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I love the "Downfall" inspired thumbnail. Absolutely incredible film. You forget you're even watching one and not a documentary, or even in the room yourself. The fact that it was done by the Germans themselves, makes it all the more stunning.
@@deleetiusproductions3497 funny enough, the meme is how I found the movie. I’m glad it’s out there because people who care about the subject are led to one of the best films of the Second World War.
@@deleetiusproductions3497 one rant I saw was about hitler being distraught after meek mill lost to drake’s back2 back. It was hi-larious. He said “bars bars. I know bars”
I was in Berlin very recently. The thing about Hitler's bunker is just how close the Reichstag actually was to his bunker. Standing at the area where the entrance leading to the lower bunker was situated it was possible to see the flag upon the Reichstag. The Soviets were incredibly close to Hitler's location when they were fighting in the Reichstag. Just one street corner away, the Red Army was barely 8 minutes walk away.
Fun fact: One of the last diplomats to visit Hitler in his bunker was Thai ambassador, and one of the last units to defend his bunker and Reich Chancellery was French Waffen SS Battalion "Charlemagne".
@The Old Cavalier In a desperate attempt to win the war Hitler challenged MnM to a rap battle but ended up loosing, he was so ashamed that he shot him self in the head. (Source: The History Channel)
Yes, there were indeed French SS in the Battle of Berlin. However, there were only 300 ~ 500+ French SS men who were a part of the "SS Sturm-Battalion Charlemagne" Not the entire SS Charlemagne division. According to Tony le Tissier's book about the French SS, Antony Beevor's book about the Battle of Berlin, Mark Felton's video, and some other sources.
The size of eastern front battles still blows my mind. As an American, I'm used to learning about Pacific WW2 battles involving hundreds and sometimes thousands of troops on the bigger islands. I cannot fathom what is was like to see MILLIONS of men sweeping across the steppe into these enormous battles. Just insane.
@@sleepyuser5189 the only real massive US land operation was D-Day. Period. The Soviets had Leningrad Breakthrough Operation Uran Moscow Counteroffensive Operation Bagration Etc.
@@parrotcraft7503The U.S. fielded 2 massive armies on opposite ends of the planet with tens of thousands of ships, planes, heavy bombers, aircraft carriers, submarines etc etc. The Eastern front was a slugging match, static defense and retreat. The operations in the Pacific dwarf them in quite a few ways. The Asian-Pacific Theater had been at war since 1937 with more dead civilians than Europe by 1945. America fielded over 500,00 men with thousands of ships at Okinawa alone. No other country had the types of logistics and overall firepower covering the globe as did the U.S. but please keep talking about Stalingrad and its headbutting approach to warfare. Germans couldn't even supply themselves on land and the Soviets were receiving lend lease trucks, radios, parts, fuel etc from the US with lend-lease. Since Europeans did very little overall fighting and massive amphibious landings they like to downplay its scale and focus on the Eastern European slugfest.
20:00 the fact that it took several hours to get from the second floor to the roof is wild to me. I can't imagine the horrors going on in that building in the final hours.
My favorite detail about the battle is that many Germans in the bunkers began writing “Learn Russian fast” on the walls as many feared the Red Army to such an extent
“I wanted to shout, to call to all our brothers, our soldiers, who are lying in the Russian, Ukrainian, Belorussian and Polish earth, who sleep forever on the fields of our battles: Comrades, can you hear us? We’ve done it!” Millions of Soviet troops and civilians dead, I couldn’t imagine what it’s like being able to see a finish line after such a conflict.
Grossman was the most underrated writer of the twentieth century. If only he was allowed the freedom to publish Life and Fate in his life time. He deserved to see it's success
I went this year to Berlin, I was walking past a building in which the bullet holes were still visible to this day, the city is very interesting, there’s so much History to be found there, from the Prussian buildings to the Cold war buildings like the East German TV tower. There’s so much to be seen there. I recommend it to anyone who’s into History like myself to visit the German capital. I’ll be back one day to discover the rest of the city, since I only went for 2 days, which is too short.
A diary entry of a German Officer at the Seelow Hights: "A deafening noise fills the air. Compared to everything that has happened before, this is no longer a barrage, it is a hurricane that tears everything up above us, in front of us and behind us. The sky is glowing red, as if it is about to burst at any moment. The ground shakes, trembles and rocks like a ship in a force 10 wind." This was the most terrible barrage to hit German Forces. It showed many youths, why even the most fearless veterans fered the katyusha. It wasnt called Stalin Organ for nothing
I'm glad you added the note on civilian casualties at the end. Just imagine having been an innocent civilian anywhere between Berlin and Moscow during the second world war. War destroys everything
@@kevinaguilar7541 they were inocent people in berlin as in moscow maybe not the man but there were women childern too people forget that the Soviets did atrocities too
@@nicolasberky145 being just a women or a child doesn't exempt you from being a bad person. Remember the Hitler youth? And I acknowledge the ussr atrocities. Both sides suck, but one side sucks more.
I'm German and my family is from Berlin. My grandfather, living in the outskirts of the city, told me that when the Soviets advanced, the Wehrmacht shelled the outskirts of the city from the city-center. The Germans living there as well as the attacking Soviets would seek shelter in the same rooms/cellars, sitting side by side, even sharing their food with eachother.
@@stevecooper7883 That is neither a nice nor a funny comment. I could tell you many devastating stories that he also told, but r*pe is thank god not among his personal experiences.
@@stevecooper7883 My comment doesn't disregard anything because it is an isolated account of personal experience from an individual who experienced the horrors of the battle of Berlin when he was thirteen years old.
@@ianp727 Thanks for sharing the story. See, it's not difficult to just be nice. The actions of the Soviets are not justified by any measure, but at the same time it must be mentioned that it was hardly the whole organisation. People constantly male the same valid point for the wehrmacht, its no different for the Red Army. Still, I sympathise with all who are forced to face the horrors of war.
“Mark my words, Comrade… One day things will change. We will take the fight to their land… To their people… To their blood.” -Viktor Reznov (Call of Duty: World at War)
@@herrdoctor2895 I'm having nightmares after seeing the map from 19:37 so many god damn grenades I remember finally completing that mission after 2 days of ruthlessly trying then that same day I completed Heart of the Reich I finished the World at War campaign on Veteran which put an end to 4 years of playing that campaign on veteran cause I quit for 2 years after reaching Burn 'Em Out and getting to the final part.
@@CodeNameZ_935Bro, Burn 'Em Out just about ended my runthrough. THAT level legitimately drove me insane, just about everything else was easy mode, comparatively.
@@casual_speedrunner1482 Burn 'Em Out is the mission that made my veteran playthrough take over 3 years because I got so mad that I didn't want to play it anymore
Finally he’s covered this! Thank you so much man. I learned a lot from this and oversimplified’s channel and you really help me with my studies of history. I appreciate you. Please continue this!
You know it's going to be good when it's a remastered video in 2022. Honestly looking forward towards a new "downfall of germany in the west front" with your new animators. Can't wait to start watching.
Many teachers want to be like this, they want to enflame your desire to learn, but suffer from critical shortages of time and money and a large number of children to teach and care for.
