French SS - Berlin 1945 

Mark Felton Productions how many hundreds of pedants have already commented about this?!

Don't sweat it, Mark. Nobody reads the comments _before_ commenting... :)

PS - another great educational video. Greetings from Hong Kong. We’ve been staying home for two months already. Don’t worry, it gets easier. ;-)

I read it with your voice kind sir

Hahaha😂

Amazing!

Thank you for sharing this, amazing

Pleased to know your father survived and got home.

@@gordonsmith8899 Me too...or I wouldn't be writing this today. He came close to getting killed on Feb 19, 1944.....knocked unconscious with a severe concussion from artillery.

My friend grandpa was a b24 pilot over Italy and Germany in 1944-5 he was shoot down over Germany he said since his grandfather was of German heritage the guard at the camp who I think were SS tortured him

Or English Free Corps !

And if SS Charlemagne fight vs FFL, in the Head of FFL, why the Germans speak French.

are you sure Russian could understand another language ?

In battle the language spoken by enemy is material

Russians were always half drunk, nothing confused them.

@@armingleiner5292 Not really. He was cocksucking for the same country that murdered 643 of his innocent countrymen, women, and children at Oradour-sur-Glane. Just because he was fighting against Russia does not automatically justify fighting for a fascist, genocidal regime

Кому "ВЕРНЫ" и до когого "КОНЦА",если "КОНЦА" Гитлера так советский солдат помог гитлеру "СТАТЬ РАКОМ" и застрелиться..

@@armingleiner5292 Ahh and of course , Ukrainian hero admiring SS Scums who Whose conscience did not allow them to give up ! Nazi scum.

@@armingleiner5292That’s a Nazi you’re talking about

​@@john2432would it have been different if he was a communist?

De Gaulle was a traitor to France. Now France is an awful country Paris is no longer a French city, the government is totally corrupt, France lost all its colonies, France is losing French culture, traditional art is being replaced by ugly modern art and architecture etc. It is an objective undeniable fact that there will be no “France” in 100 years and it will be mostly an African and Arab country with a French minority kind of like South Africa with its Dutch white minority. And Frenchmen will have no say in elections due to being only a tiny % of the population

You may be interested in reading the Winking Fox, a factual story of the life of a french national who became an american citizen, and found himself exiled from france for training Ho Chi Minh to fight the Japanese. France certainly has some dirty politics over the ages.

They are not mutually exclusive. I'll take Mark Felton and the old History Channel.

cohen< nuff said,

Felton is much better than New History Channel with their emphasis on Space Aliens and finding Elvis.

Felton is a liar.

Mark doesn’t do conspiracies tho

There's a bar/ restaurant in Frisco started by a former Legionnaire. Some of his writings/letters mention that and are posted on the wall.

Some joined the regular French Army and fought in Indochina.

That's not entirely true; some joined at the very end of the war but the French government quickly cracked down. There were far more German civilians and German army veterans who joined.

@@Jermster_91 They were members of a penal battalion recruited from prison.

They were forced to.

Alsace Lorraine

Hi, you are right, the title in french is 'Le soldat oublié". I am french and i will never forget this book. Things during wars are not so simple, good side, bad side.....

I have the book. It was a great read.

After the war he slipped back home and into normal life like nothing had happened

Yes, The Forgotten Soldier - gives an unforgettable account of the day to day realities of war, particularly when you're on the losing side.

What made your father hate his country enough to become a traitor?

@@NSResponder My father was, on the contrary a true lover of his country and was ready to die for it!... something we certainly cannot tell of the majority of the "followers" like you, so it seems... the sort that repeat the "history" that's been put into their minds not knowing anything of who was, and still is, at the controles behind... The same criminals that rule our societies and "supposedly civilized" countries nowaday... To me, the reel traitors as you say, traitors to humanity, are the people like you repeating the lessons that's been put into their minds and repeating them like... Parotts!... Good day to you and good luck, I wish you to awaken to another reality one of those days.... the quicker the better...

It's very interesting though very sensitive topic. I was always wondering the motivation of the people, who decided to switch sides. Did your father left any information about what his motivation was? In my homeland, Russia, there was a very famous (in USSR) Normandie-Niemen group of french pilots, who joined the Red Army. Some joined british, US forces. Some joined the SS. I'm curious, who were this people and how the war ripped the nation apart so terribly, that the citizens became enemies.

@@jeancroisile9982 ..

@@NSResponder read the book i suppose?

Tob Raham theres a lack of footage though.

@@HateTheIRS Eh still they could run re-enactments of the events that followed as well as detailed maps. I remember they did that with the story of some legendary Canadian guy in WWll.

Nolan Currenly re enactments aren’t that exciting tbh.

I know for a fact they could run non stop history, most of their documentaries are on RU-vid. They just get more people watching alligator fishing or pawning their grandfathers pistol

"The French can't fight." "Hold my wine."

So the French SS enjoyed being under German thrall and occupation? At least the Americans gave the French the tools and resources to take their country back. A 'cute' little anecdote doesn't make the SS all warm and fuzzy and somehow the 'same' as the Americans.

