Historian Reacts to WW2 Short Film "SoldatenGlück" by ParaLight WorX 

Thank you for reviewing our film again. It has been a feast as always. We are very happy that we could improve a little bit again but we still have a long way to go to become really great. Thank you for helping us with your reviews! I think there will be grenade throwing training for the actors on the next shoot to close this gap as well!

great point about bringing up how soldiers are correctly carrying rifles. so many recent movies have ww2 soldiers or even earlier, holding rifles in same way modern troops carry assault-rifles. which is ofc wrong wrong wrong

I have to correct you on this one. 1:00 it's actually very accurate. And yes, it's pretty damn cold in Russia in October. This gear is not exaggeration, it's necessity because of rains, bad weather, winds and because at night it will be even worse. So that scene is 9/10 in accuracy. Also, with this gear, you have absolutely no chance to survive in actual winter. They learned it the hard way.

0:45 I'm from Russia, in October it's already cold here, it often snows😅 You need a scarf to walking in autumn forest in Russia, it's not late summer, it's early winter Sry for my bad English

Ju-87 stuka. Bc the distinctive wing shape excludes anything else. The horizontal stabilizer showing clear abscence of any round shapes makes it a 100% ID. And not a Soviet Yak or Lagg. You also may want to look into the original wartime WWII aircraft identification (for dummies) charts, that were put to use to educate whole populations one the subject.

8:20 "Ran an den Feind!" more or less means close-up on the enemy and attack. Therefore, this order is precise enough, and the squad knows where to go and what to do.

1:42 It's Ju-87 'Stuka". Very important plane in context of WWII, an ultimate sign of german terror, and one of the pillars of Blitzkrieg.

18:04 as a soviet reenactor, I often see, especially in work from PLW that the soviet don't wear helmets, which just isn't true. Yes it happend, especially when it was very cold, but most soldiers would wear their helmet, especially in an firefight. And the gear on the belt is not placed correctly: The mosin nagant pouch should be either on the front left or right, the bottle should be at the back with the shovel.

K98' are missing their sight hoods. After the war, many Russian captured K98's had their sight hoods removed along with the cleaning rods to comply with arms reduction treaties. This was a loophole to keep the rifles in storage for a rainy day, all while stating that the rifles were demilitarized. The rifles used in this film were most likely Soviet captured rifles being reused for the film.

I’ve been watching ParaLights work for almost 2 years now and seeing how they’ve improved their work over the time is great. Good analysis as always 👍

Great point on the holding of the K-98. Now, for soldiers who've been at the front for a while their uniforms and helmets look like they just got issued at basic training. A great point of reference movie wise is the uniforms of the soldiers in Cross Of Iron. Torn, ragged, soiled, definitely well worn...

8:25 He gave a precise order "Schützenreihe (bilden) und ran an den Feind!" means "Shooter row (form) and get to the enemy!"

I love these reaction videos, I'm glad you did more of these

Ive been binge watching these short films especially the series they made... muy perfecto

PPSh is famous for having only 1 drum functional, exactly the one that come with the gun. There was realy big chance that any other drum wont fit your gun. So PPSh drum reload is also unrealistic.

The other reason to use the enemy weapon is because of its distinct sound it makes when fired, it does not give your presence away to other enemies who might be in ear shot that you are there and firing as they may assume its friendly fire.

0:55 The tunnel-scarf is called "Oma" (grandma) in Landser-jargon. You can figure out why ;D 4:15 That's actually the other way around but more so depends on the sort of mission. If it were a "Stoßtrupp" or kind of recon mission, most of the gear would be left at company HQ, only bringing the water-cantina and ammo-pouches.

Gj Paralight, it realy looked like real ww2 footage. Thx for great work!

thanks for ur work man. ure doing such a great job and still keep improving. keep it going!

u deserve more subs tbh i really enjoy ur videos and i like learning more about history from u

Those aircraft that flew over, they where the Junkers Ju-87 stuka, a German dive bomber.

As for the guy with the PPSh, it should be noted that most of the PPSh-41's captured and used by the Wehrmacht were converted to fire 9mm and designated the MP41 (not to be confused with the variant of the MP40). Those that weren't were designated the MP717 and given 7.92x25mm Mauser ammunition (which is pretty much the same as the soviet counterpart, but somewhat less powerful).

Not that I don't like your Russo-Ukrainian war series, in fact, I watch them quiet a lot instead of the mainstream news, but I love to see the good ol History Legend movie reaction back. Cheers mate! Love your content.

The planes looked like german stuka divebombers.

I loved the darker tone this film had. They should do more like that.

