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My Dad was one of those veterans who fought there. He was a part of the 4th Infantry Division. He came back with several honors but the one of which he was most proud was the Combat Infantry Badge - awarded at that time for 30 days in direct contact with the enemy. He was recognized for 199 consecutive days. That is a damn long time.
There's such a contrast between the glorified battlegrounds that are preserved and this place. Their story, just like those that stormed the beaches, deserve to be remembered. Thank you for covering this important historical location.
I live not far from the Hürtgen Forest and hike there very often. Your documentation is one of the best I've seen to capture the context. A big compliment for that. Let us remember the fallen on both sides. When I hike there, I always think how well the boys on both sides could have gotten along in peace.
@@TheHistoryUnderground You're welcome. Excellent documentation and I look forward to the upcoming report on the Kall Trail. Where did you stay there? Have you also eaten deer or wild boar? If not, then you would have missed something.
@@celtic2405 - I stayed in Simmerath. I've had plenty of deer and boar here in the U.S. but didn't have any while I was there. Wouldn't mind coming back and doing some hunting at some point.
Yes this battle was not a picnic for the German forces. I’ve seen different figures but the Americans suffered 34,000 to 38,000 killed and wounded but the Germans took around 28,000 casualties. It’s not like the Germans’ losses were insignificant and the dark foreboding atmosphere was the same for all the young men thrown into this campaign.
My grandfather was in the death factory in the 28th infantry division and then got transferred to the 76th infantry division after the battle of Hurtgen Forest. He served in nine combat campaigns during his 25 year career in both WW2 and the Korean War. Multiple silver stars multiple Purple Hearts. My grandfather literally had a chest of medals and I am proud I got to know him for 15 years of my life. He was my best friend. I will never have a friend like my grandfather. His passing left a void in my heart that hasn’t completely healed. I am better off mentally now than I was years ago. God bless Colonel Terry Anthony Vangen 1917 December 13th 2013 December 31st. God bless him and may god bless THE GREATEST Country on EARTH! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸❤️
@@WITHTEETH1 no my grandfather never mentioned anything about that. My grandfather retired as a full colonel. He always said to me “Alex there are some things I can’t tell you because I’d have to kill you” my grandfather served in military intelligence after WW2. He was awarded other medals too like defense distinguished service medal, Expert Pistol Badge Expert Rifleman badge, United Nations Medals etc. he was a part of JFK’s Executive Committee that dealt with govt response to Cuban missile crisis and he at the time worked at the Pentagon. A Joint Chiefs of Staff was at my grandfather funeral to give their condolences.
@@brianwilson3133 thanks! Yes he definitely was a soldier’s soldier. In fact he always let from the front lines as a captain. For example when he went out on combat patrols he led from the front of the patrol
My maternal grandfather was in the Hürtgen forest. He told of his time there only once, for a school project in put together during my senior year in high school. I had never seen him cry and it is not something that I will ever forget. His memories were so vivid, he told me he could still hear the explosions and smell the powder. I’m not sure that the young man that went over there ever came home.
Unfortunately sounds like a lot of people had PTSD coming back & it was not something that was talked about and treated until very recently. I can’t imagine living with that trauma.
Thanks for reporting on the Hürtgen forest. I live in Holland and i visit the forest often. You can walk for hours and just feel the spirits of all the good men who fought and died there. I install signs in the forest to honor the soldiers who didn’t survive. I noticed you captured a close-up of one (40-45, we will not forget). Appreciate it.
I've visited Hürtgen Forest when stationed in Germany in the 90s right before I got out of the military. Felt very heavy. For every step you've taken, it seems someone is always watching.
I remember a book called "The Battle of the Huertgen Forest" that I read back in the 70's. My Grandfather fought in WW2. He never talked about it. Thanks for the memories.
Thanks for the great vid JD. My uncle fought with the 121st Infantry regiment in the Hurtgen. He took a large piece of shrapnel in his back that lodged against his heart. How he was evacuated from the front line to an aid station and then a hospital where they performed delicate surgery was quite a miracle. After a couple of months recuperating in England he made it home. Many of his buddies did not. He passed in 1990 and rarely spoke about the war.
I grew up near hürtgen. As I got older, I heard from a girlfriend’s father how this area was heavily fought over. As soon as I had my motorcycle license, I would visit the cemetery there and walk the woods often. Incredible place. Highly underrated area. Thanks for covering this.
@@chrisi7127 coal isnt the only option. Windmills is one of the stupidest choices ever.. to power usa with windmills you would have to cover an area twice the size of california. Do you realise how crazy that is
@@urbanskiboguslabsrecording7531Well, the extremists are those who in their twisted way of thinking believe that windmills can replace nuclear power. As a mattet of fact, power plants, or reactors rather, HAVE been shut down in favour of extremist thinking. Nothing else can be more idiotic.
My great grandfather was a medic in the 39th regiment of the 9th division. I never got much of a chance to talk to him because he passed when I was young. I’ve recently taken a great interest into the history of that time and my families involvement. His unit was the first to enter the hurtgen. Hearing the stories is truly horrifying. Much respect.
Thank you. My dad was in the 78th and never talked of the battle or actually much about the war. It's nice to hear about the other divisions and units that fought, including his. Hats off to the 101'st but they didn't do it alone.
I was a Major in 1984 in West Germany, working with the Bundeswehr on wartime planning for NATO. I had been working with the German Pioneer (engineer) command and become friends with all the Germans on the team, on a personal level (I have language capability). They knew I was a history buff and they would schedule field trips that just happened to be points of interest to a WWII buff. They took me to the Hurtgen Forest and discussed the battle from the German perspective. What impressed me the most was the number of mine warning signs. In 1984 there were still mines and booby traps in the forest from WWII. I imagine the clearing for the windmills was quite hazardous.
My Grandfathers brother Pvt. Sam Brocato died in Germeter, Kreis Düren, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany during the Battle of Hurtgen Forest on December 11th 1944. He was apart of the 121st Infantry Regiment who were thrown into this meat grinder of a forest. Thank you for shining more light on this overlooked tragedy.
@@haileyrain2390 It was a meat grinder that chew everyone up and spit them out. To many people died for a pointless battle. Here is to hoping our family were friends!
My grandfather fought with the 47th and I’m pretty sure the bulk of his PTSD came from this place. It’s where he got his Purple Heart, he of course was put back into service and made it across the Remagen bridge. Fascinating to see it. Would really like to see it one day.
"When Trumpets Fade" was a great movie about the Hurtgen Forest. It came out right before Saving Private Ryan and was one of my favorite movies when I was younger. I had never heard of that battle until that movie. Great video as usual 👍
@@Loiyaboy Definitely underrated movie for it's time. Your post was spot on!! Movie did a great job at showing how they were just trying to survive....
@@RDobbs-uv4xc Made by HBO - in 1998, so 3 years before Band of Brothers. directed by John Irvin, the director of Hamburger Hill - That guy knows war movies!
