German Panzers Did 'Invade' Britain!
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- Many people don't know that a German Panzer battalion did land successfully in Britain, launching an 'occupation' of a part of Wales. Think I'm making it up? Think again...
Many thanks to viewer Adrian Parker for suggesting this fascinating topic!
Dr. Mark Felton is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.o...
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Credits: US National Archives; Library of Congress; Bundesarchiv; Steve Fareham; British Army
MISTAKE!!! - you hear me say 'Bundesheer' several times in the video. I should have just said 'Here' when referring only to the West German Army. Please forgive this error!
@@MarkFeltonProductions I forgive you 😄.
I'll never forgive you😡😡😡😡
@@MarkFeltonProductions
They shall be forgiven
Very interesting as always.. Thanks Mark. 😊
Castlemartin is in Pembrokeshire, or Dyfed, not Carmarthenshire.
Born in 1963 as a son of a German dairy farmer in a little village in Westfalen it wasn't "much fun" to "host" British troops during their fall maneuver either. In particular higher ranks were often a bit hostile. Anyway, after they damaged our fields and pastures with their tanks and trucks, they send common soldiers to fix fences and minor damages. I remember that a lot of these guys were very happy to get out of their barracks for one or two weeks. These was in the 1970 and 80, not so much in the 1990 anymore. Also, in the later years they became way more friendly. One soldier told me, he was so happy to be in Germany and not stationed in Northern Irland. I will never forget that! Like your channel very much!! Greeting from a German living in Texas.
From what I recall, had you moved to Texas in the 19th century, you would have been one in many thousands of Germans in Texas😊
@@robertcuny934 yes, the history of Germans here in Texas is a very interesting topic. Hope to get deeper into it over the years. Unfortunately a lot is already lost or "americaniced". And Lederhosen und Dirndl oder Oktoberfest aren't the only typically German things!!! 😉 Germany is much, much, way much more!!!
... Hello from a Englander!.How do you find Texas?. 🇬🇧🇩🇪🇺🇲
@@DJJAW11 it is okay. But still room for improvement! 😊
Grüße aus Westfalen!
Just adding a few details: von Kleist carefully prepared his troops for their time in England, they had to attend classes in English history, lifestyle and customs. On the evening of their arrival two german soldiers were send on an unusual mission: they were ordered to go the local pub and have a beer and return without any trouble (which they did)...
Von Kleist seemed to be a wise leader and manager.
Ummmm... they weren't in England.
I wonder if he ordered them against flirting with Welsh ladies?
@@J0einOK certainly yes. I am sure the order was to be low on profile.
@@J0einOK If so, he was not sucessfull, because the First marriage between a german tankman and a local lady took place just one year after the arrival of the Bundeswehr and many more marriages were to follows..
There was genuine sadness when the Germans stopped coming to Wales in 1996.
No doubt they were a boost to the town's economy. No offense to the Welsh, but if you're a small town in Wales you're probably *very* grateful for outsiders helping out the local economy. I rsther doubt this place is a major tourist Hotspot.
@@vic5015Castlemartin isn't, but Pembroke being the nearest town definitely is.
@@vic5015 True. Did a road trip round the UK with a couple of friends years ago. Visited some small picturesque towns in Wales where the locals were very welcoming but also surprised we were there. Remember walking into a lovely little pub and it was like in an old Western movie: everyone turned to look at the strangers in their midst.
What was the official explanation for stopping the German training in Wales after 35 years ? I guess the reason was the Bundeswehr - after the reunification and the departure of the Russian Army stationed in East Germany - now had enough shooting ranges at their disposal and didn't need to use the ones in Wales.
@@rainbowseeker5930Obviously, cost cutting by eliminating a training ground overseas. In addition, the German armored divisions were rigorously downsized in the following years and the Leopards were sold - mostly to Poland, because we were able to collect a large peace dividend after the end of the Cold War, as the opinion at the time was that we will now enjoy lasting peace from now on in Europe...
I lived within earshot of Castlemartin firing range when the Bundeswehr were there, live-firing. I'd be on the phone to a friend in England and they'd ask what that krump-thump noise was. Delighted to say, 'It's the Germans!' From my memory, the Germans were welcomed, as were the Dutch after them.
The Dutch sign at the World Cup "Give back my Grandfathers bicycle".
Went on a jeep safari in Fuerteventura with a random bunch of Germans in the early 90s, one of my fellow passengers was a former Bundeswehr tank driver who'd practised his tanker skills in Wales in the 80s.
My dad, an American, enlisted in the Canadian army in 1940 and was sent over to Britain to be part of the defense against invasion on the South Coast. He ended up being captured during the Dieppe Raid in 1942.
