Wisdom from a WW2 veteran: If you encounter a unit you cannot identify, fire 1 round over their heads so it won't hit anybody. If the response is a fusillade of rapid, precise rifle fire, they're British. If the response is a crapstorm of machine gun fire, they're German. If they throw down their guns and surrender, they're Italian. If nothing happens for 5 minutes and then your position is obliterated by artillery or an airstrike, they're American.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

txgunguy, others have written something close. Read through the comments and you'll find at least a few. So, this must be something that soldiers said a lot. Thank you for watching and commenting!

@ionbesteliu8225

2 жыл бұрын

9

@450ktm520

2 жыл бұрын

@@EmersusTech it's been changed around a lot... each rifle made a distinct sound. They either threw something to make a sound away from their position, or some sort of code sound, or shot using a hand gun... When nothing came back... they knew to disperse and get into defensive position or brace for cover. It might be American. Writing found from a dead German diary. Over heard convo when I was a kid, then came across it in a times magazine in the 80's

@LSwick-ss6nm

2 жыл бұрын

That's what we call smarter not harder...lol

@johnnyspliff4900

2 жыл бұрын

Thats a lot like what a Japanese soldier said about fighting Australians vs Americans in the Forest/Jungle. im paraphrasing but he basically said the Aussies were exceptional fighters but he didnt know how Americans fought in the trees because theyd always blow it up and fight in the mud

I heard one German general say in an interview. He hated the fact that every second lieutenant in the U.S. infantry could call in artillery support.The amount of trucks the U.S. had was just amazing to this German.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Ken, that sounds right - both the facts and that a German general would say it. Model may have said at Arnhem that he wished he had such troops at his disposal as he watched the paratroopers drop. I know it was in "A Bridge Too Far", but he may have actually said it, but don't quote me on it. Thank you for your comment!

@roybennett9284

2 жыл бұрын

One only needs to look at the average American in the late 1930s to see how industrial American was and how many families had vehicles,and the trapping of weath in their homes..

@wlbond008

2 жыл бұрын

That's WHY an EFFECTIVE commander changes tactics on the field.

@randallbelstra7228

2 жыл бұрын

US Infantry divisions were equipped with trucks for hauling the troops and supplies, and a battalion of tanks for general support. Each Regiment had it's own artillery battery, and there was an artillery brigade for the entire division. A German panzer grenadier division also had trucks, one battalion of half tracks, and a battalion of assault guns for support. They also had similar artillery. A Germany infantry division had no trucks, and their artillery was horse drawn. That was the difference. The US army standard infantry division was as mobile and had more fire power than a German panzer grenadier division.

@pmurnion

2 жыл бұрын

That's the sane thing the Russians said about the Germans in 1941...

I remember seeing an interview with a German soldier, talking about the fighting in Sicily. He said that he and his comrades put bodies on the roads because they knew the British wouldn't drive their tanks over them, thereby slowing the advance. Apparently it didn't work with the Americans tankers.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Dave Rose, yes, I heard of a story that is gruesome -- the French in Jeeps ran over a German dead body in France and each vehicle kept driving until he was literally like a pancake on the road.

@xdCrispy-Crisss

2 жыл бұрын

@@EmersusTech oh my

@raymondweaver8526

2 жыл бұрын

Then you start booby trapping the dead bodies

@realPromotememedia

2 жыл бұрын

By comparison, the Japanese used captured British (and no doubt commonwealth) troops as road filler after the British bombarded the road leading to Singapore “city” … literally gathering a few POW’s in a shell hole and then shooting them so the tanks and vehicles could continue to advance. Maybe some of the racial abuse the British aimed at the Japanese wasn’t far off the mark after all.

@FuZZy-ToAstY

2 жыл бұрын

@@EmersusTech I’ve seen the photo in a book and yeah, it’s pretty bad.

Probably in the comments somewhere already, but a story I was told was that a captured German tank commander was captured and asked if one German tank was as good as five American ones... His answer was "No. it is good as ten." The follow-up question was "Then how did we beat you?" His response was "You always had eleven tanks."

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

Steve Nesbit, that sound right. Thanks for your comment and watching!

@alfred-vz8ti

10 ай бұрын

this was actually appropriate on the eastern front, the germans always had a better kill ratio, even when running.

@willcarey

9 ай бұрын

Why did they lose so many more tanks than the Americans then? Germany lost about 25,000 total, vs America with around 7000 lost tanks. I think who ever told that story is full of sum-thing

@TopDrek

9 ай бұрын

@@willcarey Are you serious? The US was at war with Germany for less than a year and most of the fighting in the pacific was naval and infantry based. By comparison, the Germans were fighting a 2 front war for almost 6 years and 80% of those casualties were on the Eastern front against the Bolsheviks where they had greater production than even the Americans.

@RootinNRuttin

4 ай бұрын

@@TopDrekwe began fighting the Germans in operation torch in 1942. So we fought two fronts from 42 to 45. Germany fought two fronts on the same continent for the most part (other than the stint in Africa) while we had to cover Europe and the Pacific. My great grandpa was apart of the invasion of Sicily and never spoke of it. But he had German helmets and uniform items that i wasn’t allowed to touch as a kid. That’s what got hitler beat tho, greed. Had he not invaded the Soviet Union or declared war on the US, he had full control of Europe.

A possibility apocryphal story is that after Market Garden in September 1944, SS troops said to captured British Paras “ You’ve obviously trained hard in urban warfare, you fought better at Arnhem than any of the Russians we faced on the Eastern Front did in urban fighting.” To which the British replied “that was our first time, we’ll be better next time.”.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Keith, sometimes these sayings are based in reality. Thank you for watching and your comment!

@andrewhart6377

2 жыл бұрын

Churchill had authorized them to be 'Charged Up' with Meth-Amphetamines prior to Arnhem also.

@honeybadger6313

2 жыл бұрын

@@andrewhart6377 Incorrect. The Germans did this the most. The British did experiment with Amphetamines in the North African campaigns. However, it was found that it did indeed make men fight for longer without rest. The downside was that it made them overly aggressive which made them take unacceptable casualties. With a smaller army such losses could not be sustained nor was desirable. So they were discontinued.

@OldWolflad

2 жыл бұрын

Dwight D Eisenhower wrote a letter to General Urquahart after Arnhem that read: - "The chief of the Imperial General Staff has just informed me that due to the great losses of the British Airborne Division suffered at Arnhem, it will probably not be possible to reconstitute it. This occasions me the same deep regret that I know you must feel, because in this war there has been no single performance by any unit that has more greatly inspired me or more highly excited my admiration, than the nine-day action of your division between September 17 and 26. There is no question that these sentiments are shared by every soldier, sailor and airman of the entire Allied Expeditionary Force now battling towards the River Rhine. Before the world the proud record that your Division has established needs no embellishment from me, but I should like every survivor of that gallant band to realize, not only how deeply this whole Command appreciates his example of courage, fortitude, and skill, but that the Division's great battle contributed effectively to the success of operations to the southward of its own battleground. Your officers and men were magnificent. Pressed from every side, without relief, reinforcement or respite, they inflicted such losses on the Nazi that his infantry dare not close with them. In an unremitting hail of steel from German snipers, machine-guns, mortars, rockets, cannon of all calibres and self-propelled and tank artillery, they never flinched, never wavered. They held steadfastly. For nine days they checked the furious assault of the Nazis and when on 26 September, they were ordered to withdraw across the river, they came out a proud and haughty band - paratroopers, air-landing men, glider pilots, clerks, cooks and batmen, soldiers all - 2000-strong out of 7500 that entered the battle. The Allied Expeditionary Forces salute them. My profound admiration and warm regards to you, personally." Dwight D Eisenhower

@OldWolflad

2 жыл бұрын

@jimmy jimmy oh Jimmy it’s true, was a letter sent to General Urquhart after the battle, on 8 October 1944. Not like many of these contrived quotes you see on army threads

German here. The men of my family who fought in WW2 described it all in similar manner (in short): they respected the British soldiers, they did not respect the French ones, they feared and hated the Russian soldiers, and they did not respect the American soldiers as warriors per se but were afraid of the sheer numbers of American equipment. This is not meant to be a provocation or so, it's just how I was told when I was a young boy.

@lesjames5191

2 жыл бұрын

I knew a lot of men who were in the British army, they all said they had a lot of respect for German soldiers, they always said they were just men like us fighting for their country.

@silgen

2 жыл бұрын

My great uncle fought through most of the war, and on the rare occasion I could get him to talk about he said they are a lot of respect for the ordinary German soldier, who they saw as just doing their duty same as they were. But they hated Waffen SS soldiers for their many crimes against civilians and POWs, and often as not they would just be shot out of hand when captured.

@michaelprobert4014

2 жыл бұрын

@@lesjames5191 and they also had a fear of Americans and their equipment !

@KageMinowara

2 жыл бұрын

I've been reading Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger lately. It's about his experiences in the First World War but he seems to similar views. He describes the British as the most chivalrous of all Germany's foes.

@dominiquecharriere1285

2 жыл бұрын

I agree, and about the Germans occupied countries thought they were totally overrated, that was the view of my grand parents who fought the Germans in Norway and the Alps. Great organisation, big materials but extremely poor as soldiers. They actually had more respect for the Italians in one to one fights.

I recall reading a story (on Quora maybe) about a German general's driver who was taking the general to a number of German outposts or command centers. The car broke down at one of these stops and the general ordered the driver to get it fixed immediately as they had to continue. Cars were not common in Germany back then; you could not expect to find an auto dealer or repair shop in a small town. There was POW camp nearby so the driver went there and talked with the commandant. The commandant ordered all the prisoners (mostly American) to assemble in the yard. He announced the situation and ordered that anyone who knew how to fix cars step forward. I suppose he may have offered some small incentive. Well over half the camp stepped forward. The driver later wrote in his memoirs that that was the instant he knew they were fighting a losing war. If so many Americans could fix cars, then cars must be common in the US. If they can manufacture so many cars that most people have one, then they are no doubt making war machines even faster. He knew the Germans did not have the capacity to keep up. So without even witnessing a battle, the driver saw the writing on the wall. That's pretty good reasoning.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Scotty S, Hitler never learned how to drive. Many Germans didn't have cars and very few were mechanics. On the other hand, many Americans saw and worked on cars all the time. Thank you for watching and commenting!

@Eldanogrande

2 жыл бұрын

There was a month during 1943 where Hitler personally met with the German minister for aircraft production. He had him over for dinner and praised him because Germany had produced 90 aircraft that month. At around the same time (maybe it was the same month), Roosevelt fired the government appointee overseeing aircraft production because in that month, the US war industry only produced 400 planes, which Roosevelt saw as woefully inadequate.

@dclem005

2 жыл бұрын

In modern warfare, which aspects of it have been seen in wars since the Civil War in the US, there has been a shift in both how wars are fought and won in which a large part is due to logistical/economical/technological superiority. During the Civil War the South had supposedly had more generals and officers that where more learned in the way of combat tactic (which is why they where able to do better than the North at least in the beginning) where as the North was more industrialize and had far more economic power. Once the North started leveraging it's economic strength and started to fight a war of attrition, it was all but over for the South. It was pretty similar situation for the Germans. The had brilliant generals (although evil and if possibly mad people like Hitler running things) , disciplined well trained troops, and some of the most best military equipment and weapons in the world at the time but they lacked the economic and logistical power of the allies and again in a war of attrition their tactical and technical prowess could make up for the fact they were almost always spread too thin.

@tr7b410

2 жыл бұрын

Could have been the U.S. soldiers that stepped forward just wanted to fu-- up the generals car.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

@@tr7b410 Richard Conner, that sounds like an episode of Hogan's Heroes!

My grandfather was captured at St Valery (Dunkirk) as part of the 51st Highland Division (Scottish) by Rommel's Mk III panzer's. Interned for the rest of the war, he actually made friends with the German Guards, some like him were ex-miners and had fought in WWI, they were Christian and my grandfather returned from Germany with carved wooden crosses given to him by the camp guards, (We've still got them). However, as the war progressed they were replaced with Hitler youth, they broke his jaw with a rifle butt and smashed his shoulder. Ironically just after the war he was back in Scotland when trucks full of German POW's were coming through the town. My grandfather ran into the house and threw all the bacon, cigarettes into the truck, when asked by my grandmother why? He replied you have know idea what a POW' life is like. My Grandfather died when I was six, but I remember when I asked him what he remembered of the war, he said my greatest memory was seeing the Americans take the camp and releasing him, and the cigarettes them gave him.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Steve Mulligan, thank you for your good story of what happened to your grandfather. You get a heart!

@miket8715

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the story.

@jixuscrixus

2 жыл бұрын

My father was also a ‘highway decorator’ 51st division, he fought in WW2 from 1939-1945 in the Netherlands, France, Sicily, North Africa and Germany.

@ericschneider8524

2 жыл бұрын

And the native American Indians laughed and laughed and laughed.

@herrakaarme

2 жыл бұрын

@David Coyle Actually, considering the situation in Europe right now, I'd say a youth today might feel his/her future much more unsecure than a youth 20 years ago. Of course young people in Ukraine itself might not feel much different from those in 1940.

