Rommel causes a British Command Crisis 1942! BATTLESTORM North Africa

[@chudleyflusher7132]

Excellent. I feared that TIK, like so many others, would be lost in Stalingrad. It’s nice that he’s escaped to Africa.

[@KameradVonTurnip]

Well he needs to stretch his legs, mobile warfare is more athletic than the horror that is the static front in Stalingrad.

[@misterbaker9728]

I totally agree

[@julianshepherd2038]

Too warm for me.

[@beefy1212]

“But is that really the case?” Find out next week

[@HowlingWo1f]

That’s pretty funny 😄

[@nighthawk7485]

As someone who found your channel by stumbling upon your 9-hour Operation Crusader supercut and watching it over the course of two days, I'm quite happy to be back in North Africa again. Stalingrad is all well and good, but some of the lesser known campaigns need a little bit of love now and then.

[@TheImperatorKnight]

I agree. And the Battle of Gazala is interesting and will be next in the series, and El Alamein won't be long after that. Not sure when I'll get to these battles because it takes a while to do the research between everything else, but hopefully not too long.

[@Perkelenaattori]

Your history in finding this channel is identical to mine.

[@auguststorm2037]

@@TheImperatorKnight Do you eventually plan to do Tunisian campaign one day ?

[@q0w1e2r3t4y5]

@@TheImperatorKnight I think the first video I' saw from Lewis was the first Courland pocket video. Before the coof hit. :D

[@Arcangel77able]

@@TheImperatorKnight Magnificent Battle, to analyze: Bir Hackein, Ain El Gazzala, Tobruk. A military "work of art".;

[@lukrumble3295]

Simply put, Cyrenaica was a cursed land. Lacking in logistics (all of them have to go through coast), easy to encircle (single straight line to cut off the peninsula) and vast desert (hard to keep frontline and recon, a lot of possible shuffling of forces).

[@aleksazunjic9672]

Well, not really. British never attempted to really fortify their positions (let's say around Benghazi) and force Germans into battle of attrition.

[@Arcangel77able]

Yes and for that reason, it was the "paradise" of the "Mobile War" very similar to a Naval War (in fact the British called the desert "The Blue" the blue, because of its resemblance to the Sea, everything: vehicles, men, supplies Weapons, ammunition, fuel, food, water and men had to be taken there, which is why it is also the "master" place to learn military logistics, it was the land theater of maximum complexity.

[@Arcangel77able]

@@aleksazunjic9672 No, they did not try, because that British force "from the Western Desert" (future 8th Army) was not the December "Operation Compass", they had obtained the 7th Armored, the 9| Australian and 4th Hindu, by fledgling forces, many British and Commonwelth, had been transferred to Greece to face the imminent German attack on the Balkans. Very skillful Rommel had it easier than he expected.

[@aleksazunjic9672]

@@Arcangel77able You mean Operation Crusader ? Well, Axis forces were not that strong as during Crusader either, as mentioned in the video. They did not have full complement of tanks, and Italians were reluctant to commit infantry. Overall, Rommel did not have enough strength for a battle of attrition.

[@lukrumble3295]

@@aleksazunjic9672 cant really fortify position that can be encircled without notice. Thats why it was a cursed land. You cant fortify entire Sahara, but you can move around enemy through it and attack them from 2 sides. Thats why the offensives there went back and forth to chokepoints and both ends of cyrenaica.

[@AnthonyEvelyn]

Back to the desert! Rommel created a paralyzing psychological mess in the British army command with his infernal Afrika Korps. Good drop, TIK!

[@dpt6849]

Desert or dessert? Since time of upload that's the question

[@thelizardking3036]

@@dpt6849 Either way I brought my spoon.

[@dpt6849]

@@thelizardking3036 enjoy👍

[@catinthehat906]

Ah but what everyone seems to forget is that Rommel was receiving updates of the British positions and intentions courtesy of the American Attache Colonel Fellers who was using insecure communications to update Washington that was regularly intercepted by Rommel. This information was critical to Rommel's success and put the Allied commanders at serious disadvantage. By the time Montgomery was appointed the Americans finally changed the code.