Why meddle in the affairs of countries that don't concern him? A bad American habit that needs to come to a halt.
@@Heike-- Shut up, have some respect for veterans who are likely 10x older than you.
Your father was a hero and will always be remembered with honour, particularly in his case for joining the Canadian army before the USA entererd the War.
@@Heike--Get bent kraut, we Smacked you around twice, don’t make us come do it again
@@Heike--because in 1940 the USA had not yet joined the war and was looking very isolationist. Many Americans who felt America should’ve been involved already decided to volunteer abroad to support the allies. It’s pretty heroic.
A lot of people don't know that the German Luftwaffe had a training base in New Mexico for many years. It only recently closed.
This was at Holloman AFB. The reason for them having a squadron there is that they could fly Nap of the Earth missions which were severely restricted in Europe. As I understand it, they rotated folks out every 3 years (much like the US does in Germany).
This might be a good video for this channel.
German military also trained in Canada.
@@user-og1ux8nr3i Are you talking abou the NATO Flight Training in Canada (NFTC) program? That's the only one I'm aware of where the Germans had people posted to Canada at all times.
@@kutter_ttl6786 -- I was thinking that they trained in Alberta but I’m wrong. They do train in Labrador though.
People not liking Germans soon after WW2 was something I encountered as a child. I am not German and neither were my parents. However, as a kid born in the early '50s some people thought I was because I had very light blonde hair. I can recall complete strangers coming up to my parents and in unfriendly tones asking my parents if I was a German. I hardly knew what to make of it as a kid but I could see that these people were visibly upset. I will never forget it.
not that surprising is it after the generational trauma inflicted by the Germans.
That is very odd, since many American children also have light blonde hair.
And Eisenhower, Nimitz and Spaatz, to name a few, were German-American.
@@Melior_Traiano odd it was but it happened. The time I remember best was when we were in a store shopping. A man approached my parents and said in a sort of loud voice "Is he German?" I don't recall what my father said to the man but if I remember correctly my mother took me by the hand and led me away.
They had Every Reason to be Upset 😡🤔
I met German troops in 1980 fishguard, Wales. UK. One was called Thomas, he and the rest were nice guys.
Fishguard, man that town has had some action through the centuries hasn’t it? 😂
@@ChrisCrossClash Yes the Americans invaded and so did the French, both got beaten by women in tall hats. It had an air base near it, we saw tornados flying out to sea from there and as a kid i visited an airbase. Damn it was big.
@@Mulberry2000 From what I'm finding online, this is indeed one American, no typo on your part?
From enemies to allies, if you live long enough, you will see these kind of things.
Scars from both the Great War and World War II run DEEP. I can imagine this situation in 1961 was a bitter pill to swallow for some residents in the UK.
My good friends father was a tank driver during WW2. He was outraged when it was announced that the Germans would be training in Wales. He used to say, to anyone who would listen, that he had "fought them all through North Africa, Sicily, and Italy, and now they were bringing them here on holiday".! To say the least he wasn't best pleased.
@@davidpage4005 That is so very understandable! - I am German and although I was born much later after WWII had ended, I feel liberated by the Allies, thankful and with deep respect to what Allied troops had to go through on their way to Victory over Nazi-Germany. Those brave soldiers brought democracy to Germany. I'm glad.
Very enjoyable episode! Being an Army brat in Germany for many years, I lived in a small region that Patton's 3rd Army passed through. But as there were no military targets and no Wehrmacht formations of note, they passed it by almost untouched. The local's opinion of the Americans living amongst them was overwhelmingly positive, especially for those of us who fairly integrated into local German society and culture. As a footnote: the anti-Nazi resistance was pretty active in that region during the war, rescuing many downed flyers and whisking them away to the Maquis in nearby France. This may have predisposed them to Americans even before occupation and then allies.
My grandfather spoke nothing but good of the American occupation forces. He and his family thanked their lucky stars that they had managed to escape the Red Army.
@@TheLurker1647 Lucky indeed. My school bus driver, when I was a kid, was drafted in at 15. He had only a few weeks of training. He was terrified and when he came upon an American soldier, the American only disarmed him and took him home with a note pinned to his shirt (like a naughty kid way back in the day) saying "We don't kill children. Only Nazis do.", with a strong warning to keep him hidden because the SS was running about hanging supposed deserters. He kept that note his entire life and showed it to me in the mid-80s when I was in my early teens. To say he was fond of us Americans was an understatement.
