Osttruppen: Just Cannon Fodder?

[@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized]

»» ERRORS, CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS «« Based on the research of Niels Henkemans twitter.com/Niels_1944 , some information and/or quotes in this video might be incorrect: * "the commander of Wolga-Tart.Btl.627 was wounded, not killed and the murder of the commander of Georg.Btl.797 may well have been for personnel motives: the Georgian company commander responsible was facing accusations of having killed the husband of his mistress." twitter.com/Niels_1944/status/1360569567907614723 * "How quickly units surrendered is debatable. The Ost 642 performed above expected, Georg.795 offered considerable resistance, Ost-Btl.635 was important around Carentan (Ost 439 is less clear) and Ost 649 did well on the Montebourg front. Wolga-Tat. 627 proved unreliable though and Georg 797 was underwhelming as well. It's difficult to comment on Ost 441 which was the only Ost-Btl. confronted with amphibious landings. Either way, there is no clear majority of Osttruppen fighting either poorly or well in Normandy." twitter.com/Niels_1944/status/1360570286656077825 twitter.com/Niels_1944/status/1360571082726637575 * "Also, although most battalions had a German commander by 1944, this was (still) not always the case. Orig. there were two options: 1) German cadre personnel (Rahmenpers.) and 2) Liasion section (Verbindungskdo.). Turkic units followed option 1, Ost-Einheiten could follow both." twitter.com/Niels_1944/status/1360688756924309508

[@drewdederer8965]

Two notable sources of survivors from captured "Ost" units. The Polish Armored division apparently carried extra uniforms with them, to "induct" any Polish osts who surrendered to them. Then there is the strange case of Yang Kyoungjong who was captured in Normandy. He had been drafted into the Japanese Army, Captured by the Russians and drafted into the Red Army, THEN captured by the Germans and put in the Ost troops. He ended up getting sent to the states and lived out his life in Chicago after the war.

[@ashfox7498]

"I'm playing all sides, so I always come out on top"

[@adammazeli]

the guy was a korean and if american draft him and sent him to korean war it will be like the perfect story

[@jonwingfieldhill6143]

There was a similar story that is relatively well known and has videos on KZbin in relation to it of a Finnish soldier he started service with their army, when Finland lost he joined the German army and when they were defeated he joined the US army so for most of his career he was armed to the teeth fighting Russians and communists.

[@drewdederer8965]

@@jonwingfieldhill6143 One guy was devoted/crazy. The other was incredibly unlucky, until the last time.

[@jonwingfieldhill6143]

@@drewdederer8965 thats true i cant imagine growing up in one country and being captured by 3 different armies and ending up in france fighting a war you didnt ever want to be a part of.

[@MazterHuntR]

"You can count on Osttruppen... No really, you can"

[@lotharlaishram765]

prostruppen shite troops they cheap tho

[@LilyTheCat151]

Many "Russians" actually had an intense dislike for Stalin and his henchmen. Those from annexed states almost certainly despised the Soviets unless they were themselves communists. Had the Germans had a different attitude to these troops and to those in their homelands, I suggest the performance of many of these units would have been much better. Of course once the War was seen to be lost loyalties would have changed.

[@akrepiidfiresupportvehicle2289]

Its Coh2 reference

[@reikomi]

My strategy on company of heroes 2 be like: More osttruppen, *MORE OSTTRUPPEN*

[@oLii96x]

"You can count on Osttruppen!"

[@michimatsch5862]

@@oLii96x Nein, wirklich!

[@steiner4864]

Osttruppen > conscripts

[@dennisv3435]

I don’t suppose you need cannon fodder!

[@NicerDicerSmart]

It's what the pros do too in tournaments

[@davidcox3076]

I remember reading about a Russian Osttruper captured by American forces in Normandy. While being interrogated, he told his captors that he only really wanted to get to America. The officer in charge replied, in Russian, "Me, too!"

[@shakemynuggets9108]

Hahhaha

[@DZ477]

Wait, did he end up in America tho?

