Stigler was told as a recruit that one should not shoot at pilots in parachutes, as they already lost their means to fight back. He saw that the bomber was so damged, and that the crew was so injured that they couldn't fight back, this made him think that shooting the bomber down was the equivalent of shooting a parachuting pilot. He would've been in trouble if someone else knew of his actions because he helped an enemy get away. Also, had Franz shot the bomber down, he would've gotten the Knight's Cross, a fairly prestigious award and (this next one is just a guess) the thought of possibly getting shot by fellow Germans with their anti-aircraft guns might not have crossed his mind that day.

Welcome to the Magic of Sabaton. They dont just make music, they tell Stories. And they go deep.

The "stiegler incident" (named after the German pilot) is one of the last documented instances of "honor in battle", something that largely ended around WW1. It's an example of fighting under command/for a country, not under ideology. The aerial field is likely the last place where honor was maintained, an example is how the emphasis is on "downed aircraft", not on "killed enemies". If the hostile aircraft is no threat your job is done, even if it makes it out/the crew survives. It's why the Red Baron, a German WW1 flying ace, got a burial with full military honors BY THE ENEMY.

On the day Charlie passed, I would imagine the harrowing shriek of a Bf-109 could be heard circling in the distance: Franz had come to bring his brother home. Heart knows no enemy. Chivalry is not dead. From his act of mercy, there are now some 100 people that now exist because he refused to put his thumb on the button. Horrido Herr Stigler.

Just to add to this: Franz Stigler was no ordinary pilot either. Dude was one hell of a fighter ace veteran. He flew in over 500 combat missions, and was shot down only 17 times (captured once briefly). He had 28 confirmed victories in the air, including 11 Four Engine Heavy Bombers, plus over 30 other "probables". He was ONE victory away from earning The Knights Cross of the Iron Cross, one of the highest awards in the German military. It was 1 point for single engine fighters, 2 points for twin engine bombers, and 4 points for four engine bombers (All multiplied by 2 at night) Had he chosen to shoot down this bomber, he would've received one of the highest honors the German military had to offer at the time. He would've been a celebrity in Germany. Instead he chose to give that up, to spare a human life in (what was in that brief moment) an unfair fight.

Franz was told by his commanding officer as a recruit: If I see or hear any of you shooting at a man in a parachute, I will shoot you myself. You score victories, not kills, we have to keep our humanity. To Franz, the crippled B-17 that was barely even flying was analogous to a parachute as it couldn't even fight back anymore. That, plus seeing the crew seriously wounded and scared shitless through the holes torn in the hull by bullets from the previous encounter, triggered in him a change of heart. So he chose mercy and restraint.

I was a bit of a grey area. His Commanding officer said he would shoot any man who strafed men in parachutes. Stigler stretched this to include a plane that damaged.

Fuck man the end with Stigler's daughter really got me. but that stuff still gets me teary eyed. And yes, as a recruit he was taught about the honor in a dog fight by their teacher, a WW1 pilot. WW1 pilots weren't called "Knights of the air" for no reason. They were bound to a strict code of honor. WW2 pilots had clear orders "kill everything". And to not kill an enemy would have meant execution. Stigler placed his honor over his life that day and saved the British plane despite clear order to kill

They were not allies in fact the opposite. Sworn enemies but Franz the German pilot saw it as cowardly and unfair to shoot down the severely damaged Bomber and so he risked his own life to escort them to the edge of the combat zone. Hence the line "2 times that day he risked his own life". The German fighter pilot committed a great crime and if caught could have been killed for it.

One of the best war stories when it comes to human compassion and mercy. The fact that they became friends decades after adds to it all even more. Incredible.

The escorting part was important because it allowed the bomber to get over the Atlantic wall without the massive amount of anti air shooting them down as well that this was another place he risked his life cause it would not have been unlikely to get shot down by his own allies guns

This story also explains why the B-17 was also called the "Flying Fortress." it could take a beating and still run with little issue.

