129- German Army Surrounded: You Did Nazi That Coming! - WW2 - February 13, 1942

The Soviet Red Army has managed to surround some 100,000 German soldiers in the Demyansk Pocket. The Allies are surrounded in Fortress Singapore and the Japanese spend the week breaking in. The Allies are also unable to supply Malta by ship because of continuous heavy Axis bombing of the island and its surroundings, which bodes ill for Allied operations in North Africa. The Germans also make a bold naval move this week- sending two capital ships right up the English Channel under British noses, making for German ports.
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Between 2 Wars: • Between 2 Wars
Source list: bit.ly/SourcesWW2
Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory ( / eastory )
Colorizations by:
- Mikołaj Uchman
- Carlos Ortega Pereira, BlauColorizations, / blaucolorizations
- Norman Stewart - oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/
Sources:
- National Portrait Gallery
- IWM: FE 218, FE 312, A 9692, A 9694, HU 2765, A 9514, MH 4981, FE 222, FE 583
Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
- Rannar Sillard - Easy Target
- Jo Wandrini - Dragon King
- Andreas Jamsheree - Guilty Shadows 4
- Fabien Tell - Break Free
- Fabien Tell - Weapon of Choice
- Wendel Scherer - Growing Doubt
- Johan Hynynen - Dark Beginning
- Gunnar Johnsen - Not Safe Yet
- Wendel Scherer - Out the Window
- Howard Harper-Barnes- Underlying Truth
- Philip Ayers - Ominous
- Johan Hynynen - One More Thought
Archive by Screenocean/Reuters www.screenocean.com.
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

[@WorldWarTwo]

If you would like more detail about a variety of the events of the war, then check out our day by day instagram coverage at: instagram.com/ww2_day_by_day/ We have a separate subseries of this main WW2 series called the War Against Humanity, which shines a light on the atrocities committed during the war. It comes out twice a month and you can find the playlist for that here: kzbin.info/aero/PLsIk0qF0R1j4cwI-ZuDoBLxVEV3egWKoM Never forget.

[@stoopidphersun7436]

NOTICE MEEEEEEE Also Singapore falls in 2 days, OOF

[@CBielski87]

Turns out Poland was right to fear its former subjugators and neighbors, Germany and Russia. It seems to be common propaganda that Poland was an irrational player trying to unite other former slavs n slaves to said neighbors for defense. Why is the context and narrative around Polish foreign policy (pre-war) almost never painted as this "do or die" attitude to foreign policy because that was exactly on the table for them--ya know, because of how history actually went? queue Nazi and NKVD sewn propaganda that Poles were so eager to ship out Jews--no other nation in the world had as much academic and government institutional print in Hebrew as did Poland during this time, ya know, for actual historical context concerning anti-Semitism in pre-war Europe.

[@QuizmasterLaw]

I too have no idea if it is Am-Boy-Na or Am-Bo-In-A...

[@timothytan4257]

Spoiler: Singapore will be gone on Feb 15(2 days from now)

[@remenir97]

Well, this year one event will take place in Southern Russia. In s city just at the Volga river...

[@user-njyzcip]

Japanese: You are surrounded and have nowhere to go, surrender now Allies: *Surrender* Japanese: Wait, that's dishonourable

[@gunman47]

Sounds like its time for the -French- British surrender meme soon...

[@jokuvaan5175]

Japanese: *Brutaly massacre the allied captives*

[@patrickwang671]

When they don't surrender and resist doggedly as honour demands: Brutally massacres them anyways.

[@jokuvaan5175]

@@patrickwang671 And if they decided to let you live and deemed you exceptionally honorable they'd let you commit suicide

[@davidhimmelsbach557]

What's lost on virtually everyone: Percival managed to keep the Japanese ARMY out of Singapore. Yes. The Big Deal was that the Japanese POLICE would occupy Singapore... while the IJA would return to the mainland ASAP. The IJA had a horrific reputation by February 1942 for raping and pillaging from China. Since driving the British out was Job One for Yamashita, it was a 'concession' that he was willing to make. This concession made the small size of his army impossible for the British to figure out, then and later. BTW, the Malay Defense Minister -- its double for Churchill as DM for Great Britain -- predicted EVERYTHING that befell Percival before the IJA even began its offensive. (!!!) Percival despised him for racial and colonial reasons -- and that of pure smarts -- and so did everything the opposite of what the Local Genius advised... right through to the end. Naturally, British histories of the campaign entirely ignore this element of the campaign -- positing for all time that the Japanese advance was an unpredictable 'miracle' of elan. Further, that no-one was giving Percival any insight as to what was to come. The complete opposite is true. He had his Casandra telling him straight through -- and he persisted... even though Casandra was right every step of the way. This is why Percival -- the un-perceiving one -- has to be rated the worst commander of the 20th Century -- if not the worst since 1066.

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

You were less late announcing Huntziger's death, than he was responding to the german offensive

[@MercenaryPen]

maybe Huntziger was planning a major counteroffensive against Germany for 1946 :P

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

@@MercenaryPen the safest way of winning an attrition war, is making sure the enemy dies of old age before you do

[@TheCatpirate]

Dang, you've been with Indy since the start. Much respect.

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

@@TheCatpirate not since the very start, I found The Great War channel during spring 1915 with Mackensen's offensive

[@nicoe9328]

The only thing good about Huntziger is that he somewhat defended Jewish or German refugies during Armistice's négociations (correct me if i am wrong ) (il y a un assez bon reportage sur les pistes audios de l'armistice de 1940 il faut que je retrouve le titre.....)

[@Verdius24]

It is actually quite shocking how many high level officials and important military personel died due to plane crashes in the first half of the 20th century

[@kimok4716]

These were probably more deadly than actual ennemy fire

[@ieuanhunt552]

I assume it's because they have to be transported to many places vast distances apart. So they went on a lot of flights. Planes at the time weren't very reliable.

[@ieuanhunt552]

@@Madhattersinjeans that's a good point. Maybe the aircraft themselves were fine. But through incompetence and overwork the people who inspect and maintain them screwed up. The wright brothers flew in 1903. So it's understandable that the planes would be crude.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

SPOILER In 1943, Stalin will reluctantly agree to fly to Tehran for a summit conference with Roosevelt and Churchill. When offered a choice of a general as pilot or a colonel, he picks the colonel, as he reckons a lower-ranking officer would have done more flying while the general would have done more paperwork, and might be a less skilful pilot due to less recent flying experience.

