151 - Stalingrad Now a Primary Objective?! - Hitler's Chaotic Directives - WW2 - July 17, 1942

[@WorldWarTwo]

Our Between Two Wars series covers more than just Henry Ford, it shows how the world is changing and modernizing in the years before World War 2, and you can check Season 2: Zeitgeist on our Timeghost History channel here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYXLeZZ6asZ6jac We can't cover everything in our weekly coverage and the war is changing every day, so if you would like to see daily insights into the war you can follow our Instagram page at instagram.com/ww2_day_by_day. and of course, check out our rules of conduct before commenting: community.timeghost.tv/t/rules-of-conduct/4518

[@remenir97]

Indy and Crew, you guys ever watched the Movie Stalingrad 1993? If so, what are your thoughts on its depiction of it? And the man behind it who made the movie?

[@Raskolnikov70]

@@remenir97 Awesome flick, anyone interested in the conflict should watch it soon, before this series hits the Volga along with the German army. It's a much more realistic portrayal of the lives of the soldiers involved than other, more action-oriented movies.

[@johnbeauvais3159]

Has the time ghost team done any videos on Maj. Ralph Bagnold or the LRDG?

[@oliversherman2414]

Could you please do a special video about German tank and aircraft production?

[@pyatig]

Since we’re talking movies I highly recommend Soviet movie They fought for motherland. It’s precisely about the fighting between Don and Volga

[@General-HD]

Constant fuel shortages during a big operation, what could possibly go wrong.

[@stevew6138]

Don't sweat it Bro, Herman said he can fly it in and support the 6th Army..... oh wait!

[@the_clawing_chaos]

Don't worry! They are aiming for Grozny, lots of fuel there. What could go wrong?

[@ottovonbismarck1352]

@@stevew6138 yea I get that your original comment was sarcasm and not serious. I was simply pointing out that it wasn’t goering who original said that Stalingrad could be supplied by air.

[@stevew6138]

@@ottovonbismarck1352 It's all good Otto. And you're right, history does need to be as correct as it happened.

[@auguststorm2037]

I don't know... An encirclement of an entire German army maybe

[@skrag2112]

"On the 11th, Hitler orders Operation Blucher." *horses whinny loudly*

[@jamesrogers47]

Thought the exact same thing.

[@zaja2418]

Sire, the Prussians are in the woods! Blücher is in the woods!

[@GRB-tj6uj]

@@zaja2418 my favorite Blücher fact is that he was nicknamed General Vorwertz (forwards) because it was typically the only command he would give

[@steveford8999]

>... Frau Clinton ... >::: Horses whinny in terror :::

[@varana]

@@GRB-tj6uj "Vorwärts" Although "vorwertz" is a quite decent spelling to get the pronunciation.

[@joeevans5770]

Attacking Stalingrad is gonna end great for the Nazis I can see absolutely no consequences here

[@indianajones4321]

What could possibly go wrong?

[@kevinramsey417]

Not with the campaign going the way it is. They've been steamrolling the Russians, Stalingrad should be a really crappy vacation.

[@cagehanger3639]

The enemy is just an unorganized mess of undermenchen, they simply can't compare with the mighty Wehrmacht, which uses tactics that are reliable in every situation!

[@Raskolnikov70]

Stalin-where? Is that a village on the road to Astrakhan? They'll probably just take it on the march and keep heading east. Army Group B will soon be lounging on the beaches of the Caspian Sea.

[@cristianvandenbosse8989]

And Paulus is a great general too. They will have encircled the Russians before snaps und schnitzels.

[@gunman47]

This week, on July 15 1942, the Americans finally manage to send in a salvage team to recover the so-called Akutan Zero intact at Akutan Island in the Aleutian Islands. The Akutan Zero had crashed a month ago during the raid on Dutch Harbor on June 4, but went unnoticed for a month until a PBY Catalina spotted the wreckage on July 10. The recovered aircraft will soon eventually make its way to Seattle and then San Diego for repairs and evaluation.

[@principalityofbelka6310]

This has gotta be an intelligence coup for the Americans.

[@firingallcylinders2949]

They quickly discovered that Zeros have a problem turning when in full dive. I could be wrong but I think it had something to do with their light weight. USN pilots exploited this.

[@edwingeorge5433]

This is actually a very important event , the American engineers figured out that the great speed of the Mitsubishi zeroes were because they tried to make the aircraft light by getting rid of some important safety equipment’s like fuel casings etc ( and others )… so while the aircraft was quite deadly in the hands of experienced pilots it still meant that all it took was a few spray bullets and the entire aircraft would burst into flames … as the war progressed and casualties increased the Japanese tried to bring in basic safety features that were common to their European and American counterparts ; this significantly brought down the speed and agility of subsequent models .

[@f-35enjoyer59]

I notice that there are a lot of smaller things in the Pacific happening lately. Wonder if it’s leading up to anything…

[@silentdragon1555]

@@edwingeorge5433 also, the repairs where not fully completed. The first thing that comes to mind is the zero's Air-fuel intact compensator. The device wasnt known about till after the war, that the planes couldnt do negative G manuvours (Which all pilots agreed it could do). As the compensator, reduced the amount of fuel been flooded into the engine by Neg G manuvours. Its rather interesting in regards to how the plane was designed, used in combat...and more importantly...the massive amounts of the Brits and US military and aviation companies on the Japanese aviation in general.

[@danielnavarro537]

Germany invasion of Russia: The soap opera. Where confusion is rampant and everything is everywhere all the while logistics are no good.

[@Blazo_Djurovic]

And all failure due to own incompetence is blamed on dead monster.

[@ЭЮЯ-о3к]

@@Blazo_Djurovic yes, the incompetence of the Germans is simply ridiculous.

[@viscountbp]

A dark comedy based on the high command handling of their invasion of Russia would be a nail to the coffin of the German invisibility myth...

[@hebl47]

@@viscountbp I don't know. I'd say Germany made itself quite visible in that period.