Hey one thing I Noticed, that Soldier would NEVER Do, is start Firing when his Squad Mates haven't even taken Cover yet. You always Spreadout, Get down, and then Look back at the NCO for a Command. German, French, British, American...anyone with Common Sense

love these reaction videos make more of these

17:20 it's not a prisoner the second they put their hands up. He can be tricking you into an ambush

Again great Work, very entertaning and informative. Also the "scarf" at the beginning of the Video is a "Sturmhaube". Again great Work👍

great work bro

8:30 The default ''rifle line'' is an echelon to the right/left of the squad leader depending on his position when he gives the order. The schutzen assumes the role of a grenadier and the SL takes point with an SMG. Also the squad leaders rank was role based so it was an ''unteroffizier''.

Just bought a painting to help the cause. As both a historian and a vet I commend your intellect, style and perspective. I first enjoyed military paintings when I received the Time-Life History of WW I at the tender age of 10, lots of great dogfight paintings with Fokker Tri-Wings, Albatrosses, SPADs, etc. And before I forget, this comment/purchase was instigated by seeing what could be you or your dad in Kurt Russel's 90's film Soldier. At around 7:35 he shows up, almost a doppelganger. Couldn't get a pic to paste in comments or I'd attach a sxreendhot, its pretty funny. Anyway, keep up the great work. Dad must be proud.

I fuckin' love these guys' videos, such good quality.

Great analysis

Hello from Brazil. Your channel is one of the best in RU-vid. Good luck and success

The planes on 1:41 look like Stukas to me.

Finally some history videos.

Old good HistoryLegends reacts videos are back:)

I have two major objections in question of the movie. First, German soldiers were usually not just indulging in wanderlust through some woodlands, but had assigned tasks. It would mean, that this group of 5 men were part of a larger group that was centered around a MG or a grenade thrower and had to carry water, food or ammo for their main armament to their position. But in that case, 5 men would be a logistical overkill and one or two men would do this job, while the rest of the group would stay in the position. Second, they wouldn't have left that soviet soldier alive. There was just a huge difference in the german view on western allied soldiers and soviet soldiers. Western allied soldiers would have been seen as equals and while it came to several atrocities, they were normally kept as PoWs and treated somehow well-ish. But since Soviets and Russians were believed to be Untermenschen, the whole goal of the war in the east was to kill as much of them as possible. More than 5 million soviet soldiers became PoWs and more than 3.5 million did not survive their captivity. So, in this situation, somewhere out in the woodlands, you wouldn't take a single prisoner, whom you then had to walk all the way back to command post just to get reproved by your officers for wasting their time. Keeping him with you would mean to share your food with him - also not an option. There are a few stories of Soviets who were told to just go away, but usually they were shot at the spot. You might now ask, where the large number of more then 5 million soviet PoW than was possible - most of them were captured in large cauldrons, where whole armies surrendered to the Germans. To kill all of them on the spot was just logistically not possible, so usually jewish soldiers and the officers where singled out and sent directly to one of the death camps and the normal soldiers were walked to PoW-camps. For soviet soldiers, these camps were sometimes not more than a field with barbed wire and a fence on the edges, they were given very little food, no amenities and were left out to either freeze or starve to death. Sometimes, skilled workers or soldiers who would declare their will to fight for Germany would get a better treatment, but for many, it was as bad as i just said.

Minute 1:56 those planes where Junkers 87, stukas you can recognize then by their wings.

one thing about the uniform. By oct 1944, they look like fresh guys with newly painted helmets. but they should be wearing M42 helmets without the heer decal.

14:02 it is historically accurate for experienced german soldiers to hold MP40 by the mag well. It can be shown by the gun itself and german training manual. From gun perspective, the MP40 has a reinforced mag well compared to it predecessor the MP38. Which means that during combat in 39 to 40, soldiers would hold them from the mag well for comfort but end up causing misfeed for the gun. The training manual for the MP40 is the same as MP38. They want the soldiers to use the handguard when firing. Experience had shown that holding from the mag well make the shooter having better recoil control when firing full auto.

The ppsh 41 and some other drum magazine smgs were (and still are) notorious for working perfectly with some drums, maybe jamming occasionally with others, and some would basically turn it into a 71 shot bolt action. The soldier walking past a possible source of ammo could have been because he was already carrying enough, but could also have been because he found a few drums that he knew would run, and didn't want to bother searching for more magazines that were already very finicky BEFORE they had been in a battle, dropped in the mud by a dead soldier, and potentially been in that mud for at least a few hours, if not days. From what I gather, the soldiers had more of an issue with bad magazines than they did with not having enough ammo. At least with ammo you know when your gun will stop going bang, but a bad magazine will make all the ammo you can carry meaningless. Thats actually the exact reason that soldiers eventually preferred the 35 round box magazines, and the ppsh43 didn't even accept 71 round drums. Easier to load, manufacture, more reliable, lighter (35 vs 71 rounds is a BIG weight difference, especially with how far forward the drum sits) and these are also reasons why the Thompson abandoned drum mags for 20 and 30 rd box mags for the military version, in fact the m1a1 Thompson couldn't even accept drums, they had so many more cons than pros, and the Thompson was heavy even without a 50 rd steel drum, or God forbid the 100 rd one. Idk if the team behind this were aware of that issue with the ppsh, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say that the soldier knew his drums would work, and didn't want to grab the new one by accident and discover that it doesn't work the middle of a battle.

