Monte Cassino Pt 2 - Fg 42 - Otto Skorzeny - Mp 40 - Panzerfaust - StG 44 - Fallschirmjäger - Sniper

[@vkash5760]

It's amazing so much action is caught on camera. Thank you for the extra footage!

[@M1945]

You bet! Your help make the production of these videos possible

[@jpmtlhead39]

At Cassino, the german paratroopers, were absolutly incredible. They were a total nightmare, for the allieds. Highly trained, resilient, professional... Like General Alexander said Later, the "the german paratroopers are the Best soldiers in the world". For an allied Commander say that, abaut one unit of the enemie, says a lot.

[@thedoctor755]

I talked to a GI vet once who said that they were warned about the Waffen-SS being the elite troops to be feared, but that they found out in Normandy that it wasn't the case..... that the Fallschirmjaeger were the ones to watch out for!

[@marianovaliente2103]

La famosa resistencia de los paracaidistas alemanes de la lutwaffe en Montecassino Italia.meses y meses de resistencia heroica en Montecassino.

[@DarryllC]

Right on...FG 42. Amazing weapon. What I find most interesting about it is that it would fire from a closed bolt in semi-automatic mode, but from an open bolt in full-auto - preventing rounds from "cooking off" in the red-hot chamber - A problem which has plagued many select-fire rifles designed since then (e.g. M14) ...I'd LOVE to take one apart to see how they did it!

[@M1945]

You know more about the workings than I do. I have a great book which covers German assault rifles up through the end of the war written by Peter Senich which I think you can get in English but copies are quite expensive. I'll send a few photos showing the inside of the Fg 42 to your email address through Patreon Darryl

[@M1945]

Just sent it, let me know if it's interesting Darryl

[@DarryllC]

@@M1945 SUPER interesting. Thanks Frederick!!! I haven't seen anything like that, and I especially love the schematic with the part names in German. I'll be printing that out on glossy paper to go on the wall. You made my day :)

[@M1945]

@@DarryllC I can send you a better photo if you really want to print it. Let me know, I can do it in a moment Darryl. The first was done on the fly

[@DarryllC]

@@M1945 That would be great...Frederick :) I have a similar schematic for my P08's over my workbench I plan to hang it next to. If I ever strike it rich I'll need it to disassemble the FG 42 I plan to buy.

[@sintenal4078]

Fascinating newsreel! So very grateful for you packing our plate with such goodies. Thank you for the hard work.

[@M1945]

My pleasure!

[@HeavyDragoon]

The young soldier at 1:17 reeling the anti aircraft gun reminds me of a handsome chap we had in our Regiment..christ he looks young. Also..my Grandfather was a POW in Italy that was recaptured several times by both Germans and once by Italian Facsists (and lived..obviously) to tell the tale.... He said even though taken in civilian clothes..they treated him well as there were many POW's skulking in and around the Italian countryside...the countryside that had peasants that not only helped and fed my Grandfather..but many others..including Russian deserters and German deserters too... He even stated he was at a farmhouse in Northern Italy where he even had to say "bitte" across the table..there were Poles, Czechs, Russians, New Zelanders and even South Africans at the same table...My Grandfather stated.."..if the Germans had turned up..we might as allied escapees been OK.. BUT...those German deserters, Poles Russians AND the farm holders....my word..they would have taken them outside and shot them" All lost in history...MY family history..a history in its small way I share with you

[@arthurcrime]

That brightened up my day, thank you.

[@M1945]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@DarryllC]

Read or heard some time ago that the flared sides of the standard Wehrmacht helmet would also hang up in the Fallschirmjagers' parachute shrouds. Great vid' Thanks for putting it together. Those training scenes always amaze me. They sure didn't skimp on the explosives!

[@M1945]

Nice add Darryl, that makes sense.

[@michaeldillon3022]

Man, this is getting to be "must see" footage!!!!.......really great stuff!!!

[@M1945]

Thanks Michael, I'll keep it coming

[@simonvirus6417]

Awesome stuff you post mate, you literally are keeping history alive.

[@M1945]

More to come!

[@markedwards5106]

Appreciate the training film and the hard work you put into these videos, well done.

[@M1945]

Much appreciated!

[@joelex7966]

I just recently discovered this site. Your research is impeccable and your presentation is flawless. I have subscribed and will continue to watch. I would like to add that tre reason Create was such a bloodbath for the Falls hurmjaegers was do to the enigma code being broken by the British who had the entire plan of attack prior to the battle. In spite of that the Germans were successful.

