Good times. The farmers here in germany quickly made friend with officers involved of those exercises. As soon as a tank drove through a field, they got really high damage refund by our government. It was measured at the highest possible profit of the field, no matter if it was even prepared.
the British Forces public affairs channel uploaded a video about Ops Lionhear and your point is also told in the video. They asked the military unit to "bulldoze" their old warehouse etc AND get money on top of it.
It's amazing when you think how bloody that war would have been on a conventional level alone . Edit .. holy shit ! Thanks folks never had any clue this got over 2k likes !
It's not too hard to conceive. Vietnam, Yom Kippur, the civil wars in Angola, Rhodesia, Lebanon and Nicaragua, the Iran-Iraq and Soviet-Afghan wars were all conventional conflicts with huge death tolls. If Western Europe had an outbreak like that, the thought of capitals like London, Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Vienna, Brussels and Amsterdam degenerating from tourist havens to war ravaged dystopias like Kabul, Beirut or Belfast is scary, alright.
@@MrIrishscouse ayyy belfast, its a good thing we had a war in Northern Ireland, if we didn't i wouldn't have 0 rights, also wanna put out that im not advocating for another conflict, I'm just thankful that the people that came before me fought for my rights
@@michael522 The need for conflict, especially one that came from longstanding injustice, doesn't make it less of a nightmare. I don't doubt that living in Belfast during the 70s and 80s could be scary and my initial comment wasn't intended to trivialise what happened in Northern Ireland. If anything the conflict in Ulster offered a glimpse of what was happening in countries like Lebanon which had its own sectarian civil war.
Now this is what I remember..... the German population were very friendly. I remember our Chapparral broke down and a German farmer and his family would give fresh pastries every morning since we were about 150 meters from his farm. Meet the British Infantry, which was awesome. Had only been in for three years and this was a great experience. Participated in two Reforgers before wall came down.
@@kektuss My dad owned one (mid-life crisis lol). They are absolutely great fun; 4 tonnes, can go 45mph, can do the same in reverse due to the pre-selector gearbox meaning it has the same number of forwards and reverse gears. It was great fun being picked up from school in it, my only regret is he sold it before I could drive it.
Nice footage my dude. My dad was part of this exercise as a German conscript in 1984. He carried an Uzi back then. I showed him this video and he got hit with nostalgia really hard haha. Thank you for making these videos man
Where did the DECADES GO, i was 18 when this happened, i thought i saw myself, the mg 3 gunner under load.. made my hips hurt.. too old to be called up now, also my division was disbanded back in the 1990s.
@Lone Waffle it looks like me, not many short Germans, ich bin volksdeutsch, mothers side of family is German so i did my national service when i turned 18. Great time, life expectancy if the East German & Wasaw pact troops came west was very short..
3:06 IDK there is a good chance this man is still alive today, but goddamn just the way he moves/looks back at the camera makes it look like he is fighting in WWI
All these maneuvers were criticized at the time but in actuality added to the ending of the Cold War. They ramped up the Soviets expenditures on military budget which denied them spending on their civilians which led to the eventual break up of the Soviet union and the break up of the Iron Curtain.
@@Dorne_is_the_GOAT Both of you are right : denying civilian spending for military one leading to the bankrupt of the Soviet Union (went up to 20%+ of the Soviet BIP). Soviet-Afghan war, "Star Wars" fake project, high-intensity trainings in DBR (West-Germany), also with many other factors as the lack of investment in technology during Brezhnev's era (also him who started the Soviet-Afghan war).
@@acceptablecasualty5319 No, but it hugely undermined the eastern bloc in another way: Because the soviet government was ruling all of its satellites with harsh measures and fear, a catastrophe like Chernobyl undermined the trust of the public in the ability of the systems to actually take care of things. A tyrant who's flailing around like the soviets did with chernobyl seems like little more than a petulant child to those who he seeks to rule over.
Camouflage for battling: In the woods: woodland In the hills: woodland In the jungle: woodland In the city: woodland In the desert: desert woodland In space: star woodland Woodland good
1984 to 86 I was a 16 E-10 , Hawk Radar Operator , stationed in Butzweiler Germany ( outside Trier ) . I lived with an old Germany couple and fell in love with a local girl . I went back in 2017 and we resumed our relationship . The smell of the land , the sight of a foggy dark village street with the added smell of burning wood brings back so many memories or her and the friends I made and lost ! I wrote a song about Butzweiler , " Butzweiler Stays Bravo battery 2/62 ADA 32nd ADA Command .. " Raise Up Bravo "
I was on crusader and lion heart.. Great experience.. 129 fld sqn Royal Engineers. Hull.. Just thinking the last few frames of the para drop would make a good print... Unfortunately 129 sqn was disbanded in 1991... 73 and 74 . Engineer regiment.. Good memories..!
Am I the only one who gets BIG 80s vibes? The music, the M1 helmets which the Germans wear, the Harriers, the Leopard l, the long hair of some of these gentlemen and the A10s...it‘s all sooooo 80s and I love it! :D
Well seems like things are changing. We Germans want to arm up and the French and Dutch already have plans too. Can‘t wait to see NATO tanks roll through on trains again ^^
@@scanida5070 Well that has happened even with Europe’s military decline, the thing we’re missing is big trainings which will help coordination between NATO states and probably improve our forces as a whole. It’s a shame that we haven’t had a big exercise like this in a while, it would most definitely solve the question of NATO’s existence and competence.
My grandfather was proud (former sergeant in the Wehrmacht). My older brother participated in Lionheart '84 as a German soldier. Unfortunately, it was not until 1989 that I took part in the "Offenes Visier" exercise.
