Jagdtiger Ambush - Ardennes 1944 

When the four mammoth Jagdtigers arrived unexpectedly in the nick of time must have been a tremendous morale booster for German forces.

As a German, I appreciate the effort you take in getting the pronounciation right!

Jagdtiger...when a Tiger II isn't quite big enough.

seen that bad boy at the tank museum in bovington,its HUGE

The reversed out of range? From a Jagdtiger? What, they drove a kilometer in reverse? Surely you mean reverse into cover.

These videos are the type of videos that make me late to work. Seriously, they’re that good. It’s dang good. I hope this channel really gains the success it deserves, you deserve it!

this channel deserves more subs

SHE WAS A BEAUTY

You can argue that the germans made underpowered, overdeveloped, too heavy, and too expensive tanks but one thing that you can't deny.......Their guns were always dead accurate and powerful! Unlike the Russian IS/IS2'sfor example that had giant guns with shotgun accuracy which rendered them useless.

The Jagdtiger is 70 years old and still impressive

My father was rushed from the sea port of La Harv as the battle was winding down. He first was moved by train and then by truck while being brought up front. My father later later spoke of seeing all the wrecked tanks in the field. Some of these tanks were still burning which was days after the Germans had retreated. He spent most of his time along the border areas and ventured only 50-75 miles into Germany in the weeks to follow. Because my father could speak German, French and Italian he was assigned to go to the front and gather surrendering German prisoners. But that is another story. In addition he was ordered to concentration and labor camps in Germany to help where he could. In addition he went to underground fighter factories to try to draw French slave labors out of the cave complex’s. They would not come out so they place food and water outside and withdrew that night so the slaves could come out to at least eat the food. Mostly he translated and interviewed prisoners. I was maybe ten years old when I first heard of these events, as he was reluctant to speak of these events. He died when I was seventeen so I never had information beyond that. Ironically he did make friends with a few German prisoners and we have letters written by these Germans after the war. I just joined your you tube channel and enjoy it very much. During that period of history so many events happened in such a compressed time frame that people lose perspective of those days.

My grandfather was a tanker in that region driving a M4 Sherman. I do know he drove his tank from Normandy all the way Czechoslovakia. Heading back into Germany his tank, getting a little to close to the edge, slid off the road and rolled over into a creek. That ended his part in the war. His right hand was crushed in the event.

to be fair tho, anything the germans had could go trough a sherman ,128mm was an overkill

Your voice and way of re:telling these war stories are the best I've ever heard. Thanks!

128mm!? It's even bigger than standard modern MBT guns!!

I have seen many of your films Mark and can only say how amazing they are to watch. Your research is absolutely in depth. Even German pronunciation is excellent. Thank you for taking so much trouble in your archiving and presentation.

Thank you, Mr. Felton. Extremely well-done, and highly interesting, as per usual!

One of the Best parts of my day is when one of Mark's videos pops up on my YT feed

Thanks for these Excellent, albeit short film's, and I enjoy these very much!... Bravo!

You sir are an excellent historian.

Really impressed with the daily uploads of quality content. Keep up the good work!

I have to say this is the best site on RU-vid in my opinion 😕 fantastic thanks for sharing 😋

LOVE the Jagdtiger! What a machine.

Not your normal opening music but a great video as always. I watch a lot of videos on YT and I find a few from posters that I feel is not up to their normal good work. I have watched a TON of your videos and have not yet find one that was not up to your great work. Thank you and as always please keep up the great work.

Hey Mark, you do awesome videos but I have questions about this one. I thought it was established years ago that no Jagdtigers fought in the Ardennes Offensive. Schwere Panzerjeager Abteilung’s own war diary and log confirm this. They were earmarked for it and then were diverted south for Operation Nordwind. The history channel did a “greatest tank battle” episode based on Lt. Irzyk’s account of claiming to be ambushed by Jagdtigers and now it’s becoming recirculated and it may not even be true. Many of the shows episodes contain inaccuracies and I wasn’t sure if this was based on new info I hadn’t seen. Last I read, It’s suspected that they were Jagdpanthers or jagdpanzer IVs from Panzer Jeager Abteilung 559. Cheers.

