The Secret American Weapon that Terrified the Nazis

[@garychiuminatto917]

My dad was in the 84th infantry but never wanted to talk about the war when I asked him. One day in his garage he was going through stuff and we came across something rolled up in oilcloth. I asked what it was and he said a map the army gave each one of them. It showed from when they landed each battle they fought and the date they took each town and crossed each river. He was going to throw it away so I told him I would take it. I have it frame and hanging in my den. Now I can listen to you and follow along on the map and have a much better knowledge/picture of what the 84th went through and what they accomplished. Your videos are excellent I my opinion. Keep up the great work. I was a subscriber long before I found this video. I shared it with my younger sister I know she’ll really enjoy it.

[@Grzz51]

At 75 y/o, I haven't seen the term "oil cloth" since I was a kid. My mom's tablecloth was a fancy printed oil cloth made for that purpose. She used it for many years. Thanks for your story. Those guys were the greatest generation ever.

[@markbaugh6888]

Gary, my father had one of these maps also, I found it after he passed in 91

[@steveolive9991]

If you are able post a photo of your dad in his uniform.

[@markbaugh6888]

I’d love to if I could figure out how 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@dagwould]

A simple report, Gary, but moving and wonderful! Thanks to your dad. He was one of those that fought evil to its death at that time. Brave young men doing their duty.

[@benisaten]

Every soldier had a story. May they all be remembered forever.

[@thokim84]

All stories, just like all storytellers, eventually die. Humanity has a short memory and it has doomed our species over and over.

[@HeavilyCensoredKitty]

@@thokim84ell the last 3 years have shown me that most have forgotten about Nuremberg.

[@philonetic321]

But no soldier has a story quite like "The Most Gangster Marine Of All Time - Dan Daly".

[@alcycle4934]

Great soldiers! The 84th.....all heros!!

[@Raycheetah]

There is no "minor" battle for the men involved. ='[.]'=

[@larsord9139]

Very interesting piece of wwii history WITHOUT ONE WORD OF A SECRET WEAPON!!!!!

[@richiehoyt8487]

Seemingly no signature beheadings, either...

[@MrGamman3yt]

Secret weapon was Canadians. We were there and doing well before you yanks showed up late to the party. And took quite a lot of the glory. First Nations terrified them. We were used as code. Because of this, they thought that our armies were full of warriors that would scalp them.

[@joegatt2306]

I think the secret weapon was actually white 'underwear'. @6:12 Quote (he likes this word) ' in a bold move, the 1st. battalion of the 335th, donned long white underwear over their combat uniforms' !!!!

[@TeaParty1776]

> WITHOUT ONE WORD OF A SECRET WEAPON!!!!! It's secret!

[@Tomschueller-j7q]

Salutes to the soldiers for their actions.

[@fearthehoneybadger]

​@splurbbat5438US troops also placed themselves in between the shooters and the victims at Mi-Lai.

[@wdkam2639]

My Dad was a lieutenant, then Captain in the 84th Div/334th Regiment. After he and my next-door neighbor had both passed away, I learned that the neighbor was also in the 84th. Wish I could have gotten them together in life.

[@johnwingate8799]

My father won 2 bronze stars at the Battle of the Bulge.He worked with the Hopi wind talkers.Also he was the fastest runner in his batallion.He was given rolls of wire and had to run back and forth to the front and hook up the wires.I am still in awe of him.

[@vincedibona4687]

I am sure he wouldn’t want you to use his experience to gain fake internet glory and points.

[@davebrittain9216]

I have watched many of your videos. Your narration is perfect! Thanks for the work you guys put into these videos.

[@loyalrammy]

Heroes, all.. They make me proud to be an American.

[@TimMonbrod]

Thank You Brave Men and Women. Thanks also to Dark Docs people.

[@Manhandle730]

Ok mostly men,like 90% but sure, nurses served a purpose for sure.

[@Trav81888]

1MM subscribers. Congrats Dark Docs!

[@scottscott4674]

My dad was in the 84th but didn't talk about it very much. This was very informative, thank you.