The band members must have been so happy to meet her, a family member of one of their stories.

The nightwichtes next!!!! :D Sabaton has their own channel where they briefly explains the stories behind their songs more in depth. You can check out that too as a reaction!!! it's entretain and also teach a lot !!! greetings from Argentina.

Dave: okay, they'r allies Me: you know nothing Jon Snow :DD

a watched the full interview with Stigler and Brown and stigler said that his motivation behind it was that shooting a so badly damaged plane was like shooting a guy in a parachute. He just couldnt do it. It was immoral for him. I think this is chivalry

There is a rather unfortunate element that was left out if this story video but included in the full Sabaton History video; When this story got out, the German pilot was living in Canada & his neighbors ostracised him for being a former Nazi, plus he received countless messages from Germans condemning him as a traitor for saving an enemy aircraft. As the old saying goes "no good deed goes unpunished".

An absolutely amazing story and my favorite Sabaton song. If you enjoyed that animated video, then you definitely need to see the animated video for Night Witches. Concerning what his commander taught him about shooting down a plane that can't defend itself. He was taught that doing that was the equivalent of killing an unarmed man. That unarmed man is still the enemy, but killing a man that can't defend himself is morally wrong. It really was a moral dillema, because even if it was morally wrong if he shot down that bomber, the fact that he saved their lives means that his enemy was able to live another day and potentially come back one day and end up killing his allies. Whether or not he made the right decision is a matter of perspective. Men who believe that it is wrong to kill an unarmed man would believe that it was right to let them live. But German top brass may say it was wrong, because by sparing their lives, they may come back one day and end up killing more German pilots.

No Bullets Fly is the perfect example of when in times of war, pain destruction and death, sometimes humanity breaks through the clouds of suffering in some people. Franz Stigler only needed one more confirmed kill to get his Knights Cross (basically the German version of the Medal of Honor at that time). In an interview he said that he was gonna shoot them down, but didn't because they wouldn't shoot at him. He didn't know that their guns were frozen I think. It was -60°C (-76°F) up there during that time. He definitely had all reason to shoot them down, they just dropped bombs on his fellow country men. I believe his commander actually got wind of the whole thing and said something around the lines "if any one you ever dares to shoot down an enemy that can't defend themselves, I will shoot you myself" (although, that might not be true, I just remember hearing about that some time ago, so don't quote me on that) Definitely a wholesome story, and I'm glad they got to live a long life. Rest in peace to both of them.

Definitely check out the video to Night Witches as well.

this one always makes me tear up

Franz was tought it was dishonorable to shoot at a parachute. When he came upon the pub, he imagined them hanging from their parachutes, so he just couldn't pull the trigger and decided to help them cross the atlantic wall and its formidable AA defence

Listening to this song a while back led me to looking up other acts of kindness/mercy/humanity that had stretched over "enemy" lines and became small pockets where the war wasn't about us vs them and more about humans banding together just to survive another day. Things such as enemies singing together at Christmas, or even calling for a day off in the middle of a battle so the soldiers can get out and play soccer with each other in the No Man's Land were moments where the war just wasn't all that important then.

I have no idea why but I cry to this song almost every time for some reason.. NO idea why...

Everytime I watch this video it brings tears to my eyes.

YES! I've been anticipating this video! Thank you! So as you'd gathered from the research and this vid's comments, yes, Franz Stigler (Axis) spared Charles "Charlie" Brown's (Allies) life in the heat of battle, during the bloodiest war in history, and went so far as to escort his B-17 out of the killzone, risking his life in multiple ways that day, "to save an unknown enemy." There may be debates as to the main reason Stigler did this, but given that he sought Brown out after all those years, I think it was more of a pure intent, whether Stigler realized it at that moment or not. I've already heard this song multiple times, and seeing the animated video and hearing the song again STILL brings tears to my eyes. It's one of the most beautiful moments in history, to me.

