Luftwaffe Over The Ardennes - The Forgotten Aerial Battle of the Bulge

Many people think the only Luftwaffe operation during the Battle of the Bulge was Bodenplatte, but German fighters were very active from the start of the Ardennes Offensive trying to support the ground troops as they advanced from 16 December 1944 onwards.
Dr. Mark Felton FRHistS, FRSA, is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.o...
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Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Mark Felton Productions. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Mark Felton Productions does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.
Credits: US National Archives; Library of Congress; Bundesarchiv
Sources:
- 'Battle of the Bulge 1944 (2) Bastogne' by Stephen Zaloga (2004)
- Snow & Steel: The Battle of the Bulge 1944-45' by Peter Caddick-Adams (2014)
- Last Assault' by Charles Whiting (1994)

[@TheCanuck66]

Why doesn't Mark have his own show on the History Channel or Discovery?!?!? This is so much better than the slop on there now!

[@oopswrongplanet4964]

It's probably because topics such as Bigfoot and UFOs are outside of Mark's purview.

[@oopswrongplanet4964]

...Now that I think about it, he did do: "Die Glocke - Hitler's Anti-Gravity Machine?" & "Horten Ho. 229 - Hitler's UFO". 🤔

[@RasVoja]

They became less History, not Mark

[@RasVoja]

@@oopswrongplanet4964 The Bell and Himmlers castle too (Nazi Mysticism)

[@Otokichi786]

I have seen Mark Felton segments on The American Heroes channel (formerly The Military channel).

[@MrDerekandrews88]

Ive learned more about military history by being a fan of this mans work than i wouldve ever learned from any tv channel. Well done as usual.

[@northwestprof60]

Now try reading books.....smh

[@ecbst6]

130am on the East coast of the US, and already over 400 thumbs up. We are nerds lol

[@evanswinford7165]

My dad was in one of those medium bombers when the weather cleared. A B26 from the 9th AAC. He often told us about that day and era. This was the most famous battle he was in as he was still in Florida on D Day training. He was a gunner/radio operator.

[@juki6377]

that would have been very interesting, as a kid i liked making b26s. What did he go on to do after that? dont mind insensitive remarks, besides it being unlikely such lack of sensitivity only denotes a lack of sense.

[@evanswinford7165]

@@juki6377 Civil engineer for California Division of Highways. Now CalTrans. He worked on many freeways in Northern California

[@juki6377]

@@evanswinford7165 cool sounds like he had a busy life

[@jessefarley4609]

Because history is owned by the same company that has E and a&e so they went reality tv noticed when modern marvels disappeared was around that time they changed the format sad it's history in name only just Google their parent company

[@prestonhanson501]

Hooraah. He's a God damn legend. A real hero. These people are the best of all humans

[@robertbenson9797]

Another excellent episode on the Bulge. I’ve been thinking about my dad, who was a 1st Lieutenant in the 99th Infantry Division, on the north shoulder of the Bulge. When the 99th Division moved into the line, G2 (Intelligence), told them that there was one horse-drawn artillery piece across the line from them. When the German artillery barrage opened up at 05:30 on the 16th of December, one GI was heard to say, “ Boy, they’re sure working that poor horse to death!”

[@mlbs4803]

My dad was a master sergeant in HQ in the 99th. He met my mother in Verviers 4 days after the battle began. My grandpere's grave in Bethane-Goe was destroyed in the bombing when several bombs hit the churchyard.

[@melchiorvonsternberg844]

Nice one...!

[@bill8784]

My father was doing missions in RAF Bomber Command at the time of the Ardennes offensive. The weather wasn’t good and on one bombing raid during the Ardennes offensive they attacked a railway marshalling yard. His squadron got airborne but in the time it took for them to take off the weather deteriorated and the second squadron of Lancasters couldn’t take off. We still have the automatic camera photos taken from the aircraft over the target.

[@neilfoster814]

Awesome!

[@tillman40]

Share those with Mr Felton !

[@steffenritter7497]

My father was a Sherman driver in the 3rd Armored Division, and was involved in Patton's "end run" to relieve the 101st Airborne in and around Bastogne. Having been in the 101st in Vietnam, I was told by many that the 101st didn't need to be relieved!

