Week 243 - The Biggest Offensive in Japanese History - WW2 - April 22, 1944

[@WorldWarTwo]

We were reached out to by one of our viewers with the touching news that today, April 22, 2023, the remains of Private Horace Middleton, a member of the 5307th Composite Unit (Merrill’s Marauders), will finally be laid to rest with the rest of his family in rural Pennsylvania. Horace was KIA in fighting around Myitkyina, Burma about July 12, 1944, and while his remains were collected then, he remained unidentified until October 2019 where the pandemic delayed his burial until now. Full story: www.standard-journal.com/news/local/article_00351a3e-4922-5608-b8d1-8761d8bdd031.html Patreon: www.patreon.com/join/timeghosthistory

[@beepboop204]

😅😅😅😅😅😅😅

[@guillaumedeschamps1087]

It's good that he finally was brought home and can rest with his family. Solid episode! The start of Ichi-Go is going to throw a bit of a wrench in Allied planning, much as the Burma offensive, but I wager the Allies can handle it.

[@frankbarnwell____]

Thanks for the link. I'm taking 2 days vacation to hit the beach on D day!

[@jharris0341]

Respect to Pvt Middleton.

[@pshehan1]

So few WWII veterans left. I note with satisfaction that a google search of Private Horace Middleton returns a number of items giving his story. I undertook an oral history interviewing veterans of the 2/14 Battalion AIF (Australian Imperial Force) in 2008. None of the men I interviewed are still with us. I will be attending the Battalion Association reunion lunch on Monday, April 24, the day before ANZAC Day. There will be no actual veterans attending. I will be taking along a 99 year old friend who had two relatives KIA in New Guinea serving with other units. The following is from the latest association news letter. Les was originally from Victoria but now lives elsewhere so he was not among those I interviewed. He must have been underage, 17, when he enlisted. "In January 2/14 veteran VX18984 [the V indicates a Victorian] Les Cook celebrated his 100th birthday. Les served in the Army from May 1940 to February 1947 in Crete, PNG [Papua/ New Guinea], Borneo and Japan. 2/14 past President Graig Iskov and wife Kay had the privilege of lunching with Les, surrounded by his three daughter and their families. Les had a surprise visit from the Australian war Memorial Director Matt Anderson and a piper. Les led a family singalong, gave a beautiful speech and recited a 7the Division poem about Balikpapan. [I visited Balikpapan with members of the Association some years ago. Unfortunately Les was not present]. He lives alone, manages his house and garden and goes to the gym twice a week [!!!]. Les is an absolute gentleman and an inspiration to all generations!" Lest we forget all who served.

[@alexamerling79]

Losing Sevastopol had to have been a big morale blow to the Germans considering how long it took them to capture it before.

[@thanos_6.0]

Not only that, it is the most important port at the Blacksee. Who controls Sevastopol, controls the Black sea. Which is one of the reasons why Putin invaded the Crimea in 2014.

[@bcvetkov8534]

​@@thanos_6.0 technically there wasn't an invasion in Crimea. They were jointly using it at the time with Ukraine. Russia simply kicked the Ukrainians out that were stationed there in 2014.

[@thanos_6.0]

@@bcvetkov8534 Yeah, true

[@davidhimmelsbach557]

@@AmirSatt You mean: "The Little Green Men." Famously, they had no military ID/ ranks on their uniforms. They must have come from Mars.

[@scottgorby2307]

@@bcvetkov8534 semantics

[@WalterReimer]

Also, on 22-23 April 1944, a Sikorsky R-4 helicopter flown by a USAAF pilot carried out the first combat search and rescue operation in Burma, rescuing a downed British liaison pilot and four soldiers. It's the first time a helicopter's been used in a combat theater.

[@Yora21]

I actually did not know functional helicopters even existed yet at this point.

[@tonydagostino6158]

WWII historian Mark Felton places the first rescue in January '45 kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZu8f4OGp890pMU

[@MrWWIIBuff]

You mentioned search and rescue in Burma. Later that year, Lt. Diebold would become a rescue parajumper going in after downed aircrews. You can read his memoir, Hell is so Green, which details quite a few of his exploits as a jumper.

[@MrWWIIBuff]

Minor correction. The article was from October. The jump happened in August of 44.

[@malickfan7461]

Operation Ichi-Go is such an under appreciated part of the war.

[@tigertank06]

But the big question is: where is Ichi going? 😂.

[@malickfan7461]

@@tigertank06 I hate myself for laughing at that. 😆

[@pocketmarcy6990]

@@tigertank06 China, apparently

[@malickfan7461]

@@BleedingUranium I was not aware of this. Thanks for the extra detail.

[@HWDragonborn]

​@@tigertank06 Luoyang, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Hengyang, Guilin

[@Dustz92]

Ghiang's optimism is not entirely misplaced. In 1938, the Japanese attempted an advance along this same direction (their original plan to conquer Wuhan was through this railway, not through the river as it later happened), and the Chinese forces stopped the Japanese (hence they were forced to attack through the Yangtze instead). However he is probably forgetting that a good reason for the Chinese victory back then was the extremely controversial destruction of the Yellow river dams, that indeed helped stop the Japanese but killed hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians.