Thank you for the kind comments

Glad you reacted to this... So emotional. Not Allies, they were enemies, But Friends in the end Please react tot he Night withces animated video next or Shiroyama

My great grandfather was in the USAAF during WWII so he would have been up there in the sky he passed away in 1999 he never really talked about the war so this song kinda gives me ideas of what he went through during the war

By far, my favorite Sabaton song, and the one I can most relate to. I live near Bremen (the place they bombed) and Oldenburg (where they almost crashed), and my Grandpa was a AA-guner at the Atlantikwall, in the Netherlands. I wonder if he saw a BF-109 escorting a B-17? Good reaction.

omg, I am crying again, I had seen their interview and another such video of the history of the event but I had not seen this animated version. wow

I told you this one would be good! Lol thanks for the reaction!

Everytime I see this video there are Onion Ninja's in the room. Looking forward to more Sabaton.

i cry every time i see this. Its such an amazing story of humanity in its best form.

My fav Sabaton song, always brings me to tears. There is nothing more beautiful in this universe than love, mercy, and sacrifice.

This is one I actually hadn't seen! I have heard the song but this takes it to a whole new level!

Hey Dave awesome to see more people get into Sabaton one of my favorites by them is Night Witches highly recommend it

I love your channel keep up the great stuff

This is one of my favorite bands and I'm so happy that your reacting to them. You should react to The Winged Hassars next. It's my personal favorite. Love the hard work man. Keep it up

This song, and quite a few others such as "Uprising" and "The Christmas Truce", are songs by Sabaton that always bring a hitch to my throat and hot tears to my eyes, if only for the courage, dedication, determination, or the empathy, the HUMANITY brought to times of strife, carnage, and madness. It's why I consider and believe Sabaton to be modern Metal Skalds; poets and performers bringing history, battles, heroes and horrors to light in a bombastic and legendary manner.

Honor, integrity, that's why THEY were "The Greatest Generation"! God Bless Them ALL.

One of the best ones to watch the history of!

I love your Sabaton journey its a great one Dave!! While there are dozens of sabaton songs you are gonna love, i think you should soon check out Carolus Rex (the english version)

When i first hear this story about 12-14 years ago, i couldn't believe it. A German fighter saved badly damaged American bomber. Pilot risk his own life to save enemy, it is noble and human thing to do. If only Brown and Stilger meet prior 1980s. I am glad that Stilger did this. I would do the same thing. Showing mercy and help even your enemy is what makes you human. My own great grand father served German military (well he was forcefully recruited, not that he had any chance to object), From hells of Eastern front to the West front in 1944-45. While he never achieved popularity of some German tank commanders, he and his crew survived. He never lost one single tank crew member, from 1942 to 1945 they survive all that war trow their way, from mud and snow in Russia, flees, disseases, wounds, to France and then Germany 45. All of them been wounde multiple times, all of them survived. Finally early in jaunary of 1945, their panther tank was done for, no fuel no parts for repairs, they destroy it and then withdraw, few day after they surrendered to US forces. All my great grand father wanted is to go home to his girlfriend, which was pregnant. In that chaos he never received any of her letters. When he finally get home, all he could see is 4 years old kid and his girlfriend (they married immediatley after), she was left preagnent during his last and final visit during the war. After war he got another kid, another son, ironically, he survived the war and all the nightmares and tragedies, only to be killed in 1952 in car accident. In his diary, he and his crew were also used on scouting when their tanks were on repairs, countless times he spared Soviet and Allied soldiers, despite risking SS and Gestapo to finds out. Some of others from his company were even shot by SS because they spared enemy. His driver killed SS soldier that tried to rape woman in 1944 in France, and of course make like it looked French partisans killed him. War never change anything.

Not only did he assist the enemy, he flew close enough to the B17, so that the ground weapons couldn't shoot, for fear of hitting him, too. What a guy!! Side note, I cannot even BEGIN to imagine the emotional damage people inflicted on normal German soldiers in WWII. All of them called Nazis, when all they wanted to do was protect their land. They had nothing to do with the Nazis, but were called them all the same.

