germany is the fourth reich today. they are the backbone and brains behind the EC, EU, and they have more gold bullion than any other nation in europe. without germans all the others fall down because they are all broke.
The Germans remain very intelligent, bodyly strong, with high comradeship and AGRESSIVE. They will always put themselves above all other white people.
@Verfassungsschutzer I agree the Hun want real meat. In their blood like rabies in Dogs. TIme to finish them on the next round. Time to put the Dogs down once and for all. It will be clean and fast.
I ADMIRE GERMAN ARMY BUT I MUST THANK THE RUSSIAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD. I AM GREEK FROM CRETE. GERMANS KILLED MY GRANDFOTHER AND BURNED ALL THE VILLAGES OF WEST CRETE...THEY KILLED 20 PERSENT OF MALE POPULATION OF CRETE......DURING THE BUTTLE OF CRETE ONLY NEWZELANDERS AND AUSTALIANS FOUGTH LIKE LIONS...OFFICERS FROM ENGLAND WERE RABBITS AND THEY DIDNOT WANT TO FIGHT,,,WHERE WERE AMERICANS FOUR BLLODY YEARS? THEY CAME TO EUROPE ONLY WHEN THEY WERE SURE THAT GERNMAN ARMY WAS ALMOST DESTROIED...
Once again all of this tragedy can be laid on the doorstep of World War One!! World War One gave birth to all the horrors that have plagued the world in the 20th and 21st centuries.....Communism, fascism and nazism all owe their existence to World War One..........
I always find it amazing how the Nazi-Soviet Pact is described as unexpected. The two regimes had a lot in common: racism, mass murder, imperialism, atheism, a degree of socialism. If the issue really had been Polish independence, Britain and France would've declared war on the USSR too.
Albert Speer's story was a tragedy; a cultured young man seized by the demagogue and propelled into stratospheric status as a man of both creative and academic prowess. In spite of his administrative control of slave labor I'm pleased the allies spared him the gallows, he was not in the same ilk as Goering, Ribbentrop, Kaltenbrunner and Keitel.
@LeCommensale This creature was far more evil than hitler. His only plan was to play his country for his own satisfaction. He used to say "we have many people in our country" to say that he is treating them like the canon meat.
No one said the Soviets were good people, especially there blood-thirsty leaders--toss a coin who killed more innocent people-Stain or Hitler. They were about even and both were evil incarnate in the way they shot, gassed, hanged and starved those they deemed unnecessary to live. The common Russian solider, when push came to shove didn't fight for some stupid ideology but to defend his homeland much like we would do if someone invaded us!
Beevor in the book on Stalingrad contends that the war was over by January, 1942 and the next three and half years was strictly attrition with both sides taking tremendous casualties. Only the tactical brilliance of Von Mannstein kept Germany in that war for that long. The Western Front was strictly a side show and like it or not the victory belonged to the Russians.
Probably not---the two belligerents would probably have duked it out to a stalemate with casualties possibly in the 50,000,000 range. Stalin would continue to rule east of the Urals and Germany would take on tremendous casualties to enslave all the Slavs west of those mountains. You forget that Hitler was turned back from the gates of Moscow in December, 1941---way before aid from the allies came to them in any large amount.
Nice documentary. Simple to the average viewer and yet well informative.
It seems that 1.Hitler's reluctance of capturing Moscow as was originally planned 2. The delay of 5 crucial weeks regarding the start of the invasion 3. The fact that Hitler's policy did not let Germans to be seen as liberators as they had been seen in the beginning 4. The time wasted on clearing out large pockets of army concentrations after encirclements.
These 4 factors brought the failure of operation Barbarossa.
The Soviet soldier was unbelievably tough. They were brutalized on both sides-from the Germans and from their own leaders. Still, they fought to the end and cowed the seemingly invincible Wermacht.
I've studied military history for 35+ years. As an American I'm somewhat embarrasesed that so many of my countrymen are ignorant of WW2 history. It's probably not their fault because Hollywood, and many of our history books tell the story from such a xenophobic POV. British/USA bombing and American "Lend-Lease" did greatly contribute to defeat of Germany but the Soviets did the bloody work of wearing down the Wehrmacht long before Pearl Harbor attack and USA's entrance into the war.
Continued- Timelines show that the Nazis were pretty much defeated well before D-Day (6 Jun 44). Nazis were retreating rapidly having been soundly defeated at Kursk, 9 months BEFORE D-Day. USA jumped in to prevent Soviet Conquest of all of Europe. USA's homefront was never attacked and our casualties were almost insignificant when compared the Soviet Union's. Americans can be quite proud of our effort but we should be humble when compared to the other Allies bloody contribution.
@randy95023 The situation on the eastern front was far from decided after Kursk Battle (which ended in a stalemate not a soviet victory.. ) the german retreat from Kursk was partly due to hitlers order to redeploy divisions to Italy where the Allied landings in Sicily have caused ousting of Mussolinis regime..
Stalin asked USA to land in France as soon as possible at the Tehran conference in 1943, why would he do that if the battle on the eastern front was decided? it WASNT
again Im not taking any credit away from their soldiers, but the Soviet Union (i.e. their govt) was not exactly the "good guys" in this war, they signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact which basically said Hitler could do anything he wants with Western Europe as long the Soviet Union gets its share of eastern europe. The Soviet Union sat back and watched Hitler brutally advance his wat through western europe while the Soviets, brutally took over its border nations
many comment that the US only got involved once their country was attacked, well it goes the same for the Soviets, at least the US gave billions in aid b/4 they entered the war....what were the Soviets doing form 1939 to 1941....worrying about what land they could get out of it, thats what.
Now the Soviets did take on nearly 80% of the Nazi war machine and came out victorious & deserve much credit...but dont go acting liek they were the noble nation who saved the world from the nazis
Well I do feel for the normal russian grunt, they're only choice in battle was to charge german bullets or their killed by their own, they were forced to walk through mind fields as a way of clearing them, the stupidity & callusness of their leadership really amazes me..... Stalin, I really believe he was one of the most evil men ever to exist, rivaling Hitler, the Russian govt brought all its suffering on its own ppl
Yes, the war in Europe was largely won on the Eastern Front b/c that's where Hitler concentrated his army, however, while Soviet soldiers who charged the fields, manned the tanks and fighters deserve their credit for driving the Nazis out of their country....let us not forget that the Soviets didn't do this out of the goodness of their hearts or b/c they cared about the safety of Europe....they only were forced to fight when their country was directly attacked
Also the reason the soviets paid so dearly a price for their victory was b/c of their own incompentence early in the war (i.e. stalin murdering his whole military hierarchy) & the fact that they did not care how many soldiers they lost as long as they won....they lost large numbers of soldiers who were executed by their officers for retreating, also remember the US was fighting & supplying a two front war, the soviets could only fight one front at a time....
This is the result of the dumbass fuckers who brought us World War 1. Communism, fascism and nazism were the bastard children of that miserable conflict..........
A wise person once pointed out to me that it took a dictator like Stalin to defeat a dictator like Hitler as we in the west would have never tolerated such looses.
Wikipedia cites this movie twice. Here are the limited transcripts for anyone citing in the future.
Professor Gregori Takoty, an engineering officer at the time, describes;
“Every single commander of a military district was eliminated. Every single commander of an army division was eliminated. Every single commander of a regiment – with some exceptions here, also was eliminated. Now you see, this is a little more than political weakness. The Army was beheaded so to speak”
With all due respect I have an above average knowledge of histroy (particularly 20th century history). Keep in mind I'm only 13 lol. I apologize for responding so rudely but could you please explain to me your quote?
What in the name of crusified Jesus' candy Jewish fucking ass does that mean.
