Greatest Tank Battles of History | Season 1 | Episode 8 | The Battle of Arracourt

Greatest Tank Battles will for the first time take viewers through the hatch and inside some of history’s most legendary tanks, allowing them to see the battle through the eyes of tank commanders and their crews. They’ll ride along with some of some of the greatest tank aces, discovering how they were able to make kill after kill, often against overwhelming odds, and escape with their lives.
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[@Grumszy]

Have seen many of the tanks used in WW1 and WW2 at Tank museum Bovington UK... Seen German Tiger Tank there, amazing collection , Tank crews so brave.

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

It was an informative and wonderful documentary about that battle tanks during WW2... Where Americans exploited theirs sky dominant, enormous tank numbers, and smartness maneuverability in battlefields....they gained victory ✌️..thanks for sharing

[@charlesfiscus4235]

Kursk was pretty big tank on tank battle

[@25046106]

A much bigger tank battle, thousands more tanks involved

[@iancostigan5047]

Much larger battle front.

[@christiangarcorz9182]

Wouaw so courageous !!!!

[@Ronald-xn2ui]

Heros, all heros

[@dano4572]

BEAUTIFUL

[@gfurstnsu]

Watching this in South Korea😮 and no commercials. The US is too commercial!

[@user-vm2sl7lc5g]

Wait, until KZbin gets a bigger audience, then commercials will inundate you. 😂😂😂😂😂

[@edwardloomis887]

Sat through a presentation by Jimmy Leach and another surviving company commander from the battle in 1987 at Fort Knox surrounded by 4th Armored Division veterans.

[@dnate697]

I saw him but didn't get to meet him or hear a speak live. I did watch a "Film" of him and others while I was on Ft Polk in 1978.

[@user-xq2zn8bu9q]

Good one. 👍

[@matthewjay660]

ABRAMS! At first, I thought, "What a coincidence. Abrams in a tank. Don't we have a class of tank named 'Abrams?'" ☝🏻👉🏻Wait for it. I then GOOGLED "Abrams" and found out that Creighton Abrams is THE ABRAMS for whom we named the tank-class. It's amazing how this captain fought alongside of Lt. Colonel, later General Abrams. 🇺🇸🦅💪🏻

[@joeandjoe2]

Jesus Christ. Every full moon.

[@josephkelley8634]

And the Battle of the Bulge was still to come.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

So were the battles around Aachen, Puffendorf etc.

[@paullyon-vv9tb]

Typhoon mustang thunder bolts 😂🇺🇸🇬🇧💥💥💥

[@John14-6...]

They should give a big thanks to the Tactical Air Force for their help!

[@MarkVickers-xq9si]

Of course there was No comparison to the Kursk tank battle of '43 . Guy was referring to what He experienced on the Western front . ... It was Very , very nice that this French town got an M4 and made it immaculate , to show Thanks . Some people don't forget .

[@keesvanharen9791]

In war there is no victory, only losses

[@markgarrett3647]

Were actually living in someone else's victory.

[@russ8001]

The biggest tank battle of WW2 was the battle of Kirsk and I believe it stands as the largest tank battle of all time.

[@russ8001]

typo, above should read Kursk

[@paullyon-vv9tb]

🇺🇸🇬🇧🇨🇦💥💥💥👍👍👍🔥

[@calvinheiler3428]

The m4 against apanzer was like breaking a rock with a beer can only from the rear could it be stopped

[@Theiliteritesbian]

Whats the rear of a rock?

[@calvinheiler3428]

@@Theiliteritesbian the rear of a German tank is where the radiator was and the armor was light

[@desmondjackson872]

The sides were pretty thin also, it's where M4s knocked out most panthers

[@brennanleadbetter9708]

And the side

[@christiangarcorz9182]

What a great hero you are !

[@dankippert2677]

I cant imagine dying in a tank what bravery

[@MarkVickers-xq9si]

The very thought of a (supersonic !) 88mm. round from artillery or a Tiger , is frightening . A pretty silly , farcical film from 1970 , Kelley's Heroes, got it right , though . You see a flash from a Tiger , a Sherman blows up , THEN a loud WOOOOOoooosh ! , as the Sound catches up .

