Operation Konrad: The Three Relief Attempts of Budapest by the IV SS Panzer Corps

[@michaelpurtell8749]

My Grandfather in law took part in Op Conrad he was wounded (again ! ) by shrapnel from a grenade attacking a Russian positiion on the 19/04/1945 , he was awarded the Iron Cross and wound Badge in silver, the wound became infected and he got gas gangrene and ended up with his right leg getting amputated it ended up saving his life as the Russian's left him in the field hospital as they took anybody who was fit enough according to them back to Russia and the Gulag, He was 17 years old and had been trained as a PAK gunner, his unit was 2nd Bn,5th Company , 6th SS Regiment Theodore Eicke, He passed away in 2015 still carrying shrapnel from that grenade.

[@eva5632]

Man kann stolz auf euch sein, wie ihr mit der Geschichte umgeht. Nie wieder Krieg!

[@syednasranshamilsyeddin1966]

​@@eva5632hope people of Germany stop support Zionis Israel.

[@Lance2023]

One soldier knocked out 5 tanks with the panzerfaust. Panzerfaust Ace. That's what I'm talking about.

[@cbblackard]

I have all three volumes of Mr. Nash's work on the IV SS Panzer Korps as well has his books on Cherkassy and the 272 VG Division. All top-notch works of military history.

[@WW2TV]

Thanks for the nice comment about Doug's books. If you haven't already, please make sure you subscribe to WW2TV and perhaps consider becoming a member? kzbin.info/door/UC1nmJGHmiKtlkpA6SJMeAjoin

[@jim99west46]

Amazing that with the Allied bombing of Germany that the German Army was still able to be supplied with ammo in the west, east and Hungary.

[@NikhilSingh-007]

Totalen Krieg.

[@anthonywatson7735]

Excellent! I have several books by Col. Nash and can highly recommend them, especially Hell's Gate: TheBattle of the Cherkassy Pocket, January - February 1944, and the 3 Volume series From the Realm of a Dying Sun as mentioned in this presentation.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Enjoying this very much so far. Half way in. I know the rudimentaries of this battle but Im learning a lot more. Great stuff. Big fan of Doug's huge and exhaustive book on the Cherkassy-Korsun pocket, which is the best work ever done on that battle. It has a nice place on my book shelf, but can also double up as a heavy weapon to clobber any burglar. Cheers fellas. 👍

[@michaelfleming6420]

Very Detailed presentation. Recently read Balck’s memoir and this is for sure fills in the details that are at a high level in Balck’s memoir.

[@jimwatts5192]

Howdy folks. Col Nash has an incredible grasp of a complex combat situation. Learned a lot about a German offensive I’d never heard of. One of the best shows ever in the world.

[@davidlavigne207]

Amazing pictures to fill in the narrative, which was superb. If there are any modelers out there, there are some excellent materials for dioramas in the excellent photos presented. Thank you WW2TV and Colonel Nash for an informative lecture.

[@georgewnewman3201]

ONce again, Woody, you've shown a light on an oft overlooked if not forgotten chapter of this war. Thanks for all you do!

[@IosifStalin2]

This channel is great...how have i missed this all these years?

[@loreleikomm5802]

welcome to the ww2tv fan club; it's the BEST show in the world!

[@IosifStalin2]

@@loreleikomm5802 I suspect Katukov and Bogdanov would approve the recent focus on the Eastern Front!

[@terraflow__bryanburdo4547]

You and me both....1000 episodes to catch up on😂

[@polocathmhaoil9141]

An absolutely fascinating tutorial. I knew a little about this battle but this put meat on the bones so to speak.

[@TheBigSleazy]

One of your best by far!!! Well done

[@debmacdonald1037]

excellent and informative - thank you !

[@nicholasperry2380]

I started watching as background but very quickly you had grabbed my attention completely. Fascinating presentation on a battle I knew little about. Thank You.

[@scottgrimwood8868]

An excellent show! I know very little about the battles on the Eastern front and thanks to presentations like this my knowledge is growing & growing!