[@stefanschleps8758]

Mine was in Third Armored-Tip of the Spear. He was also tacit. After the war those men just wanted to get on with living, and who can blame them?

[@scottscott4674]

I totally agree.@@stefanschleps8758

[@OnTheRiver66]

I had a friend who was captured by Germans in France toward the end of the war, was shot in the knee, captured and operated on by a German doctor. When allied troops moved in the Germans left him in a French house telling him that if the SS come they would not leave him alive. British commandos found him and took him to safety. I have another friend who was a Marine in Vietnam and saw some of the worst combat. Neither one wanted to talk about, you had to ask them for any information. If someone wants to talk about their service in combat they were among the support troops who greatly outnumber the combat troops in any war.

[@scottscott4674]

Agreed. Infantry saw hell on earth. This illustrates why SS were so hated and treated more harshly.@@OnTheRiver66

[@briangoldy8784]

We Americans are Liberators. Never Conquer......Japan, Germany, France, Belgium, Italy. Sicily, Tunisia, all brought back to Wonderful Allies an Countries,

[@tedgreen6]

Good point. Thanks.

[@briangoldy8784]

@@tedgreen6

[@mountaintiger6945]

In the SCIFI series Warhammer 40K there's an Imperial guard regiment called the Deathcorps of Krieg whose main weapon in hand to hand is a shovel for digging fox holes. These same shovels were also used in WW1 for close quarter combat in the trenches. But the weapon most feared by the enemy was the American shotgun, it was so feared & effective the enemy complained of its use by American forces.

[@pal-sb7ej]

One of the best group of channels on youtube

[@graemefindsen4001]

Tough bastards, as required. Thanks for your sacrifice.

[@greg2865]

These videos are fantastic! I think this particular one would have benefitted from a few maps sprinkled in. It got a little confusing with all of the small towns listed and no frame of reference. Keep up the good work.

[@walta2585]

I have the same problem, even though I have my Dad's notes and annotated maps. After spending many years trying to piece it together - the history with his accounts - there are still a few weeks where I can't place where he was. Big problem was that the pace of the Battle of the Bulge counteroffensive was so rapid and confused, the guys themselves often did not know exactly where they were. Incredible heroism that is being lost to time . . .

[@harryzero1566]

If this content was fantastic, can you explain the Germans being terrified by a double axe head? After reading the negative comments, I stopped watching the content.

[@Manhandle730]

Well to give you a rough idea of the places this took place……. It was in Europe.

[@martinswiney2192]

Agreed. A few maps would help his story as opposed to showing the same clips repeatedly. Especially clips that are not related to his story.

[@KeithCooper-Albuquerque]

As a former member of the 2AD (1972-1975), I am proud to watch this video! Thanks for your great work!

[@stefanschleps8758]

Thank you for your service.

[@dartawnasailo4449]

As a former desk clerk,,i too also enjoy watching this video

[@vincedibona4687]

As a human being, blah blah blah JFC… “as a…” like anyone cares.

[@stewarta5993]

thank you for my freedom

[@capra216]

Just cause these guys are a hundred now doesn't mean they couldn't kick your ass back in the day

[@fredflintstone5860]

The men that are still alive today could probably kick the crap most guys today. They are tough as nails and may god bless them all.

[@LarsonPetty]

Different breed of American back then. These people lived through the Great Depression, so they had to be hard just to survive. I'm always awestruck by the photos of the unbelievably long lines of men at recruiting stations, mad as all hell the day after the Pearl Harbor attack. Even so, one often overlooked aspect to the US WW2 war machine was the way everyone "back home" held everything together, allowing these brave souls the opportunity to go and fight. Mothers, daughters, young, and old, all those that were not eligible for combat ran the farms, worked the factories, and and took on more than their share of difficulty to make sure that their loved ones would be supported on some far flung battlefield. When the last of these brave souls exhales his final breath, never again will the world see their like, and we will be so much the less for it.