"Look at me I'm Adolf Hitler and I want to conquer Russia. There's no inhabitants there and it's territories are vastly wealthy in natural resources. Let's give it the largest army in the world to fight us!
Not an idea you hear much discussed on the subject of the German-Soviet pact. The expectation that fighting in the west would go on much longer than it did. How different would the world be if France become a slug fest once again? How would things have played out if German forces weren't freed up to invade Russia? What might Stalin had done if the powers were locked into a fight in the west? If Stalin invaded westward would the allies have sided with Germany over Stalin domination in Europe
@corn1971 stalin would have sat it out unless germany looked like imploding as in 1918. He was a consummate opportunist. He was also merrily shooting his own intelligencia well into 1941, when he suddenly realised he might need them....
Jeffman you are absolutely right! Glad there are some Americans with enough sense to know that the war in Europe was largely won by the blood of Russian soldiers--millions of Russian soldiers. Stalingrad alone killed more Russian troops then all American Casualties on all fronts-tragic!
It was not just one battle that decided the fate of WWII. It was Hitler making the decisions of battle campaigns, not his military comanders, and all of Hitler's decisions were all bad. Matter of fact, the allies abandoned any plans for assassinating Hitler because it was more important keeping alive to make more bad mistakes.
If I do recall Russia got some help from America and a hell of a lot of it at the cost of many Allied sailors! also we did not kill any allied soldiers who were forced to surrender to the Nazis when they returned home.
@mobilechief over 1/4 of a million trucks and jeeps alone were shipped to Russia, via alaska until dec 41 and also much via iran. The poms tried to get stuff through to archangel via convoy at much loss. This helped motorise the soviet armed forces and allow their own heavy machinery plants to concentrate on tank production. After the war the soviets didnt really want to mention much of this aid.
BTW the hard-bark Russian is Grigori Tokaty aka Grigori Tokaev - a fascinating character, superb aerospace engineer, bomber of Huns, tough-as-nails crusader against totalitarianism, one of the few people to get in both Stalin's and Hitler's faces and survive.
@antimatterXXXIII Is there perhaps a book on this individual? I'm interested in WWII heroes from all lines (especialy those from US soil) but being brought up in the States you don't often get much more than D-Day and the Pacific campaigns. World War II is a bit of a mystery to my living in/post cold war generation; any help would be greatly appreciated.
The music for this series alone sets it apart from all other efforts - both original and traditional - and nothing could be better than that hard-bark Russian telling his memories of stomping the Huns! Gives me moose bumps - er goose bumps.
Its funny that today Europe is all under one central government, the European Union. Something Hitler nor Stalin could pull off with military force, a bunch of bankers and politicians managed to do by trickery and deceit. After the war, they started a European "Free Trade Zone" which they said would be good for jobs and the people accepted it. From this, step by step, the EU was created. Now theyre doing the same thing for the Americas. A global government is upon us, all done by propaganda.
@FightingForFreedom23 .Difference between Hitlers regime and the EU is that Hitler built his regime on brutality, death and genocide.EU is built upon democracy and an attempt upon human rights.
Given the British blockade of all goods to Germany, Hitler had to relay solely on Stalin for stocks (food, raw materials) need to keep Germany going. So, given what we know of Stalin, would you have trusted Stalin to take care of your family?
I dont think Stalin's greed would have let Germany last that long and would have invaded her sooner or later. He was just waiting for the right moment.
@guate4 That's true. I haven't read Robert Conquest's bio of Stalin for a while, but I vaguely recall that Stalin was planning for war by 1942, either that he or Hitler would start it, but he had no doubt it would kick off. He was out by a year.
Had Hitler been a rational person he would not have invaded the Soviet Union. Their land mass, population and natural resources alone should have gave him pause. The manufacturing potential of Nations such as the USSR and USA was more than quadruple that of Germany and the populations of these 2 Nations were more than triple Germany's. Nazi Germany fell victim to their own propaganda and it cost them dearly. Germany ended up a smoldering heap, divided and occupied by their foes for decades.
After barbarossa Russia mass produced everything and recruited over 100k soldiers every month until the end of the war while Russia was getting a tad stronger everyday Germany and their allies were getting a tad weaker everyday. Russia wouldn't have any problems beating Germany in 44 onwards if the US didn't invade on the west,
Germany lost the second world war on june 22, 1941. The failure of the battle of Moscow sealed its fate as a war of manpower and economy ensued and germany was at a distinct disadvantage.
@rrcato, well Himmler probably would have killed an additional 10-20 million slavs and Jews if Hitler won, but hey, that's the east so who cares about them right?
For historical accuracy, I believe the turn of the tide of WW2 in Europe was On November 23rd, 1942, when the German 6th Army and other units (250,000 men) were cut off and surrounded inside Stalingrad by the Red Army. (See World at War: Stalingrad 4 of 5 at 01:42). To use a modified CHurchill quote as the victory over England was the "end of the begining", the loss of the 6th Army at Stalingrad was the "begining of the end" for the Nazis.
@TheBelovedButterfly After an extraordinary sacrifice from the RAF pilots, it become obvious that German air supremacy could be achieved over England. The threat of an invasion on England was greatly diminished and Hitler's focus turned to Russia. Chuchill commented the this was not the begining of the end but at least it was the end of the begining.
@TheBelovedButterfly The air battle over England was an allies victory. German's planes losses were significant. Hitler decided not to invade England. England was saved. Churchill said to the English people that this english victory was the END of the begining phase of WW2. All I say is that to paraphrase Churchill, I say that Stalingrad was the BEGINING of the end OF wW2.
@syl171 OK - I understand. I thought you were counting the Battle of Britain as a German victory - remember, YT is full of lunatics. Stranger things than that have been said.
@TheBelovedButterfly Disregard last comment. After an extraordinary sacrifice from the RAF pilots, it become obvious that German air supremacy could NOT be achieved over England. The threat of an invasion on England was greatly diminished and Hitler's focus turned to Russia. Chuchill commented the this was not the begining of the end but at least it was the end of the begining.
Our stupid grandfathers should have let Hitler fuck the Russians in the arse for the next 1000 years. But look what happened - they helped Stalin and he fucked the West in the arse for 44 years (1945 - 89).
WWII was lost by the West when you consider what happened afterwards. If the Allies had instead backed Hitler, the Commies would never have become a problem. Hitler would have made peace with Britain if they had supported him.
@rrcatto Good grief. You really are an ignorant pig-turd, aren't you? I bet you are armed to the teeth, married to someone called Lurlene, think evolution is a fad theory, universal health care is a commie plot, and Obama is a muslim. And for someone who I bet is homophobic, you are very obsessed with arses. I know it's not likely to happen, because you won't want to meet anyone who isn't at least a cousin, but please, never, never leave Dungheap, Arkansas, will you?
Please, help me with two questions: 1) Anyone knows the music played at the start (when Hitler arrives in train). 2) France and Britain declare war to Germany because Poland invasion. Then why they didn´t declare it to Rusia, if Rusia invaded Poland also?
@plc159 2)because the allies cant carry fighting both the reds and the nazis,and they know that somehow the reds and the nazis would fight later on,and the reds could be a very good allies against germany...
see the resemblance of ww1 and ww2?except for the italians...
US,france,britain,russia,china,and their other allies against germany,japan and their other allies...
@TheBelovedButterfly There is nothing Nazi about this. Traced in 1880 and popularised in the 20th century Wenn die Soldaten was very popular. With little radios, no TV and no Internet, Military Marches galvanised the public. Although as written in 1912 by a German soldier during WW1 There were not many women to open their windows at the front.
@TheBelovedButterfly Sorry Butterfly, I know you did not say that it was a Nazi song. It was just for your info. As for my bad english, I have not excuses other than sometimes I'm not rereading myself before posting. Glad tou seem interested by History. It's a great documentary. Cordially.
