Who were Germany’s Forgotten Elite Division? 116th Panzer Division

Who were Germany’s Forgotten Elite Division? 116th Panzer Division | WWII

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Күн бұрын

Step into the pages of history with our latest video as we uncover the awe-inspiring tale of the 116th Panzer Division during World War II. From their intense battles in Aachen and the dense forests of Hürtgen, to their pivotal role in the Ardennes campaign and their unyielding stand in the Harz mountains, the 116th Panzer Division's journey is one of courage, sacrifice, and unwavering determination.
Discover how this division earned its reputation from the US military as "the famed and best German Panzer Division," acknowledged by adversaries and allies alike. Join us on this captivating journey as we explore their battles, victories, and the challenges they confronted head-on.
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Пікірлер: 169

@Brigadewolf 10 ай бұрын

My great grandfather was assigned to this division after he left afrika. I have his ID disk. It's awesome to learn more about this division

@historyatwar 10 ай бұрын

Amazing! Very interesting division

@John-se4nw 10 ай бұрын

He was that's great you have his id disk wow that's awesome cool tale dude

@jurgenmachulla6208 2 ай бұрын

Deutsche Helden lm Einsatz💪schlimm das die Sieger infame Lügen über sie verbreiten,😡

@tillytilford2158 10 ай бұрын

I was on a battlefield study with the British Army about 20 years ago. On walking through a small town on the edge of the hurtgen forest on the German/Belgian, an old man slowly walked to a car that have the 116th Div badge on its boot lid. I just smiled and nodded to the gentleman but how I wish now I had spoken to him. He carried himself like a veteran and those that know, know.

@historyatwar 10 ай бұрын

Wow! He must of moved there after the war.

@tillytilford2158 10 ай бұрын

@@historyatwar Vossenack was the town. I couldn’t remember it earlier. He may have always been from there, who knows. I wish I’d spoken to him.

@raymow9683 8 ай бұрын

Windhund (Greyhound) division.

@historyatwar 10 ай бұрын

Another Interesting point we forgot to point out, most of the soldiers in this Division were veterans from Stalingrad and fall blau offensive, these men have seen years and years of the toughest fighting.

@raymow9683 10 ай бұрын

Correct; I believe from the 60th motorized pulled out during the fighting at Stalingrad before the encirclement.

@DerSchleier 10 ай бұрын

For those unfamiliar with the battle for Stalingrad simply envision Hades on Earth. Anyone surviving that battle survived a protracted hand-to-hand/close combat exchange not experienced by anyone since.

@Haeuptling_Bunte_Murmel 10 ай бұрын

In May 2016 i found the last FieldHQ of the 116th in the Eastern Ruhrpocket, south of Dortmund. Therefore i found the Remains of their Enigma Chiffre Machine. During my 17 Years of detecting WW2 Artefacts in the Ruhrpocket, i also found two of their Cap Badges. Greetings from Germany 😊

@jonathans9537 10 ай бұрын

@@Haeuptling_Bunte_Murmel that’s incredible. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

@Haeuptling_Bunte_Murmel 10 ай бұрын

@@jonathans9537 Thanks for your Comment. Since i deleted 90% of my Videos, i only have the Karaoke Song "I'm just a little Digger", where i used the Enigma Remains as Background. 😁👍🏻 Greetz 😊👋🏻

@AntiDefizitSyndrom 10 ай бұрын

My Grandfather was one of them, right from the first days to their last, as he survived the war. I can hardly express how much I appreciate you honoring him and all his many fallen comrades

@historyatwar 10 ай бұрын

It’s our pleasure, they are just soldiers doing their duty! 🤝

@giancarlogarlaschi4388 10 ай бұрын

Fair Play Sir . Klaus, My Father in Law , was German ( Hamburg ) , a fine True Gentleman. Kindest Regards First Lieutenant ( Ret ) Air Force of Chile

@SteveSmith-kf9on 10 ай бұрын

Would have loved to have met the Gentleman! Respect

@gerrykennedy7849 10 ай бұрын

The Greyhounds my Heroes!

