Smashing Hitler’s Panzers by Mr. Steven Zaloga

Smashing Hitler’s Panzers: The Defeat of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division during the Battle of the Bulge by Mr. Steven Zaloga
Late in January 1945, through the snowy forests and farms of the Ardennes, the cream of Hitler’s remaining army struggled through a muddy retreat, defeated in the final offensive the Wehrmacht attempted during World War II. The stubborn American victory over Hitler’s “Autumn Mist” attack was by no means a foregone conclusion when the German command launched the attack a month earlier. Actions by the U. S. Army’s 1st, 2nd, and 99th divisions from the very start of the offensive stymied the push of the 12th SS Panzer Division on the roads to the essential port of Antwerp. On March 27th, 2019, the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, hosted author and scholar Mr. Steven Zaloga, as he presented a talk based on his newest book, Smashing Hitler’s Panzers: The Defeat of the Hitler Youth Panzer Division during the Battle of The Bulge. Mr. Zaloga argued that the defeat of the 12th SS Hitlerjugend Division in the opening hours and days of the offensive were essential to the over-all failure of the German Ardennes Campaign.
Mr. Steven Zaloga outlined his argument that the German offensive through the Ardennes Forest, known as the “Battle of the Bulge,” hinged on the first days of the attack. The only Americans to hold their section of the line capitalized on German planning mistakes pushing back one of the primary components of the attack, the 12th SS Panzer Division. The failure of the 12th in the battles of Krinkelterwald, Krinkelter-Rocherath, and Dom Butenbach against portions of three U.S. Army infantry divisions was essential to the German defeat, well before the fighting at Bastogne.

[@readhistory2023]

One of the big things that rarely gets mentioned in this battle is the US Army gets to use prox fuzes for the first time. That prox fuze increases artillery's effectivenss by 400%.

[@clausboehm8603]

Great presentation and analysis - ww2 and the battle of the bulge has so much hype, this is somber well documented

[@stephenmcdonnell5702]

A good watch 👍

[@AdamMann3D]

Thanks for uploading this. Special mention for showing his slides.

[@arsenal-slr9552]

I listen to these presentations all day at work. Thank you so much for uploading

[@haroldellis9721]

Fantastic presentation. Thank you for making it available.

[@mikepodella]

Very informative talk. I could listen to this guy all day long.

[@DasPanzermuseum]

Thanks a lot for the upload, great service!

[@hansschonig2472]

exceptionally good presentation. no superficial stuff - really detailed and to the point

[@b00tysmith]

Lecture starts at

[@Dragonblaster1]

Britain has been more or less completely written out of the Battle of the Bulge, deliberately, but we were there too. In fact, Field-Marshal Montgomery was about to take his first Christmas leave at home since the start of the war, when he heard the panicked radio traffic, he put his plans on hold: he took control of the 1st and 9th US Armies with Eisenhower's support. the commander of 9US was General Bill Simpson, one of the few American officers to respect Montgomery. Those two armies stopped the mass retreat and stopped the Germans in their tracks while Patton drove south to relieve Bastogne. Montgomery stayed with the two American armies all the way to Berlin.

[@lancehitchcock6608]

I have long enjoyed Mr. Zaloga's book and own a large number of his works. This is a very interesting lecture that raises many good points.

[@lilletrille8998]

Very interesting presentation - just ordered his book, and looking forward to reading it!

[@EddietheBastard]

Excellent analysis, and yes, in your summary the disparity between German and US/UK artillery capability by this stage in the war was stark. Also in 1940 the Luftwaffe's contribution was critical enabling the Wermacht to overcome numerous strong points, whereas in 1944 the USAAF and RAF always had a significant advantage.

[@Masada1911]

I wish there were more talks by Steven Zaloga on KZbin. I’ve only found one other one

[@nickbrough8335]

Fascinating lecture. Clearly it needed to be longer as Steve had a lot more to say, but a good introduction to the top of the early days of the german offensive.

[@MrRugbylane]

great lecture great questions

[@petermurray2414]

Thank you. So much information; one has to concentrate hard to get it all. Big difference between being in a battle and studying it later. Most vets do not know what, where, why when it is all happening but you have made it all so clear for them and for us!

[@terrywarner8657]

The comment at

[@gsilcoful]

Thank you.