pressure. Where company commanders genuinely canvassed for volunteers, few men apparently came forward. However, when two companies were paraded by their commanders and volunteers asked to take one pace forward, the entire companies did so!
The tale of the Charlemagne and its French predecessor units in German service is essentially one of failure - of an inability to attain or maintain significant strength or retain cohesiveness in front line action. Even if one counts the service of straggling sub-units, in nearly four years of trying, the Germans only managed to get the French into the line four times, the combined total of which came to less than two months, none of which was as an effective higher formation.
Apparently (p.149 of "Hitler's Gauls") it was on 28 April 1945 that “the men from Charlemagne really began to establish their reputation as an elite in the defence of the city (Berlin)”. Strange, then, that this “reputation as an elite” seems to have completely escaped every major study of the battle from Cornelius Ryan, to Anthony Beevor and beyond!
Make no mistake, even though they spent very little time at the front and to very little effect, the few French volunteers saw some intense fighting under very unfavourable conditions and, at least by their own accounts, a few of them fought courageously.
It's nice that the legend of Otto Skozerny, which he himself created, is kept alive so beautifully in the video.
He actually had nothing to do with the liberation of Mussolini, but rather forced Hitler to take part in the mission!
The reason is clear when you see the many photos taken at the time with him as the focus, which only served to promote himself.
The paratroopers involved were also very upset about having to take him with them because they knew they were doing the job but he wanted the glory for it.
Whether the Waffen-SS units should be classified as elite?
At the beginning of the war they were equipped with rather second-rate weapons and their military leaders lacked real military training and experience.
They were largely fanatical Nazis, and these two points led to above-average losses at the front throughout the war...
Sounds like sour grapes. The Waffen SS don't need you approval anyway they more than proved themselves at Moshaisk- Borodino and Denyansk in 1941, 3. Battle of Charkov and West Ukraine 1943, Caen, Normandy and Arnhem in 1944, and countless other battles where their contribution was invaluable. You're just regurgitating unfounded criticisms of some Wehrmacht officers.
The Green Devils, their elite Paratroopers. Outstanding men of courage and ingenuity.
What unit/division?
@@sharebear421 green devils is just a general nickname for the paratroopers
@@Spaibo No it;s not Green devils , as a term refers to American paratroopers
@@michaelhawkins7389 I saw people use it when referring to German paratroopers too, so I don't know how broad or specific it really is.
Good Job @ The Front . !
Can you please do part2 of most incompetent commanders of ww1
Great video.
Weird thing I noticed, 10:50 through 10:59 you have Feldm. Erwin Rommel pictured when speaking of him, but when speaking of Gen. Hans von Funck at 11:03, you have a picture of Gen. Hasso von Manteuffel instead
IMHO, two of the most elite German units during WWII where KG 200, the Luftwaffe unit that flew captured allied aircraft, and Inf. Reg. 100 (The Brandenburg Grenadiers). Thanks!
The Brandenburger before becoming infantry units were even more important! They were the first special forces ever afterall and made impressive results during Fall Gelb
@@tizi087 True, but their designation as Inf Reg 100 , Brandenburg Grenadiers, dates from the 2nd Reich.
No... the Falshirjager didn't leap into combat in Monte Cassino or in Arnhem. They were no longer doing airdrops at that point, in fact I don't think they did any organized airdrops after Crete. They were used as regular infantry because they took such huge losses that Hitler forbade it.
I wouldn‘t state that German Wehrmacht equipment at the beginning of WW2 was superior to the stuff brought to field by other nations like France.
The German carbine, the K98, was pretty much a relic, most of the Wehrmacht was on foot, most artillery pieces pulled by horses and tanks still far away from what they became with the Panther and Tiger tanks of the later war.