[@GastonBoucher]

Hitler: "I have altered the plan, PRAY I do not alter it any further!"

[@Dulcimertunes]

Does he pray to himself, since he replaced God?

[@atheistyoda8915]

@@Dulcimertunes OP is referring to the Star Wars meme, not our Lord and Savior Thor.

[@boitheboi8031]

@@atheistyoda8915 that was so fucking cringe. go back to reddit

[@atheistyoda8915]

@@boitheboi8031 Whatever you say, snowflake.

[@nonautemrexchristus5637]

@@atheistyoda8915 most funny redditor

[@pocketmarcy6990]

Woah, Midway last month, El Alamain now, and Stalingrad starting in August?, the summer of 1942 was really a turning point in every front

[@wwoods66]

Guadalcanal in August too.

[@chocolatte6157]

Hmmm. Summer of ‘42. Someone should make a movie about that. Oh wait! They did.

[@liv2510]

@@Rahulrao2576 Kasserine pass begs to differ cemented us troops as second rate.

[@ДанилаОгородов]

The Battle of Stalingrad starts now (15-17th of July in Russian historical tradition)

[@iDeathMaximuMII]

@@ДанилаОгородов How does it start now for the Russians when the Germans haven’t crossed the Don River yet. They haven’t even sniffed the Volga

[@prestonm1836]

Hitler: Attack Stalingrad Paulus: Sweats nervously

[@ReclinedPhysicist]

As long as you're going to be thinking anyway, think big!

[@lZUNA7]

This is really funny no lie 😂

[@ReclinedPhysicist]

@@lZUNA7 Do you know who I'm quoting? Don't give it away if you do. :)

[@javi009z]

"We shall take Stalingrad in a couple of days" - German general staff

[@darthcalanil5333]

The funny thing is the Franz Halder was literally telling that to Hitler throughout the time when the 6th army was struggling on the Don

[@薔薇-k2m]

At least by the Christmas, right?

[@kaltaron1284]

@@薔薇-k2m Well, that war was over by Christmas. Just a few years and several million dead late.

[@kaltaron1284]

Reminds me of the "optimistic" estimates of one Japanese general that they could take China in 2 weeks and the USA in 2 months. (I don't remember who it was but I think he was mentioned in this series.)

[@bungobox7454]

@@darthcalanil5333 Citation?

[@ronbutler3431]

I used to work with a man who had been aircrew on cargo flights over the Hump. He had a mottled pattern of burn scars across the back of his hands. The planes they flew were unpressurized. On one of their first flights, the crew brought along thermoses of hot coffee. After they reached cruising altitude, 'Moke' tried to open up one of them. The coffee was still scalding hot and -- at that altitude -- above the boiling point, so the coffee exploded out of the flask, burning his hands very severely. Forty years later, he still had the scars.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

The next year following one of the raids on Schweinfurt, a US aircrew member got back and noticed the soles of his feet had turned black. He thought it was dirt but scrubbing did not remove it. It was the beginning of frostbite brought on by flying in the cold of high altitude. US aircrew wore heated undersuits but heating the feet was a problem, and frostbite begins in the extremities.

[@mema0005]

Sad but interesting story. I think I once heard you can brew your tea at 71 degrees at the top of Everest

[@f-35enjoyer59]

Never realized what a logistical/command nightmare Blue was

[@stevekaczynski3793]

The biggest country on earth and the Axis depended heavily on horse-drawn "panje" wagons - go figure...

[@f-35enjoyer59]

@@stevekaczynski3793 Not to mention a leader who constantly changes objectives and doesn’t let his commanders change their plans on how to complete objectives in the field

[@doodledibob]

Two of my great grandfathers died at Stalingrad. No bodies were ever recovered. It took decades before surviving family members were allowed to visit a mass grave that they were probably buried in. In one case it wasn‘t certain whether one of them was dead or still alive in some Russian Gulag. As the decades stretched on, family members just learned to live with it. I look forward to 1945 coverage, specifically allied POW camps. There is the insane story of my great-great uncle At, who got himself captured by the Americans, sent to a very relaxed POW camp, spent several months being nursed back from the brink of starvation, and one day decided to just walk out back home to Augsburg.

[@jayjayson9613]

Stalingrad was also important due to logistics. It was a railroad hub that led to Astrakhan, there was no railroad to Astrakhan from anywhere else. It was the need to protect the flank and for logistics, it couldn't be bypassed.

[@ThePRCommander]

I disagree. Both in Fall Blau and in Barbarossa, Stalingrad was not important. Blocking the shipping on the Volga, may have been important? But - as you point out, in a crossing-the-Volga offensive, Stalingrad would have been important, as base of operations. Then again, the Wehrmacht never attempted, any large scale crossing, of this huge river. Instead, it moved into this unnecessary city, not needed at all, that is, in the context of the Fall Blau objectives. I mean, why would you want the city, in this phase of Blau? - Perhaps Hitler felt robbed of his victory at the Don. So, instead, he now needed a symbolic victory; the city with Stalins name. When that s said, Hitler him self, addressed the unimportance of Stalingrad, in the context of the 42 summer-offensive. Hitler, speech about Stalingrad kzbin.info/www/bejne/naTNoaSsnqt2b80

[@dragosstanciu9866]

@@ThePRCommander Stalingrad had to be taken and the Volga had to be secured before the Germans took the Caucasus oil fields, otherwise the Soviets could have launched counterattacks over the Volga in the left flank of the German armies, and cut them off from the rest of the Axis armies in the USSR.

[@Blazo_Djurovic]

@@ThePRCommander You don't so much need the city yourself. You want it clear of the enemy, so that enemy inside it is not tying up your forces and you can just post picket forces to guard against any attempts to make bridgeheads. You don't need significant forces to crush bridgehead attemps by light troops. (spoilers) but by the time of the cityfighting the Germans have already allowed Soviets to establish several bridgeheads over Don in their rear and Germans seemed to be mostly unconcerned about those. To their later deteriment.

