Why a Parachute Panzer-Division?

[@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized]

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[@monkeydank7842]

Heeresfliegerei ist Frevel! Hätte Gott gewollt, dass das Heer fliegt, hätte er den Himmel oliv gemacht! ;-)

[@miketheneanderthal9490]

I really like your interviews with experts. I give big 👍 to the them. English is not their native language, and yet they come and talk you your audience anyway. It is really gratifying to watch them speak.

[@RangaTurk]

Great video, a very informative piece of history, but it would make more sense to create a Waffen-SS Fallschirmjager Division running in competition with the regular Luftwaffe one. I think they had plans for it but it was never implemented with green or even black parachute division helmets etc. If tankers were wiped out in an airdrop by a well-placed flak division or two or ambushed and obliterated at the drop-zone like in an Operation Market Garden style situation before the tanks were being brought up anyway it seems kind of silly.

[@monkeydank7842]

@@RangaTurk en.wikipedia.org/wiki/500th_SS_Parachute_Battalion?wprov=sfti1

[@andrewwalton8690]

Hey, great work as always. I was wondering if you might be able to do a video on the 'bandenbekampfung" anti-partisan operations carried out in ww2. Of particular interest to me is there is any evidence as to if a more brutal approach was effective compared to a more humane one.

[@whocares435-z9v]

They were practicing on Tigers first so they could figure out how to eventually paradrop Göring himself.

[@420JackG]

Got his ass

[@Dilley_G45]

But do drop Göring a new bigger place would have been developed....made up of 2 BV-222 combined like He-111Z

[@johnchalmers]

Hilarious my friend !

[@rc59191]

Lol I almost woke the whole house up with how hard I laughed at that. 😅

[@A_Haunted_Pancake]

Dropping Germany's "Fat Man" 🤣

[@marcelozerbini5411]

They were so excited they could, they didn't stop to think if they should

[@Crimson_Hawk_01]

Well done!!

[@kabardino1337]

It's a men thing. You don't even think, you just know it. Like when you see a full garbage can and a box of fireworks, you just know what to do.

[@pavelcheckov9288]

Best quote from Jurassic Park!

[@marcelozerbini5411]

@@pavelcheckov9288 here's a bloke with whom I'd gladly share a beer.

[@pavelcheckov9288]

@@marcelozerbini5411 Haha would love to!

[@arnonym4513]

My neighbor nowadays 95 has served in the division, it’s very interesting to talk to him because he gave me a copy of Franz Kurowski‘s book: Fallschirmpanzerkorps“Herman Göring“ The book is quite good but he did some personal notes where the author was wrong

[@mebsrea]

Not that surprising; Kurowski's not the most reliable of authors.

[@abbcc5996]

cherish this opportunity. soon enough, no soldier that fought the war will be alive, it will be really sad day for humanity. all ww1 vets have already passed away

[@henrik3291]

Being this early to a video about paratroopers I would call myself a "keyboard-pathfinder"

[@looinrims]

Hope you’re not American cuz they cut pathfinder school *cries*

[@tando6266]

Well he did want his own Luftwaffe assault rifle, why not panzer division?

[@jimsackmanbusinesscoaching1344]

Well, that led to what I was going to ask as a question. They got the StG-44 instead of the FG-42 (approx 9:35 of the video). Seems odd.

[@nonebusiness2023]

@@jimsackmanbusinesscoaching1344 there are several reasons why they weren't equipped with them the first and most obvious is the fact that there were only 7,000 made by the end of the war with 2,000 being made in the late war years there was not enough to equip them and most had already been issued or damaged by late war. Second they cost a lot to make .... Not cost effective . Third was never used or planned to be used by all troops .was issued in very limited numbers to units . Finally I 95% sure they used some in German gerring dev but would again be limited in numbers

[@jimsackmanbusinesscoaching1344]

@@nonebusiness2023 Great answer with one huge hole in it. The FG42 was designed and given to Paratroopers exclusively. Since the division here is a Paratrooper division organizationally it makes sense to give them the same weapon. Tankers and such should get SMGs anyway. But having the infantry not get the FG42 means that it was different than every other Paratrooper division.

[@ganymedeix9511]

The next logical step is wholesale Luftwaffe secession. They shall live amongst the clouds, free from the meddling of mere ground dwellers.

[@nonebusiness2023]

@@jimsackmanbusinesscoaching1344 irrelevant if there weren't enough guns for even a fourth of the division support troops

[@ACCB710]

More like why not a parachute panzer division? Herman Goering (most likely)

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

or the murricans, when designing the Sheridan

[@austinduong-van6071]

@@NaturalLanguageLearning but the Sheridan was air-droppable, unlike anything the Germans had

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

@@austinduong-van6071 Das war ze Joke

[@katrinapaton5283]

@@austinduong-van6071 I guess you could have used Me 323s? Though how effective the vehicles even these could have carried is debatable, assuming they even reached to landing point.

[@laniejuanitawhitehurst1624]

Goering “I want my own Panzer division “.

