Dunkirk, and the tank battle that made it possible?
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- Опубліковано 15 сер 2017
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By Crikey! This is the longest UA-cam video I have done, and I do not intend to make them this long often! Editing this took two long days and very late nights. People may think that one long continuous shot takes no editing, but there are a lot of graphics, captions, tweaks to the sound and picture, and these all have to be precisely timed and placed.
At one point in the video, I say "Boston Paul Defiant". World War Two aviation enthusiasts will all know that I meant to say "Boulton Paul Defiant". I knew the name perfectly well. I even have the Airfix kit of this 'plane, but the wrong word came out when I was in mid-flow, and I don't think any of us want me to redo the whole thing just for that.
I was probably unwise to pick such enormous topics. One editing idea I had was to include a 'digressionometer' in the bottom corner of the screen, which would slowly count upwards as I added to the ever-mounting burden of digressions. Some of my digressions have digressions. I decided that, amusing though it might have been, it would have been distracting in such a long video. The idea was Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo) and tanks, but Dunkirk does not make sense without the political and military situation to set it in context. My early videos used to make one point, in about three minutes. Those were the days.
Support me on Patreon: / lindybeige
Buy the music - the music played at the end of my videos is now available here: lindybeige.bandcamp.com/track...
More weapons and armour videos here: • Weapons and armour
Picture credits:
Goring image
By Bundesarchiv, Bild 102-13805 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de,
commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Flak gun image
Von Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-443-1574-26 / Zwilling, Ernst A. / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Leopold image
By Willem van de Poll - Nationaal Archief, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
Lindybeige: a channel of archaeology, ancient and medieval warfare, rants, swing dance, travelogues, evolution, and whatever else occurs to me to make.
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53 minutes of talking, no cuts, every minute is fascinating
how does he do it?
idk......and his memory is certainly better than 99% percent of the population........
He's a rap star.
He is drugged like a german soldier
Nyachi and no script.
migkillerphantom that is my guess actually.
If not for those “little ships”, I would not be here today. My Free Polish Army grandfather owes his life to a brave, boat owning Englishman.
Glad that he lived!
@nuff said you're using the same rhetoric as the Nazis your dad fought and died to stop from controlling Europe
It might have been my grandad he went 3 times.
@RavnDream doesn't really apply because literal Nazis are the topic of discussion
@RavnDream I don't think Godwins applies when the subject matter is in fact WW2 and actual nazies are an integral part of the subject matter.
About 20 minutes in I remembered that I clicked this video to hear about a tank battle. So much extra info and stories. This is why I love lindybeige.
I've only just remembered that's why I clicked!
This is the closest Lindy will ever come to saying something nice about the French!
Blake stone. Years ago a friend and I were in saint tropez in a grocers shop when the owner came over to us and asked to shake our hands. Of course we asked why and he said it was because the British troops saved his family during ww2, and that anything we wanted from his shop was f.o.c. Naturally we thanked very much but declined, we explained why, but we did buy food from his shop and sat and had coffee with him. It was such a nice gesture what he offered. I do have respect for the french. They are not cowards only lead by cowards.
@@barbaradyson6951 It's a joke dumbass.
@@barbaradyson6951 There are also those Frenchmen who won't even speak to Brits because of the sinking of the Vicy French fleet.
@@perperson199 Screw them. The Vichy state was a German puppet state in all but name and the Vichy navy was basically a proxy Kriegsmarine. Had they been true patriots, they could have scuttled their boats or sailed to Scapa Flow and turned their boats over to the Royal Navy when the German conquest of France was inevitable - instead, they clung to their false bravado and shiny medals and uniforms and commissions and did as the Germans bade them. And anyone who sheds tears for the fate of the Vichy navy doesn't deserve respect.
@@chuckschillingvideos You are right of course
Damn, I would have loved to have Lindy as my History teacher. Infinitely better than the one I had.
Same for me ;)
UA-cam is a better classroom then most schools have. my schools spent 90% of our history classes covering the Revolutionary War, The Civil War, The Great Depression, the American portions of WW2, and the Civil Rights Movement. I didn't learn anything about WW1 or the non-American parts of WW2 until after i graduated. Lindybeige taught me more than any of my history teachers.
Lindy can chat.
classroom:
linybeige: "and now time for the sponsor!"
Saar Offensive, September 1939. Wasn't much but it was a lot more than nothing. Kinda sloppy for a guy with this much knowledge to forget that happened during his Phoney war of nothingness. Oh wait, that might negate the "Jerries invaded France first".
"These Germans, there were lots of them and they have guns. Someone could get hurt." Lol.
I read this comment just as he spoke the words
It’s a war , dipshit. Are you American?
I try to remember what the French general said to the Soviet officer when the Soviet officer commented about the quick surrender of the French armed forces. He commented..... if we had thousands of miles to retreat through we would have fought for years!
Ha I like that.
It sems like a quick surrender.