@funkmasterjee well said, however the hardest place was being in the middle... That's what has happened to my country.. ;-)

Well i’m a french living in Lorraine and in my heart Lorraine should be german

French officer fought for the french flag, French SS for the german one. But the SS did not get the difference.

@funkmasterjee Too bad they did not see the German hordes invadng France.

"He said the Russians would petition the U.S. every four years to have him extradited to stand trial for war crimes" : I guess that the Soviet authorities had some evidences about his heroic youth in Belorussia or Ukraine and he never told you anything about this glorious past.

@@hannibalbarca4372 Yes, he did tell me about his "heroic youth." I debated whether or not to add it to my previous comment, but given how many skim through replies, I just gave it the extreme condensed version. This is how he told it to me (this after another co-work pointed Karl's military background out to me). Karl; I was told to take my men and capture this certain hill, after taking control and having prisoners, I get another order, move to the next hill. I have nowhere to send these prisoners and I can't just leave them as I advance, they could attack my rear. I order the prisoners to their knees, I have my second in command start from one side, and me on the other and proceed down the line to the center, each a bullet in the back of the head. And it happened each time he took a hill. I guess he could see my disbelief, he said, Ken, it was war what the hell else was I supposed to do, you follow orders and do what you need to in order to survive. I never condoned what he did, I was and still am astonished about how casual he spoke about it.

I knew a guy at work whose Dad was from Latvia. He had flown as a bomber crewman with the Luftwaffe, against the Communists on the Eastern Front. He did not want Stalin's Red Army and NKVD to return to Latvia! An interesting book: "Latvian Legion", by Arthur Silgailis

LOOK OVER THERE! *ENTIRE SOVIET ARMY LOOKS*

@@totallynotalpharius2283 The ENTIRE ARMY: crack’s neck’s in succession

And I doubt that the British refrained from bombing France. At least Anne Frank was frightened by bombing runs on Amsterdam.

@@aurorasdawn4681 Certainly they didn't, the problem was not all the targets were really military. Probably the goal was to push the French people against the German occuppants; nothing really justifies to frighten the civilian population!

Anyway, there was a big anti-British propaganda during the occupation of France, by the Vichy and the Nazi regimes.

@Elvia Darkgrape I guess you could say that of many other countries too when you look at their history. I also guess that you are referring to more recent matters ? I was just pointing out that the best interest of the Vichy regime and the nazis during the occupation of my country was that the french people didn't feel any sympathy for the British and rather see them as an ennemy.

@@loveisintheair8003 ... yeh, pretty sur the brits gave them [french] the option of scuttling their ships rather than going in guns blazing sort of thing - they [the vichy] refused that - n so a lot died for no good reason

I can imagine it

My family did in Germany.

True

I can

My family also did in Germany.

Fred de Groot Indeed,well said.

👍 But he was king and since 800 emporer of the empire of the franks , not of the holy roman Empire of the german nation (962-1806). Empire of the franks = later- west part= france ,east part = holy roman empire german nation/germany. And true ,Charlemagne / Karl der Grosse ( the Great) was the Father of this two great nations .

@@kriegshammer2161 The Franks were still a Germanic people though, they did not originate from geographical France for which they were named after. They were one of the many Germanic "barbarian" tribes that crossed into the Roman Empire and sacked it (in their case they crossed the Rhine into then called Gaul.)

Though the Franks like many of the other tribes that conquered the Western Roman Empire became more like the Romans. They became Christians and their languages were latinized which is why they changed from the more Germanic Franks to the more Latinized French, and ultimately separated as a different culture and people people. This is ironic because when the Vikings (Danes another Germanic people) came raiding they both hated and were terrified of the Vikings like the Romans were before them for not being Christian as and barbaric. Then the cycle repeated itself as the vikings also became more like the locals they settled with. Some examples include the Normans in Normandy when they became more French or when the Normans in Sicily became more Italian. And of course the Normans who conquered England and helped evolve old English into the modern English we know and love today by introducing some French and words. 🇮🇹🇩🇪🇫🇷🇳🇴🇩🇰🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

@@JBGARINGAN In fact it's the contrary. France was named after the name of the germanic tribe called the Franks. Franks arrived in a place who was then called Gaul, the Roman province of Gaul.

And also the book : LA BRIGADE FRANKREICH by Jean Mabire

That book's author is considered suspect.

is there an ebook version?

Thanks, will check it out

Read, devils guard by George Robert elford,

Amazing book. It really is.

there is a drawing of german troops on the head of this video, i wondered if guy sajer (guy mouminoux) was the artist

Well the French population weren’t particularly fond of either side. Both Germany and England are historical rivals, France tangled itself in defending Poland and corresponding with the soviets while the population was protesting the war. WW1 was a disaster mostly fought on French soil and the people were tired of war at that point. On top of that, the Germans for the most part tried to not be too harsh in their dealings after France surrendered, so that the French would cooperate more. I don’t really think there’s anything to burry or apologize for, most people can’t put themselves in that situation and understand things from the perspective of France.

A lot of valiant French men and women died resisting German occupation. I'm British, and like many British I admire their incredible bravery. French resistance of all kinds is constantly portrayed in British dramas.

