SS Division " DAS REICH ". Diary of a German Tankman. Battle of Kursk. Kharkiv. Normandy.

[@MilitaryClubHISTORY]

Enjoy handy playlists with all the stories of the soldiers! kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZDRlZVmn8ehgsk The War At Sea. Pacific War. The Battle Of the Atlantic. kzbin.info/aero/PLME26KOruKR3xPuLzIorw0d1RTk7KYoJf Waffen SS. Diaries and memories of German soldiers. kzbin.info/aero/PLME26KOruKR3CTzfue93twWQ7k_d4yOzc Personal Diaries and Memoirs of Soldiers.

[@peter486]

i wonder what happend to that 20 year old that got married with the chinse woman.

[@dynamo3590]

👍👍👍👍

[@Fakewhack-st8fl]

For the love of God, get some decent narration voice overs

[@Apolloblue36]

​@@peter486qqqqqq

[@MrLeedebt]

@@Fakewhack-st8fl A guy below thought it was great..lol

[@211derudeb542]

The war in Europe in some ways was virtually a civil war my mother, Royal Air Force, my father, British Army and my uncle Das Reich SS tank driver (pzkw V). Lost an eye and picked up other injuries at Kursk.made his way to the UK in 1947. Lived the rest of his life their. This presentation was fascinating for me, reinforced my uncles tales of my childhood.

[@Joe-n4e8e]

Amazing that he survived WW2 as a Waffen SS tank officer, was captured and lived in Scotland after being released as a POW. Best that he was captured on the Western front than the Eastern where he probably would had been killed. Lived to even see the turn of the century!! Amazing story.

[@1maico1]

It's fake. There was no tank ace called Joachim Scholl and the dates given in the Normandy time frame are wrong.

[@liampett1313]

@@1maico1 There was no Tigers at Normandy so this story is made up.

[@jimhen459]

As SS he would have been killed by the Russians, he would not have seen dinner. If U.S soldiers had caught him in the open they'd likely of shot him. He must of being captured as part of the group.

[@deepforestgod]

There were Tigers at Normandy

[@deepforestgod]

101. and 102. SS-Panzer-Abteilungen and 503. Panzer-Abteilung

[@Proudkiwifarmer]

I'm a Kiwi one my pops was an Anzac,the other British SAS,my great uncle was SS, it really shows the insanity of war

[@flankman9385]

All wars are banker wars

[@isntimportant]

Same situation here. Dad was infantry. His dad flew bombers. His mom was a naffy. My moms dad was a partisan. My moms moms dad was an SS officer in Das Reich. If that had of got out during the white guilt training we were forced to endure in school when I grew up I would have got even more abuse than I already did for being blonde haired and blue eyed. Every time anything about nazism was raised the entire classroom of mostly foreign children would turn and look at me and the one Polish boy who were the only white kids in the room as if we were personally responsible. It made me grow up realising false attribution was a huge issue. Taught me skepticism. The thumbnail for this video depicts an interesting image. Growing up I was shown this image. It was even on an overhead projection. And was in books passed around and shown to children. Except in it there was a naked Jewish lady hanging by her neck in the photograph. Given my curiosity I began to dig, and I found that there are tens of thousands of faked photos showing "nazi atrocities". I was actually shocked at just how many there are. From Russian soldiers with Russian rifles wearing Russian uniforms executing 'Jewish people' (no idea who they were tbh) into a pit just being relabeled as "Germans" when they clearly weren't to really bad photo manipulation jobs there's an astonishing level of dishonesty on our side. It got me to quizzing elderly family members. I no longer know what to believe, but I know I am far more mistrusting of our governments than ever before. I know that I cannot say I disbelieve them or my life will be destroyed, I will be banned everywhere, and in half of Europe I would face a prison sentence. But that in and of itself is a compelling argument to mistrust them. Any topic that researching it could lead to prison sentences is a topic I want to research.

[@theyearoftherat]

​@@isntimportanttruth and fact don't need to hide behind the protection of censorship and threats.

[@tf1090c]

Same situation here

[@ransomhades]

Thats insane, im a fellow Kiwi and would love to hear more about that story

[@grdnzrnic]

What a great sense of humor and an analytical mind. He’s very well disciplined, yet has a very big appetite for risk and its consequences

[@grdnzrnic]

@@idonotwantagoddamnyoutubechann he was a good man & soldier born in a corrupt system who was ignorant of the full extent of the Nazis program

[@mottthehoople693]

@@idonotwantagoddamnyoutubechann no he wasnt...ya plonka

[@zigman8550]

@@idonotwantagoddamnyoutubechann The Russians were just as bad if not worse.

[@CFox.7]

This is astounding if true. He's on the WRONG side of history and he has the gall to call the Soviets cowards for defending their invaded homeland. He has nightmares about Eastern front and cant put two and two together.. he has the audacity to have a kill count BET with another tank commander..He COMPLAINS about boredom from inaction and looks forwards to more encounters. No where does he question his ethics.

[@mottthehoople693]

@@CFox.7 remember he was a young man when he wrote this

[@mpsymonds1]

The courage of all soldiers is unbelievable. Total carnage on both sides, yet they move onto the next battle, until they don`t.

[@limoncr5205]

Maybe they had to or were forced to do it?

[@kgjekdl]

@@limoncr5205 You are naive.