[@M1945]

Thanks Joe

[@thedoctor755]

The British had the date, times, and general objectives of the FJ, but they weren't sure about the specific strengths. They didn't change their defensive stance much beyond that, relying on what troops they already had there (mostly Commonwealth... Aussies & New Zealanders). Still, the FJ fought like dogs. As it was, the Germans basically dropped one regiment each onto their objectives: Regiments 1-3 and the glider-borne Sturmregiment, and all later reinforced by Gebirgsjaeger (mountain troops) coming in by ship transports.

[@TP-ie3hj]

Your content is amazing...great stuff. The fallschirmjager in the training using a camo chute, that looks to differ from every other photo or video of German parachutes , I am sure it is a known item, however this is the first I have ever seen of it, very rare film indeed.

[@mdsf01]

Great footage! To think there were those back in England sitting on their arses (Lady Astor) who referred to the forces fighting in Italy as D-Day Dodgers. How's that for gratitude. My Dad fought at Cassino against the German Paras and he had several memories about them.... lots of respect but none fond. Takes a certain type of person to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. The fact that they jumped with only pistols and had to recover their main weapon from canisters once on the ground baffles the mind. I once worked alongside an Italian para (with over 5000 jumps) on a deployment. He would step off the ramp of the plane at 3000m like you and I would step off a side walk. The only time he was nervous was when he had to be in the plane when it landed. :)

[@M1945]

Terrible that. The GIs had it bad at Cassino most of all because the decision makers were on a time schedule and made to look bad by the long delay. The overall idea of the campaign in Italy was flawed. An interesting "what if" is a possible landing on Vichy France's Mediterranean coastline in Nov. of 42 instead of Operation Torch and the North African landings. Of course that would have been much more risky and I fear they probably would have met with failure. The Allies simply still had too much to learn on the battlefield in 42 and the Germans had not yet been bled enough by the Russians. That might have actually extended the war...

[@v0LcaN_o___]

5000 jumps yeah right I smell bullshit

[@mdsf01]

@@v0LcaN_o___ whatever... of course you know better

[@v0LcaN_o___]

@@mdsf01 There's no way a guy done 5000 parajumps whoever told you that is having you on fela

[@mdsf01]

@@v0LcaN_o___ I was deployed with this person... trusted each other with our lives.... no reason to doubt him.

[@kenhart8771]

Thank you

[@M1945]

My pleasure Ken

[@JackKrei]

Fallschirmjäger were some tough SOB's much like the American Paratroopers of that time. Funny how Hitler stopped large scale jumps to save the lives of the Fallschirmjäger not something the Communist would ever think of doing. The Soviets just sent more meat into the grinder regardless of loss,

[@M1945]

Agreed. Interesting is that much of the carnage caused at Crete was due to the deciphered German codes with Ultra, not the flawed concept of airborne attacks. Take away the element of surprise and there's not much fun in being a paratrooper.

[@DarryllC]

@@M1945 Ironic that while Crete (a success) discouraged Hitler from every using paratroops for large scale operations again it encouraged Churchill to ramp up formation of paratroop forces. ...I suspect the losses of Ju 52's had more to do with Hitler's decision than the loss of fallschirmyeager.

[@thedoctor755]

@@DarryllC They did indeed lose a lot of Ju52's there, and also later in Stalingrad. It was the shortage of Ju52's that prompted the Luftwaffe to resort to using He111 bombers to also drop Fallschirmjaeger. But like I said above in a comment, the FJ did continue to do small drops of FJ to help relieve trapped pockets of German infantry, mostly on the eastern front. They also dropped 1300 in ahead of the Bulge in the Ardennes to capture key road intersections, but it was a disaster.

[@PritishA82]

Peace and Lots of Love from Mumbai India 😊✨

[@M1945]

Thank you!

[@TheYeti308]

M 45 ; Outstanding as usual !

[@marcioreis2648]

If I could own a FG42 , I would be very very very happy!!

[@M1945]

Yes, me too

[@andik859]

Hallo guys. Search for HZA Kulmbach GmbH BD42/II they are new produced them here in germany. You can find it here by yt. Shoots great. Have a nice day. Originals cost 300.000 $ and very rare. It is the same caliber 8x57mm IS. Greetings from Germany 🇩🇪🙋‍♀️

[@johnhargreaves3620]

Great footage.

[@M1945]

Many thanks!

[@pikckazinkavicius1235]

I'm not sure the Fallschirmjäger helmet modification was about the field of vision - I have worn the standard M1940 helmet many times and experienced no peripheral sight limitations. The Wikipedia says it was about aerodynamics, parachute strapping, and possible landing issues, and these sound like plausible reasons for modification. Nevertheless, a great video, as always, thanks a lot!

[@user-vv6sy2ox4q]

You are correct.

[@activitiesbrookmont2388]

The Americans fought with the Polish troops at Monte Casino My father was US Army Counter Intelligence Joesph J. Pedone We visited Italy from Germany ...It is good to read more about The monastery here in 2023. 😎Anna Penrod

[@danielgreen3715]

I do enjoy seeing new film clips and although I have seen a great deal over the years i still occasionally get to see something new like the Parachute training film thankyou please show us it all instead of drip drip drip or so it seems!