[@Tooglespark]

I'll echo the sentiment of a lot of other commentators: make what you find interesting, TIK! We're here to watch your excellent videos, regardless of subject matter!

[@Kilroywas]

Aye more North Africa, I feel like I got burned out on Stalingrad, my game group started a Stalingrad campaign in bolt action when you started the battle storm, and now it feels like a grind. Good to have something else

[@TheImperatorKnight]

I agree. I was working on the next Stalingrad script today and the attrition is killing me

[@MrMexicanarmy]

@@TheImperatorKnight yea, i watch all your videos. However, just put stalingrad on Hiatus for a few months. Drach goes months between part 1, part 2 etc on naval content and it does not degrade the experience at all. I usually just rewatch the first part and double the enjoyment

[@TheImperatorKnight]

The problem is that people are begging for more Stalingrad. Someone has just asked now where the next episode is in the comments here, and others are asking in other videos. The market wants one type of content over the rest.

[@TheImperatorKnight]

Scratch that, two people have asked where the next Stalingrad video is 🙄 this video has barely been out 18 minutes!

[@adrianshephard378]

It's like in Call of Duty 2 when you finish the Stalingrad campaign and begin the British Egypt/Tunisia campaign

[@michaelman957]

I'm so thrilled you're covering so much of WWII Africa. It's so often ignored, but so critical

[@metricantro1227]

This series is definitely going to get me invested in the North African champaign

[@TheImperatorKnight]

I hope you check out the other videos in the North African Campaign kzbin.info/aero/PLNSNgGzaledivgjjFkhXw9y5RRvr7kNoe

[@Xechran]

@@TheImperatorKnight Would you mind an off topic ask? I am trying to lock down a reference by Engels and it is being buried under the algorithm. Reading Engels I found a work detailing the inability of lesser races - Slavs, referred to as trash people, to keep up with the revolution. I am specifically looking for the denigration of peoples (races) "two steps back" who hold back the revolution. That they will never catch up owing to their inferiority. I link that with Hegel and then on to the eugenicists of 19th-20th century socialism and Nazism. The marxist website I found this on, and bookmarked, has gone offline. Trying to find it on another source without reading all of their works again, damages my sanity. I believe, from distant memory, this was from Magyar Struggle. But the contemporary Marxist sources seem to have sanitized the translation? It now calls for the "extripation" of "residual peoples". Still quite a gem though.

[@trystdodge6177]

@@Xechran you aren't suppose to learn that stuff. Maybe that's why socialism didn't work in Russia, had to be the Russians. SMH, the only reason I can think of that these ideas still are relevant is legitimination the of the expansion of scope of the State via perceived morality.

[@moss8448]

not just that but WWII overall 👍

[@AristotlesRevolution]

I am a big fan of the Africa Campaign and Rommel's second offensive, so I do appreciate you doing a series on this. The videos was also very well done good job.

[@alanmckay7454]

I'm always excited for new TIK content. I ALWAYS learn something I never knew. Keep up the work! And don't just stick to tanks. The other stuff matters more.

[@charlieboffin2432]

The phrase " Lions led by Donkeys " springs to mind once more .

[@KomradZX1989]

You outdo yourself time and time again TIK! I’ve seen every single Stalingrad episode you’ve done and now every African one too, but I already know I’ll be watching it again when one day both series are finished and we have 30-40 hours of your amazing documentaries. I don’t know how you do it buddy, but keep it up. You’re going to be remembered for this far into the future

[@michaelmccabe3079]

I read a really good book from the 1960s by a man who fought in the North African Campaign. He offers an interesting perspective, namely that the British Army pre-Montgomery remained its interwar self. The interwar army was paranoid about heavy losses, and the switch back to a mainly-volunteer force only made manpower seem more precious in the eyes of their commanders. Montgomery was the first commander who wasn't afraid to fight when losses could be heavy, and only cared if the losses were worth the victories. His predecessors wouldn't try to fight, even if there was a reasonable chance of success, if it meant heavy losses.

