Are you new here? You have missed almost two years of World War Two before Germany invaded the Soviet Union today. But don't fear! We have created a playlist with the 'turning points' of World War Two, featuring the Weekly Episodes about all major invasions and events up until now. You can find it here: ruclips.net/p/PLsIk0qF0R1j5w8ObblCbE2ZXCcd_2RFAz . We were only able to cover Operation Barbarossa in such depth - with an extra videos and LOTS of maps, thanks to the TimeGhost Army. Join at www.patreon.com/timeghosthistory or timeghost.tv. We need you! . Cheers, Joram . *RULES OF CONDUCT* STAY CIVIL AND POLITE we will delete any comments with personal insults, or attacks. AVOID PARTISAN POLITICS AS FAR AS YOU CAN we reserve the right to cut off vitriolic debates. HATE SPEECH IN ANY DIRECTION will lead to a ban. RACISM, XENOPHOBIA, OR SLAMMING OF MINORITIES will lead to an immediate ban. PARTISAN REVISIONISM, ESPECIALLY HOLOCAUST AND HOLODOMOR DENIAL will lead to an immediate ban. THE PROMOTION OF EXTREME, VIOLENT IDEOLOGIES IS ABSOLUTELY FORBIDDEN This includes the justification, or promotion of ideologies, regimes, and systems that have historically or are inherently contrary to the principles of democracy and human rights. To be clear some of these ideologies are Naziism, Fascism, Colonialism, Imperialism, Leninism, Stalinism, Revolutionary Socialism, Integral Nationalism and any other ideology that promotes authoritarianism, and a disregard for inalienable individual rights as outlined in the UDHR. Regimes that fall under this rule are for example: Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the British Empire, Colonial France, pre-emancipation USA, Imperial Japan, Communist China, the USSR and any similar systems and regimes. While an academic discussion of these ideologies and regimes is permitted, even desired, any value statements or comparative posts to extoll their positive sides will be deleted, and may lead to a ban. . Here’s why: It is objectively true that the authoritarian regimes we cover in our series, be they far-left or far-right, were willing to use systematic oppression, violence, and murder to create or maintain their preferred system of governance. From the perspective of human rights, democracy, and plain decency, this is clearly unacceptable. Now, that is, of course, a morally absolute statement based on 21st-century morals and ethics. Therefore, in our content, we refrain from any such judgement and just tell the story as it is. We’re concerned only with the past. We don’t take sides, and we don’t decide which side deserves more blame than the other. Our comment section, however, is not taking place in the past. Our comments are made in the present-day, and political comments such as the ones we don’t allow are promoting a present-day agenda by whitewashing, diminishing, or even justifying the crimes of a past regime. We will not allow for such rhetoric in the same way most democratic European countries (where we create this content) won’t allow for such rhetoric. As historians, our very work depends on this so that we can continue interrogating the past free from political influence.
Can I suggest to you guys about introducing excellent videos of WWII and Barbarosa operation by other YT creators? It'd be very helpful to all sides if you could promote their works in your channel and vice versa.
Truly, sadly, the war, goals and exterminations to the east will make everything that happened (outside Asia and China of course) so far some light stroll and picnic. AND the bringing of the whole asian and Pacific fronts too, late in this year, to stack on top of the Eastern Front and Chinese Front, for good measure; 1941, with the two scenarios that will involve the URRS and USA, will bring the true face of this war, tragically, both in deadliness and brutality, for one front, and harshness and consumption, for the other (though the aspect in common between them is surely the fatality of the terrains + weather, of course with their two different kinds respectively, and with no breaks either, be it on Murmansk-Ucraine and Caucasus or Burma-Micronesia and Melanesia, as if it wasn't bad enough already).
The casualty rate is going to go off the scale SPOILER German killed in action for June 1941 estimates will be 22,000, most in the last eight days of the month - for comparison they were 2,800 in May. This is the estimate for the Feldherr (Field Army) which presumably does not include the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe.
Imagine two decades ago were TV was the only Historical shows airing, the only other available media that was wide spread was books. Now today history channel has been discredited and mocked for their comical shows, and a RUclips channel and its sponsors make a series spanning weekly uploads following events across years. These times are truly the greatest.
I agree totally. As a retired college instructor in both history and educational technology I am in "Hog Heaven". This channel along with the Green Brothers "Sci Show" and "Crash Course" topics, a whole new way of teaching is being opened to teachers.
I did enjoy a lot of the shows on history channel back in the day. I think dogfights was my favorite as they used CGI to recreate air battles throughout history. Think that's were my fascination with WWII came from. Now Forged in Fire is the best show they got. But even with that, blade smiths on RUclips do a finer job of showing off historic weapons.
The History Channel jump on board with the political lefty B.S. and sold they good reputation they had. Now they are a joke and what they produce now they should be called The History Rewriting Channel.
That last 60 seconds was probably some of the most chilling writing and visual presentation I've ever seen. It's such an honour to be able to support such an immense project. Here's to another 4 years of content. It'll be Hell, but at least we're marching through it together. ✊
TheRavingCelt, Thank you very much! You are so very right. The contrast of the bombastic Les Preludes put together with the annihilating destruction of total war is something that gives you the chills...
Funny, how Stalin, who saw an enemy in every shadow, got caught off-guard by the one major power that really wanted his guts turned inside out at all costs.
Stalin was preparing to attack Germany one or two weeks later of the 22 of June 1941. So Hitler and Stalin played the same game like poker. They tried to deceive each other in this game. But Hitler was smarter and attacked first.
Awesome: I'm sure I speak for many Patreon subscribers when I say this is the one video we've been long awaiting: Indy picks up the phone and learns about Barbarossa. No words: perfectly done.
The Germans realizing the Soviet railroads use a different gauge must feel like when you try to charge your phone at a friends house and they only have an iPhone charger.
Of course they were well aware of the difference in railroad gauges. They thought moving one of the rails would be relatively easy. Things are never as easy as one expects.
@Águila701 You meant to say "rich people back then knew how to dress". The poor didn't wear such things on a daily basis, maybe a suit for church. Although the wearing of hats across all class lines was more prevalent back then.
@Águila701 You mean at tourist spots people dress relaxed in shorts and sandals? Wow how dare they. Do much better if they all worse formal suits and gowns when at the beach or exploring ruins etc
I feel that, given that Operation Barbarossa was one of the key milestones of the war, it makes sense to use this opportunity to congratulate everyone in the WW2 team on how far this project has come. Although we're only 2 years in, it already has the makings of a fantastic project. Thank you for teaching me so many things I didn't know before. On a more sombre note, of course, and much more importantly, this is the point at which the war gets far bloodier than it has been thus far. Some historians point to the start of Operation Barbarossa as the point when the Holocaust really got going in earnest.
Yes. When I looked at those poor Red army units that were in the path of Army Group North, for example, I had to shiver a bit. They would largely die from gunfire, starvation and overwork. And the fate of the civilians is even worse. What a terrible war.
@@krystalcz9251 And if you look the numbers on most battles after Moscow, you see that both sides are roughly equal in numbers. Many of the soviet deaths also come from the massacres committed by the Wehrmacht and SS.
This is a pretty sad day for me because my great grandfather, who was a soviet brigadier, was killed by the germans on that day. This video cheers me up a little so thank you. Keep up the awesome work!
@@WilhelmMyffen not exactly, the western front pulled some pressure off the eastern front (Not much comparatively, but all helps), and the western allied air force was a major benefactor for the Soviets, as they had pretty much free reign after the defences of the Luftwaffe were destroyed by the western allies in the West, allowing the bombers to roam free. Also the Western Allies weren't about to let the Soviets (who they still didn't exactly like based on their totalitarian regime) roll across the entirety of Europe
I heard a story once, that the last great Mongol warlord, Timur, aka, Tamerlane, before his death, warned that should anyone disturb his resting place, a calamity far greater and more terrible than himself would befall those responsible. On June 21, 1941, a group of Soviet archeologists in the Middle East uncovered a tomb, containing a skeleton of a tall man of Asian origins, with damage to one of his legs that would have resulted in a distinct limp when he was alive. They surmised that this skeleton was the remains of Tamerlane. The very next day, Operation Barbarossa kicked off, drawing the Soviet Union into a conflict that would cost them millions of lives. How true this story is, I'm not sure.
@@ReformedSooner24 I don't know, I think that by Christmas the Germans will have overran Moscow and the Soviets will sue for peace. Even if the Americans join the war, what can they do so quickly and then there's the whole neutrality thing... no no, they won't join the war I'm sure.
Wilful ignorance. Stalin didn't want to believe so it wasn't happening in his mind. And if you have only yes-man around you, your world image gets reinforced by them. Very dangerous combination in a sociopathic, narcissistic and totalitarian dictator
@@Solidoaf Fear can do that to people. He was afraid to go to war with Germany. A lot of times fear works in both ways. Being paranoid and believing that every little thing is a threat either to you or your well being (when Stalin did his 'clean ups'), or as in this case, being completely dismissive of anything that could lead to that threat.