What Franz was told as a recruit was " in war we follow rules of honor not for our enemies but to remind us that we are still human " he didn't shoot down Ye Old Pub because he felt it would be akin to shooting at a man in a parachute.

In the video the plane almost crashes into a forest. In real life it barely missed residential houses, and it's said that it got so close that the air pressure from the passing plane ripped the shingles off a roof.

After reading some comments, I agree that you need to do the animated story for Night Witches

The planes were an American B-17 and the fighter was a German ME-109. Both countries were at war with one another. The code (unwritten) is respect for one another and do not shoot a wounded plane or crewmen who had to bail out.

I'm not crying You're crying We're all crying

theres a bunch of other videos and interviews with Stigler. i think in one of them he explains he tried to get the b17 to land in germany and surrender. the 2nd time he tried to get them to land in sweden, as they would be out of action for a time but still be alive and out of the stockade.(both through gestures) they refused both so he escorted them all the way to the channel before breaking off and going back to his airbase. they landed in Great Britain iirc,

I almost cried

There are many stories of U.S. Aircraft taking massive damage and they keep flying. There is one about a P-47 that was already damaged, and when trying to get home was caught by a FW-190 with a very high kill ace pilot, that put every round from his guns into the P-47 and still it flew on. There was a British Officer after the Second Battle of El Alamein which was the first use of M4 Sherman's in battle, who said Napoleon was defeated at the fields of Waterloo, Hitler will be defeated on the drafting boards of Detroit. The American Engineer get very little credit for all the great things we have done. Every time I hear how "Germans are the best Engineers" I want to take them out to look at the big gray ball in the sky :-)

Great reation to great song 🎵

12:40 it’s semi-right the recruits were told not to shot people with parachutes and the bomber was so helpless and injured that he compared to a man in a parachute.

I'm absolutely astounded how tough that B17 is.

The “other two planes“ helped guide Charlie after he got near England were either British or American Franz had escorted him off the N European coast and past the German anti aircraft guns which would have not shot Franz down because it looked like he was chasing Charlie’s plane

It's a beautiful story. It goes to show that no matter who a solder is "fighting for", generals and dictators aren't the ones on the front lines having to look other human beings in the eye and realize that these are real people with lives and families that they're being told to kill for threat of "treason" otherwise. He basically "escorted" them out of German territory, because German anti aircraft guns couldn't fire at the bomber without the possibility of hitting Stigler's plane as well. So he was literally saving their lives by using himself as a human shield of sorts. In Germany, so many young men and women were raised and brainwashed to hate their enemy no matter what. But Franz Stigler didn't see an enemy, he saw another human being that was in danger. So he stepped up and saved their lives. It's a beautiful story, especially when you think that Charlie Brown was 21 and Franz Stigler was 27 at the time. Just two young men caught up in a war.

"Er riskierte sein Leben - ZWEIMAL AN EINEM TAG UM EINEN UNBEKANNTEN FEIND ZU RETTEN" (He risked his life, two times a day - to save an unkown enemy!")

Oh yes!

Another unbelievable Sabaton-Music-Story.

You have to realize the B-17 wasn't pressurized. And at the heights they flew was in subzero air exposed skin would stick to the metal. So even if the crew wasn't killed they could still be killed if the oxygen got shot out. There was stories of German pilots shooting crews in a chut. His commanding office told you don't do it for the enemy you do it to save your humanity. And to Franz the damage B17 was the same as if they where in a chut and he couldn't shoot them down.

As old men the two pilots reunited and became friends.

Stories like this remind us that the fighters on both sides of war are just men like you and me. Not every person holds the belief of the nations leaders, not every fighter is a zealot. Most are just trying to defend their homelands, their families and friends. Never forget that the enemy is human too, the moment you forget that is the moment you stop being human yourself. "In war it is always the young and powerless who are sent off to fight. Sent by leaders, warriors and generals who are themselves not engaged in the battle, who do not bleed on the frontlines, who do not die alone in the cold and friendless night." Delen

At 9:00 you can see the "iron cross" on the fighter (German) and the blue-white star on the bomber (USA).