[@jayjayson9613]

Thank you for the video TIK! The North African front is a campaign I don't know much about so I appreciate your efforts here.

[@grahamritchie8118]

Hi tik been a subscriber for a few years now just wanted to say a huge thank you for the incredible videos you produce. I have a huge interest in particular to the eastern front and those monumental and brutal battles, your series on stalingrad is simply superb i hope one day you get to the end of that battle preferably before i pass over lol. Once again thank you for all your effort and hard work it is very much appreciated and so far you are the best I've seen on youtube.

[@georgepress1261]

Just another amazing video, I now know you deep into Stalingrad and now this. But I really like the Weimar inflation series. Hope another video is coming out soon

[@TheImperatorKnight]

I don't know about 'soon', but I will get back to it at some point. The issue I have with that series is that very few of my viewers were watching it, and the KZbin algorithm was punishing the channel because of it.

[@georgepress1261]

@@TheImperatorKnight yea well economics isnt as sexy as battle of Stalingrad or Rommel blitzkreiging in the desert. But I really like the Weimar series. Any way keep up with the great videos. You make my mondays so much easier lol

[@SepticFuddy]

Banks! Banks! Banks!

[@laszlomiskei9138]

What can I say .. I'm in awe of the stellar work you put into your craft and I'm really thankful for the quality entertainment you provide.

[@d00mch1ld]

Another great video. The European theatres get so much attention, the detail you give on the African campaign is difficult to match.

[@TheLoyalOfficer]

I like how you constantly display the date almost the entire time. It is very helpful to follow what you are describing.

[@andrewdurand339]

Cyrenaica was kind of no-man's land throughout the war. Neither side could properly supply it with the port facilities there, and it was too far from the Axis's main port--Tripoli--and the main British port--Alexandria. It's open and difficult for both sides to defend, and largely uninhabited desert without infrastructure.

[@TruthNTime]

There's no question that TIK is the one to watch when it comes to accurate, in depth and thorough presentations on WW2 operations in Eastern Europe (and other theaters too). I'd love to see him cover the Soviet-Finnish War, and especially Operation Barbarossa. I think it would be a good contrast to examine a period of the War when the Wehrmacht was at its height in terms of pure strength, numbers and moral as opposed to in Stalingrad when those factors were at their lowest. Thoughts?

[@morningstar9233]

Given time i think Tik may well cover these. The Soviet - Finnish war is of particular interest. Not least because Hitler followed it closely, arriving at the opinion the Russian military was extremely lacking, spurring on his plans to invade but also because the Finns were so brilliant in defence. Would be great to see Tik's coverage of Barbarossa as well and while that's an easy sentence to write i can't imagine the workload it would place on him!

[@atzuras]

Has Piennar reached point 175 yet? Or is he still engaged against a superior enemy force?

[@Zogerpogger]

I must say, I love the little jokes you throw in. They lighten the mood to just the perfect amount.

[@BALLASAFC]

Excellent thanks again TIK 👍 😀 If Rommel had the supply and bit more luck i think he would have got to Cairo !

[@ThirstyCraig]

Thank you TIK for all your efforts, such good work.

[@jorgovan-ni9kz]

Hahahah the dialogue you put between them 10:43 the respect ma authoritah got me (south park reference)XD... Or you have lack of confidence in me... I like watching ur educational videos to learn something but i also appreciate these dialogues u put :D cheers from Serbia :D

[@s.31.l50]

I feel like there’s a whole book’s worth of stories about how Briggs made his escape. On a side note, this kind of things are what makes the desert campaign so interesting.

[@blitzdough]

I was thinking the same thing about Briggs!

[@CronoZoneDJ]

Excellent work, I really missed the north africa campaigns. I hope to see soon, the balkans, greece and crete.

[@Normalguy1690]

I love it North Africa series.

[@scottgiles7546]

Why am I feeling a "Mad Man Churchill!" theme is forming?"

[@unaiestanconapelaez2526]

I was going to say something similar until I saw this.

