096b - Operation Barbarossa - End of the Nazi-Soviet Alliance - WW2 - June 27 1941

[@A1552-g3w]

"Move Industry to the Urals" national focus is on the way.

[@markyv2295]

60 DaYs LeFt

[@bruh.7198]

We taking great patriotic war next right?

[@SuperLusername]

Hoi4 boyz are everywhereeeeeee!!!!

[@gabrielsistonamoca6963]

Order 227 for 75 Political power

[@eltunaliyev8258]

Emergency factory conversion is underway.

[@ArtrexisLives]

"It looks like the whole operation will be a short one." - Friedrich Paulus OOF.

[@CrazyYurie]

My magic crystal ball that sees the future tells me that Paulus will come to see things differently later on.

[@WorldWarTwo]

@@CrazyYurie do yo something about Paulus we don't? 'Cause we heard he'll be home by Christmas.

[@CrazyYurie]

@@WorldWarTwo O-Oh, of course! Yes he will be home by Christmas 1941! Assuming he actually goes to his actual home then, of course. :o But he may not be back there for the following Christmas... :P

[@boombler4320]

Home by christmas they said, they just didnt say which christmas

[@ultramanJR]

@@WorldWarTwo Unfortunately for him, history doesn't see it that way

[@chainsawblue3639]

Germany in 1940: Let's prepare for a year long war with France Germany in 1941: Let's prepare for a 4-6 week campaign with the USSR

[@konstantinriumin2657]

Twice the pride, double the fall.

[@КИБАРКУБИЦА-с4д]

I think their mistake is that they thought that Russians would surrender as quickly as other Soviet puppets (Ukrainians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Estonians, Moldavians), but in Leningrad, Stalingrad and Moscow there was a completely different war.

[@benoitlabrecque4513]

@@КИБАРКУБИЦА-с4д The move actually kind of made sense at the time. First of, germany had deafeted Russia in WW1, with 10-20% of there army while losing in 4 year to france. They had just defeated France super fast, and rhe USSR had problems in war against finland

[@dcred123]

@@КИБАРКУБИЦА-с4д no, they thought Russia would surrender as quickly as France (the greatest land power of the time), because of how awful they did in the Winter war. If you were a Nazi, you wouldn't have had any doubt; There was no reason to believe otherwise.

[@mrunseen3797]

@@КИБАРКУБИЦА-с4д 1. Ukrainians weren't puppets like Baltic states 2. Ukrainians didn't surrender, they defended their motherland, soviet army weakness let the Nazis match through. Ukrainians fought on in the army and as partisans. Do think that Moscow people fought harder, because the Nazi army got to a halt, for many reasons (logistics, overstretched army, winter etc. ) Is a krass misunderstanding of history.

[@TheSciuzzo]

Hitler: Writes a book where he clearly states that the Russians will be treated like cattle Also Hitler: I don't get why they are resisting so stubbornly

[@UrWifiIsSlow]

“They should welcome me as a liberator”

[@ziggytheassassin5835]

Stalin: those damn Brits with their "leaks", don't they realize me and Hitler are pals?

[@JLAvey]

The really sad part of that is that there was at least one SS officers who literally couldn't understand why the Jews were resisting (spoiler for Poland 1943) instead of submitting to liquidation.

[@l0necroc]

Hitler: Writes a book where he clearly states that the Russians will be treated like cattle Stalin: Why is my man Hitler attacking me?

[@axelpatrickb.pingol3228]

Reminds me how Goebbels of all people realize early on that Nazi beliefs are screwing them hard in the Eastern Front...

[@taufiqutomo]

The Germans advance 60 kilometres, and the map barely moves. That is, fellow humans, how large the USSR was.

[@silentotto5099]

When I was a kid and first learning about WWII, I was reading a book and looked at at common map showing the extent of German conquest in Russia. It looked like the Germans had taken over massive areas of Soviet territory. Then I flipped the page of the book and it showed the extent of the German conquest, but in comparison to the entire Soviet union. The German gains looked puny. That was an important lesson about understanding scale.

[@oxis77gas]

​@@silentotto5099 Yeah, but this land gains is where most of soviet population lived, most of grain resources and industry laid.

[@kingblondie7075]

I imagine the german high command was always working with maps scaled to fit the table they were using. I wonder if they had made their maps all to the same scale would they have decided to do things differently.

[@bradley2841]

@@anthonyjameson7129 maybe you didn't watch the video but as long as they didn't surrender those factories across the Urals would keep making Tanks and Aircraft and with all the troops from the USSR that escaped across the Urals they could eventually push back There is no way in hell Stalin would surrender

[@bradley2841]

@@anthonyjameson7129 I never once said that the population was big in Siberia but the shear amount of soviet troops that could pull back from the urals and regroup to then counter attack doesn't matter

[@taufiqutomo]

Someone should do a Downfall parody of Hitler calling Indy Neidell by phone. Edited to correct a typo.

[@markyv2295]

Thanks for the idea doing it now lol

[@sluxi]

That's a great idea!

[@MocnyBrowarek]

Tha'ts something I'd like to watch.

[@Onio_]

Why does everyone feel the need to justify edits?

[@SampoPaalanen]

Shouldn't that wait for battle of Berlin Episode?

[@Furudal]

With Hötzendorf in the background I have a bad feeling about this one...

[@realmario979]

He was always there, observing

[@Furudal]

@@realmario979 In some way today still he is watching over military blunders the world over...

[@marcbalaram383]

The patron saint of military blunders

[@pyroman2918]

But they are already beyond the Carpathians, they will be fine. There is no way the will freeze to deaths in some winter offensives.

[@BlackStar2161]

@@marcbalaram383 Him or Cadorna

[@thequaker-oatsguy1363]

When you can’t publish a map of your opponent’s country because it would be bad for morale

[@Blazcowitz1943]

Seems an odd concern. Did they ban world atlas books in Germany? If anyone wanted to see how big Russia is they'd only have to flip a few pages.

[@stc3145]

Dosent anyone in Germany have a world map? Or has Asia not yet been discoverd

[@mekolayn]

@@stc3145 if anyone has, than probably map of Europe

[@edwardblair4096]

@@KnightofAges That video shows the entire length of the eastern front, but it only shows the USSR up to the Ural mountains, not the entirety of the country. That is the point that is being made.

[@chrisforsyth8323]

@@Blazcowitz1943 It seems odd, in the day of the Interwebs... but without your computer, how many accurate world maps do you have ready access to, in your home? Sure, we mostly know where stuff is... but the censorship would have reached even into schoolrooms.