But in regard of the crazy violence that occured and stunning speed it went, the chock effect brought by the Blitz, it is not so unlikely.
To give an idea, there was more casualties in 5 weeks in 1940, than during the whole battle of Normandy, wich lasted 3 month in 1944.
Actually the battle of Lilles was tougher than evrything you saw in "Save Private Ryan".
You can verify, it is facts.
The French army fought bravely and sacrificed to enable the Escape of the "British Expeditionary Force " Vive La France from England.
@Patrick Ancona True, so true even the French gouvernement had no idéa the brits were going home to the very day It Took place.
@@Funktastic_Ed simples
A Dalek with a flag, and his specs, on the wall behind him. Sometimes he wears his jumpers the wrong way around, not inside out, the wrong way around. He does this without gimmicks in one long, fascinating - and accurate - take. I love this bloke.
It's a Confederate Dalek
"Everyone is ordered to surrender for immediate execution"
Well can't argue with that!
You’re thinking of the Soviets...
@@briansinger5258
The Soviets only immediately kill their own. Everyone else gets starved to death or dies on the March to their Siberian Gulag.
It's easy to see the Nazi sympathisers
@@lupercali3951 it's even easier to see the brainwashed commie sheep.
1 hour lindybeige , my dreams came true
Gladatus Wisiniowski because of this comment i realized how long this video is
Imagine how long his stream would be.
And the only ad is for World of Tanks! Weeee!
Agreed! I could have listened for another hour. And that it is not scripted speaks to his talent as a teacher and an orator.
i think i came
Lloyd: "This video is over. Let us hope we never see another so long".
Also Lloyd: has at least five videos that are over an hour long.
i think i speak for most of us when i say keep the long videos coming....
@@Ghoulza longer the better
@@jamie-fm6mx that's what she said!
Remember the 51st Highlanders, one of the units left behind.
0:39, hmmm.... he said "deliverance", we like that :)
Can't wait for the game
I follow your game on Steam.
Warhorse Studios Oi get back to work, no lindybeige breaks
Warhorse Studios uh, whoever managing this account is slacking off lol
Clever marketing strategy. I like it. :D
How the hell do you do these in one cut. Bravo.
I suppose it's a combination of both experience, knowledge and his personality traits ( being talkative etc.)
Harry Stuart he made a few cuts in the beginning that you can barely make out.
With a lot of sloppy mistakes, that's how ;-) "Boston Paul", "Ju-88 Stuka", "no Belgian Forts"...
+Morten Andersen, I hadn't made this connection until your post, but yes I see it now. Brilliant! LOL :)
Blah b, do better.
Morten Andersen, if you speak with passion you'll have the energy.
Lindy... Please, please convert your history talks into podcasts; Your ability to present stories through oral means is incredible. Loved the video!
Never!
The Little Ships were slightly more use than the 26,000 figure shows, as many of the shallow-draft boats were used to ferry troops from the beaches to the destroyers, which didn't require use of The Mole, and only then brought as many as they could on board for their trip home. Great video!
The longest UA-cam video I've ever happily sat through.
So true
The vast world of UA-cam and just this one?
@@bryanneideffer3969 formally vast world, their censorship has narrowed the selection quite a bit. As the Thought Police meme says, "looks like you've had a little too much to think!"
Just to say thank you, I’m French and I’m sick and tired to hear cliches about French army and capitulation. Thank you very much indeed for your objectivity, I like the way you have treated the topic, with consideration. The best video I have ever watched from you. Regards 🇬🇧🇫🇷
"Do you know it only took Germany three days to conquer France in WWII? And that's because it was raining." -- John Xereas
El Rey France have surrendered after five weeks in June 1940. I’m not sure about the weather, as French I can’t say we lost because of the rain, it would be a weak excuse! I suppose. Thank you for your message, I appreciate it. Regards
El Rey It was rainy during the battle of Azincourt in 1412. Concerning WWII, France surrendered after five weeks in June 1940. Thank you, I appreciate it.
6 weeks... 7 until the end of all fightings
Except according to four people of the British forces who were there say the French did more to help the Germans rather than fight them!
Thanks for explaining why the tanks stopped, it was something that has bothered
me for a long time. I knew about Goring, bragging about his air force, being able to
destroy the BEF on the beaches, but just couldn't understand why the tank division
didn't just, "role up the beaches," because I thought there was nothing to stop them,
but your explanation of how hard the tank divisions had been pushed, (drugs included)
and the "re-supplying" required, after that push, plus the pincer attack on there
stretched lines, really does explain to me the FULL story, thank you Lindy !
I could listen to him for hours
I do....
@@jamie-fm6mx we all do. I'm disappointed when I see a video under 30 minutes now
Small note, at 35.00 you say the Belgian royal family left Belgium. This is wrong, they did not. The belgian king, Leopold III wanted to stay behind with his army and become a prisoner. At first, the people believed, and loved, him for this, but then he met Hitler, it turned out he had a very nice life in a castle, andsoforth. This is a very interesting matter and almost caused the removal of royalty in Belgium after the war, and some say we even were at brink of a civil war.