1:40 pretty sure that is Ju-87 Stuka

At 1:37, the wings of the aircraft look like those of a JU- 87. EDIT: the German soldiers are too close to one another. One grenade could take out two or three of them.

And another thing , that is laughable; there is not a speck of dirt on anyone's uniforms. I am retired Infantry , and even in peacetime , you are trained to get down AND dirty ; everyone without exception. It is how you stay alive on a battlefield. And when you get up again , there is dirt and crap stuck to your uniform.

Aircrafts look like Stukas: Gull wing shaped wings, rectangular stabilizers; slow and low flying ground support; tight formation to cover each other with their back gunners.

1:05 9℃ / 2℃ IS FREEZING!!! I live in Australia, and 18℃ is considered a cold day during summer. I cannot imagine 9 degrees during Summer!

I would say this was pretty accurate from the uniforms to the way they approach the Russians by flanking them and using cover.If there were more Russians in the woods they would've already come out to surround the two Germans we saw engaging the enemy first.

This is one of the only films I’ve ever seen incorporate buddy rushing with legit cover. Nice

9:35 Actually the kit does make a lot of noise (the mess kit and field bottle are usually the biggest culprits of this, but I never wore mess kit on A-frame so it's possible that it's not as noisy when placed in there), but it's not that much when you consider that enemy is far away and wouldn't even hear it if he wasn't due to gunshots. Hell, even in airsoft the noise is noticeable for enemy only in buildings or if you're running right next to him. EDIT: Also the tactic you chose makes sense but what Germans picked in here isn't bad. Their doctrine emphasized aggresion, and flanking. If they were to move to their buddies, they would lose the element of surprise and they would lose their position which allowed them to easily flank soviet soldiers that they saw. Also if there would be 30 soviets, and portion of them would be in firefight, they all would participate. Since the german soldiers hear only very few shots and don't see any large group of soviets, then their squad leader might think that there isn't larger force. Personally, I'd chose something entirely different (move further left and reach the forest for additional cover, from the edge of the forest engage soviets). LAST EDIT: As far as shooting prisoners of war goes. Yes, I agree. But I feel like it's important to mention that from a certain point (I think it was 1942 or 1943) there was an order for the army to take as much prisoners as possible. That was due to them being quite useful for labor. But yeah at this point, there probably wasn't that order, and the presence of the order still wouldn't mean much in this situation where you don't know what to expect so you shoot first and only then consider taking prisoners.

Thx for this analysis, a real moment of army cinema criticism! I would prefer to know about the putting in of my good friend's army. But I guess that I should wait for more decisive progress! To be seen. Thx anyway for your investigation and critics' skills...

1:48 Definitely a Ju 87 Stuka.

good analysis

As much as I hate seeing the execution of POWs, for the Germans this was the only option the had towards the end of the war, when they barely enough supplies for their own soldiers and civilians, not to mention the shortage of man power. They simply didn't have the resources to guard and escort them to POW camps let alone care for them. And they couldn't let them go or they would just end up fighting them again the next day. So its the only logical option when you're outnumbered and losing in a war of attrition

1:42 those were Stukas. German divebombers.

Spot On.

In real war footage you never see the enemy.

planes are stukas, was about to say IL-2 but then i looked closer at the wings in the tail and they are squared, stuka style, while the il-2 had them rounded.

rectangular rear wings, tilted front wings and square, i guess it's a stuka

Don't feel like combing through the 400+ comments to see if it's been pointed out, but at the ranges you yourself estimated, firing a PPSH and hoping to hit anything is ... realistic. Firing 100-200 meters accurately (hitting man-sized targets, or at the very worst, close enough to have a suppressive effect) with an SMG is absolutely within the range of possibility.

1:47 Would be the Ju 87 “Stuka” dive bomber, one of the scariest bombers. If you look closely, you can see the wings going upwards.

It's also a concussion grenade, unless it has a shrapnel sleeve.

1:43 they were JU-87 stukas

Airplane - looks like Junkers Stuka. Stright tail and the shepe of wing.

1:40 Junkers Ju-87

The date makes no sense, as Brjansk was liberated in 1943. Still, I agree with you about the grenade scene.

Looks like a flight of Junkers 87 Stuka. Reversed wing config

Could you analyze how authentic is the game Brothers in Arms Road to Hill 30?

The plane was probably a Stuka because it has idk how to say in English but in German it’s: die heckflügel Waren viereckig also wahrscheinlich Stuka.

