How Mighty is the Red Army? - WW2 Special

[@WorldWarTwo]

This summer we saw the Axis invade the Soviet Union, between now and then we have seen the Red Army suffer monumental losses and the Axis make staggering gains. Though despite all of this, we see the Red Army still putting up a tenacious defense and fighting back, to the dismay of Axis strategists. In this episode, we get a brief history of the Red Army and see what it looked like in 1941. Hope you enjoy this episode, be sure to read our rules of conduct before commenting: community.timeghost.tv/t/rules-of-conduct/4518 Cheers, Dennis

[@luxembourgishempire2826]

Very

[@QuizmasterLaw]

David Glantz gave a small interview over on little wars today! (wargaming channel)

[@QuizmasterLaw]

I really hope everyone else figures out Finland was Stalin's way of weeding out his incompetents and traitors. It's painful to watch constant misapprehension of USSR "incompetence" in Finland. Just compare how the USSR did in Spain and Manchuria to figure it out. USSR did just fine in those 2 theaters. Why so bad in Finland? Simple. Purge early, purge often, and above all purge them before they purge you!

[@erwansabatie1490]

I hate russian winter !!

[@макслюлюкин]

At the time of 1941 the Red army was being reformed,the Army imported new types of tanks and aircraft, they were at the stage of early development personnel,the t-34 was still unprocessed machine with childhood diseases which were eliminated already during the fighting, the same thing happened with the aircraft, with personnel in the red army among the management team, it was also bad after the arrests of senior officers, was the case when in the summer of 1941 divisions were commanded by lieutenants

[@ShyTentacle]

My grandfather was a 18 years old Sakha (Yakut) boy when drafted in 1941. It took him weeks to get to Moscow from Russian Far East via railroads, but once he got there, he jumped off the train to see Red Square. It'd been a dream of his, and grandfather just wanted to see it before going into battle. After short training, he was among those thrown against Nazis at their mightiest exactly where this series has been covering - Vyazma, Smolensk, the whole Rzhev Meatgrinder. The casualties were so heavy, that he was at some point battlefield promoted to acting company commander - an asian siberian village boy. He was eventually heavily wounded in a counterattack, saved only by a dead horse that fell on top of him, shielding from further damage. Shot through his right elbow (it crippled the arm for life), he was discharged from active service in 1942, awarded with Medal For Courage. He spoke very little about war, clearly suffering from undiagnosed PTSD at the time, resorting to alcohol as a relief to his mental wounds left from the harshest period of war. A few years ago I saw a post war interview with Zhukov and when he mentioned and thanked troops that fought stubbornly at Vyazma, saying that their effort was crucial and time they had given to organize other defences was critically important - I almost cried hearing that. It must have been hell to be thrown into such meatgrinder at the age of 18, but my grandfather, among many others, gave it his all.

[@gordonilaoa1275]

I greatly appreciate and acknowledge the sacrifice men and women of all ages gave to defend your homeland. I thank your grandfather for his service to the world. If there is a life after this, I’d hope the lives suffered by war could live eternally in peace.

[@ArkadiBolschek]

Thanks to your grandfather for his service and his sacrifice. The world is a better place for the things he did.

[@yili3339]

thank you for the effort and sacrifice of your family during the war to stop racism. we are now under a better world because of the fighting of these brave people.

[@jasondouglas6755]

Amazing story, it is truly remarkable what things have happened in history

[@IchBinJager]

It also shows you that if Japan had attacked Russia with Germany how disastrous it would have been. Always feels to me most people today don't take the Japanese at the time seriously enough.

[@RavshanE]

2 of my great-grandfathers from my mum's side (we're Uzbek) served in the Red Army druing the war and survived through it, one of which actually had just gotten back from the Winter War earlier after being wounded. That same great-grandfather later served on the front as one of the people who would have to carry cables/telegraph wires through the frontline to maintain communication and actually got wounded several more times till pretty much the end of the war. My other great-grandfather served as a lietutenant-colonel or some other officer rank but he was in charge of logistics for a railway carriage or something like that and he had to make sure that supplies were delivered to the front. I think my great-grandfathers on my dad's side did serve as well, but they just didn't make it by the end and probably died on the front.

[@Ronald98]

that's great to hear! you should be proud of them.. and may the dead ones rest in peace

[@colombiansRul3s]

Hey they served in roles that the opposing German army didn't value or care about. German logistics/supply and communication/intelligence seem to be the ultimate reason why they failed.

[@ninaakari5181]

By that time Asians were rare to see in Finland and the Finnish soldiers were amazed and confused when they saw central asian soldiers in the Red army. They thought they to be Chinese and were wondering what their purpose is to be attacking in Finland

[@rikuvakevainen6157]

Do you know in what front they served? It would be interesting to see what was their road during the war.

[@JustSomeCanuck]

You know the war has gotten real when Indy busts out the 3D pie chart.

[@TheCimbrianBull]

🥧 📊 ❓

[@JustSomeCanuck]

@@TheCimbrianBull 8:02

[@Ronald98]

@@JustSomeCanuck awww man.. i want pie now :(

[@realshaokhan5184]

@@TheCimbrianBull 3.1415...

[@Raskolnikov70]

There's a similar moment in every TIK video as well, where the bar charts pop up on the screen. 'Bout to destroy some wehraboos with facts and logic.....

[@olegkazantsev4424]

Two of my great grandfathers fought in the Red Army. Makar Kazantsev, on my dad's side, was a Siberian Cheldon (descendant of the first, insular wave of Russan-speaking settlers in the Urals and Siberia). Miraculously, he didn't fall victim to the dekulakization despite having a personal farm somewhere in the vicinity of Iskitim. Possibly, due to living rather remotely, like many Cheldons did. He was over forty when the war started, but in 1942 he volunteered and joined as a heavy machine gun operator (probably, a less physically demanding duty, plus prior experience ). He fought all the way to 1944, when during Operation Bagration he had a shrapnel wound that the field surgeons considered inoperable. He was told the shrapnel was too close to his heart, so he had about two years to live. He was sent home, since the war was already leaning toward the Allied victory. He lived for another 20 years, shrapnel or not. My dad had few memories of Makar, except him being a fiercely independent, grim man who had a saber hanging on his izba's wall. On my mom's side, Lev Skribovsky, was a Jewish boy from the Rovno shtetl who was resettled under Stalin to the Jewish Autonomous Oblast in the Far East, Transamur region. This later turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as a big chunk of their family that stayed in Rovno later fell victims to the Nazi atrocities. He was 15 when the war started and barely spoke any Russian. In 1942, he volunteered to the frontline, lied about his age (said he was 18) and said he forgot his passport at home. The conscription officers probably saw through his lies, but enrolled him anyway. However, instead of sending him to the meatgrinder, he was at first assigned to the field kitchen duty, where he learned to speak decent Russian. He later became an operator of an anti-materiel rifle. After getting wounded in 1944, his regiment moved too far west for him to catch up, so he was reassigned to a newly formed CQC unit as an avtomatchik (submachinegunner), He made it to Konigsberg, which is where he met the end of the war in 1945. Fun fact: apparently, he told my grandma when she was young that had he met Stalin, he would've shot him. Not sure if he would've had the guts or motivation to do so back in the 40s, but that speaks a lot about how complicated the people's loyalties were back then.

[@Ronald98]

may they rest in peace.. the world would not be the same without their sacrafice... them and all the other soldiers as well

[@acutechicken5798]

Они герои!