@raymow9683 10 ай бұрын

They weren't out fought..... just outnumbered.

@pzkw6759 10 ай бұрын

true

@Clancy192 10 ай бұрын

Either way, they lost!

@pzkw6759 10 ай бұрын

@@Clancy192 Yes, that's true. But they gave as good as they got

@gordonfleming458 10 ай бұрын

Yeah the Slavs kicked you arse

@garyhardison9265 10 ай бұрын

A underrated division that fought like an elite division but never got recognition.

@Stueber84 10 ай бұрын

My great grandfather was the commander of the 60th Panzergrenadier Regiment. his regiment was assigned to the 116th. Thanks for the informing video.

@burkinafaso64 4 күн бұрын

Was Zander or Voigtsberger your great grandfather? Did you or your family inherit something from his years in the war?

@Stueber84 3 күн бұрын

@@burkinafaso64 It was Zander. Sadly no as far as I know. He never received the Knights cross since he was captured before it could be handed to him. Perhaps my Grandmother has other things of him but none that I know of.

@garylabita8843 10 ай бұрын

I’ve been to the divisional cemetery in the Hurtgenwald. Feldmarschall Model is buried there.

@user-hd5uy3ud7c 10 ай бұрын

You should cover Herman Goring Panzer Division in one of your videos.

@BrianHayter-zl2uc 10 ай бұрын

To all the brave men who fought in the war, thankyou for your service,🙏🙏🙏🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺👍👍👍

@The-Shadow-Realm 10 ай бұрын

The manner in which they fought to hold “Festung Aachen” and then going on the offensive during Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein was almost unmatched in terms of combat prowess. I’d go as far to say that they and the Grossdeustchland Panzer Corps were the two finest units of the Heer!

@voroshilov3916 10 ай бұрын

Your channel posts the best videos of divisions on the Eastern Front hands down. Great work.

@historyatwar 10 ай бұрын

Thank you!

@asullivan4047 10 ай бұрын

Interesting and informative. Excellent photography job enabling viewers to better understand what/whom the orator was describing. Professional class A research project!!! Fortunately for the allies. The 116th slowly ran out of supplies/preventing much higher allied casualty rates.

@georgeohwell7988 10 ай бұрын

Fantastic video...thank you

@stearinlys1000 10 ай бұрын

Small error in commentary. The 116th Panzer Division "Windhund" did not have "Bloody Bucket" as a secondary nickname (0:14 in video). That nickname was given to the US 28th Infantry Division en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28th_Infantry_Division_(United_States)

@historyatwar 10 ай бұрын

If was given to them during the Battle of Hurtgen, you are correct. It was given due the divisions heavy casualties in the battle, both of them deserve this name, the battle was ferocious, but yeah our mistake it was for the 28th Infantry Division, not the 116th division.

@pat5882 10 ай бұрын

Yes, the Pennsylvania 28ID. Their insignia was the Keystone and it was red.

@rcgunner7086 10 ай бұрын

@@historyatwar The "Bloody Buckets" of the 28th would face them, the Windhunds, at least twice- in the Hurtgen at Schmidt and down south for the Bulge.

@chipmunkhunt 10 ай бұрын

28the ID earned it's reputation as the bloody bucket division. I served with the 28th.

@davecopp9356 10 ай бұрын

Respect and RIP for this german soldiers.

@michaelram3411 10 ай бұрын

Respect and eternal glory from Turkey to the glorious german army.Unfortunately the glorious german army was extremely outnumbered by its enemies

@davidbarr9343 10 ай бұрын

URA Tube and a Plonker, are you Richard Cranium in disguise?

@michaelram3411 10 ай бұрын

@@davidbarr9343 who is he?