[@epidrom]

​@@kgjekdlYes, naive like the russians who move from battle to battle right now

[@kgjekdl]

@@epidrom Thats a stupid comparison. My grandparents were there, everyone in germany wanted to fight. I wonder what you think about the fact that some of the last soldiers defending berlin were frenchmen. Saying "tHey wEre fOrCed tO fIgHt" is just pathetic. You just dont have beliefs worth fighting for. pitiful

[@epidrom]

@@kgjekdl if you say so. I feel sorry for you then. Time will tell who of us stands on the "right" side or if it even matters in the end. Take care

[@SeanApplePie]

What a great writer who wrote this diary. And a great narrator who speaks ( and translate I guessed) his words. A kind of Dantes hell in an other time. Thanks for taking your time and effort to makes this. Have a nice day all.

[@stephenhargrave7922]

Ya except one actually happened. The other is a fiction fantasy of petty revenge. Dante placed all his rivals opponents and those of different opinions than he in hell. Like a pms diary.

[@RamblesBrambles]

Its all AI generated..sorry to burst your bubble.

[@paulbutterworthbillericay]

That was excellent listening, but pray for the souls of all sides, incredible to write a diary under so much stress & fatigue, I once sat with an old german soldier who said he walked from the baltics when all was lost, he gave me a german dictionary

[@tekis0]

That was excellent! Great job with the variety of photos and the pacing of them too. Liked and Sub-SCRIBED!

[@onisimcraciunescu1407]

bro it is a fake story

[@thomashourigan5797]

How very interesting to get a real time story from the other side as to speak.And in the midst of battle.Always though seems so very sad to know how many lives were lost in this war.Lives lost on all sides was so very tragic.But never less a very interesting programme.So thank you.

[@JoeSmith-gp5dm]

I can’t even begin to fathom how they survived day to day and month to month without being killed.

[@itftcomputers]

He was lucky not to be captured by the Soviets, I doubt being SS he would be able to ever return to Germany.

[@asullivan4047]

Unfortunately the Russians ( P.O.W.'s ) whom returned from German captivity. Were shot or imprisoned for cowardice ( surrendering )

[@benyoung552]

Most SS were lucky to even be captured at all by any side without being executed immediately on the spot.

[@RENEBACON]

@@asullivan4047 these vague states are fascinating - The USSR lost a large number of its population during the war. Therefore, there was a special interest in returning all former citizens of the USSR back to their homeland, and the government could not allow the emergence of anti-Soviet sentiments among them. For this reason, the conditions for investigating the activities of these people during the war were created as soft as possible, and persecution was approached only in cases where direct and proactive participation in combat or terror against civilians was proven. Even prisoners who were recruited by the Germans and became regular soldiers were not subjected to persecution. The Soviet government assessed this as coercion. Officers and those who participated in terror in the occupied territories were evaluated significantly worse. The Germans dragged away a total of about 6.8 million people. (This number apparently does not include the number of prisoners of war who were shot, mainly from 1941 and 1942.) About 5 million of these people were alive at the end of the war. These were all people who were citizens of the USSR before September 17, 1939. Of these, 1.5 million were captured soldiers and 3.5 million were total deployments and stolen children. In addition, a little over a million people were forcibly deployed directly into the occupied Soviet territories, mostly as virtual kulak slaves. In order to return the abductees, the government set up a whole network of camps on the territory of Germany and German-occupied countries. Investigations of these people were routinely carried out directly in them. Those who passed the screening were sent to their places of pre-war employment. There was an interesting regulation here: If these people were lynched after returning home, criminal proceedings should not automatically be initiated against the perpetrators of the lynching, but the returnees should be sent for further thorough investigation. Extreme pragmatism, allowing to simplify return procedures. People just remember… A separate group was represented by those who did not pass the background checks. They were really responsible for their activities during the war and ended up in camps or even on the gallows. Legends say that this was the fate of most of the prisoners of war.

[@RENEBACON]

@@asullivan4047 Some of the prisoners of war were handed over for further investigation. But the famous 'almost everyone' represented about 15%. Zemskov points out that this has long been a commonly known fact in professional circles. Well, as usual. At the same time, 'sending' did not yet mean 'punishment', but only a detailed investigation of their deeds during the war. This included people who worked for the Germans as police officers, mayors (burger masters), officials of the German occupation administration, officers (primarily from the ranks of the ROA), organizers of terrorist acts against the Soviet population in the German hinterland, commanders of Sonderkomand-type units and those who they were persuaded into intelligence activity. All this meant being transferred under the tutelage of the NKVD and a careful background check. In terms of punishment, it is similar. Most of the people handed over to the NKVD were sentenced to six years of special exile (similar to kulaks) after investigation and then released. At the same time, the nature of the offense corresponded to treason, which according to section 193 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR was punishable only by death.