[@vorynrosethorn903]

Because he was unironically a terrible political and military leader who had a long career of failure and was in large part responsible for the immediate weakening and destruction of the British Empire during, pre and post war. He was however pretty skilled a myth making and had more than a bit of a hand in the post-war narrative, though it is a shame he used it to beautify himself rather than do anything useful like lay out the hostility of the US and USSR to Britain's interests and the need to reorient away from them to preserve any of the national interest or indeed sovereignty, but considering that he was personally involved in empowering the US at cost to the Empire he was in no way the man to do it.

[@sleepygrumpy]

Outstanding work -- great content!

[@RinaRavyn]

YEEEEEES MOAR AFRICA!!! You have no idea how much this content warms my heart. NA was the first ww2 Theatre of war i familiarized myself with in depth, ever since playing AK vs DR, an RTS strategy game from 2003. The power dynamics are very unique and clear, while the number of different variants of tanks are limited on both sides. You have explained the German tank's immunity to the 2pdr AT gun at length, and thats a pretty good example. it just feels good rekindling an old love.

[@JaittPenguin]

yet another great yarn of success and folly... thanks

[@joey8062]

Love these videos, you should do some on the naval struggle in the Mediterranean

[@thomaslayton2110]

Just calling from Australia to say LOVE YOUR WORK TIK!

[@PittsSZ]

Glad to see you take a break from the Volga and go back to Africa for a week. The Stalingrad series is epic, but it does wear one down a bit.

[@aaronrowell6943]

The commitment to finish all of north African campaigns are so long ago, but glad to see that they are back after the monumental task of Case Blue. Been enjoying seeing how Rommel is written about in the sources and not pop history

[@alonli5475]

Thanks for the video!

[@Centrodemasa]

Thank TIK!!!!....ones more, congratulations from Chile

[@kernowpolski]

Another great one TIK well done. The drama from the 80s Churchill and the Generals puts Churchill's often disastrous interference into a sound context. The Ultra decrypts probably also gave Churchill an unwarranted sense of knowing it all.

[@sonnig5499]

I'm pleased to see the return to north Africa. Is this the start of a new series on it? If so, I will be watching previous videos of the North Africa Campaigns to come back up to speed.

[@philliprandle9075]

Great video can't wait for tge next one!

[@jonathonhass4178]

Outstanding presentation ! One of the best vids I’ve seen that thoroughly lays out what went on in this section and time of the North African campaigns. I’m of the mind that with a few more panzer divisions, some additional Luftwaffe support and a few additional things going his way, Rommel very well might have made it to the Suez and been able to hold it all for quite a while. This would’ve put the Allies in quite a pickle.

[@stevenread1676]

Very nice and succint, TIK. Very nice work. I have to say, I knew all this happened already, but your presentation is detailed and compelling. It's also bloody painful to watch just how incompetant our commanders in Africa were. While Monty was far from perfect, at least he was somewhat competant.

[@ronboots8525]

Man how I love your work, BIG fan!!

[@kenhoganson9481]

Thanks TIK, very well done!!

[@harmen2456]

Wondefull to see another instance, the Africa campaigns doesn't get near as much attention and I'll even confess to not even being all that familiar with them beyond the absolute basics

[@jamiengo2343]

This theatre seems really interesting! Great job!

[@thusspokezarathustra5179]

This is one of really objective channels about WW2 on YT.

[@tropics8407]

Brilliant 👍 the battles of resources and logistics 👊

[@markmclaughlin9383]

May 16th cannot come soon enough. Keep up the great work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@tencentkiller1]

Thank you for all you do

[@christopherconard2831]

I really need to check the title first. My brain was having a hard time remembering when Rommel arrived at Stalingrad.

[@christophersmith8316]

He'd have flanked it through Archangel

[@grundergesellscahftmkii6196]

I wonder if majority of British command got filled with Eric Cartman clones or this is just a special case. Either way, nice works on the video, TIK.

[@highroller6244]

I love all your Stuff. Big thump up for you.

[@agesflow6815]

Thank you, TIKhistory.

[@mohammadshabih5293]

Great video!