I'm so glad you're covering Hurtgen Forest. Too many people today seem to think that we landed in Normandy, slogged through the Bocage for a month, broke out with Operation Cobra, then Patton hauled a$$ for 6 months across France, pausing to "rescue" the 101st at Bastogne, before hauling a$$ to the Eagle's Nest... The End. Months long Infantry slogs like Hurtgen aren't as cinematic, so are forgotten because no one's made a movie. Ty JD for making an effort to rectify that.🤓🤓
That’s it. Seems as though there was the battle of the bulge and then the wars end in ETO, no in between. People forget about tbis and Operation Varsity, the fighting in and around Hagenau aswell
No, nobody thinks that. The American and British landing was just a diversion to ease pressure on the Soviet troops in the east. The US and Britain played a minor role in ww2 in Europe. They were fighting against the stationary forces of Germany in the west because Germany’s main force was in the east and were even struggling against them.
@Tobi-ln9xr The Russians took millions of casualties using the LendLease stuff American taxpayers bought and built and delivered to them. Allies MIGHT not have won without them. But your thesis that the Western war was merely a diversion is miopic and demonstrably false. It was a truly GLOBAL war.
My dad was in the 20th Combat Engineers regiment, attached to the 28th Infantry Regiment. He also was hesitant to want to talk of that period but I would persist and he answered a lot of my questions, especially after he had had a stroke. He was wounded on November 4, 1944 by artillery shrapnel at the base of his throat. He said the doctor at the aid station made him spit to see if there was any blood in it. They were trying to widen the Kall Tail so tanks could get up to Schmidt, I think it was. I sort of interviewed him back in the camcorder days and just recently got all my old vhs tapes transferred over to digital. I recommend anyone that has videos of loved ones that are on tape to get them on digital before those tapes deteriorate to far. I got a vcr that I verified was in good working order and bought video capture device. Was easy peasy. Great video! Thanks for traveling there and making the video!
I just wonder if their was any family of the soldier who was found 50yrs after the war to be notified? This is one of the saddest places you've taken us to J.D. So many young men on both sides never got a chance to live their lives. Heartbreaking. Thanks for going there and telling the story. I was born in 1949, I've learned so much from your channel about US history . Also traveled to these places with you. My husband was a walking history buff. I miss being able to ask him questions. He passed away 10 yrs ago. He would have loved your channel. Grammy from Texas
You know how you look something up on the internet and one site leads to another, to another? Well your YT videos came up and so glad they did! I can’t get enough! Thank you! The 4 Vets returning to Hurtgen was wonderful! What hero’s! We owe them so much.
My first thought before you even said it was those woods are eerie. The more I watched the more creepy it felt. The fox holes and the trenches made it even more so. Knowing soldiers from both sides laid and died in some of them even made it more so. This is going to be an interesting but very sad set of videos to watch. Thank you for telling the stories of these Heroes too.😔
A good friend of mine father fought there with the 28th Division. When I met him, I could tell he was still haunted by his experience there. He was with the division when it was activated and he was a National Guardsman. I recall seeing the casualties for many of the divisions were at this part of the war. Some had 250% or more casualties. I was at the US Mortuary Affairs in Frankfort escorting a deceased soldier back from Egypt in 1993, and saw all the photo albums they kept of the MIAs they had recovered since the wars end. It's not unheard to have a relic hunter to find someone missing after searching for equipment buried in the ground.
This forest is home to many of the ghosts of the fallen. It’s palpable. On one hike, I found human remains in the forest. (I notified the Forstmeister immediately.). This was soul-jarring.
Just here to tell you history underground.... that I stopped watching t.v about 10 years ago. I live on RUclips istead😂. Out of the thousands of channels, History Underground is unmatched. One of absolute favorite personal times is watching these videos. Very well done and thank you for investing time into this. We appreciate you.
I've watched this twice now. It's heart wrenching to know there are more soldiers, German and American, still unaccounted for from this battle. God bless all of them.
Fantastic piece of documenting an often overlooked part of the American advance into Germany. My son is now 19, about the age of many of the boys / young men on both sides who followed orders and fought and died valiantly there. Such a horrible waste. And now Russia and Ukraine are repeating the same insane slaughter. When will the world learn from history that unjust wars of aggression ultimately never succeed.
My grandfather was 28th Infantry Division. He never really talked about the war but did say he stood up from a foxhole and a German stood up from one. They were staring at each other pointing their weapons. When asked what happened, my grandfather said "I'm here and he's not." Then he said he thinks he's done talking about it. Makes me wonder if that took place in that forest.
The battle often forgotten if you're not a WW2 buff/historian. This battle wasted more men, lack of general leadership and was a loss for the US Army! It was a meat-grinder and just was a terrible battle...I'm looking forward to the show!
I'm ashamed to admit that I knew very little about the Battle of Hurtgen, as you mentioned that a lot of people are in the same boat as me. However, thanks to you I'm learning more about it now, which makes me immensely grateful for you hard work and dedication in bringing stories and information like this to the masses. I just wanted to say thank you, from the very bottom of my heart, for everything that you're doing and keeping the memory alive of the brave men and women who fought in this war and others. I can't imagine the time, money, and energy it must take to do what you're doing but I just hope that you know what it means to people like me that you're doing this. It's a big deal and you deserve the recognition. Thanks again, JD. I very much look forward to future videos from you. I hope you have a blessed and Happy New Year with your family. God Bless. 🙏
Great video JD. My uncle Charles was with the 28th and was wounded there. He only spoke of it to me one time, when he said he avoided a large pine grove on the ridge above the family dairy farm because it reminded him too much of the Hurtgen forest.
Thank you for creating this video. I've been there some years a go during a fieldtrip. When i arrived at the village Vossenack and looked into the direction of the village Schmidt i couldn't understand why it took that long for the Americans to get of the fields. Schmidt is clearly visible and it looked like there is just some open terrain with a small strip of forrest between both towns. But when i followed the trail into the forrest all came into perspective. There is a steep valley hidden in the woods. A densely wooded canyon. And it was filled with heavely armed Germans whom, at that time, were fully packed and equiped. And just a craggy narrow trail through it. (I assume that trail will appear in the next video's) I could only imagine what happend there, and that wouldn't even be close to reality. This place was hell. Great respect for those who went in and sacrificed themselves to free Europe from evil.
The Hurtgen Forest was a horrible fight.Absolutely the longest battle of WW2 . The Germans were so dug in it made it very difficult. This is a moving video JD . Thank you for honoring the US Army soldiers that gave their lives in this Forest. At the Zig Free line. Totally amazing. Thank you for sharing such a touching video! 💯👊👍
It's hard to try feel having to *go* *uphill* against the adversary shooting down into you as ground foot riflemen trying to move upwards. 17:57 It appears The Forest is now dotted everywhere with memorials after having *found* their *skeletons* . Here, American and German soldiers are memorialized together, where they all died together in the *same* *spot* . *Eight* of them killed right there.