Loved the video, keep up the good work
Would the Belgians have liked it better if thrown into dachau instead of being treated well? Probably.
Ah yes, Dunkirk. The week we gave Adolf a bloody nose, and advanced our way back to Britain.
- Also, I'd recommend a game called "War Thunder" as well as World of Tanks, for people who enjoy such things.
Squire m'boy! I had no idea you liked Lindybeige.
Squire I like this man and what he has to say
Everyone should listen to him
Squire HELLOOOOOOOO! Chocks away!
Yeeeeeeeeees
Squire, Hi Squire!
I can honestly say that this has to be my favourite history channel related to war or military history
When on holiday in France in a small village I looked at the war memorial, there where a huge number of names on it. It must have totally devastated the area after WW1. I am a Brit and used to seeing WW1 memorials in the UK.
53+ minutes of piece to camera, minimal scripting (though probably with an aid memoire, admittedly), minimal amination or gimmicks. Quality stuff Lloyd. o7
aaaaand - I can't spell animation :)
Blah b, could you point out a few examples?
While you're right about Holland, a lot of people tend to call the Netherlands just that - Holland. I know I do, and I'm Flemish. Sure, I speak an accent, not a language, but it's not that important a distinction, IMO. There are so many variations between Flemish accents, we might as well speak a different language entirely. Not offensive, really. I can't comment on those other points. But please, keep watching, I want to know if he got more wrong.
What about actually listening to what he's saying rather than being distracted by a shiney clever animation, alright I'll grant you it helps sometimes to visualise things but it's not obligatory.
1 Yes that's what LB said,
2 Yes that's what LB said,
3 Okay I don't know but the fellowship based on language does seem like a bit of a stretch by LB.
4 A lot of the English speaking world refers to the Netherlands as Holland. In a similar manner Deutschland is called Germany by English speakers.
5 LB said the Belgians redeployed their troops to meet the German threat when the German army started massing on the border. The wikipedia page doesn't seem to cover whether Belgium previously deployed troops evenly on both borders to maintain an image of neutrality.
I'm not sure how much you think youtubers and their vast research staff get paid. But I'm willing to put up with some generalizations and minor inaccuracies in the potted history background to the actual story which was a tank battle that I'd never heard of before. This isn't a scholarly historical paper crafted over years of exhaustive research. Its a light entertainment vid knocked together in a week or two. If you feel there are inaccuracies instead of resorting to hyperbole "Lindy fucked up on this on...etc", how about just putting forward your corrected information for others to consider.
Vote with your actions for a politer and kinder internet.
34:40 We weren't completely alone, the Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, South Africans and Indians were with us! What better allies could you want?
Plus a very large navy and an integrated air defence system.
@Marry Christmas jewish Palestinians did actually fight for Britain in ww2 Moshe dayan is a famous example. He got his eye injury fighting the vichy French in the middle east.
@Anirban Chakrabarti thats bullshit the indian army in ww2 is the largest volunteer army in history.
@Anirban Chakrabarti No they were not forced. Stop rewriting history to fit your perspective.
@@benitomussolini7382 Even today its the largest volunteer army.
I appreciate thede videos. I am a son of a WW2 era woman, and love to hear these war stories that my uncles fought. Thanks much .
More needs to be said about the bravery of the French troops in 1940. My father was part of the rear guard at Dunkirk, and i may owe my existence to the French who took over the perimeter defence whilst the last of our men got away.
A completely underrated point for the early war period. Doesn't help when my other more annoying countrymen (American) don't give the french the respect they deserved during WW2.
So.....Was he in a British Thermal Unit????
@@nukclear2741 not to be ignorant, but, it is hard to feel sympathy when the French's hardest fighting troops died for 100k men who would later invalidate their sacrifice by willingly returning to a defeated nation instead of continuing the fight. Yes yes i know there are plenty of reason to why they may have returned as stated in the video but my point of view is still valid
The man is just stating the truth there was a minority of French soldiers were very brave the rest just didn’t want to know they tuna go home and die rather than fight which is sad
The French soldiers were brave as buggery throughout the entirety of the war.
Anyone who reads about the wars will know that, and will rise above the banter of ribbing the French as cowards who run away, safe in the knowledge that most French soldiers were brave men who were often let down by poor generals.
Gutted you cut it short Loyd. I hate it when you feel self concious about talking for long because long videos are my favourite.
If you've ever played World of Tanks you already knew everything bounces off the Matilda
Don’t forget, the Australians, New Zealander’s, Canadians, South Africans, Caribbean volunteers, Indian servicemen, free French, Polish and US volunteers (sorry if I missed anyone out). Not quite alone.
I wasn't aware they were involved IN France at this stage of the war [excepting those in the RAF] ?
