The Devil's Brigade Assault On Mount Defenza Explained

Modern US Recruits try to walk in the footsteps of the legendary Devil's Brigade commando unit. The troops scale and capture an Italian mountain, nearly killing one soldier, and the veterans retell the story of the real mission.
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[@MissTokePanda]

The man at the end. Oh no. I was able to refrain from crying the entire time but that man broke me. Thank you all.

[@Armarakir]

yeah, that hit me too.

[@viking0073]

broke me too bro. Broke my heart.

[@runninamok2003]

Same here brother! Same here.

[@lonnieporter8566]

Yeah, he got me, too! That was absolutely heart-rending!

[@larrypellar2792]

@@Armarakir ààààààaààaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaààààaaaaaaaaaaaaààaaààaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaààaaaaaàààaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaàààààààààààààààààaààààààà

[@alecisla]

"And we climbed, and we climbed, and we climbed..." Heroes. All of them, from the past and present!

[@tearstoneactual9773]

Thank you, gentlemen, for your service and sacrifices.

[@jenny9315]

The"Devils'-Brigade"-was a"UNIQUE"Unit!!!!--We today-(2023)r & should b=Grateful to have known such an-"Amazing" piece of History!!!!!!👍👍👍

[@dstrong5897]

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary men. Thank you to all those who served and sacrificed so much for their future grandchildren! RIP and God bless you all.

[@runninamok2003]

“People sleep peacefully in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”

[@georgiewalker1069]

Incredible footage and history, quite heart stopping to say the least. What brave and unselfish men. Every single one of them is a hero. Thank you from South Africa 🇿🇦 Respect

[@user-fd7tl4xg6y]

To all these brave men who fought....to those that died.... I want to tell you THANK YOU for what you did for the WORLD back then!

[@dankmazzi2376]

Can't cancel history by removing statues.... It's in books... can not change the truth!!!! Biden is the Big lie!!!

[@ryhtkj6681]

WOW!! One of the best Docs I've seen about WWII. Legends All.

[@jimmillward3505]

Oh my! the last gentleman Donald Bricker had me welling up. He was so sincere. Thank You Donald and others

[@redfernsoljah]

Respect. Real men who led the way in a time of need!

[@timhicks8936]

Thanks to all the soldiers who fought, bled, and or died for the freedom we have today! God Bless You All!!

[@BeExcellent1]

I served in the Kings Regiment paras for a year and then 1st Battalion Rifles 1,3 & 5 based in Radford Edinburgh for 9yrs, I was a "specialist" in LRR and Mountain ops and served 4 major deployments from Telic to Herrick, it still blows my mind and humbles me to see how much these men gave with so little! Salute to all who fight for what they're told is right and we will never forget the sacrifices!

[@TheJoyOfGaming]

I noticed your wording and wonder, how can anyone fight for someone elses rights and wrongs? I wouldn't want to give my life unless I knew what I was doing was right in the greatest sense of the word. If I had faith that would suffice but I don't... how did you know you were fighting for the right side?

[@alarictheredboi276yearsago4]

“When the shooting starts the politics stop. You’re there for the guy next to you same as the guy shooting at you is there for the guy next to him.” -My grandfather when I asked him about if he thought what he was doing was right when he was in Vietnam.

[@jerryhammack1318]

To those who served and now we have lost! Your sacrifice is not forgotten! You made an impossible decision involving the future generations of the world! Bless you and thank you brave men in a horrible time in history! With honor and the deepest respect! May we never forget these great tough men and what they fought for and the sacrifices they made!

[@gilwhitmore9682]

Love our neighbors to the north, Canadians. We could not ask for better. These were all the Devils were special men. God bless them all.

[@kirstenannemacdonald2143]

My late great uncle Clarence Campbell from Westville Nova Scotia was a member of the Devil's brigade. The units battle colours are at the Halifax Citadel Army Museum in Halifax Nova Scotia Canada

[@kadan_gustafson6609]

Can we talk about the dude at 34:48 who just casually fell off of a cliff?