[@davidc6510]

Great historical episode of Dark Docs. I like your style of delivery. Keep putting out great content. Thanks for sharing

[@JesseChristianson-j5t]

God bless all the US soldiers out in the field

[@sunnycat69]

Sad the division was deactivated in 1992

[@bahlulmia]

the thumnail showing soviet soldiers headline saying American infantry. clearly darck docs is losing sanity.

[@417jumps3]

Surprise, surprise - another great video!! Thanks!

[@roberthultz9023]

I believe after the war the 84th went back into the Army Reserve and at least part of the division became airborne

[@spudgunn8695]

"Oh, the Germans wouldn't attack through the Ardennes." "What like they did successfully last time?" "I thought we said we'd never mention that again?, You're on a charge!"

[@MichaelR58]

Good video 👍

[@jeffstangl1471]

Love these. Instead of replayed video clips, show the insignia, names of men, maps of their paths you mentioned, their equipment..

[@dik943]

How many times will they change the title and thumbnail this time? Place your bets here!

[@catherineharris4746]

😂😂💥👍

[@tylerdelong5508]

Atleast a total of 3

[@enigma9273]

They have already changed it. I say 2 more times

[@Ricenoodles80]

What was the first 3 titles?

[@nonamesplease6288]

What is it, 3 times? And now they have a T34 and Soviet troops for a video about American troops. Ugh.

[@nedludd7622]

With all the names and places that you throw out here, a few maps would be helpful.

[@Urban_Flux]

all copyright free vids, maps, actual photos/vids of what they are talkign about would be great, youd think it was a narration of wikipedia...

[@thomasburke7995]

We always hear about the big red 1 or 82nd or 101st. Or the Rangers In Hollywood.. but these guys really did the heavy lifting.

[@just9911]

It’s a team effort. Everyone did their part.

[@teedtad2534]

Thumbs up for those brave camera men and the great fighting Americans! How could they fight in such terrible 🥶❄️ coldness!??

[@walta2585]

Dad suffered all his life from the effects of the frostbite he got in the Bulge. 88mm German artillery ruined his hearing too.

[@hb-ol9oc]

@@walta2585 The world owes a lot to your dad. Greetings from Chile.

[@johnjacobs1625]

RIP Heroes!

[@petermosherthepoet]

Great history lessons on this site. Your work is appreciated.

[@adamsteele6148]

Using the Ardennes as a rest area was really stupid considering what happened in 1940

[@ToxicSoul03]

no walking on ardennes

[@tedgreen6]

Thanks for the excellent doc. I didn't know that the Hatchet Men existed, and that they donned white over their uniforms to blend in with the snow. Very clever! God bless them.

[@simon_wink]

Hi 👋🏻 I actually live in an area that was probably on the map (maybe you can find Geldern, Goch, or Kleve in a area called "Niederrhein"; it's between the city Venlo and Krefeld at the river "Niers"). It's interesting to see some local war-time history on this channel! 🙌🏻

[@randywarren7101]

That division had its home in Milwaukee,Wisconsin until sometime in the 1980's when it was de-activated permanently. The railsplitters had its home on the north side at 51st Street and Silver Spring Dr.

[@postpwnmalone]

man when they show WW2 GI's they look so rugged, mean and tough. I love it

[@fredflintstone5860]

That is because a lot of us are looking at are dads.

[@Manhandle730]

@@fredflintstone5860 Grandfathers here. They were badasses for sure. One fought in the European theater the other in the Pacific. RIP Grandpas. I could’ve have asked for better men to look up to and raise damn fine parents as well.

[@svOcelot]

Thanks for this. For those of us who haven't been to these locations, a map would have been extremely useful. Since I didn't know where any of the places you named were, especially in relation to other places, this video left me a bit cold. You could have replaced a lot of the (somewhat meaningless) war footage with maps showing lines of advance as well as more well-known cities, & that would have made this video much more informative.

[@simonkevnorris]

You could use Google Maps.

