When The British & The Nazis Fought For North Africa | Greatest Tank Battles

[@WarStoriesChannel]

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[@chooyongming110]

Sound effect names?

[@patreidcocolditzcastle632]

excellent channel thanx for uploading...

[@garyseeseverything8615]

It’s simple America’s massive resources won the battle nothing else esp not Britain that’s a joke!

[@rogertaylor6386]

Most of the tanks were BRITISH

[@rtasvadam1776]

@@garyseeseverything8615 British Brains American Brawn Russian Blood Joseph Stalin

[@bretc970]

My grandfather fought with the 8th. He had an incredible amount of respect and admiration for Rommel.

[@djraythefurry0420]

I would assume most anchors in this timeline actually accepted and appreciated each other pretty well despite fighting against each other , that's mostly coming from all the documentaries I've seen based on tank commanders interacting with each other from two different armies and etc

[@bluecollarnobodysitaras6503]

This just goes to show you that logistics in war are just as important as bullets

[@paulinecabbed1271]

It is quite obvious really. POL, ammunition food. And tea.

[@JohnnyJailBait]

yep and outnumbering the enemy

[@yingliuflaig]

At the end of 2018, my friend and I visited the El Alamein War Cemetary - CWGC and the military museum on our way to the city of Alexandria in Egypt. The stie is huge and quiet. The only sound I could hear was the sound of wind gentally swifting across the land which is lined with white stone crosses. Many lives were lost to fight for the peace. It's quite a stunning experience!

[@chrismair8161]

It is still to this day Heavily Mined! Carefully step lightly.

[@AkshatSingh0501]

Rommel was always seen on action in battlefield. He always wanted best for his soldiers.

[@vijaykumarahirwal2114]

Rommel is one of the most powerful general in the ww2

[@vijaykumarahirwal2114]

Hi you know who was manstien

[@mikedunham8481]

Like Gen. GSPatton!

[@AkshatSingh0501]

@@mikedunham8481 yes generals can be in the battlefield but no field Marshal was ever seen in battlefield, it was rommel who changed the rule.

[@thevillaaston7811]

@@mikedunham8481 Not really...

[@morenofranco9235]

As an old Soldier, I always enjoy the stories of these old Soldiers. No matter which side they fought for - a Soldier is a Soldier. You can leave the Army. BUT - the Army never leaves you.

[@jayc3110]

That was a fine historic account. Unfortunately, in so many segments, the silly music drowned out the accounts of the veterans who were in that battle. That was unfortunate and distracted from an otherwise fine film. Best wishes

[@deathmauler181]

The music is turned up on these to avoid DMCA on KZbin's system I think.

[@markmurfin7984]

A very poor account of the action of el Alamein, rhe Germans were totally routed, you think it was a close thing if you listen to the commentary. Ridiculous. There was only going to be one winner there and that was Monty

[@the7A7dude]

@@markmurfin7984 were you there?

[@pttptt2270]

@@deathmauler181 วืาืสวทอ

[@jacobsteele7138]

When the British met the Germans in North Africa both sides brought huge symphonies to play music. They both thought it would make the war not only more interesting but more dramatic.

[@johndyson4109]

My father served in WWII. He was a radio operator on a DC-3 and flew over the hump from India to China. The Mountains were some of the tallest in the world. He delivered supplies to the Chinese so they could fight the Japanese. He made sergeant and served for four years.

[@jeffwilliams3231]

I'm an American that lost lives in ww2. I'm also a vet that served most of my service with 2AD. We all admit, Rommel was a genius.

[@thevillaaston7811]

How so?

[@madhukar6822]

I agreed with you Field Marshal Servin Romel is Giniuus

[@djraythefurry0420]

It's honestly very nice to see despite you will wear to veterans finding out that even the opposing sides Russian veterans German veterans Canadian veterans British veterans and excetera instead of arguing about the past are coming together and sharing your stories despite coming from opposing sides , good luck to you all and may you all find peace in your domain

[@pt7181]

@@djraythefurry0420 becausw there are no opposing sides on the field, just random people went to fight and die for politicians who are on opposing sides.. ive heard from my grandparents a lot of stories where enemy soldiers were helping each 9ther in the trenches, a guy carrying water to a enemy soldier in the night, when this exact soldier hit him in the stomach during the day. War sounds too ugly, and when u start to grow more mature and to value life, it looks twice as gruesome...

[@dh.k363]

So what! Always fighting in other peoples land, why not die in wyoming you evil people

[@fredbeach2085]

Thank God for KZbin in this never ending lockdown in England it`s keeping me sane watching videos like this.

[@sharkwhisperer7326]

I'm right with you!

[@adimetohu3365]

🙄

[@rosepiranian7596]

The irony is Monty fought and prevailed against the fascists and yet another type of fascist is now choking England to death.

[@patreidcocolditzcastle632]

were finished with lockdown but i did the same it will keep you sane plus educate ourselfs way more.this is a great channel

[@patreidcocolditzcastle632]

try watching the bbc colditz series from the 70s its very addictive and a bunch of great actors

[@gmnotyet]

I could watch WWII stuff on YT for weeks at a time.

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

@Chess Warrior You should check out a ww2 series called battlefield if you liked this

[@THEGAMER-sn2lk]

Me too man

[@pissonthe0fighteverybody276]

Me to brother

[@garnetmichel5517]

Me Too 🔥💯

[@jessicafarmer7275]

Lol me too ! I watch them all the time. Husband gets annoyed lol

[@spike-4219]

Like the poster said, Rommel was dangerous, an honorable man that all sides respected.

[@raywhitehead730]

Addressing comments on the German 88 artillery cannon: it was a much feared weapon, it was very effective, easy to use, and worked very well against a very wide array of opponents: .at el Alamein it was effective. Note: at Remagein 88's killed the entire officer command of my father in law's out fit on the first day, firing across the river.

