After D-Day: Rommel's View & Assessments

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Time to take a look at Rommel’s perspective on the weeks following the D-Day invasion. For this we look at his two situation reports, one from 11th June 1944, so 5 days after the landings and one from 15th July 1944. The reports will be provided with context like front lines, current research, further information in people mentioned and assessment if his reports were valid or not.
Cover Images:
Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1977-018-13A / Otto / CC-BY-SA 3.0, creativecommons.org/licenses/..., Generaloberst Rommel.
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Colorization & Transitions by vonKickass.
Chief Photographer's Mate (CPHoM) Robert F. Sargent: NAIL Control Number: A LCVP (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel) from the U.S. Coast Guard-manned USS Samuel Chase disembarks troops of Company A, 16th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division (the Big Red One) wading onto the Fox Green section of Omaha Beach (Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France) on the morning of June 6, 1944. NLR-PHOCO-A-7298, public domain: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normand...
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» SOURCES «
Ose, Dieter: Entscheidung im Westen 1944: der Oberbefehlshaber West und die Abwehr der alliierten Invasion. Helios: Aachen, Germany, 2013.
Lieb, Peter: Unternehmen Overlord: Die Invasion in der Normandie und die Befreiung Westeuropas. C.H. Beck: München, Germany, 2014.
Dick, C.J.: From Victory to Stalemate: The Western Front, Summer 1944. University Press of Kansas: Lawrence, Kansas, USA, 2016.
Citino, Robert Michael: The Wehrmacht’s Last Stand: The German Campaigns of 1944-1945. University Press of Kansas: Lawrence, Kansas, USA, 2017.
Ueberschär, Gerd R.: Hitlers militärische Elite. 68 Lebensläufe. 3. Auflage, Theiss Verlag: Darmstadt, Germany, 2015.
Badsey, Stephen: Normandy 1944. Allied Landings and Breakout. Osprey Publishing: London, UK, 1990.
[June 11, 1944], HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map
www.loc.gov/item/2004629044/
[July 15, 1944], HQ Twelfth Army Group situation map.
www.loc.gov/resource/g5701s.i...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_U...
#DDay,#DDayRommelsPerspective,#RommelsPerspective

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21 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 1,6 тыс.

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 2 года назад

Niels Henkemans posted photos of the scanned reports on his twitter, check them out here: twitter.com/Niels_1944/status/1453352062721331201 »» Errors & Corrections «« 4:49 I did not say "are made" although shown on screen. (Thanks to Andrew) 9:51 It should be 11th June to 27th June(!). (Thanks to Andrew) 10:24 Typo "Norther" should be "Northern". (Thanks to Andrew)

@generalposlijebitke6688 2 года назад

12:59 Omaha beach, not Ohama...

@danielschueller9713 2 года назад

All of these are minor man. Don't sweat it. Great video as well!

@mensch1066 2 года назад

@@generalposlijebitke6688 What would an MHV video be without some . . . interesting pronunciations though? ;-)

@generalposlijebitke6688 2 года назад

@@danielschueller9713 MHV start first pointing minor mistakes... Its his fault ;-)

@xTIGRExCHINGONx 2 года назад

(LOOK WHAT YOU DID ANDREW)

@FlyWithMe_666 2 года назад

A friend of mine who has no interest in the military thought that “Rommel the Desert Fox” was an animated Disney movie for children …

@robert48044 2 года назад

who was the Hound, Patton? lol

@kleinerprinz99 2 года назад

Might as well have been as Walt Disney was a member of a special society "friends of German Culture" or something, who bascially gathered members and capital in the US from the 30ies onwards to support the Nazi Regime in Germany.

@mensch1066 2 года назад

@FlyWithMe666 I mean, compared with the crap Disney makes now that they claim is for children, it'd probably be better for kids' development.

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 2 года назад

hmmm this might be something for vonKickass... :)

@voiceactorofdovakiin 2 года назад

@@MilitaryHistoryVisualized What a unfunny comment m8

@BillyBob-ld5nv 2 года назад

"Rommel’s perspective on the weeks following the D-Day invasion." "It's over."

@lindaterrell5535 2 года назад

“We’re screwed.”

@sapphire01001 2 года назад

Kluge: "What do you mean it's over? We still have a chance" Rommel: "Go look at the frontline" *Kluge comes back* Kluge: "Nevermind we're fucked"

@awc6007 2 года назад

Rommel: Well I’m liked among Allied commanders, maybe I can survive this war after all 20th of July plotters: *Nein*

@freefall9832 2 года назад

Time to suicide haha

@pxrays547 2 года назад

"DUCK!" Oh, never mind, that was during the initial bombardment on the coast.

@timedraven117 2 года назад

Drachinfel is getting everywhere these days. Its good to see a growing community of wartime military researchers on youtube working together.

@davidbrennan660 2 года назад

Drach has more fire power on balance than his land based colleagues.

@jayklink851 2 года назад

👍👍👏

@paogene1288 2 года назад

Soon we will have a think tank of unbeatable strategical, tactical, and logistical prowess against the enemy.

@arnoldlee4625 2 года назад

🇵🇱 🇵🇱 🇵🇱

@iancostigan5047 2 года назад

Your videos have been really choppy. It stops every three seconds. I thought it was my internet but it's only your videos. It's unwatchable which is a bummer because your one of my favorite RU-vid historians. I wish I could fix it.

@stevebohlin7245 2 года назад

Extremely significant research and analysis. Well Done!

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 2 года назад

thank you and thank you for your support!

@caporalmilitary7240 2 года назад

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-H-rVSHAUoeQ.html

@LeCharles07 2 года назад

When you see just how badly disadvantaged the Germans were, it's hard to believe there was any option other than an organized withdrawal. Rommel was good but no one is *that* good.

@princeofcupspoc9073 2 года назад

Veteran divisions were hard to come by for the West. Most troops were garrison soldiers. I've heard them called "The Stomach Divisions," since many had medical conditions keeping them from front line duty.

@paddyopatrick2941 2 года назад

I feel like the Germans believed they would defeat the Russians and be able to push west just like they had in the first war

@jonathanallard2128 2 года назад

@@RobertLutece909 Yes.

@TheLunacyofOurTimes 2 года назад

Disadvantaged yes, but it still took the Allies almost a year to defeat Germany with the Soviets rushing from the East. Somehow or other they managed a fighting retreat the entire way, until there was nowhere left to go. I put this down to the allies having such long supply lines that they couldn't rush at will, but still.

@michaels4255 2 года назад

@@TheLunacyofOurTimes After the war, some of the German generals said when interviewed that they thought they could have stalemated the Soviets with standard military tactics if the Hitler had not been constantly second guessing them.

@paulwallis7586 2 года назад

What a tale of woe to have to write, particularly since that situation was exactly what Rommel had been predicting for at least a year previously.

@MrJonrocker 2 года назад

And such a terrible way to end his life.

@paulwallis7586 2 года назад

@@MrJonrocker An absolute atrocity.

@mihaiserafim 2 года назад

He predicted that his strategy will bring disaster??? What!?

@paulwallis7586 2 года назад

@@mihaiserafim In context, he predicted the air superiority factor and the other issues. He already had the experience of overwhelming air power through the African campaign.

@mihaiserafim 2 года назад

@@paulwallis7586 Yet he was against fighting were Allied naval and air assets couldn't reach. So my question remains "WHAT?"

@martinross5521 2 года назад

Excellent posting, thank you for the hard work. My father in law was a 20-year old tank commander from D+2 and we visited the Goodwood, Bourgebois and Tilly areas 40 years later. The Brit and Canadian fighting drew the majority of German resources to the east, which as Rommel noted, enabled Patton’s breakout and eventual encirclement of the German armies west of Falaise. It was extraordinary to hear the story from a participant.