You should consider the pay check of a teacher, amount of stress caused by class(es) and the short amount of time to teach and also the time limit because they CAN'T go to deep in something because there's other stuff to cover, btw i see an azur lane enjoyer as well
Here in Germany, teaching about specific battles of the second world war is actually disallowed or at least discouraged to avoid young student developping a sense of national pride for the Nazis
My Grandfather took indirectly part at the battle. He was drafted in 1942, aged 15 to the Flak. When he was 17, he was sent to the RAD, the Reichsarbeitsdienst. He dug a defensive line in front of Berlin. He told of Gun Emplacments, Trenches and simple earth bunkers. From what he told, it must have been terrible. There wasnt enough fuel to keep intact the already rare machines, so they had no support by machinery. THe ground was frozen, it was the winter of 1944, one of the coldest in Germany. He said, every single centimetre was torture, and he cursed those that watched and ordered in silence, because they hadnt done a thing to support them. He is usually calm and reserved, but he called them names when he told about it that i defenitly don't wanna repeat here. He was later injured by an american machine gun. He surived by pure luck, that he wasn't hit by a light-shell
“The Allies pushed into Germany on both sides. The Soviet Union took Warsaw and kept pushing to Berlin. In his bunker, Mustache man realized that all hope was lost. Berlin fell, and with it Mustache Man’s dream of a great German Empire. Two of the Axis nations have been knocked out, one more to go.”
The part about the commissars re enforcing the sentiment amongst the troops to be terrifying and avenge their people and motherland was really eye opening. As silly as it may sound it reminds me of the beginning of the WaW mission Ring of steel ,commissar Markhov preaching to the infantry to be as violent and merciless as possible to the enemy before the subsequent assault. For me his speech was one of the most iconic bits in the game. To know it was somewhat based in reality makes it more vivid and badass.
''avenge their people and motherland'' yet alot of their rear guard units who came from the untouched far east were the ones commiting heinous '''revenge'' on the local berlin female population. what motherland were they avenging?
Not only did Moustache man went on the epic "The War is Lost" rant. But he also went on a rant that his XBox Live had been canceled and that he couldn't find Waldo in the Where's Waldo books.
I visited one of those tunnels in Berlin. It was an eerie feeling when I walked in. I could feel the energy and it was odd knowing the Germans fought for Berlin in the same area where I was at
Man, am i the only going to tears hearing Vasily Grossman words? Such a heavy and bloody struggle, i would literally scream " Guys, that's it, that's our final victory, all our pain, our suffering are for this moment for our mother, our sons and daughters, our parents, for the blood of millions they shed in our homeland, TO BERLIIIN!! "
Yes, because countless of those soldiers would then be murdered by the NKVD or sent to work in some shitty factory till they were 70. Things wouldn't get better in the USSR until the 60s, but then they reached a high point and started declining again all the way until the fall of the soviet union. It's depressing af.
@@thelordofcringe tf do you mean? Do you really think the soldiers who storm berlin would be put into Gulag? What is wrong with you, and 8 working hours in the soviet union and pension system did exist, and it is not up to 70, housing are provided, free healthcare are provided
"Citizens of Berlin! A ring of steel surrounds your rotten city! We will crush all those who dare to resist the will of the Red Army! Abandon your posts! Abandon your homes! Abandon all hope!"
Fun fact: One of the original Soviet Flag-Bearers ontop of the Reichstag was wearing two handwatches when their iconic photo was taken, This was illegal (Cause of No Looting i believe) and the Photo was subsequently editted to make it 1 Handwatch instead of two.
Those aren't the original flag raisers though. They are Khaldei's flag raisers that featured in the famous staged photo taken by Evgenii Anan’evich Khaldei. According to the UC Santa Barbara's escholarship name "Of Tablecloths and Soviet Relics: A Study of the Banner of Victory (Znamia Pobedy)" by Anne M. Platoff.
I am Russian. My great-grandfather participated in the battle for Berlin. He was a tank driver, got injured and returned home. He talked about how tank caterpillars could not go because human guts were wound around them ... War is very scary and no one needs it. Before the war in Ukraine, everyone told me about it, but I couldn’t even imagine what it was, waking up with the realization that your country is at war and seeing a video of the places where you were when they were destroyed by the hands of your own country (I lived in Ukraine 3 years) Appreciate your peaceful sky above your head
@@handlemonium even less than that He thought he could bomb kyiv to make them become all uncoordinated, taking the airport to deliver men that way and such. But backfired immensely. I suppose NATO expected a little bit of resistance but not this extent. Since they were already being trained by NATO. The thing is, everybody (even the US) expected it to not last more than a week or two. Like the famous saying when they the US offered him to fly out of kyiv and he just asked for ammunition, not a flight. Essentially zelenskyy 100% saved Ukraine. if he left, Ukraine would've become a part of Russia today. And getting that back would be nearly impossible. This is more crucial than anyone can comprehend here.
According to the UC Santa Barbara's escholarship name "Of Tablecloths and Soviet Relics: A Study of the Banner of Victory (Znamia Pobedy)" by Anne M. Platoff, the true story is: 1) Those two soviet soldiers in the animation should'nt be Sergeant Mikhail Alekseevich Egorov and Junior Sergeant Meliton Var-lamovich Kantariia who raised the "Victory Banner #5". But they are Khaldei's flag raisers that featured in the famous STAGED photo taken by Evgenii Anan’evich Khaldei, Soviet Jewish photographer from the Ukraine. 2) Interestingly enough, there was another guy that supposed to be credited among the real Flag raisers too (Egorov and Kantariia), his name is Lieutenant Aleksei Prokop’evich Berest from Ukraine. The reason why his name was removed is not exactly known and a lot of people seem to have certain theories about this as well.
Top tier historical content done in a way that doesn't show the same old stock footage we've seen numerous times. Fantastic job to the whole Armchair Historian Team.
Thanks for ur videos. I really like history and you just explain it in a very fun way. I also like that you guys don’t always talk about WWII, so it’s not always the same thing. Thanks to the Armchair Historian group for making such great videos :)
@@josevictorionunez9312 *door closes* "That was an order! Steiner's attack was an order! How dare you ignore my orders? Is this what it has come to? The military has been lying to me. Even the SS. The generals are no more than a bunch of disloyal cowards!"
"Our grip tightens around the black heart of Berlin. The Führer demands all to shed their last drop of blood in it's defense. The old, the young, the weak. If they stand for Germany, they die for Germany. Building by building. Room by room. One rat at a time." - Victor Reznov from CoD World At War
16:08 This comparison of Hitler to Frederick The Great has also another meaning. In the XVIII century, during 7-years war there was a thing called "Miracle of the house of Brandenburg".The point was that during the 7 years war, Prussia was fighting against Russia, Austria and bunch of other countries and they were in a really harsh spot. When Prussia was about to lose, Empress Elizabeth of the Russian Empire died, therefore getting Russia out of the war and saving Prussia. Frederick The Great named that "Miracle of the house of Brandenburg". 200 years later, when Hitler was sitting infuriated and depressed in his bunker with no perspectives for winning the war, he heard in the radio about the death of Roosevelt. He hoped that this event will brake the America and he named that "The 3rd miracle of the house of Brandenburg". But unfortunately for him, Truman jumped on the president's chair right away, and the war ended.
Thank you for this video! My great grandfather grandfather 3 granduncles great granduncle fought as the Soviets in World war II. Sadly 2 of my Granduncle's Great granduncle didn't make it, they only survived until 1941.
This is my 3rd video watched by this channel. I used to see lots of these videos but i didnt watch them. Then one day I tried it and it was brilliant, crystal-clear explained with beautiful animations. You and your team should be proud of these videos and making more people learn history easier and more interestingly. Thank You!
It's crazy to think that in just about two weeks around 200.000 people (soldiers and civilians) were killed in this battle for Berlin! What a bloodbath! And what a senseless one, the war was lost anyways. Beyond mind-blowing.
