How The Paratroopers Saved D-Day

[@AnimarchyHistory]

Special thanks to Call of War for Sponsoring this video! Play Call of War today! play.callofwar.com/q5L6/ANH001

[@murasame5071]

Great. Another M.A.P. supporter on youtube. Hope you are proud of yourself.

[@dwim6423]

@@murasame5071what?

[@colekarrh9114]

My dumb ass mind read the title as "How Animarchy Saved D-Day"

[@jamespocelinko104]

Just a reminder about the 101st Airborne: THESE were the soldiers called upon to escort the Little Rock Nine when Arkansas brought in the national guard to stop them from attending school. Not just the regular Army. Eisenhower brought in paratroopers.

[@BiggestCorvid]

A group of soldiers being sent to secure key positions while surrounded by hostiles. They're perfect.

[@evananderson1455]

The Arkansas national guard knew they didn't want that smoke. You don't fuck with the Airborne.

[@nootnoot6404]

I thought it was mostly because they were a quick reaction force

[@cpt-cheese3489]

@@nootnoot6404 that but it’s also a powerful message

[@Lavey1917]

They were chosen because they were a rapid deployment force and the national guard was thought to be compromised if I am not misremembering Battle Order made a great video about the subject

[@hylandhistories4140]

Eisenhower D-day address is one of the few that no matter how many times it is heard still fills me with pride and resolve.

[@nls.135]

Seems like a movie speech but it was real. There was no exaggeration when he said “the eyes of the world are upon you”

[@Autobotmatt428]

I agree. He also had a letter prepared incased the operation failed. He was prepared to take full blame. Ike may not have been a combat leader at the start of the war but by 1944 he was not only a great leader but an excellent General

[@TheSchultinator]

​@@Autobotmatt428He was a great choice for Supreme Allied Commander, may not have been a combat commander, but he knew how to get everything moving together

[@patrioticaussiesams8581]

Yep just like Winston Churchill's word's during the Battle of Britain 'Never in the Field of the human conflict was so much owed by so many too so few' August 1940

[@Baldwin-iv445]

In my senior year of highschool I was actually able to convince my English teachers to play the speech for the 79th Anniversary of D Day. Funnily enough most of the girls in the glass thought it was stupid.

[@j3dwin]

My father was in the 82nd for Market-Garden and the Battle of the Bulge. All three of his sons became US paratroopers, myself included.

[@A.Warrior7]

I wish I was in the 82nd too, thank you for your service

[@justabill5780]

My grandfather was also in the 82nd. And also at the Bulge and Market Garden! 501st Parachute Infantry. Unfortunately,, h died when I was very young and n ver got to har his story. :-(

[@inyobill]

I believe that old description "cast iron balls" apply to you guys. You have 'way more intestinal fortitude than I. The history of the 82nd speaks for itself to anyone that has done any reading of history at all. They denied they were heroes, I reserve the right to my own opinion.

[@SnepBlepVR]

"Gory Gory what a hellova way to die-" Thank you for your service and sacrifice. I only wish i knew what its like. I wanted to serve but years of frankly senseless BS prescriptions made me dependent on antipsychs i didnt need and ruined my life. I have the utmost respect for the boots on the ground. Even if i detest the spending we do to compensate for our failures at home with bigger gun. You guys are the ones who made the history, if not for you, id be out of the job earnestly. So thank you for all that you do. Even if all that was was driving a truck from a supply depo to an airfield.

[@TheMuddleHeadedAnalyst]

Those troopers were absolute legends.

[@wheelcha1rman2]

"13 men armed to the teeth, with no officers present... And an objective involving explosives." That's poetry.

[@williampanagopoulos656]

My thought hearing pacman say the line "Oh no...."

[@TheEDFLegacy]

@dimapez Wouldn't work; the planes wouldn't fly between the weight of their nuts and the crayons needed to complete the time.

[@cookudysu90]

The Filthy Thirteen

[@riograndedosulball248]

​@dimapez they would have blown themselves up with the explosives if they were Marines

[@Kez_DXX]

This must be the "default aggressive" I've heard mentioned.

[@Steffune]

“Sir! We are surrounded!” “Excellent, now we can fire in every direction.”

[@Jmanfuego]

WWII Allied paratroopers in a nutshell.

[@jomoma8576]

Speed surprise & violence of action.

[@ebnertra0004]

"Remember: The Germans can't know what we're doing if _we_ don't know what we're doing yet." - An Allied Paratrooper, probably

[@aaronkochenrath5863]

​@@Jmanfuegowhen surrounded the emphasis is on "nuts"

[@Jmanfuego]

@@aaronkochenrath5863 Were it not so, they would have never won the war. You need just a little bit of crazy to do that sort of stuff.

[@krisfrederick5001]

"Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that Bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone." -Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander. This is the other speech...D-DAY was never a guarantee.

