Last Stand at the Leipzig Monument 1945 

6:56 The destroyed tank is situated at the crossing of the streets Karl-Heine-Straße and Zschochersche Straße. My Grandmother told me, 2 members (14 yo) of the "Hitler Youth" shot a "Panzerfaust" out of the basement of the house with a drugstore diagonally across the crossing and destroyed the tank.

You are such a good narrator, even subjects that I thought uninteresting are compulsive viewing. Thanks for your efforts.

2:23 You only have to see the photo of Colonel Von Poncet to know he isn't going to surrender easily.

Wait what? I was there the day before yesterday, had my mind blown by this amazing structure, read up on it on Wikipedia, saw the part about the last stand, thought to myself "I wonder if there is any WWII footage of that?" and find this video that was released TODAY!? Thanks Mark for reading my mind and this great video :) The place is amazing and we are lucky that the GDR decided to not remove this monument only because the Russians participated in Napoleons defeat. Would be interesting to know if any footage of Hitlers gatherings there exists.

I live about 5 minutes from the monument. Seeing old pictures from this once so beautiful city still make my heart ache.

Maybe a lot of battles through history could have been avoided with the help of a translator and a good 11 hour argument.

Amazing video as always. I was worried that they would be forced to blast the building into rubble. Glad to see it still intact to this day. Such a beautiful work of art.

7:17 believe it or not, but I have translated (the lip reading) the communication between german soldier and americans; the german soldier clearly said "nicht schießen!" (NO SHOOTING / DO NOT SHOOT!)

I visited this massive building in summer 1994 with my German relations who lived around twenty miles to the South of Leipzig.

Very cool! I live in Leipzig and had heard about the last stand at the monument. Now I know the details! Thanks

St. Michael is Germany's patron Saint - just like St. George is England's patron - not Germany's "War god", as was stated. Apart from this erroneous statement, as always a well narrated and interesting documentary and authentic footage of a less well known battle in the final days of the war. What is also interesting is the totally different opinions of the two German commanders, a duty bound fanatical professional soldier on one side, a professional policeman on the other. This inter- German conflict was repeated hundredfold and more during the battle for Germany in 1944-45.

You should do a video on the Italian submarines in the pacific that went to the Kriegsmarine after Italy’s surrender and later Japan after Germany’s surrender. Same for the U-Boats in the pacific.

My grandfather was on the officer's staff of Generalmajor von Grolmann. And it's true what Mark Felton says in the video. The troops were divided under 2 commands. In addition came the Waffen SS and the Hitler Youth. Those refused the orders to capitulate. The main reason why von Grolmann wanted to capitulate was a warning from the Americans. They had set an ultimatum for surrender. Should that not be kept, they wanted to bombard Leipzig again.

That monument is exquisite. I have never heard of it before, and was worried that the attackers levelled it. Indeed, Wikipedia reports that the Russians had wanted to destroy it during their occupation for its representation of nationalism, before deciding against it. I must go see this place the next time I'm in Germany.

Me: which division did you serve en grandpa? Grandpa: 69th me: Nice

Seeing a history related video in my recommended. good. Seeing a history related video by Mark Felton Productions in my recommended. FANTASTIC!

At least the German commanders were willing to talk right up to the end. That saved so many lives.

You should make a video regarding South American Expeditionary Forces in WW2 a little known force that participated.

Another fascinating piece of WW2 history that so few know about. Thanks Mark

Thank you, and as always a very interesting story!

Russians would blow up the entire monument sky high along with all red army pows inside.

This is by far & away the finest WW2 history channel on RU-vid.

Well done, Mark. These snippets of history would be lost but for efforts like yours to educate and inform.

Once again, Mark presents a small but quite excellent bit of history. I find his videoes captivating and full of little bits of trivia that even a major WW2 buff like myself doesn't know about. You know, Mark, you should put some of these on DVD because we'd all pay for them! Not sure if take requests as such, but is there any chance you could do a video on the Corpo Aereo Italiano which saw action in the Battle of Britain

Really underrated channel thanks for another brilliant video

Please tell the story about the 1943 Air Attack on Bari and its consequences. Thx for your work!!!

