185 - Rommel Leaves Africa - March 12, 1943

Erwin Rommel loses his command and leaves Tunisia, while change in American command there puts George Patton in charge. On the ground the Axis lose the Battle of Medenine, but in the Soviet Union, Axis forces are on the move and heading for Kharkov.
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[@WorldWarTwo]

Join the TimeGhost Army: bit.ly/WW2_185_PI It's quite upsetting to make these episodes covering war 79 years ago in the exact same cities that are strangled by violence this very day. We make these videos so that people can learn from the mistakes and successes of our collective past, and that seems more relevant here than anywhere else. Join the TimeGhost Army so these videos can reach more people. Read our community guidelines before commenting: community.timeghost.tv/t/rules-of-conduct/4518

[@jaydeister9305]

Yes, i agree. My sentiments also.

[@tyrelfroese3340]

These cities are not "Russia's" to lose, you bloody dweeb.

[@drno4837]

@@drdivano they are not Russian cities to lose, they are Ukranian, and yes I can see why Russia feels threatened but the possible advance of NATO, but that is no reason to devastate them, the Ukranians will now fight for 20 years if they have to, and Russia will have an Afghanistan times 20 to deal with, then they will leave and everyone will join Nato out of fear of it happening to them, or we will all die in a nuclear war, nothing good will come out of this for the Russian people only suffering.

[@drdivano]

@@drno4837 Yes, Russians understand that, thats why many don’t support this war, and the rest is extremely ambivalent about it. (Also, Russians means Russian people, not Russia govt)

[@ATINKERER]

@@drno4837 Putin is an egocentric man used to getting his own way. His ego will not allow him to give up or withdraw . For that reason he must have a prize as a result of this war in order to save face on the world stage. To that end I think he should first be given a treaty with NATO assuring him that the Ukraine will never be allowed to join NATO. But I think his real prize should be the Crimean Peninsula, so he can hold that up as a trophy and say that he has won. If this doesn't happen, Putin will likely never admit defeat. In the short term, this would mean living under the specter of global thermonuclear war. If the war continues, Putin would indeed find himself in another Afghanistan.

[@garcalej]

I can imagine Rommel returning to Rome, checking into a small hotel, drawing a hot bath, and just soaking in it for hours, staring at the ceiling fan, wondering how his life had come to this. Two years ago he was the most celebrated general in Germany; now they’re about to give him the highest military decoration for losing the entire African front, the same year they made Paulus a Field Marshal for getting surrounded and destroyed in Stalingrad. If he still had any hope of Germany winning the war, his time in the desert and meetings with Adolf have by now probably dispelled that notion.

[@Dubcel1]

A very plausible contemplation in fairness.

[@garcalej]

@@aleksazunjic9672 He’s probably regretting that decision now. The Nazis, as an organization, only reward sycophancy and zealotry. Failure is promoted up to the highest ranks, while any independent thinking has been stamped out of the Wermacht with a polished boot. What does it say of him, that he attached his wagon to this train wreck?

[@jamesdunn9609]

@@aleksazunjic9672 That is an outrageous misrepresentation. Rommel was one of the most highly respected officers in the entire German Army because he had been an instructor at their Officer Training College for many years. He was well known to almost every single officer in their army because he literally had taught over half of them. He had earned that position because he had been a highly decorated field commander in WWI and had written a ground breaking book on Infantry shock tactics. I have no idea why you are intent on spreading misinformation like this but you could not be more incorrect. Rommel would have been a Divisional commander at the start of the war regardless of who had been the leader of the German government. I hate Nazis just as much as you, but reality still matters.

[@christophercarlone9945]

Well said, interesting idea.

[@duncancurtis1758]

Got Fegelein on FailureBook.

[@Dustz92]

Patton has entered the chat Rommel has left the chat Patton: "Rommel, you magnificent bastard I've read your book" Von Armin: "???"

[@canthi109]

XD

[@Israel_aXNyYWVs]

Hahaha

[@marshalleubanks2454]

Patton: Oh, Von Armin. I'd quite forgotten you were there. You may surrender now.

[@garhull11]

I see you are a man of culture as well

[@bungobox7454]

It's a bit unfair on von Armin, he was fighting in Russia only a few weeks ago, in the forested frozen wastes in the Rzhev salient. This is a totally different kind of environment to that. Strange choice.

[@eleanorkett1129]

Another well researched and planned episode. Goebbels’ “total war” might have inspired the populace, but not the higher ups who knew the truth about Stalingrad. You have to love those Italians.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for watching, Eleanor

[@jtgd]

The total war speech was only meant for the public, because the higher ups knew that just announcing that they lost millions of soldiers and no plan to do anything to save the advance would lower morale and party support

[@HeinzGuderian_]

The Italians had better food. Even their combat rations were better.

[@stephenwood6663]

@@HeinzGuderian_ They had instant cappuccino in their ration packs - something which was highly regarded as an item for loot or trade by both the Allies and Axis!

[@stephengraham1153]

@@jtgd Oh, the parallels...

[@gunman47]

Another footnote this week on March 10 1943 is that Germany will implement new rationing regulations that will disallow the manufacture non-essential items such as suits, costumes, bath salts and firecrackers, as well as restricting telephone use and photography. This was part of the process from Germany’s recent official recognition that it was now in a state of total war in 1943.

[@johgekpoint6299]

are you a historian or why do you know so much about ww2?

[@bungobox7454]

3 years too late. The USSR was on a total war footing in 1940

[@duncancurtis1758]

On a darker note Stroop was given two crack SS corps to start retaking the Warsaw Ghetto. The Jewish fighters kept him off for over a month.

[@danielmocsny5066]

@@johgekpoint6299 - Anyone who can read, can read books.

[@Nyg5618]

Can’t imagine the depth of research these episodes take. Seems like just about every penny gets in the videos.

[@WorldWarTwo]

@Ryan Marshall It is quite the endeavor and truly a labor of love. Our entire team works their tails off every week, and it means a lot to read comments like yours noticing the labor going into it. Thanks and please stay tuned

[@indianajones4321]

Rommel leaving Africa seems like the end of an era in WW2

[@Paciat]

Not really. "The end of the begging" was half a year ago. German running by sea or air isnt that much different than Germans running by land.

[@GeorgeSemel]

He is a doomed man, he has less than two years left to live. It's March '43 he will be dead in Oct '44.

[@duncancurtis1758]

War and Remembrance: Mein Failure make peace with Russia! Hitler: You retarded minion! How dare you sully my Pencil of Doom?

[@asusmctablet9180]

And the start of a new era with Patton arriving.

[@pagodebregaeforro2803]

@@Paciat "the end of the begging" would be the perfect society. Shame humanity didnt achieved that.

[@alviseossena3238]

The worst part about Giovanni Messe’s involvement in Tunisia is the fact that he didn’t even want to go there on the first place because he knew that the situation down there was hopeless. He was sent there because his superior, Ugo Cavallero, was jealous of Giovanni because he was gaining the respect of the King and Mussolini thanks to his earlyer successes in Russia - before he was fired for the same reasons by Cavallero with some petty excuses (at the time, Giovanni was an Army Corps general, and the Italian expeditionary corps in russia was going to become a proper army - so, instead of promoting him, Ugo straight up replaced him). So basically Cavallero sent the best general Italy had in this war to a suicide mission because he feared he could replace him.

[@rasmussteenhansen3122]

Watching this episode made me realize the strengths of Rommel as a general; He was always able to see things objectively. Whereas Hitler and other generals, as Rommel stated, were depressed and angry about defeats and unwilling to make withdrawals, Rommel seemed to always realize the reality of a situation before virtually anyone else. Likewise in earlier engagements, like at El Alamein, he knew that it was now or never when he attacked, though he also knew that victory was unlikely. This time, he realized that the British must have known of the attack against Medenine even as Messe stubbornly continues a relentless assault. Perhaps there were other generals who had smarter tactical ideas or more brilliant battleplanning, but i dont think there was any other as fast at realizing his position or as good at interpreting the enemy movement and operations to sieze the moment and exploit their weakness.

[@merdiolu]

Most of Rommel's supposed "brilliance" (which mostly gone after 1942 summer) due to his Wireless Intercept Unit 621 decypering and reading wireless tactical communication of Eighth Army (till Unit 621 was destroyed by Australian infantry at First Battle of Alamein) and US Military Attache Colonel Bonnar Fellers reports wired via Black Code which was penetrated by Italians plus tactical and operational incompatence of initial batch of British generals like Cunningham , Gott , Norrie , Ritchie , Auchinleck etc...Once all wireless intelligence leaks were plugged by British , US Black Code was changed , Fellers sent back to US and Montgomery took over Eighth Army and put it into a shape with proper realistic operational and strategic command , Rommel was defeated constantly and suddenly became a pessimist when his defeats caused partially his own making by over extending all the way to El Alamein and sticking to ground there for four months on a territory under complate British air dominance and stretching Axis logistical system to breaking point while deluding himself to be conquerer of Egypt when the supply ans logistical means Axis had was nowhere enough for such a scheme in Mediterranean and nobody ordered him to march Egypt neither Hitler nor OKW , Commando Supremo , no one. He caused his army's own downfall.

[@tigertank06]

@@merdiolu He should have stopped at Tobruk tbh.

[@duncancurtis1758]

Rommel could see the writing on the wall of Berlin Gents Toilets after Stalingrad.🤣🤣

[@benwilson6145]

A joke told by a German pilot after his capture at Tunisia in May 1943: “The difference between a clock and Rommel is that a clock goes forward and says tick-tock and Rommel goes backwards and says tactics.” Rommel. we should challenge the mythology. He was hardly apolitical. His entire career had been based on Hitler's favor, and we might reasonably describe his attitude toward the Führer as worshipful. He was Hitler's fair-haired boy, a young officer repeatedly promoted over more senior candidates. He was a media creation. Nazi propaganda painted him not only as a garden-variety hero, but as a model National Socialist and Aryan, a man who could overcome stronger enemies through the sheer force of his will. He was not merely a passive bystander to the hype; he was an active accomplice. He loved nothing better than having a camera crew along with him on campaign, and he would regularly order scenes to be reshot if his posture was insufficiently heroic or the lighting had not shown him to best advantage. As is often the case, his relationship to the media was both self-serving and self-destructive. During the years of victory, the German propaganda machine used him as an example to the nation. When things went sour, he became a diversion from the increasingly bad news on other fronts. Finally, when he was no longer useful for any purpose at all, the regime dropped him altogether and eventually killed him.