[@gianniverschueren870]

Oooh, I like this tie. The subtle fades in the checkers' pattern and how that plays with the green shirt... This is a nice one. 4.5/5

[@dr.lyleevans6915]

Dang, 4.5/5. That’s high praise. I was thinking 4/5, but impressive nonetheless

[@gianniverschueren870]

@@dr.lyleevans6915 The tie on its own is probably a 4, but I love how it plays off the shirt and waistcoat. I usually go crazy for the extravagant ones but this is the perfect kind of understated yet present.

[@El_Presidente_5337]

I would want him to take my daughter as a bride

[@YitzharVered]

But how much is this a judgement of the tie? It's more of a judgement of Indy's attire.

[@gianniverschueren870]

@@YitzharVered Imo, a crucial part of wearing a tie is how you match it to the rest of the ensemble. Ergo, it's part of my scoring system. I won't grade the ensemble itself (except on rare occasions) but rather the tie's position in it. The tie's design is the top priority of course.

[@loneakmoperator507]

the fatherland vs the motherland, the most epic custody battle ever.

[@TheCimbrianBull]

What about the children?! 😱

[@loneakmoperator507]

@@TheCimbrianBull the children are the euro nations

[@kooroshrostami27]

@@TheCimbrianBull Poland is the abused child.

[@盧風廷]

@@TheCimbrianBull and a

[@AS-mi1me]

poland abused child

[@kristofb.1939]

Stalin: *The enemy can't Blitz us if we don't have infrastructure*

[@arashbozak1247]

Barbarossa problems require barbarossa solutions

[@gaiusjuliuscaesar3204]

Communism victories right there

[@bobstrong7117]

arash ghajari Pło”o L Please Olll L '!k,k,’ Opoooo

[@alphamale4807]

Scorched earth

[@VNn2023]

First, sorry for my bad english. It's not true! Soviet Union was IMMENSE and in the '40s the "country" part of every nation lack street and modern stuff around the whole world!

[@cobbler9113]

While everyone (including myself) was looking at Operation Barbarossa and its implications, it would be fair to say that tribute you quoted about Wavell was well said. Very underrated commander who had very few resources over a wide area and managed to a decent job driving off Italian forces in Libya and East Africa, consolidating Iraq and launching the successful invasion of Syria. I hope we see him again for the right reasons.

[@dernwine]

I feel like the achievements of the British in North and East Africa in the early part of the war are massively downplayed (perhaps because the Americans where not involved?). I often hear the phrase "but they where only fighting the Italians" mentioned, as if the successes of Compass and East Africa where foregone conclusions that required no effort on the part of the British and Commonwealth forces besides physically being there, and the War in Iraq and Syria is almost always not even mentioned because they're "not important" though I suspect had Vichi-Iraqi forces taken Suez that assesment would be rather different.

[@dragonstormdipro1013]

As an Indian, Wavell would be a hero to me because he was probably one of the only people who tried to help solve the Bengal famine condition. Incredible man, even without the military association.

[@veitdalee4810]

also he was pushing for Churchill to direct food aid to India, where millions starved later during the War, while Churchill was openly hostile to the idea of helping India and showed his racism towards Indians

[@cobbler9113]

@@dernwine I think it is mostly because they faced the Italians rather than anything else. Shouldn't diminish the importance of the campaigns, nor the bravery of those who fought in them and their achievements.

[@cobbler9113]

@@dragonstormdipro1013 My respect for him keeps going up. He genuinely sounds like a textbook example of a military commander in that he tries to help those underneath him in the hierarchy and take responsibility for them.

[@speedydb55]

Erwin Rommel *On Phone* : "What do you mean I can't advance in North Africa? And I can't get reinforcements? What's going on? ....Oh....oh......OOOHHHH!!!!"

[@taufiqutomo]

Imma rewatch the intro.

[@neptune3569]

"NO WAY HE DIDNT "HOLY SHIT"

[@evanulven8249]

This week: Germany loses the war, but doesn't know it yet.

[@Yora21]

I am trying to find the quote by Hitler about "If we don't win by Date X, I will be forced to end this war." Which I think was October 1941 or something close.

[@bezahltersystemtroll5055]

@@Yora21 the quote is "If I dont get the oil of the Caucasus, I will be forced to liquidate this war". He said it in the beginning of 1942.

[@notoriousblt1038]

September 1st 1939 more like

[@sahipkran9447]

Without the help of Mother Earth and the Allied shippings, there would be no soviet victory.

[@sahipkran9447]

@@projectpitchfork860 400,000 jeeps & trucks 14,000 airplanes 8,000 tractors 13,000 tanks 1.5 million blankets 15 million pairs of army boots 107,000 tons of cotton 2.7 million tons of petrol products 4.5 million tons of food

[@Turgon_]

German soldiers seeing those 51 Russian Tanks: "They're just sitting there... MENACINGLY"

[@TheCimbrianBull]

Those KV-1 tanks are some pretty impressive scarecrows! 😀

[@spary5751]

Wasn't expecting a jojo reference in this coment section of all places

[@Cowzie_Wowzie]

@@spary5751 you mean spongebob?

[@thestonedabbot9551]

💀

[@howardbrandon11]

Indy: "Things are gonna get nasty." Me, looking back at 22 previous months of war & atrocities: "....were they not already?? How much worse can they get??"

[@CrazyYurie]

It can always get worse... and it is about to get much much moreso than anything that has happened so far.

[@Dessienewshoes]

Shit is gonna get biblical

[@ayursunzheev7499]

Russians will see after their winter counterattack what the Germans did in the villages near Moscow. And then you will find out.

[@JLAvey]

Nasty? They are going to get as close to apocalyptic as our species has ever seen. As for how they could get worse... I am reminded of Ukraine. They endured a manufactured famine, purges, deportations and THEN the Nazis invaded.

[@jonathanmunoz137]

see the movie "come and see" for get and a barely idea how much worse was

[@howardbrandon11]

Germans: *fires shell at Soviet tank* Shell: *glances off* Germans: *surprised Pikachu face*

[@Blazo_Djurovic]

Well... for pretty much most of Allied tanks and everything they encountered Soviet by then... "There was supposed to be an Earth Shattering KABOOM!"

[@adamlakeman7240]

Considering the secret nazi-soviet tank drills at Kama the Germans *really* should have seen something like the T-34 coming.

[@dusk6159]

@@adamlakeman7240 True, just like thanks to the NKVD-Gestapo conferences. Probably it's some of the nazi/Axis vainglory and blindness also relative to the disregard for winter equipment and the rest.

[@gunterthekaiser6190]

@@dusk6159 Also the fact that the Nazis saw the Soviet as inferior beings. For them to create such a war machine is unthinkable for many Germans of the "superior" race.

[@Unknown1355]

@@adamlakeman7240 Not really. At that time Soviet were still figuring out tank production. More importantly, the designs came from abroad. Both T-26 and BT series were foreign (UK and USA). Largely domestic Soviet designs, particularly those that became famous later, started appearing in late 30s. Kama was shut down in 1933, after Hitler rose to power.