Boldness, training, leadership and few fast units won the battles in 1939 and 1940…
Winking was considered one of the best divisions and notable in that the Russian war diaries mentioned the relief when the 5th SS was send to the rear
Thank you for the nice reportage. I had the at home every now and then when the soldiers came home and see my dad. I know they all was heroine in their own way. Dankeschoe n
i think you missed Jagdgeschwader 52 from Luftwaffe. they shot down around 9000 aircraft during 1939 and 1945....thats insane and effective....
thats where Erich Hartmann fought, the biggest ace of all times
some some other pilots with 100+ air victories @@marcos14223
Wasn´t Hans Ulrich Rudel the best? (correct me if I am wrong, just asking to understand)
@@marcos14223
The capture of Crete from the air against a multiple times larger dug-in force, which was equipped with tanks and artillery and even knew the date of the attack, as well as against a hostile, armed civilian population incited to hatred, was certainly the greatest and most impressive single success of German paratroopers and, in the second wave, mountain troops.
Grossdeutschland was an legendary unit even before 1944. This unit was famous soon since they saw first combat. Well trained and good leaded, they were always among the best on the Eastern Front.
"Guy Sajer" "The Unknown Soldier"
Uh... How do you NOT include The Brandenburgers in this list? Great vid all the same!
Where have you found the picture shown at 20:20 with the german officer with the binoculars?
1st SS Panzer Division was defeated twice by the U.S. 30th Infantry Division. First at Mortain and next in the Ardennes. German radio referred to the 30th as Roosevelt's SS.
I'd have to say it was that parachute regiment that fought in Italy the German parachute unit.They were dangerous cunning and tenacious that's how it's supposed to be
Panzer Lehr is what you DON'T DO. It was formed by essentially gutting the tank school. Taking all the instructors, and forming them into a fighting force. Which basically made training quality crews and commanders from that point on impossible.
I believe you could also have mentioned the SS Anti-Partisan Units, which were certainly made up with some pretty tough men and commanders. Although I found your video to be a good insight to quite a hard lot of acknowledged German Outfits.
Most of those partisan units could not compete with regular allied infantry and were overall poor soldiers for the most part.
This piece is a load of tosh. The senior German parachute divisions were extremely good. 1st W-SS Division missed the decisive battle of the war at Stalingrad and was withdrawn from Kursk to be used in a purely political role in Italy. 2nd W-SS Division was better. 12th W-SS Division took nearly 18 months to form and was effectively destroyed in two. Valuable volunteer junior leadership cadres were lost with it and it was never good again. Panzer Lehr's creation damaged the entire panzerwaffe because it diverted badly needed reinforcements from active panzer divisions at the front elsewhere. It was the best equipped German division in Normandy but did not excel compared with other armoured formations despite this. 6th SS Mountain Division ran away in its first action in Finland and spent most of the war in this backwater. The Grossdeutchland was the ONLY volunteer division in the entire German Army. It should have been good. Nevertheless it suffered possibly the heaviest casualties of any German division in the 3 years of its existence - three times its establishment strength!
I would say this isn't entirely true. Many anti partisan troops were of a lower quality and this showed later on when they faced regular Allied Divisions. For example the 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS "Skanderbeg" or the 7th SS Volunteer Mountain Division "Prinz Eugen" performed against partisans with a quality ranging from mediocre to satisfactory. But when faced with real Red Army units these Divisions suffered heavy losses and they began to buckle and crack. Some regular or elite formations that were rotated from the front to the rear areas could be classified as higher quality Anti partisan troops but generally these units were only temporarily fighting in the partisan infested areas.
19:09 Did anyone notice those German panzer troops were using Sherman's.
I saw that too. Didn’t surprise me. German supply situation being what it was, not uncommon to see them grab enemy equipment and slap a plus sign on it.
PS my previous criticism aside this is an OUTSTANDING presentation 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼(I would love to sit down with the guys who wrote this)
THIS VIDEO IS INCOMPLETE WITHOUT MENTIONING THE " DAS REICH " DIVISION THE BEST!
First Fallschirmjager Division: Krete and Cassino are legendary battles
You never mentioned the "Brandenburgers" which surprised me.
Thanks for all.