[@bigwoody4704]

Oh really how about this joke *U.S Army officers recalled a* *bitter joke from 1917:that the "AEF" stood not for "American Expeditionary Force" but for "After England Failed"* if Rommel had ULTRA and the USA - Bernard would have gotten blasted into the Sea - again.Montgomery is not studied in military academies except as a bad example.Caen,Goodwood,Falaise,Monty Garden.Before the USA got involved Rommel drove your boy into the channel.And then only came back over with the GIs. And ULTRA 1st went operational in the Desert - The Allies not Monty won in the Desert. Watch the Desert Generals - even a sod like you could have won.The rest of the war Monty practically sat on his arse so not to make a mistake

[@merdiolu]

‘We always thought,’ declares Brigadier Howard Kippenberger 5th NZ Brigade commander, ‘this Medenine position was our masterpiece in the art of laying out a defensive position under desert conditions.’ It was ‘admirably thought out’ agrees the more sedate Official History. So much so that the 300 tanks in 7th Armoured Division - as well as those in 23rd Armoured Brigade - saw hardly any action, though for the record 8th Armoured Brigade was stationed behind 51st Highland Division, 22nd Armoured behind Tadjera Khir, and 4th Light Armoured behind the New Zealanders. So good in fact was Eighth Army’s defensive technique that the battle appears in retrospect as very unexciting, the issue never in doubt. Of course it all seemed rather different at the time. At 0900 on 6 March, the enemy attacked from three directions. The diversionary move by ‘Column Bari’ was easily repelled with heavy losses. The thrust by 10th Panzer Division towards Medenine was neither particularly resolute nor well organized and was halted by the anti-tank guns of 28th Maori Battalion which destroyed five panzers at point-blank range and drove the rest into hasty retreat. But in the centre around the crucial Tadjera Khir hill, the Axis armed forces proved worthy of their reputation. Here the attackers were Eighth Army’s old foes 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions, which advanced with great determination, their tanks in the lead, their supporting infantry regiments close behind. They closed to within some 400 yards of the defences, but then the British artillery went into action, concentrating as ordered not on the panzers but on the German infantrymen, who were forced to seek shelter, leaving the tanks to continue on their own. This they duly did, probing persistently for weak spots but failing utterly to find any. 21st Panzer attacked the Guards Brigade. Brigadier Julian Gascoigne had held back 6th Battalion, the Grenadier Guards as a reserve, and 3rd Battalion, the Coldstream Guards was scarcely engaged, but 2nd Battalion, the Scots Guards was quickly in action, destroying three tanks. The remaining ones fought back, knocking out some of the British guns, but the Scots Guards hit tank after tank, claiming to have destroyed fifteen during the day. On their left, the Coldstreams’ anti-tank platoon was at last able to join in the fight, setting a panzer ablaze with the first shot fired. An even heavier attack was delivered by 15th Panzer on 131st Brigade, commanded by Brigadier Lashmer ‘Bolo’ Whistler, whom Montgomery would call ‘perhaps the best fighting brigadier in the British Army’. The main blows fell on 1/7th Queens in the centre of the brigade’s position, its anti-tank gunners claiming the destruction of twenty-seven panzers in a series of clashes throughout the morning. So determined and so continuous was the enemy assault that Whistler asked for assistance and 22nd Armoured Brigade moved up a squadron of Shermans in close support; these put seven more enemy tanks out of action. By midday, the Axis commanders had had enough and retired to reorganize. At 1530, they renewed their advance from the same three directions as before, but this time it was their infantrymen who came forward first, the tanks lagging well behind them. Again all the attacks were broken, mainly by artillery fire, and though an attempted counter-attack by 7th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of 154th Brigade was halted by German mortars, by 2030, the Axis soldiers were withdrawing on all fronts and the battle was over. This was not immediately apparent since a number of movements on the part of the enemy were reported during the night - they attracted heavy artillery fire and kept the defenders on the alert for further encounters. In reality, as it subsequently transpired, these movements were merely attempts by the Germans to recover their knocked-out panzers. They failed in this mission but achieved an unexpected bonus by masking the retirement of their main forces. By dawn on 7 March, they had all fallen back into their own defences in the Mareth Line. ‘The Battle of Medenine,’ declares Montgomery’s Chief of Staff Brigadier de Guingand, ‘was a little classic all of its own. It was the perfectly fought defensive battle.’ The Axis soldiers had not even penetrated Eighth Army’s front-line defences as at Alam Halfa. There had been no flaws like the misfortunes of Operations BULIMBA and BERESFORD (during Battle of First Alamein and Battle of Alam el Halfa) to mar the brilliance of the whole encounter.

[@merdiolu]

Before it began Montgomery had sent a message to his troops, urging them to ‘show him [Rommel] what the famous Eighth Army can do’ - and that they, and especially the infantry and the anti-tank gunners, had certainly done! Eighth Army’s losses had been minimal: not a single tank, hardly any guns, and 130 killed or wounded, ‘all ranks’. The enemy had lost 635 dead, wounded or prisoners, over two-thirds of them Germans. Rommel would later admit to ‘40 tanks totally destroyed’, but Paul Carell, who gained his information from senior German officers including Bayerlein and Ziegler, records that ‘fifty-five burnt-out German tanks’ were left behind when the panzers retreated, while de Guingand states that ‘Rommel lost fifty-two of his tanks which were counted on the battlefield.’ It was Rommel’s final battlefield in North Africa. On 9 March, he handed over Army Group Afrika to von Arnim and returned to Germany, a sick, disillusioned man, his exhaustion shown clearly by the unsightly boils which covered his face. It is much to the credit of his army that Rommel’s departure, in Ronald Lewin’s words, ‘made no essential difference to its performance in action’. Indeed his absence may have been a blessing as Rommel’s ‘mood of depression’ had by now become ‘acute’ and his pessimistic outlook can hardly have had a beneficial effect on morale. Certainly after he had left, Panzer Army Afrika, now Messe’s First Italian Army, would come very close indeed to an achievement that had never been attained by Rommel: the defeat of an Eighth Army commanded by Montgomery. ‘Will you please convey to General Montgomery and the forces under his command my sincere congratulations on their magnificent performance of March 6th.’ wrote General Eisenhower, who since 11 February, had been a full ‘four-star’ general, had every reason to express his gratitude to Eighth Army for having ended the series of Allied set-backs with an indisputable success. Eighth Army's Greatest Victories - Adrian Stewart

[@bigwoody4704]

Watch the Desert Generals, with Tim Collins,Niall Barr,Corelli Barnett.I've explained it's alright that IKE bares some of the responsibility by stringing Monty along letting him believe he was something he wasn't - a Field Marshall.Monty never ended up in the chanel after the GIs arrived imagine that. Claude Auchinleck (who BTW was a hell of a general) and Dorman Smith had just won the 1st battle of El Alamein concluded on July 30th.Auchilech was relieved and General Gott was installed but unfortunately his plane got shot down killing him. Everything and I mean everything was already in place to win. Churchill wrongly removed General Auchinleck who argued that his men had not regrouped and needed reinforcing. Several military analysts accused Churchill of misunderstanding desert warfare tactics, saying he placed too much emphasis on territorial occupation. They needed 6 weeks to refit and resupply. So what does Monty do - took 10 weeks(Aug-13-Oct 23) to advance - much more time than Auchileck and Dorman Smith insisted on and got fired for in the 1st place. Almost any Commander was walking into assured victory.The British finally got their victory over a German Army and Monty was made a Hero when in truth it was a British /Allied victory. Montgomery had 1500 miles and every concievable advantage - BIG ADVANTAGES in men/materiel/air cover/intelligence/tanks/artillery. Rommel had to move at dark to keep his columns from being strafed and obliterated.In the Mediteranean & the desert Air Marshall Conningham and Adml Cunningham strangled the German supply lines while keeping the Allies supplied was paramount. Yet Montgomery didn't grab airfields or open any ports - this continued into Italy- Normandy. Montgomery really should have never gotten that gig - he really could not lose after Auchilech and Dorman-Smith lined the massive mine fields on the Ridge of Alam Halfa( that Bernard later attempted to take credit for)also shored up defense line by the Qattara Depression to the south which was impassable to mechanized armor at El Alamein creating a choke point. And it was Auchinleck and Dorman-Smith that had 2 fresh divisions moved over from the Nile Delta. Monty couldn't lose in the desert where an embarrassment of riches covered his obvious lack of leadership abilities.Monty never pinned down Rommel he simply pursued Then The Torch Landings forces included 60,000 troops in Morocco, 15,000 in Tunisia, and 50,000 in Algeria, Forced Rommel's hand as now there would be more enemy troops to deal with.And of course ULTRA was now fully operation and provided updates. By August '42 USA had sent the 300 Shemans and over 100 self propelled 105 mm Howitzers sent by Order of FDR.The 8th Army had an 5:1advantage of tanks over the AK.And with the landings 3:1 in manpower.​ The Afrika Korp was short on everything and their armor and vehicles had been in the desert for over 2 yrs. The allied supply port of Alexandria was 100 miles away,The Axis supply port was 1,000 miles away in Tripoli.Also factor in complete Air Superiority - Rommel had to move at dark to keep his columns from being strafed and obliterated. So even you can clearly see reality exists All these things came together at the same time and Monty couldn't help himself - taking credit that wasn't his and deflecting blame that was - all thru the war. In 1500 miles with overwhelming advantages Monty never captured Rommel *Monty left a vastly numerical inferior forces in front of him get away* *None of those benefits were enjoyed by Auchinleck and Dorman-Smith. Save the Air Superiority.* All of it in place and none of it Bernard's doing long before he sashayed into this mirage​

[@bigwoody4704]

Read R.W. Thompson one of the very best British military historians. He is able to combine a thorough knowledge of Great Britain's role in the Second World War with some excellent research on the life of Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery in a very readable narrative. Mr. Thompson is not kind to Great Britain's most popular war hero. On the 'title' page at the very front of the book, Thompson uses a quote from Napoleon to tell his readers what he thinks of Field Marshal Montgomery: "If the art of war consisted merely in not taking risks, glory would be at the disposal of very mediocre talent." Since Montgomery was the one general famous for not taking risks with the lives of his men, the reader must assume that Thompson thinks Montgomery was a very mediocre commander. Indeed, Thompson spends the next 260 odd pages proving his point beyond any reasonable doubt. The entire Montgomery legend was based on a very fragile foundation. It would seem that Churchill's need for a political victory in London during the fall of 1942 had more to do with the size of the victory at El Alamein than any tactical brilliance displayed by the British commander on the North African battlefield. *Thompson wrote, "It was not enough to defeat Rommel, nor even to destroy him: it had to be a properly staged affair, politically and emotionally necessary at the time. Thus 2nd Alamein has in it the elements of a last act in a tragedy, fore-ordained and inescapable for political reasons. Militarily it need not have taken place at all." p. 106* *Correlli Barnett in the DESERT GENERALS agrees, if Montgomery had waited for the Allied invasion in Northwest Africa, Operation TORCH, "... Rommel would have been out of Egypt with in a month and in Tunisia within three. The famous Second Battle of El Alamein must therefore, in my view, go down in history as an unnecessary battle." p. 256* So between them, General Montgomery and Prime Minister Churchill were willing to accept 13,500 casualties to boost Montgomery's military reputation in North Africa and Churchill's political standing in London. *The Montgomery Myth was based, says Thompson, on a lie.* "The tragedy was that all this new story (Second El Alamein) was to be built upon the lie of British defeat, and the denial of the triumph of the old Eighth Army." p. 132. The hard-fought victory over Rommel British Generals Claude Auchinleck and E. Dorman Smith won in July 1942 has been swept from history. Instead Churchill and Montgomery and their legion of followers began repeating the lie that before Second El Alamein the British Army in North Africa had suffered nothing but defeats and after Second El Alamein they always won victories. The hoped for official, historical conclusion was that Montgomery and Churchill rescued the British war effort from certain disaster in North Africa and were therefore due great public adulation. *R.W. Thompson is right, it is all based on a lie.*

[@bigwoody4704]

@@jamestwilkins875 I really never have studied that aspect of the war in the Med.But by the summer of 1942 Air Marshall Conningham's at Alam Halfa for instance had complete air superiority bombing the snot out of the Afrika Korp then and later at 2nd El Alamein

[@schulze25]

I gotta feeling things aren't gonna end very well for ole Rommel.

