German Defensive Tactics - Eastern Front

Time to take a look at how the Wehrmacht setup defensive positions, at first, we take a look at the a position of a company in defense from a manual published in 1940. In the second part, we take a look at an example from January 1942, when the Germans were defending themselves with heavily depleted units on the Ostfront (Eastern Front) against the Soviet attacks.
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» SOURCES «
Kühlwein, Fritz: Die Gruppe im Gefecht (Die neue Gruppe). E.S. Mittler & Sohn: Berlin, 1940
H.Dv. 130/2a: Die Schützenkompanie. 16. März 1941
Glantz, David M.; House, Jonathan M.: When Titans Clashed. How the Red Army stopped Hitler. Revised and Expanded Edition. University Press of Kansas: USA, 2015
Stahel, David: The Battle for Moscow. Cambridge University Press: UK, 2015.
Oberkommando des Heeres: Erfahrungsberichte über die Kriegsführung im Winter und im Ortskampf. 1942.
wwii.germandocsinrussia.org/de...
Buchner, Alex: Das Handbuch der deutschen Infanterie 1939-1945; Gliederung - Uniformen, Bewaffnung - Ausrüstung, Einsätze.
Buchner, Alex: The German Infantry Handbook 1939-1945
Tank Archives: Tank Riders
tankarchives.blogspot.com/2013...
Reibert, W.: Der Dienstunterricht im Heere. Ausgabe für den Schützen der Schützenkompanie. E. S. Mittler & Sohn: Berlin, 1940 (Reprint: Naval & Military Press Ltd.
German Army: 1939-1940 Organizational Symbols
www.niehorster.org/011_germany...
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#Tactics #WW2 #MilitaryHistory

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

If you like in-depth researched videos on Military History, consider supporting me on Patreon: patreon.com/mhv/

[@l.h.9747]

Wofür waren die Minen mit einem Kabel verbunden ? 9:46

[@sergius993]

This presentation reminds me so much about "Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin" game. This game from 2002 is so much ahead of its time. Its a turn-by-turn strategy which focuses on the fighting at a platoon to battalion levels. I cannot recommend this game enough for all WW2 enthusiasts.

[@Bird_Dog00]

Luca Hadwiger This may be for remote-detonating them. Or to be pulled from consealment into the path of an enemy tank.

[@rxked3593]

Wie wäre es wenn du die Videos auch auf deutsch bringst?

[@robberbarron7602]

Military History Visualized More of these videos

[@93naners]

Please please please do more tactic video regarding specific battles. I can't be the only one who loves this style of commentary.

[@jamesfrench4337]

This is some of the best shit on KZbin

[@arbitrage2141]

You should check out Montemayor, search up Montemayor battle of midway. He has like a dozen or so videos that are similar to this, top down graphics of various battles and he puts a lot of time and research into them he’s very accurate.

[@arbitrage2141]

@@aronflip9353 I know.. I wish he'd come back. If you havent watched his videos there all worth a watch. My guess for the reason he's been inactive is that his videos arent profitable enough. Making several long well produced videos is detrimentally less profitable than making multiple shorter videos. Im still waiting hoping he'll come back with the second half of battle of midway.

[@jasontimmons1715]

@@arbitrage2141 I actually watched that and then boom, a few weeks later I started seeing trailers for the Midway movie the just came put. Weird.

[@-John-Doe-]

You might like TIK’s channel - he’s in the middle of a Stalingrad series. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGSWqKuJaLuAmrc He actually had a graphic artist recreate a map of Stalingrad based on aerial photos, and as a historian, worked with others using German and Russian sources to create an accurate timeline and overlap their accounts.

[@MrArtbv]

As an American infantry vet (NCO 82nd ABN) the set up of the depleted unit's defense looks like the units were NOT all emplaced as part of a "master" defensive plan. Rather they appear to have been slotted in as they arrived. So it's almost impossible to make a judgement about why the 50mm AT was emplaced where it was as opposed to the 88mm AT. I'm not criticizing, merely pointing out the various components were slotted in as they became available. Without knowing the sequence of their arrival it's hard/impossible to make a definitive judgement as to the tactical efficacy of "the plan". What the dispositions reflect is the German commanders assessment of where to place the different assets as availability allowed. If the line was static and free from attack it's quite possible the deployments would be changed or adjusted over time. What you're presenting is a snapshot in time; rather than a series showing the growth of the defense. Great video. Keep it up. PS. It does appear that the only tactical "flaw" per se.. Is the absence of a MG co-positioned with the 50mm AT to protect the crew from Soviet infantry. An MG in that position would also provide defilade/flanking fire into a North to South assault on the actual village.