@@peymanmostafaei6963 firstly, they believed the propoganda. secondly, nostalgia for 'the good old days' and some highpoint of saving the planet from nazism and the long, long shadow that casts over everything afterward
Khrushchev said from the words of Beria that Stalin was suppressed at an emergency meeting and said that Lenin built the country, and we lost it. Stalin made a speech only on July 3. Before that, mostly Molotov spoke, including June 22 speech about the beginning of war.
Only the top dogs get the pictures. And I must say Timoshenko's portrait is that of a man who knows his destiny and who is marching straight towards it.
@@daniels_0399 Ok, no? The soviet union generally would only have mugshots from propaganda pieces. Otherwise they used sketched portraits, because photo equipment was extremely rare in the fourth-world hell of the early soviet
I don't usually write comments on a video unless it blew me away. This video's ending with Franz Liszt Les Preludes with montage of brutal war scenes gave me chills. This is not just a history video but it is also a piece of art. Congratulations to you and your team for creating such a powerful piece of art.
People are strange. If you read Patton's memoirs, he would describe giving general (and fairly vague) orders to his divisional commanders for an offensive - and then going to some cultural events for a day or two. This was not before the war, this was during Allied offensive in France in autumn 1944.
I never thought I'd be even slightly hyped for a major Nazi invasion, but that's the magic of it happening 79 years ago and being retold in a serialised documentary. I'm sure that will last a good 5-7 minutes until the horror begins.
You could make a good case for this being the most important day in the History of Mankind considering the sheer size and scale of what will happen next.
@@markhenley3097 lol, so the big Sino-Japanese war going on on the other side of the war is small for you?. In terms amount of people, violence, deaths and importance, that war was also as big as the european theater one.
@@JoePro84 Haven't you noticed that the Asian /pacific theater isn't really thought of or discussed as much as the European one? I rarely hear people discuss the horrors that happened there.
@@JoePro84 As you say yourself, that war (2nd Sino-Japanese) is separate from WWII at this point. Why would you bring in another war, when Orange was talking about the war in Europe.
This is such a massive invasion. Only an army as big as the Wehrmacht can do this, there’s no way that the soviets can pull an attack of this scale in, let’s say, exactly 3 years and one day?
The numbers are staggering. The East Front was a meat grinder of epic proportions, millions upon millions of men. Meanwhile in the Western Front, the US/UK had to contend with old out of shape men, teenagers, and troop units unfit for combat, numbering a mere 150.000. And yet the US likes to brag about how they singlehandedly´won´ WWII!! Even today, the piss poor state of US Education and decades of Cold War propaganda keep denying the Soviet Union their rightful accolades and deserving top honors for decimating the german Army. If it weren´t for the ruskies, the western allies would have encountered a million germans defending the Atlantic Wall, and D Day would have been dubbed Defeat Day, and the invasion would have been obliterated on the beaches! It´s a shame how personal political opinions can blind a man to the facts, even when they are glaringly on their face. You don´t disrespect the victors of the greatest battles of the 20th century, just because you happen to dislike ´commies´!
@@Biden_is_demented Ok, I think you're falling for the opposite mistake here. Yes, the Eastern front was where the biggest battles took place. But saying that the Western front was held by 150k washouts is bogus. Germans lost around 500k men between 1944 and 1945 there. At its highest point, they had 2 millions soldiers fighting in the West. Still short of the almost 4m they had in the East in 1943 (highest point), but it's not nothing either. Also, saying that without the Eastern front, D-Day would be failure is a bit disingenuous, since the whole POINT of D-Day was to alleviate the Eastern front by opening a new one. Well, there was a first attempt to do that by invading Italy, but it didn't really work out. I get that you're annoyed at people downplaying the USSR contribution to victory (can't comment on how bad it can get in the US, I'm not from here), but don't fall for the opposite excess.
I have been watching your videos since your channel doing WW1. The sheer amount of information that is covered is outstanding. Things that I have read in books over the years are show in great detail. Your pronunciation of names of people, places and things is impeccable. Great job. Thank you for all you and your team do.
According to Antony Beever, he actually collapsed and cried "Everything Lenin left to us is gone" It took him a few days to pick himself up and start organizing defence
@@sweetnex3816 if the allegation comes from Kruschev and Molotov is the only contradictory source, then neither side actually has anything. Hastings mentions the same kind of story, but the delegation was supposedly headed by Anastas Mikoyan. However, I do not see Mikoyan's memoir in Hastings bibliography, while he does include Kruschev's memoir. Supposedly Mikoyan's memoir is just as selective as every other memoir from a Soviet official who survived Stalin, so who knows whether that would actually resolve anything.
Every week I think about how the channel reached peak quality in writing, acting and overall production. And every week the Time Ghost team take me for a ride. I'm loving all those extra episodes.
@@KnightofAges dunno where you're getting that from. Soviet rifle divisions had on paper 9375 men and a guards rifle division had 10585 men. And as you say German divisions had 18,000 men. So yeah Soviet divisions were between 50-66% the size of German ones And contrary to popular belief the Soviets actually had massive problems with manpower more or less from the start. Historian David Glanz routinely finds Soviet divisions with less than 2000 men in them in his Stalingrad trilogy. This isn't to say the Germans didn't have problems with manpower either especially after 43 but when you hear of "400 Soviet Divisions on the eastern front" keep the actual numbers involved in perspective
Damn, this episode is eerie. That much detail about the day it started makes you realize from the very start how massive and horrific this war is going to be.
It's hard to believe that this was almost two years ago and in everything that's happened since then. Stalingrad, Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, North Africa, Midway. I remember when this episode first came out and how it felt so monumental. Yet this war was, and still is, far from over. Les Preludes really was a great choice.
@Somedude_jdjdi Genuinely one of the best history series ever(WW1 in real time as well) you really get to experience how long this war must have really felt. 10's of millions of people have died, and we've still got a ways to go.
The final words of the Molotov's address to the nation became a motto, became words to live by for the next years, even in the darkest moments when all hope seemed to be lost: Our cause is right. The enemy will be destroyed. The victory will be ours!
The motto you refer(наше дело правое, враг будет разбит, мы должны победить - our cause is just, the enemy will be defeated, we must be victorious.) was not uttered by Molotov, but by Stalin himself in his speech in 03-07-1941 (after almost two weeks of radio silence by Stalin since the beginning of the invasion, while every single ear in soviet union was waiting for a speech of their supreme leader). PS: After WW2 Stalin made a special medal for everyone who contributed towards the victory in WW2 it was awarded to everyone who served in the red army/navy/aviation during the war and also to all the civilians who contributed to the victory - either by guerilla warfare or simply by working in factories that produced tanks, ammunition, weapons etc. The backside of the medal has the inscription "Awarded for the victory against Germany in the great patriotic war of 1941-1945" and the front side has Stalin and the motto you mentioned, the only thing altered is the past tense - "Our cause is just, we were victorious".
@@kr0k0deilos You're right about everything, Stalin's speech included this motto, but Molotov's speech featured it first. You can look up the full texts of both - in is mentioned in one and the other.
I wonder what the look was on their faces when the Soviets got invaded? Especially after they were busy invading and taking land from others in the region.
Now THAT is a dramatic ending. It kinda reminds me of some of Sparty's WaH endings. Peering into my crystal ball, that seems fitting for a special Barbarossa episode.
My Grandmother graduated from high school in Leningrad 3 days before the invasion. On the day of the invasion she was supposed to go to her family in small village near Smolensk. Because of the invasion she stayed in Leningrad, and even though she was there during the blockade(spoiler), this might have saved her life because she was Jewish. This day sealed the fate of most of her family, like millions of others.
@@_b_x_b_1063 она осталась в Ленинграде во время блокады. Ее эвакуировали через год. Если бы она вернулась в свою деревню ее бы нацисты наверное убили как и всю семью
I swear, the dopamine hitting my brain after watching this episode was much higher than the, ahem "self-care". Every Hair in my body stood up after watching this video, I never imagined I would be this exited about the most brutal war in the history of world. On the side note, my guy is here, Kostantin Rokossovsky, although not off to a great start. I hope you guys do a special about him soon, a polish born general who became a hero of soviet Union.
Yeah.. it's not like UK provided Hitler with the means of world conquest by annexing heavily industrialized Czechoslovakia in the first place or anything..
There is no sufficient complement or any comment I can give to this documentary. I thank the Ghost Army and all the Crew for producing this great work.
I had the realization today that I started watching this channel during the Winter War when I was 20. If nothing happens to it or RUclips, I'm going to be 25 by the time the war comes to an end. The thought of this carnage lasting long enough for many of us to become different people is terrifying to me, and not something which I've properly felt until now. So well done team. I was too late for The Great War, but I'm glad I wasn't too late for this.