[@user-fi2fk2ei7o]

@@DZ477 no, US and other western nation sent back soviet nationalist to soviet union because they want back their own citizen that got captured by soviet union in german POW camp

[@abbcc5996]

@@user-fi2fk2ei7o that was the official allied policy and it was a shameful one but that did not stop a sizeable minority of the captured soviet nationals from slipping through or being willingly let inside the west

[@robertsantamaria6857]

MHV quoted Wikipedia, he must not be a serious historian! Fortunately, I finished college a few years ago so I no longer need to care about blacklisting Wikipedia. MHV has a noted record of his own primary research and when he quotes from secondary sources he always notes when and where they may differ from his own research or other secondary sources. This is what a serious historian looks like. Keep up the great work MHV!

[@TheDancingHyena]

Wikipedia is just a compendium of sources. So frustrating when people blow it all off as "just wikipedia" instead of looking at the sources cited.

[@lwilton]

@@TheDancingHyena Unfortunately it is a compendium of possibly reliable sources usually combined with random people's personal opinions and vendettas, often disguised as or claimed to be from reliable sources. All of this is then muddled by the Wikipedia overriding goal of "consensus", so if some persistent contributor believes that space aliens are involved in internal combustion engines, that has to be included in the page on internal combustion and given the same weight as a contribution from a scientist that actually knows what he is talking about. If the scientist refuses to integrate the space aliens, he gets banned for refusing consensus, and the space aliens contributor has the final word. All this makes Wikipedia pretty unreliable on any topic involving hard facts.

[@useodyseeorbitchute9450]

Wiki is mostly OK, when it applies to something mostly ideology free (like physics or so old history that almost no-one has strong political views on it). On the other hand, when ideological bias is possible, then the fun starts. It's not even messy, it's selecting a terribly skewed sample of left-leaning newspapers or TV stations as starting point (had they picked so skewed towards right, it would equally be a problem), that often leads it to even contradict itself. Though to be fair, they mention that Wikipedia not about truth but about verifiability.

[@oihanlarranegi472]

Fun fact: If I'm not mistaken, the last fight of the German Reich happened in the island of Texel in the Netherlands, between some Georgian troops that decided to defect, and the Germans that tried to stop them. The Georgians were defeated.

[@TimDutch]

Yes, the Georgians killed alot of Germans on the first night in their sleep. When they failed to take control over multiple 'widerstandsnesten' they resolved to form defensive lines and try to hold out as long as possible. They succeeded in this a couple of weeks/months and then resolved to fight a guerrilla war which continued even after the German capitulation. Ultimately one Dutch soldier that served in the Prinses Irene Brigade came back home to Texel and disarmed the Germans thus ending the conflict.

[@TimDutch]

ultimately the Georgians went back home and were even accepted by Stalin!

[@mixererunio1757]

Yeah, accepted to go to gulag. Stalin considered every captured solider to be a traitor.

[@noobster4779]

@@TimDutch To losely quote Stalin: "There are no soviet prisoners, only dead heroes and living traitors"

[@comrade_commissar3794]

@@noobster4779 Based

[@729060]

The movie My Way follows a Korean, who was pressganged by the IJA was captured by the soviets, ended up in German hands, was put into an Osttruppen Battalion to end up in Normandy for D-day.

[@pashvonderc381]

Yep seen that, not a bad film either

[@bouncyball6477]

You can count on osttruppen 🥰

[@pepsacola259]

No really, you can!

[@reikomi]

Osttruppen doing it

[@mrwhatshisname]

No really, you can!

[@flying0possum]

No really, you can!

[@1TruNub]

No really you can

[@lorenzodimaio6672]

The first time I heard about the Osttruppen was in Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30!

[@Tommy-xg6js]

Mine was Company of Heroes 2.

[@-ruttley3457]

Same, what a game

[@johnnypetersen3818]

Always loved how depressed they sounded I mean, makes sense, but still, hearing a guy half-hearted try to declare he`s getting shot at is funny.

[@Macinatorecazzaro]

lorenzo... io ho amato brothers in arms...

[@alexanderrahl482]

"Desola! Get em."

[@0utc4st1985]

Wasn't everyone on the Eastern Front just cannon fodder after Barbarossa failed?

[@stevew6138]

Maybe to uncle "Dolf but most commanders tried to do right by their men.

[@davidfrancis67]

@@stevew6138 Paulus?