[@smergenshmiedtzel9715]

I believe this is the premade announcement Incase the landings failed. Am I right?

[@strgunlinr2464]

​@@smergenshmiedtzel9715yes

[@ladywaffle2210]

That note was written in preparation for defeat, and after inarguably the most harrowing moments in his life had passed, Eisenhower took that note, tore it in half, and threw it away, because as he himself said--SHAEF would accept nothing less than full victory.

[@patrickmaline4258]

he warned us, but also pulled his punch. he wrote in preparation for his farewell speech to beware the military, industrial, congressional complex. but, he edited his remarks leaving the congressional element in the shadows. ike let us down to save the image of a healthy country. and so the cancer spread, american military spreading and spreading, with no real objective other than to enrich the weapons manufacturers. war for profit must be immoral in any civilized society. fortunately for u.s. weapons manufacturers america shows no sign of civilizing itself any time soon.

[@John-qv5ux]

If this happened, Fat Man would've been dropped on Berlin.

[@hendrix24]

That medal of honor score still hits so hard after all these years. Excellent work with this video. It was well worth the wait.

[@1TruNub]

In my opinion it's the best soundtrack of any video game in history

[@thecactusman17]

Written by Michael Giacchino, who soon after started working on Hollywood film scores.

[@srsungsu3881]

It fits so perfectly too, considering I remember these scores from Medal of Honor: Airborne.

[@oldjaguar]

i’m literal tears!! the memories of my childhood…i miss that game so much

[@jacktattis]

Your highest award was denigrated when MacArthur was awarded one and then Wainwright

[@destruct0503]

Oh my god. Those Germans must've been so freaking confused. The general in charge of the defense was off to see his wife, the general in charge of the counter offensive was dead, and 2 of their headquarters had been destroyed by some fiesty 19 year olds

[@americankid7782]

Never underestimate unsupervised 19 year olds with explosives and something to blow up.

[@SanderDoesThings]

​@@americankid7782Especially when they're armed to the teeth

[@newone-gd9sk]

Propaganda just doesnt stop, huh?

[@americankid7782]

@@newone-gd9sk Explain what part of this propaganda. Everything said here is backed up by Allied and German after action reports as well as personal diaries of separate commanders throughout the early stages of Operation Overlord

[@kekzoet7487]

Which generals you’re referring to?

[@mareczek00713]

Ah, yes, the "enemy can't foresee our plan if the plan went to shit" strategy :)

[@HortonSalm]

Go ahead, try and predict my next move, I don't even know where I am.

[@polpotnoodle7441]

🤣🤣

[@proudfirebrand3946]

@@HortonSalm *"I dont even know where I am"* LMAO This encapsulates so much how I play strategy games, specially Chess..

[@proudfirebrand3946]

Me: *Caps a queen, both knights and a Bishop* Opponent: *stares blankly at the board capping only 2 pawns and a bishop and looks up in confusion* "What DA FUK are you doing??" Me: *Cackles as I make another move* "I dont know but it seems to be working....!!!!"

[@foldervtolvr]

I’ve always said you can’t really fuck up a paratrooper drop as long as you get paratroopers out. If everything worked, you have a bunch of well armed well trained soldiers sabotaging things If everything went wrong, you have a bunch of angry 19 year olds with military equipment *and a grudge*

[@mcnultyssobercompanion6372]

I wrote about this in the comments to your previous video, but again, as the grandson of a WW2 paratrooper combat veteran, thank you for shining more light on paratrooper topics. I shared the screenshot of the explanation of "LGOPS" with my aunt and she was as amused as I was. It still makes me laugh. I should say, my grandfather (who fought in southern France and Belgium) was specifically part of the glider infantry, which many people aren't always aware of. I'd love to see a video on that topic someday. EDIT: I should specify, the more I've read about glider infantry the more I see the differences between them and paratroopers. They were similar, but also distinct in significant ways. Growing up, I was always told grandpa "jumped out of planes" during the war. I was told he "was a paratrooper". But as an adult I read more into his service, and found that his unit, the 550th airborne, was glider infantry, which I'd never heard of. It's VERY difficult to find out conclusive, specific info about where grandpa was and what he did. I've read that glider infantry sometimes volunteered for paratrooper duty, it's possible grandpa was one of those guys. I remember he was buried with his wings on his collar. I know the glider infantry and the paratroopers have very similar wings. I cannot recall what grandpa's looked like. Somehow he had a connection to each service branch, I just have no idea to what degree. War is hell, lol...

[@cpt-cheese3489]

War is hell and paperwork is plenty

[@talk-supersix-seven6021]

Could you explain the differences between paratroopers and glider infrantry in terms of culture basics of the way they are used etc??