[@Archangelm127]

1:40 - FYI, the term you want is "airhead." It's what you call the area seized by paratroopers, analogous to a beachhead. :)

[@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized]

lol, I assumed an airhead was a person that was on drugs or something.

[@ericdickison7995]

@@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized Airhead,;somebody with nothing between the ears…..

[@Archangelm127]

@@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized Good point. The term "airhead" when used of a person (in America, at least) does not refer to drug use, but to somebody who is vapid, or just plain stupid. The word especially brings to mind the stereotype of the very pretty woman with no apparent brain activity. ^_^ Edit: we do have a number of similar terms that do refer to drug use, such as "pothead" or "crackhead." I actually reenact the US 502nd Parachute Infantry regiment ca. 1944-45, and "airhead" is a term that comes up when you read about the doctrine of vertical envelopment. I forget offhand if I've ever seen it in a primary source, but it's been used in several historical works that I've seen. It is, of course, an adaptation of the term "beachhead." :)

[@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized]

@@Archangelm127 thank you!

[@adamvu3425]

Jarheads - based on Marine Corps tradition of collecting sands around the world. Just woke up, without a lid on (or a hat in civilian jargon), that’s what spilled out so it must be true. Rah. Where’s the damn jim beam bottle?

[@solkaz4175]

Airborne armor is strong in auto-resolve.

[@projectpitchfork860]

Because Hermann Göring thought there were to little divisions named after him. There was also the Fallschirm-Panzergrenadier-Division 2 Hermann Göring. And the Fallschirm-Panzerkorps Hermann Göring.

[@ottovonbismarck2443]

The 2nd HG division was a Panzergrenadierdivision and formed around a core cadre taken from the 1st HG Panzerdivision with the intention to form a full Fallschirm-Panzerkorps. That means that some elements like infantry (Panzergrenadiere), artillerie etc. were just doubled while tank numbers in the whole corps stayed the same as in the 1st HG Panzerdivision. Panzergrenadierdivision "Großdeutschland" went through a similar process.

[@watcherzero5256]

Görings personal army forces were outside the Military chain of command, like the SS.

[@projectpitchfork860]

@@watcherzero5256 Yet nost of tge time under command of the Army.

[@CarrotConsumer]

He had his own industrial conglomerate as well, Reichswerke Hermann Göring. A bit of an inflated ego I suspect.

[@gwtpictgwtpict4214]

@@watcherzero5256 No, they were part of the Luftwaffe, and as such part of the Wehrmacht.

[@alexwendler5479]

At least Hermann Goering gave us a fun anecdote of being the first air force with an armoured division! Germans loved their tanls so much!

[@vladimpaler3498]

I love the joke German soldiers made in France, "If you see a dark plane, that is the British, if you see a bright plane, that is the Americans, if you see no planes, that is the Luftwaffe."

[@erwin669]

The Russians actually tried it in the 1930s. The tried air dropping the T-27 tankette from a TB-3 bomber in 1935 and later on they tried adding glider wings to the T-60 light tank. They didn't have aircraft that were powerful enough to carry the weight of the vehicles and the idea was abandoned until the 1970s when they managed to air drop the BMD-1 IFV with its crew.

[@Bochi42]

I really enjoyed this video. I've always had questions about this but it's been hard to find very much good information as Dr. Pahl points out and I think this is the best I've seen on the Fallschirm-Panzer Division(s) to date. Well done!

[@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ollep9142]

When I first learned about this division some 30 years ago I assumed the concept was to insert the unit using Me 321 and Me 323. (Doable in theory but dangerous in reality.)

[@markaxworthy2508]

This seems to be the best series in a crowded field on the German armed forces in WWII if you want to listen to people who really know their subject from primary sources. More, please.

[@dmh0667ify]

Very nice presentation, thank you, Dr. Pahl!

[@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized]

Glad you liked it!

[@haroldellis9721]

To inspire military historian Robert Citino in his youth.

[@tenarmurk]

Sadly they did not paradrop the tanks

[@DD-qw4fz]

So I am not the only one remembering that part from his video on YT

[@haroldellis9721]

@@tenarmurk Yet I think we can all picture a Panzer Mk IV being pushed out the back of a Me 323.

[@haroldellis9721]

@@DD-qw4fz Well done, D D.

[@501Mobius]

It's like Marine Aviation. The US Navy's Army has it's own Airforce.

[@DeltaEchoGolf]

The USAAF had it's own airborne unit (engineers). Also the Army had an armored airborne unit.

[@humamtaher9039]

The US Naval Aviation is the second biggest Air Force of the world

[@MO-lc7vb]

That is the most uncomparable thing ever

[@grizwoldphantasia5005]

The US Army does have ships and aircraft. The US Air Force probably has some search and rescue boats, if nothing else.

[@bjorntrollgesicht1144]

Wow, a LW eagle and yellow Waffenfarbe on a Panzerjacke! Now that's one hell of a unicorn unit! I'm kind of surpried it didn't get the bird collar patches of the Luftwaffe, but got a Panzertruppen Totenkopf instead.

[@chiliprepper7678]

Air dropping tanks sounds like a Gigant idea.