@TukozAki 2 года назад

Isn't it Bourguebus? (I believe it means town of Guebus). I might as well be wrong but normally I'd heard of the other name since I live in this area.

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 2 года назад

thank you! Glad you liked it!

@SpiritOfMontgomery 2 года назад

Adding to your comment, Operation Bluecoat is probably one of the best holding/baiting operations I can think of. Certainly of this war. It never makes sense how people who also just try and write out the British and Canadian or at least minimize their efforts

@princeofcupspoc9073 2 года назад

@@SpiritOfMontgomery More Montgomery apologists. It failed. He failed. He was NOT MEANT TO BATE ANYTHING. British forces were to break through in the North, while the US took the important harbors. The plan, devised BY MONTGOMERY had NOTHING about bating the Germans and breaking out in the south. Montgomery was an extreme narcissist, and could never fail in his mind. Plus Caen was a classic set piece battle, his specialty.

@SpiritOfMontgomery 2 года назад

@@princeofcupspoc9073 apologies, you’re only partially right. I actually got mistaken as I was thinking of SPRING being the holding operation. BLUECOAT was actually planned by Dempsey, not Monty. It was also objectively successful, they achieved all their aims in the what, week it lasted. 30 July - 6 August.

@Boney1992 2 года назад

The material superiority of the Allies compared to the Germans was probably too great to be reversed on the terrain with operative and tactical manouvers. Considering the naval and air superiority of the Allies it was impossible for the Germans to defeat them in Normandy. Actually, it is surprising that Wehrmacht was able to resist for a so long time given the balance of power.

@Spectification 2 года назад

Exactly. At this point, the war was decided and the whole allied command knew it due to economic circumstances. The only difference was the amount of allied casualties, which might be the reason, why the Allied commanders were very timmid in their force deployment.

@dogcarman 2 года назад

I have to agree. When the American part of the battle alone has 10-15 times as much supply flowing in as the entire German army group, it’s a matter of time, nothing else. “Economic determinism” might be a questionable doctrine in general, but here, in this battle, it holds true.

@kleinerprinz99 2 года назад

Basically the German High Command strategy failed on the Eastern Front and their strategy on the Western Front failed as well which enabled the economic and manpower difference to actually show itself.

@Keckegenkai 2 года назад

@@kleinerprinz99 not really. Germany simply cant match the productive output of the US alone. Cutting supply lines was the only way to combat it but the Uboats were useless past 43/44

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 2 года назад

yeah, the change of mind from von Kluge that was an Eastern Front veteran was quite interesting.

@cenccenc946 2 года назад

The most insightful evaluation of the normandy landing I have heard, was from German gunts defending the coast when asked what their first thoughts were on seeing the allies land. Several, independently, responded to the question after the war, "I thought, where are their horses". Many of those troops were vets of the fighting on the eastern front. They knew immediately they were fighting a different type of army. A truly mechanized army, and not just one on paper. The Germans always under appreciated logistics. Both their logistics, and their enemies.

@FeedMeMister 2 года назад

@Сергей Владимирович Таборицкий it would certainly have been a surprise to the average German MG crew. The gift of hindsight and specific knowledge wasn't available to anyone there at the time.

@88porpoise 2 года назад

@Сергей Владимирович Таборицкий It's not just that they concentrated them, the Western Allies simply had more trucks than the Germans could dream of. The Allies produced an order of magnitude more trucks than the Axis. Canada alone produced more trucks than all of the Axis nations combined, by a wide margin. And that was only a small number compared to the US. Plus UK and Soviet production on top of those. Something like the Red Ball Express could never have been done by the Germans. They could never have hoped to supply enough trucks, men, and fuel for something like that. And that is before considering the Americans cobbled it together with whatever men and materiel they could scrounge up within a couple days of it being proposed.

@orbitalair2103 2 года назад

"The American Army never went anywhere without a veritable used car lot of vehicles." AH Squad Leader rulebook notes.

@princeofcupspoc9073 2 года назад

By 44 the Russians were, although not completely, no longer a horse drawn army. They used vast numbers of trains, tractors, and trucks.

@FeedMeMister 2 года назад

@Сергей Владимирович Таборицкий apparently neither was I clear, as I thought I was clarifying your point!

@101szniper 2 года назад

I am very glad you touched on the naval artillery in this video a lot of times I see this aspect overlooked when the allies are literally able to park light/heavy cruisers and battleships right off the coast the German army had no possible way of ever getting in close. The rate of fire of those guns is extremely high and the amount of devastation those guns can inflict to land units in the open is massive. The allies essentially had an immunity zone to operate in which the Germans could never get close too. The idea that German could have just pushed the allies back to the beaches with tanks could never happen, and was shown to be fantasy in operation husky where Italians actually managed to do the this very thing only to be obliterated by shore bombardment.

@tommcallister7647 2 года назад

As one of the Allied naval commanders described it - "We are in the re-landscaping business."

@donaldshotts4429 2 года назад

Well that's why Rommel wanted their tanks to be near the beaches so they could counterattack immediately and get close enough to make naval fire difficult. They were going to lose either way, but Rommel's strategy atleast gave them a punchers chance

@101szniper 2 года назад

@@donaldshotts4429 The way for the Germans to have won was having aircraft available to stop the allies from being able to park ships right off the coast. As long as those ships sit there unmolested the Germans couldn't ever attack they could defend fortified positions that would protect them from the fire but traveling out on the open was a death sentence. Without the the aircraft their really was nothing the Germans could do. Maybe lure them into France and encircle them deeper in the interior maybe, but that's about it. Having their tanks closer to the coast would have just ment the tanks would get targeted by naval fire. It was a tough position to be in their best bet was to try and hold ports and essentially wait the allies out, so stationing the tanks already in those port cities might have helped. Of course their would have been now way of knowing which ports the allies would go for so I guess it would take a little luck.

@houstonhobby 2 года назад

@@101szniper This is why the bombing campaign from 1942 to 1944 was necessary. It takes two years to make a fighter pilot. Nearly all of the Luftwaffe high-time pilots were killed fighting the bombing campaign. The german problem wasn't that they did not have planes. They did not have pilots to fly them. Japanese late in the war were in same boat.

@donaldshotts4429 2 года назад

Maybe the only German solution was to drive straight to Moscow and end the Eastern front in the autumn of 1941! I know that's a completely different debate but even a novice could see that they were hopelessly outclassed in every way with a 2 front war against much larger countries

@CssHDmonster 2 года назад

man, rommel as always seems to be extremely well informed and a good reader of situations

@AFGuidesHD 2 года назад

Who wasn't well informed? It's interesting when you read first hand documents and see the actual history that somehow people are today "just discovering" and are shocked to find that people back then weren't total idiots.

@marsocmaniac6806 2 года назад

Furthermore we can assume that D-Day had absolutely been anticipated, and been aware of, by certain Nazi/ German officials, just like Rommel, Himmler and others. No way they did not have agents/ certain “powers that be”. They knew, they watched it from afar, and let it happen. Probably Hitler had been aware as well but same as with Dunkirchen, and Moscow, he was the one to decide to perform some jackass- move no General could relate to. Or was there more behind Moscow? ~~~

@CssHDmonster 2 года назад

@@AFGuidesHD well ye, thats the story of d-day in media, that nobody knew wtf is going on, that germany got completely surprised and that war ended on that day basicly

@louissteven8862 2 года назад

@@marsocmaniac6806 You forget the German CIA was literally led by a guy who was actively sabotaing it and leaking things.

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 2 года назад

I remember at university we looked at a report from late 1942 I think, it was mostly spot on with the general analysis, yet, when it came to the capabilities and plans it failed.

@k.t.1641 2 года назад

It must of been like playing an RTS on very hard against the AI who constantly spams an unbelievably amount of resources, and makes you rage quit while calling the AI a cheater!