An absolutely fantastic series thanks for posting, i cant take other documentaries on WW2 seriously now after this one! I had the pelasure of going to Russia on a trip i went to Moscow and St.Petersburg and went to the Leningrad graveyard and monument in tribute to the siege it was very moving. All the allies deserve credit for their sacrifices during the war you can't and shouldn't lay all the glory on one nation but its unbelievable how much the Russias suffered.
Disturbing to think that, without underestimating the sacrifices of all countries involved, it ultimately took a totalitarian state (Russia) to stop another totalitarian state (Germany).
Here's how I think of Hitler: "Brilliant politician, Poor Strategist." He's a genius when it comes to collecting popularity and power. But he should have given military matters over to his generals, who were much better at handling military strategy. HItler thought his early victories were a result of what he had planned, HA, the general came up with those plans. Hitler started losing when he started to make himself supreme commander, and when his armies lost, blamed it on the Jews.
i think the second world war was only a continuation of the first world war. you see the allies, england and france treated germany so horrible that AH was able to make the come back.
@Rico8458 well,if they didnt,germany would be a huge threat quickly after ww1...
the big mistake that the west made is that they didnt issue unconditional surrender and break germany,so that it wont be any threat afterwards,big mistake that lead to ww2,and only in ww2 that it ended after realizing that such heavy conflict could be ended through rude and brutal end.
"Millions of German troops were poised along Russia's border to launch the bloodiest land battle in history, the battle that was eventually to decide the second world war" - Just in case any deaf Americans have accidentally stumbled upon this , here's something you should notice (Yeah I don't know why anyone without hearing would use youtube either give me a break).
@hippotoast Anyone today with sufficient interest in WWII to watch this magnificent video series knows Hitler was crushed at Stalingrad. Nonetheless, it is salutory to repeat this fact as frequently as possible. Lebensraum mandated Barbarossa, which ended the aggressive conquest of a continent.
@hippotoast i think everyone knows that it was the russians who did the most damage to germany. but with that said, the US did give much aid to russia in terms of supplies
@hippotoast but really, who cares about who did the most damage really. its all about who won the war and it was the allies who did it. it is really stupid of us to fight over something like "who did the most damage"
@jeffman3003 well Stephen Ambrose says somewhere in this series that 2/3 of the german soldiers served on the Russian front. So, on those figures, I dont think it's in any doubt really. You have to hand it to the Russians though, at one point it looked as though Moscow, Leningrad, and Stalingrad would all fall..... Must be the comeback story of the century.
@jeffman3003 wrong boy that was only the end of the european theater. you must remember germany wasn't the only one fighting on 2 fronts. your comment sounds a lot like amateur speech to me. world war II continued well after german was defeated.
@jeffman3003 d.day was a side show to the eastern front. 80% of germanys best divisions and equipment was in the east. All that defended the beaches in normandy was third rate russian hi wiis and german old men with medical complaints. We could never have fought in a battle like starlingrad and won.Not to say im not proud of the british and american forces in ww2 but the eastern fron was another world away from the european operations. No other country in the world could have stoped the nazis
@jeffman3003 well actually it was decided by many small points. from start to around stalingrad. From then on the battles probably more only decided how it would end....
@jeffman3003 Operation Barbarossa failed at the gates of Moscow. I'd say Fall Blau(Stalingrad) was the real turning point. D-Day brought the war to a quicker end.
Barbarossa failed because the Nazis ignored Guderians guide lines: Strike hard and quickly and dont disperse your forces. If Hitler would have attack Russia instead of Europe in 1940, would France and England have attacked Germany. Its doubtful. They also failed to capitalize on the anti Stalin resentment. With the right political and economical incentives, many Russians would have considered the Germans as liberators and may have supported them. This is easy to judge with hindsight.
Here's an alternative strategy that would have worked. Give Rommel enough divisions to seize the Suez Canal, thereby making the Mediterranean an Axis lake. Then punch into the Middle East, providing the Germans with more than enough oil while threatening India, with the Japanese on the other side. The Germans are now poised the attack Russia from the South, the Caucasus oilfields. Russia would likely lose that kind of fight, especially of forces are focused on Moscow.
Nonsense. The Germans never would have made it through the mountains of Turkey with their tanks, much less the caucasus (Georgia, Armenia). Even if they had, they would have been bottled up in the Crimea which would make the Russians' job that much easier.
@SageoftheWest yeah right and give the russians the breathing space they need,hitler himself knew,even if he denied it publicly,time is against them in invading russia,everytime it turns winter,their troops is on great disadvantage againts the winter loving russians...
most of the resources and forces of germany was concentrated on russia,because hitler wants tp break russia as ASAP,since he knew war with US is coming...
The Russians lost 26 million on a misunderstanding of their threat (which was clearly spelled out to them). How many Americans will suffer losses due to their dumb fuck complacency of risk? A product of 50 years (1950-2000) of relative prosperity.
@sirdard1 How stupid are you anyway? Germany was crushed and divided. Millions died and the stain of the Holocaust will never leave that generation. Germany is the most stable country in central Europe now. The Nazi's were better???? You must be a neo-Nazi asshole!
@dannyv2468va2 actually hes right, but it seems like its a waste of time trying to explain it to you, forget everything you know and think about one thing only, why he declared the war in first place and see what he really wanted from france and britain, do your research then insult people man
@hazemvirus So you both think Hitler was great for Germany? Hitler was responsible for 50 million people dying. What do you know? More neo-Nazi bullshit about the great Reich? Don't bother me with this kind of shit. All you Nazi lovers are as bad as the real ones to me.
I mean really, like a samurai sword fight it only takes less than one minute to win or die. so like then, too, when you leave england standing then you lost.
While watching this, all these soldiers, cheering crowds, laughing and saluting children, even the streets and buildings in Germany and Russia... keep one thing in mind.
In a few years many of these people would be dead, the buildings rubble, the children's bodies flayed, the cars mangled heaps of steel.
We know who the true engineers and perpetrators of Nazi Germany. The Papacy & we are watching you as you try to take America for the Pope. Obama (Jesuit trained in Indonesia) Biden, Pelosi, Reid, Clinton, 6 out of 9 Supreme Court Justices. We came here to be free of the Pope & Europe, we will fight to remain so.
obama is trying to collectivize as much of the US economy as possible, and has also called for a civililian security force better funded than the military. collectivist tactics and goals have softened somewhat since stalin, but the basic idea of suppressing individual liberty is there.
lol are you high on crack or something........ bet you believe everthing that fox news spews out and would vote for sara palin for pres.... 8 years of mr bush and this country was at the gates of a possible new drepression, Im amazed he even wanted the job much less the fact that were actually beginning to rise from the edge of the abyss the neocons brought us so close tooooooo.
Although I agree with you almost entirely, it is important not to rely too much on political labels. National Socialists and Communists ostensibly were opposites, but the systems themselves were remarkably similar. National propaganda and jingoism are tools only to make them seem different to their own people and ensure compliance and morale.
If one removes these labels, it is seen that both were merely and quite simply... dictatorships.
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@QPhilms i agree, it would be better to make a distinction between collectivists and individualists. nazis, fascists, communists and most of today's left are collectivist, while most modern conservatives are anti-collectivist.
The RAF beat the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. Hitler new he needed control of the skies before he made an amphibious invasion of the UK....and he failed.
Of course the Russians made a huge sacrifice...but to say that the the UK was humiliated into submission is wrong. Hitler could not invade or he would have done in 1940 or 1941.
Then the US joined the war and Germany declared war on the US....and the rest is history.