[@porksterbob]

He ordered that destruction so he knows. The big problem is that the KMT troops in general of 1944 are worse than they were in 1938. China wasn't fully blockaded in 1938, they still had Burma, Indochina, the soviets, and Hong Kong to receive supplies. All of those had been cut off by 1942. Barely any allied aid has made it into China over the Hump, with most of it going to the US 14th air force in China, not the Chinese army. The little bit of aid going to the army is going (by US decree) to Y force on the Burma border, not the troops in central China. Making things worse, there has been massive inflation in China. Most Chinese commanders are over reporting their actual troop numbers as a way of pocketing the supplies and money for the excess reported troops. Chiang kai shek is aware of some of this, but he not aware of how bad the problem has become. This is part of why he has been asking for massive loans of money from the US. He needs to stabilize China's currency. (he won't get those loans)

[@carbonara2144]

Chinese forces did put up a hell of a fight.

[@johnyricco1220]

The Henan Famine of 42-43 severely weakened that region. A million people died and the central government did little for them. The army relies on the local population for logistical support - transportation, construction, food. Plus many troops were local conscripts. Having your family wiped out first by flood, and then by famine, and you can’t help them because of forced conscription is demoralizing.

[@jameshudkins2210]

@@porksterbob Corruption is one of the biggest causes of underdevelopment. It saps the will of an Army and government. The population looses respect because the rules are not the real way things are done. They don't understand and feel left out.

[@porksterbob]

@@jameshudkins2210 the basic math was that China was a net food importer and the government got 30 to 50% of its revenues from customs revenue. The Japanese blockade worked. The government printed money to keep the war going. Inflation was rampant. Many individuals felt they had to turn to corrupt means to survive.

[@gunman47]

A side note this week on April 18 1944 is that Lieutenant Colonel Tommy Hitchcock, Jr will die in an air crash while flight testing an aircraft at Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom. He was a famous polo player who had a successful sporting career before the war and had been instrumental in the development of the P-51 Mustang fighter plane, particularly in replacing the original Allison engine with the Packard-built Rolls-Royce Merlin.

[@ollikoskinen1]

So... one could call the phantom fleet... A phantom menace?

[@ladyzapzap9514]

Hopefully it has better luck!

[@jaxwagen4238]

Somehow it appeared

[@leogazebo5290]

A prequel reference? A surprise to be sure, but welcome one.

[@seneca983]

Haha!

[@exeggcutertimur6091]

Ghost ships.

[@dmitrishostakovich2176]

As a Chinese-speaking viewer, Ichi sounds like the chinese word 一起, which means together. So if you put both elements together, it sounds like go together, which is a pretty good name for something that involves two entire Japanese army groups

[@WorldWarTwo]

I like that a lot. Unrelated, but this reminds me of a meme about "The Iliad". Evidently the word is derived from "Ilium" which is the name for Troy, and "-ad" which is the suffix to indicate that it is a story about something. So it somewhat literally translates to "Troy Story", and I just find that fun. - T.J.

[@erics7992]

I think 'ichi' means 'one' in Japanese. But I could be wrong.

[@dmitrishostakovich2176]

@Eric S It is, but I was just pointing out it resembled a chinese word lol

[@erics7992]

@@dmitrishostakovich2176 Gotcha thanks. I am naturally jealous of anyone who can speak Chinese.

[@garcalej]

@@WorldWarTwo Achilles: Where’s my helmet?! Patroclus: Look…I’m Achilles! Howdy, howdy, howdy!

[@HyperSonicX]

Huh...So D-Day happens in the 250th week of the war? Hell of a way to mark a milestone.

[@JohnJohn-pe5kr]

And Tuesday June 6th, 1944 - Tuesday June 6th, 2023

[@Warmaker01]

If you only look at what's happening on the Western Front for Germany, it's real bad. But the Allies had agreed to work together, unlike the Axis. The Russians planned accordingly and would conduct Operation Bagration to begin a few weeks after Operation Overlord began.

[@finlayfraser9952]

Indie, Mountbatten was a naval officer, never a general, his title was Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia Command. Not nit picking at all, you do a great job.

[@pocketmarcy6990]

And this, this offensive is one of the prime reasons why the Republic of China is currently in exile on Taiwan and not in control of the whole country

[@derrickthewhite1]

I've heard that. I'm interested to watch it in the detail time ghost is promising us!

[@sopwithsnoopy8779]

...And my father enters the War, in the landings at Hollandia. He was in an independent artillery/AA battalion (90mm) attached to Eichlebergers army. A couple of stories I remember him telling about Hollandia was that his Colonel in command of the brigade gave himself leave for the invasion time period, leaving his 2nd in command in charge. And then later (spoiler alert) in 1945 for the invadion at Lingayen Gulf the colonel tried to give himself leave again, but the XO put his foot down and complained to the General, who ordered the colonel to be there or be arrested. My father also said, at Hollandia, his battalion was supposed to be in the third wave. When they landed, an officer sent my father forward to find a place to set up their 90mm guns. He came across a patrol that told him "buddy, we are front line, first wave!"