[@veteran20002001]

The armour can be anywhere from 12.7 to 177.8 mm (0.50 to 7.00 in) depending on location and variants. Also, the higher velocity 76 mm gun M1A1, M1A1C, or M1A2 were available as well!

[@lightwoven5326]

They preferred not to use the 76mm as it was an anti armour gun, and the main targets were mostly soft or infantry. Most 76mm shermans were left behind in England.

[@veteran20002001]

@lightwoven5326 Like hell, the allies knew about the Tigers and Panthers from the Russians but didn't have enough of the 76mm Shermans and the British had started upgrading the Shermans to carry the 17prd!

[@danzmitrovich6250]

The best thing is they still show military tank movies and shows as well and i like the ads of the tank museum tank weekend show as well

[@marvwatkins7029]

They vet couldn't think of Kursk.

[@nestortreeface2905]

That surprised me as well. An armoured corp vet not remembering that battle. Tsk tsk.

[@pinchepeet4791]

Possibly meant on the Western front

[@lyndoncmp5751]

@pinchepeet4791 Operation Goodwood was the largest on the western front. Nearly 1,500.

[@Biffo1262]

That was Pattons major flaw. The opposite of Montgomery he would push ahead and damn the consequences with the resultant over stretching of his supply lines. Montgomery planned and planned again, often missing the opportunity presented. The ideal would have been a 'marriage' of the two.

[@steveperreira5850]

Not sure about that. But still I think you are being quite thoughtful.

[@dwaynerichie441]

Biggest on the western front but not of the war that was in the east at prakarovka

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Operation Goodwood was larger than Prokhorovka.

[@paulwilton735]

once again, youtube ruins a great video with way too many commercials

[@tracymesser296]

You Tube premium !! Well worth it!!

[@hornantuutti5157]

Adblock.. No ads ever.

[@nickbanney3960]

Watch on chrome with adblocker, never had an ad in my life

[@scotthall7963]

Then KZbin has the audacity to try to get me to do a brand poll ...😑

[@charlesfiscus4235]

Well they do the same thing on commercial tv

[@thomaslinton5765]

This battle did not determine the outcome of the War; only the timing.

[@johnweerasinghe4139]

Every tank battle on the eastern front was a divisional ( at first they were at army tank group level @ Barbarossa) level. On tne Western front they were mostly Brigade level .... Enough said!

[@fibessnaredrum2775]

Id love to know the account from the Sherman crew who ditched their tank infront of the Panther..

[@ApplyWithCaution]

... I wonder who got the scrap metal contract ...

[@HomeMadeBow]

KURSK might have been bigger.

[@charlesfiscus4235]

I believe that you are correct

[@indrannjeganathan3268]

Much bigger!

[@lyndoncmp5751]

So was Normandy, particularly Operation Goodwood.

[@kaybevang536]

I wonder if Abraham’s name is what the M1 Abraham’s tank is named after ? Like the M48/M60 Patton

[@desmondjackson872]

He is, Creighton Abrams is his full name.

[@scotfield3950]

I get so tired of hearing about the drawbacks of the Sherman by modern writers, it did all it needed to

[@toddrobbins4608]

The Sherman was a much better tank than most people give it credit for and this notion it was helpless against heavier German tanks is complete fiction.

[@thewatchhawk]

Funny how they show the who round (brass case and all) firing from the gun barrel and flying through the air, not the projectile.

[@CliffordJessee]

To win a battle you have to work together ground forces working with air power working together that's how you win a war

[@user-ek3em5km5r]

cc would be nice !! for the hard of hearing ....

[@SudarphonFreeman-rh4pj]

The Sherman was a death trap

[@jalepenopvp2300]

There were no tigers during Arracourt. He must be misremembering due to age and the fog/rain or whatever. History channel should have done a little fact checking before adding it to the video tho

[@ooyginyardel4835]

You were there?

[@jalepenopvp2300]

@@ooyginyardel4835 no there were reports from both sides, neither claiming any tigers were sent to battle. Also no tigers in loss reports.