Manstein detailed so well, had the Japanese entered the war against Russia- instead of the United States- that would have sealed the fate of the USSR. Although the Russians had destroyed the Japanese 6th army at Khalkhyn Gol and had far superior tanks, the Japanese had far superior planes and a huge naval superiority against Russia. Vladivostok would have been easily captured by the Japanese and the transfer of so many divisions would have never taken place.
Sometimes I wonder if Russia would have been better off if the Germans had won the war. Germany has been so successful. But Russia? A very sad story for 80 years!
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@McLarenMercedes the soviets made advances in military to the almost complete neglect of products that would improve quality of life, which was the least of their concerns.
the Germans brought with them the last hopes for mankind to Stalingrad since the Soviets could not have been defeated in a defensive war. Offensive military operations by Germany were required to defeat the Soviet plan to bolshevize the world. Had the offensive first been declared then Stalin would have stacked his front lines with Christian peasants. The strategy of Hitler always aimed to preserve as many lives as possible while Stalin always aimed to throw away as many lives as possible.
@darkon112 , i agree, his decision to fight to the last man, was a horrible decision...turning point of the war......+ the minus 40 degree weather....
So I don't really understant what suprise the narrator is talking about when he mentions the pact between these two agressors. There was no surprise, at leats for those who were familiar with the nature of soviet regime.
Where lies the logic of this argument? Isn't it the same as to say that the only folks familiar with the nature of Nazi regime were only Nazis themselves?
When Hitler started the war againts Poland, Soviet Russia attacked Poland at the same time from the East. Both - Nazis and Soviets - attacked Poland and occupied it. Doesn't that mean they both started the war? And afterwards Hitler drew his attention to Norway, and what Soviet Russia did? It attacked peacefull neighbour Finland! Then it went on to occupy Baltic countries.
germany is the fourth reich today. they are the backbone and brains behind the EC, EU, and they have more gold bullion than any other nation in europe. without germans all the others fall down because they are all broke.
Rico8458 1 year ago
The Germans remain very intelligent, bodyly strong, with high comradeship and AGRESSIVE. They will always put themselves above all other white people.
Verfassungsschutzer 1 year ago
@Verfassungsschutzer I agree the Hun want real meat. In their blood like rabies in Dogs. TIme to finish them on the next round. Time to put the Dogs down once and for all. It will be clean and fast.
lakotausa 1 year ago
I ADMIRE GERMAN ARMY BUT I MUST THANK THE RUSSIAN WHO SAVED THE WORLD. I AM GREEK FROM CRETE. GERMANS KILLED MY GRANDFOTHER AND BURNED ALL THE VILLAGES OF WEST CRETE...THEY KILLED 20 PERSENT OF MALE POPULATION OF CRETE......DURING THE BUTTLE OF CRETE ONLY NEWZELANDERS AND AUSTALIANS FOUGTH LIKE LIONS...OFFICERS FROM ENGLAND WERE RABBITS AND THEY DIDNOT WANT TO FIGHT,,,WHERE WERE AMERICANS FOUR BLLODY YEARS? THEY CAME TO EUROPE ONLY WHEN THEY WERE SURE THAT GERNMAN ARMY WAS ALMOST DESTROIED...
dimosthenis3711 1 year ago 2
@dimosthenis3711 hear, hear!
Blodfjez 1 year ago
Once again all of this tragedy can be laid on the doorstep of World War One!! World War One gave birth to all the horrors that have plagued the world in the 20th and 21st centuries.....Communism, fascism and nazism all owe their existence to World War One..........
medesdaddy 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
As a 10 year old war history freak, i remember waiting, watching and arguing about the details in this program at the time.
Now, i just hope people won't forget it even happened!
What sacrifice - what waste...
PaulLMF 1 year ago
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PaulLMF 1 year ago
I always find it amazing how the Nazi-Soviet Pact is described as unexpected. The two regimes had a lot in common: racism, mass murder, imperialism, atheism, a degree of socialism. If the issue really had been Polish independence, Britain and France would've declared war on the USSR too.
SkullOfYorick 1 year ago
@SkullOfYorick Hitler was not an atheist and the Nazis banned atheism within Germany considering it a "jewish plot".....
medesdaddy 1 year ago
Albert Speer's story was a tragedy; a cultured young man seized by the demagogue and propelled into stratospheric status as a man of both creative and academic prowess. In spite of his administrative control of slave labor I'm pleased the allies spared him the gallows, he was not in the same ilk as Goering, Ribbentrop, Kaltenbrunner and Keitel.
fitzy098 1 year ago
Stalin was very evil. Almost as bad as Hitler.
LeCommensale 1 year ago
@LeCommensale This creature was far more evil than hitler. His only plan was to play his country for his own satisfaction. He used to say "we have many people in our country" to say that he is treating them like the canon meat.
MaciekWojcicki 1 year ago
If it hadn't been for World War 1 none of this would have occured
medesdaddy 1 year ago
No one said the Soviets were good people, especially there blood-thirsty leaders--toss a coin who killed more innocent people-Stain or Hitler. They were about even and both were evil incarnate in the way they shot, gassed, hanged and starved those they deemed unnecessary to live. The common Russian solider, when push came to shove didn't fight for some stupid ideology but to defend his homeland much like we would do if someone invaded us!
chuckbuckbobuck 1 year ago 2
Randy 95023 you are spot on, please see my comments below which concur with your conclusions!
chuckbuckbobuck 1 year ago
Beevor in the book on Stalingrad contends that the war was over by January, 1942 and the next three and half years was strictly attrition with both sides taking tremendous casualties. Only the tactical brilliance of Von Mannstein kept Germany in that war for that long. The Western Front was strictly a side show and like it or not the victory belonged to the Russians.
chuckbuckbobuck 1 year ago 3
Probably not---the two belligerents would probably have duked it out to a stalemate with casualties possibly in the 50,000,000 range. Stalin would continue to rule east of the Urals and Germany would take on tremendous casualties to enslave all the Slavs west of those mountains. You forget that Hitler was turned back from the gates of Moscow in December, 1941---way before aid from the allies came to them in any large amount.
chuckbuckbobuck 1 year ago
Nice documentary. Simple to the average viewer and yet well informative.
It seems that 1.Hitler's reluctance of capturing Moscow as was originally planned 2. The delay of 5 crucial weeks regarding the start of the invasion 3. The fact that Hitler's policy did not let Germans to be seen as liberators as they had been seen in the beginning 4. The time wasted on clearing out large pockets of army concentrations after encirclements.
These 4 factors brought the failure of operation Barbarossa.
ngpopinion 1 year ago
Speer was one smart Nazi. Talked his way out of being hanged. Gotta give him credit for being smart.
PrometheanRunGood 1 year ago
Just wish there were a better narrator, this guy kind of puts you asleep, great documentary nonetheless.
AngryRedMachine 1 year ago
@AngryRedMachine
Sir Laurence Olivier puts you to sleep? How old are you?
tegrimm 1 year ago
The Soviet soldier was unbelievably tough. They were brutalized on both sides-from the Germans and from their own leaders. Still, they fought to the end and cowed the seemingly invincible Wermacht.
Cthulu54 1 year ago
I've studied military history for 35+ years. As an American I'm somewhat embarrasesed that so many of my countrymen are ignorant of WW2 history. It's probably not their fault because Hollywood, and many of our history books tell the story from such a xenophobic POV. British/USA bombing and American "Lend-Lease" did greatly contribute to defeat of Germany but the Soviets did the bloody work of wearing down the Wehrmacht long before Pearl Harbor attack and USA's entrance into the war.
randy95023 1 year ago
Continued- Timelines show that the Nazis were pretty much defeated well before D-Day (6 Jun 44). Nazis were retreating rapidly having been soundly defeated at Kursk, 9 months BEFORE D-Day. USA jumped in to prevent Soviet Conquest of all of Europe. USA's homefront was never attacked and our casualties were almost insignificant when compared the Soviet Union's. Americans can be quite proud of our effort but we should be humble when compared to the other Allies bloody contribution.
randy95023 1 year ago
@randy95023 The situation on the eastern front was far from decided after Kursk Battle (which ended in a stalemate not a soviet victory.. ) the german retreat from Kursk was partly due to hitlers order to redeploy divisions to Italy where the Allied landings in Sicily have caused ousting of Mussolinis regime..