[@tomhenry897]

The Japanese were surprised we could put AAA on the beaches so early

[@stevekaczynski3793]

It's good to be a colonel...

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

The Japanese offensive was huge, involving over 500,000 troops, 15,000 vehicles 6,000 artillery guns, 800 tanks and 100,000 horses.

[@ericcarlson3746]

i wish we had more focus of how many troops were involved on each side. I have no idea how "big" these battles in Burma are, for example. or how many allied troops were pinned down at Anzio, etc etc

[@UrosKovacevic91]

Thats the size of Grand Army of Napoleon invading Russia!

[@kereckelizabeth3625]

​@@UrosKovacevic91 No. Napeleon deployed more tanks and vehicles. But typically french, he didn't know how to make good use of it . at the battle of Borodino, they were wrongly deployed.

[@JGD185]

The Chinese could lose 500k soldiers every day for a month and still keep fighting

[@extrahistory8956]

​@Eric Carlson They did repeatedly mention the number of Japanese troops that went to Burma (roughly 100,000) in three divisions with three large regiments in each. As for the Britishz they had less, bit with the air drop of both the 5th and 2nd Parachute Divisions, it has now roughly the same amount of troops.

[@GeneralSmitty91]

Solid episode! I know China has been increasingly on the mind of the community members of late and Ichi-Go coverage should satisfy their hunger. The various deception operations and D-Day build up continue to add excitement for the foreshadowed operations. Well done!

[@HontasFarmer80]

I wonder how they'll approach Operation Downfall VS the way the war really did end. Rightly Hiroshima and Nagasaki have to be WAH but should they also present the planned operations against the Japanese Home Islands as the bloodbath expected?

[@Raskolnikov70]

@@HontasFarmer80 Pretty sure they'll cover it in detail. Right up until the atomic drops the entire War Department was planning and working towards Downfall, it was a massive undertaking.

[@George_M_]

Honestly the Japanese are better at secret planning than the Germans by far. The allies were always reading the Germans mail, while the Japanese were continually underestimated in intention and intensity. Even to the end, when it turned out the forces held for defense of the home islands were formidable.

[@jason200912]

Meanwhile every single Japanese navy transmission was intercepted

[@HWDragonborn]

"Forces held for the defense of the home islands were formidable" Yes, the children with bamboo spears will definitely turned the tide of the war against US

[@rayyansagheer6]

​@@HWDragonborn Even the british began arming civilians back in 1940 when it looked like the germans were about to invade the home islands, desperate times require desperate measures. Besides, the japanese had about 2000 tanks, more than a 1000 planes etc and much more military equipment to deal with or at least make the invasion of the home islands as costly as possible. Stop just infusing your history with assumptions you get from memes and such. The Japanese had been expecting an invasion since the Doolittle Raids and had been preparing as such and this was also one of the reasons why the Atomic Bombings took place. The allies recognized the readiness of the Japanese nation and were not in a position to have 2 or 3 more years added to an already long war.

[@centurymemes1208]

@@HWDragonbornOr use them to wear down the enemy. if im going down ill kill as many as i could mentality is scary

[@wildcolonialman]

Excellent. Kohima is a battle that fascinates this man to this day. A truly astonishing blood bath of repeated frontal attacks on Allied positions, with a tennis court the scene of the most barbaric hand to hand combat battles. A remarkable victory was secured there.

[@obsidianjane4413]

The stripping of Japanese garrisons in NE China for Ichi-Go, taking pressure off of Mao and his army, might have consequences after the war...

[@Yora21]

Well, that's a bridge we'll burn when we get to it...

[@jliller]

Not only after the war, but suppose the Soviets were to finally enter the war against Japan with the Japanese Army busy in central China. Also, probably makes it harder to move troops from the mainland back to the home islands if the Allies threaten an invasion there.

[@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623]

Ichi-Go savaging the Nationalist armies was the greatest gift Japan could give to Mao for after the war. We might not have a PRC today if it weren't for Ichi-Go. That is why it is among the 3 great offensives of 1944 that determined the post-war world.

[@tomhenry897]

Don’t think so So many Chinese were tierd of the old government and believed what the communist were saying

[@mikloridden8276]

@@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623 Yupp! It didn’t help that when they surrendered both sides employed the Japanese troops even to the point of forgiving the crimes. So you had troops that ravaged Nanking in the Chinese military. Accounts state of how awkward it was for everyone can’t imagine that.

[@alansewell7810]

Thanks for the information on Ichi-Go, Imphal/Kohima, and the deception operation Wedlock. I had not heard of them. These must have been enormous operations in their own right, but are overshadowed by the larger war enveloping them.

[@peterh5165]

Another good video! Thanks for making videos available to the general public! Love your animated maps showing how battles unfold: your maps are some of the best I have seen.

[@danielweiss7396]

Danke!

[@peterh5165]

Bitte!

[@shakey2023]

"And then the enemy did this which the general thought was impossible." If I had a nickel for every single time that was Said, I could single handly fund the time ghost army. People really need to stop using that word

[@rajeshkanungo6627]

“Inconceivable!" "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

[@illiteratedino]

BTW, I know you guys addressed the issue with the war in China, but I think it would be useful to at least update once a month and give it a mention even if nothing happened. It could be just 1 sentence mentioning it. That would help and also let people who didn't see the other video know that it's not forgotten.