[@alexgaelsotorodriguez3870]

What was you Jewish great grandfather's native language? Just for curiosity.

[@4tedi4]

@@alexgaelsotorodriguez3870 @Oleg Kazantsev Probably Jidish or Polish. I would also like to know

[@lexbor3511]

@@4tedi4 From Rovno, so Polish as a primary language and maybe Yiddish and very unlikely but maybe a couple of words in Ukrainian also.

[@morisco56]

an episode about krushev and brezhnev during the war would be amazing.

[@IudiciumInfernalum]

Agreed!

[@erickam6733]

Khruschev played an important part during the war so he will probably get a biographical special. I'm fairly sure Breznev will get one too.

[@edilemma8052]

@@erickam6733 Unlike sob Khrushev, who was a political commissar type of future during WWII, Breznev fought in tranches and was respected by his military comrades.

[@nordicfella8004]

@@edilemma8052 However, Breznev was an actual political commissar.

[@QuizmasterLaw]

@@edilemma8052 ax tiy... Ok yeah Khruschev was a politico and braggart but he did in fact risk his life.

[@MenRot]

My great great grandfather was a teacher in the village ( Modern Atyrau district, Kazakhstan), he was free from the draft, but volunteered and gone the front, technically MIA, it's obvious, he didn't survive the war. Father says that he gone to the front out of shame ( you are only man in the village from your generation, who stays behind the front), but given that grandfather was dedicated communist, I tend to think that he sincerely wanted to help in war effort.

[@michable100]

Fighting for the people, a true hero!

[@squamish4244]

Kazakhstan sent everyone it could to the front. By October 1943, after millions went, the draft had ended, because there was no one left to go. The same for all of Central Asia. Stalin is fortunate he had the non-Russian minorities to draw on, without them he never could have won the war.

[@SPb1_irregular]

Almost the same story is about my mom’s uncle, who also was a teacher (actually by 1941 he was in charge of a chief school education office of a vast area somewhere in Siberia). Naturally, as a high level authority, he was free from the draft, but joined the army; he was lucky to survive; after the war he lived in Kazan and taught history in a military higher school.

[@SPb1_irregular]

By the way, he was Jewish

[@nadirzacaria4554]

@@SPb1_irregular Who was a jew ??

[@TheNorthie]

The best analogy of the Red Army is that it was like Rocky: it could take a hit and keep going,

[@JuanMatteoReal]

Adorable pfp you've got there.

[@allancastellon9248]

@@petahoee8281 not really the overwhelming majority of German forces were in the east regardless

[@dalesabandal9113]

The better one is Germany is Goku at SSJ3, super powerful but can only maintain the form for so long. The allies (US and USSR), were Majin Buu. Formidable on their own, but their geological vastness and distance from fighting made them practically invinsible. They can take a million hits, and still dish out a billion in return

[@allancastellon9248]

@@petahoee8281 I'm just arguing this potential extra material and men conserved from other fronts wouldn't fundamentally change the outcome. Not only would that not speed up barbarossa anymore than it was going {if anything the added logistical strain could have slowed it even more than it already was}. GIven that fact the failure to take moscow and counter offensive would still happen and Case Blue would still be persued. more men and material wouldn't necessarily save Stalingrad either.

[@allancastellon9248]

@@petahoee8281 no considering the delay was caused by the hold up in the southern area of the front and had they pushed further while the battle of Kiev was still going on they were likely to get enveloped.

[@Turgon_]

As long as Dmitri Petronko lives, the heart of the Red Army can never be broken!

[@morisco56]

Dimitri and reznov won the whole war

[@comradekenobi6908]

Your heart and actions are utterly unclouded. They are all those of 'Justice'

[@alchemist6819]

@@comradekenobi6908 Hello there, Comrade!

[@comradekenobi6908]

@I HATE TOUCANS VORKUTA, *BURNS!!!*

[@jidk6565]

Just replayed Black Ops 2 Genuinely One of the most painful games for that flashback mission alone...

[@Alex-cw3rz]

One thing that should be added is the purges, were not mainly murder, it was mostly imprisonment, meaning once war started the soviet's reintroduced these officers back into the army, this is technically and ironically became somewhat of an advantage as it means they have a strong core of experienced officers, who haven't been taken striaght away by the original thrust of the german armed forces, that even the best commanders would have struggled to stop, leading to capture or death of those officiers. Don't get it twisted this is in no way some sort of defense for the purges just an interesting fact.

[@robertalaverdov8147]

What! You mean to tell me that some people take any sort of benign statement about the soviets and interpret it as propaganda. Henceforth beginning their long diatribe's about their wehraboo generals. Or how the soviets were more evil and therefore deserved all the war crimes committed by the Na$is Could it be that they're just plain crazy to begin with?

[@Alex-cw3rz]

@@robertalaverdov8147 oh do they, I didn't know that. Tbh I was just putting it there because I felt it did sound a somewhat positive depiction of the purges, which I obviously didn't want to be the take away from what I said.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Rokossovsky and Meretskov, among others, were jailed for a time but reinstated as army commanders. Vlasov, who was never imprisoned, did go over to the Germans.

[@alexandrejosedacostaneto381]

The only reason the Germans managed to advance so far and capture so many enemies to begin with was because of the purges

[@edilemma8052]

@@alexandrejosedacostaneto381 Not true at all! The German's initial success in USSR, as in any other previously occupied European country, should be attributed to their new tactic of using motorized forces. Also keep in mind that Germany & their satellites invaded the USSR with biggest forces than in any other theater of war in history!

[@ivanvoronov3871]

Marshal Boris Shaposhnikov is criminally underrated

[@igoralekseyev3347]

Like most staff officers. The people working hard behind the scenes generally tend not to get much recognition in anything...

[@ivanvoronov3871]

@@igoralekseyev3347 he was a tsarist colonel and one of the few officers stalin respected. He even addressed him formally unlike others. He is one of the main driving forces for the professionalism of the red army and developed its doctrine . A Very unique man and very much underlooked. Without him the red army would be in a much worse shape

[@podemosurss8316]

Totally. He deserves far more credit.

[@ivanvoronov3871]

@@podemosurss8316 not just credit he is never even mentioned even though he was a key individual at the time

[@podemosurss8316]

@@ivanvoronov3871 Indeed, at least not in this video. On other, he's been mentioned but not at much as he deserves.

[@spqr1945]

USSR did have a huge amount of manpower, but it was not endless, already in 1944 they started to have problems with conscription, so older men and who previously had a exemption were mobilised. in 1945 divisions became smaller in size simply due to lack of manpower. Aslo a large amounts of women serviced in the Red Army, most of them (except of nurses) were volunteers.

[@notwhalea7770]

The manpower problems in USSR was already in 1943, but not as large as in 1944 - 45. In 1945, for example, 5k soldiers in the division were great. Before the war, it should have been 14483.

[@steps1230]

Exactly, later on in the war the Soviets were tearing down old units and reassigning their soldiers in order to replace losses in other ones. Women and literal children were working the farms and factories that supplied the country. Also as you said, hundreds of thousands of women had combat roles like snipers, fighter pilots, anti-aircraft gunners, radio operators, tank crew members and other roles. For 1941 at least, the Axis also outnumbered Soviet forces on the battlefield.

[@ShyTentacle]

It's one o the greatest german apologetic myths of WW2 that deserves a video of its own.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

In photos of Red Army soldiers in 1944, they often seem to be either newly-recruited farm boys or grizzled men in their 40s or even older. Child soldiers were not unusual - male orphans were sometimes given oversized uniforms and a gun and were often referred to as "sons of the regiment" ("synovya polka").

