(6/10)Battlefield II The Campaign in the Balkans Episode 3 (GDH)

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Romanian borders faced the USSR directly. Prime Minister Ion Victor Antonescu led Romania from 1940 to 1944. In late 1940 Romania was forced to surrender Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union and Transylvania to Hungry. The following day Antonescu requested the dissolution; of the Romanian parliament and constitution, from King Carol, and proclaimed himself Conducător (leader). The powerful Iron guard challenged Antonescus power grab and launched an unsuccessful coup. The Iron Guard was completely eliminated as a party, banned and its leaders expelled from the country. Romanias commitment to Operation Barbarossa was large. Romania recaptured valuable land from the USSR. It losses at Stalingrad shook the country. Romania signed a peace agreement with the USSR on September 12, 1944. Antonescu and four of his cronies were executed in 1946. Actual footage of the execution was filmed and is widely available on the internet. Yahoo search: Executia lui Antonescu

Admiral Miklós Horthy, or sometimes known in the West as Nikolaus von Horthy, was Regent of Hungary from 1920-1944. Horthy was considered right wing, but not a fascist. Many requests placed on Horthy by Hitler were refused. Hungary joined the Axis powers in November 1940 and assisted in the invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941. Joining the Axis guaranteed Hungary new territory. Hungary invaded the Soviet Union, under the command of Army Group South on June 26th, 1941. The Hungarian Karpat Group was attached to the German 17th Army during the Battle of Uman. During this operation the Soviet 6th and 12th Armies were completely destroyed. During the Stalingrad campaign the Hungarian 2nd Army was completely destroyed in detail defending the flanks of the German 6th Army. Again, attached to Armeegruppe Fretter-Pico the Hungarians assisted in another startling victory over the Soviet Union in 1944. The heavy casualties suffered by Hungary in 1944 forced the Hungarian 2nd Army to disband. The Germans occupied Hungry in March 1944. Horthys son was kidnapped by SS units and Horthy was forced to resign and was arrested. Hungary fought on with German units until a peace agreement was signed in Moscow on January 20th, 1945. However, the Hungarian 3rd Army continued to resist. The war in Hungary lasted until April 4th 1945. Admiral Miklós Horthy was not tried as a war criminal and later retired in Portugal until his death in 1957. His remains were re-interred in 1993 and are now buried in Hungary.
Bulgarias involvement in World War II was almost negligible. Growing sympathies toward Nazi Germany, war in the area between Greece and Yugoslavia and the earlier decision to return Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria all persuaded King Boris III to join the Axis forces. When German and Axis units invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 Bulgaria committed no troops. In fact Bulgaria never declared war on the USSR. Hitler placed pressure on Bulgaria to commit troops to the Russian front. Bulgaria declared a symbolic war on the Allied Powers. This pledge would bring heavy air attacks on Sofia. However, King Boris stood firm. Bulgarias main contribution to the Axis cause was an important rail line that ran through Bulgaria to Greece. King Boris died suddenly in 1943. In 1944, with Soviet forces rushing into Bulgaria, Communist fifth columns launched a bloodless coup and installed Communist Kimon Georgiev. Bulgaria was one of 3 Axis power governments to ignore pleas from Germany to surrender its Jewish population (50,000). However, Bulgaria did surrender Jews in captured Southern Dobruja.
Yugoslavia was to be a thorn in Nazi Germanys side throughout World War II. Prince Paul, hoping to keep Yugoslavia out of war, signed with the Axis Powers in 1941. Infuriated Army officers launched a coup, exiled Paul and installed Prince Peter to power. Hitler was infuriated by the coup and launched an attack on Yugoslavia along with Italian, Hungarian and Bulgarian forces. Yugoslavia was easily crushed and broken up. Several resistance groups formed. Resistance members inclined to support the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia formed the Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland, better known as the chetniks and was lead by Draža Mihailović. Partisans against the royals and pro-communist in political doctrine, formed Yugoslav National Liberation Army led by legendary leader Josip Broz Tito. The partisan war in Yugoslavia was very complicated and confusing. The Chetniks and Communist partisans began to loath each other as much as the German occupiers. Titos partisans received substantial aid from the west and USSR. At the end of the war, Tito was seen as the true hero of the resistance and won power. Mihailvic was arrested and executed at the end of the war.(GDH)

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[leonenaj]

@dmacid Ok, and the Germans organized 7 different Anti-partisan operations to get rid of Tito, and THEY STILL FAILED. Tito was tying down huge numbers of Axis troops with his rag tag army. The Cetniks' help to the anti-fascist cause was present, yet insignificant. You can also find pictures of Chetniks taking photos with Germans. You will never find a photo of a partisan doing this. Also, in perhaps the biggest battle of the balkan front, the cetniks supported the germans with 20,000 troops.