I worked with a German that was in Wales with his tank at this time. He enjoyed himself and was suprpised how small the houses were in wales
In 1961, as a thirteen year old I remember the public "uproar" at the presence of the Bundeswehr panzer troops on exercise in South West Wales. It was a bit of a shock for many adults including my father who fought in WW2 in the Warsaw Uprising and in Polish 1st Armored in North western Germany.
Poland launched WW2.
I read that Norway wouldn't allow West German soldiers ( apart from medical personnel )to operate in their country as part of NATO exercises.
@@Occident. Poland did NOTlaunch WW2!. It was Nazi Germany and its ally, Soviet Russia, that launched WW2 by invading Poland. You are confusing the victim with the aggressors.
@@Occident. It was Germany
@@FrankSinatraTheSecond And Russia....
Mark Felton gives us the answers to questions we didn't even know to ask😮
I still have a 10 Panzer tie, swapped when at Castlemartin Ranges. I've been up and down the live-fire ranges in both an M113 and M48 - this was in 1982, IIRC.
Yes, the first Bundeswehr panzers were M47 and M48 Pattons. But the Germans were not quite happy with them. They considered them too big and slow and under-armed. Looking back on their experience in the defensive battles of 1944 and 1945, the veteran Wehrmacht officers that made up the cadre of the new Bundeswehr correctly concluded that the small mobile Stugs and Panzer IVs had been overall more effective than the big Panthers and Tigers. Interestingly, the French army had come to the same conclusion at around the same time. So the Germans and French agreed in the early 1960s to jointly develop a new tank that would be fast, mobile, compact, powerfully armed and which could be mass-produced in Europe. Ultimately, the joint project failed to to differences in design philosophy and politics, but both the French and Germans would end up producing a tank that was strongly inspired by this logic. The Germans produced the Leopard I, which sort of combined the best elements of Psnzer III, IV and Panther design, while the French produced the AMX-30, which was a fast, lightly armored but powerfully armed tank. Both of these tanks would serve with distinction in many NATO and other armies throughout the Cold War. In fact, the Leopard I would serve in the armies of former enemies of Germany (Canada, Australia) as well as countries occupied by Germany like Belgium and the Netherlands!
And now they're in Ukraine.
Not the only example of a joint project being shelved, but the participants take from it to build their own design that proves successful. The German Leopard II and the US Abrams were each the outcome of the failed MBT-70 project.
The "old farts" in our maintenance company hated them for not being metric. In 1990/91 we still had literally two toolboxes; one for Leopard, Marder, Jaguar and our trucks; one for M113. The brigade had M48s until the 80s, then they received Leo 1s from units that were re-equipped with Leo 2.
The main reason for Leopard 1 becoming so popular were the considerably lower running costs compared to M48.
The old StuG also made a re-appearance in form of Kanonen-Jagdpanzer, which found its way into many European armies.
The Keiler ("Boars") as they were called in Germany were always intended as a stop-gap solution. The Bundeswehr started posting requirements for a domestic tank as early as 1956, with the first Leopard 1 rolling out of the factory eight years later in 1964. The Keiler were soon relegated to the territorial army and army reserve but remained in service until the early 1990s.
If you visit Australia you might see some of our old Leopards.
When they were retired they were put out to pasture in some of our towns , usually next to an RSL (Returned Services League) building.
They look great.
We now have M1 Abram's.
One mistake: Its called Bundeswehr, Bundesheer is austrian
Look it up at Heer is Army after the War wehr is the hole of the armed services.
Look it up again yeah wrong! Wehr is all of the armed services Heer was the army then.
@@michaelcarney6280 its not that deep my friend, as a german I can assure you its wehr. Heer has always been austrian
@@michaelcarney6280 Yes, German tanker here, it is Bundeswehr and Heer as a single word only for the land forces. Bundesheer is for Austria.
For the english people: Bundeswehr are 2 word in one and means: Bundes=federal and wehr-("macht") = defensive "force". federal defensive "force".
fancy that, imagine you've just fought in the second world war as a german panzer commander, and your reenlisted into the west german army as a commander of a m48 or m47, and you're on this firing range in wales and your shooting up british world war 2 tanks?, if that doesn't scream irony i don't know what does
"Patton" tanks with former WW2 Germans operating them and shooting at WW2 British armor. I
agree, pretty damn ironic.
"The well-fed Obersrleeutnant". It isn't often that Dr. Felton hits us with some comedy relief, but when he does, it's pretty good.
Ha I thought I'd mis-heard that
Oberstleutnant literally Colonel Lieutenant > Lieutenant Colonel or sometimes known in various place as a Light Colonel short of a full Colonel.
This reminds me of that Fawlty Towers episode.
“Don’t mention the war.”
You do realize that episode pokes fun at Basil Fawlty though, not at the German tourists?