Quote *I fought the British in the last war, in the trenches of Flanders, I must say, a stubborn, braver people I have not come across.The British soldier always impressed me with his courage, skill, devotion to duty and humanity. As we wait for the order to start our Panzers rolling into Belgium, I feel real dread knowing that I may have to meet them again in combat, but I will do my duty.* " * Ober lieutenant Paul Carius, 3rd Panzer Division, May 1940

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Richard the Lion Heart, thank you for that great quote! You get a heart! Thanks for watching and commenting!

@nickdanger3802

2 жыл бұрын

And he waved to them as they sailed from Dunkirk.

@fastyaveit

2 жыл бұрын

@@nickdanger3802 And waved at them again when they sailed back and landed in Normandy

@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-

2 жыл бұрын

@@nickdanger3802 A bit like how the Japanese waved as the US sailed from the Phillipines.

@bnipmnaa

2 жыл бұрын

@@nickdanger3802 Oh, hush. You poor little 'murican shrinking violets wouldn't get up & dance until Hirohito & Hitler dragged you out of your profitable little chair & onto the dance floor nearly two years later. You have precisely nothing to say in this matter.

One German general said that if a gate in a fence was locked, the Germans, British, Italians and Russians would try to kick in down. The Americans would attack it with an artillery barrage.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

CorsetGrace, that's funny. Thanks for sharing!

@georanger6180

2 жыл бұрын

Always fun to have a slander at americans

@CorsetGrace

2 жыл бұрын

@@georanger6180 Not so sure it was slander or jealousy. There was a German general who said he knew the war was over when they captured an American and in his possessions was a chocolate cake his mother made him. Still fresh. All the way from America. The general couldn't believe the Americans had enough of everything to waste fuel transporting a cake.

@jefft786

2 жыл бұрын

A quote from a German general at Normandy which has to rank as one of the most understated comments ever. "As usual, the American artillery was most unpleasant."

@bnipmnaa

2 жыл бұрын

@@CorsetGrace It's slander. Only Americans think people are jealous of them.

As a former U.S. Army Quartermaster officer, I study logistics for fun. In late 1943 through 1944, the U.S. was producing as much military equipment at the entire rest of the world. At the same time, the U.S. was sending 400,000 trucks to the USSR, supplying farm tractors and equipment, along with seeds and agricultural experts to Australia, and supplying locomotives and rail equipment to the UK and the USSR. The USSR using broad gauge railways, the equipment had to be custom built. When we took France back in 1944, the U.S. basically rebuilt the French rail system, which we had spent two years blowing up. Then there were the blankets, uniforms, boots, personal equipment, and above all FOOD supplied to our Allies. Much of this equipment was supplied through the Lend-Lease system. The military equipment did not count the enormous number of Liberty and Victory ships that were also produced. The volumes of the U.S Army Official History of World War Two covering global logistics and strategy, and supplying the army prior to and following the invasion of France make for interesting reading. I also have an evaluation of the various armies that fought in World War One and Two by the German General Geunther Blumentritt. That also makes for interesting reading.

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

Time Rover, yes, it's amazing the amount that the US manufactured in WWII. We had this amazing industrial base -- wait, what happened to that? Thanks for watching and for your contribution. You get a heart!

@Bonzman

Жыл бұрын

Yeah! And John Wayne 😂😂🤣

@billfarley9167

Жыл бұрын

The USA was the only country who did not forgive the money owed them by Britain. Every other country (including Canada) forgave the debt because Britain was in such dire straits after the war. The covert strategy was to bring Britain to her knees so that the USA would become the dominant power in the world rather than Britain.

@bosunmate7301

Жыл бұрын

The Pacific South West Pacific War was according to MacArthur largely self sufficient and supplied out of Australia. Australia also exported war materiel to the USA. - Reminiscence, Douglas MacArthur

@bobkonradi1027

Жыл бұрын

One statistic that shows the American productive capacity was that at the end of WW2 we had 54 (!!) aircraft carriers in the Pacific ocean, Now a good portion of them were light carriers, but there were still about 25 large fleet carriers in the total. And all of them had their full compliment of planes and their full load of armaments when going into any battle.

My Dad landed at Normandy and as a motorcycle courier fought thru the Battle of the Bulge all the way thru into Germany. His unit had a group of Turkish soldiers attached. He said the Germans were very intimidated by the Turks. Dad respected the German soldiers and people and felt very sorry them at the end. His outfit suffered 85% casualties in the Battle of the Bulge. He lost all of his friends there. He was a great man and my hero.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Brian Adams, which army and division did you dad serve with? I didn't see that in your comment. I appreciate your dad's bravery and courage. Thanks for your great comment!

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

You get a heart!

@brianadams1907

2 жыл бұрын

U

@brianadams1907

2 жыл бұрын

He was drafted for 1 year in 1940. 11 days before his term was up Pearl Harbor was bombed. He was stationed at Camp Hood Texas and taught recruits how to ride and maintain motorcycles until they left for England. He said he won and lost shoe boxes full of money on the transport ship. None of the men thought they'd ever make it back home. He was born in 1918 in Georgia on a sharecropper farm and wss one of the oldest guys in his outfit. The mechanized infantry bn. was around St. Vith near Bastogne when they had to fall back. He was leading two jeeps when artillery landed and obliterated both jeeps with his Company Commander and best friend driver. The blast knocked him down but no injury. I was later stationed at Fort Hood Texas and was billetted in the old WWII two story barracks next door to the one Dad was in back in the 1940's. I have several photos of Dad on a Harley WLA 45 in Europe. One photo of him on motorcycle in front of freshly dug German cemetery with large Iron Cross in the background.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

@@brianadams1907 Thanks Brian for the further information!

My grandad(British) always used to say when the German planes came over they used to duck ,when the British planes went over the Germans ducked ,and when the American planes went over everyone ducked.

@josemoreno3334

2 жыл бұрын

That's funny.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Fish poem, your story doesn't surprise me. Around this time, General Patton gave the order to take no prisoners and then some US soldiers committed atrocities and were criminally charged. I think that the veteran US soldiers were getting combat exhaustion and had seen too many "enemy tricks". That doesn't excuse bad behavior, but it may help us understand what was going on. Thank you for watching and your comment!

@sherwoodbaker2714

2 жыл бұрын

Sounds to me like typical British penis envy…

@Carlton_Wilson

2 жыл бұрын

And yet it was British bombing missions that were notorious for missing their targets altogether and settling for indiscriminate bombing. Air Marshal Harris was a vicious mass murderer of civilians.

@leeshackelford7517

2 жыл бұрын

@@Carlton_Wilson not so.....too simplistic a view

People forget, but the US Army, before WW2, was the 19th in the world in term of numbers and power. It's quite amazing what they were able to achieved so quickly.

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

Matheus Froes, yes, it is amazing how fast the US "ramped up"! Thank you for watching and your comment!

@salamanca1954

Жыл бұрын

The fact is, that the Americans were far more prepared to field an army than its enemies had anticipated. Read The Rise of the G.I. Army, 1940-1941: The Forgotten Story of How America Forged a Powerful Army Before Pearl Harbor. Urged on by military and private interests, FDR authorized an expansion of the army and a series of war games across the south in 1940 and 41. Although many of the soldiers mustered out at the end of their enlistments, the framework of a modern army, its order of battle, and officer corps was in place by Dec. 7, 1941. Volunteers and the draft filled the ranks, and many of the stars of those war games went on to command with great distinction in the war.

@cdjhyoung

Жыл бұрын

@@EmersusTech Yes the US was able to ramp up quickly for the war, but also consider that it had been preparing for war out of the spotlight of Europe. FDR requested 50 billion dollars of appropriations to build a war preparedness system as early as 1937. The troops didn't yet exist, but the designs for the airplanes, tanks and guns were there. So were the outlines of how manufacturing was going to be redirected for the war effort. The US had been preparing for war for half a decade before it arrived on our door step in December, 1941.

@jean-louislalonde6070

Жыл бұрын

Even more considering that the US entered WW2 on December 8, 1942.

@cdjhyoung

Жыл бұрын

@@jean-louislalonde6070 FDR addressed the full Congress asking for a declaration of war on Monday, December 8, 1941, the day after the Pearl Harbor attack.

I remember an interview with an old German fighter ace, talking about the P-51 Mustang. He said that it wasn't the Mustang itself that scared him, but the sheer numbers they were showing up in. When he and his comrades had to start fighting swarms of Mustangs over Berlin, he knew the war was lost.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Jon Martin, Goering said that he knew the jig was up when he saw an Allied P-51 over Berlin. It was just a matter of time at that point. Thanks for watching!

@bobkonradi1027

Жыл бұрын

There is a reputed quote by Goering that once he saw American P51s escorting bombers all the way into Berlin and then back to their bases, he knew the war was lost. That if the Americans had built a fighter that was as good as the P51s, and had the round trip range that the Americans had apparently built in to them, and given the numbers of fighters produced, the war was hopeless.

@mikelynch-zeroviewz2507

Ай бұрын

​@bobkonradi1027 this in my opinion is why the P51 was the aircraft that won WWII more than any other .. it's a great bar discussion for those who say mosquito or the C47 !

I watched a documentary a few years ago that said German POWs were actually surprised at the kindness of their American captors because the German high command had told them that if the Americans captured them they'd slit their throats. The speculation was that if German soldiers knew how well the Americans actually treated them if captured, they'd surrender too readily.

@ShamanMcLamie

2 жыл бұрын

I heard a story recently from a guy about his grandfather who said the best thing that ever happened to him during the war was getting shot and captured by the Americans.

@xwormwood

2 жыл бұрын

Sounds more like a fairy tale to me. Slitting throats was always an image for the eastern front, but surely not something to be feared to receive from the "weak" western allies and their democracy.

@seanstewart302

2 жыл бұрын

My brother married into a German family back in 1981. One of the German uncles had been a prisoner of the French and then later a prisoner of us Americans. He appreciated how he was treated by us and said so many times.

@sonnyc3826

2 жыл бұрын

that smostly how wars are started tehyre being lied to look at whats going on with Russia and Ukraine the Russian troops are being lied to

@bobbyallen7977

2 жыл бұрын

That's because we adhered to the Geneva convention

The point made at 02:12, that a German soldier who had fought on the eastern front told his comrades that the American artillery barrage they'd just endured was worse than anything the Soviets had ever thrown at him is accurate. The U.S. army artillery branch, during the 1930s, developed something (as did the British who had independently invented it and used it in the North African campaign), this was the "time on target" mentioned later in the video, where every gun in range, of whatever caliber, fired at a precisely determined time so that all of the shells arrived on the target at the same instant. We made it work better than anyone else because (as noted in the video) we had a lot more guns than the British did (and generally more ammo per gun as well), and the sheer number of American artillery pieces, plus the use of forward observers and/or spotter aircraft, abundant radios to facilitate coordination, and advanced mechanical computers for computing range, and we could bring much more fire to bear effectively than _anyone_ else during the war. And from the Battle of the Bulge onward, proximity fuses were cleared for use on land, and they greatly increased the effect of artillery fire, making U.S. artillery barrages deadlier still.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Darren O'Connor, thank you for the information. I am reporting what Germans actually said or wrote -- from the front lines. Thank you for watching and commenting!

@binaway

2 жыл бұрын

After the British started using proximity fuses in their heavy AA guns defending UK airspace they estimated they were 5 times more effective.

@ericstefko4852

2 жыл бұрын

maybe but the big killer the US used was proximity fuses

@GeorgiaBoy1961

2 жыл бұрын

@ Darren O'Connor - No less than General Patton himself paid a sterling tribute to the American artillerymen after the war, saying that they were one of the branches of the services which most-made victory possible. A well-executed time-on-target artillery barrage is something that can break the resolve of even the most-resolute soldier. Throw in proximity fuses later in the war - when they were used on a limited basis in the ETO in ground warfare, and you are looking at a highly-effective and terrifying weapon of war. It wasn't just men in the open or in prepared positions who hated artillery barrages, either; the German tankers hated being caught under heavy artillery, too. A 155mm round dropping on your head from great height at long range will definitely ruin your day. And the artillery had howitzers as heavy as eight-inch guns (203mm) in its arsenal. At 35,000 yards, it had the longest range of any U.S. field artillery weapon in the ETO.

@JayM409

2 жыл бұрын

The US shell was called the VT fuse. It was a radar fuse that could be set to explode at a precise height, no more complicated calculations required. This chewed up German infantry, especially in the open. The British may not have had as many guns as the US, but they came close. Most nations would have a LT or a capt requesting fire. The British put the battery commander or higher as observers and fire was ordered, not requested, as it was their command. Higher ranks also were given authority to call down the fire of the entire division if necessary. This was used very effectively in Normandy to break up large German attacks. Radar was also used beginning in Normandy for counter-battery fire.