16:55 - 1.5 million Soviet troops are troops ON THE ENTIRE FRONT, and 40 thousand German troops are ONLY the garrison of Berlin. I know that you most likely took this information from World at War, but the information there was false.
The fact that after being nearly defeated and fighting a war, the Soviet Union was still able to become a superpower during the Cold War says volumes about how powerful they were
Tbh I doubt the Soviets would've been defeated even if they had lost Moscow since there was a planned counterattack to retake the city and continue the fight. During the winter of 1941, the Soviets had deployed the Siberian snow divisions to completely stop the germans as the weather worsened the German logistics and after 1941 any hopes of defeating the USSR wouldve been dashed as more soviets would be conscripted to fight the enemy as the germans would keep losing men they couldn't replace.
It's exactly like the Russo-Ukranian war. What stopped the Swift Victory was the unforeseen level of local resistance and unprecedented amounts of materiel support from allies.
@@Troopertroll was The stunning Manpower and industrial capacity that made The soviets Win, The leand-lease represents like 4%~ of The soviet production, most of The land lease come for The brits
22:10 Yes, as a Russian person who listened to this I accept that part of the story, even though it is hard and painful for me to admit it, there is a reason why it happened. I'm not going to make any excuses, I'm just going to tell you so you can understand why it happened. The Soviet soldiers saw what the Germans did to their land, their homes and their families. What cruelties they did on the Soviet soil that words cannot describe and seeing all this, many soldiers and officers wanted to take revenge on the Germans for what they did to their loved ones and families. But I want to say that the Soviet command did not care about this, they issued orders that there should be no cruelty from the Soviet soldiers to the inhabitants of Germany. I hope you can understand that. The reasons for such actions are: 1. Revenge for the suffering of the Soviet people: Many soldiers had seen the Nazi occupation in the Soviet Union and had themselves witnessed or been victims of destruction, murder, looting and violence. Naturally, this gave birth to a thirst for retaliation, and within Germany this retaliation translated into violence against civilians. 2. War Fatigue and Dehumanization of the Enemy: After several years of war, full of suffering, hunger and constant terror, the soldiers had accumulated psychological tension. The war contributed to the fact that many soldiers began to perceive the population of the enemy country as something hostile and responsible for everything that happened. This phenomenon of dehumanizing the enemy under war conditions was unfortunately common. 3- Lack of strict discipline in the occupied territories: Towards the end of the war, when the Red Army entered German territory, control and discipline were weakened in some places. Some soldiers began to engage in looting and violence, especially in the early days of the occupation. Although the Red Army command tried to combat this, the effectiveness of control was limited. 4- Difficulties in maintaining order: The large-scale fighting and the rapid advance of the Red Army created difficulties in maintaining order and controlling crime. The command tried to stop violence against civilians, laws were introduced, and special units were created to maintain order, but these measures did not always work. Command and State Reaction: The Soviet command condemned violence against civilians and took certain measures to limit it. Orders were issued calling for strict discipline and even firing squads for looting and violence. The Soviet state realized that such acts caused reputational damage, and therefore tried to control the situation. However, despite the command's attempts, acts of violence and looting were not uncommon.
My grandfather, from Lithuania was fighting in the defence of berlin. He originally fought the Germans but after being forced to surrender after running out of ammunition and his entire platoon being wiped out they gave him the choice of POW camp or fight the Russians, who annexed them not long before. He told about how they would shoot around allied planes on the AA guns. All trust was taken away from them after the Germans found out. In the end he was ordered at gunpoint to destroy Russian tanks with a panzerfaust. He had a wild story.
@@Maus_HausBattle of Berlin is still one of the most iconic alongside Stalingrad, Midway, Second battle of Al Alamein, Battle of Verdun, Battle of the Somme.
Wait a second, you’re saying that my favorite bit of orchestra was played for this battle?!? My appreciation for this piece of history has escalated tenfold!!!
Albert Speer claims the orchestra played 'Gotterdammerung' during the battle for Berlin. Perhaps they played several selections from the 'Ring' series.
You know these Soviet soldiers still deserve to be honored despite the Ukrainian and Russian war. Those soldiers that died fighting the Nazis and they were our allies. I see a lot of people in Europe not permitting wreaths and flowers to be laid by their memorials because of the Russian Ukraine war. And i dont agree with that.
Should have played that meme-worthy scene, from the movie "Downfall," during the key part of battle, when Hitler basically lost his sh!t, and finally lost his will to fight on. It would have just been so perfect. And even though I have watched that scene basically a hundred times already, I would have happily watched it again.
How could you forget the most important thing?! The wonder weapon the Germans had! The infinite amount of hand grenades! I swear they had so many of them. They had more of those than bullets! It was so hard just to advance up the stairs to the reichstag.
It is underreported because in Western schools when you learn about World War 2 they go out of their way to make the Eastern front sound like a side story instead of the Main Event. The vast majority of German troops and material were sent east to be put in the meat grinder. The Allies in the Western theatre didn't see armies even half the size, even during the Ardennes Offensive.
@@stc3145 I'm sure you actually don't know what Eastern school curriculum is and just felt the need to defend against someone saying the west ignores Soviet contributions. bUt RuSsiA cOuLdnT wIn wiThOuT lEnD LeAsE. Well, maybe, but the Allies couldnt win without the Soviets.
@@timothyhouse1622 No they don’t, they obviously focus on their own country’s history more. When it comes to most kids in school you can be glad if 10% of thr knowledge is retained
A decent video, but I must state a couple things about described events as well: 1) Commissars were removed from the army and disbanded as a service in 1943 2) Although atrocities did happen, for the Soviet command they were much unwanted, unlike for the Reich's. In the last months of the war and shortly after several thousand Soviet soldiers and officers were court martialed and shot for violence against civilians and PoWs.
😉👍Very nicely greatly well done and very wonderfully informatively explained and executed in every detail way shape and format provided on the Battle of Berlin, A job very nicely fabulously well done indeed Sir!👌.
Great opening! The 8th guards army was definitely NOT watching the rays of the morning sun glistening on the icey waters of the Oder river - that would have meant they were looking eastwards... 😂😂😂
The victory of the Soviets always gives me goosebumps. And really I don't feel so bad about the "atrocities" the Red Army did (Wermacht had done worse things in USSR), knowing that the Soviet high command actually punished these things. The Red Army even tried to feed the whole city and organised the rebuild. The only thing I feel bad about is that in those last days died many German boys from the Hitler youth (which was mandatory for the youth) who found themselves into a lost battle. In general, the Germans could have surrendered earlier to prevent the loss of more lives. But, unfortunately, the decisions are made by people who don't fight, only give orders.
Love these videos. The animation has constantly improved and the actual info has always been spot on. Would love to do something like this but with ancient history.
Yes, there were around 300 to 500 French SS men of the SS Sturm-Battalion Charlemagne (originally from the 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne) during the Battle 'in' Berlin. And they were later reduced to around 30 to 60 men during the final days of the battle, according to Tony le Tissier's book about the French SS, Antony Beevor's book about the Battle of Berlin, Mark Felton's video, and other sources. Moreover, they were defending "Reich Chancellery" areas at the end of April 1945, not the Reichstag. Since there's a widespread misunderstood among WW2 enthusiasts that what left of French SS defended the Reichstag in which they weren't.