[@toddreaker2298]

Allies would have still won even without tanks.

[@GuntherZanutigh-gg6jx]

Esto no fue tan tan asi. Un sherman , o eran pershing.? Porque , el shermsn eran antorchas, contra , un panther.

[@romk.m.1081]

What is the fate of the first vehicle pulled out by the army? Blown up or scrapped? Or in museum?

[@patrickgreen7308]

Stopped because supply went to market garden

[@AnthonyOMulligan-yv9cg]

WOW Tanks being taken out by single machine gun impacts?.

[@Variable-2-actual]

Oh you mean 30 mm cannon rounds from the fighter planes? Yes 30mm rounds could penetrate the top of panther tanks. The thinnest armor was over the engine on the back iirc. Go ask a war thunder player for the panther and tiger stats.

[@brennanleadbetter9708]

Japanese tanks could be taken out by heavy machine guns.

[@davidarchibald50]

Many destroyed Shermans could be repaired in the field. However, if the 41 lost in this battle were complete write-offs, then this represented 13 hours of Sherman tank production. Germany could not compete, could never have competed. The war was lost on a day in December 1941.

[@acedrumminman]

American industry and it's workers provided an inexhaustible conveyer belt of food munitions and highly trained soldiers. At the end of war production was still being ramped up...The axis never stood a chance.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

The war was lost for Germany when German failed to win the Battle of Britain. Everything followed from that moment.

[@kaybevang536]

Also the alias had many as well the Soviet Union had a few in they’re units and the Canadians and British have many in North Africa to Normandy and they’re own variants the National Chinese Had them and then some

[@Cruise-fx9bm]

No, the Axis forces, began losing the ETO on September,1, 1939.

[@0giwan]

The Sherman hate is disgusting. The Chieftain has multiple videos on why the Sherman is the greatest tank of World War II, and I think they make far more sense than "hurr numbers".

[@lyndoncmp5751]

It wasn't the greatest tank of WW2. There was no such thing. Each country had different parameters.

[@user-zo3mo1mg6u]

​@lyndoncmp5751 yes, but the depiction of the Sherman as poorly designed, constructed is kargely untrue. The Sherman did extraordinarily developed and used.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

@@user-zo3mo1mg6u I agree. The Sherman wasn't a poor tank by any means. It was pretty good. However it was not the best or safest tank of WW2, which often gets repeated on the Internet in recent years.

[@brennanleadbetter9708]

There really is no best tank. All tanks have pros and cons. Each had different roles. But it’s not just the tanks, it’s also the crew.

[@georgeferguson3243]

😊

[@grimdiannabones4361]

Scruffy believes in this channel....

[@Liferestart6969]

Well amazing Ponca hello electrical failure and then you lost the war

[@freakyflow]

I was never a fan of Patton with his prior shame prior to Normandy that got him a higher rank. But i know he was a fireball when the US landings was messed up alot with bottlenecking in the near by towns .....The Canadians were the first to clear the beach out of all landings facing Tanks and SS troops Patton wanted his troops ahead of the rest And at first he wasn't And you would think The US air support would of used the same tactic as the Germans done taking the same countries However it was delayed bombing Or far advanced bombing that took place. rare was a airstrike made via radio And recon

[@dnate697]

Number one problem was that the Bocage was the best defensive area is Normandy. The second spot was long range Kill Zones in the British Sectors. This Video blows the hell out of the WOT Fanbois! Quote "Usually the First to fire wins." That would be True if these Tanks had the same FIREPOWER! But they didn't! Fritz was Nazi until he died! All of his stories he tells are about him getting hit first, one time he got hit 3 times and took out 4 Shermans that all hit him once or twice. Fritz has long interviews and he and other Germans are on video saying "One Flick and it lit!" You "FLICK" a Cigarette Lighter. I sent the Chieftain fans a video and an ad Poster from 1931 stating "One Flick and it lights every time!" Yes Belton got it wrong but so the the WOT folks.