[@illyrian44]

It has been done for over 60 years

[@sirbughunter9972]

Ha, I understood that reference! xD

[@Otokichi786]

Then there were the "flying/gliding tanks" the Soviets considered. Commissar Blyat: "Attach these wings and that tail section to the T-26." Private Zhodnik: "But sir, how do tanks fly?" Commissar Blyat: "Giant rubber bands." Prviate Zhodnik: (mutters under his breath) "Crazy Moscovite."

[@karlheinzvonkroemann2217]

2 smaill tanks at a time.

[@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623]

The whole idea of an airborne armored division, or having a whole 6-7 division strong airborne army when there hasn't even been a regimental sized airborne drop since Crete makes about as much sense as the whole of the Waffen-SS. It was sheer private empire building by Göring and Himmler, and probably encouraged by Hitler, who figured these would be elite divisions and because even more importantly, as long as Göring or Himmler were busy building their little fiefdoms they weren't busy plotting to overthrow him. And it worked because it was the Wehrmacht that did plot to overthrow him. The Fat Druggie en Mr. Nerd (sorry nerds) only made their moves once the Red Army had surrounded Berlin and was nearing the Fuhrer bunker. And without blowing Hitler up.

[@Runenschuppe]

Hitler - correctly - assumed a very shaky loyalty among the largely monarchist/conservative Heer. The only time when they weren't actively planning to get rid of him was between 1938-1942. But he did not have enough time and support to actually get rid of the Wehrmacht and replace them. So of course he supported the empire building by his cronies.

[@tacklengrapple6891]

Why? Dr. Evil: “You just.. don’t get it, do you?”

[@geoffreyscheuerman2378]

This is an interesting and informative video on Panzer Division HG. It is a special area of interest to me because of it's unique characteristics and use in the Italian campaign. As far as it's Infantry components are concerned, particularly in it's use in Italy, it seems to fall somewhere between a Luftwaffe Field Division and a Fallschirmjager Division. I'm not sure if this is from primary source information, but does seem to be corroborated by photographic evidence but it appears that a small number of the 'Fallschirm Panzer Grenadiers in HG were in fact jump-trained paratroopers. Some of these men being equipped with FG 42's and sporting the actual Fallschirmjager helmets. Panzer officers of the Division could be seen wearing the Luftwaffe Officer's peaked cap, Black Panzer jacket, and blue Luftwaffe Officer's britches, which made for a very unique uniform, amalgamation, found only within this unit.

[@adoramus]

Very very interesting. Thank you!

[@levski19]

I recently read that Göring proposed a para drop to support a counter-attack towards Bayeux. After the war Jodl said that he dissuaded Hitler into not doing it because the paras didn't actually had para drop training. Which according to the author was no entirety correct because von der Heydte's regiment had training and some of the 3rd Fallschirmjager division were veterans from the start of the war. It's of course a whole different topic if it would've been successful considering the allied air supremacy.

[@pzg_kami6472]

While this unit was manily created for prestige reasons But I like the overall idea of having a dedicated Pazner korps to aid/reach paratroopers as fast as possible so help them accomplish their airborne operation

[@karlheinzvonkroemann2217]

Sounds like Arnhem's over all idea.

[@1983jarc]

As always great video sr Kast

[@PelicanIslandLabs]

in retrospect it would appear that the High Command was delusional in the extreme.

[@Dilley_G45]

Just like in modern politics and msm....critical thinking was frowned upon in the German Hugh Command the more the war progressed

[@T33K3SS3LCH3N]

Oh great, I've been wondering that since I started with Steel Division 2. The Fallschirm-Panzer division gets the Sturmtiger there, which is just hilarious (and also probably the most inaccurately portrayed vehicle in the game, but 15 minute reload times just don't work well).

[@ErokLobotomist]

If Student and Ramcke had tanks like the Weisel and planes to drop them, I think the whole world view of Paratroopers would be drastically different. Based on what they accomplished without tanks it's sort of scary to think of what they could've done with them.

[@adamvu3425]

Otherwise we’ll have to put wings on tanks. Believe me, we tried that @ Lejeune; the air farce was pissed.

[@gonuts4donuts]

Next there will be a Fallschirm-Uboot division? 🤔

[@daveanderson3805]

So both Goring and Himmler were busy creating their own private armies I wonder how the generals, professional men all of them,felt about this craziness

[@Athrun82]

Wasn't the Wehrmacht already divided into regular and SS Divisons? So I guess they just shrugged and tried to keep quiet about it lest they find themselves out of rank.

[@adlerarmory8382]

I was hoping for more coverage of the Panzerjacke seeing how HG Div stuff is so rare. Is that a bewebt woven LW eagle?

[@woulverine__0118]

next to him your german accent is fully gone :D. great video thanks for good work

[@brotomann]

Attempting to form a counterattack parachute tank army in 1945 is perhaps the most late war Germany military idea I have ever heard. If only they had more Me-262s to drop Panther IIs

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

Ich habe über diese Division in der Magazinen Clausewitz und Militärgeschichte mehrmals gelesen (z.B. die Schlacht bei Bautzen oder in Sizilien). Es scheint dass sie eine der besten ausgerüsteten Einheiten der ganzen Wehrmacht waren.