@IamOutOfNames 2 года назад

You can use this to your advantage if the game allows stealing of enemy resources.

@macekreislahomes1690 2 года назад

@@IamOutOfNames I do that all the time in some games I play. In one game, I have a strong enough bace to repel anything the enemy throws at it. My main problems are renforcements and body armor is a constant problem.

@blackdontcrack1962 2 года назад

@@macekreislahomes1690 what game you play im interested

@knuppel8875 2 года назад

@@blackdontcrack1962 Not the guy but it sounds like Rimworld to me.

@blackdontcrack1962 2 года назад

@@knuppel8875 that would make sense

@ricardokowalski1579 2 года назад

Cherbourg fell, but the harbor was denied. It was useless until two weeks after operation Cobra achieved the breakout. It was later to become the starting point of the red ball express, which in itself is a logistic masterpiece deserving a video.

@wills2140 2 года назад

Yes! That would make an excellent video! ( disclaimer: my grandfather-in-law served and was injured with the red ball express ).

@Wien1938 2 года назад

The German dilemma in Normandy. You've correctly identified that the major objective is the port of Cherbourg, but your most hard hitting mobile reserves are tied up fighting the British. Do you risk losing ground between Caen and Bayeux and switch reserves to hit the Utah Beach area, hopefully destroying that lodgment and confining the allies to beach supply...or will the risk of the powerful British 2nd Army breaking though onto your supply lines and towards Paris mean that you hold on and wait for reserves?

@Wien1938 2 года назад

(Montgomery was a genius).

@Boney1992 2 года назад

Given the air superiority of the Allies, it would have been very difficult and costly for the Germans to redeploy troops....

@AndyM_323YYY 2 года назад

The reality is that Caen did not matter: the original invasion planning had put 2 airborne divisions in the British sector to allow Caen to be taken. Bradley decided he needed an additional airborne division in his sector and Montgomery happily changed the plan to conform to Bradley's wishes because Cherbourg was strategically important while Caen was not.

@Wien1938 2 года назад

@@Boney1992 Not with mobile troops. Most of Panzer Lehr moved in two days from the British sector to the American sector above St Lo in early July by using well organised night marches.

@bigwoody4704 2 года назад

Montgomery most certainly wasn't a genuis - in any other army he would have been dismissed,he told stories as everyone else achieved their objectives.He himself said caen was a D+1 objective he expected to be 15 miles S.E. of Caen after a couple of days

@AlexanderEddy 2 года назад

Rommel was a consummate professional, truly an exceptional soldier. It's amazing how well he understood what must have been a very chaotic and confusing situation.

@freefall9832 2 года назад

Really, I always saw him as hitlers biggest loser

@Aa_AAaa767 2 года назад

Rommel committed war crimes:)

@wills2140 2 года назад

Rommel would have been very flattered by your comment. It was only his earlier service as military commander of Hitler's bodyguard detachment that allowed him to be so... understanding in his reports. Other lower officers raised several of the same points as Rommel, they just could not report directly to Hitler as Rommel could. Though Rommel did his best to prepare for the allied invasion with what resources he had, even there we see a reliance on "old" and "traditional" German military thinking. He was smart and often had good insight, but was rarely in a winning position. Don't be a wehraboo

@freefall9832 2 года назад

@@wills2140 Talk is cheap and he talked alot

@wills2140 2 года назад

Freefall, a very well stated point, thank you.

@benwilson6145 2 года назад

Vice Admiral Ruge who was on Rommel's Staff in Normandy stated during an interview with the US in 1946. 30. When the Allies succeeded in establishing their beachhead, Rommel was of the opinion that the war must be ended promptly at any cost. He said to me once, “Much better end this at once and live as a British Dominion than be ruined by continuing this hopeless war.” He was opposed to a Eurasian block and favoured cooperation with the Atlantic powers. He felt himself to be an heir to the traditions of the West, and I think he died for this conviction.

@88porpoise 2 года назад

There was a general belief among the anti-Hitler Nazis later in the war that they could make a negotiated peace with the West and cooperate against the Soviets. Of course by that point in time there was no way the Allies were negotiating with the Nazis, nor were they going to war with Stalin. It just wasn't happening. But from their perspective it was probably their best chance.

@karlheven8328 2 года назад

@@88porpoise But Churchill and Roosevelt would under that circumstance probably have thought TWICE about giving the entire east and half of the center of Europe to Stalin and Marxism. They could have just marched through to Berlin arriving much earlier than the Soviets. Thus the Soviet expansion could have been prevented. Even the german division might well have been avoided as well as PERHAPS the soviet occupation of large parts of central Europe.

@8jijjoo126 2 года назад

@@88porpoise Considering how most of them got exempt post-Nuremberg, it turned out to be true.

@SneedEnjoyer 2 года назад

At heart Rommel was a naive fool

@SneedEnjoyer 2 года назад

@@karlheven8328 Seeing what happened to allied controlled Europe it would have been better that the Soviets would have reached Paris first

2 года назад

Very intersting. I was in Normandie many times as a Volunteer of the german war graves comission in one of their workcamps for young peopel. First as a participant and then as part of the team. The idear of those camps is to do maintanance work on a war cemeterey and get in contact with the local population, all under the motto "Work for peace" Because I was interested in history I used to do a presentation with the young peopel about D Day. In that prensentation I had a slide with the opossion sides orders of battle and equipment. I wish I had known about the book you quote here, because the differences in tons of suppy are very interesting. We often tend to only think in numbers of man and stuff like tanks. But actually having ammo and other suplies to use does determine the combat efectivnes of an army more in a way then raw numbers of men an equipment. Because as we know "Ohne Mampf kein Kampf" and "Firepower kills"

@martinross5521 2 года назад

Congratulations on helping with maintenance at German military cemeteries. It gives a big insight into the miseries of war, and makes me think of what might have been for all the lost combatants on all sides

@Billfish57 2 года назад

The P-47's were the biggest difference, they were raining down 8 - 50 cal's and rockets, down on the german trains, tanks and trucks all day, every day and no army can weather that storm, no matter how much food and ammo you have, air power wins battles and wars.

2 года назад

@@martinross5521 Thx Martin. The Cemetery were I went with Peopel from my Hometown Emden and Russian students from Archangelsk in St Desir de Lisieux is actually right next to a british war cemetery. The two are joined by an ally of peace, which is quiet nice in my oppinion.

@bean5901 2 года назад

Channels like this are special. Thank you for uploading consistent and enthralling content!

@casparcoaster1936 2 года назад

Only now (in old age) can an American citizen learn about WW2 with breadth, depth, and nuance at a level my father would have loved, with gratitude beyond words. Many thanks!!

@robertpayne2717 2 года назад

The story goes that a young German officer while in a POW Cage on a Normandy Beach deduce that the War was lost when he observed that the Allies were only unloading mechanized equipment Trucks,Tanks, bulldozer, etc And No horses/draft Animals or horse drawn equipment/guns!!!!!

@Kevin-mx1vi 2 года назад

That must have been a shock to a member of an army that had so little fuel it had become reliant on horses. A school friend's father was witness to the carnage of the Falaise Pocket, and I clearly recall him telling us of the vast number of dead horses he saw there, stating that he could have crossed the area by stepping from one corpse to the next.

@Seriona1 2 года назад

My other favorite story is a soldier knew his side was fucked when he was finding smokes and med kits on dead privates.

@zafranorbian757 2 года назад

@@Kevin-mx1vi The german army did not become reliant on horses. It relied that much on horses and muels from the beginning, from the the very start germany had neither the industrial capacty nor the resources or logistics to become fully mechanized, even when propaganda liked to claim the opposite. Thats the reason why you find in the WW2 transport section of the german Panzermuseum a plastic donkey with the other trucks.