[@edilemma8052]

@@ShyTentacle Unfortunately this channel doesn't disprove common WWII mythologems related to nazi-Soviet struggle.

[@yourstruly4817]

Oh, my grandfather didn't fight against the Red Army, he was a navigator on a spice freighter!

[@konstantinriumin2657]

Spice must flow...

[@jeffreybeckham1130]

That's what your uncle told you

[@roskcity]

@@jeffreybeckham1130 мy uncle said if I go to his basement he will give me a free PS5 and XSX

[@hughmckendrick3018]

If I was about in WW2 I would be a run away and hide man!

[@stc3145]

My grandfather was born on the day of the invasion of the USSR lol

[@pisauron]

What a funny title! Isn't it clearly said in the famous song: "The White Army and the Black Baron Are trying to restore the Czar's throne, But from the taiga to the British seas The Red Army is the strongest of all!"

[@ivanvoronov3871]

Great catch , Only a few will get the reference though. All my ancestor's fought in the Russian civil war so I'm a bit obsessed with it. I even listen to music of that period to relax sometimes))

[@TeutonicEmperor1198]

Let the Red Army Take in its journey A bayonet with its hardened hand, And now we must all Unstopped by walls Go into one last deadly stand!

[@ivanvoronov3871]

@@martenikaeltheroy3621 Baron wrangle. Look him up. One of the best commands the white army had

[@TeutonicEmperor1198]

@@martenikaeltheroy3621 they are referring to the Imperial German Army

[@decade0240]

@@TeutonicEmperor1198 No, the White Army.

[@thegorb2653]

Fun Fact: after the civil war Trotsky actually flipped and wanted to return to the old militia/ red guard structure with a more decentralized army, safe to say some of the old tsarist officers weren't to pleased.

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Well as the song goes *the Red Army is the strongest*

[@Ypog_UA]

*Красная Армия свех сильней*

[@erwansabatie1490]

Yes, i know that

[@QuizmasterLaw]

the things we learn from a girl and her panzer

[@TheCimbrianBull]

@@QuizmasterLaw *Panzerlied intensifies*

[@TheCimbrianBull]

@@erwansabatie1490 Did you remember to bring your winter coat? *cough* *cough*

[@captainmacmillan1752]

"The can only recruit 106 teachers (bc of Stalins purges), 61 of whom are under active investigation". Im sorry but thats just hilarious. It perfectly illustrates Stalins paranoia.

[@randomthoughts6625]

@@NMahon actually not. Russian soldiers seemed particularly loyal. They rarely just deserted their post. That’s more an Austria-Hungaryian or french thing

[@Wustenfuchs109]

@@randomthoughts6625 It is. Russia, and later USSR, was a huge country with many groups wanting different things. Remember, Stalin was a member of one of those and they ended up bringing the entire country down... in no small part because all the OTHER groups rose up at the same time as well (we know that as Russian Civil War and it had a few dozen groups fighting, not just Reds and Whites). That is why paranoia was justified and why all those oppressive policies were implemented in the early days of USSR. Stalin knew very well that certain groups, especially border regions, cannot be trusted. As I said, he saw how a combined action of those brought down the empire in a tough situation. He was not a brutish idiot. Most of the things he did were very calculated. And, in the end, with all the costs, it payed off. Had he not gone down the road he did, what do you think USSR would look like in the winter of 1941? Probably like Russia did in 1917. Germans counted on that. You know, "just kicking in the door" talk? That is what stood behind all those decisions Stalin made. That is how a country with a wooden plow being the dominant technology when he came into power became a nuclear superpower 30 years later, after all the devastation.

[@ggsay1687]

@@kusokbik He simply used NKVD as a tool for purges, he also constantly purged NKVD, so no one could gain enough connections to over through him. It was easy to do because newspapers were under control, he used that control to make people believe that many people were traitors. Independent journalists and news agencies are key element of democracy. They are 4th power.

[@ImtheHitcher]

@@kusokbik This is true, it's the reason Yagoda was tried and executed and why his death was the end of the purges.

[@ImtheHitcher]

@@kusokbik you're correct, I got the order of NKVD director the wrong way around!

[@steved7961]

I recommend the book 'Ivan's War' for a detailed examination of the lives and attitudes of the ordinary soldiers in the Red Army.

[@Blazcowitz1943]

Its interesting how the Red Army was in many ways behind the times but also ahead of the times. They were the first Army in the war to use a self-loading rifle (The SVT 40. This spurred on the Germans to develop their own self-loading rifle in response) in quantity though it still played second fiddle to the Mosin Nagant because it was much quicker and chapter to produce, especially during the first couple of years when they were more concerned with quantity over quality (hence why the early T-34 tanks were well armed and armored but extremely crude and unreliable. Once momentum had shifted they focused more in improving the overall quality of their arms and military vehicles).

[@williestyle35]

First Army *participating* in the war to issue semi-automatic rifles to some troops, by about 5 months. All main U S Army infantry soldiers were issued M1 semi-automatic rifles, starting in 1936 ( but that won't matter till later ).

[@Blazcowitz1943]

@@williestyle35 True, the U.S Army adopted the M1 officially in 1936, but the first American troops to see combat were the U.S Marines who were still equipped with the Springfield '03 bolt action for quite some time until they finally received the M1 in quantity.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

The Eastern Front was an odd mix of hi-tech and low-tech on both sides. Advanced tanks and horse cavalry side by side.

[@Cornel1001]

In fact the Red Army was superior to all, in military points as quality and quantities. Germany ended the war without being able to build a proper battle tank, in fact they failed to produce a diesel engine for tanks.

[@TheLoraxshadenough]

Not mighty enough, they don't have the great patriotic war buff yet

[@Ronald98]

*picks Defence of Moscow focus

[@xxAnaconta]

The ''White Army, Black Baron'' had already been written which gave them at least a 50% morale boost

[@creatoruser736]

Note: The Red Army did not actually have an unending pool of manpower. That'll be an important thing to keep note of in a few years.

[@creatoruser736]

@@LTPottenger Wow, so not endless then? This is the thing when people talk about Russia. It's bigger, yes, but there are limits. And with the high losses they took in 1941-42 and the higher higher casualty rates the Axis could inflict their raw numerical superiority did not always translate to overwhelming superiority at the front. In the last two years they actually had manpower shortages. That's not something often mentioned because everyone just thinks they had unlimited people but they didn't.

[@vuktodic1356]

Well they did actually have huge manpower pool example is in mid 1941 axis in europe had population of 148 milion peoples soviets 197 milion despite this axis could only recuit 24.6 milion peoples in their army if we would just look at raw numbers by country while soviets could mobilise 52.3 milion peoples in both cases its scraping the barrel basically males from 15 ot 65 years of age even tho soviets dont have like 2 times bigger population than axis in europe they can mobilise over 2 times more reson why is because axis in europe were made of more countries that would work independently meaning that less advanced and industralized countries can draw less manpower for fight meaning that axis had much much less This simply means that neither side did have unlimited manpower basically china and india did not but both sides did have fair amount soviets with all of their loses in 1941 and lost population expanded to 9.4 milion in mid 1942 plus milions more of workers working in industry and other jobs and also mobilising soldiers that were used as replacements so they did preety much have a large manpower pool but like others it was not unlimited but comparing it to axis it simply means soviets can lose twice as more and it would only have same effect like when axis lose 1 soldiers

[@creatoruser736]

@@vuktodic1356 Well by 1944 the Soviets were facing manpower shortages so just listing statistics to show how much bigger they were doesn't show the realities what happened on the battlefield and how that affected available numbers.

