Last Allied Landing France - April 1945!

[@cmedeir]

Seems like a giant waste of lives and material for de Gaulle’s pride.

[@cjay2]

All the leaders of all countries are the same. But no one ever learns.

[@indianheadlogan]

Politicians, man

[@gdutfulkbhh7537]

No just the ego of de Gaulle, but vital in establishing the postwar myth that France hadn't been defeated shamefully in 1940.

[@BiéreSaint-Pub]

Did you actually watch the video or is this only your impression?

[@diatonicdelirium1743]

@@BiéreSaint-Pub Perhaps because Mark says it himself @9:40?

[@bglrj]

DeGaulle took the attitude that horrific French casualties mattered little compared to the bolstering of his ego.

[@placebojesus5652]

Really, the gall of De Gaulle

[@cjay2]

All the leaders of all countries are the same. But no one ever learns.

[@hinz1]

Pitty, Jean Bastien-Thiry failed!

[@cyberleaderandy1]

Massive ego for sure

[@michaelpalmer4387]

De Gaulle also launched an offensive against German & Italian garrisons in the Alps in April 1945. Hundreds of French & Axis troops died. All so the French could claim some Italian territory.

[@sailordude2094]

April, 45? Wow, they sure wanted some medals before the end of the war! Thanks for the great history, Mark!

[@projektkobra2247]

IKR!???

[@nandi123]

The French Resistance swelled by millions after the war. French military doctrine is run, hide, surrender, collaborate, switch sides.

[@jerryjeromehawkins1712]

Not so much medals as French pride. What a shame. I can see trying to take out these ports in late '44... but April of 1945??

[@Hope_Boat]

Medals and freedom from the US.

[@ldnwholesale8552]

Lets be fair, hindsight is a wonderfull thing. The Germans were doing very badly but until soon after Hitler died there had been no surrender. So the war could have gone on another year with the Allies having to capture every point of value.

[@tadeusz1]

Thank you Dr. Felton for a mention of the Polish contribution to the Liberation of France. Generally overlooked by the western allies.

[@charlesjames1442]

Popular culture totally ignores anyone other than their own nationality. In the US most people think we beat the Nazis single handed. If I point out the the Red Army inflicted 80% of Wehrmacht casualties, they ask “what’s the Red Army”,

[@gumdeo]

The Poles won everywhere... except in Poland.

[@Alsatiagent-zu1rx]

@@charlesjames1442 It was over 90%. After D-Day it fell to over 70%. I've been educating many neophytes who yammer on about lend-lease. The USSR lost many millions. The Ameicans talk about money. It's absurd.

[@quintrankid8045]

@@Alsatiagent-zu1rx Here's a random quote from somewhere on the intertubes, ""I want to tell you what, from the Russian point of view, the president and the United States have done for victory in this war," Stalin said. "The most important things in this war are the machines.... The United States is a country of machines. Without the machines we received through Lend-Lease, we would have lost the war."" It's not absurd. The Red Army fought hard, but the US provided a lot of materiel. You need money to win wars.

[@Alsatiagent-zu1rx]

@@quintrankid8045 I don't in any way admire Stalin. He did not care a wit about the soldiers he sent to die. But those men and women fought for their country. And they fought hard. Your quote was doubtless made during the war. Stalin wanted US Congress to hear it. America became a very wealthy nation because of the war. They didn't give out loans, not really. They made investments. Very good ones. When I say this in no way am I forgetting the sacrifice of the 400,000 US soldiers who died while bravely fighting the Nazi's and Imperial Japan. Btw: it took the US being sucker punched by the Japanese before they officially joined the war. Hitler waited and waited and finally declared war on the USA many days after Pearl Harbour. Congress was so isolationist that FDR made a point not to mention the deadly attacks of the Japanese in places like the US and British bases in the Philippines, Guam, Midway Island, Wake Island, Malaya, and Hong Kong. It was lowly Merchant Seamen who kept England fed. They were sent to the bottom of the Atlantic in the thousands by German subs. Nobody talks about their sacrifice.

[@fuferito]

My first time noticing the importance of the French naval base of La Rochelle was through the great classic German submarine movie set in WWII, _Das Boot._

[@SennethLawrence]

What a film. Infinitely better than some of the dross that Hollywood comes out with, although The Imitation Game wasn't much better.