[@hoodoo2001]

Naw, he is a survivor. He won't get mixed up in anything that might get him into trouble....

[@markreetz1001]

@@hoodoo2001 Absolutely! I hear tell he'll command part of Normandy and give him a chance to stop the Allies on the beaches with his reserve of panzers! Unless they invade at Calais.... Pure conjecture on my part!

[@chronovac]

@@markreetz1001 What invasion? The French coast is far too well defended. The allies will clearly be trying to attack Sicily if they can secure North Africa

[@markreetz1001]

@@chronovac Good Point! The Nazis are too smart to get caught off guard.

[@yellowjackboots2624]

I haven't watched the channel for a while (sorry, gang) but the production values are fantastic. The editing, the colour, and of course Indy's charisma, better than ever. Double thumbs up.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for watching! We can only do it with the support of the TimeGhost Army

[@pax6833]

It feels really weird to be listening about the Battle of Kharkov 79 years ago, while also listening about the Battle of Kharkov ongoing today. The more things change, the more things stay the same... It's sad to think that the general peace in Europe, largely in place since 1945, may have effectively ended.

[@ptkiller26]

I like the quote from MW2

[@shaider1982]

Yup, there's even a mention here of taking a station. Even the gag by Indy at the start sounded something from more recent times until he said "Hoth". 9:30 even sounds to happen again.

[@danielmocsny5066]

The Western Allies failed to impose liberal democracy on all of Europe after WWII. They weren't in position to do so, because the anti-democratic USSR was their ally. We're still seeing the effects today, as even after the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia's tenuous grip on democracy did not hold. Once again we see the traditional pattern of wars being caused by countries that aren't liberal democracies. No two liberal democracies have ever fought a war against each other - not that this will never happen, but the odds are vastly lower than wars being started by dictators, autocrats, and strongmen who first manage to destroy the foundations of liberal democracy e.g. a free and independent press.

[@3dcomrade]

@@danielmocsny5066 Iraq 2003? Liberal democracies can be the attacker

[@LuvBorderCollies]

Rabaul and Bougainville must really been the major thorns for the South Pacific. My father-in-law mentioned both bases numerous times and he was on a minesweeper. Think it was because those two bases were the sources of most air attacks on US ships and shore bases. Minesweepers spent a lot of time on shore except when an invasion was coming up.

[@Warmaker01]

Bougainville becomes a bigger deal, an objective a bit later but it was Rabaul that was the main problem in that part of the Pacific. It had a strong garrison, a port suitable for big warships to be stationed at, extensive facilities to maintain lots of men, ships, and air power. Rabaul was the major hub of the Japanese war effort in the South Pacific. It was from Rabaul that those air attacks to hit Guadalcanal came from, but that was a treacherous distance leading to a lot of Japanese air crew fatigue. Probably a good number of veteran pilots got killed as they were flying exhausted those long stretches. Ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy would be sent from Japan or Truk, and stationed at Rabaul. From there the sortied to fight at Guadalcanal and later through the Solomon Islands. SPOILER SPOILER Even later as the Allies get steamrolling through New Guinea, up the Solomon Islands, taking Bougainville, the base of Rabaul was different. Again, it was well protected. There was an initial plan by the Allies to assault it, but that was deemed to costly. The plan changed to encircle and cut off Rabaul, isolate it, threaten it with air power. Once Bougainville is controlled, more aircraft are in range to attack Rabaul. Once the Japanese saw the fall of Bougainville imminent, the Japanese evacuated their warships, what aircraft they could. They did not have the sealift capability to evacuate their men who will be stuck there for the remainder of the war until the Japanese surrender in 1945. Lots of IJA soldier, IJN aircraft maintainers, etc. are just sitting there. Rabaul gets isolated and is subject to occasional bombing attacks. It gets to the point that the Allies treat Rabaul as a bombing test range, where new pilots to the theater go to get introduced to fighting in the Pacific. Supplies from Japan end and the garrison is forced to fend for itself, which it actually does pretty well for the rest of the war. And honestly, when the garrison formally surrenders in 1945, they were a lot better off than other Japanese garrisons found in the Pacific Islands, Philippines, forces stationed in Burma, Indochina, China, Manchuria. Those other garrisons will see years of death, starvation, deprivation, and many will be totally annihilated. When WWII ends, most Japanese losses will be from starvation. The Rabaul garrison will be alright. Anyways, what do the Allies do if they weren't going after Rabaul? They'd continue through New Guinea, eventually through to the Philippines. The US would also push through past / around Rabaul and send a massive armada for the Pacific to conduct amphibious operations. Tarawa will be one such target. If the IJN thought the US Navy forces that they fought at Guadalcanal and the Solomons were powerful, the one that was sent to Tarawa was insanely strong. From there on the USN's presence simply too powerful for the IJN to deal with. From there we see lots of US Carriers, Battleships, and a huge screen of Cruisers and Destroyers to protect them. And the US Navy will just continually get stronger and stronger in the Pacific.

[@stanbrekston]

@@Warmaker01 that was very interesting.

[@danielmocsny5066]

@@Warmaker01 - "Probably a good number of veteran pilots got killed as they were flying exhausted those long stretches." Another factor is that the lightly-built Japanese airplanes were optimized for long range and high performance, but not so much to absorb damage. And the Allies are getting steadily better at inflicting damage on Japanese airplanes, with increasingly more accurate anti-aircraft guns in increasing numbers, and with the larger 5" guns firing the brand-new and top secret VT (promixity fuzed) shell. The Japanese also allocated fewer resources to locating and rescuing their downed pilots than the Allies did. So the Japanese pilots faced long flights over water or jungle-covered islands in airplanes that couldn't take much damage against an enemy increasingly capable of inflicting damage and reliant on a Japanese Navy that didn't feel strongly motivated to come rescue them. Another factor was that Japanese command was largely in denial about pilot fatigue and its cumulative nature over time. The Western Allies understood that you cannot just keep sending your pilots into combat day after day without rest. After a few uninterrupted weeks of that even the best and most motivated pilots will see their skills degrade. And you can't overcome the limits of human physiology by denouncing your pilots as cowards.

[@tikiblue3152]

I think to be fair Rommel had incredible intelligence gathering early on in the piece with the intercepted messages and broken US codes sent from Col Bonner Fellers to Washington, detailing British movements. His loss of Intelligence Unit 621 hurt his strategy planning too. As Montgomery had intelligence in this recent battle and bettered Axis forces, Rommel had great intelligence early on and looked invincible prior to Tobruk, El Alamein 1 and 2. Personally I think he was bettered by Gen Morsehead at a divisional level attack anyway in 41/42. Vale the Desert Fox.

[@paultyson4389]

An Australian unit wiped out Intelligence Unit 621, killing the head honcho and binging back evidence of the damage they'd been doing.

[@oOkenzoOo]

On March 1 1943, the Free French Flying Column was put under the command of the 4th British Light Armored Brigade and took position in the defensive perimeter of the British 30th Army Corps, west of Ghomrassen (between Medenine and Tataouine). On the 3rd, the Flying Column received the order to relieve a squadron of King's Dragoon Guard in the Wadi Gragour and cover the Medenine/Foum-Tataouine road near Bir Lahmar. Thus it will have to protect the flank of the 30th Army Corps whose closest elements are near Medenine, nine kilometers north of Bir Lahmar. As soon as the relief is completed, the Free French send patrols into the beds of the dry wadis which penetrate deep into the mountain. On March 5, in the morning, a patrol had a run-in with the Germans. On March 6, at six o'clock, a detachment of French soldiers on surveillance on the Bir Ahmar track, reported the noise of tanks in one of the ravines located to the west. The whole column is alerted. A detachment comprising two sections of tanks and a platoon of SPG is sent to the northern outlet of the wadi Gragour. At the same time, the patrol on the Bir Ahmar track reports that it is facing many enemy armored vehicles which emerge from the mountain range and force it to fall back towards the road to Medenine. The Commander of the Flying Column, Jean Rémy, realizes that the enemy intends to cut the Medenine-Tataouine road. A French detachment is sent to Bir Lahmar to block this road, while the bulk of the Flying column regroups at the place where the Wadi Gragour lead to the plains. A reconnaissance of tanks is stopped by the shots of German 75 PAK AT guns. However, six 75mm guns of two French SPG platoons opened precise fire on the enemy vehicles which were some 400 meters from them. Trucks, tanks, SPGs are on fire. Confusion reigns among the enemy whose front is taken on by French SPGs, and the flank by the French tanks and AT guns of two platoons sheltered in the Wadi Gragour. Soon the enemy movement stops, the vehicles take shelter in the folds of the terrain and the 88mm come into action. A long duel ensues. Many enemy vehicles are hit and burn with thick black smoke. Two French tanks and two SPGs are also hit. The fight continues at a distance until thirteen o'clock without either of the two adversaries giving ground. However, a French platoon which covers the left flank of the Flying Column signals the arrival of a German infantry battalion deployed on the ridge eight hundred meters further. Not having sufficient infantry to oppose this new threat, commander Rémy decided to fall back on Bir Lahmar. The afternoon is spent exchanging gunfire on any vehicle that leaves its shelter imprudently. At nightfall, Commander Rémy, considering that he did not have enough infantry to stay in contact with the enemy, asked the Commander of the 4th Light Armored Brigade for permission to withdraw at five or six kilometers in the direction of Foum-Tataouine. This authorization is granted to him and the Flying Column withdraws on its new position after having destroyed all the material which cannot be brought back. The next day, March 7 at daybreak, the French, armored cars in the lead, took all the ground they had to abandon the day before. Rommel's attack has been repulsed everywhere. German losses were particularly high in front of the 201st Guards Brigade sector, where the Panzer Divisions lost nearly fifty tanks. The Free French Flying Column has twenty-three vehicles and guns on its tally, including two self-propelled 75 PAKs and three armored cars. It itself lost in combat four armored cars, two SPGs and four tanks, two of which were by mechanical accident. The losses in men are four killed, six wounded and fourteen missing. They will learn later that the group that was opposed to them was the Kiel reconnaissance group. On March 10, at the oasis of Ksar Rhilane, the Force L of general Leclerc is attacked by German tanks and armored cars belonging to the 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions, supported by stukas. Montgomery advised him to fall back but Leclerc refused categorically. He buried and dispersed his troops in trenches and ordered them to hold their ground. With the support of the Royal Air Force, the Free French managed to repel the Germans and won a defensive victory and prevented their adversaries from discovering the concentration of New Zealand troops preparing to attack the Mareth line. Montgomery sent later this sober message to Leclerc: “Well done”. For his part, Leclerc declared to his men in the order of battle of the day: « The first contact with the Boche was a victory, the others will be too! Long live the general De Gaulle, Long live France! »

[@andromidius]

Enter Patton, stage right. A new act has begun. Interesting how Rommel left just as Patton arrived, a narrowly avoided potential clash of titans.

[@drno4837]

Rommel was not that good, but way better than anything the British had

[@οκταβιοςσκοντασιος]

@@drno4837 i believe he was as goog as general Patton.