[@redhunter68]

​@dnate697 the 76mm Shermans had no problem with panthers and Tiger 1's, even at range. The crews preferred the 75s for their HE rounds. Shermans igniting was has been proven to be more a myth than fact. Especially after they went to wet ammo racks. It had one of the highest crew survival rates of all the armored tanks in the war.

[@dnate697]

@@redhunter68 Sorry, that's WOT misinformation. Almost every Panther and Tiger had Dings on them from 75 and 76mm guns. High Velocity rounds that like M-18's had were in short supply. HV Ammo knocked out Tigers 1&2s. LOL! I'll take Jimmy Leach, Lafayette Pool's and others' word over the Chieftain's any day! Again, First to shoot is another dopy BS statement! Fritz Langanke living to be an old Man is proof a lot of folks at World of Tanks are Full of Poop! He wasn't the only German to say that they were hit many times. One Panther took out 8 Shermans and almost everyone of them got off the first shot!

[@freakyflow]

@97Bocage first of all was a British ground #2 it was well after the Normandy landings by a week Forces were already mounted up past the beachhead The Germans had retreated And settled in with a few reinforcements The 22nd Armoured Brigade group reached Villers-Bocage without serious incident on the morning of 13 June. The leading elements advanced eastwards from the town on the Caen road to Point 213, where they were ambushed by Tiger I tanks of the 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion It was noted as the last point for "scrambling for ground" for D-day. Your mention of "One flick and it lit" Is not 100% right----- Notorious for their flammability, Shermans were nicknamed “Ronsons” after a lighter with the slogan “lights every time.” The Sherman tank's primary role was infantry support And not to face other heavy tanks Because of its lack of real armor Or a high velocity cannon The Shermans fatal flaw was its Aircraft engine that used gasoline And not diesel - (Does not explode like gas / Nor will you find a lighter using diesel) At the time America had a over stock of the motors So they knew the problem yet pushed them out anyways And no idea on the "WOT" stats But the real numbers of them burning was real

[@freakyflow]

@@redhunter6876mm Shermans ..Sure However None were used on D-day The M4 on D-day was the 75mm The Duplex Drive Sherman ..Omaha Beach 3 Out of 32 tanks made it to shore...The first Sherman to enter combat with the 76 mm gun in July 1944 was the M4A1, then the M4A2 By then The landings were already a month ahead Had nothing to do with a crews "preferred choice" 1 out of 4 Shermans only months later after D-day And far into France was the 76mm on them As for the 75's They used the HE because the Sherman was not a battle tank to be used against other tanks It was a ground support unit for troops Ammo racks would make them explode And nothing really to do with catching fire As the high octane they carried would...Shermans for the most part were gas engines...Germans used Diesel .......That simple...And enough for the Germans to call them Tommy cookers And Ronson lighters "Lights every time" You might have seen to many world of tanks wet ammo rack perks

[@jimmyw7291]

Those are some words you never thought you'd hear and Nazi . It's a horrible site to see human burn.

[@fredgandolfi2356]

So the tank battle was won by the air force.

[@steveperreira5850]

That is what I could gather.

[@jeffreytacx452]

Badtrip so many commercials..

[@MichaelSchmidt-wi9be]

Rommel wanted no reserves in waiting he knew what allied air power was capable of he wanted the dreaded SS tanks and divisions and Wermacht units to be at the beach head too push them back air power would hit their own in some probability that was Rommel's theory but Runstead got the job of reserves why Rommel's job was too design and build the Atlantic Wall

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Had the panzer divisions been at the beach heads they would have been annihilated by naval bombardment. It was actually better for them to stay inland and use the hedgerows, orchards and copses etc as cover.

[@22942]

Have you ever heard of punctuation?