[@asbestos1502]

@@talk-supersix-seven6021 Essentially glider infantry were the worse-off cousins of paratroopers. Glider infantry tended to be the usual conscripts/unwilling volunteers, and as such suffered the problems of the line infantry like lower morale and poorer training as well as less trust between soldiers than in the paratroopers. Glider infantry however served alongside the paratroopers, and as such were put into the same extremely dangerous situations as the paratroopers minus the training, equipment and will to fight. They also didn't receive the same hazard pay as the paratroopers in the US Army. Glider infantry also deployed with heavier equipment that couldn't be dropped via parachute, like light artillery, extra supplies and the materials to set up proper HQs for units. Not to mention the obvious hazard of crash-landing a plane in the dark!

[@dangarrett8676]

Quick correction about McNeice that makes everything so much better: he was so... unruly that the army refused to promote him and gave him a platoon of similar minded individuals and made him, still a PFC, platoon sergeant. He was simultaneously a pfc and acting Platoon Sergeant.

[@sebastianb.3978]

He wasn't a PFC, he was a regular private. All Paratroopers get promoted to PFC, except Mcniece because he was so... himself.

[@Kevin-t1o7g]

Ever since I watched the fat electricians video on McNasty. I’ve been amazed nobody’s written a movie about him

[@LOTR22090able]

Yeah it sucks that the closest we've gotten is a blink and you'll miss it appearance in Band of Brothers

[@Jw-no7id]

"Show me a man who will jump from a plane and I'll show you a man who will fight." General James Gavin.

[@MaxAalbers-xy2xq]

My great-grandfather was in the 506th PIR, Easy Company, I never got to meet him but my grandfather told me about him, I got to see some of his medals, which was really cool, I have no idea what his experience was like on D-Day, but I can imagine that he fought hard, knowing now that my great grandfather was one of the brave men who jumped that day, I'm proud as hell of my heritage, and thank you for telling the story of D-Day.

[@tribalismsucks7784]

I went to Jump School in 1990. I wanted to go to a very specific unit, but a major injury on my last training jump changed all my plans. I "ended up" in the 82nd and was not happy about it. Then I went to the Gulf with the Division. Looking back, I am very grateful for that. "All the Way!"

[@wrenchinator9715]

I appreciate that you didn't focus on the 101st and Easy company. Not to say that Winters and crew didn't accomplish an impressive feat by taking out the artillery battery and capturing the map of other nearby batteries, but they're always brought up. To the point that the accomplishments of other groups are forgotten.

[@brianzhang349]

It’s the most well known and that has its ups and downs.

[@KingCobraStunts]

Kinda like how the Pacific Theater is always foreshadowed with Marines and their feats that everyone forgets the Army was there or the Paratroopers who took islands on their own like Corrigidor

[@andybreglia9431]

​@@KingCobraStunts: Dad served with Army Americal Division artillery on Guadalcanal. His battery of six inch long range guns provided artillery support for Marines defending Henderson field and dealt with Admiral Tanaka's resupply convoys. I've never seen Army participation in any Guadalcanal videos.

[@captainyossarian388]

Great stuff, and thanks! I was unaware we Canucks were part of these drops, with the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion. Thought it was just the Yanks and Brits. Gonna read up on them further.

[@jackjones9460]

Canada was also heavily involved in the first Great War.

[@captainyossarian388]

@@jackjones9460 Oh ya, I knew that. Every Canuck knows or should know about our soldiers in WW1, especially Vimy Ridge, and WW2, especially at Juno Beach. I just wasn't aware that our paratroopers took part in the drop behind the lines on D Day.

[@avroarchitect1793]

@@captainyossarian388 if you want to know more research the Canadian Airborne Regiment, 3RCR, 3rd Battalion of the Vandoos, and 3 PPCLI.

[@MichaelCollins1922]

There's a book I read a few years ago I would recommend. "A Rising of Courage" by D-Day veteran Daniel Hartigan gives a good account of the Canadian Para's during D-Day and the Normandy Campaign.

[@pierrealarie2897]

Canadians were also involved with Jed Teams

[@Jmanfuego]

Such stories no man could write, but the men who penned them with neither pen nor paper.

[@gnranger]

Even though its not as significant as the battles these men charged into, Winters attack at Brecourt is my personal favorite example of the LGOPS in action. It could be that I learned about it before Merville and Sgt Summers assault of the German hq or that im a Pennsylvanian, but Winters attack was just so perfectly executed, and they reacted perfectly to parts of their plan getting messed up.

[@Themaxwithnoname]

I already knew about the Assault on XYZ, and it's referenced in Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, but I would tend to agree with you. He planned it, and lead it, telling his men to "Follow me." The man lead by example, and wouldn't order someone to do something that he himself wouldn't do.

[@HortonSalm]

Winters attack at Brecourt is still taught today at West Point as a textbook example of small unit tactics. It was a case of the best of the best being led by one of the greats. Lions led by a lion.