[@officialofchase]

I rewatched that part multiple times - he seemed like he fell straight off

[@kadan_gustafson6609]

@@officialofchase ikr imagine going through years of special forces training during ww2 just to fall off of a cliff

[@stevenli620]

DUDE HE JUST SWANDIVED RIGHT OFF

[@gruntwithripit1386]

That's the fastest way down.

[@nanzistnt2573]

>When the pebble speaks German and yeets you off the mountain.

[@armandosiguenza1048]

Extremely good show !!! I’m glad I watched this series …. Respect to the soldiers 🙏🏼

[@silverphantom9675]

These videos are way too under rated.

[@how-2studio257]

Thank you for your service

[@sandhopper99]

I have been exactly where he is at Stonehenge. In the 70s I often used to travel down the A303 to my home in Plymouth. If I stopped there before English Heritage took over there was no restriction of access. But then, I'm one of the few people that can say they stood in the middle of the Parthenon in August 1975.

[@edgardocabos6346]

Thank you for you're service Special Service force salute!

[@benfoot4212]

Donald Bricker's words at the end are spot on and to live by, for old and new.

[@georgecuyler7563]

Thank you for your service, as I listened to this Christmas Eve Day of 2022. I grew up around your brother's while in foster care in the 70s & 80s and listened to their stories.

[@saltservice4024]

"Leary valley lies in the Italian midland some 60 miles northwest of Naples to some 40 miles southeast of Rome, a wide flat corridor enclosed between four walls of mountains. The valley floor with it's olive trees and ancient vines, it's crops of wheat and corn is green the year around that is in normal times. Last year was a bad year for grapes and olives." *Absolute carnage* Strange farming techniques you got there matey...

[@philippa5004]

Thank you for your service🙏😔💚 ANZAC too🙏 Great channel👍

[@sanjayawijenayake9851]

Thank you. To all.

[@tysie1186]

Thank you !!!!

[@Buzzdog1971]

A former Marine thanks every single member of the 1st SSF for helping to make the world I grew up in instead of the alternative.

[@armandosiguenza1048]

Thank you for your sacrifices !!!

[@ivareskesner2019]

They were trained for very different type of warfare so you can’t expect them to perform similarly. Modern soldiers would have difficulty performing in past conflicts as much as soldiers from the past in modern ones. Not because one is tougher than the other but because their training is completely different and matched to the specific needs of the time.

[@levisvarela3735]

a soldier duty is war, whenever, whereever, you follow your training and do what u gotta do

[@dontcare7086]

You are totally right. I like to watch those "old veteran sits down with modern veteran" videos. They both say they wouldn't want to fight in either ww2 or the ww2 vet in Iraq even if he was young. By the time they made the push on Italy these men were battle-hardened and had seen plenty of combat thus gaining experience into the axis tactics. These modern guys are just being told how its done and giving it a go. Give them 2-3 years of constant fighting across Europe and they'll perform admirably.

[@jonathancarson1035]

@karo tref The average soldier from any country during WWI or WWII was shorter, weighed less, and was less educated than their modern counterparts. I don't know where you're getting this idea from, but you're statistically just wrong. I'm not saying they weren't tough, but the stats don't back up your claims at all.

[@Ex3t3r]

Spot on, this is just purely a re-enactment very different to real combat in a theatre of war where soldiers mind set is 'kill or be killed' !

[@Welther47]

@@levisvarela3735 correction "... and do what you are told to do". A soldier is a political tool. And I'm not being pacifistic, it a fact. If they act on their own they become rebels or war criminals.

[@lonnieporter8566]

That ending . . . holy cats, that was heart-rending! Thank you all!

[@wombatwilly1002]

Awesome presentation.Thank you for posting!

[@MasterSam911]

The Veterans telling their stories were the best bit.

[@wesleyswaters8643]

I was taught to strive to be a good a man as my grandfather and I teach my son the same, I hope I measure up well when he teaches his. Grandad was a dieing breed of hardness that peeked out in WW2

[@dankmazzi2376]

ROGER THAT MAN... Plenty of weakness in the USA.... For now anyway.