[@vuktodic1356]

@@creatoruser736 thats for sure they had to rely on recuiting from central asia ukraine and belarus so liberated areas they would also count for example polish romanian and hungarian armies as part of red army this incresed her size in 1945 by some 400 k soldiers But as i said males from 15 to 65 so you would not really see someone with 60 years serving army they would first pick younger conscripts then you have others who are working in industey and mobilising so its simply not unlimited

[@genekelly8467]

@@vuktodic1356 True-and Germany actually had a much smaller pool of young men (aged 18-25). Because of the chaos in 1920s Germany, the birth rate dropped precipitously for those years. This problem would plague Germany throughout the war-by 1942, Germany had to draft men up to age 50 (the would be replaced by slave labor comprised of Jews, Russian POWS, and French and Italian workers. By December 1941 German casualties in Russia topped 750,000, with over 250,000 dead. Germany began its defeat at that time.

[@johnferrandino4666]

I learned a lot in this episode. Really well done.

[@Cornel1001]

You learned nothing ! It is gonna take some time to realise

[@johnferrandino4666]

@@Cornel1001 What are you, psychic? How did you determine that I learned "nothing"?

[@kazakhdoge1822]

My three great-grandfathers fought in the Eastern Front and all of them are listed MIA. My last great-grandfather was a kolkhoz lead, so he avoid the conscription and I'm really grateful for that.

[@tomjustis7237]

I can understand your gratitude, but could you please tell me what a 'kolkhoz lead' was? As an American I have never heard the term; as a history buff I would love to know.

[@Mikhalych88]

@@tomjustis7237 "kolkhoz" is a collective farm. So I guess he meant that his grandfather was kolkhoz director/administrator, the person who makes decisions about works and developement of abovementioned farm.

[@Cornel1001]

@@Mikhalych88 was a mini concentration camp

[@ivanoid3973]

@@Cornel1001 nice bait

[@Mikhalych88]

@@Cornel1001 no, it's not, lol

[@SuperLusername]

Will you do a special episode on that single Australian half-strength cavalry division which invaded a non-port province in Montenegro in 1941? It happens every time in HoI4 so it must be historically accurate.

[@grindelz]

Ah yes do one on how the Dutch east indies invaded Romania in 1939 too

[@SuperLusername]

@@grindelz Or third battle of Congo-Brazzaville where German 2nd Panzer Army after rolling through Congo jungles from Kenya failed to capture the city defended by Mexican and Norwegian forces.

[@grindelz]

@@SuperLusername weren't the Tibetan paratroopers there too?

[@jeffreybeckham1130]

"It takes a brave man to be a coward in the Red Army." -- Stalin

[@majorianus8055]

We want a part 2 on this! Thank you so much!

[@derpyderpy6269]

8:19 "Tartar" is a sauce. The ethnicity's called "Tatar", no R in the middle.

[@minsapint8007]

Also: Tartar is an accumulation of plaque and minerals from your saliva that harden.

[@leeboy26]

A tasty people, best served with seafood dishes.

[@philp8872]

For only 1,99

[@dashcroft1892]

Mmm ... steak tartare.

[@helmuthvonmoltke9619]

@@leeboy26 Such a horrible thing to say! Everyone knows that people of Tartar ethnicity are best served with chicken.

[@hulguiniiiadolfo]

As a Filipino I also read about the Heroism of the Russian nation During WW2 ..I always admired Their love for the motherland And resiliency of the Russian army .....

[@Cornel1001]

Wake up! Look at the map: CCCP is the biggest country in the world. How do you think they became so big? With Love?

[@TheIfifi]

It's important to note that the purges also had a positive influence, allowing new officers into the command structure. Old experience can be just as bad as no experience. You'll not that most armies went through something like this, though in a dramatically different way. The US General Marshall sacked an enormous amount of senior officers which allowed for some officers like Eisenhower to rise to the top. Germany, restricted by the treaty of Versailles had to save their officer 'slot's to the most experienced/modern officers. Of course, neither the US or Germany murdered their officers... But they were replaced! Another enormous thing to note is that the command structure in the Red Army does not have a Corp level and their divisions are half the size of German ones. (which makes battles where people simply compare divisions to be waaay less dramatic) This means that the Red Officers are overlooking more units but the same amount of soldiers. In short. The Red army Senior officers had way less Command & Control and this meant that the leadership was enormously strangled. This mirrors in some aspects the French campaign of 1940 where the command structure is also strangled but for completely different reasons ie. decision making is slow.

[@harshbansal7982]

Also the purges worked , no one was there to threaten Stalin during WW2 .

[@ivanvoronov3871]

That's true, but some of the best leaders like tukochevsky and blyker and removed. If tukochevsky would have stayed on the red army might have been one of thr most modern armies by 1941

[@4grammaton]

Not enough of the German officers were replaced. Towards the end of the war Goebbels lamented in his diary entries that the Fuhrer did not have the confidence to fire complete incompetents like Goehring (as well as some old WW1 veterans in the German command with old-fashioned approaches to war), and that they had not done a Soviet-style "purge" of the army in time. Goebbels also writes that as a result of Stalin's purges the qualities of the Soviet officers were superior to the German ones (and this was after 4 years of writing about how Slavs were subhuman). Not to mention the fact that commonly cited statistics about the number of executed Red Army officers are completely fraudulent: many of those commonly cited as "executed" were merely fired (or arrested/imprisoned, but later rehabilitated - an example was Rokossovsky, who was later recommissioned and led the Belorussian offensive).

[@TheIfifi]

@@ivanvoronov3871 Yes, I don't disagree that some good officers went. No doubts, but it's worth thinking about the purges as a mixed bag rather than all bad.

[@shivmalik9405]

It was more than that. The army was operating on an outdated doctrine, and didn’t have the organisation to fight Germany. An officer selected on loyalty and who has to worry about purges does not make a competent officer. Soviet AirPower and tanks, though large, were badly organised, and, in the case of the former lacking in quality compared to those of Germany. There’s a difference in sacking officers to make way for new ones and sacking them because of some paranoia that they’ll overthrow you. Take the example of another Russian leader. As Tsar Nicholas I said “I need loyalists, not scientists” to his commanders who wanted to reform the army. It came to bite him back in the Crimean war. On the other hand, after the defeat at Jena, Prussia sacked all but two of its general officers. The result was an army that would dominate the battlefields of Europe till 1945. You can clearly see the difference

[@ronyzoramsanga2844]

A special episode on the rest of the army of the other combating nation would be nice

[@ThePRCommander]

Agreed.

[@dyl9013]

Looking sharp, Indy!! Much love crew!!

[@MikeBenko]

In Soviet Russia privates conscript their officers. -Count Nikolai, you have been conscripted to command in the people's Army. You're Comrade General Nikolai now. -But I'm not a Bolshevik. "Commissar pulls gun" -Long live the Revolution!

[@williamkz]

Superb production. So much information, so lucidly condensed. Thank you.