[@donaldmcmillan512]

I love this podcast. Welldone

[@marks_sparks1]

I definitely enjoyed this excellent presentation by Col Douglas Nash. Filled with detail on an operation I only heard in passing. A docu on the Waffen SS I saw a few years back, had a Wehrmacht veteran from Barbarossa recount how they (the professional army) developed a begrudging (and sometimes in awe) respect to the SS for their fanatical fighting spirit and at times, felt relieved they were supporting their flanks whenever they were holding the line. The same veteran then said that he & others knew the game was up for Germany when the SS couldn't relieve Budapest. The takeaways from Col Nash presentation is that it wasn't for lack of trying by the SS and they could've performed a successful rescue of the garrison if the garrison had prepared to break out in tandem. That they didn't was due to the fallout of the July 20th Plot. Initiative was removed from the Wehrmacht and no-one was going to contradict the Fuhrer.

[@deanmurphy5735]

Good show Woody. I like the ones that focus on the more obscure battles.

[@davidracz4995]

A neighbour of mine was in an artillery unit at Székesfehérvár at age of 18. Got a shrapnel cutting his neck where it meets the shoulder. This made him leave out the rest of the fighting as his field hospital was captured.

[@philbosworth3789]

Doug is another very knowledgeable specialist guest speaker. He explains these actions very well and in great detail. The photos he brought along are first class.

[@KomradZX1989]

Reason #5,823,404 why this channel is sooo good: you devote lots of time to much less famous parts of the war. Dont get me wrong, D-Day, Market Garden, Stalingrad, Kursk… they’re all cool and all but sooooo much more went on besides famous battles. Great video as usual ❤ I

[@zoltanszilvassy8715]

These two books are my favourite reads now for quite some time...Great Episode and hope that there are more to come. My Mother's father died April 3 at Vertesszolos, after encirclement at Sored March 15th, 80 vehicles bogged in the mud, abandoned. 2nd Armoured, 3rd Battery, Hungarian Army.

[@robertsmart4628]

Just come across this . What a amazing history lesson. Thank you very much. I'm interested in learning more on the wiking devision. .been looking up the nordland division. So a great deal more to learn. And again thank you.

[@diannemarlenehargitai4309]

Excellent. Never saw these slides before.

[@hetzer7366]

This was an amazing presentation. I've drawn examples from multiple points in this interview and the tale of what transpired during this battle to use as material for historical World War II war gaming with a group of my friends. Thank you for helping me be able to share history accurately with others

[@spidrespidre]

A phenomenal presentation from Col Nash. What particularly impressed was the authoritative yet succinct answers he gave to questions throughout his presentation. There were no "hang on, let me check my notes" or "I'll get back to you on that". That takes a sharp mind and knowledge in depth, making him the perfect guest. I started out tonight watching the Soviet partisan presentation then the algorithm took me here. Earlier in this presentation, Col Nash stated that Soviets completely missed the Corps' movement from Warsaw to here and while Ultra noticed that they'd left Warsaw they didn't know where they were headed. Just like with the Ardennes offensive. In the Soviet case, once they'd moved beyond the Soviet border they no longer had partisans to provide reconnaissance while the western allies had no information on what the Germans were up to once they hit the German border.

[@michaelolesen1909]

Awesome presentation, would love to see Mr. Nash back again, maybe about the 1944 summer battles just east of warsaw.

[@davidracz4995]

I was also at the war cemetery in Székesfehérvár. It is simply huge compared to other cemeteries in Hungary. The only one bigger is where those lay who tried to get out of Budapest. The German and Hungarian part is in a single cemetery and is kept to a nice standard.

[@levski19]

Awesome presentation. I couldn´t watch the whole of it but tomorrow I´ll rewatch it through and through.

[@crunchytheclown9694]

Comprehensive description of a significent part of ww2 that i knew nothing about, thanks

[@hansjalv]

This was very interesting to listen to!

[@Anderle52134]

Excellent. Thank you.