[@verysilentmouse]

Great works as usual Tik

[@LavrencicUrban]

GREAT JOB!

[@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623]

If after this episode, and probably after the one about the Gazala battle later, you come away that Ritchie shouldn't be in command of anything bigger then a garbage dump, he STILL was allowed to command a Corps in Normandy and Western Europe. Also, we need more mad man Churchill memes. A lot of the things that Hitler (often wrongly) gets blamed for, Churchill did as well.

[@aleksazunjic9672]

At that point in time British armed forces were "old boys club" , with people being promoted based on connections rather than merit.

[@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623]

@@aleksazunjic9672 Not quite, because even Hitler joked that the British sacked their generals faster then he did. But like any peacetime army that goes to war the British had a LOT of dead wood. Generals who do well in a peacetime setting, being good at management, handling the administration and playing to whatever the politicians want them to play. This is exactly why in the US Army General Marshall instituted a ruthless policy of sacking pre-war dead wood, retiring almost the entire US upper tier of generals. It took the UK years to find some generals who could fight a modern war, and after that, yes, it did become a sort of old boys club as the entire leadership of Monty's 21st Army Group were former 8th Army allumni who had served under him. Like Horrocks and Dempsey. And if you weren't part of that 8th Army boys club, like O'Connor, you were ditched when Monty was no longer pleased with your performance. Or Kenneth Anderson who had commanded 1st Army in Tunesia and who had not impressed Monty either. The only exemption seems to be Ritchie, to whom chief of the Imperial General Staff seems to have taken a liking. So it wasn't so much an old boys network as a bunch of cliques. But even, you still had to perform.

[@aleksazunjic9672]

@@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623 Problem with British system was that none had the authority to sack "dead wood" . Some generals would eventually bow out like Godwin-Austen , but most would remain on their positions despite gross incompetence. Seniority and good connections were the key to success, and sometimes there was even no clear hierarchy, like in this case. Furthermore, this system favored generals who preferred to lead "from behind" , i.e. from some HQ far from the front. Overall, British had the good fortune of not being crucial for the war effort (like USSR and US) therefore their blunders did not cost that much.

[@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623]

@@aleksazunjic9672 Dunno, Auchinleck seemed to have sacked plenty of generals, including Ritchie's predecessor Cunningham. And Godwin-Austen doesn't come across as dead wood. If anything he comes across like a competent guy stuck between a rock (Rommel) and a hard place (Ritchie). Monty sacked generals, Churchill sacked generals. The problem seems to be cliques. Ritchie was part of Auchinleck's clique, so he kept him on way too long, leading to the Gazala disaster. Cunningham wasn't so he got sacked. And the British did have generals who led from the front. O'Conner was probably one of the best, leading the British during Operation Compass, a massive victory. Sadly he got captured in Rommel's first offensive, escaped when Italy surrendered and given a Corps in Normandy. But he wasn't part of Monty's clique so he get shipped to India. And in TIK's video on Operation Crusader brigadier Jock Campbell also led from the front, in an open car, keeping 7th Armored from collapsing against Rommel. It earned him a Victoria Cross. Sadly got killed in february 1942 in a car accident. One of these great might have beens. He probably wouldn't have gotten Monty's job at El Alamein, but if he had been able to command 7th Armored division at Gazala, that battle might have gone different, as he would have led his brigades from the front. And saying the British contribution to the war was inconsequential to the war effort does them a great disservice. Churchill kept the UK in the war after the fall of France when all the smart people said make peace with Germany. British forces in Greece and North Africa tied up significant German forces and above all resources that it could not afford to lose on distractions, they had the 2nd large navy in the world, probably contributed more in supplies and weapons to the USSR in 1941 and 1942 then the US, and the British Army was the largest Allied force outside of the USSR in combat against the Germans until early 1944. Allied combat operations in North Africa, Sicily and Italy were predominantly fought by British and Commonwealth forces. Half of Mark Clark's 5th US Army was British in 1943 and 1944. And the RAF dropped as much bombs on Germany as the USAAF, if not more so, if only because Lancasters could carry 2 to 3 times more bombs then B-17's or B-24's.