@@johndistick9702 No, it was mentioned in Allan Merson's "Communist Resistance In Nazi Germany", published 1985 or 1986. It was clandestine and designed to look like a café outing in the summer - whether the Gestapo had it under surveillance, I don't know. Most of the participants did not survive the war.
I was enamoured by the Great War channel and i've been watching every episode. I didn't know this channel existed. Man i'm for a ride. Great to see you here Indy! You're one of my favourite,and most familiar voice to listen to.
When I first heard about the Great War Channel back in the day I knew they would have to do a series on the Second World war. And what I was excited for the most was Operation Barbarossa. So I have been waiting for the past 6 years for this day I am glad to say it did not disappoint.
It was actually orders of magnitude larger. Pretty sure Operation Barbarossa has more deaths than WW1 itself. Probably due to Generalplan Ost and the Holocaust
If England had folded been beaten fall of 1940 or winter of 40 /'41 , there wouldve been an extra 40 or 50 German divisions in their invasion .. thats a whole extra army group and then some ... as it was the germans got to 25 miles from the Kremlin ..
Hitler: I created quite a plan to get Caucasian oil first then go to for the rest, I can't wait to see Halder executing my plan flawlessly without changing priorities because he knows better Halder:Hey Hey
@@RampageG4mer Halder wanted to take Moscow because "hey look France", if they got fues in 1943 in less than year Russia implodes in economy and Germany has resources, because of Halder divisions in south had 60 to30% of supplies needed
@@MrMineHeads. not comparable to Napoleonic area, and Russia is of course like all the other countries, it is just big but the European area is the most important. The chance they would falter like the French were high.
And were is the country now ? A patriotic war for a country who does not exist, who cease to exist. CCCP dismantling was the only chance for russian to remain a majority in their new "russian federation"
I'm really dissapointed that during the roll call of all the generals we didn't get the pictures of the generals I generally know a lot of them by name but i know a lot more by picture and it would be very helpful
text of Molotov's speech for those interested. "Today at 4 a.m. ... without declaring war, Germany attacked our country ... the attack was perpetrated despite a pact of non-aggression between the USSR and Germany, which the USSR faithfully abided by ... responsibility for this attack falls entirely upon German fascist rulers ... at 5:30 a.m. the German ambassador in Moscow relayed the message from the German government that the decision to launch war against the USSR was due to Red Army units concentrated near the East German border. I replied on behalf of the USSR, that Germany attacked despite the peace agreement, making Germany the aggressor ... Hitler's declaration today is a lie and a provocation, and he is trying belatedly to invent charges that the Soviet Union failed to observe the Soviet-German pact. Now that the attack on the Soviet Union has already been committed, the Soviet Government has ordered our troops to retaliate and to drive German troops from our country. This war has been forced upon us, not by the German people, not by German workers, peasants and intellectuals, whose sufferings we well understand, but by the clique of bloodthirsty Fascist rulers of Germany who have enslaved Frenchmen, Czechs, Poles, Serbians, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Greece and other nations. The government of the Soviet Union expresses its unshakable confidence that our valiant army and navy and brave falcons of the Soviet Air Force will acquit themselves with honor in performing their duty to the fatherland and to the Soviet people, and will inflict a crushing blow upon the aggressor ... The government of the Soviet Union expresses the firm conviction that the whole population of our country, all workers, peasants and intellectuals, men and women, will conscientiously perform their duties and do their work. Our entire people must now stand solid and united as never before ... The government calls upon you, citizens of the Soviet Union, to rally still more closely around our glorious Bolshevist party, around our Soviet Government, around our great leader and comrade, Stalin. Ours is a righteous cause. The enemy shall be defeated. Victory will be ours."
"Red Army units concentrated near the East German border" and was not real this concentration ? Even TASS communicate about this concentration . Drills near a new border ! Very naive !
I love this series! Indy is captivating in his eloquence, gestures and in his simple change of tone to show the gravity of this history! The series does not romanticize war; it shows and emphasizes the war against humanity. I cannot believe there were two years of war before Germany invaded USSR. In hindsight, we neglect or we maybe we fail to comprehend the duration and scale of this global conflict. These weekly episode have helped me understand this history more than any simple summaries found in text books and in short documentaries. I just want to say thank you to them and I think I will start to contribute with more than just my view/ and likes. Also, Spartacus is a brilliant host and historian. Shouts out to the whole crew! I’ll watch this through the fall of Berlin.
ever since i started watching from when the first episode came out you guys have always knocked it out of the park with the production quality and everything that goes into these episodes. Its so satisfying to see this show become just as iconic as the great war one you did, absolutely amazing work keep it up 💪👍
I like the little hear no evil-speak no evil-see no evil statue on the desk there. Very similar to how Stalin was acting towards the Germans up until they invaded lol
Watch the Soviet storm from star media. At least the first series.The series is based on both German and Soviet documents and not on an English interpretation of German statements.
@@htoodoh5770 I don't know why, but you indeed cant find these series with english voice over anymore. However there is still russian voice over with english subtitles.
No words. The suffering was immense. Has anyone seen the film “Come and See”? It’d be cool if the channel mentioned that film. It’s debatably the best war film ever made.
Yes, Yes, Come and See is amazing, but horrifying. The soviet republic of Belarus lost a quarter of its population in the war. Largely as a byproduct of extensive partisan fighting, as all partisan actions were answered by the Germans with disproportionate reprisals against civilians.
Sturmpionier03 Being Slavic (Polish) I cried at the end. I realized how my existence was not certain and that the true depth of the cruelty of the war was biblical in nature.
Sturmpionier03 Come and See and Apocalypse Now are tied for me for the best war films ever made. Both are extremely psychological in nature. Come and See is just a total gut punch though.
Stalin: "I'm paranoid about my generals questioning my authority, they're looking to overthrow me! Purge Them!" also Stalin: "Nah, those thousands of Panzers and fighter planes at our border don't mean anything. All of this intelligence is false!"
The fact is, Stalin did not accept the report more than 72 hours. His disbelieve was real ! After he recover, he understand the situation , 5 million soldiers placed on the "new border" are lost. The mystery stay in the losses of another 5 million soldiers before December 1941, in defensive operations. A good explanation could be the military commanders were shadowed by political officers.
@@declansheridan6009 Indeed, lest you fall into their beliefs, and look favourable to their standards, it is nooo paradise being under control of either Nazis or the Soviets.
Another great video! I was always fascinated by the war in the east ever since I was a kid. When watching Hogan’s Hero’s as a kid I was curious about what the Russian front was that Shultz was always being threatened with so I began hitting the library. I was stunned to discover that we Americans had been facing only 20% of the German army the rest being in the east.
will there be any mention of Shostakovitch "Leningrad" symphony during the siege of Leningrad? I really hope so. The book "siege and symphony" is worth a read, as it is a bloody good book!
I really gotta say, this music in the end gave me goosebumps. It is at this moment where you realice what has happened and we will see in future awesome videos
Special episode on the tanks of Barbarossa - ruclips.net/video/gh7mt2OS770/видео.html Special episode on trucks and Barbarossa logistics - ruclips.net/video/4lSCnOltYdY/видео.html Special episode about Blitzkrieg tactics - ruclips.net/video/qej9DX28-xw/видео.html
I know nothing of my Soviet ancestors, but watching this while keeping in mind that they lived through this is deep. I wonder how many of my family fought, both on the front lines and through war industry, and how much of my family died subsequently.
You blow me away sometimes. I love Les Preludes and its finale at the end of this episode was amazing. When I first started studying the Soviet-German conflict 50+ years ago, it was told in terms of numbers of cities, divisions, soldiers, weapons and vehicles captured or killed/destroyed, and so on. It wasn't until Charles C Sharp's Soviet Order of Battle World War II that I read the following: "It is important to remember that in June 1941 the Soviet Army was on a peacetime establishment, and the rifle divisions were at the peacetime authorized strengths. There were, outside of the Far East, two such peacetime strength levels. They were called the "12" and the "6" divisions, based on manpower: 12,000 and 6,000 (approximately)." Those on the border military districts were the "12" with the interior military districts having the "6" It was expected that, in the event of an attack, reservists would quickly be assembled and these units would be brought up to full strength which didn't happen because of the speed of the German attack. For example, the assembly area for these reservists in the Western Military District was Minsk which was surrounded in 5 days. Stavka appears to have used these troops to form new rifle divisions to replace the ones lost at the front. Prior to the invasion, the most recent shtat (TO&E) for the rifle divisions was released in April '41 and reflected lessons from the Winter War. There wasn't a lot of time to 'get used to' the significant changes from the '39 shtat before the invasion. A new one would be released in July as the basis for the new rifle divisions. I have found that the shtaty provide an fascinating look at how the Soviets viewed the 'effective' way to set up their units for combat which evolves in the course of this conflict. They make an interesting contrast to the TO&Es of the axis.
A neighbour of my grandparents in England was in hospital on that day, he was an old Commie. He sat up bolt upright when he heard of the German attack and shouted 'We've got 'em'.