[@KevinJones-yh2jb]

As I have been away on holiday so starting my catching up. A brilliant presentation by Doug Nash. Yet again Paul another fascinating topic, and something I knew nothing about. Excellent as always, thank you both 👍👍👏👏

[@v1e1r1g1e1]

Re: 9:17 The Erzsebet Bridge, as shown, is the old bridge. The construction of the bridge was started in 1897 to the plans of Aurél Czekelius and Antal Kherndl. It was certainly not designed by English or even British engineers. It was, for 26 years, the longest suspension bridge in the world. It was, sadly, blown up by the Germans in 1945 to retard Soviet forces advances into the Buda half of Budapest. The Budapest bridge designed and built by the British, was the (earlier) Szechenyi Chain Bridge en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sz%C3%A9chenyi_Chain_Bridge: The Széchenyi Chain Bridge is a suspension bridge that spans the River Danube between Buda and Pest, the west and east side of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. The first bridge across the Danube in Budapest, it was designed by the English engineer William Tierney Clark in 1839, after Count István Széchenyi's initiative in the same year, with construction supervised locally by Scottish engineer Adam Clark (no relation). It opened in 1849, thus became the first bridge in the Hungarian capital. At the time, its centre span of 202 m was one of the largest in the world. The pairs of lions at each of the abutments were added in 1852.

[@jeffkujawa803]

Thank you for your enlightening comment … I’m always pleased to find small tidbits of information.. such as that .. I’ve been interested in buildings and bridges since I was a kid (engineering ).. it harkens me back twenty years or more when I was visiting in Cincinnati… and I stumbled upon an old suspension bridge that was very impressive … one of the first built in the USA (I’m pretty sure?)… thanks

[@PureAwareness76]

We even call him Clark Ádám 🇭🇺😍 There is a Clark Ádám Square in Budapest.

[@daddust]

Thx Woody

[@simonargall5508]

Thank you

[@alistairclarke6726]

Just watched this again, great lecture, amazing level research and detail

[@ancsi7474]

My wife is from Stalingrad ( in it’s old name) I am from Hungary. Her grandpa is still alive he served in the war. All I heard from the Russians - there was three stops on the way to Berlin : Stalingrad - Kursk - Budapest. Thank you for covering this bit of the history.

[@daddust]

Budapest wasn’t on the way to Berlin, it was a sideshow. Good to hear your grandpa still alive.

[@terraflow__bryanburdo4547]

​@daddust Yeah it was Warsaw instead.

[@bikesnippets]

I really appreciate this "series" on the Great Patriotic War / Ostfront, and the excellent speakers you have. Most people have grown up reading badly researched Cold War drenched, pro-German speculation like Beevor's Stalingrad, in which the Soviets are a horde and the Germans valiant warriors let down by Hitler. Your presentations really go into depth and give credit where it is due. Acknowledging the Soviet's ability to learn, then outfight and out-general the Germans doesn't mean we agree with what Putin is doing today, or with the excesses of the Red Army during the War. Keep up the good work!

[@karlflavell968]

. The Hungarian campaign is a campaign that I find quite fascinating both from a historical point of view and as a scale modeller. As a modeller, the photos shown here are fantastic as finding photos of German troops/vehicles for Konrad/Spring Awakening is like looking for hens teeth. It's not just photos of vehicles/uniforms but the terrain, buildings, roads and weather conditions and in these few photos they've answeredquite a few questions that I'd not been able to find answers for. Aside from the photos a very well presented lecture from Colonel Nash.

[@12kerryman]

Excellent presentation

[@WW2TV]

Thanks a lot

[@kempet]

Just found this video & looking forward to watch it. I'm living in Hungary, born in 1982, travelling on a weekly basis from lake Balaton to Velence to Budapest and frequently passing through the towns that were in the midst of operation Konrad. My grandfather took part at age of 17 as a hungarian "levente" in the later "Spring awakening" alongside the germans, but he was already transferred to this location during the time of Konrad. I've been quite obsessed with finding any further info around these engagments especially as I've been living in this neighbourghood for the past 40 years. So hope this will be a good one!

[@brucealbert4686]

Another excellent vid

[@Emchisti]

A significant point to note is that the VVS did not, in fact, outnumber the luftwaffe to the degree that was suggested and certainly not in terms of the numbers of sorties. The VVS won that fight because they were competent enough to do so.