[@ThePRCommander]

@@dragosstanciu9866 They most certainly could, however, it would have been in open terrain, against a dug-in German / axis frontline. Plus, it would even have had a couple of panzer divisions in reserve, to counter. Don't forget the huge infantry loses inside Stalingrad city. The Germans even had to use panzer crews as infantry units. Stalingrad had not to be taken. In fact, the entire German doctrine, focused on avoiding urban combat. But Stalingrad bore Stalin's name. To a personality like Hitlers, a symbolic victory was needed, now Fall Blau had failed.

[@ThePRCommander]

@@Blazo_Djurovic I disagree, the city would only be important, as a base of operations, to operations on the eastern bank of the Volga. As long as you do not cross tit, there is no need of the city. In fact, in a Wehrmacht perspective, a Stalingrad loaded with Red Army formations would be ideal. As long as your Wehrmacht formations has dug-in on the open steppe west of it. Thereby, the Red Army would have had to fight a bewegunskrieg, in which the Germans still dominated.

[@parallelworldsguy]

I don't know if it was planned this way, but the Russian mass retreat in the face of Fall Blau was an absolutely brilliant strategic move.

[@merdiolu]

Only rationsal thing to do under those circumstances and STAVKA Soviet General Staff finally convinced Stalin to act rationally

[@stevekaczynski3793]

It was the only way to neutralise German pincer moves, especially if these were a surprise and there was no time to dig in, set up anti-tank guns, anti-tank barriers, fortifications etc.

[@Kay2kGer]

"Give me 50 DC-3s and the Japanese can have the Burma Road" Chiang Kai-shek

[@simonk.2552]

Ah, a fellow HOI4 player

[@Kay2kGer]

@@simonk.2552 indeed :)

[@urielalmeida3294]

Giraffes are heartless creatures

[@luisgriffin4026]

Hitler: "I've changed my mind, we're attacking towards Stalingrad!" Paulus: "Uhhh... but y-" Hitler: "I have altered the deal, pray I do not alter it any further." Paulus: "k.."

[@leonendre6506]

Reminds me of that Lando Vader Scene from "The Empire striktes Back" XD

[@joshuasharpe8047]

Hitler: "Here is a unicycle! You must ride it wherever you go!" Paulus: " This deal's getting worse all the time!" Hitler: "Also, you are to wear these clown shoes and refer to yourself as 'Mary!'" Paulus: "This deal is...very fair and I'm happy to be a part of it!"

[@rabihrac]

Introducing traffic jams in conflicts: this is "modern war" as Indy used to say so many times before !!

[@grahamhoward6410]

I read the manga, stalingrad is gonna be one brutal arc

[@watershipdowneyjr]

Anime-onlies have no idea how crazy S4 is gonna be

[@chrisnesbitt8454]

I had to join the Time Ghost Army, otherwise we might not WIN this thing! Great work, all concerned....

[@WorldWarTwo]

Welcome to the army!

[@darthcalanil5333]

I really hope everyone is going to realise how much the battles on the Don bend costed the 6th army. As much as Pop media talks about the grinding of urban combat in Stalingrad, the battle of Stalingrad was really won and lost outside the city, arguably before the 6th army even reached it.

[@caryblack5985]

I agree that the combat before the Germans reached the city was very significant and the Germans took many casualties but I would not agree that the battle for the city was won before they entered the city.

[@Raskolnikov70]

That's one of the biggest myths of the war, that everything was going fine for the Wehrmacht until they got to Stalingrad. The Germans were already struggling by the fall of 1941 and barely held on during the Soviet counterattacks that winter. They were heading south in a last-ditch effort to get enough fuel to stay in the war with an army that had already been shredded and only got worse as the Red Army learned how to defend against their tactics.

[@coltseavers6298]

And . . . German reinforcements mostly went to the OTHER German fronts instead of the 6th Army's until October. They only got a tiny trickle until then. Insanity!

[@darthcalanil5333]

@@caryblack5985 the divisions that later on go to attack the city were already down to almost half strength BEFORE entering the city. The 6th army was struggling because of manpower and tank losses because of the intense battles of Kalatch and later Kotlaban. It was also starved of fuel, ammo, food and all kinds of supplies and reinforcements because priority was given to army group A, again, before the city was reached. The 4th panzer army which was supposed to cut off and encircle the soviets from the south of the city, suffers horrendous losses while it was still way far to the south. The point I'm making is that taking the city would have been incredibly easy if Paulus had enough remaining strength after the Don battles. The city was practically completely defenseless since the soviets chose to cross the Don and not actually man the Stalingrad defence lines. By the time the 6th army managed a bridgehead across the Don, it was already incredibly weak that it took a monumental effort to cover the flanks, hold the soviets at Kotlaban AND attack the city. German delays and weakness coupled with the amazing efforts of general Chuikov ensured that resistance in the city did not collapse.

[@celticman1909]

Military speaking, one has to be strong enough to keep territory that is taken. Logistics take a huge role in the Military scheme of things. More so than many people care to understand. Geopolitical calculations are critical as well. Sadam Hussain was able to take Kuwait, but not strong enough to keep it in the face of the international coalition assembled against him. Similarly the North Koreans were (and perhaps still) able to overrun the South but aren't strong enough to keep it. More recently, Vladimir Putin correctly calculated that he could take and keep Crimea. For the time being anyway. The fact is that Germany was not strong enough to keep its gains in the East. The failure of Whermact intelligence to detect just exactly what they were up against is astounding. But had they warned Hitler they would not have been believed because like Stalin, Hitler ignored intel that he didn't like.

[@danielcurtin3462]

Waking earlier today to see this episode was one of the best gifts that the TimeGhost crew could have given me on my birthday. Cheers guys and thank you for all the hard work that you put into this project, it means a lot to me, as I know it means a lot to the many of others who tune in every week.