[@stevew6138]

@@davidfrancis67 Don't knock Freddie. As a staff officer he was in over his head commanding a field army. He tried several times to be allowed to break out and there's a difference between using men as "kanonenfutter" and following orders, no matter how ludicrous. I don't remember when I was in the Military having the luxury of picking and choosing what orders I carried out. Unless illegal.

[@FlashingDeath]

thats why germany won the war btw

[@SingularNinjular]

I'd say after Case Blue, but sure.

[@GnorriTV]

9:50 So turns out they really could count on ostruppen, they just didn't.

[@edi9892]

Imagine you were a volunteer for the Osttruppen and in Western Europe when you realize that you're fighting for a lost cause. What would be the best course of action to save your skin?

[@purplefood1]

Wait until you're on picket duty around nighttime/very early morning and then attempt to surrender to the Allies.

[@Lykyk]

No cause is lost as long as there are still commies to take out, edi.

[@edi9892]

@@purplefood1 what then? If they're sent back, they'll regret not having committed suicide...

[@aakashjain4569]

@@Lykyk you mean fascists

[@tzeentchnianexaltedsorcero2041]

@@Lykyk do remember to follow your leader my boy

[@HistoryHustle]

I find this topic very fascinating. Great you talk about it. In the Netherlands the Georgian Legion was stationed on the island of Texel where they rebelled in the last days of WW2 in Europe. This rebellion ended in late May 1945.

[@maciejniedzielski7496]

@History Hustle. Bonsoir. Tôt syns later at your channel

[@AlexKS1992]

Ever since hearing about them from Brothers In Arms: Road To Hill 30 I’ve been fascinated by Ostrrupen. One of my favorite stories is a Korean who was drafted into the Kwantung Army, captured at Ghalkin Gol, drafted by the Red Army, captured at Kharkov and was liberated by American forces at Utah Beach.

[@messageinthebottle1673]

They made a movie about him, its call "my way" a Korean movie

[@robisfantasticutube]

No, its just a coincidence I send my 15 point infantry towards that IS-2 heavy tank battalion.

[@TheSgruby]

Nice timing for me i reading right now "Hitler’s Eastern Legions" form Osprey Publishing (Elite series).

[@viatorinterra]

Osttruppen are the cheapest 6 man squad available, and in great numbers can deal with the meta Soviet opening. They may had been nerfed, but spamming them is still a great strat to use as Ostheer. It's best to pair them with Panzergrenadiers, however!

[@LucidFL]

10:45 I refuse to believe the allies were somehow ignorant of their fates.

[@gamecks1539]

I recall reading some time ago about a British bomber dropping leaflets over a unit made up of Russians fighting on the Western Front. The leaflets claimed that if they surrendered they would be returned home, because they mistakenly believed that they were forced to fight. Naturally, the Russians realised if they surrendered they would be deported to the Soviet Union. The entire unit then proceeded to fight to the death.

[@richardstephens5570]

Lucid, Stalin didn't tell the Western Allies everything.

[@kamilszadkowski8864]

Allies were famously ignorant when it came to complicated relations in Eastern Europe.

[@user-ig3ic3fq7u]

Ignorant? The Allies simply made sure that traitors and Hitler's servants would get what they deserved. (In fact, most of them were not executed, but imprisoned and released in 1955-56)

[@ashtray4757]

3:03 Ich glaube "Stamm" in diesem Zusammenhang steht für Stammeinheit (einer Einheit, der man fest zugeordnet ist) und nicht für die steinzeitliche Gesellschaftsform. Weiß es aber nicht :D

[@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized]

yep, missed that.

[@TheSgruby]

Dear Military History not Visualized can you provide German army view on conscripts from territories directly incorporated into Reich ( Alsace and Lorraine, the Polish part of Silesia, Polish Pomerania, Poznań etc.)?

[@MegaJJ1968]

Very interesting stuff, as usual. I learn every day, and your approach is great and very pragmatic. Thank you for your work. Best greets from Cologne.