Rhodesians too.
Kia ora!
As a student, you're the type of instructor i need, no question.
God, I love listening to Lindybeige pratle on an on.
Big shout out to all the Troops from across the "empire" those in the free forces of the occupied countries and all those that fought the Nazis however they did it. The UK was never left alone.
"In his own way, you know, with the mustache and all that", LMAO! Really, just a magnificent presentation, thank you Mr. Beige!
Lady at party: "What was it like at Dunkirk?"
British officer: "The noise, my dear, and the people!"
Very British! ☕
I'm British, and I don't understand the joke.
We don't speak _quite_ like that.
@@NiSiochainGanSaoirse not anymore sure, but you would know about Queen's English surely? Not to mention the attitude and witicisms of the officer class
Its easy to understand the french attitude in the war. They did not want it. They clearly saw all the way back in 1937 that germany was preparing a war , but they wanted to avoid one so much that they tried to ignore it as long as possible. And who can blame. 2/3 casualties is horrific. Today we see the casualties like numbers but in 1940 the WW1 was just 21 years ago. Many were children of man who fought there , many lost their dads in that war , many heard the stories , others were veterans. No one wanted to fight , no one wanted to send another generation to die. I think if they had the ability to understand just how bad nazi germany was they probabely would give a better shot , but they didnt knew. Its easy to judge in insight. If i was 20 in 1940 , lost my dad in WW1 , heard the horrific storied from the veterans , i sure as hell dont wanna fight another war.
Sadly, France was also fighting its self with 5th Column elements in the country. Like a lot of the world at the time fascism was in vogue even in England and the German-American Bund. Then France gets carved up and Vichy French is in league with or compliant to the Nazis.
I was just making this same argument to someone a couple weeks ago. It had to be utterly demoralizing to the French populace to imagine another war the likes of WW1. They had so many lost or wounded it's honestly a bit shocking.
@@ZuluLifesaBeech- iirc Stalin was also telling the French comunist to Sabotage the French army or they should atleast desert.
@@aschreeder Thanks for that info. I never knew this. I hope we learn from this political break down from past. Too, we should remember from past that walls like the Maginot Line in warfare or Berlin Wall in social control are only somewhat effective. Like Mother Russia and Lakota Sioux to give ground in a fight that draws the enemy in to far. Better to have strong laws and work with people just trying to live and willing to become good citizens. They are not the threat. 1 million Chinese students in USA learning and leaving might be the future threat since their government is fascist, the ruling elite, in all but name.
Fun fact, Hitler himself said if France attacked in 1936 they'd likely have beaten Germany... Sadly at the time France was itself in no position to attack.
Someone said that France 1940 was lost at Verdun 1916, which makes a lot of sense.
edit: Lindybeige just mentioned this point.
I heard Rommel's division was called the Ghost Division because it was so far from German positions that radio contact was lost
Watch the sabaton history video on it. Great video and gives you a good idea why it got its name
Why didn't rommel object against Hitler not while he was winning
@@rubybrady7051 court martial ain't fun son
HE TURNED THEM OFF GOOD RECE OFFICER.
RECCE
Rommels division was referred to as the Ghost Division
Sabaton music plays in the distance
R Langer, Largely because Rommels wasn't answering the phone! (Not as cool as it looks)
@@robertracicot7232 Rommel could make anything, including not answering the phone, look bad ass.
@@mamavswild Including my HOI4 Divisions.
Lindybeige reminds me of the great historian A.J.P. Taylor who gave television lectures on what seemed like any subject without a script.
Britain was not alone after the fall of France, Canada had your back
One alone as in alone in Europe and two Canada was part the Empire as was India, Australia etc and so technically are Britain by extent. So the point still stands Britain stood alone. Although we British are still very great duo to all countries both in the commonwealth and otherwise, who aided is is these dark times.
So Britain had more of Britain? Canada = Britain
Britain stood alone. With all its friends. With US Lend Lease. And with Russia. And China.
Sorry your wrong, Canada left the empire in 1931 with the Statute of Westminster, we remained as part of the British Commonwealth but as an independent nation, so the boast that you stood alone is incorrect. As a matter of fact right after Dunkirk Canadians formed the only armed force in Britain with all its equipment still intact so if the Germans had invaded Canadians would have done most of the organized defense.
@@slowphil47 they still pledge loyalty to the British crown and are subjects of the empire. Saying Canada isn't part of the empire is like saying Scotland isn't part of the empire
In his war memoirs, Spike Milligan recalled talking to a Dunkirk evacuee a day or two after the evacuation ended, and asking what the operation was like.
"Like?" the veteran replied. "It was a fuckup, son, a highly successful fuckup."
You can't add much to that assessment.
OMG!! Lindybeige said something positive about the French! Wait, what? Is the planet doomed? Is the world coming to an end? Eek! Eek!
No, but it seems pigs might be flying and hell might be frozen.
