Dear kings and generals It would be very good if they made a documentary series about the punic wars and I think there would be a lot of people interested in the history of Carthage.
The idea of Borotra walking through a battlefield, seeing two SS soldiers, giving them a jolly wave and then casually urinating on a tree before walking away...oh sweet mercy, that is insane. This entire battle is insane. Americans, Germans, French and Austrians fighting alongside each other. So many heroes.
I would have liked some Austrian and French flags on the mignatures, but anyways you can see see (hear actually in narration failures) that the video was a bit rushed. Great to see at last a documentary on this event though !
@@Cancoillotteman yeah it seems they gave the prisoners American miniatures, but Borotra did request an American uniform and you could call him the honorary leader of the prisoners XD
A medieval castle siege involving tanks and machine guns between American troops, together with German Wehrmacht, assissted by a French tennis superstar, against German SS in Austria? Reality sometimes is weirder than fiction
Don't forget African American soldiers as well. This would be an amazing movie today. People wouldn't believe any of it was real. Like it was tailored for all political sides and countries today. 😂
Gangl's story is so tragic in this battle, preparing his men, loyal to him, to betray their side to join the enemy, to fight to the very end, expecting them all to die, and then to sacrifice himself trying to protect a POW, only to be the only death out of all of them. He saved them all, a real hero, went out like a true hero too.
It's great that he has been honoured with a street name, but honestly it's not enough I really can't imagine a more heroic action than protecting innocent civilians with your own life. Storys like this give me back my faith for humanity.
@@sagittarius5466 If your side is senselessly killing civilians it's the only heroic thing you can do German here, and because of the tragedy of the 2 WW soldiers of the modern German armed forces are not just allowed but obligated to disobey any order that would constitute a war crime (like killing prisoners and civilians)
Rene Levesque was there!?! Bloody hell. He was my grandmother’s cousin. Met the man many times and had no idea he was there for this iconic battle. Thanks K&Gs for information aboot my family.
@@scruffscruffeton986 I don't know what you've been smoking (see what I did there?), but René Lévesque was Quebec of Premiere starting in 1976. He never ran for office in Ontario, which would be odd, as he was one of the founders of the PQ party that was formed to separate from the rest of Canada.
A Waffen SS Officer, a Wehrmacht Major and a American Armoured Battalion Captain planned the defence of Castle Itter to protect French Political Prisoners against Loyalist SS Forces. How this is not a feature film is a crime. Thank you kings and generals for covering such an extraordinary battle.
Don't also forget various French leaders, De Gaule's elder sister, members of an all African-American battalion, an austrian teenager to just name a few. If they don't make this into a movie or a mini-series in the future, I will be sorely disappointed.
No matter how many times I hear this story, I will never get tired of how US and Germans soldier joined together to defend a castle during World War II. Having the map really helped visualize the entire battle.
Kinda reminded me of the Joan of Arc mission in Age of Empires 2 when you get only 3 crappy reinforcement units: 'We were all the King could afford to send'
so glad this got addressed, my great grandfather fought in this battle all those years ago, his youngest brother is still alive and can still remember the stories he passed to him
@@Iason29 yeah... But I have high respect to those who took stand protecting other people even if it meant fighting against their fellow countrymen, tho atleast in uniform coz I'm not sure if he's pure german.
@@Iason29 I don't think that you're getting my point. I was pointing out how hard it is to fight your own people to stand by your values. For people with high national pride, betraying their own people is no easy task. Maybe you should see it other country's perspective, not yours.
@@sunface09 Not sure it's fair to say they betrayed their people being the Waffen SS had been betraying Germany since it's inception, but I get your point. What the Germans did siding with the PoWs, Americans, and Austrians took honor and integrity.
@@Iason29 You forgot the ones who surrendered, deserted or never enlisted in the first place, the ones who protested Hitler, the ones who conspired to kill him, the ones who helped jews and other minorities escape, the ones who helped the allies in any capacity.
Indeed. And many people still don’t know that the Wermacht (German Armed Forces) were a completely different organization from the SS (National-socialist party private army). The Wermacht waited till the perfect moment to strike against the SS. They tried in the 20th July of 1944, but the attempted coup failed (Valkyrie operation). They arrested many of the SS leaders, but when they learned Hitler survived, they had no choice but to keep allegiance to him…
@@hassanyt4609 , Wehrmacht did not hate SS. I learned from an eye witness who fought in Stalingrad that they were happy when they knew that the flanks are held by Waffen-SS. And vice versa, Wehrmacht units supported SS Einsatzgruppen to fulfill their bloody operations agains the population in the east. This doesn't mean that they all did it volunteerely but it was a few of them only who acted against them. The more honour deserve those who did.
