If you are interested in a detailed operational description of the fighting in the Ukraine that is covered in this episode read Prit Buttar's Retribution The Soviet reconquest of central Ukraine.

Yeah, because they did not have enough mobile vehicles. Most German hardware was horse drawn.

Please update the weekly episode playlist, it's out of date by 3 months again. This is becoming a seasonal habit for me but I genuinely think more people would get into the channel if all the regular episode playlists were up to date, as it makes the channel's main series easier to navigate

X3Z

It was not thought they were invincible . They had a tough time with the Germans in 1941 and until late in 1942. They built a formidable force during the latter half of WWII and it would have taken a very large and well equipped force to take them on. The Germans were not in shape to do that after the middle of 1943.

The title feels even more surreal right now...........

@@eedwardgrey2 That the Kerch Bridge has been hit? Yeah. We live in surreal times, my friends.

Don’t forget that now the Kuban bridge has been destroyed, the title in this episode is pretty much in the nose

@@andmos1001 it was not destroyed, the rail transportation already resumed today, two lanes of highway are being destroyed though, but it's certainly can be fix soon enough

@@briantarigan7685 until they hit it again. This is only the first attack.

Yep

Crimea was not part of Ukraine until the 1960s! In fact, Ukraine was not a country until approximately 100 years ago. I have degrees in European history and information science.

@@dabass438 bot

@@dabass438 and yet, it is now Ukrainian.

@@dabass438 The country Ukraine may not have existed that long. But the Ukrainian identity exists far longer.

Despite the economic crisis, I'm so happy I have been earning $60,000 returns from my $7,000 investing every 13days.

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Hell, maybe Zelenskyy himself phoned-in the order to hit the bridge as soon as the premier notice for this episode went up

Aren't they fighting over kherson?

And crimea has sort of been cut of but in another way

Happy Bday then🎉

Happy Birthday 🎂

Happy birthday!

Well, the plaque says 'Unknown'...

@@tams805 Articles I’ve read online say much the same. He shall forever be “unknown.”

God bless him

Given up For Dead gives great insights into the fighting for Wake. The civilians were a crucial part of the defense of the Atoll. They kept troops fed, supplied, planes repaired, guns crewed etc. The civilians fought as bravely as their Marine and Navy Counterparts.

@@MrWWIIBuff Indeed they did, thanks for the recommendation!

I think so too.

He used to be an advanced AI hologram. He was taken back with Guy Pearce to our time before Guy went on back to the Victorian era.

Crimea was not part of Ukraine until the 1960s! In fact, Ukraine was not a country until approximately 100 years ago. I have degrees in European history and information science.

@@dabass438 bot

This argument is nonsense. This region was occupied by the Russian empire. So what? Should it be occupied forever? The age of empires is over. We now live in the modern world which is awesome because we now have self-determination of the peoples, human rights, civil rights and so much more. Enough with the silly propaganda.

@@megasbaladoros Yes, but the racism and genocide should end!

@@dabass438 what r u talking about? Do you seriously believe that the Ukrainians are nazis or nazguls or whatever? The main source of the problem here is that Russia can not settle with being a normal national state. It wants to be an empire. Putin and his lot think it is normal to conquer other countries just because they want to. If you feel disliked or discriminated upon or oppressed or anything change this attitude of the Russian political elite. Other than that nobody hates or even dislikes Russia. (I mean, I know that I am asking a lot. But I am telling you that in order to help you see clearly what the real problem is).

@@slyasleep No difference, but I guess the Brits wouldn't take kindly to their American allies buggering off...

@@slyasleep The Brits tend to be more cynical. “Home by Christmas” kinda rings false when you’ve already been fighting for nearly 4 years.

@@slyasleep Another aspect to consider is that by the 1930s, "home by Christmas" had become some kind of meme about the First World War in the UK. So telling soldiers that they'd be "home by Christmas" might've been met with a hefty dose of sarcasm and doubt.

Wasn't it proven that one of the "B's" in BBC stands for "ban"?

Their '5th Beatle' is Ukrainian. I wonder if they knew something

I know you review ties but opinions on Indy's shirt? It's one hell of a vibrant green

@@Bagster321 I like where your head's at

That ruin was applied to many places in the world. Much of Europe was ruined. Many locations in the Pacific and Asia are blasted to hell and back. We haven't even reached the devastation of 1944-1945 yet, and it's only going to get a lot bloodier. The death throes of the Axis regimes will be violent.