[@jacquesstrapp3219]

Sie waren nicht in der Wehrmacht. Sie waren Teil der Luftwaffe.

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

@@jacquesstrapp3219 Die Luftwaffe war Teil der Wehrmacht.

[@henrik3291]

I alwys thought that this division used regular fallshirmjägers instead of panzergrenadiers as accompanying infantry and that this would have given them an edge in some circumstances. The finns used their elite jägers as accompanying infantry for their armored division during the continuation war, and these were very successfull when fighting in forrested terrain that usually are disadvantageous to armoured divisions. They were good at scouting ahead and defeating ambushes, and also made good use of panzerfaust and panzershrecks in cooperation with tanks. For example if enemy tanks hade positioned themselves and behind a road bend.

[@derheinz9589]

@Marcelo Henrique Soares da Silva All Schützen-Regiments of the Panzer-Divisions were renamed to Panzergrenadier-Regiments on 5th July 1942. Both terms describe the same.

[@peterschmidt1900]

Dropping Paratroops on the western front ... maybe we are forgetting something ... don't you need local air superiority for that one? :-D

[@peterschmidt1900]

You might call it second level suicidal attacks.

[@Historianphil]

Interesting talk, thank you.

[@Jeanniebugg]

Hello! My husband is a subscriber of yours. He does not use the computer, so he asked me to send you this message. He is wondering if it would be possible for you to enable the closed captions on this video. He is really eager to watch this, but is hearing impaired and requires the captions. Thank you so much!

[@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized]

Hello, usually there should be auto-captions, but there are none, they might appear. Sadly, I don't have the time to transcribe the talk, this would likely take 1-2 hours.

[@zulubeatz1]

A man after my own heart. Compiling a FJ collection. Dude.

[@kevinstarmack7103]

German humor at its finest in that 1st minute lol

[@oopswrongplanet4964]

I'm not familiar with the term "German humor" -- are there any primary sources on the subject?

[@kevinstarmack7103]

@@oopswrongplanet4964 I found this to be rather amusing myself: "In a popular but criticized article in 2006, English comedian Stewart Lee put forward the theory that misconceptions about German humor among English speakers might derive from differences between the English and German languages. In German, new ideas are often named by creating compounds, sometimes resulting in long, quite specific words. Some English-language jokes, according to Lee, do not translate well because German grammar is different from that of English and there is not always a direct translation for a delayed punchline, one of the most common joke formats for English speakers, and such language based humour. Direct translation is often possible, but is often perceived as artificial, and many puns are lost in translation."

[@alesd2120]

Why was the edging white and not pink like other panzer units?

[@mattclements1348]

This is amazing 🤯👍👍

[@WildBillCox13]

Perhaps the HKp 902 based Pz.Sfl II, a halftrack tank destroyer with rotating turret, might've been a good match for the PzFj. Its 12 short tons and smallish stature might allow it on the Me 321 Gigante. The Pz.Sfl II's 7.5cm K40 was about 40cal long, and good enough to kill a Sherman at range. Another possible item of issue to the PzFj might be the captured Universal Carrier or Lorraine Schlepper with the 8.8cmRkw Pupchen mounted atop the engine case. And would it be too much to ask for a couple PzKw/PSW IIL Luchs remounted with the 3cm MK103? They tell me you can write your name on the side of a Sherman tank with one of those at 200m range. Think of the PzFj Abt armed with Pupchen and StuG44 . . . bales of Panzerfaust . . . a few Fliegerfaust* to keep the enemy honest . . . *If fighting in France or French Africa the Luchs panzers can be replaced with the SPW251 mounted version of the Baguettenwerfer 40. Expect negotiations to begin immediately upon deployment.

[@Behemot_]

The last german victory of WW2 was a Hermann Göring Division victory against Red Army near Dresden.

[@NoirChat138]

I came expecting glider borne pz.II F and and Pz.I Flammenpanzer I went away in disappointment with a fancy uniform...

[@smyrnamarauder1328]

İts easy: Cause Goering couldnt lay off the freaking morphine

[@Warszawski_Modernizm]

Hermann Goring division operated in and around Warsaw during first days of Warsaw Uprising in August 1944. Do you know which units? According to accounts from polish side and some pictures, HGDiv used StugIIIGs, some Panthers in Warsaw.

[@MikeyRumi180]

there was a whole regiment of Fallschirmjagers in the division. Unfortunately, they were lost in Tunisia. So technically the name made perfect sense.

[@havocmwf]

German Military uniforms were in general a step above all other uniforms. The Panzer uniform was one of the best looking along with the camouflage smocks of some of the SS Divisions.

[@misanthropichumanist4782]

Do you have a video covering uniforms, by chance? Different designs, comfort, durability, storage space (i.e. pockets)

[@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized]

there is a video on the FJ uniform planned, but not on details like "comfort, durability, storage space (i.e. pockets)", it will be a bit more detailed than this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4HHYZl4oLtpptE

[@aquila3958]

The interview could have just been in German with subtitles to make the flow of words better and make it less awkward, as your both able to speak German but is was very nice anyways

[@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized]

Yeah, because everyone reads subtitles and transcribing is not a tedious task at all.