[@RENEBACON]

@@asullivan4047 In the summer of 1944, the British captured a number of German soldiers after invading France. But they soon discovered that some of them could not speak German, but understood Russian, so they quickly loaded them onto a ship and took them to Murmansk. They fell under the above section 'on going over to the enemy'. 9,907 prisoners arrived in Murmansk on November 6, 1944. They assumed that they would be shot immediately in the port. Instead, they were pardoned for the crime of treason, only to be sent for a detailed investigation. They were already punished with the aforementioned six years of special exile, 18 people were taken away by the SMERŠ authorities (again for investigation) and 81 went straight to the local hospital. All other cases were taken over by the NKVD. Most of them were released without a criminal record and their stay in exile was counted towards their years of service. And what was the attitude of the POWs themselves and the totally deployed? Zemskov reports that, according to the British occupation administration, there was a prevailing fear among prisoners of war of Soviet origin that the Soviet government would not allow them to return. These concerns were expressed by Russians captured by the British during the fighting, i.e. soldiers who defected to the German side. Not only that. As soon as the first prisoners of war and total deployments were freed, they immediately tried to get within the reach of Soviet power and often set off on long marches to Soviet detention camps without any security. They also collected money, which they handed over to the Homeland Defense Fund, and voluntarily underwent their own regular and tactical military training during the marches to the concentration camps, so that they could be immediately included in military service. After the end of the war (in a time of great turmoil) they even volunteered for guard duty. This is how a pair of soldiers V.I. Gubarev and I.E. Sidorov arrested Himmler and handed him over to the British occupation administration. It is also interesting to say that the repatriates complained in the Soviet camps that the Soviet command was punishing them for marauding the German population, while in the western sectors the occupation administration gave them a free hand, or even encouraged them to do so. It is true that in this book Bůh synergie by Jiří Šifrin) am not dealing with how the group of Soviet generals around Marshal G.K. Zhukov behaved, it is described in detail, for example, by Alexander Bushkov in the book Stalin. Ледяной трон (Ice Throne). I will only mention one of the pearls from Stalin's life (they are mentioned in the Goodbye and Shawl chapter). The Western Allies were simply democrats. There, the commanders allowed not only soldiers, but also former prisoners to rob...

[@hansvonschlader8227]

My grandfather was Luftwaffe mechanic in WW2. He passed in 1977 and spoke very little of the war. He told me once that blood and bone were common place inside the planes and I would have nightmares from his experiences if he told me.

[@donaldduck830]

My grandfather was a horsegroom in a logistics unit. He walked out of Stalingrad, but being captured by the French was the worst that happened to him.

[@EroticOnion23]

@@donaldduck830 good for him it wasn't those French from Band of Brothers...😆

[@donaldduck830]

@@EroticOnion23 Or that Lieutenant from Band of Brothers: "Hey, you want a smoke?"- Boom - Dead POW - Everybody just shrugs their shoulders.

[@ApriliaRacer14]

My Opa was a Wehrmacht sniper…never spoke a word of it and slapped me when I asked questions in 1981. Old hard German style…lol.

[@M-I-k-e1301]

@@ApriliaRacer14 May your grandfather rest in peace. My grandfather fought in the pacific against the Japanese and the little he did tell me baffles me to this day, especially his and most peoples mindsets in that time period towards death and violence and it was seen as a part of life

[@davep153]

Thanks for another look at these folks. Appreciate the pictures.

[@Weshopwizard]

Gotta admit, when he said that the diary started at Kursk, I winced a little.

[@Panzerbeast]

Same…. Thought he was snuffing it then

[@mrlodwick]

Thank you so much.

[@dannysigurdson7108]

6:34 WOWWWWW what a historically bone-chilling conversation in retrospect... hearing the Holocaust alluded to (to a Waffen-SS combat vet!) who couldn't even comprehend. And shrugged off the idea of such a degree of horror. Incredible material!

[@frankhenschel4008]

Or rather alluded to the massacres the NKVD was committing on eastern european prisoners before the Wehrmacht showed up. Like in Katyn, or in the Prison on Lacki Street in Lviv.

[@LindaYariger]

Techniques to reduce cognitive dissonance. Like Israel's "human shields"

[@funjunk2835]

​@@frankhenschel4008 Exactly, only difference is the Katyn massacres and other NKVD mass slaughters are clearly documented, many times with bodies individually cataloged, like a real investigation.

[@JeremyLamovsky]

​@frankhenschel4008 or we will just assume he's referring all the people THEY murdered.

[@funjunk2835]

@@JeremyLamovsky Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

[@realgrilledsushi]

Thank you for sharing this!

[@APOLON-bm7ym]

I think I watched this clip at least 5 times, it is THAT GOOD. Pure gold literally. Reminds me on Sven Hassels novels ("Blitzfrezze" precisely).

[@geraldlafleur7776]

Amazon also has books like”Tigers in The Mud” and “D Day in The Eyes of The Germans”. They give a similar story as this one.

[@ericstewart9742]

“Note to self…” is a modern expression. This is probably fiction.

[@Perskk]

I always have doubts if these diaries from this channel are actually real. Some must be but then you have things like that. The channel should add some sources

[@srmeister1]

@@Perskk these are AI made texts/diaries. The voice is AI too.

[@chrissmartin4137]

If there is an original diary, then this is written in Deutsch (german language). So only the translation into modern englisch is "note to myself". We would need to see the original text to realy know what exactly he wrote. And yes, I´m a german.

[@Skull-in-the-house]

@@srmeister1 It sucks that from now on everything will be an "A.I. made" suspect

[@srmeister1]

@@chrissmartin4137 look it up, no Tanker of this name ever existed. Und ja ich bin auch Deutsch. Es existiert also kein Originaltext, da das alles per KI erstellt wurde. Probably some guy sitting in India producing this low effort shit, that can't even properly speak english. Thats the future of KZbin right here.