[@Colonel_Bat_Guano]

​@@SennethLawrence Right? I thought that Dunkirk was alright, but the only other ww2 movies I've seen from the last 10 years were Fury and Greyhound. They both had good elements and really really stupid elements in equal parts

[@ettajfan5882]

Das Boot. Excellent!

[@jimshoe402]

@@ettajfan5882 Was there and Lorient and Toulon where they Sunk I think..😁😁😁😁😁

[@workmandan87]

If you want more it was originally released as a 6 hour series! The movie is just a cut of those 6 episodes

[@projektkobra2247]

What a stupid waste. The war was over, and they would have all surrendered peacefully without loss of life or destruction.

[@ChaptermasterPedroKantor-kv5yw]

There were lots of such cases of battles of limited military value, but which happened anyway for political reasons. The whole battle for Berlin was essentially such a case. Just surrounding the city and shelling it into dust would have been enough. Much of the Philippine campaign was solely for political reasons as isolated Japanese garrisons could be safely bypassed once the Americans had secured what they needed to continue their campaign towards Japan.

[@domitiusafer]

Error, the Germans and the Italians supporters of Mussolini would not have surrendered because they were the most fanatical troops who had not had time to join Germany because their retreat had been cut off and their soldiers knew that if they surrendered they were convicted and executed for war crimes. So they fought to the end. Almost at the same time, the French soldiers of the SS Charlemagne division also fought to the end in front of the Soviets in Berlin to defend the bunker of Hitler even if they knew that the latter had committed suicide because they knew that the Soviets would not give them any chance were captured.The resistance of the last 300 French survivors of the SS Charlemagne division in Berlin was such that the Soviets believed they had to deal with two divisions. The fanaticism and the energy of despair in this case had no nationalit But the French never put forward the resistance of 300 French soldiers of the SS Charlemagne division while 20,000 French soldiers had committed themselves for anticommunism with the Germans in the Russian campaign even if this number is less important than in other countries such as the Spanish Azul Division with 50,000 soldiers, Belgium and the Netherlands, each sending 40,000 men to fight with the Germans in Russia. The largest contingent of German auxiliaries, however, was provided by the Ukrainians with 250,000 men who fought against the Soviet Red Army.

[@projektkobra2247]

@@domitiusafer -Paragraphs are your friends. And sorry I wasnt there like you were, Von Rundstedt.

[@harryhanz1690]

Well, a week later the entire country surrendered, so I call booshiat on your fantasy.

[@doctorartphd6463]

Politics is the bane of man's existence.

[@chiron6699]

What a pointless waste of life 😢

[@aceous99]

1500 french civilians killed on orders of a french man!?

[@Hope_Boat]

Liberty is never pointless

[@RandomDudeOne]

The French attacking, the Germans not surrendering, both equally pointless at this point in the war.

[@-.Steven]

I thought of Peleliu in the Pacific.

[@dp-sr1fd]

Like the whole of WW2.

[@TaxationWithoutRepresentation]

Thank you Dr. Felton!

[@krisfrederick5001]

The Allies just can't stop landing in France. Ace as always Dr. Felton. Many thanks!

[@joshuabessire9169]

Men in the Anglosphere think about invading France on average once every 3 minutes. Frenchmen think about alternating taking and ceding French land on average about every 10 years.

[@Alsatiagent-zu1rx]

@@joshuabessire9169 You have a legitimate point there.

[@jeb1413]

@@joshuabessire9169 Men in the Anglosphere think about creating a coalition against France every 3 minutes°

[@davidlyon1899]

@@jeb1413 It is tradition, just think of all the horses, snails, songbirds and frogs we could save. Not to mention all the S.T.D.s our womenfolk will not catch as the Frenchmen will be at home, fighting our freedom loving troops. (The idea of Frenchmen fighting to defend their country amuses me for some reason).

[@jeb1413]

@@davidlyon1899 I assume you're born in an Anglo-saxons country with this anti-French culture and French bashing, but it's alright keep humbling yourself.

[@Penekamp11]

Seems rather pointless to commit so much blood and treasure just a few days before they could liberate all their objectives a few day later without firing a shot when the Germans would have been compelled to surrender.

[@JebusHypocristosX]

Why didn't the Germans raise the white flag? They had nowhere to go.