It became "Operation Sea Kitten" instead for Britain.
lol
And they ended up "fighting" on the same side. Such is the whimsical nature of geopolitics, as depicted in Orwell's '1984'.
A friend of mine here in New Zealand was born in Wales and lived there for more than 30 years before emigrating.
She remembered the German panzers grinding along her country lanes and past her front gate.
Her parents often had German soldiers to tea. She said they were likeable young men who were anxious to be seen as different from their fathers' generation.
ahh was sleeping one night on mount Eden Hill and a maori wahine ghost - 'told me not too fight the - ''Maori.''- in the morning ahh came down and saw a Maori lady in front off me so told her about the Maori wahine ghost , and the Maori lady told me She was born in- ''Wales.''
Panzerbattaillon 84 was posted in Lüneburg/ Lower Saxony as part of brigade 8- God’s own brigade. It was called this way as it had 100% operational readiness, replacing vehicles within 24hrs max. Here the integrated tests for the development of Leopard 1 & 2 took place due to its high standards of training.
Fun fact: the barracks in Lüneburg have an own bridge over the Elbe canal to make sure they can cross the first line of defense at all time.
They invaded the US many decades ago. One of the reasons we have an outstanding German Christmas Market in my area is the fact that my house is less than 2 miles from the Bundeswehr headquarters for North America.
Did you to learn german to speak to the invaders?
@@Mulberry2000 No, I learned German in high school in the '60s because I wanted to be an engineer. My only choices were Latin, French and German. People who wanted to be doctors or lawyers took Latin, those like me who wanted to be engineers or scientists took German, everyone else took French. My Francophone mother did not appreciate my choice.
@@M1903a4 I was joking.
@@Mulberry2000
He wasn't......
no sense of humour...
deep German influence old chap!
@@JohnSmith-pl2bk Go away and read a book. Hitler was Austrian.
This man deserves an award honestly 👏👏👏👏
in Clickbait Trashery.
@@RandomDeforge Blame the game, not the player. Mark puts out some of the highest quality content.
YT's demand of flashy titles and thumbnails pay for this
@@RandomDeforge It's not clickbait when it is obviously tongue-in-cheek.
@@RandomDeforgeclickbait? Da fuq?
@@BeavisBuffcoat if you know what da faq means. then you should know what clickbait is.
I was serving at RAF Brawdy in Pembrokeshire in the early 90s, and clearly remember what was at the time still a very strange sight in the UK when the Germans rotated the troops for Castlemartin, namely movements of former Soviet bloc aircraft .... Tu-154s, An-12s etc.
In fact the uniforms of the Bundeswehr differed from those of the Wehrmacht. The collar patches were only added at the beginning of the 1960s. The first dress uniforms reminded many people of those worn by officials of the Federal Mail looking quite unmilitary. Intentionally so! The NVA (= Nationale Volksarmee; National People's Army) of the GDR, however, looked quite familiar to people who had known the old Wehrmacht tunics.
The splinter camo battle dresses were - unfortunationately - phased out in about 1960 leaving the armed forces (with the exception of helmet covers: splinter and "amoeba"-patterns) without any camouflage until the early 1990s when "Flecktarn" was introduced throughout the services. We really envied the British DPM pattern back in the 1980s.
By the way: the name "Bundeswehr" was invented by none other than General Hasso von Manteuffel of "Battle of the Bulge"-fame.
Dr. Felton refers to one of the caps as a 'side cap'. In the American military that type of cap is unofficially called a 'c*nt cap'.
@@MrSloikaI believe the full description is, "mare's c**t" cap. Must harken back to the cavalry days...
@@MrSloika The cap we wore during basic training (until we were allowed to wear the maroon beret of the "Fallschirmjäger" with the "plunging eagle" - badge) was called "Schiffchen" (literally: little ship; which, I think translates, "forage cap"). Dr Felton (to my knowledge) also referred to the "field grey" uniform (actually "olive drab").
UA-cam's closed captioning system consistently spells "Panzer" as "Panza", which made me think of the whole "gangsta" thing, and now I can't unsee it. All them dope Panza Divisions, bro, they're so sick!
Well, that or Sancho Panza divisions... Which makes for some amusing mental pictures.
We're all sorry you have listening comprehension problems but nobody cares, nerd.
So if Coolio had been German, his hit song Gansta Paradise would’ve actually been Panza Paradise?
Earliest Mark Felton video I've caught yet! It is always a pleasure to learn about war history alongside you Mark! Cheers! ☕️
Whilst based at RAF St Athan, the C160 Transalls would bring in rotational crews. They would then bus them to Castlemartin. Just before they left for good, we were invited over to the ranges as their guests for the day. Rides in the Leopard tanks etc etc. They were brilliant hosts.