[@WorldWarTwo]

You're welcome!

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

I'm sure this operation will be so succesful, Stalingrad will be renamed Paulusburg !

[@williamhogan4031]

Hilterburg !!!

[@snakeplissken1933]

Or Ruinberg:)

[@pawelzybulskij3367]

They gonna take Stalingrad faster than Talibs gonna take Kabul in the future.

[@Sceptonic]

@@pawelzybulskij3367 oof

[@eliasziad7864]

Putinograd.

[@claymccarver6446]

I work at the post office delivering mail all day and this channel is the only thing keeping me from going over the edge absolutely love it. Please don’t stop making videos.

[@SteveGillow]

As soon as you said "Blucher" , in my head I heard horses whiny from "Young Frankenstein"

[@odiebo]

Frau Blucher?

[@kevinramsey417]

"That's right ....HE WAS MY BOYFRIEND!"

[@Gameflyer001]

"NEIGH!!!!!"

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@Gameflyer001 "What knockers!" "Thank you doctor."

[@batwing-plays]

Fun fact: Germans had a tiny outpost located in the Quatara depression and this was crucial in helping allies in decoding Enigma messages. The thing is: the mechanism has been cracked, yet the coding rings changed their position daily according to the schedule from the code book, which allies did not have, yet this outpost kept reporting to the HQ. The thing is: there was nothing to report, so every day they kept sending "nothing to report". Knowing what hides behind the daily code people in Bletchley Park were able to figure out this day's code and were able to decode all the other intercepted messages. This knowledge has been brought to you thanks to the Lindybeige video "Three Great British Wartime Deceptions" :)

[@aussie870]

Lindybeige has been known to exaggerate certain facts for dramatic effect before however. I seem to recall in the same video he claimed that the Gallipoli landings were almost exclusively conducted by British forces which was blatantly incorrect.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

That was not only incident of easily guessed message. Daily message at specific moment starting with "Wetterbürecht" (likely misspelt) is quite strong aid. If Enigma-ciphered messages had not been as formulaic they would have been much more difficult to decrypt.

[@Dave_Sisson]

I was going to give this post a like, but then you mentioned your source. He plays fairly loose with his facts and appears to make stuff up on occasions, so sorry I can't give you a like. :-(

[@thomascrowley9122]

👀

[@kleinweichkleinweich]

Heil Hinkel, nothing new from the shit hole

[@Natedawg38]

Breakout at Stalingrad is a really good book if you haven't read it. Written by a German soldier who got thrown into the gulag and his manuscript was confiscated only to be found in the archives back in the 90s and published

[@johnbelland5276]

My college professor's father flew missions over the Hump. Apparently, he told this one story about when they flew Chinese soldiers over, they tended to get airsick and vomit, most of them never having flown before. Additionally, the aircrew was responsible for cleaning their own plane, so to combat this, the crew would fly up to 10,000 feet as fast as possible, then one of them would go back and check to make sure that all the Chinese soldiers had passed out (the crew got oxygen.) Once they had, they would drop back down to make sure no one died, and they saved themselves having to clean up vomit each time.

[@ritvikupadhyay7120]

Pretty risky. Also, my biology is very weak.. hence the following question. How does flying at 10000 result in passing out?

[@Shore1985]

@@ritvikupadhyay7120 Air is so thin that you wont get enough oxygen.

[@terben7339]

Plenty of air at 10,000 feet. I regularly flew in DC3s (unpressurised) at 11,000 feet. There is also a train station in Switzerland at 11,332 feet. Oxygen required for gliding over 14,000 feet (pilots only) and above 12,500 ft in excess of 30 minutes. I have personally flown gliders up to 14,000 feet on numerous flights.

[@johnbelland5276]

@@ritvikupadhyay7120 You can survive at 10,000 feet (I've been to a town in Colorado that sits at that). I think it has something with the speed they were climbing to that altitude. Without the body having time to adjust to the thinner air. My biology is weak too though, so I'm not completely sure.

[@johnbelland5276]

@@terben7339 Would the speed at which you climb to the altitude make a difference? If not, he may have misremembered the altitude. I would think you'd have to climb higher than 10,000 to fly over the Himalayas

[@empathicspade8637]

Hitler: “I have altered the plan, pray I don’t alter it any further.”

[@perihelion7798]

I try to give a thumps-up to every episode of this remarkable series. I may falter sometimes. I apologize for that. This is one of the best channels on KZbin, even with the restrictions. So, thank you folks for yet another great episode! These are the highlight of my viewing week.

[@prerakkalla]

Best Narrator hands down, could listen to Indy for weeks and not get bored

[@unomad112]

151 episodes in, and I think that's the first time Indy actually said "bye" before hanging up.

[@Goldenspiderducck]

There needs to be a pool as to who it is on the other end of the phone calls with Indy. I vote Tom Hanks.

[@andrewlindsay4773]

That figure for planes shot down by Maltese and British based in Malta seems very high. Was this around Malta itself or on flights to Africa ?

[@Raskolnikov70]

Malta was their main airbase for the entire central Mediterranean. They were flying all over the place, including north Africa so those planes were probably shot down over a huge area, not just in Maltese airspace.

[@angelonunez8555]

It definitely seems too high, so I suspect the figures are for British claims rather than true Axis losses.

[@alexb.8455]

It's was totally surprising, over 600 planes... holy moly

[@ConorMcgregor322]

The British protected Malta due to it's strategic position between North Africa and Sicily. My piano teacher was Maltese and remembers the Axis air raids on the island when he was a kid. Unrelated note, he met Gaddafi when he visited Malta in '84 I believe.

[@ej7416]

@@ConorMcgregor322 my parents were friends with the wife of Gadaffis foreign minister

[@KatieRouu]

My teachers in school could not get me interested in history AT ALL. But my god Indy you've done it. I've now caught up and i've watched every single episode. I'm obsessed. Thank you for being such a great host!

[@WorldWarTwo]

You're welcome!