[@petergehlen4190]

Seems that nobody wants to know that. Doesn´t fit into the allies hero tales.

[@TonyBrownespidernetworks]

My dad served at the Battle Of El Alamein He was a anti tank gunner His gun was hit Everyone but my Dad was killed and he kept fighting to stay alive

[@danielmocsny5066]

So we are not reading comments today from any potential sons of the other gun crew who were killed. You are lucky to be here, assuming you were born after the war.

[@thevillaaston7811]

Tony Browne That would make you 79 years old?

[@jackthomas5250]

Lest we forget, it was Australian troops who were at the forefront in the beginning, they were originally known as the Desert Rats, not us Brits.

[@stayrospaparunas3062]

N some Greeks or lunettics ...lol

[@nickdanger3802]

The Ozzies were known as the Rats of Tobruk. The 7th Armoured Division was a division of the British Army known as the Desert Rats.

[@malreid749]

@@nickdanger3802Only after the the Aussies made the name "rats" famous. The 7th had a mascot that looked like a rat called a "cherob" whatever that is, so they didn't earn it.

[@lightfootpathfinder8218]

@@malreid749 the British 7th armoured division was in North Africa before the Australians arrived .. it was formed there in 1938 ..the original Western desert force consisted of the 7th armoured division and the 4th Indian division

[@Eskay1206]

Cheers mate, thanks for the shout out.

[@horacebeachboy]

God bless the veterans My Uncle Kari was a Panzer Commander of the Afrika Corps. They fought for the comrades . God bless All man that fought on that conflict.

[@ahadisgoat]

My great grandfather was a troop for the 4th Indian division in this battle, respect for your uncle too

[@raywhitehead730]

Kudos to the India's, they impress., and they are a future force to be recognized with. july, 2022.

[@kaycey7361]

Huge respect for your grandfather and his comrades of panzerkorps Afrika. Thanks for kicking the British in the balls.

[@whiteenglishknight9861]

@@kaycey7361 who won twice in the end 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@kaycey7361]

@@whiteenglishknight9861 lost the empire.

[@eversun77]

Wow! Very interesting. Great presentation and love the graphics to help explain the battle, but overwhelmingly sad the way we kill each other. Every death and casualty on both sides was a living breathing human being..,

[@prepperjonpnw6482]

Exactly. I try explaining that to people when I came back after each tour I did over there but they just don’t get it. They think its all Gung ho John Wayne style and while I never hesitated to “end” some enemy who was trying to do the same to me and my mates, it wasn’t like we were jumping for joy and celebrating defeating the enemy. Usually we were dead tired and weary from killing so we tended to be more somber than anything else. It’s never a good thing when you have to take the life of another human being. Something that changed in me after spending long periods of time in war: I’m now against the death penalty except in super extreme cases and I’m also against abortion. They’re both killing and one is the murder of the only truly innocent person in the world. Neither is necessary, there are other ways of dealing with stuff. Why do humans always think that killing is the answer to everything. Anyway sorry for the long comment lol if you have made it this far may the Lord bless you and keep you and may your children never see what I’ve seen. Cheers mates

[@qazxswedc1886]

Brave men on both sides may they all rest in peace!

[@NenekAtuk89]

" Montgomery, in defeat unbeatable, in victory unbearable. " - Winston Churchill

[@castlerock58]

@Hoa Tattis Eisenhower's greatest skill was getting the best out of both of them .

[@TheAnthoula14]

Love that. One of my favorite of Winnie's. ;)

[@tomlucas4890]

What is missing is the use of radio traffic from the US diplomatic core in Cairo, open signals,giving British plans away, these were picked up by Rommel's radio trackers and passed on to him , When this was discovered by the British and stopped,, Rommel lost his advantage.

[@thevillaaston7811]

@Gerry Hagen Bradley failed to close the Falaise Gap, as he later admitted: "In halting Patton at Argentan, however, I did not consult Montgomery. The decision to stop Patton was mine alone. I much preferred a solid shoulder at Argentan to the possibility of a broken neck at Falaise". From Bradley's A Soldier's Story book. Page 377

[@guaporeturns9472]

@Hoa Tattis better read up on your history a bit more

[@captainalex5536]

Thank you for putting this on. It was very informative and awe inspiring.

[@paulinecabbed1271]

Monty wearing the Black beret shows that he was a tanker, and was one of those badges the Warwickshire Regiment, which he had been in since ww1

[@angelocarone8905]

Non ci sono paragoni tra i due a parita di uomini e di mezzi con cerchil ne faceva uno spuntino grazie agli amici americani ti piace vincere facile ma non tanto facile

[@jamesk5541]

They both were WW1 vets well versed in tactics

[@angelocarone8905]

@@jamesk5541 non capisco in inglese

[@jamesk5541]

@@angelocarone8905 probablemente no deberías saber nada, es el idioma más hablado del mundo, pero dije que ambos eran veteranos de guerra muy versados en tácticas

[@jamesk5541]

@@angelocarone8905 ho scritto la mia precedente dichiarazione in spagnolo e mi sono reso conto che era la lingua degli spaghetti. Se sei europeo dovresti imparare l'inglese a scuola

[@lohkoonhoong6957]

Beating Rommel in a major battle is something to write home about.

[@rickcastellon9090]

Easy to do if you have the cheat codes...

[@guaporeturns9472]

@@rickcastellon9090 maybe you forgot we’re discussing a real war here , not a game.. men die , for real. No such thing as "cheating" in warfare .. what you are referring to is called "intelligence" I believe.

[@guaporeturns9472]

@John Cornell 👍🏻

[@blaisegg]

@John Cornell was it ever an even fight?

[@blaisegg]

@John Cornell At Alam el Halfa Monty had Ultra intelligence warning him of what Rommel would do. Also, Rommel had to fall back after running out of supplies. Monty then did not exploit the victory, but instead wait to build up forces again (his MO). They did not take Tobruk in 41, but did in 42.