[@tyrionlannister4920]

Could you teach us about the last days of fighting for vienna? As viennese, i am more than curious about, which troops thought, where the frontline ran, who and how skilled and experienced the commanders were, what military equipment was thrown into the fight etc... Schöne grüße aus Wien ✌🏻

[@IrishCarney]

I've always been interested how Vienna, and Austria, were split up into Allied occupation zones like Germany, but ultimately did not become a duplicate of the divided Germany with a Western enclave in the capital. No Soviet-aligned East Austria, or "Austrian Democratic Republic" in the Warsaw Pact with a free "West Vienna" deep inside it owing allegiance to a NATO-aligned "West Austria". Of course in German "West Austria" is an oxymoron :P

[@yesyesyesyes1600]

Für die Flaktürme hat er ein Video gemacht. Die 30mm Kanonen haben die Russischen Panzer auf Distanz gehalten afaik.

[@legionitalia309]

Great video! Would still love to see one on the Bau Battalions!

[@theairbourne1019]

I think the Osttruppen are very intersting even their equippment and uniform reflected their status. For example in the thumbnail there are multiple Ostruppler that wear captured Dutch tunics with german insignia. That was a common case in the osttruppen basicly any captured equipment could be found there. This goes on to their insignia as well. They had dedicated insignia for the different kind of Osttruppen but it was only partially adappted with most wearing only a Armshield, some dont even wore any insignia on there tunics.

[@kingstar0084]

I've also seen pictures of them having dutch Mannlicher Rifles equipped, but most of the might have had russian weapons like Mosins or DPs

[@SergeantFarmer]

Danke für deine Arbeit!

[@thomasrozen]

Osttruppen ready!!

[@KanJonathan]

An older source of 'Cannon Fodder' perception, should be "Advanced Squad Leader" from Avalon Hill Games.

[@douglasstrother6584]

Spent a lot of time playing Avalon Hill games back in the day!

[@slartybartfarst55]

Thanks so much again for a concise description

[@philvanderlaan5942]

Also in 'Saving private Ryan ' --- ' Dont shoot I'm a Czech ' maybe not exactly Ost , but not german, native or ethnic.

[@TheSgruby]

Many volksdeutsche or man from territories directly annexed to Reich were conscripted into German army. One polish prime minister had grandpa in Wehrmacht... Refusal could lead to a concentration camp.

[@demonprinces17]

Band of Brothers had guys saying their polish

[@INSANESUICIDE]

The Germans probably had the most diverse army in modern day with wermacht and SS volunteers

[@INSANESUICIDE]

@@lostalone9320 and so did the Germans

[@kingstar0084]

@@lostalone9320 But the Germans had all of those. Nearly every minority of the Soviet Union was represented in the German army and there were also Asians like Indochinese, Koreans etc., Arabs, Indians and Africans from the British and French Colonies and nearly all countries of Europe had at least some volunteers. Yes, even Switzerland had about 2000, Lichtenstein about 100 and Sweden about 400 - 500.

[@docshelley1969]

Hello, could you maybe do a video about the "Seydlitztruppen?" Thx

[@tyrionlannister4920]

Me, while educating myself about military history and battles:"oh no, these poor soldiers 😕😔" Me, while watching war movies and series:"oh no, these poor soldiers 😕😔" Me, playing CoH as germans: Osttruppen-Trupp:"what is my purpose?" Me:"you go somewhere in the middle of the map to die, keeping the enemy busy turkey shooting, while i build up my personal siegfried-line and build up an armored spearhead to rommel-stomp the enemy off the map." Osttruppen-trupp looks down on his hands:"oh. My. God. " Me:"yeah. Welcome to the club pal."

[@murderouskitten2577]

rommel-stomp the enemy - that line is pure gold :)

[@tyrionlannister4920]

@RogerwilcoFoxtrot ahhh.... I see, you are a man of culture aswell 😏 RogerwilcoFoxtrot +rep

[@michaelf7093]

Can you discuss Vlasov's "RNA" (Russian National Army) in context with the Osttruppen?

[@plumahoplita]

excelente vídeo! sehr toll gemacht und rescherschiert!

[@TimDutch]

An interesting topic to cover might be the Georgian uprising on the Dutch island of Texel. Here heavy fighting took place between the former osttruppen, the Dutch resistance and the Germans. The effects of the fighting can still be seen.

