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Imagine Goring's shock and horror hearing that stillwell declined a free medal

A side note this week on October 21 1944 is that United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt will ride in an open car without any proper covering through 51 miles (82 km) of New York City streets on his way to make a speech at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn despite heavy rain. This was an attempt to show that he was still healthy as there was a little over two weeks left to go in the 1944 presidential election campaign.

American leadership strongly implored McArthur to say "we will return" as a collective, but Mr. Prima Donna couldn't help but make it all about himself. Edit: I have no hard feelings against the man. A little levity lightens the load of heavy subjects.

"If you give me five years, you will not recognize Germany again" reminds me of the old prophesy, "if you attack Persia, a great kingdom will be destroyed" - if the Lydian king Croesus was himself also the Oracle of Delphi

Like The Great War series, this series really helps me understand the mercurial and unstable world of the Balkan Nations. The shifting alliances, the honorable men, the traitors and those just trying to stay alive amidst this chaotic and lethal war.

My grandfather, my dad's dad, served in the Naval Amphibious Forces, attached to the 7th Fleet during the Philippines Campaign of 1944-45. His unit was a land based infantry unit within the US Navy. Before landing on Leyte, he witnessed the battle of Leyte Gulf from a troop ship. Once landed, he and his unit were attached to a unit of Philippine Scouts, whom he respected very much and spoke of often. During the campaign, he witnessed the liberation of American and Filipino POWs. Seeing the horrors, they and the Filipino people suffered from the Japanese left him with a lifetime hatred of the Japanese. He was 17 at the time. To the day he died in 2006, he never forgave Japan.

"Mark Clark's drive on Imola is also called off" Mr. Clark was a few years too early, the circuit was only opened in 1953. But his son made good for it.

Just before the push to Aachen the 117th and 119th had a brief respite in September in my hometown of Groenstraat, a small town/hamlet just before the border with Germany (it’s visible on the map). They had to wait for the offensive on Aachen to take shape. In those days they were welcomed into our homes and hearts as liberators. Those brave men were on their way to liberate the first German town, struggle for death in the Hurtgen Forrest behind Aachen and fight the Peiper kampfgruppe in December in the Stoutmont area during the Ardennes offensive. Braver souls can not be found.

The Japanese have had so many battles, yet in their eyes “ a decisive battle “ is one where they win. How arrogant they had to be in believing that Japan could lose so many battles and not surrender, but believe that Americans would surrender after a single bloody battle. Pride, arrogance, and ignorance were their colors ✋🏻

The Japanese this week: “Somehow MacArthur returned.”

The title of “Biggest ego, General (Allied)” is an unprecedented four-way tie between Patton, Montgomery, Clark and MacArthur.

Wow, we are really at the point where German soil has been captured. by the western allies. Time sure has flown since the early days of Wehrmacht victories.That is a big blow to the ego of the Nazis.

Just to give some perspective to the Leyte Landings. Tacloban wasn't just some village, but already a large town. It was the provincial capital and would serve as the Phillippine Government's seat of power until the liberation of Manila. It would preclude the shift from island hopping to urban warfare that US forces would face in the Philippines.

Once again, the best, most detailed and yet concise, picture of the war.

My dad was a Signal Corps combat photographer attached to the First Army during the battle of Aachen. He was shot through the neck there on October 8th. He rejoined his unit on the 30th in time to participate in Hurtgen Forest, the Bulge, and the crossings of the Roer and Rhine rivers, as well as meeting up with Rossokovsky at the Elbe. His scrapbook is remarkable.

Watching this series has really made me understand how much more in depth ww2 really was. So many battles and operations taking place all at once. Most people look at ww2 as black and white with just the highlights of the war. Awesome video.

I was in Aachen several years ago and it is amazing that Charlemagne's cathedral is still there and was not destroyed by the American campaign of conquest of the city. It was shortly after the unification of Germany when I was there and the cathedral was overwhelmed by German tourists from the East that had not been able to visit it since the creation of East Germany. Truly it was a symbolic center of German history. Think of Boston as the beginning of the American Revolution and the symbol of nationhood. The loss of Aachen was much more than the loss of an industrial city to Nazi Germany but the original source of German statehood and the Holy Roman Empire.