[@bill8784]

@@steffenritter7497 Father and son in the 101st Airborne. Very impressive. My father had several postings in (West) Germany and he often took us to see the Ardennes and Bastogne and the relics of the war on display there.

[@ME-ke7qc]

so did mine and the rest of this chat thread my dads Hillman imp couldn't take off so he was stuck in Newcastle on the lash for the rest of the war

[@micksmith106]

In the most decisive battles of that war , it was always mother nature's weather conditions that had a major Outcome , from Stalingrad to the Ardennes. Another quality piece of History from Mark , has usual.

[@moistmike4150]

Although The Battle of the Bulge was a tremendous victory for the Allies, I can't help but feel a sense of loss for all those young men - on both sides - who lost their lives in the futility of war.

[@aboukirman3508]

Well said sir, well said.

[@raftonpounder6696]

To hell with the Germans.

[@aboukirman3508]

@@raftonpounder6696 Prick.

[@treyhelms5282]

Futility? So the Allies shouldn't have fought the Nazis? If the Nazis had conquered without opposition, they wouldn't have considered war "futile" either.

[@Gopniksquat]

@@treyhelms5282 I’m sure what he means is that the war shouldn’t have happened at all in the first place - a lot of people would have had full lives had it not happened

[@stonedtowel]

There’s something about the clear cut facts and occasional dry wit of Felton that really shines in professionalism. You’ve certainly mastered your technique of teaching my friend

[@TheSulross]

it's a clarion, no B.S. presentatation style - Mark should patent it as it's that distinctive relative to other documentarian efforts

[@HowlingWo1f]

At first I was like Eh, The same old story the battle of the bulge, Then Mark starts throwing out curveballs, things I haven’t heard about this battle before. Great work. Ty

[@tommyenglish5104]

Who needs history channel? This is where you go to learn :) History channel has been obsessed with aliens for past 10 years, glad someone has filled the void :)

[@ChrisBennettGameDesign]

Back in the late 90's I was a mission and campaign designer for Janes WW2 Fighters video game by EA. It's great to see that Mark is shining a light on the many desperate air battles that happened during the Ardennes campaign.

[@Sturminfantrist]

Thx, was lot of fun to play back then! I have my Janes WW2 Fighters somewhere in the Cellar together with other Janes/EA Games, i played the campaign over and over again, it was my first "air combat game" and the first time i played Player vs Player on PC. Janes Fleet Command was one of my Favorites too, a phantastic game lot of fun for the money, wish they had a modern Version with better graphics . Janes gone but hen came the "IL-2" Series with better graphics and "Lock on", today i play WT Air RB its more a air combat "fastfood" short Battles Player vs Player and with mouseaim instead of Joystick.

[@joecook8352]

I had that computer game, the details were so good and I remember flying in the boddenplatte campaign. It was a great game!

[@billyleroy2465]

No Commercials !! Thank you Mark!

[@JFDA5458]

Stories about the Luftwaffe, particularly the JagdWaffe are always fascinating. Perhaps a video on the fighter pilots revolt against Hermann Goring would be a useful addition?

[@m.a.118]

Going to date myself a bit here, but this gives me nostalgic memories of playing Jane's WWII Fighters (1998), which was a combat flight sim set during the Ardennes Offensive. It had cool little old-school history channel-style docs/clips about the planes and operational aspects like Bodenplatte. What a trip. 😆

[@Amber-Null]

I remember hearing about American pilots sitting on the runway with their P 51’s running on new years morning anticipating an attack.

[@jw451]

They did and one squadron commander KNEW they were coming. Risked court martial by taking off against orders. Gut feeling he got them (P51) squadron off the ground as they were sitting ducks idling and saved himself and the squadron. Whata a story of courage and heroism. Never forget

[@peterruiz6117]

The 357th were firing at German attackers,as their landing gear were barely comming up...Good thing they were not allowed to party that night....And 'Tet Offensive' was not yet a tactical idea...

[@jackthorton10]

Not a tactical idea 💡… yet

[@jeroenarends5234]

Fascinating footage of aerial combat. It must have been terrifying up there in the air for whoever was at the receiving end. Such a huge loss of life.