[@ragequitchan5981]

In a defensive plan like this, would it be common for equipment in the layout to be re-positioned periodically? if so how often?

[@MrArtbv]

Well as time and circumstance allowed the position would be continuously improved. The dugouts would be linked by communications trenches; alternate/secondary positions would be created, overhead cover improved etc. LOL As an NCO it was my job to make sure the "lazy" privates ALWAYS had something to occupy their time. Of course there's also the curse of the staff officer who comes along and decides everything is just wrong and tells you to start over. Essentially you can always improve a defensive position and should. When artillery starts landing NO hole is ever deep enough for the guy crouching in it.

[@mikhailv67tv]

@@MrArtbv Sounds like a great Tattoo for the vet that survived artillery. " No hole was deep enough"

[@cnlbenmc]

Wasn't it supposed to be a pain in the ass to kill a T-34 with a 50mm AT gun from the front? At least it wasn't a 37mm "Door Knocker" and you had some chance.

[@DIEGhostfish]

It's possible that if they're doctrinally paired together the 50mm position marker may be assumed to include an MG even if it's not mentioned.

[@erotzoll]

As an infantry platoon leader in 1989, we fought a German Panzergrenadier battalion in the Franken countryside northeast of Bamberg. I had counter-reconnaissance mission. I actually used variation of the silent machine gun TTP. I hadn't realized this was a German TTP until now. The Germans called it out in our after action review.

[@aminedioua748]

was it a military conflict in 1989 that I never heard abt or was it training

[@DatsWhatXiSaid]

I feel safer from my mother-in-law after watching this.

[@apoc3037]

What hahahaha

[@butcherybutcher8868]

About to dig out some emplacements for his 88mm AT guns when he hears yelling

[@baldmanforehead7204]

I am confused

[@windward563]

@@baldmanforehead7204 it's a joke how he can now protect himself from his evil mother in law

[@baldmanforehead7204]

@@windward563 oh

[@hjp14]

I see a lot of people asserting that the heavy machine guns were put further back in the manual example in order to provide indirect fires; while this is a possibility, I have another thought to consider. Generally speaking, heavy machine guns are placed further behind the line of fighting holes/rifle pits/whatever your preferred nomenclature is because they have longer range than the rifles, are less vulnerable when they're a bit further back, and can help cover gaps in the line. Given the Red Army's ostensible, stated lack in exploiting breakthroughs, the Germans may well have decided that the relative lack of riflemen made putting the heavy machine guns further forward worthwhile. Building up snow walls as concealment (and possibly cover; depending on the thickness and hardness of the snow and ice, they may have been able to stop some shell fragments) would seem to support this idea; without hills or other elevated positions, the snow walls would block a rear-emplaced HMG's field of fire as much as the enemy's, making putting them further forward a more attractive option. Thanks again for another excellent video! These defensive position videos are my absolute favorites!

[@jameson1239]

hjp14 but the heavy machine guns have the same type of ammo as the light machine guns and are the same gun the mg34

[@hjp14]

@@jameson1239 that's true but tripods give crew-served weapons added stability and finer adjustments, greatly improving their long-range utility. This can be seen in the contemporary employment of the M240B, a direct descendant of the MG34 (in terms of doctrine, not mechanics). Furthermore, a GPMG's added weight makes the recoil more controllable than what you would get out of a rifle chambered in the same cartridge.

[@xirensixseo]

uhm.. what about shooting aircraft

[@T1mbrW0lf]

@@xirensixseo - Shooting aircraft: Seldom effective, but an excellent way to reveal the weapon emplacement, piss off the pilots, and say "Here we are, come back and get us". Remember that your tracer rounds guide fire in BOTH directions . . .

[@TanteEmmaaa]

In the textbook the heavy machine guns are able to shoot at the own positions on the frontline. So if the enemy is able to capture one of them, they can't use the entrenchment to fight the other positions in the line, they still get roasted. But this tactic needs an elevated position so it is not always the best option.

[@lllPlatinumlll]

Everything is placed close to shelter due to the extreme cold. The 88mm is setup forward to fire on the best line of advance for the enemy armour in order to achieve kills at maximum range and the 50mm is placed to the rear in order to hit in the side and rear of flanking armour as you suggest. If you did not have shelter you died. The map shows a fortified village defended by troops unused to surviving in extreme conditions. The soviets are much more adept giving them the option to roam and probe defenses. It is impossible to create the defense in depth with heavy guns to the rear as it would be impossible to keep personnel on hand to man them during an attack. I would not like to be forced to shelter from the cold in a village knowing that if I leave I die and if I stay I am the perfect target for artillery and rocket attack.