Posting one of my favorite passages from Rick Atkinson's The Guns at Last Light, regarding the battle of Aachen: "Aachen's dismemberment began in earnest on Wednesday morning, when three hundred Allied planes dropped sixty-two tons of bombs on targets stained with red artillery smoke. Five thousand artillery rounds followed over the next two days, then another hundred tons of bombs and five thousand more shells. At precisely 9:30 A.M. on Friday, October 13th, troops from the 2nd Battalion of the 26th Infantry simultaneously tossed one thousand hand grenades over the railroad embankment near Triererstrasse, then scrambled across the tracks and into the inner sanctum of Charlemagne's capital. They found a "sterile sea of rubble", in one G.I.'s phrase, a ghost town with 20,000 civilians of Aachen's original 165,000 living in dank holes. A garrison of 5,000 troops and policemen defended the inner city, reinforced by constabulary volunteers from Cologne and 1st SS Panzer Corps grenadiers who had hurried in on Rundstedt's orders. Huebner could muster only two battalions from the 26th Infantry for his assault force, but much had been learned in Italy about urban combat. Aachen would now serve as a test bed for new destructive techniques developed by troops whose battle cry became 'Knock 'em all down!' Street by street, building by building, room by room, assault squads methodically clawed their way across the city from east to west, darting between doorways and down alleys smoked with white phosphorus. With Peliserkerstrasse as a boundary line between the battalions, the 3rd pushed through the foundaries and rolling mills on Aachen's northern edge, while the 2nd bulled into the town center at a pace of four hundred yards a day. A tank or tank destroyer perforated each building with crashing fire, floor by floor, from street to attic, forcing defenders into cellars, where grenades finished them off. Bazooka teams knocked down doors, and engineers blew holes in ceilings or walls with beehive charges - 'mouseholing' skills learned in Cassino and Ortona - to let riflemen move up, down, and laterally without using defended stairwells. Every closet, every coal bin, every sewer main was searched, and bulldozers piled rubble atop each manhole cover. To further discourage German infiltration select rooms in cleared houses were booby-trapped, often with a No. 2 green bean can filled with nails, three pounds of dynamite, a No. 8 blasting cap, and a tripwire trigger. Three captured German streetcars were each packed with a thousand pounds of captured enemy munitions and a delay fuze, then rolled downhill through no-man's-land; the thunderous explosions did little damage but elicited appreciative cheers from the American line. Flamethrowers proved persuasive, even through stone burned poorly: a three-second spurt of fire follwed by an ultimatum on Saturday - 'Surrender or get fried' - cleared a fetid three-story air raid shelter of more than seventy-five soldiers and a thousand civilians with hands raised. For recalitrants in bunkers, 1st Division engineers found that mattresses wedged into firing ports amplified the explosive pressures inside so that even small charges would fracture concrete. An order went out to collect mattresses from every captured German village. Another lethal legacy from the Italian campaign was the M-12, an ungainly 155mm gun mounted on a tank chassis that was capable of keeping pace with the armored spearheads as they raced across France. On a single day in Aachen, M-12s fired sixty-four rounds almost point-blank to demolish nine buildings, including a movie theater occupied by a company of enemy riflemen, every one of whom was killed or wounded. As 2nd Battalion edged closer to the rubble of the town hall, with its proud facade of German rulers, an M-12 clanked onto Wilhelmstrasse; there a tank destroyer fired sixteen rounds to bore a hole through a house wall. The 155mm gun then used the firing loophole to throw seven rounds down Hindenburgstrasse into the State Theater, five blocks away. German troops in the stronghold pelted west towards the cathedral. Across the city the Americans crept at a steady, sanguinary fifty feet and hour, shooting, dynamiting, grenading. National Socialist slogans on a broken wall reminded the faithful, auf Deutsch, 'For this we thank our Fuhrer,' and, 'You are nothing, the state is all.' G.I.s chalked their own scatalogical exegesis. Drew Middleton described a soldier firing into the street from a back bedroom, where eiderdown quilts in red silk covered the beds. 'The sons of bitching bastards,' the G.I. muttered as he emptied his rifle. 'The fucking, fucking bastards.' Knock 'em all down."

I actually live in the Aachen/Würselen Area and its very exciting to see my Hometown being covered here! Love this series!

I love the fact, You divided video into time parts. It helps me later, when i'm back to the video and want to find a fragment i'm looking for. Thank You.

After almost three full years the Japanese are finally getting the "great decisive battle" with the US Navy according to the Mahan doctrine they adopted and that they had originally set out to accomplish on December 7th, 1941. Little do they realized the US Navy now out numbers them by a factor of 3.5+ to 1 in warships of all types.