Haha, it was peppered with sarcasm though and I loved it.
A hour video from Lindy... the prophets have come true
what fascinates me is that he does this in one take, just shows how well hw knows the stories
No need to explain in description! You do an EXCELLENT job in these videos, ESPECIALLY considering that they're generally one continuous shot! Great content, super informative, and immensely entertaining! This yank' is a fan! Keep doing what you're doing; I love it!
Rewatching this video, and it reminded me of someone typing about how his grandfather remembers something said to him a Wehrmacht soldier in the heat of the war, he says it went something along the lines of "Go, get out of here boy, when the SS arrive, you don't want to be around."
Great video, but at 18:52, you called Stukas Ju-88s, I think they are Ju-87s if I'm not mistaken?
You are correct
Ju88 was a medium 2-engine bomber
Also the JU-87 Stuka was capable of dogfighting. The problem was that its pilots were not trained for air-to-air combat. Rudel was credited with shooting down 9 planes and it is possible that he brought down Russian Ace Lev Shestakov.
I see your point, but those kills were early war and "capable" does not in any way mean that the Stuka was good or even below average at dogfighting.
That's a grudge for sure.
Excellent as always Lloyd, just ignore the detractors. I've been aware of the battle at Arras for many years, my Dad has an illustrated book on famous campaigns of World War Two that fascinated me as a kid, the artist impressions of the Dunkirk campaign featured the tank attack at Arras. I never knew that it was the Northumberland Fusiliers and the Durham Light Infantry that took part however though I knew both units were in France in 1940. Being from North East England myself I'm somewhat proud of that.
A quick point on the SS divisions being panicked by the British attack, I believe in 1940 that the SS were not exactly the highest calibre of troops that they would become later in the war, they were more like an extension of the police thrown into the army and their training and probably morale was somewhat lacking. This probably explains the SS being routed since being bullies and beating up Jews who can't fight back is a bit different from having a Matilda II charging at you.
Five years later, and this is still an excellent presentation - well done :)
"communication with the French and...… everyone broke down", the line delivery made me chuckle.
is it just me that wants to see Lloyd do a let's play?
Lindy hasn't seen Dunkirk yet!!!!!
I am genuinely shocked.
An hour long! A true Lindy-beige-binge!
Long live Dunkirk!
"These Germans had guns, someone could get hurt." LOL
Thank you for including Belgium and the Netherlands in your story. They often get looked over by British historians.
Some points on Dunkerque (continued)
3) German tactics - The Allies had more tanks than the Germans. They had some that were better than the best German tanks, the Panzer III and the Panzer IV, at least in terms of armor and firepower. Both the French and the British had tactical doctrines for use of massed armor. What they didn't have was enough tanks where the crucial battle actually happened. The bulk of Allied armor surged into Belgium to counter the supposed Schlieffen Pal redux, leaving the arc between Sedan and the Channel with virtually nothing but support columns (facing north rather than east) to oppose the German armor. Over the 46 days of the Battle of France, the Allies tried several times to reorganize their forces, to set stop lines where Allied could make their numerical superiority count, only to discover the Germans had already passed the intended line before the orders could even be dispatched. After 4 June the BEF was gone. The French bumbled on for three more weeks, occasionally making a stand here and there, but never effectively. In the few places the French made a stand or counterattack, the Germans simply went around them. The French never successfully defended a truly vital position or made a counterattack that could have effectively disrupted the German attack. Germany defeated France strategically by making Allied coordination and communication ineffective or non-existent. The tactic known to the British as "Blitzkrieg" was not in itself decisive, except that it helped create confusion at the high command level and it demoralized Allied troops who often surrendered unnecessarily.
I had a hard time trying to define what lindybeige videos are, but after this one I realized they're video podcasts hahah I love them.
Been studying World War Two for decades, yet I learned lots from your talk. Respect.
Just a quick correction: Totenkopf translates to skull, so it's the skull division. "Death's head" would be "Todeskopf" . :) Of course it doesn't reduce the quality of the video, just trying to help.
Also: Cue Sabaton on "Ghost Division".
It’s not a direct translation it’s an interpretation
Enjoyable video on a major event. The Defiant has returned home. It is at RAF Cosford museum not far from where it was built, in nightfighter black Polish squadron. Excellent museum worth the trip.
.
This is the best video yet from Lindybeige, in my opinion. Great job.
The Boulton Paul Defiant it was a good aircraft but it was criminally misused. It was designed as a bomber destroyer to sit underneath them in the gunner's blind spot and blow them away but it was sent against fighters that were faster and way more nimble.
Though that being said having a single engined turret fighter is madness as the turret weighs so bloody much. Much better to have something built rather like the Beaufighter
if only we'd had whirlwinds in service
4 20mm cannon would have give the Huns a fright!
just as long as you could keep your peregrines running
@Marry Christmas News for you: they were sent out on patrol like other fighters over Dunkirk, and met who they met, both bombers and fighters.
