Smashing Hitler’s Panzers by Mr. Steven Zaloga 

Great presentation and analysis - ww2 and the battle of the bulge has so much hype, this is somber well documented

Britain has been more or less completely written out of the Battle of the Bulge, deliberately, but we were there too. In fact, Field-Marshal Montgomery was about to take his first Christmas leave at home since the start of the war, when he heard the panicked radio traffic, he put his plans on hold: he took control of the 1st and 9th US Armies with Eisenhower's support. the commander of 9US was General Bill Simpson, one of the few American officers to respect Montgomery. Those two armies stopped the mass retreat and stopped the Germans in their tracks while Patton drove south to relieve Bastogne. Montgomery stayed with the two American armies all the way to Berlin. Meanwhile, the British Army was moving east over the north of the bulge, and they had their hands full all the way. The end of the battle, which is not publicised much, was the British in the north linking up with the Americans in the south, thus pinching off the bulge. The first meet-up resulted in a bit of friendly fire: a furious British officer stomped up to an American Sherman tank and rapped angrily on the hull with his swagger stick. As the bemused tank commander, evidently recognising the man as an ally because he was dressed in khaki rather than German Feldgrau, opened up his hatch, the British officer said, in an inimitably British way, "I say, you've just browned off my Number Two tank!" Now, there were a lot more Americans involved in the battle than there were British, but please don't write us off. No, we didn't win the battle for you, but at least we were there, guarding your northern flank and keeping German forces occupied..

Thanks for uploading this. Special mention for showing his slides.

One of the big things that rarely gets mentioned in this battle is the US Army gets to use prox fuzes for the first time. That prox fuze increases artillery's effectivenss by 400%.

exceptionally good presentation. no superficial stuff - really detailed and to the point

I listen to these presentations all day at work. Thank you so much for uploading

Very informative talk. I could listen to this guy all day long.

The comment at 57:35 onwards about engineer equipment and tank dozers reminded me of the US reserve units in Desert Shield with their Unimog front-end loader/backhoes. Strange little vehicles, but they went around trading holes in the ground for plywood, tents, and other supplies that weren't coming to them ordinarily.

A good watch 👍 Regardless of all the sacrifice of the British and American armies ,it should always be remembered that the German army was ground down and destroy by the Soviets . No eastern front ,no allied invasion of the western front. 3 million well armed ,well equipped Germans would have been too much to take on .

Fascinating lecture. Clearly it needed to be longer as Steve had a lot more to say, but a good introduction to the top of the early days of the german offensive.

Thank you. So much information; one has to concentrate hard to get it all. Big difference between being in a battle and studying it later. Most vets do not know what, where, why when it is all happening but you have made it all so clear for them and for us!

Thanks a lot for the upload, great service!

Excellent analysis, and yes, in your summary the disparity between German and US/UK artillery capability by this stage in the war was stark. Also in 1940 the Luftwaffe's contribution was critical enabling the Wermacht to overcome numerous strong points, whereas in 1944 the USAAF and RAF always had a significant advantage.

Now, approaching the 75th anniversary, its important for me to know this so I can pass it along. I am not forgetting Market-Garden or Huertgen Forest. Units from these battles have to do it all over again in the Ardennes.

I have long enjoyed Mr. Zaloga's book and own a large number of his works. This is a very interesting lecture that raises many good points. However, I want to inject a note of balance into his discussion of the German forces. He is correct that the quality of the German forces had declined by the winter of 1944-45. What is often overlooked is that the American forces were experiencing similar manpower issues due the demands of a fighting a two front (Europe - Pacific) war, while simultaneously producing enough to supply our own forces and those of our allies. Albeit not to as sever a degree as the Germans. For instance, to bulk out their forces, the Germans fielded units of men with similar ailments (such a ulcer). The U.S. had to take in men with conditions that normally disqualified them from service. Examples included; people with flat feet, who needed to wear glasses, who had to have their teeth pulled and be supplied with false teeth, etc. Similarly, both sides used partially trained troops transferred from other services. The Germans from their air force and navy. At first, in our case, men were taken from anti-aircraft and anti-tank units. Later as the shortage of replacements grew more dire, Eisenhower instituted the Voluntary Infantry Replacement Program, which took men from supply and other non-combat assignments, gave them a brief course in infantry skills, and then assigned them to combat units. There are additional examples of troops being committed with less than the needed training, etc. Relative Scarcity of manpower was effecting both sides, just the Germans worse than the Americans.