I am very happy I have become a member of the time ghost army, that ending gave me chills down my spine. There is no other channel like yours that conveys the horrors against humanity with such emotional impact, thank you.
KCG M - just wanted to take a moment and thank you for your valuable contribution - you're adding value, context and depth - thanks from the whole TimeGhost Team!
This channel and the Epic history channel put out content that puts any and every TV production that covers history to shame. It's RUclips channels like these two that I fully believe should themselves go down in history as the peak of historical media. I really don't know how you make content better than this series or Epic History's Napoleonic War videos.
To me, these series here at World War Two, along with the Mark Felton Productions video's, are some of the finest documentaries about WW2 available. Binge watching these whenever I can and feel like it.
It is said that Turkish president İsmet İnönü literally danced with joy when he heard the news of german attack to russia because this relieved Turkey from the pressure of a possible german invasion
I wonder how a German invasion of Turkey around the summer of 1941 would have panned out. I know that the Turkish army, much like the rest of the Balkans, was hopelessly obsolete and would not have stood a chance against the Wehrmacht in regular combat but Turkey is big, surrounded on two long sides by sea and even had the French agrees for a smooth transfer of German troops through Syria, the bulk of the land forces would have had to advance through the Bosphorus which would have been an absolute nightmare to pull off. Still, always nice to speculate.
@@yarpen26 European Turkey would have fallen, quite easily. The Luftwaffe made extensive plans for bombing Istanbul if it proved necessary. Turkey in Asia might have been more difficult.
@@bangscutter Their relations were rather good in the 1920s and 1930s (both were outsiders in the world of the Versailles treaty) but will start to deteriorate in 1942.
@@yarpen26 but, there are sea as defense lines on Bosporus; Dardan and Sea of Marmara. if turkey army hold that line Germans are doomed and UK will come to help
Are you new here? You have missed almost two years of World War Two before Germany invaded the Soviet Union today. But don't fear! We have created a playlist with the 'turning points' of World War Two, featuring the Weekly Episodes about all major invasions and events up until now. You can find it here: ruclips.net/p/PLsIk0qF0R1j5w8ObblCbE2ZXCcd_2RFAz
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We were only able to cover Operation Barbarossa in such depth - with an extra videos and LOTS of maps, thanks to the TimeGhost Army. Join at www.patreon.com/timeghosthistory or timeghost.tv. We need you!
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Cheers,
Joram
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*RULES OF CONDUCT*
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Here’s why:
It is objectively true that the authoritarian regimes we cover in our series, be they far-left or far-right, were willing to use systematic oppression, violence, and murder to create or maintain their preferred system of governance. From the perspective of human rights, democracy, and plain decency, this is clearly unacceptable. Now, that is, of course, a morally absolute statement based on 21st-century morals and ethics. Therefore, in our content, we refrain from any such judgement and just tell the story as it is. We’re concerned only with the past. We don’t take sides, and we don’t decide which side deserves more blame than the other.
Our comment section, however, is not taking place in the past. Our comments are made in the present-day, and political comments such as the ones we don’t allow are promoting a present-day agenda by whitewashing, diminishing, or even justifying the crimes of a past regime. We will not allow for such rhetoric in the same way most democratic European countries (where we create this content) won’t allow for such rhetoric. As historians, our very work depends on this so that we can continue interrogating the past free from political influence.
Can I suggest to you guys about introducing excellent videos of WWII and Barbarosa operation by other YT creators? It'd be very helpful to all sides if you could promote their works in your channel and vice versa.
you should have worked the credits in the timeghost dunnnnnnnnng at the end, into the giant flaming WW2 IN REAL TIME ender
Cant wait till you cover the cold war week by week.
thanks for teaching me history better than my school. it's way more entertaining to watch these videos instead of doing homework!
It's 10 European capitals tho, isn't it? ;)
Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Warsaw, Copenhagen, Oslo, Amsterdam/Den Hague, Bruxelles, Luxembourg and Paris.
The saddest part about all this is if we thought the war was a disaster before...now its only gonna get a whole lot worse from here.
The War Against Humanity is going to be a weekly series at this rate
Can't imagine what the germans will do 2 years from now. Come and See showed us what happened in Belarus... imagine in the rest of Russia.
This is when the level of death and cruelty from the Sino-Japanese War comes to Europe
Truly, sadly, the war, goals and exterminations to the east will make everything that happened (outside Asia and China of course) so far some light stroll and picnic.
AND the bringing of the whole asian and Pacific fronts too, late in this year, to stack on top of the Eastern Front and Chinese Front, for good measure; 1941, with the two scenarios that will involve the URRS and USA, will bring the true face of this war, tragically, both in deadliness and brutality, for one front, and harshness and consumption, for the other (though the aspect in common between them is surely the fatality of the terrains + weather, of course with their two different kinds respectively, and with no breaks either, be it on Murmansk-Ucraine and Caucasus or Burma-Micronesia and Melanesia, as if it wasn't bad enough already).
The casualty rate is going to go off the scale
SPOILER
German killed in action for June 1941 estimates will be 22,000, most in the last eight days of the month - for comparison they were 2,800 in May. This is the estimate for the Feldherr (Field Army) which presumably does not include the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe.
Imagine two decades ago were TV was the only Historical shows airing, the only other available media that was wide spread was books. Now today history channel has been discredited and mocked for their comical shows, and a RUclips channel and its sponsors make a series spanning weekly uploads following events across years. These times are truly the greatest.
Wait a minute. Are you honestly claiming Hitler *wasn't* in contact with aliens? 😠
I agree totally. As a retired college instructor in both history and educational technology I am in "Hog Heaven". This channel along with the Green Brothers "Sci Show" and "Crash Course" topics, a whole new way of teaching is being opened to teachers.
I did enjoy a lot of the shows on history channel back in the day. I think dogfights was my favorite as they used CGI to recreate air battles throughout history. Think that's were my fascination with WWII came from. Now Forged in Fire is the best show they got. But even with that, blade smiths on RUclips do a finer job of showing off historic weapons.
This guys a CIA mole. Hitlers obviously still alive in Argentina. He’s a farmer down there.
The History Channel jump on board with the political lefty B.S. and sold they good reputation they had. Now they are a joke and what they produce now they should be called The History Rewriting Channel.
This channel is literally a golden gem of the Internet
Spread the word!
I've drilled it into my work mates in the office! They've got 4 more years of me ranting about how good this is!
@@dustywoood 4 years? What about the German invasion of Washington in 1949?
"literally"
@@yourstruly4817 What about the droid att... nvm im not doing this
That last 60 seconds was probably some of the most chilling writing and visual presentation I've ever seen. It's such an honour to be able to support such an immense project. Here's to another 4 years of content. It'll be Hell, but at least we're marching through it together. ✊
TheRavingCelt, Thank you very much! You are so very right. The contrast of the bombastic Les Preludes put together with the annihilating destruction of total war is something that gives you the chills...
@@WorldWarTwo This series (and The Great War) is some of the best pop history ever created. You guys are doing a service to humanity.
A struggle between two gigantic totalitarian empires. How could it not change everything
Les Preludes really was quite fitting
@@uniball5667 I love that song
Funny, how Stalin, who saw an enemy in every shadow, got caught off-guard by the one major power that really wanted his guts turned inside out at all costs.
Morons continue to act moronic, more news at 11.
hello piscator! loving your sabaton lyrics!
@captmitty ???(??
Thats because he was hanging on to the idea of a prolonged war in the west so that he cold pick up the pieces of central and western Europe in 1943.
Stalin was preparing to attack Germany one or two weeks later of the 22 of June 1941.
So Hitler and Stalin played the same game like poker. They tried to deceive each other in this game.
But Hitler was smarter and attacked first.
The burning church in the video while Goebbels said “God is on our side” was a nice touch.
Quite the irony.
All sides usually claim "God's" protection, support, aid, etc. It just goes to show how disinterested 'God' is in human affairs.
Every man who wages war says god is on his side I warrant god should often wonder who is on his.
People with wealth and power view themselves as a god and will do and say anything to assert their will on others.
@Aleš Mrak Could be any of the 4,000+ gods people currently believe in.
Awesome: I'm sure I speak for many Patreon subscribers when I say this is the one video we've been long awaiting: Indy picks up the phone and learns about Barbarossa. No words: perfectly done.
Agreed I've been counting down for weeks
People's choice for WW2 turning Point
I was afraid at the moment that there will be suka-blyat or smthg as a response. But it was well done.
I was confused about that! i had to check my volume to make sure it was working haha
Indy was speechless for, what, 10 seconds? Stalin for most of a week.
German High Command: "We're about ready to launch Operation Barbarossa."
Hitler: "Hold on, I'm still working on putting together the soundtrack."
He's still downloading Sabaton's 'Panzerkampf'
@@stewartbirkmyre9136 Wot? More like Stalin and Zukov
@@keybchet9986 Then it'll be 'Ghost Division', but that was the France Campaign theme.