[@MrDeutschGerman]

Bruv I Just saw a comment of yours on a Video of History with Hilbert....seems Like the algorithm isn't really creative today

[@TimDutch]

@@MrDeutschGerman I would say we have got the same interests :)

[@williamtyson9503]

You should talk about the British Indian Army at some point

[@lovablesnowman]

Agreed

[@variszuzans299]

Russian historiography mentions Estonian and Latvian battalions as part of the German 18th Army of the Army Group North at the Volkhov sektor in February 1942 during the so-called Lyban offensive, the failed massive Soviet assault to relieve Leningrad. Not much is known about their combat role in this battle, other than some of these battalions were reportedly "destroyed" by the attacking Soviets. This battle, although not well known, was however one of the bloodiest of the entire war in the East.

[@janporinchak5867]

Well done. A good analysis.

[@somerandomguy9942]

Just subbed. Thanks for history vids keep it up!!

[@redhausser7492]

Finally a shotout to CoH2! Is a good game. Keep up the good work! Fun fact: in coh2, osttruppen were both buffed (better access to weapons and stats) yet nerfed (spawn is slower now)

[@synergetic4d]

My father was one of Merrill's Marauders if you would like to make a video about them with me. I have several books about them I've read. And I saw your video about Stilwell this could be a good companion. I'll post this comment there as well in case you would care to correspond

[@wach9191]

Of Balts who fought for nazis, they were mostly Latvians and Estonians, Lithuanians participated in very low numbers. That is why Lithuanian anti soviet resistance after war was so stiff. Latvians and Estonians had no men left to fight anymore...

[@migkillerphantom]

There was plenty of armed resistance to the soviets in both Estonia and Latvia.

[@krDaeUn]

You can always count on Osttruppen!

[@JaketheCultist]

I know the Dirlewanger Brigaide eventually recruited Hiwi, how effective was the Dirlewanger Brigaide?

[@eric-wb7gj]

TY 🙏🙏

[@tb7771]

Don't forget about those of us amateur historians who knew about them before video games existed.😁

[@sophiam2095]

Honest question, if you were a German commander and you realize the war is lost and that your osttruppen are likely to be killed if they surrender to anyone, what could you do to save those most vulnerable men? Assuming you have the pull, give them fake documents and smuggle them to Sweden little bits at a time? Finland? Spain? Where could they go and not face death?

[@VisualdelightPro]

There was also a small motorised Japanese Volunteer division served by Japanese mountaineers.

[@binaway]

My father mentioned healthy Eastern/Bolkan POW's at his coal mine being press-ganged into the German military.

[@brankodrljaca1313]

One yugoslav partisan division had entire "russian" battalion ( term "Russian" doesn't always ethnic Russian, it might mean sense of belonging to the Russian state, or is byproduct of ignorance of the locals) with 700 Soviet citizens that served as mechanics or drivers in German troops. Unlike many other prisoners (many of occupational troops weren't Germans) they have expressed wish to fight alongside partisans. However, when Soviet and partisan troops met, it was aranged for Soviet citizens to re-join Red Army. They refused until they were all forced, to much discontent of their comrades.Most of them didn't went to Gulag or prison, but they were still viewed as traitors in their homeland

[@apmoy70]

The Greek III Mountain Brigade (Col. Thrasyboulos Tsakalotos) in the Battle of Rimini, during Operation Olive in the Italian campaign, was confronted by elements from the 1. Fallschirmjäger-Division, and the 162nd Turkistan Division. The former fought obstinately and fanatically, while the latter resisted poorly; they were eager to drop their weapons before the advancing Greeks or the Canadians

[@halflifeapc8777]

Do an episode on Eratztruppen please!!!!

[@GregKnee]

A number of years ago my brother and I went to the National Archives in College Park, MD to look into the unit records of the 4th Infantry Division at Utah Beach. Our step-grandfather had been a mortarman and his individual records were all lost in the 1973 fire in St. Louis. We came across a number of entries pertinent to this video regarding the initial performance of the opposing forces the IV ID faced up until they met fully German units. One entry has stayed in my mind - one day several soldiers in German uniform were captured who spoke a language no one could understand. It turned out that they were Koreans who had been impressed into the Japanese army and captured by the Russians in Manchuria, impressed into the Russian army and sent west to face the Germans. They were then captured by the Germans and impressed into the German army and sent to Normandy where they were then captured by the Americans.

[@rc59191]

They're actually my favorite unit in company of heroes 2.