In the 90s the Bundeswehr was invited to the 14th July parade on the Champs Elysees. The black crosses caused quite a stir among some elder people as well.
Btw until today you can see German soldiers who marching on the Champs Elysees on Bastille Day. They wear the Badge of the German-French Brigade.
Castlemartin / Merrion Range is in Pembrokeshire not Carmarthenshire
who would had expected german tanks in wales shooting churchill tanks during 1960s onwards
George Orwell ❤
My god, Mark - i don't know how you do it. Endlessly fascinating stuff!
I remember that my uncle worked for many years with DeHavillands/ Hawker Siddley/ Rolls-Royce at Hatfield. He often had his Super-8 cine camera handy, and once captured a West German C-130 landing and taxiing there. Even then, the iron cross markings caused bit of frisson amongst the family, and this was around 1970-ish.
Not a C-130 Hercules with 4 engines, but a C-160 Transall military transport aircraft with 2 engines. This plane was a franco/german joint venture. It was in use until 2021.
Fun fact....German M48a2 Patton tanks ended up in the Israeli army in a secret deal
So how do you know about it
@@rogerpattube Because the deal was secret, but the tanks' existence wasn't. My country's nascent armed forces also "secretly" dealt with the Israelis starting in the mid '60s, but publicly identified them as Mexicans, because our belligerent neighbours are Muslim-majority and vehemently against the existence of the State of Israel. Of course, everyone knew who they really were. Kinda fitting (and ironic), we were pretty much their SE Asian analogue. We also "secretly" received AMX-13 and Centurions from the IDF's retired stockpile.
@@rogerpattube you know secrets don't remain secret forever don't you ?
@@rogerpattube It wasn't so secret, even then... or rather, it was a closely guarded secret while the transaction was taking place, but once the tanks were delivered... not so much. Israel had M48s, that was impossible to hide, and if they hadn't come from US stocks West Germany, that was replacing them with the first Leopard I, was the obvious source.
Clicking while thinking _"OK, let's have this new definition of 'invade' then"._
Captain Mainwaring wouldn´t have been at all happy about this.
Yes, panzers would not have been permitted to invade Walmington-on-Sea. 😂
Thank you for this very informative video, Dr. Felton. I didn't know about this before. I'm very proud, that the Federal Republic of Germany 🇩🇪 became a reliable allied of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 🇬🇧 and its other NATO partners in 1955. At 2:20 you've typed in "Bundesheer" instead of "Bundeswehr". Bundesheer is the name of the forces of the neutral Republic of Austria 🇦🇹, which were also founded in 1955, including the air force, even though the German word "Heer" means "army", the ground forces only.
Like the Chinese - The Peoples Liberation Army Navy and the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force. (Well, we did that for a bit with the USAAC, then the USAAF)
The German army is the Heer, so calling it the Federal Army, while not its official name, is not totally wrong.
@@M1903a4 it is totally wrong, as if there is anywhere written bundesheer on a paper of the german army it is about the austrian army
@@M1903a4 I've clearly written about the names. The German Bundeswehr and the Austrian Bundesheer.
I served in Germany from 76-81,as a tank soldier,familiar with Hohne,and Soltau.Always thought of myself as a guest not an occupier,and had no negative occurrences from the German people.Some of the residents of Fermanagh however made their hostility very obvious
The west German army’s name is Bundeswehr not Bundesheer, the Bundesheer is the Austrian army
Wrong look it up properly.
@@michaelcarney6280 I serve in the Bundeswehr, we are literally the former west German army
@@michaelcarney6280Nope, he is correct, German here, who served in the Heer of the Bundeswehr.
It’s his accent that’s making it sound like it
@@AN-nt3uv Nope. He even wrote it wrong at 2:27
If he just wanted to name the troop type it should be just "Heer". Bundesheer does not exist in germany. Its either Heer (Land forces), Bundeswehr (as the german army) or Bundesheer (austrian army)
Germany was divided into five zones, Poland was biggest recipient of land because the Soviets moved Poland westward to confiscate land from everyone.
Up to WW2, who lived in this part of 'Eastern Germany' ? Was it German citizens, German speaking and/or Polish speaking people ? Did the population change after the war ? ( I read that after the Potsdam Conference the Russians wanted all German speaking people to the East of the River Oder ? expelled to the West ?)
