Mr Felton has more original material than ANYONE else (and I mean he does not even have competition when it comes to NEW or rarely shown information). I ALWAYS come here to learn NEW THINGS. Rarely am I surprised by new information despite being a historian myself fascinated by the history of my British/German family since the late 1970's as my initial cause of interest. Mr Felton should be a world wide recognized expert. Terrific stuff as usual!!
love this focus on the italian war. suggestion: why don't you talk about the battle of nikolaevka? it's a small battle, but allowed ten of thousands of italian troppos to escape from operation little saturn encirclement... not even germans did it, so i think it's interesting.
They did. During the North African campaign, the Ariete Division did well when they were led by Rommel and the German Staff. That was one of the real weaknesses of the Italian Army in the early days. The Command staff was corrupt and constructed more along the lines of a 19th century/early 20 century, Colonial Army than a modern army.
I think it was a RAF ace Stanford Tuck story.. The squadron had downed a rare flight of Italian bombers near the base. After they landed some of the RAF pilots drove out to inspect the downed Italian aircraft. The Italian aircraft were loaded with deli meats cheeses and casks of wine. In true Italian form. It had been a long flight and they didn't intend to make war on an empty stomach.
Interesting video here’s some Italian video ideas. The Italian Co-belligerent army/airforce/navy. Italian Calvary charge against the soviets. Attempted french invasion of Italy (only time Italian partisans and Italian facists worked together) Post war Italian Army
The ALPINI..(Italian Alpine units) were some of the bravest and best fighting units of WWII. My Papa's cousin was one of them during the war. Italy wasn't really prepared for the war having to use old firearms and tanks. The Italian Air Force was better equipped with more modern and effective aircraft and the Italian Navy also had well built and effective ships. Only later in the war did Italy have better and more modern firearms and tanks but it was too late in the war to matter. Italian Alpine troops actually had better success than the German troops in Russia do to their training in the Italian Alps and their having better winter clothing and equipment.
Mark 90 % of your videos I’ve never knew anything about and the 10% I knew about you have filled in the massive gaps of information I lacked. Thanks again for a great video
My great uncle helped break the Gothic line. Company G, 85th regiment, 10th Mountain Division. He was KIA April 14th, 1945 fighting back a German counterattack on hill 909 near Mt. Della Spe.
I was expecting the Operation Winter Storm when the Germans tried to saved the German 6th army in Stalingrad. The video being about an Italian offensive of the same name is a surprise, but a welcome one for sure.
I always thought there were no Italian field forces after 1943. I love these small battles you keep finding. It's also interesting to see that the Axis can still carry out successful offensive operations this late in the war.
There is another interesting Italian success in Operation Agreement, where an attack by the Royal Marines got stopped by surprised Italian army mechanics and second line (administrative) troops and repelled by San Marco marines
Not really. Their losses were not far below those of the Americas. And by that time the Allies could make them up quickly, unlike the Italians. No more then a pyrrhic victory.
Of course the Germans helped. That is what an allied power does for an allied power. No different from the "allied" coalition supporting one another. Italy put up a hell of a fight in many engagements that they got no recognition for. Particularly in the naval theater.
But at day's end they were the weaker link in the Axis chain so naturally they were targeted first. This also deprived Hitler and his SS Germany of a vital reserve resource.
"A generation brought up on the old joke about Italian tanks with five reverse gears and one forward was probably unaware of the fierce resistance put up at El Alamein by the crack paratrooper regiment, the "Folgore", which simply refused to surrender. Of 5,000 Folgore troops who fought, only 304 survived. Or what about the last message sent from the divisional commander of the Italian Ariete artillery regiment at El Alamein? "We have three tanks left. I am counter-attacking". upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/it/c/ca/TargaRommel.jpg "The German soldier has astonished the world; the Italian Bersagliere has astonished the German soldier." Erwin Rommel en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decima_Flottiglia_MAS www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/7866571/Amedeo-Guillet.html The "Knight from other times" "Aosta gave Guillet command of the locally recruited Amhara Cavalry Bande, as well as 500 Yemeni infantry - approximately 2,500 men. With almost no armour, the Italians used Guillet's horsemen to delay the advance of the British 4th and 5th Indian Divisions when they crossed the Eritrean frontier in January 1941."
the "Italian Social Republic" had nearly 800.000 soldiers with an amazingly high rate of volunteers. This is way more than the CIL (Italian "co-belligerant forces") not to talk about the so called "partigiani". There are some high quality interviews of RSi veterans on RUclips with great English subtitles.