You guys really do an amazing work. I can remind myself discover your channel years ago and be like... "meh, I'm too impatient... I'll follow the channel and wait 'til the end of the war to binge all the videos in a couple of weeks"... we're close to it, guys. You're about to have done it and finally I'll can spend weeks to discover new aspects of this war we all think we know but not as deep as we think. You're so resilient guys, I can't wait to hear Indy say :"ok, we're done with this war", it will be my: "go, binge, go !!!"

These is the best Documentary love it

Whomever thought of your one-sided phone call openings deserves whatever the KZfaq equivalent of a Pullitzer is. It's just brilliant.

Hi Indy Splendid week. Full of exciting details. Especially the last quote,it's what happened to Germany. Thanks for the video.

The link you were pointing out, Indy, is one about the US war on Japanese shipping. I’m really interested in the actual video you were talking about - Hungary between two wars - so if you guys could link it, that would be very much appreciated. Always great work, always.

8:12 "October. We're in Aachen. Krauts are fightin' like hell for it, cause it's the first time one of their cities has been invaded by the Allies. Won't be the last." - Private First Class Ronald Daniels This week on October 21st 1944, the following missions in the Call of Duty series will begin: *October 18 1944* Collateral Damage (Call of Duty: World War II) - As Staff Sergeant Augustine Perez and Private First Class Ronald Daniels in Aachen, Germany, you will first command an M4 Sherman tank and attempt to reroute to save First Lieutenant Joseph Turner’s platoon. Afterwards, you will have to reach and secure the hotel, before trying to sneak out with civilians and defending your position. *October 21 1944* First City to Fall (Call of Duty: Finest Hour) - As Sergeant Chuck Walker at Aachen, Germany, you are to take cover behind friendly tanks and take out anti-armor enemy troops as you advance into the occupied buildings and clear them out. Underground Passage (Call of Duty: Finest Hour) - As Sergeant Chuck Walker at Aachen, Germany, you are to destroy 5 ladders to prevent the enemy from making surprise attacks, as well as clear a passage while moving through the Aachen sewers. Surrender at Aachen (Call of Duty: Finest Hour) - As Sergeant Chuck Walker at Aachen, Germany, you are to fight your way to the centre of the city and destroy the enemy tanks.

My father's ship that he was on, destination was Tacloban. The ship was attacked by Japanese bombers. fortunately they missed.

I have to intervene: Aachen was defended by elements of German 116th Panzerdivision and 10th SS Panzerdivision - mainly their Panzergrenadier elements. The few Panzers, StuGs and Jagdpanzers of these divisions operated North and East of Aachen.

Finally, i catched up, i took me serval months to watch the WWII & WaH series. From now on, I will have to watch the episodes at the time they come out. Big thanks for the whole team for creating this masterpiece. Althoug I thouht I knew already a lot of things form this War, I learned a lot more.

Greetings from Indonesia. Thank you for another week of WW2 reporting. The tide has certainly turned.

Sarajevo, Belgrade, Nis, Sava River....And I though Przemyśl was a blast from the past. It's quiet a shame the Aachen and Scheldt battles aren't more well known. From what I've read about them, they truly were horrific meatgrinders for both sides that got overhsadowed by a certain German counteroffensive later on (oh, spoilers by the way).

Your mention of Gumbinnen reminded me that 30 years and two months before, the Germans and Russians clashed at that place in a battle that occurred prior to the one at Tannenberg. The Russians ended up withdrawing. I don't think that's going to happen this time.

Did I hear that right: 18 escort carriers and 12 fleet carriers? Wow.

A book I read on the kamikaze claimed the term became popular among Americans because it was how their Nisei translators rendered the characters meaning "divine wind". The wartime Japanese themselves used "shinpu", which means the same but is Chinese pronunciation and tends to sound loftier than the indigenous Japanese pronunciation kamikaze. (Wartime Japanese also called them "tokkotai", an abbreviation for "special attack units".)

1274 and 1281. Mongols invaded twice had their fleet destroyed by storms twice. Both instances were referred to as Kamikaze.

