152B - How Hitler Created the World's Worst Traffic Jam - WW2 - July 27, 1942

[@WorldWarTwo]

An extra mid week episode for you guys this week. I just thought that the traffic issues needed some extra focus, so here you have it. The Axis Powers losing momentum just when they might need it most. And the war is getting worse and worse for many of those in occupied territory. Watch our War Against Humanity subseries to see that tragedy unfold right here: kzbin.info/aero/PLsIk0qF0R1j4cwI-ZuDoBLxVEV3egWKoM

[@jtgd]

Thanks!

[@GugSport]

Well well, ain't that a surprise. But a very welcome one to be sure.

[@michaelkovacic2608]

Thank you guys!

[@QuizmasterLaw]

I like how the pattern of the tie well matches the pattern of the shirt, but have no idea if this is considered gauche gaudy or in good taste.

[@ab9840]

Question, why did they not try to send supplies via cargo ships. Map - thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/black-sea-sea-azov-region-political-map-capitals-most-important-cities-borders-rivers-body-water-95090326.jpg

[@alexandersturnn4530]

"Are we there yet?" "No." "Are we there yet?" "No!" "Are we there yet?" "NO!!" "...Are we-" "Mein Fuehrer, I swear to God, if you ask me this one more time, I'll turn this Army around and march back home!!" -My thoughts at this Thumbnail

[@Random_Dude4486]

Hahahaha

[@AntonioS29]

Oversimplified 😂😂😂

[@BasedBonobo]

Good one :d

[@indianajones4321]

Lol

[@soumyadeepchatterjee1262]

There's a tax for that

[@yorick6035]

This is without a doubt the most exciting traffic update I've ever heard.

[@wwoods66]

"There's a broken-down tank army on the road to Rostov. Better check for alternate routes."

[@Radioactivecellery]

This comment just made my day. Thank you.

[@exeggcutertimur6091]

"Greetings Comrades, welcome to Soviet traffic news. Huge pile up of tanks along RU-7. Delays due to gawkers expected. Locals encouraged to point and laugh. Rumors of depressed Germans sighing unconfirmed. Stay tuned for further updates. Up next: cocktail recipes with your host Vhachislov" -Vladimir Vladivostok

[@CivilWarWeekByWeek]

Dang it Hitler, I'm going to be late to work on the eastern front and will probably hit all of the red army lights

[@exeggcutertimur6091]

More potholes than bullets, too.

[@timl.b.2095]

"red army lights" -- good one!

[@nicholasconder4703]

A pessimist calls it the world's worst traffic jam. An optimist, on the other hand, calls it the world's greatest traffic jam. A Californian probably calls it Los Angeles during rush hour.

[@MarcosElMalo2]

Rush HOURS.

[@sopwithsnoopy8779]

Do the California radio stations play Spirit Of Radio and Tom Sawyer during Rush hour?

[@ZER0ZER0SE7EN]

It's a major Sigalert. Blame the government; it must be their version of Caltrans.

[@unconventionalideas5683]

Los Angeles could not compare to many places around the world.

[@sean5662]

@@sopwithsnoopy8779 I’d certainly hope so lol

[@andmos1001]

“Join ze army they said, see the world they said. All I see are massive traffic jams!” Unfortunate German truck driver

[@AndreLuis-gw5ox]

Average german horse puller

[@katydid5088]

It's unfortunately true of le regular army and the volunteer peace corps volunteers

[@KenjaTimu]

This is nothing compared to the traffic jams on the German rail lines because the Nazis nationalized them under socialist principles. German units sent scouts to the rear and hijacked supply trains.

[@2Links]

@@KenjaTimu ah, the Tix viewer. Tell me, do you feel an urge to suddenly bring up Mises for some reason?

[@LukeVilent]

@@KenjaTimu Traffic jams on German rails were so enormous, that we still have them in Germany today.

[@macleunin]

You know a traffic jam was bad when it still makes the news nearly 80 years later.

[@henrybostick5167]

🤣

[@hopfinatorischerkuchenkrieger]

"All we had to do, is build more trains, Hitler!" - Big Smoke, probably.

[@bossbeartherock6034]

No it was uncle ruckus

[@lonelysith66]

Y'all leave Big Smoke alone! LOL XD

[@TannerWilliam07]

Millennial joke haha

[@akhashdhillon2159]

'Ohhhhh, my Nazi. haha. How you doing baby?'

[@pjishomo]

This comment deserves gold 👏

[@davidllewis4075]

For some reason find myself awed by the shear numbers of human beings -- 70,000 here, half-million there -- which we just pass by without thinking about how massive an event WWII was in world history.

[@wwoods66]

Current strength of the US Army: 480k.