[@jefferyr.powell5214]

back then as today it is logistics that is the key to battle. you can have the best men, equipment, and plans but if you do not have the beens, bullets and band-aids to support them, it is all for nothing.

[@raywhitehead730]

Correct

[@mistermax3034]

@John Cornell He didn't have to understand them, he had them, courtesy of the US.

[@mistermax3034]

@John Cornell The 8th army was almost exclusively supplied with American fuel and tanks.

[@fergusmallon1337]

@John Cornell It would be terrible if the history of the war was entirely written by Americans. Thank you for your information. I know that Canada supplied Britain with vast amounts of food arms and ammunitions as did the other Commonwealth countries. Johnny Come Lately could not have won the war singlehandedly.

[@thevillaaston7811]

@@mistermax3034 'The 8th army was almost exclusively supplied with American fuel and tanks.' Err... no. 8th Army fuel came from the Middle East. At the time of Alamein, half of thtanks were US built, and half of that half were bought and paid for.

[@stevejauncey3086]

In memory of Trooper Reginald Francis Stubbins and his crew killed in this battle. Reg was from Weston Super Mare Somerset. Rest in peace.

[@Kaiju-Driver]

War factories and tank battles are hands down my favorite series

[@starbelt440]

Why is the music drowning out the audio channel, its very difficult to listen to the interviewees as well as the commentary because of the clash. I stopped watching after 8 minutes

[@psychowolfgames1877]

The show can be that way this was early episodes i believe

[@SmoothFlightX]

You are absolutely right!

[@kinglear5952]

The music is an absolute disgrace. Why interview these men if the makers intended to treat them with this contempt?

[@mashiniwami]

Plus the annoying sound effects.

[@bunzeebear2973]

I always put on CC just because of that.

[@BIGNICKELL1]

Lose the loud music it drowned out a lot of the talking and was annoying anyways.

[@MikeJowsey]

"I'm sorry Padre, but my religion was knocked out of me." Realisation that reality is all that matters.

[@jdsol1938]

Monty always judged his opponent, the defeated him, Rommel was no exception, he defeated him every time the met

[@nickdanger3802]

He did not defeat Rommel in 1940 in France.

[@thevillaaston7811]

@@nickdanger3802 Yea right ho, so Montgomery commanded a single division in France, in an army that made up less than 20% of the allied strength. How was he supposed to arrange the battle so the two went head to head? Bradley's subordinate commander, Patton did not defeat Rommel. They never even met in battle.

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

@@nickdanger3802 The British actually threw back a German counter attack at Arras.

[@angloirishcad]

@@thevillaaston7811 However neither was Rommel in charge in France

[@totoianugheorghelucian488]

The battle was lost before it even started, because the axis failed to capture malta they weren't able to deliver enough supplies for rommel and afrika korps to actually stand a chance.

[@arifahmedkhan9999]

Yet it lasted for years

[@crookedpaths6612]

Sir Keith Park - the man responsible for winning the Battle of Britain saved Malta. It took him only two weeks to clear the skies. Prior to that Malta was being bombed to bits.

[@paulinecabbed1271]

You fail to mention both the Royal Navy and the merchant Navy of many countries in that battle, also RAF

[@edtrine8692]

The reason Montgomery beat Rommel was the RAF and Royal Navy blocked Rommel's supplies!

[@paulinecabbed1271]

Not blocked them completely, but severely restricted them. But also the German and Italian activity in the Mediterranean Sea restricted supply to Malta. Many Allies supplies to the Middle East had to go the Long way round via Capetown

[@maramasducci7968]

It wasnt the africa corps it was the Panzer Army Africa/Armata Corazzata Africa since it was mostly Italian not German i hate these "historical documentaries" who don't mention Italy at all even though they were doing most of the work and then take massive dumps on italy plus inaccurate numbers of tanks Italians had more troops, tanks and airplanes then the Germans

[@Christopher-N]

The African theater was a war of supply and transport. Germany made excellent use of what they had, but a difficult time bringing in reinforcements and supplies.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

But the British had greater problems. All the way down the Atlantic, round Cape Town and up the Indian Ocean. The Axis only had to get there's across a relatively small stretch of Mediterranean. It took six weeks for a division or regiment to get from Britain to Egypt.

[@ladela7348]

@@lyndoncmp5751 Yeah. My Great-Granddad George was in the Royal Navy and sailed as part of a convoy escort in the Pacific and Burma.

[@paulinecabbed1271]

Also it could take two months and a long journey by ship for personnel to be transported to Port Tewfik

[@stevehaug3603]

Enjoyed the episode, but between the gunfire and the loud background music had a problem trying to hear what the veterans were saying. Turn the music down a bit.

[@paulinecabbed1271]

The Royal Army Service Corps made a very large contribution, please don’t forget them?

[@Kyleinasailing]

Annoying music, can't hear what's being said.

[@elmerares4653]

highlight the CC button or icon there u can see read the subtitles/closed captions(c)

[@1destructivepony]

Nah it’s buck music good thing it’s there

[@Dragonblaster1]

Why does nobody ever mention the fact that the M3/M4 has sloping frontal armour? You’re practically made to believe that until the T-34 and the Panther, nobody had ever thought of the ide.

[@ladela7348]

Even the British Mk.1 had some sloping armour and that was developed in 1916.

[@graemeskipper7078]

lest we forget a salute to the men who fought and died for the freedoms that we enjoy today !!! grub NZ

[@justusmuiruri-jh5jm]

Romel was AWESOME❤❤❤

[@malreid749]

El Alamein was NOT only a Tank Battle. A major part, if not the major part, in the victory was played by the Australian 9th Infantry Division, a point made by both Montgomery and his Chief of Staff, Francis De Guingard, in later books.

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

Of course Australian infantry, British tanks, artillery and air power.