@kiowhatta1 10 ай бұрын

Turkey could and should have entered the war during the Fall Blau campaign-ensuring the conquest of the Caucasus without needing to March more than a few dozen miles. It could have struck between the border with Iran ( also blocking British and Soviet troops stationed on the border) and the Caucasus mountains. Army group A was desperately short of infantry division’s so a pincer move involving Turkey in the south moving up through the Georgian and Ossetian military roads towards Army group A would have surrounded the Soviet forces of the Transcaucasia front. Additionally Turkey could have provided a perfect base for supplies as well as challenging the Black Sea Fleet. Turkey and Russia had been fighting for centuries so why get cold feet at the most opportune moment? Turkey’s entry would have tipped the balance and also enabled Caucasian oil to be shipped through Turkey. Such a disappointment, though I understand they weren’t ready for war.

@kiowhatta1 10 ай бұрын

Talk about hyperbole! Sounds like a poetic memorial to the division rather than a sequence of facts. Completely left out the divisions split into both the 16th Pz and 16 mot. The 16th mot peculiar involvement in Fall Blau where it was the only force holding the yawning gap between Army group B and Army group A at Elista. It also carried out reconnaissance in force towards Astrakhan and achieved the greatest advance East into Soviet Russia.

@daviddalton9214 10 ай бұрын

Glorious my foot.😊

@Sirilere 10 ай бұрын

Outstanding! I look forward to seeing you folks do one on the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division.

@jimrutherford2773 10 ай бұрын

The soldiers on both sides were brave.

@sebbonxxsebbon6824 10 ай бұрын

Both served evil leaders.

@eijijivjiv 8 ай бұрын

@sebbonxxsebbon6824 who the British and Americans?

@michaelstudd533 10 ай бұрын

Another brilliant video

@oscarmadison8530 10 ай бұрын

Extraordinary and insightful.

@jimkennedy7050 10 ай бұрын

Rommel had a great fondness of Geronimo and it came out in a book written about him called the desert fox.

@Matt-qh9lm 10 ай бұрын

when doing research on this unit in years past, i recall reading that they were chosen to lead (and fight for good) had hitler's assassination gone through. by lead, i mean their leadership had agreed to handle any units that were still following hitlers orders or remained pro-nazi. it was such an interesting fact i couldnt forget it, although i obviously forgot further specific details and dont have a source, but im sure it can be easily found through google :)

@user-user-user-user. 10 ай бұрын

Immer und Ewig….

@romegavadquez6310 10 ай бұрын

Hardest men that ever walked the earth

@barryrammer7906 10 ай бұрын

Yes USMC

@kevinbabu8919 10 ай бұрын

Great video historyatwar, your content always educate me the lesser known facts of WW2 !!!!!! Thank you very much 🙏❤️. Can you make a video of Finland during WW2 and Finnish volunteers in the Waffen SS?

@historyatwar 10 ай бұрын

Really glad you enjoyed! For sure it’s on our list 🤝

@kevinbabu8919 10 ай бұрын

@@historyatwar Thank you. 🙏☺️❤️

@giancarlogarlaschi4388 10 ай бұрын

A Soldier is a Soldier ... and then we have The Germans.

@melissawilkinson2636 10 ай бұрын

The Warriors

@AngelicaPetersson-jj1rd 10 ай бұрын

THE best army in THE world

@davidbarr9343 10 ай бұрын

Hmm, I think you mean the Japanese.

@davidbarr9343 10 ай бұрын

@@AngelicaPetersson-jj1rd At the time, although the atrocities cannot be forgotten.

@AngelicaPetersson-jj1rd 10 ай бұрын

@@davidbarr9343 THE russians was worse THE killed a lot of ukrainiens No One talks about that

@jamesbodnarchuk3322 10 ай бұрын

Informative

@richard3536 10 ай бұрын

This unit exists to this day in the in the Bundeswher. !

@StalinLovsMsmZioglowfagz 10 ай бұрын

My G. Grand Uncle, Graf von Schwerin’s Division.

@historyatwar 10 ай бұрын

I bet he was one tough bastard.

