The Tank Ace Who Took On A German Armoured Column
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- Опубликовано: 31 май 2024
- By mid-May 1940 the Western Allies were in serious trouble. Just days earlier several powerful armoured thrusts had been unleashed across the German border through the weakly defended Ardennes Region, which threatened to split the allies in two. All that stood in their way was the determination of exhausted units with little idea of the larger picture. Only in one place were the Germans at real risk of disaster, the hilltop village of Stonne. This video explores the brutal fight for that sleepy village, one which ultimately would decide the fate of France.
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Video/Audio Sources:
• US National Archives (NARA)
• S.Tigneres,, Stonne, le Verdun de 1940 (2010)
• D. Lormier, La Bataille de Stonne 14-25 Mai 1940
Illustrations & Animation:
• World of Tanks
• Google Earth
• Google Earth Pro
• Colourising History (Doug Banks)
General Archive Sources:
• Bundesarchiv (German National Archives)
• US National Archives (NARA)
• Chars-francais.net
• CptBocquier, Forgotten Hope 2, Stonne (Mapping)
Credits:
• Research: Camille Vargas, Dan Hill
• Script & Narration: Dan Hill
• Editors: Shane Greer & Linus Klassen
• Sound Design: Shane Greer
• Thumbnail Design: Linus Klassen
• Music & Sound Effects: Epidemic Sound
I would like to add a few details about Pierre Billotte's incredible career:
Captain Pierre Billotte was wounded and taken prisoner on 12 June 1940. He escaped from the prison camp on 1 February 1941 and managed to reach the USSR (where he was interned because the USSR and Germany were not at war at the time). After 22 June 1941, Billotte became a Free French representative in Moscow. He was then appointed General de Gaulle's Chief of Staff and Secretary to the French National Defence Committee in London. In August 1944, Colonel Billotte landed in Normandy with General Leclerc's 2nd French armoured division and took part in the liberation of Paris (he convinced German General Dietrich von Choltitz to spare Paris). At the end of the war, Billotte was a general and commanded a French infantry division.
He was one of France's representatives at the UN in 1946. After leaving the army, he became a member of parliament and then minister of Defence in the 1950s, and mayor in the 1960s and 1970s. In politics, he supported a rapprochement between the United States and Western Europe (Atlanticism) and was in favour of French Algeria, while denouncing t.orture during the Algerian War (1954-1962).
Pierre Billotte died in 1992.
Rather than further slipping into historic obscurity, I think it's great that stories like this are being broadcast to a larger audience. I guess the internet isn't all bad...
Thanks Ben... certainly one of the lesser known stories. And Bilotte had an interesting post war career too which we didn't delve into!
Merci de rendre hommage aux courageux soldats français face à l'attaque de Guderian . L'incompétence de certains généraux de l'Etat Major sont beaucoup plus à blâmer que l'attitude des pauvres soldats subissant une attaque d'une armée beaucoup mieux organisée en moyens de communication , très offensive et sans scrupule . Merci and thank uou for this video about Stonne:
Ceux qui pensent que les Français n’ont pas bien combattu en 1940 n’ont tout simplement pas étudié l’histoire et, dans de nombreux cas, une vision excessivement critique de l’armée française en 1940 était un moyen de détourner l’attention de l’incompétence catastrophique des commandants britanniques et américains. à Singapour et aux Philippines.
Il est intéressant de noter que dans les trois cas, les soldats ordinaires sur le terrain - et les officiers subalternes qui les commandaient - se sont battus avec une endurance surhumaine et un courage et une imagination incroyables.
(avec excuses pour mon francais 😊 )
Same thing happened in 1870 and 1914
@@andyandson3700 Right you are! Your French is much better than mine. Your point about the bungled defense of the Philippines and Singapore is also well taken.
@@kremepye3613 and in 1944. Remember 1944?
@@kremepye3613 demography
Thank you for respecting France in your WW2 documentaries. As someone with a great grandfather who fought in WW1 and helped Jews in WW2, it saddens me to see stereotypes that are largely untrue about one of my Countries.
Hi, thanks for the kind comment.
I really enjoy the format you use and appreciate the valor the French showed when faced with a form of warfare that nobody on the planet had ever seen. The Blitzkrieg was revolutionary and the French and British did the best they could under the circumstances.