[@Rendell001]

There is a not unsubstantiated theory that Fritz Todt's plane crash wasn't an accident... Albert Speer noted the curious wording in the crash report which basically said that no further investigations were required.

[@quedtion_marks_kirby_modding]

When Japan is invading you, but you declare yourself independent so they have to turn back. "I am going to do what's call a pro gamer move."

[@smuu1996]

Yes because the Japanese won't be able to fight us if we aren't legally at war. Somebody played to much HoI4... :D

[@wtfbros5110]

Someone forgot to tell Quezon this is not HOI4 LMAO Or maybe he's just Taureor trying an exploit

[@Martyn737]

Something we filipinos still hasn't learn

[@Archer89201]

Same happened in Naga areas of Northeast India, Nagas at first welcomed the Japanese thinking they would be better than the British but then Japanese being Japanese started looking for "volunteers" for Labour among men and comfort women for the ladies, requisitioned whatever food and livestock the natives had because their supply lines were overstretched due to pathetic infrastructure and monsoons. Later in the battle of kohima and later actions the natives helped by showing the British flanking paths against japanese defenses and other valuable scouting including infamous headhunting the Japanese scouts and unlucky stragglers

[@live2ride18]

@@Martyn737 what does that mean

[@gunman47]

3:40 Kudos on Eastory and team for using a pre war / colonial era map of Singapore, not the post independence era Singapore map with the land reclamations at Tuas in the west, Changi in the east and the coastline areas at the south of Singapore. This was often an error we Singaporeans noticed with other videos and documentaries.

[@WorldWarTwo]

We're glad you appreciate the details!

[@ScooterWeibels]

I really look forward to your comments on Singapore

[@jonL88]

Shiok ah

[@gunman47]

@@jonL88 Finally angmoh channel get the map proportions right for once. Huat Ah!

[@TotallyNotRedneckYall]

@@gunman47 I looked angmoh up and it meant exactly what I thought it meant 🤣✌️

[@JonWintersGold]

“You need not bother about your honor, you lost that a long time ago up in the north” Damn what a burn!!!

[@eamonreidy9534]

There's really no coming back from that response

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@eamonreidy9534 I wonder if they had years in POW custody together. Must have been fun...

[@davidpnewton]

It was correct however. Percival was a useless commander and he oversaw the UK's worst defeat of the entire war.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@davidpnewton He was. Heath, his subordinate, thought he himself could have done a better job in Percival's place. Maybe.

[@grlt23]

10:52 When strategic situation is so complicated that your encirclement forces are encircled and are encircling at the same time, and your pockets has own pockets and counter pockets...

[@cheriefsadeksadek2108]

That one Killed me LOL

[@Ken-hw1et]

Yes, so now all we need to do is drop some paratroops in to create some confusion behind the lines....

[@breadman32398]

Everyone is attacking and defending in all directions!

[@KaiserMattTygore927]

The rest of the world is playing Checkers or Chess, while the Eastern Front is playing GO

[@stevekaczynski3793]

"We are attacking - we are defending - we are counter-attacking!" (Stransky in "Cross Of Iron", meanwhile using a small table as body armour)

[@jasondouglas6755]

Hitler: So your telling me that when ever we have one of our armies surrounded we can just supply them form the air, that can’t possibly go wrong.

[@fyaycr]

*narrator* it went horribly wrong

[@indianajones4321]

What could possibly go wrong... cough Stalingrad cough

[@stc3145]

Goering: Now hold on just a minute

[@PalleRasmussen]

@wakenbaker-uk it was NOT Göring who made that promise. That is one of the most stubborn and widespread myths of WW2, it was Milch.

[@yourstruly4817]

*you're

[@arielx.x]

"You did Nazi that coming" THEY DID THE THING

[@SpartacusColo]

Where did Napoleon keep his armies?

[@live2ride18]

@@SpartacusColo Hitlers bunker

[@SpartacusColo]

@@live2ride18 LOL!

[@live2ride18]

@@SpartacusColo 😁 I could not figure out what you meant so I went with funny joke

[@SpartacusColo]

@@live2ride18 Your reply was damned funny! The punchline to the joke: "Where did Napoleon keep his armies?" is: "In his sleevies!" It seemed appropriate to go along with "You did Nazi that coming!" Your reply did make me laugh in a very good way, though!

[@andrewgalea5412]

My father was a 16 year old University student on the besieged Island fortress of Malta... As a student he had join the army and had to spend his weekends and holidays a a gunner on 3.7 inch anti aircraft battery....rest of the time studying at university... the Island was bombed to bits and food was running out. Most of his studying being done with candlelight in a underground shelter....We do not know how lucky we are.

[@joelmicallef5189]

My grandfather was a tailor on the island by trade. But when called, he operated an anti aircraft flak gun around Sliema

[@jdhill4]

But someone used my incorrect pronoun yesterday.

[@elektrotehnik94]

@@jdhill4 lol but absolutely yes xD

[@user-zi8vs4xx6o]

Your father is a hero

[@laurapoenaru3047]

Are we? europathelastbattle.wordpress.com/

[@muhdzulkarnain428]

The last surviving Malay Soldier of the Malay regiment who fought in the legendary battle of Opium hill on 14th of February passed away several days ago. One of the commanding officer of the Malay Regiment, LT. Adnan was recognized as national heroes of both Malaysia and Singapore... I hope that this channel will do these soldiers justice by telling their tales as it is usually ignored by History Channels.

[@gunman47]

Ah yes, I read about that one, Private Ujang Mormin. Sad to see that he survived so long through the war and its hardships just to pass away at the age of 100 after contracting Covid-19. Must have been an honor to be able to have served in battle beside Lieutenant Adnan bin Saidi.

[@gunman47]

The World War Two channel has put up their mention of Lieutenant Adnan Bin Saidi's actions at Bukit Chandu on their Instagram day to day for 14 February 1942. Their Instagram link is in the video description, as I am unable to put a link here in the comments.

[@muhdzulkarnain428]

@@gunman47 I'm glad they mentioned him 👍💯

[@WorldWarTwo]

We have an episode coming out next week where we talk about Allied Colonial Forces and don't worry, in general we are very aware of how vital these contributions were.

[@gunman47]

@@WorldWarTwo That is great news, thanks for the update!

[@Lichcrafter]

Most KZbinrs: Censor the word Nazi to avoid demonetization Our boy Indy: You did Nazi that coming!