Another Fantastic video on forgotten, little known military history that is never taught in any classrooms now. Cheers to you once again Mark Felton! This former combat Vet salutes you for all of your hard work & excellent material presented in a very interesting and intelligent manner.
The Brazilian Expedicionary Force was nearby to the 92nd. The offensive against the 92nd was due to previous engagements with the Brazilians and the aggressive posture constantly seeking contact. Late in 1945 Fretter-Pico and the entire 148th division surrender to the Brazilian forces leaded by General Mascarenhas de Morais.
Once again, you did not disappoint. WWII documentaries focus primarily on four things: Pacific, France/Germany (D-Day), Battle of Britain, and North Africa. Nice to see the "forgotten" battles covered! Well done!
Request for a video on the fight between Robert S. Johnson vs German ace Egon Meyer. After all Robert S. Johnson managed to get his Thunderbold all the way back to England after his plane was severely damaged and severely damaged is a major understatement.
***** 5 star professional and educational video. I have been learning about ww2 for 50+ years and still learn something new from this brilliant world wide recognized expert.
Indeed it should be acknowledged that not all Italian troops were traitors that fell in the back of their german comrades. The loyal troops fought a civilian war. A difficult decision for them.
I used to know an old former SS man who fought in Italy and he actually liked them for the most part but said there was never any middle ground with them as a combatant, either the units would fire a few rounds and surrender or fight to the death.
This is the result of Italian mentality where many were really facists and fought to the deth and others were antifascist and /or reallist . If there is nothing to do you just surrender. What you do when you have to fight a tank with a rifle ???? . Germans were just germans and folowed the mad man to the end
It does demonstrate that a blanket rubbishing of the Italian military in WWII is both inaccurate and unfair. Properly motivated and led, Italian troops were easily the equal of Allied forces.
Italians are excellent combat soldiers ... when they are given a valid reason to fight. (I think that applies to all nationalities.) The Italian military during WW2 was so lackluster in performance because the majority of Italians did not support Mussolini's personal quest for glory and conquest nor did they support the alliance with Nazi Germany. Due to that many of them felt there was no reason to sacrifice their lives needlessly for a cause in which they did not believe. The Italians in this particular battle performed so well because they were the die hard Fascists who truly supported Mussolini and his views and so were willing to make that sacrifice. JMHO.
Yeah the only problem is we could more than afford to lose 1000 troops axis forces couldn’t afford to lose anything. Once it was gone it was gone and it wasn’t being replaced.
I've studied World War 2 front and back for years, and there's always something new to learn. Thanks again, Mr.Felton. I'd love to know where you find it?
No thanks, I'd rather stick to playing football than sit in a small classroom for half an hour watching irrelevant history videos that have nothing to do with our curriculum.
I learn so much from your channel and all of your videos hold my attention. I have very bad ADHD so you deserve some kind of award!!! Lol keep them coming!!!!!
Not surprisingly I haven't heard about this short, but successful local campaign by combined German - Italian forces. No wonder as I said, because so much of it, goes against the Allied propaganda narrative, which contrary to expectations is still alive and well after 70 years to the end of war. So 'suma summarum' a big thanks for the author, to dig out this episode and present it in an unbiased, factual way.
I never knew about this offensive. I have always thought the Italian army was not really as bad as their reputation. But, they had very poor leadership. Maybe this offensive validates my perspective. At any rate, I cannot imagine how the Germans treated black Americans.
For a fascinating look at the fighting in this area from a personal memoir, read Canadian author Farley Mowat's book _No Bird Sang_ which is a reference to the eerie post-battle silence that marks every battlefield. Mowat went ashore in the Sicily landing and then fought his way up the east side of Italy until a sympathetic CO saw the early signs of shell shock coming on and reassigned him to intelligence.
One of the many forgotten realms of war. Today only the iconic buzzword battles are discussed but in reality so many troops faced stiff encounters as well as endless preparations under constant stress that are completely neglected today. War is a complex succession of actions experienced individually be each participating person.