@StalinLovsMsmZioglowfagz 10 ай бұрын

@@historyatwar I believe he was a good man. At Aachen, which was a culturally unique and valuable town for it’s arts and architecture, but full of civilians due to the SS unit stationed there first not letting the townspeople flee, he worked out a deal with the American commander to surrender the town to the US without endangering it’s citizenry or it’s buildings. There was no point in trying to hold it as they were about to be overrun with the lines just going around them, had they not done so, and the end result would have inevitably been the same, however, it would have definitely resulted in the senseless deaths of pensioners, and women and children. As your piece noted, the 116th was not a unit afraid to be surrounded, it proved that many times, fighting successful rearguard actions, and holding the door open in pockets for other German units to be able to withdraw. Thanks for your stuff, man. Cheers

@byron8657 10 ай бұрын

The 116th Panzer Division has this motto Loyalty is my Honor! Salutes to the Brave soldiers on both sides of the World War Two conflict k!

@jimkennedy7050 10 ай бұрын

116th division was like Lees last division at Danville in the war between the states. so shot up and destroyed over and over again only those who were lucky at dodging a bullet were left.

@BrianHayter-zl2uc 10 ай бұрын

Great story/topic, well done. Love it👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️

@peterrooney9461 10 ай бұрын

I have never heard such dramatic narration in my life. But good pictures And video

@Anullu22 10 ай бұрын

Top👍

@user-nv4wu7hc3f 10 ай бұрын

How can they are brave like tiger amazing ss army panzer wonder Germany 🇩🇪

@barryrammer7906 10 ай бұрын

I knew an ole timer who fought in the American army. In this battle they used quad 50 cal half tracks to kill Germans in cities. They got a dose of those 4 50 cals and decided to call it a day. This was used to kill Germans in the city. After a while the came out fast with white shirts. But he said it was very hard fighting the Germans there. American superior fire power ruled the day. He had no hate for regular Germans units. But, he said he never saw an alive SS man. They just killed them. No mercy for the SS. But regular German soldiers they had the highest respect for and treated them good. He really said the Germans were tough as nails. Very hard to beat. They used everything except frontal assults. They knew the war was over and did not want to die for a won cause already. They let the heavy weapons do most of the work and moped them up after. If you cornered the Americans he said we fight man to man. Seems like most Germans thought Americans would not fight them straight up. They are right they used every advantage to win with the least American deaths.

@otfriedschellhas3581 Ай бұрын

"No mercy for SS (WAFFEN SS I suppose)- Just shot them." Hmmm, so why complain when they did the same at Malmedy etc? My dad fought "Amis" in the West, and Soviets in the East as a W/SS soldier, (3. SS, 9.SS), but never spoke with hatred of the enemy. That's usually the domain of chairborne warriors, don't you think?

@arthurnawrath6701 10 ай бұрын

Heroes!

@georgeszaslavsky 10 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing this very ineteresting history👍 so they are comparable to the Gross Deutschland and Leibstandard divisions regarding combat prowess and courage

@schwatzy6362 24 күн бұрын

An uncle of mine was killed there at Aachen. An SS Tiger tank commander, I believe part of the 507 but may have been transferred to another division after the refit. He had survived over two years on the Eastern front. His Battalion was sent back to Germany for refit and then assigned to the Western front. While on a recovery mission to retrieve a broken-down Tiger, he suffered a shrapnel wound to the head. He was a Polish volunteer, who joined to fight the Communists.

@burkinafaso64 4 күн бұрын

There was no SS heavy tank batallion 507. Since SS 501 was withdrawn to Paderborn after the retreat in the west I would say he served in the Wehrmacht's heavy tank batallion 506, which was present during the battle for Aachen.

@schwatzy6362 4 күн бұрын

@@burkinafaso64 Another uncle was a Panzer Grenadier with the Gros Deutschland div They ended up together caught behind the Rissian lines I assumed he was in the Gross Deutschland too They fought their way back after freeing about 800 Germans that had been captured by the Russians Sad that he never survived the war but my uncle who was a P Grenadier did survive

@TheYeti308 10 ай бұрын

Nice Job ; HAW . !