[@JamesWicker-ps4gq]

I like the stories from the eastern front. I would like to hear more about the western front.

[@rjosephobrien]

I really enjoy your channel. Thank you so much.

[@rjosephobrien]

I got a good laugh out of the authors comment concerning Goering!

[@asintonic]

Joachims were good tank commanders during WW2 for Germany!

[@johnjackson2937]

MICHAEL WICKMEN WERE THE BEST ,UNTIL HE WAS WAS KILLED IN THE VILLARS BOGAGGE! JOCHEM PIPER SLAUGHTER THE COMPANY OF OBSERVATION SOILGERS AT MAMADEY! WAS STOP ON HIS WAY TRYING TO CROSS THE BRIDGE AT STAVALO, STOPED BY US ENGINEERS! TRYING TO TAKE THE FUEL DEPO! HE AND HIS TANK BATTALION WAS FORCE TO WALK BACK TO GERMANY!😮

[@dougrobbins5367]

Who became worm food

[@DalarianDark]

Brilliant! Thank you very much for this insight. These are quite rare and very interesting.

[@Greg-xi8yx]

He’s of the type of high energy and intelligent (not to mention damn funny) men that move mankind forward despite being a pawn for about the worst ideas the human race has created. What a full, adventurous life. Imagine expecting all that bravery and competence at his age from the current sons of western civilization. Amazing story!

[@patrickpatterson3356]

I love this channel that you have made and I have learned a lot from what I know Im a veteran im having some financial difficulties but when I get it straightened out I will be able to give you the money to join your channel Respectfully Patrick Patterson

[@RomanesEuntDomus]

Truly fascinating, and made better by excellent editing of photos to script.

[@csg_XIII]

Seems like Osha was a good friend and comrade, I wonder what happened to him?!

[@Thingz-eye-sendtoDanny]

He went on to start a new life in America busting balls on worksites nationwide

[@LindaYariger]

​AHAHA!!!

[@deanjericevic8912]

An insightful & interesting video! It obviously portrayed the Tiger tank as far superior to both the Russian T34 & US Sherman tanks which was information that I had garnered from a good number of other videos set on both the Eastern & Western fronts. The Tigers did seem to be plagued with mechanical breakdown though. I liked the put down of H. Goering, some humor never goes astray.

[@ФилиппОстапенко-м4й]

Российский т-34 сконструировал по американским чертежам-украинец-Кошкин...их производили в Харькове...

[@niyamimbi1179]

you do a great reading of these, thanks!

[@Hoosier_Boy]

I loved this and how it was presented, thank you for this learning experience.

[@tanksouth]

A tremendous story. Thank you

[@kniespel6243]

Awesome documentary! Acurate and realistic !

[@Americal-v6r]

Going to the Eastern Front was a death sentence. Being injured then ordered back,or taking leave and returning to the Eastern Front must have been mind boggling, but they returned to certain death.

[@LindaYariger]

And yet, they WANTED to go from hospital back to their bro's

[@citizenoftheverse4653]

Both my grand fathers spent years in various germans POW camps (Stalags), I still have hundred of letters of one of them that were sent to my grand-mother during the war. As POW they were both very well treated by the germans. At the end, we are all humans and all forced by circumstences into one or the other side of the war. The real assholes are the politician war mongers and the ideologists that make you beleive into a reality made of black and white, while in reality everything is made of shades of grey. Great video about the journal of a simple man doing his job as a military during a war.

[@piperp9535]

At 18:56 "At night, the temperature fell below twenty degrees celsius ..." I think this was not translated properly, 0 C is freezing, -20C would be far more likely as 20 degrees C is 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

[@LindaYariger]

AHAHA!!

[@FlorinSutu]

Very interesting photos in the background !

[@m.brizzy5407]

Very interesting to get the perspective of Germans who fought in WWII. Normally, you only get interviews with Americans who tell everyone that they won the war by themselves.... I have 7 books from a British chap who fought in several campüaigns, in several countries and I've seen a few interviews with French people too. Sometimes these 'people' who make these documentaries forget that there were many people from many countries involved in WWII. There is a film about the siege of Sevastopol which shows the Ukrainian people

[@polarvortex3294]

Come on now... We Yanks don't take all the credit. We know you helped us win the war a little!

[@m.brizzy5407]

@@polarvortex3294 Yep you're right bro - we helped a little :D

[@stephenhargrave7922]

9 out of ten German soldiers never saw an American or British. The war was fought in Russia. Against the Soviets. Americans and the British just sent Stalin arms in the beginning. To save communism their pet projecy

[@stephenhargrave7922]

American ca and Britain swooped in like carrion at the end to take the credit and swipe the booty

[@f0rumrr]

Its interesting to hear an account from the other side of how horrific the fighting was in ww2. Both my grandpas would never talk about what they did or saw in ww2, even asking you could tell it hurt them. So you learned to not ask and they took what ever happened to the grave.

[@simonthieriot5596]

I HAD SAME SITUATION WITH GRAND PA & MY DAD REG VIETNAM.

[@hahnsolo7241]

My Grandpa was at the Waffen SS in WW2 also in Russia, he was the only from his unit came back home after 6 years war prison...he never tell me anything about the war too, i only know that he be wounded 2 times...he died 20 years ago he was a good grandpa and i miss him so much... God bless all men who fighted at this terrible war and died.🙏..