[@ahorsewithnoname773]

@@JebusHypocristosX Stupidity all around. The Germans for not surrendering while their situation was hopeless and defeat in the war both certain and looming, and the French for committing to an assault when the war was soon to end and the pockets could be taken bloodlessly. It was a pointless waste of lives from both sides.

[@Grantidge69]

@@JebusHypocristosX I wondered that, too. I think, mostly, because they had a Führerbefehl to hold their positions. But also: because surrender without instruction would have been dishonourable; because they feared reprisals against their families back in Germany if they did surrender prematurely; because they had no idea what was happening in Berlin or with the other stronghold garrisons, and possibly also believed/had been told that the war could still be won, and defending this approach to the U-Boot pens was of vital strategic significance. Maybe because they were ordered to stand and fight by their officers and NCOs, and faced being shot for cowardice in the face of the enemy if they did not. Perhaps, too, they feared being shot out of hand if they did surrender (like on Juno Beach in June the previous year), and figured that they might as well go down fighting. Or maybe because (as it would appear from the video), the French made no attempt to contact the garrison and offer them the chance to surrender before launching their seaborne assault.

[@Hope_Boat]

The USA had no intention to treat France as a partner. As Mark explained they bombarded the french population as if they were ennemies. They intended to govern France with an military occupation government. You aren't free if you don't free yourself.

[@Helion-q3j]

@@JebusHypocristosX Why did the French attack them? Pride to get the last word even tho they got shamed in 1940. This is France for you.

[@charlesm127]

It’s a wonder De Gaulle’s huge ego and arrogance didn’t defeat the Germans all on their own

[@rbblackmon]

Charles had to give Axis a fighting chance. If he had armed his arrogance, it would have been a war crime.

[@pauldunne822]

De Gaulle prancing about like a peacock, giving orders , what he wants, ran away to London when a distant shot was heard

[@ChaptermasterPedroKantor-kv5yw]

@@pauldunne822 He was one of the few successful French commanders in 1940, and the ONLY one willing to fight on. The Americans tried to get rid of him because they wanted to put their own former Vichy French puppets in place. De Gaulle's ambitions were more then just to liberate France but to see it restored as a great power again after liberation. For that France had to be seen as pulling its weight, and not be administered post liberation (as was the US plan) by some American general. And he constantly feared, as they had historically ALWAYS done, that the British would try and steal French colonial possessions. In all of that he succeeded. So in that sense he was the most successful of all the Allied leaders in exile. But leave it to the Anglo Saxons to b1tch about his arrogance. And forget that Roosevelt thought he could install and control a new French government of his own choosing.

[@pauldunne822]

@@ChaptermasterPedroKantor-kv5yw de Gaulle was a coward that ran away, Patton waited with his men,as did Montgomery , USA , Russia and uk done the hard work, I give a bit of respect to French resistance, at least the held their ground

[@charlesm127]

@@ChaptermasterPedroKantor-kv5yw Being a successful military commander does not preclude narcissism or arrogance, just look at Gen. MacArthur, Patton, Montgomery, etc etc. De Gaulle was a total uncontrollable ingrate. "Vive le Quebec libre", another example of his boorishness

[@Damien-u2x]

Prefosser Felton with another FANTASTIC history lesson....as Lord Vader himself would say....."Impressive, MOST impressive "

[@chuckbrown2765]

This is how history used to be taught along with a dash of humor. I learned about the landing in La Rochelle in American History high school 1982. Thank you for the refresh Dr Felton!

[@Hairnicks]

Absolutely fascinating, at 67 it's still a joy to learn about a story I've not heard, thank you Mark.

[@FanaticalSynapse]

Another Mark Felton classic. Love this man's series.

[@Damien-u2x]

Join the club....Dr Felton puts the so called "history chanel " to SHAME

[@changingpeopleslivesmoon2993]

Fr

[@anthonyhuber-permanentlyre7808]

@@Damien-u2x *Does the HC even have shows about History anymore?* 🤨

[@sirbasilflapjack671]

@@anthonyhuber-permanentlyre7808 It's got that show about used cars. That's historical, because the cars are old. Is ancient Aliens still on there? That's a bit historical, because the aliens, who are ancient, built all the civilizations. But not the white ones. We built them. Anyway, apart from them, there's nothing left. How I miss Hitler's Henchmen.

[@stovetopicus]

Completely pointless loss of life. Ego kills more humans in war than anything else.