[@ArtrexisLives]

A less comedic comment: A couple of months ago I made a comment on an earlier episode stating that I was binge-watching The Great War series, and was briefly flummoxed at how, at this point in WW2, the casualty count was relatively tiny compared to the same amount of time in WW1. By mid-1916 we're looking at casualties in the MILLIONS on all sides, and yet as I recalled WW2 had a far greater casualty count at its end. "How can this be?," I asked myself. And then I remembered that Operation Barbarossa had yet to begin. And now it's here. For all the excitement I've had/am having at this massive invasion, I must temper my emotions with the understanding that the wholesale slaughter of soldiers and civilians on both sides of the newly minted Eastern Front has begun, and will not stop for the next 4 years.

[@adelkheir]

The meat grinder has truly begun.

[@Lttlemoi]

@@adelkheir And they haven't even reached any of the famous battle locations on the Eastern Front yet.

[@TheBreadB]

And the casualties will increase even more when Japan enters...

[@cf7571]

@@TheBreadB No, they won't. Nowhere near the same amount.

[@SuperLusername]

@@cf7571 casualties are already immense if you count Chinese who I think too often get overlooked

[@MrZartag]

Author mentioned Comissars Order in the video. But, in my opinion, ""Decree on the Jurisdiction of Martial Law and on Special Measures of the Troops" or "Barbarossa decree" of 13 May 1941 is more clearly showing, what type of war germans were going to lead . For example, this order specified, that german soldiers who commit crimes against humanity, the USSR and prisoners of war are to be exempted from criminal responsibility, even if they commit acts punishable according to German law. Russians and other soviet citizens quickly realized , that it will be not just war for power and lands between two regimes, but battle for surviving of their nation itself. .

[@thexalon]

More importantly: If the Russians believe the Germans are just going to shoot them, whether or not you fight them and whether or not you're a soldier, you're more likely to fight them with everything you have, to the death.

[@KiKiweaky]

I find wars get really bad when neither side gives in, the invasions of France and Poland killed a lot of people both soldiers and civilians. But eventually the French and the Polish surrendered when their forces were broken and their territory was totally over run. That is not to say the repression was nice, people still died. But you no longer had thousands of armed men squaring off against one another and neither do you have artillery hammering away at a town or fleets of planes dumping incendiary bombs on a city. Neither side really knew what this what going to look like until they actually went and did it, Indy mentioned the sheer size of Russia. You can cross my country in a day the thought of driving for a week or two or three and still not being anywhere near close to the other side of Russia is something i simply cannot comprehend. Entire divisions were literally ground down to nothing on this front. At Arnhem the British first parachute division lost about half of its men killed/wounded or captured. They never took part in another combat operation, had that taken place on the eastern front they would have been taken out briefly and then thrown right back in. Different countries have different size formations but the usual division size force is about 10,000 soldiers. After fighting on the eastern front for any length of time your casualties would be ridiculous, the Russians and the Germans simply wouldn't give an inch to each other. I think one train station or blockhouse in Stalingrad (if i remember right) changed hands six times in one day, imagine what that place would have looked like after all that.

[@yarpen26]

@@thexalon It's not that simple. The enemy's resolve to commit widespread attrition may give a significant boost to the morale of the defenders but it also makes them much more prone to panic and falling into disarray the moment they realize loss is inevitable. By nature, people will only fight when the option of flight is no longer there. That's where desertions and suicide blow out of any proportion. People start thinking of ways out, to save their families, to negotiate with the invaders, anything really if triumph is impossible. The thing about Russia is that because it's so vast, it's always quite easy to image yourself somehow making it out undetected because nobody can control such vast territory.

[@TestTest12332]

Unnecessary brutality of the wars he directed is IMO the biggest mistake Hitler did. Lots of people in Soviet Union and conquered territories (Ukraine, Baltic states, Poland, Caucasus, even a lot of Russians) absolutely HATED Stalin and would have fought alongside Germany against him if not for the atrocities committed by Germany and if not for the dumb ideology making them second class citizens. Collaboration of these peoples could have been enough to turn the tide of war in Germany's favour. Instead, those atrocities committed provided absolutely no benefit to Germany...

[@treizekhushrenada13]

Hitler: "March in place" Rommel: "What's that sir? Keep marching? Roger that!" Hitler: "NO...I said marc..." Rommel: *Hangs up*

[@seneca983]

March into a place.

[@thurin84]

rommel; (grabs candy bar wrapper and crinkles it near mic) "whats that? sssssshhhhhhhhhoooooooooosssssshhhhhhh youre breaking up! sssssssssshhhhhhhhooooooooooooossssssshhhhh whats that you say? march? JAWOL HERR FUHRER!!! your wish is my command! uuuhhhhhhh SSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHH" switches radio off.

[@evangelineirene6994]

So, Guderian's scolding is keep ruining on his head huh...

[@eddieliusa]

DAS WAR EIN BEFEHL

[@Wulfis69]

@@eddieliusa BRINGEN SIE MIR FEGELEIN! FEGELEIN FEGELEIN FEGELEIN

[@12321dantheman]

''I'm playing both sides, that way I always come out on top'' -Zhou fohai

[@spqr1945]

Chaos is a ladder

[@federicovalsecchi8531]

Wang Jingwei siding with the Axis, Chiang Kai Shek with the Allies and Mao Zedong with the Comintern. And to think that they all worked with Sun Yat Sen!

[@paulcziganj4257]

Was he friends with the Italian ambassador to tell him about that little trick?

[@ericthegreat7805]

@@paulcziganj4257 😅😅😅😅😅😅

[@thegtree1]

"Of Wavell, Auchinleck wrote: "In no sense do I wish to infer that I found an unsatisfactory situation on my arrival - far from it. Not only was I greatly impressed by the solid foundations laid by my predecessor, but I was also able the better to appreciate the vastness of the problems with which he had been confronted and the greatness of his achievements, in a command in which some 40 different languages are spoken by the British and Allied Forces."

[@brandonblackfyre5783]

*He was saying that The Allies were speaking 40 different languages?*

[@chainsawblue3639]

Lebensraum: Babe come over Germany: I can't the allies are still fighting me Lebensraum: The Soviets aren't prepared Germany:

[@TheCimbrianBull]

Lebensraum and chill.