[@jaydeister9305]

Hey Indy, We're (you guys at least) getting pretty close to the December 7th, 1941 attack of Pearl Harbor, on the current timeline, well maybe a month to go. How will the 'minute by minute' broadcast/video breakdown of the attack go? So perhaps the attack lasted 2 hours, or 120 minutes, of which you and staff would breakdown the attack by maps, video, simulations, testimonies, etc.? Looking forward to this, should be exciting! Just my opinion, but that major wars and major battles never suffer from over-analysis, namely the germans invading russia, and only betting on absolute best case scenarios (plan A is fine, thank you!). Thank you for highlighting all the bad decisions by all parties, this is good analysis for war colleges also (and for quite a while too). A former squid, and stationed at Pearl Harbor (4 years), worked at Pearl Harbor (5 years), and lived in Honolulu (30 years), i had a lot of time to peruse over the bullet and cannon marks in the standing buildings of that era. My Best Regards, SSG Jay Deister USA ret.

[@Ronald98]

thank you for your service

[@MrZekinhaluiz]

They are barely covering the Japanese colonial war and don't even mention india's struggle with the british genocide. The world war is so big, so much is happening. It's sad they only cover the engagements with white people involved.

[@IudiciumInfernalum]

@@MrZekinhaluiz Give it a rest, there was no British genocide in India. Of course there had been colonial conflict before the second world war and after it. If Britain was genociding the people of India then why did so many of them volunteer for the Royal Armed Forces? Furthermore, we just watched an episode where Indy was talking about all the important ethnic minorities that fought in the Red Army. Also don't forget the War Against Humanity series where Sparty talks at length about the suffering of all kinds of ethnic groups during some of the atrocities that were committed by Axis, Soviet and i am sure when the timeline catches up Japanese forces as well. You need to realize that when focusing on the European Theater that most countries that were actively fighting were inhabited by a majority of white people. Why? Europe is the ancestral homeland of the 'white variety' of human beings. Which has been the case for tens of thousands of years. The fact that you're implying any sort of racial bias in these masterful presentations of the reality that transpired, is intellectually dishonest at best, actively malicious at worst and in all circumstances bizarre and myopic.

[@damonwright608]

@@lexingtonbrython1897 The Timeghost coverage hasn't extended to 1943, which almost certainly explains why it's not yet discussed on this channel. Nothing to do with bias toward "white people" as Jose wants to put it.

[@張理-d8d]

向我的父親, 以及千萬為抗日流血奮戰的英勇戰士致敬. 向千萬在抗日戰爭中犧牲的軍民同胞致敬. 你們的奮鬥, 你們的犧牲, 讓我們這些後代子孫永遠敬仰和懷念. Pay tribute to my father and the heroic soldiers who shed blood for the anti-Japanese war. Pay tribute to the millions of soldiers and civilians who died in the War of Resistance Against Japan. Your struggles, your sacrifices, Let us future generations admire and miss forever.

[@simonkyro661]

Great video! May we get a video on the SS. Shedding light on the myth of them being superior, an elite among German divisions when German sources state that they were rather average, if even that. “Prone to take unnecessarily high casualties”

[@omenran]

I remember there was an early episode on the makeup of the German army, or perhaps it was in WAH. ETA; kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5Syl3humdOog8U

[@QuizmasterLaw]

1941-1942 SS are fanatical and die accordingly at much higher rates than the wehrmacht 1943 SS is better equipped and finally trained 1944-1945 most of the SS is now a pan-European army of anti-bolshevists still equipped better and in some units still well trained in others not so well trained nor even better equipped. It really depends on the unit. I'm not sure exactly when the armed SS became designated Wafffen SS to distinguish it from the Allgemeine SS certainly before 1943 but I don't think the designation existed in 1940. SS 1940-1945 commits war crime after war crime on both fronts.

[@robertwhiteside1905]

The. S.s was nothing more than the rearguard of the German Army. They depended on the Germans Army for supplies. And SS commanders had to make out written reports to the regular Army. commandeers Everytime they shot people. And the regular German Army outnumbered them 10 to one

[@ryanheng9562]

Red Army: Desperate for good commanders to lead it in battle. Zhukov, Konev, Rokossovsky, Vatutin and others: Now this looks like a job for US

[@naveenraj2008eee]

Hi indy and team Enjoyed watching this video. Nice to have another history lesson.. Keep it up.. Thanks..🙏👍

[@thelordsofgaming2153]

My great great grandfather was a jewish soldier in the ukraine, and he fought for the red army, until he stepped on a mine in 1941 during a counterattack and was seriously wounded, rendering him disabled. he commanded for the rest of the war a small prison camp.

[@CivilWarWeekByWeek]

Answer: As mighty as Stalin says it is!

[@randomthoughts6625]

For that answer you could get shot. It’s forbidden to say Stalin is your leader. You can just say that you agree with him because he is so brilliant

[@CivilWarWeekByWeek]

@@randomthoughts6625 He is our leader, emotionally and spiritually. LOL

[@randomthoughts6625]

@@CivilWarWeekByWeek in 1939 you would have been a dead man. Not only for calling him leader but also for saying spiritual

[@josephstalin5999]

@@randomthoughts6625 Is it true?

[@randomthoughts6625]

@@josephstalin5999 fuck now I will get shot

[@peregrinemccauley7819]

Great channel . Superb attention to detail .

[@Larrymh07]

The first time seeing a picture of Timoshenko as a 14 year old scared the hell out of me.

[@Loreless]

My great grandfather was from Ural Cossacks and served as cavalry unit. He told my grandmother how they used dead frozen bodies as base for wooden lags when they went across the swamp in Belarus.

[@Dog.soldier1950]

Fun fact; NKVD still had 1.7 million slave laborers 930,000 would die during the war. “Stalin-the court of the Red Czar”. By Montefiore

[@harrypapas1465]

Great work, both in presentation, as in content.. Keep on...

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for your support! ❤️ Nothing we do would be possible without viewers like you, and of course the TimeGhost Army!

[@skinnex3236]

My Grandpa (German Maschine Gunner) always spoke about the bravery of the russians, he said " even tho they saw hundreds of their Commrads lieng in front of our Maschine Guns and the keept charching, idk if it was their bravery or the frear of their officers but this level of fighting spirit was nearly respectable if they didnt try to slay our throats".

[@nipulkradmsinatagras8293]

*"Did you sign up as a volunteer?''*

[@ricardoaguirre6126]

The Soviet version of the Uncle Sam poster.

[@Ronald98]

@@ricardoaguirre6126 Stalin wants you in the army!!

[@joeyjamison5772]

"Uncle Joe Wants You!"

[@dr.lyleevans6915]

@@joeyjamison5772 lol when I first read your comment I thought it was meant to be a dig at Joe Biden, due to the whole sniffing kids thing I’ve gotta stop reading so many political comment sections. Hopefully it will get better after the election.

[@joeyjamison5772]

@@dr.lyleevans6915 It NEVER gets better after the election!

[@endcensorship874]

Hitler looked at the Soviet Red Army, watching them struggle in the Winter War, and he said "we have only to kick in the front door and the whole rotten structure comes crashing down." And *that* hubris, right there, is why the Nazi's lost.

[@alexandersturnn4530]

To be entirely fair, he was not the only one who made that Assumption. Many People from different Nations dismissed the Red Army as a Threat after the Winter War. Though, yeah, still Hubris. Not to mention a complete disregard of the Fact that an Army can improve, even if it isn't good right now.

[@toast2300]

The wehrmacht kicked the door and the building collapsed on them

[@Kintabl]

Never underestimate the enemy!

[@dragonstormdipro1013]

@@alexandersturnn4530 Hubris is the speciality of leaders during that era. Remember how British were hesitant to grant India independence or a dominion status because they thought native Indians cannot make a stable country by themselves? (And cannot draw borders by themselves ;))

[@mmartinisgreat]

They never had a chance.