[@nedrasellayah3989]

Respect for the original Devil's Brigade members. God Bless them. A different breed. Lest we forget. Couldn't help being disappointed that adjustments were made for this current group. It would have been good to see them train etc identically, including in winter. Congratulations for trying this though.

[@jerrydonquixote5927]

Thank you to the original men that fought honestly on both sides were defending your country as an American I'm glad we're not speaking German now but I'm also glad that the Germans are our friends now great reenactment guys thank you all...

[@SpielkindFR]

Ah okay, german soldiers bravely defending their homes in italy. Sure mate. This is such an uninformed thing to say, the Wehrmacht was directly involved in war crimes on each and every front. Not only did they fight in an illegal offensive war, especially in italy they actually occupied their allies soil after Mussolini was deposed. Stop glorifying Nazis, or do you want to thank the SS Totenkopf division for their service too?

[@Mark-ft7nw]

“Last year was a bad year for grapes and olives...” *CANNON ROUNDS/ARTILLERY NOISES*

[@XxDIRTYDANxX31]

Literally seen this comment the exact time as it happened in the vid.

[@1984potionlover]

I thought it was hellzappoppin. Shell of a year!. Bright lights, Big Injuries!

[@andreasleonardo6793]

Nice video about clear explaining of dangerous situation especially whom they really witnessed thanks for sending

[@sorin862000]

Thank you for your service and sacrifices.

[@georgecondoleon3816]

Those Soldiers had, Honor, Loyalty, Integrity, Discipline, Respect, Commitment and most of all Courage. Thank You To All Those Soldiers…..

[@thamomentum]

Currently in the Canadian Forces. The Devil's Brigade is still discussed in the mess halls. Men of those times were made of different cloth.

[@johnsalter5412]

Thank You. It is amazing that means so much to someone who accomplished so much.

[@thelastdruidofscotland]

Fallschirmjäger, total hardass troops, outdone with a few hundred farmboys with a penchant for knives and grenades.

[@SwedishMisha]

Thanks to the men whom served during 2:nd world war.

[@gadnukbreakerofworlds3460]

Regardless of when or where they served, the simple fact that they at some time served in active duty, and willingly rolled the dice of life in the name of their country assures that they will always deserve our thanks. That's the least we can give them for having once stood the line between us and our enemies or those that would see our way of life destroyed. It's always humbling to know that they never asked for more than to be given the bare minimum in return for risking everything for us.

[@TexasLegionaryGuard]

Thank you to all these men, the ones who fought in Ww2 and to the men and women who serve now, thank you to the hero’s who are no longer with us.

[@PablosOutdoorProjects]

damn those cameraman are the heros of this film, they aslo climbed the mountain

[@glenndotter5065]

All Heros!

[@PNWSportsCards]

Thank you for everything Donald Bricker and all the other soldiers within Devils Brigade. I Love You for what you sacrificed for the good of humanity.

[@alexanderbarraza1841]

Thank you very much veterans.

[@timramsey5800]

Wonderfully done

[@GaryArmstrongmacgh]

Thank you!

[@Catmomma]

Thank you to our military past and present thank you to our allies because of you guys 90% of the world lives in peace. I go to bed at night knowing I'm pretty much safe because of all of you. I get to walk down the street in relitive safety. So again thank you.

[@GP-fc7jv]

Thank you and God bless you

[@mech0p]

How do you does a battle work when theyre shooting blanks? Like do they just decide when to die or does someone tell them. Ive never got how this works with like mock battles from the civil war area and such.

[@DidMyGrandfatherMakeThis]

From what I've heard from Napoleonic renactors it is to do with when you pull a certain coloured powder paper from your pouch. I've only done contact re-enactment (medieval) and you generally know when you are dead because you feel the hits. I totally agree some kind of paintball doc would be a brilliant idea.

[@sonofAnonymous]

Thank you

[@xenith0351]

THANK YOU

[@redoz1201]

Moments of alarm, hours of work, days of boredom sums up military so well

[@yacobshelelshaddai4543]

Thank you.

[@palibrae]

These are not "recruits" but veteran soldiers, including combat veterans.

[@cherimolina2121]

When Trumpets Fade. Good, short, REALISTIC movie.