[@monsters8730]

That Citino-quote, though. Thanks for elaborating on the "comedy"

[@Orator25168]

I hope the team isn’t suffering from any flooding. Stay awesome.

[@dragosstanciu9866]

The Hungarian troops will have to deal with a big Soviet counterattack at Voronezh, we shall see if they can survive the onslaught or be destroyed.

[@Gonzalouchikari]

10:40 that video is used in the British Campaing of COD 2.

[@TGeoMin]

In El Alamein the free greek army will play a crucial part in the operations.

[@b4nterontilt]

No

[@liv2510]

That’s the kiwis an LRDG.

[@larsgrotjohann]

Sure... They will provide the allies with souvlaki!

[@TGeoMin]

@@larsgrotjohann Remind us how long your country resisted to the Axis powers my friend.

[@pat5882]

The initial thoughts of barbarossa from top commanders was just from looking at the map of the USSR. Their earliest concerns were their forces would eventually become stretched thin when marching into such a vast country. Then the very next concern was logistics, not to mention the different rail line gauge in the USSR.

[@caryblack5985]

Unfortunately for them and fortunately for the Soviets they ignored these problems.

[@CarrotConsumer]

They didn't ignore them, they were betting on the destruction of the red army before their logistic were stretched beyond their capability.

[@caryblack5985]

@@CarrotConsumer They assumed they would destroy the Soviet Armies in 8 to12 weeks. They were still fighting in December when the Soviets launched the counter attack in front of Moscow. Shows what underestimating your opponent causes.

[@darthcalanil5333]

Kinda ironic that Rommel was suggesting retreat now since he was the one who refused to stop and regroup at Tubruk.

[@dragosstanciu9866]

Perhaps Rommel underestimated the British forces, while he overextended his own army into Egypt.

[@darthcalanil5333]

@@dragosstanciu9866 yes he definitely thought that the British where done for after Gazala and Mars Matrouh. He actually did understand logistics very well, but he tends to overestimate how much he can push his forces

[@kaltaron1284]

@@darthcalanil5333 Or maybe he understood that he could press the British and maybe defeat them as long as he could outflank them but that forcing his way through a chokepoint would never work? He also had still some reserve supply at that point, didn't he?

[@merdiolu]

@@kaltaron1284 The thing is he could not press British at all not at this point when Desert Air Force had complate air superiorty in Egypt bombing strafing Panzer Army Afrika at will , and Rommel's overambition of being Pharoah of Egypt overextended his rear supply times three times longer when he had no motorised transport to compensate that or exhaustion and casaulties of his Panzer Army and British generals still blundering like Gazala , Tobruk , Mersa Matruh battles , were learning from their previous mistakes and bringing fresh reinforcements (Australian and New Zealand divisions were deployed last week and 4th Indian Division arrived on 7th July on Alamein line) And Alamein bottleneck could not be overflanked , both ends were impasseble , north at sea , south Quattara Depression) if Rommel bothered to check maps instead of dreaming about conquerer of Egypt , he would realise that.

[@kaltaron1284]

@@merdiolu When you're fighting in a foreign land with no supply arriving, does it really matter if you starve a few hundred kilometers west or east? Not being able to secure supply lines (and losing planes and ships trying to do so in vain) doomed the campaign.

[@hsheuw]

That’s a rather nice Rolex you wear there, my friend!

[@brucewayneisdeadpool830]

How can you tell?

[@hsheuw]

@@brucewayneisdeadpool830 it comes with a jubilee bracelet which is of course an obvious clue.

[@jonbaxter2254]

Every time I hear "Stalingrad" my heart beats a little faster. It's almost here...

[@Yora21]

No rush. We'll be there for a while.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

I even have the T-shirt...

[@m1994a3jagnew]

Jodl: mein failure...your attack in stalingrad has failed... Hitler: *FEGELEIN! FEGELEIN! FEGELEIIIINNNN!*

[@thaneofwhiterun3562]

Hitler set Stalingrad as primary target? Better get my popcorn!

[@cosmedelustrac5842]

0 Dislikes! If we needed any more evidence that you guys do a fantastic job.

[@alexamerling79]

I'm sure the 6th army will have no trouble taking Stalingrad...

[@shannonfreeman3655]

My only complaint is I wish these were longer videos, I understand you like to keep them short but I would love them to be 30min each. I have to watch them 2 or 3 times just to get my fill of them LOL. Great job keep it up.

[@Redcell6A]

Great production value. Loved the Cuban Missile Crisis series and decided to circle back through WWII. I'm hooked. Kudos!

[@WorldWarTwo]

That is like music to our ears! And thank you - both for the compliment and for watching 🙂

[@Redcell6A]

@@WorldWarTwo Honestly better than anything the History Channel is serving up. I don’t even watch cable anymore so content like yours is like finding an oasis in the middle of a desert of mediocrity. Keep up the great work.

[@thanos_6.0]

Love that thumbnail as usual

[@aliabdollahi3479]

So rommel has no flanking option and is low on supplies

[@live1poem]

Thanks!

[@gintautassickus6390]

Me at the start: I wonder what the joke at the start is about. Me 10 seconds later: Oh that thing.

[@AmNotHere911]

Indy may I suggest you do a special video on the concept 'Working towards the Fuhrer' as that would provide alot of the context on why the decision making of the Third Reich became so chaotic in the later half of WW2? The famous historian of the Third Reich Professor Ian Kershaw pioneered this concept of 'Working towards the Fuhrer' to help explain how it worked and why it often had a catastrophic effect (e.g. duplicated military hierarchies that created log jams) as well as tragic consequences (e.g. evolution of the final solution).

[@indianajones4321]

Stalingrad: Exists Germany: Seems easy enough… we have an Air Force to deal with any resistance USSR: Ha! Ha! Your overconfidence is your weakness

[@ritvikupadhyay7120]

Germany : I have the high ground USSR : you underestimate my power

[@kevinramsey417]

USSR: Hello there! Germany: General Zhukov!

