I had the great fortune to visit the Great Patriotic War museum in Minsk a few months back. I was at a sword fighting competition and decided to see the museum with friends the day before. Hands down, it is one of the best museums I have ever gone to. A piece of my heart is in Minsk and the Belarusian people. They are warm hearted to say the least.
There is a very intense modern film about the Brest Fortress (in Russian with English subtitles) depicting the defence from the view point of a Russian boy who survived to tell the tale, on UA-cam. Very brutal and moving, but well worth watching to learn about this little known engagement.
In this case, for the Germans, it was over by Christmas, but they had no choice but to fight on. Kietel, when asked after the war at what point did they realize they would be defeated responded with one word "Moscow".
My grandpa was one of those German soldiers marching east in the summer of 1941. Seldom talked much about it, but he said: "the way the Russians fight, the poor equipment and training the Russians had, their destroyed air force, and the lack of coordination, it was not inconceivable for not only the Germans, but the entire world, to think the Russians would be done within two years. But then winter and Russian reinforcements came. When we could see Moscow in the distance but could get no further, we knew we were in trouble. When next summer came and went and we lost the 6th Army at Stalingrad and the rest of Army Group South had to retreat away from the oil of the Caucuses, we knew we would eventually collapse. The jig was up."
My step grandfather was in the Wehrmacht and spent two winters on the Eastern Front. He only talked about it once and in German, I don't speak German so my step mother translated. He said his commander was Fedor von Bock who was the commander of Army Group Center and he was involved with the capture of Brest-Litovisk. When he talked about it he seemed pleased with the accomplishment, the first of the big obstacles to fall. I never found out what division he was with, I bet it was the 45th. He talked about other places alone the way to Moscow, Minsk and Smolensk. He didn't talk much about fighting, it seemed the biggest impediment was the cold. He said once they were getting a supply of winter cloths and the container contained desert uniforms, he kept mentioning the one word I could understand, "sabotage" ... as his eyes hardened. Another time he told about a soldier that brushed his hand across the side of his face ... and his ear came off, he looked down in his hand and screamed, "Oh dear God!". There was a painting of Napoleon at Borodino (Napoleon's last battle before the fall of Moscow) on the wall of his small Stuttgart apartment, he kept mentioning, "I went past Borodino". Erich was part of that group that was cut off close to Moscow and eventually rescued by Heinz Guderian. The way Erich was smiling about Guderian I'm sure he was his consensus favorite general. The next winter Erich was somewhere in southern Russia, I don't know where. His company was being held in reserve during a white out blizzard, when they got orders to relieve another company at the front. As they were moving in to their position they were aware of a column of soldiers moving in the other direction and assumed they were the company that they were relieving. The wind stopped momentarily and they saw they were Russians. A firefight broke out point blank across the road and that's when Erich was wounded. He was evacuated back to Germany, back in the day you had to be more than half dead to get a medical discharge and Erich had too much life left so they put him in a VolksGrenadier unit near Stuttgart. These were under sized units made up of underage adolescents and disabled veterans, Erich got a job driving a Mercedes. One day in late April '45 he was diving alone in front of the base when he was strafed by a P-38. He crazy drove to get away and wrecked the car into a tree. Erich was OK but the car was totaled. That was it for him, WW II was over, "Alles Kaput" and he took off for home. My step mother was born in March of '46, so she must have been one of the first Baby Boomers. Today that base is operated by the American Army and is the HQ for VII corps artillery, it's called Kelley Barracks. At the time my father was the executive officer there. When we would visit sometimes someone would say, "There's where Erich wrecked the car" and I'd look around and try to imagine a P-38 barreling in, it was hard to do everything seem so peaceful. Erich was 65 when he told the story (still drove a Mercedes) and died when he was 94.
Thank you for removing the opening sequence music. You're such a UA-cam icon now, you certainly need no introduction. Your history videos are superb - I love them!
I love when a notification of each new video, I can't wait to watch each new topic. I remember when the History Channel actual did shows on history instead of swamp people and ancient aliens, thank you for filling that void...
Having been subscribed for an extended period, I have imbibed a considerable quantity of random history. I greatly enjoy your work, Mr. History Guy. Given the overwhelming opportunity that lies ahead, I think that I would appreciate playlists of cohesive material: e.g. military exploits within a campaign, ordered chronologically; events within a particular theatre; et. Cetera. Thank you for all you do. Every episode has been outstandingly informative. You bring history memorably back to life.
There is a Russian film about this incident called the Fortress ! It is an outstanding film about Soviet heroics at the beginning of the war ! It's a relatively recent film , I think no more than 10 years old . Its a movie worth to wach
I give you my sincere congratulations for bringing to light to the American audience this little known (in the West) episode of WWII, but which is so famous in Russia and Belarus (specially when only four years ago a movie was made to conmemorate the event). I'm not Russian but I can speak the language, and I consider Russia my second homeland. I learnt a lot about the Russian culture and I know what historical events make the Russians to feel proud. And this is one of them. Keep up the good work!!
They conveniently forget that Russians invaded Poland from the east, and invaded far more countries in addition. Stalin was hardly a victim, and had purged his own army just a couple of years before. As in all wars, leaders start them, conscripts finish them.
Oh really. Were these russiabscwho made Lampe and handbag outvof human skins? Or foubded concentration Camps for children to use thembas blond donors their blood for own soldiers? Or burned down in gas cameras German solders ans civilians? I would rather think that people like has sympathy to nazi ideology to look less disgusting for colonialism murders and genocide of your own country.
Outstanding as usual. You Tube Review should stop harassing you, Hitstory Guy. You are one of the most impressive and interesting and professional You Tube providers. If You Tube gave out medals, you should get one. Including: "Best You Tube History Education Channel"
It is interesting watching World War II Newsreels, which offer such a different narrative on the Soviet Union than what was portrayed in the west just a decade later.
I think it interesting and understandable that Soviet military efforts were minimized in the Western annals post-war, as the brutality and worldwide aggression by "uncle" Joe Stalin certainly made them "not our friends". That said, once those hostilities have been (largely) put behind us, it must be noted by all sides the truth of history. Even today, the Russian outlook is very colored by their history of being invaded repeatedly by barbaric foreign entities. There is an old saying, "Even paranoids have enemies..." You have a fine channel, and I am thoroughly addicted.
Hi, History Guy! Not long ago, I finished reading a book called "Beyond The Call" by Lee Trimble (son of the pilot) about a US B-17 AND B-24 pilot (!) and member of the Lucky Bastards club, who was offered a "non-combat" job to avoid being sent over to Japan after V-E Day. His "non-combat" job was to recover crashed US aircraft that were forced down during "shuttle missions" over Eastern Europe from bases in England and Italy that did not have the range to RTB, so they landed in Soviet-held territory, refueled, rearmed, and dropped bombs on the Axis on their way back to home base. What Captain Trimble did NOT know is that he was now working for the OSS, and his mission, while it did include recovering US aircraft, it also covered recovering downed aircrews- the Soviets treated crews that had evaded capture by the Germans like heroes, but those liberated from Luftstalags were abandoned and left to fend for themselves. The OSS knew this, and Captain Trimble's job was to recover Allied aircrews (and, as it turned out) many others from the Soviets. I left a review of this book on Amazon- I think it might be worth your attention.
@@KirkParro .>... the brutality and worldwide aggression by "uncle" Joe Stalin certainly made them "not our friends".< Compared to the brutality , worldwide aggression , greed and perfidy of Uncle Sam in his maniacal drive to eliminate any political competition and become the sole master of the universe what uncle Joe and his successors did was just a mild and inadequate reaction to what the other side's was actually doing against them. Take e.g. "Operation Gladio". To create an army of professional killers and terrorists with numberless hidden arsenals and then to unleash them disguised as "'communists" (The Red Brigades" in italy or "the Red Army Fraction") to bomb mothers with children, peaceful casual passers-by, to kidnap and kill leading pblic figures and politicians in Italy or West Germany and elsewhere is something so diabolical that one can hardly believe it. Yet the CIA for which such monstrosities are stock-in-trade itw as easy both to invent and implement the whole diabolical scheme to discredit communism cost what it might.
