Rommel's Last Battle in North Africa: Tunisia 1943 (4K WW2 Documentary)

Поделиться
HTML-код
  • Опубликовано: 30 сен 2024
  • Nebula with 40% off annual subscription with my link: go.nebula.tv/r...
    Watch Rhineland 45 about Monty's last battle in WW2: nebula.tv/vide...
    In February 1943, Rommel’s panzers are again on the attack in North Africa. This time he’s facing untested US troops in the mountains of Tunisia - but the clock is ticking. As his veterans batter their way through the Kasserine Pass, the British are steadily advancing behind him. The Desert Fox has a bold plan to defeat the Allies in Tunisa for good. Little does he know, however, it will be his last battle in the field - and will soon lead him to total defeat in what some later will call Tunisgrad.
    » SUPPORT US
    / realtimehistory
    nebula.tv/real...
    » THANK YOU TO OUR CO-PRODUCERS
    Raymond Martin, Konstantin Bredyuk, Lisa Anderson, Brad Durbin, Jeremy K Jones, Murray Godfrey, John Ozment, Stephen Parker, Mavrides, Kristina Colburn, Stefan Jackowski, Cardboard, William Kincade, William Wallace, Daniel L Garza, Chris Daley, Malcolm Swan, Christoph Wolf, Simen Røste, Jim F Barlow, Taylor Allen, Adam Smith, James Giliberto, Albert B. Knapp MD, Tobias Wildenblanck, Richard L Benkin, Marco Kuhnert, Matt Barnes, Ramon Rijkhoek, Jan, Scott Deederly, gsporie, Kekoa, Bruce G. Hearns, Hans Broberg, Fogeltje
    » SOURCES
    Campbell, David, Tunisia 1943: US Soldier vs Afrikakorps Soldier, (Oxford : Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2019)
    Citino, Robert M, The Wehrmarcht in Retreat: Fighting a Lost War, 1943, (Lawrence, KS : University Press of Kansas, 2012)
    Griffith, Paddy, World War II Desert Tactics, (Oxford : Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2008)
    Kelly, Orr, Meeting the Fox: The Allied Invasion of Africa, from Operation Torch to Kasserine Pass to Victory in Tunisia, (New York, NY : John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2002)
    Roy, Kaushik, Fighting Rommel: The British Imperial Army in North Africa during the Second World War, 1941-1943, (London : Routledge India, 2019)
    Watson, Bruce Allen, Exit Rommel: The Tunisian Campaign, 1942-1943, (Westport, CT : Praeger, 1999)
    Zaloga, Steven J, Kasserine Pass 1943: Rommel’s Last Victory, (Oxford : Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2005)
    »CREDITS
    Campbell, David, Tunisia 1943: US Soldier vs Afrikakorps Soldier, (Oxford : Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2019)
    Citino, Robert M, The Wehrmarcht in Retreat: Fighting a Lost War, 1943, (Lawrence, KS : University Press of Kansas, 2012)
    Griffith, Paddy, World War II Desert Tactics, (Oxford : Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2008)
    Kelly, Orr, Meeting the Fox: The Allied Invasion of Africa, from Operation Torch to Kasserine Pass to Victory in Tunisia, (New York, NY : John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2002)
    Roy, Kaushik, Fighting Rommel: The British Imperial Army in North Africa during the Second World War, 1941-1943, (London : Routledge India, 2019)
    Watson, Bruce Allen, Exit Rommel: The Tunisian Campaign, 1942-1943, (Westport, CT : Praeger, 1999)
    Zaloga, Steven J, Kasserine Pass 1943: Rommel’s Last Victory, (Oxford : Osprey Publishing Ltd, 2005)
    Presented by: Jesse Alexander
    Written by: Mark Newton
    Director: Toni Steller & Florian Wittig
    Director of Photography: Toni Steller
    Editing: Toni Steller
    Motion Design: Philipp Appelt
    Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: above-zero.com
    Research by: Mark Newton
    Fact checking: Florian Wittig, Jesse Alexander
    Channel Design: Simon Buckmaster
    Contains licensed material by getty images and AP
    Maps: MapTiler/OpenStreetMap Contributors & GEOlayers3
    Music Library: Epidemic Sound
    All rights reserved - Real Time History GmbH 2023

Комментарии • 669

  • @realtimehistory
    @realtimehistory  10 месяцев назад +14

    Nebula with 40% off annual subscription with my link: go.nebula.tv/realtimehistory
    Watch Rhineland 45 about Monty's last battle in WW2: nebula.tv/videos/real-time-history-1-come-hell-or-high-water-i-rhineland-45

  • @AbruptPause_
    @AbruptPause_ 10 месяцев назад +374

    Rommel describing the Americans as Britain's Italians. That must've stung!