People saying that France just surrendered to the Germans have no idea how much the French fought back. They just had insufficient equipment and outdated tactics. The Germans literally bypassed the Maginot Line because the Germans knew that if they were to take it head on, it would have led to a meatgrinder.
There was hard fighting by some, no doubt. For the most part they were out-manoeuvred because of heavy reliance on static defenses (maginot line).
There was also the issue of low morale, there had been infiltrators to the armed forces to sow discontent and kill the desire for the French troops to fight another war. Though how effective this was is up for debate.
A lot of their woes or issues can be summed up by saying they had poor leadership.
Alote of countries are under ratted for what they did the sacrafices they did it is easy to judge but we were not there to see our selves so hats off too every body who put some of them in this time periode
The French had more tanks and better quality tanks than the Germans... Look it up.
@@Crow_Friend u're right, thts on me
they are scattered and suprised
Such incredible bravery shown by the French Tank Crews. Trying to hold off the German advance. Truly a horrific battle involving many tanks. A well done video detailing what transpired. 💪🏻🙏🏻✨
Defending your country in a metal coffin against all odds is true bravery. Respect to this crew and all the brave soldiers, airmen/airwomen, seamen/seawomen who died needlessly through one of the most influential and bloodiest wars the world has seen. It doesn't just take superior equipment to win, it requires guts and determination from those in the fight.
Thanks @mikenolan9440 we are glad you enjoyed the video!
Also, in the Char... The commander had to command, load, and shoot. Horrible design. To spot, he would have to get halfway out the turret, use binoculars, and upon spotting the target, get back inside, aim and fire. Horrible ergonomic design. This is the main reason, I think, they did so terribly in battle. It was a WW1 tank fighting the next war.
hallo brother im Daniel from Zimbabwe.Your documentaries inspire me.We adopted British culture in our army ,in the midst of all our political instabilities there are unsung heroes within our army,I got discharged some years back but i love your work
Thank you for watching.
My Grandad was with the BEF and still in France after Dunkirk in the South still fighting, when he passed away I found his diary's and in them all it said was BEF 1939-1940. He would never talk about the places he'd been, so sadly so much historyand personal stories have been lost. The majority of the French army melted away, you just have to read the accounts, but some amazingly brave men stood and fought to the last. As you said the rot came from the top. It would be interesting to here about Arras.
Thanks for the comment and sharing your story!
The colonials ( Algerians) fought so intensely, near Dunkirk, that when they did surrender , Having no ammunition left. They were marchedinto captivity by the Germans, to the tune of a band, respecting their bravery. Palefaces, were, jelly fish.
Can we have the KV-1 last stand as well? If I'm not mistaken it is an achievement in World of Tanks known as "Kolobanov's Medal". Great video and I hope for more!
Interesting action!
I wanna say thanks you for this formidable vidéo. People often don’t know how french bravely fought during 1940, that’s a shame.
Thanks @degaulle6069 , glad you enjoyed it!
Just want to say what a fantastic voice you have. How you tell these interesting stories are just brilliant, Thank you BG❤️
Glad you enjoy them Josh!
My Dear LORD! This was GOOD! This is the second epic account I have seen from Battle Guide! Packed with information, reports and stories about battles and men that I had NEVER heard of before. The research here is just outstanding. BRAVO! Thank you, Battle Guide, or the brains behind Battle Guide, for going where few have dared to tread before. I have one suggestion, if I may? Not a criticism! Just a suggestion? Battle Guide has alerted all of us to a real hero by the name of Pierre Billotte. I had never heard of this man before. I was not aware of what he had done. But, at the end of this most excellent documentary, I was left to wonder. What happened to Pierre? Did he survive the battle? Survive the war? As it turns out, he did. It's just one of those things you may want to chip in at the end. But otherwise, my gosh, ten out of ten stars! Thank you!
Thanks for the kind comment Bill... yes he had quite a life after this!
@@BattleGuideVT I cannot thank you enough. You're not only diving into battles that I had never heard of before. you are also writing to video. That is such a lost art. Yet, you've managed to not only do it, but do it very well. Writing script to match video is so much more difficult than writing something for radio broadcast, for example, which is what I did for ages. That was much easier. Writing to video? Incredibly difficult. Yet, BG has managed to do this time and again.