"Guys hold up I'm working on my AMV"
Must include "Hell March" from Red Alert. Would be very fitting...
3:17
That's gotta be the most awkward ball in the entire Eastern Europe history
The Germans realizing the Soviet railroads use a different gauge must feel like when you try to charge your phone at a friends house and they only have an iPhone charger.
haha
A mistake of enormous proportions, given the reliance on railway transport at that time (and in WW1 as well).
The difference in gauge was only the tip of the iceberg in the many difficulties that screwed over any German attempt to use the Soviet railroads
@@juri8723 they didnt. they had trucks, captured european trains, and carefully planned offensive thrusts, plus actual roads and shorter distances
Of course they were well aware of the difference in railroad gauges. They thought moving one of the rails would be relatively easy. Things are never as easy as one expects.
Another fine tie/shirt/waistcoat combination. Fitting for such a momentous week. 4.5/5
@Águila701 I mean I'm pretty sure they didn't make this video back then
@Águila701It's almost like the way people dress... Changes over time
@Águila701 meeh
@Águila701 You meant to say "rich people back then knew how to dress". The poor didn't wear such things on a daily basis, maybe a suit for church. Although the wearing of hats across all class lines was more prevalent back then.
@Águila701 You mean at tourist spots people dress relaxed in shorts and sandals?
Wow how dare they. Do much better if they all worse formal suits and gowns when at the beach or exploring ruins etc
I feel that, given that Operation Barbarossa was one of the key milestones of the war, it makes sense to use this opportunity to congratulate everyone in the WW2 team on how far this project has come. Although we're only 2 years in, it already has the makings of a fantastic project. Thank you for teaching me so many things I didn't know before.
On a more sombre note, of course, and much more importantly, this is the point at which the war gets far bloodier than it has been thus far. Some historians point to the start of Operation Barbarossa as the point when the Holocaust really got going in earnest.
Congrats to the team! I love these guys!
Congrats to the team great job
Yes. When I looked at those poor Red army units that were in the path of Army Group North, for example, I had to shiver a bit. They would largely die from gunfire, starvation and overwork. And the fate of the civilians is even worse. What a terrible war.
@@krystalcz9251 And if you look the numbers on most battles after Moscow, you see that both sides are roughly equal in numbers. Many of the soviet deaths also come from the massacres committed by the Wehrmacht and SS.
@@krystalcz9251 True, but that shouldn't dismiss the sacrifice of those on the Western front.
This is a pretty sad day for me because my great grandfather, who was a soviet brigadier, was killed by the germans on that day. This video cheers me up a little so thank you. Keep up the awesome work!
Was he a communist?
That's insignificant, but he was a soldier of one of the most ruthless and evil states. He obviously had no choice though
@@sahipkran9447 Very bad, fake and horrible comment!
Jan Press, sorry for your loss.
@@sahipkran9447 Compared to the Germans, the Soviets look like the good guys lol
In exactly 3 years time I will finally learn how to pronounce "Bagration": The countdown has begun!
Then we'll all have a go at "Raeder".
The end of Heeresgruppe Mitte and the Reich,and the attack that made the success or failure of D-Day irrelevant.
@Jared Moreno No,i said Bagration made D-day irrelevant.
@@WilhelmMyffen not exactly, the western front pulled some pressure off the eastern front (Not much comparatively, but all helps), and the western allied air force was a major benefactor for the Soviets, as they had pretty much free reign after the defences of the Luftwaffe were destroyed by the western allies in the West, allowing the bombers to roam free.
Also the Western Allies weren't about to let the Soviets (who they still didn't exactly like based on their totalitarian regime) roll across the entirety of Europe
Is not a russian name, is armenian, and armenian language has no sister language.
I heard a story once, that the last great Mongol warlord, Timur, aka, Tamerlane, before his death, warned that should anyone disturb his resting place, a calamity far greater and more terrible than himself would befall those responsible. On June 21, 1941, a group of Soviet archeologists in the Middle East uncovered a tomb, containing a skeleton of a tall man of Asian origins, with damage to one of his legs that would have resulted in a distinct limp when he was alive. They surmised that this skeleton was the remains of Tamerlane. The very next day, Operation Barbarossa kicked off, drawing the Soviet Union into a conflict that would cost them millions of lives. How true this story is, I'm not sure.
It's true... we cover it here: instagram.com/p/CBqXmDxi5Kh/
@@WorldWarTwo nice. I got the date wrong, but like I said, it was a story that I had heard some years ago.
For me this the most hyped video of both "The Great War" and "WW2" channels combined. You did not disappoint Indy & co.
To be honest I preferred the one on 11.11.1918. It was a somewhat heartwarming goodbye.
@@poiuyt975 I'm sure there will be more yet to hype with in the road ahead, not to worry...
I’m waiting for December 7th. Don’t ask why, you won’t understand
@@ReformedSooner24 I don't know, I think that by Christmas the Germans will have overran Moscow and the Soviets will sue for peace. Even if the Americans join the war, what can they do so quickly and then there's the whole neutrality thing... no no, they won't join the war I'm sure.
May 10 1940 invasion of the west was well done and the one I was waiting for, followed closely by this.
"The Soviets are taken by near total surprise." For as long as I live, I don't think I will ever really understand how this was possible.
Pigheaded stubbornness? Or maybe just a lack of smartphones...
Wilful ignorance. Stalin didn't want to believe so it wasn't happening in his mind. And if you have only yes-man around you, your world image gets reinforced by them. Very dangerous combination in a sociopathic, narcissistic and totalitarian dictator
And yet I am surprised some people in Russia still supporting this lunatic's actions. From Holomodor and Gulags in 30s, to WWII in 40s.
Honestly why!?
@@Solidoaf Fear can do that to people. He was afraid to go to war with Germany. A lot of times fear works in both ways. Being paranoid and believing that every little thing is a threat either to you or your well being (when Stalin did his 'clean ups'), or as in this case, being completely dismissive of anything that could lead to that threat.
@@peymanmostafaei6963 firstly, they believed the propoganda. secondly, nostalgia for 'the good old days' and some highpoint of saving the planet from nazism and the long, long shadow that casts over everything afterward
June 22nd: *Plays Le Prelude* 'Get used to hearing this. This will be the victory fanfare for Barbarossa."
*Never plays Le Prelude again*
*Frolic intensifies*
They heard the 1812 overture instead 😁
Part of "Les Preludes" was used as opener for the "Deutsche Wochenschau" and radio updates on the war though.
Nothing more intense than watching Indy pick up the phone casually, listen, then hang up in total, stunned silence.
For four years, Axis and Soviet troops will engage in long, brutal combat. The sheer size of the Eastern Front was impressive.
Stalin hears about invasion:
"So this is the end?"
Hitler:
"No, this is just Prelude!"
*ba dum tss!* 🥁 😂 🤣 😅
Khrushchev said from the words of Beria that Stalin was suppressed at an emergency meeting and said that Lenin built the country, and we lost it. Stalin made a speech only on July 3. Before that, mostly Molotov spoke, including June 22 speech about the beginning of war.
When mentioning an army under "insert general name here" a picture of the man would be a nice addition.
Most of 'em dont really have pictures. You might at best get sketches or portraits
Only the top dogs get the pictures. And I must say Timoshenko's portrait is that of a man who knows his destiny and who is marching straight towards it.
Not every general got pictures, most just got sketches.
@@kanedakrsa Ok most generals do have pictures
@@daniels_0399 Ok, no? The soviet union generally would only have mugshots from propaganda pieces. Otherwise they used sketched portraits, because photo equipment was extremely rare in the fourth-world hell of the early soviet
I don't usually write comments on a video unless it blew me away. This video's ending with Franz Liszt Les Preludes with montage of brutal war scenes gave me chills. This is not just a history video but it is also a piece of art. Congratulations to you and your team for creating such a powerful piece of art.
I don't know how many times I've watched this episode... It's such a masterpiece!
"What were you doing the night before the Nazi Reich invaded the Soviet Union?"
"Dancing."
Sergey suddenly felt less bad about Masha refusing to dance with him, he got bigger problems...
@@nesa1126
99 problems but Masha ain't one
With the Germans...
People are strange. If you read Patton's memoirs, he would describe giving general (and fairly vague) orders to his divisional commanders for an offensive - and then going to some cultural events for a day or two. This was not before the war, this was during Allied offensive in France in autumn 1944.
The Soviets being oblivious to the impending, most massive invasion in history like:
*dancin is what to do*
I never thought I'd be even slightly hyped for a major Nazi invasion, but that's the magic of it happening 79 years ago and being retold in a serialised documentary. I'm sure that will last a good 5-7 minutes until the horror begins.
You could make a good case for this being the most important day in the History of Mankind considering the sheer size and scale of what will happen next.