[@cardinal3728]

The swastika in the background though

[@j3lny425]

Facts, or in this case history do not change because they are unpleasant. Dr. Pangloss wasn't real

[@Raskolnikov70]

I never use the N-word (no not that one, the other one) or the H-word in comments anymore because they get instantly nuked from orbit by KZbin's algo. Even in the most non-offensive and historically-appropriate context it still screens for badthink words and deletes the entire thing like some crude AOL-era net-nanny software that won't let you talk about fried chicken because of the words "breast" and "thigh".....

[@R2Manny]

Not all hero’s wear capes… just stylish ties 😎😂

[@totalwartimelapses6359]

​@@Raskolnikov70 Let's test this Hitler was a Nazi

[@randomguy-tg7ok]

So much for Singapore being a "Fortress" when you can just... straight-up _cross over to it with everything you have in a single day._

[@gunman47]

Well Singapore is not that big in size compared to say, neighbouring Johore state which is at least twenty times bigger, so no surprise there. If they could just get the fighting spirit of the troops that defended Hong Kong (which is comparable in size to Singapore) for almost 17 days, then there might have been a chance.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@gunman47 If they had even realised that the Japanese were badly outnumbered and low on ammunition, but these are the "what ifs" of history.

[@gunman47]

@@stevekaczynski3793 Yes indeed a "what if" situation, but I get the feeling that inevitably Singapore would still likely fall, only just a matter of when and how long it could have held out, since the Pacific Theatre was the secondary priority compared to the European Theatre.

[@Raskolnikov70]

Percival is looking around nervously right now - "hey guys, we got any more of those gasoline traps lying around?"

[@starflakmyriad5394]

But their water supply was outside of "Fortress Singapore"... which sort of obviates its title of Fortress. Didn't Percival think of this?

[@Jeroen72]

Its hard to believe how incompetent Percival is ...

[@jamesharmer9293]

No it isn't.

[@lovablesnowman]

Britain's worst ever general

[@Raskolnikov70]

Pretty handy with a gasoline trap though.....

[@thegloriouspyrocheems2277]

He makes me look like Erwin Rommel in comparison

[@ScienceChap]

@Olivier Verdys ...el Alamein, Normandy, Crossing the Rhine...

[@HistoryOfRevolutions]

"The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons" - Fydor Dostoevsky

[@Darwinek]

and toilets

[@karlmuller3690]

@@Darwinek - What a crappy statement!!

[@mandaloretheproud6622]

I like that you corrected the story of "the guns only pointed out to sea".

[@starflakmyriad5394]

I have seen them! They are painted blue for some reason. Pretty much useless against dispersed troops....

[@ivoivanov7407]

With AP shells, yes, useless. But with proper HE the dispersed troops would be dispersed even more.

[@jaybee9269]

@@ivoivanov7407 >> Dispersed even more...🙄

[@jaybee9269]

Yeah I didn’t know that that was a historical canard.

[@KIM-JONG-UN-84]

@@jaybee9269 do u even exiist

[@LordAcul]

My great grandmother told a story of how she smuggled herself out during the fall of Singapore by hiding in a crate of oranges that was then loaded onto a ship that luckily managed to avoid the bombing

[@Star_moses]

Its been over 2 years but Indy has finally mad a "Nazi that coming" joke.

[@thatscienceguy5824]

You did Nazi that joke coming that now, did you?

[@Raskolnikov70]

Probably been avoiding it because KZbin's algos are notoriously finicky when it comes to certain terms. I'm amazed the video didn't get pulled already because of that title.

[@excelon13]

It's crazy how global this war is. You got tropical island fighting in the far east. Fighting in the frozen tundra's of the Soviet Union, fighting in the deserts of Africa. Insane, and there's more coming!

[@sztypettto]

Kiddies today have no idea about the size, scale, magnitude, intensity and impact of WW2 on human history. You've only mentioned the battles highlighted in this video. Lets not forget the battle of every order on all continents. Meteorologists in weather stations, intelligence gathering disguised as merchant ships, the race against time by businesses to develop and produce the latest weapons, equipment supplies, and win contracts. There's just so much...

[@IsoSubject5]

Still not as insane as fighting your brother shirtless on bipedal nuclear tank.

[@docvideo93]

Why do I have the feeling that the soldiers in Singapore saying, "Let command carry my coffin so they can let me down one more time"?

[@thomilsvlog4544]

Ah, yes, the Channel Dash, aka Operation Cerberus. Drachinifel made an excellent video on that subject, featuring the most charming naval mines you could imagine ;)

[@ieuanhunt552]

Drachinifel has an amazing sense of humor. I want a Drachism of the day mug

[@MikeJones-qn1gz]

Or as I like to call it "Operation Drive it like you stole it"

[@yes_head]

It is a great video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h3-oYXahiNiZgMU

[@theholyinquisition389]

Its insane how many people die in plane crashes, I have to say.

[@Raskolnikov70]

It's not entirely unexpected. All of these armies are operating at a very high tempo, not much time for maintenance and logistical issues mean that spare parts are hard to come by. I was a unit mechanic in the US Army in the gulf in 1990-91 and we had our hands full just dealing with breakdowns and stuck vehicles. Heavy use + not much regular maintenance means a lot more vehicles and aircraft will be lost, far more than to enemy action.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@Raskolnikov70 It was difficult for even experienced pilots to avoid crashes. One photo I saw in a book showed a German 109 pilot looking rather abashed after writing off his own plane when he landed it too hard in 1944, although he was not injured. And he was an experienced fighter pilot, indeed an ace - many German fighter pilots in 1944 were novices and many of them died in crashes. This particular pilot was shot down and killed a month later.

[@TheJacobshapiro]

Between Crete and Singapore the British really seem to have a thing for absolutely bungling the defense of islands.

[@Goatboysminion]

Thank fuck they at least know how to take them back. THE FALKANDS ARE BRITISH!🇬🇧

[@lovablesnowman]

@@Goatboysminion can't retake an island unless you lose it first *taps forehead

[@stuartmcpherson1921]

The officer in charge at Crete was told the time, locations and methods of the assault and ignored all of them. btw he was not British. He was a Kiwi.

[@Goatboysminion]

@@stuartmcpherson1921 General Freyberg, if I remember correctly.

[@Goatboysminion]

@@lovablesnowman Tap your own forehead, dipstick. I didn't say they didn't lose the Falkands. I said they knew how to take them back. Remember, Royal Marines Naval Party 8901, was less than seventy strong when the Argies came. The Argies were ten thousand strong when the British came back.