[@walta2585]

Thank you for creating and sharing this excellent summary of the 84th's work. My Dad was also in the 84th (in the 333rd as a matter of fact) and after fighting with 9th Army on the Siegfried Line, he was decorated for his role in the Army's attack on Gilkershern. Life magazine had an article with photos of the battle . . . Of course in your video you have some images of the fighting in Aachen, where Dad's first cousin, Bruce, fought before being sent to the Hurtzgen Forest (sorry for mis-spelling). His account of that fighting is harrowing and eyeopening. Dad's best buddy and foxhole friend could never speak about what they endured. Unlike Gary S., my Dad did speak about what they did, and I have the same map and lots and lots of stuff from those days. My kids are grown now, and I'm not sure they have much interest in all the docs Dad kept and archived. Any suggestions of where to place them for posterity are appreciated.

[@simon_wink]

Hi 👋🏻 I actually live in an area that was probably on the map (maybe you can find Kevelaer, Goch, or Kleve in a area called "Niederrhein"; it's between the city Venlo and Krefeld at the river "Niers"). It would be sad if the things from these days would be forgotten or thrown away, so I'd recommend to maybe donate it to a museum. A very good, more well known museum would be "Haus der Geschichte" in Köln, or it could finde a new home in some of the smaller local museums all around the rhineland and Niederrhein! That would be the chance to preserve it to bring the local history to live. Most Gymnasiums (higher educational schools here in Germany) have specialised courses (Called "Leistungskurse") for history, that would probably also be interested to be able to hold some real pieces of local WWII history in their hands. There would be plenty of options ☺️✌🏻 (and - only if somebody wanted to know: The forest is called "Hürtgenwald")

[@eakthekat]

You can contact the closest army base to you and see which base has a WWII or "Army Heroes" style of museum. I'm sure your donation would be appreciated, respected, and cherished. There's the Holocaust Museum in D.C., who would likely want the map, if not everything you have. Check with Universities that have large history departments, or a military college to see if they want your collection. I'd hate to see it all go to private collectors, where the public wouldn't be able to view and learn from your Dad's efforts during the war. Just a thought, maybe write down some of your Dad's old war stories to go along with it, if he didn't keep a journal.

[@AlfredeBlome-df3sg]

I think any VFW Hall would be proud to display those

[@terry_willis]

"The Brutal US Soldiers . . ."??? Brutal? Are you kidding? They are heroes.

[@fordson51]

This is up there with the 95th Division which got the nickname Iron Men of Metz after taking that city as a green unit in Late 1944. The other unit similar would be the 4th Armored favored by Patton and called Roosevelts Butchers by the Germans. Nicely done.

[@sidgarrett7247]

That’s “Iron men of Metz” currently, a reserve unit specializing in institutional training, in other words, we teach all the fundamentals of modern warfare. I had the honor of serving in the 95 from 1988 until I retired in ‘03. (I served on active duty before).

[@jvjdrn]

I retired out of the 95th-aka 9 Volts!

[@sidgarrett7247]

@@jvjdrn thank brother. Long time since I have heard it called that. Hurrah for the Iron Men of Metz! Powered by 9 V!

[@BabaEsconoir]

Q

[@clarityanalytics]

Deceptive headline, nothing secret or terrifying above the ordinary.

[@fload46d]

Very good and veery interesting. Never heard of them.

[@michaeljoyce3153]

I like the work you do but it seems you've all but left ww1 out of the channel. Would be nice to see more content on the subject.

[@SmilingIbis]

There is a channel called The Great War that ran 4 years of weekly coverage of that conflict.

[@Ramzi1944]

Yeah watch the Great War with Indy Neidell

[@cyberleaderandy1]

good documentary. Interesting seeing the American at 8:18 carrying the MG34. I guess either as additional firepower for a unit (readily available ammunition) or as a war trophy.

[@jackieeastom8758]

We absolutely must remember this history because it is truly trying to repeat itself today!

[@jphillips7083]

Bro! Right there at the beginning when you were talking about 44 and the Nazis and the war? You started doing an epic rap for a minute there I think you should have kept going with it!