While serving in Germany in the early 1980’s, probably 9 of 10 WWII veterans I had an opportunity to speak with fought mainly in the east against Soviet forces. The few that faced American units all said basically the same thing- Americans violated every rule of tactical fighting- they had poor noise & light discipline, they rarely followed any accepted norms of maneuver & assault, they appeared to do everything wrong, but they were completely unpredictable & just kept coming no matter how badly their attack appeared to be going.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

A German friend of mine's grandfather died in a tank in Russia and his brother, who I met, walked around with grenade shrapnel -- but it wasn't polite to ask which Ally he fought against. He was an easy-going guy too. Thank you for watching and your comment!

@nickdanger3802

2 жыл бұрын

"Finding Jerry's meant letting the Jerry's find you." T/Sgt George McGrew 3rd Army

@theclown2393

2 жыл бұрын

I believe the Americans followed similar tactics used by the Soviets during that time, sending waves upon waves of infantry and tanks against the Germans and Japanese.

@AudieHolland

2 жыл бұрын

@@theclown2393 Nah, in my opinion, keeping in mind that American artillery was extremely effective in the later years of the war, they probably used their artillery to wipe out German units that would attack American forward units. Remember that scene from Audie Murphy's autobiographical film, "To Hell And Back (1955)" During one encounter, his lone squad is up against an entire German division (or so it seems) and he responds by ordering his men the hell out of there. He then uses his radio to direct artillery fire onto the Germans and keeps the advancing infantry at bay using a .50 machinegun on a burning American tankdestroyer. As the Germans keep coming, the American artillery knocks out their tanks, their infantry also retreats. Audie Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor for this act of heroism.

@steveharvey6421

2 жыл бұрын

The American infantry did not get the best recruits in America. The Air Force and Navy got that. Germans called the Americans trigger happy and wasteful of ammo. But when you produce 250 % more steel than the Germans and 70 % of the worlds oil you can be sloppy. The American Navy and Air Force was really good. The Army was really well supplied.

My grandfather was almost murdered by Canadian soldiers. He was a student trainee at a truck factory in Hungary Budapest. My grandfather was Hungarian but had a German name. Suddenly German soldiers showed up and had all the workers in the factory with German names line up. Then a doctor looked at everyone. If they "looked German," (whatever that means---as if people in Germany look a certain way that French or Poles or Norwegians cannot look-----as if Germany had a monopoly on a certain type of look) they were pulled out of the line. My grandfather had dirty blonde hair and green eyes. The doctor said "Oh, green eyes, he's German, get him." (trivia fact: green eyes are the rarest, only 2 per cent of the population, so the raving lunatic Aryan theorists decided ANYONE with green eyes must automatically be Germanic Aryan. Which caused me to laugh hysterically when I became a teacher because the gentleman who taught next door to me was Black and had stunning green eyes. So much for goofy Hitler thinking. ) Anyway, all these unlucky Hungarians with German names and blue, grey, or green eyes were dragged of and put in a train to Germany. Upon arrival they were put in the NSSK the national socialist transportation corps. Hitler had a cult about cars and trucks and Germany had a special branch of the military just devoted to vehicles. But my grandfather was in the NSSK not the SS. There was however an Aryan requirement because they trained you how to fix and drive vehicles. They were teaching you a valuable skill and only wanted German folk to get technical training. In the Glorious Reich (sarcasm) after the war non Germans would become peasants and manual labor who did grunt work. My uncle was Hungarian did not speak German and had no desire to join any branch of the German military.And he was only 16 years old. They didn't care. He had a German name and dammit he was German. He got a quick quick half assed German soldier basic training, got a tattoo, and was sent to an intensive training on truck repair where you were punished by beatings if you didn't learn quickly enough. Fast forward to 1944. My grandfather was captured by Canadian troops. At Normandy some SS troops massacred some Canadian soldiers and the Canadians said "Fine, any Germans we capture we will check for the SS tattoo and if we catch any SS soldiers, we'll kill them ". The Canadians didn't know that NSSK Transport Troops like my grandfather were also tattooed. So the Canadians stripped off my grandfather's shirt and found his tattoo. So they put him in a room with some actual SS troops who were going to be shot. My grandfather started blubbering and crying and sobbing that it wasn't fair because he was Hungarian, he was drafted he wasn't in the SS and he just drove and fixed trucks and didnt deserve to die. The other SS men were older and in uniform and wearing helmets. My grandfather was young short and very skinny and shirtless and helmet less. The Canadians hesitated. It's harder to kill someone who looks like a crying teenage boy. By some miracle, one of the Canadians spoke Hungarian and understood what my grandfather was saying. They went back and looked at his jacket again carefully and noticed it had a NSSK badge on it, not SS. They also saw his soldier pay book said he was NSSK and he was paid less than an SS soldier. They decided not to shoot him. He saw the Canadians march the SS off into woods. The Canadians made him fix some German trucks which the Canadians then used. Then he was sent to Canada as a POW where he spent living on a Canadian farm as a laborer and was treated very well and fed better than he had ever been fed in his life. He was even given ration coupons and money and was allowed to buy pencils and paper and stamps and razor blades and toothpaste soap and candy and thing like that. He was so grateful that he worked really really hard and the harder he worked the better the farmer treated him. By the end of the war the farmer (who had two sons in the Canadian Army fighting the Germans!) Let my grandfather sleep in the house and let him eat meals at the table. One thing was the the farmer never understood that my grandfather was Hungarian, not German, and everyone in the town insisted on calling him "little Fritz." He was given special privileges other POW's weren't given because he was five foot four 108 pounds and looked about 14 years old and couldn't grow a beard to save his life. They figured he was more of a joke of a soldier than a real threat and he always wore uniforms too big for him that he was drowning in that made him look like a midget. Plus after fixing vehicles in the snow on the Russian front for two years where you fix the truck or you get left behind and the Russians kill you ....he had gotten good at fixing engines. So if anyone in the town couldnt get their tractor or truck started they would send my grandfather by himself to see if he couldn't fix it. After the war he was sent back to Europe. After a decade, my grandfather emigrated to Canada. He was shocked to learn that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had a complete file on him and they had only let him immigrate because the file said he was no Nazi and he was a good moral person who worked hard went to church and followed directions. He ended up running his own combination gas station repair shop in Canada. One of his son had a career in the Royal Canadian Air Force where he trained people how to train guard dogs to protect Canadian Military Bases from intruders.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Newell Orban, thank you for that amazing story! It was very interesting! You get a heart! Thanks for watching and commenting!

@newellorban132

2 жыл бұрын

@@EmersusTech Wow! A positive response from the maker of the video! A real honor! Thank you very, very much!

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

@@newellorban132 It's wonderful when people contribute their stories. We all learn from them! Thanks again!

@drott150

2 жыл бұрын

Interesting story. It seems so strange to think of Canadians as being so savage in war. They've certainly lost all of that now and are completely submissive to dictatorial government and immigrant invasions replacing them very rapidly.

@MiaMooreA

2 жыл бұрын

@@drott150 go back to 4chan. We all know JT sucks but he got voted. Blame Toronto don't comment baseless claims on this person's wonderful story. Also Canada has a stagnant birthrate and has been an immigrant nation from its inception.

Just want to mention that 3,000 Australians were involved in the Normandy landings, with 2,500 of them being instrumental in the airborne attacks that laid the groundwork for the amphibious invasion to take place. It is out of respect that even though they didn't form a bulk of the operation, they were still involved and deserve at least some recognition rather than none at all.

@EmersusTech

10 ай бұрын

TopFix, I only reported what some German POWs said. If they had never met an Australian on the battlefield, then they wouldn't say anything at all. You might like these later videos: What Did Rommel and the Germans Think About Australian Soldiers in WWII? kzread.info/dash/bejne/a6aMtpOij9iqZrA.html What British Soldiers Thought About American Soldiers in World War II? kzread.info/dash/bejne/nH2IlriCkcLHftY.html Monash's Masterpiece: The Battle of Hamel kzread.info/dash/bejne/a2ehuNdrpsqrotY.html Thank you for Australia's contribution, your comment and for watching!

@burningblue1254

26 күн бұрын

Respect for the diggers. Fanatical fighters to the last breath.

My grandad was in the British Army and was wounded in 1916 and thereafter guarded German PoWs. He had good regard for them. In WWII he worked with German PoWs and became good friends with one of them.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Stewart, thank you for your comment!

@pdxyyz4327

2 жыл бұрын

Similar story here. Grandfather was a corporal in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment in the Great War. Was commissioned and finishec thecwar as a Lt. In WWII he was a Captain and the supply officer for Ripples concentration camp in New Brunswick. Initially they housec displaced Jewish refugees from Germany, and then German POW's. Two books were written about Ripples "Inside the Wires".

@eleveneleven572

2 жыл бұрын

I hAve a friend who grew up near me just south of Birmingham. We only git to know each other in Brittany where we've retired to. His father was a German POW, a farm boy before the war. After the war the British allowed him to become a farmer and he rented a couple of farms, one near Cambridge, another near Stratford upon Avon and then finally a third south of Birmingham. My friends sister still lives at the farm. It interests me that after all the travails of the war the British were happy to let a German stay in England and let him rent a farm and raise a family.

My uncle was a young Aussie farmer volunteer, went through his entire enlistment, from Egypt, Europe and Asia, to my knowledge, unwounded. Came home a different person from the light-hearted young man that left. His old mates were scared of him, but he was never violent, just decisive and quick. Years ago, read an assessment of these sort of people. Had fun when it was time for it, deadly serious all the rest of time. I was born in '42, so only come to know him later.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Lawrence Willard, yes, both the military and war experience can do that do a person. Thank you for watching and commenting!

@apropercuppa8612

2 жыл бұрын

Which unit was he with in Africa? Where did he serve?

@lawrencewillard6370

2 жыл бұрын

Propa culpa. Don't know where he served, only heard in Africa, Italy, Germany, then New Guinea on to Japan(he was there). Check out where the first soldiers from Australia were sent.

@robertterry1405

Жыл бұрын

@@lawrencewillard6370 The only Australian formation to fight all combatants in WWII was the 9th Division. Germans, Italians, Vischy French in Africa and the Japaneses in New Guinea, Borneo and Malaya Volunteers from the 9th served in the 34th Brigade that went to Japan and later Korea in the Korean War.

Having read some of the comments it's interesting reading about some of the different approaches amongst the allies, but also let's not forget what was most important is that we were all fighting together. UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand - we all need to stick together, and remember the lesson from WW2.

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

Richard Norris, I agree wholeheartedly! We were brothers-in-arms -- fighting a common evil! Lest we forget! Thanks for your comment and watching!

@oregonian3238

Жыл бұрын

Amen. We (collectively) need to remember and heed the lessons our Nations learned from the last global conflict. Unfortunately, we won't. History is on about a 75 year loop. We are still practicing "Peace in our Time' policies with regard to China and Russia. Chamberlain could not pull that off...neither can we.

@vincentlefebvre9255

Жыл бұрын

Don't forget India.

@xXBisquitsXx

Жыл бұрын

And South Africa, i'd be willing to bet there are a lot of people who don't even know that these smaller allies fought in the war, especially not to the degree they did. A real shame.

@ntvypr4820

Жыл бұрын

Are you KIDDING?! They haven't taught American History in schools since the late 1980's. They HAVE taught the kids to HATE their country, so why would they THINK of joining. We are no longer a mostly Christian nation. The South still provides most of the recruits to the Armed Services while most of the rest of the country has their noses stuck in cell phones, riding in the passenger seat while some GIRL drives, pumps the gas and pays for it. Just the way MEN used to do. Most of them are PUSSIES. And obama and millie the commies have made sure that no one wants to join the military since 2008. Especially the past 3 years. When it jumps off, we are SCREWED. We aren't even as one as a country as we were during 911. All a gift of the Dims and the Left.

When I first went into the US Army basic training in Louisiana we had a German cook at the reception station who was interned in a pow camp in Texas during WWII. He told us he elected to remain in the US rather than be re-patriated back to Germany after the war ended as did other pow's. He said he had nothing to return to.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

K, that was one smart German, who knew a good thing when he saw it! Thank you for watching and commenting!

@terrypennington2519

2 жыл бұрын

Damn that's...honestly quite sad tbh :(

@TheZumph

Жыл бұрын

Betya he wishes his grandkids were back in the fatherland

@erichamilton5932

Жыл бұрын

He most likely referred to Eastern Germany which was stolen from the Germans between 1945 and 1957, the Germans were ethnically cleansed and Russian and Polen took it. It's the 2nd biggest land theft in European history! What was called Eastern Germany after the war, was actually _central_ Germany. This is how the Allies tried to re-write history and wipe Eastern Germany off the map and off the minds of the German people (and all other European peoples) The Germans lost their heart lands (their most important lands) and 800+ years of history. What was done to them would be like (if you're American this will hit home I'm sure) taking ALL 16 Southern states, starting with Delaware, down to Maryland, down to Virginia, over to West Virginia, down to Kentucky etc all the way down to Texas, cleanse those states of Southerners, then hand over all 16 Southern states to Mexico! Now you take a map of the United States and you black out all 16 Southern states. A massive crime (the worse crime of the war, not popular to point this out of course and you will be called names, but I don't care. It's true) with the loss of those 16 Southern states the Americans would lose their heart lands, 350+ years of history etc. So yeah, I can see why this man would have said he had nothing to return to, his home, his farm, his land etc was taken by either the Russians or the Poles. If you look at a map of Russia today you can see what piece of German land they hold, it's just beneath the Baltic countries. Or, you can simply look at a map of Germany prior to WWI.