@@fereise208 Interesting I wish I could’ve asked if they fought with him or if he had just seen them when he and his men were getting prepared for the soviets
When I was in school veterans still were plenty, and on Victory Day they were invited to school to tell children about war. Even some teachers themselves were veterans. I remember the story of a participant of battle of Berlin. The assault during night in a spotlights was the most impressive event of his life. Also when they were fighting in the city itself, they got into house of German family, father, mother and 2 daughters. They just cut their veins and were bleeding to death. Solders asked a man, was he a member of Nazi party? He replied that yes, he was. Soldiers bandaged all the women, but not the man.
I'm not sure if you're really interested or not but the Crusades would be a cool subject to cover, you're very interesting to listen to you and do a good job portraying what you were talking about.
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This is good
I Dont Like vpns
Forgive for asking but could you do a video about North Korea
Meh
Epic
"Why fight room to room when you could just destroy the room?"
Why did paulus never think of that
BOMBS AWAY
@@Spiderfisch he was too busy freezing to death
Pretty much the Soviet way of thinking.
Is that American speech?
I love the "Downfall" inspired thumbnail. Absolutely incredible film. You forget you're even watching one and not a documentary, or even in the room yourself. The fact that it was done by the Germans themselves, makes it all the more stunning.
How unfortunate that the film has just been made into this huge meme where the Fuhrer rants about _anything._
@@deleetiusproductions3497 funny enough, the meme is how I found the movie. I’m glad it’s out there because people who care about the subject are led to one of the best films of the Second World War.
Bruno Ganz's Hitler is the most accurate depiction of him in movies ever. From looks to mannerism, everything.
@@deleetiusproductions3497 one rant I saw was about hitler being distraught after meek mill lost to drake’s back2 back. It was hi-larious. He said “bars bars. I know bars”
@@deleetiusproductions3497 I dunno, the memes are how I learned about the movie, and played a part in making me more interested in learning history.
I was in Berlin very recently. The thing about Hitler's bunker is just how close the Reichstag actually was to his bunker. Standing at the area where the entrance leading to the lower bunker was situated it was possible to see the flag upon the Reichstag. The Soviets were incredibly close to Hitler's location when they were fighting in the Reichstag. Just one street corner away, the Red Army was barely 8 minutes walk away.
Did they know this?
@@LuckyPigeon1111 no
8 minute walk in a war torn city is like a full day of fighting.
@@crashtestdummy2337 or in Stalingrad 3 months
14:40 Reminds Zelensky, doesn't it?)))
Fun fact: One of the last diplomats to visit Hitler in his bunker was Thai ambassador, and one of the last units to defend his bunker and Reich Chancellery was French Waffen SS Battalion "Charlemagne".
...and Hitler's last meal was spaghetti with tomato sauce (N.Ohler says that).
And his last act before retiring to quarters to end it was playing mario on his NES.
Fun fact that is not widely known.
@The Old Cavalier In a desperate attempt to win the war Hitler challenged MnM to a rap battle but ended up loosing, he was so ashamed that he shot him self in the head.
(Source: The History Channel)
Yes, there were indeed French SS in the Battle of Berlin. However, there were only 300 ~ 500+ French SS men who were a part of the "SS Sturm-Battalion Charlemagne" Not the entire SS Charlemagne division. According to Tony le Tissier's book about the French SS, Antony Beevor's book about the Battle of Berlin, Mark Felton's video, and some other sources.
Division Azul was one of the coolest the Fins were really bad ass too
The size of eastern front battles still blows my mind. As an American, I'm used to learning about Pacific WW2 battles involving hundreds and sometimes thousands of troops on the bigger islands.
I cannot fathom what is was like to see MILLIONS of men sweeping across the steppe into these enormous battles. Just insane.
your country participated in wide fronts in the western front, albeit in a smaller scale
@@sleepyuser5189 the only real massive US land operation was D-Day. Period.
The Soviets had
Leningrad Breakthrough
Operation Uran
Moscow Counteroffensive
Operation Bagration
Etc.
The Kursk battle was literally the largest tank battle ever and possibly the largest battle, overall, ever.
look up chinese battles of history
@@parrotcraft7503The U.S. fielded 2 massive armies on opposite ends of the planet with tens of thousands of ships, planes, heavy bombers, aircraft carriers, submarines etc etc. The Eastern front was a slugging match, static defense and retreat. The operations in the Pacific dwarf them in quite a few ways. The Asian-Pacific Theater had been at war since 1937 with more dead civilians than Europe by 1945. America fielded over 500,00 men with thousands of ships at Okinawa alone. No other country had the types of logistics and overall firepower covering the globe as did the U.S. but please keep talking about Stalingrad and its headbutting approach to warfare. Germans couldn't even supply themselves on land and the Soviets were receiving lend lease trucks, radios, parts, fuel etc from the US with lend-lease. Since Europeans did very little overall fighting and massive amphibious landings they like to downplay its scale and focus on the Eastern European slugfest.
20:00 the fact that it took several hours to get from the second floor to the roof is wild to me. I can't imagine the horrors going on in that building in the final hours.
My favorite detail about the battle is that many Germans in the bunkers began writing “Learn Russian fast” on the walls as many feared the Red Army to such an extent
Это их совесть мучила. Если знаешь историю восточного фронта - поймёшь. Я беларус, и знаю - что советы их НЕНАВИДЕЛИ
And for good reason
@@Владимир-п2е4е didn't justify anything
I've been waiting for a remastered version of this. It was worth the wait.
Indeed, it was worth it.
Pretty much a remake
Wait this is a remaster? Or Remake rather of a older video?
@@lucask4377 seems like it.
@@itsblitz4437 ...YES?!
16:37
"My Führer...Steiner..."
"Steiner couldn't mass sufficient forces for an assault. Steiner's assault didn't happen."
*takes off glasses while visibly shaking*
"The following stay in here"
"Keitel. Jodl, Kreps and Burgdorf."
THAT WAS AN ORDER!!!
@@slider903 Time to blame Fegelein.
@@slider903
HOW DARE HE DOESN'T LISTEN TO MY ORDER !?!?!!
@@Henloguys20 THEY ARE ALL COWARDS AND TRAITORS OF THE GERMAN LAND
“I wanted to shout, to call to all our brothers, our soldiers, who are lying in the Russian, Ukrainian, Belorussian and Polish earth, who sleep forever on the fields of our battles: Comrades, can you hear us? We’ve done it!” Millions of Soviet troops and civilians dead, I couldn’t imagine what it’s like being able to see a finish line after such a conflict.
Grossman was the most underrated writer of the twentieth century. If only he was allowed the freedom to publish Life and Fate in his life time. He deserved to see it's success
Now Soviets are fighting against each other.
Tragic fate 😭😥
@@GenocideWesterners humans always find more reasons and invent more technology to kill each other. It’s how it’s always been and always will be :(
I got chills.
Stalin would kill millions more.
I went this year to Berlin, I was walking past a building in which the bullet holes were still visible to this day, the city is very interesting, there’s so much History to be found there, from the Prussian buildings to the Cold war buildings like the East German TV tower. There’s so much to be seen there. I recommend it to anyone who’s into History like myself to visit the German capital. I’ll be back one day to discover the rest of the city, since I only went for 2 days, which is too short.
@IlluminatiReign you’re welcome! I hope that you have the oppurtinity to do so
Pope‘s revenge
next time you should check out the unterwelten (underworld) museums. the stasi museum was interesting too
@@jimothypersson8306 thanks for the recommendation.