@@markhenley3097 lol, so the big Sino-Japanese war going on on the other side of the war is small for you?. In terms amount of people, violence, deaths and importance, that war was also as big as the european theater one.
@@JoePro84 Haven't you noticed that the Asian /pacific theater isn't really thought of or discussed as much as the European one? I rarely hear people discuss the horrors that happened there.
@@JoePro84 As you say yourself, that war (2nd Sino-Japanese) is separate from WWII at this point. Why would you bring in another war, when Orange was talking about the war in Europe.
@@OptimusPrime-fw3ks Yes it's rarely discussed even within Japan now.
This is such a massive invasion. Only an army as big as the Wehrmacht can do this, there’s no way that the soviets can pull an attack of this scale in, let’s say, exactly 3 years and one day?
"Operation Bagration isn't real, it can't hurt you."
@rob 998 AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH
The numbers are staggering. The East Front was a meat grinder of epic proportions, millions upon millions of men. Meanwhile in the Western Front, the US/UK had to contend with old out of shape men, teenagers, and troop units unfit for combat, numbering a mere 150.000. And yet the US likes to brag about how they singlehandedly´won´ WWII!! Even today, the piss poor state of US Education and decades of Cold War propaganda keep denying the Soviet Union their rightful accolades and deserving top honors for decimating the german Army. If it weren´t for the ruskies, the western allies would have encountered a million germans defending the Atlantic Wall, and D Day would have been dubbed Defeat Day, and the invasion would have been obliterated on the beaches!
It´s a shame how personal political opinions can blind a man to the facts, even when they are glaringly on their face. You don´t disrespect the victors of the greatest battles of the 20th century, just because you happen to dislike ´commies´!
@@Biden_is_demented russia won the great war. PERIOD
@@Biden_is_demented Ok, I think you're falling for the opposite mistake here. Yes, the Eastern front was where the biggest battles took place. But saying that the Western front was held by 150k washouts is bogus. Germans lost around 500k men between 1944 and 1945 there. At its highest point, they had 2 millions soldiers fighting in the West. Still short of the almost 4m they had in the East in 1943 (highest point), but it's not nothing either.
Also, saying that without the Eastern front, D-Day would be failure is a bit disingenuous, since the whole POINT of D-Day was to alleviate the Eastern front by opening a new one. Well, there was a first attempt to do that by invading Italy, but it didn't really work out.
I get that you're annoyed at people downplaying the USSR contribution to victory (can't comment on how bad it can get in the US, I'm not from here), but don't fall for the opposite excess.
I have been watching your videos since your channel doing WW1.
The sheer amount of information that is covered is outstanding.
Things that I have read in books over the years are show in great detail.
Your pronunciation of names of people, places and things is impeccable.
Great job. Thank you for all you and your team do.
It boggles my mind that this awesome channel doesnt have a million subscribers....what is wrong with humanity
Stalin wakes up literally being shot by Hitler
Stalin: “Hm... it’s probably nothing”
Stalin goes back to bed.
Stalin wakes up literally being shot by Hitler
Stalin: “This is clearly a British plot.”
Zhukov and Timoshenko warning him that the entire German army is going to shoot him
Stalin: "They're just teasing us" *Sleeps*
Fun fact: for around two weeks stalin would not leave is house for the shock of this surprise attack
According to Antony Beever, he actually collapsed and cried "Everything Lenin left to us is gone"
It took him a few days to pick himself up and start organizing defence
@@sweetnex3816 if the allegation comes from Kruschev and Molotov is the only contradictory source, then neither side actually has anything. Hastings mentions the same kind of story, but the delegation was supposedly headed by Anastas Mikoyan. However, I do not see Mikoyan's memoir in Hastings bibliography, while he does include Kruschev's memoir. Supposedly Mikoyan's memoir is just as selective as every other memoir from a Soviet official who survived Stalin, so who knows whether that would actually resolve anything.
Every week I think about how the channel reached peak quality in writing, acting and overall production. And every week the Time Ghost team take me for a ride. I'm loving all those extra episodes.
Wow thats a huge number of Divisions. Great job , makes me proud to support you guys.
@@KnightofAges Soviet divisions are between a half to a third smaller than German ones though
@@KnightofAges dunno where you're getting that from. Soviet rifle divisions had on paper 9375 men and a guards rifle division had 10585 men. And as you say German divisions had 18,000 men.
So yeah Soviet divisions were between 50-66% the size of German ones
And contrary to popular belief the Soviets actually had massive problems with manpower more or less from the start. Historian David Glanz routinely finds Soviet divisions with less than 2000 men in them in his Stalingrad trilogy. This isn't to say the Germans didn't have problems with manpower either especially after 43 but when you hear of "400 Soviet Divisions on the eastern front" keep the actual numbers involved in perspective
Damn, this episode is eerie. That much detail about the day it started makes you realize from the very start how massive and horrific this war is going to be.
It's hard to believe that this was almost two years ago and in everything that's happened since then. Stalingrad, Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, North Africa, Midway. I remember when this episode first came out and how it felt so monumental. Yet this war was, and still is, far from over. Les Preludes really was a great choice.
and here we are in 2022, cities that are mentioned in this series like Mariupol and Zaporizhzhia are once against being invaded by a foreign nation
@@bearok89 and now DDay is being secretly planned
And now Dday happend and soviets are back and close to warsaw. Also rome fallen few months ago
@Somedude_jdjdi Genuinely one of the best history series ever(WW1 in real time as well) you really get to experience how long this war must have really felt. 10's of millions of people have died, and we've still got a ways to go.
And now the Soviets and the Western Allies stand victorious over the rotten corpse of the Reich
The final words of the Molotov's address to the nation became a motto, became words to live by for the next years, even in the darkest moments when all hope seemed to be lost:
Our cause is right. The enemy will be destroyed. The victory will be ours!
The motto you refer(наше дело правое, враг будет разбит, мы должны победить - our cause is just, the enemy will be defeated, we must be victorious.) was not uttered by Molotov, but by Stalin himself in his speech in 03-07-1941 (after almost two weeks of radio silence by Stalin since the beginning of the invasion, while every single ear in soviet union was waiting for a speech of their supreme leader).
PS: After WW2 Stalin made a special medal for everyone who contributed towards the victory in WW2 it was awarded to everyone who served in the red army/navy/aviation during the war and also to all the civilians who contributed to the victory - either by guerilla warfare or simply by working in factories that produced tanks, ammunition, weapons etc. The backside of the medal has the inscription "Awarded for the victory against Germany in the great patriotic war of 1941-1945" and the front side has Stalin and the motto you mentioned, the only thing altered is the past tense - "Our cause is just, we were victorious".
@@kr0k0deilos You're right about everything, Stalin's speech included this motto, but Molotov's speech featured it first. You can look up the full texts of both - in is mentioned in one and the other.
I wonder what the look was on their faces when the Soviets got invaded? Especially after they were busy invading and taking land from others in the region.
But why did the Molotov herald that particular speach? Becouse Stalin was hiding like a rat at his suburban residence at that moment.
And in the end, they were the same as the Germans. They conquered as much of Europe as they could.
Now THAT is a dramatic ending.
It kinda reminds me of some of Sparty's WaH endings. Peering into my crystal ball, that seems fitting for a special Barbarossa episode.
My Grandmother graduated from high school in Leningrad 3 days before the invasion. On the day of the invasion she was supposed to go to her family in small village near Smolensk. Because of the invasion she stayed in Leningrad, and even though she was there during the blockade(spoiler), this might have saved her life because she was Jewish. This day sealed the fate of most of her family, like millions of others.
Так что с ней случилось? Гугл странно перевел
@@mattep74 She was there for almost one year before she was evacuated
@@_b_x_b_1063 она осталась в Ленинграде во время блокады. Ее эвакуировали через год. Если бы она вернулась в свою деревню ее бы нацисты наверное убили как и всю семью
Never imagined having such an amazing history lesson by Saul Goodman
Better call Saul
The grand review of units is honestly amazing. Eastory has really outdone himself on this one!
I swear, the dopamine hitting my brain after watching this episode was much higher than the, ahem "self-care". Every Hair in my body stood up after watching this video, I never imagined I would be this exited about the most brutal war in the history of world.
On the side note, my guy is here, Kostantin Rokossovsky, although not off to a great start. I hope you guys do a special about him soon, a polish born general who became a hero of soviet Union.
Just wait until the Germans get in Smolensk, Rokossovsky will start beating up the germans
"If Hitler invaded hell, I will atleast make a positive reference about the devil in the house of commons"
- Churchill, june 21 1941
Ofc he would say good things about the Devil. Churchill is the devil himself
@@edgardmacena-ac4322 ikr, im from India by the way
Yeah.. it's not like UK provided Hitler with the means of world conquest by annexing heavily industrialized Czechoslovakia in the first place or anything..
Dima S the neville chamberlain you idiot
I wonder if "Hitler invades Hell" would make a good alt-history story.