    • @Patrick462
      @Patrick462 10 месяцев назад +74

      As an American, I have no problem with that characterization. No sting for me! At that time for that theater it was essentially correct, due at least somewhat to inexperience.
      However, a month later, the Americans contributed to the victory in North Africa. Then Sicily, then a bunch of other stuff.

    • @eodyn7
      @eodyn7 10 месяцев назад +45

      His statement on the US military aged like milk.

    • @Warmaker01
      @Warmaker01 10 месяцев назад +12

      It didn't sting as much compared to what the Germans were experiencing and where the US Army was in 1945.

    • @MechWomanWarrior15
      @MechWomanWarrior15 10 месяцев назад +10

      It did sting a little haha. But as was pointed out, it was pretty accurate at the time.

    • @tomhenry897
      @tomhenry897 10 месяцев назад +6

      Due to numbers
      Not skill

  • @tando6266
    @tando6266 10 месяцев назад +419

    Rommels genius was in maneuver, in situations where logistics and decisive planning were required he struggled compared with his contemporaries. Tunis represents the exact situation that played against all his strengths

    • @realtimehistory
      @realtimehistory  10 месяцев назад +148

      the losses from his bold actions beforehand also didn't help

    • @DrVictorVasconcelos
      @DrVictorVasconcelos 10 месяцев назад +32

      I wouldn't say he struggled any more than the average German general. Which is not to say there weren't competent ones, just that those were above average. It's all about incentives, too. No one is getting a Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Diamonds for managing those warehouses really well.

    • @obsidianjane4413
      @obsidianjane4413 10 месяцев назад +62

      The British (and now Americans) would always be able to outmatch and outlast German and Italian logistics. Rommel's only option was to aggressively outmaneuver and defeat them on the battlefield before that advantage could be brought to bear. Of course he failed, but it was a much closer run thing than it should have been.

    • @tannerdenny5430
      @tannerdenny5430 10 месяцев назад +12

      Yeah, he mostly deligated those tasks to underlings. Therin lies his problem he couldn't do it all. He's not Belisarius.

    • @adistepic7957
      @adistepic7957 10 месяцев назад +20

      I think the German logistics situation failed him. He would have probably won if he was supplied correctly.

  • @chetmanly6435
    @chetmanly6435 10 месяцев назад +306

    He really called us Italians. Even 80 years later that hurts

    • @amogusenjoyer
      @amogusenjoyer 10 месяцев назад +25

      But he then praises the Americans a bit later, so at least there's that 😅

    • @lastmanstanding-xp3ub
      @lastmanstanding-xp3ub 10 месяцев назад +19

      I wasn't sure if I was the only one who felt that gut punch 😂

    • @obsidianjane4413
      @obsidianjane4413 10 месяцев назад +6

      I've read where it was Bri'sh officers that referred to Americans as "their Italians" instead.

    • @recoil53
      @recoil53 10 месяцев назад +30

      @@amogusenjoyer That was key - the Americans learned fast.
      What the British and some Germans didn't appreciate was that America had just entered the war. At the same point in their time line, British troops were getting kicked out of France, then Norway. Even further down the road, they get their @sses handed to them in Singapore and have Force Z wrecked.
      The US Army started the war with 200K soldiers and ended up with 16M. That is an expansion of 80x. The dilution of experience is unreal.

    • @murrayscott9546
      @murrayscott9546 10 месяцев назад

      Hadda way with words, didn't he ?

  • @brettcurtis5710
    @brettcurtis5710 10 месяцев назад +37

    My father was with the 21st NZ Battalion, 2nd NZ Division at both Tebaga Gap and Takrouna - he served 1 week short of 4 years in Nth Africa and Italy!