@Kevin-mx1vi 2 года назад

@@zafranorbian757 In 1945 the German army had almost twice as many horses as it had in 1940. I rest my case.

@wademoss3864 2 года назад

I remember the tin of fruit cake story at Bastogne in which the German General exclaimed that the war was lost because the Americans had enough fuel to fly fruit cake across the Atlantic while his tanks had maybe 8 hours of fuel left before they became dead boat anchors. Germany was fighting for the wrong cause and so one cannot have empathy for that. But we still can respect the fighting spirit of the average German soldier who was doing his utmost best against increasingly overwhelming odds.

@lemondude9868 2 года назад

In Rhodesia they had similar happen in regards to supply and fuel shortage being the cause of their defeat.

@SlimeJime 2 года назад

respect the fighting spirit of the average isis soldiers, doing his utmost best against increasingly overwhelming odds. the shit people say

@jacquesdeburgo2878 2 года назад

@@lemondude9868 similar ideological problem

@stephencarroll9935 2 года назад

You mean the allies fought for the wrong cause which was the survival of communism

@davexb6595 2 года назад

@@SlimeJime I don't agree with your comparison. I'd expect the overwhelming majority of ISIS fighters believed in their understanding of the ideology. The average German solider no doubt saw Germans as superior just as Americans see themselves as superior today. However I doubt that the average German solider bought into all the rest of the Nazi ideology. They just didn't. There would have been no need for the SS if the regular army believed all the ideological BS. Remember that after WWI German people were desperate thanks to France demanding their pound of flesh. But the average German didn't think the sun shone from Hitler's backside. They just had to play along with that propaganda due to lack of options.

@legoeasycompany 2 года назад

Always appreciate seeing a wild Drach appear in your videos, seems a bit strange when people think of the Allied push in Normandy they always focus on the air power but they seem to forget the naval gunfire support last longer than just D-Day itself

@billbolton 2 года назад

And it could be brought to bear quickly; at least near the coast.

@mattwoodard2535 2 года назад

When he started talking about heavy navel arty I immediately thought about Drach and how land based heavy guns are not all that impressive compared to naval guns. Also that naval guns tend to be more accurate since they have impressive fire control system that you can't find with field guns. sm

@t5ruxlee210 2 года назад

The last hurrah for battleships in Europe so their guns were tasked with a maximum effort. They did not go quietly.

@alecmiddleton1842 2 года назад

Somewhere on my bookshelf, I have a photo taken after a direct naval strike on a Normandy panzer. I think the picture shows what used to be a Tiger 1.

@SpiritOfMontgomery 2 года назад

@@alecmiddleton1842 if it’s the one I’m thinking of it’s, and rather fitting too lmao, actually a Pz. IV

@claudeyaz 2 года назад

I know that people always comment about your accent, just want you to know that from your old videos to your new videos, you have improved a lot! It makes your amazing content even more fun to watch! Thanks for all the hard work you do! take care and have a good year.

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 2 года назад

thank you!

@ldmitruk 2 года назад

The Best Little Army In The World by J.L. Granatstein is good overview of the actions of the Canadian Army during D-Day and the campaigns it fought in Europe.

@jonathanallard2128 2 года назад

Or Mark Zuehlke's book called Holding Juno: Canada's Heroic Defence of the D-Day Beaches: June 7th to 12th, 1944 Excellent book. Sheds light on how Canadian troops defended the beachhead against major German counter-attacks that aimed to defeat the whole allied landing operation.

@ldmitruk 2 года назад

@@jonathanallard2128 Thanks for the recommendation.

@ldmitruk 2 года назад

I also would recommend Fields of Fire: the Canadians in Normandy by Terry Copp

@briannicholas2757 2 года назад

What an excellent perspective on the battles following the Normandy landings. Kudos to you and your collaborators on this. Rommel was a truly brilliant field commander, he thoroughly understood both tactics and strategy, a skill set not found in most generals regardless of army. Imagine the difficulties the allies would have faced, even with just the landing phase, if the German High Command and most importantly hitler had actually paid attention to his assessments. His wounding then the subsequent paranoid witch hunts by hitler and the gestapo deprived Germany of their only field General who could have seriously delayed the allies advance. Defeat was inevitable, Rommel knew this, as did any competent German general, the allies simply had such superiority in the air, and in materials and manpower, coupled with the German forces fighting a fierce offensive from the Russians, Rommel could have led a very successful withdrawal from France, and formed a very serious defence of Germany's borders. It would have cost the allies terrible numbers of casualties. Just a thought.

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 2 года назад

thank you!

@Waterflux 2 года назад

Thanks again for posting another WW2 video presentation! :) Rommel's predicament during the summer of 1944 reminds me of Heinrici's during April 1945. Both commanders realized painfully too well that the writing was on the wall. Similar to the German defenders in Normandy, the German defenders holding the Seelow Heights fought ferociously, but it was only a matter of time before the Germans would simply be overwhelmed by the Soviet material superiority. I think Kluge's quick change of mind regarding the German prospect in France perfectly reflected Germany's hopelessness. Whether it be Rommel, Rundstedt, Kluge, or Heinrici, all of them met the worst fate for any military commander--i.e., being expected to get the job done while not having the tools necessary to make it happen. A side-note: Rommel, Rundstedt, Kluge, and Heinrici behaved quite differently from Ferdinand Schörner during "the writing is on the wall" phase of the WW2. Finally, the eventual German collapse in Normandy reminds me of a remark from Rundstedt to the OKW during the D-Day: "Make peace, fools!"

@Mark.G475 2 года назад

Very interesting! My Great Uncle was there on D Day, he was a Sargent in the 101 Airborne. He also dropped into the Netherlands. It helped he spoke Dutch and Friesian, Herman Dykstra RIP.

@hickspaced2963 2 года назад

A true hero!

@freefall9832 2 года назад

Nice! He helped Rommel decide to suicide as well as alot of other nazis

@spacesloth6496 2 года назад

He was forced to comit suicide rip Rommel's Death -- The Interesting Details m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-iYTzjh3rmtc.html

@spacesloth6496 2 года назад

Friesian such a funny language totaly different then the dutch language njoy this link FRISIAN - Sister Language(s) of English! m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MGP7N_Hdmok.html

@richardsmith8654 2 года назад

Great video as always. It is good to see the mention of naval as wel as land based artillery. It really was a significant factor too often over looked. Rudnstedt also mentioned it to Liddel Hart after the war. The other factor that seems to be weird is the continued failure for some time to switch forces from the Pas De Calais to Normandy. The Allied deception methods got an outsized dividend. Thanks again for posting.

@attananightshadow 2 года назад

Rommel’s post d-day views: TLDR modernized in filthy Phil’s voice. “Well, we’re f***ed”

@morgandavid6908 2 года назад

Ran across you by accident. Thank you for your time and effort to bring us such an interesting story. For what it's worth. I'm a new subscriber. Keep up the good work.

@usptact 2 года назад

I'm impressed how extremely well structured Rommel's report is!

@tampaguy35 2 года назад

Rommel knew without air support they would eventually lose the battle.

@kireta21 2 года назад

I'd say enemy having virtually unlimited ammunition for their artillery is even worse.

@tampaguy35 2 года назад

@@kireta21 Very true unlimited ammunition really helps I’m always fascinated by playing the game what “if” What if the Germans took Austria and stopped.uncle Joe had his eyes on Poland Russians take Poland triggers the French and the English and the Germans join forces with them.life is about timing so is war it’s interesting to think about .

@vinzentmeier3040 2 года назад

@@tampaguy35 The only realistic scenario would be to "wait" for the Soviets to attack the Reich and before that forge an anticommunist alliance including the US. If they could have sold the US elites the idea, that communism threatens their existence, this would have worked. The Soviets would have been far stronger then, but the Reich also would have had the backing of the US industry and commanders experienced in actual modern combined arms warfare. Propagandy wise they would have had to concentrate against communism and not the jews. But obviously if the nazis would have done actual smart Roman style empire building, they wouldn't have been nazis.