@@jonbaxter2254 Oh! i know about it too (once wrote a post about it). He found and met 2 US soldiers from that day, the kid sadly died before he managed to find any german soldiers
I'm half french half austrian, and this story is one of my favourites of ww2. Both of my countries (during ww2) are often seen with despise or as jokes in popular belief. But in this battle, the french prisoners and the austrian resistants both showed unexpected heroism, and it is possibly the only coordinated battle of ww2 were french and austrians stood side by side against a common ennemy. Thank you Kings&Generals for this amazing video!
@@SimonAshworthWood yeah, only brutally murdering nearly 30 000 of their own people in the process, during the Reign of Terror (get it? It's in the name!), in horrific public executions or without trial in prison & over 1 000 000 dying in the subsequent Napoleonic wars but hey, can't make an omelette.... I guess, right? lmao
@@jubei7259 Jesus you are either incult or a revisionist. Feudalism ended way before the french revolution, and the Napoleonic wars are Britain's fault, not France's.
@@h4rck04 what are you talking about? 'La Revolution's main principle was the abolition of feudalism & the principle of servitude. 'La Revolution' led to the Reign of Terror, the subsequent rise of Napoleon & the ensuing wars which bear his name so please explain which part of what I said could be interpreted as being 'revisionist' exactly, coz I'd love to know? lol
@@h4rck04 I don’t see how Napoleon conquering northern Italy was Britain’s fault. What benefit would they get from that? That’s what kicked off the Napoleonic wars.
If this battle was realistically made into a movie, faithful to its final detail, it would still make an awesome movie and people would still find it hard to believe that it was true!
Given what my grandpa told me that wasn't that uncommon though. He was a kid during the final days and kids were - at least in his part - left alone. So the Germans that based themselves in a farmhouse near where he lived would ask him and his friends where the allied positions were.
And it's the end of the line of the final journey. Enemies leaving the past. And it's American troops and the German army. Joining together at last! The last battle, Sabaton
From the foot of the Alps / to the shores of the sea... From the foot of the Alps / to the shores of the sea! From the home of the brave, and the land of the free! From the foot of the Alps to the shores of the sea!
Adding to what everyone says about how unbelievable this battle was, it was also: - The first battle in history when US soldiers fought together with German soldiers - The very last battle of WW2 - The only battle ever, when US soldiers defended a medieval castle
@@loganicfilms1388 The first and second facts aren't particularly true either. American Marines and German Imperial Army forces fought side by side during the Boxer Rebellion in China at the beginning of the 1900s. During one battle, American forces defended the Tartar wall in Beijing, part of the city walls, which was originally built in the 1400s.
The only death for the defenders was a german trying to save a french, he deserved the recognition , and the low number of casualties on the defending side speaks volume to the skills of both the troops defending it and the officers leading them
This entire video sounded like a game from Wolfenstein series. We already got the Castle, we just need some bizarre technology, some ghouls, a parallel dimension and a badass soldier with the Spear of Destiny.
My family lives in that region: "Brixental". I knew of Schloss (Castle) Itter since I was a boy but only found out about that particular part of it's history only a couple of years ago. Being usually of no consequence to the larger historical context, I was thrilled to learn that this battle had taken place in our "neighborhood". :D
Thanks for a terrific treatment of one of the most amazing events of WWII. Some will say, "my country, right or wrong" but a true hero & patriot will recognize their higher duty to humanity in general. Most soldiers on both sides were honorable men trying to serve their country and to do what's right. How amazing it must have been to see them lay down their lives to fight their former comrades to save their "enemies".
Not one to comment on UA-cam videos, but this is the greatest WW2 story I've heard in recent memory and the production by Kings and Generals deserves recognition. As many comments have stated, if this isn't made into a blockbuster I'll make it myself. Bravo
I am absolutely fascinated of this battle. I was thrilled to see that "Kings and Generals" produced this video on the battle as I knew, even before watching, that it would be a very well detailed account of the battle. Thanks a lot for this one, Kings & Generals.
I have watched a bunch of videos about this bizarre battle but this might be the best one yet, especially thanks to the way it visualizes the whole event. Also, one detail I've noticed for the first time is that one of the American soldiers defending the castle had a very characteristically Polish surname - Szymczyk, and it was pronounced very well in the video.