@@vikare7849 even if they were neutral they would of been invaded

@@vikare7849 "defending" Poland? When was that?

I can only sympathize with the French people who endured the Nazi occupation. Long live France, long live lovers of Freedom.

There was a "Muslim" SS unit "Schar" from Bosnia.

And an English one!

Had to make up for the able and willing soldiers that they decided to send to work camps out of stupid racism.

The Indian Legion was regimental size not a division and described as a joke by Hitler and saw almost no combat. The Free Arabian Legion were not part of the SS

Because, oddly, the Heer wasn't allowed to recruit other nationalities.

Americans would've hanged them. Personally I would stand and fight to the last man over a hanging.

and nobody noticed

Spanish Blue Division

A Spanish unit is very interesting. I thought they were occupied with their own country's war. I did not know they were involved any where else. I'm going to have to do some reading.

@@gengis737 they wer all ghey

@@josematamoros596 La Div Azul JAMÁS participó en la batalla de Berlín porque se había retirado del frente del Este hacía casi dos años. Eran unos pocos voluntarios fascistas españoles que no quisieron volver a España y siguieron combatiendo con los SS franceses. Un puñado escaso

"I have only one regret ; to not have enlisted earlyer."

Proof that stupid spans country and culture...🙄

alan deweld, Thank You, I agree, please let us not forget our Spanish Heroes, in SS- the *Blue-Division.. as i had had 1968, the *Honour, the opportunity see and speak with this - as - came as Delegation to the French HQ*s - in BadenBaden ( Germany) The Invitation was from General Massu.

There were no heroes in the SS. Murdering civilians is not heroism.

@@AnEnemy100 so no one was the hero by your logic. Of course it’s hard to see the heroism through your blind hatred

@@PorWik What part of murdering civilians do you not understand? They were cowards.

@@AnEnemy100 Murdering civilians is always a crime - but most of them did not. And german civilians were aklso mordered, millions. Also japanese civilians, later civilians in Korea, Vietnam, Algeria, .....

I knew one too that was also paid for his time in the SS. But here's the fun part. He got paid as a victim of Nazism by Germany - and as a veteran of the French Army by France. Both of which got revoked a few years back when a scandal came to light regarding another SS Charlemagne survivor in the same situation.

@@tywinlannister8015 Uh-Oh! Did the veteran get caught up in a payback demand? Prosecuted or anything?

@@jasondaniel918 Not that I know of. I was his geriatric aide for while but ever since I haven't kept in touch.

@@jasondaniel918 Did he say anything more?

Swift Strike

History is rewritten by the victors.

fuferito: Mark ROCKS!

Sort of, how it was like for anyone in occupied Europe........h'mmm

This has got to be the funniest ‘last time I was this early comment...’ on RU-vid

@@michaelevans8697 sad truth unfortunately

The last time I was this early, nobody was making pandemic memes.

Oh, You!

Mark is more of a showman and RU-vid vloger than a real historian. Real historians are doing hard work by teaching at many universities, doing complex research in national archives, writing thesises, publishing scientific articles and books. And they are conducting intelectual discussions with other historians, philosophers, writers and intellectuals. And not doing RU-vid admiration videos about SS and Adolf Hitler.

@@northernstar3960 I mean there’s nothing wrong with him retelling parts of history and from my experience usually in college you have to use the works and other writings of other historians and first hand accounts; which is what his doing. I wish he would show his sources though. As for him being a show man, he needs to make a living somehow.

@@northernstar3960 he does publish books though ?

@@northernstar3960 that's a bit unfair. He's written over 20 books, lectured in shanghai for years, and volunteered for the Royal British Legion, and is doing a pretty good job of educating a great number of people on RU-vid, according to the view counters.

@Jeroen Melsen JEALOUS! :o

@C D I think he meant that they had put up a good fight.

They had no choice, they were traitors, if they returned to france, they would be tried and executed, which actually happened.

C D is a nazi sympathizer.

@Otto Skorzeny if you join your enemy then you're a traitor, even if you don't directly fight against your own country. Larry Thorne as an example was a traitor because he joined a military force who were in a war with his country

@Otto Skorzeny Im pretty sure no one object Russian killing other Russian. You are the weird one glorifying French man killing another Russian.

Same thing. It was the voluntary French SS division, called the SS Charlemagne.

@@magistrumartium no not really there where plenty of french ss volunteers outside of Charlmange as a regiment* and outside the ss even.

Gotta factor in the ignorant woke culture, can't make everything sound too direct or risk too much butt hurt.

@@Zretgul_timerunner There were plenty of French volunteers in several German organisations, but as far as I can tell there was just one Waffen-SS division at a time. By the end of the war it was called SS Charlemagne; however, it consisted of survivors of an earlier French SS division, the Franzoische SS-Freiwilligen Sturmbrigade, which in 1943 was a new name for what was left of the original French SS division, the Franzoische SS-Freiwilligen Grenadier Regiment, and the survivors of the Legion des volontaires francaise (LVF). My source is the book "SS: Hitler's Foreign Divisions," by Chris Bishop.