[@EricToTheScionti]

Brainket bitch stop yelling or else

[@blasterofmuppets4754]

Having lived near the polar circle and through -30° to -40°C winters I can asure you that even with the thickest and warmest of clothing you will start to get really cold after 30 mins. If i had to walk for more than half an hour I'd always made sure, to stop somewhere between and warm up.

[@user-tx3xy7lw6w]

@@blasterofmuppets4754 you must not have been wearing the right clothing. With enough activity and quality cold weather equipment it is fully possible to stay warm in even sub -40c weather.

[@vogonford]

My guess as to the forward positioning of the heavy MG34s would be that the commanders didn't expect to use them in an indirect fire role. With this thin of a line, harassing fire behind the lines was probably not on the short list of their concerns - defending the front would be more important. Thus, keep them more capable of engaging immediately.

[@Infinite_Jester]

Were heavy machine guns (as defined in the video) still used in an indirect fire role in WWII? Indirect fire is pretty complicated to get right (I was conscripted to a mortar company for a year) unless you're firing blind, which seems pretty ineffective (and to my understanding wasn't very effective in WWI). Although I guess they could use same spotter as the artillery in the textbook case?

[@N_Wheeler]

@@Infinite_Jester .... In my view, when the HMG is in indirect fire mode, in most cases the crew will still be able to see the target. When it isn't indirect fire, it is grazing fire (less than 600 meters if memory serves).

[@Infinite_Jester]

+N Wheeler Huh, the way we were taught is that the definition of indirect fire is that you have no direct line of sight to the target. I assumed it would be the same in this case, but technical terminology appears to be tricky.

[@N_Wheeler]

@@Infinite_Jester .... You are probably right about that. Perhaps HMG fire at long range (but in view of the crew) would be plunging fire. When our mortars fired at targets they could spot [their own rounds], the crew called it direct fire.

[@frankmueller2781]

Another reason for the forward positioning of the HMGs may be the depleted state of the infantry itself. With units at 10% strength, there simply were not enough riflemen to support the HMGs in another position. With so few riflemen, the CO likely only had enough to support one line of MGs.

[@MrWoodii]

Because of this video, I have decided to become a Patreon supporter.

[@shadowling77777]

MrWoodii Thanks Based Harambe

[@BigboiiTone]

Very cool, MrWoodii!

[@chriscollins50]

It would be really cool if you would visualise after action reports in this style, showing where everything was set up and where the lines of attack were. Very cool video!

[@michalszymanski791]

Amazing video, Keep up the great work, your ability to make videos on all levels of warfare form the platoon to the grand strategic situation of nations is outstanding, love from Poland

[@michalszymanski791]

@@timetraveler2405 O co chodzi, on robi świetne filmy o historii wojskowej. Jego narodowość nie ma znaczenia. BTW jest Austriakiem nie Niemcem.

[@timetraveler2405]

Dla mnie ma znaczenie. Nikt nie lubi lizusów. Miej odrobinę honoru, chłopie.

[@michalszymanski791]

@@timetraveler2405 Człowieku to nie jest honor żeby nie nawidzić niemców. Jego filmy są dobre i to jest to co się liczy. Żaden honor tu nie jest urażony za to że chwalę jego filmy. Jeśli nie jesteś w stanie tego zobaczyć to nie mam zamiaru tracić czasu na kłótnie z tobą.

[@timetraveler2405]

Michal Szymański Nie lubić a nie nienawidzić to wielka różnica, jesteś dupliz i tyle! Hitler był austriakiem. Też go szanujesz?

[@timetraveler2405]

@@michalszymanski791 Gosc promuje hitlerowskich niemcow w swoich filmach, a ten idiota go wychwala pod niebiosa, jakim trzeba byc pochrzanionym.

[@CelerynLP]

This is one of your best videos to date (atleast by me). Keep up the good work!

[@justinpyke1756]

Great visuals!

[@jacklonghearse9821]

Great Military History!

[@jonathanewer5910]

Have you considered the possibility that in the textbook example, the HMG's may have been intended as indirect fire weapons while in the depleted example their firepower was required up front?

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

good point about the indirect fire.

[@paulbenedict1289]

There is one example of using MG with indirect fire in Rommel's Infantry Attacks. He did say however that the effect on enemy was purely psychological.

[@user-or6qv8kc1u]

Military History Visualizer , Love the channel. While I was on a machine gun team for some time, I have to confess that using a M240B for that purpose is really overrated. I'm not saying that an experienced crew cannot do it, I'm just saying that it's practical effects are underwhelming. Adjusting for fire is difficult with out an experienced spotter. Moreover when engaging targets with plunging fire, you will be subject to a much reduced Beaten Zone. Consequently, you fire will be inaccurate and inefficient. That's not to say it doesn't have its place, just from my experience it's a technique our procedure used as a last resort.