A great video, as usual. I always enjoy your narrative and the inclusion of each storeys ripple effects are fascinating! Thank you for educating and entertaining. ☺
I too have a love for history. One story that is not often taught is the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. The surrender of General Lee is often told, although the actual way it happened is often misrepresented. The next day when the Army marched in to lay down arms, they were in sad shape. The Northern commander seeing the remnants of a once great and proud army, called his men to attention. The Southern army was confused. Thinking they were either going to be arrested or shot. Finally understanding that they were being saluted by their former enemies, they straightened their uniforms, unrolled their battle standards and the two armies rendered passing honors. This is one of my favorite stories of the War Between the States and it speaks volumes of the men of both sides.
Yes, the Union commander was Joshua Chamberlain, hero of Little Round Top sub-battle in Gettysburg. From Maine, Joshua Chamberlain was also a Bowdoin College professor.
the south never had a chance. lincoln wanted to leave them to rot. shermans greatest blunder was that he did not destroy enough of that already desolate, backwards land.
The War was over, the South could be oppressed keeping the hate alive for Generations or they could be welcomed back as fellow Americans who fought a courageous war and lost, but were respected even in Defeat.
We should have taken every 10th man from that column and hanged them for their treason. Perhaps if we had we wouldn't still have scum pretending the Confederacy was in any way a good thing and the southern swastica would be rightly banned.
I remember hearing about it first in my high school Russian class. The Soviet narrative on the Second World War was completely different from what we had learned.
Thank you so very much for undertaking this effort. So much of our US History is limited to the time constraints put on teachers in our schools. Without folks like you our citizenry would be limited to the same pablum generation after generation. Thanks again...
Yes, do remember that in our history books we were told the defence lasted about a month. I did got to a musium in my last year of school, can't recall full details now. But I do recall it was brutal and bloody.
Went on a mission trip to Belarus in 2002 in the Brest region. We visited the fortress. I have a book that I picked up as a souvenir. Was an impressive place!
You cannot even find a decent book about the Eastern Front that isn't written by David Glantz or written after 1985. It's outrageous. Thanks for posting.
It was very difficult to find information about the Eastern Front until after the fall of the USSR. The area was outside of American and British control meaning all records were in another language and had to be translated. Very costly back then. Whats more is the Russians were not willing to share documents. The Germans had burnt all theirs. Just the way history works.
You're amazing and deserve so many more subs! I know you'll get them.. Just a matter of time. You're the first person who's videos I've liked in a loooooong time. It's because you even listen to the opinion of someone who doesn't matter like me:) haha... Thanks again for all your hard work :)
thank you. some of my mothers grandparents and their families "disappeared" during this. all i have is passed-down family stories that you have confirmed. again, thank you.
I've been to the Brest Fortress, now... more Brest Foundations. The paths inside are made of red gravel and sand contained inside low curbs so that they turn into blood-like streaks when it rains. I also swam the Bug river from Poland, in places it's not very wide.
Thanks for posting. I always wondered how many of the star forts saw combat in WW1 & 2. I wondered how long they stood against modern artillery and aerial bombardment. I saw a picture of 1 large pentagon fort that was leveled and left almost unrecognizable after being bombed. I think it was from WW1.
Most of them in the West were bypassed in WWII. But the ones in Belgium lasted about a week in WWI. The Germans took that long to bring up their big Krupp Guns and reduce them. Now Krupp makes coffee pots.
Many Americans forget or simply don’t realise the horrific losses and incredible bravery of Soviets forces during WWII. I found it amazing that a million horses 🐎 accompanied the German invasion (where is PITA when you need them). Thank you Professor for another eye opening and provocative presentation. I look forward to your next video. 🐎👍🤔
The main method of supply for the German army in WW2 was by railroad and then horse drawn wooden wagons. It's a myth that the German army was highly mechanized. The US and Russia were vastly more mechanized than the Germans. The two countries that won the war, U S and Russia, had large supplies of indigenous oil, while Germany, Italy, and Japan had very little oil, and therefore limited mechanization. The most significant event in WW2 Europe in the summer of 1944 IMO was not the invasion of Normandy(D-Day), but the Soviet army over running the Romanian oil fields, which killed the Germany army's mobility.
ziggy 2shus As a patriotic Briton it pains me to say this (not really, credit where credit is due) but the Americans bombing the Ploesti oilfields in early 1944 is probably what ended the war in Europe.
Dr. Rich. Americans do realize the Eastern Front scale and terrors. Even silly pop culture 60s kid shows like Hogan's Heroes, constantly talk about the Eastern front and Klink's fear of going there. We know that the USSR entered the war in mid 41, producing an uneasy alliance between the USSR and UK. FDR doing more to coordinate that alliance than Churchill or Stalin could do themselves, because of the USSRs raw materials assistance to Hitler in 38/39/40 and their co invasion of Poland. However the Eastern front was run by both sides as a completely illogical murderfield, just tossing casualties at the front. The Anglo-American forces took a steady and careful phase by phase dismantling of the entire Axis. Downplaying the Western Allies, as is popular in today's bratty culture, is unfortunate. The Western allies did a magnificent job on two fronts in two hemispheres, fighting three world powers for several years, yet not taking the horrific casualties.
I have honestly never met an American who didn't know that the Eastern Front was the bloodiest front in the European Theater. The US is noteworthy because it was the only combatant who was primarily responsible for victory on one front (Western) and one theater (Asian). This is not to dismiss the bravery and sacrifice of other combatants.
One of the biggest problems for the Soviet Army was the movement of Soviet forces to the new Western border with Nazi Germany starting in 1939 after the division of Poland under the The Soviets were undergoing major institutional reforms within their Army under the leadership of Marshal Timoshenko. Timoshenko believed in concentrated artillery firepower to solve tactical problems opening the battle for tanks and infantry divisions. These reforms were coming from the fiasco in Finland in 1939-40. The emphasis on concentrated firepower, especially mortars and field guns with Katyusha rockets were pushed in Timoshenko's reforms. This emphasis on artillery firepower influenced Generals Zhukov, Vassilevsky and Voronuv, the artillery expert. The Soviets organized artillery into artillery divisions and artillery corps. The Soviets were making new medium tank designs such as the KV heavy tank and T-34 medium tank. Soviet rifle divisions were reduced from 14,000 men to just under 10,000 men with reduced heavy artillery but increased numbers of mortars and antitank guns. The Soviet Army Air Force also had new fighter aircraft on the drawing board including new Sturmovick ground attack planes. However, all of these reforms were still a year or more away from reality. Had the Soviets kept to their old fortifications on the 1938 border, the opening weeks of Barbarossa would have been much different. The Germans would have had a much harder time encircling Soviet frontier forces defending in their entrenchments and fortifications further inland on Soviet territory. The biggest decisions Stalin made in the first week of the war was to send his industries east to the Urals. Stalin ordered the mobilization of five million men from the reserves. Stalin organized his country for total war from the beginning. The defense of Brest was one of many big stands made by the Soviet Army. The month Battle of Smolensk was a hard fought action but the delays and casualties on the Germans through the timetables of Barbarossa impossible to keep with the Russian mud, swamps, forests, and bitter freezing winter. German supply lines broke down leading to defeat in Moscow in December, 1941. The operation of the Soviet Union railways were flawless during this first year of WW2. The real unsung heroes of the Soviet Union are the railroad managers, engineers, railway workers who kept the vital war industries going east and Army reinforcements going west. The railroad system held the Soviet Union together during its greatest test. Many railroad workers and engineers saw lots of combat as the Luftwaffe bombed them incessantly. As long as the Soviet rail system ran on time, the Soviet Army would always have enough supplies, weapons, and manpower reinforcements to keep going with the war. The Soviet Army had on average SIX MILLION MEN on the front and millions more in the rear area doing vital support work. All of this was made possible by those Soviet trains running on time during the war.
