Forgotten Panzer Attack - Siegfried Line 1945

[@j-dub618]

Working at a VA hospital in 2013, I was fortunate enough to run into a 93-year-old American veteran who broke through the Siegfried line in 1945. He told me that him and four other people in his division, battalion, etc all still exchange emails and or phone calls to each other on a daily basis. God bless them all

[@mikeypiros6647]

I CALL CAP...

[@SolidA999]

Yea god bless them, because of what they did, they are currently giving small children puberty blockers, Europe is being overrun with muslims, americans can't afford to live in their own country, even when they work 2 jobs so that jews can become rich, but Hey at least we don't speak German.

[@larrythorn6265]

These soldiers would have never fought if they knew what would happen in the future

[@grantsmythe8625]

@@larrythorn6265 I don't think that's necessarily true.

[@JFS1215]

@@larrythorn6265 and what was going to happen in the future?

[@UHOH3300]

My grandfather was a sargent in the 94th, he recalled Sinz as the worst fighting he faced during the entire war. Thank you Mark Felton for covering this often overlooked battle!

[@krisfrederick5001]

There is no such thing as "forgotten," with Mark Felton Productions. He has proven this time and time again. Ace as always ♠

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

As a former combat engineer I welcome this salutary reminder of the need to maintain your bridging capacity…

[@chrisvowell2890]

Did the Germans have any bridging capacity like Bailey bridges? If not, that's a stupid oversight that merely added to them losing the war.

[@bertenerny7867]

ESSAYONS!! Brother. I was and forever will be a Combat Engineer 12B to 12Z since 1973! Served on a combat deployment to Iraq in 2006. 15 months...Thanks for your Service. Thank You Dr. Felton 👍Bert

[@sgtellioman]

@@bertenerny7867 12B CIED Iraq, 2004-5. Essayons!

[@wilhelmvillagracia9670]

Mark Felton the gift that keeps on giving year round.

[@TeutonicNordwind]

My dad was in the US 103rd Infantry "Cactus Caravan" and he suffered a fairly severe wound of shrapnel to the throat from a boobytrapped door to a house on Thanksgiving day (Nov 23) at St. Die, about 100km southwest of Strasbourg. He rejoined his unit about 18 days later. Within a couple weeks of that, mom's brother was killed during the Bulge.

[@wfrentzel7503]

My father was CO of the 383rd FA Bn of the 103rd Division during the Operation Nordwind. Our family heritage is French-German from Alsace-Lorraine. Hard to imagine possible relatives killing relatives!

[@TeutonicNordwind]

@@wfrentzel7503 I am also of French-German heritage. My dad was born in Montreal, came at age of four to Detroit in 1923 with his family. His dad was looking for work in the automotive industry. Growing up in a French speaking household, it came in handy and he often served as an interpreter in France after landing in Marseilles and working their way toward Deutchland. Dad ended up being awarded his citizenship pretty much as a result of his service. I hear what you're saying about the potential of "relatives killing relatives'. Mom was full-blooded German (Emmerichs and Becks) so my uncle Donald that was killed in the Bulge was of only German ancestry. He is buried in Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Welkenraedt, Belgium. (name had been "Americanized' to Emerick almost 100 years earlier by the family).

[@MFitz12]

My late grandfather was at this battle as a FO in the 94th ID. There is so little out there on this. Thanks.

[@kevind3185]

My Grandpa was also in the 94th Infantry Division

[@RBAILEY57]

Dr. Felton, I've studied WW2 for almost 60 years. I'm still learning from your videos. I can't thank you enough!

[@RedRuffinsore]

This was the battle where my father entered the line as a replacement (US 76th Division) into Echternach, Luxembourg. Until the end of his life, he talked about how cold it was.

[@cripguitar]

My father was a Sergeant in the 94th and participated in this battle before being seriously wounded Feb. 14. He recalled how cold it was for the rest of his life.