Fantastic presentation. Thank you for making it available.

Very interesting presentation - just ordered his book, and looking forward to reading it!

After I got home from the Army in Grrnany in mid 1974 I used'ta go to a place on IIRC West 36th St in Manhattan called Gateway Hobbies..you took a rickety elevator to the second floor ...it was a hole in the wall hobby shop but the guy had all the latest armor kits and related magazines...along eith a great display if armor vignettes and "dioramas" in the back section of the shop...Steve's magnificent work was always in display...used'ta spend serious time admiring his work...I was familiar with much of it as he was a contributor to many if the modeling magazines of the day...it was always nicer to actually see his work than to just look at photos on a page...BTW...I still have many of those old magazine..

I wish there were more talks by Steven Zaloga on RU-vid. I’ve only found one other one

I wonder if there were many German soldiers who had fought in the Ardennes during the battle of France in 1940 and then again in the Battle of the Bulge over 4 years later.

great lecture great questions

"Sh......Shnectady, NY." Man, don't do that to us, we have it bad enough as it is....

Remember Zaloga when I first heard his contribution to board wargames back in the 70's.

Thank you.

Lecture starts at 2:45

It was Walter Bedell Smith who first approach Montgomery on behalf of Ike requesting he take control of the northern sector.

really worthwhile though, worth listening to, really interesting, both details and big picture.

This story that we were never told has changed my view point on the Battle of the Bulge, thank you.