But the General you kept displaying to portray Von FUNCK and LANGKEIT is General Der PanzerTruppen von MAUNTHAUFFEN
Can you imagine facing such a fierce and fanatic group of teenagers in the bocage? Must have been wild
Excellent clip! I also like how you make an effort to pronounce the German names and words.
You forget the "Brandenburg" unit, they were the best.
The 7th panzer was commanded bij general Funck but the general they portrayed was Hasso von Manteuffel.
I’m surprised the 21st Panzer are t in there and as someone else pointed out the European 5th SS Wiking. However, what a brilliant documentary. Thanks.
This piece is mostly a load of tosh. The senior German parachute divisions were extremely good. 1st W-SS Division missed the decisive battle of the war at Stalingrad and was withdrawn from Kursk to be used in a purely political role in Italy. 2nd W-SS Division was better. 12th W-SS Division took nearly 18 months to form and was effectively destroyed in two. Valuable volunteer junior leadership cadres were lost with it and it was never good again. Panzer Lehr's creation damaged the entire panzerwaffe because it diverted badly needed reinforcements from active panzer divisions at the front elsewhere. It was the best equipped German division in Normandy but did not excel compared with other armoured formations despite this. 6th SS Mountain Division ran away in its first action in Finland and spent most of the war in this backwater. The Grossdeutchland was the ONLY volunteer division in the entire German Army. It should have been good. Nevertheless it suffered possibly the heaviest casualties of any German division in the 3 years of its existence - three times its establishment strength!
Two Divisions that you could have included. Second SS panzer division Das Reich. They were the most highly decorated division of the German armed forces. Gross Deutschland. They were the German Armies most successful and best equiped Di ision.
12:30 Wasn't the Panzer Lair division the one we mostly wiped out in 30' or so during Operations Goodwood and Cobra?
No mention of 11th Panzer under Hermann Balck which destroyed an entire Soviet tank army, outnumbered 10-1.
Several of these German units were so well known that they've been mentioned in popular media involving WWII throughout the years. For example they were mentioned a few times in the WWII spook series "Hogan's Heroes."
In my humble view, the best units were the men of the Friedenthal Battalion, The Brandenburger kommandos, the Fallschirmjaegers and the Gebirgsjaegers.
im actually going to argue the 12th SS was not at all effective.
they failed hard when fighting the canadians in normandy. One Canadian officer wrote how the 12th SS didn't even exploit the fact that the Canadian flank was undefended, instead attacking their defenses head on.
ive been to carpiquet airfield. the reason the canadians got slaughtered is because they tried to attack, well, an airfield. (flat, no cover.) Yet the Canadians still managed to inflict heavy casualties on the 12th SS.
(edit) even german high command commented on how useless the 12th SS was.
The Canadians were the storm troopers of the empire
The Artillery 88 and the MG42 designs are still being used today by not only American but many of our Allies.
the best and most impressive units were by far the Fallschirmjäger regiments of the early years of war . Fewer in numbers the most spectecular raids were against belgium Fort Eben-Emael , netherlands , Narvik / Norway ( together with Gebirgsjäger ) and Crete . In each attack they won against a much higher number of enemies . And later in war these units were still among the best although they were now fighting defensive rather than attacking . From Finland and northern russia through whole europe and to Sicily and later Monte Cassino their units were used in every frontline were they were needed as a " firepatrol " and everywhere they stood their ground although highly outnumbered and even managed to start counter attacks . And not only that : short before war was over and their units partly fighting on homeland , it were them small Fallschirmjägerunits who persuaded their own soldiers from other units to stop fighting and surrender just with the respect they had among the whole german Wehrmacht which safed at lot of lifes on both sides close to the end of war .
Just a reminder that a weak, ill-equipped, undertrained and understrength Dutch home army destroyed the elite German Fallschirmjäger units, at the heights of their power in 1940 in their failed airborne assault of The Hague during the invasion of Netherlands. Nearly 1,000 German airborne troops were taken prisoners, among the first German POWs sent to England. Netherlands was a failure for the Fallschirmjäger.