  • @julianmhall
    @julianmhall 10 месяцев назад +110

    One word. Logistics.
    Granted Rommel wasn't a fantastic logistician. However even the best logistician cannot use supplies that don't exist. Having pulled Italian backsides out of the fire it might be reasonably expected that they would provide their allies with /promised/ levels of supply. However the Italian merchant navy never even came close to supplying half or even a quarter of what they had promised. Thus even when Rommel's supply lines /were/ short he lacked the supplies he needed.

    • @rhysthomas5811
      @rhysthomas5811 10 месяцев назад +26

      A lot of his logistics ended up at the bottom of the Mediterranean because the allies knew when they were being shipped across from reading the German Enigma messages. They were able to target the ships especially the fuel tankers that were vital for the German war effort,

    • @TheHypnogog
      @TheHypnogog 10 месяцев назад +11

      @@rhysthomas5811 Agreed. Malta was so much a better strategic target than Crete. That little island with all its little planes- a real thorn for axis logistics.

    • @julianmhall
      @julianmhall 10 месяцев назад +4

      @@rhysthomas5811 I would agree except the Italian shipping never even /tried/ to fulfil their obligation, so what the Allies sank simply worsened an already shabby situation.

    • @recoil53
      @recoil53 10 месяцев назад +6

      Germans were not known for their staff work. It was a real weakness they never addressed. They had small staffs and keeping track of the boring but necessary parts was messed up.
      The US dealt with the massive military expansion by having really big staffs. It let them use their civilian expertise effectively and just got stuff done. For example, take a manager from a shipping company, train him enough in military procedure to fit in, don't let him have command responsibility, and let him do what he does best.

    • @julianmhall
      @julianmhall 10 месяцев назад

      @@recoil53 true, and Hitler was notorious for having more than one organisation doing the same job so there were endless turf wars.

  • @Jon.A.Scholt
    @Jon.A.Scholt 10 месяцев назад +186

    "Britain's Italians". Damn, Rommel was throwing some serious shade at the US Army.

    • @ademarmarques42
      @ademarmarques42 10 месяцев назад +12

      dude, i stop the video to laugh and see the comments, haha

    • @Warmaker01
      @Warmaker01 10 месяцев назад +4

      Keep trying to laugh the same way when you remember where the US Army was in 1945.

    • @Frank-pc2rs
      @Frank-pc2rs 10 месяцев назад

      Rommel was bipolar. He praised the Italians on many occasions and also blamed them for everything that went wrong even when he was the one responsible. Their have been books written on it but this mainstream channel will never adress things like that. Just the same allied propaganda and talking points from 80 years ago.

    • @sungazerreg9239
      @sungazerreg9239 10 месяцев назад

      What the difference they all are colonizers

    • @benwilson6145
      @benwilson6145 8 месяцев назад +1

      @@Warmaker01 Just as slow! Patton , 10m miles in a month in the Ardennes!

  • @Matlacha_Painter
    @Matlacha_Painter 10 месяцев назад +45

    My father was part of the USAAF flying the P-40 and participated in the battle of North Africa supporting the British 8th Army and Tunisia and when I was young told me stories of old Cairo and Tunisia.

    • @BradleySmith-xv2ec
      @BradleySmith-xv2ec 6 месяцев назад

      My father was there (Captain William Elmer Smith - at the time I believe) HE often spoke of the Kasserine Pass and later a speaker at the S.C. State Museum. Upon the unification of Germany - he yelled at the TV as the Berlin Wall was coming down. Later some months he lamented the unification with his final words on the subject, "They are a violent and warlike people. They should not be unified."

  • @Warmaker01
    @Warmaker01 10 месяцев назад +29

    The Axis lost the Tunisian campaign after El Alamein and Allied landings in northwest Africa. There was no way the Axis was going to ship enough men and supplies. They never could before and there's no reason they could improve on that now. Especially now with combined Allied air forces and navies.
    The Tunisian campaign is also where the Western Allied Air Forces start combining into a major juggernaut. The Luftwaffe airlift attempts to supply Tunisia were ravaged by Allied fighters. The Germans brought in a huge amount of their airlift capability to Tunisia. They even did a "Panzer Lehr" moment before Panzer Lehr existed by over a year: The Luftwaffe pulled instructors from Germany to fly these transport sorties, only for them to get massacred by fighters. From here on out, the true bleeding white of the Luftwaffe begins. It only gets worse for them starting this campaign as Luftwaffe losses spike ever higher. If their losses were already bad enough here for Tunisia, the Allied air forces' preparation for the invasion of Sicily would be an absolute nightmare for the Germans.
    US Army performance here wasn't surprising. This was the first real ground combat the US Army had against the German army. The Americans have had ample fighting prior to this, but that was over in the Pacific fighting the Japanese. But the greatly expanded US Army in Europe and the Mediterranean didn't have any of that combat experience. In contrast the Germans and British had already been fighting for years.
    The only thing that the US Army could do was to "get blooded" by real combat experience and improve itself. They already have the material superiority.