[@terex8016]

Also potentially they didnt have the ammunition to spare to use in indirect fire

[@user-or6qv8kc1u]

terex80, that would make total sense too. To say that indirect gun fire is wasteful would be a huge understatement. Moreover, adjusting for fire is not nearly as simple as it is with an experienced F.O. directing artillery, or at the company level mortars.

[@zaxxxppe]

one of the best history channels out there. Keep it going! Grüs aus Bosnien

[@neilwilson5785]

Love this detailed tactical stuff. More please!

[@mathewm7136]

Another great video and thank you. 28 years as an Armor Officer in the US. It's standard combined arms tactics. What I would find interesting is how these tactics changed when in unique terrain. For example; the Russian Steppes or the Normandy Hedgerows.

[@Konrad_Festung]

High quality video right here! I love the detailed tactical examples. please do more of those!

[@Marcus-rs6fr]

Dude i just love your videos! You use so much time and research to makr these high quality historical videos, there should be definietely more people like you! Keep up the good work kamerad!

[@mcfontaine]

Absolutely fantastic detail. Well done sir.

[@fredrikwinge7954]

I really liked the "after action report" in the first part of the video where you on a map see the defensive postions, where the attacker moved and attacked and so on. I would love to see more of that.

[@BIAWorldofWarships]

Yay, I turned on notifications last week :) Great as always!

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

This is the kind of content I subscribe for. Tactical deployments are always interesting for replicating it in various forms, be it models or in games.

[@Rainwarlord]

really enjoyed this type of video, please keep it up

[@appledravia]

That AT gun back in the treeline looks like it provides a rear security or defense in depth feature as well. In the event of envelopment of the village, it's in a position to hit tanks from the rear or flanks where the 50mm is more effective and could theoretically be used for suppressive fire if troops were displacing and falling back from the village.

[@MJKarkoska]

200 men covering a front of approximately 400 yards is quite formidable, and you could stretch a platoon to that if you were so inclined, albeit without the depth. A modern company has less than 200 men in most armies, and can cover twice the frontage. Granted that the depth of the formation obviously will vary the frontage, but having good secondary, unmanned, prepared positions and retrograde routes, the frontage can be maintained in my opinion. I also wanted to say that I really enjoy your videos, mainly because with most videos of a similar nature I feel that I know more than the person narrating, yet it is obvious that you have put in countless hours understanding the minutiae of both military history and modern military studies. I actually learn things from your channel, without the oft-repeated cliches of military history.

[@edwardfrisby4868]

i really liked this video it would be cool to see a videos like this on all the major armies of ww2 and maybe compare this to defensive tactics of ww1

[@xelanoxin]

Your channel is intriguing. Im a long time fan of warfare and you get to the points without a bunch of nonsense. Well done.

[@warci]

fantastic video, I feel more confident to start a game of graviteam tactics already. More of these please!

[@crucibleofworlds1882]

The placement on the village of the flack and the antitank cannon was clearly made to prevent to be outflanked by tanks . Beacause that move was able to obliterate the anti infantry defenses , if tanks get toward the village directly they would not suffer much cause the line of fire is blocked and you are hidden by buildings so you can let the infantry take care of tanks alone efficently . So it seems to me a very well thought defense .

[@chaoctic7278]

Love these types of vids man keep em up

[@alexandershorse9021]

Thank you for this interesting analysis. It really helps explain how the Germans were able to hold the line during the Soviet counterattack before Moscow. What I took away was although German infantry were very depleted, they still had a lot of heavy weapons to deploy if this battalion position is typical. That explains a lot and makes sense because when withdrawing highest priority will always be placed on keeping key weapon systems. For example infantry units will always strive to keep their machine guns and these require only small teams to operate.

[@cannonfodder4376]

Another fantastic and informative video as always.

[@mrgreggles998]

I've been a casual observer of your vids for quite a while. This one got me subscribed. :-) Next step Patroen? Very possible. This tactical analysis is REALLY interesting.

[@somedudeinminnesota]

This is a excellent channel,please keep pushing content.

[@pepperfan111]

I love your vids bud , me and my squad mates legit use some of the info you give for games like HLL and war thunder , keep it up gent.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

thank you!

[@Mechaninjalo]

Love watching your vids and learning from them. Thank U for your hard work . :)

[@timdiddy9914]

Great video. The manual gives an commander the best theoretical approach to solve a battle situation. In reality there are always different conditions (weather, time, not enough ammo, wounds...) and you have to adjust the approach. Often you do not need a perfect 100% solution, you need a quick and courageous solution, otherwise your enemy overrun you. In this case everthing depended on the weather that was extremly cold and the Germans were not prepared with winter equipment. Therefore they needed the shelter of the village to survive the cold winter weather...It is no secret that the early winter was the reason, why Moscow was not conquered by the German Wehrmacht.