Pretty please do a video on WW2 myths of colored soldiers (Why the 92nd performed so poorly in Italy) and their combat performance in comparison with their contemporaries and circumstances that may of contributed please. Some clarification as to why units like the 761st Black Panther TB, Tuskegee Airmen, 333rd etc are more popular in hindsight than the poor performance and struggles of the 758th and 92nd ID. Would love to hear you explain it. Edit: Also a video on why the 555th "Triple Nickles" PIB Weren't allowed to serve in over seas fighting
Even the official history by Ulysses Lee is rife with racism and outright lies regarding Black troops. According to vets in my family, "medal hogging" was a real thing, Black troops not getting equivalent decorations and many given to people from units that were never there (Nisei in particular ). The Army set these men up to fail, not sending their best Black Infantry trained units, but raising new units instead and putting them under Southern officers, the worst possible choice for morale possible. Note, we are talking about real racism here, not the communist radical version post Vietnam still in use today...
The italian campaign is one of the most interesting theaters of late WW2. Edit; 2:15 all of it is Mediterranean, Winter Storm was on the Tyrrenian side, vs the Adriatic side.
Hi, Mark! Your work is exceptional. Is there perhaps any noteworthy event/battle that happened on the territory of Yugoslavia? Would be interesting to find out.
Awesome channel. One suggestion to increase clarity: maps with tons of equally fonted make it hard to see where the place you're talking about is. Suggestion: add lines via attack axes and highlight/underscore important objects/names in maps. Now that's all the complaints keep up with your amazing work!
When I was 5, in 1965, my mom told me not to talk to, or go near a guy next door, on the lake. She said he had shell shock from Italy. I didn’t understand, but I was scared. One day I bumped into him, and he was actually pleasant. Confusing for a little kid.
This is mentioned in Italy's Sorrow by James Holland, who puts the Americans' poor showing down to bad Generalship (although he goes against the grain by being a fan of Mark Clark) and their distrust and lack of confidence in the Buffalo Soldiers. Sad really.
My uncle was in the 92nd. They were denied replacements when they lost troops and they were given officers did not believe in them, primarily southerners. They still served well in spite of setbacks created by their superiors.
The "buffalo soldier" units in WWII had white and black officers (unlike the original cavalry units, which had white officers.) Contrary to a mystifying, but prevalent set of myths, african-american soldiers were allowed to carry weapons, and were regularly decorated for bravery in action, including 7 medals of honor.
No African American soldier was awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II. In 1993 the Army contracted Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, to research and prepare a study "to determine if there was a racial disparity in the way Medal of Honor recipients were selected." On January 13, 1997, President Bill Clinton awarded the Medal to seven African-American World War II veterans; of these, only Vernon Baker was still alive.
Another great video, Mark. Just curious (Mark, or anyone else) ... can anything be inferred from the footage of the disabled Tiger at 3:11 as to how it was knocked out? I love your videos, Mark!!
You never hear about this part of the war on documentaries on television. I not known at all about this raid. But the documentary ended too soon. How was this Italian army finally defeated?
I would be very interested in information concerning axis allies participation in, for example, the German attack of Russia - the Bulgarians and Italians, I think, although I could be wrong, as well as other fronts. Also, how did the Germans treat the African- American prisoners?
@@onlinecommentator2616 There was some grumbling among black troops that maybe they were fighting the wrong white men because southern whites would take every opportunity to keep their boots on the neck of black soldiers to "keep them in their place" and northern ones just looked the other way to focus on the war.
Great video about an attack I previously knew nothing about. I think calling an attack by 18,000 men an "Italian battle of the bulge" is a little bit of a stretch however, despite the timing!
Hatless Construction Man, look up the raid on Alexandria, or the Honours of War bestowed by the Brits on Duke Amedeo of Savoia’s troops after the battle of Amba Alagi (happened only twice in all of WWII). See what Rommel had to say about the Bersaglieri, or the incredible Folgore stand at El Alamein. It is of course true that as a rule Italian troops were not motivated to fight for Mussolini’s follies, nor were they well equipped or well led, but when they were, they fought very well. History is written by the winners.
Mr Felton has more original material than ANYONE else (and I mean he does not even have competition when it comes to NEW or rarely shown information). I ALWAYS come here to learn NEW THINGS. Rarely am I surprised by new information despite being a historian myself fascinated by the history of my British/German family since the late 1970's as my initial cause of interest. Mr Felton should be a world wide recognized expert. Terrific stuff as usual!!