I was based in Germany during Lionheart, some of it fell on our rest days. On those days we spent as much time as possible trying to get killed (therefore sit out a few hours),by rushing to events and going gung ho. Unfortunately we did really well with that approach and caught people. On my work days I was guarding nukes and live armed. Once we had to dissuade the paras from attacking us when they got lost and launched CS gas at us. A simple tannoy warning from the machine gun towers about their imminent demise from a live armed site was enough to see them turn and run. I dread to think what might have happened if they had not, you'd all have read about it by now. I just miss compo sausages.
how do you simulate force on force exercise at Lionheart? or it's more like "adhering to scenario" about which side are "killed" when certain units are in certain proximity?
@@toukairin354 We had units attack the armoury etc using smoke grenades for example. Yeah the observers would decide if you died, and we went out of our way to try to get sidelined for hours as 'exercise dead' As I never left Bruggen (which in itself was huge) I don't know how the rest of the exercise went outside.
I watch this and when I can’t, I listen to the song while I drive at night and I’ll tell you.. I still haven’t figured out where my lonely dreams ever go, even my own.
I served in the Royal Irish Rangers during this exercises as the battalion mortar officer. Ended up in an ad hoc airborne Bde commanded be a brig Jeeps I believe his name was. A great exercise, many fond memories.
The American and British army with the west German Bundeswher ready to repel a soviet and Warsaw pact attack against the west Goddamn the 80s were freaking cool
@@user-uv1ud9ly5i both the USA and the USSR were provocative. Remember back in the late 1980s the Americans were actually getting worried that the West Germans were seeing the USA as a moral equivalent to the USSR, sort of true really, both empires trying to expand their influence.
Crazy how all these abilities that the German Bundeswehr once had just washed away in last 20 years. This is what an exercise has to look like these days. But we will never be able to accomplish that in the next 10 years I guess. What a shame.
When my German mom took my sisters and I to West Germany in '84 to see family my little 6 year old mind didn't grasp that we were only a half day's drive to the Iron Curtain.
MajorSamm yeah. the nato countrys agreed to pay 2 % of their GDP (Gross domestic product ) but slowly almost all countrys decreased this amount, some down to 1 % , i do understand Trump , Usa pays 12-13 % , its not fair. Recently France had a hard time even to find 4000 men and euipment for the Mali , Denmark my hone country has one working canon etc etc , crampy
@@boboman67 Russia is not risking a war with NATO. They are in really deep shit, Ukraine, Syria - this is a different small theatre. EU population is around 515 million. Will be less when the UK will bail out, hopefully soon!
rommel17pl Denmark contribute to nato operations everywhere , bosnia , Irak and especially afghanistan , according to number of citizens we have more loss of soldiers than Usa and we have been in the worst areas of Afghanistan (Hellman) we have nothing to be ashammed of, but we need to live up to our promises and god thanks excactly today the primeminister stated in the press, that we will go from 1,5 to 2 % of BNP when it comes to budget for the army.
My friend who is in his 50s now was in the TA, he was telling me about the training they were doing in the Denmark border (I believe), it could have been one of the biggest training operations during that time in the 80s, they had a visit from the commander and were told to dig in and they were given live ammunition as a suspected attack from Russia was on its way according to the intelligence. My friend said to me “it was great fun but when we were told ‘this is it’ suddenly no one was having fun, the ditch was cold and wet, everyone wanted to go home” - lol
Its possible it was all a ruse. Often times to test the reliability of your troops you tell them its maybe the real deal. Of course you take precautions to avoid accidents. But otherwise you tell them that. Even the commander wouldn't know. Only the higher ups. This is one reason monitoring the HQs is so vital if real orders were given assuming you have the right equipment you would figure it out immediately.
Lioneart was perhaps the most difficult yet enjoyable exercises I ever took part in during which we were able to practice all phases of war. There has been nothing like it ever since, nor is there ever likely to be anything like it again. The size of the British Army deployed on LIONHEART back in '84 dwarfs the pale shadow that now exists. We won the cold war because apart from anything else, the Soviet economy collapsed under the weight of trying to match NATO. Now, the situation is reversed. We simply cannot afford to update our Armour, all of which is likely to be mothballed while the Russians have recovered, become more professional under Putin, possessed of probably the best tank ever produced and arguably now more dangerous and aggresssive than they were back in '84.
NATO armies are certainly undersized compared to what they were but I'd say that technologically the west is ahead in every way that matters most (Naval, Air) I'm only a random though so I don't pretend I know anything much
I mean, the British economy is double that of the Russian economy, I wouldn't worry about it too much. To my knowledge, it's not about not being able to afford it, it is the government being cheap. We've also spent twenty years fighting insurgencies and, the military apparently is now shifting it's focus back to conventional warfare, so hopefully it will be better funded now.
@Iolis You have not won any Cold War. The USSR was destroyed politically, through the sold-out Gorbachev, you did not defeat anyone, you did not win anything, and that the Russians are more aggressive? That's probably why fascist NATO is expanding around the world and moving to the Russian border, but it's good that you have respect from the Russians. You would never have a chance to win a real war against the Russians, you would lose like Hitler and Napoleon.
@@ucirak The newly independent States applied to join NATO simply to avail themselves of collective protection against the reimposition of a Communist totalitarian system imposed upon them against their will and to which they no longer wish to return. Hitler and Napolian were stupid enough to invade Russia which is why they were defeated. NATO was formed to resist the type of incursion and takeover of independent Eastern Nations by the USSR which recent incursions in the Crimea have done nothing to assuage. When Russia ceases to be a Mafia state whose only claim to democratic legitimacy is the extent to which it is capable of murdering its political challengers it remains a one-party dictatorship in which the lives of its citizens are determined by the whims of a single man who will never voluntarily surrender absolute power. Until then, Russia remains a direct threat to Western democracy.
@@AlexanderBogdanow German goverment was never corrupt, even to this day, you wanna see corruption look to Russia and eastern europe, germany is ranked one of the lowest by international watch dogs.