People forget that much of the Wehrmacht were normal people just fighting for their country. Glad to see a major creator making this story more well known! Bravo
I have been hoping this would be made into a movie for decades ever since I happened to come upon the castle in 1995 while touring the area and one of the locals told me the story. One of the least known aspects of this tale is that some of the GI rescuers were African American troops.
Like seriously. They’ve got Americans including African Americans, Germans, Austrian Resistance, French Celebrities, 2 tanks and a castle! Where’s Hollywood been?! Edit: Get Schwarzenegger as an older Austrian Resistance fighter helping them from Wörgl.
They had; - French VIP POWs - German Nazi defectors - Austrian soldiers - Americans, including those of African, and one possibly of Polish descent (the guy that tried to repair the tank) - As well as other Eastern European staff like that Croatian handyman & Czech cook. Definitely the most batshit crazy diverse cast you can ever have in the entire movie.
Even the sequence of events plays out like a classic Hollywood film, complete with reinforcements arriving right when it looks like the enemy will overwhelm the defenders and the American commander delivering a sarcastic "what took you so long?" to their rescuers. Haha
Great video, I noticed the narrator had to make corrections on his errors in the video, I hope he's doing alright, his narration of these videos makes me come back to watch and rewatch videos.
Most of the French prisoners were WWI veterans. The generals (even if Weygand served essentially as a staff officer), the colonel de La Rocque and the civilians: Édouard Daladier served on the front from 1914 to 1918 as a non commissioned officer, then as an officer, won several citations and later the Legion of Honor. Tennis player Jean Borotra served between 1916 and 1918, won a Croix de Guerre. Michel Clémenceau received a commission, was wounded on the front, ended the war as a major and won a Legion of Honor.
“And it’s the end of the line of the final journey” Sabaton fans: “Enemies leaving the past And it's American troops and the German army Joining together at last”
its stories like this that shine light on the goodness in humanity, even in such a bleak and horrific point of history, regardless of what side you were on.
That castle held two of France's pre-Armistice Prime Ministers, the former head of the French Army Command, and a famous Tennis Star.. I wonder what it felt like to be one of Gangl's men who had been previously part of the same Army who defeated France only to then fight side by side against their much more radical colleagues.
This is why i enjoy this channel so much. You guys do such a excellent job covering battles that aren't widely known. And the exploits of men and women, forgotten to history. Thank you for all your great work.
Wonderful story! I've actually met Rene Lesvesque... he is no longer with us but he was the Premiere of Quebec and leader of the PQ. I'm just a regular guy but I was an opponent of his vision that Quebec separate from Canada and become a sovereign state. I met him on several occasions and admired him... he was a great man and yet he always seemed just a regular guy like the rest of us. I am pleased to know that he played a small part in this operation. Just another reason for me to admire the man.
Austrians French black and white American troops along with Wehrmacht and Waffen SS all fighting shoulder to shoulder. "This has got to be the biggest motley crew I have ever laid eyes on".
When people mean it's so easy to be a movie they're damn right. So many iconic and easily recreatable momemts. The tank in the entrance blasting away at SS soldiers. There being only around 30 defenders at most so need for fancy cgi. There were so many hollywood moments in this battle you'd think it was a plot for a war film!
Best reconstruction of the battle I've seen! It's even better than the mini-documentary Sabaton made of it. Just unfortunate of those two audio editing mistakes, but eh, I'll count that as part of the strangeness of the battle ;)
Is it me or has "Kings and Generals" upped their animation game? They've always been good but it seems that lately they've gotten better. New animator? If so good hire!
It's funny because the narrator does a perfect job fixing the mistakes, thats how it's taught apparently. I can count audio mistakes, from thousands of K&G videos, on 1 hand. But the two in this video did hurt the immersion a bit. Still amazing story and my favorite UA-cam channel. Just odd because it's such an easy audio fix. 😁 (6months late I know 😂)
The waffen-ss weren't just 'the most zealous' - they were the branch of the SS that undertook full military operations, rather than just policing, etc. - thought this was a fairly important thing to note.
this channel becomes better and better if and when revamping the entire school system in the world should ever happen, this kind of stuff needs to be shown uncut
Play Call of War for FREE on PC, iOS or Android: 💥 callofwar.onelink.me/q5L6/KingsandGeneralsWW2
HOI4 clone.
I have the privilege to be the second reply
Can you make a video on first battle of delhi and battle of bhopal?
Dear kings and generals It would be very good if they made a documentary series about the punic wars and I think there would be a lot of people interested in the history of Carthage.