[@merdiolu]

Nakhman Doushansky, an NKVD officer returning home from vacation by rail, recalls the moment Barbarossa began at Siauliai, in the Baltic Special Military District: We were slowly approaching Siauliai. Suddenly, bombs began falling on the Zhoknya military aerodrome. By the time our train arrived at the station, I had no doubts that war had broken out . . . I rushed to my house. My half-blind father was standing at the gate waiting for me: ‘Nakhman! Take your pistols and run to your comrades! If the Germans come, they’ll kill you!’ - ‘And what about you and Mum?’ - ‘The Germans won’t do us any harm. I was their POW for two years [during the First World War - trans.] and know them well. They’re not gonna kill simple people.’ [This was a Jewish family and they knew something of the Germans’ policy on race - trans.] I’d gone on vacation without firearms, leaving my basic TT pistol in a safe in the department, but I’d hidden two other handguns at home, in a special place. I took the firearms, my leather coat, and some other gear. Then I took my parents to the train station. An evacuation train was already standing on the track, ‘under steam’. There was no wild panic at that moment, and I managed to seat my parents in one of the carriages. I said goodbye, jumped onto the tracks, and scrambled onto the last train from Siauliai to Telsiai, on the border. I would never see my kinfolk again. Only my brother, Yakov, survived. " I was not to reach Telsiai that morning. Our train was bombed to pieces near a place called Trishkiai. After this raid I opened the secret packet - the ‘mobilization plan’ worked out by Morozov for all who worked in my department. Having read it, I understood that our rendezvous point was actually very close to Trishkiai. I walked into town, picked up a horse - minus the saddle - and rode bareback to the supposed meeting place. Artillery rumbled in the west and German planes were permanently overhead. As night fell, NKVD men and border guards began emerging from the forest. Many were wounded, covered in blood, their uniforms filthy and ragged. A few carried trophies captured from the Germans - submachine-guns and rifles. And there I was in a squeaky leather coat without insignia, brand-new blouse and boxcalf boots. The contrast was striking . . . In 1945 I discovered the fate of my relatives. It seemed that no train left Siauliai for the east on 22 June. Some local Russian executives had telephoned their superiors to report a mood of ‘panic’ and ‘defeatism’. A detachment of Army ‘specialists’ arrived and all evacuees were ordered off the train and back to their homes. No one was to leave Siauliai. My parents were later murdered by Lithuanian Polizei [i.e. German-controlled militia - ed.] in a ghetto. My youngest brother, Itshak, never made it out of the pioneer camp [a Communist organization for children under 14 years of age - trans.] at Palanga - the circumstances of his death are not known. My sister Rachel and brother Pesakh died trying to reach Russia via Latvia. Lithuanians shot them dead. Drabkin, Artem; Isaev, Alexei; Summerville, Christopher. Barbarossa Through Soviet Eyes: The First Twenty-Four Hours

[@ernestojordanpena2827]

Very interesting read.

[@comdo831]

It's truly regrettable nobody shot Nakhman.

[@ernestojordanpena2827]

@Mark Gaiennie Its from a book, it says it on the bottom of the text: "Drabkin, Artem; Isaev, Alexei; Summerville, Christopher. Barbarossa Through Soviet Eyes: The First Twenty-Four Hours "

[@RedbadofFrisia]

I feel bad for his family, but nkvd officers are not good people normally. The perspective is interesting though.

[@mikhailv67tv]

Thanks for your post I will look this book up

[@johnfrancis9668]

This is very different than what I learned 50+ years ago in high school. Thanks for the update.

[@howardbrandon11]

It's way more detailed than what I learned in high school 15 years ago. Barbarossa was, to me, the name of the invasion, and that was it. No details on the size, or vehicles, or relation to the size of other war operations, or the atrocities, etc. But, realizing the inadequacy of my high school education has been a recurring theme since I entered college, and that realization has been constantly renewed.

[@ArtrexisLives]

I'd say my knowledge of the Eastern Front, barring Barbarossa, Leningrad, and Stalingrad were at a superficial level. As an American, I can't completely rag on my education because 1) of course it's going to be centered on the U.S.'s involvement and 2) there's only so many history classes in a school year to cover US and World History. With all that said, I have learned a LOT about WW2 in the last few years watching this channel and has given me so many new perspectives on the war.

[@Yora21]

50 years ago, English language sources consisted mostly of Americans trying to learn anything they could about Soviet warfare from surviving German generals. Many were more than happy to talk and write and keep talking and writing while the money kept coming. Of course, the aggressors in the most destructive war of all time would put their own spin on events.

[@rabihrac]

Congrats Indy and Joram and your respective crews in TimeGhost and Eastory because you succeeded to simplify the complex mechanisms unfolding during the widest and wildest of all invasions in history, and you equally successfully brought to my awareness the feeling of anxiety and worry of the contemporary people when they faced this unprecedented grave situations, and more... Cheers !

[@HistoryHustle]

As the Germans advanced through the former Eastern Poland territories, as well as the Baltic states countless of political prisoners were massacred by the NKVD. In Lviv (Lemberg/Lwow, now in Ukraine) I visited one of these former prisons that is now a museum. It's an eerie place, knowing what happened in those cells back in 1941.

[@randolphcarter6486]

I have visited one of former NKVD facilities in Lviv as well. Are you referring to what is now Lonsky Prison National Memorial Museum?

[@romaniacountryball]

I visited the political jail of Pitești the most bloody from Romania in the communist period (also my home is not very far away from that jail)

[@poi2lkj3mnb]

Those were Nazis. They were political prisoners because of their history of supporting Nazis. The Soviets executed them because they were going to help the Nazis. They were just invaded by a genocidal army I don't know wtf you expect.

[@QuizmasterLaw]

@@poi2lkj3mnb What he means is that in anticipation of being over-run the KKVD massacred its political prisoners.

[@JokoCi]

@@commanderred1948 Your understanding of the Nazi Soviet conflict is rather naiv. Either you call all the soldiers innocent and their leaders evil, or you recognise that all of them participated in an evil system. The Soviets were not and are not "the good ones" in this conflict. The Soviet regime was no bit better than that of the Nazis.

[@fraserking4747]

“We have only to kick in the door and whole rotten structure will come down.” Narrator: *”It did not.”*

[@bingobongo1615]

Well it kinda did but last minute the brave people inside held the rotten structure together under great sacrifice so it didn’t collapse.

[@Ridddigg]

@@bingobongo1615 All the Germans who "conquered Europe" from 1939 to 1941, died near Moscow (for many, the war ended on Christmas day). In 1942, the Wehrmacht consisted almost entirely of recruits.

[@jasondouglas6755]

No your wrong it did, it collapsed on the Germans

[@Sharpshooter0890]

My great grandfather fought in both World War 1 and Russian Civil War, and then went to Poland with Tukhachevsky. By all accounts, he was a complete badass (14 combat injuries, many medals) and was a competent commander. Somebody reported him as a traitor (he always spoke highly of Tukhachevksy), so in 1938 he was arrested and jailed, and died 2 years later in some god-forsaken prison. I wonder how many more good commanders perished in those purges, and how many lives we needlessly lost in these early german offensives. And there are millions of people in Russia now who will defend these purges as necessary or justified. P.S. I`m so lucky that I found this channel, The Great War and TimeGhost. You guys are amazing!