Hope you don't get cancelled/de monetized for this video. But you make a valid point: most of us only get taught that D-day made the defeat inevitable
Yeah, americans shock when they learn 3000 US died in the first day of Normandy... and thats just a normal battle in the east, in Stalingrad alone died more Soviets than all US casualties of WW2 both Europe, Africa and Japan...
LSSAH wasn't fight in Yugoslavia after 12 April 1941 when they went from Belgrade to Vardar Macedonia and crossed to Greece Monastir, Vevi (Kleisoura, Kastoria) Lozani..
In 1943 in famous Battle at Sutjeska (Operation Schwartz) on German side was also elite 1st Mountain Division (1. Gebirgs-Division )
In the Ardennes offensive the German tanks had so little fuel they were told to use fuel from captured US tanks. The initial Blitzkrieg in France also relied on Pervitin.
11:03 on the picture we see Hasso von Manteuffel, not von Funk.
11th and 24th Panzer divison, 1st "east prussian" Infantry division...so much divisions who foght bravely.
Actually, it was pretty true! The Allies DID know that if the Normandy landings were successful, Germany HAD LOST. No one knew how long or how far
but Germany was then in a vise and WOULD be defeated. Hitler always knew he could NOT fight a war on two fronts. And then with the overwhelming success of USSR’s Operation Bagration a couple of weeks later winning was assured.
Where did you get the information of the 1st SS taking part in fall Schwarz, nothing mentions them, i think you switched the 1st gebirgsjager divison for them
You missed the Brandenbergers. Some of the best elite Heer troops were part of that formation.
Your photo of Hans von Funck shows Von Manteuffel not the guy you’re speaking of
Overall, once you correct for their larger size and better weapons, the SS was NOT more effective than the regular Wehrmacht units. I'd like a history of the US 88th division. Post war estimates showed it could generate 5% more combat results while being a standard US infantry division, much better than the SS's results.
Ehhh... the 12th SS Panzer Division, Hitlerjugend was pretty borderline mate. Fanatically loyal but not particularly tactically proficient... not to mention the issues of using child soldiers, which I know were generally used by all sides in WW2. The Hitlerjugend was beat up VERY badly in the Ardennes in 1944. Mauled would be a better term for it.
Destroyed more like it, and dog-walked by the Allies lol!
What about the Brandenburgers? Or the Sonderlehrgang z.b.V. "Oranienburg"/S.S. Sonderverbande?
You forgot to mention how LSSAH threw their Hitler armbands in pisspots and sent them to Hitler when he berated them for a failed operation in Hungary in 1945.
11:02 wrong picture: That's not Hans von Funck, but Hasso von Manteuffel.
I'd rather say the Wehrmacht was far more effective and professional than the SS.
I missed:
Div. das Reich
Div. Hermann Göring
Fallsch.Batt. 500
Gebirgsjäger .. maybe also the Jägers
Div., 5. Leichte Afrika Div. (Später: 21.Pz.)
Brandenburgers
22nd Air Landing Division
Panzerdiv. Windhund
Panzerdiv. of the 1."Welle" founded 1935
German heavy tank battalions
(their kill/loss Ratio of the Tiger
Battalions was enormous)
Most WSS are overrated
Most of my male fam. charakters fought in the 44. I.D. against the red army.
German Parachute troops consider the best light infantry at world war 2, it’s a pity they lack of resources for airborne operation after battle of create.
It's an achievement how the 29th Infantry Division managed to beat the Fallschirmjäger.
It would have happened anyways vs superior numbers and especially logistics with enemy air superiority@@jerbs5346
it wasnt a lack of recources
hitler just forbid any ffurther jumps as the operation on crete scared him
crete was a costly victory but it was a trestimony to the strengh of the fallschirmjäger
nowadays its just accepted that para drops allways come with alot of risks and losses
hitler didnt have the grasp to understand that they were a precision tool
Neat
Your pronouncation of German word's is very good👍
You showed Leon DeGrelle and the 28th Wallonien but did not mention them. These guys got paid about 1 mark per day. They did great things.
