148 - Fall Blau Starts...or Does it? - WW2 - June 26, 1942 

Tobruk has fallen, and the Axis are on the move in both North Africa and the Soviet Union. Judging from the past, that means a whole lot of prisoners of war will be taken. To learn more about their fate, and those of civilians in occupied territory around the world, check out our War Against Humanity subseries. You can find the playlist here: ru-vid.com/group/PLsIk0qF0R1j4cwI-ZuDoBLxVEV3egWKoM To see more about what civilians were doing at home, check out our On the Homefront playlist right here: ru-vid.com/group/PLsIk0qF0R1j5Ug9lCaxygenFf3lzuGXap And for day by day coverage of the war, go over to our Instagram or Facebook pages: instagram.com/ww2_day_by_day/ facebook.com/TimeGhostHistory

The look of horror in Indy's eyes when he says the backstop of the baseball field was destroyed. Now, it's personal.

If I had a nickel for every time the Soviets disregarded intelligence that the Germans would launch a huge summer offensive I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's actually quite sad that it happened twice.

Vlasov is one of those characters, that if we were to have him in a TV show, he'd have a mysterious death in a place called "swamps of death", only for him to reappear a season later, broken and unrecognisable, leading an army of the dead against the living and seeking revenge against those that wronged him.

“Back the backstop of the baseball field was destroyed” was said with the same gravity of all of Sparty’s conclusions in WAH

Japanese: Destroyers baseball field Indy: Visibility distraught

Man these animated maps look soooooooooooooo amazing! Big shout out to eastory!

"some of their supplies were sent to Fall River, Massachusetts, by mistake", a spokesman for Ryanair said New Guinea was just a short bus ride away.

I can’t believe it’s mid 1942, I can still remember Indy going off on Franz Conrad “The Punisher” Von Hotzendorf in 1916.

Stalingrad sweats nervously in the distance.

Finally …..Ritchie gets fired … maybe now he has time to read Rommel’s book …

11:44 the Wehrmacht should really fire the guy doing these estimates

Stalin just couldn't believe that the Germans would ever set a timetable and then not keep to it.

This is the least I've ever learnt out of any episode. I kept staring at Indy's absolutely beautiful tie.

And thus the road to the Caucasus and the Volga is about to begin....

The look of horror on Indy's face at the fact the back stop was destroyed is priceless.

Fun fact, Eberhard von Mackensen is the son of German WWI Field Marshall August von Mackensen, possibly the hardest core looking dude of the 20th century.

G'day, Indy! You were much closer than most on the pronounciation. My surname is Yugoslavian if you were wondering.

That pain in Indy's eyes when he talks about the baseball pitch being damaged :(

You could tell the sadness in Indy's eyes when the Japanese sub targeted the base and destroyed the baseball field. War is hell

I skipped the ad before this just after the lady said “each bag comes with a hundred essential oil cones…” Indy: “Yeah, a hundred of ‘em!” Just made me chuckle.

In his book SECRET WAR, about intelligence and espionage in WWII, Max Hastings makes the case that everyone, not just the Soviets, was pretty bad in the analysis of intelligence data, often just dismissing valuable information as "too good to be true". The British in particular were over-reliant on codebreaking, and assumed if Enigma didn't warn them about something, then there was no threat, which bit them on the ass several times.

"Though the backstop to the baseball field...is destroyed." Excellent delivery Indy 😏

This whole project of WW2 week by week is a massive. Undertaking I take my hat off to Indy and the whole team. Brilliant series.

That is one magnificent tie on Indy today, oh my.

Seeing that map of Africa at 2:31 makes me realize what a boon having East Africa was !

My Uncle was Part of the New Guinea Operation. He was State High Hurdle Champ!!! While Surveying that came in Handy. He had to Out Run the Headhunters. They Lost a few boys to them. Something thats not Talked about. Thanks Young Indy!!

Challenge for the TimeGhost army: Find the sus episode from April.

Can I just say how cool it is to have a resource like this channel which shows things in global and chronological context by the day? Very good videos.