WWII struck an interest for me at an early age, but I didn't hear, or know, about this battle for many years. Thank you for shedding some light on it & showing it to us.
Man, I cannot thank you enough for this video. Prior to discovering your channel three years ago, I had no knowledge of WWII except that Pearl Harbor was an aerial invasion in Hawaii, Normandy was an all out assault, and that a flag was raised on Iwo Jima. Maybe I do not remember all the history from your videos, but I certainly appreciate the exposure. I particularly enjoyed the map and context you included at the beginning.
My grandparents hid in the jungles here in the Philippines from the Japanese during World War 2. Most of their age group had stories of Japanese atrocities against civilians and allied soldiers. I remember some of their wartime stories. My grandmother's cousin was a Philippine Scout and was captured and was forced to join the Death March (April 1942) to Camp O'Donnell. He escaped by hiding under the big skirt of one of the lady bystanders who stood beside the road while the Allied prisoners (Filipino and American) were marching. He later joined one of the countless guerilla groups and survived the war. In the 1970s when many of the old folks were still alive, some of them would tell me snippets of their war experience when the Philippines was invaded by the Japanese. I saw their faces lit up when recounting the day the Americans finally came back to retake the Philippines from the Japanese. They only tell their stories once. I was puzzled why they won't talk about it again. To my young mind what they experienced was adventure. Later I realized they also remembered the pain of witnessing the deaths of many friends or neighbors or relatives when recounting their stories. The unprovoked barbarity of the Japanese was just imprinted in their minds, some of them would have moist eyes after telling me their stories. Remember that those old people still had Victorian era mindsets, customs and social etiquette adopted from the Spanish. So it was quite a shock to them how the Japanese would commit so hellish crimes.
I'm pretty sure they raised more than just an American flag to. Yall already know the south brought her flag there too😂😂🇺🇸 talking about in the Pacific battle fronts. Hell our boys raised ole glory an Dixie. I I s*** you not I have literally seen a picture of I reckon Southern US soldiers raising the Rebel flag on one of the island we had took back from the Japanese.
It seems that there is still so many unknowns from the war. It is terribly sad that bodies have been so long before being found. I cannot imagine the sadness and wondering their families endured. Thanks for sharing. This area is an unknown for me. It is fascinating.
Just being there in person must seem so profound. To realize you are standing in the same spots where men fought for their lives and victory against nazis. Thanks for this video.
I wouldn't just stop at Varsity. The wider operation Veritable/Blockbuster/Grenade is fascinating. Getting through the Reichswald and Hochwald to the Rhine.
I studied in Germany for about a year and it’s incredibly eerie seeing WW2 sites. My dorm (fun fact, that same dorm was where SS men slept) was near the Black Forest and, when I always took a walk in that forest, there were abandoned buildings with bullet holes, German watch towers and signs indicating mines. Additionally, my classrooms were in original Nazi administration buildings where they authorized forced sterilization. It was, to say the least, shocking. But I’m so glad they don’t destroy their history or forget their worst moments.
I just found your site by accident but I must say it’s very well done and I’ve subscribed. You know your history sir . My full respect to all the American servicemen who served here. I can’t imagine what those guys went through
Been a minute since I’ve watched your films (just going through my own battles I guess - that of which don’t compare to our brothers and sisters on the battlefield) Thanks for being a constant. Thanks for being a man of faith. You’re an inspiration, brother!
One of, if not the best doc on RUclips I have watched to-date ,I have not yet had to respect of visit "Hürtgen Forest" but i have driven past this..I always looked while driving past . Its sad why we did not just bypass this but They did things very different to how we operate these days. Heroes, every last guy who fought and died for only feet and yards We shall never forget ..Sadly some nations within the EU behaves these days towards its history they forget who freed them. Thanks for everything JD... your the man ..Happy new year ..wishing you all the best for 2024
First, I wanted to say how much I love your channel! Second, I was a tank crewman in 4ID. Having said that I am proud of the history and heritage of the 4th ID, especially the battle of Hurtgen Forest. I think its one of the forgotten battles of WWII.
Thank you so much for sharing this history! Been there with our team some time ago. I’m a volunteer for Fields of Honor Foundation, giving faces to their names, US fallen, buried or commemorated at Ardennes, Henri-Chapelle, Lorraine, Epinal, Margraten and Luxembourg.
Wow that was amazing, the bunkers, the fox holes, the bomb craters, there was so much to learn in this video!! To see where our veterans fought for us! Amazing J.D. can't wait for the next episode!
The Pacific theater best equivalent may be Peliliu, although there were hellish battles on every island we took including Okinawa at the end. But veterans' accounts of Pelilu are similar to Hurtgen - haunting, grueling, terrifying and brutal. And most didn't want to think or talk about it ever again.
This looks awesome. I can't wait to watch it after work tonight. Thanks for all the great content you post on RUclips. Very high quality, always entertaining and informative.
Thanks for all you do. My dad Robert Clifton landed at Utah with the 238 Engineering Company B. Fought at Battle of the Bulge. I have several maps, ~German pistol and such. Just read About Bedford Boys and 238th. Band of brothers is next. Dad had all these books I have discovered. He passed Dec. 9,2009.
I just finished reading The Rifle and Rifle 2..thank you for recommending those books..I cried most way through it...your videos and these books surely did bring history of this war to a new understanding..my family members who were in this war rarely ever talked about it. .until they were very old. THANK YOU for all you do . God bless you and your family.
I can't even imaging the Hell that was unleashed on those soldiers! Your video gives the sense of how serial those woods are now as you walk through. Thank you for conveying that and I could feel it as you told the history! Thank you JD. Thank you for the history, and what all soldiers went through......Humbling.
I love the way you conduct yourself while at these places. thank you for all the work that you do that bring these often forgotten battles back to light. well I myself and somewhat of a world war two buff, and know about some of the lesser known battles like hurtgen Forest , along with some of the lesser known lesser-known battles in the Pacific Islands, I think you bringing this back to the general masses is a great thing. you do it in a way that is neutral to both sides, obviously you have the American point of view, but the grace that you conduct yourself with at these places speaks volumes to the reverence you have for history. thank you
Thank you for your commitment to accurately preserve history. I was also confused to hear a battlefield was disturbed to cut down trees. Cut down trees that produce oxygen to put in windmills. It all sounds kind of counterproductive.
amazing video, thanks! Huertgenwald is my favorite hiking area, and indeed when you walk there alone you are in awe of what those men must have gone through. Respect!
I live a 40 minutes drive from this place, and never heard of this great battle that took place here. (And im a ww2 geek) Now i have to visit this forest and museum this year. Thnx for the video!
I just watched this episode. It hits close to home for me. It's rarely mentioned in Documentaries but the Huertgen forest was first entered by the 110th Infantry 17 September 1944. They met Heavy resistance and withdrew. My uncle was killed in the Huertgen Forest on 17 September 1944. He was at first reported missing action, then his body was recovered in October or November. I don't know how many the 110th left behind, but I know my uncle was one of the very first to fall in the Huertgen Forest. My Father joined the 9th infantry division as a replacement just after the Huertgen Forest.