[@Jinseual]

Great video, this is amazing, I hope there would be a video on an actual medieval defensive fortification.

[@damaskussteel]

this is one of your best videos

[@yixoraptor6775]

10:54 2 panzer 3s gets interpreted by the subtitles as 2 pounds of fries lol

[@from_space]

Really nice video! If possible, please make more of these, but showing the whole fight. For someone like me, who doesn't know much about real life military tactics, its pretty interesting.

[@blunznsepp]

One of your best videos! I love it

[@TheLoyalOfficer]

Ah good - no ending music. Great job on a vid with outstanding detail. I wonder how long that German position held out? 90% understrength German company! Wow.

[@calebshonk5838]

I'm not an infantryman but I have trained as one and I am an artillery assistant section chief. It makes sense to have the AT gun where it is. Not only does that give it a better field of fire, but it covers the most likely avenue of approach which is the main road going into town. Additionally, having the 88s placed forward in the town gives them some concealment from observation and allows them to support the infantry with direct fire. The more I look at these defensive plans, the more I like them. I'm seeing plenty of overlapping fields of fire, fields of crossfires, and heavy weapons ideally placed to support the infantry. Attacking the town from the tree line gives the shortest route into the town and the most concealment from enemy fire. Whoever the German commander was, he obviously knew this which is why he placed so many LMGs to protect that flank.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

thank you!

[@calebshonk5838]

@@MilitaryHistoryVisualized Kein problem. :)

[@paxundpeace9970]

A Battalion Commander/CO had probably at least 7 to 10 years of experience and gained knowledge from past winter fighting in similar conditions. Even as this seems well defended for the ammount of resources, it is hard to tell how long this position could have been maintained.

[@yalelingoz6346]

Excellent video. This is what I'm here for. :D

[@owenjohnson808]

I came from bo times channel list, after 5 minutes of this video the notifications have been turned on :)

[@Dusty7460]

I love it the best channel. As a suggestion maybe someday you will add more visual images (perhaps some gamesRTS or grand strategy ) most of them respect the army doctrines , strategy tactics and employment of weapons. I would love too see such videos made by you and showing the employment of different tactics.I know a couple of games worth mention in order to achieve a more detailed historical accuracy and also enjoyable experience. Thank you soo much for all your effort and for your patreons.

[@paladin0654]

Nice rundown, thanks.

[@alvarezhulio]

Great material btw and thankyou. If I could have had you as my history teacher in school I would have paid more attention.

[@jeffahl3532]

If you do more of this kind of videos with detailed tactics/fighting between company/batallion-sized units on eastern and western front I will be a patreon. More of this please.

[@Manuel-yp3rv]

Gerade den Kanal entdeckt. Sehr interessant mach weiter so!

[@Gronicle1]

Recent subscriber here. Good content and well put together videos. Thanks.

[@2serveand2protect]

That's VERY WELL DONE! EXTREMELY INTERESTING! Thank You for uploading! PS. Regards from Poland.

[@a-fletcher]

Great Video, Cant afford to donate atm, but love your videos and watch adds to help out what I can.

[@FroggyFrog9000]

Awesome research and presentation thanks :)

[@finlaymckay6633]

Fantastic and informative video.

[@trdraider1196]

Your accent is just so so good. It flows so smoothly between the words and languages.

[@Kyoptic]

I'm here so early this time we might take Moscow before the russian winter hits!

[@ArcticTemper]

Then what?

[@hihi-fi8by]

44 minutes later

[@xenussisporno]

Oh yeah General Frost is the only reason that stopped the German offensive. I can not imagine how do soviets survive during summer. Is there General Sun fucking shine?

[@rodi8266]

Goddamnit Kyo!

[@Kyoptic]

Holy fucknuts it's Rodi! Glad to see you have good taste in youtube content XD

[@julianfitz806]

After you showed me Steel Devition and I got edicted, I need to rewatch your tactics videos. 😁 Vielen Dank!

[@Syndie702]

DiplexHeated should make a Men of War Robz Realism scenario based on these maps.

[@Hiltschi]

"because i kann" herrlich... super gemachtes Video

[@logoseven3365]

Your work is very professional. The pop ups were a distracting. I will keep watching Thank you

[@edi9892]

It reminds me of _sudden strike._ In that game it was super stressful to relocate artillery to defend yourself, when you had not enough tanks to quickly fill the gap. Also counter artillery fire and bombers could bring you close to a heart attack if you had to rely on truck drawn arty...