[@genghiskhan5701]

Manuel Quezon: The Philippines is now independent and neutral in the war. Japan: Understandable have a nice day.

[@gunman47]

There is an interesting fact about the reservoirs. The Battle of Bukit Timah from 10 Feb 1942 to 12 Feb 1942 resulted in the capture of the Pierce and MacRitchie Reservoirs, and sadly some reprisal killings of nearby Chinese villages by the Japanese after the battle. The Japanese however, did NOT switch off the water pumps or supply which was going to the Allied controlled Town areas in the south of the island, although they could have easily done so. Not that it would help the Allies much though, at this point many of the water pipes were leaking a lot of water due to the shelling and bombing.

[@MH-tr4kn]

Meanwhile in Singapore: Depth of defense? What’s that?

[@Nelsonwmj]

Problem with a lot of British fortress defensive doctrine is that they stick everything onto defending the coastlines at all costs. Once you break the initial resistance there's little reserves to throw in. Not to mention for Singapore the very idea of defending the fortress was almost entirely dependent on the presence of a British Far East Battlefleet to be based there for naval fire and air support. Without the fleet and heavy naval units Singapore was a sitting duck. Nobody expected ANYONE to come from the north through the jungles... Until the Japanese went to pull their pro-gamer move with bicycle corps.

[@MH-tr4kn]

@@Nelsonwmj Also having depth in your defenses gives you far more time to locate the center of gravity and intentions of an opposing force. Allowing you to better react

[@terencetan236]

Percival. What a waste of oxygen.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@Nelsonwmj To be fair the Japanese also did that at first, trying to defend islands against amphibious attack on the coasts and not having much to throw in once the Americans landed and got a foothold. As time went on the Japanese concentrated on inland defences.

[@MH-tr4kn]

@@terencetan236 that’s a bit harsh no?

[@leonidartemiev5668]

Hearing "Rzhev" in this historical context is another missed heartbeat for me, because of spoilers from school(

[@gunman47]

There is a little known fact on the Battle of Singapore that is not even well known to us Singaporeans and Malaysians. On 13 Feb 1942, Captain *Patrick Stanley Vaughan Heenan* of the British Indian Army is executed with a shot to the back to the head by the British and his body dumped at Keppel Harbour for treason and espionage. He was a spy for the Japanese (most likely happened during his six month long leave in Japan from 1938 to 1939) and helped to assist the Japanese to coordinate air raids on British airfields in Malaya by likely giving useful information to them before the war, destroying a lot of British aircraft in the process. He was caught during a Japanese air raid on 10 Dec 1941 in Northern Malaya and sent to Singapore in Jan 1942 and court-martialled. As the Japanese rapidly approached the Town area of Fortress Singapore, Captain Heenan had become very cocky and taunted his guards that he would soon be free and they would become prisoners. This may have been why the British military police likely took matters into their own hands and hastily executed him. These events were suppressed by British Commonwealth military censors, which is possibly why even till today, his name is not even mentioned in local history texts and not many are aware of him.

[@rickwong9049]

Fascinating. Thank you for sharing this fact!

[@Raskolnikov70]

Did they catch him actively aiding the Japanese? Seems like a complete idiot by taunting his fellow soldiers, but that's not really enough to get him convicted by a court martial. Curious about what actual evidence they had against him at the time.

[@gunman47]

@@Raskolnikov70 Yes they did, on 10 Dec 1941 he was caught with evidence that he aided the Japanese on the air raids on British airfields in Northern Malaya. I quote the below text from the Wikipedia article on him: "When we discovered he wasn't in the slit trenches with us we became suspicious," Mr Tavender (chairman of the Cotswold branch of the Far East Prisoners of War, and who served in the Air Liaison unit with Heenan) reported. "We went to his quarters and discovered a radio, which was still warm. That was the last we saw of him. He was arrested." The Japanese air raids were assisted by radio transmissions made by Heenan. Among other espionage equipment, he reportedly had a morse code transmitter operated by an alphanumeric keyboard - similar to a Traeger Transceiver - which was disguised as a typewriter.

[@Perkelenaattori]

Looks like air supplying the pocket worked great for the Germans. Maybe it should be tried again in the future in case something similar happens. Good idea!

[@principalityofbelka6310]

Certainly. There's no doubt that such tactics can supply 300.000 men trapped in a siege.

[@lorenzodimaio6672]

@@principalityofbelka6310 actually they could, since the same amount sent to Demyansk was enough to keep Stalingrad alive, the thing was that between those months the soviet air force was ready to fly.

[@Jansmaaa]

And if there is no airfield to land on you just have to fly directly above the pocket and drop the supplies!

[@Perkelenaattori]

@@Jansmaaa Exactly. The glorious Luftwaffe pilots are always accurate so no supplies will be wasted.

[@Perkelenaattori]

@@lorenzodimaio6672 Stalingrad was also a lot further behind the lines. Tante Ju's had to fly over flak a lot longer.

[@pnutz_2]

16:14 you could say Singapore was in Dire Straits

[@WorldWarTwo]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZPTlHqEeLpsapY

[@pnutz_2]

@@WorldWarTwo the sultan of johore was quite happy to let the japanese use his palace to plan an attack on singapore. He was the sultan of swing

[@gordonhopkins1573]

To Indie and crew: from my Christopher Shores Book: "Malta, The Hurricane Years"r reading that book makes me think of Malta as an arial Stalingrad

[@ABrit-bt6ce]

Malta was more than that because without it and the control of the Med the Empire (yeah I know) would have had a harder time making France French again. It's comparable to the Atlantic fighting but with anyone able to throw air assets at anything that moves. That's the short version ;)

[@attilakatona-bugner1140]

Yamashita: attacks with all of his forces Gets more accurate info on the enemy Yamashita: surprised pikachu face Seriously, yamashita is one of the most well known japanese general of ww2, but he really is underrated, like he set the difficulty to very easy in this campaign

[@porksterbob]

Yamashita was amazingly good at his job in Malaya. The British made tons of mistakes, but Yamashita was able to see and exploit them every time.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@porksterbob Other Japanese commanders were jealous of him and he was relegated to lesser commands for much of the war. Tojo seems to have seen him as a political rival.

[@Flurb_Xray]

Indie: So let's say you are the Germans... Germans: Yes?