This week in French news. The 15th, creation of the Headquarters of the Dunkirk territorial zone with the creation of the 110th Infantry Regiment, consisting of two FFI battalions (1200 men). The objective is to reinforce the siege of Dunkirk after the fall of Calais and the departure of most of allied troops, with only the Czech Brigade staying there. The 16th, political ordinance on the economical epuration and the 18th, another on the confiscation of illegal profits from the war. The 20th, a convention between the Germans and the French forces is signed in La Rochelle to avoid destruction of the city and the port. All agrees to not cross front lines and not make any sabotage inside the city. Meanwhile in Sigmaringen, there is a real “war on notes” between Pétain and Brinon. While Pétain refuses to play any part in this Delegation, Brinon continues to use his name and authority to make political plans. The Delegation change its name to the French Governmental Commission of defense of national interest. Brinon is now considering himself as the chief of the true government of France and claim to be both legitimate from Pétain and Germany.

Always look forward to these weekly releases. Another great episode.

Mhm seems like theres a lot of forest southeast of Aachen, but I guess thats not gonna be a problem 🤔

Every week! Love your work!

Japanese officer: "I' not a pilot but I did play one during the war!"

Just a minor mistake: You used ">" as fewer in stead of "

Assuming it would be very difficult for the Japanese to defend the enormously long coastline of the Philippines not knowing where the US would land. Hope we get some coverage of Filipino resistance involvement, either combat or passing info on the location of ground or air forces - I assume there was some

A garden of microphones! Love it!

Always a pleasure, thanks :)

Great Video as always ❤

Excellent work as always!

Great work, thanks!

Great presentations!

Brazil this week: no many military movements, only some recon and the building of a bridge by FEB engineers in the region of Castellacio in the 16th, and the creation of a advanced post of command in Quiesa on the 18th, for the operations in the Sercchio Valley; The operations are mostly paralized in the 18th by order of the american IV Corps command, that the brazilians are fighting under, who orders a temporary paralysis and a maintenance of their current positions. Mostly we have are some changes in troops on the 21st, and Gen. Zenóbio, the brazilian commander, waiting for IV Corps authorization for a offensive against Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, starting to wait in the 19th; However, one important symbolical event happens: from the 16th to the 18th the brazilian War Minister visits the troops in Italy, and during his visit to one of the command posts of the FEB in Bologna Gen. Dutra, under suggestion from the american commander Gen. Clark, suggests the adoption of a badge for the FEB, who's immediately accepted by both the brazilian authorities and the troops. That badge being the famous one of a snake smoking a pipe, that gave the FEB the notorious nickname 'Cobras Fumantes', or 'Smoking Snakes'.

i was expecting McArthur landing in Leyte to be this week's thumbnail 😁

I love you Indy ❤. Ive said that before but I do. Love ur voice, ur explanations and ur photos and everything else u do in the videos. Ty so much

People of the Philippines, I have returned

Thank you.

My father's group 475th FG were at one time based at Biak Island.. There next stop was Leyte.

My late father was at Leyte and saw MacArhur somewhere off the beach. Dad was an Army Air Corps engineer and operated a bulldozer constructing airfields.

's-Hertogenbosch is a hard one to pronounce. But like 'S-Gravenhage it has two names, the second one simpler to pronounce and more commonly used nowadays. 'S-Gravenhage is also called Den Haag (The Hague), and 'S-Hertogenbosch is also called Den Bosch. Indy had a quite reasonable go at the name but it's totally okay to go with Den Bosch to spare yourselves the difficulty.

For next year’s April Fools, they should do a joke episode about some events from Wolfenstein. Kind of like what they did with HYDRA and some characters from Marvel a couple years back.

Thanks team

Another Great Episode.

Long after the war МИН НЕТ (no mines) graffiti were still on the facades of Belgrade buildings. Some of them still stands today.

5:29 General Douglas MacArthur and staff, accompanied by Philippine President Sergio Osmeña and Carlos P. Romulo, land at Red Beach, Leyte, 20 October 1944 he came with the Philippine Commonwealth republic in exile in america

As a Hungarian, thanks for covering the Hungarian political events. There are still heated arguments here about the role of Horthy during the era and these series helped me understanding his role a bit more. The coup also meant that Hungary will see action in her territory for long months to come 🙁

A lot of kudos for Indy actually trying to pronounce 's-Hertogenbosch (and of course all the other names)!

What seems to be left out by you guys is the defenses of the Hungarian Army in the North Transylvania mountains called the Árpád line which held back all Soviet attacks in that region. I really hope you will mention it in a future video.