[@davidburroughs2244]

The truth about the nitty gritty of generals is some win immediately and some lose but learn, improve and do better. Truth is, got to give them a chance to fight and win or lose and then swap them out as necessary while they develop. If they fail to learn how to win then they have to be swapped out permanently. The hard key to learn is they learn on the job as well as the schooling, practice and mentoring they had received as they worked their way up, and, errors and mistakes will happen in their course of advancement. Those mistakes are painful for us to live through and watch but are part of the horrible process.

[@xenogaming8977]

Quality content.

[@MegaBloggs1]

Outstanding -he has done his homework-the Stuart had an excellent gun for a 37mm and was fast which made it unsuited to the jungle as the Australians discovered and discarded it-using the Matilda right up to 1945 in Borneo. The Stuart needed to be used in ambush from wadis etc as done by 7th rtr

[@anthonywall5227]

Thank you

[@eze8970]

Thanks TIK, 👍🙏

[@DonWan47]

Great video

[@RogersGirl88]

I would have loved to be a Flak 88 man deployed there, in some dug out artillery emplacement, nothing but a ration tube, a canteen, a karabiner 98, and the tropical field uniform. It would have been such a great memory for the guys who fought there.

[@YitzharVered]

Very excited for some more north Africa.

[@JackRSlim]

Thanks for the video

[@AncapKid]

Tik, could you please do videos on the future of global geopolitics. I would like to ear what do you think about this topic. Thank you, you rock.

[@RemusKingOfRome]

Excellent.

[@MrAjfish]

This is why Tik is the best.

[@highjumpstudios2384]

Exciting content!

[@stuarthall3874]

"Stay on target. Stay on target." Am I expecting too much to see this as a reference to Star Wars?

[@TheImperatorKnight]

May the 4th be with you i.redd.it/5fu21gsc24x61.jpg

[@Starsky3022]

11:44 A severe lack in supply of copium, I see.

[@kiowhatta1]

Did the Pz IV have the long barrel 75 in Jan 42? I thought the mk IV F2‘s didn’t appear until mid to late 42.

[@oceanmadrosci3381]

3RD BATTLESTORM IN A ROW!!!! URAAAA

[@TheImperatorKnight]

A rare event!

[@kieranoconnor4334]

Great stuff

[@EdAtoZ]

TIK, at time index 1:47 you say the panzer 4 used their long rang 75mm guns. Does this refer to the long barrel 75mm Pack-39 based on the Pac-40 towed gun and not the short barreled L-24 75mm tank gun. Small point I am just try to find out when the long barrel shows up in North Africa.

[@beefy1212]

If I recall the P4G was the first to use the long barrel in a production tank and was in response to the M3

[@EdAtoZ]

@@beefy1212 You can find on line when the P4G started production. but I assume the first few batches went to the USSR front. Which leaves the question when did they show up in Fort Africa.

[@beefy1212]

@@EdAtoZ I absolutely could do that, where I not sitting at work with barely enough reception to post in YT Chat. By that same token you could have easily done the same without asking the question at all…

[@aleksazunjic9672]

Technologically, some of the Axis tanks were superior to British tanks, and some of their AT guns were superior to British AT guns, but this combined alongside better doctrine made a huge difference.

[@sirridesalot6652]

The biggest problem for the British in my opinion was the lack of an effective high explosive shell for their tanks which meant it was quite difficult for them to neutralize German ant-tank guns. Another big problem was the division of British tanks into slow moving Infantry tanks and faster but lightly armoured and armed Cruiser tanks. The Crusader cruiser tank gained an abysmal reputation.

[@aleksazunjic9672]

@@sirridesalot6652 HE gun would need larger caliber, i.e. heavier tank, i.e. less mobility, then you need stronger armor because you are slow, which adds more weight and then you get Matilda :D

[@sirridesalot6652]

@@aleksazunjic9672 Or the early M4 Sherman. Cusader Mk I & Mk II = 2-pounder (40mm) gun Sherman = 75mm gun Crusader Mk I and Mk II armour = 40mm & 49mm Sherman armour = Early M4 w 75mm gun = 38.1mm sides & rear 50.8 hull front Crusader speed = 26mph road 15mph off-road Sherman = 24mph road BUT! The early M4 Sherman with 75mm gun was MUCH more reliable than any variant of the Crusader tanks.