[@billsvoboda4459]

My Dad and one of his best friends were in The Battle Of The Bulge-in the 106th and 84th infantry divisions. They had great stories about both the German and American air force activity during the battle-including German jets. When the weather finally cleared my father said "I've never seen so many airplanes in my life." It was a huge morale boost to the Allies-as well as being devastating to the Germans.

[@thunderbird1921]

It alarms me to think how much more brutal and horrifying World War II could have gone if Hitler had one more year or so to perfect his state of the art technology, like the jets and the V-2 rockets. Even though the Allies likely would have still won, think how much higher the casualties could have been (heck, if the Germans mastered a multistage version of the V-2, American cities in the Northeast could have been hit pretty badly, I don't know if there was any way we could have defended against them at the time).

[@melchiorvonsternberg844]

@@thunderbird1921 As a side note, in the summer of 1941 Hitler gave the order to stop all weapon developments that would last longer than a year. It wasn't until a year later that a hasty start was made to correct this error. And there you have your year that was given to the allies. As was Dunkirk and the invasion of England, which if carried out would have been a strategic victory for Germany even if it had failed. I don't expect you to believe my statements. But I'm ready at any time to present the evidence for it...

[@TheSulross]

but I wonder if the tech of the time was up to the task of devising guidance systems that could accurately hit intended targets on another continent

[@josephmack864]

I wrote a book on a friend of mine who flew Spitfires during the period. He was shot down by ground fire near St Vith on the 22nd December 1944. It wasn’t until 2019 that he found out it was the Americans who had fired on his aircraft as opposed to the Germans. My friend Fred Riley passed away earlier this year aged 103.

[@tomjackson8256]

I always love the luftwaffe stories. What a great night time story. Thanks Mark!

[@ronaldweed6103]

I was under the impression that it was too stormy to use aircraft during the BULGE. Thank you for this Mark,a job well done

[@brealistic3542]

As to the surprise factor, the Germans avoided using radio traffic for the operation which had the effect of blinding the allies use of the broken Enigma code and machine.That was a big help in the surprise.

[@terraflow__bryanburdo4547]

This bit them in Der Asse when the German AA installations let loose on their own since they had no warning or communications. ANOTHER "own goal"!

[@phillipholliday9178]

"FAILURE IS NOT A OPTION WHEN IT COMES TO HISTORY !!" - DR.MARK FELTON'S MOTTO !! Carry on , Prof !!

[@ProjectFlashlight612]

I love this purely because you pronounced "Bodenplatte" correctly. Anything else from then on is a bonus.

[@fndjfgsdk]

This very nicely compliments The Operations Room’s series on the Bulge

[@davidlee8551]

My wife lost a cousin killed by a German sniper during this period. My Father repaired fighter bombers in Belgium and was bombed on New Years Day 1945. The repair crews had to do their own security patrols around their bases during the Battle of the Bulge. He had a Brother -in-law on top of a Third Army Tank Earning a Silver Star- apparently using a machine gun as they pushed into the German line- but sometimes had to signal to the tank crew to back up as it was getting too hot! My Father also had a cousin Earn a Silver Star and was sent home on a “ section eight” battle fatigue. That man did have a good life after the war.

[@josephstevens9888]

I bet all of those men had incredible stories to tell.

[@peterhughes8699]

@Mark - Luffwaffe activities are well documented in Beevor's "Ardennes" book. Which is imo the best history account of this battle

[@misfit666_usmc6]

4 hours till operation watch on the Rhine kicked off... 78 years ago

[@CrotalusKid]

Box art from Tamiya's 1/48th FW-190 A3. Good kit, too.

[@rkitchen1967]

Thank you for properly pronouncing German names and terms. Details like that add to your clearly well-researched videos on uncommon subjects.

[@exchequerguy4037]

Another gem by Mark Felton.

[@fordfairlane662dr]

Wow another block buster world war history video..and I was up late just watching a mark Felton prior video about WW11 videos....

[@r-saint]

Not as forgotten as you'd think, there's a computer game called Jane's WWII Fighters, and it's main plot is revolving just about that.