I have also been found to like some Tom Richey videos quite a lot
Hear hear!
love this focus on the italian war. suggestion: why don't you talk about the battle of nikolaevka? it's a small battle, but allowed ten of thousands of italian troppos to escape from operation little saturn encirclement... not even germans did it, so i think it's interesting.
No doubt some Italian units did well under good leadership, when provided by training and guidance
They did. During the North African campaign, the Ariete Division did well when they were led by Rommel and the German Staff. That was one of the real weaknesses of the Italian Army in the early days. The Command staff was corrupt and constructed more along the lines of a 19th century/early 20 century, Colonial Army than a modern army.
I think it was a RAF ace Stanford Tuck story.. The squadron had downed a rare flight of Italian bombers near the base. After they landed some of the RAF pilots drove out to inspect the downed Italian aircraft. The Italian aircraft were loaded with deli meats cheeses and casks of wine. In true Italian form. It had been a long flight and they didn't intend to make war on an empty stomach.
@@coleparker TIK has some great info on that stuff.
@@h.r.puffnstuff8705
I think your mate telling the story is pulling your leg ....
I read that Italian troops actually were very good, but poor equipment and leadership limited them
Excellent video and historically correct, I live just few kms from the Gothic Line, bunkers and fortifications are still there
Andrea Ghilardi really? That’s so cool!
Interesting video here’s some Italian video ideas.
The Italian Co-belligerent army/airforce/navy.
Italian Calvary charge against the soviets.
Attempted french invasion of Italy (only time Italian partisans and Italian facists worked together)
Post war Italian Army
Most interesting i think would be the Decima MAS. They had some impressive kills
I'd like to see a video about the Laconia Incident. There aren't any documentaries on the subject I'm aware of.
I would like to know more about the battle at Anzio
A video on Italian partizans in general would be nice. Also, the CIA's intervention in the 1948 election.
Also against Tito Italian fascist army and not communist partisans collaborate. Close Nation Valley.
The ALPINI..(Italian Alpine units) were some of the bravest and best fighting units of WWII. My Papa's cousin was one of them during the war. Italy wasn't really prepared for the war having to use old firearms and tanks. The Italian Air Force was better equipped with more modern and effective aircraft and the Italian Navy also had well built and effective ships. Only later in the war did Italy have better and more modern firearms and tanks but it was too late in the war to matter. Italian Alpine troops actually had better success than the German troops in Russia do to their training in the Italian Alps and their having better winter clothing and equipment.
Mark 90 % of your videos I’ve never knew anything about and the 10% I knew about you have filled in the massive gaps of information I lacked. Thanks again for a great video
My great uncle helped break the Gothic line. Company G, 85th regiment, 10th Mountain Division. He was KIA April 14th, 1945 fighting back a German counterattack on hill 909 near Mt. Della Spe.
I was expecting the Operation Winter Storm when the Germans tried to saved the German 6th army in Stalingrad. The video being about an Italian offensive of the same name is a surprise, but a welcome one for sure.
I don't understand how anyone can give this work a thumbs down, thanks for the video.
I always thought there were no Italian field forces after 1943.
I love these small battles you keep finding.
It's also interesting to see that the Axis can still carry out successful offensive operations this late in the war.
There were also in the Allied Side, quite good in quality with English equipment, but italian small arms. corpo di liberazione I think It was named.
Italy after 8 of September 1943 fall under a terrible civil war.
With Rsi force on the side of axis and CNL and the regio esercito on allied side.
Mark, you must spend every waking hour researching this stuff. I am amazed at what you produce and the quality of it. Keep up the good work.
Love your work Mark
Mark is Dead ....
There is another interesting Italian success in Operation Agreement, where an attack by the Royal Marines got stopped by surprised Italian army mechanics and second line (administrative) troops and repelled by San Marco marines
A successful Italian operation in WW2? This truly is an exceptional case.
Germans helped.
Not really. Their losses were not far below those of the Americas. And by that time the Allies could make them up quickly, unlike the Italians. No more then a pyrrhic victory.
Of course the Germans helped. That is what an allied power does for an allied power. No different from the "allied" coalition supporting one another.
Italy put up a hell of a fight in many engagements that they got no recognition for.
Particularly in the naval theater.
But at day's end they were the weaker link in the Axis chain so naturally they were targeted first.
This also deprived Hitler and his SS Germany of a vital reserve resource.