[@jasonmussett2129]

I' m hooked on this series. So much so I' m now watching the specials to tide me over. Help!!!!

[@nathanaelyny]

Great video! Thank you

[@joeyjamison5772]

Stalin's recruiting poster: "Uncle Joe Wants You!"

[@davidbrennan660]

Internal security will get you.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

The classic Soviet war poster from 1941 was "Rodina-Mat' Zovyet!" ("The motherland-mother is calling!") by Irakliy Toidze, a Georgian artist. ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Родина-мать_зовёт!

[@HistoryHustle]

A great deal of non-Russian Soviet POWs captured by the Germans joined the Axis Powers in the Eastern Legions (Ostlegionen).

[@stevekaczynski3793]

German recruiters often homed in on non-Russians. Getting out of some POW camp where you were half-starved (and in 1941, fully starved in many cases) rather than enthusiasm for an anti-USSR crusade was the main reason for going over to the Germans, and it is significant that a lot of them were put in the Atlantic Wall, suggesting that they were not trusted on the Eastern Front.

[@СергейСергей-э6э2н]

Tatar people became the sauce, Renat Dasaev, the best football goalkeeper of the 80s Tatar

[@shellsbignumber2]

Totally addicted to these videos. Great work.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks!

[@nikitafialkov8330]

“From taiga to British seas, red army is the strongest”

[@MS4View]

Really? Russian Empire desintegrated and in chaos, completeley lost the War on Eastern Front to the Germans in 1917 and newly born red army at the date of her birth on 23 02 1918 even incapable to fight with the Germans in surburbs of Petrograd? And three years later small Polish army under general Pilsudsky staggeringly defeated Red Army so that Lenin and Co in Kremlin were in great fear that the poles could reach Moscow and overthrow the soviet power. And still "From taiga to British seas, red army is the strongest"? The problem of Russians is that they still believe the soviet myth and propaganda rather to seek the truth and learn their mistakes.

[@sifis172]

thanks Indy!

[@jossy647]

Very interesting, it would be great to see more of these for the other major powers

[@susannahmyers8828]

Oh. I just realised your tie is solid red. Well done. =)

[@alexamerling79]

Well guess we will find out how mighty the Red Army's resolve is with the Wehrmacht outside of Moscow...

[@ETFRoss]

Thanks Indy, now I have another book to add to my list

[@CigarRegal]

I'm hoping we get to see that Napoleon picture frozen inside a giant icecube before Barbarossa is over.

[@frankwhite3406]

Splendid Episode Indeed.

[@denfilm6005]

There is a very good book. "The cursed and the slain" Viktor Astafyev. The book describes the life of soldiers, as well as the crossing of the Dnieper River in 1943. There is also the book "Memories of the War" Nikolai Nikulin. A very scary book that turned my view of the war in general.

[@vadimandreev8570]

Stupidities. You advertise art books that are a priori fiction. I will not specify the moral character of both writers.

[@Cornel1001]

The crossing of this river show the strength of the Red Army at this point 1943. Most of the soldiers they did not know to swim. For STAVKA was perfect to lose 25% of the army by drowning, or by execution on the bank of the river. Highest casualties were inflicted by red political officers not by retreating and disorganised german army. Swimming the river and arriving without the rifle, was another ...political moment.

[@haarmegiddo]

0:14 Anybody else thought of Thulean Perspective?

[@Leoforos13]

Greeks from the Black Sea also fought in the Red army

[@bogdanlevi]

So did Volga Germans.

[@Leoforos13]

@@bogdanlevi I thought that all of them were deported in Siberia and Kazakhstan. Thanks for the info

[@dashcroft1892]

Team Canada beat Red Army in ‘72

[@susannahmyers8828]

это всех сильней. (I know, I know, not yet, but the song is just so good.)

[@Jarod-vg9wq]

A salute to the Russians, Siberian’s, central Asian’s, Ukrainians who fought back against the Nazis.

[@CEO_Of_Antisemitism1488]

no

[@baswdc2165]

Who commands it and who fights for it? *proceeds to name every single Soviet soldier ever*

[@korbell1089]

Stalin: "I don't want men from Kneejerkistan in my army, you can't trust them!" Stavka: "Comrade Stalin, the Germans have destroyed 3 entire army groups and have just captured Kharkov!" Stalin: "On the other hand, it would not be fair for us to not give those fine gentlemen from Kneejerkistan a chance to prove their loyalty."

[@svenlittlecross]

if you don't know your geography or your peoples then its you who should be mocked... typical western shit thinking there are 3 countries in the world, while instead not knowing much about the world itself

[@korbell1089]

@@svenlittlecross You seem to have misread my post, I used an fictitious name for a country in order to NOT mock an actual country or its people. In fact, the only one being mocked was Stalin himself. But if you sit back and think about, it is kind of funny way you had a knee jerk reaction to the use of that name.

[@davethompson3326]

@@svenlittlecross If you think Kneejerkistan is a real place, it may be you with the problem

[@lexbor3511]

I love how people mocking Russian chauvinism acism forget that Russians put non-Russian, not even Slavic person as a leader of a totalitarian state worshiping him like god but somehow they dont trust non-Russians to be slaughtered in battles... Russia never had colonies (territories with lesser political representation and rights than Russians), most major ethnic groups of former Russian Empire are now independent states, native ethnic groups of Russia have their political representatives in Russian Parliament, have their republics when in US Americans pretend their native population are some kind of fairy-tale elves that prefer to live without any decent political structure and representation in Washington.

[@svenlittlecross]

@@korbell1089 i just really enjoyed a few comments of people from kazakhstan and uzbekistan prior to commenting and i felt that on this particular video this joke is in poor taste...

[@ReclinedPhysicist]

Stalin: It takes a brave man to be a coward in the Red Army.

[@irabrook]

1:03 middle row second from the left knows he looks cool with his pistol haha

[@oceanweatherandmapping9414]

Please mention Tannu Tuva

[@theman37924]

18,000 kasak in army Great success

[@TheCimbrianBull]

Very nice! 👍

[@theman37924]

@@TheCimbrianBull I like you

[@ngqinaunathi1655]

My favourite Army in the whole world, basically how everything was runned in the Red army and how discipline was enforced in the troops even using drastic measures is a very interesting thing to learn about, Soldiers of the red army were not just any soldiers, they were survivors 💯

[@renanribeiro8137]

Technically, it's all Stalin's fault. I think he learned that purging his high rank officers were not the best idea.

[@boomer955]

@@renanribeiro8137 Purges are not the main thing here. In 1937 11,034 or 8% officers were purged in total. In 1938 4,523 or 2.5%. Most of these in the lower ranks were just kicked out of the army. In 1937 the army lacked 34,000 officers, in 1938 39,000. 34% and 11% of these vacancies were due to purges respectively. From 1939 to 1941 the army grows from 1.5m to over 5 million men. In 1940 and 41 the deficit grows to 60 and 66 thousand. And there were no purgers in 1940 and 41. There were not enough trained officers for such a large army anyhow. The ratio of officers to privates being one of the highest in the world didn't help either.

[@benismann]

@@renanribeiro8137 yea, but if he didnt purge high ranks what the point of purges then?

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@renanribeiro8137 Towards the end, Hitler thought he made a mistake in NOT purging his own generals, although he executed quite a few after the July 20 plot which nearly killed him.

[@Cornel1001]

They invade other countries, wake up !

[@jez5192]

I was hoping to hear more about how the red army was able to train and equip new units as quickly as they were able to.