[@flappyhands6427]

Today we can drop light tanks out of the back of aircraft, the Germans were almost there with the Me 323 Gigant

[@ineednochannelyoutube5384]

I see no reason a Pz1 or perhaps even 2 couldnt have been parachute dropped from a heavy transport. Kubelwagens were parachute dropped succesfully afaik, a tankette is not that much heavier.

[@Wustenfuchs109]

@@ineednochannelyoutube5384 Parachute drop - not likely. Air landed - yes. Just as Allies did. Light tanks that would be loaded into gliders and then landed to support the paratroopers. But to actually throw it out of the airplane at altitude and have it land, ready to go... not likely. Even today no one does it with MBTs, I think that the biggest one air dropped were some IFVs - and even those require a very complex set of parachutes in order to remain stable until they reach the ground. But to parachute drop a light tank in WWII, nope.

[@ineednochannelyoutube5384]

@@Wustenfuchs109 I am not certain of ths panzer 1, but the italian tankette was a mere 3.3 tons. A far cry from evsn a moder IFV at 25 tons minimum. Gliders could land actual light tanks in the 10-15 ton range with a proper gun and at least snough front armour to matter some.

[@matthiuskoenig3378]

@@Wustenfuchs109 light tanks, tank destroyers, and ifvs have been dropped successfully since the early 50s. Further more airdropping amphibious light tanks onto the ground by the Soviets (without parachutes) successfully in the 1940 annexation of bessarabia (via very low flieing aircraft). I wouldn't say paradropping a light tank was impossible in ww2. Also, MBTs are closer to heavy tanks than to light tanks. So saying we can't drop one isn't really linked to light tanks at all.

[@petermatyash3664]

Don't look up, it's raining panthers and tigers.

[@50ShadesOfBeige]

....maybe they tried parachute deployment of panzers, but the rapid deployment was calculated as m/sec was too high, leading to Splatzkrieg.

[@edward9674]

If the maus had reached mass production then there ought to have been a heavy tank division named after Göring.

[@Matt_The_Hugenot]

By that time the British were already using airborne armour, glider borne Tetrarchs later replace by the Locust, so the concept of a parachute tank force was not a total fantasy. It wasn't until the US developed the M551 Sheridan that even light tanks were well built enough to survive dropping by parachute.

[@CGM_68]

I wonder how that worked out for the British? www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/flying-tank-the-m22-locust.html Spoilers, for those who don’t like clicking on links Although the M22 Locust was theoretically a decent anti-infantry vehicle, it was clearly not useful as an airborne tank. Unfortunately for the Locust, its weak armament and very light armor made it obsolete for any other role.

[@Matt_The_Hugenot]

@@CGM_68 The Locust was still better than the Tetrarch and both were better than nothing. If you're airborne and the choice is between one of those and your regular support weapons you'll go with the light tank every time the terrain suits them. The inability to use them as intended was due to the failure to produce sufficient specialist gliders and, when the transports were available, the failure of commanders to recognise they were never supposed to go up against tanks. Their battlefield performance once on the spot and used as intended was adequate, they performed better than the Valentine tanks in Madagascar and worked well in Normandy. The Locust was used in the same role during Operation Varsity where it also did its job as well as could be expected. Proof that the concept worked is in the success of the AMX-13 in the post war period that not only worked well as an airborne tank for the French but as a successful armoured vehicle for many countries around the world.

[@CGM_68]

@@Matt_The_Hugenot Yes, but... at this stage in the war Germany had fewer well trained crews to man any such “new” tanks. So not only was the military doctrine getting ahead of itself, but in the field the men on the ground couldn’t implement it anyway. The paras were being annihilated at Monte cassino and the Herman Goring lot had left their new equipment in Sicily. Gordon L Rottman summed it up best for me in his publication German Field fortifications 1939 - 45. “Ultimately, the Germans were rarely able to develop complete mobile or elastic defenses as specified by doctrine. ... in remote areas of Germany, France, the former USSR and other countries, traces of trench lines and shallow overgrown depressions can be found, marking the vanished frontiers of the Third Reich.” I pass them each and every day, it’s poignant, my friend. Also bear in mind, much of these defensive works were dug by slave labour or the local civilian population. So parachutists wouldn’t even be able to implement this doctrine by themselves anyway. Even the mighty Tiger didn’t roar for very long. On paper the Tiger was unstoppable, in the field untrained crews managed to break most of them down, or they simply ran out of fuel. Which was unfortunate, since the Germans were retreating and had to abandon their unstoppable (& irreplaceable) kit. I suspect a German Tetrarch would have met a similar ignominious end. Any theoretical German Parachute drop in the Urals and Siberia was doomed to failure. The tank support wouldn’t have the fuel to reach that far behind enemy lines. It was little more than pipe dreams at this stage in the war. Just like Armeeabteilung Steiner’s long awaited counter attack, experienced commanders in the field realized Hitler had completely lost it.