@@magistrumartium my point was that Volunteers filled out a bunch of diffrent divisions of ss as was needed when they where either merged with others or reformed. There existed french ss in number of diffrent divisions. Such as Wallonien Legion, Panzer division Wiking amongst others.

yep, Division Viking

Exactly the 33rd Charlemagne div had a total strength of 11/12,000 men wich qualified her as a division ,the 7,000 men were actually from the 8th ss-brigade "Franckreich",the men from the sturmbattalion were not the only survivors of the division Charlemagne,a kampfgruppe named "Hersche" (numbering around 1,000 men) were sent to the west to take part in the defense of Lower Germany (Bavaria) together with 38th ss brigade Nibelungen against Us troops, then it became fragmented,some fought in Austria others in South Tyrol and finally surrender on the 8th may 1945 to the British.

Out of the idea of a crusade against communist scum and the red terror this concept was born and was also the for runner of NATO really for it too united people against a common threat . Never before did european combatants fight for a true common cause which was the crusade against communism. What followed later during the cold war was similar united against the soviet threat. If only.....

@@robertmanfredthurrigl9424 Ok but what about the Nazi scum?

Muslims from Yugoslavia and Croatians had 2 waffen SS divisions

all the western countries are in same boat ! including US land full all antifas and land of cancel culture !

It’s hard to argue they were not on the right side of history.

I own this book and you are absolutely right

Guy wager the forgotten soldier

@David Nemeth Yes, but he and his mates shot a jeep full of British soldiers down ,they did not give them a chance. Then they all surrendered. I would have shot all the murderous bastards down

@@jamescarr3328 .

I would have been woke

Best comment here

I don't Get it.

Still was hopeless . . . Go woke, go broke . . .

Yea that was a really high IQ move

Not too many people know but MANY Western and Eastern Europeans, and Scandinavians fought for the Nazi's, The Ukrainians had a whole 14th waffen SS Division, a 30th grenadiers division and a death battalion. The finns had an SS division, the Estonians & Latvians Belarussians joined German SS divisions, The Romanians had several german army divisions. The Wiking division was Germans, Norwegians, Danish, Swedes, Finns, Estonians, Dutch and Flemish. Handschar division was Bosnians, Croats and ethnic Germans from Croatia. The horst Wessel was a Division of Hungarians of Ethnic German origins. The Kosachen Division were Russian cossacks. Up until the end of 1943, more than 60,000 Romanians youths of german ancestry enlisted in Waffen SS units, and approximately 15,000 in the Wehrmacht and the Organization Todt.

@@cheswick617 Countries that suffered Holodomor and NKVD policies or that were the next ones on Stalin's list fought against Soviet Russia ? Shame !^^

There were also Sikhs.

@@edlawrence5059 Also blacks and muslims lmao irl niggawaffen WE WAZ SS AND SHIE

Interesting that some Swedes fought for the SS as Sweden was neutral in WW2.

Wonder what they would make of Europe today...

@@visionist7Tossing and Turning in their graves.

Belgian SS General? May I ask who? As a Belgian I never heard of a Belgian SS General.

@@rolle16 Leon Degrelle.

@@Obetv01 Ah thanks! Well as far as I remember he became a Standartenfuhrer, which is equal to a Colonel

The Italians were under rated as soldiers by the British propaganda machine. Rommel thought they were really ok, apart from the poor training, the poor weapons, supply and officers. They fought really bravely on the Eastern Front. In the early North African campaigns they were incredibly poorly led. Many of the mass surrenders in that time were caused by lack of drinking water. Thier commanding generals had put soldiers into positions without possibility of supply, especially of drinking water in a desert. I don't blame them for surrendering at all. What a cock up!

Romania was Germany's true second ally.