[@indianajones4321]

@@ritvikupadhyay7120 Germans: The battle will decide your fate Soviets: I am the battle Germans: Not yet Soviets: It’s treason then…

[@robertfernandes934]

In July 1942 is when the top Canadian Ace of the war George "Buzz" Beurling did most of his damage over Malta. He shot down 16 Axis planes in July, including 1 4 kill day and 2 other days where he had 3 kills each. In October 1942 (still over Malta) from the 10th to the 14th, he would account for 8 more kills, with 2 on the 10th and 3 each on the 13th and 14th

[@korbell1089]

I guess that even though they can print a new army whenever they want, the Russians have figured out that printer ink is expensive.

[@canuckled]

Canucks Unlimited flying over the Himalayas. I've seen one of the planes repainted in wartime colours and several are still flying today.

[@Valdagast]

As I understand it, the German Army is a sprinter. If you can survive the first two weeks of their offensives, they tend to run out of steam.

[@Dustz92]

Yes and it's sprinting in circles

[@gargravarr2]

The army is like a soldier on pervitin. They can run fast for a while, but then they crash hard.

[@m24213]

This Paulus guy looks like a great reoccurring character in the TV show, Lets make him series regular and see what he can do.

[@gunman47]

7:35 *"This city... is not Kursk, nor is it Kiev, nor Minsk. This city... is Stalingrad. Stalingrad! This city bears the name of the Boss."* - Nikita Khrushchev from the 2001 film Enemy at the Gates (albeit a film with many historical inaccuracies). Seeing Stalingrad on the name of the weekly episode for the first time (I think although definitely not the first time it was mentioned in previous videos itself) reminded me of this line and just shows how far we have come, three years into the war.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

With time half-way has been reached and Japanese have suffered perhaps most significant defeat and Germans have proven themselves vincible. Someone might say that turning point has been achieved. Of course people then didn't know it.

[@seneca983]

They should've just changed the name of the city! :)

[@vksasdgaming9472]

@@seneca983 They did. Quite much right away once Uncle-Joe pissed away.

[@seneca983]

@@vksasdgaming9472 Yeah, but the joke was that the Germans might have turned away if the city was no longer named after Stalin.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

@@seneca983 Plausible. New name should have been ___grad.

[@MrDjbonbon21]

Love your focus on the eastern front. It never gets enough attention in American ww2 history

[@robertm.8653]

Taking Stalingrad is going to be super easy, barely an inconvenience!

[@armchairgeneralissimo]

Changing plans is tight!

[@PanzerdivisionWiking]

I read an interesting comment on History Hustle’s channel saying that the Hungarian & Romanian forces needed to be separated due to rivalry and infighting during the actions against Soviet forces in Stalingrad. Thanks guys for the great video today, love the style you guys bring !!

[@dragosstanciu9866]

Yes, Hungarian and Romanian troops did not like each other because Hungary and Romania had some unresolved territorial claims in Transylvania.

[@Blazo_Djurovic]

Yes. Romanians I think had mobilized and were still keeping a pretty big force staring at the Hungarians, who were also forced to keep a big chunk of their forces protecting their homeland. Or vice versa.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

That's correct. Many would have preferred to fight one another instead of the Soviets. I believe Italians were deployed between them, as a buffer. Romanian troops often wore a yellow armband. This was mainly to avoid being confused with the Red Army who wore khaki but it also served to distinguish them from the Hungarians who wore khaki uniforms.

[@flask0390]

Well, while the accusations of Hitler's generals, about him ruining their strategies were surely exagerations, there is definitely some truth to it. Thanks for assisting in your own defeat Adolf!

[@teemup9247]

I am sure this Hitler guy will in the end redeem himself by killing the man responsible for the largest war in history.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@teemup9247 And he won't have to travel far either :)

[@tomwh1993]

I could definitely watch a whole series on just Stalingrad

[@histoky2010]

It's not as if they would outstretch themselves

[@morisco56]

No way. I bet they will reach astrakhan in no time

[@scottimusmaximus4360]

Gotta admit, I'm looking forward to the battle of Stalingrad.

[@liv2510]

Wish we could send some off you back then, to see if you would look forward too it. Personally I think you piss yourself crying for your mummy.

[@brrrrrtenjoyer]

@@liv2510 Woah there. Chill. He meant the coverage of Stalingrad on this channel. And I don't get why you would tell someone to go back to the worst battle in history because of a yt comment. I wouldn't wish that anyone.

[@jkcarroll]

Reminds me of a (loosely translated) observation attributed to a German general: "Everyone knows that War is confusion, and the Americans excel in confusion." And again: “One of the serious problems in planning the fight against American doctrine, is that the Americans do not read their manuals, nor do they feel any obligation to follow their doctrine.”

[@blahlbinoa]

I think a cool series or special I would like to see is the celebrities that fought in the war

[@jim4671]

The lighting is beautiful in this one

[@MumblingHistorian]

Can we have a compilation video of all of Indy's phone calls?

[@Raskolnikov70]

I'd rather see Indy's phone BILL. Remember they used to charge for long-distance back then.....

[@MikeJones-qn1gz]

Quite the contrast between the opening of Barbarossa and Fall Blau, while the German army is advancing it is not inflicting mass losses on the soviet red army and is already being plagued with supply problems. Even the air superiority is being contested. The Red army is learning and the German army is scrapping the bottom of the barrel for its supplies, things are changing.

[@joshuac2305]

Attacking Stalingrad seems like a good idea. Sure it ends well

[@agactual2]

You really do get a sense that neither Hitler nor Stalin had any idea of what they were doing when it came to conducting the war.

[@TheAustrian101]

Only had them sent in Steiner. His glorious attack will take Stalingrad very easily.

[@Kristex613]

But Steiner...