"A generation brought up on the old joke about Italian tanks with five reverse gears and one forward was probably unaware of the fierce resistance put up at El Alamein by the crack paratrooper regiment, the "Folgore", which simply refused to surrender. Of 5,000 Folgore troops who fought, only 304 survived.
Or what about the last message sent from the divisional commander of the Italian Ariete artillery regiment at El Alamein? "We have three tanks left. I am counter-attacking".
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/it/c/ca/TargaRommel.jpg
"The German soldier has astonished the world; the Italian Bersagliere has astonished the German soldier."
Erwin Rommel
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decima_Flottiglia_MAS
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/military-obituaries/7866571/Amedeo-Guillet.html
The "Knight from other times"
"Aosta gave Guillet command of the locally recruited Amhara Cavalry Bande, as well as 500 Yemeni infantry - approximately 2,500 men. With almost no armour, the Italians used Guillet's horsemen to delay the advance of the British 4th and 5th Indian Divisions when they crossed the Eritrean frontier in January 1941."
the "Italian Social Republic" had nearly 800.000 soldiers with an amazingly high rate of volunteers. This is way more than the CIL (Italian "co-belligerant forces") not to talk about the so called "partigiani". There are some high quality interviews of RSi veterans on RUclips with great English subtitles.
Mark - how about the role of the Italian Airforce in the Battle of Britain ? I suspect a lot of viewers are unaware they took part.
I have never heard of this offensive, thank you for bringing it to light!
Greatly appreciated Mark .
Thank you for your interesting subjects, and great research.
Another great video. I'd heard about the 92 ID being routed but never understood the context. Good job.
History based on facts - very refreshing Mr. Felton.
Another Fantastic video on forgotten, little known military history that is never taught in any classrooms now. Cheers to you once again Mark Felton! This former combat Vet salutes you for all of your hard work & excellent material presented in a very interesting and intelligent manner.
The Brazilian Expedicionary Force was nearby to the 92nd. The offensive against the 92nd was due to previous engagements with the Brazilians and the aggressive posture constantly seeking contact. Late in 1945 Fretter-Pico and the entire 148th division surrender to the Brazilian forces leaded by General Mascarenhas de Morais.
Best history channel on RUclips
Once again, you did not disappoint. WWII documentaries focus primarily on four things: Pacific, France/Germany (D-Day), Battle of Britain, and North Africa. Nice to see the "forgotten" battles covered! Well done!
I hope you make a video on the Gustav Line at Monte Cassino.
Love the last two videos on the italian military a truly little studied army during ww2 very fascinating. Great vids on obscure ww2 topics
Request for a video on the fight between Robert S. Johnson vs German ace Egon Meyer. After all Robert S. Johnson managed to get his Thunderbold all the way back to England after his plane was severely damaged and severely damaged is a major understatement.
***** 5 star professional and educational video. I have been learning about ww2 for 50+ years and still learn something new from this brilliant world wide recognized expert.
More on Italy!
Indeed it should be acknowledged that not all Italian troops were traitors that fell in the back of their german comrades. The loyal troops fought a civilian war. A difficult decision for them.
The fact that you can pump out so many vids in such a short time amazes me.
Thanks from Italy!!!
I used to know an old former SS man who fought in Italy and he actually liked them for the most part but said there was never any middle ground with them as a combatant, either the units would fire a few rounds and surrender or fight to the death.
This is the result of Italian mentality where many were really facists and fought to the deth and others were antifascist and /or reallist . If there is nothing to do you just surrender. What you do when you have to fight a tank with a rifle ???? . Germans were just germans and folowed the mad man to the end
I feel happy for Italy, this operation should be thought in every classroom to inspire confidence.
It does demonstrate that a blanket rubbishing of the Italian military in WWII is both inaccurate and unfair. Properly motivated and led, Italian troops were easily the equal of Allied forces.
Great to see a video on the italians! Would you consider doing something about the Decima MAS during the RSI?
Thought I was a student of WW2, first time I heard of this offensive......
Thank you
Not surprised that I heard of this from you, Mark! Great story
From what my grandfather said, They had the very best submarine crews.
Italians are excellent combat soldiers ... when they are given a valid reason to fight. (I think that applies to all nationalities.) The Italian military during WW2 was so lackluster in performance because the majority of Italians did not support Mussolini's personal quest for glory and conquest nor did they support the alliance with Nazi Germany. Due to that many of them felt there was no reason to sacrifice their lives needlessly for a cause in which they did not believe. The Italians in this particular battle performed so well because they were the die hard Fascists who truly supported Mussolini and his views and so were willing to make that sacrifice. JMHO.