[@jacktattis]

Oh please Winters Band of Brothers 1944 to 1945 One Year? To an American OK yes I can see it. But to a Aussie whose Army was in it from 1940 to 1945 it is not so great. Just down the road from me the 28th and 49th Infantry Battalions WW2. 1940 to 1945 20 MAJOR Battles 33 Battle Honours from Libya to Borneo and everywhere in between . Some of the great battles of WW2

[@asbestos1502]

@@jacktattis as a Kiwi, I understand where you're coming from. The Commonwealth's armies saw some extremely tough fighting from the beginning of the war right until the very end, but you mustn't forget what the 101st did in such a short time. As much as I admire our valiant fighting forces, if they had tried to fight as hard and aggressively as the 101st Airborne did for just five years, they would've shattered by the second year at best. Those men were pushed far beyond their breaking point time and time again, often facing overwhelming numerical and material superiority (including when they were sent to Bastogne with little to no ammunition or other supplies), to the point where (if my memory serves me correctly) a man simply cracked a joke after his limb was blown off by artillery. The 2AEF and 2NZEF were damn fine soldiers, and fought extremely well in the Pacific and North Africa, but you could take one look at the exploits of the 101st, its casualty rates (despite maintaining a large portion of their original members) and declare that the 101st is filled with either the toughest men on this earth, or lunatics with guns and uniforms.

[@jacktattis]

@@asbestos1502 The 101st did not fight any harder than any British C/wealth force at all. And it is 2 AIF The Kiwis were at Mont Cassino and helped the Poles take it with the Indians and you are saying the 101st fought harder Sorry the Brit Paras fought harder the Brit Commandos fought harder. You have to stop being a 101st fan boy

[@jcorey333]

This is easily one of my top three favorite Australian KZbinrs who do hour long military analyses!

[@jcorey333]

Perun and hypohystericalhistory are the other two.

[@AnimeSunglasses]

If I had a nickle for every time... Also, hello fellow Perun appreciator!

[@graywolfalphaone]

Very well done sir. It's an amazingly well done recounting of several of the stories of that day.

[@mikedrop4421]

You're right, while lots of units are beloved the original airborne troops have remained one of the most famous and universally known and respected units in all of our vast military. In a country with specops groups like the Rangers, Green Berets, Delta force, Seals MARSOC and others those hallowed units basically form the foundation of our specialized operators, our pride and joy who's name we've called on for the most difficult missions for the last 80yrs straight and we civilians know them by name. The 82nd and 101st airborne are those men and if the president decided to deliver the devil a taste of his own medicine by the side of his firey lake, he'd call on our LGOPs. Edit: now that I think about it we're so in awe of our airborne that quality purveyors and sheisters alike market their wares as "paratrooper or Airborne" quality, style or spec. Want a knife? You want a M2 jump knife. Watch? Paratrooper watch with altimeter. Pants? Parachute pants with cargo pockets. Boots? Jump boots. Pew pews? M1 CARBINE and 1911. Gotta tie something up? Paracord. It really is amazing what impact the LGOP's have made on culture and history. Thanks Pacman.

[@jacktattis]

You do know the Brits were doing drops in 1941

[@RobertBailey-y3h]

I am reminded of the French veteran of Verdun's commebt on the troops there:"Ils sont fous, ces gens la." "They were crazy, yhose men."--Bob Bailey in Maine,USA

[@adrianybas778]

> loses sight of any officers on jump > switches to default aggressive mode

[@andreatomasi3755]

"We lost the officers" "Good, we can FUCK shit up as much as we want"

[@Blazcowitz1943]

A wonderfully made documentary and huge props for using the music from various Medal of Honor games with it!

[@fernandomarques5166]

One of my favorite reads is a hand me down from my old man titled "On to Berlin" written by no one other than the "Jumpin' Jim" himself Gen. James M. Gavin, commander of the 82nd Airborne. Amazing read. Lots of LGOPs included.

[@Dakota__69]

With my first shooter game ever being Medal of Honor: Airborne, my interest in paratrooper forces has always been tied to my fascination with WWII

[@das_gruuben]

Damn. I know you have to keep the lights on, but your amazing intro was absolutely dashed to pieces by your ad spot.

[@michaellewis1545]

If anyone is looking for more stories about paratrooper. I recommend looking up the 11th Airborne division. They fought in the Pacific theater. A good place to start is with the book Angles Against the Sun.