[@jaybee9269]

In which we learn that Albert Kesselring really DID smile a lot…

[@malcolmanon4762]

Meh, El Alamein and Stalingrad will be mere footnotes in the triumphant marches of the Wermacht, toward Victory in Russia and the fall of Cairo!

[@hyrondongle2473]

These “Kriegstagebueche” are woth their weight in gold! Keep up the good work guys!

[@skot8692]

I feel like we will be hearing alot about this city pretty soon...

[@Dave_Sisson]

El Alamein was a dusty desert outpost until a few years ago when the Egyptians decided to build a tech-city there. It was not a pretty place in the 1940s.

[@Philbert-s2c]

Who knows? They might even make a movie about it one day...

[@pariahstat2683]

Do not interrupt your enemy when he makes mistake.

[@_ArsNova]

[Insert dumb Stalingrad joke/reference that enjoys 80 years of hindsight]

[@zulubeatz1]

I know I bet there's hundreds here usually.. Hitler 'Attack Stalingrad' Paulus......blah blah blah

[@dudeofvalor9294]

All being well I shall be travelling to Gozo on Monday (small island north of Malta). Shall appreciate Malta a lot more than normal thanks to listening to this series over the past (almost) three years.

[@gianniverschueren870]

Love it. Sometimes ties don't have to make sense. 3.5/5

[@theralfinator]

I know you're the resident tie expert, but how do you feel about his shirt in this episode? It looks really sharp to me, but I can't quite figure out why.

[@gianniverschueren870]

@@theralfinator It's a classic design that usually works best in a business setting (in the 80s that is) but has enough colour for a Friday night as well. It's bot my cup of tea personally, but Indy pulls it off

[@IgN5P]

"Fake it 'till you make it!" - Hitlers life philosophy

[@mohammadalibakawi6617]

This cant go wrong guys!

[@Paciat]

Yes, nazis cant win.

[@ritvikupadhyay7120]

@@Paciat you mean the soviets

[@Paciat]

@@ritvikupadhyay7120 No. Its new for Soviets to retreat. They kept fighting in 1941 and got encircled. Brits run from France, Libia, Burma. And they would run from Singapore if they could.

[@alansewell7810]

It seems the Soviets had a true command structure with Stalin listening to input from his subordinates. Since these were collective decisions, there was concerted effort from top to bottom to execute them. Hitler made his decisions without much input from subordinates, and frequently ridiculed his generals when they volunteered information he didn't want to hear, thereby causing him and his field commanders to work at cross purposes. The videos of the traffic jams west of Stalingrad, when German armies obstructed each other's supply lines, were a good visualization of that.

[@caryblack5985]

This is true but until after Stalingrad Stalin still interfered and caused problems be odering attacks and halting withdrawal. After Stalingrad Stalin trusted his generals. The opposite was true with Hitler. from 1943 on he trusted his generals less and less and tried to run the war by himself.

[@Blazo_Djurovic]

Eh. I think you are being a bit too hard on that monster Hitler here, at least to this point in war. Up to now war was largely waged through decisions of Halder and like with him occasionally directing them to do specific things, such as handling the balcony round Kiev that was a security risk for Army Group Center. Also up to this point whenever he did interfere there were other generals that would agree with his views. Also this whole centralization that wasn't entirely how Germans traditionaly fought, was something the German High Command actually wanted because that would give them more direct control. This whole traffic jam snafu is largely result of German commanders regularly ignoring logistics and the fact that Soviets basically dodged the big sledgehammer blow that was coming for them which unhinged German time tables. Meanwhile things weren't rosy on Soviet side. They started centralised and we'll see during this summer quite a few cases where attacks would be ordered from Moscow which commanders on the ground KNEW would FAIL but had to be carried regardless or Stalin might be pissed. Now LATER it is true that Stalin will start to rely more and more on his generals, but that's because they will start winning and he learned he could rely on their advice. Opposite is true for Hitler, he was suspicious of them from the start, especially the noble ones, and then they kept doing things he did not agree with and most importantly they failed in their ultimate objectives.

[@alansewell7810]

@@Blazo_Djurovic For example, Hitler is criticized for halting the German advance for several weeks of perfect weather after the battles around Smolensk, in July 1941, while lingering in indecision on where to go next. The generals wanted to continue the advance on Moscow, as they had originally planned.. Hitler peeled off forces to attack toward Leningrad and Kiev. A few weeks after that, he transferred the armored forces from the Leningrad front down toward Moscow. Then in 1942 he moved Manstein's army from Crimea to Leningrad, while at the same time dividing the Southern Army Group into "B" directed toward Stalingrad and "A" toward the Caucasus. Hitler's constant shuffling of forces wore down men and equipment, consumed fuel, and was passively opposed by the German general staff either due to ignorance of his ever-changing directives, or defiance bordering on insubordination. In 1942 it seems the defensive Moscow front was more heavily reinforced by Hitler's quartermasters than the primary operations at Stalingrad and the Caucasus. As a result, the Germans came up just short of achieving anything decisive. Stuck in the suburbs of Leningrad and Moscow. Halted on the banks of the Volga at Stalingrad. Halted within site of the oil fields at Maikop and Grozny. But not capturing any of them. If Hitler had had a better command-and-control structure with his generals, could not better results have been obtained?