The maginot line didn't extend to Belgium not because Belgium didn't allow it (the line is in French terrirtory) but because Belgium was France's ally at the time. Belgium then declared itself neutral when the war began.
moiseman
Belgium is where Europe fights wars. That been true since before Caesar fought the Belgae. If you don't fight there you have to fight in the Ardennes, the Vosges or the Jura, which is hard work.
Belgium exists to be neutral. Guarantee the neutrality with a three power pact, and any invasion trips two other powers to act in defence, and you have guaranteed peace in Europe.
Er....or that's the theory, mostly due to Palmerston in 1830.
True, that border land is Europe's fault line; I think the French nicknamed it the bloody avenue. Belgium should be called the 'Marches'.
Leode Seifast.
That's a fair assessment,
The Maginot line was also never intended to be the sole defense against Germany but to channel any attack into an expected place. Through Belgium and the Ardens with France, Belgium, and England all cooperating.
However with Belgium leaving the alliance and the disorganized French Army even though Maginot did it's job wonderfully it was all for naught.
Belgium was supposed to be neutral
53 minutes of Lindybeige? FUCK YEAH!
Brilliant summing up. And something I have been explaining to people for the last 40 odd years. I first read about the Battle of Arras (1940) when I bought a book when I was 15 from the local model shop. The book "The Matilda" by Bryan Perrett. And the first chapter is full of first-hand accounts from the Battle. I still remember the Matilda 1 A11 with affection and indeed have just 3D printed a 1:22 version of it for riding around on a flatbed wagon on my Garden Railway. The account in the book talks about a Tank, apparently on fire (the bedding was stored outside) still grinding on towards the terrified enemy. And it shows that a machine gun is a terrifying weapon when it encounters soft-sided trucks, motorcycles, and armoured cars. And your antitank weapons and Czech tank gun shells just bounce off the Matilda's. I can imagine the alarm that spread up the German command. Thanks for saying it so well. (By the way, have you done a piece on Blitzcreg only being possible, because "Peace in our time" give Germany 1/3 of their most useful Tanks when they invaded Czech?)
Absolutely brilliant, gripping from beginning to end. Well done Sir Lindybeige.
Dear god! If you're ever feeling too optimistic about the state of humanity and just want to shout out "we're not that bad after all!", simply have a quick look through the comment section of a WWII-related video. That'll sober you up in no time.
Wait... let me go get a drink first.
Aye, it's even worse if it features or focuses on the Italian forces during the Second World War. It's a special sort of sadness.
Goya rocks...
I thumbs upyou as i know is ytrue but i love it anyway hahahahahaha fuck you!
Ha ha. Welcome to the dark side.
This is one is actually quite civilized.
For most the golden rule is "Don't scroll down! Ever!".
The further down you scroll the closer to hell you get.
Most commentators would be nice as pie in the flesh.
That's what I kid myself at least. Ha ha
We need a battle of Arras video.
Okay - I know you get a lot of comments, but here is something semi-important, I think. Because even for an 'European WWII history enthusiast' like myself, the battle of Arras is still a rather unknown thing. So I think a bit of a video on it, at least talking about resources, would be helpful. Especially has searching for 'battle of Arras' tends to bring up WWI information.
Blake Winter I agree this would be very interesting ! I am especially interested in this battle because my great grandfather fought in that battle and was supposedly missing in action for a period of time because his company was so late out of France due to fighting in the battle of Arras.
You could try wikipedia as a start: "Battle of Arras (1940)"
You could argue that the Battle of Arras, though a relatively small affair, is one of the most important battles in history. By preventing the Germans from capturing the British at Dunkirk it pretty much guaranteed that Nazi Germany was doomed to fight a war on two fronts, which it could never win. Without Arras there may never have been a D-Day, a North African campaign which tied up so many German troops desperately needed in Russia, a Battle of the Atlantic which absorbed so much German industrial output, or a bomber offensive which reduced that same industry to rubble and destroyed the Luftwaffe. And yet, as you point out, it is largely forgotten.
I have a remark on the battle of Arras, just a thing that came to my mind, but leaving it as a seperate comment would just increase the mess. It seems that the distance covered by the troops from France was near half the distance of the "corridor". Could they have been expecting to meet with another push from the Belgium side? With the assumption of communication difficulties, this would appear probable...
Brilliant summation and the most complete I have seen so far, well done mate!
“Their plan was to drive towards the sea.” Is that where the old joke about “getting to the beach before the Germans” comes from? 🤣
"NOW, 'MAGINE ME IN THE MAGINOT LINE, SITTIN' ON A MINE IN THE MAGINOT LINE. NOW IT'S TURNED OUT NICE AGAIN, THE ARMY LIFE IS FINE!" GEORGE FORMBY WAS A GREAT!!