[dmacid]

@leonenaj Cetniks saw both the Nazi and Commies as 2 separate evils looking to destroy their way of life. Cetniks were royalists, they believed in god and the king. Commies were their ideological enemies in every way imaginable. And so were Germans who occupied and tried to destroy Serbia. So they fought both at the same time. If you wanna look up Cetnik victories against the Nazi they were the first ones to stop a nazi motirized division and they also saved some 600 American pilots.

[leonenaj]

@dmacid It's more like the enemy of my enemy is my friend. It would be like the Americans fighting the English while they were fighting the Germans. Instead of focusing their efforts on the Germans, the Cetniks fought the communists. So how is that not collaboration with the Germans? And don't even try to tell me of Cetnik victories over the Germans. They did nothing of note.

[dmacid]

@leonenaj Chetniks were never in between. Them fighting alongside Germans was a lie fabricated by the Parisans (commies) to get the support of England and US so they could take over once the war was over. The whole resistance movement in Yugoslavia was started by Chetniks and they were the first ones to inflict a defeat on Germans in 1941. However, Chetniks did fight the commies which opened them up to a 2 front war and resulted in their defeat in the end.

[leonenaj]

@dmacid The Ustase were Fascist collaborators from the start. The Cetniks were in between; sometimes they fought the Germans, and sometimes they fought the Partisans. However, Tito's Partisans never collaborated with the Germans and were responsible for tying down the German armies in Yugoslavia.

[KevinByrne2]

This documentary was supposed to be about the Balkans campaign, but there's little about that campaign.

[dmacid]

Cetniks and Ustase collaborating is a load of crap and anyone who knows any of Serbian/Croatian history will say the same. Cetniks were a Royalist Serbian army. They believed in Serbian nationalism and the king. Ustase exterminated half of million of Serbs in concentration camps during WW2. These 2 could never coexist because their mutual hatred was bigger than Cetniks hatred towards the Communists or Germans.

[WCHooligans]

@leonenaj what would you do if some is pointing an rifle to your face and says "Shot him" ?

[brav0wing]

@barbelotta Adica, vrei sa spui Regele Mihai. SI Antonescu a fost un criminal de razboi, responsabil de macelarirea impreuna cu nemtii a 270000 de oameni! Asta ii sterge patriotismul!

[NikNovi]

Not only distorted facts, it's called propaganda; as usual on the Propaganda channel.

[tjhoenecke]

ROFLMAO check out the beatnik at 4:10!

[JerryKitich]

@leonenaj The Chetniks were fighting the Nazis. The Chetniks were also fighting the communists; the Cold War statrted even before the very end of WW2. The Chetniks were not wrong; communism is the enemy. Unless you have actual sources to quote its not much of a debate; as I said British intelligence failures and double agents have distorted much. For example Chetniks saved over 500 downed Allied airmen and returned them to their forces; this is not what Nazi collaborators do.

[leonenaj]

@JerryKitich The Chetniks were supporting the fashists by giving away partisans and their families. The Ustashi were much worse because they actively killed for the Germans. Pretty much the only force fighting against the germans were the partisans led by Tito. Ironically, the SOE supported the Chetniks for some time.

[JerryKitich]

this is pretty questionable stuff regarding the SOE and the Chetniks, it is well documented now that alot of these accusations were made up by British double agents of the SOE who were communists

[prunch72]

It seems episode (5/10) is still viewed as 'distastful' in inter-European relations so it has 'vanished'..... three cheers for democracy and freedom of speech! Hurra, Hurra...etc

[pvthudson01]

Any chance you can get episode 5 back up? the MAN took it down it seems

[readynow12345]

The poor Volkssturm, had no idea about the Soviet juggernaut heading there way

[A2Kaid]

@gently5210

I checked on Houston's channel it says Part 5 has been blocked because of copyright claims by NBC Universal! That's why Part 5 is not available.

[gently5210]

@carlojpf2 Me too.I can't find part 5/10

[carlojpf2]

Was there really a Ministry of Propaganda? If they called it that and Goebels as Misnister of Propaganda then the people would think all he says are all propaganda.

[carlojpf2]

@houstonGD I am not sure if its only me but I cant find the (5/10) Battlefield II The Campaign in the Balkans Episode 3 (GDH) but I easily found 4/10 and 6/10..

Thanks for all the videos by the way you are fantastic.

[Thornfox]

@SS13E3 Yeah, I'm familiar with Paperclip. I mean the Nazis as a party and platform, not individual people who happened to be with them. Even that was controversial when it became public.

[SS13E3]

@Thornfox

really? ever heard of operation paperclip?

[Thornfox]

No one supporting the Nazis can be a hero, as rotten as the Soviets may have been.