[@Raptor747]

It's definitely worth noting that such staggering casualty figures were characteristic of the Eastern Front, where both Germany and the Soviet Union were very callous about the lives of their own troops. Germany, at least, did not consider its men expendable because they were needed from a practical standpoint, but Stalin was a notoriously cold and sociopathic bastard even towards his own people, and when combined with his refusal to accept the mountains of intelligence warning him of both Operation Barbarossa and Fall Blau as well as his insistence upon constant counterattacks and holding the line against German encirclement tactics, cost his nation staggering numbers of deaths. It's extremely telling that World War 2 resulted in a major long-term demographic crisis for Russia that still resonates today.

[@ADavidJohnson]

@@Raptor747 Kinda think the genocide being conducted by the German and other Axis forces had more to do with that demographic issue than the strategy of the Red Army

[@WeebishSwed]

And that's mostly just the number of soldiers. Imagine how many millions of civilians have fled during this, well I don't think we really need to imagine since the number is probably out there, but still it's a lot.

[@jrus690]

The big problem with all of this was that it was the Fascists and the Communists, so unless you pay attention to this stuff, you have likely not heard of most of it. If the USSR had been prepared for this war, of course, it would not have been 3 years 10 months, and no 30 million casualties. It took the Red Army a full 1 1/2 years to recover from summer/fall 1941 and go on a slow strategic advance in summer/fall 1943. The failures of proper pre also meant that the Soviets required the Lend Lease of the United States.

[@gunman47]

A midweek episode? No wonder I was wondering why there was an A behind last Saturday's episode at first. We are in a for treat guys! :)

[@Ellinon_Vasileus]

Was there an "A"? Did not notice. It is not there any more... There is a "B" here but... Whatever... The more episodes the better... Can't wait for Indy and the team to cover Napoleonic wars and Peloponnesian War... 😂

[@MenwithHill]

This episode was delayed by logistical difficulties.

[@gunman47]

@@Ellinon_Vasileus I remember the "A" was there last week and was wondering to myself why it was there. I thought it was a typo error at first I thought...

[@Ellinon_Vasileus]

@@MenwithHill The jam in Ristiv area??? 😂

[@Arashmickey]

2 down, 24 more to go!

[@parshiwal887]

''In front of me no enemy, behind me no reserves''.. General Von Kliest

[@TannerWilliam07]

A lonely walk through the stepp haha

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@TannerWilliam07 When you are a German and you are a lot nearer Astrakhan than Aachen, but it is all empty steppe around you - yes, it would feel strange.

[@fclp67]

"stepsoldier I'm stuck" "well we've brought 20 more tanks without fuel"

[@cwovictor3281]

Steppe soldier.

[@panzerofthelake506]

@@cwovictor3281 yes

[@darthcalanil5333]

dude, I died laughing XD

[@Arashmickey]

Step raumpanzer I said plow my ass _off the road_

[@Dustz92]

Best thumbnail so far. Oil? Where we are going we don't need oil.

[@niranjansrinivasan4042]

Marty( Martin Bormann) : I have to tell you about the future Adolf !

[@Flow86767]

Don’t worry, he’s just trying to emulate the condition on the roads to give a reality check to his soldiers

[@addochandra4745]

Probably they didn't upgrade the road to paved road yet...

[@WhoHasMySoap]

I think the soviets simply forgot to build enough civil factorys to build infrastructure anf Hitler wnated to point it out to them

[@AatiNiiranen]

After this series is complete, the next step is 100 years war week by week

[@interestingengineering291]

Oh my! Do we have time?

[@mikerodrigues9822]

Medieval warfare had long times of nothingness

[@danielmocsny5066]

We will all literally be time ghosts by the time the Hundred Years' War is finished. Even worse is when you make it to year 100 only to learn it actually lasted 116 years.

[@devchaitanyatiwari5997]

@@interestingengineering291 we can do year by week

[@interestingengineering291]

@@devchaitanyatiwari5997 nice concept

[@abeherbert6603]

Just imagine if the Soviet Air Force hadn't been nearly destroyed, what a juicy target that traffic jam would have been...

[@garcalej]

All that stalled armor 🤤 ✈️ 💥

[@kitjohnson2767]

@@garcalej Iraq’s Highway of Death on steroids.

[@mcgarbageproductions588]

Ukraine: 😋

[@eliasziad7864]

Basically Ukronazi offensive in the summer.

[@luxembourgishempire2826]

On a Tuesday? Ok lol. No complaints from me.