[@f0rumrr]

Ya one of my grandpas was like a second father, learned so much from him. On his death bed admitted he witnessed a nuclear detonation. army engineer in the late 40s. What happened before that no one knows. Literally the only info i have on their time in the service. @@hahnsolo7241

[@LindaYariger]

​@hahnThank you for sharing!!!!solo7241

[@TomCro2022]

Very nice video....Greetings from Zagreb/Croatia😊😊😊😊😊

[@stevenfreeman5707]

Loved the 'real life' facts and brutal facts - obviously you become immune to everything in WAR

[@stephenhargrave7922]

No you never do. You spend the rest of your life with ghosts and nightmares. You never get used to it, except maybe to temporarily tolerate it

[@maximusmiles8435]

@22:50 Apparently in November of 43. He was the only german to know where the allied invasion was going to take place. Unless this was written after the war. Hitler was convinced that the invasion would take place near Calais, and Dunkirk. Which isn't part of the Normandy region.

[@piperp9535]

No, you just haven't learned to distinguish between the narration of the diary itself, and the narrated notes

[@stephenhargrave7922]

​@@piperp9535thats ridiculous. There is no commentary

[@piperp9535]

@@stephenhargrave7922 it's all commentary if you don't believe it's authentic

[@rolandlabelle188]

Three million soldier's from both sides fought that battle and 1.3 million survived,war that'll kill you😢

[@LindaYariger]

Daaaamn.

[@michaelscherrer3424]

Thanks!

[@larryswanson5953]

Fine job putting an appropriate photograph to complement the narrative.

[@karlputz8067]

Endlich mal ein Beitrag ohne jede Hetze, schön anzusehen und zu lesen !🤗

[@BluMecker-ox6sx]

Excellent video. Superb details

[@andystevenson5067]

This story is incredible!! It’s both hilarious and disturbing at the same time 😂

[@RedwihteGame]

WHen mentioning the KV-1, I wonder if he actually meant KV-2. Those were like a rolling mountain.

[@nikolauz3162]

Could be, however they were very few after 1941. Smart conclusion though.

[@APOLON-bm7ym]

No, he meant KV1, trust me. As much as Warthunder and KV2 there led you to believe so, KV1 was also very high for soviet standards. Even their modern tanks also have very low profile. Dont compare it to Tigers height. They thought they are invincible in Tiger (and they were, for a while). And after seeing so many soviet tanks, KV1 appeared to them very "tall" compared to t34 or those earlier coffins like BT5 or ... Those were versions with L11 gun (very weak gun, I think 80mm or so of penetration), but they were well armored, turret was thick as Tigers turret (about 10cm) BUT soviet steel had much less quality compared to german... AND, in case those were KV2, I think Tiger crews would FEAR MUCH MUCH MORE facing its 183mm (naval) gun. Soviets built just some small numbers of KV2s.

[@aburakadabura2]

At the time, the Germans possessed powerful armored armaments in the form of Tiger tanks. At the Battle of Kursk, German losses were 250 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles and 55,000 men, while Soviet losses were 2,000 armored fighting vehicles and 320,000 men. In terms of numbers, the Germans were superior. However, the Soviets were able to win the local battles despite suffering approximately six times the enemy's human casualties and eight times the losses in armored fighting vehicles. The quantitative superiority of the Soviet forces over the Germans was the deciding factor in the victory or defeat of the Battle of Kursk.

[@wirelessone2986]

That and the spy "LUCY" that reported all the German battle plans for Kursk so that the Russians could build the entire area into a fort that was undefeatable.Without Lucy I believe the Germans probably would have won that battle and WW2 would have went on for longer.They even had all the plans and positions for the Luftwaffes air operations

[@charlesc.9012]

Soviet losses are covered up to be 1/3 of the actual number, (the tradition was picked up by modern russia). German tank losses are usually inflated by 20% to prevent superiors from diverting assets, (and there are no special comments on the infantry ones.) Source: Bundesarchiv, translated and presented by Military History Visualised, my own knowledge is bracketed, but we all know how soviet accounting works by now

[@wirelessone2986]

@charlesc.9012 let me make shure I understand correctly...German tank losses were over estimated so AVF'S weren't taken away from the unit of origin...and Soviet numbers were under-reported so the German high command would think the pressure from the Russians was greater than it was so the German unit would get more supplies,equipment and men...if this is what your saying that's really smart of the actual fighting units of Germany

[@charlesc.9012]

​@@wirelessone2986 We don't know exactly how much deliberate accounting was in German estimates of enemy losses, just that they were normal for their time, because everyone wants more assets. Except the soviets. The soviets are 100% covering up their losses, because they can save face, and can cheat families out of their compensation, and this glorious tradition was picked up by modern russia. The difference is that back then, the USA was sending huge amounts of resources and finished Shermans, Studebaker trucks and food. That might be a communication error, but German armour losses really are inflated on a regular basis

[@joshua-b8w1b]

as i listen to this,i close my eyes and understand that this could be any country....and this is a human just trying to survive. i enjoyed the banter amoung the crews and the bets... but what got me a little was at the end when he said that the hitler youth is great but then the same breath he said they would use them as bait...that turned me a little...but again i belive all of the worlds military are brave men and women and respect needs to be given,reguardless on what side you are on

[@stephenhargrave7922]