Franz Steigler's drill intstructor was part of the old WWI era german military. You have to remember he was an ace pilot and a good man but the nazi high command would have had him shot for letting an American bomber escape especially after bombing German cities. So he had to keep his actions a secret but after the war he was able to reconnect with the man he saved that day and they were friends for the rest of their lives.

The star with wings are the Allies, and the one that looks like the iron cross is the Axis

"You are fighter pilots first, last, always. If I ever hear of any of you shooting at someone in a parachute, I'll shoot you myself." - Gustav Rodel, JG 27

Another intense story you may want to react to is Sabaton's Inmate 4859. Powerful, sobering stuff.

So he was told never to shoot someone in a parachute. He saw that B-17 as their parachute

Told ya you'd like this song! The B17 is and the best bomber ever built. My dad told me that a B17 could be shot to the airframe, its crew tied to the airframe, and the bitch would still fly! There is a book about this incident. It's called "A Higher Call". Definitely worth the read. One last thing, "Ye Olde Pub" is still flying! You can go see her, take pics, fly.

ty for the reaction dave and next time try to pay attentation to the lyrics, there is button where you can switch lyrics on

Somebody has probleby told you.. The Drummer Hannes is Married to Floor Jansen from Nightwish.. and its she who ”sing” int he end of the Christmas Truce

There's a reason they called the B-17 a "Flying Fortress" Also, this is one of my favorite stories that Sabaton has told through their music. Not favorite song, but certainly my favorite story

Bro you gotta see Sabaton history

Please, please, please react to "Lion From the North" next. All of their songs rock, but when I first heard Lion from the North, I was absolutely blown away by its intense energy.

"I cant figure out if theyre allies or enemies" they are "enemies" but theres no enemy in honor. Theyre just pilots.

Not few High Brass of WW1 and 2 have told their recruits theýd shoot them personally if they attack an aircraft that can´t fight back. I´m sure they would´ve defended their recruits actions as well.

In the end. They where stripped away to what they wanted to be as normal. He chose to still have good.

axis ... You can tell by the wing it's a cross which Germany used, and US ofc uses stars

This may be off topic but if you want something different then look up 'The Miracle of Sound', He has done music videos for DOOM, Mass Effect, Hades, Death Stranding along with other games. Some companies paid him to make these songs and helped him. Several use a mix of metal and traditional instruments as well.

I'm leaving this comment mid video so I'm sure your questions will be answered by the time its over. But no, what makes this story so special is the fact that the American bomber is basically a flying corpse right now. Its pure miracle that its not a burning wreck on the ground below. The plane that was flying next to it was a German plane and the pilot was originally intending to shoot them down. But upon catching up to the bomber, he noticed he wasn't being shot at by the tail gunner and as he got along side it, he saw just how badly damaged the plane was and was honestly amazed its still alive. The only gun that could shoot at him was the belly gunner and all he had to do was fly higher to avoid its firing arc. This is one of those rare stories of a fellow soldier- no, a fellow human taking mercy on another human. Both sides are fighitng for their country as enemies politically, but they are not enemies as humans. Basically the German pilot felt there would be no honor in shooting a wounded warrior. But what makes it all the more incredible is that the German pilot knew this bomber had ZERO chance of making it past the German anti-air batteries on the coast line in this state so he risked his own life by flying with them. He knew that the skilled German spotters on the ground would see his plane as one of their own and thus not risk shooting at the bomber for fear of hitting him by mistake. Its a beautiful story of humanity transcending countries and borders. Even in war there can be humanity and mercy. Most soldiers are here to serve their country, but also do not want pointless bloodshed.