[@notidentifieduser6533]

Hello my friend we meet again

[@joshuaperry8729]

It's Wednesday for me haha. But still no complaints

[@juandepook]

@@zainmudassir2964 don't worry about joining us we will invade you soon😈

[@E1N101]

@@juandepook you must be joking

[@juandepook]

@@E1N101 indeed I am lol

[@independent2368]

This is by far the best WW2 channel on here

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks!

[@independent2368]

@@WorldWarTwo You are welcome, I'm a huge 2nd war fan and is most special to me as dad was with the 3rd Infantry Division 7th Army. That was Audie Murphy's division and was there for the raid on Eagle's nest as well as when they blew the giant swastika on top of Nuremberg stadium. Those guys were beyond tough, l will always be grateful for their sacrifices and were true heroes

[@freetolook3727]

Indy: "How did two panzer armies get stuck"? Caller: " Because the Soviets set out sticky traps".

[@roberthoward9500]

Don't forget all those banana peels they left on the roads.

[@samuelphanoto4565]

Ba dum tss

[@Arashmickey]

Hitler: "Knock knock" Stalingrad: "I'm gonna give you to February to get your ugly yella no-good keister off my property before I pump your guts full o lead"

[@skot8692]

A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one!

[@sarson25]

Here's where the fun begins🤣👌

[@indianajones4321]

USSR: It’s over Germany, I have the high ground! Germany: You underestimate my Luftwaffe

[@rmcl7583]

Try spinning that's a good trick

[@Tadicuslegion78]

General: Where’s the X, the orders were to drive 100 km East. Driver: Oh East, I thought you said weast. General: Weast? What kind of compass are you using? Driver: this one sir. General : That’s west, corporal. You’re fired again.

[@JohnJohn-pe5kr]

“I understood that reference!” *In Steve Roger’s voice*

[@BlackStar2161]

The world's worst traffic jam, only surpassed decades later with the M25.

[@davidbrennan660]

It was used in the design of the Outer London Orbital..... one for the teenagers there.

[@spencerwilson8686]

Current reading a book about Napoleon's Russian campaign. The emperor was constatly hoping to force a big battle to destroy the Russian Army that never materialized...

[@noahwiener2491]

Strictly speaking it did materialize at Borodino, Napoleon just failed to capitalize on it to destroy the Russian army

[@spencerwilson8686]

@@noahwiener2491 yeah… in all likelihood he needed it to materialize at Smolensk… if not earlier. Poor poor Boney

[@dpeasehead]

@@noahwiener2491 By the time the battle of Borodino took place, it was far too late in the campaign, the Grand Army was a shell of what it had been in June, its overwhelming numbers were gone, and the two forces were fairly evenly matched. And, if the Russians had decided to continue the battle the next day, maybe there would never have been a French occupation of Moscow at all.

[@dpeasehead]

@Spencer Wilson: He needed that big battle to occur almost immediately. The Grand Army began to disintegrate in the summer heat soon after crossing the border. For example, I believe that about 10,000 irreplaceable horses of all types died within 100 miles of frontier due to the rigors of the march and the lack of proper forage..

[@spencerwilson8686]

@@dpeasehead Indeed, all kinds of ridiculous things went wrong with that campaign, which, quite frankly, was on a ridiculous scale.

[@patrickdoyle2510]

Good thing the Germans had enough fuel such that they could put this whole episode behind them....

[@bob494949]

If not, Goering’s Luftwaffe can easily supply them by air.

[@Jakob_DK]

Have you fund the video on oil mentioned in the A episode? (Suspects the wrong video was first linked and the oil one is not published yet)

[@perihelion7798]

Well, this is what happens when an army doesn't invest in wind and solar power...

[@patrickdoyle2510]

@@perihelion7798 LOL! Exactly what I was thinking...

[@patrickdoyle2510]

@@Jakob_DK I haven't but I'll certainly check it out, thanks.

[@williamwall1540]

Btw will you guys visit Volgograd for a Stalingrad special video. Would be cool to see Pavlov's building at first hand or some of the places from the battle

[@Dwagoner]

That would be SO cool! Idk if they can do it due to covid

[@williamwall1540]

@@Dwagoner I mean, they could probably hire some guy who lives there to film the sites or building. I think the museums there would be happy to help

[@markfryer9880]

@@williamwall1540 There is a KZbin channel that works out of there and make great videos. Doxie Din, not just a Dachshund! Din's parents speak English as well as Russian (obviously).

[@jleeblackmon5340]

Even if they could, then it's up to us to throw Indy & crew some $$$ to fund such a trip since KZbin loves to demonitize this channel so much so they kinda depend on us to help out also which is fair, because this content for us is free and ik it's not cheap just doing what they are now.

[@kjj26k]

Welp, that's never gonna happen now.

[@Broomtwo]

Why take Stalingrad when you can have a road trip through a muddy wasteland?