3:06 from the begginings of the war motion pictures, starting with WW1 theres always that one soldier looking back at camera, smiling. Thats every one of us. :D
Hey two of ma Uncles took part in this maneuver... One from West Germany (Pnazergrnadier, Heer, Bundeswehr) and the other one from Britain (Ulster) (Engineers, British Army)... :3 Ya vidya's are fucking awesome btw
The Royal Engineers from Ulster that you talk about were 74 Regiment were a reserve unit (Territorial Army) stationed in my home town. They were bridge builders and for a time airfield repair. I knew a few of them and went to a few events at the camp. They were disbanded but reformed very soon after but as a smaller unit. A great bunch of lads. I joined the regular Army instead.
Yep, I was there, 19 years old at the time, I was an Anti-Armor Infantryman with the US Army (MOS 11H) and stationed in Aschaffenburg, Germany with 1-7 INF, 3d ID.
WOW talk about RETRO GOOD STUFF- A-10s buzzing low, Chieftain tanks rumbling, Germans with uzis, Brits with steel helmets, Rapier and Blowpipe missiles Good Old Fashion War Gaming!!! What made NATO REAL!!
@@sam8742 the alliance has expanded and changed back then the battlefield was Germany now the Baltic’s Poland and Ukraine. The concept was simple Soviet’s invade Western Germany stop the steamroller til reinforcements come or tactical nukes used. Now the script has changed- German units working very closely with Polish units- marines prior focus Norway now the Baltic’s. Ukraine scenario have not look at it much except spec ops personnel training the Ukrainians western mercenaries or Ed volunteers fighting on the front since 2014 til now. My statement reflected the time period where America truly believed the Warsaw Pact was coming pretty clear cut. Now after Iraq Afghanistan and hybrid warfare in Ukraine it’s more complicated- different era different perspective hopefully not heading to WWIII.
@@smokinhabanas I doubt ww3 would happen, at best just some island hopping around taiwan and japan, russia might invade urkraine, most likely a proxy war there in that case
It's completely nuts how they were training for basically a repeat of World War 2, just with upgraded tech. It's like troops in 1957 training for war like they were fighting at The Somme.
I was there for Exercise Spearpoint (Crusader ‘80), the biggest exercise held in Western Europe since WW2 - HQ 20 Armd Bde (formerly Task Force Hotel), 4th Armd Division. Spent a week on Soltau, & 2 weeks in the Hildesheim area. Drank a few yellow handbags!
@@fdumbass i don't k ow about that. Flack jackets saw heavy use in both Korea and Vietnam by US forces., in the 80's you'd be seeing lots of PASGT vests
Good job. You could also do videos from Warsaw pact military exercises. We had these on our territory (Czech Republic, those times it was Czechoslovakia). They were called Štít 84, Štít 82 and Družba 86 a 89. There is a lot of material on youtube about them.
What nostalgia! So nice to see the Leopard-1 again!! The Leopard-2 is superior in every important aspect but it can never come close to producing the amazing sound of the Leopard-1. Great footage and awesome video ! Thanks for sharing!!
I had family living in Germany about this time, all part of BAOR. It was and is their opinion that Lionheart showed the Soviets that they couldn't win a land war in Europe. Also, apparently obvious Soviet agents in Trabants, Mercs and BMWs would drive round following British wives to try and work out what was going on. This happened so much there was a competition for wives to report said cars and receive 4 marks per correct ID xD
This is surreal seeing all this military equipment on these streets and fields like I got them right here. This operation took place in the state I live in.
I never thought that I’d be looking back on the Cold War with real reverence and nostalgia. I was in the Canadian army in 1984. Really a fantastic time, but I do remember being on live fire exercises thinking, “Uh, yeah, I sure as shit hope that I never have to do this for real.”
Moje sehe grad die Leo 1 mit Btl Wappen Pz Btl 14 aus Hildesheim..... War 1982/83 1/14 Trsp Grp. Was für eine tolle Zeit. Danke für das einstellen. Back to the 80'........
Crazy to think all the large-scale wargames that NATO used to hold of this size, which they no longer do, yet we are more likely to have a flashpoint now in 2023 than during the entirety of the Cold War...
The motto of the German federal railway literally was: „Wir fahren immer!“ (We always run!) or „Alle reden vom Wetter - wir nicht.“ (Everybody talks about the weather - we do not.)
It'd be cool if they did a Operation Lionheart II. Especially since we could include a lot of former ComBloc countries. Probably wouldn't be a terrible idea to give NATO a large-scale refresher with the way things are currently going.
Nice footage - the 80's was my era even though I was just a kid, so I love seeing stuff from back then. That said, military exercises from back then are also a remainder that a very cold war could become very fucking hot. And forget nukes only flying - a war back then would have included EVERYTHING - nukes, conventional weapons, biological weapons, chemical weapons, the whole damn lot. And Europe, the Soviet Union and a pretty good chunk of both the middle-east and the US would have turned into barren wastelands.
Was on an forward op on Sibbese (sorry about spelling) Gap,to see row's of Tanks coming round a hillside was awe inspiring.Saw more tanks that afternoon than whole British Army got now.
Sometimes I miss the tension of the time, the whole world teetered on the brink. Would we wake up inside the iron curtain the next day? The threat today always seems to be of our own kind, not of another country. I could trust a lot more in that time.
We had one enemy a big one, but at least we had a strategy that we worked too even if it was just for moral. Now it's just a fuckfest coming from all angles and no control at all.
@@jaquesravalec242 lol fucking right there mate, strange, dug in a fire trench on the IGB with my mates, felt happier then had a job to do and got on with it!
T H E G O O D ' O L D A Y S
same thought
@@user-xp8nq5mf9y qqq
it was better for the west Germans
I preferred with sword and shield.
Bombs and guns are for pussies...
Yeah, the good old days where we got almost killed in the atomic holocaust. Great.... really great days.