1 month after the Battle of Stonne, Pierre Billotte was seriously injured and taken prisoner by the Germans. When he recovered from his wounds, he escaped from OFLAG and managed to join the Soviet Union where he was interned until 1941: at that time he was exchanged for Russian refugees from London and joined the Free French forces of General de Gaulle of which he became chief of staff. After the 6 june 44, he joined the 2nd Armored Division of General Leclerc. It seems that thanks to a very severe dispatch that he sent to General von Choltitz before the arrival of the 2nd DB in Paris, that he had a great influence on the decision Germans to disobey Hitler, not destroy Paris and not resist uselessly...After the war he launched into politics until becoming Minister of the Armed Forces in 1955 and 1956 and later minister of french overseas territories and finish hes carrer as mayor fro the city of Créteil up to 1977
@@leneanderthalien Thank you for adding this. Much appreciated. It is this battle, and those that would follow, that would press my American father into service via the Canadian Army. He would later be captured at Dieppe.
Captain Pierre Billotte was wounded and taken prisoner on 12 June 1940. He escaped from the prison camp on 1 February 1941 and managed to reach the USSR (where he was interned because the USSR and Germany were not at war at the time). After 22 June 1941, Billotte became a Free French representative in Moscow. He was then appointed General de Gaulle's Chief of Staff and Secretary to the French National Defence Committee in London. In August 1944, Colonel Billotte landed in Normandy with General Leclerc's 2nd French armoured division and took part in the liberation of Paris (he convinced German General Dietrich von Choltitz to spare Paris). At the end of the war, Billotte was a general and commanded a French infantry division.
He was one of France's representatives at the UN in 1946. After leaving the army, he became a member of parliament and then minister of Defence in the 1950s, and mayor in the 1960s and 1970s. In politics, he supported a rapprochement between the United States and Western Europe (Atlanticism) and was in favour of French Algeria, while denouncing t.orture during the Algerian War (1954-1962).
Pierre Billotte died in 1992.
An excellent comprehensive video. I was aware of Pierre Billote and the battle of Stonne, but learned much more here about the battle in general and busting the myth that many British especially have about the bravery of the ordinary French troops who were totally let down by their High Command. The way many look at the battle of France they make it out that the Germans had some kind of gentle stroll through Rural France, this video shows the intensity of this battle was incredible, as was the bravery at Lille which held out to a massive German Armoured Force, without this action The British could not have escaped in such numbers at Dunkirk. A lot of the time this battle and Lille seems to be airbrushed from history. Thanks again for documenting this so well and remembering this amazing bravery.
Good video. I really like how you showed maps, aerial images, and video game footage of the village and tanks.
They are all well done. The B-1 Bis is incredibly strong. I'm sure I heard of it before. However, I find it incredible how durable it is.
Superb point at the end. I agree with you that there are many stories of bravery. I wonder how many stories have been lost. You're spot on that we cannot forget the sacrifices and bravery of soldiers on the battlefield.
Excellent video. Keep up the nice work
A lot of French bravery stories during May/June 40 are not very known :Lille, Dunkerque, Abbeville, Saumur, les Alpes, etc...
@@serpentissanguis978 Thanks for the info! Do you have book suggestions to read more about French bravery stories? I would love to read and learn more. Thank you.
French and brits were still thinking about WW1 - so a tanks job was to move between the trenches with the infantry to take the enemy trench. B1 would have been great at that, and that's kind of what it did in this fight - moved slowly absorbing fire and shooting at close range. Not many battles like that in WW2 however.
This is a fantastic video! This story should better known. We need to focus more on the bravery and daring defences in 1940.
Thanks Brad!
@@BattleGuideVT Keep up the excellent work!
Lions led by donkeys : Not the BEF in 1916, but the French Army in 1940.....
I my opinion the battle of France saw some the most brutal fighting of ww2. It was short but still had shit tons of casualties.
We will no doubt revisit it again in the future.
@@BattleGuideVT That's good to hear.
Excellent video mate. Well produced and very informative. Thank you very much!
Thanks for watching Jem!
Again, absolutely superb video my friend.
Thank you! Cheers!
An excellent production. Thank you.
Thanks Danielle
An incredible retelling of the battle of Stonne thank you.