[@tron2102]

My Dad was there in the 94TH

[@extrac1132]

My mom was there too

[@lynnensley7879]

My father was is a 39 year old corpral in the 302d and was wounded at Orshoz. Bitter cold and snowy. I have some photos of the troop at Laurent.

[@Leadfoot_P71]

@@extrac1132 Your mom gets around doesn't she?

[@thetruth1862]

Thanks to men like your father , we enjoy all or freedom's today and I am glad I don't speak German

[@NordicTG]

I could Watch & Listen to Mark Felton talk about WW2 almost every day, one Day I hope Mister Felton will be the voice of a WW2 Documentary

[@doggogang4018]

My grandfather was in the 94th Infantry Division, 919th Field Artillery, Battery B. He never really talked about the war. Thank you for the video.

[@daviddestefano5044]

i have heard of this battle ....from my uncle a 94th division (376th regiment) vet. He survived ......but carried with him some horrible memories

[@Penekamp11]

Amazing how you keep coming up with these hidden or forgotten gems.

[@JohnSmith-nj9qo]

I'm happy to see another Mark Felton video talking about some forgotten battle during WWII.

[@redaug4212]

The 94th Infantry Division's official unit history is a recommended read for anyone interested in this battle (it's online for free). Normally official unit histories are dry and rather cursory, but there was a lot of detail put into the 94th's and it definitely doesn't shy away from how grisly the fighting was. So much so that the two histographies, "Patton's Ghost Corps" and "Patton's Pawns", published by historians about the battle are more or less just paraphrased versions of the unit history.

[@-.Steven]

Thank you! I will look that up!

[@hezigler]

Divisions have been known to have civilian historians write their history. I'm certain the US Army's 2nd had one in the 1960s. My brother was assigned as his assistant for part of his tour of duty in Korea.

[@Nyc440]

As the 34th infantry division. Best bravest generation 🇺🇸

[@marioborkowski5894]

Another gem, thank you Dr.Felton.

[@punisher6]

My grandfather served in the 63rd infantry, 254th regiment. Their unit played a role in being the first to break the Siegfried line.

[@mjlotus]

You can see the downstream effects of Allied attacks on infrastructure. Undamaged bridges would have meant 50 Panthers in that attack. All the elements of the Allied offensive were interlocking, degrading the Germans' ability to operate. Great video, as usual.

[@martinwarm4041]

True..allied bombing turned the tables of WW2..

[@bruhism173]

Just cause they would have had the ability to bring up 50 would not mean they would have 50 combat capable tanks when they get /if they get to the front with no problems

[@mjlotus]

Sure, we can't know what would have happened if things had gone differently. If they had gotten any of those Panthers into the fight it would have been much tougher for the Americans. And the main point is that the Germans were under pressure from every directions, damaged bridges being one of many effects of the Allies constantly pummeling them.

[@ArijitDey-k1m]

Yes, the Western Allies faced a much inferior German Army.

[@trooperdgb9722]

@@ArijitDey-k1m Inferior to WHAT? The British at Caen and surrounds after D-day were facing MORE Panzer Divisions...on a shorter front..........than was EVER the case in any similar area on the Eastern Front. The Soviet liaison officers were loath to admit it...but facts are facts.

[@carlmontney7916]

There is always so much emphasis on the major battles during a conflict that oftentimes other battles like this one seem to get misplaced or outright forgotten. That is why we need people like Mark Felton. He lets us know about this kind of stuff that otherwise would still be forgotten or ignored. Once again thank you sir for sharing your knowledge with us it is much appreciated

[@ak9989]

In 85 I did a tour with other soldiers of the Ardennes for 6 days. Very informative.

[@jebbroham1776]

The last battles of WW2 in Europe are all pretty wild, like Castle Itter and the Prague Offensive, which didn’t actually end until 3 days after the war officially had on the 11th of May. Amazing stuff!

[@filippazanin]

Battle in ODŽAK last in Europe

[@B0ssBH]

Always a good day when Dr. Felton uploads!