"All quiet on the far eastern front"

[@themarine9009]

After weeks of watching these series I finaly caught up to date Thank you so much for all the information I learned here

[@luisvaldes1568]

i did that last year. Only thing is events are a year in the future. 1944 dates during 2023.

[@robertjarman3703]

In just about 370 days, Hitler shoots the Führer of Germany.

[@maximumtaco2298]

This was me a few months ago. Not gonna lie I miss binging these videos when I initially stumbled on the series. Now I've gotta wait every week like everyone else!

[@jasonmussett2129]

I' ve been following you guys since Week one. I can't believe we've come this far. It's been one great journey👍

[@WorldWarTwo]

@Jason Mussett Thanks for keeping up with us for so long! We’re happy to have you on this journey!

[@jasonmussett2129]

@@WorldWarTwo you're welcome👍

[@TheSonOfDumb]

Haven't been watching for a while. Christ, we're at 1944 now? Time's going by fast.

[@thanos_6.0]

I also can't believe it. Time flies so quickly.

[@randomviewer6216]

I’ve been following it for 3years and even i can’t believe it’s 1944 now…indeed times fly

[@rrice1705]

Agreed. Don't blink or the Allies will be in Paris.

[@Raskolnikov70]

@@HebrewsElevenTwentyFive Yeah, can't have anyone saying any naughty words while we're watching a video about war and starvation and people being blasted to smithereens.....

[@OLDMANWAFFLES]

@@HebrewsElevenTwentyFive Prove to me that god exists without using the Bible. Also, if I get shot on the battlefield is Jesus gonna come and give me morphine?

[@naveenraj2008eee]

Hi Indy Another great week. Lots of information. This war entered new chapter,also your channel achieved new milestone. Thanks for another great week.

[@alexamerling79]

"Happy Birthday Adolf. No more chrome for you."-Turkey

[@louisshann8497]

Love the detailed accounts of these massive and important battles in Asia and the specific that I just didn't know alot about. Been following this series along with WWI and Between The Wars. Thank you all for these series.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Your kind words mean a lot to us! -TimeGhost Ambassador

[@bogusia65]

Love your weekly videos, Indy...But Operation Ichi-Go begins on April 19 (not on April 17). Keep up the GOOD work! 😄😎👍

[@greg4367]

Greetings from San Francisco. I look forward to Saturday mornings and you guys never fail to deliver. Thank you.

[@OLDMANWAFFLES]

Greetings from the Outer Mission District!

[@WorldWarTwo]

@Greg Salutations from New York! Glad you are able to join us!

[@larryjohnson1675]

Love the series. So glad I got in on it early. You guys are a rock that anchors Saturdays. Love Indy and the crew

[@alehaim]

What I am most looking forward to is Stillwell being kicked and being replaced by the much better Wedemeyer, because Stillwell had no right be anywhere outside a drill/training camp

[@luisvaldes1568]

What a nightmare at Kahima. And this is just a basic telling of the siege. "A blanket of fly's" makes my skin crawl.

[@JV-the-Tossh]

How kind of Turkey to give Hitler a birthday gift of trying to help him quit his Chrome addiction.

[@WalterReimer]

Chrome addiction? He should've went with a Mac . . .

[@stevekaczynski3793]

There is and was a significant amount of chrome in Albania - accessible as long as it remains under Axis control...

[@KKKKKKK777js]

Not sure running out of Chrome will be the main thing on Hitlers mind in 18 months.

[@loveroffunnyy]

should have used Bing instead.

[@brucetucker4847]

On the bright side, an 18-month supply of chrome was more than the Third Reich would end up needing.

[@aww2historian]

this war is supersaturated with events. incredible research!

[@trajan75]

Hollandia was part of MacArthur's brilliant New Guinea campaign. During that campaign,and in general, Macarthur took more land with fewer casualties than any other Allied Commander. As William Manchester points out in his biography "American Casar" this was a direct result of MacArthur's use of the tactic of envelopment. He conducted 81 amphibious operations, with unparalleled success. This is also documented in James Duffy's "The War at the of the World".

[@seanlander9321]

MacArthur’s plan was developed with the Australian command who carried out the most successful amphibious victories of the war.

[@trajan75]

I agreeThe Australian contribution was very important

[@Wayne.J]

Also Ultra, he could hit the Japanese where they weren't. He obviously could read the JN-25 from 1942 and would know that japanese navy was not going to stop him. And he was lucky that Aussies found the Japanese Army Code book buried in a creek bed at Saidor on 19th of January 1944. So he could now read the Army and naval codes via FruMel. Biak and Admiralties were a close run thing, but that's the advantage of intelligence

[@trajan75]

@@Wayne.J Inteligence is the great tool, but MacArthur's accomplishment.

[@juankovacs6033]

"Germany has enough chromium is storage to keep up production for the next 18 months" *Me, who knows they won't last 18 months - We will see about that...

[@mmurray821]

My Grandfather landed at Hollandia with the 41st Infantry Division for his first action of the war.