In 1965, as an 8 year old, when we had moved into our new apartment in Hannover, Germany, I had decorated the room I shared with my brother with a large map of our hometown. One day I discovered a location on it, marked as "Englischer Soldatenfriedhof" (English Military Cemetery) in the suburb of Ahlem. My grandfather, who had been in the SS (something I have never supported in my conscience) wasn't too excited when I showed it to him and brushed it away as an essential place of war as "one had to bury the enemy somewhere. Any decent German, however, should not bother going there. That is their territory and they can look after it." Only in 1982, 17 years later, as a 25 year old, did I learn during research for a project at Scouts, that nearby that cemetery a concentration camp had been located. It was neither marked in that wall map nor mentioned to us at school, not even in Secondary School leading up to mature adulthood. Finally, in 1983, the City of Hannover staged an exhibition on minor concentration camps and other Nazi installations in their region. There are still critics around declaring that time as the foundation of the "woke movement", undermining German history (in their opinion).
What an odd switcharoo for both armies to conduct live fire-training in their opposite respective countries!
The uniform of the BGS(west-german Border guards and in some respect a kind of forerunner of the Bundeswehr) was ways more "traditional" compared to the quite "americanized" Bundeswehr-Uniform.Very prussian-looking were the east-german(NVA) uniforms.BTW: The Bundeswehr had although a training facility for Tanks and Artillery in Canada(Camp Shiloh).
one thing history teaches us: your ally today might be your enemy tomorrow, and the same applies in reverse. One war they are your enemy, the next you work together for victory over a previous friend. It is one thing worth learning from history.
I spent 4 months at Merrion Camp in 69, We had a great time, fishing and swimming when off duty. Remember the local lads giving the coaches which carried the soldiers from the airport to the camp the Hitler Salut,
I served in the British Army in BOAR for 7 years and never knew that German Bundeswher trained in Wales as well. Interesting video thanks for sharing.
You know it’s gonna be a great day when Mark Felton uploads.
Been in Castlemartin 2 weeks for an exercise with FeSphKp 100 (LRR). We had our Operation Center there, radio trucks, have set up our various antennas there and encrypted/ decrypted radio messages from our recon squad’s operating in Scotland. Was a great time, i love the coast. Even if swimming in the sea in October isn’t that much as fun as the Sarge promised.
Fascinating! I had many encounters with the Bundeswehr when I was stationed in Frankfurt am Main with 3rd Armored Division , 1975-77, but I had no idea that some of their panzer troops were training in the UK! Yet again you surprise us with forgotten or little known history!
In Castle Martin Campbell there were still German language signs on some doors in the LAD and Regimental Insignia around the camp. Also a Leopard 1 as a gate guardian.
Hello everyone, my uncle found a German ring on the beaches of West Wales and gave it to me as a child. It is still in my possession. Wonderful ring from 1941 stating DAK Duetch Afrika Korps I assume.Swastika through palm tree and as I remember it a camel and also vultures flying. Will dig it out am away at moment. Was told it was probably from the German base after the war in West Wales. I am 61 now and remember it from a young lad of 11 at least. Told it was a one off probably for an officer.
Hey Mark, we go to Castle Martin every year. The guardroom for the LAD still has German signs in it, slept in there many a time whilst on stag.
I can remember some people complaining that German tanks were functioning in a NATO exercise in Western Canada many years back, I think that it might have been the 80's or 90"s and some people were indeed angry that the Germans had tanks in Canada, and me observing today that we buy German tanks today which Ukraine would appreciate getting fron Canada.
Mark! I’ve just started getting back into WWII history, and I must say, your videos are the best! The level of detail you go into is second to none. Thank you.
I went to Castlemartin twice, 78 and 79, and the Bundeswehr had one target, that was very difficult to hit, and if someone did they got a bottle of champagne, well, our OC honoured this, and being a very keen 17 year old gunner, I wanted it, well on the final bound, I spotted the top left corner of it behind a gorse bush, well through my application of our gunnery and an excellent tank commander, we hit it, which because of the lessons learnt, did it the following year as well, but it was very strange seeing German tanks in Wales 🤓
I must say that Iron Cross stencilled on the side of the turret looks rather daunting
When the West German Army ( Bundeswehr )was being formed I don't know what sort of debate ( if any )they had as far as what emblems, badges and other insignia they were going to have. This design of cross was used in WW1, ( as if they thought that it was more 'acceptable' because it was from the 'pre-nazi past ) but I think it looks even more 'frightening' than the style used in WW2.
My maternal grandfather wouldn't even be in the same pub as Germans after his experience of them. However my paternal grandfather (a Town Major in 1945 and having fought them in the First World War as well) respected them and passed this onto my father.
We holidayed in Germany a lot where my father could practice his German language skills (learned from a refugee German Jew)
What a mixed up world we live in !