Be careful. Berlin turned into a dangerous zone with all the refugees. A lot if knifemen from afrika walk on the streets
A diary entry of a German Officer at the Seelow Hights:
"A deafening noise fills the air. Compared to everything that has happened before, this is no longer a barrage, it is a hurricane that tears everything up above us, in front of us and behind us. The sky is glowing red, as if it is about to burst at any moment. The ground shakes, trembles and rocks like a ship in a force 10 wind."
This was the most terrible barrage to hit German Forces. It showed many youths, why even the most fearless veterans fered the katyusha. It wasnt called Stalin Organ for nothing
I'm glad you added the note on civilian casualties at the end. Just imagine having been an innocent civilian anywhere between Berlin and Moscow during the second world war. War destroys everything
Innocent is a questionable word to describe WW2 Berlin inhabitants. But I do feel bad for good people suffering.
@@kevinaguilar7541 they were inocent people in berlin as in moscow maybe not the man but there were women childern too people forget that the Soviets did atrocities too
@@nicolasberky145 being just a women or a child doesn't exempt you from being a bad person. Remember the Hitler youth?
And I acknowledge the ussr atrocities. Both sides suck, but one side sucks more.
@@kevinaguilar7541 psycho detected
@@kevinaguilar7541 Don't bring up the hitler youth. People are talking about the non-combatant women and children. Those were innocent.
I'm German and my family is from Berlin. My grandfather, living in the outskirts of the city, told me that when the Soviets advanced, the Wehrmacht shelled the outskirts of the city from the city-center. The Germans living there as well as the attacking Soviets would seek shelter in the same rooms/cellars, sitting side by side, even sharing their food with eachother.
Then the Soviet soldiers also shared your great grandmother, you grandmother and great aunt with them at gunpoint.
@@stevecooper7883 That is neither a nice nor a funny comment. I could tell you many devastating stories that he also told, but r*pe is thank god not among his personal experiences.
@@ianp727 It wasn't funny. Your comment disregarded the absolute barbarity of the godless soviet soldiers.
@@stevecooper7883 My comment doesn't disregard anything because it is an isolated account of personal experience from an individual who experienced the horrors of the battle of Berlin when he was thirteen years old.
@@ianp727 Thanks for sharing the story. See, it's not difficult to just be nice. The actions of the Soviets are not justified by any measure, but at the same time it must be mentioned that it was hardly the whole organisation. People constantly male the same valid point for the wehrmacht, its no different for the Red Army. Still, I sympathise with all who are forced to face the horrors of war.
“Mark my words, Comrade… One day things will change. We will take the fight to their land… To their people… To their blood.”
-Viktor Reznov (Call of Duty: World at War)
actually the russians made it clear they were fighting the nazis and NOT the german people...
"Citizens of Berlin! A ring of steel surrounds your rotten city! We will crush all those who dare resist the will of the Red Army!"
Oh, no. Not video games quotes.
@@FlarkusChunswen if you played waw you would understand.
@@madman2555 i did. That's a fucking video game and this was a real life event.
I love how there’s just a Wunderwaffe blueprint among the weapons blueprints at 10:11
I think that's a weapon from one of the Wolfenstein games, lol.
@@DarkElfDiva nah brother, thats COD WaW zombies kinda wunderwaffe
@@herrdoctor2895 I'm having nightmares after seeing the map from 19:37 so many god damn grenades I remember finally completing that mission after 2 days of ruthlessly trying then that same day I completed Heart of the Reich I finished the World at War campaign on Veteran which put an end to 4 years of playing that campaign on veteran cause I quit for 2 years after reaching Burn 'Em Out and getting to the final part.
@@CodeNameZ_935Bro, Burn 'Em Out just about ended my runthrough. THAT level legitimately drove me insane, just about everything else was easy mode, comparatively.
@@casual_speedrunner1482 Burn 'Em Out is the mission that made my veteran playthrough take over 3 years because I got so mad that I didn't want to play it anymore
Finally he’s covered this! Thank you so much man. I learned a lot from this and oversimplified’s channel and you really help me with my studies of history. I appreciate you. Please continue this!
He already covered this one this is just an updated version
@@loke801 Correct. Although, I can see why they thought it hadn’t been covered yet. It’s been three years, after all.
@@loke801 True
He already covered this in a older video this is just a newer version
bruh oversimplified teaches u nothing
"Now it's their people, their land, their blood."
You know it's going to be good when it's a remastered video in 2022. Honestly looking forward towards a new "downfall of germany in the west front" with your new animators. Can't wait to start watching.
If you don’t already watch him, look up the RUclips channel “Eastory”.’ He makes some great animated maps.
@@randomguy2023 great channel!
I always love how he goes in depth with the details and context with any topic. Wish my teachers were like this.
Many teachers want to be like this, they want to enflame your desire to learn, but suffer from critical shortages of time and money and a large number of children to teach and care for.
You should consider the pay check of a teacher, amount of stress caused by class(es) and the short amount of time to teach and also the time limit because they CAN'T go to deep in something because there's other stuff to cover, btw i see an azur lane enjoyer as well
Here in Germany, teaching about specific battles of the second world war is actually disallowed or at least discouraged to avoid young student developping a sense of national pride for the Nazis
@@tiredtraveler4536 "Nazis". Apostrophes denote possession or contraction but are never used for pluralisation.
As a former teacher, albeit not history teacher, many kids just don’t care. They care enough to pass usually but that’s about it.
My Grandfather took indirectly part at the battle. He was drafted in 1942, aged 15 to the Flak.
When he was 17, he was sent to the RAD, the Reichsarbeitsdienst. He dug a defensive line in front of Berlin. He told of Gun Emplacments, Trenches and simple earth bunkers. From what he told, it must have been terrible. There wasnt enough fuel to keep intact the already rare machines, so they had no support by machinery. THe ground was frozen, it was the winter of 1944, one of the coldest in Germany. He said, every single centimetre was torture, and he cursed those that watched and ordered in silence, because they hadnt done a thing to support them. He is usually calm and reserved, but he called them names when he told about it that i defenitly don't wanna repeat here.
He was later injured by an american machine gun. He surived by pure luck, that he wasn't hit by a light-shell
Your grandfather was drafted into the Wehrmacht in 1942?
“The Allies pushed into Germany on both sides. The Soviet Union took Warsaw and kept pushing to Berlin. In his bunker, Mustache man realized that all hope was lost. Berlin fell, and with it Mustache Man’s dream of a great German Empire. Two of the Axis nations have been knocked out, one more to go.”
Oversimplified
Meanwhile, in the bunker...
Squared-Moustached Man: This is all because of *Fegelein!* *FEGELEIN!!* *FEGELEIN!!!*
@@jamesmmcgill "If Fegelein hadn't been so influential in the SS, we would've won the war!"
“Don’t worry guys who name I forgot assault will save us!”
@@nadersaid2215 My Fuhrer, Steiner was his name. He, uh...
I remember watching the original video you guys made. It feels like it has all come full circle now. Good work Griffen.
Absolutely incredible! The touching of morale, and especially always coming back to the motive of extreme rage for vengeance is spot on. Bravo!
The part about the commissars re enforcing the sentiment amongst the troops to be terrifying and avenge their people and motherland was really eye opening. As silly as it may sound it reminds me of the beginning of the WaW mission Ring of steel ,commissar Markhov preaching to the infantry to be as violent and merciless as possible to the enemy before the subsequent assault. For me his speech was one of the most iconic bits in the game. To know it was somewhat based in reality makes it more vivid and badass.
"war crimes are bad ass"
@@wurzel9671 "Its only a war crime if we lose!"