@SteveKanterakiss 10 ай бұрын

🖤

@conceptalfa 10 ай бұрын

👍👍👍

@parkerrydbomshistorychanne9151 4 ай бұрын

While I do love your guy's videos and the 116th PD was one of the best of the 2nd World War, unless I missed something I'd like to correct one thing. The 116th was not called the "Bloody Bucket" Division. It was a name that the 116th and its supporting units gave to the American 28th Infantry Division at the battle of the Hurtgen Forest. The insignia of the 28th is a Red Keystone, originally from Pennsylvania as a National Guard unit, whose lineage can be traced as far back as Ben Franklin's Battalion during the American Revolution. Keep doing what you guys are doing! Love your videos!

@pzkw6759 10 ай бұрын

Tough bastards, weren't they?

@d.neilmccullough6779 10 ай бұрын

Could you get much more melodramatic?

@historyatwar 10 ай бұрын

Yes we sure can.

@johnhouchin9663 10 ай бұрын

☆☆☆☆☆

@daviddalton9214 10 ай бұрын

Ran all the way to Berlin .

@oldcynical2845 10 ай бұрын

Hard to call yourself elite if you lose the war.

@historyatwar 10 ай бұрын

Not really, US Marines are elite they lost the Afghan war, so with the Vietnam war, many elite formations have lost many battles and wars.

@otfriedschellhas3581 Ай бұрын

Losing the war is strategic, winning a fight like Huertgen is tactical, down to battle performance. Oh, do try not to sound more inane than you can help, will you,?

@1958HHH 10 ай бұрын

Methamphetamine gave them their speed and aggression nothing else.

@THINKincessantly 9 ай бұрын

18:31 Like to have heard their conversation

@thedoctor755 5 ай бұрын

Pretty good history in this! Windhund was a great unit. The narration must be AI though... it keeps repeating the same phrases, and really tries for the dramatic :)

@hossdelgado2 10 ай бұрын

Genuine Question - Do you just use a ChatGPT script with an automated voice over?

@historyatwar 10 ай бұрын

We write our own work, we use different tools for better engagement, if only they could right our scrips for us, Lol

@helmuthaberkost4901 10 ай бұрын

@Hystoryatwar : This is the best way you did!!! Thinking with the own mind and find the own words!!! I'm from Schwarzwald in Deutschland, and I thank you so much for your intention and all that what you do for the Truth and also for Deutschland!!!! Regards - Helmut

@mikeschmucker8295 10 ай бұрын

Their cause was just

@cameronbrown9080 10 ай бұрын

Very brave men who have been to hell and back and fought all the way glad to see that they did all die and some got to go home

@byron8657 10 ай бұрын

In the Hurtgen forest alone US forces lost 24k soldiers with the 116th Panzer Division for three weeks of fighting k!

@panther8504 2 ай бұрын

Grey hound divison idk where you got bloody bucket

@hyrondongle2473 10 ай бұрын

I have a greyhound myself … its unbelievable that nazi Germany trained greyhounds to drive tanks

@0ldb1ll 10 ай бұрын

Greyhounds are the fastest but the most idle of dogs.

@SaintJavelin2022 10 ай бұрын

If we‘re really talking the best Panzer Division, the answer is perfectly clear… The 4. Panzer-Division is the obvious choice.

@010bobby 10 ай бұрын

The best do not lose battles…against the allies, they lost and their country conquered… enough said

@davidbarr9343 10 ай бұрын

You obviously know nothing about tactical or strategic warfare. Read a few military history books and then come back and admit you were wrong.

@helljumper7101 10 ай бұрын

Name a single army that can operate this well while outnumbered, fighting on multiple fronts, critically short on resources of every kind and under overwhelming air superiority Hell most armies would be incapable of functioning with controlling the skies let alone under any kind of enemy air superiority

@helmuthaberkost4901 10 ай бұрын

@bobbybaby: you know nothing, because that you write stupid nonsens!!!

@010bobby 10 ай бұрын

@@davidbarr9343 the bottom line, they still lost and no matter how you spin it they failed their country…

@gordonfleming458 10 ай бұрын

@@helljumper7101army ??? How many women and children did they murder ??? Very brave . Lots of idiots around .