[@nickdanger3802]

Tank Parade At El Alamein (1942) British Pathe' kzbin.info/www/bejne/hn26oJ2JmZ18gLc

[@alexrobertson1472]

Unfortunately this is an american documentary, honestly its a bloody miracle they even mentioned the british forces and didnt just make out that the americans won it (although i notice they did try) they probably havent even worked out that Australia exists yet and certainly wouldnt dream of giving them any credit (especially when they deserve it). we know better however, war wouldnt have been won without the Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians, Poles, Indians, etc etc etc

[@benwilson6145]

The 51st played a major role and stopped the Panzer advance

[@mirkonavarra1517]

australian? they said it was english vs germans

[@goodvibes3445]

"When they used the 88 mm anti-tank gun, we were on a losing side"

[@beedee9534]

Duhh

[@goodvibes3445]

@Hoa Tattis That was said by the British vet.

[@beedee9534]

What we needed at the U S Capital 88

[@beedee9534]

@Gerry Hagen The New M1A3 i round can go through 6 home with ease

[@IHateYoutubeHandlesVeryMuch]

@Gerry Hagen The 17 pounder was probably the best anti tank gun by the Western allies and it had really good penetration. It could even penetrate the frontal armor of a Tiger 1, but so could the 76mm gun (albeit at only 800m).

[@angloaust1575]

Fighting a duel would have been more beneficial Both ww1 veterans Many lives saved

[@blueskybanshee8013]

War never tells you who was right only who's left.

[@BattalionCommanderMK]

Nice Documentary, again thanks.

[@plexone3540]

SO incomplete and confusing, It seems there were only German divisions Vs British divisions, completly missing Italian divisions and the rest of the Commonwelth troops... this is basically a great tank simulation display

[@OldWolflad]

Thats a fair point

[@peerpede-p.]

Great film, but music to loud...

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Rommel was a great corps or divisional level tactician. Montgomery was a great army or army group level grand strategist.

[@bigwoody4704]

He was nothing of the sort he was a propped up fraud who won in the desert because of the allied supplied embarrassment of riches in men and materiel. The only time the odds were even Rommel drove Monty off of the continent and in to the channel. And Monty didn't come back across for 4 full years and that was with the GIs. Pull your nose out of Bernard's backside and try sticking it in a book - John Cornell. Not only O'Connor but Auchinleck both won before in the Desert. After Auchinleck & Dorman Smith won 1st Alamein Churchill wrongly removed General Auchinleck who argued that his men had not regrouped and needed reinforcing. Several military analysts accused Churchill of misunderstanding desert warfare tactics, saying he placed too much emphasis on territorial occupation. They needed 6 weeks to refit and resupply. So what does Monty do - took 10 weeks(Aug-13-Oct 23) to advance​ - *much more time than Auchileck and Dorman Smith insisted on and got fired for in the 1st place - real bright move. Almost any Commander was walking into assured victory* The British finally got their victory over a German Army and Monty was made a Hero when in truth it was a British /Allied victory. Montgomery had 1500 miles and every concievable advantage - BIG ADVANTAGES in men/materiel/air

[@gidi3250]

Rommel was a great in the moment guy, great improvisation skills, Montgomery was the opposite he was great at drafting plans with the info at hand but bad at getting others to work together and follow said plans.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

@@gidi3250 Blatantly untrue. Montgomery was an excellent man manager to those under him. He changed the moral and fighting quality of the 8th Army almost overnight. His predicted timelines for El Alamein and Normandy were spot on. He predicted Normandy to last about 3 months and he predicted El Alamein 12-14 days. He even correctly predicted the casualties for El Alamein. Montgomery was the most savvy commander on either side on the western front.

[@stephenmccartneyst3ph3nm85]

@@gidi3250 Monty was the exact opposite of what you claim. He deliberately moved his HQ close to Desert Air Force HQ to better consult and liaise with them. He got engineers, armoured & infantry training together for weeks to smoothly co-operate. He reorganised commands so that artillery was being directed at Corps level, which hadn't been done before he arrived. He listened to his subordinates, and believed what they told him. He was a master at organisation and coordination.

[@timphillips9954]

@@gidi3250 Rubbish he was one of the most popular leaders of all time with his troops

[@ralphraffles1394]

Monty never lost a battle against Rommel. Earlier Rommel tapped the US consul phone in Cairo knowing British plans.

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

@John Cornell We have another troll that needs to be torn a new *rsehole John, scroll up to new comments Stefan 91 2 days ago (edited) on this page

[@jetpigeon8758]

@Gerry Hagen EGO 1 had such an EGO because he was the best tactician.

[@mthomssen61]

@@jetpigeon8758 nope

[@MisteriosGloriosos922]

Well done and thank you for video!!

[@richardtuholsky4028]

Let’s go brandon 🍦🍦🍦

[@tkyap2524]

You know correctly what your enemy is up to, surely you know how to plan your move, and win.

[@beedee9534]

Patton knew how smart Rommel was he read his books

[@danielmocsny5066]

@@beedee9534 - LOL that was the line from the Patton movie.

[@beedee9534]

@@danielmocsny5066 Duh yeah

[@frankbell4884]

Rommel probably never found out that he was defeated by Monty's double M.E. Clifton James. My dad from New Zealand was there, and he never knew about the role of Bletchly Park and Tommy Flowers because of official secrets.

[@benwilson6145]

That ruse was used before D Day not North Africa

[@paulinecabbed1271]

@@benwilson6145 however intelligence picked up by Bletchley Park was used to help the North Africa situation, I am sure?

[@benwilson6145]

@@paulinecabbed1271 The Nazi's had a steady stream of information from Fellers a US Army Major attached to the 8th Army as his messages were decrypted by the Italians after they stole the codes.

[@paulinecabbed1271]

It wasn’t just one thing that enabled the Allies to win, or for just one thing that was the downfall of Germany and Italy, surely you can see that?