I thought the viewers of this presentation on the 12 SS Panzer division might find it interesting to discover what happened to them in Normandy. This only covers a bit of it but it is instructive as to what the tank warfare was like in Normandy and in the Juno beach region. It is interesting to note that as Montgomery drew up his plans for the Normandy campaign, the Canadians found themselves assigned to the toughest section of the Normandy front. Why was it the toughest? Because it was so wide open in so many places that it was regarded as by far the most favourable territory for tank warfare. So the very terrain of the Juno Beach regions was far and away recognised as the worst for infantry. Hedgerows were fewer or farther between, but the wide open access for the excellent German armoured divisions made it a terrible place to fight for the generally inferior Allied armour. In response to this, D-Day plans called for double the number of artillery pieces to be landed on Juno than on any other beach and immediately put into action, coordinated with the forward-most Canadian infantry units-the Regina Rifles and the Winnipeg Rifles-both of whom had previously stormed the beach early on June 6. It was in precisely this sector of the Canadian front that the Germans planned to mass their armoured divisions and try to push the Canadians back into the sea, and then spread left and right to attack Gold and Sword beaches. This is what Montgomery realised when he drew up the plans for the Normandy campaign. The terrain literally dictated the Nazi’s strategy. During the lynch-pin Battle for Bretteville (June 7-10, 1944) this artillery support was vital and broke up numerous German infantry and 12 SS Panzer attacks. That and the sheer guts and unbelievable determination of the two aforementioned infantry regiments saved the day. These were some tough Canadian kids from the Prairies who took on the German SS Panzer divisions and beat them. The commander of the 12 SS Panzer division, Kurt Meyer, had smugly concluded that his men would sweep the Canadians back into the English Channel like so many “little fishes.” Needless to say, Meyer and his 12 SS Panzers were the ones licking their wounds and howling in misery when they finally fled from Bretteville-minus 43 dead, 99 wounded, 10 missing and 29 panzers destroyed including a good number of Panther Mark Vs. And other than the 29 lost panzers, that was just on the first night! It was here and at nearby Abbey d’Ardenne that Kurt Meyer’s 12 SS and the Canadians began executing each other’s prisoners tit for tat, with no quarter given. The two sides really hated each other and this made for likely the bitterest fighting in Normandy. Here is a limited account of the terrible fighting at Bretteville: www.canadiansoldiers.com/history/battlehonours/northwesteurope/brettevillelorgueilleuse.htm And here is an excellent and much more detailed scholarly account of the Battle of Bretteville in .pdf format: scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol16/iss4/2/ [Be prepared to meet Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott of the original Star Trek series fame, as he was actually right in the area, being a Canadian artillery officer who landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. I bet you didn’t know that! ;)] In fact, the Canadians made the greatest penetration of the German lines on D-Day, beating them back almost seven whole miles in the first 24 hours. Neither the Americans nor the British came anywhere close. Indeed, three Sherman tanks of the Canadian 1 Hussars actually reached their assigned D-Day objective-the Caen-Bayeux highway next to Carpiquet airfield-before having to pull back when they could not make radio contact with army HQ and request reinforcements. (And it was hard fighting with the Canadians losing 359 men killed landing on the first day alone-second only to Omaha for men KIA.) Perhaps the great progress was because the Canadian army was the only Allied army in Normandy that was entirely volunteer. (Originally Juno beach was to be called Jelly, but Churchill forbade it noting it was a sorely inappropriate name for a place where so many men were going to die.) And yes, the two British and one Canadian beaches faced the bulk of the German armour-something like 70% of all German armoured divisions in Normandy faced us around Caen. Indeed, German armour was lined up virtually cheek by jowl. Historians have carefully investigated the numbers involved and the Germans, Canadians and British had more tanks per square mile all around Caen than the Russians and Germans had at Kursk! Around Caen and Carpiquet alone, the Germans had seven panzer divisions supplemented by an additional battalion of more than 100 Mark V Panthers! They were Panzer Lehr, 2 Panzer, 9 Panzer, 116 Panzer, 1 SS Panzer, 9 SS Panzer and 12 SS Panzer. Though few people understand this, these were the heaviest, most concentrated tank battles of WW2! In his analysis of the fighting against the Canadians of the Regina Rifles Regiment at Bretteville (which contained a number of Sherman and Firefly tanks, as did virtually every Canadian and British regiment), Hubert Meyer, the commanding general of the 12 SS Panzer division (after Kurt Meyer had been captured in September 1944) wrote later in “The 12th SS: The History of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division, Volume 1” that: “The tactic of surprise, using mobile, fast infantry and Panzers even in small, numerically inferior Kampfgruppen, had often been practiced and proven in Russia. This tactic, however, had not resulted in the expected success here against a courageous and determined enemy, who was ready for defense and well equipped. Through good battle field observation, the enemy had recognized the outlines of the preparations for the attack and drawn his own conclusions. The deployment of D Company [of the Regina Rifles] to Cardonville had prevented a breakthrough by 2./26 [of the 12 SS] from the farm south of the rail line to Bretteville, only 1,000 meters away. The anti-tank defenses all around the village were strong enough to thwart all attempts by the Panzers to by-pass the town to the south and north. The surprising use of parachute flares with glaring magnesium light blinded the Panthers and clearly outlined them to the enemy Pak [anti-tank guns like 6 and 17 pounders]. This enemy was especially strong in the defense and could not be taken by surprise. He fought with determination and courage.” [pages 186-87] One is unlikely to find higher praise from the SS than 12 SS Panzer General Hubert Meyer had for the Regina Rifles Regiment of the Royal Canadian Army! And finally, let's look at the private sentiments of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. In a rarely noted statement from him, cited by historian Andrew Roberts in his “History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900,” 2007, on page 343, he points out a little-known quotation from Eisenhower that “man-for-man the Canadians were the best soldiers in his army.” In hindsight, it is something of a feather in Montgomery’s hat that he beat his own estimate of 90 days for capturing Caen and destroying the German armies-by two full weeks minus one day-but who is counting when numbers are so great and the opposition so terrible? And finally, Montgomery (and all the Allied generals) had insights into overall German strategy and counterattack plans through the Ultra intercepts at Bletchley Park, England. On many occasions he chose to withdraw his forces a short distance in order to preserve them, when informed that much superior German armoured divisions were being moved up to recapture territory lost. This was only sensible. You do not throw away large masses of men and armour to be ground up by superior numbers of enemy armour simply to display your bravado. No, you withdraw and rebuild your own forces until you can overcome what you positively 100% know is a much stronger force facing you only a short distance away. Many have questioned Montgomery’s leadership, perhaps with some reason. But how many know that he had to preserve his forces (as much as he could anyway) when Ultra intelligence revealed that not doing so would only be a futile gesture and the deliberate squandering of many men’s lives? Moreover, London had already told him that infantry reserves were virtually nil (though armour was abundant) and he had better save as many of his men as possible. So let’s try to be a little bit fairer in our criticisms of him. My hat comes off to the many, many brave and excellent fighting men from the US and Britain. They fought as hard as anyone else but it was a team effort between the three great English speaking nations of the world that defeated Nazi Germany in Normandy, as well as the many brave French, Polish and other freedom loving European soldiers who fought alongside us. Bravo to all involved! PS I am not trying to glorify war here, just so anyone who might think this to be so can understand that I do not approve of war-for all the good this will do.