[@briankorbelik2873]

The 1st Cavalry Corps did well protecting the flanks of the IV SS Panzer Korps. The 5th Cavalry and the 41st Cavalry Brigades were well experienced units, from the Eastern Front , Major Boelsinger built the the 5th from German horse recon platoons in the East, 5th Cav from AGC, and the 41st was combined from Cav of AGN and AGS,

[@edh6841]

Great stuff. Am now a member.

[@WW2TV]

Welcome aboard!

[@johanneduardschnorr3733]

Could you imagine those half tracks proceeding in columns like that in the daytime on the Western front?!?!

[@hermelingreimann8767]

In winter on cloudy days of course!

[@markrunnalls7215]

Interesting stuff, absolutely brill..

[@mathewkelly9968]

8:48 sorry couldnt help myself . Not a Hitler fan obviously but I dont subscribe to the mad man Hitler argument and if he'd just listened to his generals Germany would have won school of thought either . While german genarals where good tactically they where complete nufties when it comes to strategy , resources and logistics , Hitler was well aware of the strategic importance of resources .

[@yukikaze3436]

Another fine presentation I read Nash's book "Hells Gate" some years ago

[@timbrown1481]

Douglas Nash! Yes, yes, yes!!

[@crasher303]

Excellent detail, & photos that make you want to zip up your parka. Books are on order.

[@glennmcdonald2028]

My Oma's youngest brother went Missing in Action in Budapest...

[@David-ct1rd]

As a teen in the late 70s. I read "Black march " ever since i have had an interest in the late war hungarian battles. A great aunt survived the battle of Budapest. She lost her first husband and most of her immediate family. She never talked about what happened. But she hated Russians. With a passion.

[@chrisguido1858]

Very little known , unlike the Ardennes offensive, colonel Nash’s book really shed some light on the operation, and is a great read. Like the offense in the west, some real unrealistic goals. For awhile, it looked like Gille’s Korp May well breakthrough to Budapest, but Balck changed the script, decided instead to try a encircling move, even though Gille informed him the Korp could not accomplish both things, the game was up anyway, but may have pull off another “Hells Gate”

[@adamwarne1807]

This presentation was so good, I could have kept on watching for hours! I enjoy the broad stroke books/documentaries but increasingly I am drawn to these more 'operationally focussed' works.... Thanks again to everyone concerned for making this happen!

[@WW2TV]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jeffclark7888]

Great!

[@markrunnalls7215]

Ohhhh... When he said the Stugs weren't as good as tanks, that's a bit of a bold statement... In the nicest possible sence I'm challenging the narrative, for 1) the stugs were very much liked by their crews, 2) there cheaper than a tank, 3) lower sillouette hence more harder to spot and 4) , the Stug Brigades certainly took a toll on soviet armour. Kurt Nispal was one such gunner, but he was eventually killed himself.

[@marks_sparks1]

I mentioned this in the live chat yesterday but here are the full details of General Horrocks KCB KBE DSO MC (XXX Corps) funeral arrangements Gen Sir Brian Horrocks died in 1985 but, for reasons unknown, his ashes remained with the undertaker in Chichester. RHQ of the PWRR was contacted by the undertaker in 2018 regarding this situation and, after a long search, his grandchildren were recently tracked down (their mother had predeceased him). Arrangements have now been made to bury the ashes at the Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge’s Own) Garrison Church in Mill Hill close to brother officers and a set of Middlesex Regiment Colours that are buried nearby. The service will take place at 1400 hrs 16 May (as a significant date in Gen Sir Brian’s life) and, in addition to senior officers from the regiment, will include Black Rod and a former Black Rod in the congregation." Finally laid to rest. RIP Sir

[@loreleikomm5802]

great information. thank you for sharing. sorry to have missed this show live, but I did see your comments marksandsparks1 in the sidebar; and I'm glad to hear this additional info. Wish I lived in the UK and could attend this special service.

[@peterhanlon8324]

Great presentation-I thought Sepp Dietricht’s Sixth SS came up through Lake Balaton (operation spring awakening) Worth a mention of him? (As enjoy reading about him. He was annoyed when Hitler took the medals back from his troops) -or is it a little bit later as spring awakening mentioned near the end Also:- Those survivors on the half track had the 1000 yard stare War is terrible. Got to stop power hungers getting in charge

[@richardcurry4912]

Breslau also held out almost until the end.