[@nickdanger3802]

Churchill "I have told the House how at the time of the fall of Tobruk the President gave the first 350 Sherman tanks which had already been issued to the American Army and we know that they played a key part in the Battle at Alamein. When I went back to America a year after, I found that there was an ample supply of these tanks, formerly so precious and rare, from the flow of American mass production which had got into its stride, and they were able to offer us 3,000 or 4,000 more of those invaluable weapons. This was of great advantage to us. We were able to carry through a further redisposition of our tank programme and to reduce the scale of our production, thus releasing man-power and materials for making other instruments of war which were urgently required." below 1469 Hansard WAR SITUATION HC Deb 02 August 1944

[@khansaheb.7860]

One of the greatest Tank Battle happened between India & Pakistan in 1965 war .East Bengal Regiment was a part of that ferocious Tank Battle.Thanks .

[@jmyazzie08]

Nice documentry also went to Google Earth and searched for Alam El Halfa Ridge and you can clearly see the foxholes and positions in the desert!

[@alcoholfree6381]

When a tank was hit, did everyone inside the tank die being burnt alive??

[@Vincent98987]

Nope, the shell has Explosive filler so everyone dies.

[@chooyongming110]

18:27 That's a Panzer 4 with a 75mm gun 18:29 That's a Panzer 3 J with the 50mm long barreled gun This video and many other are practically direct copy pastes from Greatest tank battles series

[@sontungle2641]

50mm Kwk 39 those.

[@mariacorazondevelos7178]

Uhhhhh these are reposted greatest tank battles series

[@mirkonavarra1517]

"agaist the Germans" when most of the Rommel troops were Italian

[@csonracsonra9962]

Music is way too loud. C'mon damnit

[@nickdanger3802]

Churchill Sept 42 "In spite of the heavy losses which I mentioned, the Army of the Western Desert is now stronger actually and relatively than it has ever been. In fact, so large have the new reinforcements which have reached this Army been, that what is to a large extent a new Army has been created while the fighting has actually been in progress. The principal measures which rendered this possible were taken before the disaster of Tobruk, and, indeed, before the opening of the battle at Gazala in May. They were part of the general preparation which, looking ahead, we made for the hazards and stresses of the Desert campaign of 1942. As far back as March last I asked President Roosevelt to lend me shipping to transport an additional 40,000 or 50,000 men to the Middle East so as to have something to veer and haul upon, so as to have a force which could be turned to the various theatres in which danger might develop. The President consented and placed at our disposal a number of American ships, and in consequence at the critical moment we had rounding the Cape a very large and well-equipped force which could be directed immediately to Egypt. It is to that that the improvement in our affairs, the maintenance of our affairs, in that region must largely be attributed. Besides this a broadening stream of drafts to replace casualties, of equipment, tanks, anti-tank guns, "Ack-Ack" guns and vehicles of all kinds has been flowing from this country and from the United States to the Middle East, and we now 90 have in Egypt a very good, strong, well-equipped and resolute Army barring the further advance of the invader." "I am strengthened in this view by the results of the heavy fighting of last week. Owing to the restraint and understatement which have been practised in the Middle East communiqués in deference to the taste of the House, the scale and intensity of these operations have not been realised, or have -only now begun to be realised. General Rommel has been much hampered by the sinkings of so many of his supply ships by our submarines, as well as by the British and United States air attacks renewed again from Malta and also from Egypt." Hansard WAR SITUATION HC Deb 08 September 1942

[@paulinecabbed1271]

Even BEFORE the USA entered the war in December 1941, US Navy transport were transporting the British 18th Division from Halifax, Nova Scotia, initially designed for Basra, but later diverted to Singapore. Churchill wasn’t always correct as it happens?

[@xcrockery8080]

This doesn't really explain the phases of the battle, the struggle on the minefields, the dust, the fact "Kidney Ridge" was a depression, not a ridge, and the changes in focus that Monty made.

[@johnbeavin9170]

And why didn't the British use smoke?

[@stephenmccartneyst3ph3nm85]

@@johnbeavin9170 because they did. And dust. And deception.

[@huntarama9375]

What people fail to recognize about Rommels success was that it was largely down to the Americans feeding daily information on the british movements and strength. War in the desert changed when this ceased and also the Australia,s took out the German intelligence unit

[@youraveragescotsman7119]

People love to cite Ultra as being the cause for victory and that it was the sole reason for Allied success in Africa, yet conveniently leave out the fact that Rommel was using that exact tactic: gathering intel.

[@miketrusky476]

70% of everything Monty fought with was made in the USA, guess where he got the food to feed his army?

[@terrysmith9362]

absolute invention and utter garbage. God why ate some Americans so thick. Apart ftom a few Sherman tanks virtually all ewuipment madr in UK or Commonwealrh

[@miketrusky476]

@@terrysmith9362 do your home work.

[@terrysmith9362]

@@miketrusky476 you do yours. I am sick and tired of hollywood historians. read Charles B McDonald re MG

[@paulinecabbed1271]

In the 1950’s Monty was on TV with a weekly program describing the battles in North Africa

[@thevillaaston7811]

Really?.. I thought that was Horrocks.

[@jonL88]

Just in time for night watching!

[@hansandhismp-4033]

It's so good to see a WW2 Veteran from both sides that were on that battle being interviewed

[@nickdanger3802]

"From late 1942, US tanks were required in increasing numbers to make up for the deficiencies of home-grown products. Only in 1944 was British industry able to deliver a tank reasonably fit for a fast-moving battlefield, and even then it was scarcely a match for its opponents." Imperial War Museum BRITAIN'S STRUGGLE TO BUILD EFFECTIVE TANKS DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR page

[@nickdanger3802]

"It is admitted that American tanks played a great part in the Battle of Egypt. America has been in this war for only a year. Why is it that in that short time she has been able to produce a first-class tank like the General Sherman whereas Great Britain, after three years of war and several years of preparation before the war, has not been able to do so." below 245 Hansard DEBATE ON THE ADDRESS HC Deb 17 November 1942 page

[@thevillaaston7811]

@@nickdanger3802 Answering your own comment? ROTFL.