[@carlmontney7916]

It seems like many are focused on the fact that the battle of the bulge was an armored battle fought on the ground with infantry. But what they completely forget is there was also an air war part of it too. I think a lot of that has to do with the movie Patton and it's emphasis on the battle of the bulge and all the armored units involved.

[@andysnyder4506]

I hope Mark can team up with CuriosityStream to put his wonderful stories there in one place. He is really a world treasure when it comes to WWII and other relatively recent military history. Thanks, Mr. Felton. If I ever get back to the UK to visit again, I'd love to buy you dinner.

[@brealistic3542]

The Germans actually held back old hands and new German pilots from attacking the bomber streams Mark so the Luftwaffe could play a substantial supporting role in the Arden. They also hoarded stocks of aviation fuel for just this reason.

[@AtheistOrphan]

*Ardennes.

[@billg7205]

@@AtheistOrphan Ardern 😆

[@stevenhershman2660]

@@AtheistOrphan My Father was doing duty in the Ardenne. He never spoke about the war (with me) until his visit to Hospice. He said that he thought his post in the Ardenne would be quiet but he found out the opposite ! He got shot in the leg ( Purple Heart). Soon as he healed he was Off to the pacific. He was happy the war ended as he was convinced the japanese would fight to the last man.

[@starzkream]

Just finished Dr. Felton's book "Operation Swallow", which covers the U.S. Soldiers' escape from Berga Concentration Camp. Absolutely fantastic, amazingly researched, and enthralling. Highly recommended.

[@cliphound80]

My grandfather was a tank commander with the rank of major in the Canadian Army during WW2. He fought in the Battle of the Falais Pocket where he helped to encircle the Fifth Panzer Army, and was present in the early stages of The Battle of the Bulge where he got hit in the shoulder by a stray German 7.92 round.He later helped liberate the Netherlands, which is I am grateful for as I have Dutch heritage in my family tree. He ended the war fighting in Germany as well in the dying days of The Third Reich.Thankful he survived the war and I am alive today!

[@johnofnz]

The intensity of this air war is almost incomprehensible

[@sloppyjo5371]

Stay tuned, part 3 is just getting started!

[@mrcjc9298]

I was surprised to learn the Luftwaffe had any planes left at that stage. The German soldiers used to say, if you saw a silver plane,it was American. A black plane, it was British. No planes at all, that was the Luftwaffe.

[@PUBHEAD1]

My favorite plane, the fw190. Thanks for posting Mark.

[@terraflow__bryanburdo4547]

The Dora was exquisite.

[@neilfoster814]

The FW 190 A-8 is my favourite version! 4x 20mm canons and 2x 13mm.

[@josephstevens9888]

The FW190 was one sweet machine, indeed!

[@edamnaf9265]

I would love to see the BBC give you a show about history with the resources commensurate of your ability....it would be so interesting to see deeper dives into much of the content you've already put out....

[@user08157]

mark took his german lessons. his pronunciation doesn't sound like carnage any more.

[@Spitfiresammons]

I Loving hearing both dogfights and air war story from dr Felton.

[@rolandocastaneda4429]

Thank you Mr. Felton for enriching our knowledge of the Battle of the Bulge. This is something never taught in grade schools.

[@travisgould6802]

How much longer would WW2 have been if the Ardennes battles didn’t occur?

[@HeavyDragoon]

Another triumphant edition to Mark Feltons long list of simply excellently presented, researched and made productions. I am always really happy to see another new notification in his series...I am looking forward to your next episode...also the excitement not knowing what/which subject adds to the expectation. Keep up your truly excellent work and contribution to a non bias history

[@brealistic3542]

Another v thing you should know Mark is aldolf Galland was carefully collecting these new pilots and planes for a major attack on the allied bomber streams like the British, BIG WING in the Battle of Britain. Instead they were used in Watch on the Rein which angered Galland immensely..