@@user-qt1cp1be3u In September 1943 , OKW deployed total of 15 German division to fight (1) both fight 15th Army Group in Southern Italy (2) Hold and Garrison Central and Northern Italy , disarm Italian military and hold off partisan warfare which all happened after Italian goverment surrendered to Allies in September 1943 and 8th Army landed on Calabria , 5th Army landed at Salerno in 8th September. You listed ONLY the German divisions that actively fought against Allies in Southern Italy in 10th German army in September 1943. At least six more German divisions either deployed from Wehrmacht reserves or pulled from Sardinia and Corsica which were evacuated to disarm Italian Army in Italy , hold communications , guard coastline and after wards gradually shifted to fight Allied advance in Southern Italy in September 1943. Italian Army demilitarisation as a result of Allied landings (Operation Baytown and Operation Avalanche) and therefore German invasion (Operation Achse) en.wikipedia.org Operation_Achse At 02:15 on 26 July the 215th Infantry Division was the first German unit to enter Italy, heading for Liguria, while the Panzergrenadier Division Feldherrnhalle and the 715th German Infantry Division were deployed to protect the passage through the alpine passes on the French-Italian border. The Italian commands protested and tried to stop the inflow of the divisions with some pretexts, but Kesselring intervened through the Italian Supreme Command on 1 August, and the 305th Infantry Division marched on foot first to Genoa and then to La Spezia. Meanwhile, more German units entered Italy: the 76th Infantry Division, on 2 August, heading for Savona; the 94th Infantry Division, on 4 August, heading for Susa and then Alessandria; the 87th Corps headquarters (General Gustav-Adolf von Zangen), which on 11 August established itself in Acqui and assumed command of the three newly-arrived German divisions. Some conflicts and incidents between the German troops on passage and the Italian commands and units took place also at the Brenner Pass; Rommel, worried by the news of a strengthening of the Italian garrison and mining of the mountain passes, sent the Kampfgruppe Feuerstein south, with part of the 26th Panzer Division and the 44th German Infantry Division, with orders to say that they had been sent to help Italy against the common enemy. The Italian Supreme Command in Rome and General Gloria, commander of the XXVI Italian Army Corps in Bolzano, complained vehemently and threatened an armed reaction, but after Kesselring's intervention on 1 August the crisis passed and the German units were allowed to proceed; the 44th Infantry Division reached Bozen, assumed control of the Brenner Pass and thus ensured the transalpine communications with Germany. Right after July 25, Hitler had initially decided to immediately send to Italy the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler and the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich, despite the precarious situation on the Eastern Front. Protests by Field Marshal Von Kluge and further worsening of the situation in the East forced however Hitler to send only the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, without its heavy weapons. This division crossed the Brenner Pass on 3 August and then placed itself between Parma and Reggio Emilia. This was soon followed by the transfer of the 65th Infantry Division from Villach to the Ravenna-Rimini area, and the transfer of the 24th Panzer Division from Tyrol to Modena by 30 August. On 3 August the Waffen-SS Generaloberst Paul Hausser arrived in Reggio Emilia with the headquarters of the II SS Panzer Corps, to take command of the three incoming divisions. The last German division to enter Italy was the 71st Infantry Division, which was transferred from Denmark to an area north of Ljubljana on 7 August, and from 25 August started entering Friuli on orders from Rommel, who feared possible hostile actions by the Italians and the mining of the Eastern alpine passes. After another conflict with the Italian Supreme Command, which once again menaced to result in armed clashes, the situation was solved by the intervention of Von Rintelen, and the Division advanced without problems towards Gemona, Gorizia, and Opicina; by 2 September it was fully deployed in the Julian March. The Italian leadership tried to keep a grip on this difficult phase by alternating requests for help and obstructionism towards the incoming German forces and requests to deploy the German divisions in the South, on the frontline; already on 31 July, during the meeting between Ambrosio and Kesselring, arguments began about the positioning and role of the new German divisions. At the conference held in Tarvisio on 6 August between the Italian Foreign Minister Raffaele Guariglia, Ambrosio, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Keitel (with the menacing presence of SS guards), the mutual distrust became apparent; Ambrosio asked to increase the German divisions from nine to sixteen, but to deploy them in Southern Italy against the Allies, while Keitel and Warlimont instead stated that the new German units would be deployed in Central and Northern Italy, as a strategic reserve force. A last meeting was held in Bologna on 15 August, between generals Roatta and Jodl, the latter accompanied by Rommel (who had just been made commander of the new Army Group B in Northern Italy) and by a SS guard of the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler; the Germans consented to recalling to Italy part of the 4th Italian Army from Southern France, but they were alarmed by Roatta's plans about a positioning of the German forces that, in case of defection, seemed to expose them to the risk of becoming isolated and being destroyed by the Allies. The meeting was a failure and convinced the German generals that, despite reassurances from Roatta (possibly not yet informed by Ambrosio of the contacts that were under way with the Allies), who assured that Italy would not defect and added "we are not Saxons!", that an Italian defection was imminent. The atmosphere at the meeting was so tense that the German delegation refused food and beverages offered by the Italians, fearing they would be poisoned. The preparations against an Italian betrayal therefore proceeded swiftly; detailed dispositions were issued to the subordinated commands, which in turn studied detailed operative plans to act with speed and efficiency. The German leadership expected only weak resistance by the Italian armed forces and counted on quickly solving the situation. General Von Horstig, a representative of the weaponry office of the Wehrmacht in Italy, was already preparing plans for the plunder of the resources and the systematic destruction of factories and infrastructures of military importance in Southern Italy. Faced with the efficiency of the German units, which immediately demanded surrender or collaboration with threats and intimidations, most of the Italian commanders, also fearful of the impressive reputation of military capacity of the Wehrmacht and many times tired by a lengthy and disliked war, soon abandoned any intent of resistance; with a few exceptions, the troops, left with neither orders nor leaders, often dispersed. The situation of the German forces in Italy was actually a difficult one; Rommel, with his Army Group B, had the easier task of occupying the northern regions and neutralizing any resistance by Italian forces in that area, but Kesselring, in command of Army Group C, was in great difficulty after September 8: after the bombing of Frascati, he barely managed to receive the communication of the coded word "Achse" and also learned of the Allied landing near Salerno, where only part of the 16th Panzer Division was stationed. At first, he feared that he would not be able to simultaneously contain the Allied advance and carry out his mission against Rome. Even the OKW considered the possibility of losing the eight German divisions in Southern Italy; Kesselring, however, showed great capability, and his forces fought with ability and effectiveness.