    • @colinhunt4057
      @colinhunt4057 9 месяцев назад +1

      "There was no way the Axis was going to ship enough men and supplies."
      Exactly so, and excellent analysis. The problem for the Axis was that the Axis controlled port facilities were working at maximum cargo-landing capacity. The troops they had in North Africa were poorly supplied, and more troops and tanks would simply magnify the supply problem. There was no solution to the cargo landing capacity issue. Gaining some ports in Tunisia was offset by losing Tripoli, Tobruk and Benghazi. Logistics doomed the Axis efforts whatever they did or attempted.

  • @punishedvenomsnake716
    @punishedvenomsnake716 10 месяцев назад +70

    Channels like these have made me more passionate about history than any class 😊

    • @davidhoward4715
      @davidhoward4715 10 месяцев назад

      You should have studied more.

    • @jacktattis
      @jacktattis 7 месяцев назад

      Go and do your own research as well.

  • @pietroriva9383
    @pietroriva9383 10 месяцев назад +95

    It should be pointed out that the german surrendered on the 12 of may and the italian on the 13. Messe (the italian commander) received orders to surrender only if he received the "honor of arms". He asked the 12 but the british refused so he continued to fight untill a message arrived from Rome written by Mussolini. In this message Messe was nomineted Marshal of Italy (the highest rank at the time) and he was ordered to surrender (because it would be bad news for the population to know that the germans had abandoned their ally).

    • @Warmaker01
      @Warmaker01 10 месяцев назад +7

      Mussolini getting the Italian troops to surrender instead of fighting to the very end also stands in sharp contrast to Hitler's "stand or die" orders.

    • @Frank-pc2rs
      @Frank-pc2rs 10 месяцев назад +25

      Yea this channel only spews allied propaganda. It's been said by even allied generals that the Italians fought harder in Tunisia but these clowns will never mention that.

    • @elemperadordemexico
      @elemperadordemexico 10 месяцев назад +12

      ​@@Frank-pc2rskeep seething mario

    • @Frank-pc2rs
      @Frank-pc2rs 10 месяцев назад +12

      @@elemperadordemexico Keep telling people to seeth over the internet tough guy.

    • @highpath4776
      @highpath4776 10 месяцев назад +2

      @@Frank-pc2rs Was Tunisia French or Italian before WW1/2

  • @benkamelmayssem5780
    @benkamelmayssem5780 10 месяцев назад +6

    The German equipment was not suitable for muddy, forestry, rocky, and tight mountain passes of the Northwest. I was born in Le Kef.

  • @AndyWalker-um7sy
    @AndyWalker-um7sy 7 месяцев назад +17

    As a New Zealand Defence Force vet', it was nice to see you reference N.Z Division participation in this campaign as an national unit rather than just another 'British Empire' group. Thank you.

    • @dovetonsturdee7033
      @dovetonsturdee7033 7 месяцев назад +2

      It was said at the time that 90th Light regarded 2nd New Zealand as their special opponent, and in their final hours asked to be allowed to surrender to them.
      In 2nd New Zealand's final confrontation with the 90th Light in May 1943, Freyberg had sent a message to the German Division stating "..your position is hopeless. We have fought you for two years and have no wish to annihilate you." The reply was "..We appreciate your message and we realise our position is hopeless; but we have our duty to perform."

  • @SmilingIbis
    @SmilingIbis 10 месяцев назад +16

    Regardless of skill and wiles, the Tunisia campaign is a microcosm of the rest of the war: the Germans don't have enough men on the scene nor the ability to get more war materiel to them to put up a sufficient resistance.

    • @zoompt-lm5xw
      @zoompt-lm5xw 10 месяцев назад +10

      Or rational war aims

    • @californiadreamin8423
      @californiadreamin8423 10 месяцев назад +2

      …..and of course they weren’t invited to North Africa, or anywhere else for that matter.