[@robertmosher7418]

I was a paratrooper in the US Army as a member of a LRSD (Airborne) unit or Long Range Surveillance Detachment. I am terrified of jumping out of a high performance military air craft and I mean, really, really terrified. I was able to exit each aircraft because I loved being in those units. They were made up of highly motivated, very disciplined, well trained soldiers and NCOs. I left LRSD to become a lightfighter because when I reinlisted to go to Ft Lewis they had just decommissioned the LRSD unit there so I went on to lead young light infantry soldiers in combat in Iraq. There are only a small number of LRS companies and no detachments left, unless you count the 75th Ranger LRSD, but, though they are the best special reconnaissance unit in the US...they are something way, way more than a LRSD. They are more akin to the SAS Recon detachment with an assortment of abilities and special training that outsiders like myself can only tell you because it's open sourced. Though I did spend a training rotation with 2nd Ranger Battalion to provide a well disciplined opfor for an important mission they were getting spun up for and as such one of the 75th LRS troops had sliced a couple teams to support 2nd Rangers in a foreign country. I was able to rub shoulders with the Senior NCO there to evaluate the LRS guys doing their job. Having come from that part of the world I was interested in how they were going to approach that event. They are very, very good. The only LRS Companies left are from 18th Airborne Corps the 82nd Air Borne Div and unless they have reconstituted some again. The battalion scout/reconnaissance platoons and the scout RSTA squadrons have taken over for LRSD.

[@your_royal_highness]

I had the chance to hit Normandy last year and Bastogne this year. Band of Brothers notwithstanding, you gotta give the 82nd plenty of props. They fought in Africa, Sicily and had the northern shoulder of the Bulge. The acts of bravery by all of these soldiers in all armies were astounding. No way I could have done it.

[@jacktattis]

Let us put the whole thing into perspective Airborne- Paras what ever, are emplaned and dropped as close to their objective as is possible American Brit Canadian Infantry went from the Beaches at Normandy to the Elbe in Germany ON FOOT. Everyday being another fight for survival not just one battle but 100s of little skirmishes and in many instances they had to hold out for days Tobruk 1941 6 months with Rommel hitting them almost everyday They were the backbone of the Army NOT Airborne

[@HereticalKitsune]

Having served in airborne battalion myself, albeit logistics, yeah... Even we learned and embraced thinking on our feet and being inventive. That holds true to this day.

[@jediorder88]

My dad and I went a trip that followed the 101st route through Europe, incredible.

[@akaitogashi9901]

This was awsome. Glad you'd gotten out one of these kinds of videos after so long. Informative yet entertaining all the same. Keep it up

[@OutsideTheTargetDemographic]

Inspirational and educational. Thank you for shedding light on what little of us know about a big day.

[@c1ph3rpunk]

Blood on the Risers in the background was class.

[@hyrondongle2473]

Wow… at 20:47, the speech of Eisenhower in combination of the Medal of Honor theme…. Goosebumps here….

[@ackbarfan5556]

Man, I just love you using the Medal of Honor music throughout this.

[@1TruNub]

Me too man it takes me back almost 25 years and some of the 1st games I ever played.

[@br0k3nman]

Because he is talking about huge amounts of men that literally earned it, even if they weren’t recognized.

[@Baldwin-iv445]

I actually live in the hometown of a medal of honor recipient who died in the invasion. Charles Deglopper of the 82nd airborne, who has a metal statue commemorating his last stand on June 9th, in his home of Grand Island New York.

[@russellrobinson4888]

Great video. I enjoyed the keen sense of humor for a very serious subject. I salute every single soldier who took part in the greatest conflict in history and thus ensured our liberty and freedom from tyranny.

[@knighter1209]

legit one of the best WW2 historical youtubers

[@kemarisite]

In a way, the concept goes back more than a century before. Benjamin Franklin first envisioned airborne troops dropped by parachute from hot air balloons flying behind enemy lines in a 1784 letter, “And where is the Prince who can afford so to cover his Country with Troops for its Defense, as that Ten Thousand Men descending from the Clouds, might not in many Places do an infinite deal of Mischief, before a Force could be brought together to repel them?”

[@cheesyfromindonesia9969]

"Sir, we are seperated!" "Good, let's go fuck shit up"

[@RobertBailey-y3h]

Collect motivated volunteers after honestly explaining the situation, train them VERY well and give them quality weapons. Give them a voice in plammimg as well.--Bob Bailey in Maine

[@Shepenstein98]

I love how he added music from 'Medal of honor: Vanguard" over Eisenhower's speech. That was awesome.