Best exercise I ever did, came back home and my marriage was over
@Bosnia sucks I bet Jody laughed too. 💀
Well that sucks, sorry dude
@@jerrymartin7019 best thing that ever happened to me
@@kevinwaterfield7400
Huh, in that case congrats lmao
@@kevinwaterfield7400 Ah, you’re one of those. Hope you doin’ alright Kevin lmao
Good times. The farmers here in germany quickly made friend with officers involved of those exercises. As soon as a tank drove through a field, they got really high damage refund by our government. It was measured at the highest possible profit of the field, no matter if it was even prepared.
the British Forces public affairs channel uploaded a video about Ops Lionhear and your point is also told in the video. They asked the military unit to "bulldoze" their old warehouse etc AND get money on top of it.
Working as intended
my dad was an officer in the engineer corps who rpaired all the damages
@@skitt155 That is so amazing. If I may inquire, how long was your father an officer in the Engineer Corps?
@@toukairin354 can you send the link for that video please?
It's so cool seeing this transition period of military technology. Abrams and A-10's operating alongside Leopard 1's and Chieftains.
And it says that the Leopard 2 got tested in Operation Lionheart for the first time by dutch army and a few from the Bundeswehr (German Army) itself.
The Steel to Kevlar transition I like to call it
And warriors
Soviet T80 1 shot and Abrams R.I.P. :/
@@mrchoke9554 same way around really. Back then whoever spotted each othet first won.
It's amazing when you think how bloody that war would have been on a conventional level alone .
Edit .. holy shit ! Thanks folks never had any clue this got over 2k likes !
ruclips.net/video/j9DJrnyXMYQ/видео.html
It's not too hard to conceive. Vietnam, Yom Kippur, the civil wars in Angola, Rhodesia, Lebanon and Nicaragua, the Iran-Iraq and Soviet-Afghan wars were all conventional conflicts with huge death tolls. If Western Europe had an outbreak like that, the thought of capitals like London, Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Vienna, Brussels and Amsterdam degenerating from tourist havens to war ravaged dystopias like Kabul, Beirut or Belfast is scary, alright.
@@MrIrishscouse ayyy belfast, its a good thing we had a war in Northern Ireland, if we didn't i wouldn't have 0 rights, also wanna put out that im not advocating for another conflict, I'm just thankful that the people that came before me fought for my rights
@@michael522 The need for conflict, especially one that came from longstanding injustice, doesn't make it less of a nightmare. I don't doubt that living in Belfast during the 70s and 80s could be scary and my initial comment wasn't intended to trivialise what happened in Northern Ireland. If anything the conflict in Ulster offered a glimpse of what was happening in countries like Lebanon which had its own sectarian civil war.
@@MrIrishscouse yea no worries, I knew what you meant and was just commenting as someone from Belfast, I thought the conflict was necessary.
Now this is what I remember..... the German population were very friendly. I remember our Chapparral broke down and a German farmer and his family would give fresh pastries every morning since we were about 150 meters from his farm. Meet the British Infantry, which was awesome. Had only been in for three years and this was a great experience. Participated in two Reforgers before wall came down.
A chapparral is an anti-aircraft vehicle right?
Nice memories.
@@Mac-ih1zf yeah it was an anti air missile system
That’s awesome. You should be proud to be part of that history. Hope you’re doing well.
I was in Reforger 88 and remember how the Germans were friendly and interested in our equipment
Harriers coming out of tree lines and taking off from public roads is aesthetic.
one hunnit. The dudes carrying the fuel pod with a strap through a field also mega kino.
@@nickm7395I swear to god you are 100 percent right
@@nickm7395timestamp for harriers and fuel pod?
@@JohnZiTAB just a few lads @1:41
Harriers always was aesthetical 😉
Look at the adorable Ferret tanks.
you can buy your own for pretty cheap now
Ferrets and Wiesels would make a lethal combo.
Cute ne?
@@kektuss My dad owned one (mid-life crisis lol). They are absolutely great fun; 4 tonnes, can go 45mph, can do the same in reverse due to the pre-selector gearbox meaning it has the same number of forwards and reverse gears. It was great fun being picked up from school in it, my only regret is he sold it before I could drive it.
Armoured Car,never a tank,never,ever
Nice footage my dude. My dad was part of this exercise as a German conscript in 1984. He carried an Uzi back then. I showed him this video and he got hit with nostalgia really hard haha. Thank you for making these videos man
Aaaawn what a wonderful pal
🤣🤣🤣
The 80s, FAL's, G3's, Black Shades, and Tactical Mustaches...
@@KASHKUR_7.62 comically large berets
@@BASEDKAISER The Ghillie Camo Helmets 🪖🪖🪖
Very 80s, so vintage 😎
А мой отец был танкистом в конце 70х,механик-водитель. Служил в ГДР, кенигсбрюк. Советская армия
@@KASHKUR_7.62actually i was watching a video of operation lionheart and I could spot guys using Uzis
1:32 German commitment to efficiency right there. A war is no excuse for late trains.
I think Lenin once said something along the lines of: „If the Germans were to ever occupy a train station, they would first buy tickets.“
German trains rarely arrive on time tho
@@cyllxx9112 the trains during 43-45 did
@@scanida5070
Fuck le*in
@@steinerstine2845still late
Where did the DECADES GO, i was 18 when this happened, i thought i saw myself, the mg 3 gunner under load.. made my hips hurt.. too old to be called up now, also my division was disbanded back in the 1990s.
I envy you. That looked like a great time to serve, with some awesome music to boot.
no kidding, I was 22 and loved it. Sad that age is taken a toll.
1:21 is that you? Thats awsome!
@Lone Waffle it looks like me, not many short Germans, ich bin volksdeutsch, mothers side of family is German so i did my national service when i turned 18. Great time, life expectancy if the East German & Wasaw pact troops came west was very short..
3:06 IDK there is a good chance this man is still alive today, but goddamn just the way he moves/looks back at the camera makes it look like he is fighting in WWI
@Graf von Losinj Yeah he has a WWI vibe in him
I'm pretty confident that there is a scene in 'They Shall Never Grow Old' that is similar
@@qboxer True, very true. I think you are correct, he looks like a particular soldier in some famous footage of ww1. Maybe its his grand dad lmao.