Germany fought against Communism. Britain America and France fought to save it. In Russia and China. Insanity. We destroyed our natural allies and armed and protected our enemies. And we are paying for it dearly to this day

[@M-I-k-e1301]

There’s some interesting details like how one of the tank crew men married a Chinese women in nazi germany or when he talk about the police men mistreating people

[@kenvrinten3450]

I ám sure he conveniently skipped the atrocities he was involved in

[@stephenhargrave7922]

Only interesting if you believed the blackopss propaganda in the first place meant smear "the enemy"

[@arthurdirindinjr1792]

At the very beginning of Operation Barbarossa when Russian generals were panicking as what to do Stalin reportedly told them to calm down as he said to them: "I have more soldiers then the Germans have bullets" And he was proven correct Ironically a little less than 30 years later Ho Chi Minh said very similar words to LBJ that meant the same thing.

[@GodDemonPazuzuYaldabaothYahweh]

the defeat of the 3rd Reich is the defeat of the entire White Race!!! this is what we see today

[@joewebb4836]

After the Generals photo op....the stairs were thrown down and the order given " VORWORTS" as the stairs were crushed !

[@moses2009100]

Operation citadel is the 1943 version of the Ukrainian counter-offensive bunch of good tanks going up against strong layered defenses and getting destroyed if you read this battle is replaying the same way today with Ukrainian

[@tmo_117]

Luckily the Russians aren’t as powerful this time and won’t push them back, especially when it comes to using wave tactics, only a matter of time though I bet until the Russians do

[@cwcsquared]

Russians never learned how to fight

[@stevem2323]

Not even close to that, Kursk was more complexed and actually Germans did surprisingly good considering what Soviets threw in defense and that Soviets knew in advance where and how the attack is coming.

[@itftcomputers]

@@tmo_117 Wait for another 1-2 years, then feel free to reply to my comment.

[@taboovsknowledge1603]

As German in a Pantzer, feeling safe is a lot higher than 99.7% of the men on the ground.

[@jean-bernardbrisset4589]

what was the use of this sort of corrugated coating over the body of the tiger Tank?

[@TheFiscallySound]

It works by increasing the distance between the tank itself and the mine, causing magnetic mines to be unabel to adhere properly. The ridges are there to increase that distance without having to coat the entire tank in a thick and heavy layer of paste.

[@briankrause2359]

This was an informative upload, hearing about 1 year of battle (more or less) from a Tiger Tank commander. I wonder how many times you'd soil yourself upon each of those 'clangs' off the armor until you get complacent and think those shells will never get through... Seems the author just 'shrugged off' the possible results of the hits after a while, amazing... I guess its like the stories you hear about soldiers eventually able to sleep through artillery barrages etc.. Find it hard to fathom that's possible, but of course millions of men unfortunately had to learn that very skill... As for the thumbnail of this upload, that officer leaning forward on the Tiger Tank reminds me of a certain ex-president when he gives speeches, all he needed was a running helicopter in the background and he would have been set, alas, that speech was like 10 years too early or so... Hey, good improvisation, he has some aircraft FLAK running in the background... Quick, on his feet thinking...

[@claytonmundy7451]

My grate grandpa was a German soldier in the WW2 before her came to America he was in the war for 5 bloody he was an officer in the infantry

[@nathanbrown8883]

My friend that was an Officer in 5th SS "Wiking" division, he had told me his brother was in Das Reich.

[@TheMerryPrangster]

Same here

[@kimmckenzie4798]

Didn't know how interesting this was going to be from the other side thanks for sharing

[@kapitanbumm344]

my cousin was in the ss as well. i still have his diary. u can see the difference in in script the longer the war lasted. from a nice handscript to a really messed up script in the end. he got killed and all they sent back was the diary. i think the died with age 18 or 19.

[@wirelessone2986]

What unit was he in and do you know what country he died in?

[@kapitanbumm344]

actually his father pressed him into the army and he was sent to the eastern front to fight off the russians. being ss was nothing special in the late days off the war, and not to compare with the early days, when only the fantatics joined the ss. i dont know what u would call the country nowadays, but i guess must have been belarus or poland. thing is, the diary is writting in a script called sütterlin, with was used back than and but is kinda hard to read. my grandfather was in the personal music band of hitler, which ment he was kinda safe, but when he smashed some officers head with a bat and was in trouble. his only chance to get not executed was to join the paratroopes because that was equal to a suicide commando. after his first mission as a paratrooper he decided to desert and make his way back to germany. the family hid him in the attic for the last 3 month of the war. luckily for him, our house was kinda nice and the family hosted generals which were on vacations and so the army police never searched the attic for him.

[@LindaYariger]

Oh, wow. Thank you for sharing your family tragedy. He was really just a kid.

[@LindaYariger]

​@@kapitanbumm344OMG!! That is fascinating!! Thanks!!

[@andrewsamson9603]

This was absolutely amazing to listen too it’s amazing really how he was describing how the Russians were fight back the how they kept sending wave after wave and not being worried about losses which is pretty much how there fight at the moment in Ukraine.

[@jp-um2fr]

As a young apprentice in the 60s, I cycled 8 miles to work along footpaths around fields. Most mornings I met ex Italian and German prisoners of war who worked on the farms and had their families with them. They used to save every monstrous spud they found for me. As a thank-you, I saved up a few shillings and bought them 4 Christmas Puddings. In that late December, I was asked into their homes one by one on a Saturday. I am glad we left the EU, not because of the people, but the absolute idiots running the show. By now they are no longer with us, but they were good days.