[@reddevilparatrooper]

I enlisted into the US Army before my 18th birthday in in 1985 while I was in high school, I wanted to be an Airborne Infantryman like my Dad. My Dad was very upset because I didn't join the Air Force as an aircraft mechanic. From December till August my Dad didn't talk to me because he was very angry. Dad was a Paratrooper at the end of WWII and Korea and was in combat and did one combat jump in WWII with the 83nd Airborne in Holland and one in Korea with the 187th Rakassans. Later he fought in the 1st Cavalry until the war ended in Korea. He retired before Vietnam kicked off in 1966. Because of my Dad's proud history I wanted to experience what it takes to be a Paratrooper in the Infantry. So I got lucky by telling the my recruiter and his station commander to give me Infantry and Airborne or else I would walk away. The station commander which was an E-7 needed to get his quota filled haggled and argued on the phone yelling with the guy to get me an Airborne Infantry Contract Option 40. The station commander got it done in 20 minutes. I went to Basic and Infantry School at Ft. Benning GA. I had prepared running over 10 miles 5 days a weeks for endurance, did at least 50 push ups, sit ups, in a minute, and did 10 pull ups everyday after school. I used to run to school every other morning the 3 miles from home to school and back. August 1986 I was still 17 years old I did my best during Basic and Infantry School because they knew who were the Airborne and Ranger candidates in their company and platoons. I was running scared the whole time because my Drill Sergeants reminded us that failure is not an option. I graduated Basic and Infantry School at the top with 12 of the best to go to Airborne School with me. I ran scared again at Airborne School to make the selection because the Airborne Instructors were making it their job to fail as many students to fail as possible because every morning they make it a priority to ask every student to ask them in they want to quit? I made it and made my 5 qualifying jumps, I was happy to become Airborne qualified. Two years later I became a Paratrooper with the 1/508th in Panama after being in Big Army in Mech Infantry. My fellow soldiers kind of resented me because I was a qualified parachutist being in Mech Infantry. Once I was in Panama in an Airborne Infantry Battalion. I did have the hardest time of my life with regular long road marches but enjoyed jumping out of airplanes and helicopters. The Panama Invasion was baptism of fire, this was reality of what a Paratrooper is expected of his service to the United States of America. A man who becomes a Paratrooper in any nation goes beyond what is normally expected of them. Many of my fellow Paratroopers later became Special Forces to become top operators in the wars I was in like Iraq. I was just a humble Infantryman who was just a regular Paratrooper. I did enjoy the friendship and bond of the craziest fuckers in the world. No matter how old they are along with me, we still think like young men who look at adventure and young women as if we were 19 year old Paratroopers.. Brings tears to my eyes after all these years, young Paratroopers still gives me joy that these few men who are tough and jump out of airplanes have done what I have gone through with blood, sweat, and tears. AIRBORNE ALL THE WAY!!! Just fucking proud of my history and to those willing to be a part of it in the future..🤪🤪🤪🥰🥰🥰

[@waltvonkeisel5610]

Damned shame those guys didn't take Fally prisoner, because that is such a high ranking gold mine for them if they had just managed to prevent him from reaching for his Luger.

[@mrbill2600]

General Falley knew that and that's why he went for his Luger ... "death with honor."

[@VolleyOfTheMist]

I love your narration style, that little pause and change in tone you do before getting to a cool part 💕💕

[@Evolution_Kills]

I love it. These stories epitomize the sort of self-driven motivation and initiative that you just don't get with a rigid top-down command approach. The Russian military today is still suffering from not learning these crucial lessons from their 'Great Parotitic War'.

[@LollipopKnight2]

It's less that they didn't learn, and more that they can't. One of the reasons free soldiers fight better is that, with a more legitimate government, coups are less likely to work. This, coup-proofing and quashing of initiative isn't as much of an imperative.

[@RasEli03]

3:36 a second front... I feel like whenever people talk about two front wars they forget the efforts and brutality of the southern fronts in Italy and Balkans

[@Turiargov]

We landed at Taranto a holiday with pay Jerry brought the band out to cheer us on our way showed us the sights and gave us tea we all sang songs the beer was free for we're the D-Day Dodgers out in Italy

[@Zarastro54]

How serendipitous that I just so happened to start rewatching Band of Brothers just a couple days ago.

[@lynx-alpha2073]

Damn this handsome devil sure does have a knack for that good old fashioned story telling and dramatic narration for the movie picture

[@shoootme]

My great uncle from what I can tell was in the 3rd Para 9th battalion, I say as far as I can tell as my Grandmother didn't want to talk about the war or her little brother who she lost that day. I don't know much about him, we have his medal and there is a tombstone in France with his name on it. When the war started my great-grandad who had served in the 1st World War said that he didn't think any of his kids would be caught up in the war as they were either too young or in positions that would be critical to the war effort, but the youngest of the family, my grands little brother appears to have decided that as the war was still going on when he was old enough to enlist that he was going to join the Paras, D-Day was his first and last operation. This hit my Grandmother hard as with her other brothers away from home she was very close to her younger brother, as so never talked about him with us, we were told not to play war games or war movies when she was around as it would upset her. She did visit his tombstone in France and was very upset according to my mum who was with her. To give you an idea of how little I know, I don't know if he made it to the ground, was caught in a flooded field, made it into a LGOPS, made it to Merville, was killed in the assault or in the actions after that, all I know is he never came home, and he had been sent to destroy the battery at Merville. So thank you for making this, I knew most of this from my own research, but it's good to see the story told.