@billfarley9167

Жыл бұрын

Same in Canada. Many German POW's returned to Canada in the late 1940's.

About Rommel, I read somewhere that what surprised him about the Americans was how quickly they learned and adapted their tactics after Kasserine. Also I read that Germans fighting in the Battle of the Bulge were surprised by the initiative of the individual units in American forces and the ferocity they showed after the initial surprise in the attack.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Cole, thank you for your comment!

@GeorgiaBoy1961

2 жыл бұрын

@ Cole Parker One of the greatest strengths of the U.S. Army during WWII, over its operations ranging from North Africa to the Med and finally to the ETO, was its flexibility, adaptability and resourcefulness in the field. As with most armies of that time, a soldier's life could be rigid and lacking in initiative in barracks, but once out in the field and able to operate more-or-less on their own, the enlisted soldiers, their NCOs and the company-grade officers were able to do what they needed to do in order to get the job done, even if not by the book or unorthodox. The closer to the combat action one got, the less anyone cared about parade-ground standards of dress and appearance, and other such tangential issues. Combat infantrymen working for a living are going to look like it, and most - though certainly by no means all - field-grade and higher officers understood that. The smart ones sure as heck did. As the late Dr. Stephen E. Ambrose wrote in "Citizen Soldiers," the Second World War in Europe was, in a sense, a contest between two competing visions of how national life could be organized, i.e., the Anglo-American allies on one side, and the Germans on the other. Hitler had told his men that the U.S. was not capable of producing elite soldiers, for her people were too-corrupt, soft and decadent. He had proclaimed their way the better at producing fighting men. But the results of the war showed that not to be the case, and that the democracies of the West were capable of producing fighting men the equal of - or better than - any in the world, including those in Germany.

@leeshackelford7517

2 жыл бұрын

@Alfred Churchill really? Are you THIS numptyish? Start of the battle around Bastogne. How many US divisions surrounded by how many German divisions?

@militaryhistoryguy827

2 жыл бұрын

@Off Road Guy it’s way more complicated that. The Germans essentially admitted that the Russians were better than them at urban and particularly hand to hand combat. Rattenkrieg as they called it. The American M18 Hellcat had a 2.5 kill ratio against German armored vehicles. The German navy and Air Force were sounded defeated in every theater before the end of the war. The US was the only country to outproduce Germany in overall industrial output so it’s not like the Germans couldn’t make things they just made mistakes on what to focus on making. They should have done a better job of cooperating and coordinating with the Japanese as well….but they didn’t.

@nickdanger3802

2 жыл бұрын

"Sepp Dietrich grumbled, that even the elite divisions of the SS could not effortlessly overrun the Americans. It was impossible to convince Hitler that these were tough opponents, soldiers as good as our own men." Speer page 418 Inside the Third Reich

It wasn't only the British themselves that Rommel was up against, it was the British empire soldiers, mainly the Australians and the NZ Mauri division who were the thorn in his side he couldn't remove. Interestingly both the Germans and the Japanese had not lost a ground campaign in WW2 until they were handed their first defeats by Aussies at Tobruk and Milne Bay. And the Canadians were critical in the war effort by taking major Ports in Netherlands and changing the course of the war. The British colonies bred inventive and vicious soldiers who never get the credit for the blood they spilled for Europe's wars.

@lordalfa600

2 жыл бұрын

Like the Gurkhas and Sikhs.

@uingaeoc3905

2 жыл бұрын

I can assure you that as a 70 year old who was brought up by friends and families who had been through the War they never ceased to sing the praises of the Commonwealth and Empire forces. (BCEF) You said they were fighting in European Wars - well UK British forces fought in al the other theatres, North Africa, Mediterrenean, Atlantic, South East Asia, the Indies and Pacific.

@vvr881

2 жыл бұрын

Hey buddy u forgot the South Africans...they were fighting alone at one stage and smashing the Italians

@safeman1231

2 жыл бұрын

Well said

@I_Don_t_want_a_handle

2 жыл бұрын

Japan is not in Europe. It was a worldwide conflict and not 'Europe's wars'.

It’s interesting to compare the reputations of fighting men from these nations back then and today. I’m British and served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Outside of the US I’m afraid that Americans do have a bit of an (in my opinion undeserved) “gung-ho, all the gear no idea” reputation. But I much preferred working with US aircrew than UK aircrew, much more willing to take risks to get the job done, and would accept taskings that the UK crews refused. UK rotary crews in my experience were far more risk averse and less receptive to input from air intelligence (my role) they questioned everything almost to the point of being obstructive. That said it’s easy for me to criticise when I’m not the one putting myself in danger. UK SF however were the opposite, great to work with and welcomed advice. US Navy Seals replaced UK SF towards the end of one of my tours so I handed over to their int guys. They basically smiled said “great work, thank you” and did exactly the opposite to what we advised and botched an op that had been in the planning for weeks. Germans were mega conservative in Afghan, no offensive ops. The most animated the French ever got out there was when their flag was stolen from their compound in KAF. The Scandinavians and the Dutch were well regarded and considered to be dependable. The Romanians were tough but got all the shit jobs. Unfortunately a lot of the KZread Armchair Generals appear to have zero military experience and comment based on blind patriotism. The fact of the matter is all nations have their strengths and weaknesses, our triumphs and our fuck ups. The yanks have done much of the heavy lifting since 1945 but would be foolish to discount the contribution of its allies. Likewise, without the protective umbrella of Uncle Sam the USSR would’ve dominated Western Europe. Long may western democracies continue to work together for our collective good.

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

OctopusPrime1982, I really like your comment and I totally agree that "freedom-loving peoples" should cooperate, no matter their country of origin. Although I didn't serve in Afghanistan or Iraq, I was very disturbed by what happened in both countries when we left. The West lost so much blood and treasure there fighting for certain towns, yet, later, they were just given up. Also, I watch the news enough, but one thing I never heard was: "...that we had been losing Afghanistan for the last ten years or so." A US general stated that after we left, like it was obvious. I don't remember anyone saying that on the news! If you go back even a few years ago, it was: "Troops are pursuing the Taliban in the mountain caves" or whatever. Another disturbing thing was when a US vet spoke about a buddy who loved Tabasco sauce in Afghanistan. "He'd put Tabasco sauce on ice cream!" His buddy got shot by a sniper and he was wondering -- why was the sacrifice made? Just to tuck tail and run? I also had a work colleague who had a son in the US Army, stationed in Germany. He got a girl pregnant and was sent to Iraq (but not for getting her pregnant :) ). While on patrol, he was hit by a sniper and died. What was the point -- if we were just going to leave? Yes, I know that we have to leave a country eventually, but not before the job is done. If our strategies aren't working, then we should switch strategies! Evidently, enemies of the United States and the West have learned that if they simply wait the US out, hit us on the edges, then eventually we'll wear down and run. It's pitiful.

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

Also, you get a heart for such a great comment!

@ThomasSwalley

Жыл бұрын

@@EmersusTech Look at Russia's tactics. Putin is a Stalinist in his military thinking. Throw millions of soldiers at the enemy, depending on them to blindly follow orders. Russia is still following outdated tactics and will probably end up losing. There are a few truths in fighting a war. Leaders should always depend on their Generals and Admirals to fight while they lead. Successful leaders of the past didn't get intimately involved with tactics and try to run the war. Look at Hitler and Napolean. Soldiers are no longer thought of as simply cannon fodder. The men you get killed today could have been the minds that helped you conquer tomorrow's enemies.

@salamanca1954

Жыл бұрын

Well said, my friend. We need to stick together.

@Crimsrn

Жыл бұрын

i'd rather the ussr dominate europe than america

I had 2 uncles who fought in the Canadian Army in WW2: one in the Fusiliers in Sherbrooke (at the time, a Tank regiment, he was a driver of a Sherman) and the other was in the Infantry fighting in Italy. The funny thing is: each of them thought they had it better than the other: the infantryman dreaded the fire-risk of a tank, while the tanker dreaded the infantryman's life of having to fight at night, sometimes to the point of hand-to-hand combat. What each said about what was worst for themselves: the tanker feared that he might have run over his own men with the tank during the Normandy campaign (tight roads in small towns and among hedgerows.) He was haunted by the chance he'd killed his own people. The infantryman remembered the personal aspect of house to house warfare, seeing your enemy from 10 feet. Facing it day after day. The infantry uncle only gave me one piece of advice if I ever thought of joining the Army: don't join unless it is so important to the country they can't do without you; and for God's sake never volunteer for anything if you do end up in the armed forces. Both had hard lives in the post-War period: prone to alcohol abuse. When I was a teenager I remember them as incredibly serious and to be honest a bit nasty. And fearless too. Bigger than life, heroes to me. The tanker would talk about the Normandy invasion as well as the campaigns after, wouldn't touch some subjects, but was happy to talk about the good parts. He met his wife in the UK and brought her home: a classic war bride. I knew her well. My mother's side of the family were all in the Air Force, and all of them were killed (3 in total.) One was decorated for bombing the Gneisenau, the others died in Bomber Command. The sad fact about the relative who attacked the Gneisenau was that he was killed within the month on a different raid. Canadian fact: my relative had a lake named after him in the North West Territories in commemoration of his sacrifice. We have a lot of lakes. Re: German soldiers: infantryman had no comment; Tanker hated SS and Hitler youth, but generally respected their skill and resourcefulness. Lived in fear of Tigers, but mentioned he hardly ever saw one, They did manage to knock one out though: bounced the shell just under the turret from the front, said it was something they all learned to do with the better armoured German tanks. Went through a few tanks during the war. When he died as an old man, his commander came to the funeral. I had never met him til then. Said he owed my uncle his life at least 3 times over -- I suppose they all felt that way. Tank crews could be tight.

@EmersusTech

10 ай бұрын

gameburn178, thanks for your extensive comment!

By the way the American artillery tactic of time on target, which my dad helped teach to artillery men during the war, allowed the Americans to open up with devastating barrages without the warning that ranging shells would give. That was one of the reasons American artillery was so much more hellish than anyone else's.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Crap Phone, well, we appreciate your dad's efforts with the time on target. I figure that the sooner the Allies defeated Nazi Germany, the sooner the war and death ended...this helped end the war faster by some degree, so, your dad was a life saver! :) Thank you for commenting and watching!

@californiabreeze2182

2 жыл бұрын

SHOOT FIRST,TAKE OUT.NAPOLEON.

@jojoemcgeejoe457

2 жыл бұрын

A lot of folks dont understand what "time on target" artillery means. I means everything is fired, but at staggered times depending on the weapon being fired, range of the weapon, speed of the shell in flight, etc, so that it all hits at the same time. Often, everything from mortars of the infantry units up to the biggest guns in range of the artillery. All fired in specific sequence and timing so all the shells land together. So, instead of a "steady barrage" of individual shells going off, you get massive hammer blows of overlapping concussion and blast waves that just pulverize everything.

@duckduckgoismuchbetter

2 жыл бұрын

@@jojoemcgeejoe457 Thanks, that was very helpful.

@royfitzhenry

Жыл бұрын

@@EmersusTech m

If you enjoyed this video, then you may also like: Battle of Gavutu and Tanambogo kzread.info/dash/bejne/iIh4vM6Rm8i-ks4.html Deep Battle Part II: German Surprise At Nancy kzread.info/dash/bejne/p5yTsKp9m9jRnbw.html Lt. General Patton in Operation HUSKY -- Sicily -- Patton Series -- Part 2 kzread.info/dash/bejne/c2isl49vnpOyZLw.html

Also remember that the US service members were often very young, having signed on to fight on two fronts but basically not professional soldiers at the beginning. They were learning on the job. Also, what country could have flipped the manufacturing switch so quickly and churned out so many tanks and planes in such a relatively short time.

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

Michael Rauch, that was back the US manufactured a massive amount of things. Not so today! Thanks for watching and commenting!

@BeukendaalMason

Жыл бұрын

It is difficult to say the average US soldier was "young" as there was a large number of US soldiers (especially officers, like Teddy Roosevelt Jr) who had served in WW1. It is true that by far fewer US soldiers were "career" soldiers at the time as the US only held a few thousand soldiers in career positions between wars (much less than European countries).

@bobkonradi1027

Жыл бұрын

There's a story about at the beginning of the war some Pentagon General called up the CEO at Chrysler and asked if they could produce tanks. The reply was, "hell yea we can do that. And BTW, what's a tank.? American industry built tanks like they were cars, which made it easier to convert a car plant to a tank plant. And in the process they made them as (relatively) easy to service as a car. A good example was the final drive assembly on Sherman tanks. The front armor plate and the entire drive assembly could be unbolted from the outside, moved out of the way, and a complete new front end bolted in quickly. In a few hours time a Sherman whose front end was destroyed could have a new front plate and drive in little more time than changing an engine in a car.