[@robertschumann7737]

The Germans should have wiped the floor with the 4th Armored Division at Arracourt. Bad planning, bad tactics, being unfamiliar with the enemy, bad leadership and weather definitely helped allow David to defeat Goliath. In the CCA HQ battle the German tanks allowed themselves to get distracted by the artillery. Yes, they were M7 Priest mobile artillery with M101 Howitzers, but the HEAT round hadn't made it to Europe yet. So; the German tanks especially the Panther had little to fear from the M7. Concentrating on them allowed the Shermans to pretty much attack as they pleased since the Germans were distracted and they were aided by fog. Who doesn't get enough credit in the battle are the foot soldiers like the 166th combat engineer battalion. They and other infantry battalions set up outpost lines which allowed the Shermans to set up on most of the elevated positioms. With superior leadership and tactics the Americans pretty much got to choose where the battles were fought. Also the Americans had their premier tank ace of the war LT Col Abrams which the Germans had nobody nearly as capable to combat him. Had the Germans had someone like SS Obersturmbannfuehrer Peiper leading a battalion the battle might have been a bit more even.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

The Germans had green, badly trained Panzer Brigades involved. Panzer Brigade 111 didn't even get its Panthers to train on until less than 2 weeks before the battle.

[@desmondjackson872]

Yeah they spread themselves too thin. Not only were alot of thier aces allocated to the Eastern front, but alot had already been killed at this point by Soviets, Brits, Canadians, and French ect. Being that like Abrams, alot of thier commanders and aces liked to fight from the front, they likely would have been knocked out during disadvantaged engagements (not having the high ground and on the offensive) if not mauled by p47s and the like.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

@@desmondjackson872 Yes, the panzer brigades that turned up at the front in September 1944 were flawed concepts. They were designed to get at least some German armoured formations to the front lines to try and plug the gaps while the panzer DIVISIONS were being rebuilt and re-equipped after the maulings in Normandy and Bagration in the summer. In Normandy alone the Germans lost ten panzer divisions and 3 Tiger battalions. These panzer 'brigades' were hastily formed in August with inexperienced badly trained crews and didnt even have any organic reconnaissance or maintenence sections. No wonder they were ineffective, unlike the actual panzer 'divisions'.

[@desmondjackson872]

@@lyndoncmp5751 exactly, one way to describe the Wehrmacht as a whole is radical, sometimes to a fault. New takes on tactics, command structures, types of weapons, and so on. The forward thinking led to continuous rethinking of the wheel in some parts. This led to downright brilliant innovations while some ideas didn't exactly work. The Panzer Brigade concept didn't work. It was the absolute worst idea to send against not just an American unit that was anything but green as grass, and even worse against some of Patton's troops. A unit with no artillery, recon or air cover was almost destined to be devastated in this battle against 4th Armored.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

@@desmondjackson872 Yeah sometimes the Germans new and ad hoc ideas worked, sometimes it didnt. Hit and miss as you say. The Panzer Brigade sent to fight Market Garden (Panzer Brigade 107) didnt fair much better either. You might know it from Episode 4 of Band of Brothers. While that episode made it look like Panzer Brigade 107 was successful, in reality it suffered heavy losses that same day and had to retreat from Nuenen, after the events shown in Episode 4. Even Cromwells were able to take out some of the Brigade's Panthers. Interestingly, the Panzer Brigades were given Panthers and Jagdpanzer IVs, so they had good armour but were poorly trained in how to use them properly.

[@bobdinwiddy]

@09:30 :: no orders :: sounds like no shirt no shoes no service :: no orders no progress no gas :: bridge too far folks . . . what a gas !!

[@atomicwedgie8176]

Had to allow Russia time to get in position, so they could claim East Germany, for the forthcoming cold war charade. Patton, was trying to beat the Russians there to prevent this.

[@waynekrisell8421]

Sorry couldn't watch it all, too damn many commercial disruptions. I don't give a damn about a government giveaway of my money.

[@charlessmith8271]

Where was the German air power

[@dingusdean1905]

It barely existed at this point

[@outinthesticks1035]

They spent four years concentrating on destroying German air power , it was one of the prerequisites they considered necessary before they ever landed a man on European soil

[@desmondjackson872]

In the rear as scrap metal in large part

[@brennanleadbetter9708]

Heavily devastated

[@CsabaBiro-sq2pu]

A német tankok sokkal jobbak voltak az amerikai és angol tankoknál! A német tankokat az amerikai légierő győzte le!!!