[@ceberskie119]

On a map Ichi-Go looks..small especially compared to how big china is. But then you look up pictures of Henan province and it'd hard to imagine how anyone could fight in such numbers on that terrain. Ridiculous mountains and massive river basins. Nightmarish to be sure.

[@extrahistory8956]

Indeed. No wonder the maneuver of the 3rd Japanese Mechanized Division several episodes later took the Chinese troops by surprise. Maneuvering your mechanized troops through a mountainous region to catch the enemy by the flank is not easy, especially when Chinese infrastructure was very bad around this era.

[@Steveross2851]

Japan's huge offensive in China is in a way a sign of weakness since at first glance the forces used for it could help defend Japan's Pacific Ocean empire. But the Imperial Japanese Navy is being smashed by the Americans and would be unable to supply forces of the size being used for Japan's new China offensive. So Japan has apparently decided that rather than "waste" those forces defending the home islands or eastern China (an unmistakable indication to people back home that Japan is losing the war badly) they might as well be used in China. There Japan hopes to supply them and unhinge the Allies in China.

[@jasonmussett2129]

Absolutely brilliant narration 😀

[@jack_L858]

Production quality gets better ever week! Cant wait for Overlord!

[@jozef_chocholacek]

Again a pronunciation nitpicking, but 一号作戦 (Operation number one) reads ichi-go, not ishi-go. Ichi means one, ishi means 石 stone (or 医師 doctor, or some ten other meanings, depending on context and used kanji)

[@Southsideindy]

Noted. Thanks. Though I've already filmed the next few weeks.

[@petergray7576]

Operation Strawberry (Ichigo)!

[@jozef_chocholacek]

@@petergray7576 🤣🤣🤣🍓

[@LightFykki]

@@petergray7576 Kurosaki

[@genericyoutubeaccount579]

Montagu Stopford was related to the infamous Frederick Stopford who bungled the invasion of Gallipoli! Frederick Stopford's grandfather and Montagu Stopford's great grandfather was James Stopford, 3rd Earl of Courtown. That makes them First cousins once removed.

[@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623]

Then Stopford must have been a far better commander then his cousin. He at least lead XXXIII Corps throughout the Burma campaign and got promoted to command the 12th Army after victory in Burma had been achieved. Good for the family name I suppose.

[@albiagioni100]

I always thought Stopford was a good name for someone who stalled the troops advance

[@rwagingsloth9528]

The maps this week were phenomenally animated, they did a really good job showcasing just how MASSIVE China really is and the folly of Japanese military heads to think they could sweep through it

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you! I’ll pass that along to our map team, they’ll appreciate it! ❤️ -Will

[@mukhtarsyajaratun1025]

Its almost the size of entire Europe combined

[@jackkerfoot8693]

A master piece of work documenting WWII. Well don3e.

[@NigelDeForrest-Pearce-cv6ek]

Brilliant Report!!!

[@alexhussinger3550]

Interesting question--Why aren't the Kuril Islands more of a serious Allied Target? If the whole point of the Island-hopping campaign is to get in range of the Japanese Home Islands, you would think that the comparatively shorter distance going over the Northern Pacific would be more attractive than the South or Central. Is it a supply issue?

[@Dustz92]

I think it's more than the main objective of the island hopping campaign at this stage was to isolate Japan from it's resource rich conquests, not necessarily reach Japan itself.

[@CrazyYurie]

It may also be that the supply lines to the Kuril's would be pretty long. Where would supplies be shipped from? Hawaii? Alaska? That's alot of sea to cross and to guard, especially with how close the Kuril's are to Japan itself.

[@warwatcher91]

Plus the environment and weather in that part of the Pacific could be nicely described as wretched. Aircraft and ships can barely operate as is.

[@michaelkovacic2608]

​@warwatcher91 I had no idea, is the Kurile area really that bad?

[@kemarisite]

​@@michaelkovacic2608 it's just one data point, but both sides at the Kommandorski Islands the previous year requested air support but neither side's aircraft were able to take off because of the wretched weather.

[@petorian343]

Is KZbin really deliberately trying to suppress this channel? I watch it regularly but I almost never see these videos in my recommended section, and I DO see videos recommended that are related to things I watched one-off months and months ago

[@WorldWarTwo]

We are always disappointed to hear about this happening :/ Unfortunately whether or not our videos are considered ad-friendly, get recommended, or get age restricted is constantly in flux depending on the whim of (usually) an automatic KZbin review. This is why we’re so grateful to the TimeGhost Army, since without them, this project would simply not be viable.

[@Arashmickey]

Fun fnact: Ultra intercepts reveal Guderian visited a place called Lulu's during his inspection tour through France. Much to the regret of the allies later this year, that little secret leaked.

Nice Episode. And I am finally all caught up after a few weeks of slipping behind :)

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you! We’re happy you’re up to speed!

[@SizarieldoR]

12:54 I must be nitpicky here - were there really Tiger tanks in the Crimea? I mean, the footage suggests so, but I doubt it was the case.

[@avanticurecanti9998]

You better mention Ernest Hemingway's battlefield activities in northern France when the time comes. He helped map out the safest route to Paris and likely saved many lives.