@tampaguy35 2 года назад

@@vinzentmeier3040 Generals like Rommel knew A two front war was a recipe for disaster.The Nazis Having Hitler as a chief strategist was never going to end well.But let’s say they wait two years and just focus on the Soviet Union .The Nazis have an advantage jet technology (Messerschmitt Me 262,)uncle Joe killed all his capable generals .the nazi’s Form an allegiance with the Ukrainians I think they march right into Moscow the whole world looks much different.But at the end the day fascist dictator’s never last that long .

@colinhunt4057 2 года назад

@@tampaguy35 Far too generous to the generals. They were the ones losing the war all the way through 1941-43. Not that it much mattered. Germany's war against Britain was doomed virtually from the start. Germany had zero chance of implementing any sort of invasion of Britain in 1940. Germany had no cure for the strategic reason it lost the war: no significant oil supply and an increasing shortage of what stocks did exist. Germany's war effort was destroyed even before the war began in 1939 because of the madness of the economic policy of Autarky (self sufficiency). It was Autarky which forced Germany into invading the USSR in 1941 in the first place. Even before the war, Germany had a large and growing shortage of coal, both steam and metallurgical. This was made worse by the disintegration of the food supply system starting in 1940. Its logistical methods made it impossible to conduct large scale offensive operations after 1942. The German air force was increasingly crippled by fuel shortages even in 1942 except for specific theatres on a short term basis. The advantage in jet technology was more apparent than real. Both Britain and the United States had jet interceptors by 1945. Like the German versions, they were too short-ranged to be useful except for local defense by fighter interceptors. By the time the Me-262 was available, it was far too late to have any significant effect on the Allied strategic bombing campaign.

@kuhndj67 2 года назад

Thoroughly enjoyable and full of details I'd not heard before! Thank you for creating.

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 2 года назад

Glad you enjoyed it!

@David_T 2 года назад

This is somewhat familiar to what happened earlier to the Russians on the eastern front: Air superiority was key. Every time the Russians tried to counter attack, the Luftwaffe would step in with the Stukas and just bring it to a halt.

@salvadorsempere1701 2 года назад

The US forces received 15.000 to 20.000 tons of suply per Day. Plus the suplies of the Comonwealth forces. The Germans, 1300 tons. You can skip the rest of the video from this point on.

@njake19 2 года назад

Great work as always. I do have a recommendation for a book if you haven't checked it out already, The Rommel Papers. Yes, I do remember your few videos, along with Dr. Toppel, about using memoirs, but I believe you will find it as an interesting read itself.

@simadologist 2 года назад

Thanks very much for posting this. I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of the quotes from Rommel's reports and the translation. Very informative.

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 2 года назад

Glad you enjoyed it!

@aldenconsolver3428 2 года назад

Excellent report, every time I watch your strategic and tactical videos I feel that I better understand the situation. This is not a slight compliment, I have been studying World War 2 since before you were born LOL. Your access to German field reports adds great clarity, I would like to especially compliment you on your willingness to go the extra kilometer and find the original field reports instead of relying on the self serving publications of the German Generals

@bber45 2 года назад

"We can't push on Paris until we take a deep water port, and Rommel Knows that. So he's gonna try to get his armor across the Merderet River anywhere he can. That way, he can hit our invasion forces in the flank when we make the big right turn to Cherbourg.That makes any village on that river with an intact bridge solid gold real estate." Captain Miller.

@direwolf6234 2 года назад

the la friere bridge west of ste mere eglise - epic small unit encounter....

@direwolf6234 2 года назад

@ᴛᴀᴘ ᴍᴇ ᴀɴᴅ sᴇᴇ Madison there was a movie about it with jeff chandler...

@lyndoncmp5751 25 дней назад

Nonsensical dialogue in Saving Private Ryan that was. Rommel never sent any of his panzer divisions into the Cotentin Peninsula to stop the Americans taking Cherbourg. He sent all his panzer divisions to the Caen area to try and block the British and Canadians. The Cotentin and Cherbourg was not a prime strategic concern for the Germans. They had bigger fears about the allies breaking through to Paris.

@candyjanusen7417 13 дней назад

@@lyndoncmp5751 Eh, it's still believable that an Allied officer could think this way.

@bg147 2 года назад

It is nearly impossible to hold out for long when the other side has complete control of the skies. All the resources put into the V1 and V2 programs were ill spent. Good for NASA, though.

@RubyBandUSA 2 года назад

So true. Not enough credit is given to Gen. Eisenhower, who had to mediate so many egotistical opinions and advocates like Montgomery and Patton. I believe that the winning strategies were due to his judgment. When he arrived in the UK, the subhuman vermin known as hitler was doomed.

@jamesdenofantiquity 2 года назад

Thank you for providing citations, this raises your professionalism to a high level.

@danielgreen3715 2 года назад

Its actually quite Amazing how the German Army managed to last as long as it did against the colossal weight of material that was dropped on or fired at them

@edwardblair4096 2 года назад

I find the relative rates of ammo consumption telling. The Germans had to balance the use of ammunition in this one front against their needs across all of their theaters of operation as well as how fast they could move supplies to the front lines. Even if they could push the allied forces off the continent by using up all their ammo, they wouldn't have had anything to repell the next invasion. While on the Allied side, with only a small space occupied, there was little point in holding back on firepower. There is no point in bringing a load of shells into an active war zone that could be quickly overrun just to leave them sitting around for a rainy day. I don't mean they could indiscriminately waste ammo, just that when warranted they didn't have to worry so much about resupply.

@chrislambert9435 2 года назад

I like your comment, I also see that the Italian Campaign cause 17 German divisions to be held down-busy in Northern Italy

@PolishBehemoth 2 года назад

@@chrislambert9435 the Italian northern campaign was the only side that they somewhat successfully defended.

@chrislambert9435 2 года назад

@@PolishBehemoth Yes, thats well known, but it held down around 17 German divisions that the Germans could have otherwise used against the Normandy Landings

@samadams2203 2 года назад

Those replacement numbers are depressing. They really weren't given anything more to work with.

@davethompson3326 2 года назад

It got a lot worse, as Bagration kicked in

@andrewmcbride598 2 года назад

An excellent exercise in primary source research! Well done and thank you!

@b.thomas8926 2 года назад

Always great to hear your assessments. Thanks for the hard work!

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 2 года назад

Glad you enjoy it!

@kami-kaze5084 2 года назад

Your up there with Mark Felton. Love your channel!

@nathanjones6005 2 года назад

its a good day when you get to learn stuff.

@beepboop204 2 года назад

other than reading comments sections and be like "huh just learned this guy is dumb!"

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 2 года назад

@1701enter 2 года назад

I hope you continue this description of the war it is interesting to hear a true version

@davidfusco6600 2 года назад

Excellent job in analyzing the days following the D Day invasion.

@jamesd3472 2 года назад

I find the quote reference being 'discord chat message' immensely amusing. Somehow I don't think that would work in any essays!

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 2 года назад

probably not, since one is still in training, yet, I have seen in books by professional historians remarks to emails from other historians.

@jamesd3472 2 года назад

@@MilitaryHistoryVisualized That is interested thank you. It makes sense, because you need to reference figures that are not published yet is the difficulty not that no one else can access that source, thus rendering the reference pointless.

@hydorah 2 года назад

The whole reason for using published sources is they are checkable and depending on the resource been peer reviewed or discussed, reported and or recorded. Hence journals carry more weight than most books and primary sources yet more. Off the record comments from someone shouldn't make it through an edit of a serious book - in my opinion

@josepholiveira3287 2 года назад

That naval gun suport, did not know it last for soo long. As always, thanks for the amazing information!