Picture at 7:40 actually shows captured Germans para’s in I believe the Netherlands. About 1400 were captured and 40% of the air fleet was destroyed by Dutch AA and fighters.
The 7thSS division Wiking come on Bad ass
He misidentified the 6th SS Mountain Division. The Nord Division was the 11th SS Mountain Division. The 6th was called Horst Wessel.
This video has a photo of my re-enacting buddies and I 😅😅😅
Y’all’s kill ratio and combat effectiveness warrants inclusion. 👍
It is kinda funny that we looked good enough to pass off as original.
Αllmost all except the Lehr div and the Grossd. of the units presented here were SS.But there were also wehrmacht battle hardened units such as the 2nd and 3rd mountain divs mostly manned with Austrians and Bavarians just to name a few more ..And of course many others .The fallschirmjagers took a beating from local civilians and low level and unequipped Allied forces in the battle of Crete .And they were never again used for large scale ops .
Took a beating ? Not really . Nor were the Anzac and British troops ill equipped, possessing artillery and armoured cars against German Fallschirmjaeger armed with knives and pistols Nonetheless these NZ, British and Greek troops ended up either captured or forced to perform one of those celebrated evacuations the British mistake for victories. Furthermore, Fallschirmjaeger foiled the British in Sicily and famously held Monte Casino for months against crushing numbers, mass artillery and carpet bombings, repulsing all comers such as Anzacs again, British, US troops, Ghurkas, etc.
@@otfriedschellhas3581 nothing against fallschirmjagers great performance in Monte Casino .But this wasnt an aerial assault anymore .The Allied troops in Crete and Greece overall were very underequipped low tech (maybe -as some say - intentionally to provoke the invasion) with almost no air force and against a highly motivated and tech advanced army.
Crete wa lost due to one incompetent brigade commander who failed to counterattack Malame airfield on the first night. The German paratroopers were no better or worse than Allied. After Crete, they were used as shock troops and not in the role they'd trained for, but even then, in Normandy, Cassino, and Aachen, they were well beaten by average allied infantry.
This narrator is the guy from Geetsly's Star Wars channel!
Personally i think 12SS is overestimated, yeah they achieved good results but with horrific losses, they were more indoctrinated then effectif in combat. Imo the Hermann Goering fallschirmpanzer and the Blue Division deserves an honorable mention
I agree.
12ss is little complicated issue. Their line troops of teens were not of course experienced, but they were very fanatical. They wouldnt hesitate to attack or defend almost to last man. If canadians wouldnt have stopped them, Normandy ops could have suffered dearly.
Yes. This piece is a load of tosh. 12th W-SS Division took nearly 18 months to form and was effectively destroyed in two. Valuable volunteer junior leadership cadres were lost with it and it was never good again. The two senior German parachute divisions were extremely good. However, 1st W-SS Division missed the decisive battle of the war at Stalingrad and was withdrawn from Kursk to be used in a purely political role in Italy. 2nd W-SS Division was better. Panzer Lehr's creation damaged the entire panzerwaffe because it diverted badly needed reinforcements from active panzer divisions at the front elsewhere. It was the best equipped German division in Normandy but did not excel compared with other armoured formations despite this. 6th SS Mountain Division ran away in its first action in Finland and spent most of the war in this backwater. The Grossdeutchland was the ONLY volunteer division in the entire German Army. It should have been good. Nevertheless it suffered possibly the heaviest casualties of any German division in the 3 years of its existence - three times its establishment strength!
And GD also destroyed numerous enemy cores and prevented enemy breakthroughs in many areas where they were deployed@@markaxworthy2508
Brandenburger (before it was a division) was an elite sabotage unit, conducting many covert operations using subterfuge. The Wehrmacht Gebirgsjager Divisions have a much more successful history than the 6thh SS Gebirgs Division Nord. The 6th when fomred and fighting in Norway and Finland were poorly equipped, trained, and led. Their first engagements were a disaster and they took enormous casualties unnecessarily.
There was the Skijägerdivision. A elite unit operating behind the lines in Russia