[@andreaswolfes481]

3 or 4 squads are useful with green Cover. They also can bild trenches

[@cnlbenmc]

You can count on Osttruppen, no you really can!

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

From my notes, groups that I could find photos of: Cavalry-Cossack Infantry-FrikorpsDanmark Infantry-Legion-Arabischer,Arab Infantry-Legion-Cossack Infantry-Legion-DivisionAzul,Spanish Infantry-Legion-Indische,Hindu,Indian Infantry-Legion-Niederlande,Flemish,Netherlands,Dutch Infantry-Legion-Nordkaukasische Infantry-Legion-Russian,Belarusian,Ukranian,Georgian,Azerbaijani Infantry-Legion-Turkestani,Turkestan Infantry-SSLegion-Armenian Infantry-SSLegion-Charlemagne,French Infantry-SSLegion-Croatian,Albanian,Muslim,Handschar Infantry-SSLegion-Estonian,Latvian Infantry-SSLegion-Norwegen,Norwegian Infantry-SSLegion-Wallonien,Belgian Infantry-SSVerfugungstruppe,Early Pilots,Airmen-EscuadrillaAzul,Spanish

[@Wolfspaule]

Das war mal ein gutes Video!

[@florinivan6907]

Your postwar treatment probably depended on how old(young) you were. A 14-16 year old former osttruppen private would have a higher chance of getting sent straight home.

[@stevenbrett1088]

Interesting video👍

[@gh87716]

How were they "cannon fodder" if they were sent to the west when there was heavy fighting still going on in the east?

[@heckinmemes6430]

They ever give anyone the Hiwi Jeebies? I'll see myself out.

[@atomicgandhi8718]

"Second rate" *unused grenadiers crying in the distance*

[@rayjin7448]

You can rely on ostruppen. No really you can. - Company Of Heroes 2.

[@thelovertunisia]

Can you talk about Tunisian Afrikakorps local volunteers.

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

Yes. There are also a number of revolts by Arabs against Colonial Forces before and during WWII in Iraq, Syria and Palestine - but there was also the story of the Italian Colonization of Tunisia. The Germans actually sent some Me-110's to support the revolt in Iraq. It has long been my contention that the Germans missed out by going against Russia before they had finished off the British in the Med and Middle East and taken the oil there. The impression that I have is that they would have had some degree of support from the Arabs had they done so. It may not have been meaningful military support but (as long as the Nazi's weren't the bunch of ass holes they could be) they _may_ have had a more welcoming population. .

[@thelovertunisia]

@@BobSmith-dk8nw My Tunisian grandparents were hiding a German officer in WW2 for over a year in their garden. He lived witg them and helped with garden work.

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

@@thelovertunisia That's interesting. I'm not familiar with Tunisia and have only limited understanding of the different Arab populations. I've seen more on Algeria - which was considered to be a _part_ of France - rather than a colony. As such it has a large body of citizens that were very much French and wanted nothing to do with Algerian Independence. I don't know if there was a corresponding French community in Tunisia or what the attitude of the population as a whole was towards WWII and it's participants. .

[@thelovertunisia]

@@BobSmith-dk8nw Arab in this case is a kind of misnomer. In Tunisia, maybe 15 percent of the population are genetically arab, maybe a third are Berber, and many on the coastline are caucasian from Greece, and Eastern and Western Europe genetically.

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

@@thelovertunisia Yeah. That's what I was wondering about. Thank you. .

[@electronicfarts5105]

''You can count on Osttruppen. No, really. You can''

[@loganchase1132]

Could you please do a video about the Blue Division and later blue legion, and the history of the Franco Spaniards on the Ostfront. Thanks :)

[@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized]

unlikely

[@Barabel22]

@@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized How come? Although it sounds more like something Mark Felton would do a few videos on.

[@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized]

relevancy (total of about 50 000 men vs. Osttruppen with a peak of ten times that), sources in my possession that cover it (I am running out of space and putting books into stacked boxes already), etc.

[@ronaldwhite1730]

Thank - you .

[@tf2664]

Nice video

[@SNOUPS4]

3:06 Wouldn't one rather translate Stamm by root here? I know that both are possible...