5:51 - 5:52
The idea of Borotra walking through a battlefield, seeing two SS soldiers, giving them a jolly wave and then casually urinating on a tree before walking away...oh sweet mercy, that is insane. This entire battle is insane. Americans, Germans, French and Austrians fighting alongside each other. So many heroes.
He probably needed to pee due to fear and thought he'd involve it in his little act
I would have liked some Austrian and French flags on the mignatures, but anyways you can see see (hear actually in narration failures) that the video was a bit rushed.
Great to see at last a documentary on this event though !
The balls on that man kept the SS's in check.
@@Cancoillotteman yeah it seems they gave the prisoners American miniatures, but Borotra did request an American uniform and you could call him the honorary leader of the prisoners XD
The moment I saw this bit in the video, an earworm started up in my head: Da da-da DA! Da-da DAAA! Da da-da DA! Da da-da da DAAA!
A medieval castle siege involving tanks and machine guns between American troops, together with German Wehrmacht, assissted by a French tennis superstar, against German SS in Austria? Reality sometimes is weirder than fiction
Is this event where the photo of romans with machine guns came from?
And reported on by the future Prime Minister of Quebec
War often makes strange bed fellows
Don't forget African American soldiers as well.
This would be an amazing movie today. People wouldn't believe any of it was real.
Like it was tailored for all political sides and countries today. 😂
u didnt see jojo. american men teaming up with nazis and italians assisted by british to stop aztec bodybuilders.
Gangl's story is so tragic in this battle, preparing his men, loyal to him, to betray their side to join the enemy, to fight to the very end, expecting them all to die, and then to sacrifice himself trying to protect a POW, only to be the only death out of all of them.
He saved them all, a real hero, went out like a true hero too.
It's great that he has been honoured with a street name, but honestly it's not enough
I really can't imagine a more heroic action than protecting innocent civilians with your own life.
Storys like this give me back my faith for humanity.
I don’t think betraying your side to join the enemy is heroic
@@sagittarius5466 If your side is senselessly killing civilians it's the only heroic thing you can do
German here, and because of the tragedy of the 2 WW soldiers of the modern German armed forces are not just allowed but obligated to disobey any order that would constitute a war crime (like killing prisoners and civilians)
@@sagittarius5466 When your side is the Nazis, then yes. Yes it is.
@@sagittarius5466 all Nazis deserve the ol' Mussolini stance
15:37 He did The Best "Just Smile and Wave Boys" In History
Borotra really sold the whole "Don't mind me, just a peasant out for a stroll" act.
Roll for bluff !
- rolling -
20 !
Rene Levesque was there!?! Bloody hell. He was my grandmother’s cousin. Met the man many times and had no idea he was there for this iconic battle.
Thanks K&Gs for information aboot my family.
Rene went on to run over a protestor in the streets. His bio is now more interesting.
@@scruffscruffeton986 I don't know what you've been smoking (see what I did there?), but René Lévesque was Quebec of Premiere starting in 1976. He never ran for office in Ontario, which would be odd, as he was one of the founders of the PQ party that was formed to separate from the rest of Canada.
@@Phaedarus Good stuff for sure 🤣😅
Yeah me too i Was surprised our national René was part of this strange day that marked History in its own way.
A Waffen SS Officer, a Wehrmacht Major and a American Armoured Battalion Captain planned the defence of Castle Itter to protect French Political Prisoners against Loyalist SS Forces.
How this is not a feature film is a crime. Thank you kings and generals for covering such an extraordinary battle.
Don't also forget various French leaders, De Gaule's elder sister, members of an all African-American battalion, an austrian teenager to just name a few.
If they don't make this into a movie or a mini-series in the future, I will be sorely disappointed.
@@jakobtarrasericsson4295 I was just talking about the Officers, when we get to those who fight it gets even more crazy
it's basically the most diverse cast you can get without even haing to force it
It is gonna be a film if I'm not mistaken
@@jakobtarrasericsson4295 it sounds like a joke how diverse it was lol, but it actually happened
No matter how many times I hear this story, I will never get tired of how US and Germans soldier joined together to defend a castle during World War II. Having the map really helped visualize the entire battle.
M e too. This story sounds so crazy and unbelievable, I had to look it up so many times just to find out that it really happened.
Two German soldiers and a teenage resistance member arrive at the castle:
Gongl: we weren't expecting the special forces
That's the point soldier...
Well we could be somewhere else if you could handle some fucking teddy bears with sticks
Kinda reminded me of the Joan of Arc mission in Age of Empires 2 when you get only 3 crappy reinforcement units: 'We were all the King could afford to send'
@@tonyzhang9573 Ah, a fellow crusader general
“Oh, we’re special, all right.”