Matt from Florida your making it sound like n b d. The invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and the Soviet push to stem the tide and seek their revenge was one of the most brutal ongoing combat situations that only got worse when the front line moved on and the territory seized by the new owners. Both sides engaged in war crimes we can hardly fathom. The Germans didn’t consider the Slavic people to be human and carried out brutal extermination policies getting rid of all they didn’t consider necessary to support their war effort. After Stalingrad the Soviet troops were encouraged to be brutal by their officers and it really became grim when they pushed into Germany proper. A small group of my friends took a Bradbury title that seemed to fit no matter which way the front moved. “Something Wicked This Way Comes”
I know to you, westerners - a soviet soldier is not that different to a Nazi, but to me - it’s my grandfather who lost every one of his four brothers and suffered the war from the beginning of the campaign in 41 until 1945, and the resulting station in Berlin and then the infamous gulag - took another 10 years of his life. He was a sapper - a frontline of the frontline. But most of all he was a defender of his people. He gave so much, as the soviet regime totally destroyed our heritage and family traditions (we are Cossacks). I hate soviet communists with my whole being, but the soviet soldier is my hero. Защитники отечества - Defenders of the fatherland. Truly the great Patriotic War
i like it see i too once read that they held out 32 days but you set history straight for me plus added a lot of details i didn't know also love the maps of the fortress
I just realized i had never before heard the German plan and the AA line objective, I suspect that the lack of connection with the brutal war in the East can at least in part be explained by who the combatants were an enemy that briefly became an ally of necessity and a far worse enemy fighting each other. Neither regime had any regard for basic human rights and this played heavily into the brutality of the campaign but as you say history deserves to be remembered not just because it is difficult to imagine a scenario where the allies in the West defeat the Wehrmacht in a timely manner if Germany doesn't commit such vast losses in blood and treasure in the East, but also because of those who suffered and died, to quote Dickens, "are they not of the human race?" thanks for remembering them
I used to play a combat flight simulator called Il-2 Sturmovik which was amazing not just because of its realism and quality at the time but also because it was specifically focused on the eastern front with all manner of soviet aircraft including many which even a casual ww2 airplane buff may not know off. Stuff like the Pe-8 heavy bombers (would love a brief history video on that!) and the Po 2 biplanes all showed up in the game. The cold war allies do tend to forget just how much of an impact the soviets had in breaking the back of the german military. When Germany caved the soviets even began moving all thier stuff west to face the japanese and even made some moves against them before the nuclear attacks that ended the war. I have seen somewhere (not sure if its accurate or not) that the threat of massive soviet mobilisation as well as the nukes sealed the deal, not just the nukes, but i dont know if thats credible. Love these random history videos they always cover something that is random and obscure, but as said, deserve to be remembered!
Admittedly, this one of my favorite sites/channels. I am curious as to the resources used to provide such a thorough and well thought through presentation.
General Stillwell spent World War Two in China fighting the Japanese. He never had enough men or supplies, but always performed his duties with an uncommon dedication to duty. He was also from my hometown.
The referring to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact as merely a non-aggression agreement is misleading. It was an agreement between Nazis and Soviets to cooperate in dividing the spoils of military aggression against Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Rumania. In the early phase of the war in Europe, the Soviets were as aggressive as the Nazis and cooperated with them. They didn’t lift a finger to assist France or Britain, until they were themselves betrayed and invaded. To let the Soviets off their historical crimes, cooperating with and paralleling those of the Nazis, is merely to repeat the wartime propaganda of the Allies, who so desperately needed to defeat Germany and downplayed the earlier crimes of the Soviet government. Revelation of the secret protocols of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was a major contributor to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Russian fighters were heroic as individuals, but their government was criminal, and that is history that deserves to be remembered.
Agreed sir, and even after the Nazis invaded in 1944 the Soviets worked with Japan and exposed the American plan to attack Formosa. My father, a pilot stationed in England, always maintained that we made the mistake of not taking down Stalin after the defeat of Germany.
СССР был столь же агресивен, сколько была агресивна Польша, кто вместе с нацисткой Германией поделил Чехословакию? С чего вообще СССР должен был защищать Британию и Францию? Они сами были в шаге от того, чтоб обьявить войну СССР. О каком договоре о разделе Финляндии между Германией и СССР ты говоришь, Финляндия и нацисткая Германия на начало войны были союзниками, алё.
Poland was known as hyena of europe for a reason. Before the non-aggression between the nazis and and the soviets was signed, Poland took a part in dividing Czechoslovakia with the same nazis that attacked them in a year. And the soviets were urging many countries around the Czechoslovakia in let them through to stop the nazis, and plus to that, the soviets even tried to coerce Britain and france to declare war on Germany during that time, but allies refused. Before the war europe was a "kettle" in which many ideologies collided and naughty non-countries like Finland or Gypsy empire of Romania tried to achieve enormous goals at expense of others, they got what was coming for them. So there was no crime in soviet's occupation of Poland in 39. And only polish nationalists care about it since that time, the polish ambitions were trampled by russians yet again. Also, don't forget where a million of battle ready polish soldiers was when the invasion has started? they were in the sudets corridor guardian their newly annexed territories.
bydloshkolnik There was no justification for the Soviet invasion of Poland, Finland, Rumania, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, or for the treaty of Soviet-Nazi cooperation, other than the Soviet imperialism.
I just saw the movie, and found a lot of things about Brest , + your material ( very good job with this , by the way), and my conclusions are there was a massacre , a lot of civilian died ! Besides of the weak weapons , looks like the fortress was unprepared for an attack ! Just an Major and lieutenant saw that coming . They died like a real hero there even most of the people are thinking they was communist not patriots ! RIP their souls !
There is not even one Russian movie about WW2 that is not full of typical soviet propaganda... Starting from fact that they delibaretly talking about Great Patriotic War just to not talk that before that period of time they were German brothers in arms that was helping them brake all Treaty of Versailles limitations... Lipetsk fighter-pilot school(German: Kampffliegerschule Lipezk, also known as Wivupal from its full German name), The Kama tank school (German: Panzerschule Kama), chemical weponds training... Germans started war with tanks that was build with Soviet metals, runing on Soviet oil, crews and comanders was trained in USSR! Name one Russian movie where i can see that... There was even special radio station in USSR in September of 1939 to allow precize pin pointingof Polish cities by German bombers.
@@Bialy_1 most of propaganda in modern Russian movies is anti Soviet propaganda. Now really hard to find a movie without Soviet man waves rush battle scene, but is absolute bullshit. So you wrong. Reality wasn’t so stupid
@@AlittleDeath-p6e но факт есть факт - наши ручкались с нацистами, и об этом щаз не принято говорить. сталин сам просрал начало войны + чистки в начсоставе.
I have my Opa's war diary. He was in Poland , on the border to Russia on June 22nd, a grunt in the infantry. He fought at the Battle of Brody a few days later, then all over the Eastern Front. Home for X-mas, left his diary, then was sent to Stalingrad. Doh.