So cool to see Mr Zaloga in the flesh, after seeing his name in print for so many years.

Thank you for your presentation. Watch on the Rhein failed on many levels. Realistically, in hindsight, it should not have been attempted.

Excellent video!

Very well put together presentation. Zaloga is a brilliant historian with a vast range of knowledge. Thank you for making this lecture available to us all.

The German offensive also has a very critical timeline to succeed, just like the Allies' Operation Market-Garden in September.

My grandpa and his unit displayed many heroic actions there. 1st Bn 9th IR Keep Up The Fire

Lanzereth...Lyle Bouck in command. 99th I&R platoon. Most decorated platoon in WWII. Bouck, youngest Lt. In the army.

19:16 "logging trail.."; 26:30 training of tank crews; 31:30 infantry come from Luftwaffe

If only we had the map when hes pointing instead of a guy talking with a lazer pointer

I have a number of Mr. Zaloga's publications. It was good to hear him.

Allied soldiers tended to call every German tank a Tiger. To be fair, a Panzer IV is superficially similar and extremely capable. LindyBeige tells the interesting tale during the desert campaign of British Six Pounders taking out German Panzer IVs with relative ease. Things had moved on by 1944, but the six pounder was still a viable weapon that could be set up far more easily than the more powerful 25 pounders or German 88s.

wish the cameraman (person) wasn't so confused, about what how to film a lecture

Lots of good info, good talk. But when are folks going to understand that you can't see a laser pointer in a video? Sometimes you have to go back to older tech. A pointy stick would have served better.

Did not the genesis for the Offensive come in August, not September?

1:00:15 the tongue-snapping is annoying. To answer about the STG-44 - barely 200K were made (100K were made after 1\1\45, and not widely issued to troops - poor logistics records exist that show their issuance. It did have a potential, but it was not widely issued to troops. The MG-42 was a different story. It had been available since late 1942, but the Heer realized it was a double-edged sword. High rate of fire, but, that caused the barrels to heat rapidly (1200rnds\min is a lot). Heer realized control was needed, since the overheating, and the limited ammo the MG teams could carry.

thank you for a very informative talk. Is it true to say the Battle of the Bulge was won on the planes of Normandy?

Watch on Rhein? I thought it became more Guard at the Rhein?

My thinking is that the Germans would have enjoyed greater mobility had there offensive bee comprised of the lighter, up-gunned, panzer mk III for the offensive through the gap. The heavier panzers should have been held back for battles on open ground where they excel. Air power of the allies was so dominant that the Germans should have learned to night fight.

Interesting insights

"the final offensive the Wehrmacht attempted during World War II" - havent Americans heard of Lake Balaton in Hungary in 1945?

One point is missing, the major one that ENIGMA / ULTRA did not show evidence of such plans cause this time they did no use radios but kradmelder which means motorbike riders delivering the commands. Therefore the big surprise succeeded.

I thought Jane Fonda's dad won that battle by figuring out the Germans were low on gas. I remember seeing a documentary on t matter on TV when I was a kid.

Nice presentation. Unfortunately no reference made to the impact of the British code breaking effort which was reading all the German coded messages. Shooting of prisoners unfortunately was a common practice. Malmedy got the publicity. War is hell!!!!

Program starts at 2:42.

Very interesting details, thank you so much for sharing...it matches up with my summary view of the war at that time, being; The German army units on the western front were basically cobbled together for this final effort and were also severely under equipped/supplied; the bulk of the German army frontline units (as they were) were still on the eastern front. I am an American and mostly through the movies we have been led to believe we somehow won the war during this campaign, but the truth is by winter of 44 the war outcome was already a fait accompli. Not taking anything away from the heroic fighting that American units did, but they were fighting a shell of the German army by this time ( an old U.S. Marine vet. and Ph.D. Engineer who works for a large American defense contractor's Missile Systems company.

Hilarious trying to follow a presso with a laser pointer that does not show up in the presso. I found it rather hard to follow.

20:14 It got knocked down, but it did not get up again. It drank a yager drink ...

"Lets use logging trails to push through with armored divisions in the middle of the winter, what's the worst that could happen?" Is anyone but me getting reminded of the winter war?

The Dragon's Teeth: The US engineers didn't blow them up; they got the Dozers out and Buried them!