[@DavidSmith-ss1cg]

Hitler was never seriously considered by the Allies as a target for assassination, because he was SO foolish, in the strategic sense. He was like a secret ally. D-day worked because Hitler was sure that Overlord would go to Calais. Also, Hitler disliked the Prussian Junkers in the German army and could be counted on to oppose them, which sucked, because they would suggest an obvious and correct solution to a problem and Hitler would veto it, all through the war. D-day succeeded because Hitler wouldn't allow the armor reserves to be released(to Normandy) without his permission, and his minions wouldn't wake him! The eventual aim of the Ardennes offensive - to capture Antwerp and split the Allied armies - was intended to force the Allies into a negotiated end to the war. The OBW(General staff) knew that the Allies wanted the big Kewpie doll, the Unconditional Surrender, just like the unpleasant treaty that ended WW1, and they told Hitler so. But, as Mark said, the Valkyrie assassination plot backlash made all the Generals afraid to give Hitler advice. Oh, well; the war DID eventually end.

[@captainadams8565]

According to Colonel Hessler (Robert Shaw) "We are retreating faster than the allies can advance."

[@camerondall4257]

The question I would like to ask Mark is how he decides his next story? Does he work on several different stories at one time until one is finished? - or does he only work on one story at a time? Lastly, how does he come up with an idea for the next story? Anyhow, I just love hearing all his stories.

[@st0rm617]

The Operations Room just did a coverage of this, very good. Might be inspired from that. End of the luftwaffe.

[@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623]

When your enemy comes out of his well entrenched defensive positions, which you had a hard time to penetrate, to come out and play in the open with his last armored reserve, that was the best christmass gift that Hitler could give the Allies. Coming out of their trenches in the open allowed the Allies to destroy whatever cream the Germans still had and allowed them to break through the Siegfriend line, cross the Rhine and almost reach Berlin before the Soviets. It's like the how the Chinese sign for crisis also means opportunity as it were.

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

Allot, thanks, Dr. Mark Felton, for everything you shared... it seems to me that allies thought Luftwaffe strength was crumbled .. After they noticed during D .D operations absence of wuftwaffe mission

[@cognophile]

Nice, a Battle of the Bulge story for the anniversary of the battle.

[@sambland3903]

A conversation between Dr Felton and whatifathist would be superb.

[@faustowinkelbauer6754]

thanks for your contribution to history mark :D greetings from arg!.

[@QUISLINGG]

Merry Christmas 🌲 weekend 🌲 professor Mark Felton 🌲

[@jensenwilliam5434]

Thank you Mark.

[@sonyascott6114]

Thank you dr Felton for yet another amazing video about WW2.Your history on this subject knows no bounds.

[@rx7carl]

Excellent video as usual. One added note is that during operation bodenplatte, many returning german aircraft were shot down by their own AA guns, due to the flak crews not being briefed on the operation. Thats what I read somewhere

[@krism1225]

It is interesting that the Luftwaffe, with all the losses they took, was able to continue operations for the duration of the war. In the first days of january 1945 and the following weeks, during the Konrad counter-offensives in Hungary, they provided powerfull support to the ground troops against the soviets. It was not finished.

[@manoelreinaldoreinaldo6120]

Good Morning Doctor Felton , more one vídeo Awesome really Awesome , thank so much .

[@wyldebill4178]

My grandpa was there in the US army. 80th ID. He said he will never forget the sound of those Focke-Wulfs flying overhead. So can confirm.

[@-.Steven]

Thank you Dr. Felton for this timely remembrance of an event that kicked off 78 years ago today. Your timing is Impeccable! Your knowledge Immense! Your channel, The Best!

[@atticlight9048]

Another excellent video from Mark Felton. I submit that the Ardennes Offensive vindicated the Allied decision to delay the Normandy landings until 1944, against Stalin's wishes. By the winter of 1944 the Germans lacked sufficient resources to make a success of it, but in 1943 they would have had a far better chance of victory. The Luftwaffe would certainly have been in a much stronger position.

[@StevenKeery]

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Mark. Thank you for all the wonderful content over the last year, it has been enthralling.

[@tacomas9602]

Mark, thanks for all you do. I remember being a young kid , and like since the age of 4 or 5 I was always watching things like WW2 in color and World at War. It's great to have a trip down memory lane and seeing some more new awesome material and stories of the war.

[@terraflow__bryanburdo4547]

1:02 "Ooh la la! So many large guns!" 3:03 A unique improvised AA vehicle.