[@mitchellculberson9336]

Touching very touching.Goes to show tje world that the men of North America were badass es.Ask the Germans.Thank you to both nations men for keeping our great natios safe & free.

[@palmergriffiths1952]

Can't remember if I posted on this.. If I did I apologize. My Grandfather was a Canadian member of The First Special Service Force. His name was Palmer O Griffiths HQ Det 1st Rgt. He used to tell me stories about his time in the FSSF. He passed away in 2008 and was given a send off. Unfortunately I wasn't there to attend. To this day I still miss him alot.

[@yjwrangler7819]

Pretty incredible. Wow

[@lisalou8011]

The Greatest Generation

[@gavansimkin5685]

#TIMELINE Besides from the Desert Rats one that My Grandfather Served in, This is 1 of 3 Doco's, Thats one of my Favourites!! The other is the Ship that my Grandfather's Twin Brother that died in the same War! On a British NAVY Ship

[@shanekleindienst2517]

the Desert Rats, or commonly known as the Rats of Tubruk was Australian 9th Div. or SAS Desert Raiders

[@Courrier_]

Is this a new devil's brigade video with new recruits?

[@kevin_1230]

Yes this the last of a four part series.

[@sandstormgamer5249]

I think we really need this type of training everywhere in the United states military

[@kaneworsnop1007]

What how to exaggerate how big a rock was that hit you 😂 if a rock that big hit him he'd be lucky if he only had broken bones and was still breathing.

[@MistahFox]

@@kaneworsnop1007 It was the middle of the night, he didn't see the rock it just smashed him.

[@daronsebelius8160]

If your drill sarge is afraid of the obstacle course you need a new DS.

[@danieferreira9094]

A drill sarge is not afraid of anything. He leads the way because his men depend on him to be fearless!

[@RhodesWC]

@@danieferreira9094 agreed, courage is overcoming fear.

[@MissTokePanda]

@@RhodesWC I agree. It's not the lack of fear, it's the feeling of it, and continuing regardless.

[@ukmediawarrior]

I really enjoyed this documentary series, but I have to wonder, no matter how much they say it felt like real war, whether the fact there were no real bullets coming at them made a difference to their mind set. Would they have been so bold, taken so many risks to overcome the enemy if bullets were ricocheting off of rocks, flying over and around them, their friends were dying around them, real grenades were going off showering them with the sharp rock splinters. And how exactly did they know if they had been hit in this war game? I know these days they tend to use lasers and vests that pick up on being hit with a laser, but I didn't see that here.

[@Herravanrikki]

I was waiting for some CAS-action which takes the light coming from the blanks and identifies as shots in a live tracker. It made the wargames in our training feel like it had some weight. Tbh the attackers were in such a bad position i don't think they actually made it, nevertheless i enjoyed everything about the serie. Respect to all mankind that serves.

[@jeremyknop5378]

couple of them were combat vets so probably. though plenty of people have had to do extraordinary things under very stressful and deadly situations in warfare often times with very little training and having someone actively trying to kill them for the first time, some buckle under the stress but most in those situations find a way to get through the natural human sense of survival to do what needs to be done. I'd say if you joined the military during a war then you should at the very least be ready to try. And i know some special forces units today practice with rubber rounds and light loads, i think some swat teams also practice with rubber rounds.

[@USAR8888]

At 9:04 there looks to be some sort of laser mount at the front of the rifle but that's all I've noticed so far.

[@Auss10n]

Just wish they posted the whole series on KZbin. I’ve only found 3 videos.

[@markgreiser464]

Yes, not all, but yes.

[@charliegreer4507]

I feel like it would have been more effective if they used paintballs (still fired from the accurate weapons). That way there could be visual statistics and help show whether the mission was a success or not.

[@SpielkindFR]

I assume they will have judges they just don't show.

[@morgan-5171]

And about time.

[@roberth6009]

Adapt to the situation. My platoon Sgt always said you gotta be flexible.

[@chrismillard8222]

Very good Ivares

[@fractaljack210]

Never underestimate Canadian troops.