[@bigwoody4704]

why not you and Burns thumbs up yourselves. Check out this stable of cyber psychos Giovanni Pierre joined 28 Sept 2013 John Peate joined 28 Sept 2013 John Burns joined 07 Nov 2013 John Cornell joined 13 Nov 2013 TheVilla Aston joined 20 Nov 2013

[@lyndoncmp5751]

TheVilla Aston, Well somebody has to 😂.

[@bigwoody4704]

Like you John Cornell you spineless hack

[@loveumom8428]

The sound is little beat disturbing, but great story well articulated.

[@branon6565]

LOVE U MOM ...little BEAT disturbing?! You mean "a little BIT..."...and wtf is up with that profile name, are you bats**t crazy or what?!!

[@kaycey7361]

My religion was knocked out of me.. Greatest line.

[@whiteknight3280]

Unpopular opinion: Rommel was a way better commander & extremely competent compared to his counterparts. Legendary soldier & commander. Warrior to the hilt.

[@benwilson6145]

The longest and fastest retreat in German history!

[@stephenmccartneyst3ph3nm85]

Yet he lost, every time he faced Monty. Even when he had shorter supply lines and everything in his favour, such as El Agheila or the Mareth line.

[@سبحاناللهوبحمدهسبحاناللهال-ف1غ]

اللهم صل وسلم على نبينامحمدوعلى آله وصحبه الكرام تسليماًكثيراً

[@andrewhalliday4283]

It always annoys me thinking about the men in the tanks just looking at the German barrels and thinking how long and how many crews is it going to take to get something newer with a big gun to even things out a bit. Even retro fitting a longer barrel onto existing stuff or a new turret design to hold the thing. It was stupid waiting till the end of the war to bring out what they needed for years.

[@danielmocsny5066]

Yes in hindsight you'd like to have seen the M26 Pershing get into action sooner - say by D-Day, so the Allies could have faced the latest German tanks on even terms. But winning a war is about allocating resources. There's never enough to do everything. The Allies put a lot more into developing aircraft. This may be because America was into the air war from 1942 but didn't face a lot of German armor until after D-Day in the second half of 1944. America was busy fighting and destroying the Luftwaffe the whole way but only came to "appreciate" the advanced German tank designs relatively late. Even so, the Pershing and the M36 tank destroyer were upgunned enough to deal with most German tanks. Had the war gone on longer the Sherman might have gone the way of the P-40 Warhawk, relegated to second-line duty by the end of the war. But the Allies won the war so the overall strategy with all its tradeoffs seems to have worked. In particular, Allied air supremacy compensated for a lot of other deficiencies. When you have fighter-bombers roaming at will and able to destroy any German tank or fuel truck they can see, it matters less how good the German tanks are at 1:1 tank duels. We've had 76 years of hindsight to think about what happened in less than one year, from D-Day to the German surrender. But that was an incredibly short time. The Americans were also building jet aircraft to counter the German jets that began appearing in small numbers in the same short period. But the war ended before the P-80 Shooting Star saw action, so in the end it wasn't needed.

[@rogertaylor6386]

The British were building jet planes during the war not the Americans

[@bigwoody4704]

Really?too bad they couldn't fight their way across the 30 mile channel. Where were these great inventions? why did the GIs have to sail 3,500 miles to do this. Why was Winston arranging for the USA to not only build but then ship planes,provisions,tanks,trucks,artillery,food,fuel,men,materiel if you had it all together - do tell

[@kevincoombes5949]

Prior to the battle of El Alamein much of Rommel's success was dependent on the fact that Germans were able to decode US diplomatic radio traffic from the US embassy in Cairo. Two Italian agents broke into the cypher room, opened the safe, photographed the code book and escaped undetected. A Colonel at the embassy diligently sent reports to Washington which detailed British deployments and strengths. Once the code was eventually changed Rommel suffered repeated defeats.

[@jimmyhaley727]

and the Brits were reading Rommels mail for a long, long, time,,,

[@donaldboomer6313]

The British code breakers called Ultra, circa 1943, knew just about everything the Germans planned to do; both in North Africa, eastern front, and bombing raids on London.

[@nickdanger3802]

@Hoa Tattis "At the beginning of the "First Battle of Alamein", Rommel's DAK suffered an unexpected coup when they lost the signals intercept unit Nachrichten Fern Aufklarung Kompanie 621 (NFAK 621) which was commanded by the Hauptmann (Captain) Alfred Seebohm. This unit was overran and captured by the 9th Australian Division in an attack initially directed against the Italian "Sabratha" Division near the coast on 10th July 1942. Rommel when told of the unit's loss was furious --he had suddenly lost his best source of intelligence. They had provided him with an unparalleled wealth of tactical intelligence"

[@nickdanger3802]

@@donaldboomer6313 Only traffic sent by radio could be intercepted and was sent in Morse. Most traffic was sent by land line when and where that was possible. Operational orders for offensives were sent by courier.

[@raywhitehead730]

On September 2nd a ship convoy arrived from America at port Tafiqu and unloaded more then 250 Sherman tanks most were carried in the SS Sea Train Texas. Considered a match for the German tanks, these were the tanks that Monty had delayed the battle for. Which occurred about a month latter.

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

What? A general who waits until he has built up a large superiority in men & material before beginning an offensive? Shameful! What was he thinking of?

[@raywhitehead730]

@@dovetonsturdee7033 Well it worked but at a bloody cost, so very WW1, of him. He had alternatives: Do nothing, after all the only reason for the Germans to be in Africa was to deny the Suez Canal to Britain, do anphibious laning behind Rommel to name two.

[@thevillaaston7811]

Ray Whitehead Montgomery waited for a number of things including he completion of an extensive training programme for the troops.