That's actually a misconception that's been widely circulated by Hitler during the war, and then by German generals looking for scapegoats after the war. The truth is that the weather more than anything impeded the Germans. Not that it made much of a difference. So terrified of the winter, they failed to prepare for Raputitsa and paid for it. You'll find a lot of scapegoating of the Italians during the war that has since been reassessed. That's what happens when you make German generals the official historians for the US Army's official history of the war. (Franz Halder)
Ive watched so many documentaries and read so many books about nazi Germany. In my opinion it was the very nazi ideology that was their source of strength in the beginning but sowed the seeds of their destruction. When Hitler invaded Russia if he had went in with the mentality of a liberator rather than a conqurer things would have been way different. If he had won the hearts and minds of those in Eastern Europe with their massive numbers and plentiful natural reserves than this world may be a much different place today.
@@walkerflocker7811 Sure - but if that'd happened the Nazis wouldn't be Nazis and the world would've been a very different place back then. lol There's a certain point where the hypotheticals become fantasy, yeah? They could never treat the denizens of the East as equals, and many of those groups were barely treated as human beings. It was an inspiration for the attacks in the East, for Barbarossa, in the interest of 'Lebansraum'.
@@fuzzydunlop7928 I agree 100%. That was mostly the point of the post. I will however point out that the nazi party never won a popular election in Germany. So the afformentioned tactics were more than plausible with Germans of that time. The wermacht units of the time considered themselves honorable military units. Most of the atrocities were committed by the SS. Which were either heavily indoctrinated or foreign conscripts. This comment is in no way what so ever in support of nazis or facism. Just a realistic view of what the nazis and Hitler actually were. A fringe group of extremist that played on the national problems the Germans faced In That Era.
The fact that the 1097 casualties incurred by the defense of Brest represents 5% of the total German casualties - 22,000 - from June 22-30 is both impressive and incredibly low, considering the VAST Soviet casualties in the same time frame.
Here’s a suggestion. I heard about this guy on Paul Harvey. His name is Thomas W. Cobb, for whom Cobb County, GA is named after. The only man to be President (for one day & didn’t know it), and interim “president” of the Confederacy (before Jefferson Davis officially became President).
I know that in the U.S. so many cities are named for some city in Europe. The fact that My mother was born near Brest in Brittany, France caught me off guard that there was another Brest in Russia. Could that city in Russia have been named during the Napoleonic invasion?
when i was little, i had a great uncle that would tell tales of his piloting an Ilyushin-2 in the Patriotic War. he might not have been stretching the truth as much as i now think, as an adult. i'd be interested in your doing a feature on these "suicidal" heroes.
A tiny little nitpick: It's not exactly called "The Great Patriotic War". A more accurate translation would be "The Great War for the Fatherland", since it uses the adjective that means "of the Fatherland". BTW love the video, thanks for not lumping Belarus together with the eastern Russia, as so many western historians do.
I once read, that Hitler visited the Brest Fortress after the Germans Captured it. He took a Piece of Melted Steel, as a Souvenir/Memorial for the Hard Fight . Thank You making for these Video's ! Greetings !
The numbers speak for themselves. Out of every three killed during the Second World War one was Soviet. We do focus on the western losses mostly due to the fact that within a short time the Soviet Union became an enemy. You don’t hold your enemy in high regard when you are writing the history books. We dehumanised the people of the U.S.S.R., they just became Communists or Commies, in the same way that Germans were also reduced to being The Bosh or Krauts. Sad that their losses during the war are so easily whitewashed.
I enjoy your UA-cam channel immensely , you're so perfect and to the point with all of your information it's an absolute pleasure to listen to you . I don't know if this is the venue to request something as i am somewhat new as a subscriber to you and will continue to be one but I would like to ask if you could possibly do a history of the Congo War starting from its origin thru the near present . Thank you ! Thoroughly enjoy your channel .
When they said the fortress was held for a month i think they mean that the actual fighting within the fortress lasted for a month. Even long after the germans successfully took the fortress there were still small groups of red army soldiers in fierce combat within the catacombs of the fortress. The germans had to burn them out with flamethrowers.
Muffy Well it seems that one single guy was arrested after a month, the fighting as such was basically over after one week when the last buildings got captured and the intense combat (like 90% of the German casualties) after only three days (basically the same time it took to capture the fortress from the Poles in 1939) with the last German soldier killed after 5 days. From what I read the Soviets created some ridiculous propaganda that no one surrendered (in reality 6800 surrendered) and that the fighting lasted one month.
Along a similar vein, would you consider a video on 1939's fighting at Wizna? It's a Polish/German battle that seems to only have Western coverage in a Sabaton song, and personally I think it's a very inspiring and overlooked story (and rather similar to this one).
So this is not Brest in France, - a navy town, I think, which must have taken some hits in WW2 similar to Plymouth in the UK, since both are rebuilt - perhaps you can give some insight to this? - thanks.
Hi History Guy, I love your work! I'd really like to learn more about atomic gardens, and I would really love to learn it from you. Just a thought/suggestion. Thanks for all the top quality content. -Andy
The delay in Operation Barbarossa was occasioned by Operation Maritsa - Hitler's simultaneous invasion of Yugoslavia ( to punish them for a coup placing an anti- German King on the throne) and to assist Mussolini whose invasion of Greece in October of 1940 became an embarrassing catastrophe for the Axis. Hitler attacked Greece in early April and smothered the last organized resistance in Crete in late May of 1940 ( Operation Mercury - the destruction of the German Parachutist Corp).
I had the great fortune to visit the Great Patriotic War museum in Minsk a few months back. I was at a sword fighting competition and decided to see the museum with friends the day before. Hands down, it is one of the best museums I have ever gone to. A piece of my heart is in Minsk and the Belarusian people. They are warm hearted to say the least.
There is a very intense modern film about the Brest Fortress (in Russian with English subtitles) depicting the defence from the view point of a Russian boy who survived to tell the tale, on UA-cam. Very brutal and moving, but well worth watching to learn about this little known engagement.
Got it on dvd and its on UA-cam. Well acted and a good screenplay.
*_Wars are never over by Christmas_*
*_in fact, “over by Christmas” is military code for “we’re gonna be here awhile...”_*
God loves war and so do men. Never ending war. we are so silly
In this case, for the Germans, it was over by Christmas, but they had no choice but to fight on. Kietel, when asked after the war at what point did they realize they would be defeated responded with one word "Moscow".
My grandpa was one of those German soldiers marching east in the summer of 1941. Seldom talked much about it, but he said: "the way the Russians fight, the poor equipment and training the Russians had, their destroyed air force, and the lack of coordination, it was not inconceivable for not only the Germans, but the entire world, to think the Russians would be done within two years. But then winter and Russian reinforcements came. When we could see Moscow in the distance but could get no further, we knew we were in trouble. When next summer came and went and we lost the 6th Army at Stalingrad and the rest of Army Group South had to retreat away from the oil of the Caucuses, we knew we would eventually collapse. The jig was up."
Sad but true
My step grandfather was in the Wehrmacht and spent two winters on the Eastern Front. He only talked about it once and in German, I don't speak German so my step mother translated. He said his commander was Fedor von Bock who was the commander of Army Group Center and he was involved with the capture of Brest-Litovisk. When he talked about it he seemed pleased with the accomplishment, the first of the big obstacles to fall. I never found out what division he was with, I bet it was the 45th. He talked about other places alone the way to Moscow, Minsk and Smolensk. He didn't talk much about fighting, it seemed the biggest impediment was the cold. He said once they were getting a supply of winter cloths and the container contained desert uniforms, he kept mentioning the one word I could understand, "sabotage" ... as his eyes hardened. Another time he told about a soldier that brushed his hand across the side of his face ... and his ear came off, he looked down in his hand and screamed, "Oh dear God!". There was a painting of Napoleon at Borodino (Napoleon's last battle before the fall of Moscow) on the wall of his small Stuttgart apartment, he kept mentioning, "I went past Borodino". Erich was part of that group that was cut off close to Moscow and eventually rescued by Heinz Guderian. The way Erich was smiling about Guderian I'm sure he was his consensus favorite general.