[@Arashmickey]

There's bound to be gas station up ahead somewhere...

[@danghostman2814]

@@Arashmickey G1: "Look, there's a sign! Petrol station, four miles!" G2: "The last sign said that!" G1: "..." G2: "Hey, you! You! Russian peasant!" Russian: "Yes, comrade?" G2: "Why do all the signs say there's a station four miles away?" R: "For equality! All stations must be the same distance apart!" G2: "But there was no station after the last sign." R: "No. And there's no station ahead, either." G2 : "WHY?!" R: "Equality! All must have the same access to petrol!" G2: "... We're going to die in this stupid country." R: "Just figured that out?"

[@exeggcutertimur6091]

@dan ghostman: a great summary of ussr's version of "equality". Equally screwed over by their government and leader.

[@brrrrrtenjoyer]

​@@danghostman2814Beautiful

[@ikifilm]

Very good episode. Indy's acting skills are getting better and better. He can easily grab a role in a feature film.

[@tomasvalent3876]

Worst traffic jam. Putin in 2022: challenge accepted

[@perihelion7798]

I've expressed my admiration and appreciation for this series many times before. Here it is, yet again. It feeds the algorithm. Great stuff!

[@ErokLobotomist]

Showed this series too my dad when he was over for coffee the other day. He absolutely loves it, said he wished it was on TV so he could watch all of it. Great work!! Love the series.

[@polarvortex3294]

Interesting to see at 1:44 the little Czech tank, 38(t), still in use.

[@sodinc]

Pretty good light tanks

[@Dustz92]

Yes, for example the panzer division at Crimea that won the battle of Kerch was composed almost exclusively of them in 1942 (it was however considered one of the most obsolete panzer divisions at the time)

[@ВячеславФролов-д7я]

Even at stalingrad city itself, two major battles and 1,5 months from now, some panzer 2s are seen

[@CarrotConsumer]

Obsolete tanks will be used until the end of the war. You take what you can get.

[@polarvortex3294]

@@CarrotConsumer Yeah, I suppose it's true that, most of the time, any tank is better than no tank. But I'm not sure I'd like to be inside a small and obsolete one during a fierce battle, as Вячеслав Фролов says happened in Stalingrad. Give me a Jagdtiger please!

[@forresttowns4995]

This is the first documentary of any kind on WW2 I’ve seen even mention a traffic jam during Blau. Like with Barbarossa, it’s usually a tale of the Germans having it their own way until winter. Thank you for giving us more detailed view of the fighting on all fronts. Keep up the great work!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you so much!

[@forresttowns4995]

@@WorldWarTwo love you guys. Been watching since the Great War days. Keep up the great work.

[@cwtrain]

That was the first "Dayum!" I've heard out of Indy. Good stuff.

[@thomasdailey9280]

Another great episode ! Let me borrow a bit from Casey Casem's old radio show "American Top Forty". Today's long distance dedication , singer songwriter James Taylor's "Damn This Traffic Jam" goes out to Der Fuhrer.

[@superbulldog81]

Thanks Indy for explaining how Hitler really wasted time, fuel, and supplies when he could have been advancing towards Stalingrad.

[@michaelpolston5240]

Every time I see footage of Hitler pointing at a map with people standing around, I think of the time there was footage of me used in a documentary, where the camera man said "just stand there and pretend to be busy." I stood next to another person in front of a table, and we pretended to have a conversation while we both sort of vaguely pointed at the table in front of us.

[@justAlbert_]

so at the end of the day, one of the best friends the soviets had was their horrific infrastructure

[@kategrant2728]

Remember, the Soviets are using that same infrastructure, and managing to use it to stay mobile and keep their forces ahead of the Germans.

[@dantea7475]

@@kategrant2728 tell that to the 70,000 soldiers they left behind, I'd characterize it not so much being "ahead of the Germans" more like mobile enough to not get catastrophically encircled

[@Richard68434]

@@kategrant2728 no theyre not. Soviet Russia and western europe uses different gauges for their railroads. the germans literally had to tear down and rebuild new, western-system railroads for every inch of gained ground to get supplies to the front, which adds to their logistical problem. Remember. learn your stuff before BSing on the internet.

[@kategrant2728]

@@Richard68434 Sure. But we're entering into a region where there's insufficient railways anyway. There's a single line going from Rostov south into the Caucasus, and no east west connections to Astrakhan. So how are the soviets moving faster across rail lines that don't exist, because there is "horrific infrastructure". Trivia is not 'learning your stuff', and unnecessary hostility never helps in these conversations.