[@PEDROv0311]

Amazing work! All of your WW2, especially Enterprise 4 parts!

[@maccotton8289]

Fantastic vid, mate. Cheers from US NAFO, really filled me with pride when it's been so lacking.

[@tigertom2226]

This is a great chronicle of the countless heroes involved and instrumental in the success of the American effort on D-day. Great video!

[@adventussaxonum448]

I'd like to thank the American effort in providing 45% of the landing troops, 20% of the naval support ( including landing craft crews), and about 35% of the air cover. I think we can conveniently ignore the other 55%, 80% and 65% respectively?

[@charlesgantz5865]

Great video. I love how it showed how outfits, and countries other than the U.S., other than Easy Company were involved in the war, too. In too many videos and comments, the impression is that the entire war was won by Captain Winters, backed up by Easy Company, with others playing a supporting role.

[@jacktattis]

Mate they will not like you. I was just looking at a Aussie Regiment that was in Egypt in late 1940 a Brit Regiment that was at Dunkirk 1940 and at the Elbe in 1945 with Egypt Libya Tunisia in between Blame their schools who do not even teach that WW2 started in 1939

[@creaturemonk]

Damn that og Medal of Honor music brought back so many memories.

[@moseszero3281]

You should have added the estimate of the high losses the paratroopers were supposed to have. IIRC it was like 80-90%.

[@hairychris444]

Yep. There was a reason that the Germans did no massed air assaults after their Crete operation. They succeeded, but only just, and it basically wiped out their entire paratroop force in the process. D-Day was a slightly better use of airborne forces but was still marginal in many places partly because of the losses. And then there was Market Garden.

[@KingCobraStunts]

​@hairychris444 same with the Marine Corp. They had a parachute company or regiment but never used them for Airborne operations due to the high cost it would have so they were used to bolster other units.

[@shaunpatterson9148]

10:00 "we arent jumping out of a perfectly good airplane, we are jumping out of an airforce aircraft"

[@triggerhappy171]

That intro hit, freedom will always prevail

[@GrantvsMaximvs]

My grandaddy was in the 82nd. He jumped into Normandy and Holland. Thank you for the video

[@ThatWelshGuy.]

Thanks for the amazing video and on my birthday no less i hope to see more great content from you in the future!

[@cuff02]

Love the medal of honour allied assault music in this. Chills & nostalgia! Loved that game and loved this video 👌

[@AlexRojas-b9o]

"However one man present wasn't training" I knew it was to be Goring. How could it not be Goring.

[@D4rkn3ss2000]

I love the OG Medal of Honor OST. Thanks for this and such awesome video.

[@beatmoralimprove]

Love your content, but the subtext in the first minute of >82nd & 101st airborne has entered the chat< was fantastic.

[@shapshooter8669]

As integral as Churchill’s speech to parliament was and was much more well known I feel like Eisenhower’s address to the troops for D-Day is one of the most important speeches in world history and always will be

[@jacktattis]

Montgomerys' address to his troops when the Germans signed the surrender is as good We must not forget that the British 8th Army had been with him from before the US were even in the Theatre.

[@Nmille98]

Real OG's remember when the title said "LGOPs"

[@Noisy_Cricket]

Basically the conclusion of this documentary is that, "the Allied paratroopers weren't locked in Normandy with the Germans, the Germans were locked in Normandy with the paratroopers."

[@HortonSalm]

I absolutely love the history of the Airborne. When I was a kid, my dad and I watched Band of Brothers and I was playing the Brothers in Arms games. To this day, if I'm playing any kind of WW2 game and the Airborne is available, I'm maining them. Unless the Marines are also available, then i split my time equally. Gotta represent, Semper Fi!

[@trevermcdonald2402]

Fourteen gliders landed on the Isle of Thanet (An island by name only nowadays) which on the East Kent coast, all having reported problems with their gliders. The children in Dane Vally Margate had a great time, American chocolate given to one and all.

[@Hellhound23691]

Paratroopers are the definition of “Default Aggressive.”

[@loganwc99]

LGOPs are very much still alive in the airborne

[@georgeparris8293]

This is really good. interesting history and insightful technical analysis.

[@SabinStargem]

Hopefully we get a sequel, "The failure of High Command at Market Garden." That would be a tale full of courage, blame, and tragedy in equal measure.

[@flyoptimum]

That topic brings out the historical revisionists like no other. Americans like to blame Carrington. Brits prefer to blame Gavin. The real blame rests with Browning, Brereton and Montgomery, but it’s easier for people to point at a single point of failure instead of acknowledging the whole thing was a complete shitshow, that wasn’t near as close to succeeding as we like to tell ourselves.

[@HortonSalm]

If D-Day was a classic underdog story, Market Garden was a Greek tragedy. It was all hubris and heroics. The Brits holding it down in Arnhem, the 82nd's river crossing, it was all fantastic and all a waste.