The next winter Erich was somewhere in southern Russia, I don't know where. His company was being held in reserve during a white out blizzard, when they got orders to relieve another company at the front. As they were moving in to their position they were aware of a column of soldiers moving in the other direction and assumed they were the company that they were relieving. The wind stopped momentarily and they saw they were Russians. A firefight broke out point blank across the road and that's when Erich was wounded. He was evacuated back to Germany, back in the day you had to be more than half dead to get a medical discharge and Erich had too much life left so they put him in a VolksGrenadier unit near Stuttgart. These were under sized units made up of underage adolescents and disabled veterans, Erich got a job driving a Mercedes. One day in late April '45 he was diving alone in front of the base when he was strafed by a P-38. He crazy drove to get away and wrecked the car into a tree. Erich was OK but the car was totaled. That was it for him, WW II was over, "Alles Kaput" and he took off for home. My step mother was born in March of '46, so she must have been one of the first Baby Boomers.
Today that base is operated by the American Army and is the HQ for VII corps artillery, it's called Kelley Barracks. At the time my father was the executive officer there. When we would visit sometimes someone would say, "There's where Erich wrecked the car" and I'd look around and try to imagine a P-38 barreling in, it was hard to do everything seem so peaceful. Erich was 65 when he told the story (still drove a Mercedes) and died when he was 94.
nice story, thanks for sharing
God Bless.
Indeed a good story. Thanks for sharing your history guy. He was lucky and/or blessed.
"All is kaput." When they found the Red Baron still alive and tried to make him comfortable...
War is hell.... no matter which side you are on. Great story.
Thank you for removing the opening sequence music. You're such a UA-cam icon now, you certainly need no introduction. Your history videos are superb - I love them!
Seconded
I love when a notification of each new video, I can't wait to watch each new topic. I remember when the History Channel actual did shows on history instead of swamp people and ancient aliens, thank you for filling that void...
Thanks for all the videos. After minor surgery I have sat and watched most of them. Best things on the web.
HISTORY GUY rolls through successfull missions of historical enlightenment in 10 minute entertaining bursts ... total victory, assured!
Having been subscribed for an extended period, I have imbibed a considerable quantity of random history. I greatly enjoy your work, Mr. History Guy. Given the overwhelming opportunity that lies ahead, I think that I would appreciate playlists of cohesive material: e.g. military exploits within a campaign, ordered chronologically; events within a particular theatre; et. Cetera.
Thank you for all you do. Every episode has been outstandingly informative.
You bring history memorably back to life.
There is a Russian film about this incident called the Fortress ! It is an outstanding film about Soviet heroics at the beginning of the war ! It's a relatively recent film , I think no more than 10 years old . Its a movie worth to wach
I give you my sincere congratulations for bringing to light to the American audience this little known (in the West) episode of WWII, but which is so famous in Russia and Belarus (specially when only four years ago a movie was made to conmemorate the event). I'm not Russian but I can speak the language, and I consider Russia my second homeland. I learnt a lot about the Russian culture and I know what historical events make the Russians to feel proud. And this is one of them. Keep up the good work!!
Very interesting as usual. I really like your pacing of the release of you videos. Just enough time in between to be anxious for the next. Thank you.
Timing is largely based on the speed with which I can produce them. The goal is two episodes a week.
The Russians remember WW2 as "The Great Patriotic War" for good reason
Garomcfbgdd too funny, my memory went to the same connection...lol
@Karl Bush Disturbingly so. Commies just can't stop themselves from killing anyone and everyone.
They conveniently forget that Russians invaded Poland from the east, and invaded far more countries in addition. Stalin was hardly a victim, and had purged his own army just a couple of years before. As in all wars, leaders start them, conscripts finish them.
Oh really. Were these russiabscwho made Lampe and handbag outvof human skins? Or foubded concentration Camps for children to use thembas blond donors their blood for own soldiers? Or burned down in gas cameras German solders ans civilians? I would rather think that people like has sympathy to nazi ideology to look less disgusting for colonialism murders and genocide of your own country.
Outstanding as usual. You Tube Review should stop harassing you, Hitstory Guy. You are one of the most impressive and interesting and professional You Tube providers. If You Tube gave out medals, you should get one. Including: "Best You Tube History Education Channel"
The Cold War killed knowing this history in the west. Thank you for telling this story.
It is interesting watching World War II Newsreels, which offer such a different narrative on the Soviet Union than what was portrayed in the west just a decade later.
I think it interesting and understandable that Soviet military efforts were minimized in the Western annals post-war, as the brutality and worldwide aggression by "uncle" Joe Stalin certainly made them "not our friends".
That said, once those hostilities have been (largely) put behind us, it must be noted by all sides the truth of history. Even today, the Russian outlook is very colored by their history of being invaded repeatedly by barbaric foreign entities. There is an old saying, "Even paranoids have enemies..."
You have a fine channel, and I am thoroughly addicted.
Hi, History Guy! Not long ago, I finished reading a book called "Beyond The Call" by Lee Trimble (son of the pilot) about a US B-17 AND B-24 pilot (!) and member of the Lucky Bastards club, who was offered a "non-combat" job to avoid being sent over to Japan after V-E Day. His "non-combat" job was to recover crashed US aircraft that were forced down during "shuttle missions" over Eastern Europe from bases in England and Italy that did not have the range to RTB, so they landed in Soviet-held territory, refueled, rearmed, and dropped bombs on the Axis on their way back to home base.
What Captain Trimble did NOT know is that he was now working for the OSS, and his mission, while it did include recovering US aircraft, it also covered recovering downed aircrews- the Soviets treated crews that had evaded capture by the Germans like heroes, but those liberated from Luftstalags were abandoned and left to fend for themselves. The OSS knew this, and Captain Trimble's job was to recover Allied aircrews (and, as it turned out) many others from the Soviets.
I left a review of this book on Amazon- I think it might be worth your attention.
We were always taught how evil the Ruskies were.
@@KirkParro .>... the brutality and worldwide aggression by "uncle" Joe Stalin certainly made them "not our friends".<
Compared to the brutality , worldwide aggression , greed and perfidy of Uncle Sam in his maniacal drive to eliminate any political competition and become the sole master of the universe what uncle Joe and his successors did was just a mild and inadequate reaction to what the other side's was actually doing against them. Take e.g. "Operation Gladio". To create an army of professional killers and terrorists with numberless hidden arsenals and then to unleash them disguised as "'communists" (The Red Brigades" in italy or "the Red Army Fraction") to bomb mothers with children, peaceful casual passers-by, to kidnap and kill leading pblic figures and politicians in Italy or West Germany and elsewhere is something so diabolical that one can hardly believe it. Yet the CIA for which such monstrosities are stock-in-trade itw as easy both to invent and implement the whole diabolical scheme to discredit communism cost what it might.
A great video, as usual. I always enjoy your narrative and the inclusion of each storeys ripple effects are fascinating! Thank you for educating and entertaining. ☺
One of the things I particularly love about your videos is what you are not shy of spending half of the time to put the things into context.
I too have a love for history. One story that is not often taught is the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. The surrender of General Lee is often told, although the actual way it happened is often misrepresented. The next day when the Army marched in to lay down arms, they were in sad shape. The Northern commander seeing the remnants of a once great and proud army, called his men to attention. The Southern army was confused. Thinking they were either going to be arrested or shot. Finally understanding that they were being saluted by their former enemies, they straightened their uniforms, unrolled their battle standards and the two armies rendered passing honors. This is one of my favorite stories of the War Between the States and it speaks volumes of the men of both sides.
Yes, the Union commander was Joshua Chamberlain, hero of Little Round Top sub-battle in Gettysburg. From Maine, Joshua Chamberlain was also a Bowdoin College professor.