@burkinafaso64 4 күн бұрын

Having watched a couple of videos of you today I am really disappointed by this one about my favorite division. This video contains many errors, but what I really don't like is the lack of content. If you cut out all the parts which are emotional, but empty of content there wouldn't remain much of this video. You fully gloss over the defence of operation Veritable/Blockbuster and barely mention the Ruhrpocket but drivel about "rambling tank engines, overwhelming artillery fire and fierce resistance". This video really needs an updated version. If you want input I would gladly contact you.

@soldat2501 4 ай бұрын

WTF?!? The Bloody Bucket? Where TF did you get that misinformation or did you make that up? Windhund was hardly unknown. It was close Großdeutschland in terms of operating as a fire brigade. When they finally moved to the West Front, they had a formidable reputation.

@anglesachse7654 10 ай бұрын

While the video in itself is interesting, as someone trying to give acurate information I would suggest you at least make the effort with the footage aswell instead of mixing early and late war footage that is noticable within the uniforms, as well as not showing US troops when talking about British etc. The miss matching footage and commentary is realy annoying and makes it that many folks will not watch it in its entirety

@johnmcpherson1713 10 ай бұрын

This is an interesting vid, but the bad German pronunciation is distracting. Windhund is pronounced "vindhoond" and Panzer is pronounced with an open "a" - more like "Pahnzer"

@JSPnolifer 10 ай бұрын

@Cormano980 10 ай бұрын

Good stuff, but a little over poetic

@Dimythios 6 ай бұрын

Nope the 116th is not the best elite panzer division. It is a very good one and it is an elite panzer division but not the best. FACT. The 11th Panzer (The Ghost) Division carries that crown for they were so respected by the US and allied Armies that THEY were invited in the 1946 Allied parade over the defeat of German as they filled the US army ranks during the parade. They are THE ONLY German division in the entire German army to hold that distinction during and after the war.

@alexread4803 Ай бұрын

Enlisted be like

@tremainetreerat5176 10 ай бұрын

The "Bloody Bucket Division" is the US 28th Infantry Div--a nickname it earned for the very high losses it suffered in the Battle of the Hürtgen Forest fighting against (amongst others) the 116th Panzer Div. That's really not up for debate...

@chesterwortham5525 10 ай бұрын

Yes the 28th was from Pennsylvania national gaurd

@jacquesstrapp3219 10 ай бұрын

The butchering of the pronunciation of German names ruins an otherwise good video.

@helmuthaberkost4901 10 ай бұрын

I am from Germany and I want to contact you! My father was Oberleutnant in GD. Please let me know how. Regards from Schwarzwald - Helmut

@historyatwar 10 ай бұрын

Sure! Message our Instagram @HistoryAtWar

@Will-ux1dg 10 ай бұрын

You should not make heroes of those people. As they were anything but .

@historyatwar 10 ай бұрын

Nobody said that or implied that?

@Will-ux1dg 10 ай бұрын

@@historyatwar Have you listened to the commentary , they sure made out they were heroes of the Wehrmacht to me.

@AntiDefizitSyndrom 10 ай бұрын

There has a monument been near Aachen for exactly them, because their commander did not blow a Damm to slow the us. Therefore no civilians have been hurt, and he was shot. 2 days later, that's what heros do...

@gordonfleming458 10 ай бұрын

@@Will-ux1dgwell you should have a good look in the mirror they are no heroes just criminals

@AntiDefizitSyndrom 10 ай бұрын

i Wish you Said this into my face, i might teach you some Written in the Monument remembering the 116 because Graf von Schwerin, and with him the division, repeatedly disobeyed Hitler's orders, for example in the Kalmyk steppe - in the Sapaorohsje bridgehead - and on the western front. This was also the case in Aachen, when the evacuation of the population was stopped on his orders. He prevented the ordered destruction of the city of Aachen, preserved the Rhenish-Westphalian division in September 1944 and saved the population from facing an even harder lot