I often joked that Leopard tanks were right hand drive, so clearly intended for invading Britian.
used to drink with the panzers in Pembroke - the red caps used to round them up at the end of the evening their PR was spot on had a couple of trips out on the tanks on the range and used to watch Th Prinz Leopard tank carrier berthing at the dock and tanks driving up to castlemartin - great times
Genius sending the Germans to wales - after spending time with the locals, they would definitely never invade Britain.
Hitler cancelled "Sealion" because he realised if he invaded he'd get lumbered with the welsh and jocks too.
Those Patton tanks are WW2 postwar movie tanks playing for King tigers.
I saw them in "The Devils Brigade" (1968) in The German army.
In the movie "A bridge too far" they used the Leopard 1 als german battle tanks.
But like it shows here, the Patton tanks were the standart battle tanks of most of the NATO armed foces including the Federal Republic of Germany or Western Germany until the Leopard battle tank shows up und replaced them in Europe.
@@TellySavalas-or5hf Battle of the Bulge has many in the movie, which is a lousy rendition of the real battle
@@TellySavalas-or5hf William Holden and O'Connor in 1 warmovie.
I went on exercise at Castle Martin prior to going on a deployment I had no idea about this interesting piece of history. Good work as always 😊
8:09 "old Leopard 1 tank", it's old but still better than most tanks
Thank your for the big smile on my face when you mentioned that the Germans fired on old UK WW2 Tanks. That came unexpected, well done!
Something similar happened in North America. Germany was the only country in the wold that had permanent troops stationed in the United States. It's a bit ironic to think about it.
The US was "invaded" by Germany in the 1960s too! Mostly, they were Luftwaffe pilots and support personnel who were learning to fly and service the F-104 Starfighter. Later, the German military were on Ft. Bliss, Texas at the same time I was there in the 90s. We would talk with many German soldiers who were there to train on the Patriot Missile system. They were cool guys, and we felt that their missile transports were better than ours.
Got to bless Mark for using the WarThunder tank picture as a thumbnail
Always love reading through the comments on your videos to see people sharing their stories
Fascinating video! Once you go Felton, you don't go back.
The Centurion 🇬🇧 😮 what A Tank 💪 ,absolutely AWESOME 👌
*Thumbnail is literally Warthunder*
Ahh, it's been a while since i watched something in this channel. And as always, it is impressive
US M-48 Patton Tanks with German crosses
M48 Patton...
Yes, the crosses as seen on German tanks in WW2 does seem a bit much ! They could have painted them over or come up with a different design.
@@adrianparker-e9f
They ARE of a different design.
@@billdeburgh You're right ! I got mixed up with the WW2 era 'Balkenkreuze' and the WW1 'Eisernes Kreuz'. Silly me !
My first unit gunnery assessment was done at Castlemartin. The German’s were rotating through a changeover when ‘we’ were there(May 1985) so their presence was minimal. Castlemartin was a great little camp with an awesome range . Our assessment was done by the RAC. All very formal with lots of marching to the firing point briefing tents and debriefs proper ‘army’ stuff a bit distant from the way my unit ‘did things’ but impressive nonetheless. As a bonus we had 3 weeks(or maybe two it’s a while ago) of absolutely brilliant weather. Unheard of during just about every other ‘excursion’ I did during 22years of service.
Yep, Castemartin Range, Camp Marrion, 1991 and 1995, Life-Firing Leo2A4 👍
Saw these on the roads as I went to work from Tenby to the Texaco Pembroke Refinery in the early 70's. It was common to see a German officers on motorcycle and side cars. They would halt the traffic and direct the tank column travelling down towards the road signage : 'Block House' near the BP Oil terminal at Angle Bay. An amazing site for sure! Castle Martin was very busy with these exercises!
What grades did hitler get in Art School??
Not C’s
Unfortunately Hitler got never any grades in Art school. The stupid Professors rejected him. Stupid because the world sustains more 3rd class painters than 1.class dictators🤣
I'm from Castell Martin and born in the year the Germans arrived. There was never any animosity toward the German boys. To the contrary, we saw them as a possible bulwark to keep the British out. Cofio Yr Almaenwyr!
If you read the news reports from the time, there was some animosity expressed, though I don't think in your village, rather more generally in the UK.
8:12 "...very friendly Panzer invasion of Britain" 😂
"Better late than never Hans..."
In the 1980's Cdn. soldiers looked forward to going through FIBUA training in Cennelager. It was the cap feather everyone wanted because Canada had no training area like it. One of the few 'gung ho' postings was The Green Line, Cyprus.
sehr interessant. Danke für diese geschichtlichen Informationen über die Bundeswehr.