[@adrianjezierski8093]

I usually completed most of the missions with 1 sniper exploiting the AI

[@Burner.Account..]

@@adrianjezierski8093 Basically every other Player vs AI strategy game right?

[@edged1001]

How did the Germans modify their defensive tactics when facing Americans and British armies on the western front?

[@elykeom1]

More AA while dealing with Arty

[@Invicta556]

Well to help u with this question these tactics used on the Eastern Front matched what the Russians did and how they attacked e.g. Russian tanks when broke throught german lines just drove on even without infantry support. Now one example from Normandy i can give is Hill 112. There were many egagements for these vital hill (Operation Epsom, Operation Jupiter) in Operation Jupiter units of the 10th "Frudsberg" SS Panzer Division and 102nd SS S.Panzer Abteilung defend this hill all they could. PanzerGrenadier's typically had to pull there forward outposts back due to the concentrated british artillery. They as like everywhere in 1944 had to repelish rations and ammo and manuevre at night. Tigers couldnt stay in the area and had to continue change postion, now i know this happened on the eastern front but in Normandy many units found theselves under consitent bombardment. I cannot explain how exhuasting this fighting was for both german/british soldiers in the area. Other than that i cannot think of much more the Germans changed in Abwehr tactics in Normandy compared to the Eastern Front. Of course ive read more on the Eastern Front and Normandy than something like North Africa.

[@newfletcherlibrarypartners4888]

A huge difference on the Western Front in 1944 was the air and artillery superiority of the US/British forces. The Germans defended forward with small elements. This made them less vulnerable to air/artillery. They countered US/British attacks by counterattacking with larger units held to the rear.

[@Wolf-hh4rv]

@@Invicta556 Abwehr was German intelligence

[@dimasdellatorre]

just amazing , i am out of words

[@brianwyters2150]

6:27 When I saw AP, I thought armor-piercing but then I realized anti-personnel.

[@sandro3211]

Please more of these vids!

[@carebear8762]

You could review "The Defense of Duffer's Drift" and other military classics. The USMC Commandant's Reading List alone could provide months of material.

[@clashof3669]

Gutes Video

[@WojennikTV]

Great video. Makes me want to setup a tactical wargame on my table

[@henrybailey6111]

The AT gun at the back is perfectly positioned to attack the underbelly of tanks mounting the snow berm or breaking through around the south of the village to attempt an encirclement. I think this fits in perfectly with it being a position in depth countering the Soviet doctrine to by-pass positions they couldn’t take, as you mentioned at the beginning of the video. It seems like it might be able to fire down the Main Street of the village too if tanks had got in there and been cut off from infantry support similar to the first day. Equally on the berm you don’t mention the machine guns. It all seems to be set up to isolate infantry from tanks - allow the soviet tanks to bypass or go through and be removed by the AT gun once over extended. German tanks placed close to enable a counter attack on infantry if the infantry do break in to the village.

[@ps4trophyguide56]

Great video thanks

[@Cherb123456]

Thank you!

[@alexanderdimaria3326]

For more about this I'd recommend Panzer Operations: The Eastern Front by General Raus

[@leoobuche4620]

Great Video👍

[@ioannispavlidis1146]

Very good work.

[@grahamsupple6382]

This video drove home the importance of experienced and competent commanding officers to me. having your heavier weapons in the right place would be the difference between winning and losing, and that's what a commander is there to do. decided where resources should be placed.

[@demosthenessirony4774]

The placement of the 88mm seems a little strange to me. Being in the middle of the village seems like it would limit the ability to utilize the long effective range of the weapon as well as it's field of fire, and leave it vulnerable to close infantry assaults if the enemy did break through the main defense. At the same time maybe the sector it was covering was considered to be the main focus of the enemy advance or armor. I am sure the ground force commander had his reason for deploying in that manner. Additionally, was there a Light machine gun with the pak 38? I know that it was normal doctrine in the Wehrmacht to have 1 x MG34 per PAK for local defense, but according to the diagram there was not one, maybe they were short on guns and had to use it in a different location of the defense. I also assume that the "heavy mortars" are actually medium 8.0cm organic to the battalion?

[@DIEGhostfish]

It's possible that if they're doctrinally paired together the 50mm position marker may be assumed to include an MG even if it's not mentioned.

[@lucidnonsense942]

The 50mm is a lot harder to spot when firing and has a larger effective traverse, so it can fire from the woods without being spotted. The 88mm is really hard to hide, especially once firing, so it's in a more defensible position, which is going to come under attack anyway. A lone 88mm would be quickly knocked out, the 50mm will need to fire a lot more rounds to be effective so it has to do it from a "stealth" position.