[@johnmccann7546]

Twice viewed means twice satisfying!

[@SynapseDriven]

"womped" and smiles, jet black humour there

[@Chiller01]

It’s interesting and something I hadn’t previously considered. I wonder how many other German men joined the SS as a way to return to the military while being ineligible for the Reichswehr.

[@caryblack5985]

It would depend on when he joined. After Hitler came to power the Wehrmacht was greatly increased and it would be easy to join especially if he was experienced.

[@Chiller01]

@@caryblack5985 Well the Reichswehr is kinda specific to 1919-1935. The Schutzstaffel narrows it to 1925 onward so the timeframe is between 1925 and 1935.

[@caryblack5985]

@@Chiller01 I would say the SS had no waffen SS troops until 1939. It was just political so it did not offer an army type career until 1939.

[@EarleALLEN]

interesting battle plan/s

[@rafaelbogdan9307]

15:00 Check out the circles around Pfeffer-Wildenbruch's eyes! He almost looks like he's wearing black metal makeup. And that pic is 1943, not even Budapest.

[@WW2TV]

Thanks - Douglas, didn't say it was Budapest, just who it was

[@rafaelbogdan9307]

@@WW2TV Thanks! That last bit was meant to highlight what a wreck he must've looked during the siege if he was already like that in '43. Dude was a long-time survivor of the war, though.

[@williamwimmer5473]

32:22 Imagine getting on a public platform as a retired field grade officer, collecting a luxurious public taxpayer provided pension, and hand waving a *death camp commander* as an "energetic" and talented leader who's men were inspired by him. Listening to the language Nash consistently employs throughout this presentation, it dawns on me; is West Point even institutionally capable of producing an american officer who won't consistently tonguebathe and whitewash the Waffen SS (and especially their officer corps) at every possible opportunity and platform? Every time I've heard an american army officer speak of World War II, and without even investigating their background, without exception it's been instantly recognized and understood what ring they wear, just based off of how consistently fawning they are of their idols in the SS

[@asafb1984]

You are correct. They were very "energetic" when killing Jews, Roma, Communists, Gays and anyone they wanted in the east. He also failed to mention the facist-nazi regime in budapest they are trying to help. This are not good guys , they are bad people in service of evil regime.

[@shoofly529]

I'll step up to defend WP. The German army should be studied for several reasons. First, no army has ever occupied an enemies’ territory for so long all the while being outnumbered by so many. I could stop there but here are other reasons. They attacked with motorized units thru the Ardennes twice & surprised the Allies both times. (Joke: Who won the 1940 Tour d’ France? Answer: The German 7th Panzer Division!) Rommel’s tactics were used by the US Army in Desert Storm. They invented the General Staff College. Pioneered combined arms warfare. After the war, the Russians descended an Iron Curtain over Europe. If one wanted to study the Russians that was going to be impossible but you could study the last army who fought them. Lastly, who are you going to study? The Italian Army? The French? How about the British? One could study Monty however, I don’t know how large the forces were & for how long he was in charge of them for. Plus he had Ultra so can you really get much out of his strategies when he had Rommel’s orders on his desk every morning? Perfectly acceptable for war; not much help for research. You could study the Japanese Army in China but they just massacred millions of civilians & when the Chinese Army came close to fighting them evenly, the Japanese would deploy poison gas for which the Chinese had no defense so..to me, that kind of leaves the Germans.

[@nigelmortimer4884]

Fabulous show that sparked an interest to look deeper. Not sure if Douglas is available for questions but here goes. 1. Focussed on the opening of Konrad 1, specifically the Totenkopf’s role. Popular imagery is that SPW mounted grenadiers would be in the lead group or at least exploitation force. Is it a bit strange that the single Totenkopf SPW mounted abteilung I from regiment 5 wasn’t involved in Konrad 1? Is that correct? Any reason that you know off? 2. The Germans extensively used Kampfgruppe but one is not named for the Totenkopf in Konrad 1, whereas there are for its running mate the Wiking? Is there a reason? 3. The maintenance crews did quite the job keeping the panzers operational. Is the exact location in Acs known? 4. Comparisons with Ardennes in 1944 are natural. Comparing the two SS Panzer Corps, would you say the IV had the superior leadership from battalion level up?