[@sabre22b50]

Sorry

[@wetbreadstickcapo8507]

It's all fun and games till the Canadians have to stop playing hockey... If you think they're brutal on the Ice wait till you fight them

[@bhfanaticosi]

yeah they kill you with apologies

[@DesertFernweh]

Pitter Patter, bud.

[@levisvarela3735]

never underestimate any troops, regardless of origin, until you meet them in combat, each element its a piece on the chess board and even a pawn can kill the king

[@JoeyZ303]

Thought they said 4 dropped out, didn't only Hansen (left) and Young (inj) get sent home?

[@waifu_kawaii__6366]

No one gonna talk about how the german grenade would have killed them like it landed on there feet

[@lw3646]

Modern infantry are much more mobile I the 21st century generally, back in WWII much more had to be done on foot.

[@gruntwithripit1386]

Buddy I hate to tell ya but things haven't changed much for "light" infantry 😂

[@AshwaniKumar-cl9bs]

People shoukd watch full video before commenting... 😃 i mean it's just 40 min since this video uploaded..

[@kevin_1230]

I have already seen these. I own the DVD. This came on the History channel to. When it could be believably called the History channel.

[@dontcare7086]

It's so annoying. Half the comments are about modern day soldiers not being as tough as a ww2 soldier. That is the most ignorant statement and it's coming from people who have never been in a fight.

[@AshwaniKumar-cl9bs]

@@dontcare7086 Just don't care about them....

[@heater101101]

I sault you brothers. We owe a great deal to theses men.

[@DJ70906]

CANADIANS are disciplined and nails. Utter respect.

[@philipmalcolm4550]

Bit on the nose giving those Germans a load of WW2 uniforms...

[@DanielMartinez-lz3ot]

how old is this documentary?

[@jameslopez9661]

2005

[@DanielMartinez-lz3ot]

@@jameslopez9661 Makes more sense now.

[@anonimosu7425]

people below the mountain hearing gunshots : wtf

[@deliriumguiness]

Old Italian fella seeing troops in german ww2 era uniforms going up the mountain: Non di nuovo!!

[@hint0122]

O always wondered if modern day special forces could do what the wwii era did with their equipment

[@ehova5838]

The times change but thankfully the people do not

[@JMark-zk5pj]

Not sure if I saw all episodes, but did they get to meet some of the 1SSF veterans?

[@HalCG]

They did at the end of the last episode kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKa1nZt3rpqpjtU

[@priestofemroy1748]

back then safety regulations were not that much of a thing

[@coolpants4590]

Do Tarawa

[@lw3646]

Back then every solider was given a ton of cigarettes.

[@freak0rico167]

WHY DO I HAVE THE FEELING THAT I'VE ALREADY WATCHED THIS IN AN OLDER VIDEO.!??!?!

[@kimmosanky7353]

I DONT KNOW.?!?!?!?!!!?

[@cyrilthompson1846]

Thank you. I was aware of the Devels Brigate from a movie years ago. But the actual history makes any movie or book irrelevant.

[@mech0p]

Something that would be very interesting to see is the 2 sides meeting eachother after the battle they were in. Like how sick would it be if there were any germans left from this battle to get to meet some of the people they fought against.

[@sanhestar]

why would it be sick?

[@cxtcutsml706]

@@sanhestar figure of speech.

[@jhare18]

Heroes.

[@ray-antraya4880]

Captain America is too scared to show up. I even almost believed in him.

[@abhinavaggarwal4062]

31.26 reminds you of Johny English.

[@DidMyGrandfatherMakeThis]

Just a quick question for clarity, how were the first special service brigade American? Surely that's overlooking the lrdpg and commandos by a large factor? If I'm wrong, please feel free to correct me (politely of course, I'm Scottish)

[@dadagan8815]

I'm guessing that this is marketed towards a US audience, so I'm guessing that certain facts have been overlooked to make it more palatable to a certain demographic.

[@franktower9006]

This episode was brought to you by MilTec.

[@grahamparr3933]

Answer, only in a “safe”place.

[@Ethan-xf4or]

But if there not using real ammo how do they know when they’re hit ?