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

@@raywhitehead730 The Suez Canal was more or less irrelevant to Britain in WW2, as convoys went round the Cape. The reason the Germans were actually in North Africa was to prop up the Italians after the catastrophe of Operation Compass. Just for information, in order to carry out an amphibious landing, it is useful to have access to landing craft, and there were virtually none in the Eastern Mediterranean at the time.

[@raywhitehead730]

@John Cornell That is a good arguement ! But in the end not defensible

[@robertguerrero8009]

Back ground music way too loud to hear these older soldiers memories...

[@binki890]

Am I the only one who rooted for Rommel?

[@thevillaaston7811]

You and other Nazis.

[@inguspodnieks9028]

Damnnn no one will say how wide those tracks were on panzer 3?

[@berndlottes9940]

grandfather from my friend fought under rommel, in letters he wrote: Rommel was cool and loved general

[@bobdamano9606]

Respected by his enemies too.

[@MrBoxen]

@Hoa Tattis Surprising people still believe this lol.

[@andrewmontgomery5621]

Just like how Mr Burns from The Simpsons described him

[@bobdamano9606]

@Hoa Tattis my grandfather was one of montys troops and that’s not how he told it 🤔 Not a story I’ve heard.

[@trojohn7032]

This is basically Rank Battles in real life.

[@velocitygaming7037]

High ranks vs low ranks SBMM be like

[@collections1812]

Tz

[@lostpony4885]

Ive always thought of Bradleys in context of Normandy etc. This really brings home they were not a light tank, in fact were monsters for this early battlefield.

[@Ariana321]

Bradleys? Those are Shermans lol. ...Although if I look at pictures of an M2 Bradley and a Sherman, I can see some similarities. Similar weight too. And yes, people give no real credit to how *good* the Sherman actually was when it first appeared. It completely outmatched everything the Germans had at the time.

[@lostpony4885]

The German who was in trenches called them Bradleys and ive heard that misnomer before. I thought these were sometimes called Bradleys in wwii as a result, the actual Bradley being from 1981. Hmm

[@lostpony4885]

@@Ariana321 yes lots of Sherman comparisons are made in context of after Normandy where their great numbers made them effective. I didnt even know they were in Africa.

[@ladela7348]

@@lostpony4885 They weren't ever called Bradley's. Omar Bradley was still serving as a General in WWII.

[@kerrydennison7947]

If Winston Churchill had to gave the British commander prior to general Montgomery the exact same logistics support Montgomery would not have never been even needed to take command of the 8th army. Keeping in mind none of general Montgomery's forces for siphoned off and sent off on other adventures such as into Greece and into other places. Realistically speaking general Alexander does not receive all of the credit that is due him remember he was an overall command and he had to approve general Montgomery's battle plan before it was even improvised or put into practice.

[@dekipet]

1:50 the course of WW2 was changed at Stalingrad. Every battle is important, but, please...

[@angloirishcad]

However if El Alamein was lost, the Germans would be on their way to the Caucasus basically unopposed, and vast numbers of resources could have been redirected to Stalingrad

[@lowengkok1201]

This is good. The best war real movies.

[@LordGeorgeRodney]

Monty beat Rommel 5 times Monty 5 Rommel 0. now cry me a river.. lol

[@fritzfieldwrangle-clouder7299]

@Gerry Hagen I think you might want to check that 500,000 figure.

[@LordGeorgeRodney]

@Gerry Hagen lol. That because Monty was the best. He only lost one battle, but he won far more. His greatest victory was Normandy where he beat Rommel again.. Haha!

[@youraveragescotsman7119]

@Gerry Hagen Market Garden was Monty's idea but not his plan. IF he did plan it, I can guarantee that he would have waited until he had enough Glider Transports to move all the Paras.

[@andrewmcneil2110]

Excellent post.

[@joshualadejobi9073]

Nice.

[@danielkeirsteadsr6939]

They should keep those tanks zig zagging to avoid anti tank guns. If you sit still for a few minute they zero in and your dead.

[@danielmocsny5066]

Firing smoke rounds at the gun emplacements might also make it harder for the enemy gunners to see you and zero in, until you can close to machine gun range. But what the Allies really needed were VT (proximity) fuzed fragmentation shells and bombs to take out the enemy gun crews, which weren't available until later in the war. A bomb or shell that explodes above the ground sprays shrapnel downward over a wide area, and that is lethal to gun crews who only have horizontal protection from their sandbags. However, the Allies rightly feared a dud VT fuze falling into enemy hands - Axis engineers could have copied it and made their own anti-aircraft guns much more effective. So the VT fuzes were only used in ways that prevented any possibility of their capture, such as on ships at sea, until very late in the war at the Battle of the Bulge when Allied commanders judged that Germany was too far gone to be able to reverse-engineer any VT duds they might have captured.

[@stephenmccartneyst3ph3nm85]

@@danielmocsny5066 delayed fuse ammunition made up ~15% of the artillery for the British/Commonwealth.

[@shariqzafar]

Winner writes the history. If Rommel had been an Allied general then he would be remembered a genius hero. Sad he was on losing side. Only if Rommel had better supplies he would have shown the Allied troops nightmares.

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

Except that a General who consistently outruns his supplies leaves something to be desired.

[@shariqzafar]

@@dovetonsturdee7033 I agree that his speed was too fast for the supply lines to move with him. It is not his shortcoming but the shortcoming of the planning team who sat above him. Rommel achieved what he was supposed to, held back well supplied Allied troops for several days with limited resources for supply lines to catch-up but that never happened. Montgomery maybe a good general but mediocre when compared to Rommel. With kind of unlimited supplies that Montgomery had Rommel would have won the world.