@toad2117

6 ай бұрын

@@BeukendaalMason the average us infantryman was pretty young, especially by late 1944 when the heaviest fighting on the western front was taking place, the bulk of US infantry were replacements who had just finished high school

My grandfather fought in WW2,his division was in combat for 282 days. They landed in Normandy on 11 June. By January 1945 the Getmans feared the 30th Division. They referred to them as Roosevelt's SS. At the end of the war they were the first division to be selected to be moved to the Pacific Theater for the intended invasion of Japan. But fortunately the Japanese surrendered before the move was made. Also B.H.LINDDEL hart stated that the 30th was the best combat unit in Europe

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

Raymond Hill, thank you for you contribution and sorry for not answering your comment earlier! You get a heart!

I'm glad that he said that the Germans hated house to house fighting with canadians. My grandpa said that was easily the worst/scariest part of the war.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Andrew, yes, I found that comment funny. I had to include it. Thanks for watching and commenting!

@warrendubeau851

2 жыл бұрын

@@EmersusTech That line made me think back to an advertisement that was carried on transit busses in Calgary years ago. I think it was from the Legion. It showed a diorama of a squad of Canadian soldiers fighting with the Germans in a house while a tank comes crashing through the wall. It read "In 1945 the average Canadian young male was a vicious streetfighter with overly aggressive driving habits. Thank God for that!"

@lordalfa600

2 жыл бұрын

Its not fighting. Its called ice hockey.

@welshpete12

2 жыл бұрын

@@lordalfa600 same thing !

@michaeldowson6988

2 жыл бұрын

The Battle of Ortona was called Little Stalingrad; it was room to room fighting in an old stone city, forcing the German Paratroop Division out.

You can identify an unknown force by firing one shot and judging the response. If the unknowns respond with precise, regimented rifle fire, they are British. If they surrender, they're Italian. If they respond with heavy machinegun fire, they are German. But if nothing happens for a few minutes, then your whole position gets leveled by artillery, they are American.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Jeremy Fogarty, that's a funny comment! Thank you for watching and commenting!

@davidanderson_surrey_bc

Жыл бұрын

And if you're suddenly swarmed by a horde of bloodthirsty bayonet-jabbing barbarians, then you've just provoked a brigade of Canadians.

@davidanderson_surrey_bc

Жыл бұрын

And if the enemy returns fire with a single shot, then you it's the French. Being polite.

@luigimrlgaming9484

Жыл бұрын

Bit too late for that last one.

@user-mc6bz2pl4y

4 ай бұрын

​@luigimrlgaming9484 well, he got he's timing right then, he was talking about the french😂

The British had been at war longer than the Americans so it certainly makes sense that their individual soldiers were more experienced and more efficient. War is not a sporting event and it is not a situation where you should “play fair.” If you can obliterate your opponent with an artillery barrage then you would be negligent not to do so.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

the breadman, I don't think anyone could say it better than you did. War is a political means to an end -- which is victory for your side. All this crap about "We'll stay on our side of the DMZ and only fight you if you come south." (like in Vietnam) is nuts. When a country declares war, then hostilities begin (unless we were attacked unprovoked). When the enemy looks around and sees his country in ashes, then he sues for peace and the war is over. That's the way it should be. What we've had for the last decades are "kill lists" for extrajudicial drone killings. No country has a right to kill their own citizens without the due process of a trial. But the President of the United States woke up one day and decided that he had the power to do this, which is nowhere in the US Constitution. Who in the world would agree to play soccer/football when your opponent can cross the middle of the field, but you can never do so! Thanks for your comment!

@michaelplanchunas3693

5 ай бұрын

Before America's entry into WW2, many Americans slipped across the border and enlisted for pilot training in the Canadian Air Force. When the 8th Air Force arrived in the UK, the "Eagle Squadrons" of the RAF were disbanded and their pilots transferred into the US Army Air Forces. Remember many of these pilots were aces and had been fighting the Luftwaffe for 2 years. Held in distain by Hqs. and squadron commanders, they were given the lowest possible commissioned rank: Flight Officer. Many arrogant squadron commanders saw pilot after pilot killed because they would not accept advice from the Flight Officers. Only after HQ recognized the high casualty rates in Fighter Command did they realize the value of these Flight Officers. Many were promoted to captain and placed in training positions as deputy squadron commanders. Soon the odds turned in favor of the 8th Air Force.

There's a story that Stephen Ambrose tells in one of his books of a German officer who entered a US ammo dump that was overrun and captured during the battle of the bulge. The Americans had abandoned it all, without bothering to try and destroy it. He had his staff car drive up and down the rows of ammo pallets because it was too far to walk, and he would get out and examine them, and it was *just* 105mm ammunition; that ammo dump was larger than the town he'd lived in as a boy. He said when he saw that, he knew the war was lost. There was no way to defeat an enemy that had that degree of material production and could just write it off.

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

thedungeondelver, that makes sense. That was totally possible. Thank you for watching and your comment!

My uncle fought in North Africa and with Patton's 3rd Army in Europe. He noted that initially US forces had a lot to learn, this was after all mostly an Army based on conscription-except for a few elite units. By late 1944/45 American troops had learned a lot and were as good as the British and German troops at that time. Of course the Africa Corp was mostly in POW camps by then.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Phil, yes, it was good that Americans fought first in North Africa, because they needed the experience. If the Americans had landed in France in 1942 -- it would've been a disaster for the Western Allies. We hadn't even gotten the landing procedures down pat yet in 1942. Not only that, in 1942, the Wehrmacht had tons of solid, good troops, not mauled by the Russian front. Two years later, the whole situation was different. Thank you for watching and commenting!

@jerryware5749

2 жыл бұрын

Bit of trivia: There was a WWII POW camp not far from where I live now called Camp Ruston, near Ruston, Louisiana. The first POWs there were from the Afrika Corp. Later, the crew from U-505 was housed there, but under strict security and could not mingle with the other prisoners in order to prevent the Germans from discovering that an Enigma machine from U-505 had been compromised. I think only one building of that camp is left today and is on property owned by Grambling State University.

@JayM409

2 жыл бұрын

Experience is the best teacher.

@jefflockaby702

2 жыл бұрын

@@EmersusTech my Dad was one of the many G.I.'s captured at the Battle of the Bulge & escaped months later with a dozen other Americans. After two weeks of sleeping in ditches along with stealing bicycles & food, they came across a unit of Russian troops heading into Germany for some payback. Dad said that at the beginning of the war, the Russian troops were a joke...but by then, 1945, he observed first hand that they were as good any combat troops in the war. He used an odd way of describing them...he said that the Russians had "sharpened themselves against that German steel" ...after a few days the Russians passed the former POW's on to a British unit & they in turn passed them on to the U.S. Army because by then everyone was pouring into Germany.

Wilhelm Bittrich of the 10th SS Panzer division said the British paratroopers at Arnhem were the toughest soldiers he ever fought

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Bullet-Tooth Tony, yes, from what I've read, the British paratroopers at Arnhem were "chomping at the bit" to get in the fight (to use an old cowboy phrase). Thanks for the comment!

@brucenorman8904

2 жыл бұрын

@@EmersusTech The British paras at Arnhem are why almost all airborne units today wear the red beret.

@joedredd13215

2 жыл бұрын

@@brucenorman8904 yes and the title Das Rot Tuefels...Red Devil’s was given to them by German falshrimjagers. Respect on both sides 👍

@willl7780

2 жыл бұрын

no doubt...they got thrown into a slaughter...much respect to that AB div...but the way the brits treated the polish general sasoboiwski was strait bullshit...

@lightfootpathfinder8218

2 жыл бұрын

My grandfather fought at Arnhem he was in 1 Para,1st parachute brigade,1st airborne Division. My mother told me he couldn't stand field Marshall Montgomery ...he used to call him "a little rat faced bast**d" apparently

US soldiers were very green at the start of WW2 and lost a lot of their best trained proffessionals to the Japanese in the Philippines. They had to learn a lot of lessons the hard way. By 1945 they had a large number of experienced troops, these are the men that got called back to fight in Korea

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

Joel Billy, yes, even after the peacetime draft of 1940, the US had one of the smallest armies in the world for a major country. Your comment was spot on. Thank you for it!

@mickymiller6130

Жыл бұрын

Korea didn't go so well.

@IIIIIIII

11 ай бұрын

absolutely right. the americans were not wanting or prepared to go to war. once it was decided that americans had to go to war, americans had to, "learn on the job". which is something the germans didn't have to worry about. the germans knew they were going to war, and had prepared themselves. not a fair advantage.

@Navybrat64

10 ай бұрын

​@@mickymiller6130the war is still going on. It never ended. Korea is still divided.

@lattrelbia2527

7 ай бұрын

​@mickymiller6130 idk on one hand 36,000 Americans died while 1 million Chinese also did. It scared the commies for quite some time. The other hand yes there was no reunification. But 50 million ppl are saved from the hell that is the DPRK

Keep in mind, the Commonwealth and Soviets were also using American hardware and American materiel, or building with American resources on American tools. We weren't just drowning them in steel, we were bankrolling three or four more fronts to keep them fighting. They even borrowed and melted down silver from the treasury to make particle accelerators at oak ridge. The end result was the sun coming down on the Japanese empire. Twice.

@bvbxiong5791

6 ай бұрын

alot of thanks we got from the Russions, commies or otherwise.

@spidos1000

4 ай бұрын

@@bvbxiong5791 The Russians were just a tool.

One major factor was the mass production capabilities of the US and Canada. The auto plants in Michigan and Ontario could build more tanks than the Germans could destroy. It was the same with the Liberty ships, they could be built faster than the U boats could sink them. Every company that could make anything was involved. The Lionel train company made navigation equipment for ships for just one example.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Lawrence Lewis, yes, to the Germans it must've been astounding. Destroy the Shermans and there they are again -- like a multi-headed Hydra. Thank you for your comment and watching!

@brucenorman8904

2 жыл бұрын

@@EmersusTech The US discontinued M4 tank production at all but 2 plants in late 1944. The reason, they had 20,000 M4s in depot or transit.

@GeorgiaBoy1961

2 жыл бұрын

"Amateurs talk tactics, professionals discuss logistics" - old but true military aphorism.

@wombatwilly1002

2 жыл бұрын

Canadian tank production was at the Montreal Locamotive Works in Quebec.

@williamwilliam5066

2 жыл бұрын

And the Montague Horace automobile manufacturers (famous in Canada) made mess tins!

My grandpa was Waffen SS Latvian division. He said they respected the Americans and British. They didn't think much about the French but absolutely hated the Soviets.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Stan, this video says it all (of course it's the Russians against the French): kzread.info/dash/bejne/gptlzaiqh6TIh8Y.html Thanks for watching and commentng!

@barrymorrow3319

2 жыл бұрын

Best I have seen

@1johnnygunn

2 жыл бұрын

We all love the Finnish though!

@realnapster1522

Жыл бұрын

Soviets destroyed 75% of Germany military machine. Americans didn’t even join the war for a long time till Soviets had beaten Germany.

@billfarley9167

Жыл бұрын

I wonder how many Jews he slaughtered? The Latvians treated their Jewish population extremely cruel.

I remember reading accounts of German POWs who were just blown away by the variety and quantity of food they enjoyed once they made it to American POW camps in the USA. Decades later a former German POW was at a camp reunion and told a reporter "If there is another big war get on the side the Americans are fighting and get captured by the Americans as soon as possible. You'll have it made."

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

JohnJBrowne11209, don't forget the ice cream the Americans had! Thank you for commenting and watching!

@bobkonradi1027

Жыл бұрын

There is a story that just after the Normandy invasion, the Germans shot down an American cargo plane. Their soldiers went into the plane, which had not caught fire, to see what they could see and what they could scrounge. Their officer found a box, and in that box was a cake that some American soldier's mother had baked for him, and it was fresh. The officer remarked to his superiors that at that point he knew the war was lost, because if the American logistics could deliver a cake from the U.S. to the war front in Europe so quickly that the cake wouldn't even start to turn stale, then, given the lower priority such items had, if they could get a cake to Europe in less than a week, just imagine how quickly they could get high priority items to the front line.

@reasonableraisin3366

Жыл бұрын

@@bobkonradi1027 Well I would only take that story with a grain of salt, somebody else in the same comment section was talking about it, too. In his version, the general was inspecting U.S. POWs and found a soldier with the cake baked by his mother.

@Navybrat64

10 ай бұрын

​@@reasonableraisin3366just because someone's version slightly differs from another doesn't make it false. Three ppl can be standing together and witness an accident and each one will have a different version. I will take what you say with a grain of salt.

One of the things I've read is that the American troops baffled and infuriated the German (and British to an extent) Because of the American's general lack of military protocols in hierarchy. A German soldier feared to be spoken to by a superior officer above his normal Sargent. An American soldier knew his Captain just sold insurance in real life. He treated the rank with respect, but spoke to the man as a peer, not his class superior. The other thing the Germans didn't like was even if the command structure of a unit was killed, the Americans still continued to function as a cohesive unit instead of falling apart. As one Officer said "They all think they're George Patton".