[@Darnakas]

Ja?

[@cobbler9113]

As a British person, come and wake me in 9 months as this is becoming too painful...

[@merdiolu]

As a non British person (though I am an Anglophile) , I think after receiving so many blows (and incoming blows in 1942 summer , defeat in Gazala Battle and loss of Tobruk would be more humiliating for you not to mention Dieppe raid fiasco and crushing of convoys Harpoon , Vigorous and PQ-17) still staying in fight and not quiting the fight , credits to your nation and people. Fiascos happen everywhere and everyone all the time.

[@cobbler9113]

@@merdiolu I think Singapore and it’s inevitable loss in this case represents a greater disaster of prestige as it represented how far British influence and power had spread around the globe. Those you mention were bad, but were recovered or learned from. The loss of Singapore and much of Asia to the Japanese represented a fatal blow to British power in the eyes of its colonial subjects which I’m sure these guys will get onto. This first six months of 1942 was definitely the low point of the war in my opinion for the Allies and particularly Britain. At least in 1940, Britain was able to point to the Battle of Britain and events in Africa as signs of victory, but here it’s just defeat after defeat. However, as I said, a certain event will happen in 9 months that will turn the tide 😁

[@pnutz_2]

na, next month is gonna have a highlight

[@cobbler9113]

@@pnutz_2 Does it involve some Commando’s going to France per chance?

[@kemarisite]

In 9 months we'll come back and hold up a Torch for you?

[@ZESAUCEBOSS]

Indy: “but it can’t get worse” Me realizing fall blau and a bunch of Japanese landings still haven’t happened yet 😅😅😅

[@ScooterWeibels]

I like the point Indy made about the Germans not really fully mobilized for war, it was a point my late father always made about how much better the U.S.A. converted to a wartime economy quicker and more efficiently then the Germans did.

[@NathanDav42]

My grandfather was just about 6 when Normandie capsized. He was from northern New Jersey, and remembered it his whole life. He also remembered the resulting fear of German saboteurs on the east coast. Because of a large German population in the NYC metro area there was fear of them, but he said that he and the people he knew had no fear of Japanese saboteurs like on the west coast.

[@Raskolnikov70]

There were far too many German-Americans who had been in the country for generations for the US government to consider any type of general surveilance or internment. Even if overt racism hadn't played a part, even if the US decided to start rounding up Germans and putting them in camps, there was no way they could have arrested millions of people like they did the Japanese-Americans. Can you imagine though? "Eisenhower, eh? Sounds pretty German to me! Get in the van, general....."

[@shawnr771]

In documentary about possible German saboteurs on the East Coast. To protect Washington D.C. they activated an all black national guard unit to guard all monuments and buildings. Another all black unit that served on the home front was the 555th Parachute Infantry Regiment. They were the pioneering smoke jumpers protecting the American NorthWest from forest fires caused by Japanese Balloon Bombs. Brave men One and All.

[@nicholasconder4703]

Amazing what an acetylene torch and a pile of kapok-filled life preservers will do. Might as well have been welding the acetylene torch bottles to the deck (an actual event that appears in the Darwin awards).

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@Raskolnikov70 A fair proportion of American troops in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) were of German descent, some of them still with a grasp of German. The future writer Kurt Vonnegut was one of them. His parents stopped speaking German as a result of anti-German feeling in WW1 but Vonnegut himself had some knowledge of the language. Germans who encountered German-speaking US troops tended to find that they were either German-Americans, or else Yiddish-speaking Jews, Yiddish being close enough to German that communication was possible.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@Raskolnikov70 Not just Eisenhower. Carl Spaatz of the US Army Air Force, and other senior commanders. Considering the hysteria about German-Americans a generation earlier, it is strange that they were mostly overlooked in WW2, even though the pro-Nazi Bund organisation was closed down.

[@osvaldonoda4368]

In the “World at War “ episode that covers the Singapore battle , focused on the secret weapon that contributed to the Japanese victory, the bicycle. You show in here, the troops in bicycles.

[@MrWWIIBuff]

I never knew how extensively the Soviets used Paratroops. Learn something new every day.

[@alexamerling79]

The Ostheer surrounded? Why do I have a feeling that is going to become a recurring theme?

[@jakubcesarzdakos5442]

nah, they will take care of that and soon take Moscow

[@alexamerling79]

Das war ein Befehl! Der Angriff Steiners war ein Befehl!

[@Raskolnikov70]

@@alexamerling79 That line always makes me wonder if the H-man would have been that angry about Apple taking the cord away from his iPhone earbuds.

[@alexamerling79]

@@Raskolnikov70 i thought he was mad because he got his mario maker levels deleted by nintendo

[@stevew6138]

Ah, at long last, the Demyansk Pocket. The seeds of the 6th Armies destruction are being sown.

[@auguststorm2037]

Soviets surrounding Germans at Demyansk *German Generals : No, Ivan, you aren't supposed to do that ! That's illegal !*

[@billdavis3183]

Yep, the Demyansk pocket is totally screwed. No way they're getting out of this one....

[@Rendarth1]

"Monumental incompetence" is a phrase that sums up sooo many Allied operations up until this point...

[@wtfbros5110]

They'll get gud later don't worry, they have all the time in the world to do so

[@richardanzlovar5372]

The Russians (Soviet Union) just kept fighting and never gave up. These were very brave people.

[@auguststorm2037]

They fought for their lives and their people's existence since the nazis wanted to exterminate most of them (Hunger Plan, starvation of Soviet POW's...)

[@lycaonpictus9662]

@@auguststorm2037 Reading about all the Nazi plans is really an eye opener about how bizarre that regime was. If they were the invention of some author readers would complain that their villainy was too cartoonish. Beside plans to exterminate the Jews and most of the Slavs in territory they conquered, they also planned to eradicate 80% of the population of France and Britain, to wage more or less endless wars in the East, to wage war with the United States for hegemony in the Western Hemisphere, and then to battle the Japanese empire for global hegemony. They also believed that if they did not do all these things that they in turn would eventually be destroyed. Their whole political philosophy was bizarre and apocalyptic. They were almost like some weird death cult.

[@coolwhip455]

"Stalin is not Pleased" And Siberia gets a few new residents.