Speaking of cracking codes, posthumous congrats to Alan Turing for being placed on the 50 pound note!

15:18 holy shit! I never expected Fall River to be mentioned! That’s my hometown! The USS Massachusetts is here for the maritime museum. It took place in (spoilers) Operation Torch. It’s so cool to hear my hometown mentioned on here! Love the work

Once this whole shebang is over and done with, we need a super-edit of all of Indy's opening phone calls. So far my favorite is Winston Churchill ordering a pizza.

I like the Bob Newhart style bit with the telephone. That could spin off into it's own series!

Robert Citino is the Man. He literally wrote the book, "The German Way of War".

This intro about self propelled guns... :D :D It's the best into in the entire series - and I've seen every episode at least once...

I can't see Gianni anywhere, so let me just say: That tie is smashing. I bet it goes well with basically anything - black, grey, blue, white shirts or suits... I also love the fact that is looks like the Between Two Wars intro.

"Stalin was a paranoid nutcase." Cody from alternate history hub

Indie Nidell: Earth’s most stylish historian. That tie is awesome

The total narration of this is practically flawless. Besides a few little mishaps if they happened can not be argued.

What is not often mentioned is that Rommel had an excellent radio intercept unit that pretty much listened into most if not all British and Allied radio communications. Until this unit was captured the Afrika Korps did very well indeed.

It is hard to comprehend the overwhelming sources of horror not only for everyone on the eastern front but particularly for Vlasov and his encircled men a time and place with so much despair it feels like it was designed that way

Milne Bay, soon enough to be a significant battleground, the first land victory for the allies against the Japanese. Even if it was only repelling a small-ish landing force.

I love seeing the incremental improvements to the graphics & animations (the small film clips playing on the map in this case) - while this in no way detracts from the earlier work, the quality & production values keep just going up!

I'm from Fall River and never knew about this code name for milna bay never expected to hear my hometown show up in my favorite series

okay, this is the greatest thumbnail

15:57 this is an example of the resupply-by-airstrike that I mistakenly called 'reinforcement by airstrike' several months ago because I am crap now you know why military equipment is built so tough

I really like how Indy starts these video's they are very interesting and I really hope he keeps them up right up till the end of WWII. They're one of the highlights of his video's.

Great episode, as always! Thank you and that’s why I’m a member of the time ghost army.👍👍👍

Hi Indy Another interesting episode.. Also animation is good.. Lots of history details.. And your tie is cool. Thanks for the video..🙏👍😊

New Guinea is about to heat up considerably with Australian forces fighting against the best troops the Japanese have. Milne Bay, Kokoda, Salamana, Lae, Buna. Names every Australian should know.

The amount of material you guys produce is just amazing.

Thank you Indy!! Best series on RU-vid. I cannot learn enough from you.

Imagine how hot the inside of a tank would be in the African desert........

You guys are STILL improving! Wow! Great vid

Well, another great and informative video. Thanks for all of the great work, folks!

This week, on June 26 1942, the *Grumman F6F Hellcat* carrier based fighter will make its first flight. It is expected to replace its predecessor, the Grumman F4F Wildcat in the coming months once production can start in the near future. It has recently received a change of powerplant to the 18-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine as as result of recent analysis from the recovered Aleutian Zero. Will this finally be the Allied fighter that will help overcome the Japanese Zero fighter?

The first of the three major battles have been fought, Midway. Now there are two more left in the year of 1942. Two major battles that will turn the tide of war on both fronts. One in North Africa and the other in Soviet Russia. May those who fallen Rest In Peace.

I spotted the six day week from the initial episode, but as I am watching each episode exactly 80 years after it is set, I was too late to help!

Very cool new flashpoint graphics on the action area and command changes. I really like the darker circle, but the red was cool as well.

One of my favorite WW2 (brit) movies, "Malta Story" avec A. Guiness, includes threat of Op Hercules in the plot, never heard a clear explanation of the Axis decision not to do it. So I LOVED LOVED LOVED these details!! Angels are in the Details!! Many t(h)anks!!!!!!!!