[@thomaskositzki9424]

Amen. I was horrified when I heard Putin had sanitized the school books in Russia of any wrong doing by the Soviets. Nothing but propaganda left AFIAK. I can't decide who I despise more: the Nazis or the Soviets. Both were murderous, criminal and outright insane. The Soviets were even more crazy and self-harming than the Nazis. I mean, if you were a glowing Nazi you were pretty save from reprisals. In the Soviet Union, it didn't matter at all, literally anything could get you tortured and starved to death in a GULAG. Also: any other form of government in the Soviet Union would have propably won the war with half the casualties. The unbelievable misconduct of the war by the Soviet political leadership is just beyond imagination. Even some German officers had pity for the common Soviet soldier and how they were forced into sensless attacks with no chance of sucess. (As reference: I am a WW2 hobby historian with 30 years into the matter)

[@brandonblackfyre5783]

​@@thomaskositzki9424 to be fair & play the devils advocate a little bit, our history books in America are also written with propaganda in mind... especially when it came too the World War Two subject & the Eastern Front where it was Germans Vs Soviet Union/Russia. Now our books in the USA aren't nearly as propagandized as the Russian books but it's still a little propaganda in them. We really do the opposite in our history books that Russia does, we focus on Stalin being a evil communist & how he brutally murdered & purposely starved millions of his own people & it was all because of communism. 😂

[@brandonblackfyre5783]

​@@thomaskositzki9424 I remember reading a statement that an amazing channel called "Tikhistory" had in one of his episodes of the *Stalingrad Battle* where there were Russian civilians & a few soldiers who stole rafts from other civilians and tried too make it across one of the rivers, I think the Don, and their boats/rafts were I think shot so they were not floating anymore and the Germans inside their tanks and camps could hear the women & children screaming for help while they were drowning in the cold & deep river... A German Officer radioed the field commander at the time of Operation Barbarossa and asked if they could have permission to go out & save the drowning civilians which were mainly women & children & the commander said "No, we know how this enemy fights" or something along those lines, not really sure what it meant or means till this day.

[@DuckSwagington]

Damn Eastory is doing an amazing job with the maps

[@jduff59]

Indy - this is real history that we can't get on TV. Keep em coming - I've enjoyed every volume!

[@henriquiferreirasegantini474]

"The germans have been forced to face the reality that the newest soviet armor, the KV-1 and T-34 tanks is clearly superior to their own" War Thunder players: "Wow ... that's literally me!"

[@Yora21]

Gonna need some Panzer 5 and 6.

[@HaloFTW55]

Gunna need some Allied CAS for all those German cats.

[@nobody-mq7fr]

Panzer 4 F2:not today!

[@bingobongo1615]

It’s also very debatable. The T-34 and KV-1 had amazing armor and weapons but awful visibility, ergonomics and communication and where seen as failures with better successors already planned. The war made it necessary for the Soviets to continue to build them though until in 43 they were basically useless. The T-34 is by far the most destroyed tank ever for a reason. That being said - the T-34/85 was then finally an amazing tank by most standards.

[@patrikcath1025]

13:28 would definitely make a great Turret Toss Championship entry.

[@brandonblackfyre5783]

*Thank you for another amazing show my brother. I'm sad that I did not find this channel sooner then I did but at the same time I am happy because I can now binge watch all these amazing episodes without having to wait a week for a new one😅*

[@fclp67]

German generals be like "this one will be over by Christmas." I swear I heard that before.

[@ssv9855]

By Christmas?? Wasn't it not going to be over by Autumn?

[@Ridddigg]

All the Germans who "conquered Europe" from 1939 to 1941, died near Moscow (for many, the war ended on Christmas day). In 1942, the Wehrmacht consisted almost entirely of recruits.

[@Yora21]

If it's not over by Christmas it will be impossible to win. No point making plans for a situation you can only lose.

[@bangscutter]

The immense scale of Operation Barbarossa and the long front line is evident in those maps being zoomed out much further than most other maps in the past episodes! It's truly mind-boggling.

[@cmlya9086]

Germany : Friendship ended with Soviet Union now Japan is my best friend

[@marcoAKAjoe]

What about Italy??? Lol

[@phatl1239]

I heard this before on some hearts of iron 4 channel

[@patrickweber3954]

Soviet Union: You will pay dearly for this mistake backstabber! * Soviet Union joins the Aliies *

[@marcoAKAjoe]

@@patrickweber3954 lol

[@hushpuppy1735]

Leo the German Sheperd Nobody cares about Italy

[@oneofmanyjames-es1643]

I take it Molotov's Cocktails is cancelled then. Now where will Russians go for their evening entertainment?

[@scottaznavourian5791]

Berlin

[@wtfbros5110]

@@scottaznavourian5791 you silly lot, the Germans got this

[@podemosurss8316]

The daily shows of the Red Army Choir.

[@shrillbert]

The way I've heard it, The Litvinov Late Show might be coming back on in a few weeks.

[@meduseldtales3383]

According to Khrushchev in "Death of Stalin", they made German PoWs to play hot potato with live grenades.

[@Shadowman4710]

Hitler: "This war will be over in 6 months. Hey, what's that sound?" Stalin: "Napoleon turning over in his grave."

[@TheCimbrianBull]

*1812 Ouverture intensifies*

[@sergeitalos452]

Thank you so much TimeGhost!!!! You have no idea how long I've been waiting this. For a capable and prepared western historian to study and describe the eastern front of World War II. The german-soviet war was the most brutal, fiercest, destructive and most deadly , and no main media has given it its place in history. Up until now I had to make due with russian documentaries translated to english to grab and catch some understanding of this conflict.

[@seeyouchump]

"End of the Nazi-Sovjet alliance" is probably the biggest euphemism in world history...

[@gianniverschueren870]

I thought the exact same thing.

[@AnimeOtaku2]

Nanking incident? Incident at Honnoji?

[@mikerodrigues9822]

@Thomas Sankara Poland disagrees

[@dernwine]

@Thomas Sankara So the Soviet Union didn't invade and occupy Poland then?

[@Admin-gm3lc]

@@dernwine poland rejected soviet plan to attack germany to defend checkoslovakia and even cooperated with germany, so nazi-polish alliance then?