[@FallNorth]

:) I'm fed up of fking remoaners saying "brexiteers are racist" etc. They just use that slur as a deliberate "tool". "Agree with us or you are a fascist". That's it.

[@LaurenceLDN]

You're glad to have left the EU? Can you please explain any material benefits that you have experienced from that decision?...

[@terrybaird3122]

30:50 Does anyone know what is the type of the scout car pictured?

[@John14-6...]

Usha teasing him about the trucks is hilarious!

[@LucyZamb-z5b]

These stories like this from real soldiers are very interesting....and the pucs of the Tigers are nice....

[@jackjones9460]

First story I’ve heard where the person survived!

[@Angry-Lynx]

Also highly recommend book Tigers in the mud by Carius who lived through wwii

[@jamesthomas2114]

it is very clear how important allied air superiority was.

[@infectious420]

What a great find thank you EZ sub and like fo sho.

[@oceanhome2023]

The first picture you see is an officer standing directly next to the main gun indicating the size of his manhood ! Anyone else see that ? It has to be intentional LOL !

[@rosscampbell1173]

That’s ALL I see!

[@robertomeneghetti6215]

He likely thought he'll be immortal! Maybe he had to change his mind...

[@asullivan4047]

Best not bend over in Front of him. If you're a Russian tank commander.

[@AdrianaFavaro-pr7kt]

Fascinant story! WW2 is one those things that me fascinate.

[@PhilippeMarchand-xw1zp]

"Das Reich," was notorious for its involvement in various war crimes and atrocities. On June 10, 1944 the 4th SS Panzer Grenadier Regiment of Das Reich, entered the small French village of Oradour-sur-Glane. The soldiers separated the men from the women and children, and proceeded to commit a massacre. The men were taken to various locations within the village, including barns and garages, where they were systematically shot. The women and children were gathered in the church, which was subsequently set on fire. Those who tried to escape were gunned down by German soldiers. In total, 642 men, women, and children were killed in the massacre, and only a handful of individuals managed to survive.

[@clovergrass9439]

Perhaps. Compared to what the allies did overall to Germans and Germany, it absolutely pales in comparison

[@8thCavalry]

It was a war crime, but it was also in reprisal for the torture murders of wounded German soldiers in a nearby hospital by "partisans."

[@MattKangCooper]

The whole war was a war crime.

[@PhilippeMarchand-xw1zp]

@@8thCavalry Where did you find information regarding murders of wounded German soldiers in a nearby hospitals? I couldn’t find anything related to this. Moreover a hospital where German soldiers were treated was either a military hospital or at least heavily defended. It seems weird that partisans were able to attack it. Actually, from what I was able to find the reason for the massacre is still debated among historians. Some says it was carried out in retaliation for the perceived support of the local resistance or for the kidnapping of one of its officers.

[@snappingbear]

​@@clovergrass9439That is one of the most ignorant comments I've ever read. You're an obvious troll.

[@brcledus]

Can anyone corroborate these documents? His diary is running around youtube but that is the only mention of him ive found. Ive scoured the internet and many other people as well cant find anything about this guy and in the das reich tiger tank battlion books there is no mention of him. There is a Joachim Scholl on the german tank ace list but that itself should be viewed with skepticism. Edit- apparently this diary and an interview with "Joachim Scholl" were a fabrication and the dates immediately discount its authenticity.

[@wirelessone2986]

So this is all FAKE??Are there any that are real?

[@brcledus]

@wirelessone2986 I don't know. I haven't listened to the others yet. I just listened to this thought it was weird and went down the rabbit hole. It's a decent chance that most accounts from the soldier on the ground have some sort of inaccuracies because it's a small eye view. For example, the Tommy cooker anecdote that hear hear a lot is utter bullshit when you look at the statistics and post-war analysis. A lot of "soldier myths" end up like this. It's not really their fault. They are in a high stress environment and have to perform to stay alive so their personal experiences can color their opinions even if those experiences aren't shared by the vast majority. It's well known that stress can make the mind do weird things like see something play out and then mis-remember or utterly distort what you remember vs what actually happened. Like the every tank is a tiger scare for example. Soldiers claiming to have seen or fought against tigers are by magnitudes more than tigers actually on the front lines.

[@Fongolitus]

to trade for the uniforms i can see, but to buy this tank you gotta be crazy! what? it's a beautiful tank! It's a piece of Junk! The fuel system leaks all over the place!

[@melangellatc1718]

Kelly's Heroes!!!! Greatest movie ever!

[@ponyboy481]

😆😆

[@metalguerra]

Very good video! Do you have this text in German, too?

[@darioscomicschool1111]

Thank you for this one!

[@pita388]

At the 22+ min mark, did he go back to edit his diary? He mentions 'before the allies landed in Normandy' but the date of this entry is 6 months before the landing.

[@TheMerryPrangster]

Baking soda is multi purposed

[@QuovadisDomine317]

It was a very humorous not like German, honest, and plain diary.He feels like he's contemplating the war.He doesn't have to be angry or desperate about the war, he seems to think it's his destiny.