[@aleksazunjic9672]

@@sirridesalot6652 US industry surpassed British and engines show that . This goes especially for engines, i.e. Sherman had better engine (slightly more powerful and much more reliable) . Sherman was slightly slower but better armed and armored.

[@thevillaaston7811]

@@aleksazunjic9672 US industry was not having to deal with air raids, an enemy that was 20 miles from its homeland, 40% of needs having to be imported, and having a war thrust upon it at almost no notice. Nobody, but nobody tells Britain about industrial production in the Second World War. The Sherman was no more use than contemporary British machines in the tank's prime task, fighting enemy tanks. The Sherman had a very high fuel consumption, a high profile, and made its crews nervous about being assigned to it due to its propensity to burn out if hit. Hence its German nicname, Tommy Cooker. It would have been better if the Russians had sent over the plans to the T-34/85, the tank that Germans really feared. It is an old wives tale that the Sherman had some sort of crucial impact on the war. In any case, as far as Desert War was concerned, the key weapon was the anti-tank gun. The 88mm for the German, the 6 pounder, and the 17 pounder for the British.

[@godweenausten]

Man, Gazala and Uranus. It's like a golden age of documentaries

[@sahhaf1234]

What are the blue patches on the map? lakes? If so, I didn't know sahara desert had so many lakes

[@CatroiOz]

This is the North coast of modern day Libya not the Sahara desert which is further south

[@jakubhejna6301]

Richie be like: "Steiner's counter attack will turn this around..."

[@thedarkechoes1236]

Hey tik have you thought about battle storm typhoon just a thought

[@DakotaofRaptors]

I notice a distinct focus on the European theatre of the war: will you cover the Asia/Pacific theatre sometime in the future? I would like to get a better in-depth glimpse on Japanese troops.

[@dankmemes7423]

Good video.

[@nco_gets_it]

The great strength of Western militaries is civilian control of the military command structure. This is also the great weakness. Churchill had a keen sense of what it would take to win the war, but not any given campaign or battle. Unfortunately, his Generals had no sense of either and constantly frittered away the forces provided by refusing to learn the concepts of combined arms warfare. The British Army never learned those concepts and in fact, do not really understand them even now. The concept that the tank is the "destroyer of the land" remains a constant source of problems in Coalition or Allied operations and exercises to this day. But the problem is deeper than that. Sandhurst (like West Point) is simply not capable of or willing to properly teach operational art, focusing instead on engineers or historians. Officers have to be forged and proven in training because they do not receive the training in the academies or ROTC systems they actually require. All because civilians run the military and no officer ever gets promoted by bucking the boss.

[@crazybluechicken]

Wow, amazing insights, maybe you should apply to run the British army as you obviously knows more about how to run an army than any generals dead or alive.

[@robertm7554]

Military organizations have a bad habit of training for future wars based on past wars. However newer technologies laugh in their face. For example the Civil War tactics were based on previous wars but new technology of things such as the mini ball and rifled barrels decimated those tactics. Even today Russia is fighting in Ukraine based on WWII tactics using heavy tanks and are getting decimated with newer technologies.

[@Airay552]

@@robertm7554 which civil war

[@aleksazunjic9672]

Actually, Churchill had no idea what would take to win the war except waiting for Soviets to win it for him.