@@user-qt1cp1be3u The German forces near Rome consisted in the 11th Airborne Corps of General Kurt Student, headquartered in Pratica di Mare; the Corps comprised the 2nd Parachute Division under General Walter Barenthin, ready for action south of Rome, and the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division (General Fritz-Hubert Gräser), reinforced by an armored battalion of the 26th Panzer Division (Kampfgruppe Büsing), stationed between Orvieto and Lake Bolsena, north of Rome. These units comprised about 26,000 men and some hundreds of armored fighting vehicles, and were activated by Kesselring in the evening of 8 September: already at 20:30 they attacked the Mezzocammino fuel depot, and the German paratroopers immediately started advancing south, overcoming sporadic resistance by the Piacenza Division in Lanuvio, Albano Laziale, and Ardea. Meanwhile, the defenses of Rome had completely collapsed; in the south, the German paratroopers fought a series of sporadic fights against the Granatieri di Sardegna and units of the Ariete II at Magliana and Cecchignola; at 17:00 on 9 September, Magliana was abandoned by Italian forces and the 2nd Parachutist Division proceeded with its advance, arriving near Porta San Paolo in the evening. In the north, the armored fighting vehicles of the 3rd Panzergrenadier Division had restarted their advance; after fighting against the bulk of the Ariete II, they captured Manziana, Monterosi (at 14:00), and Bracciano (at 17:00), while more German units of the same Division advanced towards Civitavecchia and Kampfgruppe Büsing reached Cesano and La Storta. General Frido von Senger und Etterlin, the German commander in Sardinia, was ordered by Kesselring to withdraw to Corsica with the 90th Panzergrenadier Division. This manoeuvre was a complete success. In Corsica, after initial confusion and fruitless negotiations, General Giovanni Magli, commander of the VII Italian Army Corps (20th Infantry Division "Friuli" and 44th Infantry Division "Cremona"), attacked the Waffen-SS "Reichführer-SS" brigade, while some French units landed at Ajaccio on 12 September. On 13 September, following the arrival of the 90th Panzergrenadier Division from Sardinia, Bastia (where a previous German attempt to capture the port and Italian shipping had been thwarted by Italian ships) fell in German hands, but the Wehrmacht Supreme Command ordered General Von Senger to leave the island and withdraw to Piombino. The German forces were evacuated from Corsica by 4 October, despite attacks by the Italian and French forces (the latter consisting of the 4th Moroccan Mountain Division). The strategic situation in central and northern Italy was much more favorable to the Germans than in the south. Army Group B, under Field Marshal Rommel, had a considerable number of troops, was far away from possible Allied intervention, and its units were deployed so as to be ready to intervene against Italian units, which were much less prepared and lacked clear orders. Moreover, the behavior of many of the Italian commanders further favored the success of the "Achse" plan: the local Italian superior commands, mostly concerned with avoiding riots, devastation, and popular insurrections, refused the help of civilians in the resistance, sometimes autonomously dissolved their units, and started negotiations with the Germans for an uneventful handover. Even the civilian leadership of the major cities carried out the instructions of the chief of police, Carmine Senise, mostly aimed at avoiding riots, and thus collaborated with the German authorities. Under such circumstances, Rommel carried out his task with speed and efficiency, while many Italian units quickly disintegrated and offered little resistance; Army Group B strictly carried out the orders about the internment of Italian troops, and by 20 September, 183,300 of the 13,000 officers and 402,000 soldiers captured had already been sent to Germany. German units in Piedmont quickly neutralized the Italian units; in Turin (where General Enrico Adami Rossi refused to arm the civilians - on 18 August, he had ordered his men to fire on the crowd during a popular demonstration - and immediately initiated negotiations) and Novara (where General Casentino surrendered his entire command) the high commands did not attempt any resistance, immediately handed over their weapons and surrendered with their disintegrating units; Adami Rossi surrendered as soon as German armored units entered Turin (he later joined the Italian Social Republic). In Ligura, by 11 September the German troops of the 87th Corps (76th and 94th Infantry Division) and the 51st Corps (65th and 305th Infantry Division) occupied all positions, while the XVI Italian Army Corps (105th Infantry Division "Rovigo" and 6th Alpine Division "Alpi Graie") dissolved; German units also entered the naval base of La Spezia, but the Italian fleet had already sailed, while ships unable to sail had been scuttled or sabotaged. In Milan, General Vittorio Ruggero, commander of the garrison, bought time for 48 hours and then reached an agreement with a German colonel of the 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler"; Ruggero dissolved without a fight the 5th Infantry Division "Cosseria", which was being re-formed after the heavy losses suffered in Russia, and already on the following day the Waffen-SS units broke the agreement, occupied Milan and arrested Ruggero, who was sent to POW camps in Germany along with his soldiers. After a brief resistance, the garrison of Verona and its commander, General Guglielmo Orengo, were disarmed and deported by the German forces. Despite the Alpine Wall fortifications, Italian units quickly disintegrated also in Trentino-South Tyrol: by 9 September, the two alpine divisions of XXV Army Italian Corps of General Alessandro Gloria (2nd Alpine Division "Tridentina" and 4th Alpine Division "Cuneense"), both under re-constitution after their destruction on the Eastern Front) were immediately attacked and disarmed by the 44th German Infantry Division, which was already deployed south of Brenner Pass, and by the "Doelha" Brigade; only in Rovereto did some units resist until the morning of 10 September, before surrendering. In Emilia, the 2nd SS-Panzerkorps of General Paul Hausser occupied the territory and destroyed the weak Italian units in the area without difficulty: the 24th Panzer Division and "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler" quickly entered Modena and Bologna; the 3rd Cavalry Division "Principe Amedeo Duca d'Aosta", which was being re-formed after the losses suffered in Russia, was disarmed, and the soldiers taken prisoner. The 71st German Infantry Division encountered more difficulty in occupying Friuli and the Julian March; whereas the 3rd Alpine Division "Julia" and the 2nd Infantry Division "Sforzesca", both being re-formed after their destruction in Russia, were soon disarmed, the 52nd Infantry Division "Torino" put up resistance in Gorizia, where workers formed the first partisan groups. Meanwhile, Slovene partisan formations invaded part of this region, where they often inflicted bloody reprisals against the Italian civilian population. Only towards the end of the month, the 71st German Infantry Division, assisted by Italian collaborationist soldiers of the Italian Social Republic, regained control of the situation, repelled the Yugoslav partisans and occupied all the territory. In Trieste, General Alberto Ferrero, after fruitless talks with anti-fascist representatives, started negotiations with the Germans and then abandoned the city, and 90,000 Italian soldiers in the area, abandoned without orders, surrendered without a fight. In central Italy north of Rome, the 5th Italian Army of General Mario Caracciolo di Feroleto, headquartered in Orte, was dissolved on 11 September, and its soldiers were disarmed and interned; the 3rd Infantry Division "Ravenna", headquartered in Grosseto, and the coastal formations of the northern Tyrrhenian Sea disintegrated, and German units entered the cities; Livorno was captured on 10 September. In Florence, General Armellini Chiappi immediately allowed the Germans to enter the city; Colonel Chiari in Arezzo and Colonel Laurei in Massa gave up their forces without attempting any resistance. Italian units and civilian volunteers in Piombino repelled a German landing attempt between 10 and 11 September, killing or capturing some hundreds of German soldiers, but on 12 September the Italian superior commands surrendered the town to the Germans.