5 days later Lincoln got his karme behind the left ear.
the south never had a chance. lincoln wanted to leave them to rot. shermans greatest blunder was that he did not destroy enough of that already desolate, backwards land.
The War was over, the South could be oppressed keeping the hate alive for Generations or they could be welcomed back as fellow Americans who fought a courageous war and lost, but were respected even in Defeat.
We should have taken every 10th man from that column and hanged them for their treason. Perhaps if we had we wouldn't still have scum pretending the Confederacy was in any way a good thing and the southern swastica would be rightly banned.
I remember hearing about it first in my high school Russian class. The Soviet narrative on the Second World War was completely different from what we had learned.
Thank you so very much for undertaking this effort. So much of our US History is limited to the time constraints put on teachers in our schools. Without folks like you our citizenry would be limited to the same pablum generation after generation. Thanks again...
Yes, do remember that in our history books we were told the defence lasted about a month. I did got to a musium in my last year of school, can't recall full details now. But I do recall it was brutal and bloody.
Went on a mission trip to Belarus in 2002 in the Brest region. We visited the fortress. I have a book that I picked up as a souvenir. Was an impressive place!
I have huge admiration for your project. Just brilliant!
You cannot even find a decent book about the Eastern Front that isn't written by David Glantz or written after 1985. It's outrageous. Thanks for posting.
It was very difficult to find information about the Eastern Front until after the fall of the USSR. The area was outside of American and British control meaning all records were in another language and had to be translated. Very costly back then. Whats more is the Russians were not willing to share documents. The Germans had burnt all theirs. Just the way history works.
Antony Beevor's Stalingrad ?
Totally criminally ridiculous that UA-cam found this inappropriate. Just a testimonial to their historical ignorance.
You're amazing and deserve so many more subs! I know you'll get them.. Just a matter of time.
You're the first person who's videos I've liked in a loooooong time. It's because you even listen to the opinion of someone who doesn't matter like me:) haha... Thanks again for all your hard work :)
I figured the Brest defense was a good offense.
LOL
I see what you did there LOL
Groan
That's the Brest joke ever!
I think he's a boob.
thank you. some of my mothers grandparents and their families "disappeared" during this. all i have is passed-down family stories that you have confirmed. again, thank you.
I've been to the Brest Fortress, now... more Brest Foundations. The paths inside are made of red gravel and sand contained inside low curbs so that they turn into blood-like streaks when it rains. I also swam the Bug river from Poland, in places it's not very wide.
A most enjoyable and informative man, thank you for imparting and enlightening.
this was a very well told story that has me wanting to watch more of your explanations of history
I enjoy every video you make. Great work and thanks for sharing. I enjoy history myself, especially WWII.
Amazing work btw. The attention to detail in your research is astounding.
There is a movie about Brest, it's a great movie. What an amazing group of defenders.
I enjoy these, thank you.
My favorite channel, by far. Excellent work.
Thanks for posting.
I always wondered how many of the star forts saw combat in WW1 & 2.
I wondered how long they stood against modern artillery and aerial bombardment.
I saw a picture of 1 large pentagon fort that was leveled and left almost unrecognizable after being bombed. I think it was from WW1.
Most of them in the West were bypassed in WWII. But the ones in Belgium lasted about a week in WWI. The Germans took that long to bring up their big Krupp Guns and reduce them. Now Krupp makes coffee pots.
@ David Harris
"raises eye brows" ….I like coffee.
Love these videos almost everyone I've watched is something I had never heard of before. History definitely worth remembering.
History Guy, I really enjoy your videos. Thank you for what you do.
Many Americans forget or simply don’t realise the horrific losses and incredible bravery of Soviets forces during WWII. I found it amazing that a million horses 🐎 accompanied the German invasion (where is PITA when you need them). Thank you Professor for another eye opening and provocative presentation. I look forward to your next video. 🐎👍🤔
The main method of supply for the German army in WW2 was by railroad and then horse drawn wooden wagons. It's a myth that the German army was highly mechanized. The US and Russia were vastly more mechanized than the Germans. The two countries that won the war, U S and Russia, had large supplies of indigenous oil, while Germany, Italy, and Japan had very little oil, and therefore limited mechanization.
The most significant event in WW2 Europe in the summer of 1944 IMO was not the invasion of Normandy(D-Day), but the Soviet army over running the Romanian oil fields, which killed the Germany army's mobility.
they ate most of them.. no worries
ziggy 2shus As a patriotic Briton it pains me to say this (not really, credit where credit is due) but the Americans bombing the Ploesti oilfields in early 1944 is probably what ended the war in Europe.
Dr. Rich. Americans do realize the Eastern Front scale and terrors. Even silly pop culture 60s kid shows like Hogan's Heroes, constantly talk about the Eastern front and Klink's fear of going there. We know that the USSR entered the war in mid 41, producing an uneasy alliance between the USSR and UK. FDR doing more to coordinate that alliance than Churchill or Stalin could do themselves, because of the USSRs raw materials assistance to Hitler in 38/39/40 and their co invasion of Poland.
However the Eastern front was run by both sides as a completely illogical murderfield, just tossing casualties at the front. The Anglo-American forces took a steady and careful phase by phase dismantling of the entire Axis.
Downplaying the Western Allies, as is popular in today's bratty culture, is unfortunate. The Western allies did a magnificent job on two fronts in two hemispheres, fighting three world powers for several years, yet not taking the horrific casualties.
I have honestly never met an American who didn't know that the Eastern Front was the bloodiest front in the European Theater. The US is noteworthy because it was the only combatant who was primarily responsible for victory on one front (Western) and one theater (Asian). This is not to dismiss the bravery and sacrifice of other combatants.
Just discovered you mr history guy and your brilliant. Looking forward to watching all you have produced.
Thank you History Guy your videos should be compulsory viewing in schools, they are fascinating.
One of the biggest problems for the Soviet Army was the movement of Soviet forces to the new Western border with Nazi Germany starting in 1939 after the division of Poland under the The Soviets were undergoing major institutional reforms within their Army under the leadership of Marshal Timoshenko. Timoshenko believed in concentrated artillery firepower to solve tactical problems opening the battle for tanks and infantry divisions. These reforms were coming from the fiasco in Finland in 1939-40. The emphasis on concentrated firepower, especially mortars and field guns with Katyusha rockets were pushed in Timoshenko's reforms. This emphasis on artillery firepower influenced Generals Zhukov, Vassilevsky and Voronuv, the artillery expert. The Soviets organized artillery into artillery divisions and artillery corps. The Soviets were making new medium tank designs such as the KV heavy tank and T-34 medium tank. Soviet rifle divisions were reduced from 14,000 men to just under 10,000 men with reduced heavy artillery but increased numbers of mortars and antitank guns. The Soviet Army Air Force also had new fighter aircraft on the drawing board including new Sturmovick ground attack planes. However, all of these reforms were still a year or more away from reality.
Had the Soviets kept to their old fortifications on the 1938 border, the opening weeks of Barbarossa would have been much different. The Germans would have had a much harder time encircling Soviet frontier forces defending in their entrenchments and fortifications further inland on Soviet territory. The biggest decisions Stalin made in the first week of the war was to send his industries east to the Urals. Stalin ordered the mobilization of five million men from the reserves. Stalin organized his country for total war from the beginning. The defense of Brest was one of many big stands made by the Soviet Army. The month Battle of Smolensk was a hard fought action but the delays and casualties on the Germans through the timetables of Barbarossa impossible to keep with the Russian mud, swamps, forests, and bitter freezing winter. German supply lines broke down leading to defeat in Moscow in December, 1941.