[@1maico1]

It's a fake diary, there was no Joachim Scholl in the 102nd SS tank battalion

[@StabyMcStabsFace]

Not like a German? They were all that way, no idea what you mean.

[@QuovadisDomine317]

@@StabyMcStabsFace I modified it. It means only the humor part. I think Germans are the most honest people in the world.

[@MrHendonMan]

Having worked in Germany, I can assure you that they are very humorous, including the full range of humour from sarcastic, to ironic, to slapstick. The humour is in the German language, once you pick up some of the phraseology it becomes apparent. Unfortunately a lot of WW2 films give the impression that Germans are humourless, but if you live there for a while, you'll find the opposite is true, imho.

[@michaelhansen1681]

Yes we can (Humor)...

[@nanba25]

il y a de nombreuses erreurs de traduction dans les sous-titres, dommage! Par exemple, "chenilles" est souvent traduit comme "piste". Mais c'est un document riche de commentaires, et montrant bien l'évolution d'un tout jeune homme au milieu de nouveaux soldats, encore plus jeunes que lui…

[@ajr3553]

unfortunately das Reich's is mainly remembered for certain non military events like oradour sur Glane

[@richardwyse7817]

it certainly was part of the war-a sad one.

[@David-th2ug]

I commented on this yesterday. Unfortunately, my comments have not been put on here. I didn't realise You tube censor comments.

[@Vincentdixon4060]

History needs the narratives of what we call the enemy. Are they any different in their dialogue from the allies fighting a cause and realizing the death of their actions upon humans and for what cause? Our youth are faced with this inherent problem of pacifism versus war and profit.

[@user-qr6eb4jg9n]

The world is a vampire. And you are either strong and you kill, or you are the next sacrifice

[@philippeargouarch675]

Of course not a single word about the wiping out of the town of Oradour-sur-Glane, while Das Reich moved from South of France to Normandy. All the 643 civilians were killed some of them burned alive.

[@evilstorm5954]

It was the Panzer Grenadiers of 1 company that did that, after finding their Battalion Commander and some wounded comrades burned alive in an Ambulance.

[@realgrilledsushi]

Please delete this whiny post lmfao

[@tatata1543]

@@evilstorm5954That’s ok then.

[@itftcomputers]

The whole story feels like he was a hero of some kind, while killing the allies left and right, yet he barely spent any time in prison, which puzzles me really, as he was an SS officer.

[@jokesonyou1373]

War is hell

[@MrPDoff]

Absolutely fascinating.

[@CharlesStettler-kp4ot]

la classe absolue...DEUTSCHLAND UBER ALLES....❤❤

[@jannepiirainen8799]

The conversation with the police is interesting. The police commented "I have seen worse things". At the moment the tank commander didn't understand what the police was talking about. The police didn't dare to elaborate but was hinting at the holocaust. He had probably been an executioner.

[@stephenhargrave7922]

WRONG. He was referring to the atrocities committed by thr NKVD gulag and purges

[@jannepiirainen8799]

Maybe! The conversations is in 6:13. I read the 'reserve police battalion 101 and the final solution in Poland' book lately. That got my imagination going.

[@stephenbrand5661]

I remember when Putin visited Mariupol, and people were comparing it to Hitler's own visit to that city. It just made me appreciate how much land the Germans were able to take before things turned. The fact that they were able to plant the flag on Elbrus still blows my mind.

[@nickafanasyev6550]

God I love the Tiger tank. The original one. Not that over sizes T-34 looking Tiger 2

[@gabrielmurcia]

Las mejores fuerzas armadas de la historia.

[@Gustavo.Chen.Quesada]

However, it was of no use because the Nazis lost the tank battle of Kursk. They couldn't handle the Soviet steamroller that won't stop until it reaches Berlin.

[@nigel900]

Fascinating. 👍🏻

[@StewartNicolasBILLYCONNOLLY]

Does the diary mention Oradour-Sur-Glane? 😢

[@againsttheleftandright4065]

Why would it?

[@StewartNicolasBILLYCONNOLLY]

@@againsttheleftandright4065 Google it....

[@AnthonyTobyEllenor-pi4jq]

Nice to see the comments about Shermans being called,' Tommy Cookers', there were fools commentating on KZbin that nobody called Shermans, 'Tommy Cookers" !!

[@1maico1]

The diary is fake there was no Joachim Scholl commanding Tiger 232

[@brcledus]

This diary and interview are a fabrication from a ww2 military site.

[@kearseymorton2078]

the fascination on youtube for nazi military history is very troubling, the SS were the worst of the worst, we should remember the atrocities they committed and not trying to humanize them

[@johnfyten3392]

The fact that many of them were human beings with a mom and dad and brothers and sisters is what makes it so important to hear. So that this never happens again. Hiding away the feelings and motivations of people on both sides of a conflict is IMPORTANT

[@johnfyten3392]

It's important to see both sides of a conflict so these things don't repeat

[@joseridaorodrigo8228]

Felicidades por el canal. Aunque el audio es en inglés se puede leer la transcripción en español. Además la transcripción, al menos en este vídeo, aparece con signos de puntuación: es la 1ª vez que veo tal innovación en KZbin.

[@robertkeller7699]

They kept swimming to avoid drowning

[@Blakeh1911]

It's insane to hear this guy going from a scared kid to a battle hardened soldier

[@HealTheWorldasap]

Where are your sources?