@UC59kkeJYq4H_ZjwOfkCihpw So let's make a list of German divisions disarming Italian Army in Northern Italy , secure Alpine passes and later joined defence of Central Italy in Army Group B command , look I am counting if I miss any of them OK ? 215th German Infantry Division , it was pulled back to Eastern Front quickly before end of the month en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer-Grenadier-Division_Feldherrnhalle Panzergrenadier Division Feldherrnhalle , During the division's formation, it was stationed in the Nimes - Montpellier area. At the beginning of September 1943, the division took part in the disarmament of the 8th Italian Army as part of Operation Achse. At the end of October 1943, the division moved to northern France to the Arras-Doullens area and at the beginning of December 1943 to the Eastern Front. 715th German Infantry Division en.wikipedia.org/wiki/715th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht) The 715th (Static) Infantry Division was activated on 8 May 1941, and sent to southwestern France that fall. In late summer 1943, it took over the Cannes-Nice sector on the Mediterranean coast when elements of the Italian 4th Army returned home. In January 1944, the 715th was sent to Italy following the allied landings at Anzio and fought there until June, suffering heavy losses when the Allies broke out of the beachhead and took Rome. Sent to the rear, the 715th was rebuilt, largely from troops of the reinforced 1028th Grenadier Regiment and Shadow Division Wildflecken, which it absorbed. The division fought in the Gothic Line battles in September and was transferred to the Adriatic sector soon after. During this time the Italian Bersaglieri battalion "Mameli" fought under the command of the 715th Infantry Division. Rebuilt again in February 1945, it now included the 725th, 735th, and 774th Grenadier Regiments (two battalions each), the 671st Artillery Regiment (three battalions), the 715th Fusilier Battalion, the 715th Engineer Battalion, the 715th Tank Destroyer Battalion, the 715th Signal Company and the 715th Field Replacement Battalion. In early 1945, it was sent to the 1st Panzer Army on the Eastern Front, fought in Upper Silesia and surrendered to the Soviets in the Tábor-Pisek area of Czechoslovakia on 2 May. 305th German Infantry Division en.wikipedia.org/wiki/305th_Infantry_Division_(Wehrmacht) From August 1942 the division is engaged against Soviet forces towards Stalingrad and later in the city of Stalingrad itself. The division was destroyed in the North Sector of Stalingrad in January 1943. Last units of the 305th see action on 1 February 1943 near the tractor factory in the North Sector of Stalingrad.Very few survivors and wounded made it out of the city. Second formation The 305th ID was reformed in Brittany (France) during the first half of 1943. After Mussolini's fall, the division was relocated in August 1943, to the Ligurian coast in the Italian theater of war. During Operation Achse, she was entrusted with the occupation of the military port of La Spezia, but could not prevent the escape of the Italian warships anchored there. In October, the division was moved to southern Italy in the eastern section of the Volturno Line, where she took part in defensive battles against the advancing 5th US Army. She then withdrew to the Sangro River in the eastern section of the Gustav Line. After the fall of the Gustav Line in the spring of 1944, the division, with the allies in close pursuit, marched towards Umbria and had to be replenished with troops from the 94th Infantry Division. 76th German Infantry Division ( no data about rthem in en wikipedia before 1944 as divisional record) 44th German Infantry Division from en wklipedia On 25 July 1943 Mussolini was removed from Office by King Victor Emmanuel and replaced as Prime Minister by Marshal Badoglio[41] Although Badoglio publicly declared a continuation of the war and the pact with Germany Hitler immediately suspected that he would seek to make peace with the Allies. The German military forces in Italy remained weak, most combat capable combat units were fighting in Sicily, with very little on the mainland, capable of dealing with a swift Italian defection Hitler recalled Rommel to Berlin and ordered him to take on the problem of securing German interests in Northern Italy and to use his newly set up Army Group B headquarters to control the new forces that would soon be moved into the area.[43] Orders for these troop movements soon began to be issued, but to get the troops into the theatre, first the vital communications route through the mountains had to be secured. On 26 July, Field Marshal von Rundstedt, at OB West Headquarters was ordered to move 2 divisions immediately to secure the Alpine passes, the 305th went towards Nice and the 44th towards the Brenner pass.[44] Divisional units of the 44th Infantry Division began arriving in Innsbruck, Austria on 27 July,[7] and by the month's end it was on the border at the Brenner pass. Its admission into Italy proper, however, now became a matter of political debate between the higher political and military establishments of Italy and Germany.[44] The new Italian leadership did not want more German units to enter the country as that would enable the Germans to take control. However, they were not ready to openly oppose the Germans at this time and they could not deny the logic of the German argument, that more military units would be needed to repel the Allied armies, so eventually permission was granted.[44] The 44th quickly took control of the rail line as far as Bolzano, and by the next day infiltration of Army group B units was in full swing.[44] On 8 September Badoglio announced an armistice between the Italian Forces and the Allies on Radio Rome.[45] The Italian defection, had long been foreseen by Hitler who had instructed the OKW to develop contingency plans to deal with it. Operation Achse would see the disarming and disbanding of the military of the former German ally, and the take over of the Italian State by Germany, using force if necessary.[46] But, in the event, little force would be required as the Italian Armed forces, lacking any clear leadership began to dissolve and capitulation ensued. The 44th Division, still in the South Tyrol, quickly seized the Italian XXXV Corps Headquarters in Bolzano, and a huge haul of prisoners, including 1783 officers, amongst which were 18 Generals, and 50,000 men.[47] With the Italian military no longer policing its territory, Yugoslavian partisan activity flared up in Istria and Carniola. This area had mixed populations of Italians, Slovenians and Croatians, and Carniola, part of Yugoslavia in 1939, had only recently been annexed by Italy in 1941. OKW ordered Army Group B to safeguard vital interests and communications routes in the area, and Rommel complied. Tasking II SS Panzer Corps to lead, and utilising the considerable forces at the disposal of Army Group B, several sweeps were conducted from late September to mid November, claiming success and the killing or capturing of thousands of partisans and capturing of much materiel.[48] The Bernhardt Line In November 1943 Kesselring went to Berlin to meet with Hitler. He told the German leader that he believed the Allies could be held south of Rome at the winter line for six months. Shortly after Kesselring was given overall command of the armies in Italy, and Rommel relinquished his command of Army Group B. Now with access to an extra eight and a half divisions, including the 44th Infantry Division, Kesselring had the additional forces he needed to attempt to fulfil his promise to Hitler. He wanted to relieve his mobile divisions to rebuild their strength and use them as a mobile reserve against likely landings behind the German line[49] Meanwhile, the American-led 5th Army had broken out of the Salerno beachhead, joined with the British 8th Army, which had entered the boot of Italy from Sicily and were pushing the German forces back northward as they fought delaying actions through successive defensive lines. Kesselring wanted to delay their advance as long as possible to gain time to build up the defences of the Gustav line, also called the winter line. The 44th Infantry Division would bolster these efforts and was ordered to entrain and move south to the front.[50] At the end of November 1943, 44th HuD units began to arrive and the most advanced battalions were sent forward to relieve units of the 26th Panzer Division, which were to be redeployed.[51] The division took over its new positions including numerous protected shelters, pill boxes, and mortar positions built on reverse slopes, on a series of high mountain peaks dominating the road to St Elia and the Rapido Valley. Also in its sector was the village of Lagon, whose houses had been fortified. These positions were soon under attack by the US VI Corps, which pushed its units into the mountains, attempting to draw German reserves away from the main effort that would occur further to the south, in the Mignano Gap.[52] In spite of the inherent defensive advantages of mountainous terrain and the harsh winter weather, the soldiers of the 44th division realised that they were not correctly equipped for either winter or mountain warfare. They had the wrong clothing and their horse drawn supply units were found to be useless in the mountain trails. The division quickly had to swap some of its wagons for mule trains, and some artillery for mountain guns.[53] Moreover, it was now inserted into major combat, for the first time since it was rebuilt, against a well resourced enemy, including air power. Indeed, several units had already suffered attacks from Allied fighter bombers, known as 'jabo's', upon retraining north of Cassino and on the way to the Bernhardt line