  • @Noland55
    @Noland55 7 месяцев назад +5

    The Italian soldier was brave & hard fighting. Rommel's success depended on the base of Italians. If better lead they could have been more successful.

    • @antoniotommasini5501
      @antoniotommasini5501 7 месяцев назад +3

      Today again, for anglo-american historians (not all) the campaign in North Africa was an exclusively affair of Rommel and Afrika Korp.
      The italian Army was only a group of tourists following them through the desert.
      Excerpt Winter 1940-41 with the defeat of the italians army, badly deploied and worse armed, especially in anti-tank, the Regio Esercito supported validly the Afrika Korp: Bir El Gobi, Tobruk, El Alamein, Tunis, and other, despite being inferior in armament.

    • @tjdln409
      @tjdln409 2 месяца назад

      They were bombing and droping chemical weapon on Ethiopian. Fascist was evil.

  • @terryharris1291
    @terryharris1291 7 месяцев назад +6

    On 19-20 April 1943 the New Zealand Division set off to clear the foothills between Enfidaville and Takrouna.
    While the 6th (NZ) Brigade, on the right, achieved its objectives without too much difficulty, the 5th (NZ) Brigade suffered heavy casualties as it pushed forward in an area dominated by Takrouna, an outcrop of rock rising steeply from the plain at the end of a ridge. Troops from 28th (Maori) Battalion managed to scale the heights and seized the summit after fierce fighting. Determined counter-attacks forced the New Zealanders off Takrouna but it was retaken on 21 April by a small group led by Sergeant Haane Manahi.
    Men from other units also joined the assault, including Sergeant Walter Smith (23 Battalion), who used telephone cables to pull himself up to Takrouna's main ridge. One senior British commander described this action as ‘the most gallant feat of arms’ he saw during the war. Smith received a DCM for his part in the battle. Manahi was recommended for a VC but was instead awarded a DCM.

  • @ptonpc
    @ptonpc 10 месяцев назад +9

    For the rhythm of algo! It's easy for us to look back and criticise but I always felt Rommel was, not so much a one trick pony. but was limited in conceptual range. Of course there are many factors that played into it and we can armchair general all we like. We were not there.

  • @k9pc1235
    @k9pc1235 6 месяцев назад +2

    You are really calling Montgomery's pursuit of the Africa corps slow? The fastest and furthest armoured advance of the war? and you call it slow. 1400 miles in about 2 weeks, ok he was a tortoise wasn't he. Same as the Great swan in northern Europe 350 miles in 5 days slow and ponderous.....

    • @lyndoncmp5751
      @lyndoncmp5751 2 месяца назад +2

      Indeed. And it wasn't Montgomery's fault the Anglo-American forces in Operation Torch failed to move across Tunisia and got bogged down. Now THAT was slow. They were supposed to get across Tunisia and trap Rommel from the west, cutting off his supplies from Tunis. They failed to do that and Montgomery ended up having to defeat the Axis in Tunisia for them.

  • @annoyingbstard9407
    @annoyingbstard9407 10 месяцев назад +5

    Every battle he tried was the same. Being a one trick pony is never a sign of greatness.

    • @lyndoncmp5751
      @lyndoncmp5751 10 месяцев назад +3

      Same as Patton. When Patton couldn't manoeuvre (Lorraine) he had no plan b. Even his boss Bradley said that.

  • @Privat2840
    @Privat2840 10 месяцев назад +6

    I read several German accounts from the time that they referred to the African surrender as second Stalingrad.

  • @timsytanker
    @timsytanker 10 месяцев назад +8

    My dad was a First Army sapper (North Africa Sicily Italy Germany), for the rest of his life he would use a lot of Indian and Italian words. For example, a rifle was always a Bundook.

  • @randomdoodles1470
    @randomdoodles1470 8 месяцев назад +12

    I have nowhere else to say this but my grandad and his brother were two of a three man squad who operated a vickers gun at Tunis. They are on record as being the first into the city along with another gentleman. They got medals for gallantry, as vickers gunners had to run in front of the front line, set up, then provide cover.
    They were cannon fodder. Yet both survived. The greatest generation bar none.

    • @grahamwheeler6967
      @grahamwheeler6967 2 месяца назад

      He must have been in 7th armoured then right?