[@laiskamadooneus]

I understand the pressure of timetables, you can't fit everything to such short episodes, but it is sad to see Finland's Continuation War so neglected. Soviet offensive in the beginning of January of 1942 between lakes Segozero (Seesjärvi) and Onega (Ääninen) was brutal. Many Soviet soldiers received little training before they were sent to frontlines: Some POWs told to Finnish soldiers interrogating them that they had received most basic rifle training only in transportation trucks just before they arrived to front. It was -40 degrees celsius, sometimes even colder, during January of 1942. Finnish corporal Keijo Tervahartiala from Infantry Regiment 35:s Jaeger Platoon spotted during a patrol in 14th of January of 1942 a Russian soldier, who had frozen to death. He had with him a bag which was full of "hairy meat" which Finns though was pork. When the patrol traced the mans steps across the snow Tervahartiala and his fellow soldiers found a mutilated human body and realized that the man had cut the meat from another Russian soldiers thighs. Russians were very low on supplies. The Finns were also reaching their limits. One Finnish regiment, Ässä-rykmentti or "S-Regiment", made mostly of working class men from Helsinki, even organized a strike in December of 1941. The strike was, remarkably, solved with negotiations. However, desertions and declining to fight were an increasing problem to Finns in the end of December of 1941, and just when Finns had secured defendable positions the Russians began their offensive, which outnumbered Finns 3-1. Ground was so frozen, that the front line was made of blocks of ice and some cover dug into snow instead of trenches and pillboxes. Some Soviet troops did have good equipment, which the Finns from "Blue Brigade" (3rd Brigade) looted from dead Russians. If memory serves me correctly, the Russians nicknamed these Finnish troops as "turkisvarkaat", "fur thiefs" in their propaganda broadcasts. A cape in lake Onega, Great Cape (Suurniemi) was renamed as Tapponiemi, "Killing Cape" by Finnish soldiers because two battalions of Soviet ski forces, over 1850 men, were killed in just a few hours on the ice fields in front of the cape. It is said that not even in Winter War or later during Continuation War so many Soviet soldiers were killed in such a short time by Finnish troops. I interviewed one war veteran who told that next summer Finnish soldiers fished very large pikes and other fish from that area. They believed that the fish grew so big because they ate plenty of human flesh. The cape was, by the way, later renamed as Marskinniemi, "Marshals cape", because when Field Marshal Mannerheim visited frontlines in June of 1942 he inspected the trenches in this cape. During his visit a russian AT-gun fired a shell that exploded near Mannerheim, but he was not hit. Captain accompanying Mannerheim, Ahti Petramaa, lost fingers from a shrapnel. Mannerheim immediately promoted Petramaa to the rank of major. Still, thank you for excellent and professional work!

[@Valdagast]

_Bit by bit the pieces fit_ _The Soviet machine advances_ _Not one move that_ _Won't improve our nation's chances_

[@necromorph1109]

This channel is going to be used in a history class room for years to come.

[@WorldWarTwo]

If our videos can teach the next generations about the Second World War, then one of our main aims would've been achieved!

[@briantarigan7685]

7:30 ooooh sick burn right there, flex tape can't fix that

[@Pippus4]

Plane crashes have proven to be more succesfull in killing Axis High ranking officers, than every allied operation had thus far

[@interestingengineering291]

I also wondered why they seem to kill mostly axis high ranking officers. Could it be sabotage? We never know

[@Raskolnikov70]

@@interestingengineering291 High operational tempo and a lack of spare parts for maintenance. Basically they don't have enough planes for all of their needs, so they run the ones they do have far more often than they should. Not much time for maintenance plus logistical issues mean that there are going to be a lot more breakdowns - you see this all the time during ground operations with tanks and trucks too.

[@cookingwithchefluc7173]

I've never missed an episode of this series since February 2020 , this is the best series for a Saterday afternoon by far.

[@illjan]

Good day Time ghost History team, I would like to thank you for your work. Today my father Oliver died after his battle with cancer at age 50. However this may sound like, your videos really help me cope with his death, a lot because they help me distract myself from it. He also liked your work and was a very history interested person. He also liked to talk and discuss history with me and it is also thanks to him that i ever really got such an interest in history. It is very possible that you guys won't notice this comment, but if you do, thank you for your work.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for sharing Jan, sorry for your loss.

[@komemiute]

These videos are so well written and Mr. Neidell is such a great speaker! I love this series. You guys have all my respect.

[@oldesertguy9616]

The perspective this channel gives adds a lot to my understanding of a war I've been studying since the early 70's. Unfortunately life dictates that this is among my many interests and I have not devoted the time I should to the topic, so this is a much-needed assist. I really wish I wasn't so damn curious, but my ADHD kicks in and I'm now subscribing to numerous channels on war, wood working, guns, planes, etc, etc. I envy people who are able to really become expert in a subject by focusing specifically on a subject and just becoming really good at it. I constantly marvel at people that are passionate about their work, and have a real understanding. This is not to be confused with the self-appointed experts that seem to litter the Internet these days. Thank you, World War Two for enlightening me.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks!

[@Stinkehund]

It would be really helpful if the actual number of soldiers were on the screen when something like "3 divisions and 1 regiment" is mentioned, especially since there seem to be quite the difference when it comes to what each nation defines as such.

[@WorldWarTwo]

We've passed this on to our map team, it's a pretty good idea.

[@rmalarkey188]

British generals being awful is a common theme I've noticed. And the good ones have terrible luck, being killed or captured early on.

[@Raskolnikov70]

Incompetent in general, or still fighting the last war? I've never looked into it, but always suspected that those British leaders weren't good at what they did because they spent most of their time handling colonial armies and issues involving civil unrest rather than fighting other armies. That plus their outdated doctrine left over from the good-old trench warfare days set them up for failure in a lot o ways.

[@rikuvakevainen6157]

@@Raskolnikov70 true. Brittish had an issues, especially to Mobile warfare and tanks . There were many Brittish generals who believed that after WW1 tanks were useless weapons in the modern warfare. That's why Brittish many tanks were weak and tactically in disadvantage while comparing to German and French version in 1939 and 1940.

[@rmalarkey188]

@@Raskolnikov70 I've read some stuff about interwar doctrine that suggested that while there were quite a few good British innovations (Liddell Hart, the commandos) they tended to be more junior, and after WW1 there was general 'thank god thats over so I can get back to real soldiering - on my horse' from the higher ups. I don't think WW2 was kind because people like Richard O'Connor, who were really good, seemed to get killed or captured a lot too. Imagine if Rommel ran into a British ambush and was caught in 1941, would be a very different tale then I think.