Lets be honest, an 88mm flak gun placed on the same spots where the Jagdtigers were would have done the same damage.

Mark - you do a great job with these videos! Thank you.

It is indeed great content Mark. Very nice, these short little docs on interesting side shows of the war.

I’m fairly new to this channel myself but I gotta say I love these videos I’ve learned quite a bit from these videos love the videos on German military history you don’t here to much about it

Great info my friend! All so you have a perfect voice for doing documentaries and film! Thanks for taking the time to make these!

Great video indeed! I actually studied the battle of Chaumont and even visited the village (along with some others near and including Bastogne) in May. It sure was a tough fight for the US 8th Tank Battalion. What left bothering me, was the fact that I couldn't find exactly which heavy tank destroyers took part in the German counter offensive on the village. The sources I used didn't have that information, as they were based on the American sources of the time. As you stated in the video, it was just later that the Americans found out, that those heavy tank destroyers had in fact been Jagdtigers. Now I know that too, thanks to you mr. Felton. So, tank you very much (pun intended) ^^

I heard that a Jagtiger with it's 128mm gun once took out an M-26 Pershing at a distance of something like 1 or 2(?) miles! That is modern day tank engagement ranges...very accurate, great penetration. Of course at close range the Jagtiger could not traverse quickly enough against an M4 Sherman, but they were meant for sniping. I wonder if, given the opportunity(which would never happen, LOL!), that gun could take out an M1-A1 Abrams with a direct side shot?

Amazing monster of a machine. Although hilariously impractical. It's this kind of stuff that no doubt helped inspire the Wolfenstein games, lol.

In October, the unit moved out. s.Pz.Jäg.Abt.653 was assigned to the 17.Armee in Poland, during which time the third company also recieved some Jagdtigers. Production was slow, and in November, the unit had only 12 Jagdtigers. 6 more Jagdtigers recieved during November. In December, it was planned that the Jagdtigers should have taken part of the Ardennes offensive. 16 Jagdtigers are loaded onto trains, and two of the three trains unloaded 50 km. behind the front (as part of the 6.SS-Armee). Some Jagdtigers are diverted to Operation Nordwind, as part of the 17.SS-Panzer-Grenadier-Division. Despite accounts that the Jagdtigers were used during the Ardennes offensive, there are no prrof which supports it. There are no photographs of any Jagdtigers during the Ardennes, and crew testimoneys say that they were not. This comes from WWIIforums...this is a piece of the comment but i shares a different opinion than yours.

M4's taking a knife to a gun fight. The Pak 44 or Kwk 44 or the Pak 80 were derivatives of the Flk 128. The AA weapon used to great effect on the US bomber formations. The Pak 44's range was 26,700 yards with a muzzle velocity of 3,100 ft/sec. As a defensive unit the Jagdtiger was superb. We had nothing that could penetrate the thing short of aerial direct hits with large bombs. It was basically a mobile bunker with a huge gun.

I love your channel!!! Also the Jagdtiger is my favorite tank of WW2! :)

Another surprising aspect of the design of the Jagdtiger is the Germans seemed to have forgotten an important lesson in sloped armour they previously applied to the exceptional Jagdpanther and the equally remarkable Hetzer. One other point, as a former tanker, a Jagdtiger strictly speaking isn’t a tank, but a tank destroyer. Substitute the word “armour” for “tank” and it will make old zipperheads like myself a little happier.

120mm gun was ahead of its time.

I love these tank videos! Some of my favorite content of yours

Great story, great storytelling, great footage. Subbed and liked. 👍

¡¡¡¡¡KEEP GOING MARK!!! Thanks for your bravery

Mark i love your videos .. Keep them coming forever

I love the work you are doing. Please keep posting content. You will get subs!

Do a video about the super pilot josef wurmheller please, he shot down 7 planes (6 spitfires and a blenheim) during dieppe raid having a broken leg! During the war he shot down 102 planes.