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

cdjhyoung, yes, that is still the case to some degree. US officers are "approachable" by the enlisted, but they are still respected. Thanks for the comment!

@cdjhyoung

Жыл бұрын

@@EmersusTech Let me expand on my comment a bit: US military officers earn their rank by achievement. Most other armies (at the time) assigned the officer rank according to class or family power. It is far easier to respect a man that worked to get those bars than one that got them because of his family name.

My father was in the Wehrmacht against his will,he participated at Barbarossa,never fought directly US soldiers… But he told me when the Americans saw a German helmet they fired at the position until nothing moved…they had enough ammunition

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Claude, thank you for your contribution!

@billfarley9167

Жыл бұрын

There's nothing more apologetic than a defeated German.

@hdvisualartsprojects6759

Ай бұрын

The american way

Having lived in Germany for about twenty years, and hearing several versions about their opinions of Allied Soldiers, this vid is GREAT!

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

TDY, thanks for your comment and for watching!

As outlined in the movie Zulu, the tactics of the American holding attack are virtually identical to Zulu tactics. As for logistics and material advantage, there is a story about a high ranking German officer who was reviewing aerial reconnaissance photos of an American division which was completely mechanized, with no infantry troops walking on the ground, full of tanks, trucks, etc. He asked the analyst, "Which American panzer division is this," only to be told that it was the US First Infantry Division.

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

salamanca1954, that's a good story about the German general! Thanks for your comment and for watching!

@ReverendLloyd

Жыл бұрын

Kaffirs having tactics? hahahahaaaaaaaa

I remembered reading about German submariner POWs talking about getting on board trains for POW camps in the west. They would be on trains for 4 to 5 days seeing farm after farm thinking if they knew how big America was they never would have wanted to get into a war with us.

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

milt, yes, America is really big. A friend of mine drove across the US in 5 days (although it could be done in less). Thanks for your comment and watching!

American troops have an unfair perception issue that have followed them long after the war ended. Early, in Africa and Italy, when the Yanks were still getting their feet wet, they would broadly plan four US troops to oppose one German soldier to be competitive. By time D-Day came around the experienced and disciplined US soldiers were the equal of their German counterparts, and by time of the Battle of the Bulge no one thought poorly of US troops, especially their perfecting of air support and precision artillery. When jokes are made about American airpower and artillery they are only half-joking, because it was devastating.

@infantry4lyfe252

5 ай бұрын

not to mention the mastery of small unit infantry tactics and maneuver warfare

My uncle served in Royal Canadian Highlanders - The Black Watch - and fought in Holland and Germany after D Day. He was involved in house to house combat in Holland. They did not take prisoners! Intense fighting. 35 years later, I saw my uncle flip his mental light switch and turn into a killer! The blank look on his face was scary to see. Made me realize that the war was still there in his mind.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Tom Hayward, yes, those old combat days can come back. For reference, see "First Blood" by John J. Rambo. :) Thanks for watching and commenting!

@trevorbrooks9637

Жыл бұрын

They took objectives, not prisoners.

As a Canadian, I got a chuckle out of hearing our boys described as barbaric. Certainly doesn't fit the "nice people" stereotype. Those of us who've long studied Canadian troops in war, have always known they consistently punched way above their weight class.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Anthony Stagliano, I was just reporting what the German POWs said. I found that interesting too!

@electrolytics

2 жыл бұрын

Absolutely. It was the Canadians who got some of the dirtiest routes out of Normandy. I'm American but I pay attention to your history.

@wishingwell5954

2 жыл бұрын

Exactly. Canada may have a smaller military than the US but man to man we would exterminate US soldiers. They would be screaming as they were laid to waste. american soldiers are pathetic cowards.

@anthonystagliano9795

2 жыл бұрын

@@electrolytics Thanks. You're a rare breed. Lol

@northchurch753

2 жыл бұрын

Anyone who thinks Canada is always nice has never watched a Canadian hockey match 😂🇨🇦

The English kept all captured senior German officers at a country estate with a full wine cellar, cigars, victrolas and newspapers. Idleness and frustration lead to a lot of gossiping, and every room in the place was bugged. They gleaned a lot of useful info that way, that helped in the trials as well as battle.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Michael Dowson, I knew they listened in, but I didn't know about the wine cellars, etc. Talk about treating POWs well! When I was researching a July plotter (I can't remember his name at the moment), I read that he admitted (secretly overheard) in British custody to another German that the Hitler had to be killed, but he was still an adamant anti-semite and that a few million Jews killed was a "price to pay". What a horrible statement! But it goes to show you how great the Brits were at getting this information secretly. Thank you for watching and commenting!

@eddhardy1054

2 жыл бұрын

Yep I believe this happened at Trent Park in North London (not far from where I live) 😊

@davidhauge5706

2 жыл бұрын

Unfortunately due to secrecy concerns the evidence was never presented at war crimes trials.

@timlatte8302

2 жыл бұрын

Sneaky beggars them poms

@williamwilliam5066

2 жыл бұрын

Trent Park Enfield, now part of Middlesex University.

I remember reading that when a German general was captured and realized the magnitude of the US logistic. He stated that with American logistic and productivity and German technology then the US and Germany could have conquered the world together.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Carsten René Kjærulff, yes, that was back when the US was a factory powerhouse! Thank you for watching and commenting!

@macmcleod1188

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah but America didn't want to conquer the world. Back then, America didn't really want to go to war at all.

@WheelsRCool

2 жыл бұрын

Also American and British technology, much of which was superior to Germany's.

@asgautbakke8687

2 жыл бұрын

There is a component forgotten here: intelligence. A historian said that the Allies won by American steel, Russian blood and British intelligence. It has been said that on the intelligence side, Soviet had the best spies, British had the best code-breakers and eavesdroppers and the Americans the most able analytics. Great successes by them all: NKVD spy Rikard Sorge in Tokyo could tell Stalin that Japs were headed for India not Siberia, whereupon Stalin immediately sent the Siberian army to defend Moscow, they arrived in the nick of time to defeat the German attempt at conquering Moscow... Which spy is better than the spy who doesn't realize that he is a spy? The Brits had an informant in Hitler's inner circle: The Japanese ambassador. He often held long meetings with bigwigs in Nazi party and high command, and sent comprehensive reports by radio back to Tokyo. Those transmissions were intercepted by Bletchley Park and the code broken, thus they knew the most intimate secrets in Berlin. The ambassador lived to 1970 and went to his grave never knowing that he had been an unwitting British informant... And American psychiatrics in the OSS service, forerunner of CIA, wrote a report concluding that when the game was up, Hitler would likely fight on almost until the enemy kicked in the door to his residence and then commit suicide shortly before that.

@andrewhart6377

2 жыл бұрын

I think Paton had that idea.

My father made an acquaintance of a former German soldier who had fought on the Eastern and then Western fronts before immigrating to the US after the war. He told my dad the Russians were like fearsome animals that attacked in huge waves, but used poor tactics and were easy targets. The British were methodical and brave, but predictable. The American infantry were generally more reckless, but better marksmen, and would open fire at much longer range, like 400+ yards if possible. If you exposed yourself for any length of time, you would get hit, if not by rifle then by air or mortar.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Richard Hudgins, that sounds right! Thanks for watching and commenting!

@abhi5504

2 жыл бұрын

I'm pretty sure the british were better marksmen as they put a lot of emphasis into training their troops to be the best in order to make up for their smaller population

@justwhenyouthought6119

2 жыл бұрын

@@abhi5504 Yup

@isexuallyidentifyasanapach4720

2 жыл бұрын

@@abhi5504 A lot of Americans, especially Southerners shot guns since they were children, especially during these times. So that's probably why Americans were considered better marksman

@billd9667

Жыл бұрын

Every Marine is a rifleman first. Not sure about Army infantry…

I had four uncle who served during WWII. Charles Boatright (US Army Air Corp) who died of tb during basic training. John L. Boatright (U.S. 3rd Army) was wounded during the Battle Of The Bulge. J.P. Boatright (U.S. 1st Army) stormed the beach at Normandy. Forest Simpson (U.S. Navy) was taken prisoner by the Japanese and held as a POW for 2 years when his destroyer was sunk. None of them would ever talk about the war. Although, not long before he passed away, my Uncle John started talking more about it. Someone in the VFW put together a shadow box with his medals, purple heart and commendations and presented it to him, and his kids said that got him to opening up a bit more about it. He had never talked about his wartime experience before, but he hung that shadow box on his wall with pride. I've got his "WWII Veteran" cap that he use to wear all the time.

In 2004 I heard a woman that lived in Berlin during WWII tell how her brother(s) ensured that he/they were captured/surrendered to American/British. The one managed to get leave from the Eastern Front to visit Berlin and surrendered in France. This matches things said in this video.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Martin, thank you for your contribution!

@nickdanger3802

2 жыл бұрын

Because the USSR (and Japan) did not observe the Geneva convention, POW's had no expectations of being fed, housed and clothed as well as their guards.

@morganwheeleryear1123

2 жыл бұрын

How lucky was he to be pulled from the Eastern to the Western front

@sacWeapons

3 ай бұрын

@@nickdanger3802 germany didn't observe the Geneva Convention either. their POW camps for the Soviets POWs were far worse and had a lower survival rate the the Soviet camps for germans.

Good summary that matches what veterans told me over the years. Germans also commented that American soldiers rarely made the same mistakes twice, but instead learned quickly and adapted.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Colonel K, I don't know for certain that Churchill said this, but it sounds like something he would say: "Americans always do the right thing -- after trying every other course of action first." Thank you for watching and your comment!

@Paladin1873

2 жыл бұрын

@@EmersusTech Yes, I've heard that comment attributed to him in the past. It's basically true.

@stephenkammerling9479

2 жыл бұрын

It seems a lot of America's wars started out badly, but we learned lessons well and came on very strong at the end. Best example is our civil war with Americans fighting each other. The Union didn't do well for first couple of years, but finally got their act together and above all else got better leadership, especially after Grant took control. In the end, it wasn't even close.

@ericschneider8524

2 жыл бұрын

It's difficult to fight against a well armed opponent that can also think on his feet.

There is how WW2 was won albeit simplistically by: Russian manpower, American industry and British intelligence

I was told by a WW2 veteran that Canadian signalmen were highly regarded for their ability to get the job done under the worst field conditions and combat conditions. So much so, that British generals put them in the most critical positions. The Germans learned to recognize their style and took it for granted that when they moved up Canadian signalmen a major attack was in the offing.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Mr. Danforth 374, thank you for your comment! Check out my new video: World War II British Commonwealth Air Force Training Plan kzread.info/dash/bejne/o5qruq97pdC4h8o.html

@mrmaphousa4349

2 жыл бұрын

That was my dads job, nice to hear that.

@JayM409

2 жыл бұрын

Canada raised three special radio intercept units, called type A and Type B. The B units were commanded by brothers, Majors R and W Grant. Maj R. Grant commanded the B unit (No 446) in Normandy, while his brother commanded the B unit (No 445) in N Africa and then Italy. The messages they intercepted enables command to be ready for German attacks or counter attacks.

@HaloFTW55

11 ай бұрын

Having friends who serve as signalmen in today’s Canada, I can confirm that some things don’t change. Siggies are good people and friendly folks, happy to call them friends.

"Sepp Dietrich grumbled, that even the elite divisions of the SS could not effortlessly overrun the Americans. It was impossible to convince Hitler that these were tough opponents, soldiers as good as our own men." Speer page 418 Inside the Third Reich

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Nick Danger, that doesn't surprise me -- that Sepp would say that -- he eventually became disenchanted with Hitler, because Sepp saw what was really going on at the front. Thank you for watching and commenting!

My Grandfather was a Veteran of WWII. A member of The U.S. / Canada First Special Service Force He saw action in the Italian campaign, The Alutieans and Southern France. He landed on the Anzio beach head and saw action at Monte La Difensa, The Mussolini Canal, The Gustav Line The Gothic line and the winter, Hitler and Bernhardt lines. He was up against The Herman Goering Division. He said they were tough soldiers. He said the German conscripts in The German Army weren't bad but The SS were Bastards.

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

Palmer Griffiths, my great-uncle also fought "up the boot" as he said, for the US Army. Thanks for your comment and watching!

@palmergriffiths1952

Жыл бұрын

@@EmersusTech You're welcome and thanks for your Grandfather's service

These stories are priceless! I hope someone is collecting and cataloging them for future generations. My father fought in Europe during WWII. He told me a few stories and I have passed them on to my grandkids. To those of you who have heard these stories from your parents, friends of parents, or even just talking with someone who was there, pass the stories on.

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

Ken Woolnough, I agree that we should tell the stories that we know. By the way, I believe you'd like the following video about my dad: A Vietnam Veteran's True Story kzread.info/dash/bejne/g52syNFxmbWTfKg.html Thanks for watching and commenting!

I have read accounts of American tankers in the Gulf Wars going to battle with pictures of Rommel inside their tanks. They admired and made use of the Blitzkrieg tactics.

@mattbrown4745

2 жыл бұрын

It’s true. It was the inspiration during “the thunder run” to Baghdad.