@glennmcdonald2028 2 года назад

Naval Gunfire scored a direct hit on the SS Corps' entire Command Staff...

@AndyM_323YYY 2 года назад

The Naval gunfire support was incredibly important. There was a shortage of artillery ammunition for the allied units that had landed, made worse when a storm destroyed the American Mulberry harbour: so the allied artillery could only provide limited support. The tactical airforce although it was good at hitting rear areas and putting German generals in ditches, was not - yet - providing effective close air support in front line fighting. The allies even ended up bringing in heavy bombers in the hope they could do better by just carpet bombing the frontline for very special occasions. But a ship could empty its magazines and then go back to reammo and be back in action relatively quickly given the short distance from Normandy to the English coast.

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 2 года назад

yeah, I also was not aware of its extent.

@Wien1938 2 года назад

@@glennmcdonald2028 Do you mean the mass bombing raid on the HQ of Panzer Gruppe West?

@rb5337 2 года назад

Well done, I really enjoyed this one. Easy to follow and informative

@franklinhadick2866 2 года назад

As usual, very well presented and thought out. I thankyou for your continuing excellent work.

@thedungeondelver 2 года назад

Question for Military History Visualized: when Rommel referred to "superior tank units" did he mean in terms of skill, numbers, or quality of equipment, or some combination thereof?

@MrDlenrek 2 года назад

What an excellent video. How long did it take to research and put together ?

@PhilKelley 2 года назад

Thank you for this excellent presentation. Your graphs and charts really add depth to understanding what Rommel was talking about. Rommel's reports are models for anyone who must give bad news to superiors: tell the whole truth as straightforwardly as possible. It is telling that Hitler did not relieve Rommel due to these reports, but relieved two other officers in high commands. It looks like Hitler still respected Rommel for giving him the bare bones truth about the situation. (On a lighter note, your pronunciation of "Omaha" brought a smile to this American.)

@RubyBandUSA 2 года назад

Yes the charts and graphs were excellent, and so unexpected and appreciated. Thank you.

@andrewtongue7084 2 года назад

Professionally presented documentary, in fact, excellent. Thank you to all who made this possible. Wishing you well :)

@billbolton 2 года назад

Excellent, thanks. The word 'deaf' is pronounced 'def' as in 'Def Leppard'.

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 2 года назад

thanks

@machiavellianoverture1747 2 года назад

@@MilitaryHistoryVisualized dude im just starting to try and learn Cyrillic help

@ScienceChap 2 года назад

@@MilitaryHistoryVisualized it's fair to say that your English is infinitely better than my German, so all credit to you!

@keithmills778 2 года назад

There are certain regional dialects in the US that pronounce it as “deef.” You’ll sometimes hear the same pronunciation from Scots.

@billbolton 2 года назад

@@keithmills778 Aye, and Geordies, but the rest of his English is without such a regional accent. Plus I took the opportunity so that I could mention Def Leppard. I would be interested to know which parts of the US you refer to.

@lurkingknight 2 года назад

logistics are often glazed over in film, tv documentaries, and totally overlooked in video games that 'recreate' the battles. Nobody cares about the supply chain but we see how in the breakdown attrition of forces on the line and the ability resupply, rearm and reinforce plays a lot more in the long term success of a campaign. You can't have a gun fight when one side doesn't have bullets or men.

@FeedMeMister 2 года назад

For years I've been trying to envision a way to turn military logistics and speculative R&D into a game. However, the more I've thought about it, the more I realise that by being a predictable system of rules (anything less cannot really be a "game") one can always anticipate far too perfectly, even when random events are considered. Plus, a game where a wrong decision made 100 turns ago could hamstring your entire operation for reasons that only become clear after the fact only seems fun to masochists like myself.

@princeofcupspoc9073 2 года назад

Also remember that it takes thousands of round of ammunition to kill an enemy soldier. Except for commandos and extreme defenses, battle was shoot bullets that way, and keep your head down. This really struck home when I saw some a video about conditions in Viet Nam. The US troops hid behind a brick wall, and reached their rifles above the wall and empty the clip without aiming. Hollywood portrayals of "gallantry" are nothing but more western propaganda.

@pascalstrijker3985 2 года назад

You mean like hearths of iron 4 where logistics is very important

@John21WoW 2 года назад

Hearts of Iron is a good example of a video game where logistics are important. Also Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault campaign sort of tried doing this to a certain degree. And in terms of board games I recommend: Quartermaster General, 1944: Race to the Rhine and the upcoming 1941: Race to Moscow.

@karlminzenmayer9376 24 дня назад

Amateurs discuss tactics, professionals discuss logistics

@mysteryguest9555 2 года назад

Decades later and we still are learning about WWII. Great work!

@adoramus Месяц назад

Another most insightful video. Excellent piece of work.

@alcoholfree6381 6 дней назад

My father was flying his first mission on D-Day; he was the bombardier in a B-17. He told me that they dropped bombs and saw no Luftwaffe planes. He ended up flying 24 missions by December 24, 1944; they were shot down over Belgium. Only 3 of the crew on the plane survived. Dad injured his left foot and ankle. When I was a young boy, I saw my dad’s Purple Heart Medals and asked: “Were you a War Hero dad?” He replied: “Hardly, I think the only true War Heroes were those who died for Freedom!” I think all people in the military are HEROES AND I SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

@corcaighrebel 2 года назад

To be honest, surprised the Germans were able to hold out as long as they did given what they were up against. Rommel was probably also right, got to catch as they land, when are their weakest, once a foothold established then the men and material just flood in. Interesting also how often Rommel referred to Allied Air superiority.

@fergushancock3567 2 года назад

von Rundstedt was also correct in his surmise that Allied naval gunnery would destroy any German attempt to close in to the beaches. von Rundstedt was sacked by Hitler and replaced by Kluge when he responded to a question from OKW asking what they could do. "Make peace, you fools!"

@fluffly3606 2 года назад

Can we appreciate how charmingly exceptional Bernhard's professionalism is that he formally quoted a Discord chat message

@alihandemiral7049 2 года назад

This was amazing, thank you!

@rlstrad2059 2 года назад

Fantastic summary, highly recommended.

@merlin6955 2 года назад

After a few years of enjoying croissants, brei, French wines etc, to be faced with the D-day invasion must have been horrendous for the Nazi's. Nertheless, they created havoc against the allies tanks, particularly the way outmatched Shermans.

@ScienceChap 2 года назад

Just an estimate here... if the UK and Canadian supplies were arriving in the same quantities as the Americans', that equates to around 45000 tonnes per day for all the allied armies compared with Rommel's 1300 tonnes. Amateurs discuss tactics. Professionals discuss logistics.

@filipeamaral216 2 года назад

Superb research and analysis. It's impressive the German troops fought so tenaciously in such harsh conditions; especially considering how many of the divisions was actualyl patched together (typical of German subsidarity). As for operationl/strategic movement, it's interesting to llok at the Allied interdiction of the railways (as is complained about in the reports). On the night of 8 to 9 June, the French SAS operating in Britanny interdicted the Redon-Rennes transverse route by derailing trains in both south and north tunnels of Messac. SAS Lieutenant Camaret threw a backpack with 30kg of explosives in front of a train in the south tunnel, derailing it inside of the tunnel; with another SAS group hijacking a train in the Messac trainstation and driving it through the north gate and blowing it up inside. With this action, the main traverse network of Britanny was therefore out of action. French, British and Belgian SAS actions throughout Normandy, in close cooperation with French Resistence and Allied air power, kept interdicting railways and roads for days. Divisions would arrived 10-20 days late to their destinations, and they would be kept "underfed" for the whole campaign.

@IceWolfLoki 2 года назад

Impressive but also probably to their own long term detriment. May have been better to steadily retreat from the western front and focus all resources on slowing the advance on the Eastern Front.