@@matro2 Romania changed side two times

11.01.1941 Italian Air Force disables HMS Ilustrious, allowing the safe arrival of the Afrika Korps. 24.01.1941 BCS fight the first sucessfull action against a British armoured force near Derna. 25.01.1941 Bersaglieri fight a sucessfull delaying action near Derna. 27.01.1941 Bersaglieri mount a very strong counterattack on the Australians, buying much valuable time. ??.04.1941 Ariete captures Msus 08.04.1941 Ariete captures Mechili. Bersaglieri capture 3,000 Allied troops. 01.05.1941 Ariete & Brescia capture overrun 7 Australian strongpoints ( R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7 and R8) outside Tobruk 04.05.1941 Australians counterattack but the Trento, Pavia & Ariete defeat the attacks. 17.05.1941 Brescia penetrates the sectors of the Australian 2/9th and 2/10th Battalions, forcing the Australians to abandon the S8, S9 and S10 strongpoints. 24.05.1941 Brescia defeats an attacking infantry force, supported by tanks. 02.08.1941 Bersaglieri defeat the 2/43rd and 2/28th Battalions, in a final Australian attempt to recover the lost strongpoints. 15.05.1941 Bersaglieri anti-tank gunners derail the British offensive, known as Operation Brevity. A German Colonel later praised the Bersaglieri anti-tank gunners, saying they defended Halfaya Pass "...with lionlike courage until the last man against stronger enemy forces. The greatest part of them died faithful to the flag." Mid-June 1941 Italian anti-tank gunners under Major Leopoldo Pardi destroy several British tanks, derailing Operation Battleaxe in the process. 27.05.1941 Ariete overruns the British-officered 3rd Indian Brigade. 29.05.1941 Ariete successfully defends the Afrika Korps rearguard 30.05.1941 Trieste successfully delivers food and provision to the Afrika Korps preventing their entire capitulation. 05.06.1941 Ariete again successfully defends the Afrika Korps rearguard 26.08.1941 Italian troops repell several Russian attacks on the Don front. 27.10.1941 Italians repell strong Russian attack in the Donets Basin, capturing several hundred. 10.11.1941 Italians defeat a Russian attempt to cross the Don River. 19.11.1941 Ariete blunts British offensive named Operation Crusader. 40 Crusader tanks are knocked out. 19.11.1941 Pavia repell column of British tanks in the area of El Adem. British forced to retreat. 20.11.1941 Bologna infantry and anti-tank gunners derail advance of the British 7th Armoured Brigade. 21.11.1941 Bologna defenders of the 'Tugun' strongpoint derail the advance of the British 70th Division 22.11.1941 'Tugun' defenders successfully defend their postion again. 23.11.1941 Pavia defeats British attempt to smash through the Bologna 25.11.1941 The Trento successfully defends the 'Bondi' strongpoint outside Tobruk. 26.11.1941 Bersaglieri defeat renewed British attempt to smash through the Bologna 29.11.1941 Ariete overruns the 21st New Zealand Battalion. 29.11.1941 Bersaglieri capture 1,800 Allied wounded, medical staff & guards. 200 German POWs are freed. 01.12.1941 Trento defeats an armoured attack outside Tobruk 01.12.1941 Trieste cuts off the link the New Zealanders had established with the Tobruk defenders. 04.12.1941 Pavia and Trento recapture ‘Plonk and ‘Doc’ strongpoints outside Tobruk. 06.12.1941 Pavia makes a successful stand on Point 157 07.12.1941 Bologna covers the retreat of the German Afrika Division 10.12.1941 Brescia covers the German retreat from Acroma Hill. 12.12.1941 Bologna, Brescia, Pavia, Trieste & Trento successfully hold the Gazala Line 13.12.1941 Trieste successfully defends Point 208 15.12.1941 Brescia, Pavia & Trento repell a stong Polish-New Zealand attack 15.12.1941 Ariete overruns The Buffs 12.06.1942 Trieste helps destroy the British 2nd & 4th Armoured Brigades by cornering them. 16.06.1942 Italians overrun & capture 6, 000 Allied troops outside Tobruk. 17.01.1942 Savona surrenders. It had defeated several Allied attacks. Rommel is very impressed. 11.07.1942 Bersaglieri overrun part of the Australian 2/48th Battalion. 14.07.1942 Colonel Angelozzi's 1st Battalion from the supposedly destroyed Sabratha recaptures Tel el Eisa from the Australians. 15.07.1942 Colonel Angelozzi's men defeat the Australian 2/23rd Battalion's attempt to recapture the position. 15.07.1942 Pavia & Brescia successfully defend their principal positions on Ruweisat Ridge. New Zealander battalion caught out on the open as a result and is captured with the arrival of German tanks. 17.07.1942 A battalion of the Trento overruns part of the Australian 2/32nd Battalion. 21.07.1942 Trieste & Brescia sucessfully defend their main positions on Ruweisat Ridge. Several hundred New Zealanders are captured thanks to their efforts, that allow German tanks to mount a counterattack. 27.07.1942 3rd Battalion of the 61st Trento Infantry Regiment derails the attack of the 2/28th Battalion. 27.07.1942 Armoured car squadron of the Brescia encircle and capture the Australian 2/28 Battalion 30.06.1942 Littorio surrounds Mersa Matruh & Bersaglieri capture 6,500 Allied soldiers. 01.07.1942 1,000 New Zealanders captured ??.09.1942 Bologna overruns defenders of Point 211 during the Battle of Alam el Halfa. ??.09.1942 Trieste, Brescia, Ariete & Littorio force British & New Zealanders to retreat several kilometres. 04.09.1942 Folgore defeat the 6th New Zealand Brigade & capture 200 attackers, including Brigadier G.M. Clifton. 14.09.1942 San Marco Marines defeat Allied seaborne landings aimed at recapturing Tobruk. 1,000 Allied killed, wounded or captured. 30.09.1942 Fogore defeat 131st Queens Brigade, over 300 British killed or captured. 24.10.1942 Ariete, Brescia & Folgore successfully hold the Alamein line. 25.10.1942 12th Bersaglieri overruns the Austalian 2/17th Battalion. 28.10.1942 Littorio overruns part of the British 133rd Brigade 29.10.1942 7th Bersaglieri derails the advance of the Austalian 26th Brigade and creates a salient in the Australian sector. 30.10.1942 7th Bersaglieri defeats several Australian attacks to force them out of this salient. 03.11.1942 Ariete successfully covers the retreat of Rommel 03.12.1943 Bersaglieri capture part of the British 2nd Parachute Battalion. 12.12.1942 Italian troops attack Russian battalions capturing prisoners a much equipment 18.02.1943. While the Germans fail taking Sbiba Pass, the 7th Bersaglieri smash the US lines at Kasserine Pass. 18.02.1943 Centauro Division overruns the US 19th Combat Engineers Regiment. 24.02.1943 5th Bersaglieri successfully covers the retreat of Rommel *****3,000 Allied troops surrendered at Mechili. About 500 Australians were captured manning the Tobruk defences. Some 3,500 Allied troops fell into Italian hands during Operation Crusader. 1,000 Indian troops surrendered to the Ariete on 27 May 1942. 6,000 Allied troops surrendered to the Italians outside Tobruk on 16 June 1942. Some 7,000 Allied troops surrendered to the Italians in the area of Mersa Matruh in late June and early July 1942, including 1,000 New Zealanders abandoned in the desert. During the Battle of Kasserine Pass, the Bersaglieri and Centauro Division overran some 2,500 Americans.