[@danielmocsny5066]

They'll sort of clash again when Patton's fake army confuses Rommel's defense of Fortress Europa against the impending Allied invasion of France.

[@MrDwarfpitcher]

@@drno4837 Rommel and Patton cannot be compared. Rommel largely relied in infantry. Don't forget that Rommel was an infantry commander 1st, tank commander 2nd. Now he is known for very good tank tactics but. - He usually had less panzers - Less supplies for the tanks to actually operate at reasonable capacity (a full tank of gas was often a no no) - Less artillery - His infantry was often not motorized Now Patton. - Supplies for days - Tanks, lots of them - defently amount of motorized infantry - Artillery advantage (usually more guns) Now how do these two measure up? Its impossible to say but, I know Patton was the supposed hardass that would bump heads, but still read the books of his enemies to learn from then. So there really is no clear answer as "A is better than B"

[@richardhumphrey2685]

@@drno4837 Certainly better than anything the Americans had.

[@kimok4716]

I just want to congratulate you guys for all the images you provide us. We take it for granted as the high quality is consistent but really the amount of rare videos of all commanders, ordinary troops, or coloured photos that you provide us is astonishing and makes the video flow so much better. This project is unique, I've watched it every week since the Blitz and the quality keeps improving. Really congratulation to all the team

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you so much for your kind words! We are truly glad to hear that!

[@bigwoody4704]

@@WorldWarTwo It is a great channel i've watched alot,sorry if i've gotten a little salty with revisionist trolls

[@jamestwilkins875]

On the 21st July Rommel wrote a report to the OKH outlining why his plans failed. He identified the New Zealand division and the Australian 9th division, versatile British artillery, supply lines and the RAF attacking everything (source Ian Playfair).

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

What? There were British & Commonwealth troops in North Africa and Tunisia? Who would have thought it?

[@ethanmagnuson2988]

I would love to hear more about that strike in Italy! Sounds fascinating

[@LightFykki]

Same. Maybe we can await a general special on the situation in Italy near the end of the Musollini's reign since that did not come crashing down all of the sudden when allies made their invasion. A lot of factors played to it even before.

[@ethanmagnuson2988]

@@LightFykki Perfect for On the Homefront?

[@obsidianjane4413]

Its less that Rommel's luck runs out, more that he got out while the gittin' was good (or at least not completely lost). It preserved his reputation.

[@mjbull5156]

The political leadership has lost confidence in him due to their being in denial about how bad the Axis strategic and logistic situations are in North Africa, and he has at least one subordinate general going behind his back to carry out his own plans. Might as well obey those orders.

[@obsidianjane4413]

@@mjbull5156 Its not like he had a choice anyway. But in historical hindsight it rolled in his favor. He might have been able to keep the command by burning all his chips with Hitler. But then that just would have left him in the same place as von Arnim.

[@gianniverschueren870]

Like how the colours on this tie sort of evoke a desert setting, even if they're a little darker. Nice touch. 4/5, shame about the waistcoat!

[@Warmaker01]

The Axis are also about to lose an army in Tunisia on a scale similar to Stalingrad, which only ended a month prior. We go from the Axis pushing to Egypt and now they're getting cornered in Tunisia. They have little means on supplying these forces and even worse means on evacuating them. Lots of irreplaceable men, equipment, and experience will be trapped and forced to surrender. Kharkov IIRC will also be the last big German victory in the Eastern Front.

[@DSS-jj2cw]

My father saw MacArthur in the Philippines when he was serving in WWII. I would much rather have had Nimitz in charge and MacArthur in a desk job.

[@steved5495]

You need to wait before having an opinion on that.

[@DSS-jj2cw]

@@steved5495 I think I know how the story ends. Lol.

[@haydonriddifordsmith9275]

Another great episode as always! Been a pleasure to view this series over the years. You have truly given people a truthful and thought provoking view into the reality of the war. Keep writing and carry on.

[@ProphTruth100]

Found this series in December. Glad to be caught up now on the regular episodes and can't wait for next weeks.

[@WorldWarTwo]

@Jacob we're very glad you found our channel! Please consider becoming a member of the TimeGhost Army to support our exploring history, however long this war drags on. www.patreon.com/join/timeghosthistory

[@Skystrike70]

This series is of fantastic value to the Internet in general, I'm very impressed at the consistency of quality and timeliness of the uploading

[@WorldWarTwo]

@Skystrike70 Thanks very much! I'm glad you're enjoying the videos, we wouldn't be able to do it without the support of our amazing audience. Please consider joining the TimeGhost Army to help us make more episodes every single week, and tell your friends! www.patreon.com/join/timeghosthistory

[@creamygreentrees6891]

@@WorldWarTwo This ain't how you get Patreon supporters lmao

[@indianajones4321]

As always, great episode

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you!

[@briceoka5623]

I believe the highest rank of the iron cross is golden oak leave swords and diamonds only given to Hans Ulrich Rudel

[@kristianthemonke8898]

This might be the best tie I've seen on Andy so far.

[@danielmocsny5066]

So good that it deserves an "A" instead of just that usual "I"?

[@kellyshistory306]

This week also marks the opening of "The Battle of the Ruhr" by RAF Bomber Command, a sustained bombing campaign against German industrial cities. The WW2 channel is kindly letting me link some narrated 3D animated time lapses I am making to show how these raids were conducted, unfolded, and how the German night fighter system responded. Raid on Essen Raid (5th/6th) - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqHUe6SrpLSerJo Raid on Nuremberg (8th/9th) - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqHUe6SrpLSerJo Raid on Munich (9th/10th) - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqHUe6SrpLSerJo Raid on Stuttgard (10th/11th) - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqHUe6SrpLSerJo

[@andrewpease3688]

"industrial", doesn't suit Spartys agenda.

[@merdiolu]

Will you please convey to General Montgomery and the forces under his command my sincere congratulations on their magnificent performance of March 6th in Medenine.’ wrote General Eisenhower, who since 11 February, had been a full ‘four-star’ general, had every reason to express his gratitude to Eighth Army for having ended the series of Allied set-backs with an indisputable success.

[@onylra6265]

The 8th was a seriously dangerous mob, with some proper kit and some degree of air superiority. They actually broke Rommel - the NZ division (Monty's favorite) has a strong claim right now to being the finest fighting force in the world ... and they combined with the Highlanders, all kinds of Shermans, 6-pounders (finally having adequate weaponry)? That happens. I hate the Rommel myth, I hate the anti-Monty revisionism. Monty was insufferable and unglamorous, but he was a scary guy - he never rolled the dice, he was meticulous (he was perfectly flawed). Rommel, possibly the most reckless gambler in military history, and big Hitler fan, has as of now thrown-in the towel and crapped-out. He knows he can't defeat Monty, he knows the Allies have the gear and balls to kick Germany's ass remorselessly. Fritz Todt was telling Hitler that in November '41. Sometimes I wonder if Rommel was a moron.

[@bigwoody4704]

Bullcrap Monty couldn't lose with overwhelming weight of allied advantages.He bragged himself up after everything was there and in place..A Year later patton schooled the rube on sicily.Auchinleck and O'Connor were much better generals

[@merdiolu]

@@bigwoody4704 Hello Big Woody , still here old boy ? Missed you. Still continuing that nonsense Monty mud slinging without showing a credible resource while Patton (and Hollywood) showed a tie in El Guettar as a victory and Auchinleck left 33.000 men to be captured in Tobruk and barely hold his breath in Alamein before sacked back to India. Try again MAYBE you can convince a few souls 😀 Montgomery was way way more talented to know he needed to put every asset in place before operating. Oh , Sicily is a few months later after this week not a year AND Patton had never lacked anything neither supplies nort reinforcements and fought only coastal Italian formations in Sicily before choked up by one German division in Tronia.

[@bigwoody4704]

When you are done cleaning you teeth with your finger try turning some pages in a history book.Britain had good soldiers Monty wasn't one of them .Auchinleck and Dorman-Smith just won the 1st battle of El Alamain.The Desert War was no great work of Monty's.This is why he was so loathed amongst other British Commanders.The Navy & RAF completely strangled the Afrika Corp even Monty couldn't cock it up .The British Press needed a Hero and Monty reveled in the roll,pissing off the others who had done so much for the War effort.He loved grabbing the Glory at least twice later he almost got sacked.And if it wasn't for the sorry fact the British Press propped him up beyond his accomplishments & abilities he would have.Monty was given the inside road by his mate Alexander Highway 124 and Patton still drove 7th Army and took Palermo and then Messina.People were dying in camps and the War factories being worked to death.Couldn't wait for monty faffing around.He never cornered Rommel in 1,500 miles in the desert

[@onylra6265]

@@bigwoody4704 That's the thing - quite a few other characters have managed to squander advantages. It's like I said: seamless competency is the highest virtue of military leadership. It doesn't excite the armchair warriors, but it does incite the resentment of bunglers ... like Bradley, who got torn in half in the Ardennes, and Monty had to basically rescue him from his own incompetence. There's a reason why everyone let Monty carry the can for OVERLORD - people will for some unknown reason blame 'overwhelming weight of allied advantages' for Germans getting their shit pushed in fair and square (hmm). Go ask 21st Panzer how they felt after they surrounded the NZ division at Minqar Qaim - they called them 'Freyburg's butchers' because the Kiwis held them off easily, then blasted through them with bayonets in the night, slaughtering most of a regiment of Panzergrenadiers and regrouping at Alamein in good order. I agree that Auk and O'Connor were really good leaders who don't get the respect they deserve (take it up with Churchill - actual drunken imbecile). Our old mate Rommel should have died back in France; what an absurd character, zooming around in his armored car behind the lines taking entire battalions of Frenchmen prisoner ... why one or more of them didn't just shoulder their rifle and blow his fucking brains out is a mystery for the ages. History is often irritating.

[@aaronpaul9188]

Thr conflict between McArthur and Nimitz is an interesting one. War plan dog favored Nimitz, and war gaming in the 30s decided that Europe would be the army and the pacific the navy in primary command. So why is McArthur given so much independence and resources? Especially in light of his previous failures on the Phillipines? McArthur was legendary to the American public and had already retired once. Roosevelt and the democrats were terrified that he would retire from the army, and run for president on the republican ticket. His campaign would be that Roosevelt was mismanaged the war and this legendary war hero would set things right. That also would likely have ended europe first with McArthurs promise to return to Manila. So Roosevelt strung him along and did just enough to placate him to avoid this scenario. Hence why everyone prefer Nimitz and his plan to win the war, but gave in to McArthur anyway.

[@gunman47]

_The noodles are wet and spicy_ - Bowl of noodles near the docks of Singapore This week on March 12 1943, the sixth mission of the 2003 video game *Medal of Honor: Rising Sun* , the *Singapore Sling level* begins at Japanese occupied Singapore. In this level as *Corporal Joseph Griffin* , you will land near the docks of Singapore and meet up with Private First Class Ichiro "Harry" Tanaka waiting in a rickshaw. There will be a short ride through Chinatown before it is cut short when the rickshaw crashes with Colonel Kandler’s car. Eventually you will make your way to the Raffles Hotel to infiltrate the Axis summit once Colonel Kandler’s uniform has been stolen. Once you have grabbed the slide reel, you will need to fight your way out of the hotel and escape. This is arguably one of the more memorable levels in Rising Sun and takes its name from the Singapore Sling cocktail beverage that was invented at Raffles Hotel by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon in 1915.