I wish someone had asked if the code-breakers gave the allies any warning of the offensive.

just taking a moment to salute the sideburns at the start.

would be interesting if instead of 12th hitler youth division they used panzer lehr , ss viking or das treich and used the 12th in a reserve role

34:50 muddy fields force panzers to stick to the roads

If you have Keith ablow counseling Artie and high pitch mike that would be cool

I like the way Steven dismisses Bastogne, as a side issue, which it was. Patton was not advancing or being heavily engaged at the time he turned north to Bastogne when the Germans pounded through US lines in the Ardennes. Bastogne was on the very southern German flank, their focus being west. The strategic significance of the stand at Bastogne, is over exaggerated. The 18,000 did not change the course of the battle. The German's bypassed Bastogne, placing a containment force around the town. Only when Patton neared Bastogne did he engage _some_ German armour but not a great deal at all. Patton's ride to Bastogne was mainly through US held territory, with the road from Luxembourg to Bastogne having few German forces. The Fuhrer Grenadier Brigade was far from being one of the best German armoured units with about 80 tanks, 26th Volks-Grenadier having about 12 Hetzers, and the small element of Panzer Lehr (Kampfgruppe 901) left behind with a small number of operational tanks. Patton did not have to smash through full panzer divisions or Tiger battalions on his way to Bastogne. Patton's armoured forces outnumbered the Germans by at least 6 to 1. Patton faced very little German armour when he broke through to Bastogne because the vast majority of the German 5th Panzer Army had already left Bastogne in their rear moving westwards to the River Meuse. They were engaging forces under Montgomery's 21st Army Group near Dinant by the Meuse. Monty's armies halted the German advance pushing them back. On the night of the 22 December 1944, Patton ordered Combat Command B of 4th Armored Division to advance through the village of Chaumont in the night. A small number of German troops with anti tank weapons stopped the American attack who pulled back. The next day, fighter bombers strafed the village of Chaumont weakening the defenders enabling the attack to resume the next afternoon. However, a German counter attack north of Chaumont knocked out 12 Shermans with Combat Command B again retreating. It took Patton almost *three days* just to get through the village of Chaumont. They didn't get through Chaumont village until Christmas Day. Hardly racing at breakneck speed. Patton had less than 20 km of German held ground to cover during his actual _'attack'_ towards Bastogne, with the vast majority of his move towards Bastogne through American held lines devoid of the enemy. His start line for the attack was at Vaux-les-Rosieres, 15km southwest of Bastogne and yet he still took him five days to get through to Bastogne. After the German attack in the Ardennes, US air force units were put under Coningham of the RAF, who gave Patton massive ground attack support and he still *stalled.* Patton's failure to concentrate his forces on a narrow front and his decision to commit two green divisions to battle without adequate reconnaissance resulted in his *stall.* US historian Roger Cirillo said, _"Patton launched attack, after attack, after attack, after attack, that failed. Because he never waited to concentrate"._ The 18,000 men in Bastogne pretty well walked out, even the commander of the US 101st stated that. The Germans had vacated the area heading west.

what does ETO mean? In this case of 59:37

I always thought is bizarre that the Americans in 1944 forgot (or ignored) the lessons of 1940. I'm really surprised that the British didn't raise a warning about being complacent about the Ardennes.

58:000 why excessive focus on Bastogne

I really like Sepp Dietrich. I like what Von Rundstedt said about his leadership skills LOL!

I don't understand the German perspective at 48:58 where the reports indicated a dismissive tone about the efficacy of the US army, particularly when the focus of this segment is that the German army in the winter of 44 is not the same qualitatively or quantitatively as it was 6mo earlier in summer of 44. If you got your TOE trashed to the extent that is being portrayed here, wouldn't that force some hard earned lessons about the capability of the people your fighting? Wouldn't all the arrogant and dismissive officers kind of be gone, one way or another, by winter of 44?

46.10 "the 19th of December there's just no hope of redeeming it"

Zaloga : Exists Spookston : *Can i milk you?*

I suppose we should be gratefull he mentioned the British at all. The considerable contribution of airborn and specialised troops in the north was supressed for "political" reasons.

I am picturing 18-year olds commanding Jagdpanthers with half a tank of gas, eight rounds of ammo and two weeks of training. Not going to end well.

Nice presentation of an enormous head.

Excellent - more info and insights than any treatment on this battle I've seen before. Most treatments are done by stupid clods.