I visited the monument with my wife a couple of years ago and we were very impressed by it. My main reason for visiting was my interest in the Napoleonic wars, but there was no mention of the roll it played as shown in the video though. Thanks for a very interesting and detailed account, much appreciated.

I've been enjoying these glimpses into the side-shows of the war. Those small incidents that make up the total picture of history. I have been studying the operations and large battles for quite awhile and am now finding the minutia can be interesting as well. When I dont have the time to sit down and watch an hour long doc I watch your bite-sized videos. Thank you for your work. It is appreciated.

That was a GREAT story I️ have NEVER heard of. You are a Master Storyteller. Thank you.

Thank god I found your channel, so many unique events that were not very well documented and/or were not talked about much. I subbed on your first video it was so good. I can't wait for you to do a video on the Siege of Budapest during 1944-1945. It was similar to Stalingrad but the fighting was much more desperate with 4 attempts at rescue(5 attempts if you consider the last one that was canceled before starting). The relief force got so close that the German Budapest garrison could both see and hear the approaching fighting, the sound of which was magnified by heavy cloud cover, while the relief troops heard the city’s haunting air-raid sirens. At night the relief force and the defenders communicated with each other using flares..... many thought they were going to be saved but Hitler would not authorize a breakout, Budapest being a fortress city and whatnot. This battle was one of the most intense battles of WW2 period and I wish it were better heard of. Anyways, thank you for the video and I look forward to more!

I've been to Colditz Castle, the Battle of Nations monument, and the Bach "church". Very nice area and people. The mo u mentioned was awesome to see outside, inside, and on top observing the surrounding areas. The monument has a great museum about the 1813 battle. Thanks for the video!

Fantastic stories. Amazing how much I've learned from you even after 40 years of study in History. Thank you!

Wow! My favorite (thus far) of your uploads! Thank you so much for producing high quality content! Cheers! 🇬🇧

Outstanding presentation with accurate historical facts....British accent always makes it more absorbable and intriguing

What an amazing story. I feel like every one of your short videos could be made into a feature film. You know you’re onto something when your “likes” number over 500 with 0 “dislikes”. Congrats

Mr. Felton, thank you for your excellent historical work.

I just love these videos, they are always informative, entertaining, and satisfying to watch. Really good; this is much better than ‘Mainstream TV’.

Thanks for your channel :) Greetings from germany

Wow. I had not heard of that battle before. What a beautiful monument 🏛. I hope it’s been restored to it’s full glory.

Love all the Felton productions but this one... outstanding! Thx Mark for doibg this!!

Definitely the best channel for this . Tells it as it is .

Really nice video thank you! Just wanted to say that Leipzig was not east Germany at that time,it was "Mitteldeutschland".

your channel is amazing, you have everything I cant find anywhere else.

What a nice history, thanks as always!

Such an amazing piece of history. Thanks for the upload.

Channel is growing fast, it's like a wildfire of good stuff! Keep it up Mark, loving these stories.

Wow! Im german and didnt knew that! Thanks for this very informative video :)

great video as always Mark!

What a fantastic story! The images are top-notch.

I have really enjoyed watching your videos . All interesting , well informed , and told in a nice manner .

You do amazing work Mark Felton! Thank you so much for keeping this amazing history front and center. This Leipzig Monument Battle is an amazing story - They should do a make a movie about this incredible battle!! What a remarkable battle & story!!!

Mr Felton,u have outdid yourself once again my friend.outstanding job.

These videos are of top quality! Thanks so much for your time.

Another brilliant Informative video. Thanks

Absolutely bloody fascinating, your short documentaries are always grippingly interesting & well presented. Marvellous stuff🇬🇧👍✌️

Great video! I have learned something new. I have spent many days at the monument and the Südfreidhof. Awesome concerts held inside the monument during Wave Gotik Treffen.