@blakekenley1000

2 жыл бұрын

I was a light infantryman, machine gunner. We had a healthy respect for German machine gun crews, and to be honest we used a great deal of their methods. It worked.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Roadrun100, yes, that doesn't surprise me at all -- that they would have a picture of Rommel in their tank. Thanks for your comment!

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Blake, thank you for your contribution!

@anthonykelly1368

2 жыл бұрын

“Panzer Battles” by a member of Rommel’s staff, was in the background during a famous interview of Schwarwtzkopf.(sp?)

I’m from a military family (am not a veteran myself), but have heard multiple family members on both sides make comments on the ferocity of Canadian soldiers - love how contradictory to the Canadian stereotype that is 😂

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for watching and commenting!

@morrisheinersz2005

2 жыл бұрын

ask the 12 SS Hitlerjugend how frightening the Canadians were. They were boys, and they kicked the dog-snot out of canadian infantry units.

@anglishbookcraft1516

2 жыл бұрын

Canadians are just holding in all their pent up anger

@brianjones7660

Жыл бұрын

@@patchouli9 the Wehrmacht reportedly called the Canadians "Queen Elizabeth's SS"😏

@johnmilner5485

Жыл бұрын

Among soldiers who've worked with canadian forces , we've always held them in high regard , the civilian population underestimates them though.

Mein Opa fought for the Heer for the 3rd Reich in the war. He fought both the Soviets and the Americans. He was one of the 20,000 plus of the wounded that was evacuated from Stalingrad prior to Paulus’s surrender. He spent most of 1943 recovering from his wounds. In 1944, he was reassigned to France. He hated the Soviets but said they were predictable. He said the Americans were unpredictable but their fire power was overwhelming.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Eric Honecker, he was very lucky. I read a book (it may have been Soldat) about a German anti-tank gunner who fought in the Soviet Union and he went home on leave and his stomach was upset, so he saw a civilian doctor, who told the Wehrmacht to keep him home until he recuperated. If I remember correctly, he actually wanted to get back the front with his comrades. When he finally got back, his entire unit was just gone -- dead, prisoner -- just gone. One more thing I loved that he stated in this book: He said they would wait camouflaged until the Soviet tanks passed them and then hit them in the rear, one after another. The Soviet tankers didn't know where the fire was coming from, which had to be disconcerting! Thanks for watching and commenting!

@JayM409

2 жыл бұрын

There was a great deal of variation in the training of US divisions. Some were well trained, other were not. This probably played some part in the unpredictability.

"don't bring a knife to a gun fight" Canadians: "hold my beer eh"

My father was a G.I. in Patten's 3rd Army. I asked him what kind of soldiers the Germans were. He said, well if the Germans had an Officer there to tell them what to do they fought as good as Americans. While Americans fought well with or without an Officer. He said his platoon couldn't keep an Officer they were wounded, killed, or promoted. Sargents or even enlisted men with combat experience provided all the leadership an American soldier needed.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Dewayne Weaver, thank you for telling your father's WWII story!

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

We appreciate his efforts and sacrifices!

My Dad was A Battery, 343rd Field Artillery of the 90th Division. His battery was the tip of the spear for Gen. Wild Bill Weaver's dash across France. I found him in the 90th Division's history book. He was a wonderful individual and I miss him very much.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Tar Remover, yes, I've found my Great-Uncle in the records of WWII in Italy, but I'm still looking for more. Thank you for your comment and watching!

Other opinions of Australin troops include: “For dash and gallantry the bloodthirsty Scots, Australians and Canadians led the way, with the impetuous Irish close behind. The Australian to my mind were the most aggressive and managed to keep their form in spite of their questionable discipline. Out of the line, they were undoubtedly difficult to handle, but once in it, they loved a fight. They were a curious mixture of toughness and sentimentality.” LT GEN Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, VC. Gen. Alan Moreshead simply called them: "white Gurkhas".

2 жыл бұрын

"Frankly I had enjoyed the war" Lt.-Gen. Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart on his experiences during WWI. A man who was shot in the head, stomach, ankle, leg, hip and ear, lost his left eye, survived two plane crashed, tunneled out of POW camps and tore off his own fingers when a doctor refused to amputate. He was semi retired by WWII when it kicked off, and was in Poland as the British military attaché, escaping through Romania to rejoin the British army in his full capacity as a staff officer. And he was Belgian, joining the British Army in the Boer war, angering his father who nearly got him removed, but managed to persuade him to let him follow the path he forged for himself instead of staying in Oxford as his father intended. They don't make them like the used to.

@OldWolflad

2 жыл бұрын

He did indeed, but in the same quote he also said "but when it came to all round work and steadiness in battle, the British midland divisions were the best".

@lyndoncmp5751

Жыл бұрын

nicholas Moss, I wonder why the opening poster chose to omit that bit?

@OldWolflad

Жыл бұрын

@@lyndoncmp5751 agenda ??

@terryharris1291

Жыл бұрын

Luckily the New Zealanders were very quite and just got on with the job of killing Germans.

i also remember watching a video of a german soldier talking about facing Canadians. He said they dreaded coming up against them because they would take heavy casualties and not give up ground and would in many cases even push forward after taking those casualties, so they knew they were in for one hell of fight.

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

Don Himmelman, thank you for your comment. If you haven't seen this video, then you may want to: What WWI Germans Thought About Canadian Soldiers kzread.info/dash/bejne/fGuX1KiAYK21naQ.html

"The best American general was General Motors".

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Albemarle7, the best Soviet general was called "General Winter"! Just joking! Thanks for your comment and watching!

@luisaymerich9675

2 жыл бұрын

There is an anecdote that the Soviets believed that for communism to take over the US they only needed the defection of three American generals: General Motors General Mills General Electric

There is a story of a German intelligence summary that mentions the US Army had excellent very readable manuals on all aspects of soldiering and combat, but unfortunately no American soldier ever appeared to read them.

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

John Dupre, I have actually read what you are referencing before, but I'm unsure where I read it. Do you have the source? Just curious. Thanks for watching and commenting!

It makes total sense that the Americans were less refined in combat compared to other countries that had spent years fighting and refining their combat techniques. They were new and were conducting on-the-job training.

@Navybrat64

10 ай бұрын

Fast forward 81 years. Now the Americans are the defenders of the earth...lol

@Navybrat64

10 ай бұрын

Not to mention these countries are hundreds of years older than the USA.

Decades ago I read that a German soldier had said he knew they'd lose the war when he saw his first dead American. He had new boots, a coat, and food.

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

rpc717, thank you for your comment and watching!

@shirleybalinski4535

Жыл бұрын

😆😆😆😆😆 bet the Russian said the same.

As usual we forget the Australian and New Zealand Forces. Rommel was quoted saying, “if I had to take hell, I would use the Australians to take it and the New Zealanders to hold it.”

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Matthew C, it simply wasn't in my source material. Since then, I found more and better material and tried to make up for it with these videos. Hopefully, you'll like them -- the last one is more about Canada, even though British is in the title: British Boxes in the North African Desert -- World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZYR3stNwpae4ndY.html What Did Rommel and the Germans Think About Australian Soldiers in WWII? kzread.info/dash/bejne/a6aMtpOij9iqZrA.html World War II British Commonwealth Air Force Training Plan kzread.info/dash/bejne/o5qruq97pdC4h8o.html

little fun fact, I can't remember where I read it but apparently the Germans hated, *hated* the .50 cal M2 browning heavy machine gun, they simply had nothing on the infantry level to take on the .50 slugs being flung at them with sustained automatic fire. It could punch through most cover and most of their light vehicles like trucks or half tracks, it'd leave an awful mess too if you got hit directly by them. Now imagine this fucked up weapon is EVERYWHERE, carried by the heavy MG sections of infantry companies, on half tracks, on tanks, on trucks, on jeeps, everywhere you go these guys have this high caliber machine gun and they literally shoot it at any target. A truck? Hit it with the .50! A house with infantry in it? Get the .50 on it! A bush that *might* have enemy infantry hiding in it? Fuck it, give it a burst from the .50! The .50 Cal machine was a fear weapon and it still is today, I've had the pleasure of getting to operate one for over 3 years in the military myself, it is one impressive and fearsome weapon..... when you can get working lol

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

David, I shot an M60 in the army and I'm telling ya, everyone should be required to fire one of those! Talk about exciting! I really didn't want to stop and give up my turn! That sucker can shoot way down range! If people actually shot guns and owned them like they should, then there'd be almost no calls for gun control. One of my favorite phrases is: "An armed society is a polite society." A gun is simply a tool, like a knife. You never hear anyone calling for "knife control" when there's knife attack -- which is silent. Unfortunately, I never got a chance to fire a .50 MG. One thing you left out was that even MP jeeps in Vietnam had .50 cal MGs! Also, I heard that either in Korea or in Vietnam or both -- that they'd put a quad .50 -- that was supposed an AA gun, into action against a sniper in the woods and just rip the trees! Not likely a sniper would survive too long in that fire storm! Thank you for watching and commenting!

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

David, you also get a heart!

I noted the repeated comments on American artillery. Other armies had artillery that was attached to each unit, but rarely supported other units. American artillery was attached to the units, but was also cross linked to other units. This allowed a tremendous amount of artillery to be concentrated where it was most needed. Essential to this was good communications. Most important was excellent logistics so that the artillery had the huge quantity of ammunition that was needed to make this work.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

James Fisher, yes, the Allies made great strides in artillery. Some of it was simply better organization, which you would think other countries would do, but didn't. Thank you for watching and commenting!

@salamanca1954

Жыл бұрын

This was foreshadowed during the Civil War, when northern artillerists developed a doctrine of dispersed concentration of fire. Previously, if a Confederate battery fired on a Union battery, or on Union troops, an artillery duel would develop between the two batteries. Beginning, in, I think, Antietam, northern batteries from many places on the field that were within range would concentrate their fire on the rebel battery, and knock it out, causing the confederate boys to label the fight "artillery hell."

Germans whine about "unfair fighting," but they completely lost the plot. The point of war is to *win,* not fight fair.

Germans, English and the Americans have the same roots (historically), "Germanic", and similar language. They fought each other fairly, and by Geneva convention rules. They treated prisoners well. Russians, not so much. Zero respect, and always fight to the death. My father and his two brothers were with partisans. They did not take prisoners or expect to be captured alive. My father survived although wounded few times, his brothers were killed. All are forgotten now, as the time races by, and same mistakes are repeated over and over. We never learn... I love you dad. You are my biggest hero.

@magnacircenses

2 жыл бұрын

The Germans fought under Geneva convention rules? Get a grip. They were known to sometimes fight according to Geneva convention. The record of the SS, the slaughter of innocents across Russia etc, their summary executions of prisoners? The Russians just paid the Germans back a fraction for their filthy slaughter of 20 million mostly civilian lives. Read some history. There’s a reason the Germans took the last 80 years off and are only now rearming, albeit wisely.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Sam, thank you for watching and commenting!

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

magnacircenses, yes, the Germans needed a refresher course in the Geneva convention right before Malmedy, but somehow it got lost in the paperwork! Thank you for watching and commenting!

@samkitty5894

2 жыл бұрын

@@magnacircenses Don't put SS and the Einsatzgruppen into same category with other German armed forces. Their job was to kill civilians. My father and his brothers took many of them out. When you find yourself in some strange new land you will always be at the disadvantage, looking behind your back...often dying in horrendous pain...

@doncooper6801

2 жыл бұрын

Except for Germans executing British POWs in the run up to Dunkirk.

I have two books by the son of a German journalist who interviewed a number of serving soldiers in Normandy prior to D-Day and then managed to track some of these men to interview them again post war. One man said that when he was captured he asked an American soldier "Where are your horses?", the soldier laughed and say they didn't have any. The German was amazed as so much German transport was still horse drawn. Another German soldier said he thought that the Canadians were the best soldiers, when necessary they would use supreme violence but could turn it off quickly once the situation settled down. All of them said that they thought they were defending a united Europe against American/British invasion and couldn't understand the level of hatred shown to them by the Allies. The two sides of the propaganda being feed to the troops.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

HarryP457, that's a good comment about the differences between the mechanized armies and the horse-drawn. It's like, "Hey, I didn't see any horses offload from the sea!" Thank you for your comment and watching!

@Caje-zf8md

2 жыл бұрын

I seem to recall reading the same literature about German defenders being surprised by the absence of horses when the allies landed in Normandy.

@coonplatoon

2 жыл бұрын

Im pretty sure I read the same book. I recall a former German pow shocked and awed about the amount of mechanization the Americans had. He said he would see G.I.sdrive a jeep until the thing ran out of gas, park it, and go get a new one. The old jeep would just set where it was left and rot away. Industry is what wins wars it seems

@LSwick-ss6nm

2 жыл бұрын

I always remember hearing the term fortress Europe. It was in America news reels from the time. Many years later I learned that this is precisely how the Germans were toaggt to view the conflict. They believed they were defending Europe against aggression by world Bank and economic powers that wanted to conquer everything. So as stated above, they didn't understand why they were seen as evil men when they were captured. We have to remember there wasn't world wide news at their fingertips. Even in America most only knew bits and pieces of world and national news. Local news was their main source of information.