  • @janwitts2688
    @janwitts2688 10 месяцев назад +10

    The American commander ordered his combat engineers to build him a hq bunker 30 miles back under a mountain..

  • @RT-far-T
    @RT-far-T 10 месяцев назад +3

    Very overrated indeed. Avoided all the top Red Army commanders aa he wasn't out East in 1942-1945. The only half way decent opposition he met, beat him.

  • @SteelyBud
    @SteelyBud 10 месяцев назад +8

    From what I've learned about Rommel, I gather he wasn't the impeccable military genius he's often painted to be. Rommel was a competent and skilled but ultimately overrated figure in his field; the Zinedine Zidane of the German military.

    • @garretth8224
      @garretth8224 10 месяцев назад +8

      His early success against the British was because they took too long to adapt to fighting him. That changed with Monty.

    • @vgamedude12
      @vgamedude12 2 месяца назад +1

      I think he's overrated in modern times because people can latch onto his criticisms against H.

    • @SteelyBud
      @SteelyBud 2 месяца назад

      @@vgamedude12 But that's another thing: a lot of historians call that the "Rommel myth" and assert he wasn't truly some voracious critic of Hitler, nor even apolitical. What do you think of these claims?

    • @vgamedude12
      @vgamedude12 2 месяца назад +1

      @@SteelyBud I don't know enough about them to say one way or another.

    • @SteelyBud
      @SteelyBud 2 месяца назад

      @@vgamedude12 Fair enough, mate.

  • @danielaliaga4800
    @danielaliaga4800 10 месяцев назад +4

    The anzacs took the Italians prisoner in Tobruk not the Brit’s. give them their 💐

  • @Poznan__
    @Poznan__ 10 месяцев назад +7

    I think that the crucial aspect has been overlooked a bit - how did Allies get total aerial domination, if Germans started campaign with stronger air forces? What caused fuel shortages? Transports could get to ports? Or Ploesti was already depleted? Was P-51 Mustang already introduced in mass scale, and was he really that superior compare to german fighters? Episode was, as always, great, but I feel a bit unsatisfied id that one area.

    • @obsidianjane4413
      @obsidianjane4413 10 месяцев назад +4

      Fuel shortages and just pure attrition. IIRC only A-36s were in N. Africa. The heavy work was carried by P-40s , trop. Hurricanes and Spitfires.

    • @colinhunt4057
      @colinhunt4057 9 месяцев назад +2

      Poznan, Germany was crippled by fuel shortages before and during the war. Rumanian oil supply filled only a very minor part of total Axis requirements. And all during this time, fuel was denied to the civilian sector which meant that the whole of Europe was starving to death quite rapidly. National Socialist mismanagement of the economy is perhaps the main reason why Germany's military defeat in the war was inevitable.

  • @carpediem7654
    @carpediem7654 10 месяцев назад +7

    First

  • @johnmcguigan7218
    @johnmcguigan7218 10 месяцев назад +6

    Stonewall Jackson was never involved in any "last stand" during the Civil War. Jackson was famed, and most noted, for his ability to out-maneuver the Union forces that often outnumbered his own, culminating in his end run around the Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Chancellorsville, which sealed a big victory for Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, but also Jackson's death after he was wounded by friendly fire. I suspect Fredenhall was referring to a surprise maneuver a la Jackson.

  • @markpaul-ym5wg
    @markpaul-ym5wg 10 месяцев назад +3

    Montgomery was smarter.El alemain proved it!

  • @dawiem6310
    @dawiem6310 10 месяцев назад +4

    Interesting bibliography, and definitely not making a balls of it 🙂. But I would note the figure of 250 000 captured in Tunisia apparently stemmed from an off-hand remark Ike made to a reporter. Liddle Hart reckoned it to be significantly less - some 170 - 180 000 before the last fighting, based on returns on ration strengths. Still, an impressive victory, and not just because my uncles were involved (on the Brit/South African side).

  • @extrahistory8956
    @extrahistory8956 10 месяцев назад +27

    I'm very glad to see more coverage of 1943 campaigns on RUclips. I consider this year to be the most underrated of the war. Hopeful in the future, could there be coverage of Operation Cartwheel in the Pacific?

    • @realtimehistory
      @realtimehistory  10 месяцев назад +12

      we have much more planned on 1943. Thanks for the suggestion on Operation Cartwheel, will see what we can do.