I had seen this story multiple times, but the visuals and story telling somehow went to my heart. What a honor story, I cried.
It is so absorbing and uplifting, how people can band together against great odds
Geographics did a video on it too but focused more on the captives story than the battle itself.
One of the best crossovers in history.
Yes.
@@Jay-qb9gi btw Some Lee guy was asking about you
Maybe tel him he defo wont be in Dallas
"What are YOU doing here!" Gangle
Can't wait for 55 days in Peking
so glad this got addressed, my great grandfather fought in this battle all those years ago, his youngest brother is still alive and can still remember the stories he passed to him
GET THOSE STORIES RECORDED RIGHT NOW!
Which side was he on?
SO many stories been lost, capture those.
You can't drop comments like this and then not come back. 😂
Makes me question. 😳
This guy needs to come back to this comment section
Gangl has been protecting the village near Itter against german reprisals. Really nice man. Salute to him.
@@Iason29 yeah... But I have high respect to those who took stand protecting other people even if it meant fighting against their fellow countrymen, tho atleast in uniform coz I'm not sure if he's pure german.
@@Iason29 I don't think that you're getting my point. I was pointing out how hard it is to fight your own people to stand by your values. For people with high national pride, betraying their own people is no easy task. Maybe you should see it other country's perspective, not yours.
@@sunface09 Not sure it's fair to say they betrayed their people being the Waffen SS had been betraying Germany since it's inception, but I get your point. What the Germans did siding with the PoWs, Americans, and Austrians took honor and integrity.
@@lewisvargrson yeaaah. Not exactly betraying their country but what their country (supposedly, as commanded by their leader) was fighting for.
@@Iason29 You forgot the ones who surrendered, deserted or never enlisted in the first place, the ones who protested Hitler, the ones who conspired to kill him, the ones who helped jews and other minorities escape, the ones who helped the allies in any capacity.
"To be ready is one thing, to be able to wait is another; but to seize the right moment is everything"
- Arthur Schnitzler
Schnitzler had a good point with that saying.
Indeed. And many people still don’t know that the Wermacht (German Armed Forces) were a completely different organization from the SS (National-socialist party private army). The Wermacht waited till the perfect moment to strike against the SS. They tried in the 20th July of 1944, but the attempted coup failed (Valkyrie operation). They arrested many of the SS leaders, but when they learned Hitler survived, they had no choice but to keep allegiance to him…
@@hassanyt4609 , Wehrmacht did not hate SS. I learned from an eye witness who fought in Stalingrad that they were happy when they knew that the flanks are held by Waffen-SS. And vice versa, Wehrmacht units supported SS Einsatzgruppen to fulfill their bloody operations agains the population in the east. This doesn't mean that they all did it volunteerely but it was a few of them only who acted against them. The more honour deserve those who did.
To say this one thing. But what to do when the right moment dosn't come? Many people wait their whole lifes.
So glad you are doing this one! One of my favourite stories from the Second World War!
There's also a story of Germans and US troops having a christmas dinner in 1944
@@jonbaxter2254 I remember that. The German kid reached out to Unsolved Mysteries in the 1990s to try to find some of the soldiers.
@@jonbaxter2254 Oh! i know about it too (once wrote a post about it). He found and met 2 US soldiers from that day, the kid sadly died before he managed to find any german soldiers
Screw Saving Private Ryan. We need a movie about this battle.
I thought the same
I'm half french half austrian, and this story is one of my favourites of ww2. Both of my countries (during ww2) are often seen with despise or as jokes in popular belief. But in this battle, the french prisoners and the austrian resistants both showed unexpected heroism, and it is possibly the only coordinated battle of ww2 were french and austrians stood side by side against a common ennemy. Thank you Kings&Generals for this amazing video!
@@SimonAshworthWood yeah, only brutally murdering nearly 30 000 of their own people in the process, during the Reign of Terror (get it? It's in the name!), in horrific public executions or without trial in prison & over 1 000 000 dying in the subsequent Napoleonic wars but hey, can't make an omelette.... I guess, right? lmao
@@jubei7259 Jesus you are either incult or a revisionist. Feudalism ended way before the french revolution, and the Napoleonic wars are Britain's fault, not France's.
@@h4rck04 what are you talking about? 'La Revolution's main principle was the abolition of feudalism & the principle of servitude. 'La Revolution' led to the Reign of Terror, the subsequent rise of Napoleon & the ensuing wars which bear his name so please explain which part of what I said could be interpreted as being 'revisionist' exactly, coz I'd love to know? lol
@@jubei7259 Feudalism ended in France after 100 years' war, not with the french revolution.