@Graf von Losinj oh shit you said the same thing but earlier, oof. Still though, yes!
Dangggggggg you right lol
All these maneuvers were criticized at the time but in actuality added to the ending of the Cold War. They ramped up the Soviets expenditures on military budget which denied them spending on their civilians which led to the eventual break up of the Soviet union and the break up of the Iron Curtain.
Don't forget that the Soviet Afghan War was bankrupting the Soviet Union as well.
@@Dorne_is_the_GOAT Both of you are right : denying civilian spending for military one leading to the bankrupt of the Soviet Union (went up to 20%+ of the Soviet BIP). Soviet-Afghan war, "Star Wars" fake project, high-intensity trainings in DBR (West-Germany), also with many other factors as the lack of investment in technology during Brezhnev's era (also him who started the Soviet-Afghan war).
Also Chernobyl broke the Soviet Uniom even harder
@@bliecoug1029The Economic impact of Chernobyl was negligible
@@acceptablecasualty5319 No, but it hugely undermined the eastern bloc in another way: Because the soviet government was ruling all of its satellites with harsh measures and fear, a catastrophe like Chernobyl undermined the trust of the public in the ability of the systems to actually take care of things. A tyrant who's flailing around like the soviets did with chernobyl seems like little more than a petulant child to those who he seeks to rule over.
Sophisticated for the period of time. Even today a lot of
Armies don't have that level of equipment forget about back in 84.
Camouflage for battling:
In the woods: woodland
In the hills: woodland
In the jungle: woodland
In the city: woodland
In the desert: desert woodland
In space: star woodland
Woodland good
Woodland is all you need
I just want a good Cold War fps
The original Operation Flashpoint!
Lukas Novotny good old times.
'83 is a game that's being developed by the same team that made rising storm. It's described as a "cold war gone hot". Im hype for it
Maybe the next Battlefield. Hopefully it's less shit
@@ayyblyat9450 Dude, that sounds fucking awesome.
1984 to 86 I was a 16 E-10 , Hawk Radar Operator , stationed in Butzweiler Germany ( outside Trier ) . I lived with an old Germany couple and fell in love with a local girl . I went back in 2017 and we resumed our relationship . The smell of the land , the sight of a foggy dark village street with the added smell of burning wood brings back so many memories or her and the friends I made and lost ! I wrote a song about Butzweiler , " Butzweiler Stays Bravo battery 2/62 ADA 32nd ADA Command .. " Raise Up Bravo "
I was on crusader and lion heart.. Great experience.. 129 fld sqn Royal Engineers. Hull.. Just thinking the last few frames of the para drop would make a good print... Unfortunately 129 sqn was disbanded in 1991... 73 and 74 . Engineer regiment.. Good memories..!
@Joshua N. Ajang
No was an engineer sqn. Minefield laying. Bridging. Harrier track laying.. General stuff.. Loved every minute of it.!
Essayons
Joshua N. Ajang if I had a pound for every time people confused a Royal Engineer with REME!
@@thecuttingsark5094 I know the bloody insults..from yes mate REME..or you bend me we mens em .lol
I mean mend em
Am I the only one who gets BIG 80s vibes? The music, the M1 helmets which the Germans wear, the Harriers, the Leopard l, the long hair of some of these gentlemen and the A10s...it‘s all sooooo 80s and I love it! :D
that's cause it was the 80s 😂😂 1984
Aye
fam you left out moustaches
Uh… no. You aren’t the only one. The video literally shows things from the 80s.
Oh.......ya, in 1984...........🤕🤕🤕🤕🤕🤕🤕🤕🤕🤕🤕🤕🤕🤕
3:06 Tfw your going to WWIII with the lads.
I think that guy snuck in to the exercise. Escaped from the local insane asylum the night before.
Lmaoooo
@@spacewurm plot Twist The army is better than the sanatorium, there at least they let you kill people and you don't get tied up because of it
And the sad, yet humorist part of this comment is that if there is going to be a WWIII, then I'm going to be likely fighting in it
@@KentoKei it's a faith no generation should endure, yet what is life if not sacrefice for future generations...
Major Samm we salute you✊✊
I salute you right back
The amount of firepower that NATO has today is nothing compared to what it had in the 80s
We Americans haven’t changed much lol
@@williamsherman1942 USA is an exception .
Well seems like things are changing. We Germans want to arm up and the French and Dutch already have plans too.
Can‘t wait to see NATO tanks roll through on trains again ^^
@@scanida5070 Well that has happened even with Europe’s military decline, the thing we’re missing is big trainings which will help coordination between NATO states and probably improve our forces as a whole. It’s a shame that we haven’t had a big exercise like this in a while, it would most definitely solve the question of NATO’s existence and competence.
@@scanida5070 Germany doesn’t have the population to support a army bigger than what it is currently
N A T O W A V E ❤
The forces in Operation Lionheart 1984 would kick seven shades out of Russia 2022
swarm of lancets in question:
Their Dads and Granddads were killing each other only 40 years prior, now here they are training together as brothers.
Their ancestors would be proud. 😃
My grandfather was proud (former sergeant in the Wehrmacht).
My older brother participated in Lionheart '84 as a German soldier.
Unfortunately, it was not until 1989 that I took part in the "Offenes Visier" exercise.
This is politic.
I was based in Germany during Lionheart, some of it fell on our rest days. On those days we spent as much time as possible trying to get killed (therefore sit out a few hours),by rushing to events and going gung ho. Unfortunately we did really well with that approach and caught people. On my work days I was guarding nukes and live armed. Once we had to dissuade the paras from attacking us when they got lost and launched CS gas at us. A simple tannoy warning from the machine gun towers about their imminent demise from a live armed site was enough to see them turn and run. I dread to think what might have happened if they had not, you'd all have read about it by now.
I just miss compo sausages.
how do you simulate force on force exercise at Lionheart? or it's more like "adhering to scenario" about which side are "killed" when certain units are in certain proximity?