Panzers driving through the village is the sort of thing that your old Welsh auntie tells you at Christmas but you think she is either ga ga or making it up.
How ironic is it that German panzer divisions were using Patton tanks… the man who was the Panzers most ruthless Western foe.
The lamest MFer who is over popularized while his blunders and failures are swept under the rug
You think that's something guess who's son's met as NATO Allies? Nope not going to tell
The german Bundeswehr acquired more than 1,400 M48 from the US in 1960(?). Later replaced by Leopard 2 . 650 M48 served lightly modernized(british L7 105mm gun) in reserve units (Territorialheer) until 1992.24 of them were converted in mine-clearing vehicles(Keiler). M47 tanks were although used in the Bundeswehr between 1956 and 1967. The Leopard 1(serial production from 1965) replaced more the outdated M47 .
@@Manco65 I believe that was the sons of Eisenhower and Rommel. Have a vague memory of reading that somewhere.
I'd say Montgomery was the panzers most ruthless foe in the west considering the battles in north Africa and the fact that 75% of German armour in Normandy was destroyed by the British and Canadian forces under monty
Always managed to amaze me with interesting facts from ww2 and beyond. Good job, great video!
Already better than the German navy playing the empire theme down the Thames
As a german myself I saw that in the News and laughed my skinny Ass off.....🤣
..and they say the Germans have no sense of humour? I thought it was hilarious.
In 1988 /1989 i was a conscript in the Tank Battalion 64 ("The wolves") of the German Army. Parts of the Battalion went for exercises to Castlemartin . Unfortunately, I was not deployed to Wales and I was really jealous of my comrades. The accommodation was apparently not particularly good and contact with the civilian population was minimal due to the intensive training on the shooting range. The enthusiasm of the returning comrades was therefore mainly limited to the special live-fire exercises.
Mark. Thanks for providing my Tuesday Night Entertainment!
In the 1980's we did our live fire exercises at Grafenwhor in West Germany. Saw some West German Leopards there. Glad we were on the same side!
Very interesting! Greetings from East Tennessee!
Again just more information I did not know about?...Love your videos mate!..I also love history in general...
Fantastic video again Mark, thank you.
Delayed gratification for the Germans & they didn't need Operation Sealion to do it. They just had to wait 82 years.
🌌🔭
Hey Mark! Do you know that in 1957 San Marino elected a coalition of communists and socialists into power? What happened next was a coup and new elections. It would be a nice topic to bring.
Sounds like something the Tim Traveller would cover.
Just off the road that ran past the Castlemartin range, there was a raised public viewing area with information boards saying what units were currently operating there. When the Panzers were in action it was a fantastic free show!
You can't hate on German uniforms. Those things are pretty Boss.
I see what you did there.
Boss that is la
Hugo Boss only manufactured them, they didn’t design them.
@@matthewjones39 actually, Hugo Boss did design the Nazi uniforms after going bankrupt in 1931.
Herr Hugo was also a fully fledged member of the National Socialist Workers Party.
@@CymruCelt01It's well documented that the black SS uniform was designed by SS-Oberführer Prof. Karl Diebitsch, and graphic designer Walter Heck in 1932. They had no affiliation to Hugo Boss, who only manufactured the uniforms.
@@kutter_ttl6786 I never said anything about the black SS uniform.
On the walk in to some sea cliff climbing 40 years ago in Pembrokeshire we passed the remains of what I instantly recognised had once been a Churchill tank beside the path through the firing range - and you did have to keep to the path. It consisted of a short strip of track and a double line of small bogey wheels mostly buried in the dried mud that could only have been from a Churchill. Very distinctive. That's all that was left.
The British once fought like demons to defend their nation.
Now, not so much...
Sold out by successive politicians.
Yeah. I agree... This is because we have been betrayed and divided from within by home grown criminals and traitors. It's an absolute disgrace.
@@Who.Knew-The.Salt.MustFlow Whenever that Dictator "Queer Quisling Stammer" Appears in propaganda power mode, Turn the volume off - & accept* the evidence of your eyes - Autocue Heir Keir Stammer.
Used to visit Freshwater west (Beach) where you can hear the shells ripping the air from the tank base.
Thank you Mark - would like to find more on the Battle of Halbe / Pass ..Breakout which the remnants and/of Hitler’s 9th Army, with thousands of civvies - Army made a human chain to ford a river southwest of Berlin & escape to American lines..
No war that is why, stop moaning.
@Mulberry2000
You're right.
They are surrendering without a fight.
Once again Dr Felton you bring us very specific yet important and interesting history not everyone has access to.