[@Matt_The_Hugenot]

@@CGM_68 Absolutely. The concept is fine but the ability to to implement was not there. Much like the various wonder weapons during the late war, either out of reach entirely or a waste of resources.

[@ineednochannelyoutube5384]

@@CGM_68 The ISU 57 and later 85 parachute tanks of the soviets predate ths sharriden by a decade. Granted, they are closer to a ww2 light tank destroyer than an actual tank, but a mobile gun immume to small arms fire is still a force multiplier.

[@MImlac]

Another fascinating episode. I always thought the idea of luftwaffe ground troops was quite interesting. Unfortunately the HG division was heavily implicated in war crimes in Italy and in the Warsaw uprising.

[@EK-gr9gd]

"Hinterland" is a technical term, known in English

[@stayhungry1503]

basically they had 3 different armies, the regular army, the luftwaffe divisions, and the waffen ss. not very efficient.

[@yochaiwyss3843]

Efficiency was not the goal. The Army was loyal to the state and their prussian officers, the WaffenSS was loyal to the Party directly to circumvent the state, and the Luftwaffe originally had only Flak and Fallschrimjägers whivh bloated (like Göring) into this monstrosity

[@stayhungry1503]

@C De yeah i know, but still completely unnecessary to have essentially 3 different armies instead of standardising as much as possible.

[@stayhungry1503]

@@yochaiwyss3843 yeah göring was a serious asshole. claimed he could destroy the english at dunkirk and claimed he could save the german 6th army at stalingrad. he probably had a lot to do with the massive amount of casualties at crete also.

[@yochaiwyss3843]

@@stayhungry1503 The casualties at Crete are not as much as his own fault, but rather serious miscommunications one the field and failure of troops to land properly due to terrain and having sub-par parachutes (They couldn't steer them, at all)

[@Dilley_G45]

@@yochaiwyss3843 Waffen-SS was not loyal to the Party. They looked down on Party officials as fat lazy bureaucrats. They were loyal to Hitler and to a smaller degree to Hitler. Starting in 1943 They recruited as well. Some recruits were loyal to the Führer some just fought the war for their country. Then there were the 33% of Waffen-SS members that were not German nationals

[@Thedagda801]

Wonderful

[@fazole]

Dropping troops at night on the beach would've been suicide not least because the wind usually blows seaward at night because land cools faster than water which causes the air over the water to be warmer and thus rise and suck in cold air from the land. Most of those troops would've gone right into the Channel.

[@primal_guy1526]

Theoretically, couldn't you drop like goliath tank mines along with the Fallschrimjagers to blow up obstacles and sabotage bridges?

[@gazhevski]

They could have dropped light tanks, but Germany didn't really have suitable planes for it

[@Johnlanzer]

Hey if the Soviets made a flying tank that could be air dropped, this is not far off. But a parachute panzer is quite the stretch until much later during the cold war.

[@maciejniedzielski7496]

Armoured Falschirmjager

[@penultimateh766]

So did they actually drop the tanks from airplanes? How did this work?

[@malcolmhunt7108]

I hate to disagree with Dr. Pahl but the 'HG' division was, according to NARA ROLL T78 412(H1-132) "Div.Verbande, Teil II", never called the 'Lufftwaffen Panzer Division Hermann Göring'. The then existing Division Hermann Göring was renamed on the 8th June 1943 the Panzer Division Hermann Göring, it would stay this way until the 13th January 1944 when the division was renamed the Fallschirm Panzer Division Herman Göring.

[@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized]

> according to NARA ROLL T78 412(H1-132) "Div.Verbande, Teil II", never called so does that roll specifically note that it was never called that way? I doubt so. It likely lists a different name there, correct? Considering the fact that Jentz, Doyle and Spielberger generally have a list of around 20 different names for a single type of a German armored vehicle, I am rather sure that at some point somewhere in a document called it was called "Luftwaffen Panzer Division Hermann Göring". (This is even more apparent to me, since I edited a video today where Dr. Pahl lists a lot of different sources for another naming issue, which goes into extreme details and various unpublished sources.) One thing I learned in the last 5 years is that the "never" rarely applies to the Wehrmacht, especially it combination with "called", e.g., here is a list of what the MP 43 was called in various reports: • M.Pi. 43 • M.P. 43 a, M.P. 43 (a), M.P. 43, M.P.43, MP 43 • Maschinen-Karabiner 43A • M.P. / A 43 • M.K. 43 • M.K.B.43A

[@malcolmhunt7108]

@@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized I have dozens of pages of 'HG' primary documents on my PC including monthly reports, Kriegsgliederung, divisional KTB's, Panzer Lage tables etc etc and not a single one of them refers to the 'HG' as being the Lufftwaffen Panzer Division Hermann Göring. As to NARA ROLL T78 412(H1-132) "Div.Verbande, Teil II" it contains a seperate card for some 150 units and clearly shows the change in name or designation of those units,if the 'HG' had been called Lufftwaffen Panzer Division Hermann Göring" it would clearly show that on the 'HG' card but it doesn't. Just because weapons and vehicles that went through different agencies from the manufacturer to the WaffenAmt and they all gave it a different name doesn't mean the same occured with the Armies divisions.