[@Richard68434]

@@kategrant2728 "So how are the soviets moving faster"? 1. because the soviet supply bases and factories arent 2000+km away like the germans are, and 2. because of trucks given to them by the allies. the allies in 1943 alone gave the soviets 110,000+ trucks, that was more or about the same amount of trucks the germans produced in the whole 6 years of the war, due to germany's lack of rubber and oil to supply them. 3. which touches up on the next point, it wasnt that the germans were neglecting their logistic deficiencies, and didnt bother to assign enough trucks to logistics units. it was that they had a limited amounts of trucks and many were needed for motorized divisions. so the choices were: weaker divisions, better logistics, or stronger divisions, weaker logistics? the answer is obvious. 4. it takes a long time to actually build rail ways, i remember reading that by mid 1944 when the red army are approaching one of the baltic states, the railroad there still hasnt been converted to western ones, causing logistical issues. thats how long it take to replace these things. granted the northern sector wasnt given the priority and they probably thought that northern russia had good enough infrastructure, on top of a smaller army group assigned there, and the fact that army group north isnt on the attacks much more, so southern or central russia's railroads couldnt have been replaced as slowly. but still, given how long the railways are, how combat engineers themselves are needed on the front, how reserves are hard to come by by 1943, one can easily deduce that many railways arent finished or connected.

[@adoreslaurel]

The Soviets were following the old adage, "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making mistakes."

[@ericanate3155]

And I'm glad you bring up the fact they had a hundred different trucks and how different they were to repair... I feel that was one of the biggest most unspoken issues with the German military, there wasn't universal fittings and measurement's, this made it very difficult on engineers and repair men

[@caryblack5985]

Yes . It was impossible to have any universal parts as they were using many different French, German, Soviet and Czech trucks and other equipment

[@marshalleubanks2454]

The British also had this problem. Their procurement system led to a lot of different truck types with different parts, repair needs, etc.

[@ericanate3155]

@@marshalleubanks2454 that's true but was because of different reasons, england relied on imports where Germany over thought everything and compartmentalized waaaayy too much...

[@ericanate3155]

And also once we entered the war most equipment had enough spare parts for repairs where Germany had to have spare parts shipped from everywhere

[@Richardturpentine]

How can anyone put a thumbs down to these presentations absolute bonkers. OAP being shown a new dimension on ww2 priceless thank you time ghost Laurence Olivier looks down on you with envy

[@WorldWarTwo]

Hey Chris! Glad you enjoy our work. Cheers!

[@hobbitreet]

I so look forward to each installment of this series. Extra episodes are such a welcomed gift. Thank you!!!

[@eskimojoe37]

You guys have made me appreciate the logistics of war a lot more through your week by week videos, in the past it was something I never even really considered the depth of it, thank you!

[@Okiedog1]

"Well, the truth is my Fuhrer is that there are no *roads* in this area. And the entire area is saturated by heavy rainfall. We're stuck!" I can just hear Hitler ranting and raving over that. Also, what, no AC in his new headquarters?

[@chedelirio6984]

AC was almost unheard of in the continent at that time.

[@Okiedog1]

@@chedelirio6984 Bummer. No wonder Hitler was always so hot under the collar! : P

[@crazy031089]

An ac uses the same technology and components as a fridge or freezer. In 1919 those costs as much as a car. They where getting cheaper but they where rare, especially outside the US. the few ones that existed where industrial sized plants designed to turn out big ice blocks. Those where then brought around and delivered to your house the same way the milkman came around. People usually had a cellar or a well insulated box where they placed the new ice block in every few days together with there most precious perishable foods. Other ways to keep foods cooler where used, but where not mobile (e.g. dig a hole in the ground prefarable close to a river) today these techniques have largely fell into disuse. The US army was the first and only army to field trucks equipped with freezers at the end of ww2 and eaven that was limited. Source: i did ww2 us army field kitchen reenactment and read up and tried some off those techniques.

[@adelkheir]

Two episodes in one week ? It's Christmas in July !

[@danielmocsny5066]

It's like a blitzkrieg of episodes.

[@DMS-pq8]

I think all the theories that Germany would have won the war if only Hitler had listened to his generals is overblown, But in this case Hitler's micro-managing the Fall Blau offensive directly lead to its failure and to the disaster at Stalingrad

[@danielmocsny5066]

Let me micro-manage like a grammar nazi: directly led. Also there's an argument that Hitler further doomed his troops at Stalingrad by refusing to let them try to break out of the encirclement and retreat when they still had a chance. Hitler may have missed his strongest chance to win earlier when he started the war with hardly any U-boats. Instead he was fixated on the pipe dream of trying to match the Royal Navy's surface units. He got next to nothing in return for his investment in capital ships. Had all that metal gone into more U-boats before the western Allies gained the upper hand with anti-submarine warfare (which took until mid-1943), Hitler might have choked and starved the UK out of the war before he invaded the USSR. Almost everything the UK used to fight with depended on raw materials arriving on ships. Without the UK in the picture, Germany would have been considerably harder for the USSR to stop.