[@lightwoven5326]

Production, production, production......

[@lazybear236]

I never understand why they didnt have long gunned self proppelled artillery even if the Sherman in bulk was good enough. The Soviets managed to field both medium and heavy tanks. Why not the US in 44? The justifications given for the Shermans dont mention this.

[@pinchepeet4791]

The Sherman was designed to be rail transported. Too expensive to transport heavies across the ocean from the manufacturers.

[@jasonmack2364]

You have to take geography into account. In order for American heavies to get to Europe they had to be shipped and the cranes at most major ports at the time weren't strong enough to lift heavy tanks onto the ships, whereas the Russians can either drive their heavies or ship them by rail, logistics are the deciding factor

[@charlesfiscus4235]

What I'm surprised about is why it only had a short barreled 75 mm gun. Yeah they went to a 76 mm , but the Germans had a long barreled 75 mm high velocity gun. Before they started using the 88 mm on the Panzer Mk VI

[@fibessnaredrum2775]

​@charlesfiscus4235 they had 76mm shermans prior to DDay.. but the 75mm was considered sufficient at the time and ammo logistics etc were in place. They soon learned the 75mm wasn't sufficient in Normandy. That's a brief synopsis from memory

[@charlesfiscus4235]

@@fibessnaredrum2775 what my problem was that they could've started the Sherman out with a higher velocity 75 mm than the slower velocity 75 mm

[@SeanHorton-ky6ds]

Fire biden...

[@KamSingh-up9lg]

I hate war

[@martindavis9930]

Get over it Yankees... the Sherman tank was a piece of junk.

[@zillsburyy1]

the ronson was a terrible tank

[@jerrysmooth24]

whats a ronson?

[@jerrysmooth24]

m4 crews survived combat unlike German and Soviet tankers

[@atomicwedgie8176]

@@jerrysmooth24 Lead guitarist for the Spiders of Mars. -Ziggy

[@MrRichardblair]

Would you rather have a ronsen or a book of matches

[@dingusdean1905]

Then why did the Nazis loose?

[@OTG_Youtube]

Too many adds. Never gonna watch your videos

[@frederickandersen8284]

Your use of metric dimensions is disheartening. I lost interest right away.

[@Tyrone-hq6dr]

Im not sure it was the biggest tank battle of ww2 .

[@sander6438]

He said one of the biggest

[@comitatus111]

Fuel shortage my ass. Eisenhour did it.

[@charlesfiscus4235]

He ok'd the fuel for Montgomery's operation into Holland. I agree with the concept of ending the war by Christmas, but they were just too far going into Arnhem.

[@Idahoguy10157]

Eisenhower had to decide priorities on who got fuel. If Monty’s operation market-garden had ended the war in 1944, Eisenhower’s decision would have been entirely correct

[@charlesfiscus4235]

@@Idahoguy10157 Yes I agree that it was his decision, but I still think that Montgomery went one bridge too far.

[@reronal4940]

no blacks?

[@patrickcalabro8718]

I don’t have the research in front of me right now, but Patton did have a Black Tank Brigade in Italy or Sicily, which performed on the battlefield very well with few casualties. There is a famous photograph of Patton communicating with the Black Commander and raising his riding crop, indicating the direction of movement. See the book, “Killing Patton” by Bill O’Reilly. All-Black units fought in the Pacific, although not many, and there were 750 Black Marines on Iwo Jima who set up barrage balloons 🎈 and carried ammunition. Remember the Tuskegee Airmen, the best fighter escort pilots protecting American Bombers in WW2! Blacks fought in large numbers under General John J. “Blackjack” Pershing in WW1. After the “Emancipation Proclamation,” Abraham Lincoln enlisted Blacks to fight in the Civil War. And 1,100 Black Buffalo Soldiers were part of the manhunt, searching for John Wilkes Booth and David Herold. thank you 🚩

[@reronal4940]

No! Thank you. I learned most of that on my own, not in SCHOOL AND before the internet, at the library , but that last part i am just now learning.@@patrickcalabro8718

[@walterwhitaker1395]

Research "Patton's Panther's"