This German pilot is a successor to the Red Baron for his honor as a pilot

If you're going down the Sabaton route... Camoflage! That song's twist gives me fucking shivers everytime

They were not allies at all (markings on the planes can easilly tell you that). But let's start with the basics: Messerschmitt Bf-109 was a German fighter that was bringing death and terror to allied air forces - a well designed machine being able to do what a lot of other fighters couldn't. B-17 Flying Fortress was a US bomber used both by American and British air forces - well armed and armoured, designed for long range target bombing, deep in enemy territory. Their missions were quite often suicidal. Now about the story in the clip: After bombing the target, getting heavilly damaged, they start to retreat (as they supposed to), but because of the damage, they had a lot of problems, barely holding the plane together in one piece. The Bf-109 did follow the spotted bomber and made a close look at it. Pilot noticed how damaged it was and how crew was injuried, so he didn't start to taking it down (as he was taught). B-17 gunners couldn't fight it back because of the malfunction of the guns by cold air, starting to wonder, what's on mind of Bf-109 pilot. What a lot of people don't notice in this clip is that Bf-109 was actually protecting the B-17 from being shot by German Anti-Air guns. AA gunners couldn't tell if the B-17 was one of their planes or the enemy by vision range (but by destination and how it was damaged they could). They only could easilly tell that Bf-109 was one of their planes. The pilot of Bf-109 did start to escort B-17 safely to allied air space, out of the range of German AAs. It's one of the weirdest, but really restoring a faith in humanity stories of WWII that (yet again) showed that soldiers of both sides of the conflict were not a bad people at all. Years after the WWII ended, both pilots meet each other and shared their experience of this story.

"I can't tell if the planes are Allyson or enemies" Both gamer

Love their story telling..Carolus Rex next please.

the German pilot was waiving him to land and be prisoners of war but live. The Bomber refused, so the German escorted them to the coast and home.

The bomber didn't fire back because they couldn't the guns where frozen.

They're enemies, US vs Germany. You can see when the "hunter" pulls up the bomber's last gun swings around (but can't shoot)

2:20 At that point we're like

The plane acting as an escort to the bomber was a hostile German fighter plane

Hey Dave if you are still interested in how to determine the markings on aircraft if they are allied or axis all German aircraft had grey paint and black crosses the Japan aircraft had a red circle and were either white or green the allied aircraft had a star for American aircraft a blue red white and yellow bullseye for British aircraft and the French aircraft had a blue,red and white bullseye and Russia had a red star on the wings fuselage and tail

Sabaton history channel, enjoy.

If anyone wants to know the symbols to tell them apart. Germans black cross with white outline,U.S.A white star in a circle. And if you wish to know Britain was not unlike a Bullseye, Japan was a red circle and Russia was a red star.

thats why you put on subtitel so you dont miss out on the story ! Best regards from Sweden

All militaries and branches of militaries have a code that dictates the conditions under which they can engage in combat. Engaging an unarmed and severely disabled opponent is generally highly disapproved of as there is no honor in killing unarmed combatants or combatants that don't have the means to defend themselves. It was this code of conduct that Hans Stiegler thought of when he made his decision to escort the flying fortress back to the safety of its own air space.

The bf109 was an enemy who was going to shoot them down but when he saw that they couldnt fight back because of the planes condition and the wounded/killed men onboard he decided to escort them home instead, so they were not allies edit: nvm they basically said all this in the end

If I'm not mistaken he was taught that it was dishonorable To shoot at Is pilots in parachutes And Stigler thought to himself Is that shooting down that bomber would have been essentially the same thing They show more of the interview in between is between Charlie Brown and Stigler in is in the sabotan history video that goes more into the history ..... Towards the end Of the sabbaton history video The historian that partnered with Sabaton to do the history videos A guy by the name of indy nidell ... Explains that Franz Stigler received received phone calls From Germany calling him a traitor to his people Until his death and also was shunned by his neighbors in Canada Commonly being called a nazi..... He always responded they will never understand

and in all war is war we never learned from 1 world war never a war again humans sadly never learn from history i am so glad i live in the solar system 3 planet and not on earth