[@GerLeahy]

10:56 Detective McNulty always has your back

[@thanos_6.0]

I really am looking forward to what will be going on China the next couple of months. Since Ichi go, although beeing Japans largest offensive in history, is barely known about.

[@jliller]

This channel's coverage of the early Africa Campaign, Burma, and Ichi-Go are the kinds of relatively obscure campaigns that are normally overlooked.

[@ianblake815]

Awesome presentation as always ✌️

[@tmack11]

Montagu Stopford is a top 10 name.

[@CrimsonTemplar2]

Excellent episode Indy & team.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you!

[@matthewmcmacken6716]

I understood that in the beginning, 'ULTRA' was aided with so many German Commands wishing their Furher a Happy Birthday by operators who didn't bother to properly rotate the dials/cogs on their coding machines. The irony of it all.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Predictable or stereotypical aspects often give codebreakers an "in" into deciphering a message.

[@danielnavarro537]

In the months previously, the war in China has been quiet and inactive until now. The situation facing the Japanese Empire is critical. With the Allies advancing on all sides, the Japanese is slowly being squeezed. They have fought tooth and nail for ever single piece of land. And even though the Japanese is weakened, they still have their ability to fight. The Allies began to think what they can do to their enemy, not what the enemy can do to them. They will be proven wrong. The Allies now will have to be ready to fight a brutal battle against a tough enemy. Godspeed to those who perished during the Asiatic-Pacific theatre of the Second World War.

[@merdiolu]

It is interesting that British - Indian Army , or rather Forgotten 14th Army in Burma India frontier finally mastered their trade and crushing Japanese. Renya Mutugachi is a real piece of work. Just to save face he would let entire 15th Japanese Army to starve even if it was not surrounded or encircled , it was just overstretched and over extended by U-Go offensive.

[@Raskolnikov70]

To be fair, most of the Japanese forces in the area were starving before they were committed to the assault.....

[@Wayne.J]

The Japanese were relying on picking up Allied supplies when they withdrew from an area. Plus if u launch an offensive, u have less mouths to feed after it!

[@LibeliumDragonfly]

The dude's a superfan of Genghis Khan, can your really blame him?

[@friendhui4320]

Thank you Indy❤ Teach us.

[@teryshaw7370]

It seems like such a short time ago that we were hearing how the US fleet had such shortages of warships in the South Pacific. It would be interesting to learn how they became such an overwhelming force.

[@desslokbasileus571]

11:40　Renya Mutaguchi... this Japanese commander... while the Japanese soldiers on the front lines were suffering from starvation , he himself was in a cool place with a woman (geisha) , drinking the whiskey he stole from the British. 😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬😬

[@LightFykki]

To think that one year from now Hitler will be woken on his birthday from the Soviet's medium-range artillery, and yet there is still so much left to happen in the war until that time comes. Truly like Indy said, a new chapter has begun

[@pocketmarcy6990]

For a second I thought you were talking about to other thing to happen to Hitler in April 1945

[@traversyn]

Thank You

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for watching, Traversy.

[@johnwright291]

Hmm wedlock ? Thats where I was born. Somewhere outside wedlock. Benny Hill gets the credit for that gag.

[@javierperalta7648]

it's incredible how japan managed to keep advancing in china despite having lost the war in the pacific. It speaks a lot about the chinese military (and not in a good way)

[@nathanmiles8314]

I have been to Aitape in PNG and everyone there calls it AYE-tah-pay (not aye-TAH-pay). I have never been to Bouganville, but everyone I know that has been there pronounces it BOW-gan-ville.

[@davidhimmelsbach557]

Indy -- you skipped Guderian's birthday gift: the 116th Panzer Division. Quite the booby prize, it's larded with anti-Hitlerist officers, expressly to give Rommel a counter-SS force should a coup occur after the Allies land. During the campaign -- it's the LAST panzer division committed to battle. At all times, Rommel/ Kluge kept it in reserve. Cute. It's only committed after The Breakout. Then it's -- essentially -- destroyed.

[@Southsideindy]

I have to save something for the D Day series!

[@ricardoaguirre6126]

Never knew about the 9th fleet deception.

[@WorldWarTwo]

The more you know! 🌈

[@jojo3NNN]

I recognize the thumbnail art! I've seen it on Bolt Action japanese boxes. Now that would be a cool sponsorship/crossover.

[@joel445720]

I read somewhere that 18,000 men died in TRAINING for the Army Air Corps during WWII. Is this number correct? If training deaths are excluded which branch of the US Armed Forces suffered the greatest percentage of casualties? Also, my father was stationed in the Aleutians during WW II right after the Japanese abandoned their islands. What was the casualty rate for Navy and Army planes flying in the Aleutians? I understand most casualties were from planes being lost to bad weather and "unknown causes" rather than combat. Love your series.

[@RKGrizz]

Did the Japanese ever outright win an engagement on the Pacific islands? It feels like they lose every contested island without success. Sure they cause heavy casualties but they can never seem to retake or hold against the Allies.

[@extrahistory8956]

Their only victories were in 1942. After that, every military engagement in the islands was a Japanese defeat. Their Navy was further damaged by Midway and the Guadacanal campaign, but would lose all their power at the Philippines Sea and Leyte Gulf.