My Art history teacher always said "Up the Sanitary Tributary without proper means of locomotion"
Superb. Once again showing that simple explanations to complex matters aren't enough. There's always much more to it
Great video - thanks. The 1958 Dunkirk movie was superior in almost every way to the more recent movie served up at our cinemas. In fact the latter was so bad that I was desperate for the Germans to break through the British rearguard so the pain of watching this alleged masterpiece could end.
They were very different movies. I think both excellent in their own way.
The new version is best viewed in a cinema. I saw it at Imax and then at home and the two experiences were very different. On a small screen the new version loses a lot of it's impact. The older version is classic linear story telling with some great British actor from that era (many of whom would have been veterans themselves).
The newer version is compacting three stories, in three different time lines, which can be confusing, or interesting, depending on your taste. There are some very memorable scenes from it. The only one that makes me cringe is the burning Spitfire on the beach, with no engine. But, I'm an aircraft nerd.
The soundtrack is also a huge aspect of the new version and it really needs to be heard in a cinema to get the full impact. In the Imax it was more than half the experience. That evaporates on the small screen.
It was a bit more 'experimental' than the 1958 version. Those that have seen the director's other films probably appreciate it more I think. He does a lot of 'playing around with time' if I can put it that way.
I'd say it's best not to compare the two but to see each on it's merits. The beauty of being alive now is that you can watch two movies, made sixty years apart, back-to-back.
Though it seems of emphasis in the video in the other direction, I didn't mind having such an expounded video on the subject! Length of video is of no concern to me whenever the promise of quality is so great, & hasn't lead me to disappointment yet.
You're like a Dan Carlin who actually releases content. Keep it up.
This comment moved me, but I don't want Dan feeling sad about it.
This was a great video Lindy, thanks for the sense of inflection and smart analysis.. Really enjoy your content mate, thanks
It is nice to hear that even during war railway workers try to negotiate better terms for themselves and going on a strike. Good old things that never change. Even a war can't stop nature!
Book: "The Flames of Calais: A Soldiers Battle 1940" by Airey Neave is worth a read, for an alternative or expanded, point of view.
Just activated the World of Tank thing after all this time, kind of funny since its only 300, kind shows how many people ignore this kinda stuff
18:02 that would be the BOULTON-Paul Defiant.
18:52 Minor correction - you said the Junkers 88 was known as the Stuka. Obviously a mistake as it was the Junkers 87 (as you'd mentioned earlier) that was the Stuka.
Exactly, the JU 88 was a two engine light/medium bomber. If memory serves well some of them were converted into heavy nightfighters which became known as "Uhu".
@@matthieuzebrowsky2300 the Uhu (Owl) was the HE219 I think
I was checking to see if anyone else caught it! I’m amazed he doesn’t goof more!
Best channel on youtube, thank you.
Having seen the Dunkirk movie, I never quite understood the significance of it - and it wasn't even covered in what we had learned back in school when we had talked about WWII. "So the Brits managed to pull off an evacuation. Hurray for them."
This video does a really good job in impressing just how much could have changed if things had gone slightly differently.
That Dunkirk movie did a terrible job of showing the significance of Dunkirk. If you had never heard about Dunkirk before and you watched that movie, you'd think "What's the big deal? The Brits evacuated 900 men from a beach".
CGI may be a bad thing when there's too much of it in your movie, but it's also a bad thing when you utterly refuse to use it at all. That movie desperately needed tens of thousands of soldiers CGI'd onto the beaches, even if it was just for some overhead shots, to give the audience a sense of how many soldiers were on the beach, how chaotic it was and so forth.
What we got was a beach with like 5 actors and 300 extras. Oh and a bomber dropped 5 bombs on them. And some Germans used a rusty old boat for target practice.
@@Aethelhald Yeah I agree, How many soldiers were rescued? 400K? Something like that I think, there wasn't even a fraction of that visible.
@Colin Cleveland It is the hardest manoeuvre to pull off. It's one that commanders try to avoid even when they have highly trained army. The BEF for the most part was not highly trained. A lot were just Territorials. I recommend reading Julian THompson's book Dunkirk. Very interesting. He has some interesting insights, especially as he's seen combat a few times himself. Including in the Falklands in 1982.
Enthusiasm counts for a lot, Lloyd. Stumbled upon this episode, and it kept my interest all the way through. And kudos for repeatedly saying that some French units fought hard. Enjoyed and learned something. A railway strike! LOL. Thanks!
My late Grandfather was at Dunkirk He was a career solider he was just about taken off the beach in time my grandmother told me years after he passed away. He never spoke of any of his military service .
sean anthony egan
Same here. Grandpa never spoke of the war either. I’ve been reading his diary, and my Grandfather was one of the few British Tanks that remained in France in the last moments at Dunkirk.
No words for the french who sacrified their lives in Lille and Dunkirk to protect the evacuation...