@@h4rck04 I don’t see how Napoleon conquering northern Italy was Britain’s fault. What benefit would they get from that? That’s what kicked off the Napoleonic wars.
If this battle was realistically made into a movie, faithful to its final detail, it would still make an awesome movie and people would still find it hard to believe that it was true!
This is the closest we would ever get to a "what if modern arms were sent back into the medieval age" battle
I guess these things seem to fit together!
Lee: Never thought I'd die fighting side by side with a wehrmacht officer.
Gangl: What about side by side with a friend?
Lee: Aye, I could do that.
You have my K-98...
Okay, since when did the Waffen-SS use giant mutant elephants for transport?
@@seanbigay1042 I guess they didn't - But they had a tank destroyer called the 'Elefant', so close enough? :D
@@seanbigay1042 Late-war shortages. Gotta take what you can get.
I can imagine how comical that would be seeing Borotra passing by like, “Hey!”, then pees, and then walks off.
The French way of piercing lines ^^
Just leave them so wondering at the stupidity of your acts that you actually succeed ^^
Given what my grandpa told me that wasn't that uncommon though. He was a kid during the final days and kids were - at least in his part - left alone. So the Germans that based themselves in a farmhouse near where he lived would ask him and his friends where the allied positions were.
Pro gamer move.
That Tennis Player must'vehad some guts! Urinating in front of a MG 42 crew??? Confidence level 100.
and 100 charisma and 100 intelligence
@@miked884 Ironic since he used the former to convince them he had single digit Intelligence.
And it's the end of the line of the final journey.
Enemies leaving the past.
And it's American troops and the German army.
Joining together at last!
The last battle, Sabaton
From the foot of the Alps / to the shores of the sea...
From the foot of the Alps / to the shores of the sea!
From the home of the brave, and the land of the free!
From the foot of the Alps to the shores of the sea!
5th of May, V-Day's just around the corner
1945, the Furher's reign's at it's end
Jenny's at the Gates, as the SS opens fire
There's no time to waste, the final battle's begun!
Had to scroll far to long for this
After the Downfall a castle besieged
Facing the nazis, awaiting relief
Gangl and Lee and their men set the prisoners free
Adding to what everyone says about how unbelievable this battle was, it was also:
- The first battle in history when US soldiers fought together with German soldiers
- The very last battle of WW2
- The only battle ever, when US soldiers defended a medieval castle
I don’t think middle fact is true, even if you only mean the European front.
@@loganicfilms1388 The first and second facts aren't particularly true either. American Marines and German Imperial Army forces fought side by side during the Boxer Rebellion in China at the beginning of the 1900s. During one battle, American forces defended the Tartar wall in Beijing, part of the city walls, which was originally built in the 1400s.
last battle on European soil was Battle of Odzak 19 apr 1945 until 25 may 1945 lasted.
The only death for the defenders was a german trying to save a french, he deserved the recognition , and the low number of casualties on the defending side speaks volume to the skills of both the troops defending it and the officers leading them
"Borscht Buster" was a missed opportunity for a tank name.
The French called the German invaders "Borche", and that's where the name probably came from.
@@valentinlageot4101 ahhh yes I confused the term. Thanks for correcting.
i have a dream of making a movie of this battle since i first heard of it. Good video lads. RIP Gangle
Absolutely outstanding visuals. 12:45 is double recorded tho
I don't think he did. Listen carefully, the first time he said "anti-tank guns" but the second time he said "anti-aircraft guns"
@@haowoon8213 yeah he realised the mistake and corrected it but still left the incorrect sentence in
Video about Battle Itter came out
Sabaton's fan : "My time is come "
The goats with yet another upload this week. This is epic!!!
When you get autobalanced to the other team:
Was so awesome to tell this story! The incredible animator brought it to life =). Sabaton fans rejoice haha.
Whatever you guys pay your animators, it isn't enough
This entire video sounded like a game from Wolfenstein series.
We already got the Castle, we just need some bizarre technology, some ghouls, a parallel dimension and a badass soldier with the Spear of Destiny.
@@Iason29 No, the narrator, OfficiallyDevin, is definitely British, if you want to check more of his content, he does have his own channel
My goodness, the timing of this video is crazy. I literally found out about this battle today, and a few hours laters, this video gets uploaded.