[@bulletproof890]

Another great video from Dr Felton! Thanks!

[@josephosheavideos3992]

I had never heard of this battle. Thank you once again for adding to our knowledge of little-known WWII conflicts. On a different note, the news came today of the death at age 101, of television pioneer and US WWII veteran, Norman Lear, one of the (then) surviving WWII celebrity veterans whom you recently profiled. On a similar note, another WWII celebrity veteran who is still living in Marv Levy, who served in the US Navy in the war, then went on to a highly successful coaching career in North American-style football, both in Canada and in the US. Eventually, he was inducted into both the Professional Football Hall of Fame (US) and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. At 98, Mr. Levy is the oldest living member of either hall of fame, and the last living member of either hall to have served in WWII. (In fact, he is the only such living member of ANY North American professional sports hall of fame.)

[@ToddSauve]

I remember Marv Levy well with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL and Buffalo Bills of the NFL. One of the great football coaches!

[@peterharrington8709]

@@ToddSauve Hooray for Marv... he's the horse's ass! Better even than a goat I wonder!?😃

[@bobhill3941]

Thank you for the information and context. I remember hearing that Norman Lear passed, but I forgot Mark did a piece on him. I knew of this battle, but I didn't know what "bulge" meant in this context until now. Seeing this reminded me of a British victory song my grandad would sing: "We're going to hang out our laundry on the Siegfried line!"

[@robertsansone1680]

"My son just past his Bar exam". "Oh yeah, where's he tend bar at"?

[@AndrewPfannkuche]

I live in Luxembourg and walked through many of these areas on the German side of the boarder. It's amazing to imagine that the places I've walked where the scene of vicious combat. I've learned a lot! A great video!

[@AudieHolland]

Have you ever been to Cologne (Köln)? Or perhaps Arnhem?

[@turdferguson4124]

Often overlooked in the praise for The Panther and Tiger tanks is the fact that they were often too heavy to cross bridges when needed.

[@longshanks1978]

Best most informative channel on youtube about world war 2 ,its fascinating

[@dustylover100]

Best, most informative KZbin channel anywhere. My favorite one and I come here any time a video is released.

[@crekow]

So one lesson from this battle might be that the American Army was wise to insist that their main medium tank be limited in weight and width so as to be able to cross the average European bridge. The Germans found out the hard way how important of a design consideration this really was. Case in point.

[@tilohertel8523]

If the Germans had bridge engineers at this front theatre they may have had a bridge for their Panthers. Yet at this time of war such valueable units as engineers were already used up as "firefighters" all around the German fronts, never mind their equipment. And even in case they would have built a bridge for 11th Panzer: it was most likely to be a wooden one, a sittin' duck for American artillery and Air Force.

[@insideoutsideupsidedown2218]

I would think the railway would be a better way of moving tanks

[@wirelessone2986]

​@@insideoutsideupsidedown2218That wont work, air superiority destroyed trains...Im shure the PANZER III and PANZER IV could cross every bridge the Shermans could...and I truly believe the Germans would have been WAY better of focusing production on STUG III/IV variants and panzer IV variants and upgrading them accordingly.The conditions of war on the eastern front and western front really could have used quantity and german engineering upgrading basic designs...I would include the TIGER I under the condition that reliability would be the focus for use on the Russian front.Abandon the Panther because it was developed AFTER the Tiger I and a total waste of factory space and man hours when the previously mentioned 3 models could be focused on and therefore making more AFV'S available where the troops were desperate for armor support.The Germans were their own worst enemy.

[@ndogg20]

Interesting theory on the Shermans being thin to cross Euro bridges. I heard the original reason for the high and thin Sherman tanks was to crowd as many as they could onto cross ocean transport ships as U Boats were still taking down ships, so get as many across as possible.

[@binaway]

@@ndogg20 plus. At the time few ports had cranes capable of lifting anything heavier then Sherman.