''avenge their people and motherland'' yet alot of their rear guard units who came from the untouched far east were the ones commiting heinous '''revenge'' on the local berlin female population. what motherland were they avenging?
If it was your wife, mother or sister at the hands of the Red Army, being raped in front of you, I doubt you would call it “bad ass”
@@kasualmechanic4854 you seem to have misplaced a strawman here, better collect it
Legend has it Hitler is still waiting for Steiner to have enough units
I’m not falling for that scam
Not only did Moustache man went on the epic "The War is Lost" rant.
But he also went on a rant that his XBox Live had been canceled and that he couldn't find Waldo in the Where's Waldo books.
I visited one of those tunnels in Berlin. It was an eerie feeling when I walked in. I could feel the energy and it was odd knowing the Germans fought for Berlin in the same area where I was at
Man, am i the only going to tears hearing Vasily Grossman words? Such a heavy and bloody struggle, i would literally scream
" Guys, that's it, that's our final victory, all our pain, our suffering are for this moment for our mother, our sons and daughters, our parents, for the blood of millions they shed in our homeland, TO BERLIIIN!! "
Yes, because countless of those soldiers would then be murdered by the NKVD or sent to work in some shitty factory till they were 70. Things wouldn't get better in the USSR until the 60s, but then they reached a high point and started declining again all the way until the fall of the soviet union. It's depressing af.
imagine the relief they felt
@@thelordofcringe tf do you mean? Do you really think the soldiers who storm berlin would be put into Gulag? What is wrong with you, and 8 working hours in the soviet union and pension system did exist, and it is not up to 70, housing are provided, free healthcare are provided
@@thelordofcringe I mean it was hell in the Soviet Union but it was a certain kind of hell
@@briantarigan7685 look at his name bro...
Thanks for the hard work.
"Citizens of Berlin! A ring of steel surrounds your rotten city! We will crush all those who dare to resist the will of the Red Army! Abandon your posts! Abandon your homes! Abandon all hope!"
"sh*t, we need to cross these bolsheviks"
flee flee for your lives
URRAAA!!!
just beat world at war on veteran the other day, I still hear the tink tink of grenades in my nightmares
URRRRAAA!!!
Fun fact:
One of the original Soviet Flag-Bearers ontop of the Reichstag was wearing two handwatches when their iconic photo was taken,
This was illegal (Cause of No Looting i believe) and the Photo was subsequently editted to make it 1 Handwatch instead of two.
some people say it wasn't a watch but a hand compass or something like that, but it looked like a watch. idr the details.
Not two handwatches, it was like 8
Those aren't the original flag raisers though. They are Khaldei's flag raisers that featured in the famous staged photo taken by Evgenii Anan’evich Khaldei. According to the UC Santa Barbara's escholarship name "Of Tablecloths and Soviet Relics: A Study of the Banner of Victory (Znamia Pobedy)" by Anne M. Platoff.
I thought there were more than 2 watches.
Ah yes because in a war of murder, rape, and pillage, looting is the thing we are appalled by and need to censor
I am Russian. My great-grandfather participated in the battle for Berlin. He was a tank driver, got injured and returned home. He talked about how tank caterpillars could not go because human guts were wound around them ... War is very scary and no one needs it. Before the war in Ukraine, everyone told me about it, but I couldn’t even imagine what it was, waking up with the realization that your country is at war and seeing a video of the places where you were when they were destroyed by the hands of your own country (I lived in Ukraine 3 years) Appreciate your peaceful sky above your head
Phew, tank god he wasn't obliterated by a king tiger
No better way to start a chill Saturday morning than by watching a video on one of the most dramatic battles in history 💀
I like how Stalin sent in 2,500,000 men into just capturing Berlin while Putin thought he could capture all of Ukraine with only 250,000 men.
Putin is not going to capture all of Ukraine, he just wants to destroy the mainly-fascist army.
@@handlemonium even less than that
He thought he could bomb kyiv to make them become all uncoordinated, taking the airport to deliver men that way and such. But backfired immensely. I suppose NATO expected a little bit of resistance but not this extent. Since they were already being trained by NATO. The thing is, everybody (even the US) expected it to not last more than a week or two. Like the famous saying when they the US offered him to fly out of kyiv and he just asked for ammunition, not a flight. Essentially zelenskyy 100% saved Ukraine. if he left, Ukraine would've become a part of Russia today. And getting that back would be nearly impossible. This is more crucial than anyone can comprehend here.
@@handlemoniumits like the bay of pigs invasion except they werent trying to conceal it at all and russian army just sucks
20:04 the story of who actually hoisted the flag, and the truth behind that iconic image is a very interesting one
True weren’t there 3 squads told to hoist the Soviet flag
@@delta1-248 2 got bogged down, one has a guy that does looting
According to the UC Santa Barbara's escholarship name "Of Tablecloths and Soviet Relics: A Study of the Banner of Victory (Znamia Pobedy)" by Anne M. Platoff, the true story is:
1) Those two soviet soldiers in the animation should'nt be Sergeant Mikhail Alekseevich Egorov and Junior Sergeant Meliton Var-lamovich Kantariia who raised the "Victory Banner #5". But they are Khaldei's flag raisers that featured in the famous STAGED photo taken by Evgenii Anan’evich Khaldei, Soviet Jewish photographer from the Ukraine.
2) Interestingly enough, there was another guy that supposed to be credited among the real Flag raisers too (Egorov and Kantariia), his name is Lieutenant Aleksei Prokop’evich Berest from Ukraine. The reason why his name was removed is not exactly known and a lot of people seem to have certain theories about this as well.
Top tier historical content done in a way that doesn't show the same old stock footage we've seen numerous times. Fantastic job to the whole Armchair Historian Team.
Thanks for ur videos. I really like history and you just explain it in a very fun way. I also like that you guys don’t always talk about WWII, so it’s not always the same thing. Thanks to the Armchair Historian group for making such great videos :)
www.youtube.com/@WilkinGames
Let’s not fail to mention that Polish units also raised the Polish colours on the Reichstag. Poetic justice.
Im from Poland my grandpa fought in battle of Berlin in Polish people's army he was in artillery.
yeah and were shot nearly by the Soviets. The Soviets were just as bad as the Germans
Love the Poles. Bunch of chads
Hooray for puppet states!
Fun fact last German victory was against the Polish as well in April 20th at the battle of Bautzen
This is so well put together. Keep up the fantastic work!
"Mein Failure, Steiner...."
"Steiner's counter attack failed to commence. He lacked sufficient manpower for a counterattack"
@@kasualmechanic4854
*Takes off glasses*
"The following will stay: Keitel, Jodl, Krebs and Burgdorf"
@@josevictorionunez9312THAT WAS AN ORDER! STEINER'S ATTACK WAS AN ORDER?! WHO ARE YOU TO DARE TO OPPOSE MY ORDERS?!
@@josevictorionunez9312
*door closes*
"That was an order! Steiner's attack was an order! How dare you ignore my orders? Is this what it has come to? The military has been lying to me. Even the SS. The generals are no more than a bunch of disloyal cowards!"
The animation on this channel is superb
Correct ! Yes DonwFall
Wow, great job on the Russian voiceover! I’m Russian and I highly appreciate you and your team for going the extra mile and your hard work!!!
"Our grip tightens around the black heart of Berlin. The Führer demands all to shed their last drop of blood in it's defense. The old, the young, the weak. If they stand for Germany, they die for Germany. Building by building. Room by room. One rat at a time." - Victor Reznov from CoD World At War
UUUURRRA!
The most badass quote in any cod game
ooh, makes me wanna play WaW again
Step 1!