[@TacticusPrime]

They did back in 1942. But now they are on the back foot. Keep in mind that they continued to occupy many Pacific Islands right to the end of the war. The campaign in New Guinea that has now taken off will continue right until the emperor declares their surrender.

[@ahorsewithnoname773]

Victory in the Pacific islands was ultimately determined by events at sea. The side that had naval superiority tended to win. Japan had the naval advantage through the first half of 1942 and won all the Pacific battles. The Allies suffered devastating losses during that period, the largest defeats in fact in British and American history (the fall of Singapore & the Philippines respectively). After Midway the advantage shifted to the Allies so now they're the ones advancing and capturing territory. That said the Gaudalcanal campaign was very closely run and might have gone the other way. That was very hotly contested, for a time the IJN did cut off the US Marines from resupply, and there were seven major naval battles in addition to all the fighting on the ground. Spoiler alert...Japan isn't done with it's offensives and in June of 1944, with US forces landed in Saipan, the IJN wil sally out to engage the US Fleet in what Japan hopes will be a decisive turning point. It results in the largest carrier battle in history. It does not however go well for Japan.

[@Raskolnikov70]

@@TacticusPrime Yep, and most of those islands were self-administering POW camps by the end of the war since they had no contact or resupply from the home islands. All they could do was farm taro and watch the US Navy sail past towards Japan.

[@tomhenry897]

After Guadalcanal they lacked the resources to reinforce

[@djquinn11]

I hope that’s a secure line that Indy is using.

[@annehersey9895]

Re: The landings on New Guinea: 'There are however, problems with the local terrain.' Doesn't this about sum up the entire problem with the whole Pacific Campaign? I don't know yet of one Island where the local terrain wasn't as much an enemy as the Japanese themselves! From the coral reef around Tarawa to the thick, impassable volcanic 'soil' on Iwo Jima, the elements were as much a problem as the Japanese..

[@danielgreen3715]

As a young Lad in my village One of my Neighbour's had Fought at Kohima And somehow survived the terrible siege there Despite the Privations and conditions that both sides went through He suffered until his Death with various Tropical Diseases And although He survived the War His Quality of life suffered afterwards due to the conditions that He and his Colleagues went through in the Jungles of Southeast Asia In many instances a Bullet or Shrapnel Burst was the least of your worries when one compares it to all the Bugs and suchlike that you find in the Jungles over there.

[@jliller]

I'm reminded of that classic tune by the West Hunan Army Musicians... Your artillery puts the boom-boom into my heart (ooh-ooh) Your explosions send my soul sky-high When your aerial bombin' starts Jitterbug into my brain (yeah-yeah) Goes a bang-bang-bang 'Til my bunkers do the same But something's bugging me Something ain't right My intelligence officer told me What you did last night You left me sleeping in my barracks I was dreaming But I should've been with you instead Wake me up before you Ichi-go-go Don't leave me hanging on like Sebastopol Wake me up before you Ichi-go-go I don't wanna miss it when you hit that high Wake me up before you Ichi-go-go 'Cause I'm not planning on going back to Tokyo Wake me up before you Ichi-go-go, ah Take me invading tonight I wanna hit that high, yeah, yeah

[@CARL_093]

thanks indy i m waiting for the china series

[@SoloChinchilla]

Awesome episode!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you!

[@horacio0206]

Excellent episode, although threre is not a single new about the front of the Mediterranean Sea and Italy during the last 3 episodes

[@jliller]

Because the front has been static.

[@caryblack5985]

Theopped to regroup and plan further offensives.

[@alancrews2066]

Great stuff. Thnx.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thnx to u 2, Alan.

[@jeffersonwright6249]

The best ground eye view of the Imphal campaign: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartered_Safe_Out_Here

[@sealove79able]

A great very interesting video.

[@jasonz7788]

Cool thanks

[@Wayne.J]

Hollandia landings No British cruisers, HMS Shropshire was gifted to Australia in April 1943 to replace HMAS Canberra. Shropshire was manned by an Australian crew. Other cruisers were Australia and Hobart, both Australian Speaking of a paper 9th Fleet, the Japanese 9th Fleet created 15Nov1943 was a basically paper fleet from it start and was totally destroyed at Hollandia in the US invasion. And Mountbatten was a Admiral not a General.

[@lightfootpathfinder8218]

Thanks for clearing that up 👍 I thought I'd never heard of Royal navy cruisers in the later new guinea campaign

[@rags417]

Just a query. It is my understanding that the NATO standard icon for a Corps is three crosses (XXX), for an Army four and for an Army group of Front (eg First Ukrainian Front) is five. What do six crosses mean ?

[@WorldWarTwo]

Those are super rare to see on maps, mostly because wartime maps don't tend to zoom out that far and still be useful, but "XXXXXX" would indicate an entire theatre, or a "combatant command region" in NATO terms. - T.J.

[@rags417]

@@WorldWarTwo I asked because the Chinese Armies were all shown with six crosses when they should probably have four or five.

[@andrewsoboeiro6979]

I want Indy to know that I appreciate the "Nelsonian blind eye" deep cut

[@topjets5616]

Great Video :)

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you!