I am in total admiration of the ambient style of video interludes, with music, grey, misty settings and your photo/video styles. So good at setting the context, the sad, somber and sometimes horrific back story of these settings. Seems to me as the last of greatest generation dies off, politics is taking a dark turn back upon itself. The centennial of Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin's rise to power is almost trying to reassert itself.
thank you for this. my dad was badly injured there, with the 4th, 22nd. never talked about it ever. my dad went through DDay, Cherbourg, carried a BAR at 18, 19 at the Hurtgen. I wish I asked him about this. he died long ago, the war shortened his life, he had PTSD at least some what. interesting Ernest Hemmingway was attached to that unit, he left, his ex said he was never the same.
Well he didn't fight and suffer in vain. Without him and 100 000s of other allied troops, whole families millions may not have been saved. I know because my family was liberated by US inf.
This is Amazing being able to see this part of history. Thank you. And I wanna send a thank you to Germany for getting our brothers home, thats so very much appreciated.
@@ritamedina-molina8550Exactly. Either you were part of the party or not. People are so brainwashed through indoctrination that they seriously believe that every soldier who fought for Germany automatically became a Nazi. Ridiculous.
JD, your videos are absolutely the best. Though i enjoy them greatly, they make me wonder about the non-wartime lives of the young men who fought there. Chilling.
My mother was born in Stolberg and immigrated in 1933. This summer my wife and I visited Stolberg. Long story short, I contacted the tourist bureau and after a lot of back and forth, realized that the 30 year old running the tourist office’s great grandfather (Camillus) was my grandmothers brother. My mother was named after him. We even found the house my mother lived in 1933 before coming to the states. They told me that Camillus had three different houses leveled by bombing during the war.
Bravo et merci pour votre très intéressante vidéo retraçant ces événements historiques de la bataille des Ardennes en Belgique avec son prolongement en Allemagne très parlant même autant d'années après ces événements... très bon travail et encore merci pour le partage ! ✌️
Been watching your content for a couple of years now. Glad to see you have the followers it so deserves. I can see you’ve come along way even with the detail of the videos in editing and camera views. Keep up the great work.
My grandfather was there he never talked about it not intill i came back from Afghanistan and iraq USMC...i was haven problems one day it was just me and him and this is the only time i seen him drink a beer but he had me open up to him and then he finally told me what happened and we talked for hours on what we both went through and never new he had box of ww2 pics of him and his buddys and seen his box full of medals it was eye opener for me it was the best thing that ever happened too me i miss my grandfather
My father was in the 87th infantry division . He was taken pow in December of 1944. He promised himself he would never go back if he survived. Rest in peace dad.
Being forced by threats to your family is waaay different than how the US does a draft I know my great grandfather was a forced nazi. Before you judge imagine having your youngest sister be the first one threatened to death
My dad fought in this forest during WWII. I was under the impression he was in the Arden forest, but his military records show he was sent to this area to fight Nazis, December 44- January 45, until he was injured. He really didn’t talk about his time there, other to say he never wanted to return.
⭐️ If you've watched a few episodes and feel like I've earned it, be sure to subscribe so that you don't miss any new content when it comes out.
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Done long ago!
If you watch the Movie When Trumpets Fade, you will know why they never spoke about that battle!
Great content, subscribed 👍
You forgot to mention operation north wind
Wow, new subscriber. I love war stories and our veterans' history. Just reading comments led to checking out your channel awesome thanks
My Dad was one of those veterans who fought there. He was a part of the 4th Infantry Division. He came back with several honors but the one of which he was most proud was the Combat Infantry Badge - awarded at that time for 30 days in direct contact with the enemy. He was recognized for 199 consecutive days. That is a damn long time.
May God Bless your dad. Part of the Greatest Generation - we stand on the shoulders of giants.
What does this have to do with the video? 😅
@@kateapple1 My Dad was one of the survivors of the Battle of the Huertgen Forest - it has everything to do with the video.
@@kateapple1 Slow?
There's such a contrast between the glorified battlegrounds that are preserved and this place. Their story, just like those that stormed the beaches, deserve to be remembered. Thank you for covering this important historical location.
I live not far from the Hürtgen Forest and hike there very often. Your documentation is one of the best I've seen to capture the context. A big compliment for that. Let us remember the fallen on both sides. When I hike there, I always think how well the boys on both sides could have gotten along in peace.
Wow! Thank you. That means a lot especially from someone who live there.
@@TheHistoryUnderground You're welcome. Excellent documentation and I look forward to the upcoming report on the Kall Trail. Where did you stay there? Have you also eaten deer or wild boar? If not, then you would have missed something.
@@celtic2405 - I stayed in Simmerath. I've had plenty of deer and boar here in the U.S. but didn't have any while I was there. Wouldn't mind coming back and doing some hunting at some point.
A little disturbing to hear you repeat "both sides" so much.
One of these two sides were Nazi scum; you should not forget that.
Yes this battle was not a picnic for the German forces. I’ve seen different figures but the Americans suffered 34,000 to 38,000 killed and wounded but the Germans took around 28,000 casualties. It’s not like the Germans’ losses were insignificant and the dark foreboding atmosphere was the same for all the young men thrown into this campaign.
My grandfather was in the death factory in the 28th infantry division and then got transferred to the 76th infantry division after the battle of Hurtgen Forest. He served in nine combat campaigns during his 25 year career in both WW2 and the Korean War. Multiple silver stars multiple Purple Hearts. My grandfather literally had a chest of medals and I am proud I got to know him for 15 years of my life. He was my best friend. I will never have a friend like my grandfather. His passing left a void in my heart that hasn’t completely healed. I am better off mentally now than I was years ago. God bless Colonel Terry Anthony Vangen 1917 December 13th 2013 December 31st. God bless him and may god bless THE GREATEST Country on EARTH!
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸❤️
Did he ever explain why they wouldn't send fighter bomber Thunderbolts or? To take out the howitzers instead of losing waves of infantry? God bless.
@@WITHTEETH1 no my grandfather never mentioned anything about that. My grandfather retired as a full colonel. He always said to me “Alex there are some things I can’t tell you because I’d have to kill you” my grandfather served in military intelligence after WW2. He was awarded other medals too like defense distinguished service medal, Expert Pistol Badge Expert Rifleman badge, United Nations Medals etc. he was a part of JFK’s Executive Committee that dealt with govt response to Cuban missile crisis and he at the time worked at the Pentagon. A Joint Chiefs of Staff was at my grandfather funeral to give their condolences.