Ha ha
This one has been my most anticipated remaster ever since I watched the original.
16:08
This comparison of Hitler to Frederick The Great has also another meaning. In the XVIII century, during 7-years war there was a thing called "Miracle of the house of Brandenburg".The point was that during the 7 years war, Prussia was fighting against Russia, Austria and bunch of other countries and they were in a really harsh spot. When Prussia was about to lose, Empress Elizabeth of the Russian Empire died, therefore getting Russia out of the war and saving Prussia. Frederick The Great named that "Miracle of the house of Brandenburg". 200 years later, when Hitler was sitting infuriated and depressed in his bunker with no perspectives for winning the war, he heard in the radio about the death of Roosevelt. He hoped that this event will brake the America and he named that "The 3rd miracle of the house of Brandenburg". But unfortunately for him, Truman jumped on the president's chair right away, and the war ended.
Thank you for this video! My great grandfather grandfather 3 granduncles great granduncle fought as the Soviets in World war II. Sadly 2 of my Granduncle's Great granduncle didn't make it, they only survived until 1941.
This is my 3rd video watched by this channel. I used to see lots of these videos but i didnt watch them. Then one day I tried it and it was brilliant, crystal-clear explained with beautiful animations. You and your team should be proud of these videos and making more people learn history easier and more interestingly. Thank You!
It's crazy to think that in just about two weeks around 200.000 people (soldiers and civilians) were killed in this battle for Berlin! What a bloodbath! And what a senseless one, the war was lost anyways. Beyond mind-blowing.
Always love to see another AMAZING video by my favorite history channel!
ruclips.net/user/shortsBmc9NFfhx74?feature=share
16:55 - 1.5 million Soviet troops are troops ON THE ENTIRE FRONT, and 40 thousand German troops are ONLY the garrison of Berlin.
I know that you most likely took this information from World at War, but the information there was false.
It's nice to see you remastered this, you should remaster more like these in the future.
The fact that after being nearly defeated and fighting a war, the Soviet Union was still able to become a superpower during the Cold War says volumes about how powerful they were
Tbh I doubt the Soviets would've been defeated even if they had lost Moscow since there was a planned counterattack to retake the city and continue the fight.
During the winter of 1941, the Soviets had deployed the Siberian snow divisions to completely stop the germans as the weather worsened the German logistics and after 1941 any hopes of defeating the USSR wouldve been dashed as more soviets would be conscripted to fight the enemy as the germans would keep losing men they couldn't replace.
and just how stupid the nazis were
It's exactly like the Russo-Ukranian war. What stopped the Swift Victory was the unforeseen level of local resistance and unprecedented amounts of materiel support from allies.
@@Troopertroll was The stunning Manpower and industrial capacity that made The soviets Win, The leand-lease represents like 4%~ of The soviet production, most of The land lease come for The brits
@@Jusmemeing no 😂. Soviets won against Hitler with the help of the allies . If IT was 1 vs 1 Hitler would defeated soviets
You forgot that the defenders of the reichstag had an infinite amount of grenades
Well yes but eventually they would probably have run out I mean there was millions of Russians rolling into Berlin
@@harolddavis1493 lol i wasnt being serious it was more of a Cod WaW reference
Those were nukes, not grenades, lmfao. WaW was brutal in singleplayer.
22:10 Yes, as a Russian person who listened to this I accept that part of the story, even though it is hard and painful for me to admit it, there is a reason why it happened. I'm not going to make any excuses, I'm just going to tell you so you can understand why it happened. The Soviet soldiers saw what the Germans did to their land, their homes and their families. What cruelties they did on the Soviet soil that words cannot describe and seeing all this, many soldiers and officers wanted to take revenge on the Germans for what they did to their loved ones and families. But I want to say that the Soviet command did not care about this, they issued orders that there should be no cruelty from the Soviet soldiers to the inhabitants of Germany. I hope you can understand that.
The reasons for such actions are:
1. Revenge for the suffering of the Soviet people: Many soldiers had seen the Nazi occupation in the Soviet Union and had themselves witnessed or been victims of destruction, murder, looting and violence. Naturally, this gave birth to a thirst for retaliation, and within Germany this retaliation translated into violence against civilians.
2. War Fatigue and Dehumanization of the Enemy: After several years of war, full of suffering, hunger and constant terror, the soldiers had accumulated psychological tension. The war contributed to the fact that many soldiers began to perceive the population of the enemy country as something hostile and responsible for everything that happened. This phenomenon of dehumanizing the enemy under war conditions was unfortunately common.
3- Lack of strict discipline in the occupied territories: Towards the end of the war, when the Red Army entered German territory, control and discipline were weakened in some places. Some soldiers began to engage in looting and violence, especially in the early days of the occupation. Although the Red Army command tried to combat this, the effectiveness of control was limited.
4- Difficulties in maintaining order: The large-scale fighting and the rapid advance of the Red Army created difficulties in maintaining order and controlling crime. The command tried to stop violence against civilians, laws were introduced, and special units were created to maintain order, but these measures did not always work.
Command and State Reaction: The Soviet command condemned violence against civilians and took certain measures to limit it. Orders were issued calling for strict discipline and even firing squads for looting and violence. The Soviet state realized that such acts caused reputational damage, and therefore tried to control the situation. However, despite the command's attempts, acts of violence and looting were not uncommon.
My grandfather, from Lithuania was fighting in the defence of berlin. He originally fought the Germans but after being forced to surrender after running out of ammunition and his entire platoon being wiped out they gave him the choice of POW camp or fight the Russians, who annexed them not long before. He told about how they would shoot around allied planes on the AA guns. All trust was taken away from them after the Germans found out. In the end he was ordered at gunpoint to destroy Russian tanks with a panzerfaust. He had a wild story.
The Battle of Berlin has been the most iconic battle of History
Eh... Stalingrad?
@@Maus_HausBattle of Berlin is still one of the most iconic alongside Stalingrad, Midway, Second battle of Al Alamein, Battle of Verdun, Battle of the Somme.
Waterloo?
Imagine being these officers at 20:09 , knowing that millions sacrificied their lives for you to stand in the very heart of the ennemy
Did I just see a Wunderwaffe DG-2 blueprint? The references on your videos are getting awesome!
Wait a second, you’re saying that my favorite bit of orchestra was played for this battle?!?
My appreciation for this piece of history has escalated tenfold!!!
Albert Speer claims the orchestra played 'Gotterdammerung' during the battle for Berlin. Perhaps they played several selections from the 'Ring' series.
And I think he attributed the Ride of the Valkyries to Strauss (it was Mahler). *pushes up glasses*
This channel keeps getting better and better.
You know these Soviet soldiers still deserve to be honored despite the Ukrainian and Russian war. Those soldiers that died fighting the Nazis and they were our allies. I see a lot of people in Europe not permitting wreaths and flowers to be laid by their memorials because of the Russian Ukraine war. And i dont agree with that.
Exactly!
These were the people who won WW2!
yup. no matter how you feel about the USSR, those men died fighting against all odds with the nazis who nearly destroyed their country
Also a lot of them were Ukrainian as well
Russians are fighting nazis rn as well in Ukraine. You can easily search for it, it’s still in RUclips.
they commited as much war crimes as the nazis did. No sympathy for them at all.
I have been waiting for a more recent video from you covering this topic. Thanks so much!
This was very informative. And I appreciated the opening appearance by and quote from Vassily Grossman, one of my favorite writers!
"Video games turn people agressive".