After the Hurtgen, Bradley and Hodges should have been fired, but because Ike was his buddy his incompetence was allowed to persist. Hodges should have been fired after abandoning his HQ in Spa and fleeing to Liege and then locking himself away its a disgrace.

Your pointer, laser or otherwise, is not working. This program should be edited so that we know on the map what you're talkin about. Someone should follow up and do this job. Without it it is unclear what you're talkin about on the maps.

When Zaloga speaks, people listen.

would of been a diferent story if monty (British ) didnt stop the breakout heading them off at River Meuse

I must have missed something. If Bastogne meant nothing to the Germans, why did their southern spearhead go that way?

We're all guy in the front sometimes

A bit simplistic with some of this stuff. It’s not correct that 5th Panzer Army specifically used infiltration tactics and 6th Panzer Army didn’t, look at the American order of battle, it simply wasn’t possible to use it up north. 2nd, 9th, and 99th Infantry Divisions, 102nd cavalry group and elements of 7th Armored defending Elsenborn. Compare that to 5th Panzer Army’s opposition, 28th and 106th Divisions covering a far larger front. Switch the sectors of the 6th and 5th Panzer Army and 6th reaches the Meuse while the 5th gets held up everywhere accept the Losheim gap.

That guy asking the question about the Fg42 and the STG is 100% wehraboo. You can tell by his voice that he is SO upset that the superior nazis lost, they even had these wonder weapons!

18:38 no more breaching engineering equipment

The Americans did not do their homework and left the door open for Hitler to use the Ardennes as he did in 1940. Fortunately it did not quite work this time.

As per this video, the "turning point" of the the German Ardennes Offensive, the Battle of the Bulge, was not at the town of Bastogne, but was much earlier on 23rd. Dec. 1944, as the American forces had stopped and delayed the German main Panzer units in the Elseborn sector. The Germans had greatly under estimated the capability of the American forces, rating them as per their poor performance in the past at the Battle of Kasserine Pass, in Tunsia, North Africa, , in the summer of 1943, (as if they had not learned anything since that time.) The German artillery was not so effective, but the American Artillery crippled the German infantary at Elseborn sector, & US arms team was also successful in their village defenses. The Panzer Div. were not as capable as they used to be before in 1944. The Panzers had to cross Meuse on 19th. Dec., but the 12.SS-Pz. Div. was still entangled in Krindelt-Rocherath, & KG Peiper, 1.SS-Pz. Div. trapped at La Gleze. As per this Historian:- The superiority of Allies in air, and especially American artillery was one of the most important advantages the Allies had in the war in Europe. American artillery in the European Theater was flexible, accurate, lethal, and highly mobile. At best, the German artillery arm was “competent but uninspired.” - As Historian Michael Doubler put it in his book, Closing with the Enemy: How GIs Fought the War in Europe, 1944-1945, “By the summer of 1944 the field artillery had proven itself to be the most brilliant performer in the American combined arms team.” The effectiveness of American artillery, even at this early stage of American involvement in North Africa, had impressed Rommel, as on 18 February 1943, he mentioned this fact in a letter to his wife. Most people think the Battle of the Bulge was a tank battle, but it actually was more of an Artillery Battle:- Later in the Battle of the Bulge, artillery provided the same protection as it did in Caen, Normandy. In addition, it hampered German attacks by separating infantry from its accompanying armor. German Tanks unsupported by infantry were regularly taken out by American antitank guns and bazookas.

12SS was destroyed in the summer...... It is amazing they reconstituted it. It was defeated by St Vith pretty much on day 2. 2 minutes into lecture......we shall see how I did.

As if a couple of Stg44's and Fg42's would have made a difference lol. Hell the Germans had King Tigers and all's they did was breakdown, get stuck in the mud and run out of gas.

Battle of Normandy was one chiefly because ,,well,..Opertaion Bagration,(probably the most destructive military operation in the entire European history .because of bagration and American successes in Normandy that panik hour set in

How can the speaker not know the S is silent in Ardennes?

You could really use a pointer on your maps, and also better labeling. It is not clear what exactly you are talking about at many points during your presentation.

up "here" ????????????????

The German Generals realized the battle was unwinnable while they were arguing with Hitler not to execute the stupid plan...

01:01:00 aprox German small arms

We've all been there, unknown awkward butterbar/master's student/whatever

Nifty

"right here" ??????????????

Did you hear that twig snap , ? better send in a 1000 heavy bombers and 2 or 3 battle ships 1st .

57'58" WTF is "Historiography"?

For the algorithm