[@turkcudoktrin366]

Turanist Turkish prime minister of that time(Şükrü Saraçoğlu) collaborated with Nazi Germany and told Joachim von Ribbentrop "genociding Russian Slavs will be the best job of the Führer" and Ribbentrop agreed with him. After that Turkey arranged those Turkic people to join German army. You can even see some of Turkic Wehrmacht officers in Rommel's Normady photos.

[@turkcudoktrin366]

Extra info: Some of the Turkic Osttruppen died in Stalingrad. That news hit the Turkey and Turanist poet Nihal Atsız wrote a elegiacs about them and title of it was "Elegiacs to whom dies under the foreign flags".

[@INSANESUICIDE]

Can I get a citation for those genocide remarks?

[@djitidjiti6703]

This topic made me wonder about ethnic Germans living in the Soviet Union, who were a significant minority numbering in the millions. Could you do a video concerning their experiences prior to, during and post WWII?

[@ANukeWithLegs]

The Betrayed Armies that never found rest.

[@jonwingfieldhill6143]

It is interesting to see and understand how Germany who had less available manpower throughout the war used men it had captured and ethnic groups within the Soviet union and elsewhere that were motivated to free themselves from one kind of oppression or another joined the German ranks in the hope of gaining their own freedom and the closest similarities I can draw between the axis and the allies is the use of black soldiers in the American army who were assigned very similar roles to the German osttruppen and they were not always trusted by their white officers and only under considerable pressure were they used in combat. A large portion of the rear line troops that kept the white soldiers fighting and avoiding using them for heavy labour. In WW1 the American black soldiers were not allowed to fight in the front and were assigned to the French army and took massive casualties but weren't truly accepted by the US.

[@Freeliner75]

Similar tactic was used by Soviets in 1944-45, they created a lot of regiments fully comprised of Poles (Ludowe Wojsko Polskie), Romanians (Tudor Vladimirescu Division), Czechs (1st Czechoslovak Army Corps) and so on.

[@andreromanow9640]

Hallo Olli, der Oberlegionär soll am 1.1.44 eingeführt worden sein, und am 18.3.44 wurde das Tragen der deutschen Dienstgrade bei der ROA erlaubt. Da wäre doch das tragen dieses Dienstgrades "Oberlegionär" obwohl er nur kurze Zeit getragen wurde, legitim. Oder? Gruß Andre oder?

[@murderouskitten2577]

My grandfathers best friend was part of one of the ostroopen units ( dont recall wich one ), my great grandfather was Waffen SS 19th div. Both had enough medals to make Gering turn green out of jeloussy .

[@migkillerphantom]

If you're Latvian by the end of the war they both would've been SS rather than osttruppen

[@murderouskitten2577]

@@migkillerphantom grandfather friend was aniunced mia long before war ended . It was speculated by his closest friends who survived that he defected to Finland when he realized axis is starting to lose the war . Great grandfather was killed in 1945 in Courland Pocket. p.s. edited the info was picked up by me when i was a kid and listening to some drunk survivor's taking at the kitchen in late 80ties , So i view it with healthy sceptical eye.

[@lovablesnowman]

Up to 1.5 million Soviet citizens fought for the Wehermacht? That's a lot more than I realised

[@CruelDwarf]

They didn't fought for the Wermacht because majority of them never had weapons to fight with. They were basically slaves.

[@tooichan]

Just as the video noted, only around 500k of them were armed Osttruppen/Ostlegionen. The rest were unarmed hiwis (auxiliaries).

[@user-ig3ic3fq7u]

You could make people fight for anuthing, simply standing over Uman Pit with a loaf of bred in your hands.

[@johnmendez9849]

How about the Bosnian SS are they slavic are they not?

[@alifio2183]

Do a vid on german Straf battalion pls (the criminal/penal battalion)

[@victoriaevelyn3953]

All the comments just make me want to play CoH2 and just spam osttruppen

[@chinguunerdenebadrakh7022]

10:48 calling USSR "fatherland" is absolutely cursed, must be a traitor to the motherland.

[@user-ps8mc2ei5q]

In Russia we call the fatherland

[@lordstarco828]

You can count on ostruppen

[@hothoploink1509]

No wonder they fought hard on the western front. The turkey-peoples had good reasons to fear the americans and their "thanksgiving" brutality.