A great channel. Thanks for the great videos.

Very, very great work. You’re narration, tied with your images and clips, are perfect.

Wonderful telling of this story. I had never heard of this battle.

Your voice makes my research so much more enjoyable, thank you.

Loving your channel Mr Felton.

I agree with all the praise. Let me add that I never fail to learn something from your marvelous films. Thank you.

Excellent video and very informative.

this channel is growing like a good tree roots thanks Mark felton

I am living in this city for a few years now ...that monument is pretty impressive and you still can see some bullet holes on the outside...at least last time.i have been there

Yours is the very best channel for factual stories about the second world war. If it wasn't for you, I would never have heard of half of them !

Great video!!! Have read about the Battle of the Nations, but never heard of the monument. After watching this video, did some research of my own and learned a great deal. Also watched some videos about the monument. Always great day to learn something new about history!!! THANKS!!! for helping "expand" my knowledge of a subject I love dearly.

I`m proud to say i have been inside this huge monument back in 2013. I had no idea it also has a WWII history. Trekked over to Dresden a few days later which is even nicer than Leipzig and visited the military museum there. Nice summer memories :)

I love the coverage this channel gives to little-known events. Carry on!

I've been to the Volkerschalchtdenkmal a few times and though I knew the US forces occupied Leipzig, I did not know about Poncet trying to use the Denkmal as a holdout fortress. Thank you for your work!

It was worth getting through the usual battle recitations, just to see the magnificence of that Battle of the Nations monument turned fortress. Great interior shots.

I am addicted to your channel now and pieces like this are why......

That was a great video, Mark. I have read a number of books about the final months of the war but didn't know about that encounter. Excellent job Mark !

Great video and great story too! I didn't knew about Leipzig last stand

That was absolutely fascinating. I have never heard this story. Thank you!

A story that i was unaware of until today. Thank you sir.

Great history of this unique building

And another piece of history that I didn’t know till now. TY

this is a classic Mark Felton video..very dense with information and detail..thumbs up 👍👜⚡

Fantastic videos! Pure historical value, little to zero political fluff; excellent. WW2 was such an epic event, there are literally hundreds of thousands of stories to be told.

Excellent channel. I was told by locals that the last defenders of Halle an der Saale were two SS men in the squat tower in the market place in front of the cathedral. Beautiful city.

Extraordinary ! I enjoy your time sensitive bursts of history about a pivotal point of one of our worlds darkest periods.

Task Force "zwiebel"? Sounds perfect to break through a, ahem, layered defence 😉

Wow! Thank you and greetings from Leipzig!

That feeling when you find a new channel you can't stop watching.

I life in middle saxony and i find it very interresting how WW2 looked in the places were i life. To be honest the City of Colditz is not so far away neither. Thank you for this video 🎥, found youre YT channel by surprise and im hella glad i did ;-) Yours sincerely Der Wüstenfuchs

Please never stop this channel , your videos are so entertaining

Wow, what a story. Thank you, Mark.

Outstanding! I toured the monument last year and I learned a lot from your video.

THIS would make a great movie.

I enjoy your narrative, thank you for sharing.

Thanks for the internal photos of the monument.

Love how these videos even sound like they were recorded during the time, seriously all it's missing is the grain sound of a phonograph. Not complaining at all about that by the way, it'd be an amazing effect imo.

Thanks Mark. Better than anything on TV.

Another great video! I hope you get many more followers. Greeting from Argentina

I got a habbit to watch mark Felton every day

I grew up in Achternmeer, Germany. This is very interesting for me. Thank you.

And again a very informative video keep up the good work 💪

lol i love that music you play at the beginning of like all ur ww2 vids. reminds me of the good old days when the history channel actually played good shows

Mark..... another fantastic short story of WWII that we otherwise would know nothing about.... great job.