[@jacktattis]

@@flyoptimum Go to the ORBAT Market Garden the Principal Commanders are Eisenhower, Bedell- Smith, Brereton, Browning and a RAF commander. Gavin and Montgomery are no-where near the top .

[@flyoptimum]

@@jacktattis Eisenhower was commanding an entire theater. You can blame him for every failure and give him credit for every success if you'd like, but it's not useful when parsing individual battles, because his decisions were about grand strategy and resource allocation. You're right about Brereton, I wrote Ridgeway for some unknown reason but I absolutely meant Brereton. Browning, ugh browning, there's not enough bad to say about that guy in that battle. Gavin was there, and participated in a very bad choice at Nijmegen, but was directly attached to Browning, his commander, and his decisions were discussed with and approved by the senior officer. When Brits try to crucify Gavin while remaining silent about Browning they reveal themselves to being arguing in bad faith. As for Montgomery, he was an Army Group Commander, and not directly leading the fight so It's accurate to say he was not responsible for the numerous tactical failures that occured. It's also accurate to say that the operation he concieved of requested significantly more resources (Monty was always bleating for more resources so this is hardly unusual). That said, this view ignores two important things. 1) Montgomery was the principle officer who concieved of the operational design, and advocated for the operation to occur. He did not lead the operation personally, but it was his operation, which is why he simultaneoursly took responsibility for it's failure, and tried to defend what gains had been made as sufficient for the cost paid (it wasn't). 2) The battle didn't fail for lack of resources. First Allied Airborne Army and XXX Corps far outgunned and out resourced the Germans. It failed because the Allies were unable to mass their superior firepower at decisive points. Simply having more, wasn't going to cut it. That, is why Montgomery rightfully catches shit for Market Garden's failure.

[@jacktattis]

@@flyoptimum This was the one that IKE took on and it failed So stop blaming Monty for all your stuff ups

[@northman017]

Found your channel from Lazerpig, but goddamn, great video. Also, LOVE the MOHAA soundtrack throwback. I got damn near choked up. :)

[@rangerdave9255]

A great presentation. Thank you.

[@craigstricklin]

Very well written. Good job.

[@LostShipMate]

Theres a version of Blood On the Risers that has a full chorus of soldiers singing, its definitely worth listening too.

[@dev1360]

10/10 smashing "subscribe" upon hearing the OG Medal of Honor music.

[@Kevs_ya]

What a piece of art this video is

[@oskarskarin9376]

What a vid great job man!

[@olivesandgrapesareok9324]

The inclusion of the Soundtrack is beautiful.

[@andrewbrown2907]

Very well presented, thank you.

[@ThatViggenEnjoyer]

"We're paratroopers, Lieutenant, we're supposed to be surrounded." one Colonel Richard "Dick" Winters of the 101st Airborne

[@spoopyghosti6961]

Tell me I ain’t the only one who started singing when the lyrics of “blood on the risers” appeared I’m not the only one who did, right?

[@TheMuddleHeadedAnalyst]

Absolutely legendary commentary!

[@kaynebartholomew2994]

That Goering comment about the flight of stairs got me. 🤣

[@rodneyridgeway2220]

we in this world have liberty to be free .because of the devotion and devotion and sacrifice of these ordinary people who fight for money

[@Fuse1990]

Listening to this reminds me of the line in Band of Brothers ‘we are paratroopers Lieutenant, we are supposed to be surrounded’

[@Flemdragon]

Got the army needs to pay you for this. I already did all this and had my jumps but it made me want to do it again. The part about the aggression is so real and got me fired up again. 😂

[@AnimarchyHistory]

80 Deuce on the Loose

[@zollen123]

Have Putin ever learned that paratroopers would negate the advantages of having buffer zones. I assume he didn't know that because he is such a poor student of history and law.

[@kirkstockdale7062]

LOVE your doc's, man.

[@amanofnoreputation2164]

Defenders: "They're here! Begin counter off-- " Paratroopers: "DISCOMBOBULATE."

[@pedjatrninic]

Ahh,that music brings so many memories playing MOH

[@Spinikar]

Well, you find the men by offering an extra 50 bucks according to Band of Brothers interviews :)

[@chainsaw2046]

The transition to the ad read went hard, ngl

[@scottmurphy650]

My second cousin, COL Walter Bennett was a brand new butter bar when he jumped with the 82 ABD the night before the invasion. He has some amazing stories about 6/6/44 and the days that followed all the way to Berlin.

[@bryanmarco4515]

As a WW1/WW2 Buff I intended to write a story from the perspective of a 508th PIR trooper, and what I just find out ? My Boy's making an entire video about badass paratroopers, including those who ambushed Generalleutnant Wilhelm Falley. LOVE IT