    • @Marex5341
      @Marex5341 10 месяцев назад +1

      ​@@realtimehistoryOperation bagration

    • @thelonewanderer3728
      @thelonewanderer3728 10 месяцев назад

      @@realtimehistory👌

  • @markmccormack1796
    @markmccormack1796 6 месяцев назад +2

    Strategically, I never understood why the Germans went to North Africa. A great waste of resources.

  • @cheriefsadeksadek2108
    @cheriefsadeksadek2108 10 месяцев назад +4

    Germany Faced a Military Impossibility In Africa After The Battle of El Alamein Their Supply Situation and Lack of Air Cover and Artillery ammunition,fuel and even Troops,Pushed Tighter and Tighter in their cauldron facing the sea, the best thing they could've done was An evacuation while fighting a delaying action against the unexperienced americans while saving most of their men and equipment while they can that they would be needing them for the defence of italy and france

  • @podemosurss8316
    @podemosurss8316 10 месяцев назад +3

    3:39 That comment reminded me of the show Hetalia (in which countries are depicted as people), and how both US and Italy are depicted as complete idiots (though US also is extremely strong, while Italy is the opposite).

  • @PeterOConnell-pq6io
    @PeterOConnell-pq6io Месяц назад +2

    Churchill, asked if he was offended by Montgomery's inviting General.von Arnhem to dinner after.his surrender, instead offered his sincere condolences, saying "for I, too, have dined with Field Marshall Montgomery"

  • @tomhenry897
    @tomhenry897 10 месяцев назад +3

    Faced 2 British armies and one American army and no maneuver room
    Wouldn’t reinforce Rommel in Libya yet reinforced in Tunisa where it was a lost cause

  • @jimmyandtheresurrection7247
    @jimmyandtheresurrection7247 8 месяцев назад +2

    Tunisiagrad? More like tuniseakirk.

  • @TheHypnogog
    @TheHypnogog 10 месяцев назад +11

    You make this familiar story come alive with great detail and analysis. Watching your presentations is a lot like reading a well written chapter with amazing, detailed illustrations and examples. I appreciate your seriousness of purpose and delivery.

    • @jessealexander2695
      @jessealexander2695 10 месяцев назад +1

      Thanks!

    • @PeterOConnell-pq6io
      @PeterOConnell-pq6io 2 месяца назад +1

      What a costly, pointless, and ultimately futile exercise in reinforcing failure. It almost seems possibile Sun Tzu never got translated into German.

  • @uingaeoc3905
    @uingaeoc3905 10 месяцев назад +9

    Thank goodness the British convinced the US to not invade France in 1943 with their inexperienced troops. Can you imagine what would have happened compared to their defeat in Tunisia. There were four attacks beaten back until the Afrika Corps ran out of ammunition and fuel. These battles in Kasserine were their birth in fire. Horrible to say but these made the GIs better for the European theatre.

  • @tomg9557
    @tomg9557 8 месяцев назад +4

    "... pull a Stonewall Jackson."
    Did he mean lose the battle, then die to friendly fire?

    • @daviddechamplain5718
      @daviddechamplain5718 7 месяцев назад

      Chancellorsville was a Confederate victory. It is a poor excuse for an order, though.

  • @Pompeius_Strabo
    @Pompeius_Strabo 10 месяцев назад +7

    Leaving a comment for the algorithm. Greetings from Chicagoland!

  • @johnc2438
    @johnc2438 7 месяцев назад +2

    20:27: Montgomery's "last battle" in "late 1945?" The war was over in Europe in May 1945.

  • @istvanszoke381
    @istvanszoke381 10 месяцев назад +4

    It's weird how both germany and a century earlier france also were seeking glory in africa against the British empire. After the adventure turned against them, they just simply left their forces there and couldn't be arsed anymore really.
    That 300.000 experienced troops could defend most of the axis held/occupied Mediterranean coastline with lot better chance. Italy also had some divisions in africe which were willing to fight not only eager to surrender.

    • @obsidianjane4413
      @obsidianjane4413 10 месяцев назад +3

      Its very likely that Barbarossa could have succeeded in capturing Moscow in 42 if not for the troop and lostistics lost in trying to save Mussolini's adventure in Africa.