@John Online 11.01.1941 Italian Air Force disables HMS Ilustrious, allowing the safe arrival of the Afrika Korps. 24.01.1941 BCS fight the first sucessfull action against a British armoured force near Derna. 25.01.1941 Bersaglieri fight a sucessfull delaying action near Derna. 27.01.1941 Bersaglieri mount a very strong counterattack on the Australians, buying much valuable time. ??.04.1941 Ariete captures Msus 08.04.1941 Ariete captures Mechili. Bersaglieri capture 3,000 Allied troops. 01.05.1941 Ariete & Brescia capture overrun 7 Australian strongpoints ( R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7 and R8) outside Tobruk 04.05.1941 Australians counterattack but the Trento, Pavia & Ariete defeat the attacks. 17.05.1941 Brescia penetrates the sectors of the Australian 2/9th and 2/10th Battalions, forcing the Australians to abandon the S8, S9 and S10 strongpoints. 24.05.1941 Brescia defeats an attacking infantry force, supported by tanks. 02.08.1941 Bersaglieri defeat the 2/43rd and 2/28th Battalions, in a final Australian attempt to recover the lost strongpoints. 15.05.1941 Bersaglieri anti-tank gunners derail the British offensive, known as Operation Brevity. A German Colonel later praised the Bersaglieri anti-tank gunners, saying they defended Halfaya Pass "...with lionlike courage until the last man against stronger enemy forces. The greatest part of them died faithful to the flag." Mid-June 1941 Italian anti-tank gunners under Major Leopoldo Pardi destroy several British tanks, derailing Operation Battleaxe in the process. 27.05.1941 Ariete overruns the British-officered 3rd Indian Brigade. 29.05.1941 Ariete successfully defends the Afrika Korps rearguard 30.05.1941 Trieste successfully delivers food and provision to the Afrika Korps preventing their entire capitulation. 05.06.1941 Ariete again successfully defends the Afrika Korps rearguard 26.08.1941 Italian troops repell several Russian attacks on the Don front. 27.10.1941 Italians repell strong Russian attack in the Donets Basin, capturing several hundred. 10.11.1941 Italians defeat a Russian attempt to cross the Don River. 19.11.1941 Ariete blunts British offensive named Operation Crusader. 40 Crusader tanks are knocked out. 19.11.1941 Pavia repell column of British tanks in the area of El Adem. British forced to retreat. 20.11.1941 Bologna infantry and anti-tank gunners derail advance of the British 7th Armoured Brigade. 21.11.1941 Bologna defenders of the 'Tugun' strongpoint derail the advance of the British 70th Division 22.11.1941 'Tugun' defenders successfully defend their postion again. 23.11.1941 Pavia defeats British attempt to smash through the Bologna 25.11.1941 The Trento successfully defends the 'Bondi' strongpoint outside Tobruk. 26.11.1941 Bersaglieri defeat renewed British attempt to smash through the Bologna 29.11.1941 Ariete overruns the 21st New Zealand Battalion. 29.11.1941 Bersaglieri capture 1,800 Allied wounded, medical staff & guards. 200 German POWs are freed. 01.12.1941 Trento defeats an armoured attack outside Tobruk 01.12.1941 Trieste cuts off the link the New Zealanders had established with the Tobruk defenders. 04.12.1941 Pavia and Trento recapture ‘Plonk and ‘Doc’ strongpoints outside Tobruk. 06.12.1941 Pavia makes a successful stand on Point 157 07.12.1941 Bologna covers the retreat of the German Afrika Division 10.12.1941 Brescia covers the German retreat from Acroma Hill. 12.12.1941 Bologna, Brescia, Pavia, Trieste & Trento successfully hold the Gazala Line 13.12.1941 Trieste successfully defends Point 208 15.12.1941 Brescia, Pavia & Trento repell a stong Polish-New Zealand attack 15.12.1941 Ariete overruns The Buffs 12.06.1942 Trieste helps destroy the British 2nd & 4th Armoured Brigades by cornering them. 16.06.1942 Italians overrun & capture 6, 000 Allied troops outside Tobruk. 17.01.1942 Savona surrenders. It had defeated several Allied attacks. Rommel is very impressed. 11.07.1942 Bersaglieri overrun part of the Australian 2/48th Battalion. 14.07.1942 Colonel Angelozzi's 1st Battalion from the supposedly destroyed Sabratha recaptures Tel el Eisa from the Australians. 15.07.1942 Colonel Angelozzi's men defeat the Australian 2/23rd Battalion's attempt to recapture the position. 15.07.1942 Pavia & Brescia successfully defend their principal positions on Ruweisat Ridge. New Zealander battalion caught out on the open as a result and is captured with the arrival of German tanks. 17.07.1942 A battalion of the Trento overruns part of the Australian 2/32nd Battalion. 21.07.1942 Trieste & Brescia sucessfully defend their main positions on Ruweisat Ridge. Several hundred New Zealanders are captured thanks to their efforts, that allow German tanks to mount a counterattack. 27.07.1942 3rd Battalion of the 61st Trento Infantry Regiment derails the attack of the 2/28th Battalion. 27.07.1942 Armoured car squadron of the Brescia encircle and capture the Australian 2/28 Battalion 30.06.1942 Littorio surrounds Mersa Matruh & Bersaglieri capture 6,500 Allied soldiers. 01.07.1942 1,000 New Zealanders captured ??.09.1942 Bologna overruns defenders of Point 211 during the Battle of Alam el Halfa. ??.09.1942 Trieste, Brescia, Ariete & Littorio force British & New Zealanders to retreat several kilometres. 04.09.1942 Folgore defeat the 6th New Zealand Brigade & capture 200 attackers, including Brigadier G.M. Clifton. 14.09.1942 San Marco Marines defeat Allied seaborne landings aimed at recapturing Tobruk. 1,000 Allied killed, wounded or captured. 30.09.1942 Fogore defeat 131st Queens Brigade, over 300 British killed or captured. 24.10.1942 Ariete, Brescia & Folgore successfully hold the Alamein line. 25.10.1942 12th Bersaglieri overruns the Austalian 2/17th Battalion. 28.10.1942 Littorio overruns part of the British 133rd Brigade 29.10.1942 7th Bersaglieri derails the advance of the Austalian 26th Brigade and creates a salient in the Australian sector. 30.10.1942 7th Bersaglieri defeats several Australian attacks to force them out of this salient. 03.11.1942 Ariete successfully covers the retreat of Rommel 03.12.1943 Bersaglieri capture part of the British 2nd Parachute Battalion. 12.12.1942 Italian troops attack Russian battalions capturing prisoners a much equipment 18.02.1943. While the Germans fail taking Sbiba Pass, the 7th Bersaglieri smash the US lines at Kasserine Pass. 18.02.1943 Centauro Division overruns the US 19th Combat Engineers Regiment. 24.02.1943 5th Bersaglieri successfully covers the retreat of Rommel *****3,000 Allied troops surrendered at Mechili. About 500 Australians were captured manning the Tobruk defences. Some 3,500 Allied troops fell into Italian hands during Operation Crusader. 1,000 Indian troops surrendered to the Ariete on 27 May 1942. 6,000 Allied troops surrendered to the Italians outside Tobruk on 16 June 1942. Some 7,000 Allied troops surrendered to the Italians in the area of Mersa Matruh in late June and early July 1942, including 1,000 New Zealanders abandoned in the desert. During the Battle of Kasserine Pass, the Bersaglieri and Centauro Division overran some 2,500 Americans.