[@WW2TV]

He may see this yes, if not he's on Twitter and Facebook

[@nigelmortimer4884]

@@WW2TV unfortunately I'm not. Left twitter when Musk... and don't use Facebook. Hopefully he will rock up on the channel again at some point. Looking to walk the ground over there in 2025.

[@nigelmortimer4884]

think i found the answer in Vopersal volume Vb. the 1abt was detached to Armee Reserve pg 504 in late November. Every chance it hadn't been re-attached for Konrad. So regiment 5 went into the campaign missing its SPW abt.

[@PalleRasmussen]

Balck was not too happy about the SS units.

[@briankorbelik2873]

I apologize, I got this video confused with the one that Model used to keep Ivan away from Warsaw. Serves me right to have both videos up at the same time. In this situation for me my "Favorite" German units are the I Kavallrie Korps, They too had quite a history.

[@alanlake257]

Although I’m subscribed to the channel I’m a relatively new subscriber only a few months. So have hundreds of uploads to catch up on and I’ve Jst discovered this Eastern Front week I’m a big fan of WW2 history and particularly of the war in the East. The total disregard for Geneva convention and for the civilian populations of occupied lands blows my mind. Also the numbers and size of the units involved is hard to fathom. Any way could anybody list the uploads which were part of the Eastern Front week please

[@WW2TV]

Just use the Playlists. Here is our Eastern Front one kzbin.info/aero/PLDG3XyxGI5lCir1IYCeW2gfElmC9XaQaj&si=0sruQuScVtIOVFqB

[@alanlake257]

Thank you

[@briankorbelik2873]

I've read everything that I can get my hands on about the Fallschirmpanzerkorps Hermann Goring. And unusual formation but it turned out to be one of the German's best units. If anyone out there is curious about the HG, there is an excellent book by Bender that's still in print. And I know everyone goes all 'ga-ga" over German SS units, but HG's formation and battle record is second to none. And the HG plays a major part in this battle.

[@aps125]

Herman Goring division didn’t participate in Operation Konrad at all.

[@briankorbelik2873]

@@aps125 Sorry, thought that I had another screen up. Big Ooops on my part.

[@briankorbelik2873]

True, but we all can;t be Gawd.

[@MegaBloggs1]

just to be informative-there are at least 3 galacia provinces in europe-one of them has the hungarian oilfields in it-it should not be surprising there are oilfields in hungary -considering the proximity to polest and the oil fields near vienna

[@arnepietruszewski9255]

The name is Georg Otto Hermann BALCK.

[@steveswitzer4353]

great all his books on the wehrmacht are exceptional

[@williamwimmer5473]

do all of his other books give the Waffen SS such a devoted tongue bathing as this presentation?

[@steveswitzer4353]

@@williamwimmer5473 whats a tongue bathing?

[@sandorfarkas7910]

Dicsőség a hősöknek

[@williamwimmer5473]

Yet another excellent presentation with great commentary and questions that still manage to be brief and don't interrupt the flow of the presentation, something you've absolutely mastered in every single video I've seen you produce. The best part about shows on topics like that is we can all look back at these battles and the massive casualty reports and only feel half as uncomfortable as a humanitarian would when studying other conflicts for the massive casualties and losses of life. Because nazi lives don't matter, their continuous failures make a mockery of their contemporary apologists, and most especially fuck Wehraboos

[@WW2TV]

So, you have left two comments on the same video. This one saying it was excellent and another essentially accusing Douglas Nash as being an SS apologist. Thus, I'm a little confused!