[@thebigdrew12]

Kandler showing up in his boxers is pretty awesome

[@GeneralSmitty91]

The sound track of this level is etched into my memory

[@Blazcowitz1943]

"Don't shoot! Its me, Tanaka!"

[@SATMathReview1234]

Last week (I think) you covered the ally resolution to only accept unconditional surrender of the three major axis powers. Could you possibly to a special episode explaining this concept and whether it unnecessarily prolonged the war?

[@WorldWarTwo]

@Gooberson Every episode is a great investment of research, time, and money. We do our best to cover the action of this war every single week and to bring you special episodes regularly, but we can't do it without your support! Join the TimeGhost Army on Patreon and help us to make more of those specials! www.patreon.com/join/timeghosthistory

[@danielmocsny5066]

"and whether it unnecessarily prolonged the war" - well, there's a non-simple question. Recall that the Allies were thinking back to WWI, when they did not prolong the war "unnecessarily" by driving toward a total defeat of Germany. That left the non-critical-thinkers in Germany vulnerable to the "stabbed in the back" lie - the fiction that Germany had not actually been defeated in the Great War, but had rather been betrayed by its own internal enemies, who could then be scapegoated and then exterminated by the Nazis. The Allies concluded from that experience - from the fact that they were fighting Germany *again* - that nothing less than total, undeniable victory will do this time around. Subsequent history might suggest that the Allies were at least not wrong. By utterly defeating Nazism the Allies were able to rebuild Germany as a stable, liberal democracy which today is a bulwark for the cause of democracy in Europe, instead of its former role as the biggest threat to it.

[@SATMathReview1234]

@@danielmocsny5066 I disagree that the rise of Nazism after ww1 was a result of the failure to totally destroy Germany militarily. After the Napoleonic Wars, Metternich reintegrated France into the European order and left her territory intact: a hundred years of peace followed. At Versailles the Entente humiliated Germany, made her a pariah state, and dissolved the Habsburg Empire: we all know what followed, twenty years of political and economic instability, the rise of totalitarianism in Russia and Germany, and a new war worse than the first. What differentiated the two was punitive vs generous peace, not conditional vs unconditional surrender. Also by extending the war to totally defeat Germany and Japan, the allied powers also gave time for the Soviets to pause outside of Berlin to sweep over the capitals of Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary in Europe and conquer Manchuria in the East. Both of these events solidified the rule of totalitarianism in Eastern Europe and China and set the stage for the near, miraculously adverted, total destruction of civilization during the Cold War.

[@shaider1982]

3:31 Luigi Cadorna: "That's my boy!". 9:30 sounds errily applicable this week.

[@andreastveranger1331]

To say that Erwin Rommel is a defeatist is a little unfair. Withdrawing would give the Axis a stronger defence, and would give Rommel units he could use to attack the allies or as a firebrigade. Rommel also argued that the North Africa campaign were lost and should withdraw to save men and material that could be used in the defence of Sicily and Italy

[@merdiolu]

The thing is after Stalingrad which put a huge psychological blow to Hitler and loss of face for Nazis , any sensible idea of abandoning ground that was impossible to defend , was labeled as defeatist by Hitler , Nazis , Mussolini and Commando Supremo. They were in a desperate image rectification

[@kenoliver8913]

But the point was that by now allied air and naval supremacy in the Med was such that evacuation was not possible. Fighting it out would buy more time, but those men were as doomed as those at Stalingrad.

[@doubledouble4g379]

10:47 - The camo on that Stug is frighteningly good - you'd never see it until you got right on top of it, especially through a narrow viewport o.0

[@onthatrockhewillbuildhisch1510]

At 11;28, Australian troops were fighting the Japanese on the Salamaua - Mubo -Wau Track in New Guinea.

[@roberfaubus3455]

My seminary teacher served under Vera Marshall Ronald later became a pow late I has another seminary was there too.

[@presidentxijinpingspoxdoct9756]

13:20 "that's not a knife... this is a knife"

[@mrgunn2726]

Great installment! Thanks again TGTV!

[@shawnr771]

Thank you for the lesson.

[@HandleGF]

"The Chieftain" is the Dubliner with the Yank twang - a type beloved in Ireland.

[@danielmocsny5066]

I wonder how long it will take for mass media to globalize a single blended English accent. Perhaps that will be when children grow up spending more time talking to their computing devices than to their fleshy peers.

[@Go4Corvette]

Excellent video. Thank you....

[@AnonymousCuIIen]

Random question for Indy and the team. Are all your notes for the episode in the notebook on your desk? I was just curious because it must be challenging keeping track of all the fine details for these episodes while simultaneously presenting.

[@peterlewerin4213]

I believe it bears mentioning that Rommel's victory streak in Africa coincided with the activities of two great assets for the Axis: * Alfred Seebohm, commander of the DAK 621st Radio Intercept Company, whose unit listened attentively to the outright chatter of Commonwealth radio operators, who often didn't even bother with codewords. By listening, cross-referencing, and adding up, Seebohm could produce a fairly exact map of Commonwealth positions and movements. * Bonner Fellers, US military attaché in Cairo, who as such had a duty to monitor and report on British activities in the theatre. He was determined to put his best foot forward and wrote detailed reports with far more specifics than were really necessary. As both the Italians and the Germans had broken the code he used, this meant that the Axis had reports on "strengths, positions, losses, reinforcements, supply, situation, plans, morale etc" within hours of the time of observation. Combining the two information feeds, Rommel was playing a wargame where the "fog of war" only applied to the other side. On the night of July 10th, 1942, after the 621st had been spotted, an Australian raid overran the unit. Seebohm and many of his men were killed: 73 were captured along with their equipment and lots of documentation they used to keep tabs on the Commonwealth forces, together with notes on exploiting the poor signal discipline of the Allies. As a result of capturing the 621st, codes were changed and signal discipline was improved. And Rommel never won a victory again, or came even close to the "brilliant" manoeuvres he was famous for.

[@jarradscarborough7915]

yup, the 'good source' was the reason rommel got the name 'desert fox'. he wasnt a legend, just well informed. the codes the americans were using were in a book in the US embassy in rome. the italians broke in and photographed the books, and then of course shared them with their axis partners. british realised they had a leak (through 'ultra' i think), and tried to get the americans to change it. i don't remember the reason it took so long for the americans to change their codes.

[@paultyson4389]

Yes, but to be fair to Rommel, the war was turning increasingly against the Axis forces and there would be precious few victories for any of their generals. Thanks to the industrial might of America, they were being outproduced, they were finding it harder and harder to get enough fuel to operate and the skies and the sea were increasingly dominated by the Allies.

[@peterlewerin4213]

@@paultyson4389 True. But that was mostly distant rumblings in summer 1942. Rommel's personal turmoil was probably more about him betting the Axis position in Libya on being able to profit from information leaks indefinitely. After losing this advantage, he should have pulled back and gone on the defensive. But his legend, which he himself had encouraged, prevented him. If he couldn't go to victory, he would go to defeat. To his credit, he had sobered up somewhat in Tunisia, but by that time he wasn't held in the same regard as before.

[@paultyson4389]

@@peterlewerin4213 The Germans and their Italian allies (lol) should have captured Malta because it remained a dagger in their side in the Mediterranean. An invasion was due to take place in 1942 with the Italians taking the lead. It was cancelled in favor of Rommel's push to Cairo and El Duce had booked his tickets hoping to lead the victory parade. Of course, Rommel was stopped in the first Battle of El Alamein and it became a stalemate for an extended period until the Allied victory in November 42 in the second battle of El Alamein. Any chance of taking Malta was long gone. As Churchill said with a bit of hyperbole, "before El Alamein we had no victories, after El Alamein we had no defeats".

[@peterlewerin4213]

​@@paultyson4389 My intention was only to comment on the Rommel legend, but I'll note that 1) capturing Malta wouldn't necessarily have improved matters for the Axis, and 2) the Italians were better allies than the Germans deserved.

[@naveenraj2008eee]

Hi Indy.. Well splendid episode.. Rommel leaves and axis force seems to lose steam. Reading Diary of anne frank.. Thanks for the video..

[@marrrtin]

Axis learns to its cost that the Allies do Total War better than they do.

[@pnutz_2]

*Fr33-den-d4ll has left the server* *paTTon has joined the server* *R0mm3L [AoE] has left the server* (axis) R0mm3L [AoE]: I'm going for beers Italy sold me out (axis) benny-tow: lol whatever you say (axis) Mess3: watchoo talkin bout rommel

[@lololomo5484]

BTW, Fredendall booted out of the American Army in Africa. Once considered a "Mini-Patton," he failed miserably in his first WW2 assignment. He quickly got shipped out, and spent the rest of the war stateside. Lloyd Fredendall did too much harm in the battle areas that Patton eventually fought and prevailed in.

[@DrMetalPunk]

79 years later and Russian forces still driving at Kharkov and experiencing heavy losses, only this time, swasticas are on vehicles comming from the east...

[@luisvaldes1568]

Finally Patton is here!

[@luisvaldes1568]

It's amazing that Rommel leaves Africa and no one knows for weeks after!

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

By which time the remnants of the Afrika Korps are being hammered at Mareth & Wadi Akarit.

[@sonoftherabbitpeople4737]

"Rommel....you magnificent bastard.....I READ YOUR BOOK!!!!"

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

The one about infantry warfare? What relevance did that have?

[@sonoftherabbitpeople4737]

@@dovetonsturdee7033 It's a movie reference. See the film "Patton" with George C. Scott. Patton faces the Germans in N. Africa for the first time and wins the battle. He thinks he was facing Rommel at the time. Also the book he was referencing was titled, "The Tank in Attack".

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

@@sonoftherabbitpeople4737 'Panzer Greift An' was a book written by Rommel, but never finished. George C. Scott, aka Patton, could never have read it. That is the problem with the movie. It was based on a book by Ladaslas Farago, called 'Patton - Ordeal & Triumph' which was not so much a biography as a hagiography. The so-called Battle of El Guettar, portrayed in the movie as a triumph, was at best an indecisive skirmish against the weak German 10th Panzer Division, which had around 50 tanks. 10th Panzer had never been part of the Afrika Korps, and only actually came under Rommel's direct command for a few days, at Kasserine. The Afrika Korps itself was at Mareth at the time, being defeated, before being largely destroyed shortly afterwards at Wadi Akarit. At the time, it was part of the Italian 1st Army Group, commanded by General Messe. The 1970 has a lot to answer for. Historically, it is about as accurate as Star Wars, but most people today, if they think of Patton at all, know little about his actual record, but believe fervently in the heroic George C. Scott version.

[@sonoftherabbitpeople4737]

@@dovetonsturdee7033 I cant help that, it's in the movie.

[@gigaflynn_]

My great aunt and uncle were both translators at Bletchley (also, they were asked to translate at the Nuremberg Trials, but couldn't face it and turned it down.) My great Aunt revealed once the 50 year official secrets act period was up that she translated a message from Rommel to Hitler after the second battle of El Alamein, saying "The Afrika Korps is spent." So... Given how late in the day Hitler tended to get up, it's quite possible my great Aunt knew before Hitler that the Allies were going to ultimately win in North Africa. And she had to sit on this knowledge for 50 years! Officially they both worked for the "Foreign Office" during the war, and we only founded out any of this during the first round of Bletchley declassifications.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for sharing about them, Michael. That is quite fascinating.