I have read and heard that the jagdtigers never got off the train and instead were shipped down south to be used in the nordwind offense. Considering that these tanks were so unreliable why were there none left on the battlefield. With the difficult roads, high consumption of fuel, and an over stressed engine and transmission, one would think at least one jagdtiger would have been left on the side of road. There were several found on the battlefield of the nordwind offense. Perhaps the tanks that ambushed 3rd armor were jagdpanthers. There is plentiful of evidence of jagdpanthers in the bulge.

With a lovely long barrelled 128mm tankgun. Its no wonder they could inflict such carnage. Its optics were also not surpassed until the late 1950s.

Mustve been absolutely terrifying to go up against these things..

As always, a great video. Thank you Mr. Feltman.

Great narration

Thanks for the history lesson. Superb.

Somewhere else I've read that Jagdtigers didn't see action in the Battle of the Bulge. Maybe the crews were old and didn't remember or know where they were at the time of the interview. Also extremeley good video! Your videos are so entertaining!

Very interesting video mark

Always a joy watching your videos.

As a French speaker : I really enjoy your videos, and I appreciate your effort to pronounciate the French words right :) keep up the good work ! Yoûve gained another subscriber

I am interested knowing where you found all those informations about the Jagdtiger in Chaumont. I want to see if we can make a universitary paperwork about those tanks. But anyway, that's a very interesting video ! Keep going !

This is a bad song to get stuck in your head and hum all day at work. So darn catchy.

As a researcher of the Wehrmacht & Waffen SS in particular, I cannot find any evidence of Jagdtigers of S.Panzer Abt 653 actually fighting in the Ardennes as early as 23rd Dec 1944. The said Abteilung did receive Jagdtigers and was earmarked for "Wacht am Rhein" (the Ardennes offensive) but never reached the front due to bad weather and logistics (bad road conditions, lack of fuel). It was detrained some 50km away from the front. It's first action was on the 9th of January, attached to 17th SS Goetz von Berlichingen. The fairy tale about Jagdtigers in Ardennes has been oft-repeated. The details about 11 destroyed Shermans by 4 Jagdtigers in the video related to a much later action by S.Panzerjager Abteilung 512, on the 3rd of APril 1945. I would, however, be happy to be proven wrong.

They have a 'Jagdtiger' at the Aberdeen Proving grounds Tank Museum in Aberdeen Maryland and when you stand next to it you suddenly realize just how large of a machine it really is even by todays standards!

"Thank you" Mark-- "Many Thanks.."

Maybe it smart to not allow comments but I am happy to be able to tell you that your channel is awesome. 👏🏼

During the Battle of Chaumont, not all 11 M4 Shermans were taken out by Jagdtigers, it's by ambushing Anti-Tank guns and nearby Infantry support with Panzerfausts or Panzerschrecks, others were taken out while stuck in mud until the Crew quickly bailed out. However, the American losses in Chaumont is only sixty-eight men died while the Germans lost 130 Soldiers and an equal number of prisoners taken by the Allied Soldiers. These Jagdpanther did little effect on the American 4th Armored Division, it did not stop them, it slowed them down.

Enjoying your work man keep it up

An absolute beast.

First video I watched on your channel, I am now subscribed.

Jagdtiger is not a tank. It did not have a turret. Rather, it’s 128mm gun is fixed in a large casemate. It’s at best a tank destroyer.

Please allow a comments section on your excellent productions.

Looks like the Germans had an endless series of amazing and devastating new weapons ready to "welcome" the Allies in France '44...! Wow....those guys seemingly never stopped a minute developing a whole lot of surprising "wunderwaffen" . These 4 Jadgtiger halted an American offensive all by themselves !

Be good to see some longer vids from you!!

What always impressed me with the Germans, is how they always made their vehicules (halftracks, tanks, canons, air planes...) extremely effective AND super esthetic. Same with their uniforms, they had the best-looking uniforms ever, AND one of the most practical best cmouflage uniform there was (especially the SS woodland uniforms).

@3:11 there is a "Canadian Armoured Corps" jumper laying on the ground....