[@Hope_Boat]

Freedom is not pointless. The USA were expanding their own influence as we see today.

[@muskokamike127]

Ego and incompetence. A LOT of officers were appointed due to their connections not their skill. Mark did a video of one incident on...Monte Casino (?) where the General in charge of the landing stopped once ashore because he didn't know what to do giving the Germans plenty of time to strengthen their position and dig in.

[@skittlesandfriends5710]

Excellent Story, however it’s sad that all those lives were lost and buildings and houses were destroyed just for French National Pride, when just waiting a few more weeks for the war to end and they could have simply walked in and occupied the Town. With no loss of life.

[@Hope_Boat]

Sovereignty is not pride. Stop believing that the USA invaded Europe with good intentions, flowers and rainbows.

[@AryanKumar-fz2dm]

Quite a brilliant video as usual, sir. Have been following your work since late 2020, and always loved your work.

[@bultacotrial290]

I’m impressed with the excellent pronunciation in French and German of Dr. Felton! 💯 🇫🇷 🇬🇧 🇩🇪

[@jackyzou630]

The pronunciation is not good at all. He’s pronouncing the “r”s like they are in English.

[@gsbeak]

@@jackyzou630 Yes, The way he pronounces "Oléron" is not understandable by any French person without the writing on the map.

[@dustylover100]

Thanks, Dr. Felton. I learn something new in every video.

[@danielgreen3715]

In the early 70's We used to go Camping down at Royan and it always amazed me how many Young and Middle Aged German Families seemed to be down there also! .After a large Storm One Time a Rusted sea Mine and Torpedo were left washed up as well as exposing part of a Concrete Bunker an interesting place but was too young to know much about it all Cheers for this Video you don't hear much about these final Battles in 45

[@theidahotraveler]

Thanks again brother

[@labby2]

This is fascinating, Dr. Felton. Thank you for your amazing work.

[@thomasalden6263]

Another great mark felton video! I wasn’t familiar with this late landing

[@garyhooper1820]

Saturday brunch with Mark . Gonna be a great week end !

[@mrchambers31]

Mark you should cover the forgotten Soviet arctic offensive into northern Norway/Finland in late 1944

[@victorbeauvois]

Always very interesting and brilliant videos

[@ettajfan5882]

Just bought Operation Swallow and can't wait to dig in! Thank you Dr Felton!

[@Mjdeben]

Every time i think there can't possibly be anything new to learn about WWII in Europe along comes another Mark Felton video.

[@bryank3500]

Once again Mark...you have brought more! Thank you

[@KyleAndKellen]

Geez! Dr. Felton is a machieeee! New uploads almost every day it seems... Me and my son love it!!!

[@rodhubble5348]

Shhhhhh....... Class is in session with prof Mr. Felton on Saturday! 😊😊

[@gertgilich3508]

Fascinating history made very 'enjoyable'! Thank you sir.

[@fordfairlane662dr]

Great videos as always

[@carleenstephenwoolley8057]

Another great side story, thank you sir

[@tonnywildweasel8138]

It's always amazing how much information you can find! My sincere compliments 👍 Greetings from the Netherlands 🇳🇱, TW.

[@Johnny-p3z]

Once again dr. Felton. Thanks for education us.

[@Artur-animation-b1]

Thank you Mr. Felton for this video, without him I wouldn't have seen it

[@jamesmichael3607]

Always wondered about these remaining pockets ,the soldiers in them, and the mini dramas at the end, thank you again, I’m sure none of these troops were missed on the eastern front. 😮

[@AlasdairShearer-tb7fe]

This video is excellent It's a period of history I knew nothing about Well done to Mark Felton I always enjoy your videos

[@stevecane1987]

Thank you mr felton keeping the memories of forgottwn and unknown battles alive

[@dammad8584]

Incredible story that i have never heard of, keep history alive. As always " the best of the best" ty Mark Felton

[@SPCETRVL]

I love this channel

[@georgemiller151]

I think you had intended to say that April 1945 saw one of the first uses of napalm in the European theater. It had been heavily used previously in World War 2 in the Pacific war against the Japanese, particularly at Saipan, Iwo Jima, the Philippines, and Okinawa.

[@mrains100]

Thank you.