@@toukairin354 We had units attack the armoury etc using smoke grenades for example. Yeah the observers would decide if you died, and we went out of our way to try to get sidelined for hours as 'exercise dead'
As I never left Bruggen (which in itself was huge) I don't know how the rest of the exercise went outside.
I watch this and when I can’t, I listen to the song while I drive at night and I’ll tell you.. I still haven’t figured out where my lonely dreams ever go, even my own.
I served in the Royal Irish Rangers during this exercises as the battalion mortar officer. Ended up in an ad hoc airborne Bde commanded be a brig Jeeps I believe his name was. A great exercise, many fond memories.
The American and British army with the west German Bundeswher ready to repel a soviet and Warsaw pact attack against the west
Goddamn the 80s were freaking cool
你们的下一个敌人是我们，我们远比苏联强大！
Друзья не будьте наивными!! Советский Союз и Варшавский договор не собирался не на кого нападать в отличие от НАТО
@@user-uv1ud9ly5iTell that to the wall you placed in Berlin bud, atleast we didn’t have to build a wall to keep our people in
@@user-uv1ud9ly5i both the USA and the USSR were provocative. Remember back in the late 1980s the Americans were actually getting worried that the West Germans were seeing the USA as a moral equivalent to the USSR, sort of true really, both empires trying to expand their influence.
Crazy how all these abilities that the German Bundeswehr once had just washed away in last 20 years. This is what an exercise has to look like these days. But we will never be able to accomplish that in the next 10 years I guess. What a shame.
When my German mom took my sisters and I to West Germany in '84 to see family my little 6 year old mind didn't grasp that we were only a half day's drive to the Iron Curtain.
The golden era, when europe had armies, now its more like theater.
Imagine not relying on America to defend your country and actually supporting your troops with equipment and additional training.
MajorSamm yeah. the nato countrys agreed to pay 2 % of their GDP (Gross domestic product ) but slowly almost all countrys decreased this amount, some down to 1 % , i do understand Trump , Usa pays 12-13 % , its not fair.
Recently France had a hard time even to find 4000 men and euipment for the Mali , Denmark my hone country has one working canon etc etc , crampy
@@boboman67 Russia is not risking a war with NATO. They are in really deep shit, Ukraine, Syria - this is a different small theatre.
EU population is around 515 million. Will be less when the UK will bail out, hopefully soon!
@@boboman67Christiansen and times when Denmark had any chance to defend themselves... that was XIX century I think?
rommel17pl
Denmark contribute to nato operations everywhere , bosnia , Irak and especially afghanistan , according to number of citizens we have more loss of soldiers than Usa and we have been in the worst areas of Afghanistan (Hellman) we have nothing to be ashammed of, but we need to live up to our promises and god thanks excactly today the primeminister stated in the press, that we will go from 1,5 to 2 % of BNP when it comes to budget for the army.
Trading Marlboro Smokes to the German troops for Good German beer in Groafawehr training area, Now that was the Good old Days 1984
I think you mean Grafenwöer
It's really near to my hometown
Cheers buddy
My friend who is in his 50s now was in the TA, he was telling me about the training they were doing in the Denmark border (I believe), it could have been one of the biggest training operations during that time in the 80s, they had a visit from the commander and were told to dig in and they were given live ammunition as a suspected attack from Russia was on its way according to the intelligence. My friend said to me “it was great fun but when we were told ‘this is it’ suddenly no one was having fun, the ditch was cold and wet, everyone wanted to go home” - lol
Its possible it was all a ruse. Often times to test the reliability of your troops you tell them its maybe the real deal. Of course you take precautions to avoid accidents. But otherwise you tell them that. Even the commander wouldn't know. Only the higher ups. This is one reason monitoring the HQs is so vital if real orders were given assuming you have the right equipment you would figure it out immediately.
*teacher:* come on the exercise isn't that hard
*the exercise:*
the exercise is based?
If this is the exercise, i'd happily participate in it
Girls: i hate outdoor PE activities
Boys:
Lioneart was perhaps the most difficult yet enjoyable exercises I ever took part in during which we were able to practice all phases of war. There has been nothing like it ever since, nor is there ever likely to be anything like it again. The size of the British Army deployed on LIONHEART back in '84 dwarfs the pale shadow that now exists. We won the cold war because apart from anything else, the Soviet economy collapsed under the weight of trying to match NATO. Now, the situation is reversed. We simply cannot afford to update our Armour, all of which is likely to be mothballed while the Russians have recovered, become more professional under Putin, possessed of probably the best tank ever produced and arguably now more dangerous and aggresssive than they were back in '84.
NATO armies are certainly undersized compared to what they were but I'd say that technologically the west is ahead in every way that matters most (Naval, Air)
I'm only a random though so I don't pretend I know anything much
I mean, the British economy is double that of the Russian economy, I wouldn't worry about it too much.
To my knowledge, it's not about not being able to afford it, it is the government being cheap.
We've also spent twenty years fighting insurgencies and, the military apparently is now shifting it's focus back to conventional warfare, so hopefully it will be better funded now.
@Iolis You have not won any Cold War. The USSR was destroyed politically, through the sold-out Gorbachev, you did not defeat anyone, you did not win anything, and that the Russians are more aggressive? That's probably why fascist NATO is expanding around the world and moving to the Russian border, but it's good that you have respect from the Russians. You would never have a chance to win a real war against the Russians, you would lose like Hitler and Napoleon.
@@johnmadden3188 the west is at the front possibly in stupidity.
@@ucirak The newly independent States applied to join NATO simply to avail themselves of collective protection against the reimposition of a Communist totalitarian system imposed upon them against their will and to which they no longer wish to return. Hitler and Napolian were stupid enough to invade Russia which is why they were defeated. NATO was formed to resist the type of incursion and takeover of independent Eastern Nations by the USSR which recent incursions in the Crimea have done nothing to assuage. When Russia ceases to be a Mafia state whose only claim to democratic legitimacy is the extent to which it is capable of murdering its political challengers it remains a one-party dictatorship in which the lives of its citizens are determined by the whims of a single man who will never voluntarily surrender absolute power. Until then, Russia remains a direct threat to Western democracy.