Stalin asked USA to land in France as soon as possible at the Tehran conference in 1943, why would he do that if the battle on the eastern front was decided? it WASNT
JocieDucks 1 year ago
again Im not taking any credit away from their soldiers, but the Soviet Union (i.e. their govt) was not exactly the "good guys" in this war, they signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact which basically said Hitler could do anything he wants with Western Europe as long the Soviet Union gets its share of eastern europe. The Soviet Union sat back and watched Hitler brutally advance his wat through western europe while the Soviets, brutally took over its border nations
Blueshirts07 1 year ago
many comment that the US only got involved once their country was attacked, well it goes the same for the Soviets, at least the US gave billions in aid b/4 they entered the war....what were the Soviets doing form 1939 to 1941....worrying about what land they could get out of it, thats what.
Now the Soviets did take on nearly 80% of the Nazi war machine and came out victorious & deserve much credit...but dont go acting liek they were the noble nation who saved the world from the nazis
Blueshirts07 1 year ago
And don't forget the thousands of American merchant seamen who were dying in U-Boat attacks as they were convoying supplies to the U.K. and Russia.
Stalin and Hitler shook hands to divide up Europe. So when they went to war, it was like two dogs fighting over a bone. Russia deserves no sympathy.
Dukeoftruth 1 year ago
Well I do feel for the normal russian grunt, they're only choice in battle was to charge german bullets or their killed by their own, they were forced to walk through mind fields as a way of clearing them, the stupidity & callusness of their leadership really amazes me..... Stalin, I really believe he was one of the most evil men ever to exist, rivaling Hitler, the Russian govt brought all its suffering on its own ppl
Blueshirts07 1 year ago
@randy95023 Not only the soviets ... the other Alies too .
vladma24 1 year ago
Yes, the war in Europe was largely won on the Eastern Front b/c that's where Hitler concentrated his army, however, while Soviet soldiers who charged the fields, manned the tanks and fighters deserve their credit for driving the Nazis out of their country....let us not forget that the Soviets didn't do this out of the goodness of their hearts or b/c they cared about the safety of Europe....they only were forced to fight when their country was directly attacked
Blueshirts07 1 year ago
Also the reason the soviets paid so dearly a price for their victory was b/c of their own incompentence early in the war (i.e. stalin murdering his whole military hierarchy) & the fact that they did not care how many soldiers they lost as long as they won....they lost large numbers of soldiers who were executed by their officers for retreating, also remember the US was fighting & supplying a two front war, the soviets could only fight one front at a time....
Blueshirts07 1 year ago
what is name of song 2:05 ? ? ?
Allcard14 1 year ago
@Allcard14 wenn die soldaten - name of the song .
vladma24 1 year ago
@vladma24 Thanks :)
Allcard14 1 year ago
This is the result of the dumbass fuckers who brought us World War 1. Communism, fascism and nazism were the bastard children of that miserable conflict..........
medesdaddy 1 year ago
@medesdaddy WW1 was inevitable ... but WW2 could be avoided if UK , France and US wouldn't do nothing .
vladma24 1 year ago
A wise person once pointed out to me that it took a dictator like Stalin to defeat a dictator like Hitler as we in the west would have never tolerated such looses.
johneamer 1 year ago
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digitalboy91 1 year ago
Wikipedia cites this movie twice. Here are the limited transcripts for anyone citing in the future.
Professor Gregori Takoty, an engineering officer at the time, describes;
“Every single commander of a military district was eliminated. Every single commander of an army division was eliminated. Every single commander of a regiment – with some exceptions here, also was eliminated. Now you see, this is a little more than political weakness. The Army was beheaded so to speak”
digitalboy91 1 year ago
@newalm
With all due respect I have an above average knowledge of histroy (particularly 20th century history). Keep in mind I'm only 13 lol. I apologize for responding so rudely but could you please explain to me your quote?
futurebusinessman23 1 year ago
@newalm
What in the name of crusified Jesus' candy Jewish fucking ass does that mean.
"Look at me I'm Adolf Hitler and I want to conquer Russia. There's no inhabitants there and it's territories are vastly wealthy in natural resources. Let's give it the largest army in the world to fight us!
futurebusinessman23 1 year ago
@futurebusinessman23 Learn history fool!
newalm 1 year ago
Wars are not won by out manuevering the enemy, but by out producing the enemy.
newalm 1 year ago
@newalm
Are you not listening, or do you have a mental inpediment?
011258stooie 1 year ago
Comment removed
newalm 1 year ago
Fantastic series - I have all of them as well as the bonus episodes. If you havent watched em, I would.
jgsouter 1 year ago
Not an idea you hear much discussed on the subject of the German-Soviet pact. The expectation that fighting in the west would go on much longer than it did. How different would the world be if France become a slug fest once again? How would things have played out if German forces weren't freed up to invade Russia? What might Stalin had done if the powers were locked into a fight in the west? If Stalin invaded westward would the allies have sided with Germany over Stalin domination in Europe
corn1971 1 year ago
@corn1971 stalin would have sat it out unless germany looked like imploding as in 1918. He was a consummate opportunist. He was also merrily shooting his own intelligencia well into 1941, when he suddenly realised he might need them....
DumbYankies 1 year ago
Jeffman you are absolutely right! Glad there are some Americans with enough sense to know that the war in Europe was largely won by the blood of Russian soldiers--millions of Russian soldiers. Stalingrad alone killed more Russian troops then all American Casualties on all fronts-tragic!
chuckbuckbobuck 1 year ago 10
Without Allied help Russia would have lost.
Dukeoftruth 1 year ago
Comment removed
newalm 1 year ago
It was not just one battle that decided the fate of WWII. It was Hitler making the decisions of battle campaigns, not his military comanders, and all of Hitler's decisions were all bad. Matter of fact, the allies abandoned any plans for assassinating Hitler because it was more important keeping alive to make more bad mistakes.
newalm 1 year ago
Red beard united all of Germany.
Angelslayer007 1 year ago
If I do recall Russia got some help from America and a hell of a lot of it at the cost of many Allied sailors! also we did not kill any allied soldiers who were forced to surrender to the Nazis when they returned home.
mobilechief 1 year ago
@mobilechief over 1/4 of a million trucks and jeeps alone were shipped to Russia, via alaska until dec 41 and also much via iran. The poms tried to get stuff through to archangel via convoy at much loss. This helped motorise the soviet armed forces and allow their own heavy machinery plants to concentrate on tank production. After the war the soviets didnt really want to mention much of this aid.
DumbYankies 1 year ago
world at war is the best ww2 documentry ever made.
patsyd80 1 year ago 19
@patsyd80 agreed
Salvidrummer 1 year ago
BTW the hard-bark Russian is Grigori Tokaty aka Grigori Tokaev - a fascinating character, superb aerospace engineer, bomber of Huns, tough-as-nails crusader against totalitarianism, one of the few people to get in both Stalin's and Hitler's faces and survive.
antimatterXXXIII 1 year ago
@antimatterXXXIII Is there perhaps a book on this individual? I'm interested in WWII heroes from all lines (especialy those from US soil) but being brought up in the States you don't often get much more than D-Day and the Pacific campaigns. World War II is a bit of a mystery to my living in/post cold war generation; any help would be greatly appreciated.