[@UltraZUltraZ]

Many thanks for letting us watch

[@keithlegge6848]

It's always puzzled me that with the Germans obsession with Blitzkrieg and offensive warfare they never developed a bridging device such as the British Bailey or indeed any mobile bridging equipment such as the one fitted to the Churchill tank. They simply failed to see that existing bridges could not cope with the increasing weight of their tanks.

[@wildcolonialman]

They had considerable bridge building equipment and experience on the Eastern Front in particular, so perhaps this expertise had been thoroughly depleted during that horror. There is no shortage of horror stories associated with just pulling off this Run, such was depletion running rampant.

[@andyf4292]

they were obsessed with things that go bang.

[@richardkammerer2814]

The British always have had the talent of invention. It’s deep within the culture.

[@bruhism173]

Maybe, but I've seen their engineers building bridges on film while under artillery fire, so it's not like that's completely missing from their doctrine

[@TheBelrick]

@@richardkammerer2814 RIP the British, gone but not forgotten. Salute.

[@tomawen5916]

Excellent video Dr. Felton! The 11th Panzer Division was one of the few divisions left in more or less combat fitness as the war progressed to the end. If I recall reading, the 11th escaped encirclement in the Ruhr pocket, was savaged in the long retreat across Germany and finally surrendered in Czechoslovakia with 7,000 troops and a fair amount of motored vehicles but less than 7 tanks, 5 tank destroyers and 15 self propelled guns*. A separate kampfgruppe with 3 Hetzers surrendered as well. Not enough has been devoted to this campaign so thank you!!

[@ddMcDd-yl4td]

My grandfather was in the 10th Armoured Div, I always wondered where they went after Bastogne, thanks Dr Felton!

[@Roller_Ghoster]

A fascinating and hard fought part of WW2 on the Western Front if you take into consideration the battles for places like Hurtgen Forest and Aachen. Thanks for a further insight Dr Felton. Merry Christmas to my fellow military history buffs too.

[@roygardiner2229]

And a Merry Christmas to you!🎄

[@martinswiney2192]

Thank you so much for the maps. Makes it a lot easier to put things into some context. Great video and great history lesson.

[@harcovanhees394]

Map @1:10 has an error. The Meuse river doesn’t bend west to Antwerp but goes feather north in The Netherlands. The bend could be the Albert canal.

[@LaHayeSaint]

Dr Felton -- You would never guess what I learned from your video today. It was to arrange artillery cover (noise or to halt a pursuing enemy) when carrying out a night time withdrawal. My focus is on learning practical skills useful in waging war. Doctor, your videos are always of the highest quality and very informative. Thank you ever so much.

[@bf1905]

Who else checks daily for a new upload from Mark Felton's channel? Much anticipated and appreciated content from you Sir.

[@jaredquinney204]

I never even heard of this attack. Thank you for telling this story

[@brodyberry6253]

Man Mark Felton kicks ass! I’m pretty sure this is the best WWII channel here on KZbin. Anyway thanks for another great video bud.

[@zillsburyy1]

over 2 million!!! congrats Mark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Krapfelapfen]

My grandfather served in the 11th tank division along with the 1.PzAufkl.Abt/11 ( amored recon ). I wonder if he was involved there. I love the inofficial unit emblem.

[@marleymatthews7633]

Possibly very interesting though.

[@sword_of_sanghelios]

What is combine doing here?

[@sword_of_sanghelios]

Stay away from borealis and aperture

[@svengoessens7283]

Dr. Felton. Love your work.

[@scottschaeffer8920]

Thanks Mark! The winter of 44/45 was rich with history that we all must remember, you help us with that.

[@F.Castle93]

Mark: COME WITH ME IF YOU WANT TO LEARN!!! Everyone: We will follow you wherever you go fearless leader!!

[@5-but-3-idiots67]

Wow! You never disappoint Mark! Expanding my knowledge every day, it is incredible.