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

Operation Bodenplatte was feature in the second season of the History Channel TV series "Dogfights", the title of the episode is called "Death of the Luftwaffe".

[@Skipper.17]

More things we never new about. Great work Mark.

[@RaiderLeo69]

Another great video by arguably the best WW2 historian anywhere! Consider yourself fortunate if you found Dr. Mark Felton’s KZbin channel! Cheers!

[@jmccallion2394]

Cheers, Mark! You are correct regarding Bodenplatten, but the bombing raids on the airfields are a first for me since it shows that this was critical in allied thinking, proving that Luftwaffe attacks were a problem! Equally, the only connection with the start of the Dec 16 assault was the terrible miss drops of Fallschirmjager the evening before. I don't know if it was you, but a notable historian stated that Bodenplatten would have been more effective in attacking the crew rooms; since injured and dead pilots were harder to replace than aircraft. For me, the film brought out the terrible conditions that allied pilots had to endure in these forward airfields, and as for the poor erks in maintaining aircraft, one's heart goes out to them; slips and falls no doubt prove fatal! I argue that these men and teenagers need their stories to be told. They probably would need your good self to do this some justice! It's just a thought! Happy Christmas to you and your loved ones!

[@rayvestrayvene5376]

I appreciate all your efforts Dr. Mark Felton. Thanks for these uploads.

[@chalkboy71]

Thankyou for your hard work Mark! I really appreciate your story telling ability!

[@MrSims-ky2ne]

Thanks for everything you do Mark!

[@garymckee8857]

Outstanding 👍 Thanks Mark 😊

[@RT-mm8rq]

It makes me wonder how much longer the war would of been lasted if the Germans would been achieved all their goals at the Battle of the Bulge or had won at Kursk. I believe they still would if lost but the war in Europe would of been longer.

[@smokeybear1597]

well the war would be longer but i think Germany would get nuked first because of the Germany first japan second

[@dongilleo9743]

There's an alternative history story of what happens with a successful German offensive that takes Antwerp. It sends shock waves through both the political and military establishments of the Western allies. The Canadian 1st Army, British 2nd Army, and a large number of U.S. divisions are cut off and surrounded. They are kept just barely sustained with supplies brought in by air resupply. Public morale in England sinks to all time lows when it looks as if five hard years have simply come back around to a second, even worse loss and potential Dunkirk. American Generals Eisenhower and Bradley are relieved of duty and sent home. Patton is promoted, and tasked with rebuilding the front, and breaking through to the surrounded Allied forces. Drunk with victory, Hitler proceeds to transfer more and more German forces from other fronts, against the advise of his Generals, particularly from the Eastern front, to finish off the trapped Allied armies in the West. Stalin sees what is happening, and holds off his next offensive, until the German forces facing him are nothing more than a thin shell. Hitler is convinced that the quiet Soviet front is proof that they are too weak to attack. When the Soviet offensive finally does come, the result is a massive German collapse. Patton succeeds in his efforts to rebuild the Western front, and breaks through to the trapped Allied armies, but the Western allies are severely shaken, and put a good six months or more behind their historic advance. They are barely able to reach the Rhine before the Soviet armies overrun most of Germany.

[@RhysapGrug]

@@smokeybear1597 Don't think a Nuke would have been used on the European mainland, Japan was a island compared to Germany which had many neutral and occupied friendly nations on its borders. Nukes weren't really known of their destructive power at this time.

[@smokeybear1597]

@@RhysapGrug true but i think Germany would still face new weapons' from the allies before japan

[@rsacchi100]

Great detail. I read an article by a retired USMC officer. He pointed out by Jan 1, 1945 the Luftwaffe was finished. The damaged and destroyed Allied planes would soon be repaired and replaced. In the meantime these damaged and destroyed aircraft wouldn't be bombing and strafing German vehicles, soldiers, NCOs, and officers, with various levels of training and experience. To put Bodenplatte in perspective the Luftwaffe casualties should be measured against the probable ground losses that would have been caused by the sorties these 300 odd Allied planes would have flown. Replacing a destroyed Allied aircraft means the Allied air arm would be flying combat missions with one aircraft instead of two.

[@nodarkthings]

Absolutely fascinating, Dr. Felton. Than you.