Thank you.
Thrilling and spectacularly put together! Drew me right in to the foray.
Thanks @arniet1 we are glad you enjoyed the video!
Fantastic history channel! My heart goes out to the young men - on both sides - who gave their lives for their country.
Thanks.
This is easily my world war channel.
Hi @kingdaniel69 thanks for the kind comment.
Thank you for your in depth, and respectful retelling of this battle and these trying times.
Thank you Blitz.
Absolutly love your videos man! Keep it up! Cheers from Sweden!
Greetings to Sweden and thank you for the comment!
Thanks for bringing this history of brave French tankers at Stonne to light.
Thank you for your kind donation!
Excellent video.
I was a little surprised though, when you mentioned the number of Panzer 3' & 4's. I always thought the Germans had mostly Panzer 1's & 2's, with just a handful of the others.
I'm pretty sure I saw a Zeppelin poking it's nose in at one point too. Not sure about that one.
Subscribed now, thank you.
LOL.. we will fire our editor. :) Regarding the Pz III & IV they were indeed used in the Battle of France and were vastly outnumbered by the Pz II's (nearly a thousand Pz II's were used) compared to approx. 350 Pz III's and approx. 280 Pz IV's.
Je suis natif de Sedan. Merci d'avoir si bien rapporter ces événements souvent méconnus, comme les combats de la HORGNE et le Fort de VILLY la Ferté.
Just chucked this in my ‘watch later’ playlist but I’ll like it now 🍻
Thanks... we hope you enjoy it!
This just can’t be done any better!
Thank you!
Excellent video. The overall situation is well summarized and allows to realize the importance of the sector. Live views allow you to understand the lay of the land and visualize the action.
Thank you and we are glad you enjoyed it.
Absolutely SUPERB....So we'll presented and produced. You put many MS to shame...please keep this wonderful work coming
Many thanks!
@@BattleGuideVT fed up with YT doing the spellchecker.. as you know..should have been WELL...not we'll Grrrr
That was some battle . Thanks for this great history lesson .
One of the lesser known stories... we are glad you enjoyed it!
The stories of French resistance fighters are crazier than any movie. Fascinating stuff.
Excellent video! Well researched and presented! Thank you!
Love this channel. Thanks
Thank you!
Fascinating and absorbing narration. Thank you.
Now this is an excellent documentary. Didn't know much about this battle and the geography of this place, but now it's all crisp and clear what happened. Superbly explained and well visualised. Thanks for all the effort. Looking forward to your other videos!
Great job! Enjoyed this before sleep! Good research and a nice voice!
By far the best channel on the web related to graphic accounts of WW2 battles. Well done. Thank you.
Thanks for the kind words Neil.
exceptional coverage!!thank you!
Thanks for taking the time to watch the documentary.
Very enjoyable and highly informative presentation! Thank you !
Glad you enjoyed it!
So very well researched and presented - keep up the splendid work.
Thank you kindly!
Really good stuff thank you.
Excellent video. Thanks 👍
Glad you liked it Mike.
Amazing job on this Gents thank you
Great content, this story would make a great movie!
Great storytelling...
Thank you for watching.
WAY TO GO BOIS!!!
Glad you liked it.
@@BattleGuideVT MAN,you don't know how I love the channel for finally making it possible for the simple mind of mine,understand the processes and the weight all these battles had in the war...
Hope to see more and that the channel will get more recognition for the wonderful work uploaded by you guys!
WAY TO GO!!!
Too often battles are just names... we enjoy delving into them. :) @@lightyami5934
Perhaps someone could help me, When I was very young my grandfather told me a story about the time he won the bronze star. He said that it was winter of '44 I believe and in the early morning a group of sherman tanks started up to head out hunting, he said two of the shermans could not get their engines started when they were attacked by German tanks, he said he and his Lt ran to their 105 and turned it on the tanks coming out of the tree line and knock out two of them, his Lt. got the silver star. MANY MANY years later I saw an episode of a documentry on the History Channel where I swear it was this tank fight but for the life of me I can not find that episode or even the shows name. Is anyone able to help or point me in a direction that could help find out more about that fight? one of my lifes greatest regrets was not paying attention to him at that young age when he shared his stories...
Great story and thankyou
Superb video mate, my compliments
Many thanks!