The operation of the Soviet Union railways were flawless during this first year of WW2. The real unsung heroes of the Soviet Union are the railroad managers, engineers, railway workers who kept the vital war industries going east and Army reinforcements going west. The railroad system held the Soviet Union together during its greatest test. Many railroad workers and engineers saw lots of combat as the Luftwaffe bombed them incessantly. As long as the Soviet rail system ran on time, the Soviet Army would always have enough supplies, weapons, and manpower reinforcements to keep going with the war. The Soviet Army had on average SIX MILLION MEN on the front and millions more in the rear area doing vital support work. All of this was made possible by those Soviet trains running on time during the war.
The Eastern Front: The brutality of a drive by shooting on an industrial scale.
Matt from Florida your making it sound like n b d. The invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and the Soviet push to stem the tide and seek their revenge was one of the most brutal ongoing combat situations that only got worse when the front line moved on and the territory seized by the new owners. Both sides engaged in war crimes we can hardly fathom. The Germans didn’t consider the Slavic people to be human and carried out brutal extermination policies getting rid of all they didn’t consider necessary to support their war effort. After Stalingrad the Soviet troops were encouraged to be brutal by their officers and it really became grim when they pushed into Germany proper. A small group of my friends took a Bradbury title that seemed to fit no matter which way the front moved. “Something Wicked This Way Comes”
Thanks for sharing. Your videos are entertaining and informative
Thanks for making these videos.
Consistently interesting video's, with varied topics and little-known facts very well presented. Thanks and congratulations.
Thanks for the video! Love the new format!
Wait... no mention of saving Italy in Greece. Also, @ 7:03 the rocket attack... had not heard of that inside Barbarossa early day offensive.
Even today, a cursory look at a map shows just how big Brest fortress was
I know to you, westerners - a soviet soldier is not that different to a Nazi, but to me - it’s my grandfather who lost every one of his four brothers and suffered the war from the beginning of the campaign in 41 until 1945, and the resulting station in Berlin and then the infamous gulag - took another 10 years of his life. He was a sapper - a frontline of the frontline. But most of all he was a defender of his people. He gave so much, as the soviet regime totally destroyed our heritage and family traditions (we are Cossacks). I hate soviet communists with my whole being, but the soviet soldier is my hero. Защитники отечества - Defenders of the fatherland. Truly the great Patriotic War
i like it see i too once read that they held out 32 days but you set history straight for me plus added a lot of details i didn't know also love the maps of the fortress
Thank you for the new video!
Thank you. As a Soviet born Russian person, I truly appreciate your video. It is unbiased and truthful. Thank you.
I just realized i had never before heard the German plan and the AA line objective, I suspect that the lack of connection with the brutal war in the East can at least in part be explained by who the combatants were an enemy that briefly became an ally of necessity and a far worse enemy fighting each other. Neither regime had any regard for basic human rights and this played heavily into the brutality of the campaign but as you say history deserves to be remembered not just because it is difficult to imagine a scenario where the allies in the West defeat the Wehrmacht in a timely manner if Germany doesn't commit such vast losses in blood and treasure in the East, but also because of those who suffered and died, to quote Dickens, "are they not of the human race?" thanks for remembering them
I used to play a combat flight simulator called Il-2 Sturmovik which was amazing not just because of its realism and quality at the time but also because it was specifically focused on the eastern front with all manner of soviet aircraft including many which even a casual ww2 airplane buff may not know off. Stuff like the Pe-8 heavy bombers (would love a brief history video on that!) and the Po 2 biplanes all showed up in the game. The cold war allies do tend to forget just how much of an impact the soviets had in breaking the back of the german military.
When Germany caved the soviets even began moving all thier stuff west to face the japanese and even made some moves against them before the nuclear attacks that ended the war. I have seen somewhere (not sure if its accurate or not) that the threat of massive soviet mobilisation as well as the nukes sealed the deal, not just the nukes, but i dont know if thats credible.
Love these random history videos they always cover something that is random and obscure, but as said, deserve to be remembered!
Admittedly, this one of my favorite sites/channels. I am curious as to the resources used to provide such a thorough and well thought through presentation.
Without a doubt my most favorite history guy!
General Stillwell spent World War Two in China fighting the Japanese. He never had enough men or supplies, but always performed his duties with an uncommon dedication to duty.
He was also from my hometown.
The referring to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact as merely a non-aggression agreement is misleading.
It was an agreement between Nazis and Soviets to cooperate in dividing the spoils of military aggression against Poland, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Rumania.
In the early phase of the war in Europe, the Soviets were as aggressive as the Nazis and cooperated with them.
They didn’t lift a finger to assist France or Britain, until they were themselves betrayed and invaded.
To let the Soviets off their historical crimes, cooperating with and paralleling those of the Nazis, is merely to repeat the wartime propaganda of the Allies, who so desperately needed to defeat Germany and downplayed the earlier crimes of the Soviet government.
Revelation of the secret protocols of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was a major contributor to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.
Russian fighters were heroic as individuals, but their government was criminal, and that is history that deserves to be remembered.
Agreed sir, and even after the Nazis invaded in 1944 the Soviets worked with Japan and exposed the American plan to attack Formosa. My father, a pilot stationed in England, always maintained that we made the mistake of not taking down Stalin after the defeat of Germany.
I only reference the pact in terms of dividing Poland- I did not leave that part out. There is far more to say about context, but it is short history.
СССР был столь же агресивен, сколько была агресивна Польша, кто вместе с нацисткой Германией поделил Чехословакию? С чего вообще СССР должен был защищать Британию и Францию? Они сами были в шаге от того, чтоб обьявить войну СССР. О каком договоре о разделе Финляндии между Германией и СССР ты говоришь, Финляндия и нацисткая Германия на начало войны были союзниками, алё.
Poland was known as hyena of europe for a reason.
Before the non-aggression between the nazis and and the soviets was signed, Poland took a part in dividing Czechoslovakia with the same nazis that attacked them in a year. And the soviets were urging many countries around the Czechoslovakia in let them through to stop the nazis, and plus to that, the soviets even tried to coerce Britain and france to declare war on Germany during that time, but allies refused.
Before the war europe was a "kettle" in which many ideologies collided and naughty non-countries like Finland or Gypsy empire of Romania tried to achieve enormous goals at expense of others, they got what was coming for them.
So there was no crime in soviet's occupation of Poland in 39. And only polish nationalists care about it since that time, the polish ambitions were trampled by russians yet again. Also, don't forget where a million of battle ready polish soldiers was when the invasion has started? they were in the sudets corridor guardian their newly annexed territories.
bydloshkolnik
There was no justification for the Soviet invasion of Poland, Finland, Rumania, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, or for the treaty of Soviet-Nazi cooperation, other than the Soviet imperialism.
I just saw the movie, and found a lot of things about Brest , + your material ( very good job with this , by the way), and my conclusions are there was a massacre , a lot of civilian died !
Besides of the weak weapons , looks like the fortress was unprepared for an attack ! Just an Major and lieutenant saw that coming . They died like a real hero there even most of the people are thinking they was communist not patriots !
RIP their souls !
Another great video. You are awesome!
There is a really good Russian movie about the defense of Brest fortress, I recommend people look it up as I found it here on UA-cam.
mikhailv67 what is it called?
@@davidkelley5382 Fortress of war.
There is not even one Russian movie about WW2 that is not full of typical soviet propaganda... Starting from fact that they delibaretly talking about Great Patriotic War just to not talk that before that period of time they were German brothers in arms that was helping them brake all Treaty of Versailles limitations... Lipetsk fighter-pilot school(German: Kampffliegerschule Lipezk, also known as Wivupal from its full German name), The Kama tank school (German: Panzerschule Kama), chemical weponds training... Germans started war with tanks that was build with Soviet metals, runing on Soviet oil, crews and comanders was trained in USSR! Name one Russian movie where i can see that... There was even special radio station in USSR in September of 1939 to allow precize pin pointingof Polish cities by German bombers.