Really? Can you citate?

I think fighting on the Eastern front is about as heroic as it gets..those boys were misinformed and can't be blamed for being on the wrong side.

@UCYXIDciJ6oIbHzZlAgJYAmQ Pure Evil

damn bruh I never knew a comment could be like catnip for neo-nazis but look at em' crawling out from under the dumpsters...

@Otto Skorzeny Everyone disagree going out killing citizen of another country. The only one glorifying invasion and crime against humanity are people like you.

@@thefloridamanofytcomments5264 You called that one bro. Anything about WW2 gets these cocksuckers to wipe off their hands and turn off the porn for a minute so they can dream of being superior and leaving mommy's basement behind.

@Rob With One B "Traitor"

@@yourneighbourhooddoomer " Tractor "

So were to take it that the SS man had never seen a uniform from his own country before then

There's no proof that the traitor said that, french officers wore french uniforms when serving with the western allies

Those 14 French soldiers in German uniform, after one said this, the officer (gen Leclerc himself) had them shot on the spot.

@The Dude I Interviewed him in 1984.

that's a good person. Your friend is lucky.

Hi Fritz would there be somewhere I could get a recording or transcript? Is this the Heinz Gentsch who passed away in 2018?

My father was in the Charlemagne and amongst the few that voluntered to get into Berlin even knowing it was a lost cause... In his memories he had this sentence : "I never felt better than at this moment, when fully knowing that I was going to die"... My dad joined the German Army through the Légion des Volontaires Français "against bolchevism", in march 1943, after having spent more than a year in the 6th bataillon of Chasseurs Alpins in Grenoble. He fought in Russland in between june 1943 to september 1944, when the LVF was disbanded after the big Bagration offensive of june 1944 that smached to smitherens the whole of the German Central Front. He then voluntered to join the newly formed Division Charlemagne. After his departure to the Wallalah which occured in 2011, I gathered his memories which now are in a book that came out in 2018. Unfortunately only in french for the moment, but who knows... May be one of these day it might come out in english. Here is the title : "Sous Uniforme Allemand"

@@jeancroisile9982 Qu'est-il devenu après la guerre ?