Wow, that man was a natural born warrior
@@brianwilson3133 thanks! Yes he definitely was a soldier’s soldier. In fact he always let from the front lines as a captain. For example when he went out on combat patrols he led from the front of the patrol
My deepest respect!!@@alexvangen745
My maternal grandfather was in the Hürtgen forest. He told of his time there only once, for a school project in put together during my senior year in high school. I had never seen him cry and it is not something that I will ever forget. His memories were so vivid, he told me he could still hear the explosions and smell the powder. I’m not sure that the young man that went over there ever came home.
Unfortunately sounds like a lot of people had PTSD coming back & it was not something that was talked about and treated until very recently. I can’t imagine living with that trauma.
He didn't.
Thanks for reporting on the Hürtgen forest. I live in Holland and i visit the forest often. You can walk for hours and just feel the spirits of all the good men who fought and died there.
I install signs in the forest to honor the soldiers who didn’t survive. I noticed you captured a close-up of one (40-45, we will not forget). Appreciate it.
My dad was in the 104th Inf. Div. (Timberwolves). I know he fought in France and Holland. ❤
That is sweet that you do that. TY
So true, never forget our veterans ❤
I've visited Hürtgen Forest when stationed in Germany in the 90s right before I got out of the military. Felt very heavy. For every step you've taken, it seems someone is always watching.
I remember a book called "The Battle of the Huertgen Forest" that I read back in the 70's. My Grandfather fought in WW2. He never talked about it. Thanks for the memories.
Awful place. Thanks for watching.
Thanks for the great vid JD. My uncle fought with the 121st Infantry regiment in the Hurtgen. He took a large piece of shrapnel in his back that lodged against his heart. How he was evacuated from the front line to an aid station and then a hospital where they performed delicate surgery was quite a miracle. After a couple of months recuperating in England he made it home. Many of his buddies did not. He passed in 1990 and rarely spoke about the war.
I grew up near hürtgen. As I got older, I heard from a girlfriend’s father how this area was heavily fought over. As soon as I had my motorcycle license, I would visit the cemetery there and walk the woods often. Incredible place. Highly underrated area. Thanks for covering this.
Sad that they are putting windmills in places like this..
@@Elias-xu7uw No, windmills are way better than coal mines
@@chrisi7127 coal isnt the only option. Windmills is one of the stupidest choices ever.. to power usa with windmills you would have to cover an area twice the size of california. Do you realise how crazy that is
A very beautiful forest. I would love to explore the creeks and waterways going through there
@@urbanskiboguslabsrecording7531Well, the extremists are those who in their twisted way of thinking believe that windmills can replace nuclear power. As a mattet of fact, power plants, or reactors rather, HAVE been shut down in favour of extremist thinking. Nothing else can be more idiotic.
My great grandfather was a medic in the 39th regiment of the 9th division. I never got much of a chance to talk to him because he passed when I was young. I’ve recently taken a great interest into the history of that time and my families involvement. His unit was the first to enter the hurtgen. Hearing the stories is truly horrifying. Much respect.
Thank you. My dad was in the 78th and never talked of the battle or actually much about the war. It's nice to hear about the other divisions and units that fought, including his. Hats off to the 101'st but they didn't do it alone.
I was a Major in 1984 in West Germany, working with the Bundeswehr on wartime planning for NATO. I had been working with the German Pioneer (engineer) command and become friends with all the Germans on the team, on a personal level (I have language capability). They knew I was a history buff and they would schedule field trips that just happened to be points of interest to a WWII buff. They took me to the Hurtgen Forest and discussed the battle from the German perspective. What impressed me the most was the number of mine warning signs. In 1984 there were still mines and booby traps in the forest from WWII. I imagine the clearing for the windmills was quite hazardous.
My Dad was in the Hurtgen Forest. He wouldn't talk about it. Ever.
Awful place.
Ditto. My dad was there also. Didn’t find out until the early 2000’s that he was there. He had passed away many years ago. 😢
It is actually a gigantic Graveyard.
Horrible place, just seems like death hangs heavy there.
THE VETERANS AFFAIRS DOCTORS FAILED HIM HUH?
My Grandfathers brother Pvt. Sam Brocato died in Germeter, Kreis Düren, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany during the Battle of Hurtgen Forest on December 11th 1944. He was apart of the 121st Infantry Regiment who were thrown into this meat grinder of a forest. Thank you for shining more light on this overlooked tragedy.
@@haileyrain2390 It was a meat grinder that chew everyone up and spit them out. To many people died for a pointless battle. Here is to hoping our family were friends!
My grandfather fought with the 47th and I’m pretty sure the bulk of his PTSD came from this place. It’s where he got his Purple Heart, he of course was put back into service and made it across the Remagen bridge. Fascinating to see it. Would really like to see it one day.
"When Trumpets Fade" was a great movie about the Hurtgen Forest. It came out right before Saving Private Ryan and was one of my favorite movies when I was younger. I had never heard of that battle until that movie.
Great video as usual 👍
I just commented on that as well. I'm glad someone else remembers that movie.
@@Loiyaboy Definitely underrated movie for it's time. Your post was spot on!! Movie did a great job at showing how they were just trying to survive....
It seemed like a low rent student film to me. But I'll watch anything WW2 so it has that going for it. Lol .
It's in my collection, hidden gem.
@@RDobbs-uv4xc Made by HBO - in 1998, so 3 years before Band of Brothers. directed by John Irvin, the director of Hamburger Hill - That guy knows war movies!
I'm so glad you're covering Hurtgen Forest. Too many people today seem to think that we landed in Normandy, slogged through the Bocage for a month, broke out with Operation Cobra, then Patton hauled a$$ for 6 months across France, pausing to "rescue" the 101st at Bastogne, before hauling a$$ to the Eagle's Nest... The End.
Months long Infantry slogs like Hurtgen aren't as cinematic, so are forgotten because no one's made a movie.
Ty JD for making an effort to rectify that.🤓🤓
There actually is a movie about this battle: "When trumpets fade" (1998) Directed by John Irvin
That’s it. Seems as though there was the battle of the bulge and then the wars end in ETO, no in between. People forget about tbis and Operation Varsity, the fighting in and around Hagenau aswell
No, nobody thinks that. The American and British landing was just a diversion to ease pressure on the Soviet troops in the east. The US and Britain played a minor role in ww2 in Europe. They were fighting against the stationary forces of Germany in the west because Germany’s main force was in the east and were even struggling against them.
@Tobi-ln9xr The Russians took millions of casualties using the LendLease stuff American taxpayers bought and built and delivered to them. Allies MIGHT not have won without them.
But your thesis that the Western war was merely a diversion is miopic and demonstrably false. It was a truly GLOBAL war.
"The US and Europe played a minor role"
So did the Germans
My dad was in the 20th Combat Engineers regiment, attached to the 28th Infantry Regiment. He also was hesitant to want to talk of that period but I would persist and he answered a lot of my questions, especially after he had had a stroke.