Please do a video on the 92nd infantry. Specifically what happened to the pow's. fascinating stuff.
I play your opening music on my phone when my boss moves down the corridor. Has everyone in stitches !
Yeah the only problem is we could more than afford to lose 1000 troops axis forces couldn’t afford to lose anything. Once it was gone it was gone and it wasn’t being replaced.
Mark Felton has opened a history channel. nicee!!
I've studied World War 2 front and back for years, and there's always something new to learn. Thanks again, Mr.Felton. I'd love to know where you find it?
"the World was astonished by the German Soldier,
And the German Soldier was astonished by the italian bersaglieri"
-Erwin Rommel
Outstanding research!
The German general surrendered to the Brazilian force later
Right. I must do something about the Brazilian Expeditionary Force. Almost unknown today.
@@MarkFeltonProductions I'd love that. Would also love to hear about the Italian co-belligerent army.
Excellent video as usual, Keep up the great work
Always a river of information I had never heard about. Awesome work as always !
Brilliant channel! When can I order complete series on dvd!
These videos need to be shown in every school at lunchtime....
No thanks, I'd rather stick to playing football than sit in a small classroom for half an hour watching irrelevant history videos that have nothing to do with our curriculum.
As always , interesting and informative !
I learn so much from your channel and all of your videos hold my attention. I have very bad ADHD so you deserve some kind of award!!! Lol keep them coming!!!!!
Not surprisingly I haven't heard about this short, but successful local campaign by combined German - Italian forces. No wonder as I said, because so much of it, goes against the Allied propaganda narrative, which contrary to expectations is still alive and well after 70 years to the end of war. So 'suma summarum' a big thanks for the author, to dig out this episode and present it in an unbiased, factual way.
Subbed earlier this year, certainly not dissatisfied. Keep up the good work lad.
Really appreciate your factual videos and lack of hollywood-like HistoryChannel additions. Thank you for the rare and well made content.
Awesome work mark
Awesome episode! Thx.
Good effort Mark.
Great video, short and to the point
Another Mark Felton Production! 😃
I never knew about this offensive. I have always thought the Italian army was not really as bad as their reputation. But, they had very poor leadership. Maybe this offensive validates my perspective. At any rate, I cannot imagine how the Germans treated black Americans.
Another excellent video, Mark. Also important, as it shows the WW II Italians unlike we know them; and US command again blundering (Mark Clark?).
For a fascinating look at the fighting in this area from a personal memoir, read Canadian author Farley Mowat's book _No Bird Sang_ which is a reference to the eerie post-battle silence that marks every battlefield. Mowat went ashore in the Sicily landing and then fought his way up the east side of Italy until a sympathetic CO saw the early signs of shell shock coming on and reassigned him to intelligence.
0:17 Tree - "Watch where your going baldy" XD
Love your content, Mark .
One of the many forgotten realms of war. Today only the iconic buzzword battles are discussed but in reality so many troops faced stiff encounters as well as endless preparations under constant stress that are completely neglected today. War is a complex succession of actions experienced individually be each participating person.
0:10 behind Il Duce's left elbow, is that Hugh Laurie?
Another excellent video. Thanks very much!!
To add to the Gothic line part of the video. It was the Canadians who finally broke the Gothic line if I am not mistaken Mr. Felton?
Mark felton.
Muchas gracias por su video .
Good job who knew? I like finding out this stuff and not letting it be forgotten!
Pretty please do a video on WW2 myths of colored soldiers (Why the 92nd performed so poorly in Italy) and their combat performance in comparison with their contemporaries and circumstances that may of contributed please.
Some clarification as to why units like the 761st Black Panther TB, Tuskegee Airmen, 333rd etc are more popular in hindsight than the poor performance and struggles of the 758th and 92nd ID. Would love to hear you explain it.
Edit: Also a video on why the 555th "Triple Nickles" PIB Weren't allowed to serve in over seas fighting
Even the official history by Ulysses Lee is rife with racism and outright lies regarding Black troops. According to vets in my family, "medal hogging" was a real thing, Black troops not getting equivalent decorations and many given to people from units that were never there (Nisei in particular ). The Army set these men up to fail, not sending their best Black Infantry trained units, but raising new units instead and putting them under Southern officers, the worst possible choice for morale possible. Note, we are talking about real racism here, not the communist radical version post Vietnam still in use today...