There is no sufficient complement or any comment I can give to this documentary. I thank the Ghost Army and all the Crew for producing this great work.
I had the realization today that I started watching this channel during the Winter War when I was 20. If nothing happens to it or RUclips, I'm going to be 25 by the time the war comes to an end. The thought of this carnage lasting long enough for many of us to become different people is terrifying to me, and not something which I've properly felt until now. So well done team. I was too late for The Great War, but I'm glad I wasn't too late for this.
I’ll have just turned 21
I swear, this channel is such a treat. I love having it in the background or watching it in a break time.
Marco Pastor Mayo, Thank you very much! We appreciate the support!
Like everything else Hitler did, this took place on a weekend. In this case, on a Sunday.
Only in this case, nobody was in church.
The following Sunday German Communists will meet in a cafe in Berlin to plan activity in response to the invasion.
@@stevekaczynski3793 Is there a name for this meeting ? I would like to learn more .
@@johndistick9702 No, it was mentioned in Allan Merson's "Communist Resistance In Nazi Germany", published 1985 or 1986. It was clandestine and designed to look like a café outing in the summer - whether the Gestapo had it under surveillance, I don't know. Most of the participants did not survive the war.
@Feby B M I guess you've never heard of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Soviet government was officially atheist but it's people were not.
It is weird seeing this in 1945
I was enamoured by the Great War channel and i've been watching every episode.
I didn't know this channel existed. Man i'm for a ride. Great to see you here Indy! You're one of my favourite,and most familiar voice to listen to.
When I first heard about the Great War Channel back in the day I knew they would have to do a series on the Second World war. And what I was excited for the most was Operation Barbarossa. So I have been waiting for the past 6 years for this day I am glad to say it did not disappoint.
Watching this is really the first time I get the feeling that WW2 has reached the scale of bloodshed and destruction as WW1.
It was actually orders of magnitude larger. Pretty sure Operation Barbarossa has more deaths than WW1 itself. Probably due to Generalplan Ost and the Holocaust
The prelude has ended. The REAL war starts now...
If England had folded been beaten fall of 1940 or winter of 40 /'41 , there wouldve been an extra 40 or 50 German divisions in their invasion .. thats a whole extra army group and then some ... as it was the germans got to 25 miles from the Kremlin ..
For Europe, perhaps.
In Asia total war with all of its accompanying horrors has been raging since 1937.
@@lycaonpictus9662 yeah exactly often over looked
Hitler: I created quite a plan to get Caucasian oil first then go to for the rest, I can't wait to see Halder executing my plan flawlessly without changing priorities because he knows better
Halder:Hey Hey
Whose strategy was objectively better?
@@RampageG4mer Halder wanted to take Moscow because "hey look France", if they got fues in 1943 in less than year Russia implodes in economy and Germany has resources, because of Halder divisions in south had 60 to30% of supplies needed
@@wojszach4443 Napoleon took Moscow and still lost. Russia is not like other countries.
@@MrMineHeads. not comparable to Napoleonic area, and Russia is of course like all the other countries, it is just big but the European area is the most important. The chance they would falter like the French were high.
@@RampageG4mer the south, taking the oil fields will give the germans the fuel to push on and cut off the oil to the ussr
The intro was so chilling for me. Great job guys.
The combination of bombastic music at the end and scenes of destruction was so sick and impressive.
"May God aid us in this fight" then cuts to a church on fire. Great juxtaposition there, one of the many reasons why I love this channel.
"The Great Patriotic War" begins
@Rafael Resende Are you dumb?
When an enemy invades and slaughters your family, talk to me about crusades and politics
@Rafael Resende soviet propaganda died with ussr. Now its murican propaganda.
And were is the country now ? A patriotic war for a country who does not exist, who cease to exist. CCCP dismantling was the only chance for russian to remain a majority in their new "russian federation"
@Rafael Resende AHAH it was to protect your stupid ass from being somewhere in german camp
Its the name of the war for those who fought the germans from 1941 to 1945 in Russia, Ukraine, and countries of the Baltics.
I'm really dissapointed that during the roll call of all the generals we didn't get the pictures of the generals
I generally know a lot of them by name but i know a lot more by picture and it would be very helpful
Noted! Thanks for the feedback
text of Molotov's speech for those interested.
"Today at 4 a.m. ... without declaring war, Germany attacked our country ... the attack was perpetrated despite a pact of non-aggression between the USSR and Germany, which the USSR faithfully abided by ... responsibility for this attack falls entirely upon German fascist rulers ... at 5:30 a.m. the German ambassador in Moscow relayed the message from the German government that the decision to launch war against the USSR was due to Red Army units concentrated near the East German border. I replied on behalf of the USSR, that Germany attacked despite the peace agreement, making Germany the aggressor ... Hitler's declaration today is a lie and a provocation, and he is trying belatedly to invent charges that the Soviet Union failed to observe the Soviet-German pact. Now that the attack on the Soviet Union has already been committed, the Soviet Government has ordered our troops to retaliate and to drive German troops from our country. This war has been forced upon us, not by the German people, not by German workers, peasants and intellectuals, whose sufferings we well understand, but by the clique of bloodthirsty Fascist rulers of Germany who have enslaved Frenchmen, Czechs, Poles, Serbians, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Greece and other nations. The government of the Soviet Union expresses its unshakable confidence that our valiant army and navy and brave falcons of the Soviet Air Force will acquit themselves with honor in performing their duty to the fatherland and to the Soviet people, and will inflict a crushing blow upon the aggressor ... The government of the Soviet Union expresses the firm conviction that the whole population of our country, all workers, peasants and intellectuals, men and women, will conscientiously perform their duties and do their work. Our entire people must now stand solid and united as never before ... The government calls upon you, citizens of the Soviet Union, to rally still more closely around our glorious Bolshevist party, around our Soviet Government, around our great leader and comrade, Stalin. Ours is a righteous cause. The enemy shall be defeated. Victory will be ours."
Interesting that they even mentioned the pact! Still hoping against hope for peace?
@@lhaviland8602 Nothing strange - they're not denying or covering it up. Unlike Western propaganda that never talks about the Munich Agreement
"Red Army units concentrated near the East German border" and was not real this concentration ? Even TASS communicate about this concentration . Drills near a new border ! Very naive !
@@ltschriscrucker "Unlike Western propaganda that never talks about the Munich Agreement"
Wot?
*motherland ;)
I love this series! Indy is captivating in his eloquence, gestures and in his simple change of tone to show the gravity of this history! The series does not romanticize war; it shows and emphasizes the war against humanity. I cannot believe there were two years of war before Germany invaded USSR. In hindsight, we neglect or we maybe we fail to comprehend the duration and scale of this global conflict. These weekly episode have helped me understand this history more than any simple summaries found in text books and in short documentaries. I just want to say thank you to them and I think I will start to contribute with more than just my view/ and likes. Also, Spartacus is a brilliant host and historian. Shouts out to the whole crew! I’ll watch this through the fall of Berlin.
ever since i started watching from when the first episode came out you guys have always knocked it out of the park with the production quality and everything that goes into these episodes. Its so satisfying to see this show become just as iconic as the great war one you did, absolutely amazing work keep it up 💪👍
I like the little hear no evil-speak no evil-see no evil statue on the desk there. Very similar to how Stalin was acting towards the Germans up until they invaded lol
Watch the Soviet storm from star media. At least the first series.The series is based on both German and Soviet documents and not on an English interpretation of German statements.
@@dimakvac4918 I remember that series. It was good but I can't find it anymore.
@@htoodoh5770 I don't know why, but you indeed cant find these series with english voice over anymore. However there is still russian voice over with english subtitles.
@@ФедорКостров Yeah it just disappear.
@@htoodoh5770
It was republished recently, you can watch it now.
No words. The suffering was immense. Has anyone seen the film “Come and See”? It’d be cool if the channel mentioned that film. It’s debatably the best war film ever made.
unforgettable experience. come and see is set in 1943 so maybe then
Yes, Yes, Come and See is amazing, but horrifying. The soviet republic of Belarus lost a quarter of its population in the war. Largely as a byproduct of extensive partisan fighting, as all partisan actions were answered by the Germans with disproportionate reprisals against civilians.
And yes, it is the best war film ever made.
First time i watched it i got totally submerged to the point of feeling the pain and the war
Sturmpionier03 Being Slavic (Polish) I cried at the end. I realized how my existence was not certain and that the true depth of the cruelty of the war was biblical in nature.
Sturmpionier03 Come and See and Apocalypse Now are tied for me for the best war films ever made. Both are extremely psychological in nature. Come and See is just a total gut punch though.
Stalin: "I'm paranoid about my generals questioning my authority, they're looking to overthrow me! Purge Them!" also Stalin: "Nah, those thousands of Panzers and fighter planes at our border don't mean anything. All of this intelligence is false!"