[@didymussumydid9726]

Well, think about all the time and money and effort it takes for him to do this

[@M1945]

Unfortunately that is all the parachute training in the clip, sorry Daniel

[@danielgreen3715]

@@M1945 Grateful for all that you show us I would love to read those old Whermacht Magazines and the Police periodical..Bet u could do a Video just on the contents of one of those magazines! Cheers anyway

[@thedoctor755]

Fallschirmjaeger Vor!!

[@rogerberryman6467]

Great! Sir, I wondered why the fallschirmjager were used at Cassino and not regular troops?

[@M1945]

The situation of the war was generally desperate and the Germans simply didn't have enough regular army units to go around. In addition, ever since Hitler had basically clipped their wings after Crete their primary purpose had basically been taken away. They had been used in anti partisan operations but this didn't justify the resources of men and material that went into creating the Fallschirmjäger units. In the end they proved to be effective, elite fighting troops. Here is the next video Roger, make sure to take a look and let me know what you think kzbin.info/www/bejne/aonXepqqpbOSl9U

[@thedoctor755]

FJ were constantly being used as shock-troops on all fronts. They actually did do small company-sized drops on many occasions, mostly on the Russian front, to relieve or rescue other German troops caught in pockets, especially when the Soviets started advancing like crazy in 1943. A lot of the FJ that were in Italy had been refitted from units that were in North Africa & Sicily. The 1st & 4th FJ Divisions were prominent there, with men from FJ Regiment 2 of the 1st Division being the ones at Monte Cassino. The FJ did do one last "large" drop in the Ardennes for the Battle of the Bulge, with 1300 men from the 2nd FJ Corps, tasked with capturing key road intersections for the main offensive, but they were misdropped and scattered, all but 300 of them doomed to be killed or captured.

[@АндрейКанаев-с4м]

Good evening! Tell me where you can download the video in good quality - die deutsche wochenschau, and other chronicles, also interesting videos on the Crimea.

[@M1945]

Hello Andre, I provide extra material to Patreon Channel Members. Take a look here and sign up www.Patreon.com/Military1945. You can also message me directly from there. I have a new video here to see... kzbin.info/www/bejne/aonXepqqpbOSl9U

[@dianacarroll8860]

I think you will find the helmet was designed like that to lesson wind resistance on the head and neck during a jump with the normal lip around helmet catching wind especially in the first few moments of leaving the plane

[@taherlahlali269]

Braves soldats allemands

[@JB-rt4mx]

Ortona and Catania...Danke !!

[@M1945]

My pleasure!

[@hanfpeter2822]

From my experience the german m35/40/42 helmets dont hinder peripheral Vision at all.

[@browngreen933]

That one POW at 2:25 is a freaking GIANT compared to the others. Waffen SS material, I'd say.

[@M1945]

Yes, he is

[@browngreen933]

Dropping weapons separately from the men must have led to embarrassing situations. Did all Fallshirmjager also carry sidearms?

[@mojoblues66]

Did you digitise the footage yourself?

[@M1945]

No, I didn't. I have done it a bit in the past but it's quite time consuming to do and expensive to have it done professionally.

[@geoffbell166]

My friends father was wounded in action assaulting the monastery,he was not captured,he managed to get off the slopes,he was NZL 2nd Expeditionary Force....

[@M1945]

Very interesting history, that was a meat grinder. It turned out that bombing the monastery made the operation much more difficult than necessary

[@geoffbell166]

@@M1945 Indeed,the bombing was a mistake,it little damage to the defenders.Also the Casino Rail Station was a fierce battle between NZL Maori Batallions and grenadiers,with neither side capitulating, the Germans even stopped to let them recover the wounded,a sign of respect from hard fighting men...

[@robertwoodroffe123]

He forgot Nepalese Gurkha’s Also it drew divisions from Russian front!approx 7mins in

[@jimmylight4866]

That is rare footage of an FG42 type 2.

[@conceptalfa]

👍 👍 👍

[@JMark-zk5pj]

They didn't have 2nd model FG42 at Casino, first issued in 1945.

[@M1945]

Thanks for the info

[@thedoctor755]

Pretty sure they were being issued by summer 1944. There's a famous picture of one at Monte Cassino, and Regiment 6 troops had them in Normandy.

[@JMark-zk5pj]

@@thedoctor755 1st model FG42, not 2nd.

[@markcappuccio1147]

Almost a Nazi Alamo.

[@M1945]

Yep pretty much

[@iiRockUrSocksOff]

very cool man, those videos are amazing!!!

[@M1945]

Glad you like them!