128 mm I didn't know this tank.

The Jagdtiger was still a failure from it's whole design when you consider in what direction WW2 was heading, to medium armor with great mobility and lower caliber guns that could move a great distance on their own. If a vehicle like the Jagdtiger was placed in the right position, it could do a tremendious amount of damage. Considering the situation Germany faced in 1943/43 you have to ask your self if the Jagdtiger was really what the German army needed at that point. The war lost for Germany and nothing could have prevented that, not the Jagdtiger, Tiger 2, Panthers, you name it.

thanks for professional history videos, just scribed, that tanks a heavy mobile pill box , what a weapon over open ground cheers comrade

Must be pretty frustrating when one of you kills many of them, and you are still losing.

Der Jagdtiger ist mir der Liebste Panzer der Wehrmacht, schade, dass es so wenige von ihm gab.

How did I not find this channel before?

Don't care what people think. I have read other accounts of these vehicles in the battles over the Ruhr Pocket. When the surrender took place several Jadgtigers rolled into the field and parked. Didn't see very many other armored vehicles left. Wherever the Jagdtiger appeared it commanded respect. I think not only were they good defensive tanks I think they would have done a good job as an assault gun as well attacking fortified positions.

Another great presentation on an important AFV. Kudos!

Excellent as usual Mark. Can I suggest a map for this and similar ground battles in future? I hiked some of the Ardennes in 2011, and would love to see if this battle was near any of the trails I did.

Love these kind of storys Subbed!

Can you please tell me where you get the information for the videos?

Germans never referred to there tank guns or Artillery in milimeters, they referred to caliber in centermeters thus a 128 mm was always known as 12,8 cm. 88mm was 8,8cm and there main tank gun caliber of the war the 75 mm was 7,5 cm the 50 mm was 5cm and the 37mm was 3,7 cm and 20 mm was 2cm.

As always Mark, outstanding video. Sad that Allied intelligence couldn’t find out about the jadgtiger. Though not invincible, these units harassed US and UK armour until the end. US commanders admitted that they had little that could resist the 128mm gun of the jadgtiger.

Very well articulated.

I love your videos

Your clips are wonderfully objective and informative. Thank you for your many WWII posts.

Great videos. Keep them coming.

You had to be a brave man to go up against one of these behemoths in a Sherman tank.

45 Sherman lovers disliked the video

Stopping at @ 1:04 to predict that mechanical problems prevent the Jadgtigers from doing anything... EDIT: not exactly :)

Mark, i am a world of tanks blitz player... i consider it my "hobby". Love hearing historical info on wotb tanks. New to channel, instant subscriber, thanks for your good work. Keep them coming.

Fantastic thanks very much fascinating in a way simply not set out in history books or documentaries.

Too good video .. too good ... Happy that I found this channel...

saw a video on another channel about this. The leading unit CO said that he thought God was knotting on his tank when hit by one of the 128 mm rounds. Until his passing he did not know why the round only cracked his turret and not penetrate killing them all. The only think he could think of as that the round hit the antenna mount so it did not hit straight on

When you hear Erika on a Mark Felton video Me:yeah boi

Be sure to check out the jagdtiger in gaming action on Steam's Warthunder. Players, like the Angry Nerd, create havoc on the battlefield with the big tiger.

Great channel 👍

love your videos Mark I think Otto Carsus final posting was to a Jagtiger unit ?

Such a huge mammoth is the jagdtiger lol.... and with that huge 128 .... . Devastating fire

Good footage of these tank-destroyers. Time after time, wehrmacht commanders scraped together KGs and used them appropriately against unimaginative allied counterparts. Reynold's examples show that Panzer commanders routinely used their heavier guns in a stand-off role to 'shoot-in' the lighter tanks in the assault; like the Elephants (eventually) at Kursk, the LAH Mk-Vs hull-down on the ridge at Bourgebus, Normandy, or using the corps Tigers to support assault wedges of panthers and StuGs in forlorn fanatical counter-attacks in Hungary against JS-IIs... peace and thanks for post