[@nl2126]

My greate grandfather was a partizan in Russian army, he was born in Romania but for some reason when russia took Basarabia from Romania he went to Siberia to work in a steel factory, i dont know was he sent by russians or he decided to go by himself, in 1943 he was taken in russian army as a partizan to be sent back home in Basarabia, i presume because he spoke romanian. I found his CV where he says that he was sent to couple special schools of training, im hoping that those are diversant schools. Later he participated in operation Iasi- Chisinau where he participated in eliberation of Milestii Mici city. i have photos of his regiment where he served they met after 20 years and excanged with photos. After the war went on from Basarabia he was apointed to general in chief in Chisinau and later became a police oficer up to the 70s.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you very much for sharing your great grandfather's story. It's personal comments like these that really help bring history to life both in and underneath our videos.

[@rustyvino]

Enjoyed this report very much not to mention how Anna continues to appear more beautiful by the moment!

[@alessiomancini3563]

From the taiga to the British Sea, the Red Army is the Strongest!

[@josedavidgarcesceballos7]

Man, that Napoleon behind you is quite a nice touch...

[@nickholness5832]

Hi indy I'm from jamaica we participated in ww1 and ww2 our first Premier of jamaica was norman manley field artillery gunner and his brother roy manley was an infantry soldier who died in the battle of the somme im new to your channel just finish watch all great war and time ghost episode now im tuning in to this now... can u do a special on jamaica contribution? I heard from my great grandad that when the british counter attack happen in north africa it was the west indies regiment led by jamaican infantry who drive back rommel to tripoli

[@ottovalkamo1]

Bio on Mannerheim, when?

[@nordicfella8004]

How about a bio of Arndt Juho Pekurinen, a pacifist and conscientious objector who was executed 5th of November 1941?

[@ottovalkamo1]

@@nordicfella8004 wouldnt have a story. Mannerheim has a story from the 1880s to the 1950s.

[@porksterbob]

Do one of these for the Japanese army, the Japanese navy, the Chinese army, the British army of India, and the US army

[@asianboy969]

How Mighty is the Red Army? Well enough to let the Western think twice before waging nuclear war on USSR. the end.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

MAD is quite strong deterrent. Knowledge that you cannot win without being destroyed by nuclear counterattack. Even with surprise attack with your own nukes your attack is not enough to stop it from happening.

[@Bratstvoijedinstvo1945]

One of the most defining characteristics of the Red Army is that it was a peasant army adapting to modern warfare. This is not to belittle the combat performance or leadership of the Red Army. In terms of the infantry serving, the vast majority were from the peasantry. This becomes incredibly apparant in it's later-war development: the unique aspects to the Soviet theory of combined arms warfare, Deep Battle, was the use of massed artillery in pre-planned fire concentrations, 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘬𝘢 concealing the massed build-up of troops, logistics to support large armies, and armored thrusts that favoured penetrations straight into the strategic depths rather than encircling the enemy. As well, the developing industry was created rapidly and excelled at mass production of cheap but effective weaponary. Yet the consequence of this was an general inferiority of Soviet tactical arms versus the tactically focused German army. This partly explains why the Soviet's generally took higher casualities, even in the later stages of the war.

[@Cornel1001]

"peasant army" ? Have a look again on any KV1 , this machine can not be driven by peasants. CCCP already had one million paratroopers, before the war. Jumping 10-12 times from the sky is not a peasant job. Who told you the soviet army was formed by unqualified people ? How you concluded this ? All soviet weaponry demand skill to be effective. You need brain first, than force !

[@Bratstvoijedinstvo1945]

@@Cornel1001 Oh I never said the Soviet army was formed by unqualified people. The Red Army was ripe with intelligent military talent. When I say the majority of infantry were from the peasantry, I mean this was their social background. Peasants can be educated yes, but they have less formal education than other social classes. My conclusions are primarily from Alexander Hills "The Red Army and the Second World War" and Catherine Merridale's "Ivans War"

[@TheCornFarmer1989]

is it possible that we'll see this for all the major and/or interesting nations of the war? Like Republic of china, Communist china,UK and/or empire combined, Wehrmacht,Italian,Free french and Vichy as well as the US in time?

[@AlexandraBryngelsson]

That Trotsky guy seems pretty cool!

[@michaelhayes4231]

Here he is speaking English shortly before he was murdered in Mexico: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gGPKYqyeo9mKncWTTrotsky_Mexico_Speech

[@indianajones4321]

Can there be a video about the Italian Army? Keep up the great work 👍

[@welatxwese8074]

Please make a Kirponos special. His fate was so sad.

[@Cornel1001]

Who was? K?

[@welatxwese8074]

@@Cornel1001 the Soviet general who died, because he listened/had to listen to the Stavka orders. He seemed like a pretty good commander.

[@valentinnikolaev9201]

These so-called "Representatives" have done so much damage and then shifted the blame to the Commanders of fronts! How ridiculous is running of Chef of staff on the fronts like a firefighter !!! Unthinkable !!! Unprofessional !!!

[@Tramseskumbanan]

I always thought that the Red Army consisted of approximately 4 700 000 men in the western districts and together with the total reserve had around twelve million men. According to Guderians estimations, the german invasion force was about 3 050 000 men of a total 1941 german army of 7 200 000 men.

[@Cornel1001]

Yes with the numbers it is a problem. The 5 million were already deployed on the border, on 50 meter from the border sometime. So in June 1941 all population and administration was pulled out, to a range of 50-100 Km. The germans did the same straight away. Any move made by soviets was copied in days by germans and their allies. Very strange our video host pretend " the soviets were unprepared". Case closed ?

[@paulyb7267]

Hey Indy, did you know that Germany's football rivalry with England and the Netherlands stem from the two world wars?

[@jason4275]

*Russia: We lost 20 million Soviet Army and civilians during WW2.* The World: Eastern Europe may have been part of the Soviet Union but it's not Russia and the people do not identify as Russians.

[@CA-jz9bm]

27 million. mostly civilians too. These Eastern European countries seems to have forgotten their loses, so that is why it is only russia who is talking about them

[@Grindor225]

There were several Soviet Republics, not just Russia. So all the people that died there were Soviet losses.

[@ligayamatira2164]

We Wish to Feature about the Italian Army During WW2

[@Cornel1001]

You should know by now some details regarding the Red Army situation on June 1941. First of all you forget to mention, STAVKA already conducted successful wars campaign against Japan, Finland and Poland. Also you should know CCCP switch to war production since August 1939. In the same year the number of divisions was increased from 100 to 300. New schools for officers were open, and all of them in European part of CCCP. A huge effort to transfer armies from the East to West was organised. CCCP army was more powerful than all the armies of other countries combined. The quality of the soldiers and war equipment was again superior to any country. STAVKA had unique and efficient strategies of war, with only one condition, they should attack first. The element of surprise was not born in 1941 by Germany or Japan, is part of any lesson of war strategy. What was happen on 21 june 1941, was by the book a counterstrike. The Red Army was in position to attack Europe, not only Germany. Germany was a secondary target for STAVKA, in the first weeks of war. Jukov was placed on Odessa. Jukov was in the command of two shock armies, both of them with same number. In the night of 21 June 1941, Jukov took flight from Odessa to Moscow, he arrive around 1:30 next day, technically. This was the moment choose by OKW for war. For a long time a was convinced the nazi choose this day because was the longest day. The effort to present the Red Army as inferior to the German army is not acceptable, and is an insult for for an army who lost 85% of combat force in just 6 months, and somehow recover and gain the initiative.