[@Thechezbailey]

Especially since more air support wasted in the Battle of Britain could be used on the Eastern Front. Much of the change in fortunes in the East had to do with what eventually became an unbelievable disparity in aircraft in the Soviets' favor.

[@Sizt]

Not quite sure. You see, the south region of Soviet Union had poor road system. Even half of the German forces suffered from bad logistic and created the traffic jams. According to the original plan, there should had been more forces, almost twice more. At first all these forces were going to Stalingrad and than to Caucasus.

[@rashkavar]

I love that the top recommended video for me from here is the episode from August 8, 1941: "Tanks, but no Tanks: Hitler Hinders the Blitzkrieg" A year later and the nitwit still hasn't learned his lesson.

[@ericanate3155]

I love at 3:19 you talk about the soviets getting smart and it shows a soldier putting a helmet on a stick....lmao 🤣👍 ahhh the simpler days of war.....

[@nickthenoodle9206]

Best WW2 documentary to date.

[@matthewmcneany]

Order of magnitude does not mean what the scriptwriter thinks it does. Two orders of magnitude greater than 70,000 prisoners would be 7 million prisoners. 'Several orders of magnitude' greater than 70,000 would mean something like between 10 million and a billion prisoners.

[@NaumRusomarov]

where was that?

[@matthewmcneany]

​@@GaldirEonai These are part of a well referenced quasi-academic series so I didn't like it. It wasn't meant to be bad natured at all but it felt worth commenting on, in part precisely because he series is usually so meticulous.

[@wwoods66]

@@NaumRusomarov at 2:40

[@jackjones3919]

Thanks for the extra episode! I’m sure it takes a lot of extra work for you guys but that extra level of detail for these pivotal events are brilliant to understand the timeline! As always a brilliant episode

[@shawnr771]

Indy your beginning phone bit reminds me of old Bob Newhart stand up skits. Hilarious

[@forty5864]

This isn´t just a traffic jam, it´s a *Superstau*

[@methosofgondor]

Wow! You made an extra episode just for my birthday? I'm honoured.

[@sarmatianns]

I'm really enjoying this new focus on the eastern front, and I especially like these interesting insights that are not easily accessible. A few months back I wrote a comment complaining about rather poor and dry coverage of eastern front, but it seems my criticism has been premature as you've really stepped up your game. If it is at all possible, I'd really like to see it covered more from the Soviet perspective.

[@caryblack5985]

You will find plenty of Pacific coverage when Guadalcanal begins. He covers ALL of WWII.

[@97SEMTEX]

I love this series so much, I never realised just how long the USSR were having to retreat until they managed to hold the Germans on their own terms.

[@caryblack5985]

They held them at Moscow and pushed them back 100 miles. They also held them at Leningrad.

[@iDoTechOK]

Mid-week, extra regular, and awesome!!! Appreciate you making this :D

[@danielnavarro537]

German Soap Opera 2: The confusing and different orders and directives. Capturing territory with no Soviet prisoners. And all the while, German logistics is bad as it ever is.

[@independent2368]

Yep, they were a mess and made countless mistakes

[@ChristianTheJew]

I almost missed this episode part 2! Excellent episode, one of my favorites so far as I'm following weekly for 80 years ago in history. This may be the moment the Germans lost WW2 if ever there was a time yet.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for watching & following along with us. Stay tuned

[@devchaitanyatiwari5997]

Another midweek episode. man this is like a dream

[@SHAd0Eheart]

I keep picturing the Coyote reaching out for the Road-Runner only to miss and have its arms get tangled together.

[@bigsanchez2963]

It seems like Von Bock has been in the right for the most part this whole campaign. Remember in the beginning of the campaign he advocated that the army should advance as fast and far as it can. He said that the closing/liquidation of the Minsk pocket wouldn't have been the campaign winning operation it was said it would be. Now again it seem like he totally called it.

[@lupusdeum3894]

Hitler:. Scheiße! Turn off that damn AC, can't you see I have the flu?! General: But mein Führer, it's 40°C here in the Bunker! (104°F für Amerikaner) Hitler:. It's hotter at the Front, Herr General!

[@SuperCrazf]

I’ve got 99 problems, I’m a German logistic officer on the Eastern front in 1942

[@vksasdgaming9472]

Problem #1 You got no ways to fix situation in one place without making it worse somewhere else Problem #2 All places are getting worse even without attempts to move problems around Problem #3 You are at bottom of list of importance

[@stevekaczynski3793]

And no Knight's Cross for it because it is so unglamorous... Even if you sort the logistics out...