[@CDMJDMHHC]

Avenue of approach

[@faeembrugh]

You have to consider the large size and weight of an 88mm when placing it, so possibly that was the best site.

[@FactoryofRedstone]

I think the MG was not mentioned, if it was doctrine that there is one, or they did abandon the doctrine to use it some where else. After all that was a depleted unit.

[@miagy420]

Good tactical analysis

[@generalamsel437]

I would thoroughly enjoy to see a video about the main weakness in this kind of defensive strategy for as is obvious by the Germans defeat during the war no line is unbreakable.

[@meanmanturbo]

In the textbook example, the le.IG and the medium mortars where not organic to the company, where they? At least the le:IG's must have been at least battalion assets, attached to the company right?

[@arsenal-slr9552]

Another masterpiece!!

[@sahhaf1234]

This video was excellent...

[@azdinh6626]

The forces are close to facilitate transition ,and the at50 mm is there to cover retreating forces This plan for height maneuverability and endurance

[@nexusvirus514]

Wow wirklich gut gemacht... endlich mal gut erklärt wie das vorgehen des Militärs war. Man sieht sonst nur bilder von stürmenden Massen aber tatsächlich gab es eine Menge taktische Komponenten vor allem von unserer Seite... Sag mal kannst du ein Buch empfehlen wo viele Taktiken erläutert werden ? (am besten auf deutsch ?)

[@randall172]

Against Russian armor the German infantry formations also had a hard time of it. In exceptional cases they could prepare gun lines with enough heavy ATGs well enough protected and sited to give an armor attack a bloody nose, but normally they were not rich or prepared enough for that. Keep in mind that the Russians were quite good at tank infantry cooperation in their mech arm - by midwar that is, early they hadn't been - but lagged in the development of tank artillery cooperation. Which is what tanks need to deal with gun based defenses efficiently. The German infantry formations themselves tried to just strip tanks of their infantry escorts and let the tanks continue. The Russians would sometimes make that mistake, and send the tanks deeper on their own. That put them in the middle of a deep German defense that would know more about where they were and what they were doing than vice versa. But that is really an "own goal" thing - if the Russian tanks just stayed with their riders and shot the crap out of the German infantry defenses, the Russian doctrine worked fine. The leading infantry companies are presenting the enemy a fire discipline dilemma - how close to let the advancing Russian infantry get before revealing their own positions by cutting loose. The longer they take to do so, the close the Russian infantry gets before being driven to the ground. Enemy fire is fully expected to drive the leading infantry waves to the ground, or even to break them or destroy them outright - at first. But every revealed firing point in that cutting loose is then subjected to another round of prep fire by all of the organic and added fire support elements supporting the attack. The battalion 82mm mortars, any attached tanks, and the muckety-mucks special falling skies firepower, smashes up whatever showed itself crucifying the leading wave. Then the next wave goes in, just like the first, on the same frontage. No great finesse about it, but some of the defenders already dead in the meantime. Same dilemma for his survivors. When they decide to hold their fire to avoid giving the mortars and Russian artillery and such, juicy new things to shoot at, the advancing infantry wave gets in among them instead. And goes to work with grenade and tommy gun, flushing out every hole. The grenadier is the beater and the tommy gun is the shotgun, and Germans are the quail. Notice, the firepower of the infantry that matters in this is the short range stuff, because at longer range the killing is done by supporting artillery arms. The rifles of the most of the infantry supplement of course, but really the LMGs and rifles are primarily there as the defensive firepower of the rifle formation, at range. It is slow and it is bloody and it is inefficient - but it is relentless. The thing being maximized is fight and predictability - that the higher muckety mucks can count on an outcome on this part of the frontage proportional to what they put into it. Where they need to win, they put in enough and they do win - hang the cost. It isn't pure suicide up front - the infantry go to ground when fired at and they fire back,and their supporting fires try to save them, and the next wave storms forward to help and pick up the survivors and carry them forward (and carry the wounded back). In the meantime the men that went to ground are defending themselves as best they can and sniping what they can see; they are not expected to stand up again and go get killed. That is the next wave's job. The first did its part when it presented its breast to the enemy's bullets for that first advance. The whole rolls forward like a ratchet, the waves driven to ground holding tenaciously whatever they reached. That is the rifle, combined arms army, way of fighting.

[@neighbor-j-4737]

Wow, just wow. Good breakdown. Find no fault save sacrificial infantry, but that was definitely the Soviet way, hammer and anvil. Why flank when you can frontal? Suppose it depends on leadership to make that call.

[@noahdefrancisco2911]

Love the video!! By any chance do you know how they came upon the two Panzer IIIs?