Can't imagine farmers being too happy with all those tanks trampling the fields :D Probably reimbursed by NATO?
They got paid quite a bit, almost as much as they would have from a yearly harvest
They received compensation from the German government. Further steps are/were due to the NATO-treaties.
there were actual stories that farmers kindly asked the troops to trample their fields with the bulldog vehicle so they can be compensated more
@@AlexanderBogdanow German goverment was never corrupt, even to this day, you wanna see corruption look to Russia and eastern europe, germany is ranked one of the lowest by international watch dogs.
@@MajorSamm the British or American. The
French or an other country. I'm curious.
3:06 from the begginings of the war motion pictures, starting with WW1 theres always that one soldier looking back at camera, smiling. Thats every one of us. :D
Hey two of ma Uncles took part in this maneuver... One from West Germany (Pnazergrnadier, Heer, Bundeswehr) and the other one from Britain (Ulster) (Engineers, British Army)... :3 Ya vidya's are fucking awesome btw
The Royal Engineers from Ulster that you talk about were 74 Regiment were a reserve unit (Territorial Army) stationed in my home town. They were bridge builders and for a time airfield repair. I knew a few of them and went to a few events at the camp. They were disbanded but reformed very soon after but as a smaller unit. A great bunch of lads. I joined the regular Army instead.
Yep, I was there, 19 years old at the time, I was an Anti-Armor Infantryman with the US Army (MOS 11H) and stationed in Aschaffenburg, Germany with 1-7 INF, 3d ID.
This video is so 80's, my smartphone turned into a Walkman, and I grew a mullet in an instant!
WOW talk about RETRO GOOD STUFF- A-10s buzzing low, Chieftain tanks rumbling, Germans with uzis, Brits with steel helmets, Rapier and Blowpipe missiles Good Old Fashion War Gaming!!! What made NATO REAL!!
Not as real as it is now?
@@sam8742 the alliance has expanded and changed back then the battlefield was Germany now the Baltic’s Poland and Ukraine. The concept was simple Soviet’s invade Western Germany stop the steamroller til reinforcements come or tactical nukes used. Now the script has changed- German units working very closely with Polish units- marines prior focus Norway now the Baltic’s. Ukraine scenario have not look at it much except spec ops personnel training the Ukrainians western mercenaries or Ed volunteers fighting on the front since 2014 til now. My statement reflected the time period where America truly believed the Warsaw Pact was coming pretty clear cut. Now after Iraq Afghanistan and hybrid warfare in Ukraine it’s more complicated- different era different perspective hopefully not heading to WWIII.
@@smokinhabanas
I doubt ww3 would happen, at best just some island hopping around taiwan and japan, russia might invade urkraine, most likely a proxy war there in that case
Nothing cool about those steel helmets - God I hated mine!
@@sam8742 damn russia really did invade ukraine
Military Video footage of this time is a absolute vibe, and with major samm editing style and music choice, Peak vibe
Tell my mama I joined the US Army because of MajorSamm
This is mostly UK's army
Doesn't matter bro. The battle spirit is universal.
No better reason for joining
It's completely nuts how they were training for basically a repeat of World War 2, just with upgraded tech. It's like troops in 1957 training for war like they were fighting at The Somme.
There's just something REALLY cool about 80s military aesthetic and music like this but i can't really explain what it is.
I was there for Exercise Spearpoint (Crusader ‘80), the biggest exercise held in Western Europe since WW2 - HQ 20 Armd Bde (formerly Task Force Hotel), 4th Armd Division. Spent a week on Soltau, & 2 weeks in the Hildesheim area. Drank a few yellow handbags!
I remember that exercise as if it was yesterday, it was incredible to see how much millitary hardware on display. Bring back the SLR any day.
Teacher: alright class, we're going on a trip to West Germany.
Girls: why omg it's so boring...
Boys:
Give Red Storm Rising a read, it's mainly set in the sea and air but the West Germany sections are from a tank commander and it's fucking boss.
Body armour wasn’t a thing back then
who needs em when mustaches give +20% concealment and deflection bonus
@C D that is major advantage about it
The average person could tell the difference between different soldiers then
Soviets used it more than NATO
@@fdumbass i don't k ow about that. Flack jackets saw heavy use in both Korea and Vietnam by US forces., in the 80's you'd be seeing lots of PASGT vests
2:15 its weird seeing a a-10 not in the middle east
Had a whole bunch of them based in Hessisch Oldendorf, loved watching them ripping things up! 😆
they were designed and manufactured because of the european theater btw
Good job. You could also do videos from Warsaw pact military exercises. We had these on our territory (Czech Republic, those times it was Czechoslovakia). They were called Štít 84, Štít 82 and Družba 86 a 89. There is a lot of material on youtube about them.
Thanks for the info. Im gonna share those videos with my dad, he was a young man at that time and really enjoys this topics.
0:23 Abrams in green is the most aesthetic tank
Press *X* to doubt.
Green > Tan
Now Abrams identic color is brown dessert sand.
Great War Aesthetic
*saved to playlist *
I remember playing war games in Germany. Fun times.
A lot of this footage is what comes to mind while reading Tom Clancy's red storm rising
What nostalgia! So nice to see the Leopard-1 again!! The Leopard-2 is superior in every important aspect but it can never come close to producing the amazing sound of the Leopard-1.
Great footage and awesome video ! Thanks for sharing!!
Something about a Leo with camo netting rolling through a field up to a hull down position makes me very happy, and I was not even around to see it.
I had family living in Germany about this time, all part of BAOR. It was and is their opinion that Lionheart showed the Soviets that they couldn't win a land war in Europe. Also, apparently obvious Soviet agents in Trabants, Mercs and BMWs would drive round following British wives to try and work out what was going on. This happened so much there was a competition for wives to report said cars and receive 4 marks per correct ID xD
Ah yes when the brits could show real strength, even though those Abrams tanks are sexy in that green camo.