[@istvanszoke381]

My old english manager Andy used to have them fake conservations with his imaginery opponents regularly humiliating and threatening them. It was kinda funny as he pointed in the air many times, raised his voice, called it Young Sir or Anthony and his face even turned red most of the time!

[@ПавелИванов-ь8р]

Turkey showed amazing restraint and wisdom in World War II

[@stevekaczynski3793]

This year (1944) some pro-Axis Turks are arrested and put on trial as German spies. There was some pro-German sentiment among Turkish army officers (some were present at Kursk on the German side as neutral observers) but it is increasingly obvious which way things are going.

[@Raskolnikov70]

They knew they would have been squished like a bug no matter whose side they took in this mess. Their location is too strategic for their own good, something they've had to deal with since their foundation as a modern nation.

[@tomhenry897]

We bribe them

[@brokenbridge6316]

Glad to hear about some offensive action in China. I can't wait to see where this goes.

[@autarchprinceps]

Why did the allies only fake an attack from the north? Seems to me, that if you want to island hop to get to the heart of Japan, going the north route would have taken a lot less battles to get there.

[@Raskolnikov70]

Logistics and weather. They would have had to build up huge staging bases in the Aleutians under pretty horrible conditions, even without the threat of Japanese attacks. Those bases were already being built in the south and central Pacific as part of the advances there.

[@erics7992]

Think of how the world would have been different if it had been the Americans who had occupied the Kurils and not other people.

[@Raskolnikov70]

@@erics7992 How do you think things would have been different? I'm genuinely curious what you think because I can't come up with any scenario where it changes anything on a larger historical scale. Assuming the US held onto them at the end of WWII, they almost certainly would have given them back to Japan as part of the peace treaty, probably holding on to a few for military bases similar to their arrangement in Okinawa. Such bases would be seen as a threat to the USSR but they also saw US bases in South Korea and Japan the same way. And as far as any Soviet threat to either of those nations, Vladivistok is a much better jumping-off point for any military action against them than the Kurils. Again, it's a genuine question, do you think it would have altered the course of the Cold War and if so, how?

[@erics7992]

@@Raskolnikov70 What you point out is good and maybe I should have thought it through more. I suppose I was thinking that it would have hemmed in Vladivostok completely and dramatically reduced Soviet access to the Pacific. I suppose that what I was really thinking is that it might have shortened the war in the Pacific and if Japan had been defeated before Germany then the Soviets would not have had the opportunity to intervene in Manchuria which may well have changed the history of China or at the very least the Korean peninsula. But then again maybe not. I have to think the logistics of a Kuril islands campaign would have been a nightmare. Basing it out of the Aleutians would make more sense than Hawaii anyways.

[@Raskolnikov70]

@@erics7992 I see what you're getting at. The Kurils would be a great place to monitor Soviet sub traffic and be a thorn in their side during the Cold War. If things ever went hot though, I doubt any US bases there would survive more than a few days at best even if things stayed conventional - they're just too close to the USSR and too far from US support in any direction. They also would have made a good launching point for an invasion of norhthern Japan if that's what the Allies wanted to do prior to the USSR declaring war against Japan. They're definitely closer than Okinawa or Iwo Jima (I'm looking at a map while writing this and kind of guesstimating distances with my thumb) but the only good place to attack the Kurils from would be the Aleutians, and that's where the weather and distance issues kick in. I'm sure the Allies considered it and did the math and figured that the island hopping campaign in the south would take less time to advance that close than trying to build up forces in the north. The other issue is if things go horribly wrong in the Kurils it's a very long way back to Attu or Midway or Hawaii, while a failure in the south during Downfall would just push them back to Okinawa (or Formosa, if they used that as their launching point) and leave them in a good position to try again. Of course the events of August 1945 rendered that all moot, but it's interesting to consider. Would a northern attack have shortened the war in the Pacific? Someone smarter than me will have to do the math on that one. I always defer to the fact that the Allies chose to do it in the south at the time, but MacArthur's influence was a big part of that decision. If he hadn't been involved, would they have chosen to skip the Phillipines and gone north instead? Hmm....

[@1415J]

4:51 Why are there six crosses on 1st army? Isn't an army supposed to have only four?

[@extrahistory8956]

This is an Army Area, which is composed of 5 Army Groups, which is composed of 3 Armies each. But because the Chinese are so understaffed and under equipped, their Army Areas were roughly the size of a Japanese Army, and their Armies were the equivalent of a Japanese Corp.

[@keithlewis1881]

I thought Louis Mountbatten was a Rear Admiral?

[@brickproduction1815]

The situation in Crimea echoed the war between British, France, and Russia

[@mcflanachac2522]

General Mountbatten, common. At least acknowledge that he was Admiral.

[@martinwohlert7803]

Hey, you nicked that preview picture from Warlord Games! Not cool.

[@unr74]

Hey Indie- do another Churchill impression once in a while

[@WorldWarTwo]

okey dokey!

[@KriegsmarineGrossadmiral]

13:50 Who is this "Black sea fleet admiral"?

[@NaturalLanguageLearning]

15:05 Fegelein?