He was wounded on November 4, 1944 by artillery shrapnel at the base of his throat. He said the doctor at the aid station made him spit to see if there was any blood in it. They were trying to widen the Kall Tail so tanks could get up to Schmidt, I think it was. I sort of interviewed him back in the camcorder days and just recently got all my old vhs tapes transferred over to digital. I recommend anyone that has videos of loved ones that are on tape to get them on digital before those tapes deteriorate to far. I got a vcr that I verified was in good working order and bought video capture device. Was easy peasy.
Great video! Thanks for traveling there and making the video!
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Really enjoy your channel. Thank you for keeping all this history alive. Keep up the great work and thank you for sharing.
I just wonder if their was any family of the soldier who was found 50yrs after the war to be notified? This is one of the saddest places you've taken us to J.D. So many young men on both sides never got a chance to live their lives. Heartbreaking. Thanks for going there and telling the story. I was born in 1949, I've learned so much from your channel about US history . Also traveled to these places with you. My husband was a walking history buff. I miss being able to ask him questions. He passed away 10 yrs ago. He would have loved your channel. Grammy from Texas
You knocked it out of the park as usual. Great job, young man! This battle deserves all the light you can shine on it. It was terrible.
Your process and structure of telling the stories is first class. Always feel moved after watching episodes.
You know how you look something up on the internet and one site leads to another, to another? Well your YT videos came up and so glad they did! I can’t get enough! Thank you! The 4 Vets returning to Hurtgen was wonderful! What hero’s! We owe them so much.
My first thought before you even said it was those woods are eerie. The more I watched the more creepy it felt. The fox holes and the trenches made it even more so. Knowing soldiers from both sides laid and died in some of them even made it more so. This is going to be an interesting but very sad set of videos to watch. Thank you for telling the stories of these Heroes too.😔
Thanks! Heck of a place.
@pegzoconnor7205 ♥️😔
A good friend of mine father fought there with the 28th Division. When I met him, I could tell he was still haunted by his experience there. He was with the division when it was activated and he was a National Guardsman. I recall seeing the casualties for many of the divisions were at this part of the war. Some had 250% or more casualties. I was at the US Mortuary Affairs in Frankfort escorting a deceased soldier back from Egypt in 1993, and saw all the photo albums they kept of the MIAs they had recovered since the wars end. It's not unheard to have a relic hunter to find someone missing after searching for equipment buried in the ground.
Got some 28th Division content coming up soon.
Thanks, I'll make sure my friend sees it.@@TheHistoryUnderground
This forest is home to many of the ghosts of the fallen. It’s palpable. On one hike, I found human remains in the forest. (I notified the Forstmeister immediately.). This was soul-jarring.
Just here to tell you history underground.... that I stopped watching t.v about 10 years ago. I live on RUclips istead😂. Out of the thousands of channels, History Underground is unmatched. One of absolute favorite personal times is watching these videos. Very well done and thank you for investing time into this. We appreciate you.
A new "never forget" piece of history. Well done.
I've watched this twice now. It's heart wrenching to know there are more soldiers, German and American, still unaccounted for from this battle. God bless all of them.
Awful place.
@@TheHistoryUnderground Thank you for your time and effort. You make for a proud Missourian.
Not to change the subject but have you made any videos on the gangsters from the 20's and 30's?
@@tanker335 not yet
Fantastic piece of documenting an often overlooked part of the American advance into Germany. My son is now 19, about the age of many of the boys / young men on both sides who followed orders and fought and died valiantly there. Such a horrible waste. And now Russia and Ukraine are repeating the same insane slaughter. When will the world learn from history that unjust wars of aggression ultimately never succeed.
Those bomb craters are insane! I try to picture what it might have looked like when the bombs were dropped. It must’ve been absolutely terrifying.
Crazy.
Rip to those lost in combat, the forest is absolutely terrifying and beautiful at the same time
My grandfather was 28th Infantry Division. He never really talked about the war but did say he stood up from a foxhole and a German stood up from one. They were staring at each other pointing their weapons. When asked what happened, my grandfather said "I'm here and he's not." Then he said he thinks he's done talking about it. Makes me wonder if that took place in that forest.
Dang. Covering the 28th in the next video.
@@TheHistoryUnderground Awesome! It's so hard trying to find videos on them
The battle often forgotten if you're not a WW2 buff/historian.
This battle wasted more men, lack of general leadership and was a loss for the US Army!
It was a meat-grinder and just was a terrible battle...I'm looking forward to the show!
Awful. Hoping that these videos shine a bit more of a light on what these guys did.
@@TheHistoryUnderground I heard there is still thousands of land mines still there but in restricted areas, roped-off left from that battle?
You never cease to amaze, JD. Great job with this content, as usual.
Read the book A dark and bloody ground by Edward G Miller. My grandfather met him and Edward G Miller signed my grandfather copy. I still have it btw
Nonsense the Allies were advancing on Broad Front and the whole fight was a meat grinder. Look at the Ardennes Offensive.
I'm ashamed to admit that I knew very little about the Battle of Hurtgen, as you mentioned that a lot of people are in the same boat as me. However, thanks to you I'm learning more about it now, which makes me immensely grateful for you hard work and dedication in bringing stories and information like this to the masses. I just wanted to say thank you, from the very bottom of my heart, for everything that you're doing and keeping the memory alive of the brave men and women who fought in this war and others. I can't imagine the time, money, and energy it must take to do what you're doing but I just hope that you know what it means to people like me that you're doing this. It's a big deal and you deserve the recognition. Thanks again, JD. I very much look forward to future videos from you. I hope you have a blessed and Happy New Year with your family. God Bless. 🙏
Great video JD. My uncle Charles was with the 28th and was wounded there. He only spoke of it to me one time, when he said he avoided a large pine grove on the ridge above the family dairy farm because it reminded him too much of the Hurtgen forest.
Wow. We'll be showing stuff from his area in the next episode.
@TheHistoryUnderground will be watching. Have read a lot of accounts from this battle. With the family connection, it hits close to home
Thank you for creating this video. I've been there some years a go during a fieldtrip. When i arrived at the village Vossenack and looked into the direction of the village Schmidt i couldn't understand why it took that long for the Americans to get of the fields. Schmidt is clearly visible and it looked like there is just some open terrain with a small strip of forrest between both towns. But when i followed the trail into the forrest all came into perspective. There is a steep valley hidden in the woods. A densely wooded canyon. And it was filled with heavely armed Germans whom, at that time, were fully packed and equiped. And just a craggy narrow trail through it. (I assume that trail will appear in the next video's) I could only imagine what happend there, and that wouldn't even be close to reality. This place was hell. Great respect for those who went in and sacrificed themselves to free Europe from evil.
The Hurtgen Forest was a horrible fight.Absolutely the longest battle of WW2 . The Germans were so dug in it made it very difficult. This is a moving video JD . Thank you for honoring the US Army soldiers that gave their lives in this Forest. At the Zig Free line. Totally amazing. Thank you for sharing such a touching video!
💯👊👍
Thanks! More on the way.
It's hard to try feel having to *go* *uphill* against the adversary shooting down into you as ground foot riflemen trying to move upwards.