[@Blazo_Djurovic]

@@alansewell7810 Dividing of Southern group into two happened mostly because at that time it appeared that long hoped for shattering of Soviet resistance has happened because Soviets looked to be in largely general retreat and so armies were split so they could pursue them and gain ground while Soviets were retreating. That later caught up with Germans but at that time it was a reasonable decision that wasn't opposed much. Hitler's orders weren't passively opposed. He hasn't assumed complete and unquestioning command at this point yet. Commands still came from the HQ and for majority of it HQ tended to agree with his changes in objectives. Army Group South wasn't getting reinforcements likely due to Halder bungling and Halder got fired from his position likely for that. From then on reinforcements starting coming back to Southern Group. It is actually questionable could Axis logistics even take even more troops had Manstein's army been transferred into Stalingrad area or to south sooner. Even before getting to the city army started to experience constant shortages. To be honest, Nazis didn't even plan to take Leningrad by force. They planned to literally kill everyone in that siege through STARVATION. They got to the Volga which allowed them to cut shipments on it and they did take Maikop. It's not really about efficient command and control with Germans. Problem is that Germans had a different view on command which tended to be rather decentralized and relied on individual officer initiative. Now this coupled with VERY good cooperation with airforces and artilery could literally do miracles. Which is them getting as far as they did with as few casualties as they took is. Problem is that while Germans are masters of tactical level warfare and pretty damn good at operational, on strategic side they seemed like babies. Which likely largely stems from all their manuals assuming wars with other European powers, and you could march to any European capitol from Germany in matter of weeks. This means that once you beat the enemy once and send them reeling they don't really have the chance to recuperate. So they never developed thinking on how do you beat an enemy that won't give up after you destroy their army. They don't really get how do you fight a multi year total war. How do you collapse the enemy economy while managing your own. A good simily is them playing Starcraft, whereas war in the east was a game of Civilisation. This is what it seemed ticked Hitler off, he might be an ignoramus on operational and tactical levels, but he could even with his twisted worldview see that this war was about resources and those were mostly in the south. But even so, German HQ mostly planned Barbarossa according to their ideas of warfare, which were pretty open ended. And also as most others assumed, they assumed that like in WWI Russian army would just collapse. Now solution is not for Hitler to just take the reins, because he is an ignoramus about big military issues, but for army and political leadership to properly work together. Political sets strategic objectives that will force the enemy to surrender, and military executes on those.

[@alansewell7810]

@@Blazo_Djurovic Thank you for the informative perspective. It rings very true about how Hitler thought of the Soviet Union, then 1/6th of the Earth's entire land surface, as if it were a slightly larger version of Belgium or France, instead of being orders of magnitude more difficult to occupy. He also severely underestimated the Russian character and capability to defend their homeland. btw. One of the earliest English-language books about the German invasion of the Soviet Union is BARBAROSSA: THE RUSSIAN GERMAN CONFLICT OF 1941 and 1945 by British Army officer Alan Clark. Clark says (paraphrasing): "Hitler's generals did not understand the importance of economic objectives. Hitler should have grasped them by their lapels and sat them down and made them understand them, but he never did." The book was published in 1965 and updated and republished in 1985. There is also Alexander Werth's RUSSIA AT WAR, published in the early 1960s and recently republished as a Kindle Edition on Amazon. Werth was a British journalist raised in Leningrad who spoke flawless Russian. He reported from Russia to the British press. He was with the Red Army at the battles around Moscow, Leningrad, Smolensk, Stalingrad, Kharkov, Kursk Orel, Odessa, Minsk, East Prussia, and Berlin. I mention this not because he had any special strategic insights, but because he was at so many places writing his perspectives in real-time. He tells the story of the German invasion from the Russian / Soviet side, as an eyewitness.

[@HistoryOfRevolutions]

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once wrote: "We do not have to visit a madhouse to find disordered minds; our planet is the mental institution of the universe"

[@MoonlitMarch]

That thumbnail is amazing

[@halepauhana153]

"Help fill our tank"... ooh, a punny double entendre!

[@thexalon]

Several years later, in Minehead: "You wouldn't have had much fun in Stalingrad, would you?"

[@Runningfromtheredqueen]

"...Not much fun in Stalingrad, no."

[@stevekaczynski3793]

"Who told you that? Get up against the wall Britisher spy, you're going to die!"

[@DMS-pq8]

Send the 6th army straight for Stalingrad!, Don't worry about the flanks I'm sure the Romanians and Italians can handle that

[@b4nterontilt]

Italians were protecting 2nd Army's flank near Voronezh alongside with Hungarians. Stalingrad flanks were hold by 2 Romanian armies (3rd and 4th)

[@iDeathMaximuMII]

@@b4nterontilt Weren’t the Hungarians & Italians plus Croatians at Stalingrad? Or am I mistaken

[@b4nterontilt]

@@iDeathMaximuMII Croatia and Bulgaria didn't took part in war against USSR

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@iDeathMaximuMII Romanians, Italians and a Croatian regiment. The Hungarians were further to the north, near the Don.

[@vonliberte9063]

This episode has very good lightning. Good job to whoever was in charge.

[@CivilWarWeekByWeek]

Eh this Stalingrad won’t be a big deal

[@indianajones4321]

What could possibly go wrong?

[@Paciat]

Just like Moscow or Leningrad wasnt.

[@lukasbrucas3027]

Millerovo must've been one crowded place during the German traffic jam there.

[@JohnDoe-tx8lq]

Indy, you do this every time! In future, please switch your phone off before our meeting. 😠 Very rude.

[@jliller]

I heard an urban legend that if you say "Stalingrad" three times while looking into a mirror Paulus can be heard to scream in anguish from beyond the grave.

[@celticman1909]

OMG! 692 + 190 = 882 Axis aircraft and respective flight crew SHOT DOWN IN SIX WEEKS TIME OVER THE MEDITERRANEAN?

[@danghostman2814]

There's a reason (well, lots of reasons, really) people who say "Just take Malta, Axis!" are dreaming. :P

[@merdiolu]

Italian pilots and air crews nicknamed Malta , "The Route of Death" (Rote de Morte)

[@brainyskeletonofdoom7824]

@@merdiolu that's not Italian :/

[@merdiolu]

@@brainyskeletonofdoom7824 Sorry , accidently translated from Italian to French in google translate. It was written like that in Fortress Malta written by James Holland

[@brainyskeletonofdoom7824]

@@merdiolu it does makes sense, I personally knew some Regia Aeronautica pilots and Malta was seen as an impenetrable stronghold that took many lives!

[@theoneduckson2312]

I'm so giddy about this week's phone call! It was perfect!