[@williamwimmer5473]

@@WW2TV Apologies for devolving into long form, but I will attempt a clarifying explanation on my earlier second comment; the TL;DR is your channel is a treasure, and I don't believe that Nash is an SS apologist; but rather that exposure to West Point during their formative years and it's role as an initiation rite into a uniquely privileged caste in American society produces patterns of behavior and language in his peers which appears to unconsciously condition it's graduates to couch language of the german "supermen" in terms that should otherwise be thought as outrageous, especially coming out of the institution involved when considering at the US Army's experiences fighting Nazis during the war. Like every other video I've seen you do, (currently watching the video on Mission 760, your channel makes fascinating listening during these exciting times of work-from-home and it's a joy to be able to listen to several each work day since recently discovering you) this video and especially your handling of it is excellent. You are one of the best moderators, in any field, I've ever had the pleasure to view, and the authors you seek out and talks you curate should be appreciated for the national treasure the body of work you're producing and disseminating is. I don't believe Nash (or his peers in the West Point educated american army officer caste) to be an SS apologist. SS apologists in professional circles in the US historically and currently are nearly universally from the US Special Forces and intelligence communities (who bypass the "apologist" step entirely except for brief convenient periods when compelled by outside pressure and have always, as a matter of policy, preferred to be outright eager supporters of the Nazi party in general, but especially it's stormtroops in the Waffen SS; it's no coincidence that it wasn't until fairly recently that the number of buildings on special forces bases named after black americans finally surpassed those named after "former" Waffen SS-turned-American "counterinsurgents", and the American SOF-led GWOT wars are replete with examples of American special forces operators/units wholesale embracing explicitly nazi iconography and openly and proudly espousing self-professed fascist phrases and rhetoric). Unlike Nash and his peers, those people, and members of that carefully selective community, are absolutely SS apologists, and eagerly tell anyone who will listen to them. The second comment I made on this video was moreso an off the cuff reflection on a decade of observations of individuals with his shared background of exposure to the institution of West Point during their formative years. West Point, or something about/around it, seems to unfortunately institutionally imbibe those who pass through it with this false narrative of the the desirability of the German soldier, particularly the Wehrmacht, and most especially the Waffen SS. It should be shocking for such views to be voiced by those from such a relatively privileged caste in american society as the American officer corps, but instead I have found it so routinely in their writings going back decades. I first noticed it when studying the US officer corps views on the conflict in indochina, where the monsters who wrote their mothers with heroic retellings of their Juden-hunting exploits, slave driving children, and their civilian extermination safaris had completely been transformed into battle hardened experienced "anticommunists" and "counterinsurgency practitioners" by the diligent hard work of this same caste of american officers. It's become almost an expectation at this point that if I read/hear an individual speaking with an American accent of the SS and using a certain type of language (typically an obligatory but passing reference to some horrid war crime, followed thereafter by an extensive nearly-apologetic list of the individual or unit involved otherwise good character and/or martial prowess attributes) it's an easy connect the dots moment to realize the individual speaking has had the misfortune to have started their career in, and had their understandings misshapen by something about that peculiar institution. I don't believe this to be a conscious choice of or moral failing by individuals (such as if they were to personally believe in or consciously choose to be apologists for that regime), or believe that they view or believe themselves in what the SS stood for or consciously make excuses for what it was and did; given the opportunity nearly all universally express disgust with what the regime did during the war (although to a markedly less extent towards what it stood for). Yet the similarities in the way they speak of (especially) the Waffen SS seems to be simply a natural remnant of an early, completely unrealized and unacknowledged shaping influence of being exposed to a highly esteemed institution during possibly the most formative time in their lives, which has apparently (deliberately or not) cultivated/curated a twisting of views around the subject in it's graduates. That is to say, it's not that Nash or his classmates are SS apologists, but that their exposure to the institution of West Point seems to be the unifying point in their life experiences which leads to them speaking of monsters in language which is near-universally couched, and at times sounds remarkably similar (right down to using the same phrases) to the way those same monsters self-described themselves and their "exploits" in the flood of memoirs and excuses they released into the world as soon as the war they started was over and they'd lost. I've read several authors who speak of the lasting postwar effects (including on policy and ideology) of allowing "former" nazi general officers to both write their memoirs under American employ/supervision and also significantly shape the post-war american professional understanding/viewpoint of the war by contributing to, and in some cases even being allowed to pen, the official histories of the war in Europe. I understand a great deal of the motivation for allowing these "reformed" nazis to do so was as a result of the impending Cold War (itself started in no small part to OSS-turned-CIA wholesale recruiting of committed Nazi spies who habitually fed outright lies about what was happening in the Soviet occupation zone to their American handlers/dupes), but I personally find it astonishing and disturbing how far reaching those effects have been.