[@Raskolnikov70]

@@rmalarkey188 North Africa would have been a whole different war if Rommel wasn't around, mainly becuase it was his refusal to follow orders from Berlin that led to so many Axis victories there. A more diciplined leader would have stayed on the defensive in Libya and probably get wiped out in 1941. History doesn't always turn on the actions of one person but it definitely did in that case. Regarding the British generals I was referring to how most of them seem to have been leaders in colonial occupation forces rather than the "regular" military. Even if they saw real combat in the Great War, even if they were up on the latest doctrine, they'd spent the last 2+ decades being police captains, not generals. That kind of conflict (sending trained troops against untrained civilians during the occasional uprising) combined with typical racial attitudes of the day must have led them to underestimate the abilities of the Japanese military. Percival especially seems to have had that kind of "run at the fuzzy-wuzzys with your bayonets and they'll run back to their huts!" kind of imperial arrogance that eventually cost them their empire.

[@Philip271828]

Britain's (England's? the UK's?) problem is often getting competent people into the right positions. It seems to take a few years to dig out the William Slims and Jonny Walkers. We can even see it now. The British government has been running round like it's pubes are on fire for the last year, but the Coronavirus vaccination programme seems to be going surprisingly well.

[@Coillcara]

At this time in the Soviet Union, stores of coal are running out. This means troops and supplies cannot be moved as fast as before, and locomotives fuelled by wood logs or low quality coal are running slow and breaking down. The factories that were moved East are not yet operational. Explosive supplies are dwindling. Can it get worse?

[@RaymondCore]

The incompetence and egos of the Allied commanders is depressing. I don't know how Churchill dealt with in on a personal level.

[@shaider1982]

0:21 man, if Manuel only knew the kinds of leaders that succeeded him.☹

[@luciusgarvous]

The more I watch this series and when I watched The Great War, the more I realize that war is only a loose loose game, there is no winner. "Stand amongst the ashes of a trillion dead souls and ask the ghosts if honor matters. The silence is your answer." - Javik, from Mass Effect

[@Erik-ko6lh]

Automatic weapons and high explosives means no one wins.

[@lycaonpictus9662]

Great quote from a great game, though Javik was saying that Shepard needs to be committed to doing whatever was necessary to win, even if it came at the cost of his or her own honor. There is a quote from Eisenhower (made in the postwar, while he was president) that perhaps more closely aligns to viewpoint you are expressing. "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some fifty miles of concrete pavement. We pay for a single fighter plane with a half million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people. This is, I repeat, the best way of life to be found on the road the world has been taking. This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron."

[@azkrouzreimertz9784]

And so the oldest joke in modern history was used once again

[@LukeSumIpsePatremTe]

Atleast it's about nazis this time

[@LuanZeqiri1]

You're always consistent with great content for years...thank you Indy..

[@michaelmorrismorris6113]

Sounds like Percival is setting the Australians up to take the fall

[@lordofthemanor4082]

Even though i know who wins its still weird how this channel can change who i think will win the war every week.

[@pnutz_2]

it took 129 episodes, but we finally got to that joke

[@paulfoster3316]

Another excellent and informative episode, looking forward to the next one.

[@joaoliduario]

It took me a while to fully understand and appreciate the title of this episode. Keep it up!

[@jasondouglas6755]

When the episode ends and I realize I have to wait another week to see another one ME: NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!!

[@angryperson6205]

😂😂😂😂 I just love the photo of the first guy on the left at 3:17 with his thumbs up and his face. He was probably thinking: "I hope I pull through"

[@miaskulecova6396]

Thanks for the episodes, we have a lockdown in slovakia since before christmas and your documentary videos have been just great at keeping me sane and occupied, we are looking at at least another month without going out so thank you and I love you guys' work!

[@WorldWarTwo]

We are happy you enjoy our content, keep calm and carry on!

[@friendhui4320]

Awesome. Totally awesome production. Indy you are awesome doing this for us.

[@leeboy26]

The Channel Dash reminds me of the scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail where Lancelot charges the castle and is on the guards in an instant with one guard only managing to get out a 'Hey!'

[@johnperez6069]

It appears that Sir Arthur Percival was suffering from a major case of McClellan-itis in inflating Japanese troop strength across the straits. Wondering if he was relying on the Pinkerton Detective Agency to do his intel for him.

[@bryankearney6525]

Been bingeing these videos recently, love listening to history! Thank you very much!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks, Bryan!

[@KyleMiddleton7]

The more I watch this series, the more I don't want to die in a plane crash.

[@davesthrowawayacc1162]

13:20 Armoured vehicles at Kursk. Now thats a trivial phrase we'll never hear about ever.

[@MemoryOfTheAncestors]

He said Kerch (city on the Kerch Peninsula, eastern part of Crimea), not Kursk.

[@Johnnylemoni]

When I first found this series at the greek invasion episode I sat and watched all the episodes from the start to catch up with the war now I wait for a week for a new episode to came up ironic ain't it

[@Worthrhetime]

I really enjoy your program. Interesting, informative, great production, entertaining. Thank you.

[@glennpettersson9002]

I am intrigued by the flags in the set. The AIF fought both WWI and WWII under the "Red Duster", the red version of the current Australian flag. The Union Jack was the flag flown above the capital, this did not change until 1954 It was technically illegal for none government agencies to fly the blue ensign on land.

[@naveenraj2008eee]

Hi team Another interesting week.. After each week passes it makes me await for next week epsiode.. Say hi to Indy.. I became fan of him.. Thanks for this week history..🙏👍😊

[@WorldWarTwo]

We are glad you are enjoying our content hope to see you next week Naveen.

[@Paludion]

Wow, it's already time for Operation Cerberus ?

[@Panzer4F2]

10:38 is a lend lease Valentine Tank. Happy Valentines Day folks.

[@randomlyentertaining8287]

You guys should do a whole special on the Channel Dash. One of the more unbelievable moments of the war. A German Fleet sailing right through a body of water considered untouchable by the British and even named after the English.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Sietse covered it on Instagram as well! Day 1 - instagram.com/p/CLKfMfdBiUf/ Day 3 - instagram.com/p/CLP3F46hIHH/

[@evancohen1503]

It's Ya-MAHSH-ta, Indie. Accent on the second syllable.

[@sobersportsman]

When this "war" is over I would love to see a special series with the parts of Barbarossa edited into one non-stop series. The largest invasion in the history of all mankind deserves it. Plus it would just be cool! GREAT FREAKING SHOW EVERYBODY. I know the ending and I'm absolutely riveted.