Lol
The main problem: was everything created for attack , not for defence ! Was no plan for defence !
yeh and the funny thing is that this idiot wins turning all of his critics into horse asses:)
@@Cornel1001 and where did you learnt that?:)
@@enuajsifoto Can you present just one document , CCCP published, before June 1941, dedicated for defense ? Not invented after 1945
"Les Preludes " by Liszt might be the single piece that got me started loving classical music. I won't let the fact that Hitler was a fan bother me.
0:01 Stalin at 3;00 am on June 22nd, 1941 when he hears about panzers crossing the border.
The fact is, Stalin did not accept the report more than 72 hours. His disbelieve was real ! After he recover, he understand the situation , 5 million soldiers placed on the "new border" are lost. The mystery stay in the losses of another 5 million soldiers before December 1941, in defensive operations. A good explanation could be the military commanders were shadowed by political officers.
my father was in the middle of barbarossa as germany invaded estonia :(
You mean liberated and then occupied estonia
@@greeniedi6287 No I'm pretty sure he means invaded
@@greeniedi6287 Just because the Soviets invaded first doesn't mean the Germans didn't also invade.
@@declansheridan6009 Indeed, lest you fall into their beliefs, and look favourable to their standards, it is nooo paradise being under control of either Nazis or the Soviets.
I read that the Germans were welcomed with flowers when they entered the Baltic countries, and also many Baltic men joined SS divisons afterwards.
Another great video! I was always fascinated by the war in the east ever since I was a kid. When watching Hogan’s Hero’s as a kid I was curious about what the Russian front was that Shultz was always being threatened with so I began hitting the library. I was stunned to discover that we Americans had been facing only 20% of the German army the rest being in the east.
will there be any mention of Shostakovitch "Leningrad" symphony during the siege of Leningrad?
I really hope so. The book "siege and symphony" is worth a read, as it is a bloody good book!
That conclusion was epic and gave me goosebumps. The quality of this channel keeps growing and growing.
I really gotta say, this music in the end gave me goosebumps. It is at this moment where you realice what has happened and we will see in future awesome videos
Invading Russia prank [gone wrong] [Berlin captured]
War isn't really a prank m8 but whatever.
@@luxembourgishempire2826 That joke went completely over your head.
Do I woosh him? Fuck it, I'll do it.
r/woosh
Indy said there were some supplemental vids. Where can I find them?
Special episode on the tanks of Barbarossa - ruclips.net/video/gh7mt2OS770/видео.html
Special episode on trucks and Barbarossa logistics - ruclips.net/video/4lSCnOltYdY/видео.html
Special episode about Blitzkrieg tactics - ruclips.net/video/qej9DX28-xw/видео.html
@@WorldWarTwo Thanks!
Between 2 Wars episode on Stalin's military purges: ruclips.net/video/MNnK0LAoyMo/видео.html
I know nothing of my Soviet ancestors, but watching this while keeping in mind that they lived through this is deep. I wonder how many of my family fought, both on the front lines and through war industry, and how much of my family died subsequently.
The quality of the content in this channel is unbelieveable! Congratulations!
@Indie & Co.
A bone chilling ending, the combination of footage, music and dialogue created a atmosphere of ominous warnings of Armageddon
Well done.
Brian Smith, Thank you very much! We appreciate the support!
Now this is World War II.
You blow me away sometimes. I love Les Preludes and its finale at the end of this episode was amazing. When I first started studying the Soviet-German conflict 50+ years ago, it was told in terms of numbers of cities, divisions, soldiers, weapons and vehicles captured or killed/destroyed, and so on. It wasn't until Charles C Sharp's Soviet Order of Battle World War II that I read the following: "It is important to remember that in June 1941 the Soviet Army was on a peacetime establishment, and the rifle divisions were at the peacetime authorized strengths. There were, outside of the Far East, two such peacetime strength levels. They were called the "12" and the "6" divisions, based on manpower: 12,000 and 6,000 (approximately)." Those on the border military districts were the "12" with the interior military districts having the "6" It was expected that, in the event of an attack, reservists would quickly be assembled and these units would be brought up to full strength which didn't happen because of the speed of the German attack. For example, the assembly area for these reservists in the Western Military District was Minsk which was surrounded in 5 days. Stavka appears to have used these troops to form new rifle divisions to replace the ones lost at the front. Prior to the invasion, the most recent shtat (TO&E) for the rifle divisions was released in April '41 and reflected lessons from the Winter War. There wasn't a lot of time to 'get used to' the significant changes from the '39 shtat before the invasion. A new one would be released in July as the basis for the new rifle divisions. I have found that the shtaty provide an fascinating look at how the Soviets viewed the 'effective' way to set up their units for combat which evolves in the course of this conflict. They make an interesting contrast to the TO&Es of the axis.
A neighbour of my grandparents in England was in hospital on that day, he was an old Commie. He sat up bolt upright when he heard of the German attack and shouted 'We've got 'em'.
He was in fact right.
As with Napoleon
Great story.
@Rafael Resende A failed attempt of sarcasm, I presume?
@@apmoy70 No, he is a nazi-sympathizer. A very dumb one. I mean it's not like there are smart ones, but this one is exceptionally dumb.
Very well done episode. The Franz Liszt at the end is chilling
I am very happy I have become a member of the time ghost army, that ending gave me chills down my spine.
There is no other channel like yours that conveys the horrors against humanity with such emotional impact, thank you.
KCG M - just wanted to take a moment and thank you for your valuable contribution - you're adding value, context and depth - thanks from the whole TimeGhost Team!
This channel and the Epic history channel put out content that puts any and every TV production that covers history to shame.
It's RUclips channels like these two that I fully believe should themselves go down in history as the peak of historical media. I really don't know how you make content better than this series or Epic History's Napoleonic War videos.
Thank you very much for those kind words! Spread the word!
That ending sent chills down my spine!
Germany: Have they told you who I am?
Soviet Union: Some dead man
Some split-in-2-for-45-years man
Only Oberyn Martel from Game of Thrones wasn't a Nazi
Indy I can’t thank you enough for this channel I’m telling everyone I know about you and your team. Keep up getting more money and quality videos.
To me, these series here at World War Two, along with the Mark Felton Productions video's, are some of the finest documentaries about WW2 available. Binge watching these whenever I can and feel like it.
The greatest Madness in human history has begun.
I’ve been waiting three years for this:
[Breaths in]
*INTO THE MOTHERLAND THE GERMAN ARMY MARCHED*
Well, better if wait two years more.
Lilly LeFaggot, yeah the song’s about Kursk I know, but that line fits
"Into the Motherland the German army march"
We'll save that for Kursk my friend
The silence after answering the phone actuallt gave me chills
"Stalin! The German's are stabbing you over and over!"
Stalin: "No they're not. And it'll probably be provocative if I tried to stop them."
Just goes to show how poweful the Germand were
Extremely unprepared for any form of conflict Soviet Union tries to delay the immenent invasion in any way possible, what a surprise.
"Wait till you see."
"Wait till I see what?"
"Wait till you see what one man can do to another."
5:55 I know you said it a couple weeks ago, but it's still sad that you couldn't do your army group north day-by-day like you had planned
Given the current circumstances, "Operation Barbarossa" now needs to be referred to as "special operation Barbarossa".
0:02 I’m terrified to think of what the anomaly on the other side of the phone said to trigger such a reaction
STEINERS ANGRIFF WAR BEFEHL!
I was expecting Indy to say something at the beginning, the fact that he said nothing gave me chills! Amazing
Amazing video once again! Huge thanks for this and greetings from Finland!
SN, Thank you very much! We appreciate the support!
Hitler: "Time to launch the maybe biggest operation in history"
Indy: "time to break out the Simba tie"
It is said that Turkish president İsmet İnönü literally danced with joy when he heard the news of german attack to russia because this relieved Turkey from the pressure of a possible german invasion
I wonder how a German invasion of Turkey around the summer of 1941 would have panned out. I know that the Turkish army, much like the rest of the Balkans, was hopelessly obsolete and would not have stood a chance against the Wehrmacht in regular combat but Turkey is big, surrounded on two long sides by sea and even had the French agrees for a smooth transfer of German troops through Syria, the bulk of the land forces would have had to advance through the Bosphorus which would have been an absolute nightmare to pull off. Still, always nice to speculate.
@@yarpen26 European Turkey would have fallen, quite easily. The Luftwaffe made extensive plans for bombing Istanbul if it proved necessary. Turkey in Asia might have been more difficult.
Turkey and USSR also have beef with each other, so it's a double celebration.
@@bangscutter Their relations were rather good in the 1920s and 1930s (both were outsiders in the world of the Versailles treaty) but will start to deteriorate in 1942.
@@yarpen26 but, there are sea as defense lines on Bosporus; Dardan and Sea of Marmara.
if turkey army hold that line Germans are doomed
and UK will come to help
Love it how Indy portrayed Stalins reaction to the phone call of the German Attack
I was so excited for this coverage. It feels like Christmas. Great work so far and I cannot wait to see what lies ahead !