[@tylerhaigler7409]

Crazy how I just now found this channel. Great content

[@felicien93]

Thanks for the amazing content as usual! By doing the greatest documentary on WW2 ever made by far, you are truly making history yourselves. And I'm proud to be part of that by donating a little bit of my money :)

[@williestyle35]

Had to comment because of the destruction of Baiłystok. It is where my wife's father's family and maternal grandfather come from. So much lost. Thank you for an insightful episode, World War Two :)

[@eetutorri8767]

Well I should talk about Finnish-German plans in Finland at this point. In the Lapland Germans had massed 4 divisions for the very soon starting Operation Silverfox (which itself was spilt into 3 parts). 2nd and 3rd Gebigsjäger would form the Norwegian Mountain Corps and these woul take most direct road towards Murmansk in the very tip of Finland and these same troops would maintain control over Petsamo at all cost. South of them would be the main focus for the operation in the 36. Army Corps which was composed of 169th Division, 6th-SS Division "Nord" (which will gain very different kind of reputation compared to its counterparts) and Finnish 6th Division. There was also 211. Panzer-Abteilung in support, mainly with French Somua and Hotckiss tanks. 36th Corps main objective would had been been taking the formerly Finnish Salla and then advancing to Kantalahti (Kandalaksha), cutting Murmanks off from Soviet Union and its railway. Then swing north agaisnt Murmansk. In addition there was the Finnish 3rd Army Corp with 3rd Division and German Panzer-Abteilung 40 (mainly with Panzer Is and IIs) further south of 36th Corps. Offensive would start in 29.6. But Finland would not launch its own offensives into Karelian Ishtmus (with the big prize of Viipuri no less) until 1.9.1941 which would surprise many but it will start major offensive into Karelian Ladoga on 1.7. as it was much more weakly held then in Karelian Isthmus. With no less then 5 infantry divisions agaisnt 3 understrenght divisions which gave Finns in some places 3-to-1 advantage in men. So what about the Soviet army on Finnish-Soviet border? Well in total there is roughly 350.000 Soviet troops, 200.000 in Karelian Ishtmus and 150.000 north of lake Ladoga with concentration in Murmanks. In addition there was the Soviet corp in Hanko peninsula stationed after the winter war which had 15.000 men with very limited supplies. However these troops were more or less ordered hold their ground as main effort and reinforcements was focused on Byelorussia and Ukraine. Many units (particularly mechanized units) were also relocated, particularly when Leningrad was under threat. To compare, Finland is fielding no less then 500.000 troops in arms (ground, air and navy combined) which for nation less then 4 million is staggering.

[@Feffdc]

Mannerheim was forced to demobilise a large part of his army because his economy was literally collapsing

[@lukavankuik9960]

I finally caught up with this series at a perfect time

[@gunman47]

Well it looks the Stalinium effect of the T-34 and KV-1 tanks seemed to have held many of the German Panzer advances somewhat with many German PAK anti-tank guns having little effect and merely "door knocking" on them despite mechanical issues and poor training. Still, with such huge Red Army losses, it seems a matter of time before the Nazi armies will reach Moscow soon before the harsh Russian winter comes in. Surely the Red Army won't be able to bring in fresh reinforcements so soon....

[@OttomanDrifter91]

'Even dead tanks are posing as obstacles' -Joseph Stallone, inventor of Stalinium

[@cv4809]

Not to mention that Japan can attack ussr at any moment, opening a new front for the Soviets to fight

[@TheCimbrianBull]

A guy in Tokyo named George Sorge is soon about to spill the beans to Uncle Joe.

[@alexeltroll]

I love how epic this show is being presented. So much experience with ww1 has been put to tremendous use. The way the dialogue flows, the music. The intensity. The crescendo, the pauses, everything. What a tremendous sense of drama and storytelling.

[@villehammar7858]

**SPOILER ALERT** Many of the British commanders we've seen in Africa will be relevant for the war in Asia starting six months from now.

[@scottaznavourian5791]

What war in asia? Japan would t dare attack the empire!

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

So we're already in a large war of attrition against China... I have a genius idea, let's attack both largest naval powers in the world at the same time !

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

All things considered, just make sure Yukari Sensei goes berserk and this should work fine for Japan

[@scottaznavourian5791]

@@Duke_of_Lorraine no one in the axis gets the concept of quitting while ahead

[@allangibson8494]

Japan is running out of fuel in China due to restricted supply from the oil fields in the United States and British fields in Malaya & Brunei. In short the same reasons the Germans had to take the Russian oil fields.

[@alfonsogallinas7111]

This is by far the best and lost complete HOI IV playthrough I’ve ever seen

[@mikeokeefe2014]

Indie is a very educated man , his pronunciation of Chinese names and German names is spot on ! Such a big fan of this show !

[@thomaskositzki9424]

True that! Really uncommon for native English speakers. :)

[@jeffreymartin8448]

A love this guy and his presentations. I'm a WWII history addict and he's my main hookup!

[@patricialefevre6779]

It’s a pleasure to support your channel where history is presented w/o a spin! Thank you and please keep the videos coming.

[@WorldWarTwo]

And we are as stated most grateful, thank you!

[@johnsummers2822]

This is excellent. Thank you

[@chainsawblue3639]

Germany: Invades Soviet Union Oil Supplies: Ight imma head out

[@randomlyentertaining8287]

Well, here I am. Getting ready to start back on watching these episodes. I stopped right before Barbarossa and never resumed for some reason. So time to play catch up. Unfortunately, I'm working a different job this time around so I won't be able to bulldoze through these like I used to. But damnit, I'll give it a shot. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up to current events by the end of the week.

[@ajeetsmann]

It's incredible how the Germans lucked out with the sheer gargantuan incompetence of first the French's high command and now the Soviet's as well

[@GarrusN7]

Well they were actually banking on the Soviet command being garbage. The great purge and the Red army getting bodied by Finland was strong evidence the USSR command was probably incompetent despite their large numbers.

[@meduseldtales3383]

The French Army had perfect war plans for both WW one and two. Unfortunately they were both for the wrong war...

[@stevekaczynski3793]

One difference though is that when caught in pockets by German armour, French troops tended to surrender, especially if it was clear there was nowhere to retreat. Soviet ones often fought on, frequently to the death, behaviour which the Germans attributed either to "Bolshevist fanaticism" or "Slav irrationality".

[@Unknown1355]

@@stevekaczynski3793 Spoilers, but there's going to be single pocket resulting in half a million Soviet POWs. Multiple ones that will result in 100,000+ POWs. So no, Soviets were not that fanatical nor just the French "tended to surrender".

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@Unknown1355 There were mass surrenders, sure, but Germans also reported Red Army soldiers pretending to surrender and then opening up with sub-machine-guns concealed under their overcoats, or individual Red Army soldiers suddenly running at them from the roadside with a live hand grenade in each hand. Not a known feature of the Feldzug in Frankreich. There was often a connection between such diehard behaviour and a unit containing large numbers of Communist Party members, and the Commissar Order only reinforced it. If being captured meant death, there was every motivation to die gun in hand za rodinu za Stalina, a reason some German commanders objected to the Commissar Order (which in practice was frequently applied not just to commissars but to Communist Party or Komsomol members and to Jews, considered to be more or less the same thing). A huge portion of 1941 Red Army POWs were simply left to starve to death and in subsequent years the Germans did not capture anything like as many.