65th German Infantry Division en wikipedia The move to Italy The division moved to France in the spring of 1943. In August 1943 the division moved briefly to Austria for two weeks before heading south into Italy just as the fascist government was being overthrown and Italy changed sides. The division took up coastal defence duties on the Adriatic from 10 to 22 August 1943 and moved to the west coast at La Spezia in September. Units of the division were on sentry duty when Italy changed sides, and soldiers watched ships of the Italian Navy sortie from La Spezia and Genoa, including the battleship Roma. In October 1943 the division moved to the Chieti area, and then to the Adriatic coast between Pescara and Ortona.[1] First combats: the Sangro The 65th Division was ordered to man positions on the Winter Line. Initially stationed on the coast, the inexperienced division was shifted inland in favour of the more experienced 1st Parachute Division. The latter fought at Ortona where it battled the 1st Canadian Division at Christmastime, 1943 before withdrawing to the Arielli River. The 65th instead fought at Orsogna, giving ground to the 8th Indian Division and the 2nd New Zealand Division, but held on to the city of Orsogna before being relieved. The division had suffered enormous losses, particularly in infantry. The division was relieved by the 334th Infantry Division in the last days of 1943, and relocated to Genoa where it was partly reconstituted. At the same time the division reorganized as a "Type 1944" Division, with three infantry regiments (145, 146, 147) of two battalions each rather than two regiments of three battalions. The reorganization increased the division's firepower (particularly in terms of anti-tank guns and infantry howitzers) while conserving manpower. The Allied invasion of Anzio caused an emergency call-out of the division, per "Case Richard" which was a pre-planned response to an Allied amphibious landing behind German lines. Anzio Grenadier Regiment 145 and 147 relocated to the Anzio area, and elements of the division went into action as "Kampfgruppe Pfeifer." The division fought for the most part west of the Anziata (the road linking Anzio to the Alban Hills) and at times had elements of the 4th Parachute Division under command. Elements of the division helped reduce the British salient at Campoleone and then participated in Operation Fischfang, the full-scale counter-offensive aimed at splitting the Anzio beachhead and pushing the Allies back into the sea. The division suffered heavy casualties due to Allied artillery and air power, and after Fischfang petered out the two Grenadier Regiments were withdrawn to rest. On 20 March 1944 a soldier in the 5th Company, Grenadier Regiment 147 wrote to his wife: There are now two serious, unsuccessful attacks behind us, probably a third will follow, and we have a few hours of rest right now, but today we have been replaced in the firing line and are living in a cave right behind the front. Some have fallen and are still lying outside, because we can not reach them. After five days of uninterrupted action we are dirty, unshaven and tired enough to fall over. I am the last of my company's squad and platoon leaders, all the others are dead or wounded. 26th Panzer Division en wikipedia In July 1942, the division was reorganized as the 26th Panzer Division (26. Panzer-Division). It then served occupation duties in the west until mid-1943, whereupon it transferred to Italy to resist the Allied invasion, fought at Salerno, and remained in Italy for the rest of the war, surrendering to the British near Bologna at the end. 94th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) Recreation and surrender The 94th Division was recreated later in 1943 and later moved to the Mediterranean, where the Allies opened up a new front in Italy. In Autumn 1944, remnants of the 95th Infantry and 278th Volksgrenadier Divisions were reconstituted as part of the 94th Infantry. The division surrendered on 22 April 1945 24th Panzer Division 71st Infantry Division 2nd Parachute Division (captured Rome) 90th Panzergrenadier Division (pulled from Sardinia and Corsica)