@@Bialy_1 most of propaganda in modern Russian movies is anti Soviet propaganda. Now really hard to find a movie without Soviet man waves rush battle scene, but is absolute bullshit. So you wrong. Reality wasn’t so stupid
@@AlittleDeath-p6e но факт есть факт - наши ручкались с нацистами, и об этом щаз не принято говорить. сталин сам просрал начало войны + чистки в начсоставе.
9:52: Thomas the Train Engine gets grumpy.
Great episode!
I have my Opa's war diary. He was in Poland , on the border to Russia on June 22nd, a grunt in the infantry. He fought at the Battle of Brody a few days later, then all over the Eastern Front. Home for X-mas, left his diary, then was sent to Stalingrad. Doh.
My new favorite channel
Thank you for making these videos! I love your channel, and I think you should have ads in your videos to generate some revenue for your efforts.
Good to see that you open up and have a look at history from other parts of the world than the US.
The channel is not at all restricted to US history.
History guy. You are my hero
The delay caused by Hitler bailing out Mussolini's disastrous invasion of Greece in 1940 was another reason for the failure of Barbarossa.
That's actually a misconception that's been widely circulated by Hitler during the war, and then by German generals looking for scapegoats after the war. The truth is that the weather more than anything impeded the Germans. Not that it made much of a difference. So terrified of the winter, they failed to prepare for Raputitsa and paid for it. You'll find a lot of scapegoating of the Italians during the war that has since been reassessed. That's what happens when you make German generals the official historians for the US Army's official history of the war. (Franz Halder)
Ive watched so many documentaries and read so many books about nazi Germany. In my opinion it was the very nazi ideology that was their source of strength in the beginning but sowed the seeds of their destruction. When Hitler invaded Russia if he had went in with the mentality of a liberator rather than a conqurer things would have been way different. If he had won the hearts and minds of those in Eastern Europe with their massive numbers and plentiful natural reserves than this world may be a much different place today.
@@walkerflocker7811 Sure - but if that'd happened the Nazis wouldn't be Nazis and the world would've been a very different place back then. lol
There's a certain point where the hypotheticals become fantasy, yeah? They could never treat the denizens of the East as equals, and many of those groups were barely treated as human beings. It was an inspiration for the attacks in the East, for Barbarossa, in the interest of 'Lebansraum'.
@@walkerflocker7811 Also, have you ever read Richard J Evan's 'Third Reich' trilogy?
@@fuzzydunlop7928 I agree 100%. That was mostly the point of the post. I will however point out that the nazi party never won a popular election in Germany. So the afformentioned tactics were more than plausible with Germans of that time. The wermacht units of the time considered themselves honorable military units. Most of the atrocities were committed by the SS. Which were either heavily indoctrinated or foreign conscripts. This comment is in no way what so ever in support of nazis or facism. Just a realistic view of what the nazis and Hitler actually were. A fringe group of extremist that played on the national problems the Germans faced In That Era.
The fact that the 1097 casualties incurred by the defense of Brest represents 5% of the total German casualties - 22,000 - from June 22-30 is both impressive and incredibly low, considering the VAST Soviet casualties in the same time frame.
Here’s a suggestion. I heard about this guy on Paul Harvey. His name is Thomas W. Cobb, for whom Cobb County, GA is named after. The only man to be President (for one day & didn’t know it), and interim “president” of the Confederacy (before Jefferson Davis officially became President).
Love this channel
Thank you for sharing, sir!
I know that in the U.S. so many cities are named for some city in Europe. The fact that My mother was born near Brest in Brittany, France caught me off guard that there was another Brest in Russia. Could that city in Russia have been named during the Napoleonic invasion?
Great information about a battle I was unaware of, but now I have to get my old lava lamps out of storage.
when i was little, i had a great uncle that would tell tales of his piloting an Ilyushin-2 in the Patriotic War. he might not have been stretching the truth as much as i now think, as an adult. i'd be interested in your doing a feature on these "suicidal" heroes.
Bravo! WOT guys need to see this as inspiration for a new map!
A tiny little nitpick:
It's not exactly called "The Great Patriotic War". A more accurate translation would be "The Great War for the Fatherland", since it uses the adjective that means "of the Fatherland".
BTW love the video, thanks for not lumping Belarus together with the eastern Russia, as so many western historians do.
I once read, that Hitler visited the Brest Fortress after the Germans Captured it.
He took a Piece of Melted Steel, as a Souvenir/Memorial for the Hard Fight .
Thank You making for these Video's !
Greetings !
Please do the USSR invasion of Manchuria, the scale of that is incredible and no one knows about it.
Thanks for this!
1:34 Just beyond Brest you'll encounter Slutsk. Which actually makes sense.
My favorite historical snippet has always been thr SMS Konigsberg in the Rufiji delta
The numbers speak for themselves. Out of every three killed during the Second World War one was Soviet.
We do focus on the western losses mostly due to the fact that within a short time the Soviet Union became an enemy. You don’t hold your enemy in high regard when you are writing the history books. We dehumanised the people of the U.S.S.R., they just became Communists or Commies, in the same way that Germans were also reduced to being The Bosh or Krauts. Sad that their losses during the war are so easily whitewashed.
very good and interesting content. thank you
I enjoy your UA-cam channel immensely , you're so perfect and to the point with all of your information it's an absolute pleasure to listen to you . I don't know if this is the venue to request something as i am somewhat new as a subscriber to you and will continue to be one but I would like to ask if you could possibly do a history of the Congo War starting from its origin thru the near present . Thank you ! Thoroughly enjoy your channel .
When they said the fortress was held for a month i think they mean that the actual fighting within the fortress lasted for a month. Even long after the germans successfully took the fortress there were still small groups of red army soldiers in fierce combat within the catacombs of the fortress. The germans had to burn them out with flamethrowers.
Muffy
Well it seems that one single guy was arrested after a month, the fighting as such was basically over after one week when the last buildings got captured and the intense combat (like 90% of the German casualties) after only three days (basically the same time it took to capture the fortress from the Poles in 1939) with the last German soldier killed after 5 days.
From what I read the Soviets created some ridiculous propaganda that no one surrendered (in reality 6800 surrendered) and that the fighting lasted one month.
@@HingerlAlois false… the guy you talking about was found in AUGUST. After 2 months. And I’m not talking about this inaccurate statistics.
Hi and thanks. Have a great day until next time you are great!!!
I have always been told the amphibious assault on Okinawa was larger than the d day invasion
Along a similar vein, would you consider a video on 1939's fighting at Wizna? It's a Polish/German battle that seems to only have Western coverage in a Sabaton song, and personally I think it's a very inspiring and overlooked story (and rather similar to this one).
Aussum as usual Sir thank you
Great job.extremely interesting part of history.
So this is not Brest in France, - a navy town, I think, which must have taken some hits in WW2 similar to
Plymouth in the UK, since both are rebuilt - perhaps you can give some insight to this? - thanks.
Hi History Guy,
I love your work!
I'd really like to learn more about atomic gardens, and I would really love to learn it from you.
Just a thought/suggestion.
Thanks for all the top quality content.
-Andy
Would love to see you do an analysis of the siege of Sevastapol.
The delay in Operation Barbarossa was occasioned by Operation Maritsa - Hitler's simultaneous invasion of Yugoslavia ( to punish them for a coup placing an anti- German King on the throne) and to assist Mussolini whose invasion of Greece in October of 1940 became an embarrassing catastrophe for the Axis. Hitler attacked Greece in early April and smothered the last organized resistance in Crete in late May of 1940 ( Operation Mercury - the destruction of the German Parachutist Corp).
Can you do a video on Westerplatte?
This would be good
Thank You 🌏
It's Brest-Litovsk, not to be mixed up with Brest, a French town in Brittany.