But Swing was illegal in Nazi Germany :(

And boy did they go down swinging, those stats about their fighting in Berlin were very impressive

They "went down swinging" because they feared what would happen to them if they were caught and returned to the French. This is what the video stated.

Remember that in the coming months.

Heneral Artikulo Uno, ano po ang ginagawa nyo dito?

Thanks for the book recommendation. I will have a look for that.

Excellent book

Respect 💯

they had no home to go back to

С этим охотно соглашусь

I hope they were all killed.

If you read Ingmar Bergman's autobiography you will learn Sweden was overwhelmingly pro German and Nazi. Bergman claims he didn't know anyone who disliked the German Nazis or supported the US or England in the war.

Good for him.

Shame he didn't hang for it. Sealion planned to invade and genocide Ireland just as much as the UK.

@@1993Crag got any evidence?

@@1993Crag genocide? Bullshit. Just capture the greedy brits and make them pay.

@@Daniel-qz3pk Ha. Except for the whole genocide thing the Germans happily did everywhere they occupied. In French towns they'd raise the whole thing if a German solider got shot. Just imagine the fighting they'd have with the IRA groups.

@@GARRY3754 oh yes quite an achievement defeating a military division when all the superpowers are about eradicating them in alliance.

Can you share the link please?

@@mig25foxbat73 "SS Charlemagne last berlin defenders" on RU-vid. Short vid

D: What's referred to as a "Target Rich Environment". :)

The Soviets were in rush to "liberate" the whole of Berlin alone before any Western intervention...If any motorised western allies column had been sighted inside outskirts of that city the History itself would be written some other way...When Tito's partisans after heavy battle took Trieste from fascists they did not know that New Zealanders were close on the western side and once the city was "liberated" ..they got themselves busy pillaging around and killing ..New Zealanders crossed the bridge from the western side and entered the city that has already being captured by their allies..Now communists had to share the power with their western Allies which in turn ment that both military patrols were killing each other over the spoils of the war..One old Tito's fighter from that time shared this with me while we were both recovering in the hospital ..

And people say the French are cowards.

20 танков?.. Басни.. Не верю

@@phyo1716 It was (some of) their leadership.

The french officer with the stick is Général Leclerc. It was at this moment that Leclerc asked them, "Why are you wearing a German uniform?" One of the French SS replied, "Why are you wearing an American one ?" Leclerc was irritate by the response (but its was not for this response they was shot) According to the witness, the conversation was not bad beetween the general and the SS.

"that photo you show of French troops in US uniform confronting French troops in German uniforms, they were summarily executed moments after that photo was taken." So, a good result, then.

@@harbourdogNL not much glory in executing unarmed Men.

@@retornaz That´s not true, it was not a trial and others witnesses said diferent things, and they dont fought against France, only against the Soviet Union. Few years after, General Leclerc die an accident of aviation.

@@Bigsky1991 agreed. I heard there is a memorial for the french ss who were executed. Which is a good thing.

Amerimutts seething at your sigma grind set

Yes, Fenet. I watch his interview. There were a lot of modern far right saying " what a hero". I just though ' nasty little fascist'. That not me being over simplistic. He was quite happy to wear that badge and knew what would likely happen if he fell into Soviet hands. I'm afraid I say Guilty by association. Lucky to escape with his life.

@Fal Treas is he ? he lost, and now he's a rotten corpse, nothing else.

@@pedroeldiablo811 Yeah and be glad he did otherwise you would be living under nazi regime lol

@@knightawz Yeah, democratic regime is much better w o w.

@@rolandhunter its not really, but he was making fun of a dead man

Why?

So 350 ppl knocked out around than 200 tanks.wow

@@22.calibermaster98 It doesnt matter cuz russian tactic is have more man than enemy has bullets.

@@jozefpisudski1637 it is pure bulshit,what I sad was sarcastic.

Human life is the cheapest commodity in Russia.

@@22.calibermaster98 There are even greater absurdities and lies written in historical books written by SS generals and former Adolf Hitler officials. For example how one peasant from Finland named Simo Heyha killed 10.000 Russian soldiers with his hunting rifle without a scope.

Excellent book.

Excellent book

It's suspected that he made the whole story up, I don't know but it's an amazing story, wesrediu ,Hal's , and the groesduetchland division,if he's making it up he's an amazing talented writer,if he's been through that than omg, respect

03:58 He fought in Pomerania region in Danzig (Gdansk) too. Sayer wrote in his book "I don't know what is going on our commanders told us to dig in west of Danzig". Actually seeinh geography of the place (east flooded areas, north sea, south forest hills) Soviet Rokossowski Army attacked Danzig Area from West First then from Sputh West

Read that twice. At one time that book was required reading for the cadets at West Point. Well done Mark. I really enjoy the factual presentations you create.

The correct word HOPELESS comes to mind.