My family lives in that region: "Brixental". I knew of Schloss (Castle) Itter since I was a boy but only found out about that particular part of it's history only a couple of years ago. Being usually of no consequence to the larger historical context, I was thrilled to learn that this battle had taken place in our "neighborhood". :D
Lovely edit error at 12:52. Still an awesome battle,thanks K&G
Another at 16:40
Thanks for a terrific treatment of one of the most amazing events of WWII. Some will say, "my country, right or wrong" but a true hero & patriot will recognize their higher duty to humanity in general. Most soldiers on both sides were honorable men trying to serve their country and to do what's right. How amazing it must have been to see them lay down their lives to fight their former comrades to save their "enemies".
Boche-Buster rolling in with the gunship rescue in the 11th hour. This story needs to be a movie.
Facts can sometimes be stranger than fiction.
And this proves it.
Favorite battle all time of WW2! They gotta make a movie about this. It's so unique, no way movie scriptwriters would wanna overlook this one.
This really needs to be a movie made by Spielberg!!!
Agreed. More films like this, and less of unnecessary remakes like _West Side Story_ please....
Netflix or HBO series 6 or 8 episods .. could bee great!
This was done by pretty much all history channels already, but glad to see your perspective on it
I’m so beyond happy to see this story of all stories on here! Thank you!!!!
Not one to comment on UA-cam videos, but this is the greatest WW2 story I've heard in recent memory and the production by Kings and Generals deserves recognition. As many comments have stated, if this isn't made into a blockbuster I'll make it myself. Bravo
12:45 The extremely rare editing mishap by K&G lol. Thanks for the awesome content!
Possibly one of my favourite stories of WW2. I can hear it over and over again without getting bored.
I am absolutely fascinated of this battle. I was thrilled to see that "Kings and Generals" produced this video on the battle as I knew, even before watching, that it would be a very well detailed account of the battle. Thanks a lot for this one, Kings & Generals.
Thank you so much.
I have watched a bunch of videos about this bizarre battle but this might be the best one yet, especially thanks to the way it visualizes the whole event.
Also, one detail I've noticed for the first time is that one of the American soldiers defending the castle had a very characteristically Polish surname - Szymczyk, and it was pronounced very well in the video.
This deserves a movie adaptation.
This video alone had me sitting at the edge of my seat
People forget that much of the Wehrmacht were normal people just fighting for their country. Glad to see a major creator making this story more well known! Bravo
I have been hoping this would be made into a movie for decades ever since I happened to come upon the castle in 1995 while touring the area and one of the locals told me the story. One of the least known aspects of this tale is that some of the GI rescuers were African American troops.
One of the best graphical representations of a battle that I’ve ever seen. This is a previs to a Hollywood blockbuster!
thanks for the great video Offy D, what a fantastic story!
Like seriously. They’ve got Americans including African Americans, Germans, Austrian Resistance, French Celebrities, 2 tanks and a castle!
Where’s Hollywood been?!
Edit: Get Schwarzenegger as an older Austrian Resistance fighter helping them from Wörgl.
They had;
- French VIP POWs
- German Nazi defectors
- Austrian soldiers
- Americans, including those of African, and one possibly of Polish descent (the guy that tried to repair the tank)
- As well as other Eastern European staff like that Croatian handyman & Czech cook.
Definitely the most batshit crazy diverse cast you can ever have in the entire movie.
Even the sequence of events plays out like a classic Hollywood film, complete with reinforcements arriving right when it looks like the enemy will overwhelm the defenders and the American commander delivering a sarcastic "what took you so long?" to their rescuers. Haha
@@howardmao5126 british company should make the movie,look at 1917 and dunkirk
Don’t forget the Austrian teenager!
Great Video! The battle of Castle Itter was probably the last battle of the war.
Great video, I noticed the narrator had to make corrections on his errors in the video, I hope he's doing alright, his narration of these videos makes me come back to watch and rewatch videos.
12:46 Suddenly many things happened and there is an audio error
(great video!)
Imagine firing over the wall of a medieval castle with the former prime minister of France by your side doing the same thing
These videos give me chills. Way to keep these memories alive!
Most of the French prisoners were WWI veterans. The generals (even if Weygand served essentially as a staff officer), the colonel de La Rocque and the civilians: Édouard Daladier served on the front from 1914 to 1918 as a non commissioned officer, then as an officer, won several citations and later the Legion of Honor. Tennis player Jean Borotra served between 1916 and 1918, won a Croix de Guerre. Michel Clémenceau received a commission, was wounded on the front, ended the war as a major and won a Legion of Honor.
Great video and something I hadn't heard of.