[@reefta]

is that why the thumbnail is Russian soldiers on T34? lately your videos are more about clickbait title and thumbnails

[@danwilliams582]

That thumbnail with the Russian soldiers was the first thing I noticed so I didn't watch it, and wanted to see if anyone else noticed this "error". Yep, someone else did!

[@reefta]

@@danwilliams582 i just unsubbed, the guy let the quality drop with each video

[@dc1397]

These dudes didn't have army boots, they had track shoes.

[@michaelbagley9116]

By the time the 84th rolled into Germany, they had enough captured transport. That the calling of them as Infantry was kind of a misnomer.

[@glennllewellyn7369]

The Germans were completely fatigued at this point.

[@michaelross1943]

"clandestine"? The 84th was standard US Army Infantry Division that performed in a outstanding manner. No need to make them out as something they were not. The men of the 84th were studs.

[@danielrendon8555]

Germans were lucky the USMC wasn't there.

[@dragfactor]

No mention of the hatchets they carried or how they used them. Only their nickname was hatchet men.

[@johnalanwalker]

Sorta sad the lack of detail. Showing Russian troops on a Russian tank as the cover photo of this story.

[@matthewelberson4140]

The T34 was the first thing I noticed.

[@joesmith-t2z]

Far as i know, the only thing about th Allies that scared the Nazis , is that the US could build tanks and planes about 20 times as fast as they could. The Allies thus had complete air superiority.

[@eugenerowland1262]

We owe our freedom today to their sacrifice. God Bless them.🇺🇸😀👍

[@davidamburgey9398]

Great video But Dark Docs should do more to educate the youth of the horrible cost in casualties. The videos you produce should teach how bad war is & the true cost of war. Our children need to know the true cost of war!!!!

[@logieman777]

thanks for the work and investigation: this is good history.

[@Bodkin_Ye_Pointy]

Why does the doco not address the title, which infers a negative of the US soldiers. A criticism not deserved. When you fight an attacking war you must be committed, aggressive and ruthless. Anything less means more of your men die than theirs. Lets face it, the German army deserved no respect having shot prisoners from day one to the last day.

[@uscgalpha91]

Have a title that is about the subjects

[@user-zk2xh9co3o]

I'm confused why you used a Russian tank/infantry photo for a "USA infantry" video

[@Urban_Flux]

no graphics of what is said at all, done on the cheap

[@JDDC-tq7qm]

The Thumbnail on this video look like Soviet soldiers not Americans lol 😂

[@Piggers71]

Yep, those are Reds in that thumbnail for sure.

[@JDDC-tq7qm]

​yh they changed it now lol it must've been system error 😂😂

[@michaelmyrick614]

The story is supposed to be about American infantry, and the thumbnail shows Soviet Red Army soldiers jumping from a T-34?

[@michaelarmbruster586]

So what was the secret weapon

[@bookaufman9643]

You would think that you only get to surprise your enemy's troops by coming through the Ardennes once or twice. The fact that the Allies fell for it three times including world war is just ridiculous. The Allies had enough troops to move fresh troops into battle and should have never stopped to rest and refit when they have the Germans in a retreating situation. Even if Hitler hadn't launch that campaign the Germans were given enough time to gather as many horses as possible which is something that the Allies should never have allowed since they had so much more manpower and fresh units that they could have moved into the battle to start the attack on the rheinland rather than wait out the winter. I know people are going to say supplies of the issue but there were supplies just not to the level that they wanted. In summary we should have never stopped to rest and refit in the Ardennes knowing what it happened before. Also horrible intelligence work was being done there. We should have continued patrolling and moving forward with fresh units and move those tired units of the first army back off of the line. We could have met very slowly forward but we had to keep the German army from resting and refitting.😊

[@dennisdriscoll7830]

The title confuses me, what was the secret weapon?

[@Charles-k9g5y]

The 84th

[@adanedwardspencer6891]

Lest we forget.

[@robincondite]

Showing a map to show the placename would be super helpful.