@MrLanzio 2 года назад

this channel really good. Thank you

@Gleichtritt 2 года назад

Rommel was brought to the Normandy way too late. When he looked at the defense, he was shocked and hastly recorganized the defense, which already made a big difference. Imagine how it would have been, if he would have organized the defense from the beginning. Well..lucky he didn't, but from Rommel's perspective, that must have felt like a big "gosh, you idiots, why didn 't you consult me earlier?!"

@KirbyZhang 2 года назад

don't worship Rommel too much. Celebrating birthday thousand kilometers away not knowing allies will attack = big fail for a commander.

@abbcc5996 2 года назад

@@KirbyZhang true but cut him some slack. he used his time back in the fatherland to discuss with hitler and the weather forecast was saying that the invasion couldn't happen that week due to the bad weather

@Handygamer 2 года назад

@@KirbyZhang The Allies were running out of time themselves (they had pushed the date of the invasion before) and basically brute-forced a landing through rough seas and terrible weather. Attacking at a time when Rommel was away seems more or less purely coincidental, although I wouldn't put it past Allied intelligence to have influenced the decision-making about the timing of the attack just because of that. Given how even a Nazi war hero like Rommel had to stay in close contact with Hitler to ensure staying in good grace with him (which he did successfully - he never was replaced until the attempted Stauffenberg coup), he had to spent time away from his assignment simply due to internal, "political" reasons. If it hadn't been his wife's birthday, a similar timing might've coincided with some random big-shot Nazi event for what it's worth.

@stankgangsta4105 2 года назад

He had over 7 months most commanders would have killed for that amount of time. Resources were probably more of an issue than time

@rg1809 2 года назад

@@stankgangsta4105 Hitler was more of an issue than time, or anything else, for he was adamant the invasion would be at Calais and thus held his resources there.

@CB-vt3mx 2 года назад

I read Hans von Luck's account of the 21st Panzer Division in Normandy. He cited the effect of Naval gunfire in his memoir as having been significant, at one point nearly destroying an entire battalion. But the real key to allied success in Normandy was a supply chain that went right back to victory gardens, farms, factories, ship yards, and the merchant marine which produced, packaged, shipped, and delivered the massive materiel superiority that the landed forces utilized. If you are a fan of TIK's channel, you have seen his videos on German logistics and know that in every way, the German nation was simply incapable of producing a similar effort in spite of the enormous advantage of interior shipping like rivers, rail, and road and that the Wehrmacht had no concept of "logistics" in the sense that Eisenhower, Marshall, or Montgomery did. Ultimately, the threat of a Pas de Calais landing was believable to the Germans because of this immense material superiority and was largely why 15th Army was not committed to the fighting in Normandy at an early phase.

@revanofkorriban1505 2 года назад

TIK is half-bogus, half great. His battlestorm videos are excellent, but whenever he gets off about socialism, he gets it all wrong. Didn't he at some point suggest a capitalistic logistics system, where divisions had to bargain for supplies? That would have been a catastrophe.

@DanielWW2 2 года назад

@@revanofkorriban1505 Yup and Hitler of course was a socialist. Its not like the Nazi's didn't almost immediately throw those in a concentration camp in 1933... The problem is that whole "business" of being a historian revolves around one simple fact, credibility. Because in the end it is impossible for anybody but the most specialised people in a certain field, to actually fact check any statement, within a reasonable time frame. It is a sad reality, but a reality nonetheless. The academic profession simply has become too specialised and at the same time also too broad in number of specialisations for actual satisfactory levels of peer review. Now YT history usually is less demanding, thus it also allows for more review of the content. Therefore it paradoxically is more important to get your facts right and if you don't, admit that mistake and explain why it happened. So when you get such basic stuff, so horrible wrong, you instantly lose all credibility and can't be trusted for anything you say. That is what TIK did when he dug himself in that hole. I can't even consider his battle storm videos because of this simply realisation. I would have to fact check everything because I simply can't believe anything he would claim. And if I do that, why do I even watch?

@ukkev7290 2 года назад

@@revanofkorriban1505 Why do socialists get upset over Hitler being called a socialist? Do you think only nice people can be socialists?

@noland65 2 года назад

@@DanielWW2 Well said! It also illustrates a remarkable lack of will to invest the effort necessary to check this (really embarassing) narrative and a certain readiness to go with the popular scandal, instead. So, what other facts may have been ignored and what was made to fit? Every word has to be rechecked from this point on.

@noland65 2 года назад

@@ukkev7290 Because it was an entirely different concept, born out of different motivations, with a completely different agenda and vastly different perception. The analogy doesn't help, but with certain 21st century political talking points.

@jgentry7201 2 года назад

Excellent study and analysis. Thank you.

@julianjackson6824 2 года назад

I clicked on this link in the sidebar without knowing who made it. I recognised your voice immediately. It's amusing that I have watched so many of your vids that you are now so familiar. :-)

@cd4953 2 года назад

For as outnumbered/outsupplied the Germans were compared to the Allies, it's honestly pretty amazing that they held out on the western front as long as they did. Scary to think how the war in the west could have gone had the Germans never attacked the Soviets and instead used those men/supplies to bolster their western forces.

@EinKerl3554 2 года назад

Germany (and Japan) made a fatal mistake, starting a war they had to win relatively quickly due to limited resources. Both sides knew this, the allies didn't have to win they only needed to not lose, once it became a war of attrition the outcome was an inevitable certainty.

@constitution_8939 2 года назад

But, it is a Fact that Stalin Was secretly building up Soviet forces to hit the Germans by surprise, Molotov-Ribbentrop Non-Aggression Pact be damned, at their Front Line through Poland first, causing Hitler to preemptively attack the Soviet positions with Operation Barbarossa earlier than was originally planned. Had the Germans Not launched Barbarossa when they did, the Soviets would have likely pushed into Germany a lot sooner than they did. But, had Operation Overlord been a failure because of superior German forces in the West that would have been there but for Barbarossa and mainly using the Luftwaffe to counter Allied Air Forces Superiority and destroying Troop Transports, paratrooper gliders etc, and ending the Allied Offensive in the West with Great casualties, the Germans would then have been able to defeat the Soviets in the East. I Honestly wish this was the way it went, the Loss of Germany which was Only wanting to Exterminate the Bolsheviks and their "'Communist's'" to Save Western Civilization, meant the Loss of Western Civilization that We are seeing now with the Zio-Com NWO almost complete. Our Whole World is about to become a Dark Hell which Germany knew was the future if they failed.

@cd4953 2 года назад

@@constitution_8939 I truly wonder what path you had to take in life to end up wishing that the Germans had won World War 2. I should be angry, but honestly, I just feel bad for you. That's such a dark place to be, mentally. I genuinely hope you find peace.

@vinzentmeier3040 2 года назад

Well, many of the Wehrmacht troops faces be the US and brits were hardened by the Eastern front in the first place. Without their experience they would probably have performed worst, even with good supplies.

@constitution_8939 2 года назад

@@cd4953 And btw, Why do you think A.H. LET 300,000 British & 160,000 French escape much less live with his 3 day ceasefire at Dunkirk? Because he sent a Second Peace proposal to the new P.M. Winston Churchill and promising a Total Orderly German withdrawal of ALL German Forces from France if Churchill would rescind Britain's Declaration of War on Germany. You know what Churchill's response was (Actually the RATschild's who Owned and Controlled Britain)? "Nothing but a Full Unconditional Surrender would be accepted" and this pushed Hitler right over the edge and that was it. Rommel brazenly rebuked A.H. for letting a 1/4 of a Million of the best of the BEF live to kill German's some day soon!!

@currentbatches6205 2 года назад

3:07 - 'Ami aircraft are silver, Brit's are green, the Luftwaffe's are invisible'. 8:33 - A result of the 'turned' axis agents in England.