[@guyh9992]

Two thirds of Macarthur's forces until the end of 1943 were Australian. His plans to give the American units experience were disrupted by the decimation of the 32nd Infantry Division at Buna. It had to be rebuilt before going into action again. The Australian forces took up the offensive through New Guinea for the rest of 1943.

[@paultyson4389]

Did Macarthur ever have a good thing to say about the Australians?. No that I know of.

[@danielmocsny5066]

Yes, the Americans were pouring the bulk of their rebuilding ground forces into the African/Meditteranean theater throughout 1943, not to mention building up a couple million in Britain to get ready for the invasion of France in 1944. It won't be until toward the end of 1943 that America will have enough men under arms and into action to get things really going in the Pacific. It takes a while to build up one of the world's largest armies when starting from basically nothing. You have to recruit or draft the men, build the bases, build the weapons, train the trainers, train the men, and then move the whole mighty force and all their supplies across oceans. While the oceans are still being contested by enemy submarines.

[@guyh9992]

@@paultyson4389 He described the victories in New Guinea throughout 1943 as "Allied". PM John Curtin let him do it because he was a pacifist who had also made some sort of backroom deal with him.

[@guyh9992]

@@danielmocsny5066 If the Australians hadn't rehabilitated MacArthur's reputation through their victories in New Guinea in 1943, Washington would not have given him a considerably larger American army in 1944. Reverse Lend Lease from Australia was also greater than actual Lend Lease. Australia was the temporary home for up to one million US servicemen plus fed and clothed more throughout the Pacific so it was not a case of "all their supplies" being moved across oceans.

[@PhillyPhanVinny]

To be fair to Lloyd Fredendall, after the war was over both Eisenhower and Montgomery said they were both very often to quick to fire officers who failed after single defeats. Both gave Fredendall as a example of a General who was fired who didn't really deserve it. Fredendall commander British General Kenneth Anderson in charge of the British 1st Army which Fredendall's US 2nd Corp was under was given the order by Anderson to split Fredendall's strongest division the US 1st Armored division into 3 units. So there was only 1 of those 3 units defending at Kasserine pass. Fredendall complained about this to Anderson saying the splitting of the armored divisions into smaller units was the exact issue the Allies had in France in 1940 but Anderson wouldn't hear it. So when the German's attacked at Kasserine pass they were hitting 1/3rd of the US 1st Armored Division against 2 German Panzer divisions. The results should then speak for themselves. I'm not saying that Fredendall didn't have issues but I wouldn't say he had enough to lose his job so fast. Both Eisenhower and Montgomery found through research after the war that officer learned more in their defeats then through anything else and that it was actually better to allow a officer who you know is smart, well educated and tested at lower ranks to make a mistake here and there and then learn from it. Even though in Fredendall's case the main cause of the defeat at Kasserine pass would be found to not be his own. After the battle for Tunisia it was British General Kenneth Anderson who was given the same treatment as Fredendall and never given a combat command again because so many British and American officers complained about him during the fighting in North Africa.

[@onesmoothstone5680]

He stunk up the place. ✌🏼🇺🇲

[@PhillyPhanVinny]

@@onesmoothstone5680 Who, Fredendall or Anderson? Because I can't see how the blame for the minor loss (in WW2 terms) at Kasserine pass should fall to Fredendall when in official military requests he asks for the 1st Armored division to not be split up so that they can defend that pass. Even the division commander of 1st Armored division went over Fredendall's head to Anderson complaining about his division being split into 3 units. Making the exact point that the splitting up of the allied armored units in France in 1940 is what resulted in the Germans quick victory.

[@merdiolu]

@@PhillyPhanVinny Sidi Bou Zid (13-14 February 1943) and Kasserine Pass (18-20 February 1943) were not Fredendall's first defeats though. In January he also failed in battles in Faid Pass and raid on Sened Station. And although Anderson was at best a mediocre clerk (Alexander's quote) and erred badly by splitting 1st US Armored Division (though US Army was much more accustomed to battlegroup tactics or supposed to be at this stage) in February 1943 , it really does not excuse 2nd US Corps neglect to prepare defensive positions for last two months on Grand Dorsalle when they held most of its positions where the mountain terrain was extremely suitable for defense or Fredendall's inconsistent orders to Orlando Ward , 1st Armored Division commander nor disguises the fact that appointing Col. Stark with some combat engineer detachments to hold Kasserine Pass without holding heights and trying to micromanage the battle from 70 miles or so behind the front. Blaming solely Anderson (and I acknowlede his blunder) and displaying Fredendall and US Army were victims of bad British command , when 2nd US Corps had assets and time to rectify the situation while it got worse and worse , does not really display this truth. Even Eisehower had some culpability , instead of delving French political affairs in Algiers and putting frontline operations to secondary priorty , he should have asked a Deputy Supreme Commander like Alexander to keep an eye on front , months ago. As for quick relief of generals , I disagree. If anything , in non standartised operational doctrine dominated British or US Armies , the relief of generals were essential. Especially British Army kept too many country club gentelman type general officers who could not achieve objectives way too long , for example check previous commanders and unit commanders of Eighth Army till 1942 summer. Gott , Norrie , Cunningham , Ritchie and their patron saint Claude Auchinleck kept on command way too long because well they were gentelmen and the view in London had been that there was no way better officers to replace them (they had actually way better substitutes but Auchinleck was favored by Churchill till August 1942 and rest of bad commanders like Eric Schaeffer , Neil Ritchie , Eric Dorman Smith , his chief of Staff Tom Corbett were his people and he got influenced by amateur theorician consultants like Brig. Dorman-Smith too much.) Only after Montgomery took the command of Eighth Army in August 1942 , ruthlessly sacked underperforming general officers who were insubordinate , not complying autocracy of chain of command and ignoring combined operations doctrines (British armor was expecially very insubordinate on this regard , till Monty fired a number of armor generals and brought his men in as corps commanders to keep an eye on rest) , Eighth Army began to perform very efficiently in operations and deploy its material and firepower , logistics advantages properly. US Army was even more ruthless as it should be when culling of bad commanders required. Thomas Ricks in "The Generals" mentions that a relieved general in US Army (and sometimes British Army) during WWII was unsually given a second chance on field command after a while but at the moment if they could not do the job they needed to go , nothing personal , it was war and when frontline troops were risking their lives , the egos and reputations of general officers were secondary. If a general lost confidence of his subordinates and his superiors and still kept in command , it makes situation way way worse.

[@peterlewerin4213]

You keep repeating this, yes. For my part, after looking at Fredendall's behaviour and performance, I'd say Fredendall should have been sent home and put to work peeling potatoes on the ship even if Kasserine Pass never happened. The man was a complete disgrace.

[@PhillyPhanVinny]

​@@merdiolu I mean Kasserine pass was a small battle to start with so to bring up Sidi Bou Zid, Faid Pass and Sened Station is completely below the point. Those are battles that are won and lost by every day soldiers and officers from the Lieutenant to Major position, not a Corp level General. Which is the point that not just me but generals from Eisenhower, Montgomery to more established as a issue after the war. Officers of Western armies were constantly getting their field commands taken away after single errors. This issue happened from the lowest ranking officers up to Generals. And they found in most cases the defeats were not even the officers fault. It was just that the general public back home in the Western nations had gotten the opinion by 1942/3 that any defeat that happened had to have been the fault of some officer somewhere and that it was just simply not possible for the Axis nations to beat the Western nations in any battle from small to large. So the media would start asking the Generals why a defeat would have happened and they would tend to need to put the blame somewhere for the defeat not being able to just say "we can't win every battle". This started with high ranking officers being removed from field commands such as Fredendall. And from there it then became the higher ranking officers letting go of their lower ranking officers after defeats so that they were not removed from their command role by their superior officer. I'm not trying to make the argument that Fredendall was some amazing General at all. He clearly had some issues but he also had many good qualities to him that got him the role of commander of the US 2nd Corp in the early war and was pointed out by George Marshall as a officer who would do good in that job. History will show that almost every other officer that George Marshall recommends to FDR to put in a role was perfect for that job. Some examples would be Eisenhower, Bradley, Patton, Simpson, Hodges and Clark. All officers who would become 4-5 star Generals. So it is possible that had Fredendall been allowed to continue commanding a Corp and/or eventually a Army that he would be remembered among the officers mentioned above. And as I said this was not just a issue in the American Army but in all of the Western armies from 1942 or 1943 onward. And it wasn't just in the Army either. Another US officer who lost their job who was considered a great officer prior to their defat was Husband Kimmel the commander of the US Pacific Fleet when Pearl Harbor happened. He had gone his whole carrier making a good name for himself but because he was in command when a defeat that was far from his fault alone happened he had to lose his job. Taking away a officer who really was plenty qualified enough to continue commanding in WW2. We have to remember that during WW2 officers went from incredibly low ranks to high ranks very fast because of the quick increase in size of militaries during WW2. This meant that many officers did not go through the proper schooling normally needed to obtain the rank they held during WW2. For example a General in the US normally had to go through the United States Army War College to become a General and there were schools they needed to go to below that before even getting to the rank of Major such as the United States Army Command and General Staff College but during WW2 all of that was skipped. So officers who were already of high ranks that had gone through those schools in the US or their British equivalents were of vital importance and should not have just been thrown away was the opinion that basically all officers of Western militaries determined after WW2 was over.

[@marktaylor6491]

2:14 - Talk about going from the farcical to the sublime.

[@jasonmussett2129]

I need a lay down. Breathless narration 👍

[@WorldWarTwo]

@Jason Thank you for watching

[@KatrinaLeFaye]

Thank you for your video.

[@24escalade]

ironic that 79 years later, Russia still battling for Kharkov.

[@andrewfavot763]

Cheers crew and fellow army members. My finances are starting to stabilize, I should be back in active service, lol, in the next couple weeks. Cannot wait to be directly funding you all again.

[@WorldWarTwo]

THANK YOU! I hope you're well & we can't thank you enough for supporting us.