[@olliefoxx7165]

???? What???? The "Turkey-people" had reason to fear American Thanksgiving? I'm not aware of any prior conflicts Americans had with them. Was that a joke and it went over my head?

[@xsas8731]

@@olliefoxx7165 Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving. That's why "turkey-people" had to be afraid of them. And you are right it's a dumb joke by op

[@olliefoxx7165]

@@xsas8731 lol. Ok. Thought I might have missed something.😁👍

[@anttieskelinen1]

Do you know anything about Finnische Sicherungsgruppe 187 or Ost-Bataillon 664? Very little information is in finnish because it was so long tabu to talk about ingrians and even more tabu about their antipartisan action in Leningrad area. They make some warcrimes but it's not so miracle if you know the history of ingrians in Soviet Union 1918-1941.

[@user-cv8yr6mz4u]

Are there Manchurian ?

[@rainerfantasie9573]

"Time to look at the Osttruppen..." Who even determines that it's time for that? I call a council!

[@Taistelukalkkuna]

Osttruppen. Bravely manning fortifications in Close Combat 5. Only to be overrun by allies, or blown to bits by naval or aerial bombardment. And having that Renault tank helping them did not aid much.

[@sethplaysbadly6897]

CoH2 Be Like: *PROSTRUPPEN*

[@TheKingpool7]

You are bit wrong with your distinction here. SS Legions were not 100% volunteers. For example Estonian Legion out of total of 70 000 man serving there 20 000 were volunteers and 50 000 were mobilized. 1943. were smaller mobilizations but 1944-02-01 was total mobilization of all man born between 1904.-1923.

[@its_dippy6779]

"I SUPPOSE YOU NEED CANNON FODDER?!"

[@AJAtcho]

probably the one thing computer games got right

[@StarryNightSky587]

Osttruppen got nerfed, so rather go for some Pgrens. :D

[@chriscarbaugh3936]

I have a hard time including the Baltic states in this group. Certainly the Estonians and Latvians? Fought very hard during the retreat to the Kurland pocket.

[@Realkeepa-et9vo]

They were mostly organised in SS Formations iirr. Osttruppen were part of the Wehrmacht

[@messageinthebottle1673]

Ahahahaha I love how company of heroes 2 gave ostruppen troops the stigma or reputation of being cannon fodders still tho very good info video about the REAL ostruppen! 👍

[@michimatsch5862]

Steel Division 2 is great though I wish it was closer to reality. Imagine attacking a tank with small-arms to make it button up and then attack it with anti-tank rifles.

[@drox3992]

Why would infantry just shoot tanks and expose there position and life. Tanks are a serious threat.

[@Overlord734]

@@drox3992 To blind it.

[@talknight2]

@@drox3992 Tanks on their own are extremely vulnerable to infantry. You can't see shit from inside a tank and can't do much unless you have infantry support telling you where the enemies are. To take out a lone tank you just shoot at it to force the crew to close their hatches, which leaves them almost blind, and then you can calmly sneak up to it and blow it up.

[@fulcrum2951]

@@drox3992 guessing you're new to military history visualized

[@drox3992]

@@fulcrum2951 nah just a realist for foot soldier in ww2. Trying to survive 🤣

[@robert_trumpeteer]

annoying camera angle, for the rest great video and sources!

[@dustyak79]

Speaking of the US sending Russians back there where many reports of suicide. while the Russians had observers stationed with the US per the Yalta agreement, Stalin refused to allow US observers watch the repatriation of US liberated POWs. many reports of US British French POWs never returning from Russian hands.

[@usanagisan5033]

Every body gangster till the Boys pullout the panzerfaust.

[@karlcraft2496]

Ostruppen are 6 man squad that allows you to skip 4 man squad Grenadiers and allows you to rush Pzgrens on T2... Oh wait this is from Coh2

[@MrArtbv]

Curious you didn't mention Gen Vsalov and his command. As I recall it was a "Pocket Corps" of anti-Soviet POWs that fought well and WERE well regarded by the Wehrmacht units they fought with...

[@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized]

from what I gathered, they were not part of the Osttruppen.

[@legioonalainen]

ROA wasn't part of the Osttruppen, they were their own unit