They shelled a baseball field? Well that’s not cricket. 16:15

Omg thanks for addressing the date problem Indy! I noticed it last time and it was really stressing me!

Wake up Staline! By the way, the "Operation Barbarossa Transport Vehicles and Logistics" special episode is one of your best offs. Cheers Indy & crew! Keep up your great work

"They don't have propellers." - Indy 2021

You guys brought up landmines. Can you do a special on land mine cleanup post war?

My grandad was a Sargent in the Manchester regiment during the north Africa campaign and fought against Rommel all they way up to the invasion of Italy

In response to your statement @ 16:18, the first attack by a Japanese naval vessel against the American Mainland actually occurred nearly four months prior on February 23, 1942 at the Ellwood Oil Fields near Santa Barbara, CA. It seems to be noted as an event that is used as justification for Japanese internment which also began around the same time. You can find more info on its own wiki page at wiki2.org/en/Bombardment_of_Ellwood

RAF Bomber Command Weekly Report - June 20th to 27th Night of June 20th/21st: -Emden is the target for the second night in a row, as the weather was expected to be better this night -185 aircraft dispatched, 15 aircraft are designated as flare droppers using Gee (radio navigation) fixes to release flares. Initial flares are accurate and light up the shipyards, but later flares are dropped a few miles to the south. 47 bombers obtain bombing photos with ground detail: 4 show the docks of Emden, 10 are plotted to within five miles, and most of the rest are 10-15 miles to the West and South west. Emden reports 100 houses damaged and 1 person injured. -7 bombers (3.8%) are lost. 1 is shot down by flak, 6 are shot down by night fighters. Leading Nachtjagd ace Helmut Lent shoots down a Hampden of 420 "Snowy Owl" Squadron, RCAF, for his 43rd victory. Nachtjagd ace Egmont Prinz zur Lippe-Weissenfeld shoots down three bombers for his 25th though 27th victories. Night of June 22nd/23rd: -Emden is the target for the third time in a row, as it is expected weather will again be favorable. -227 aircraft dispatched, 15 aircraft are designated as flare droppers using Gee (radio navigation) fixes to release flares. Flares were fairly accurate, and crews claim they were very helpful in illuminating the target. 90 aircraft took photos that could be plotted: 50 were plotted within 5 miles of the aiming point, and 11 show the target. However, German decoy fires drew away part of the force, with a number of the photos taken within 5 miles showing open country, and 15 photos showing the Larrelt and Wybelsum decoys. Emden reports 50 houses destroyed, 100 damaged, and damage to the harbour. 6 are killed and 40 injured. -6 bombers (2.6%) are lost. 3 are shot down by flak, and 3 are shot down by night fighters. Nachtjadg ace Rudolf Schoenert shoots down two for his 19th and 20th victories. Night of June 25th/26th: -The final "Thousand Bomber Raid" launched by Bomber Command in 1942 - target is the city of Bremen. -1067 aircraft dispatched, split into 3 waves: 1st wave - Gee equipped aircraft aiming for the center of Bremen 2nd wave - non-Gee Wellington bombers, OTU, Costal Command aircraft targeting docks, Focke-Wulf aircraft works, and town 3rd wave - remaing Stirlings and Halifaxes targeting city and docks -Despite predictions of clear skies, Bremen is entirely cloud covered as expected winds did not disperse the clouds. The Raid is however moderately successful as the Gee equipped bombers start fires whose glow the following bombers bomb on. 527 houses are destroyed and 6108 are damaged. Damaged was inflicted on 4 important industrial firms, some damage is done to dock facilities, the Focke-Wulf aircraft works escapes serious damage. 85 people die and 497 are injured. -55 bombers (4.9%) are lost. Flak is credited with 17 kills, while the night fighters claim 37. Several Nachtjagd pilots claim 2 kills each, including Helmut Lent with his 46th and 47th victories, and Priz Zur Lippe-Weissenfeld with his 28th and 29th victories. Mine laying and Leaflets: Nights of June 20th/21st, 21st/22nd, 22nd/23rd, 23rd/24th, 24th/25th, 26th/27th - 180 sorties, 3 losses (1.6%) Sources: The Bomber Command War Diaries by Martin Middlebrook and Chris Everitt Nachtjagd Combat Archives: 30 May - 31 December 1942 by Theo Boiten RAF night bombing reports

By the title of the not-a-spoiler book, it seems the grammar nazis share the Wehrmacht’s fate.