[@edward6902]

i love the prologues phoned in on that beautifully clunky handset

[@nesa1126]

I feel privileged to get extra episode hehe

[@krisjill5918]

Another great video. That you consistently present such good videos, week in and week out, is highly commendable. Your work is fantastic. Keep it up folks!

[@salokin3087]

Indy's face in the opening is a mood

[@AwkwrdPrtMskrt]

Guess Adi's driver should have carpooled. Remember, if you drive alone, you drive with Hitler!

[@robertm.8653]

No mere traffic jam can stop the Germans! Only if it was of German quality

[@68Boca]

12:56 is my new ring tone! Thanks Indy☺ Where is Gianni? Can't find him? Want his thoughts on that tie? Old school?

[@theralfinator]

Yeah, that was the only reason I scrolled through the comments. Maybe it takes him a full week to recharge his fashion critic energy.

[@alehaim]

Guys, I'm starting to think Hitler is causing problems for the German war effort

[@MarcosElMalo2]

Exacerbating existing problems. But to give him his due, he made them an order of magnitude worse. It should be noted that the Nazis had plenty of fuel and vehicles to commit genocide in their conquered territories.

[@mystikmind2005]

"Guys, I'm starting to think Hitler is causing problems for the German war effort" ALLIES "Agreed, all Hitler assassination plans are now cancelled" AXIS "Well that sucks, i guess we will just have to try to assassinate Hitler ourselves then"

[@petrulutenco6600]

Holy mother of blitzkrieg - long live Indy&co - thank you for a midweek episode!

[@dragosstanciu9866]

Even without this huge traffic jam it is doubtful the Germans would have reached Astrakhan, because their tanks had to stop often due to lack of fuel.

[@fazole]

They were counting on the railway to Astrakahn and that railway ran right thru STALINGRAD.

[@dragosstanciu9866]

@@fazole The tanks would need to get to Astrakhan on their own, not by train.

[@korbell1089]

Order, counter order, disorder! Whenever Indy talks about the roads I am reminded of when I played Empire Total War and playing as Russia, I never could get all those roads improved!

[@rrl4245]

At the Infantry School (Ft Benning), I learned the "7 Ps" - "Proper, Prior Planning, Prevents Piss-Poor Performance."

[@vksasdgaming9472]

"Make a plan and stick to it. "

[@danielmocsny5066]

No plan survives first contact with the enemy - nor with Hitler's changing moods for that matter. But you should at least try to plan for all the contingencies you can think of.

[@dpeasehead]

@rri4245: Insert the "8th P" "Probably," between "Planning" and "Prevents."

[@rrl4245]

@@dpeasehead No "Probably" at the Infantry School...

[@dpeasehead]

@@rrl4245 In school yes, but school is not real life..

[@nickmacarius3012]

Hitler's & Boch's relationship in a nutshell: *Hitler:* "Boch! You're fired!" "Nevermind. Come back. I need you." *Creates traffic jam* "Boch! You're fired again!"

[@KnoxZone]

This entire episode is fake. I have it on good authority that the traffic jam is solely because Herman Goering decided he wanted to have a picnic at Rostov that day.

[@Southsideindy]

That's the other main theory, of course.

[@garcalej]

Naw. It all started because they stopped to pick up a quirky hitch-hiker. A hitch-hiker whose name was Federline.

[@bradanklauer8926]

@@garcalej FEGELIEN! FEGELIEN! FEGELIEN!

[@dustinbellair5822]

That had to be the best phone intro yet, Indy really nailed the energy on it.

[@thanos_6.0]

For the last month we mainly heard about Fall Blau from the German perspective. How they failed to accomplish one of their main objectives: destroying the enemy, because they kept retreating. But what about about the Sowjet perspective? I mean they can`t retreat forever to Vladivostok and can they afford losing the precious oilfields in the caucasus to the Axis?

[@TheBard1999]

Yeah the Soviet strategy for now seems very vague.

[@agentorange6085]

You are reading Stalin's mind.... 28th July 1942 -- Order No. 227 issued by the People's Commissar of Defense -- "Ни шагу назад!"

[@thanos_6.0]

@@agentorange6085 Not one step back

[@Loreless]

You could read a novel 'In the trenches of Stalingrad' by Viktor Nekrasov. He described that retreating in the beginning of the book.

[@thanos_6.0]

@@Loreless Thanks :D

[@GeneralForgeron]

I propose a "Hitler is furious" drinking game.

[@matthewbadley5063]

If Hitler had not tried to play general and listened to Boch, the battle for Stalingrad would've turned out very differently. Had the city fallen earlier, before Army Group A was depleted in the fight for Kalach, the whole war could've been very different. It's an interesting historical what-if.