TheHowiedizzle 1 year ago
The music for this series alone sets it apart from all other efforts - both original and traditional - and nothing could be better than that hard-bark Russian telling his memories of stomping the Huns! Gives me moose bumps - er goose bumps.
antimatterXXXIII 1 year ago
This moves one to wish he was alive to witness, in some twisted sense. But for those who fought it, we don't have to.
ObltKG4 1 year ago
What's the song at 2:06 ?
JonathanAnon 1 year ago
Its funny that today Europe is all under one central government, the European Union. Something Hitler nor Stalin could pull off with military force, a bunch of bankers and politicians managed to do by trickery and deceit. After the war, they started a European "Free Trade Zone" which they said would be good for jobs and the people accepted it. From this, step by step, the EU was created. Now theyre doing the same thing for the Americas. A global government is upon us, all done by propaganda.
FightingForFreedom23 1 year ago
@FightingForFreedom23 hey man, please - we're not all under that shitty, failing union..
Blodfjez 1 year ago
@FightingForFreedom23 .Difference between Hitlers regime and the EU is that Hitler built his regime on brutality, death and genocide.EU is built upon democracy and an attempt upon human rights.
philster61 1 year ago
@philster61 "human rights" my ass. EU is corrupt to the core.
neitilinvandring 1 year ago
Given the British blockade of all goods to Germany, Hitler had to relay solely on Stalin for stocks (food, raw materials) need to keep Germany going. So, given what we know of Stalin, would you have trusted Stalin to take care of your family?
I dont think Stalin's greed would have let Germany last that long and would have invaded her sooner or later. He was just waiting for the right moment.
guate4 1 year ago
@guate4 That's true. I haven't read Robert Conquest's bio of Stalin for a while, but I vaguely recall that Stalin was planning for war by 1942, either that he or Hitler would start it, but he had no doubt it would kick off. He was out by a year.
disamjisa 1 year ago
Had Hitler been a rational person he would not have invaded the Soviet Union. Their land mass, population and natural resources alone should have gave him pause. The manufacturing potential of Nations such as the USSR and USA was more than quadruple that of Germany and the populations of these 2 Nations were more than triple Germany's. Nazi Germany fell victim to their own propaganda and it cost them dearly. Germany ended up a smoldering heap, divided and occupied by their foes for decades.
randy95023 1 year ago
@randy95023 Well nowadays they are VERY wealthy and powerful. When the house of cards in America falls Germany will be on top till China comes around
lebiew 1 year ago
russia depended on amereica from iran for fueul. my uncle was in tehran,,in 1941 til 43..i,m 67 now.. told me some great stories!!
sneakeysmoker1 1 year ago
After barbarossa Russia mass produced everything and recruited over 100k soldiers every month until the end of the war while Russia was getting a tad stronger everyday Germany and their allies were getting a tad weaker everyday. Russia wouldn't have any problems beating Germany in 44 onwards if the US didn't invade on the west,
quest8899 1 year ago 2
@quest8899 If thats true then why was stalin asking for an attack in the wes?
TheSteffen1223 1 year ago
how many people died in russia from 1914- 1945 ? [includes world war 1, civil war, purges, and world war 2]
dodge96neon 1 year ago
@dodge96neon I dont care
TheSteffen1223 1 year ago
@dodge96neon Could be as high as 60M
syl171 1 year ago
Sorry I meant could German air supremacy could not be achieved over England.
syl171 1 year ago
Germany lost the second world war on june 22, 1941. The failure of the battle of Moscow sealed its fate as a war of manpower and economy ensued and germany was at a distinct disadvantage.
idealistishere 1 year ago
@rrcato, well Himmler probably would have killed an additional 10-20 million slavs and Jews if Hitler won, but hey, that's the east so who cares about them right?
mikeduplantier 1 year ago
Russians Suck.
TheSteffen1223 1 year ago
@TheSteffen1223 whose slimy, diseased penis did you dribble off the end of - or don't you know? Piss off and grow a brain-cell, you waste of air.
TheBelovedButterfly 1 year ago
4:45 moshpit detected
LDOA 1 year ago
For historical accuracy, I believe the turn of the tide of WW2 in Europe was On November 23rd, 1942, when the German 6th Army and other units (250,000 men) were cut off and surrounded inside Stalingrad by the Red Army. (See World at War: Stalingrad 4 of 5 at 01:42). To use a modified CHurchill quote as the victory over England was the "end of the begining", the loss of the 6th Army at Stalingrad was the "begining of the end" for the Nazis.
syl171 1 year ago
@syl171 which "victory over England"?
TheBelovedButterfly 1 year ago
@TheBelovedButterfly After an extraordinary sacrifice from the RAF pilots, it become obvious that German air supremacy could be achieved over England. The threat of an invasion on England was greatly diminished and Hitler's focus turned to Russia. Chuchill commented the this was not the begining of the end but at least it was the end of the begining.
syl171 1 year ago
@syl171 I was just going to rewrite your somment, but you have added the "not" for me. So, in what way does that add up to a victory OVER England?
TheBelovedButterfly 1 year ago
..and of course, I meant your "comment", not your "somment". Sorry - it's late here!
TheBelovedButterfly 1 year ago
@TheBelovedButterfly The air battle over England was an allies victory. German's planes losses were significant. Hitler decided not to invade England. England was saved. Churchill said to the English people that this english victory was the END of the begining phase of WW2. All I say is that to paraphrase Churchill, I say that Stalingrad was the BEGINING of the end OF wW2.
syl171 1 year ago
@syl171 OK - I understand. I thought you were counting the Battle of Britain as a German victory - remember, YT is full of lunatics. Stranger things than that have been said.
TheBelovedButterfly 1 year ago
@syl171 Actually hitler was going to invade Russia anyway,Britain was not top priority.
jimmy27paul 1 year ago
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@TheBelovedButterfly Disregard last comment. After an extraordinary sacrifice from the RAF pilots, it become obvious that German air supremacy could NOT be achieved over England. The threat of an invasion on England was greatly diminished and Hitler's focus turned to Russia. Chuchill commented the this was not the begining of the end but at least it was the end of the begining.
syl171 6 minutes ago
syl171 1 year ago
plc159: listen to Speer's explanation at around 5:50 onwards - answers part of your second question
ratricide 1 year ago
Our stupid grandfathers should have let Hitler fuck the Russians in the arse for the next 1000 years. But look what happened - they helped Stalin and he fucked the West in the arse for 44 years (1945 - 89).
WWII was lost by the West when you consider what happened afterwards. If the Allies had instead backed Hitler, the Commies would never have become a problem. Hitler would have made peace with Britain if they had supported him.
The Russians still need a good arse kicking.
rrcatto 1 year ago
@rrcatto Good grief. You really are an ignorant pig-turd, aren't you? I bet you are armed to the teeth, married to someone called Lurlene, think evolution is a fad theory, universal health care is a commie plot, and Obama is a muslim. And for someone who I bet is homophobic, you are very obsessed with arses. I know it's not likely to happen, because you won't want to meet anyone who isn't at least a cousin, but please, never, never leave Dungheap, Arkansas, will you?
TheBelovedButterfly 1 year ago
@rrcatto Of course you'd say that you're a fucking racist South African. Yeah ok support Hitler, you fucking lunatic.
PrometheanRunGood 1 year ago
whats the name of the song that starts 2:07?
hazemvirus 1 year ago
no matter what AH was indeed the savior and later the destroyer of germany
Rico8458 1 year ago
Please, help me with two questions: 1) Anyone knows the music played at the start (when Hitler arrives in train). 2) France and Britain declare war to Germany because Poland invasion. Then why they didn´t declare it to Rusia, if Rusia invaded Poland also?
plc159 1 year ago
@plc159 2)because the allies cant carry fighting both the reds and the nazis,and they know that somehow the reds and the nazis would fight later on,and the reds could be a very good allies against germany...
see the resemblance of ww1 and ww2?except for the italians...