Believe me or not. The guy with the PPsh at 7:40 is me. Greetings from Germany. 🇩🇪

The aircraft look like Stukas. Just based of the wings.

Other people probably got here first but: The planes that flew overhead were JU87 Stukas. I also think that the soldier should have counted one or two seconds before throwing the M24 grenade, as they took about 4.5 seconds to detonate

Nice reaction, sir ☺️👌 !!!!!! Can you please do more WW2 reactions?

1:46 those are stukas

I believe that's a Ju-87 Stuka. No Soviet prop driven aircraft that I know of has square wing and elevator tips and the first thing that comes to mind is Stuka.

I think those aircrafts are JU-87 STUKAs

outline of the aircraft at the beginning looks like JU-87 Stuka dive bombers.

I like that you praise ones the German Army. The round container contains the gas mask. I think he was trained to throw the granate that way.

Very interesting thanks for the vid. The criticism i would make is that the gear the germans had was all new. This is 1944 there would likely be a miss match of gear and a lot of it would be very worn and bits missing. There was some weathering but it wasn't convincing.

Stukas, I'm not sure which type but I think it's the king that would carry 100 pound bombs

The plane you wanted us to identify was a Stuka JU 87

1:42 This is Ju-87

this Finna be fire

5:30 one of the things I wish I could do in CoH2 is make my men walk in a column so I don’t get a whole squad wiped out by a mortar shell when their all grouped grouped up

German soldiers did not have much winter equipment in the beginning. Leader at the top said it would not be needed and to produce it would be too much of a burden for the german industry. They expected that Operation Barbarossa would be enough to crush the soviet union completely without need for much winter gear. German soldiers had to take winter clothing from the russians for the first couple of years. Especially the german boots were unsuitable for winter conditions. As a consequence the german soldiers suffered immensely. The energy-draining effect of constant cold, suffering frostbite, losing fingers, toes and other extremities is horrible and lowers your abilities to fight. When you are exhausted it can just freeze you to death to your foxhole. In the movie the NCO has covered his ears during a scouting patrol. It looks like the temperature is above 5 celsius, maybe around 10c. Covering your ears is not necessary in that temp and is a detriment to your perception ability. During scouting you don't want to miss anything you could hear. Others might still tell you that they heard something but its not the same thing. Movement looked good and realistic in the movie. Decisions and actions were believable and realistic and their equipment too. Btw you can put some small branches to your metallic items or cover them with cloth etc when you pack them, so that they don't make noise when moving. It was well thought of in the movie. I cant watch Hollywood movies anymore. Earlier I tried to tolerate the sheer ignorance of realism and facts but these days I just can't anymore. I would rather watch movies like this that don't underestimate the audience.

I really doubt your could tell accurately how cold is cold

8:11 Actually this will be quite hard to loot an amunition from russian solider to PPS. The quality of russian weapons and drum magazines is the main problem. Most of the PPS were so poorly made that very often only the original drums from same factory as the weapon fits (I had even an experience with PPS that required beating like a hammer to put the magazine in place). The second option is to loot an ammunition and reload own drum magazine, but this is quite hard, sometimes dangerous and takes a lot of time.

Really good react :) But you can react to "Leegion 1945" series by WaR Productions. They have really good sense for detail and accuracy, they even rolled a tank out, used sharp ammo or sheissbecher which you mention in this video :)

12:24 just seeing the map turn from a 5vs5 to a 30vs5 is just... bruh

Interesting video

At 8:19 he says "Auf mein Kommando Schützenreihe und ran an den Feind", so it is sth like "at my command build a squad line and approach the enemy/get to the enemy". This is the answer to your question in 8:30 "go where??"

Agree , stuka,s . Divebomber that gave proof of blitzkrieg

10:25 I don't think what's is what happened. The actor probably tripped on the rough terrain since there's dead trees everywhere and they added some dirt kick off the ground in post. They didn't add the blood on the person to show him getting shot like you suggested.

17:10 not in a fox hole it was a long gully also earlier if you have been with a squad for a time and are trained you don't have to detail everything, as your squad will know what to do. these Germans may have done something like this 10+ time like this by now. Like think when you watch a squad clear a room, you don't have the officer saying you go straight, you look left you look right., they already have a knowledge outline of what there roll is by where they are in relation to the other members and where the threat is.

Hey man! Greetings from Indonesia and I'm a great fan of your work so I would guess that you are a Canadian with French heritage yes? I asked this because your german pronounciation is great and I almost mistaken you for a German 👍👍

I agree with LukZombi that the planes are Stukas

The grenade part could just be shock and panic of just wanting to live and didnt want to get shot when he looked at the enemy's

The tip of the NCO`s right hand glove index finger was missing? 🤔 I half expected him to pull out a smartphone, and txt his wife! 💬 🤣🤣🤣

9C to F is like 48 bro, that's pretty cold