[@Richard68434]

shitler's directives goes brrrrr hehehe

[@raymondli5157]

I like how Indy always pauses thoughtfully after putting down the phone

[@ColonelZoren]

"Comrads... we need a new plan to fight the Germans... any idea?" "Well... we can... uh... uhm... oh! We could... no, wait. That's stupid... uhmm... Oh! Oh! I got it! When they approach... We run... away!" "... ... ... ...Genius. He is a genius!"

[@Random_Dude4486]

Hahahaha Oversimplified reference?

[@joelellis7035]

Just wait until they defeat themselves.

[@jonmcgee6987]

I didn't know they had Emu military advisors.

[@nuzulqreshna3575]

I don't know why i can hear oversimplified noise when i read it Lmao

[@Veronicastacxj]

He's got a point. In 1941 this thinking got you shot. It's interesting to see the Red Army change during the War.

[@YekouriGaming]

It becomes a lot more interesting when Franz Halder is already focusing more on Army Group Center than Army Group A and B, while they are in a massive traffic jam. The big maneuvers into barely any troops just enhances Halder's idea, so most reserve troops and materiel goes to Army Group Center near Rzhev. Army Group Center literally grows in size continously, even while suffering a lot of casualties, while the Army Groups in the south just keeps getting depleted, and that is even before they have crossed the Don.

[@yamchadragonball6983]

Oooh its like when you over micro in an rts game and end up making everything worse.

[@PanzerdivisionWiking]

Really appreciate the research you guys put into these videos

[@rontrabaroe4247]

"How Hitler created the worlds worst traffic jam" He should have been more decisive instead of Stalin.

[@suyashbhatt6415]

Bet he did Nazi this traffic jam coming.

[@Dustz92]

See Stalin had this propaganda photo directing the traffic. Hitler never got there abd now it's showing

[@Battleship009]

@@suyashbhatt6415 Good one.

[@Bota367]

The Usual suspect reference at the end was great!

[@alexfilma16]

Tonight on Top Panzer - Hitler gets the flu and creates the largest traffic jam…in the world.

[@accubond3004]

You know its a clusterfuck when Indy opens with "Oh...damn."

[@frederickthegreatpodcast382]

Is anyone getting Kaiserschlacht vibes? The enemy routed/retreating and German soldiers getting lost because poor logistics.

[@auguststorm2037]

Yes, with Germany doing its Hail Mary before USA sending its forces. Well spotted !

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Minus the discovery of large stockpiles of wine, which diverted the purposes of quite a few German troops in 1918.

[@soralb6368]

Thanks for the midweek video. We are eagerly waiting for the oil video you promised on the weekend as well.

[@Reddy_Santhosh_]

We have just watched the decisive week of World War 2

[@billd.iniowa2263]

I would agree that it certainly is ONE of the most decisive weeks. Its certainly the most decisive week for this campaign.

[@lanceroparaca1413]

The decisive week of the war was the first one in December 1941

[@billd.iniowa2263]

@@lanceroparaca1413 Many people share your view.

[@craigputnam2978]

"Daymm" that was a great episode, Christmas bonus in July, right before my birthday. As always, Logistics logistics logistics, oil only 300 miles away, start priming the pump..

[@michel5468]

I just saw this episode (yes, I am lagging behind a little) and I gotta admit. I really had to laugh comparing this to the current traffic jam north of Kiev. I guess history really repeats itself. Disclaimer: I know a lot of people suffer right now, so joking about it might be disrespectful. But you gotta admit, the entire Russian logistical situation seems to be quite comical. If you gave this story to Hollywood 4 weeks ago, they probably would have refused it for being unrealistic.

[@mikespike3962]

One of the very best episodes of the series yet!

[@hopin8krzys]

You got me really confused about what day it is for a moment

[@eljanrimsa5843]

It was actually who Indy created the panzer jam by calling in the middle of the week.

[@iVETAnsolini]

Thank you for going more in depth on this. I hope you guys do too on Stalingrad battle itself

[@mafiosomax7423]

70,000 several magnitudes lower than hoped for? What did they expect? 7 million or 70 million POW?

[@0witw047]

700 million

[@Richard68434]

700,000. which is about how much they got in kiev and in vyazma-bryansk last year

[@danielmocsny5066]

That's several magnitudes in powers of 2.

[@yesand5536]

Eleventyhundred

[@valentinstoyanov304]

Thank you for this episode! I had no idea that the Germans could have taken Stalingrad in the summer or the early autumn of 1942. That was going to change the course of the war and eventually prevent the fall of entire Eastern Europe under communist rule...