US,france,britain,russia,china,and their other allies against germany,japan and their other allies...
teslagod2003 1 year ago
@plc159 The song is German Military War Songs - Wenn die Soldaten. You can find it on youtube
When the soldiers
March through the town
The girls will open
The windows and the doors.
Oh why? Oh because! Oh why? Oh because!
Oh only because of the ringing of the brass, and beating of the drums!
Oh only because of the ringing of the brass, and beating of the drums!
syl171 1 year ago
@syl171 They'd probably open the windows to yell at them to shut up. Frankly, the incessent marching songs would have made me lose the will to live.
TheBelovedButterfly 1 year ago
@TheBelovedButterfly There is nothing Nazi about this. Traced in 1880 and popularised in the 20th century Wenn die Soldaten was very popular. With little radios, no TV and no Internet, Military Marches galvanised the public. Although as written in 1912 by a German soldier during WW1 There were not many women to open their windows at the front.
syl171 1 year ago
@syl171 I didn't say it was nazi - but it is certainly terrible!
TheBelovedButterfly 1 year ago
@TheBelovedButterfly Sorry Butterfly, I know you did not say that it was a Nazi song. It was just for your info. As for my bad english, I have not excuses other than sometimes I'm not rereading myself before posting. Glad tou seem interested by History. It's a great documentary. Cordially.
syl171 1 year ago
@syl171 ;-) that happens to all of us!
TheBelovedButterfly 1 year ago
An absolutely fantastic series thanks for posting, i cant take other documentaries on WW2 seriously now after this one! I had the pelasure of going to Russia on a trip i went to Moscow and St.Petersburg and went to the Leningrad graveyard and monument in tribute to the siege it was very moving. All the allies deserve credit for their sacrifices during the war you can't and shouldn't lay all the glory on one nation but its unbelievable how much the Russias suffered.
davidbrianfisher 1 year ago
Disturbing to think that, without underestimating the sacrifices of all countries involved, it ultimately took a totalitarian state (Russia) to stop another totalitarian state (Germany).
syl171 1 year ago
Here's how I think of Hitler: "Brilliant politician, Poor Strategist." He's a genius when it comes to collecting popularity and power. But he should have given military matters over to his generals, who were much better at handling military strategy. HItler thought his early victories were a result of what he had planned, HA, the general came up with those plans. Hitler started losing when he started to make himself supreme commander, and when his armies lost, blamed it on the Jews.
SageoftheWest 1 year ago
i think the second world war was only a continuation of the first world war. you see the allies, england and france treated germany so horrible that AH was able to make the come back.
Rico8458 1 year ago
@Rico8458 well,if they didnt,germany would be a huge threat quickly after ww1...
the big mistake that the west made is that they didnt issue unconditional surrender and break germany,so that it wont be any threat afterwards,big mistake that lead to ww2,and only in ww2 that it ended after realizing that such heavy conflict could be ended through rude and brutal end.
teslagod2003 1 year ago
"Millions of German troops were poised along Russia's border to launch the bloodiest land battle in history, the battle that was eventually to decide the second world war" - Just in case any deaf Americans have accidentally stumbled upon this , here's something you should notice (Yeah I don't know why anyone without hearing would use youtube either give me a break).
hippotoast 1 year ago 23
@hippotoast Anyone today with sufficient interest in WWII to watch this magnificent video series knows Hitler was crushed at Stalingrad. Nonetheless, it is salutory to repeat this fact as frequently as possible. Lebensraum mandated Barbarossa, which ended the aggressive conquest of a continent.
P1B1U1H1 1 year ago
@hippotoast i think everyone knows that it was the russians who did the most damage to germany. but with that said, the US did give much aid to russia in terms of supplies
lakersrdabest 1 year ago
@hippotoast but really, who cares about who did the most damage really. its all about who won the war and it was the allies who did it. it is really stupid of us to fight over something like "who did the most damage"
lakersrdabest 1 year ago
babarossa was the zero hour for the fall of the third reiche.
stardaddyo9 1 year ago
Marshall Stalin new that Russia will enter the war at any point of time..then Hitler plotted his schemes..Barbarossa then commence...
HungerStrikeUs 1 year ago
so for all you amateur historians in here The second world war was decided by Operation Barbarossa not by D Day!
jeffman3003 1 year ago 18
@jeffman3003 well Stephen Ambrose says somewhere in this series that 2/3 of the german soldiers served on the Russian front. So, on those figures, I dont think it's in any doubt really. You have to hand it to the Russians though, at one point it looked as though Moscow, Leningrad, and Stalingrad would all fall..... Must be the comeback story of the century.
JonathanAnon 1 year ago
@jeffman3003 wrong boy that was only the end of the european theater. you must remember germany wasn't the only one fighting on 2 fronts. your comment sounds a lot like amateur speech to me. world war II continued well after german was defeated.
akagruntkiller 1 year ago
@jeffman3003 d.day was a side show to the eastern front. 80% of germanys best divisions and equipment was in the east. All that defended the beaches in normandy was third rate russian hi wiis and german old men with medical complaints. We could never have fought in a battle like starlingrad and won.Not to say im not proud of the british and american forces in ww2 but the eastern fron was another world away from the european operations. No other country in the world could have stoped the nazis
patsyd80 1 year ago
@jeffman3003 well actually it was decided by many small points. from start to around stalingrad. From then on the battles probably more only decided how it would end....
DumbYankies 1 year ago
@jeffman3003 Operation Barbarossa failed at the gates of Moscow. I'd say Fall Blau(Stalingrad) was the real turning point. D-Day brought the war to a quicker end.
willypete2171 1 year ago
@jeffman3003 no shit everyone knows that
InFamous5823 1 year ago
@jeffman3003 Good point Jeff, amazing how few people in Canada know this.
johneamer 1 year ago
Barbarossa failed because the Nazis ignored Guderians guide lines: Strike hard and quickly and dont disperse your forces. If Hitler would have attack Russia instead of Europe in 1940, would France and England have attacked Germany. Its doubtful. They also failed to capitalize on the anti Stalin resentment. With the right political and economical incentives, many Russians would have considered the Germans as liberators and may have supported them. This is easy to judge with hindsight.
syl171 1 year ago
@syl171
Here's an alternative strategy that would have worked. Give Rommel enough divisions to seize the Suez Canal, thereby making the Mediterranean an Axis lake. Then punch into the Middle East, providing the Germans with more than enough oil while threatening India, with the Japanese on the other side. The Germans are now poised the attack Russia from the South, the Caucasus oilfields. Russia would likely lose that kind of fight, especially of forces are focused on Moscow.
SageoftheWest 1 year ago
Nonsense. The Germans never would have made it through the mountains of Turkey with their tanks, much less the caucasus (Georgia, Armenia). Even if they had, they would have been bottled up in the Crimea which would make the Russians' job that much easier.
tomwasko 1 year ago
@SageoftheWest yeah right and give the russians the breathing space they need,hitler himself knew,even if he denied it publicly,time is against them in invading russia,everytime it turns winter,their troops is on great disadvantage againts the winter loving russians...
most of the resources and forces of germany was concentrated on russia,because hitler wants tp break russia as ASAP,since he knew war with US is coming...
teslagod2003 1 year ago
The Russians lost 26 million on a misunderstanding of their threat (which was clearly spelled out to them). How many Americans will suffer losses due to their dumb fuck complacency of risk? A product of 50 years (1950-2000) of relative prosperity.
superusa1212 1 year ago
Hitler was a great leader. He rose the German nation to the new heights which they never achieved before and after.
sirdard1 1 year ago
@sirdard1 How stupid are you anyway? Germany was crushed and divided. Millions died and the stain of the Holocaust will never leave that generation. Germany is the most stable country in central Europe now. The Nazi's were better???? You must be a neo-Nazi asshole!
dannyv2468va2 1 year ago
@dannyv2468va2 actually hes right, but it seems like its a waste of time trying to explain it to you, forget everything you know and think about one thing only, why he declared the war in first place and see what he really wanted from france and britain, do your research then insult people man
hazemvirus 1 year ago
@hazemvirus So you both think Hitler was great for Germany? Hitler was responsible for 50 million people dying. What do you know? More neo-Nazi bullshit about the great Reich? Don't bother me with this kind of shit. All you Nazi lovers are as bad as the real ones to me.
dannyv2468va2 1 year ago
@sirdard1 Hitler was a raving, bloodstained, ignorant, mass-murderer.