People before video games:
If anything, they give people a more or less harmless outlet for any aggression that they may have.
"As long as you live...The heart of this army can never be broken..Things will change my friend! As heroes we will return to Russia's embrace!"
Laughs in Nova 6
@@HWDragonborn "He should have died in Berlin"
We all know why Steiner didn't attack.if he did, he'd have 133 1/3% chance of winning. It just wouldn't be fair.
I am Russian and i just cant thank you enough for that voiceovers in the beginning of this video and Stalingrad video. Bring tears and sadness.
An amazing video as per usual. Keep it up!
Another great video, amazing job of depicting this battle
holding out hope for a video about Castle Itter
That's a really good work !
I must say the armchair historian has come a long way. Truly a marvelous video
He did repeat lies and obfuscation over the Viet Nam and the Korean Wars. Luna Oi Nguyen debunks him.
@@jamiemcintosh3030 get better
@@dwightd.eisenhower2031 Whom? I?
@@jamiemcintosh3030 yes
@@dwightd.eisenhower2031 Why, Sir or Madam, or Miss?
Should have played that meme-worthy scene, from the movie "Downfall," during the key part of battle, when Hitler basically lost his sh!t, and finally lost his will to fight on. It would have just been so perfect. And even though I have watched that scene basically a hundred times already, I would have happily watched it again.
It was in the "Endsieg" video, but yeah, it should have been here, too.
"Sist ohneir!" Throws pen
@@pyromania1018 Full title of the Endsieg video, please?
@@davidw.2791 Endsieg: Germany's Final Plan to Win WWII
@@pyromania1018 Thank you! (Although the Hitler in the thumbnail of that video looked more anime-like, lol.)
How could you forget the most important thing?! The wonder weapon the Germans had! The infinite amount of hand grenades! I swear they had so many of them. They had more of those than bullets! It was so hard just to advance up the stairs to the reichstag.
Don't let Kanye see this
Let him watch it. Loser is unhinged and makes Mr Jones look reasonable
"As long as you live, the heart of this army can never be broken. Things will change my friend. As heroes, we will return to Russia's embrace."
Excellent overview, totally enjoyed it! Very informative in an easily understandable method . Thank you!
Great documentary! Love the animation!
My favorite part of the Battle of Berlin is when the Austrian painter said, "It's Neinin' time" and neined all over the table.
16:17
"With Steiner's assault, that will all come into order."
Hitler.
The fall of Berlin is an underreported event, thanks for this video. But I suspect there is even more to uncover in this area.
It is underreported because in Western schools when you learn about World War 2 they go out of their way to make the Eastern front sound like a side story instead of the Main Event. The vast majority of German troops and material were sent east to be put in the meat grinder. The Allies in the Western theatre didn't see armies even half the size, even during the Ardennes Offensive.
@@timothyhouse1622 And Eastern schools dont learn how significant the Western part truly was.
@@stc3145 I'm sure you actually don't know what Eastern school curriculum is and just felt the need to defend against someone saying the west ignores Soviet contributions.
bUt RuSsiA cOuLdnT wIn wiThOuT lEnD LeAsE.
Well, maybe, but the Allies couldnt win without the Soviets.
It isn't underreported, it's THE best-known Eastern Front battle except maybe Stalingrad.
@@timothyhouse1622 No they don’t, they obviously focus on their own country’s history more. When it comes to most kids in school you can be glad if 10% of thr knowledge is retained
A decent video, but I must state a couple things about described events as well:
1) Commissars were removed from the army and disbanded as a service in 1943
2) Although atrocities did happen, for the Soviet command they were much unwanted, unlike for the Reich's. In the last months of the war and shortly after several thousand Soviet soldiers and officers were court martialed and shot for violence against civilians and PoWs.
you post this on an armchair historian video expecting them to actually be sincere
Commisars were technically still present, they just didn't have the kind of power they had before.
Wrong
Political commissars continued to exist in the Red Army, just under a different name
not necessarily. Maybe some commanders didn't want the Soviets to loot and pillage but many enocouraged it.
😉👍Very nicely greatly well done and very wonderfully informatively explained and executed in every detail way shape and format provided on the Battle of Berlin, A job very nicely fabulously well done indeed Sir!👌.
The mad lads have done it again! Love this channel
No hasty withdrawal leaving behind $1.8Bn here. Here we fought until the last building, until the last man.
Great opening! The 8th guards army was definitely NOT watching the rays of the morning sun glistening on the icey waters of the Oder river - that would have meant they were looking eastwards... 😂😂😂
You know the sun puts light everywhere, right?
Has anyone noticed the plans for the good old Wunderwaffle DG-2 from cod zombies at 10:13? Well done Armchair Historian
Was looking for this comment, amazing detail lol
Me too it caught my eye
“They come for our blood, but instead bathe in their own!” -Sgt. Viktor Resnov, Call of Duty: World at War
The Miller-Petrenko perspective of the game taught me better history than actual history books.
@@crbkqw sad
The victory of the Soviets always gives me goosebumps. And really I don't feel so bad about the "atrocities" the Red Army did (Wermacht had done worse things in USSR), knowing that the Soviet high command actually punished these things. The Red Army even tried to feed the whole city and organised the rebuild. The only thing I feel bad about is that in those last days died many German boys from the Hitler youth (which was mandatory for the youth) who found themselves into a lost battle. In general, the Germans could have surrendered earlier to prevent the loss of more lives. But, unfortunately, the decisions are made by people who don't fight, only give orders.
This is your best work yet, keep going!
You never disappoint us with your contents
I always like seeing Steiner's counter offensive guys there. They'll bring the situation under control.
Love these videos. The animation has constantly improved and the actual info has always been spot on. Would love to do something like this but with ancient history.
My grandfather fought at Berlin and one of the things I remember him telling me was something like there were some French SS fighting there
Yes, there were around 300 to 500 French SS men of the SS Sturm-Battalion Charlemagne (originally from the 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne) during the Battle 'in' Berlin. And they were later reduced to around 30 to 60 men during the final days of the battle, according to Tony le Tissier's book about the French SS, Antony Beevor's book about the Battle of Berlin, Mark Felton's video, and other sources.
Moreover, they were defending "Reich Chancellery" areas at the end of April 1945, not the Reichstag. Since there's a widespread misunderstood among WW2 enthusiasts that what left of French SS defended the Reichstag in which they weren't.
@@fereise208 Interesting I wish I could’ve asked if they fought with him or if he had just seen them when he and his men were getting prepared for the soviets
When I was in school veterans still were plenty, and on Victory Day they were invited to school to tell children about war. Even some teachers themselves were veterans. I remember the story of a participant of battle of Berlin. The assault during night in a spotlights was the most impressive event of his life. Also when they were fighting in the city itself, they got into house of German family, father, mother and 2 daughters. They just cut their veins and were bleeding to death. Solders asked a man, was he a member of Nazi party? He replied that yes, he was. Soldiers bandaged all the women, but not the man.
My OBeJe teacher had a similar story to tell
"Bandaged" the women
It really takes courage to continue to fight for Germany when you are already pushed to your capital with 2 superpowers surrounding you.
"as long as you live. The heart of this army will never be broken" ~ Reznov
"See this?" *Points at end of tank barrel*
"This is where the Reich ends, out there is russki land."
I love the Wunderwaffe DG-2 Easter egg you put in you’re video Mr. A.C.H that was pretty clever
I'm not sure if you're really interested or not but the Crusades would be a cool subject to cover, you're very interesting to listen to you and do a good job portraying what you were talking about.