[@steffanyschwartz7801]

This episode sets up a certain Tom Cruise movie

[@merdiolu]

The ‘Ultra’ interception detailing Rommel’s intentions reached Montgomery on 25 February. Ronald Lewin in his Ultra Goes to War: The Secret Story claims that the code-breakers had thus ‘intervened with devastating effect’. In reality the Allies were already aware that Rommel was retreating from the Western Dorsale since they had reoccupied Kasserine Pass without resistance on the previous day; air reconnaissance had revealed the German movement in any event; and Monty’s Chief of Intelligence in Eighth Army HQ , Brigadier Williams would inform Nigel Hamilton that from his knowledge of ‘how Rommel would behave’, he was absolutely certain that such an attack was coming: ‘You didn’t need “Ultra” to know that this was going to happen.’ The real credit should therefore be given to Eighth Army’s administrative staff who performed the brilliant feat of rushing substantial reinforcements to the front over a single inadequate road, which luckily was well protected by the Desert Air Force. On 28 February, the tanks of 2nd Armoured Brigade arrived at Tripoli from Benghazi on transporters. They were at once sent on to 7th Armoured Division at Ben Gardane, where they were handed over to its 8th Armoured Brigade. The Valentines of 23rd Armoured Brigade were also moved up to the battle-area, as were 2nd New Zealand Division, 201st Guards Brigade and as many additional anti-tank guns as could be found. By the evening of 4 March, a ‘period of great anxiety’, as Montgomery calls it in El Alamein to the River Sangro, had passed. ‘Rommel,’ adds the Eighth Army Commander, had ‘missed his opportunity’, yet it should be noted that while ‘Ultra’ had warned Eighth Army of Rommel’s general intentions - and in any case, as already seen, Eighth Army ‘didn’t need “Ultra” to know that this was going to happen’ - it had revealed neither the date nor the direction of Rommel’s thrust. Eighth Army’s Intelligence staff deduced from more orthodox means - chiefly air reconnaissance - that the date would be after the 3rd and before the 7th of March, but as Nigel Hamilton relates: ‘Not until the Axis formations emerged from the mist on 6th March 1943, did Montgomery know for certain the line of the enemy attack.’ For that matter, the line of the enemy attack was not even decided until 3 March. The flurried improvisations on the Axis side, while having the unintentional advantage of concealing the plan from ‘Ultra’, form indeed a sorry contrast to the calm, sound and extremely thorough preparations made in a very short space of time by Eighth Army. Nor were the attackers helped by disputes between, or belated changes in the identity of, the men who were to lead them. When Rommel was promoted to the command of Army Group Afrika, he handed over his old Panzer Army Afrika, now renamed First Italian Army, to General Giovanni Messe. Ronald Lewin in his history of the Afrika Korps, calls Messe ‘an excellent, experienced, if stolid commander’, and like many of the later arrivals in North Africa, he had gained that experience in Russia, where he had led an Italian Corps with sufficient ability to be awarded a Knight’s Cross by Hitler. Yet this was hardly an easy time for a new man to take over, and his task was made still less easy by his Chief of Staff, Bayerlein, now a major general, retaining direct and complete control over all German units. The Afrika Korps was originally entrusted to Ziegler, but on the day before the battle, he was replaced by Lieutenant General Cramer. While that officer was well suited for this post - he was a former commander of 8th Panzer Regiment from 15th Panzer Division - it was an odd decision to remove a leader of Ziegler’s calibre on the eve of an encounter which Rommel, in his own words, believed would be of ‘decisive importance for the defence of the whole Tunisian bridgehead’. Rommel’s initial desire was for a direct attack from the north-west down the main road from Mareth to Medenine. On 3 March, a reconnaissance in force in this area drove back 51st Division’s outposts but also revealed that the defences were very strong, ‘heavily mined and covered by many guns’. Rommel’s subordinates were also afraid that a tank attack from the north-west would have no room for manoeuvre and so be an easy target for the British artillery and the Desert Air Force. Finally it was felt that paths for the tanks would first have to be cleared through the Germans’ own minefields protecting the Mareth Line and this would prevent any chance of attaining surprise. Faced with this opposition, Rommel reverted to his mood of sulky pessimism. He withdrew from any further role in planning the assault, being content to demand ‘the utmost commitment from every soldier’ participating therein.

[@merdiolu]

The panzer commanders therefore planned a sweep round Eighth Army’s defences in order to attack these from the west and south-west out of the Matmata Hills. By one more irony, this decision did enable them to achieve complete surprise. Montgomery, who at Alam Halfa had agreed with his Intelligence staffs assessment because it fitted in with his belief as to how Rommel would act, and who at Alamein had anticipated that Rommel would deliver those impulsive counter-attacks which proved so beneficial to Eighth Army, had once again correctly predicted Rommel’s personal intentions. He was convinced that Rommel would wish to advance down the road from Mareth. Even when his airmen reported movement in the Matmata Hills on the afternoon of the 4th, he considered that this was a feint to divert his attention from the real point of attack. This error could have had serious consequences, for the Axis onslaught was potentially a formidable one. A subsidiary thrust was to be made down the Mareth-Medenine road by a force called ‘Column Bari’ under Graf von Sponeck, containing his 90th German Light and the Italian Trieste and La Spezia Divisions. The main assault was due to come from the west against a small but steep hill known as Tadjera Khir which dominated Eighth Army’s western defences. This assault would be the responsibility of Cramer’s Afrika Korps, with the sixty tanks of 15th Panzer on the left and the forty-six tanks of 21st Panzer Division on the right. Meanwhile the thirty-five tanks of 10th Panzer, supported by detachments from 164th German Light Division , would strike from the south-west directly towards Medenine, and 3rd and 33rd Reconnaissance Units, as at Alam Halfa, would provide the extreme right flank of the turning movement; they were to block the road from Medenine to Foum Tatahouine to prevent reinforcements arriving from this direction. The attack was to be supported by as much Axis artillery as could be brought to bear, including a number of the new six-barrelled 150mm mortars which the Germans called ‘Nebelwerfers’ but the British ‘Moaning Minnies’, and which were vastly superior to anything of a similar type on the Allied side. The Axis air forces would also take part in the attack, and they had about 100 German and sixty Italian warplanes serviceable. Moreover the Stukas, ME 109s and Macchi MC 202s had now been joined by a Gruppe of Messerschmitt Me 210 fighter-bombers, which for the sake of convenience may be described as much improved successors to the Messerschmitt Bf 110s, and a Gruppe of the very latest German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters. In addition the Axis cause would be much assisted by the fact that poor weather conditions over the Allied airfields would considerably handicap the Desert Air Force. As at El Agheila and Buerat, Eighth Army in the coming action - it would be known as the Battle of Medenine - had only Leese’s 30th Corps on hand. This again contained three divisions: 51st Highland, 2nd New Zealand and 7th Armoured Divisions. Admittedly 7th Armoured was exceptionally strong, for it consisted of 8th Armoured Brigade, 22nd Armoured Brigade, 4th Light Armoured Brigade and 131st Motorized Infantry Brigade, with 201st Guards Brigade also temporarily under command - another example of that integration of the Army which by now was accepted as a matter of course. In consequence, as its critics never tire of pointing out, Eighth Army was still superior in men and material. Yet such superiority in the past had scarcely guaranteed victory: it should not be forgotten that Rommel had had only 2,500 infantrymen at the start of the Battle of Mersa Matruh (26-28 June 1942 ) when Panzer Army captured 6.000 prisoners and huge number of enemy supplies while Messe had 10,000 at Medenine; it should not be overlooked that Panzer Army Afrika had won ‘Battle of Second Ruweisat’ (during Battle of First Alamein in July 1942) with forty-two German tanks of which only eight were of a calibre comparable to any of those used by First Italian Army at Medenine; it should not be ignored that Eighth Army, as General Jackson rather unkindly remarks, had ‘about half the equipment which the Americans possessed in Tunisia’ - the difference being that it was made up of ‘experienced troops’. What decided Medenine in fact was neither the numbers of nor the weapons in Eighth Army, but the quality of the soldiers behind the weapons and of the commanders who led them. Montgomery, as Liddell Hart remarks, had made ‘the most of his ability for planning a well-woven defence’ and despite his confidence that the attack would come from the north-west, he had not neglected the defences in other areas either; the hallmark of his preparations was always their thoroughness. He had for instance appreciated the crucial importance of Tadjera Khir, and de Guingand relates a visit to this key hill by Montgomery, Leese and their staffs which might have had tragic consequences. The position was well within range of German heavy artillery to the west, and as the party descended it was spotted by the enemy. ‘The Army Commander,’ (Montgomery) says de Guingand, ‘was in the middle of a discussion with Leese when a shell landed very close to our path. It had no visible effect on him whatsoever; there was not even a pause in his conversation.’ On 6 March 1943, therefore, the Eighth Army’s positions were secure at all points. From the coast the front line moved gradually south-westward along the Wadi Zessar which had been strengthened by 70,000 mines and behind which the bulk of 51st Highland Division had taken its stand, supported by the eighty Valentines of 23rd Armoured Brigade. Then the defences turned south, continuing for 16 miles in all along the western edge of the ridge which carried the Mareth-Medenine road, the angle between the northern- and western-facing defences being strongly held by 51st Highland Division’s 154th Brigade plus a number of additional anti-tank guns. On the left of the Highlanders was 131st Brigade, then 201st Guards Brigade holding Tadjera Khir, and finally 2nd New Zealand Division guarding the approaches to Medenine. The defenders’ main weapons were their anti-tank guns, some 460 of them, mostly 6-pounders though there were still a number of 2-pounders in this total and also a few brand-new and extremely formidable 17-pounders which went by the innocuous name of ‘Pheasants’. Moreover, so confident were the men of Eighth Army and so far had the fear of the panzers evaporated, that for the first time the anti-tank guns, in the words of the Official History, were ‘sited to kill tanks and not to “protect” infantry, field-guns or anything else’. Not that the artillery was negligible either for Eighth Army had 350 field or medium guns which, as General Jackson tells us, were ‘centralized under 30th Corps’ control to ensure concentration of fire on important targets’.

[@jamesdunn9609]

For all of the criticism Monty receives, it seems clear to me that by this time he and his staff had taken full measure of the capabilities and tactics of their opponent. He was prepared for the attacks as they came and repulsed them easily. Monty was a highly capable field commander. It's unfortunate that gets overlooked by some people.

[@merdiolu]

@@jamesdunn9609 The revisionism trend of history after Monty's death in 1970'ies (due to his controversial personality) and image making attempts by making him to look like worse and making US or German commanders appear better in contrast (as if they were the only ones in battlefield) has distorted the actual history of Field Marshall and his accomplishments so much in western military literature , I do not think there would be any proper objective rectification and evaluation of his career and successes.

[@jamesdunn9609]

@@merdiolu I believe there are a number of reasons for this. One primary reason seems to be that Monty (along with Patton and Rommel), was identified as a "self-promoter" whose actual ability was being overblown, mostly by himself and the British leadership for political purposes. But this ignores the factual reality of his actual performance in the field. Monty was also labelled as "too cautious" because he wasn't aggressive enough for his critics. But this is also questionable since the opposite side of that coin is that he simply was not willing to take foolhardy risks with his soldiers when he had superior numbers and firepower. Monty made some mistakes early on in North Africa, but he learned from them and adapted quickly. He rarely if ever repeated the same mistake again and became excellent at developing operational plans. True historians understand his importance. The rest of the world will always under-appreciate him.

[@bigwoody4704]

He was braggart and deserved the criticsm as that is exactly what he did to everyone,everywhere

[@dragosstanciu9866]

Tunisia is Italy's shield against an Allied invasion, losing Tunisia will put Italy in a desperate situation.

[@eljanrimsa5843]

There is still the island of Sicily. The Allies will for sure have a hard time getting ambushed by local gangsters if they try to invade from Tunisia.

[@οκταβιοςσκοντασιος]

spoiler

[@danielmocsny5066]

Italy's situation will be made all the more desperate by the Axis moving so many forces into Tunisia to be trapped there beyond hope of resupply or evacuation. It would have been smarter for the Axis to evacuate their forces to the much more defensible Sicily while they still had the chance a few months ago. Instead the Axis squandered their rapidly shrinking logistical capacity to throw more forces into Africa instead of getting them out. As it happens, the Allies will have the good fortune of mounting their second big amphibious invasion in the theater against a Sicily that will be only somewhat better defended than the Vichy colonies were against operation Torch. As the Allies are still learning how to do amphibious operations it's nice for them that they don't have to do the hard ones first.