@UC59kkeJYq4H_ZjwOfkCihpw And these are the only German troops for deployed in occupation and holding Italian peninsula. We also need to add German division diverted to Balkans and Southern France to disarm and replace Italian divisions surrendered there. Which according to wikipedia Operation Achse 40 divisions (17 in Italy, 19 in the Balkans, 4 in France) France Taking advantage of the disintegration of the Italian units, the German troops swiftly captured all positions: the 356th and 715th Infantry Division entered Toulon and reached the Var river, while the Panzergrenadier Division Feldherrnhalle occupied the riviera till Menton. Mont Cenis pass, held by Italian units, was attacked in a pincer movement by German units from France (units of the 157th and 715th Infantry Division) and Piedmont (units of the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, coming from Turin); the Italian garrison defended the pass for some time, then surrendered after blowing up part of the Fréjus Rail Tunnel. Most soldiers of the 4th Army dispersed and tried to reach their homes; some others decided to remain with the Germans, whereas sizeable groups chose to oppose the occupation and went into the mountains, where they joined groups of anti-fascist civilians and thus formed the first partisan groups in Piedmont. On 12 September, General Vercellino formally dissolved his Army, while General Operti secured the Army treasure, part of which would later be used to fund the resistance. Balkans Italian troops in the area were exhausted after years of wearing anti-partisan operations, characterized by brutalities, reprisals and repression, and were isolated in a hostile territory, mixed with numerous German divisions (over 20 divisions of Army Group F of Field Marshal Von Weichs, and of Army Group E of General Löhr) and Croat collaborationist units whom, on 9 September, immediately severed all ties with Italy and joined Germany in the fight against the former ally. Without any land connection, and with confusing and vague orders, units quickly disintegrated and many soldiers were disarmed, captured and deported to Germany. However, Italian soldiers in this area fought with more determination than the units left in Italy, suffering heavy casualties and harsh reprisals by the German units. Ionian Islands and the Dodecanese Main articles: Massacre of the Acqui Division, Dodecanese campaign, and Massacre of Kos German commands believed that it would be of great importance to retain control of the Ionian Islands and the Dodecanese, garrisoned by Italian troops, as they were believed to be of great strategic importance as a peripheral naval and air base and a defensive stronghold against possible Allied attacks on the Balkan front. Therefore, German forces launched a series of operations aimed at capturing the most important of these islands, with a sizable concentration of land and air forces. These operations caused some bloody battles against the Italian garrisons (who tried to resist, relying on their numerical superiority, geographical isolation and in some cases Allied assistance) and atrocities after surrender. The Allies, despite insistence from Winston Churchill who supported a powerful Allied intervention in these islands to support the Italian garrisons and to secure valuable naval and air bases (which would turn useful for attacks on the southern Balkan front of "Fortress Europe"), only sent weak contingents with scarce air support, and were thus unable to change the course of the events, which progressively turned in favor of the Wehrmacht. In Crete, the 51st Infantry Division "Siena" and LI Special Brigade "Lecce" were immediately neutralized and disarmed by the German forces in the island (the "Kreta" fortress brigade and the 22nd Air Landing Division, a veteran of the German invasion of the Netherlands and of the Siege of Sebastopol); part of the Italian soldiers joined the Germans, whereas most of them were imprisoned and transferred to mainland Greece by sea, but at least 4,700 of them drowned in the sinking by Allied air and submarine attacks of two of the ships that were carrying them (Sinfra and Petrella). Rhodes also quickly fell to the Germans; Italian forces there (the 50th Infantry Division "Regina" and part of the 6th Infantry Division "Cuneo", with 34,000 men), enjoyed numerical superiority over the German forces of General Kleeman (7,000 men of the "Rhodos" Division), but after an inconclusive battle the Italian commander, Admiral Inigo Campioni, surrendered when the Germans threatened to launch heavy bombings against the town of Rhodes. Karpathos was occupied by German forces on 13 September, after Campioni had ordered the island garrison to surrender. Over 6,500 Italian soldiers of the Rhodes garrison died after surrender, most of them in the sinking of the steamers Oria and Donizetti that were carrying them to mainland Greece; Campioni was later executed by Fascist authorities for having defended the island. British units landed in Leros and Kos, where they joined the Italian garrisons in contrasting the German invasion (carried out by the 22nd Air Landing Division), but mediocre coordination, better German efficiency and German air supremacy led to a German victory and the capture of both islands. Kos fell on 4 October, with 2,500 Italian and 600 British soldiers taken prisoners; 96 Italian officers, including the garrison commander (Colonel Felice Leggio), were executed. Leros, defended by its 7,600-strong Italian garrison reinforced by 4,500 British soldiers, resisted for much longer; after weeks of continuous bombing, on 12 November 2,700 German soldiers landed or were parachuted in different points of the island and, despite numerical inferiority, they prevailed by 16 November, forcing both Italians and British to surrender. The Italian commander, Rear Admiral Luigi Mascherpa, was later executed by RSI authorities, like Campioni. The most tragic events took place in the Ionian Islands, namely Corfu and Cephalonia, which the German command considered to be of utmost importance for defense of the Balkan coast against possible Allied landings. The Italian garrison on Cephalonia, consisting in the 33rd Infantry Division "Acqui" with 11,500 men under General Antonio Gandin, at first did not take any initiative against the much smaller German garrison (2,000 mountain troops under Lieutenant Colonel Hans Barge), and waited for clear orders. On 11 September, the Germans presented an ultimatum which ordered the Italians to surrender; Gandin at first decided to hand over the weapons, but after signs of protest and unrest among his men, he decided to resist. On 13 September, after receiving clear orders from the superior commands in Brindisi, Gandin rejected the ultimatum and attacked the German landing craft attempting to reach the island. On 15 September, the Germans intervened in force, landing five battalions of mountain troops of the 1st Mountain Division of General Hubert Lanz, supported by self-propelled guns. The Germans repelled the Italian attack and then, after fierce fighting, went on the offensive on 21 September and forced the Italians to surrender at 11:00 on 22 September. After the surrender, the Germans began a bloody reprisal; General Gandin, about 400 officers and 4,000 to 5,000 men of the Acqui Division were executed. 1,300 men had previously been killed in the battle, and another 1,350 subsequently perished in the sinking of ships that were carrying them to mainland Greece. In Corfu the 4,500-strong Italian garrison easily overpowered and captured the 500-strong German garrison; the German prisoners were transferred by sea to Italy (and their presence in Italian hands is probably the reason that prevented the Germans from committing another full-scale massacre like in Cephalonia), while the garrison was reinforced by 3,500 more men. Between 24 and 25 September, however, more German forces, with Luftwaffe support, landed in the island, and on 26 September the Italians, after losing some hundreds of men and running out of ammunition, surrendered. The Italian commander, Colonel Luigi Lusignani, was executed along with 28 of his officers; 1,302 Italian prisoners perished in the sinking of the motor ship Mario Roselli which was to transfer them to the mainland.