Editing mistake at 12:46 though. "Suddenly the 20mm anti-tank guns--suddenly the 20mm antiaircraft guns"
“And it’s the end of the line of the final journey”
Sabaton fans: “Enemies leaving the past
And it's American troops and the German army
Joining together at last”
its stories like this that shine light on the goodness in humanity, even in such a bleak and horrific point of history, regardless of what side you were on.
Except the SS one I guess...
The tennis player truly showed his balls to the SS machine gun.
Another amazing video, with all the details, from K&G.
crossover i didn't knew i wanted but iam happy that i got
Honestly deserves its own HBO mini series
One of the most fascinating battles of WW2
Another interesting and well done work from Kings and Generals. Bravo !
Damn, the storyline of the next Castle Wolfenstein game looks dope!
That castle held two of France's pre-Armistice Prime Ministers, the former head of the French Army Command, and a famous Tennis Star.. I wonder what it felt like to be one of Gangl's men who had been previously part of the same Army who defeated France only to then fight side by side against their much more radical colleagues.
it feels like Kings and Generals are having some editing issues lately, many of the newer videos have bad cuts. hope you get back on track.
I am surprised we still don’t have a movie about this battle.
This is why i enjoy this channel so much. You guys do such a excellent job covering battles that aren't widely known. And the exploits of men and women, forgotten to history. Thank you for all your great work.
What an excellent visualization to go along with this story I never knew!
Man, this would be sweet as a movie. It has everything in it!
Wonderful story! I've actually met Rene Lesvesque... he is no longer with us but he was the Premiere of Quebec and leader of the PQ. I'm just a regular guy but I was an opponent of his vision that Quebec separate from Canada and become a sovereign state.
I met him on several occasions and admired him... he was a great man and yet he always seemed just a regular guy like the rest of us.
I am pleased to know that he played a small part in this operation. Just another reason for me to admire the man.
There is a GMT board game called Castle Itter where you can play out this battle.
Very fascinating situation.
DVG 😉
I am still astonished there hasn’t been a movie made about this.
Now that this channel is done with all the famous battles of history they still do not disappoint. What an amazing story.
Austrians French black and white American troops along with Wehrmacht and Waffen SS all fighting shoulder to shoulder. "This has got to be the biggest motley crew I have ever laid eyes on".
Liked the lil blooper and outtake left in, was funny
I really like the videos, but it seems that a couple of audio retakes slipped through!
Keep up the good work and the educational content flowing!
Thank you , K&G .
How have they not made this a movie yet is utterly baffling
When people mean it's so easy to be a movie they're damn right.
So many iconic and easily recreatable momemts. The tank in the entrance blasting away at SS soldiers.
There being only around 30 defenders at most so need for fancy cgi.
There were so many hollywood moments in this battle you'd think it was a plot for a war film!
My grandfather was a German Soldier. I hate when everyone says every German was a Nazi. Great video and keep up the amazing work 👏 👍
Such a great video, i loved it, even though there were sone voice mistakes :)
12:45 I love this tiny mistakes done by our stoic history narrator.
16:40 2 in a row, daring today!
Best reconstruction of the battle I've seen! It's even better than the mini-documentary Sabaton made of it. Just unfortunate of those two audio editing mistakes, but eh, I'll count that as part of the strangeness of the battle ;)
Great video and very interesting material to cover but a few audio repeats and other errors seem to have made it into the final draft
Is it me or has "Kings and Generals" upped their animation game? They've always been good but it seems that lately they've gotten better. New animator? If so good hire!
And in the process let their audio editing game drop. So it goes!
@@m.h.lockesteppe9834 Lol. I noticed those 2 slip ups too
It's funny because the narrator does a perfect job fixing the mistakes, thats how it's taught apparently.
I can count audio mistakes, from thousands of K&G videos, on 1 hand. But the two in this video did hurt the immersion a bit.
Still amazing story and my favorite UA-cam channel. Just odd because it's such an easy audio fix. 😁
(6months late I know 😂)
Always fascinating and laden with detail
nice video
The waffen-ss weren't just 'the most zealous' - they were the branch of the SS that undertook full military operations, rather than just policing, etc. - thought this was a fairly important thing to note.
Great video! There are a couple editing mistakes at 12:45 and 16:40
Well done guys.
Good to see you are keeping up the quality .
o7
this channel becomes better and better if and when revamping the entire school system in the world should ever happen, this kind of stuff needs to be shown uncut
I had heard this story before but never knew that René Lévesque was there, awesome job on the deep dive!