[@tsodeyify]

This episode has been the best they’ve completed to date!

[@danielnavarro537]

Been waiting for this since 1939.

[@toplanerslife7675]

Keep up the good work Indy Neidell. I feel that you teach us history better than our own teachers and that just amazing

[@merdiolu]

On the night of 21/ 22 June, the 1st and 6th Panzer Divisions of XXXXI Corps crossed the Nieman, hitting the border by 3 a.m. Soviet intelligence - judging from local reconnaissance reports - had failed to reveal the presence of the German mechanized group: a typical scenario in the early stages of Barbarossa. Time and again, German mechanized forces foiled Soviet intelligence by executing a forced march to concentrate in a new sector, before delivering a surprise blow. Indeed, the dress rehearsal for future breakthroughs was performed on the first day of the war. Two German Panzer divisions attacked straight off the march after a 5-minute artillery barrage. According to Oberst Ritgen, a veteran of 6th Panzer : "Enemy resistance in our sector turned out to be much stronger than expected. Our path was obstructed by six anti-tank ditches, covered by infantry and snipers hiding in trees. Fortunately for us, they had no anti-tank artillery or mines. Since none would surrender, we took no prisoners. Nevertheless, our tanks soon ran out of ammo - something that never happened in the Polish and French campaigns. Replenishment of ammo depended on trucks stuck in a jam somewhere in the rear. " Near Erzvilkas, 6th Panzer destroyed marching columns of the 48th Rifle Division. This division, en route from Riga to the border, was badly mauled by powerful air strikes and then assaulted by tanks, sustaining 70 per cent casualties in a single day. But 6th Panzer’s immediate task was to reach the River Dubissa and this was not achieved. In the evening, 6th Panzer was attacked by two Soviet bombers - quickly felled by the division’s anti-aircraft guns. The division would not reach the Dubissa until 23/ 24 June. Drabkin, Artem; Isaev, Alexei; Summerville, Christopher. Barbarossa Through Soviet Eyes: The First Twenty-Four Hours

[@herrakaarme]

It feels like the British intelligence work in WW2 was whole orders of magnitude better than anyone else's. No wonder the British could create the James Bond novels/movies later as well without looking silly.

[@tommy-er6hh]

@@herrakaarme the USSR had an equal intel, but if no one beleives, it does nothing. Remember the USSR had agent inside British intel & gov't, and well as USA nuke program, inside Japan, and the Red Circus in Germany. And they have not revealed what their cryptography group did to this day.

[@RobertJonesWightpaint]

The best presentation of this invasion that I've ever read or watched.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks!

[@cyberdroid2300]

On the bottom left of the screen the skeletons, "See no evil" "Hear no evil" "Say no evil"

[@GunnyKeith]

This is an outstanding channel. Thank you for your time putting these together. SHOUT OUT TO ALL CHANNEL DONORS

[@notoriousblt1038]

Hitler: “lets go, in and out, 3 months adventure” 4 YEARS LATER

[@bobyoung1698]

Every time I watch, I get more engaged. This show is an integral part of my WWII studies.👍

[@giorgosmichael9142]

I love how Indy dismantles wehraboos throughout the video.

[@MTG776]

The battle field animated graphics in this series are 2nd to none...

[@m1994a3jagnew]

Robin Hood Men in Tights: Hitler: I challenge you to a duel! _slaps Stalin with a leather glove_ Stalin: _picks up iron gauntlet and proceeds to bash Hitlers face so hard his mustache is fused to the metal knuckles and ripped clean off hitlers lip_ I accept.

[@ease-l5330]

The day i’ve been waiting for since September 1st of 2018!

[@ScooterWeibels]

Something tells me this is not the last we will hear of Archibald Wavell.

Preapere for 1942

[@hermanlove8063]

Best KZbin series. Always look forward to your well presented videos. Thanks!

[@bavarian7603]

I like how their is a picture of Conrad von Hotzendorf in the background.

[@John-ch4wv]

The Skeltons on the desk are a nice touch.

[@peteroneill5426]

Very interesting 'See no Evil, Hear no Evil, Speak no Evil' skeletons there Indy! Encapsulates the whole wartime mood very well!

[@NovaFrederick]

We're off to moscow guys! *one year later* aaaany day now *two years later* almost there *three years later* Why do i hear boss music?

[@Yora21]

Wait? This isn't Moskau?! This is Berlin! How did we get here?

[@maygeror]

"that big hit song and all".... so funny. Great stuff!

[@sp0ckz0mbi3]

Supplies? Logistics? Who needs those when you have I D E O L O G Y.

[@bingobongo1615]

Mmh... those comments about German logistics really bug me. No other power in WW2 did anything on the scale of Barbarossa successfully and all of Germany’s enemies even in 1944-45 stopped their offensives often after a short term due to problems with supply and logistics. It’s ridiculous to fault Germany for that. It’s like complaining a triple Iron Man runner collapses in his third run while praising regular Marathon runners for not collapsing but being just completely tired and breathless after a regular Marathon. Sure, Germany shouldn’t have even undertaken such an endeavors but they played in another league and therefore just had to run into supply issues.

[@sp0ckz0mbi3]

@@bingobongo1615 The German logistic officers told the generals that they didn't have enough supply for the plan they wanted. They brushed aside these warning due to (somewhat earned) prejudice against the Red Army, and due to ideology. They've bitten off more than they can chew, despite being warned that they can't chew it, and now they will eventually choke on it. Also the allies had far more logistical challenges to overcome than the Germans. And unlike the germans they were self inflicted problems either. The two biggest problems being called the Atlantic and the Pacific. The allies had to organize supplies and manpower from 5 continents, across multiple theaters. To summarize the difference in scale consider this; you can walk from Berlin to Moscow, you can't walk from the US to Europe or Asia.

[@sp0ckz0mbi3]

@@KnightofAges But that won't last forever will it? However the Germans will keep considering the Soviets as bumbling fools even after the war turns against them.

[@sp0ckz0mbi3]

@@KnightofAges Nobody is saying the Red Army is competent or effective at this point. But the cracks are already there in Barbarossa if you look for them. Supply issues and delays are going to become more and more common. The Soviets will become more and more competent and effective. The Germans have to win this soon or begin to face shortages. And not to spoil anything but the drive on Moscow isn't going to end well for the Germans.