TheMourot good thing they are represented fairly in Dunkirk
...oh wait
To be fair, you can't cover everything in an hour. (People from India have also complained about the latest Dunkirk movie how they are invisible in it.)
To do complete justice to all the details the video (or a movie) would have to be three times longer than the actual battle and then some. This is where books come in handy.
Be aware, those who are interested in the history are almost certainly also aware of the French rear-guard actions.
@@alecbertrand3306 Actually the French are in several scenes, including them fighting as rearguard and also including Senegalese troops. The beach and mole in the movie are not where most of the French troops were being evacuated from though. The thing is if a 'fair' representation of actions at Lille etc. were included then it wouldn't have been a movie about the Dunkirk evacuation but a movie about Lille. Personally, if someone made that I'd definitely watch it. I'd also watch a movie about the rear-guard actions in Calais or the Battle Of France that took place after Dunkirk. But with a movie, which needs to make money, you're going to stick with the iconic moments, one's taht the potential (in this case, largely English-speaking) audience have heard about. Nowadays more obscure, but still important, aspects do get covered more. The 303 Polish Squadron, The Tuskegee Airmen amongst many others. But it's the movie "business". To sell a script about Lille you would probably have to put an American (as a journalist, or volunteer) in there as the lead character and have all the French people speak English. You want to see Brad Pitt winning the Battle Of Lille? Coz that's what you'd get.
Sadly a movie that portrayed the complete truth just wouldn't get backing and wouldn't make money. It would also need to be about 36 hours long. Sorry, but that's the real world.
Also, don't forget people would be complaining that the "Battle Of Lille" doesn't show the Algerian troops or ignores the French units that surrendered, or it covered that battle when there was a litlle-known but much more important battle in Someothertown.
When you say that Matilda crews ran over German anti-tank guns, i'm reminded of your video on "shooting to kill", and how most soldiers struggle to bring themselves to gun down a human being (unless directly threatened).
If Matilda crews knew that they were invulnerable to the enemy PaK guns, it makes sense for them to choose to crush the guns themselves rather than mow down their crews with machine gun fire. Their objective is to eliminate the enemy's fighting capability, not to create as much bloodshed as possible. Given that these tankers were likely rather green, they probably didn't have the stomach for needless killing, unlike more seasoned troops. It's less emotionally draining to choose to destroy objects than it is to threaten the lives of other people.
Indeed, there's probably a great deal of satisfaction to be found in crushing enemy heavy weapons like sandcastles, while watching erstwhile SS gunners wet themselves or shake their fists in impotent rage. It's like something from a children's cartoon version of WWII. Great fun.
I think the crews were trained to run over the guns as standard practice. Or it was a standing order to do so. So not that unusual.
Sparing enemy crew is a mistake. Unless captured, they will come back with new equipment to fight another day. On the other hand, replacing skilled crew/pilots is much harder than military hardware.
@@majungasaurusaaaa 1) Tank crews are in no position to take prisoners during the heat of combat.
2) Again, these tankers probably didn't _want_ to run people over. It's morally easier to destroy weapons than it is to crush people to death.
It is, of course, more efficient strategically to kill enemy combatants than it is to destroy equipment. However, that doesn't mean that soldiers would choose to do so in the heat of battle - especially when their lives are not in immediate danger.
Thanks for loads of stuff I didn't know about Dunkirk.
My Grandfather, was a British 🏴 tank commander in France when the Second World War happened. He said many of the reports were incorrect, as a lot of the English tanks were still in France when Winston declared all the troops were back home safe.
Really interesting.
The tanks were left behind along with a lot of other equipment.
totenkopf means skull
deathhead means todkopf
in german thats a major difference
they won't listen bro, people learn german from hollywood films lmao
@@bogdanbogdanoff5164 whats really fun is hollywood accents, its gotten so widespread that most people dont even know that most Russians make W sounds all the time and NOT V sounds.
Its not quite just that, its also that English speakers see it as "Death's Head", in reference to Death as a figure that brings forth the effect of, well, being dead. Thus, the literal translation, which means the "Head that Kills" is actually quite respected, its just that the vast parallels in English cause it to be confusing as to how its being interpreted.
In English it isn't a major difference.
I am German and I have nether heared the phrase "Todkopf".
my two great grandmothers brothers came home from dunkirk on the little ships
At least the didn't come home drunk with the little shits.
Tremendous insight into this period of WW2. British vs French vs Germany - all the while the Armies / High Command showing No Trust toward their Allies. Lots of Intrigue!
Thanks Lindybeige for the in depth explanation! History abounds- Always more to Learn!
From somewheres in SWMO!!
why am I suddenly able to focus on my work when I'm listening to this dude?
Your hard work IS very MUCH appreciated bud!!! I love the videos, keep up the fantastic work!!! :)
48:12 with pitch forks, some brute determination and a stiff upper lip
I believe General Patton quote “I’d rather have a German Division in front of me than a French one behind” nuf said
Love this guys style. Keep up the good work