The italian campaign is one of the most interesting theaters of late WW2.
Edit; 2:15 all of it is Mediterranean, Winter Storm was on the Tyrrenian side, vs the Adriatic side.
Hi, Mark! Your work is exceptional. Is there perhaps any noteworthy event/battle that happened on the territory of Yugoslavia? Would be interesting to find out.
My friends grandpa was a volunteer fighting for Saro Republic, surrender to Yanks in. March 1945.
After hearing the names of all those Italian towns rattled off I, amazingly enough, have a burning desire for some baked zitti!
Thanks again,Mark!
All I want for christmas is the results of BF devs discovering this gem.
Awesome channel. One suggestion to increase clarity: maps with tons of equally fonted make it hard to see where the place you're talking about is. Suggestion: add lines via attack axes and highlight/underscore important objects/names in maps. Now that's all the complaints keep up with your amazing work!
When I was 5, in 1965, my mom told me not to talk to, or go near a guy next door, on the lake. She said he had shell shock from Italy. I didn’t understand, but I was scared. One day I bumped into him, and he was actually pleasant. Confusing for a little kid.
Mark Felton is the Reich Marshall of obscure WWII history.
This is mentioned in Italy's Sorrow by James Holland, who puts the Americans' poor showing down to bad Generalship (although he goes against the grain by being a fan of Mark Clark) and their distrust and lack of confidence in the Buffalo Soldiers. Sad really.
My uncle was in the 92nd. They were denied replacements when they lost troops and they were given officers did not believe in them, primarily southerners. They still served well in spite of setbacks created by their superiors.
Keep up good work 💪💪💪💪😎
Another quality video!👍
Impressive !!!!!!
The "buffalo soldier" units in WWII had white and black officers (unlike the original cavalry units, which had white officers.) Contrary to a mystifying, but prevalent set of myths, african-american soldiers were allowed to carry weapons, and were regularly decorated for bravery in action, including 7 medals of honor.
No African American soldier was awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II. In 1993 the Army contracted Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, to research and prepare a study "to determine if there was a racial disparity in the way Medal of Honor recipients were selected." On January 13, 1997, President Bill Clinton awarded the Medal to seven African-American World War II veterans; of these, only Vernon Baker was still alive.
Another great video, Mark. Just curious (Mark, or anyone else) ... can anything be inferred from the footage of the disabled Tiger at 3:11 as to how it was knocked out? I love your videos, Mark!!
Later Brazilians forces capture the place.
The Italian Eighth Army was at the battle of Stalingrad.
"We are helping!" Italy in 1944
Italy in 1944: ruclips.net/video/bB7j3sUWohE/видео.html
You never hear about this part of the war on documentaries on television. I not known at all about this raid. But the documentary ended too soon. How was this Italian army finally defeated?
I would be very interested in information concerning axis allies participation in, for example, the German attack of Russia - the Bulgarians and Italians, I think, although I could be wrong, as well as other fronts.
Also, how did the Germans treat the African- American prisoners?
They got very well treated, no racial segregation in POW-camps. First time experience for them.
But coming home, move aside.
Better than the yankees treated them.
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There was some grumbling among black troops that maybe they were fighting the wrong white men because southern whites would take every opportunity to keep their boots
on the neck of black soldiers to "keep them in their place" and northern ones just looked the other way to focus on the war.
Interesting stuff,not common knowledge that this theatre of war still saw the Axis powers making advances,thank you for sharing this !
I love your Videos! Keep on!
But I have one question, can I get a link to the Music you use for your beginnings of your Videos?
Great video about an attack I previously knew nothing about. I think calling an attack by 18,000 men an "Italian battle of the bulge" is a little bit of a stretch however, despite the timing!
Hatless Construction Man, look up the raid on Alexandria, or the Honours of War bestowed by the Brits on Duke Amedeo of Savoia’s troops after the battle of Amba Alagi (happened only twice in all of WWII). See what Rommel had to say about the Bersaglieri, or the incredible Folgore stand at El Alamein. It is of course true that as a rule Italian troops were not motivated to fight for Mussolini’s follies, nor were they well equipped or well led, but when they were, they fought very well. History is written by the winners.
This channel already has a video about the Raid of Alexandria
Any news on what happened to the colored POW's?
Excellent...........good job