[@billynonofyourbusiness3434]

I hate click-bait. Learning about the 84th Infantry Division was interesting. But the title is "The Secret American Weapon that Terrified the Nazis" and the thumbnail was of an axe. So I was expecting a video on either an axe, or tomahawk. I love history. I would subscribe, but I despise misleading titles aka 'clickbait'.

[@tacomas9602]

Nice to see a Soviet T-34 and Red Army troops in the thumbnail while you babble about American and Fritz forces

[@MrJamesdavies085]

Yeah WTF ?

[@juliemerritt5144]

@tacokas9602 It was US.Forces, not Soviets. Ypu people

[@brianjones7660]

Quality is not their concern….😮

[@jo14wp]

If only the Allied soldiers could see what is happening to their countries today. 😢

[@Me2Lancer]

Kudos to Allied Liberators in Europe who defeated the Nazis. This was my parent's generation and I couldn't be more proud of them.

[@Gmac86.]

Your cover photo is Russian troops on a Russian tank

[@curlyplumbing5121]

Run your own race

[@lasandrenstormewalker5432]

So what exactly was the secret weapon with his documentary was supposed to be about?

[@Thegretta92]

Nicely done

[@jaytrock3217]

Any solider will keep pushing if they have good supply chain. I used to carry heavy on water and ammo. Food is a luxury.

[@henryturley7088]

My brother fought in WW2,how could anyone call them suckers and losers?

[@jimparsons6803]

Wearing their long underwear to blend into the snow? Interesting and a new one on me. I had seen other combat troops dressed in 'white' before, but I did not know how it was done. & then there was the VTfuze.....

[@Dallas-us6xm]

How could a secret weapon terrify anyone if it was a secret?

[@georgeszaslavsky]

Thanks the 84th division for their service

[@holeymcsockpuppet]

Long underwear as improvised snow camouflage? Brilliant!

[@bobporch]

Interesting video but I sure didn't see much in it about a secret weapon or why it terrified the Nazis. I guess sometimes you need a clickbait caption to get people to watch. Well you suckered me. Congrats!

[@william.youare6736]

Agreed. Me too.

[@andrewmacdonald8076]

Good story thanks

[@alanmoffat4454]

A BETTER WORD WOULD BE LIFE SAVERS NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENED AT OTHER CAMPS.😊

[@sarahmanalapan8443]

TLDW what was the weapon?

[@kbo572]

You didn't say "Stay Tuned"?

[@garyhughes2446]

Interesting video but it wasn't very clear what the terrifying weapon was.

[@pavelkosik902]

What is the secret weapon???

[@frankfischer1281]

So, what was the fearsome weapon?

[@william.youare6736]

I think it was a hatchet, really have no idea for sure though lol

[@tkskagen]

Sadly (but honestly), your "DARK SKYS" episodes are better than you "DARK DOCS" episodes.

[@shifty1927]

Well then why tf are you here?

[@jimmymac4559]

They were afraid of someone who brought an axe to a gun fight?

[@TheDarthSoldier]

The tactical hatchet is still issued to some units today. I was issued one in Afghanistan. I preferred to carry a war hammer.

[@Manhandle730]

I guess the real secret weapon was the friends we made along the way.

[@fredhaferkamp7224]

Our airborne and rangers rarely took prisoners.

[@AltIng9154]

.... ha,ha, Haferkamp... Northern German ancestry. .... my uncle told me, the US bombed German ambulances... in Normandy except they had GIs on board. War is a dirty game.

[@rorycraft5453]

@@AltIng9154After the WW2, the US realized some of the Japanese ships they sunk had American POWs. I am not sure if any German submarines torpedoed any ships carrying Axis prisoners.

[@AltIng9154]

@@rorycraft5453 Don't know... but a friend of the family... German airman told us he never feared more... while deported by ship to Canada as a PoW.

[@philhawley1219]

Meaningless narration. Absolutely nothing to do with a secret weapon at all.

[@Helm-w1q]

I thought this was going to be about tomahawks.

[@Wireman68]

White underwear as camouflage, Americans improvise, adapt, and overcome since 1775.

[@dennisyoung4631]

*War to the Ax!*