[@shawnr771]

It would be cool if they did this for each separate theater of operation. Follow through a series of videos from beginning to end. I would like to see this about North Africa as well.

[@sobersportsman]

We should start a movement! More new series...more new series...

[@shawnr771]

@@sobersportsman The movement would probably get farther if it was backed by money and not just comments.

[@WorldWarTwo]

An interesting idea and one we kind of started on with Amazon Prime www.amazon.com/WW2-In-Real-Time/dp/B081G6KMM9 Maybe when this is all over it will be a nice project for us to take up again.

[@JLHFans]

wow absolutely the best part of the series nowadays, even better than usual.

[@sub_zero9885]

Its so nice seeing indy again after a week, especially i love the title and the thumbnails, and here is a proposition for next week's title "Another week, another victory for the japanese"

[@jokuvaan5175]

Could you update on what Finland and Germany have been up to in the North. I don't remember hearing anything on that front in a long time if at all

[@gunman47]

With the Japanese encroaching ever closer to Australia, I do hope that the Australians are ready in case of any Japanese air raids or invasions. Darwin in particular looks like a very obvious and prime target there...

[@Dave_Sisson]

At the time Darwin was only a small town (even today it's only a fairly small city), and nearby areas were very thinly populated, so its only value to the allies was as a forward base for naval and air forces. All the population centres, factories, etc. were thousands of kilometers away, well out of range of anything the Japanese had except a few long distance submarines.

[@jakerolfe7689]

We have millions of Emus, they don't stand a chance

[@christiaanbrinkhuis5287]

From 2:58 onwards: brings back memories to briefing scenes in the very first Call of Duty game, especially the sound when the pictures change

[@brammo1991]

Thanks Crew!

[@bossbeartherock6034]

Germany : " LEROY JANKINS "

[@roymartin500]

Thanks Time Ghost team! You all are answering all the questions I started asking my late Grandfather(Ensign US Navy, South Pacific.-US Assistant Attorney General DOD til retired) that he can't answer anymore. History is a passion & Time Ghost team are passionately delivering every week.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Hi Roy, thanks for the kind words, hopefully what we do helps give you insight to what your grandfather experienced.

[@roymartin500]

@@WorldWarTwo what a coincidence, I was just looking for past content that I might have missed. You're welcome. Indeed you all do. I failed to mention that he had four brothers that were all in the military during WW2. He was one of the Sullivan brothers, from Minnesota; not to be confused with the Sullivans from Ohio, now that's an incredible coincidence! All but one were officers, I believe Jim, the oldest was a Sgt. in the Army. They really took advantage of The ROTC in high school haha! It's a shame that most high schools don't offer ROTC anymore.

[@QX1138]

You can run the Prinz Eugen through the river Thames and it will still come out undamaged, that's how lucky it is.

[@NetoKruzer]

Until the Yanks drop a Nuke to "Test It"...

[@K1OIK]

I never made it through your videos without falling asleep

[@Jeroen72]

He looks like he just walked from the set of some English comedy

[@oneofmanyjames-es1643]

What is it with high ranking officials and plane crashes

[@LukeSumIpsePatremTe]

Low ranks didn't fly that much and their crashes definitely were not news worthy. Trust me, planes were quite unreliable at that time. Maybe there were some assasinations also, but mostly just accidents.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@LukeSumIpsePatremTe A Scottish relative died in WW2 in a training accident while part of the crew of a plane that crashed. I forget the exact figure but at least 9,000 Britons died in WW2 as a result of plane crashes not due to enemy action. Training accidents, or transport flights not over enemy territory that hit a mountain due to fog and so on.

[@rashkavar]

For anyone who's interested in naval history specifically, the Channel Dash is interesting to look into in detail, though given what else is going on this week, I'm not at all surprised to see it as something of a footnote for this week's episode. I highly recommend The Operation Room's video on the subject, and while I've not yet watched Drachinifel's coverage of it, his coverage of naval history is exceptional in general and I'm reasonably certain his episode on this was up to par. If you prefer text sources, google it (Operation Cerberus is another term for it), or read my best shot at a summary below: Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen had all found their way to the port in Brest, France, after a variety of misadventures (Prinz Eugen, for example, was recovering from the Bismarck's glorious day in the Atlantic), and were undergoing refits and repairs. But doing that effectively is kinda hard when you have the RAF coming by to bomb the hell out of them every night. So they needed to be moved to a more secure port, which meant Germany, where they'd been beefing up anti-aircraft systems extensively due to RAF bombing raids there. To do that they have 2 options: run the English channel, or sail all the way around the British Isles and cut between Norway and Scapa Flow (the Royal Navy's main base up in Scotland). The latter option has a lot of drawbacks: it's a long way, meaning it takes more fuel and gives the British a lot longer to respond if they pick them up on radar and it takes them much closer to the Royal Navy's main base than the Channel option. Conversely, the Channel is perceived to be well monitored and blockaded. So they opted to run the blockade. To do this, they did something that interfered with British radar using their own radar installations in France, and they did this for a while before making the run - this got radar operators used to dismissing signals on the far side of the channel near the French coast. This allowed them to mask the transit of the ships most of the way through the English Channel - they stuck close to the French coast, with the 3 big ships, a collection of destroyers and torpedo boats, and the German radar operators were keeping up their interference trick, and the whole thing just looked like a mess of static up until they got level with Dover and Calais where the channel narrows out quite a bit. This is right near the end of the English Channel in the direction they were traveling, so the British had to respond fast with whatever was immediately available - some Swordfish torpedo bombers and a dozen or so torpedo boats, if I recall correctly. They did manage to do some damage, but nothing of great significance - I think one of the destroyers took a torpedo or two and was rather thoroughly destroyed as a result. The mines did manage to do much more severe damage to the battleships, though German damage control teams managed to patch things up well enough for them to make it to a more secure port where they could undergo proper repairs with less fear of all that work being undone by a lucky bomb strike - any RAF bomber in Germany was more interested in hitting a city or land-based infrastructure than rolling the dice to try to hit a ship hard enough to do anything permanent.

[@merdiolu]

Yet a lucky bomb hit from RAF heavy bombers two weeks later took battlecruiser Gneisenau out of action for the remainder of the war.

[@kstxevolution9642]

I loved the old fashioned slide show effect/clicks when discussing the siege in singapore