[@cuddlepaws4423]

Another time capsule of a clip by Dr Felton, who should be a national hero and given a medal himself for all educational information he imparts.

[@jonathanbaron-crangle5093]

Just love these "little" deeply-forgetten tales of WW2 that Dr Felton digs up for us (ie, the 2nd Pearl Harbour attack, or the end of Himmler) Thank you for sharing, Dr Felton.!

[@edrosenquist6541]

Great information!!! That's why you are the best. Period.

[@numbersletters3886]

Congratulations on 2M Mark!!! Been with you since 300k!!!

[@briankorbelik2873]

The German 11th Panzer had been an excellent division throughout WW2. It's nickname was the "Gespenster' (Ghost) Division. It had earned that title by marching by night and fighting by day for long periods when fending off Soviet operations in the immediate aftermath of the Soviet Stalingrad attack.

[@daviddoran3673]

Rommels division ???

[@Dondingdingding]

​@@daviddoran3673Rommel commended the 7th panzer division this was the first to be nicknamed ghost division until it was also given to the 11th.

[@MVProfits]

It seems like a loose inspiration for the White Tiger movie.

[@jonathansteadman7935]

The more time that passes since the war, the more we find out about it, thanks to the likes of Mark Felton. Not sure if it's true for history in general, but it means there's always something new to learn.

[@johanvanbeek7138]

It just shows you how close these battles were at times.

[@cissuperdroid]

Excellent coverage of a glossed-over event, with amazingly fitting and well-edited war footage as usual! Cool to see so much of my favorite tank, the Panzer IV, in action. Exemplary work as usual, Dr. Felton!!!

[@lorimeyers3839]

Thanks as usual, Mark!

[@craigw.scribner6490]

Fascinating historical information that is new to me! Thanks, as always, Dr. Felton!

[@seanmurphy6480]

THANKS MISTER...STILL LEARNING SINCE I COULD READ ABOUT IT..KEEP BRINGING IT ON🥸👍

[@wmelliott3802]

Excellent as per usual Sir.

[@evilchaosboy]

Hi. I think it is very good of you, to bring to light these forgotten battles (brave men lived and died just like in the highly publicized the big "dramatic" battles too) Their importance and sacrifice was no less important. Thank you for "dusting" off this battle and placing it out in the open form me to learn. \m/

[@garywagner2466]

Very interesting examination of the fringes of the Bulge. Thanks for posting.

[@Paul1970]

Brilliant and incredibly informative presentation. Well done, sir!

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

Thank you again for showing us another forgotten battle.

[@berrylee5000]

Far better than any 'history' channel

[@jimmyjoebob1954]

Having had to watch this video with subtitles, I “heard” Mark mention the 10th armored division involved in the reduction of Nennig, Sinz and Berg. This was actually the 8th armored, CCA that came to help the 94th. My father was there as an FO for the 398th AFA. It was their baptism of fire. The 11th Panzer was very stubborn and it was recorded as one of the coldest winters of record. Divisional after action reports lumped this combat in with the Battle of the Bulge, possibly not being aware of the separate operational orders for the 11th Panzer.

[@timkaufmann7469]

Thats Mr. Felton. I live 10km away from Sinz and never heard of this battle. I know the mentioned villiages very well. My wife is from Orscholz and i showed her grandpa this Video Even he was amazed.

[@Kikodarda]

While the war thunder panzer IV thumbnail is a welcome surprise i prefer when you use real pictures instead. But the video was amazing keep up the good work

[@graemer3657]

I live near here, and you can still walk the Orscholz switch between Nenning and Orscholz. Destroyed bunkers, trenches, anti tank ditches and dragons teeth are still visible.

[@TheArtofZ]

@Mark Felton Productions - thank you for this video. The tank barriers are still there today around Tettingen. I‘m living in Perl the main village of the commune 👍🏻

[@TestBenchRRCo]

You should do a video on Germany’s Strength Through Joy program that boosted morale amongst the servicemen during the war

[@sabretech2001]

Interesting fact: the 11Pz Div was not involved in any war crimes throughout the war. A previous commander (Hermann Balck) even told the local SS that his soldiers were off limits, even for setting a perimeter during their (SS) war crimes.