17:57
It appears The Forest
is now dotted everywhere with memorials after having *found* their *skeletons* .
Here, American and German soldiers are memorialized together, where they all died together in the *same* *spot* .
*Eight* of them killed right there.
I agree. Thank you for not sensationalizing it. Your tone is appropriate.
“Zigfree” line??? 🤦♂️
Can’t be more American than that
WWII struck an interest for me at an early age, but I didn't hear, or know, about this battle for many years. Thank you for shedding some light on it & showing it to us.
Man, I cannot thank you enough for this video. Prior to discovering your channel three years ago, I had no knowledge of WWII except that Pearl Harbor was an aerial invasion in Hawaii, Normandy was an all out assault, and that a flag was raised on Iwo Jima. Maybe I do not remember all the history from your videos, but I certainly appreciate the exposure. I particularly enjoyed the map and context you included at the beginning.
Thanks! Appreciate that.
My grandparents hid in the jungles here in the Philippines from the Japanese during World War 2. Most of their age group had stories of Japanese atrocities against civilians and allied soldiers. I remember some of their wartime stories.
My grandmother's cousin was a Philippine Scout and was captured and was forced to join the Death March (April 1942) to Camp O'Donnell. He escaped by hiding under the big skirt of one of the lady bystanders who stood beside the road while the Allied prisoners (Filipino and American) were marching. He later joined one of the countless guerilla groups and survived the war.
In the 1970s when many of the old folks were still alive, some of them would tell me snippets of their war experience when the Philippines was invaded by the Japanese. I saw their faces lit up when recounting the day the Americans finally came back to retake the Philippines from the Japanese.
They only tell their stories once. I was puzzled why they won't talk about it again. To my young mind what they experienced was adventure. Later I realized they also remembered the pain of witnessing the deaths of many friends or neighbors or relatives when recounting their stories. The unprovoked barbarity of the Japanese was just imprinted in their minds, some of them would have moist eyes after telling me their stories. Remember that those old people still had Victorian era mindsets, customs and social etiquette adopted from the Spanish. So it was quite a shock to them how the Japanese would commit so hellish crimes.
I'm pretty sure they raised more than just an American flag to. Yall already know the south brought her flag there too😂😂🇺🇸 talking about in the Pacific battle fronts. Hell our boys raised ole glory an Dixie. I I s*** you not I have literally seen a picture of I reckon Southern US soldiers raising the Rebel flag on one of the island we had took back from the Japanese.
That opening shot is so haunting and eerie, it's a terrible beauty.
It seems that there is still so many unknowns from the war. It is terribly sad that bodies have been so long before being found. I cannot imagine the sadness and wondering their families endured. Thanks for sharing. This area is an unknown for me. It is fascinating.
Seeing those bomb craters was surreal. Thanks for another incredible video.
Pretty wild. Thanks!
Just being there in person must seem so profound. To realize you are standing in the same spots where men fought for their lives and victory against nazis. Thanks for this video.
*Germans, dont use “Nazi”. Their leaders were, not those who fought.
The Hurtgen Forest and Operation Varsity are two campaigns that absolutely deserve more attention and investigation by historians.
100%
I wouldn't just stop at Varsity. The wider operation Veritable/Blockbuster/Grenade is fascinating. Getting through the Reichswald and Hochwald to the Rhine.
I studied in Germany for about a year and it’s incredibly eerie seeing WW2 sites. My dorm (fun fact, that same dorm was where SS men slept) was near the Black Forest and, when I always took a walk in that forest, there were abandoned buildings with bullet holes, German watch towers and signs indicating mines.
Additionally, my classrooms were in original Nazi administration buildings where they authorized forced sterilization.
It was, to say the least, shocking. But I’m so glad they don’t destroy their history or forget their worst moments.
I can tell I will be watching this several times! Very cool!
Glad that you liked it!
I just found your site by accident but I must say it’s very well done and I’ve subscribed. You know your history sir .
My full respect to all the American servicemen who served here. I can’t imagine what those guys went through
Thank you! Much appreciated.
Been a minute since I’ve watched your films (just going through my own battles I guess - that of which don’t compare to our brothers and sisters on the battlefield)
Thanks for being a constant. Thanks for being a man of faith. You’re an inspiration, brother!
One of, if not the best doc on RUclips I have watched to-date ,I have not yet had to respect of visit "Hürtgen Forest" but i have driven past this..I always looked while driving past . Its sad why we did not just bypass this but They did things very different to how we operate these days. Heroes, every last guy who fought and died for only feet and yards We shall never forget ..Sadly some nations within the EU behaves these days towards its history they forget who freed them. Thanks for everything JD... your the man ..Happy new year ..wishing you all the best for 2024
Fantastic episode! You are outdoing yourself with each new video 👍
The map animations are the game changer :)
First, I wanted to say how much I love your channel! Second, I was a tank crewman in 4ID. Having said that I am proud of the history and heritage of the 4th ID, especially the battle of Hurtgen Forest. I think its one of the forgotten battles of WWII.
Thanks!
Thank you so much for your service Sir! ❤
Thank you so much for sharing this history! Been there with our team some time ago. I’m a volunteer for Fields of Honor Foundation, giving faces to their names, US fallen, buried or commemorated at Ardennes, Henri-Chapelle, Lorraine, Epinal, Margraten and Luxembourg.
Wow that was amazing, the bunkers, the fox holes, the bomb craters, there was so much to learn in this video!! To see where our veterans fought for us! Amazing J.D. can't wait for the next episode!
The Pacific theater best equivalent may be Peliliu, although there were hellish battles on every island we took including Okinawa at the end. But veterans' accounts of Pelilu are similar to Hurtgen - haunting, grueling, terrifying and brutal. And most didn't want to think or talk about it ever again.
I just wanted to thank you for all the great work you do, I feel like I am there when I watch your episodes, you do a wonderful job. God bless you.
Thanks!
This looks awesome. I can't wait to watch it after work tonight. Thanks for all the great content you post on RUclips. Very high quality, always entertaining and informative.
Thanks!
Thanks for all you do. My dad Robert Clifton landed at Utah with the 238 Engineering Company B. Fought at Battle of the Bulge. I have several maps, ~German pistol and such. Just read About Bedford Boys and 238th. Band of brothers is next. Dad had all these books I have discovered. He passed Dec. 9,2009.
My dad was a combat engineer too in France Belgium Luxembourg then Germany he passed in 2017.
I just finished reading The Rifle and Rifle 2..thank you for recommending those books..I cried most way through it...your videos and these books surely did bring history of this war to a new understanding..my family members who were in this war rarely ever talked about it. .until they were very old. THANK YOU for all you do . God bless you and your family.
Thanks! I appreciate that!
That was amazing! People need to know about this place. Horrible battles fought here.
I can't even imaging the Hell that was unleashed on those soldiers! Your video gives the sense of how serial those woods are now as you walk through. Thank you for conveying that and I could feel it as you told the history! Thank you JD. Thank you for the history, and what all soldiers went through......Humbling.