@andrewhart6377

2 жыл бұрын

What Historians rarely mention is the fact that Europe suffered heavily after the New York Stock Market Crash leading to the Great Depression some ten years prior to WW2. Democracy was blamed for the Crash, people consequently then looked to either Fascism or Communism. It began with the Spanish Civil War. Germany later believed that they were saving Europe from the Grips of Russian Bolshevism.

Liked the way you put this together. Thankyou succinct and to the point.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

EX BRITISH FORCES PATRIOTS CHANNEL, I like to get to the point in videos and real life. I know someone who could speak for 20 minutes about all sorts of things and you keep wondering, "What does this guy want?" Then finally he'll get to what he wants to say. Not me. I say it and move on. Thank you for commenting and watching!

Excellent video. A good book to read about a Canadian's perspective of fighting in Italy. The book is called, "Not All of Us Were Brave" by Stanley Scislowski. He served in the Perth Regiment of Canada. (My grandfather also served in that regiment)

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Jeff C, thank you for your compliment. I do intend on doing more videos on Canada, but there's a lot of "backstory" that I need to establish for viewers. If I jumped into Canadians in Italy, then some things wouldn't make sense. It's hard to explain in a few seconds in the Comments, but I need to make videos about what the Canadians were doing before Italy. Thank you for suggesting a book! You get a heart! You also might like these other videos: British Boxes in the North African Desert -- World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZYR3stNwpae4ndY.html What Did Rommel and the Germans Think About Australian Soldiers in WWII? kzread.info/dash/bejne/a6aMtpOij9iqZrA.html World War II British Commonwealth Air Force Training Plan kzread.info/dash/bejne/o5qruq97pdC4h8o.html Conscientious Objectors -- World War One kzread.info/dash/bejne/pammksWRaNOwfto.html

@gryph01

2 жыл бұрын

@@EmersusTech Thank you. That book will teach you more about the Canadians. We became the "line punchers": We broke the lines to allow the 8th Army to exploit the gap.

I heard a story about the time a German officer was inspecting a captured American mail truck. He knew they had lost the war because, Americans could afford to waste fuel, shipping packages across the world to their soldiers in Europe.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

FreedomUSA1982, thank you for watching and commenting!

@allenbuck5589

Жыл бұрын

Semper fi.

My great uncle fought with perth regiment from Canada through Italy. I remember my uncle telling me he almost got brought up on charges when csm caught him with both sides of his bayonet sharpened on his Enfield( normally enfield bayonet has only one sharpened side, he sharpened both like a Fairbanks dagger, apparently a no no)

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Daveelaw, that's interesting. Yes, a sharper bayonet is more efficient. We wouldn't want that! :) Thank you for watching and commenting!

@brustar5152

2 жыл бұрын

@@EmersusTech Not necessarily. There's a reason why the that groove running down the length of the bayonet on both sides referred to as the "blood groove" is there. It is to break the vacuum connection the bayonet makes with deep penetration of the intended victim. It was noted during early warfare that with the common round or triangular shaped bayonets of Civil War and early WWI that soldiers were often killed while trying to extricate their bayonet from the enemy's body. Sharpening both edges would require removing a lot of metal along the back edge of the bayonet reducing the help that "blood groove" would give you in pulling your rifle back to regain it's full use. I oversaw a line of machines at Canadian Arsenals Ltd during the mid sixties manufacturing a lot of those bayonets for all Commonwealth nations and the U.S. involved in Vietnam, so had access to their design parameters

@blasemusha4001

Жыл бұрын

@@brustar5152unfortunately, I’m pretty sure the blood groove is a myth…

My father was a German officer. He was part of the Afrika Korps headquarters staff, and was captured when North Africa fell to the allies. He told the story of having been captured, and being moved from one holding camp to another, and passing an olive grove. In between the orderly rows of olive trees were row upon row of spare American tanks (no unit markings) This was a luxury unknown to the Germans, and my father knew at that point the war was lost. He ended up in a POW camp in Concordia Kansas until the war ended.

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

PRWphoto, that's a good story. Thank you for your input. Thanks for you comment and watching!

@shirleybalinski4535

Жыл бұрын

Did he like Kansas? There are videos on U-Tube about Concordia.

@cpsinc6052

Жыл бұрын

Cooly story bro

There was one German commander who had extremely high regards to Australian and New Zealand for their abilities. Erwin Rommel was quoted as saying: "If I had to take hell, I would use the Australians to take it and the New Zealanders to hold it.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Ross Smith, you should enjoy my latest video where I mention this exact quote. What Did Rommel and the Germans Think About Australian Soldiers in WWII? kzread.info/dash/bejne/a6aMtpOij9iqZrA.html Thanks for watching and commenting!

@SuperHappyFunAJ

2 жыл бұрын

Got to love the ANZAC's

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

@@SuperHappyFunAJ AJ Garnett, yep!

@doug6500

2 жыл бұрын

There is absolutely nothing backing up this statement. It is total fabrication.

@OldWolflad

2 жыл бұрын

Rommel never said that though about the Autsralians and New Zealanders - he did rate them but this quote was made up

Superbly entertaining presentation. Thank you for preparing and sharing with the rest of us History nuts.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it

My German teacher was a long-time combat veteran on the Eastern front. He did not fight the Americans or the British, but claimed that the average German soldier thought the Americans and British were okay soldiers -- nothing exceptional -- but the Russians were "The Enemy." He had a lot of respect for Russian mortar men.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Doug Beaton, one of my German teachers was a "post-war German bride". Her name was Sigrid. When the American soldier dancing with her (who later became her husband) asked her her name, she said, "Sigrid", but he thought she said "(It's a) secret" -- because they sound very close (as you know from German class). With music going at a dance, it would probably sound the same. Thank you for watching and commenting!

@clarkhull7546

2 жыл бұрын

If he had absolutely no experience on the western front how on earth could he make any kind of decision good or bad?

@welshpete12

2 жыл бұрын

@@EmersusTech Nice story ! :-)

@Heresjonnyagain

2 жыл бұрын

@@clarkhull7546 presumably he would have had comrades who had western, Italian or African front experience

@your_royal_highness

2 жыл бұрын

@@clarkhull7546 he can have his opinions. Look at the opinions we had of the Japanese (such that we incarcerated US citizens illegally in camps who happened to be of Japanese ancestry).

There's an anecdote about Canadian soldiers in Italy, who were in a tight spot outnumbered by German troops, during a brief lull in the fighting a German officer called out, " British officers, there is no dishonor in surrender for gentlemen!" To which came the reply; "We ain't British, we ain't gentlemen and we'll be damned if we'll surrender!" In reality there were probably quite a few unprintable words included.🍁🇨🇦🍁

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

David Carr, that sounds about right! Thanks for watching and commenting!

One German officer recounted that he first realised the war was lost when they captured an American field canteen and he saw that G.I.'s were eating ice cream at the front.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Markus, then he became sauer when they didn't him any! Thanks for your comment!

My father-in-law was a gunner in an American Sherman tank. Based upon his letters home, his only objective was to destroy the Hun so he could get back home. During the Battle of the Bulge an 88 mm shell killed their driver. My father-in-law and his Lieutenant bailed out before a second 88 mm shell destroyed their tank. After a few months at hospital in England he spent the rest of the war trying to catch up with his unit as they raced across Germany. He finally found them in Berlin after hostilities had ceased. He wasn't able to ship out for home with his buddies because he had to make up for the time he had been out of action. He claimed that post-war parades for dignitaries were worse than being in combat. Letters from his brother, a general's aide, mentioned the women in Paris and the German 88s, but mostly complained about how rough the jeeps rode, and how his typewrit er skipped a spa ce every now a nd then.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Joe Glaister, thank you for your contribution! It's stories like that that need to be written down before everyone forgets. Much appreciated! You get a heart!

There is this contemporary joke: "You see a platoon of infantry in front of you, but don't know who it is, so you fire a machine gun burst over their heads. If they answer with raging machine-gun fire, they are German, if they answer with organized rifle fire, they are British but if nothing happens at first, but the air starts to fill with the sound of bombers later, they're american. "

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Klaus, das klingt richtig! Many times the "jokes" of the war period are laced with irony. Thank you for watching and commenting!

@micemb2570

2 жыл бұрын

And if they reply by charging at you with bayonets fixed screaming, they are the ANZACS

@stamfordmeetup

2 жыл бұрын

Or if they run away and grovel to Dictators they are French, hahaha.

@bubbalong7646

2 жыл бұрын

We kicked your asses once and if necessary will do it again and that's no joke. (Don't start any more wars to find out!)

@Page-Hendryx

2 жыл бұрын

Not a very good joke, I'm afraid.

My grandad knew an old guy who fought all through ww2, he basically said the average German soldier was just the same as he was just on the other side, he wasn't to keen on the SS and absolutely hated the Japanese with a passion to the point where he had banned anything made in Japan from his house. He never said why he felt like this but im sure he had his reasons.

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

Choughed, yes, I had a good friend in high school whose father/grandfather (it's complicated) who fought in WWII. My friend claimed that his father/grandfather was on the first tank going over the bridge at Remagen into Germany. Although I didn't know his first name, his last name was Huckabee. He too wouldn't buy or own any German or Japanese car, even in the 1980s. Thanks for commenting and watching!

This is an excellent impartial overview and very interesting to listen to. I didn't know hardly anything about this topic

The nerve of Germans calling Canadians Barbarians.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

xman559, yes, how dare they! Thank you for your comment!

@Paciat

2 жыл бұрын

Especially since Romans called Germanic tribes barbarian.

@geralddesrochers4850

2 жыл бұрын

Just watch 1 NHL game and see Canadians fight to the end.

@JayM409

2 жыл бұрын

That's just because we like crush our enemies and drive them before us, and to hear the lamentations of the women.

@ericschneider8524

2 жыл бұрын

Canadian soldiers were not in Europe to see the sights. They had women to get home to.

Imagine that. A German WWII soldier complaining about somebody else not fighting fair. 😂

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

E M, yeah, it's funny right? Thank you for watching and commenting!

A lot of people did not realize that during WW2 Canada took steps to be its own military force break away from the United Kingdom, Also Australia , though Of course Canada worked with the allies it did not want to be seen under either American command or the Brits when it came to actual action , This was even more evident in Afghanistan and Iraq wanting to come into a war on its own and not because it has to follow the other two Countries, Afghanistan Canada had the third largest combat role and the third highest numbers of casualties,

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

squamishfish hall, thanks for your comment!

Super interesting and insightful. Thanks a bunch for this.

@EmersusTech

Жыл бұрын

Andy Babb, yes, here are some other videos you might like. I will make more videos like this that will be even better, so check back on the channel once in a while for them: What WWI Germans Thought About Canadian Soldiers kzread.info/dash/bejne/fGuX1KiAYK21naQ.html World War II: Sandstorms in North Africa kzread.info/dash/bejne/mJh1lLizaa-rXaw.html British Boxes in the North African Desert -- World War II kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZYR3stNwpae4ndY.html What Did Rommel and the Germans Think About Australian Soldiers in WWII? kzread.info/dash/bejne/a6aMtpOij9iqZrA.html Thanks for watching and commenting!

Great video! An interesting topic that hasn't been covered much on KZread yet. I remember reading some evaulations given by Germans post-war, regarding the British. They said that the Brits were the most adept at setting up defensive positions that were extremely difficult to assault at night.

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Strong Brew, thank you for your comments! You might want to review my other videos on my channel. I have a list of mostly original ideas about what I would like to see when I watch a video and then I work on that. I almost never get my ideas from other channels, unless it's something like "Well, they could've covered that better..." I try to avoid duplication whenever possible. Once, I was working a video about the US piper cub with bazookas on the wings and I saw that Mark Felton had already done the video (and a good job at it at that too), so I immediately stopped making that video. Thank you for watching and commenting!

@williamwilliam5066

2 жыл бұрын

@@EmersusTech What was it the French said of Wellington's men? Something like, uninspired in attack but immovable in defence.

@ricardobufo

2 жыл бұрын

@@williamwilliam5066 Typical Frog statement of that time .. like Boney calling Nosey "the Sepoy General". There's no doubt that Wellington was THE Master of Defence but when he was also a genius when attacking. Salamanca, Vittoria and Assaye are just 3 examples.

retired MM1 USN-1972-1996. My father WWII vet fought in Europe from D Day to VE Day, including Pop, were 4 survivors of his company! he never talked about it. after he passed, found 2 Bronze, 1 Silver Star Medals & 4 Purple Hearts in his sock drawer. USA might have been a late commer to WWII, but we turned the tide on 2 fronts. never underestimate American fighting men

@EmersusTech

2 жыл бұрын

Roger, that's why they were called the "greatest generation" by Tom Brokaw. Thank you for watching and commenting!

@johnrobertson9875

2 жыл бұрын

The Germans were already getting pushed out of North Africa and the invasion of Britain was put on hold indefinitely. The tide had already been turned.