I thought the original was great and this one is great as well! Keep up the amazing work!
Thanks for taking the time to watch the documentary.
Really good presentation 👍🏼🏴☠️✌🏼
Thanks @pirated8557, glad you enjoyed it!
Very good video thanks for your efforts ❤
Thanks @jockster5525 we are glad you enjoyed the video!
Fascinating story, thanks
Thank you for watching.
140 hits wow! Great vid.
Thanks for taking the time to watch the documentary.
Amazing as always.
Thank you for watching.
Great reporting - no drfamatic music or over-exaggerated text with balanced viwes from both sides , thanks - much appreicated
Thanks for the kind comment Sean.
Excellent, I've studied the battle of France because my father was fighting there with the BEF. The French were at the time considered the best Army in Europe and the best equipped. However, they were undermined by,
1/ Poor leadership
2/ Poor Communications.
3/ No coordination between the Army and Airforce, in fact they despised each other.
4/ Their leaders were expecting to return to fighting WWI, while the Germans were determined not to repeat it.
5/ Because of poor communications they missed many opportunities to halt the German advance but by the time they realised, the opportunity had passed. The Germans on the other hand had excellent communications and could react quickly to exploit a situation and unlike the French they also used their Airforce in support of their troops. However, many French soldier's fought hard and bravery, General De Gauls determined attack springs to mind as another example.
The B-1 is a really good example of a tank built by committee. It looks impressive on paper, and it had a few scattered successes, but overall it was a miserable failure. See The Chieftain's walkaround video for more details.
Thank you for watching.
a "miserable failure"
You didn't watch the video, did you?
😁
I did indeed. Why do you ask?@@andyandson3700
The one man turret was it's main weakness as the commander was overworked.
The French Army was very brave during World War II, both in their homeland and in exile. Great documentary
Never mind about "Fury" the real deal was "Vienna"
Thank you. I appreciate learning more. Saying the French didn't put up a fight doesn't make sense.
We agree... and thanks for the comment.
Thank You.
Panzer 4 was a support vehicle. The Russians, when they saw it, were amazed that this was the best they had to offer in a prewar visit by Russian officials.
Thank you for watching.
Interesting video
The peculiar piano(?) notes toward the end were really distracting though -
I kept halting the video thinking its something external 🙄
Noted and apologies.
this is excellent content. may the youtube algo bless your channel.
Here is hoping. :)
Thank you for this video.
All too often, ignorant idiots say stupid things about the French, calling them 'cheese eating surrender monkeys', etc.
The French held significant advantages over the Germans at the start of the war, but the political will and strategic leadership were lacking.
I gave read stories of the 'Phoney War' where British pilots were forbidden to attack the German lines.
One reply to this ludicrous refusal was something like: "Do they know there is a war on?"
My reading has been mostly limited to the brave French pilots and the Resistance as I have found few books relating to the French Army and its operations.
Bravo - such an important story to remember, especially against the tide of pro-Nazi stuff RUclips offers.
Thanks Kurt
Is this a re upload? I feel déja vù but I feel like this video has been improved as well
Yes it is a reupload. We revisited it to clarify the actual attack by the French which we believed needed improved on the original.
Thanks for a French Perspective Video. as a Brit I have never forgotten just what the French did to enable Dunkirk.
Hi @Rabmac1UK thanks for the kind comment.
@@BattleGuideVT So grateful for the response, thank you. It is a real shame that the historical data (and teaching in our schools) nowadays portrays the French Forces as somehow sub-standard. This could not be more untrue, the problems lay with your Generals, and our Generals.
Thanks for the spirited defense of Dunkirk, without which the Miracle might never have happened
Great video. I've visited Stonne and your coverage was excellent.
It's about time that someone had the time and effort to put this together. Personally I'm sick of the Americans blowing their trumpet.
Thanks John.
Excellent video!! This needs to be a Sabaton song :) \m/
I have one of those tanks in my collection. It would be interesting to know roughly how many men have died in battle on European soil in last 2-3 thousand years. The ground in some places must of been watered in blood numerous times. New subscriber.
Legendary battle. Damn i love ww2
Thank you for watching.