[@tomrutt25]

2:22 Fort Boyard 😊 great gameshow that 👍 very nostalgic for me as I’m a 90’s/2000’s kid 😊

[@Dani87178]

Fångarna på Fortet ✌️❤

[@anderspedersen7488]

Fangerne på fortet🙂

[@n.v.1258]

Great day for a Mark Felton video about WW2😊

[@Philobiblion]

Excellent. I am 76 and was an exchange student from the US to Lycée Jean Charcot in St Servan, a bit up the river Rance from St Malo. While there and since, I learned a lot about the complicated and immensely sad story of why the entire, unique nearly 500 years fortified city had to be burned to the ground in the last few months of the War. You might consider the Battle of (for?) St Malo for future research in the vane of this elegant program.

[@AlvinUselton]

Very good. ❤ thanks Mark I appreciate your informative and entertaining hard work

[@jackdixon8444]

I love Mark Felton's productions!! ❤❤❤

[@ashleyupshall7641]

Thank you Mark very interesting vid. All new to me which I like.

[@johnjacobs1625]

Well Done!! Thank you Dr Mark!!

[@snivy7476]

I went to La Rochelle a few years ago, it’s a beautiful city!

[@Anicepair]

Thank you mark.

[@jackmehoff1840]

I vividly remember the bunkers at Point de Chassiron from my childhood, thank you for this trip down memory lane

[@Russojap2]

Great thumbnail, and fantastic video ,as usual! Greetings from East Tennessee 🤠

[@coquille21]

I thoroughly enjoy your videos Dr. Felton!! Could you please do a video on the fall of the Lorient base? I’ve been there a couple of times and a stone commemorates the fall of the pocket- some 3-5 days after the war ended. The French were unrelenting in their assault and wouldn’t stop until the Germans fully surrendered. Thank you for your contributions to understanding these lesser known battles!

[@michaelvalentine4867]

Cool didn't know about this overlooked battle good show

[@mitchmatthews6713]

Battles not talked about because of their losses of life. Cheers, Mark!

[@patricebest545]

Thankyou from Australia🐨🦘

[@axl0506]

LaRochelle was one of the biggest U-Boat-bunkers. Shown in the famous film "The Boat" (1980)

[@fuferito]

I commented very similarly.

[@BrassLock]

​@@fuferitoYes you did that too. In fact you get *_The Top Prize_* because your comment was 5 minutes earlier, and that surely must have some important accolade of its own. ● Perhaps even better than merely claiming to be the First to Comment, which ALL KZbin audiences aspire to at least once in their life. 😅😅😅

[@quintrankid8045]

@@BrassLock But how can anyone know if they are really first in a distributed system?

[@stoobydootoo4098]

Das Boot? 1981. I read the book while on holiday in Morocco in 1982.

[@davidponseigo8811]

I have a bachelor's in history and my masters in military history and I must admit I never really knew this story, thank you.

[@dougjenks6954]

Thanks.

[@captintinsmith3774]

My dad was a liaison officer in Operation Dragoon with the French 1st Army (under the command of General DeLattre De Tasigny,) during the landings in the south of France.... He made it all the way into Germany proper until the capitulation.... I still have a picture of him standing on the banks of the Rhine River with collapsed bridges in the background.... Greetings from Kennesaw Georgia USA! 👌

[@Hew.Jarsol]

All possible thsnks to the Brits and Canadians absorbing all of the German Tanks in France, Inc all SS Divisions around Caen and Normandy.

[@mplate1792]

@Hew.jatsol, not to mention the Americans

[@Idahoguy10157]

Indeed. But recall that Montgomery was in charge of planning and execution of the Normandy campaign

[@Hew.Jarsol]

@@mplate1792 JUNE- German Tanks Committed by Sector: American British/Canadian Tigers 51 Panthers 281 Mk IVs 520 852 JULY- German Tanks Committed by Sector: British/Canadian American King Tigers 26 " Tigers 84 Panthers 107 50 Mk IVs 281 80 481 130 June-Panzer Divisions British/Canadian Sector: 2 I Panzer Division Panzer Lehr 2"d Panzer Division I SS Panzer Division Liebstandarte Adolf Hitler" 2" SS Panzer Division "Das Reich" 9"'SS Panzer Division "Hohenstaufen 10' SS Panzer Division "Frundsberg' 12" SS Panzer Division-"Hitlerjugend" July - Panzer Divisions British/Canadian Sector: 21s Panzer Division 2"d Panzer Division 1s,SS Panzer Division "Liebstandarte Adolf Hitler* 9th SS Panzer Division "*Hohenstaufen" 10' SS Panzer Division "Frundsberg" 12"" SS Panzer Division "Hitlerjugend" July-American Sector: Panzer Lehr 2nd SS Panzer Division 'Das Reich"

[@Hew.Jarsol]

@@mplate1792 The USA faced no panzers until July. 1300 Panzers faced the Brits and Canadians from June. . The USA faced 130 from July.