Chieftain > Abrams.
@@hoilst never in a million years LOL. You can’t compare a 60s tank to an 80s era tank.
@@METan-fw2cg I feel like that was more a comparison of looks than anything, which is opinionated
Chally 1's were also there. And Lionheart was the first time MICV-80 made an appearance...which then became called Warrior.
This is surreal seeing all this military equipment on these streets and fields like I got them right here. This operation took place in the state I live in.
This generations needs World In Conflict 2
@@GunsNGames1 Not sure we talk about the same WiC
Guns N' Games Edgelord detected
Grew up in the 80s and for whatever reason never heard of Kano. Strangely perfect music for a video of Bundeswehr engaged in military exercises...
Okay, Brits. Makes sense with the helmets...
@@k.s.333 Its Bundeswehr, Brits and Americans
@@anonanon2614 And dutch. You see guys with Uzis and FALs there too.
Теперь когда я играю в Вар Тандер на Леопарде 1 то всегда включаю эту песню. Интересно, кто делает так же?
I spent 3 wks on a hill in Hameln with the REME, great days
I was skulking around in the woods near Rinteln, essen
I was stationed in Germany back in the 80s so yes this is an example of the good old days
This should have been the trailer for Wargame Red Dragon
I never thought that I’d be looking back on the Cold War with real reverence and nostalgia. I was in the Canadian army in 1984. Really a fantastic time, but I do remember being on live fire exercises thinking, “Uh, yeah, I sure as shit hope that I never have to do this for real.”
Looks like they’ll be up and running around our fields soon again ;D
Loved the music, it was one of the forgotten hit eurodance songs of 80s
Anyone remember the slabs of beer with the naked girls on the cans lol, beer ration happy days.
Moje sehe grad die Leo 1 mit Btl Wappen Pz Btl 14 aus Hildesheim..... War 1982/83 1/14 Trsp Grp. Was für eine tolle Zeit. Danke für das einstellen. Back to the 80'........
I wanna be a German farmer here at 1984 watching Lionheart and listening to this song ,If I got an another life.
Arrived in West Germany 14 Dec. 84. Assigned to 2nd Battalion 2nd Brigade 6th Infantry Regiment attached to the 1st Armored Division. ETS 16 Dec.86....11 Bravo Forever !!!
Crazy to think all the large-scale wargames that NATO used to hold of this size, which they no longer do, yet we are more likely to have a flashpoint now in 2023 than during the entirety of the Cold War...
thank you for using this song, and this video, it's so great.
period appropriate music man
0:56 Didn't know that Aaron Eckhart served in the british army
You deserve a place in Spotify
1:34 firing across a live railway line just as train is coming….
The train wasn’t efficient enough lmao
@@williamsherman1942 No break even if it's a military exercise ongoing throughout the areas u gonna pass by.
The motto of the German federal railway literally was: „Wir fahren immer!“ (We always run!) or „Alle reden vom Wetter - wir nicht.“ (Everybody talks about the weather - we do not.)
@@scanida5070 and to what extent does it stands up.
It'd be cool if they did a Operation Lionheart II. Especially since we could include a lot of former ComBloc countries. Probably wouldn't be a terrible idea to give NATO a large-scale refresher with the way things are currently going.
I’ve always liked this song so seeing it paired with this video is just kino.
LOVED THE BACKGROUND MUSIC, THE MUSIC OF THE TIMES😍
1:34
That train driver must‘ve shat his trousers! xD
Das gibt eine Anzeige! ;)
I love your content man
Thanks man, I try my best
Nice footage - the 80's was my era even though I was just a kid, so I love seeing stuff from back then.
That said, military exercises from back then are also a remainder that a very cold war could become very fucking hot. And forget nukes only flying - a war back then would have included EVERYTHING - nukes, conventional weapons, biological weapons, chemical weapons, the whole damn lot. And Europe, the Soviet Union and a pretty good chunk of both the middle-east and the US would have turned into barren wastelands.
Girlfriend: Ah, haven't seen him for a while, he must be cheating out there
Me and the boys: 2:44
1:33 that looks safe. The train driver was thrilled I bet.
3:06 I swear to god i saw the face of that dude that turned around in a WW1 video.
Exactly my first thought too.
My dad worked in NATO HQ at this time. Said at that time NATO had 12.000 tanks ready the soviets 48.000.
That's interesting man. I wonder if the Soviets could ever beat NATO air supremacy though.
@@GunsNGames1 my dad said the airforce was superior. And had to compensate the numerical disadvantage.
My dad was part of this , he was a reservist in the Territorial army royal artillery 202 battery.
I was there, still have a tac map from the exorcise
Was on an forward op on Sibbese (sorry about spelling) Gap,to see row's of Tanks coming round a hillside was awe inspiring.Saw more tanks that afternoon than whole British Army got now.
Sometimes I miss the tension of the time, the whole world teetered on the brink. Would we wake up inside the iron curtain the next day? The threat today always seems to be of our own kind, not of another country. I could trust a lot more in that time.
You weren't alive during the Cold War, you neet. If you were, you woudln't want to go back.
We had one enemy a big one,
but at least we had a strategy that we worked too even if it was just for moral. Now it's just a fuckfest coming from all angles and no control at all.
@@reubendobbs8011 Spot on. Eastern or Western bloc, take your pick or fuck off in those days.
@@jaquesravalec242 lol fucking right there mate, strange, dug in a fire trench on the IGB with my mates, felt happier then had a job to do and got on with it!
how on earth do u find this footage?
And That's The Rule To Be RUclips Creator, Need More Stonks Of Big Brain
I'm glad you're active again
Bloody spot on music everytime
S-tier music choice
80s were a simpler time, you knew who the enemy was.
2:35 my man has no care for his legs in the backblast zone