[@matthiuskoenig3378]

@robert, the Russians did not use ww2 strategy in their orginal invasion nor are they useing heavy tanks. The Russians tried to rush down multiple roads in a coup De main type action. So much so they had barely used reconnaissance. Russian ww2 strategy was to use heavy reconnaissance and mass artillery in preliminary bombardments once the enemy is located aswell as massing quickly into 1 or 2 main thrusts. This is a slower paced kind of war, and something they have now reverted back to and are seeing greater success, in that they are losing less for the ground they take but its slow, aditionally it is not ideal for Russia long term unlike the ussr. Russian tanks are not heavy tanks. They are MBTs and fairly light ones at that. They got decimated because 1) they are mostly older models. With minimal if any upgrades. Ie they are not modern yet face modern threats. 2) they are not useing them well, at least not in the North where they were defeated. They were not useing ww2 Russian tank tactics at all, let alone more modern stuff. 3) ineffective logistics, atleast it was so in the North.

[@cdcdrr]

Rommel put out his cigarette on Kesselring's hand. He deserved his unwarranted heroic status just for that.

[@jamiekamihachi3135]

This is like watching two out of shape middle age men have a bar brawl while they’re massively dehydrated.

[@leivkiz]

yeah

[@TheImperatorKnight]

FIRST!

[@RyanTheHero3]

@@TheImperatorKnight Here’s your medal 🥇

[@randyca9122]

I have no idea how you put these videos together in a week.

[@ChapBloke]

I think the general running theme in British command (at all levels) here is a paradoxical desire to preserve lives and avoid a repeat of the First World War, and trying to produce an ‘offensive spirit’ to take the fight to the enemy. However they end up hedging their bets too much and making piecemeal attacks that fail, however to their credit they do seem to be able to pull out, just not always at the right time.

[@Black-js5ke]

TIK have a question how do you go though like a book with 100 sources effectively as possible? Like how to you go through the sources and know it’s trustworthy when it is like 100 it will take a long time. PS have a break when you feel like it

[@TheImperatorKnight]

You've got to use multiple books to find the contradictions. But generally, it starts to become obvious when a particular book is heavily biased, or is pushing a particular agenda. If some books say X, and a bunch of others say Y, and then you look at it and realize that all the books saying X were written by the same group of people who would like to go goose-stepping on a weekend, you can be fairly certain that they've come to their conclusion based on their faith. If, on the other hand, many of the people saying Y are from different backgrounds and hold different beliefs, then you can be certain that they've come to their conclusions based more on the evidence.

[@Black-js5ke]

Thx TIK really sound like a good way to fine bias in books or articles and so on. Sorry to bother you again but will you do more video about theory of history?

[@TheImperatorKnight]

I'm not against doing more videos on history theory, but I've already got a few videos on it already. I'm not sure what else to talk about kzbin.info/aero/PLNSNgGzaledj5IaYPsLLYUrdb7yOr1Pq_

[@Black-js5ke]

@@TheImperatorKnight ok I understand, I have one idea is how to check sources? For a example. Thx for your help really appreciate.

[@pashvonderc381]

Hans von Luck’s “ Panzer Commander “ book gives a good account of the war in the desert and of his time with Rommel…

[@bryangrote8781]

After watching all these videos it seems that the entire North Africa campaign was completely bonkers. More twists and turns than a mountain road.

[@HouseholdDog]

One thing I am curious about. Do tanks have more than one crew? I mean are there replacement crews or shifts taken? What if a single crew member is injured, does a division have the capability of replacing them? Are their spare crew members?

[@tltc191]

Would like to see the Sicily and Italy campaigns

[@oisnowy5368]

Hmm.... getting vibes for a possible Mad Man Churchill video?

[@samsonsoturian6013]

That myth is much better debunked and understood. Just another case of too many chiefs, not enough indians, except in their case all these men wrote histories of the war in which each present their opinions as fact. Since Churchill was the only elected guy, the ridicule against him was more widely circulated than all the rest put together.

[@dyejohn1905]

Are there any more Battlestorm North Africa episodes?

[@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623]

I like this rhythm, one week Stalingrad, next week Africa, and then a few weeks of viewer questions, inflation wars and other vids showing us what a pinko lefty Hitler really was.

[@NikhilSingh-007]

Hello Sir, are you still rocking the OG i5-2500K?

[@christiansilva6004]

Rommel’s comment to Kesselring, is exactly how infantry feel about the air wing today 😂