[@chnb517]

Eastory is no longer making maps for this channel? I really liked those, sad to see it go

[@WorldWarTwo]

Eastory is always with us

[@stevekaczynski3793]

A German army intelligence assessment, cited in a book I read years ago (can't recall the title) concluded that ethnic Russians were the most loyal to the USSR or at any rate least likely to go over to the Germans. Interestingly Central Asians were considered the second most loyal. Caucasians, Ukrainians and Belarusians were considered less loyal to the USSR (I don't recall it mentioning the Baltic States but perhaps they took their anti-USSR feelings for granted). By and large the Germans in 1941 did not try to win ethnic Russians over - to the extent they did try to win over locals (and often they did not, merely looting from them and treating them as inferiors) it was Ukrainians, Belarusians and inhabitants of the Baltic States. But since Russians were the majority in the USSR it is arguable that this relative neglect of winning Russians over was one of the factors costing the Axis the war. The Red Army troops that the Germans encountered in 1941 were predominantly Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian, although German propaganda cameramen liked to home in on POWs with either stereotypically Jewish features or ones with an Asiatic appearance.

[@vksasdgaming9472]

Stupidly brutal treatment of civilians by Germans was all part of Unternehmen Saublöder Arsch.

[@stevebarrett9357]

First off, your remark about the ethnic composition of the RKKA reminded me to some extent of the ethnic composition of the Austro-Hungarian army during the Great War. They didn't do so well either. With regards the RKKA preferring recruits from Russia (RSFSR), Ukraine and Belarussia (White Russia), I was reminded of some data I found while studying this conflict. These data concern a 1927 census of the Soviet population. Overall, these data suggested 65.4% of the male population was deemed 'literate'. By region: RSFSR--67.4% (European part--72.5%, Asiatic part--46.4%), White Russia--70.3%, Ukraine--74.5%, Transcaucasia--45%, Uzbek Republic--13%, Turkoman Republic--16.3%. If memory serves, in sharp contrast Germany's literacy was in the mid 90's. When you consider the number of specialists (artillerymen (including artillery, anti-aircraft and anti-tank), engineers, signalmen, tankmen) needed to support the rifle regiments (not even considering the air force), one might consider that greater literacy implies more successful support. A good portion of these more literate regions were overrun by the Germans which might offer some explanation for the numerous TO&Es issued by the RKKA as they learned not only what worked and what didn't against the Germans, but also what their troops were capable of being effectively trained for in the short time they had before being sent to the front. In one episode of the 2011 Russian TV program on the Great Patriotic War it was mentioned that one tank brigade formed near Stalingrad after the invasion had it's personnel trained in basic maintenance and repair of their tanks before going to the front. Such training was severely lacking in the RKKA at the start of Barbarossa which contributed to the number of abandoned/destroyed AFV in the opening days of the conflict. Finally, I offer the following quote from Charles C Sharp with regards the effect of the purge on the RKKA: "He [Marshal Budyenny] summed up the purge very succinctly when he reassured one of his staff: '- don't worry, they're only killing the smart ones.' "

[@MrSloika]

You perpetuate an old canard that is based in anti-Slavic racism. The extremely poor performance of the Austro-Hungarian army at the start of the WWI was due mainly to its poor leadership. Nearly half of the rank and file troops were Slavic, but nearly all the officers were Austrian German. The Austrian officers held their Slavic troops in open contempt, routinely abusing and insulting them. That's not a plan that engenders loyalty or high morale. This anti-Slav racism was common in Austria. Hitler so hated the idea of serving with Slavic troops that he fled to Germany and joined the Germany Army, where he remained for the duration of the war. When the Austro-Hungarian Army was near collapse, it's leadership was taken over by Germany. The Germans instituted reforms like appointing commanders based on merit instead of nepotism or crony politics. The performance of the Austro-Hungarian Army improved immediately. How could that be? Everyone knows that Slavs are an inferior race.

[@swietoslaw]

Dude Firstly Its Belarus not Russian and it meant Rus as in region the same as red and black Rus, and its connected to Kievan Rus not Russia. And your number about literacy is kinda misleading, yes it was quiet high but also CCCP have much higher mechanization in farming and industry then Germany, and even have much more modern factories, in fact they have exactly the same style of factories as most modern ones in USA, because they just paid best USA specialist to build them

[@vidyaorszag]

@@MrSloika I mean, you're absolutely correct that the A-H Army suffered mostly from poor leadership, you're sadly also propagating another myth. German-speakers were indeed the plurality of Austro-Hungarian officers, but they didn't quite make up a majority if I remember correctly (I'll have to double-check my sources). By 1914, there was a growing portion of Hungarian officers through a mixture of plain favouritism and the Hungarian government being generous with scholarships for Magyar officers, but also of Czechs as the Empire as a whole saw growing prosperity and literacy. German and Hungarian chauvinism, and the comparison with the Red Army is quite correct here, remained a big problem, but mostly at the highest echelons and around young middle class officers that received a more nationalist education. There are handful of accounts of officers praising their Slavic troops, attempting to dispel the myths, and the Czech press consistently worked to fight stereotypes and myths, but they fell on deaf ears after the war or when the myths were "suddenly" found to support the national mythos of the post-war states. What's more important here was that it wasn't the German Army that introduced reforms into the Austro-Hungarian one- they had no power to do so nor did they care to use Austrians for anything more than cannon fodder. If anything, German commanders were even more openly contemptuous of not only Slavic soldiers, but of Austro-Hungarian soldiers in general regardless of their ethnicity (but especially Slavs). The Austro-Hungarian Army introduced reforms *because* they had become so reliant on the German Army and wanted to regain their independence of action. Especially after the death of Franz Joseph. Either way, German-Hungarian chauvinism in the highest positions was definitely a huge problem, but the fighting capabilities of the Monarchy's Slavic soldiers never was, and is a myth that was propagated by these chauvinists because they looked for scapegoats. And yeah, said-Slavic soldiers were pretty angry, but desertion rates weren't significantly higher than the other armies, and those that switched sides to join either Czechoslovak or Yugoslav legions were a very small portion of soldiers compared to the number that remained in the A-H forces.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@vidyaorszag You had to be a German speaker to be an officer in the A-H army - however, many spoke it as a second language. It was the basic language of command. Language problems were endemic in the A-H army and certainly not unknown in the Red Army.

[@Cornel1001]

Can you name a smart and qualified high rank officer killed by the purges. Just for testing!

[@dragosstanciu9866]

Not only that the Red Army wasn't ready for war in 1941, but also its commanders made the mistake of placing big army units near the border with Germany and Romania, those big army units were overrun very fast in the first days of Barbarossa.

[@Blazo_Djurovic]

It wasn't even an Army decision. Through various political nonsense they were forced to abandon a more fortified line on the old Soviet Polish border and set up as close to the line as possible so they are visible and unthreatening to the Germans. It's part of the whole myth that states that RA was about to launch it's own invasion of Nazi Germany before Nazis beat it to the punch.

[@Cornel1001]

So you place 5 millions soldiers on the border just for fun ? So CCCP placed 2000 tanks on the border of Romania, who was fighting with 60 tanks , manufactured in 1917. You take the oil fields and collapse Germany in 3 weeks ! How about this plan? is not possible, does not exist, CCCP had a peaceful army, from the day one.

[@monsters8730]

Anyone noticed the look Napoleon is giving Indy?

[@jordanparks99]

How long has Napoleon been on the wall back there? And why is he there? I’m surprised I haven’t noticed him before