He mispronounces Japanese names pretty regularly.

umlauts are also not observed for the german names, among other things.

they do a pretty good job on this channel by american standards

He tries and it certainly does the job of education, but it's not pretty.

Well. aren't y'all sweet fellows!

This is correct.

That answers my question why would they put someone in Air Force uniform in charge of the fleet :-D

History doesn't repeat, but it often rhymes

I'm glad they found each other again.

Two things slowed them down, (1) the central spine of Italy is a mountain range, easily defendable compared to attacking, (2) Smiling Al knew how to set up a defensive line. I have always wondered about two things, taking southern Italy to clear the Mediterranean for shipping between the Suez & Gibraltar made good sense, and taking Foggia on the east coast to have as a air base to bomb eastern Europe (Romania) always made sense. Typically better weather than Northern Europe, you could travel over water relatively free of ground AA fire half way to Ploesti. But I never understood the determination to pour out blood and treasure to take line after line of defenses in a mountain range. Even taking Naples seems a waste of time, the allies should have known the German's would have wrecked the place (look at Cherbourg). This seems as futile from the start as some of the WWI assaults. Why not take Sardenia & Corsica, you are now north of Rome, the whole of S. France & N. Italy are exposed. Al has to defend a 2000km front. With Normandy done to free up craft for the Med, and the landings in Southern France, why not do a third landing, an "Inchon" on the Italian coast, threaten Milan. And yes I do know there are mountains along the Italian coastline there, but they're not as rugged as the central spine area, and there are natural river valleys through them. It's not perfect but it just seems to make more sense than the disaster at Anzio & fighting mountain top to mountain top. Of course I know this is way after the fact & it's not fair to those there as I know things they don't, I just wonder why nobody in allied high command seems to have considered it after the initial move up the 'boot' bogged down into a bloodletting.