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

@@shariqzafar 'I agree that his speed was too fast for the supply lines to move with him.' That is the whole point. A General who does not take into account his logistics is not a good general. There are too many examples of Rommel doing this. As to Montgomery, would you like a list of the battles this 'mediocre' general won? In contrast to Rommel, Montgomery was always well aware of his supply lines. Bonaparte was famous for saying that 'an army marches on its stomach,' and old Boney knew something about generalship.

[@IHateYoutubeHandlesVeryMuch]

*Looks at books and memoirs by German Generals, which were written in the Cold War*

[@shariqzafar]

@John Cornell Montgomery may be strategist but not better than Rommel. He was riding on the unlimited supply received from US. His strategy could not overrun a shattered force of less than 50 tanks and few Anti-Tank guns with much larger force at his disposal. You can also read on how Rommel out witted Montgomery during the retreat also. Rommel is called 'The Desert Fox' for the reason, he was very smart and out smarted his rivals. It is well known German army was much well trained when compared to their Allied counterparts. Britain was almost out of resources and Thanks to US and its production capacity, they were saved. Talking about Greek front. Initially Italian regiments were assigned but as they were taking much time without any gains, German army had to provide back-up there too. Italy was ally in the European arena but had very less to offer.

[@askard67]

The Grant tank appeared in the British 8th Army during the battle of Tobruk (the Cauldron) in May 1942 in which 167 were used.

[@stayrospaparunas3062]

Ok i saw it all n i took a better view from the war. Excellent work 👌

[@clarkewi]

Great stories. I'm addicted.

[@iammattc1]

"A tank so fast and powerful that it would soon become the best known piece of mobile armour of the Second World War" - said an American writer. Tiger? T34?

[@sharkwhisperer7326]

Sherman, but I favor the german Panzer and successors (not all that great)/American tanks came up!

[@iammattc1]

@@nickdanger3802 I wrote that, I'm English. The narrator said it in the video. He said the best known, not the most produced. Ask anyone to name a WW2 tank and they're probably going to say the Tiger

[@kevinvojta692]

@@nickdanger3802 And the Russian made 55,000 T- 34's and 13,000 heavy tanks.

[@fanwtn5124]

Sherman 75mm is not really “the most powerful” in the El alamein. That tank is pretty much comparable to Panzerkampfwagen IV Ausf.F2... And the most well-known tank from that era are T-34 series tanks, Tiger (Pz.VI) and Panzer (III, IV)

[@JohnCena-ew1mf]

The Tiger was garbage what are you on about?

[@jensljunggren266]

Rommels incredible tactics and the way the Germans managed to hang in there with such limited resources was just unbelievable

[@philipinchina]

I had difficulty hearing the programme with that background music.

[@MultiQuilts]

Can the audio mixer allow the witness conversation be heard over the dramatic music score please.

[@severussnape710]

Sir you have a good voice. Suitable for a history 👍👍

[@alcoholfree6381]

I wonder why the Germans had such a long distance to resupply? I would think that they would have several ports along the North Africa coastline? As the Germans learned in Russia, long distance to resupply guaranteed defeat. No fuel, food, ammunition, and toilet paper spells defeat; guaranteed!

[@paulinecabbed1271]

Many of the German supply ships were sunk or damaged on they journey across

[@paulinecabbed1271]

The Allies also had a long supply route by sea

[@stephenmccartneyst3ph3nm85]

No to the ports. Monty had the same problem - extended supply lines - when pushed Rommel back across the desert. Just about no deep water port between Alexandria and Tobruk.

[@paulinecabbed1271]

@@stephenmccartneyst3ph3nm85 port Tewfiq on the Suez Canal was I believe the main port of entry for Allied supplies. Not Mediterranean ports. The allies had base depots in Egypt

[@stephenmccartneyst3ph3nm85]

​@@paulinecabbed1271 exactly. So whoever is winning in North Africa gets extended supply lines along a single road and railway as they advance. Which part of why the early war was such a see-saw.

[@sontungle2641]

Panzer III ausf J equip with 50mm Kwk 39 L/60 with the PzGr.39 APCBC round it can penetrate 67 to 70mm of armor with the velocity of 835m/s.

[@Vincent98987]

wasn't that the Pz 3 J1 tho? It has a shell that can pen 100mm of RHA at close range

[@casacasa9245]

Thanks !! 😊😊😊😊

[@williamhedglin3036]

Rommel had the best tank but the Allies had the best armed forces. Thank all you vets, especially the fallen.

[@mkat740]

Using the 88 mm anti tank gun as a truck driven platform being used in the Rommel advances with tanks forces in leapfrogging maneuvers Rommels success was what it was.

[@markrothe5903]

It’s SO sad that I hear many stories of battle from all sides,throughout many wars or military actions or “conflicts of interest” and an awful lot of veterans come to the same conclusion that their particular war or skirmish led them to lose faith in God. Thankfully,because of the sacrifices of some of these men and women,I’ve never had to experience anything of the likes so, I could never completely understand what they feel. But, I think I might feel the same if I DID have to go through anything close to what they experienced.

[@GSimpsonOAM]

It is sad it takes such a situation for them to realise putting ones well being in the hands of an imaginary being is futile. In such a situation ones survival often came down to chancel

[@stephenodell9688]

I have heard stories that some get closer to God.

[@edwin11373]

God is not to blame for the stupidity of man. Also, these soldiers who lost their faith shouldn't they instead look at the forest instead of the tree? Didn't good prevail over evil in the end? Their sacrifice was not forgotten and they will always be remembered by all nations on earth.

[@danielmocsny5066]

I think it's sadder still that the Taliban still very much retains its faith in God. People who believe in imaginary gods can justify any evil, since faith means belief without evidence. Once people abandon evidence then anything goes!

[@squaeman_2644]

@@stephenodell9688 Tolkein is an example of that albeit it was WW1

[@dougsteel7414]

The Sherman, the one used here, could not fire high velocity rounds. This video contradicts itself constantly within the space of 30 seconds. He's got 8 tanks left. He's got 12. He's got 50.