As an Ex squaddie I always found it a bit strange and disrespectful to call The French surrender monkeys. There are countless examples of real French heroes and how they gave their all to defend their homeland. Like all of the Too Brass at the time they thought themselves incapable of defeat and that their own soldiers were expendable. This is a great video, I absolutely loved this story.
You have to feel for these brave French soldiers who put up such heroic defences and have had very little light shine on there actions!!
I know more about there old incompetent generals then i do the actual fighting mens actions on the ground!!
Thank you for high lighting this it would be great to see more about these brave men!!
I have a more educated appreciation of the French soldier. I thank you for this rendering of history.
Um....you're describing Pz IV & Pz III vehicles, but you showed Pz III & Pz II vehicles during the description! At 11:54, you even showed a PANTHER turret.
There were only a couple hundred panzer IV’s in 1940. Most were panzer I, II, and III’s.
Germans racing to the Meuse River? French having a bad time fighting at Sedan? Fuck that battle was ironic as fuck
I am an Indian in eighty didn't know anything of these things. Been wondering " how the tradition of General nepoleon's army gone". Nepoleon was general of French revolution. He gave Nepoleon code to the world.... Thanks for bright Sparks.
Great video. Dunkirk would have have failed if it were not for the bravery of the French troops who held the line.
Glad you enjoyed it mate.
Good to see a fresh perspective on the myth of the cowardly French
Thanks for the comment.
Never heard about this battle
Strategy baby
Early in the war the Panzer 4 was premium only and shot 150mm HESH. Then they rebalanced it a month later and lost HESH to be replaced by shells made of hard cheeses.
German mains only see movement
In 2023, I'll never understand how Europeans can go to war against other Europeans.
We agree. History has taught no lessons.
All you have to Do is visit Germany and you can understand why these aggressive people are a danger to humanity.
Interesting to note, that in the 1938 French Military games, a French tank Captain sent his tank force through these same Ardennes to win the practice battle. The French High Command then shelved the results of this successful attack.
Also Ironic was that in the Franco Prussian War of 1870, the Germans decisively defeated the French at the battle of Sedan. So, you would think the French would have placed much stronger Army divisions at Sedan.
Hi @richpontone1 that is interesting thanks for sharing!
It all becomes clear if you have been in the military. Idiots are promoted, especially in peacetime. Then when the war comes, the idiots Are defeated. In government, and of course that includes the military, meritocracy is a theory seldom practiced.
If what you say is correct, it was far too late (in 1938) to change anything in French defensive doctrine... The Maginot Line had already been built.
@@MarquisVincentBissetdeGramont
Interesting things about how military plans can change quickly. Several months before the German attack on France, a high level German officer with the German attack plans crash landed in France, and the Allies had their plans to attack through Northern France. The Germans realized this and had to change their plans quickly. Hitler okayed the attack plans through the Ardennes and from then, he was convinced of his own Military Genius. From this, Hitler did the same thing again by attacking through the Ardennes with the Battle of the Bulge.
In 1942 British Intelligence stopped all their plans to assassinate Hitler as he constantly over ruled the German High Command with the wrong Military plans to attack the Russians and the Americans and British, contributing to the doom of The Third Reich.
It's tragic that France had been prepared to defend itself by a static line of defense. De Gaulle had wanted to have groups of tanks in battalions for a defense force. But he was only a junior officier. The French had put their faith in a series of forts around the city of Verdun connected by the Maginot line. Unfortunately, the Second World War would not be a static war as in WW1. Once over the Somme, the game was over. If up to date artillery had been created and been placed on hill tops, then tanks could have been stopped, and tanks would not have been destroyed, and defense eliminated.
France is still here. 💪🏻🇫🇷
6:38 looks like a map from the game Company of Heroes
Hi @enowhealthad5050 that is interesting thanks for sharing!
You could have used Postscriptum trailer update in some clips better portrayal than the WoT footage
Hi @SpittingBritTeaEarlGrey that is interesting thanks for sharing!
My great grand-father was a conscript during the phoney war. He was guarding a French airfield near Paris. He said that aircraft were stored on one airfield, ammunition on another airfield and fuel on a 3rd airfield. The German bombed the airfield with the fuel. Aircraft and ammunition are useless if there's no fuel.
Good comparison with the KV 1 in Russia. You could of also listed the Matilda 2 in the beginning of the African campaign, except for the gun.