@kenduffy5397 2 года назад

Once again another masterpiece, well done 👍 boy’s & girls!

@danielkokal8819 2 года назад

this was interesting and informative... havent seen this particular content yet. well done presentation.

@glypnir 2 года назад

None of this mentions the difficulty of fighting mobile warfare in the bocage, the little fields with tall ancient hedgerows on the borders. Stuff I've read emphasizes this as a real problem, and they even developed a special kind of plow to put on the front of a Sherman to help it get through the hedgerows. It wasn't like Stalingrad, but it also wasn't like the Russian steppe or the North African desert. I wonder how well Rommel understood it, or whether the tactical defensive techniques were done on a lower level. I'm pretty sure that he did understand it, since he started his career taking difficult spots in WWI. Certainly some literature uses the bocage as a major excuse for why the breakout from Normandy was so difficult. The bocage provided both frequent blockages for tanks, and frequent cover and concealment, the standard blitzkrieg triumvirate of planes, tanks, and troops less mobile. It would be interesting to see what the German opinion on the bocage was.

@dovetonsturdee7033 2 года назад

One might wonder whether the bocage, however difficult it might have been, compares to eight Panzer Divisions & three Independent Tiger Battalions?

@glypnir 2 года назад

@@dovetonsturdee7033 Is that how many they had? It's an interesting question, but not the one I was thinking about. I was thinking about if the only thing changed in the situation was that the terrain was more open and suitable for positional warfare. Since the Allied air superiority is at least one major factor that made it very difficult to use those Panzers, we would have to take that away too. Certainly even with the bocage, having all those Panzers and Tigers, and air superiority, things would have been rather different. An amphibious invasion without air superiority is certainly not a good plan. I wonder if the Panzers ever encountered something like the bocage in their offensive peregrinations, and if so, how they did and what techniques they developed. The Ardennes were a forest, and relatively undefended, which is very different.

@bigwoody4704 2 года назад

The heaviest bombing campaign of Normandy was launched because Monty got stuck after shooting his mouth off.After one shelling Monty didn't order an advance for 6 hrs,by that time the wehrmacht had took up their old positions and set up blocking lines.he was a WW1 sargent and not a real good one.43 days later........

@billwilson3609 2 года назад

US planners overlooked the bocage so the GI's had to develop tactics for taking those on the fly. The Germans had dug-in positions covering the interior of each enclosed field and exits for the soldiers to move to the next field so the GI's had to fight for them one at a time. The Germans had tanks and AT guns covering the narrow lanes so the GI's used the M4's to punch holes in the hedgerows so the tankers could bypass the German cannons. One improvised attachment was a wide pipe with a sharp cone at the end for punching holes in the base of a thick hedgerow where bundle charges were placed to blast out an opening. The others used a row of saw-toothed blades made from angle iron that severed the roots as the tank slammed it's way thru into the field with it's front covered with the small trees and tall bushes.

@mjs3343 2 года назад

Great presentation of primary source information, which allows all of us listeners to make our own interpretations, and not rely on a biased 3rd parties for interpretation and meaning.

@ATEC101 2 года назад

Primarily, industrial might without limitation and superior implementation of resources does not need 'Superior Ideology' to have ultimate success. Interpretation and meaning of 'losing' in that context are not subject to either. I am a Finnish/American, good luck with that.

@jwiles545 2 года назад

Very well done. Love the detailed analysis.

@morenofranco9235 2 года назад

Erwin Rommel is still one of THE BEST Generals of WWII. Thanks, MHV, for another great presentation.

@ATEC101 2 года назад

Loser.

@pbruh 2 года назад

@@ATEC101 you shouldn’t try to argue with facts

@modest_spice6083 2 года назад

@@pbruh Greatest general got his ass handed over to him in Egypt? Greatest general got his ass handed to him in Normandy? YOU shouldn't try to argue with FACTS.

@martentrudeau6948 2 года назад

Rommel was a realist, the enemy had unlimited resources and Germany had finite resources, his assessment was honest and realistic. Great history lesson, thanks!

@billskinner623 2 года назад

I knew the various decption plans kept the Germans tied up expecting an attack at another area, I didn't know that the plan continued to keep the Germans from reacting even weeks after the landing. Well done.

@rogozov 2 года назад

Thank you for the terrific video!

@Kierkergaarder 2 года назад

Love the video, very interesting stuff. One tiny note is that at 16:56 there is a typo: "fictious" army group instead of "fictitious". Cheers

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 2 года назад

thanks

@romandecaesar4782 2 года назад

Excellent presentation and review of historical fact, although I am weary of the use of American research material to support the analysis. It would be very helpful to include in a subsequent video explaining the reasons for the lack of KM and LW support just prior to, during and immediately after the commencement of Operation Cobra. Finally, and this bears out, that under extremely difficult odds, the WM and the SS performed brilliantly. Conversely, it is hard to imagine how such an overwhelming force could have made so many mistakes during the first three weeks of the invasion: truly, their ground forces would not have recovered from such blunders if it had not been for their command of the air, their logistical readiness and the intercession of Eisenhower to correct the chilling errors amid political infighting.

@alejandrobetancourt4902 2 года назад

Bernhard, I would like to see a video about the failure of operation goodwood. Thank you.

@majscrap2629 2 года назад

That was very good. Thank you for that maximum effort!

@QuantumRift 2 года назад

Thank you for this. I find it absolutely fascinating to see the assessment from the other side, and Rommel was capable and astute commander and could see the writing on the wall. The End Was Coming.

@chris3640 2 года назад

I have read many books from the Canadian and allied perspective. With how the panzer tanks and machine guns are always portrayed, by the soldiers, you would think they were facing a very well equipped and beefy force. It is a feather in the German cap that they could withstand the Allies for as long as they did. Especially with their supplies in such a poor state.

@varovaro1967 2 года назад

He was not only in Germany for the bd of his wife… the objective was a meeting with AH to ask for reinforcements…

@Hopeless_and_Forlorn 2 года назад

Excellent information, thank you. At 13:40. there is a mention of a front in Southern France. Since Operation Dragoon did not begin until August 15, what "front" is referenced here?

@MilitaryHistoryVisualized 2 года назад

They had to guard the coast line with the few troops they had left there.

@jonsouth1545 2 года назад

those supply figures at 13:28 are a perfect example of the difference in industrial might between the two forces

@joebloggs4807 2 года назад

This guy has definitely done his research:-)

@darthcheney7447 2 года назад

Quite excellent. Rommel knew the end was near. Maybe explains his involvement in "Valkyrie"

@freefall9832 2 года назад

Rommel did suicide soon after this didn't he, turned out to be a coward

@darthcheney7447 2 года назад

@@freefall9832 Not true in way you think. Rommel's involvement in Valkyrie was discovered by Hitler and Rommel was given 2 choices. Commit suicide and be given a State funeral and be declared a Hero of the Fatherland, or Rommel and entire family are arrested and sent to the camps. Not a difficult choice to make.

@freefall9832 2 года назад

@@darthcheney7447He did fail at killing hitler, his sworn leader, too. Basically his life was a total waste

@darthcheney7447 2 года назад

@@freefall9832 lol everyone who supported the Nazi regime, lives were a total waste.

@freefall9832 2 года назад

@@darthcheney7447 Right, they tried to talk about the "good nazi" when I was a kid, well this guy wasn't one of them

@samuelpierce639 2 года назад

Wow! Thanks for the info. Subscribed!

@doctorlolchicken7478 2 года назад

Very good video. I have only limited knowledge of all this, yet I could follow along quite easily. It’s interesting about the superior air power because most of the war films I’ve seen don’t usually mention that. In fact, if air support shows up it’s usually for the Germans. Obviously movies are movies, and rarely realistic.