@@michaelkitchens3933Many probably did. Over ruled by their commanders. Many commanders think linerally. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

@@michaelkitchens3933 Thanks.

@@michaelkitchens3933 There are additional factors - Combined Chiefs of Staff due to insistance of Marshall and US Staff , pulled up seven Allied divisions and most of the amphibious landin craft from Mediterranean Theater for incoming Cross Channel Invasion in October 1943 - February 1944. Three more US divisions were also pulled away from Italian Front in June 1944 for Operation Dragoon landings in Southern France while Hitler and OKW sent additional three or four division to Italy to hold Po Valley and Northern Italy after Rome fell in June 1944 - Weather conditions were terrible in Italy in winter , overflowing the rivers and river banks (there were several rivers in Italy as much as mountains) halting any advance Naples fell in October 1943 , Cherbourg in June 1944. What happened in Naples was a lesson for Cherbourg not other way around. Italian Theater was also vital for that regard , honing logistics , maintenance , administration as well as fighting skills of Allied armies.

@@michaelkitchens3933 To add the to criticism of your comment, Corsica had already just been taken by the Free French.

My strongest wishes for better days ahead for you.

f you are interested in a detailed operational description of the fighting in the Ukraine that is covered in this episode read Prit Buttar's Retribution The Soviet reconquest of central Ukraine

And it's pronounced "Bagraty-on" rather than "Bagrashun".

It's going to be like this for the Axis for the next two years.

Cuz Rhodes is overrun by that damn gray family

I had no idea television was even commercially available at the time. I knew they had the T.V Cafe's in places like Paris and some stores had them for advertisement but I didn't think it was anything more than that.

Is this the birth of the "True Crime" genre Americans are so obsessed with?

Теперь англоязычным больше известен Ильич из "Литтл Биг". ))

@@Shurikova666 ...или Ильич Рамирес Санчес.

More like THE Russian built bridge. Putin's baby that cost Russia's whole economy

It blowed up real good, too.

Not just battles, but russian tactics and behaviour 'mirroring' those of nazi germany.

@@WalterReimer but…. it’s still standing and connected.

@@metalgearray6832 yeah good luck using that bridge for logistics when a chunk of it is literally in the water

OUN slogan

Death to fashism.

I watch it every Sunday morning with jam toast in New Zealand. Have done for the past few years. Can't start my Sunday without it.

Ukrainian fascist genocidal slogan

Sometime later Popski's Private Army (PPA) engaged in a similar action as the Commandos further up north on the coast, near Fermo: using landing vessels that they nicknamed Popski's Private Navy. They continued their behind-enemy-lines-actions all the way up to Venice, where their armed jeeps would end up being the first (and last) vehicles to tour the San Marco Square. PPA - lead by Russo-Belgian engineer Peniakoff - started out in Egypt and operated with the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) during the North-Africa Campaign. 'Read Popski's Private Army' by Vladimir Peniakoff (1950) and other sources. They are also mentioned in Hugo Pratt's 'Desert Scorpions' and various primary sources.

Unless, the Ukrainian is pretty much failed, Russia announced that the train tracks in the bridge is pretty much unharmed and they already resumed train journey today, only two lanes of highway are being destroyed, manage to greatly reduced the car traffic, but not totally cut it off Besides, let's just say hipotetically, the Ukrainian manage to completely destroy the bridge, it's already too late, the Roads throughout southern Russia to mariupol and zaphorizya already being secured months ago, so does the railway throughout mariupol to melitopol, not to mention the sea is clear and the ports of melitopol and mariupol already fully function months ago

@@briantarigan7685 Yeah, good one Brian. Your analysis sounds remarkably like what I'd expect from a fully fledged Russian bot. Fancy that, Putin's bot army has arrived at Time Ghost. Gee Brian, you must be hugely disappointed with the bad joke that is the current Russian armed forces compared to its counterpart in the Second World War.

@@paultyson4389 lol, and here i thought that accusing someone who disagree with your narrative as a bot is already out of date I honestly don't care about your out of topic argument, but what i've already mentioned is factual information about the condition in Russia and the front with my own analysis from just looking at theater map, idc if you want to believe or not, your life, your choice And this "joke of an armed forces" with merely volunteer and active forces manage to hold back against 7 wave of nationwide mobilization funded and armed in hundreds of billions from the west not to mention being assisted with intelegence and tens of thousands of foreign "volunteers" and this " joke of an armed forces" only start partial mobilization right now

@@briantarigan7685 bitch the bridge is in the sea. Keep huffing your copium.

@@salokin3087 The rail link is fine, and two lanes are ready to be used again. The other two lanes will be out of commission for the foreseeable future

They failed tho, Russia announce they already resume the train throughout the bridge, but still close it for car and trucks

Its a bit spooky.

@@briantarigan7685 never mind what they announced, what's the actual situation)))

@@briantarigan7685 they didn't fail, the bridge is gone. It will take weeks to repair, being optimistic, possibly months

@@briantarigan7685 concrete doesn't take well to prolonged burning. Even if the rails are fixed there's every chance the damaged sections will break when trains start running again.

You could watch the content over at the Real Time History channel. It's runned by Jesse Alexander and Flo, and it's a sister channel to the original The Great War channel. They covered the Franco-Prussian War Week-by-Week. Highly recommend it.

@@extrahistory8956 That is actually a very good idea. Did not expect a constructive answer here but here we go.

Collusion