[@ninaakari5181]

@@danielmocsny5066 well the Allied naval superiority made any chances of defending Sicily futile. Axis best bet was to try to defend Tunisia as long as possible and maybe succeed in some offencies there. When Tunisia was lost the Sicily was lost too

[@poiuyt975]

Episode after episode I keep seeing Poltava on the map and I can't help, but thing of Charles XII, who also had ventured far away from his homeland and lost. ;-)

[@arnarninson4413]

The theme of the video should have been about generals failing upwards.

[@oneshotme]

Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up as a support

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you!

[@oneshotme]

@@WorldWarTwo You're welcome!

[@billl.2441]

Time Ghost Army reporting in!

[@WorldWarTwo]

@Bill L. Thank you for your support!!

[@GrumpyAustralian]

How successful would Operation Capri had been if the 8th Army had not have the reports from the Codebreakers?

[@merdiolu]

The outcome would be the same. According to Brigadier De Guingand , Chief of Staff , Eighth Army already noticed German armor concentrations before Mareth Line in last week of February 1943 with RAF air recon and 30th Corps was awaiting an attack on any minute , ULTRA just confirmed it.

[@winnywin]

Indy, please iron the Union flag you have in the background. The folds and creases are playing havoc with my obsessive-compulsive disorder!

[@MTG776]

I never miss an Episode... Got me through the various 'Lockdowns'...

[@Lullaby454]

At 06:57 ... the Totenkopf and Das Reich Divisions are mixed up ... it highlights the 3rd SS Panzer Division when talking about Das Reich and then highlights 2nd SS Panzer Division when talking about Totenkopf. Also at this stage were they still classified as SS Panzergrenadier Divisions? I think it was after Kursk that 1, 2 & 3 SS Divisions became Panzer divisions? Please don't take this as me being nitpicky ... I love this series and its accuracy so just trying to help.

[@WorldWarTwo]

@Sam Thank you, we appreciate the feedback & we're thankful to have such a keen, engaged audience in the TimeGhost Army to help us make this series what it is.

[@diegopagura421]

Great episode.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for watching, Diego!

[@REDALERTBRAZIL]

Your videos are amazing!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you! Stay tuned for much more

[@Kay2kGer]

March 12, 1943, my Great Grandpas Werpass reads: his finish of the 2nd defensive battle south of lake ladoga. but his start of defensive battle before leningrad. i can´t figure out the where due to handwriting.

[@WorldWarTwo]

That's an incredible piece of history you have. You may consider digitizing it, or contacting historical/veterans centers to see if they will help you archive his records.

[@michaelsmyth3935]

14:00 Seems the working class Italians are starting to figure out things are not working out down at the farm. All apologies to Thin Lizzy. The trains, did not run on time.

[@hannahskipper2764]

Rommel: Adieu, Africa. It's been one heck of a ride. Allies: *salutes* A bloody good show. Germans in Russia: Haha. Winning again! Russians: Humpf! Americans in the Pacific: Well, I guess we get a break while High Command gets their shit together. Thanks for the mention anyways, Indy! Goebbles and Hitler: The people are on our side. Yes! Wehrmacht officers: *grumbles quietly*

[@Raskolnikov70]

Italians: *look nervously towards the south*

[@cookingwithchefluc7173]

Never would've thought that the day would come that Rommel will leave North Africa. With this & what happened at Stalingrad it was the beginning of the end for the Germans.

[@danielmocsny5066]

"Never would've thought" - I stand in awe of your ability to avoid nearly 80 years of spoilers.

[@cookingwithchefluc7173]

@@danielmocsny5066 It's very obvious that the Germans lost the war and were defeated in North Africa 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️what I meant was that I never thought that Indy will tell us that Rommel left north Africa so soon . Maybe use your brain for once

[@simonrooney7942]

Boganville is how it is pronounced, I believe. Excellent episode Indy + Team

[@iupetre]

I wonder if this Patton fellow can do any better.

[@glad1atus1]

Love how when reading out the Time Ghost Member of the Week Indy accidentally (or deliberately?) slipped into Swedish when saying "eller" instead of "or"! :D

[@Supergforce777]

Troops moving in on Kharkov, where have I heard this from recently?

[@merdiolu]

Germans and Wehrboros of the 1950 - 1960 era were so sensitive of Rommel and supposedly invicible German Army reputation , they continued to cling to the idea that Italians betrayed them and that is why Operation Capri , Medenine attack failed so disasterously. After the war , Paul Carell , who was a self admitted Nazi (worked at Goebbels propaganda ministry during war) wrote "Foxes of Desert" (1960) : ..."the attack plan was betrayed to the enemy. There was no one in doubt of this fact in Afrikakorps headquarters. The accurancy with this traitor worked was proved by behavior of British troops in front of 90th German Light Division. This division was sent south for a diversion but Montgomery was so unconcerned with it he left a weak screen in front of it that retreated a little then redeployed so German attack on this flank went into thin air while he concentrated all of his force on Medenine road. Who was this traitor ? In many circles after the war the suspicions were voiced openly that the treachery stemmed from an officer Italian High Command..." Please do not mention German generals that their state of art wireless encryption system Enigma was deeply compromised and leaking like a sieve...I do not think their self arrogance can handle that when it was easier to accuse their only allies in the field😄😄😄😄😄

[@mjbull5156]

"Inconceivable! The Enigma system is an unbreakable marvel of technology, the weakness must lie in men,"

[@steved5495]

German generals seem to always blame someone else for their problems and rarely give the Allies any credit at all.

[@merdiolu]

@@steved5495 That is the general populist history narrative of WWII for last 70 or so years since West Germany entered Western bloc and everything German military did became standart superior benchmark norm to be in maximum efficiency in a possible conventional war against Soviet Union. Ironically it devalued and short sold Western Armies generals and military effort unless he was populist war heroes made by Hollywood like Patton

[@lycaonpictus9662]

That was a well-worn page from the German playbook. They did the same with Stalingrad. It was all the fault of the allies on their flanks, not the German commanders that placed them there, spread out & with inadequate support, or the failure to detect that something big was happening despite warnings from those same allies of activity beyond their front.

[@BobbyHernandez]

You should do a special on Paul Hausser!

[@WorldWarTwo]

@Bobby Every episode is a great investment of research, time, and money. We do our best to cover the action of this war every single week and to bring you special episodes regularly, but we can't do it without your support! Join the TimeGhost Army on Patreon and help us to make more of those specials www.patreon.com/join/timeghosthistory

[@juankovacs6033]

Small detail at 6:50 The 2nd SS division was the Das Reich and the 3rd SS the Totenkopf, not the other way around. Sorry, just me being obsessive with historical accuracy lol

[@finscreenname]

After watching this for years, how did Rommel become considered such a great military mind? Ya, he had a couple good moves on the field, but nothing ended well. Is it just because he was not a card carrying Nazi and it was more of a gentlemen's war in No Africa?

[@merdiolu]

He did not even had any strategic triumphs only temporary operational victories (Capturing Benghazi Battle of Gazala , Capturing Tobruk) the problem was opposing British generals in first six months of 1942 like Auchinleck , Ritchie , Cunningam , Gott were so bad in military efficiency both Axis and Allied propaganda had to display Rommel and Afrika Korps as Superhuman beings for a varierty of different reasons (British to cover up their incompatent generalship , Axis for morale reasons)

[@lycaonpictus9662]

It made for a more comforting narrative in Britain. The British armed forces in Africa had quite often performed poorly before Montgomery righted the ship, and if your principal opponent during those low moments was a genius, it takes some of the sting out of those failures. It's easier to admit to being trumped by an enemy's genius than to own up to organizational failures and incompetence at the highest levels. The same could probably be said for the Americans & Kasserine Pass. Moreover it big upped the eventual victory in Africa, by having it be over Germany's greatest general. The myth of Rommel fighting a clean war & not bearing responsibility for atrocities definitely contributed as well to the overblown reputation.

[@danielmocsny5066]

"how did Rommel become considered such a great military mind?" Probably because watching war movies requires less effort than reading war books. Accordingly a lot of opinions are heavily shaped by fictional portrayals of history.

[@michalmaixner3318]

I do not think there is many commanders who could do as well as Rommel did with resources he had at his disposal. Is that not evidence of great military mind? At the end of the day, Germany lost WW2, so were all their generals mediocre just because their war did not end well? The war is won or lost due to all the layers of society and diplomacy, great leader is just a person that can do better with what he was given than others would. Bismarck achieved much, but without Moltke, Prussian military machine and industry, we would probably never heard about the guy. North African campaign was lost, but without Rommel the military history of the theater would probably be not even worth mentioning.

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

@@merdiolu Would you like to explain when Rommel was actually successful against Auchinleck?

[@joshuapatrick682]

Did they really have to bribe MacArthur to come back and create a clusterfuck?Dude was given the MOH with a citation date 6 months before the actions for which he supposedly earned it, apart from whether you believe general staff should be awarded such a prestigious medal or not.

[@gordybing1727]

Hi Y'all, Suggested reading, "The Ambassador's Son" by Homer Hickam, (a little too "Forrest Gump" for my taste, not everything in war happens to the same ten people.) "The Password is Courage" by John Castle, a POW at Auschwitz. "The Bridge on the River Kwai" by Pierre Boulle. "Ship of Ghosts" by James D. Hornfischer. "Barbarrossa" by Alan Clark. "Ho" by David Halberstam. Thanks, take care.

[@gordybing1727]

Also, "Hotel Tacloban" by Douglas Valentine.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for the great reading list, Gordy.

[@the82spartans62]

The madness of war is about to gear up to a new level.

[@pola5392]

Is it weird that occasionally I narrate to myself a very mundane daily event to myself mentally in Indy Neidells' voice: "... suddenly at 10:58, the cereal bowl starts listing to the left and milk POURS over the side onto the bed! thousands upon thousands of emergency tissues are desperately rushed to the scene but, by 11am it is too late... the milk has absorbed into the sheets..."

[@sealove79able]

A great video.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks Predrag!

[@george217]

Actually, there were two higher combat decorations at the time. The Star of the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross which was never awarded and the Grand Cross of the Iron Cross which was awarded only once to Hermann Goering...

[@WorldWarTwo]

@Haydon riddiford smith Thank you very much. We're so pleased to have such dedicated fans in the TimeGhost Army that stick around for years in this long war. Thanks for watching & please stay tuned

[@flixlinnenbrugger1317]

On the 6th of March Armeeabteilung Holidt is renamed to 6th Army btw

[@James-nl6fu]

If the British Tank Commission had specified the Sherman tank correctly, the war would be over now.

[@podemosurss8316]

Rommel: Can I withdraw from Africa? Hitler: NEIN, NEIN, NEIN, NEIN, NEIN!

[@Valdagast]

I see Giovenne Messi has studied under Luigi "let's do it again and see what happens" Cadorna.

[@christiant4596]

you will be surprised that Giovanni Messe, in the coming weeks, will be praised by the allies for his tactics and resistence in tunis against the allies

[@RanTutorials]

Anyone else agree when the map view is shown the Km/Mi scale shouldn't resize, instead the bars thatshow the distance should move? Watching on TV it is almost impossible to see the distances when it shrinks very small

[@sobersportsman]

Walnuts-n-Cabbage? Do tell...

[@twrampage]

I'm assuming Tom Cruise with an eye-patch is about to enter the fray.