[@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized]

fair enough, I will "forward" your comment to Dr. Pahl, although it might take a while, since he is currently on vacation. There is generally a lack of consistency in naming from what I have seen, or even lack in basic terminology I have at least once seen that someone called a division an "Einheit" and someone else crossed it out and noted "Verband".

[@CGM_68]

@@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized you are correct. As you have already reminded me the road to hell is paved with good intentions. This late in the war the whole army was imploding. What the general staff intended was becoming more academic, every passing month, since it could no longer be implemented in the field. Wow, you want a Parachute army. Great idea, pity you didn’t implement it BEFORE you invaded Poland though.

[@basfinnis]

If you watch this channel you’d be amazed that there were any allied casualties at all 😀

[@marinesciencedude]

Still somewhat strange to see no serious thoughts from the German perspective on actual field use of airborne tanks like gliders for the Mk VII Tetrarch and M22 Locust or reportedly the Soviets' use of bombers to drop Light Tanks and Tankettes (not to mention that crazy Antonov A-40 idea adapted from the T-60 tank)...

[@calessel3139]

I wonder how much the creation of the H.G. Panzer Division wasnt just a realization by the German high command that by 1943 the Fallschirmjägers had ceased being an actual airborne unit and instead relegated to pseudo-elite ground troops needing some sort of integrated armor support.

[@ineednochannelyoutube5384]

As has happened to most airborne units tbf.

[@darvennej4495]

Hermann Goering Panzer-Fallshirmjager was at Sicily and later in Italy around the time of Salerno and Anzio ? kind of disappeared ! It was presumed when I was a young lad ,that it was designated a ''crack''unit ? . Though it was Luftwaffen all the way!

[@PalleRasmussen]

It did not disappear. It went east.

[@sherlock9397]

The Me 323 was the only German aircraft that could carry “tanks” realistically you may be able to get a panzer 38 (t) or 35 (t) on it possible a panzer 1 or 2 but that’s the probably pushing it. Could it be done yes has it been done I don’t know but that’s what I think of when I think of a tank parachute division, a support unit that comes in by air after taking an airfield or level ground for the plane, to give infantry Armored support.

[@not-a-theist8251]

I had no idea that that was a thing lol

[@olafbachmann]

Wonderful, and happy to see a lecture given with the same hard accent I sport in class. It comes over perfectly clear. Congrats.

[@michaelmallal9101]

That coat might fit me?

[@Ostenjager]

The idea of air-delivered armored assets for airborne forces is not as crazy as it sounds. The M551 Sheridan was able to be deployed by fixed wing assets, but was too ahead of it’s time to be truly viable. In WWII of course, there was no way anyone was air dropping armor, but I just wanted to point out that the concept of deploying paratroopers with their own armor is not totally crazy.

[@samobispo1527]

The WW2 “Locust” tank?

[@ineednochannelyoutube5384]

@@samobispo1527 the locust was a bit shit. Tetrachs on the other hand were succesfully inserted via glider by british airborne.

[@patrickHayes-bq1ry]

British could have had a para armoured divison of Tetrachs

[@stepbruv8780]

Imagine a flying tiger

[@viz12345]

did hugo boss desing it too?

[@Alex.HFA1]

It's not that far-fetched to airdrop tanks. In WWII, there were tanks deployed from gliders. In the Cold War, Soviets droped tanks from parachutes, but this was never used in battles.

[@matthiuskoenig3378]

Well the Soviets droped tanks into Afghanistan, and the brits dropped tanks into Normandy D-day - 1.so it was infact done in battle

[@johnchalmers]

Is it not the Herman Goring Division you speak of ? They actually numbered 35000 men , did they not , and fought valently in Sicily ?

[@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized]

35000 makes no sense, that would be far too large for a division.

[@johnchalmers]

@@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized yes I know that a division usually contains 15000-18000 men , but that is what I read was in Sicily , helping to stall the Allies , whilst the Italian and German soldiers were evacuated to mainland Italy . These two guys just said there were two Herman Goring divisions , which would roughly amount to 35000 men ?

[@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized]

@@johnchalmers who?

[@johnchalmers]

@@MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized that's a hard one to reply to ?

[@gamedude412]

The Pz.rgt HG nearly destroyed the polish tank unit near Dresden. Just turned on them as the broke thru the front. Afv photo album 2 or 3 has the history and there a good book “endkampf” also has a chuck of HG history for 1945

[@Verdunveteran]

Interesting! I know the practical reasons for black uniforms for German tankers aswell as for other nations. However I always assuemed lthat just like with the deaths head and crossed bones, the Germans also chose black for the traditional link dating back to the Husaren-Regiment von Belling Nr. 8 from the Seven Years War. It wore the famous black hussar uniform with a deaths head with crossed bones.

[@TheYeti308]

You are correct sir.