I love the look of the maps and the inset videos. Nice improvements!

Fall River resident here blown away that my city got brought up in this series

You'd think Stalin would have learnt his lesson by now and started trusting his own intelligence

The three M's - Midway, Malta and Milne Bay....

I just found this program and I love it! Amazing production with many things I didn’t know about the war. Thank you!

“No they don’t have propellers!” Well, you’re about 2 years early on that but they will have propellers eventually

Huh? What about the Bombardment of Ellwood? That was one of the things that sparked the Battle of Los Angeles. I wasn't let down that you didn't mention it in your videos, because I thought that it could be not important enough to cover, but it was the first Japanese attack on western coast of USA.

Not taking Malta is one of the most stupid decisions of the war, even with the potentially more alluring prospects in mind like the immediate capture of Alexandria, it still doesn't make any sense.

SPG are a special unit in my ww2 inspired game, has over 40 units. They change the way the game is played when they come into play, much like personal transports and specialized planes such as heavy bombers.

Loving the new ship animations on the maps!

Yeah, that's a special tie. 5/5

That's a Tie !

I didnt realize you were still doing this daily real time series. I hadnt seen one in my feed in like a year.

Great video as always and I especially liked the new graphics at 0:58 as well as the added sound effects at 3:29 which help make the footage feel that much more real and contemporary!

Stalin makes every mistake twice.

Only a 6 day week? Outrageous, I'm pulling my funding! (Jk)

You know what I'd love to see? A supercut of each theater of war when all this is over. That'd be amazing

Welcome back Indy!!!

Someone needs to read Rommels book.

nooooo not the baseball field. anyhow. comrade stalin, again thinking the incomming offensive is just a ruse...

You know its a good day when Indy posts a video

So long you are not mixing up the facts of history, I don’t mind you mix up some dates. Love the show.

10 Hungarian divisions are sent to the East. I wonder how well equipped they are...

This video is approved by historian father

That was a great episode! And that is a beautidul necktie, man!

I just found Indy worked as writer on the mousse from Imdb. And he won (shared) award for the best writing in a video game (battlefield V). Congratualtions and great job indy. And That tie looks like a snake.

Why is US military attaché Bonner Fellers' (who Rommel called 'the little fellow') role in the failure of the British convoys to Malta not mentioned? He single-handedly caused Operation Harpoon to fail. He also supplied the Germans (unknowingly) with detailed reports on the British for months. That is once of the major reasons why the British were floundering for so long. As soon as he was removed from Egypt, the tide in Africa turned.

Vlasov is quite the interesting figure, I can't think of any other general officers who were taken prisoner and then willingly elected to take up arms against their former country. Though when that country is led by Joseph Stalin, I can understand why.

VERY surprised Indy has not mentioned that Eberhard von Mackensen is the son of our old fave Field Marshal August von Mackensen (still alive in 1942) Eberhard was 1- later fired by smiling Albert Kesselring and 2. sentenced to death as a war criminal for involvement such as it was in a civilian massacre in Italy

Oooooooo,so that's why Indy disepeared from the great channel.I didn't know this channel exist!I'm so happy!😁

June 1941: "Stalin Stalin we have evidence the Germans are going to attack" Stalin: "Nah it'll be fine." . . . "DAMMIT!!!" June 1942: "Stalin Stalin we have evidence the Germans are going to attack" Stalin: "Nah it'll be fine." . . . "DAMMIT!!! why does this keep happening to me?!!!"