[@volksdeutschewaffenss9670]

merry Christmas mark, how your channel has grown, all the best for the new year cheers mate

[@russwoodward8251]

Oh yes, this was talked about in your presentation of Operation Nordwind. Thank you, a good amount of work goes into these videos.

[@highdesertutah]

For anyone interested, The Operations Room and The Intel Report channels have recently done about eight or so excellent videos detailing the Battle of the Bulge.

[@johnbarrett4846]

Fun fact. My 2nd Adoptive mother and her mother lived in Hamburg throughout the war. When the Allies took over Germany they gave my mother , who was 5 , chocolate and taught her swear words. Her father was a lufftwaffe pilot who didn't survive the war. They moved to Greenock in Scotland in 1945 where my Gran married an RAF Pilot. Must have been the uniform i guess. In 1983 i caddied for Christopher Lee at Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire. He hunted down nazi war criminals. So there you go.

[@Vingul]

Da fuq did they teach a 5-year-old swear words for?

[@seanharvey3223]

Mark, you are exceptional man, thank you for these insights!

[@moomama217]

Excellent presentation. Ty!

[@BELCAN57]

I've always wondered what these forces could have done if they had been deployed on the Eastern Front to blunt the Soviet Spring Offensive.

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

As I understand it that's what the German high command advised Hitler to do. In the West they recommended withdrawing to and fortifying the east bank of the Rhine and destroying all the bridges as well, turning the Rhine into an enormous moat. But Hitler wouldn't have it and no-one cared (or dared) to argue the point.

[@austriad9574]

You missed the part where the same general staff of the german high command in the same conference had concluded that in doing so (build static defence positions on the east side of the Rhine), those newly rebuilt formations would be at the mercy of allied bombers wherein they wont be able to fight back. But in going with the offensive, they might have a chance. It was a gamble where no one could have foreseen the outcome just like the soviets did when the germans were at the outskirts of Moscow.

[@willpeterman3518]

To win the winter sky is a good book about this topic

[@willpeterman3518]

Dear Mr Mark thank you for the kind invitation to chat really love your content and can remember when the History channel was really interesting . Your the man, man

[@lawrencestrabala6146]

Excellent information as always Dr. Felton. Keep up the great work. I always look forward to your video presentations.

[@Spider1V]

Once again, shining an expert light on some of the other campaigns during WWII. Happy Xmas to all other fans and to Mark, wishing you all a fantastic 2023!

[@MrXdmp]

Thanks Dr Felton!

[@johnshepherd9676]

The Germans achieved surprise in the Ardennes because of warning fatigue. Warning fatigue is the phenomenon where repeated warnings of attacks fail to materialize. SHAEF G-2 sent out two warning of a potential Ardennes attack in late November and early December. Both warnings were accurate but the Germans cancelled the attack. The November attack because they weren't ready and the early December date because the weather was too good. After the two false alarms G2 thought they were seeing ghosts and discounted their previous warnings. The movie Patton gives the impression that the Third Army staff whipped up a plan in 48 hours but that is not how it happened. Patton took the first warning seriously and ordered a plan developed just in case.

[@TankerBricks]

Mark. Thanks for providing my Friday Night entertainment!

[@BIGCAM5000]

Thank you Sir.

[@metalzonereactions]

Always learn something new from Dr. Felton

[@devonwhetenhale8828]

Another awesome presentation Mark! Thank you!

[@waltie1able]

When you are out numbered eight to one in total manpower and weapons and aircraft, it is very difficult to win. The Germans never had a chance for victory in this battle. But what men they had, and the Americans and British, the finest men that we will ever see.

[@sonyascott6114]

Dec.16,1944,good timing mark.Right on q.TALLY HO!

[@saltyreesescup3104]

Thanks Doc !

[@donl1846]

Fantastic information/videos as always Professor Felton, thank you !!

[@malcolmformosa1772]

G'day Mate I'm watching from all the way down under from Mount Gambier in the State Of South Australian.🥇🇦🇺🦘⚜️👑⚜️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧

[@downunderrob]

Perth in WA.👍

[@michaelmallal9101]

Goring was awarded lots of nice shiny medals from Finland.