[@sp0ckz0mbi3]

@@KnightofAges Bruh the "great men" your talking about lose the war, you know that right? Partly because they don't listen to the "small men" in their own logistics departments. Germany is going to outrun its supplies, get bogged down, and get battered in the Moscow suburbs. Then next year they will attack, outrun their supplies, get bogged down, and this time get encircled and destroyed. Then the year after that all they manage is to attack, fail and waste yet more supplies. The Eastern front is the graveyard of the Reich.

[@2Links]

Finally! I have been waiting for this all day, all week, all month, all year!

[@JohnnyElRed]

"... they have their mech units here..." Damn Soviets and their Gundams!

[@camachoray8]

This needs to be on a podcast! Great work, I really enjoy this channel!

[@itzhakadelson9506]

There is a good old russian saying: "There are only two problems in Russia: fools and roads". I think it has never been more relevant.

[@Jason-fm4my]

I've read a lot of history about both the pacific and western theaters, now I finally understand how Wavell wound up in both.

[@lhaviland8602]

Interesting to see that the the factors that would ultimately be Germany's undoing were already hampering them from week one.

[@timuroeztuerk]

One of the best channels on KZbin! Thanks for the great work!

[@viktorkorol477]

I believe in the episode Barbarossa there was a mistake. Most likely General Pavlov attended concert not in Kiev but in Minsk. He was a commander of a Belorussian military district and Minsk was his headquarter.

[@WorldWarTwo]

You are correct! I just had a spell of idiocy in front of the cameras.

[@viktorkorol477]

@@WorldWarTwo "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone"Gospel of John,

[@ibrahimyange1528]

Indy, I liked Liszt's piece you added last episode. I hope you keep doing that, it makes the episodes more epic

[@pnutz_2]

8:18 *bounced off!* - world of tanks announcer

[@freedommike4862]

I look forward to time these videos every week. 100% best content on KZbin

[@suvaraih2266]

11:16 - Soviet mech units? They probably still used obsolete models like SHM-78 "Ognivo" or SHM-68 "Nakovalnya". It won't be until after Shagohod and the introduction of Rk-92 "Savage" Arm Slave the soviet mechs truly became the force to be reckoned with. XD

[@unitedstatesofamerica4987]

Sokolov?

[@suvaraih2266]

@@unitedstatesofamerica4987 That's right.

[@Ramzi1944]

Is that a mgs reference?

[@ithidt]

@@Ramzi1944 I believe the "arm slave" mechs are from the FMP anime/novel series.

[@unitedstatesofamerica4987]

@@Ramzi1944 Kept you waiting huh

[@ClantonTomlin]

The troop movements placed in motion on the main battle map really helps gain a greater perspective e how the battles progressed, do all the maps that way.

[@ΜάνοςΚαλατζής-ε4σ]

15:29 There are no 《Martians》, there are 《alien commrades from the red planet》.

[@kloc072386]

I look forward to these all week.

[@jankutac9753]

Indy Neidell and his phone. At the beginning it was slightly strange. Then it was funny. At this point it's a trademark. Well done

[@BGH1961]

I love the new office look with the magnificent portrait in the background of such a distinguished commander. ;)

[@BoyanZhelyazkov_theDoctor]

"Soon the Russians will get to hear about the countless corpses lying along the routes taken by our soldiers. The result will be that the enemy will hide in the woods and fields and continue to fight - and we shall lose countless comrades" - Joachim Lemelsen

[@stevekaczynski3793]

They also eventually got to hear of the large number of POWs simply being left to starve. My own theory is that if the Germans had treated Red Army POWs as well as say, British or American POWs (and these were not exactly adequately fed or in comfortable conditions) it might have made a real difference to the war. But they did not. Instead, film exists (it was used in an episode of "The World At War" broadcast in 1973) of Germans allowing Russian or Ukrainian peasant women to throw a few potatoes to Soviet POWs. The mad scramble after the potatoes suggests the Germans are not feeding them. Occasionally in the camps Germans would throw a few potatoes into a mass of starving POWs and enjoy watching them fight over them. The obese Goering was quoted at Nuremberg as having made witticisms during the war about Red Army prisoners being so hungry that they killed and ate the German guard dogs.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@KnightofAges They captured 1.5 million French without mass starvation breaking out. The death toll among Soviet POWs captured by the Germans was in the region of 40% - the Germans had trouble feeding their own troops, but they were in any case inclined to regard the survival of non-Germans as less important and Slavs were far down the list of priorities. In 1941 they expected quick victory and who cared if "Bolshevists" starved to death? They modified this somewhat in 1942 onwards but they also no longer captured Red Army prisoners in huge numbers.

[@xwormwood]

For the time beeing advancing Germans were sometimes welcomed by the Russian civilians, offering flowers, bread and salt to their liberators of Communism. At least this is what they thought they would welcome...

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@KnightofAges The bag of French prisoners is about half or slightly less than half of the number of Soviet POWs taken, and a logistical problem for the Germans, but French POWs did not exhibit a huge death rate in German captivity. Not even the despised North Africans or Senegalese seem to have died like flies as POWs. If the Germans had wanted to treat Soviet POWs reasonably humanely, they could have done. They did not. It was a complex intermingling of the Germans' logistical problems with the fact that for them, the lives of "Bolshevik" prisoners weighed extremely light in the balance, especially when they thought victory was near. They became a little more pragmatic in the following years, but they did not capture anything like as many in 1942, even less in 1943, and by 1944 it was Germans being taken prisoner in large numbers.

[@bezahltersystemtroll5055]

@Mstislaw AA its true.

[@martynasskrabulis729]

Hey Indy, great episode, as always! One small criticism: I see that you are a bit inconsistent with the names of our capital, Vilnius. You either named it Vilno, the polish name or Vilna, the russian name. By 1941 Vilnius region was already given back to Lithuania by the soviets, so it should be called Vilnius to be historically correct

[@messdpmessdp2192]

Imagine being a Nazi with a ton of racial/ideological distain for Slavs and communists, and then you try and invade and get dunked on lmao.

[@TheCimbrianBull]

That's gonna result in some heavy cognitive dissonance.

[@nikolavideomaker]

Did they get dunked on? I mean it was Germany vs the World and they still had a chance to win the war.

[@messdpmessdp2192]

@@nikolavideomaker Germany vs the world is not exactly right because Germany had allies, but they werent world powers the way Britain and the USA were, so I understand what youre saying. Still, its accurate to say that the Nazis were dunked on relative to their expectations. They started a conflict they thought they could win, and then even though the war would last 4 years or so, within ~18 months they were already in a very bad situation.

[@osalcido85]

Americans feel the same way after vietnam

@@osalcido85 Except no. But comparing the US to Nazis really shows your extreme ignorance.

[@andrewskitt8676]

Excellent episode, keep up the great work.