[@TheLocalLt]

A lot of commenters are criticizing De Gaulle, and while there is plenty about him to criticize it should be noted that this operation was not some ego trip by De Gaulle. First, Eisenhower would not have approved the operation (or committed American lives to it for that matter) if it wasn’t strategically important to opening the port of Bordeaux. As mentioned in the video, Eisenhower repeatedly turned down De Gaulle’s requests for an operation in La Rochelle because he didn’t see any strategic value. Secondly, even from the French perspective it was important for De Gaulle’s provisional government to conduct independent military operations to liberate parts of the country, both to gain legitimacy with the fractured French population (who were already so divided before the war as to help cause the 1940 defeat) for the government to prevent a possible civil conflict, and to present France as an independent allied power not just for international standing but to head off any talks of establishing an Anglo-American military government in France.

[@AnthonyLee-u1z]

As soon as i see your videos, i hit like them then watched them.

[@doctorartphd6463]

Excellent. My father was at Normandy.

[@LordGeorgeRodney]

Thank you Dr Felton.

[@AmericanFaction]

thanks 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@colinmartin2921]

A tragedy. Reminds me of the US officer in WWI who decided to take a village on the morning of the Armistice, because 'he wanted to have a bath' and many of his men were killed needlessly.

[@RandyVictory420]

Tell us more about those cars, "made secretly" at the end of the clip. 🤨

[@carsonm7292]

Probably armored cars that the resistance cobbled together to fight with.

[@sroevukasroevuka]

My grandather, and great uncle were on normandy on d day. Grandfather was a medic, my great uncle was infantry. Later my grandfather served in a field hospital like a mash unit. My uncle served in france helping chase the nazis out of france.

[@mrakl3]

Another unexpected presentation of a largely unknown battle in WWII -- what an incredible blemish on the Allies - 2,000 civilians killed in the carpet bombing of a town that likely would have surrendered two weeks later. Thank you again, Dr. Felton.

[@natheriver8910]

Very interesting

[@andresacunaroldan]

Counting the days till Mark Felton's Halloween special!

[@sammyseguin2978]

De Gaulle. Winston Churchill once said everyone at some point in their life has a cross to bare, during WW2 his was the cross of Lorraine.

[@louisavondart9178]

Only because He and Eisenhower wanted to control France after the war. They even had money printed in readiness. De Gaulle was having none of that.

[@russcattell955i]

La Rochelle is our home port. There are still some WWII relics, biggest is the submarine base. Love to have an explore in there.

[@tz8785]

1:44 - Didn't the use of napalm and related gelled incendiaries begin considerably before that, at least in the war as a whole?

[@ttuny1412]

I wondered that too, the firebombing of Dresden comes to mind. If it wasn't napalm it was something close to it.

[@MidnightEditor]

La Rochelle is my hometown ! And it's liberation is a rather unique case of diplomacy and reason. Vice-amiral Schirlitz, who commanded the german forces, neogciated with his french counterpart commander Meyer to prevent the unecessary loss of lives and the destruction of the city. It's called the Convention of La Rochelle. There's a book on the subject : Meyer and Shirlitz - The Best Enemies (I don't believe an english translation exist). The two men reunited in 1976, a couple of years before their passing. If you're in town, you can visit Le Bunker de La Rochelle. It's a blockhaus downtown built to house the submariners of the 3. Unterseebootsflottille.

[@daisaigaming6836]

5:25 "Hanz, this binocular is not working"

[@FettUndFit]

Does anyone knows the type number of the small armored vehicle at 10:24? Thanks.

[@AtheistOrphan]

It’s a ‘home-made’ effort.

[@mongke1000]

I want The Chieftain to try the little armored bug at 10:24.

[@joegordon5117]

So many lives, on both sides, wasted for the vanity of De Gaulle, when they knew full well the war was almost over. So many young men that should have survived that war, taken in those last days, what a bitter taste that leaves.