Darkmind1970 1 year ago
I mean really, like a samurai sword fight it only takes less than one minute to win or die. so like then, too, when you leave england standing then you lost.
Rico8458 1 year ago
While watching this, all these soldiers, cheering crowds, laughing and saluting children, even the streets and buildings in Germany and Russia... keep one thing in mind.
In a few years many of these people would be dead, the buildings rubble, the children's bodies flayed, the cars mangled heaps of steel.
Leibensrame indeed... rabid nationalism is simply horrific.
OneWorldHistory 1 year ago
Nazi Germany's Operation Barbarossa was the largest land invasion in the history of mankind.
Germany on steroids..
EtaCarinaez 1 year ago
nice train at the beginning
granskare 1 year ago
His obsession became his greatest mistake..
HungerStrikeUs 1 year ago
battle of britain decided the war not russia. since he did not beat england he lost.
Rico8458 1 year ago
@Rico8458 HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! HILARIOUS your a funny guy!
jimmy27paul 1 year ago
@Rico8458 You're retarded. That is all.
hippotoast 1 year ago
at about 4 min, why is "rule brittania" playing?
skidgud80 1 year ago
@skidgud80 That's actually the German national anthem, not "Rule Britannia."
bsartist 1 year ago
We know who the true engineers and perpetrators of Nazi Germany. The Papacy & we are watching you as you try to take America for the Pope. Obama (Jesuit trained in Indonesia) Biden, Pelosi, Reid, Clinton, 6 out of 9 Supreme Court Justices. We came here to be free of the Pope & Europe, we will fight to remain so.
reginaDexant 1 year ago
Does anyone now the name of the rousing German march that occurs just after the opening titles at 2:00 showing Hitler returning from Paris?
shostyfan 1 year ago
@shostyfan It's a famous, beautiful and exuberant German folk song:
"WIR ESSEN SCHEIßE"
DasWeissEngel 1 year ago
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obama is trying to collectivize as much of the US economy as possible, and has also called for a civililian security force better funded than the military. collectivist tactics and goals have softened somewhat since stalin, but the basic idea of suppressing individual liberty is there.
ellwyn 1 year ago
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lol are you high on crack or something........ bet you believe everthing that fox news spews out and would vote for sara palin for pres.... 8 years of mr bush and this country was at the gates of a possible new drepression, Im amazed he even wanted the job much less the fact that were actually beginning to rise from the edge of the abyss the neocons brought us so close tooooooo.
atltom58 1 year ago 7
today germany needs to rid itself of the aliens.
Rico8458 1 year ago
Hey hey hey. Shut the fuck up. Islam will rule in the new europe.
JAGDPANTHER20 1 year ago
@McLaren
Although I agree with you almost entirely, it is important not to rely too much on political labels. National Socialists and Communists ostensibly were opposites, but the systems themselves were remarkably similar. National propaganda and jingoism are tools only to make them seem different to their own people and ensure compliance and morale.
If one removes these labels, it is seen that both were merely and quite simply... dictatorships.
QPhilms 1 year ago
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@QPhilms i agree, it would be better to make a distinction between collectivists and individualists. nazis, fascists, communists and most of today's left are collectivist, while most modern conservatives are anti-collectivist.
ellwyn 1 year ago
The RAF beat the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. Hitler new he needed control of the skies before he made an amphibious invasion of the UK....and he failed.
Of course the Russians made a huge sacrifice...but to say that the the UK was humiliated into submission is wrong. Hitler could not invade or he would have done in 1940 or 1941.
Then the US joined the war and Germany declared war on the US....and the rest is history.
xpat73 1 year ago
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Manstein detailed so well, had the Japanese entered the war against Russia- instead of the United States- that would have sealed the fate of the USSR. Although the Russians had destroyed the Japanese 6th army at Khalkhyn Gol and had far superior tanks, the Japanese had far superior planes and a huge naval superiority against Russia. Vladivostok would have been easily captured by the Japanese and the transfer of so many divisions would have never taken place.
BladerunnerNYC 1 year ago
@darkon112
Yes, well, except for that.
stinkyboofa 1 year ago
Look to the past to protect all of our futures.
starystaryknight 1 year ago
Sometimes I wonder if Russia would have been better off if the Germans had won the war. Germany has been so successful. But Russia? A very sad story for 80 years!
stinkyboofa 1 year ago
Yeah, Germany winning the war would have meant the extermination of almost the entire slavic race because that's what hitler wanted.
darkon112 1 year ago
At least they went into space first. With a satellite in 1957 and with a man in 1961. For a while they were leading the space race.
Not to mention their submarines, tanks, jets and helicopters were well made.
Sure, their system was hardly effective, but despite that they contributed a lot in the field of cosmology, physics and chemistry.
McLarenMercedes 1 year ago
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@McLarenMercedes the soviets made advances in military to the almost complete neglect of products that would improve quality of life, which was the least of their concerns.
ellwyn 1 year ago
the Germans brought with them the last hopes for mankind to Stalingrad since the Soviets could not have been defeated in a defensive war. Offensive military operations by Germany were required to defeat the Soviet plan to bolshevize the world. Had the offensive first been declared then Stalin would have stacked his front lines with Christian peasants. The strategy of Hitler always aimed to preserve as many lives as possible while Stalin always aimed to throw away as many lives as possible.
ForTheArticles 1 year ago
Joking right ? Hitler always aimed to preserve as many lives as possible ? lol ! yeah, that explaines the fate of the 6th army for one.
darkon112 1 year ago 10
@darkon112 , i agree, his decision to fight to the last man, was a horrible decision...turning point of the war......+ the minus 40 degree weather....
hockeydudeluv 1 year ago
I believe it's called "Wenn die Soldaten".
kowanut 1 year ago
Heyy, does anyone know the song at the begining of episode, I'm sure I've heard the tune before...without the heil hitler.
ODYSSEUSXYZ 1 year ago
No, the won the war with us...
PeterMayer 1 year ago
So I don't really understant what suprise the narrator is talking about when he mentions the pact between these two agressors. There was no surprise, at leats for those who were familiar with the nature of soviet regime.
RabidBunnyRabbit 1 year ago
@RabidBunnyRabbit So the only folk 'familar with the nature of soviet regime', were the Soviets, right?
The rest of the world - not being Soviets - were 'surprised' at the pact. Why is that so difficult to understand?
Spaceweed10 1 year ago
Where lies the logic of this argument? Isn't it the same as to say that the only folks familiar with the nature of Nazi regime were only Nazis themselves?
RabidBunnyRabbit 1 year ago
Continuation:
When Hitler started the war againts Poland, Soviet Russia attacked Poland at the same time from the East. Both - Nazis and Soviets - attacked Poland and occupied it. Doesn't that mean they both started the war? And afterwards Hitler drew his attention to Norway, and what Soviet Russia did? It attacked peacefull neighbour Finland! Then it went on to occupy Baltic countries.
RabidBunnyRabbit 1 year ago