[@HealthyCigarette864]

fun fact this is completely made up and they were involved in numerous war crimes against civilians in anti bandit actions in the east.

[@mitchmatthews6713]

Bravo, Mark! I owe you another pint!

[@MrXdmp]

Thanks Dr. Felton!

[@sethkearl8056]

@ mark Felton, a video on syndrome k would be awesome.

[@conjubilation]

When are you doing a top 5 tanks at the tank museum?!

[@howardoller443]

Thank you for sharing, Dr. Felton. Interesting, as always.

[@wweminehead]

Afternoon Dr F hope your well thanks for the video been having a crap day but this has helped.

[@stratzenigma3169]

Dr Felton educates us all again!

[@wyattsparling1834]

Another killer episode Dr.Felton

[@paulkoza8652]

Thanks for sharing, Mark. I never heard of this battle and I consider myself pretty well acquainted with the major ones on the western front.

[@etry42]

Awesome video, as always Dr. Felton!

[@carlosfaliveni2442]

Mark is the best.

[@mattgeorge90]

Thank you for sharing!

[@janlindtner305]

As always excellent Mark👍👍👍

[@carnalsupply]

The volume of information and movie footage you include in your presentations is absolutely amazing! Love the work you produce!

[@mecongberlin]

In my generation - went to school in the 60/70ies - the Siegfried Line Attack was discussed and as such well known. But thanks for the interesting documentary.

[@TheWilferch]

Great reporting....as usual....many of these stories never heard-about before.....

[@Matthew-cx4zg]

Consistent, factual and always well presented. Cheers Mate 🤙

[@limes2]

Is it bad that is know the exact spot from the thumbnail ?

[@thenoobgameplays]

Depends. The context is bad?

[@brennercorreia6318]

Nein

[@fortress2270]

​@@thenoobgameplayswar thunder

[@krisfrederick5001]

What?

[@realspeed1944]

War thunder lol

[@danielgreen3715]

Really Quite an important Battle that does seem to be overlooked The lack of Foresight of the German Staff not to have realised that the Bridge was too Weak to hold up their Panthers was a Game changer and i bet someone got a Bollocking over that oversight! Interesting Video as usual Cheers mr Felton

[@whattheduckhaha]

That's the best song on KZbin....Love when that Mark Felton beat drops!

[@thenoobgameplays]

Dr. Felton i love your work. Could you talk about Brazil during WWII? Maybe about the legendary Three Brazilian Heroes (Drei Brasilianische Helden) buried by the germans as heroes on 1945?

[@e-curb]

Another topic is the contribution by Mexico.

[@JeffBrown-ov8le]

Another interesting history lesson from Mr. Felton.

[@predragdjuric-tt9uc]

A great very interesting video as always Mr.Felton.Have a good one.

[@kennethnielsen3864]

Thanks for sharing.

[@lynnensley7879]

Thank you Mark for this presentation. I'd been hoping you would cover the 94th.

[@LuciusAeliusCommodus]

Its quite odd to see maps of my home region in this channel and hear stories about what happened (some of them i heard from older relatives when i was young) and in the same time thinking "that was the road my schoolbus took". Thanks for the Video!

[@thewaterlord27]

I was not expecting terminator Mark at the end lol

[@sabahtaha1746]

german 11th panzer division was called the ghost division. excellent vid mark, just german order of battle on 16th of dec 1944 had 1,200 tanks and assault guns not 1,400. it was quite an achievement by the OKW to gather such a powerful force so late in the war

[@stevenmay2937]

great vid. thanks

[@EdMcF1]

Tanks for the memories.

[@robertstonebreaker8394]

I love learning about history thank you for researching and sharing .