[@HolzbierProductions]

I like your videos alot. It would be excellent to get some videos about soviet tactics by you. It will be helpful to understand the dynamics.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

thank you, mostly a source issue, yet, I ordered some books that might help out here.

[@HolzbierProductions]

@@MilitaryHistoryVisualized I read the Stalingrad-Protocols. No detailed tactics, but really much and really good information about the Red-Army in general. How and why which decisions were made, the structure of the units and the relationship between the ranks. The whole ideology of the Red-Army and many more topics. And a lot of information, that has just been ignored by german historians. German historians have been affected by post-nazi ideology. They copied nazi-affected ideas and views to the 90s. Then more and more reflection happend.

[@MilitaryHistoryVisualized]

thank you, I added it to my list. The issue is, I have plenty of good books on the Red Army notably Hill's Red Army in WW2 and several books by Glantz. Yet, when it comes to tactics there are usually no books on the topic or they are of dubious quality.

[@Suprsim]

OH MAN! I really liked this video! PLEASE make more like this! I'd love to see Russian, British, French, American, etc. equivalents!

[@kevlarburrito6693]

@Military History Visualized Any chance that you have a video on or could make one about "The Snail Offensive" tactic? It's spoken of in a number of memoirs from Eastern Front commanders of the German military.

[@JonasUllenius]

Thax great video.

[@paavobergmann4920]

The difference i see, in addition to what others claimed, between the manual and the actual village is, that in the manual, the companies sector included several elevated points, and thus a sightline on advancing enemies reaching out far beyond the HKL, whereas in the actual village defense, the village was (I guess from the map) on fairly flat ground, surrounded by elevated ground on three sides, and supposedly, available manpower did not allow stretching out the defense line to include the hills. Less than optimal for a defensive position. Therefore, the sightline on advancing attacks from any point of the defensive position was very limited, so a HMG in a rear position would have been of limited used, and concentrating firepower close to the HKL was paramount, to be able to break up any enemy attack in the short time and space between visual contact and breakthrough. A rear-placed HMG could in theory also have done that, but only from an elevated position, which was lacking here. So, placing them forward reduced danger to friendlies, and gave them a wider open field of fire in exchange for the greater risk to them.

[@lukycharms9970]

More tactics videos like thissssss pleaseeee

[@octotitan4574]

Everything you said I'll forgot them tomorrow but I will remember the look of the machine gun and anti-tanks guns

[@Kalosius]

I feel like these are the types of tactics missing in current RTS and turn based games. Great stuff.

[@Strakh1992]

Hey man, very informative indeed. Could please tell me the source of some real combat examples of wehrmacht on the level of platoons and companies? There plenty of such about the Red army written for soviet and russian cadets however I found not very much about the successfull german small unit operations.

[@Andersson203]

One reason why you wouldn't want to have your heavy MGs on the elevated hill that while you have good fields of fire and can engage targets along the entire line - that also means that targets along the entire line can also engage the MGs. In theory having a high position withe a wide field of observation/fire is great but in practice it can be a suicidal position. If they are spread out along the line they will have one or two fire sectors to cover and any target outside of their fire sectors will either be unable to engage the HMGs or they will be engaged by neighbouring LMGs or or infantry. The same thing can be said for the main battle line in the textbook example. On the Russian front the Germans often fought against a numerically superior enemy which meant that if you had your HKL in front of hills like in the textbook the enemy would be able to bring up a lot of firepower which you, especially in a depleted state, might not be able to match. In practice the Germans would often build reverse slope defenses, ie defenses on the rear slope or behind hills and obstacles. This limited the range of heavy weapons but that is an acceptable trade off since usually you have fewer heavy weapons than the numerically superior enemy. And if you look at the second example it does seem as if the Russians main avenue of attack actually goes over the hill. Meaning that the Russians can only engage the positions in the village once they are on top of the hill or over it and therefore the volume of firepower that they can bring to bear on the Germans is limited to whatever units have passed the crest of the hill. Generally speaking the winter of 1941 was a turning point for the German army's defensive doctrines because up until then the army had mostly attacked and only conducted temporary local defensive operations. This meant that everything that was written up until 1942 was based on Germanys WWI elastic defensive doctrine and their experiences in that war. As an interesting side note on the second scenario you showed: Note that all three companies were deployed in the forward position. Normally the German infantry bn would deploy two companies on the line and keep one company in reserve but in that scenarion they were all deployed on the main battle line. This was probably because the bn was so depleted that they needed the extra firepower more than the flexibility of immediately available reserves.

[@halhibben]

I love your videos.

[@BartJBols]

I dont think there was a particular reason, just that it was a rushjob and that the defensive units trickled in as they became available and were put in the most desirable point at that moment in time, not the most desirable point if the units could be re-arranged freely.