[@shouldhavedonebetter]

The real forgotten D-Day was Dragoon - the invasion of the South of France on Aug. 15, 1944. It thrust through towards the German border north of Switzerland against mostly poor - 3rd rate German formations and made it to the Vosges Mountains just a few miles from the Belfort Gap - but on Sept. 15, Gen. Truscott received the inexplicable order to halt the advance and pull back. The official explanation was to 'reorganize command structure' - but certainly geo-politics played a role.

[@MichaelLeBlanc-p4f]

Had not heard of this before. Now I know why.

[@sitcorocket]

What gets me is the sheer volume of civil engineering that the Germans did during their occupation of various Countries. The number of bunkers, emplacements, tunnels etc would have been a task today yet they built swathes of these formidable defences in a relatively short time.

[@Cody_Handsome]

Slave labor helped

[@sitcorocket]

@@Cody_Handsome Yes agreed.

[@caseclosed9342]

It’s crazy how much happened in the final days of the war…

[@Regelbau502]

The first use of napalm (as an experiment) was on Ile de Cézembre , just of the coast at St Malo, visited that place once, rather eerie, the canon barrels of the islands batterie melted under the heat. Place is off limits now due to unexploded ammunition except for the small beach. Dunkirk also remained a “festung” and was only liberated much later.

[@pauljenkins6877]

What a ludicrous decision by de Gaulle.

[@raymondcaylor6292]

He couldn't order any assault, it was the Allied High Command ( General Eisenhower) that HAD to greenlight.

[@Hope_Boat]

De Gaulle singlehandedly brought France to the table of the Victors and rebuild the independence of his nation. The US don't treat other "allied" nations as equals but as vassals. The fact that France non only refused to be treated as a vassal but even made a glorious comeback, developing her own atomic bomb, building her energetic independence and hold her ground in international affairs pissed off the Yankees and that's the best thing that happened to the West after the War. Finally the USA managed to become the unipolar power after the fall of the USSR and the West turned into the sh!thole it is today.

[@HW-sw5gb]

@@Hope_BoatThe West is better than it has ever been lol. If France was trying to operate independently of the US all the things you dislike about today would be x10

[@HW-sw5gb]

@@Hope_BoatI actually like De Gaulle more than most people & think he deserves a lot of credit for the reasons you mention. Using him to wishcast against whatever modern social/economic grievances you have though is sad. If De Gaulle was still in charge migration would be triple the rate it is today for example lol.

[@HW-sw5gb]

@@Hope_BoatAlso a vassal isn’t peaceful allowed to leave whenever they want. Countries aren’t owed economic co-operation. The US is not legally obligated to trade or work with anyone. Obviously they’ll get more if they work closer.

[@jamespfitz]

5:03 Was his name Schultz?

[@BHuang92]

Its interesting how many enclaves that were left over even when the main regime collapsed. It was inevitable but surprising how much resistance they had! Im curious how much the war wouldve lasted longer had the Allies pushed on the enclaves instead of driving towards the Third Reich itself?

[@ttuny1412]

Armies always leave mop ups of surrounded pockets of resistance till the battle or war is won. The Germans by passed pockets of Soviet troops during thrust into the USSR and the USSR did the same when they were finally on the offensive thrusting into the German homeland. The US Navy did the same in the Pacific. They island hopped over many non strategic Japanese occupied islands that were not liberated until Japan surrendered

[@mlb5525]

If the Allies had not pushed on to the Reich and concentrated on the enclaves all of Germany would have been under the control of the USSR.

[@jaredquinney204]

I never even heard of this story

[@Droopybear]

Dr Felton, may I respectfully recommend an episode on the decision to include the French as an occupation force postwar? Many are still unclear as to how France, and no other nation occupied by Germany, was able to secure a zone. Facts count more than feelings or myth. Many thanks.

[@charlesjames1442]

La Rochelle likely never happened because Ike wouldn't go along with it. He would never approve a campaign that was a solely political performance.

[@peterinyallie1]

Awesome

[@markhammar3977]

Mark has a good name.

[@rabbi120348]

Good old de Gaulle. "Image is everything."

[@markanderson3870]

Interesting to see that the French wore the uniforms from 1940, a nice touch as they retook one of the last German holdouts in France.

[@Monkey-ud8bw]

I wonder if that Boy Scout at the end got his collecting Nazi’s badge.