[@kyleroth1025]

“A comment”. As requested. Thank you.

[@loreleikomm5802]

good job following directions!

[@mathewkelly9968]

1:55 let's not beat about the bush about what kind of people these 'hard core followers' are . I used to feel sorry for Hungary but the more I've learnt about the place and especially the people I like them less and less , just look at the PM they currently have , they haven't changed . Orban would be unacceptable in lets say Germany . I'll hold my tongue and enjoy an hour of listening to the SS fail miserably and enjoy it from here on out .

[@v1e1r1g1e1]

Perhaps you would feel differently if the great powers of the world... let's say, China, the USA and Russia... decided to rob your country of two thirds of its territory and nearly a quarter of your co-ethnic people? This happened in 1920 when the French and British tore away Hungary's lands, leaving it impoverished and indebted to the WW1 victors for a war that Hungary did not start!

[@kennethquinnies6023]

There were soviet armored and mech forces that were in the area of the battle but in reserve and did not participate in the battle at all. Every man in those units recieved a hero of the soviet union medal. now I know how meaningless their ww2 medal system was, they handed out thousands to troops that did not deserve one.

[@seanpoltzer1107]

That's not a tiger tank

[@andraslibal]

We are 7 minutes in and there is so much missing, there is nothing about the battle of Targu Frumos, there is nothing about the successful Hungarian defense of the Arpad line that thwarts the Soviets from crossing the Carpathians there is nothing about the deliberate decision of Stalin to halt the westward march and instead take a detour through the Balkans to secure them for the post war rearrangement of Europe, there is not a word about the Romanians switching and backstabbing the Germans on August 23rd 1944, nor subsequent hard battles in Transylvania where the Soviets had to stop in Torda because of their great losses ... just a fleeting word about the Battle Of Debrecen, the last battle in the war where a whole Russian Army was surrounded and destroyed on even terms ... if the lead-up is this bad I am not inclined to listen further.

[@WW2TV]

You're asking for battles to be covered that were not part of the show description. So it's like complaining that a show about Market Garden doesn't cover Antwerp

[@andraslibal]

@@WW2TV he spends 7 minutes on the intro and lead-up it would have taken no more time to mention the proper important events.

[@WW2TV]

In your opinion...

[@bikesnippets]

Are you ever able to (present geopolitical situation notwithstanding) get Russian historians to give presentations? It strikes me that a truly balanced view is impossible without their input.

[@MrAkurvaeletbe]

Nice discussion but its really distracting how you keep touching your face..

[@WW2TV]

Don't watch then

[@MrAkurvaeletbe]

@@WW2TV ok:(

[@WW2TV]

I can't deal with petty complaining. Just jog on and watch a different channel

[@MrAkurvaeletbe]

@@WW2TV alright..

[@pippohispano]

Great presentation. It is, however, too much German-oriented: we all got to know who the Germans were, their units, their officers, the difficulties they passed through (cold, casualties, hunger, exaustion, pressures from above, etc.)... but what about the Soviets? Who were they? Who were their officers? Their units? Their equipment? Did they had a great time, or did they too suffered from cold, exaustion and casualties like the rest? Did they loose great, beloved commanders as well? We're told nothing about it...

[@WW2TV]

Sure, but the German units is the focus of Douglas's writing. I would love to find more experts on the Red Army and other belligerents

[@konst80hum]

The guest has a definite SS bias. Otherwise quite informative as always. The Hungarian campaign is relatively unknown, every insight is good to have.

[@baltazarakoufen2524]

les francais sont incapables de faire des doc intéressants?

[@WW2TV]

Why are you asking this question? What is the relevance to this conversation?

[@victorsingh878]

boring

[@WW2TV]

So don't watch then

[@hansjalv]

This was very interesting to listen to!