Words can’t describe how much I appreciate your content
I love the way you conduct yourself while at these places. thank you for all the work that you do that bring these often forgotten battles back to light. well I myself and somewhat of a world war two buff, and know about some of the lesser known battles like hurtgen Forest , along with some of the lesser known lesser-known battles in the Pacific Islands, I think you bringing this back to the general masses is a great thing. you do it in a way that is neutral to both sides, obviously you have the American point of view, but the grace that you conduct yourself with at these places speaks volumes to the reverence you have for history. thank you
“Places that hold the weight of memory”; that’s it in a few powerful words.
:)
That is exactly how to describe areas that have been formed by war or tragedy. One place is the A dome in Hiroshima.
There isn’t a WW2 enthusiast in the world who wouldn’t view this video and be blown away
Every time I read the guys stories or how they died my heart is constantly ripped out and it's hard not to cry. If only those trees could talk.
it's eerie and chilling when you're born in Stolberg and lived in the village of hürtgen for years. my dad still lives there.
My grandfather was in the 78th. Sadly he passed before I ever met him but always happy to learn more about where he was fighting at.
Thank you for your commitment to accurately preserve history. I was also confused to hear a battlefield was disturbed to cut down trees. Cut down trees that produce oxygen to put in windmills. It all sounds kind of counterproductive.
You do such a service in remembrance of those that fought and died-thank you.
amazing video, thanks! Huertgenwald is my favorite hiking area, and indeed when you walk there alone you are in awe of what those men must have gone through. Respect!
I live a 40 minutes drive from this place, and never heard of this great battle that took place here. (And im a ww2 geek) Now i have to visit this forest and museum this year. Thnx for the video!
The first few shots of the Men walking through the woods in WW2 reminded me of The Ardenns Forest
Fantastic episode JD, looking forward to the rest of the Hurtgen forest episodes! Especially Hill 400!
Thanks! I'm not sure if anyone has done anything on RUclips that shows Hill 400.
@@TheHistoryUnderground I’m not 100% sure tbh but if they have they won’t match yours!
I just watched this episode. It hits close to home for me. It's rarely mentioned in Documentaries but the Huertgen forest was first entered by the 110th Infantry 17 September 1944. They met Heavy resistance and withdrew. My uncle was killed in the Huertgen Forest on 17 September 1944. He was at first reported missing action, then his body was recovered in October or November. I don't know how many the 110th left behind, but I know my uncle was one of the very first to fall in the Huertgen Forest. My Father joined the 9th infantry division as a replacement just after the Huertgen Forest.
Man, those guys in the 110th got hit hard. Awful ordeal.
I am in total admiration of the ambient style of video interludes, with music, grey, misty settings and your photo/video styles. So good at setting the context, the sad, somber and sometimes horrific back story of these settings. Seems to me as the last of greatest generation dies off, politics is taking a dark turn back upon itself. The centennial of Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin's rise to power is almost trying to reassert itself.
thank you for this. my dad was badly injured there, with the 4th, 22nd. never talked about it ever. my dad went through DDay, Cherbourg, carried a BAR at 18, 19 at the Hurtgen. I wish I asked him about this. he died long ago, the war shortened his life, he had PTSD at least some what. interesting Ernest Hemmingway was attached to that unit, he left, his ex said he was never the same.
Well he didn't fight and suffer in vain. Without him and 100 000s of other allied troops, whole families millions may not have been saved.
I know because my family was liberated by US inf.
Another awesome video JD. Thank you. PS. We must never forget ! It was battles like this that must be remembered. THANK YOU FRANK FROM MONTANA.....
This is Amazing being able to see this part of history. Thank you.
And I wanna send a thank you to Germany for getting our brothers home, thats so very much appreciated.
"Never fight the Nazis in the forest." - My dad, WW2 vet.
Not all soldiers were nazis..please
@@ritamedina-molina8550Exactly. Either you were part of the party or not. People are so brainwashed through indoctrination that they seriously believe that every soldier who fought for Germany automatically became a Nazi. Ridiculous.
honestly..had never heard or read about it until your videos..always learning new things
JD, your videos are absolutely the best. Though i enjoy them greatly, they make me wonder about the non-wartime lives of the young men who fought there. Chilling.
My mother was born in Stolberg and immigrated in 1933. This summer my wife and I visited Stolberg. Long story short, I contacted the tourist bureau and after a lot of back and forth, realized that the 30 year old running the tourist office’s great grandfather (Camillus) was my grandmothers brother. My mother was named after him. We even found the house my mother lived in 1933 before coming to the states. They told me that Camillus had three different houses leveled by bombing during the war.
Wow!
JD, thank you for all your great content! Just had to say that
I appreciate that!
Bravo et merci pour votre très intéressante vidéo retraçant ces événements historiques de la bataille des Ardennes en Belgique avec son prolongement en Allemagne très parlant même autant d'années après ces événements... très bon travail et encore merci pour le partage ! ✌️
Thank you!
The visuals are haunting and beautiful at the same time. Great video. Thank you
Been watching your content for a couple of years now. Glad to see you have the followers it so deserves. I can see you’ve come along way even with the detail of the videos in editing and camera views. Keep up the great work.
Best possible walk through time ever traversed.
Thank you so much! Your coverage on the subject is so informative and compelling. And thank you for showing the maps. I subscribed...you earned it!
My grandfather was there he never talked about it not intill i came back from Afghanistan and iraq USMC...i was haven problems one day it was just me and him and this is the only time i seen him drink a beer but he had me open up to him and then he finally told me what happened and we talked for hours on what we both went through and never new he had box of ww2 pics of him and his buddys and seen his box full of medals it was eye opener for me it was the best thing that ever happened too me i miss my grandfather
A place with a legacy of enormous pain. Thank you, J.D. 🇺🇸
I don't know too much about this battle. I've only read one book on it, thank you for sharing.!!!! 🤘🏻
Just excellent JD! Thank you for this history. I’m liking the moving map animations 👍
Thanks JD. Happy Holidays.
My father was in the 87th infantry division . He was taken pow in December of 1944. He promised himself he would never go back if he survived. Rest in peace dad.
Finally subscribed. My apologies for taking so long. Another great vid. Your musical sound tracks are exceptional.
@@4urluvjones155 thanks!!!
My grandfather was in the German army and never said anything but when someone asked you just saw him break down and cry
Being forced by threats to your family is waaay different than how the US does a draft I know my great grandfather was a forced nazi. Before you judge imagine having your youngest sister be the first one threatened to death
My dad fought in this forest during WWII.
I was under the impression he was in the Arden forest, but his military records show he was sent to this area to fight Nazis, December 44- January 45, until he was injured.
He really didn’t talk about his time there, other to say he never wanted to return.
Great video J.D.! Great footage of the area and thank you for mentioning the often overlooked 9th Infantry Division!