[@Blackjack701AD]

Because why not? It sounds cool 😎

[@whya2ndaccount]

After Crete / Kreta and losing any possibility of air superiority, let alone aircraft large enough to lift / insert late war armour, someone decides to from a Fallschirm-Armee (Army XXXX)? Surely watching Market-Garden fail put an end to this?

[@KyleMiddleton7]

0:40 To see a German guy laughing his ass off at a joke.

[@TheLastSterling1304]

6th airborne Armoured reconnaissance regiment: "How Cute".

[@kieranwall3333]

I was gonna say! Tetrarch that actually landed in a glider: Am I a joke to you?

[@looinrims]

What’s with anime pfps

[@tenarmurk]

@@looinrims what is with them ?

[@davidalexander8649]

Yes ! Experts are good. Two are better!

[@michaelmarchanda]

The Americans use the word "Hinterland" too, adapted from the Germans.

[@ThePRCommander]

Skull & Bones: Yale University. Yamamoto, Mao Zedong and perhaps Lenin and Hitler, all have relations to This specific University?

[@Migo1963]

Vielleicht kann mir hier jemand bei meinen Nachforschungen helfen. Mein Vater war Panzerjäger in der 10. Kompanie im 1. Regiment der Fallschirmpanzerdivision Herman Göring. Nach den Rückzugskämpfen der Division auf Sizilien und dem Rückzug auf das italienische Festland war er als Richtschütze einer 7.5 cm Pak ab dem 8. Januar 44 mit dem Beginn der Schlacht um den Monte Cassino dort im Einsatz. In der Nacht vom 23.1. auf den 24.1. wurden die Panzerjäger zum Brückenkopf der Alliierten nach Anzo/Nettuno verlegt wo mein Vater am 24.1. schwer verletzt wurde (Beinamputation). Im Sommer 44 gelangte er nach mehreren Lazarettaufenthalten zurück in unser Dorf von wo er - und jetzt kommen wir zu meiner Frage - im Frühjahr 1945 in ein amerikanisches Kriegsgefangenenlager in Thüringen kam, welches später an die Russen übergeben wurde. Es war damals soweit ich weiß zumindestens bei den Westalliierten nicht üblich schwerverletzte Soldaten, welche schon nicht mehr in der Wehrmacht dienten in Kriegsgefangenschaft zu nehmen, sofern es sich dabei nicht um Mitglieder der Waffen-SS oder ihrer Tochterverbände handelte. Ich vermute nun, das mein Vater als Angehöriger der Division HG Kriegsgefangener wurde, nachdem die Verbrechen dieser Division in Norditalien bekannt wurden. Hat irgendjemand darüber nähere Informationen? Ich bin für den kleinsten Hinweis dankbar.....

[@looinrims]

Because the Soviets kept doing their celebratory marches in Red Square during the war Just imagine some 75mm of fascism raining on those

[@jmackmcneill]

Given the weight of a Panzer 1 or Panzer 2, and german expertise in glider building in the 1930s, this seems like a far from outrageous idea. I mean, both British and Russians tried to develop air-dropped tanks... (americans too? I don't know off the top of my head)

[@thurin84]

"congradulashuns! u r now full fledged tank paratroopers!"

[@jamesd3472]

This was an interesting video anyway, but also interesting as a Brit to watch 2 Germans conversing in English. Ze Germans! Also the description of nineteenhundred and fourty four occasionally. I want to be clear I mean no offence, I cannot speak any other language other than a possible hello! Still really interesting to actually watch the difference.

[@MegaJJ1968]

The guy on the right is Dutch 😊 Greets from Cologne to ze UK 😉

[@gwtpictgwtpict4214]

@@MegaJJ1968 Actually he's Austrian.

[@MegaJJ1968]

@@gwtpictgwtpict4214Oh really? I was pretty sure he's Dutche. But anyway, was an interesting video 😊

[@eli_7295]

@@MegaJJ1968 He very clearly is Austrian(studied in the same university as I do now), you even hear it in his english accent.

[@mathiasbartl903]

Couldn't spare anything for the LW field divisions.

[@janwitts2688]

Well I suppose they could have used some pz2 gliders but I'm not sure what they would expect to achieve vs severAl hundred t34s or basicly anything really..

[@danielgreen3715]

Wasnt this just Fat Hermans idea of a heavyweight rapid reaction force!?? They didn't really have anything to carry such large and heavy weapons apart from the Gigant which was not very good and extremely vulnerable to attack due to size and speed

[@richardmeredith69]

Actually, the needing troops in 42 and growing instead of transferring personnel, to the army he came up with the bad idea of creating looft wolf of ground units, and they had armor, and they didn’t call on the army to training and it snow. They used Air Force instructors, which everybody hated, except for Hitlers Yes men!

[@henryhaven2223]

The Hermann Goering division wasn't particularly good in combat . The Sicily campaign for instance is a good example of this , they got their asses kicked by US airborne troops !

[@johnchalmers]

That is contrary to what I have read about the division , and if you look at how long it took to conquer Sicily it seems inaccurate ?