A scary thing to think about is that even if Tokyo Rose was right and all the carriers in the taskforce were sunk, American industial might was on RTS mode and could have replaced them within weeks of not months. Also the American pilots having actual flight training out of flight school would have more experience than the japanese who only trained in theory due to fuel loss, cant imagine playing warthunder would make me equal to a japanese naval aviator

Another excellent video WW2 team! 👏

A great video.

Some sideinfo to the Horthy situation. The older son of his, Horthy István, died in 1942 on the eastern front in a plane crash. This crash is suspicious to this day since he was widely known as an anti-nazi. The germans intercepted a conversation between him and his wife where they talked about the possibility of jumping out the war. On the other hand the plane which he flew in the MÁVAG-Héja"(hungarian fighter produced from licence of the italian Reggiane Re.2000) was known for its instabilities and if i remember correctly the hungarian airforce lost more Héja to accidents then to the enemy, so it was a questionable quality at best. So... in 1944 the younger Miklós Horthy was the only living son of the hungarian leader.

When I was 5 years old I witnessed the reenactment of MacArthur's landing in Leyte during the 50th anniversary. It's a fond childhood memory watching the landings sitting on my Dad's shoulders.

I interviewed a 30th ID vet who's Baptism of Fire was the Aachen assault. Victor Neiland, BAR gunner. A great book on the American way of war in 1944 NW Europe is Closing With The Enemy by Michael Doubler.

Thank you for the lesson.

Little noted exchange during Dougie Mac's radio broadcast: Doug: " I have returned" Filipino Guerilla: " So will a dud check..."

Seeing the photos of King Tiger tanks in the streets of Budapest makes me think: "Wouldn't older Pz III tanks have been sufficient to put down an uprising, and free up the King Tigers for defense against the Soviets?" 🤔

"Oh ands you can click here for a Between Two Wars episode about Hungary before this whole mess started." Looks over and sees a special on American Wolfpacks… Just letting the team know the error for the link. Thanks for the amazing work.

very interesting video

Super wonderful introduced....allot thanks( WW2) channel

All the place names in the Philippines were pronounced almost perfectly! Awesome!! :)

Are we getting any sort of special coverage on the upcoming Battle of Leyte Gulf, given its status as the largest naval battle in history by total displacement?

I have been following you guys since napoleanic wars

Looks like a big storm coming next week. What will happen? The world wonders.

Man, S'Hertgenbosch must have really been a mouth-full for you - though, you took it in a stride! Now try to master the "Umlaute" ä,ö,ü. The are not as difficult as they seem😅 Love your content!

The Ballad of Vinegar Joe and Chiang Kai Shek could be it's own movie, or mini series. Full of drama, tragedies, ups and downs, ending with Chiang's victory.

Good episode as always, but truly who names these operations?

Funny how your voice changes when you have to talk about Italy HAHAHAHAHA I enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

My father's second cousins eldest brothers first roomate served at Stalingrad, I got the story from his niece.

21:24 - you are missing S in BanSká Bystrica. But amazing job, With pronunciation and in general. Thank you.

Gregory Peck was great in the movie MacArthur. I loved that they put the whole speech that Mac gave to the Filipino people in the movie. It's a great watch.

The most important thing i learn is the correct collective noun for microphone

Thank you again for covering the Battle of the Schelde. Other question though: Is there or will there be an initiative to compile this gargantuan effort of historical education other than KZfaq? One might imagine it not be around forever?

21:33 I'm sorry, but those ducks walking along side those soldiers made me chuckle.

I used to get hammered at Panzer Faust but I don't do that anymore.

Aachen is Twinned with Halifax in West Yorkshire for some reason Strange that the seat of the Holy Roman Empire is Twinned with a Northern Mill Town on the edge of the Pennines!..Cheers Indy and Team its been a long old road to get to this point

A lot happening indeed.

Another great report by Indy! Hellzapoppin all over the world this week! Bet Chaing is very glad to see old Vinegar Joe say goodbye to China! But looking into MY crystal ball, I see years ahead where Chiang might wish he had Joe and his troops back in China!

Great video as usual. One small mistake tho. Szálasi didn't declare himself Nádor, his title was Nemzetvezető which means National leader/Natzionalführer. The title of Nádor was the second most powerful after the king. A Nádors job was to take over the kings duties while the king was abroad. Without a king there couldn't have been a nádor.

That “garden” is the correct collective noun for microphones is detailed in that invaluable reference to collective nouns “A load of bollocks” by The Pedants of the Seventh Circle.

Interesting

Yehey! THey finally landed here! Gonna sign up for the TGA soon!!