    • @lyndoncmp5751
      @lyndoncmp5751 10 месяцев назад +5

      @obsidianjane4413
      Conversely, it's also possible that had the Axis suceeded in North Africa, taken the Suez Canal etc then Turkey may have joined the Axis with the removal of British presence in the eastern Mediterranean, and this could have had major consequences for the USSR.

  • @Flisken07
    @Flisken07 10 месяцев назад +11

    Love this channel ❤

  • @markrunnalls7215
    @markrunnalls7215 7 месяцев назад +3

    Have visited Tunisia and in and around Kaserine pass ..
    Very rocky with scrub ,was quite hot with the odd water fall making it in places look very green ,almost Europe looking in places ..

  • @rebelyell1983x
    @rebelyell1983x 10 месяцев назад +5

    The maps are really Beautiful! Shout out the map maker. Looks great in 4K as well! :)

  • @etherealbolweevil6268
    @etherealbolweevil6268 5 месяцев назад +1

    Because Churchill sent Harry Seacombe and Spike Milligan to fight against the Afrika Corp. Not a fair contest.

  • @martinlaird4738
    @martinlaird4738 10 месяцев назад +7

    Always wished to know more about Von Arnold. He seemed like a highly competent general.

  • @zainmudassir2964
    @zainmudassir2964 10 месяцев назад +17

    Again Rommel showed disregard for logistics with disastrous consequences

    • @obsidianjane4413
      @obsidianjane4413 10 месяцев назад +3

      What logistics? You mean all those ships at the bottom of the Med?

  • @angloaust1575
    @angloaust1575 10 месяцев назад +3

    Then he fled back to hitler leaving his troops to surrender
    As events turned out it would have been better to have stayed in tunisia!

    • @zainmudassir2964
      @zainmudassir2964 10 месяцев назад +1

      Probably to maintain propaganda myth.
      McArthur was brought out of Philippines for same PR reasons

  • @joeblow9657
    @joeblow9657 10 месяцев назад +3

    The historian's last name is pronounced "Sitino" with a soft c. At least that's how he pronounces it.

  • @mnk9073
    @mnk9073 10 месяцев назад +3

    Interesting how von Armin's plan would most likely have worked and set the Allies back at least a couple weeks if not months. Kasserine might have been a victory but a wasted one, putting the whole force behind the Sbiba gap and force it would have been harder but overall more successful.

  • @De_Wit
    @De_Wit 10 месяцев назад +5

    One point I would like to raise.
    At a certain moment the main airfield the germans used to supply Stalingrad became untennable so they had to move it a substatial distance furter behind their lines.
    But, the rate of supply's delivered didn't noticably drop.
    That would indicate they didn't had a shortage of planes to deliver with, but a shortage of supply's to deliver.
    Taking away planes wasn't a strategic error, the supply situation remained the same, meaning, pretty bad.
    All else, very food video 👍🏻

    • @williwass6837
      @williwass6837 10 месяцев назад +3

      It seems you dont know anything about the losses the german transport units had,right?????Another armchair general that has heard something that someone mentioned that he heard it!😂🤣

    • @MCT954
      @MCT954 10 месяцев назад +3

      At Stalingrad, the Germans were never able to adequately supply their trapped Armies. They had insufficient airlift capacity (ie not enough of the right sort of aircraft, they were having to resort to using bombers with relativly low payloads, to supplement their transports). It was winter, which restricted the number of flights due to weather conditions. The Russian Air Force, almost for the first time, was able to achieve some measure of control and also deploy sufficient AA guns to reduce the number of aircraft available. The airfields in the pocket were either overrun or subject to air attack or artillery fire. Perhaps most significantly, Goering promised the Army and Hitler, to do something his staff knew was impossible, mainly to save face.

  • @TomAtkinson-gq2wx
    @TomAtkinson-gq2wx 10 месяцев назад +4

    It is a matter of record that Rommel had the greatest respect for the Australian Light Horse

  • @andrewhall7930
    @andrewhall7930 2 месяца назад +2

    Apart from this video; EVERY TIME I hear Rommel mentioned he is heralded as I either a genius or a great strategic general. I've never understood this. In most of the battles I see he us retreating or making mistakes. Can someone share the battle where he is so brilliant? cause I don't see it.

  • @daveybyrden3936
    @daveybyrden3936 10 месяцев назад +11

    At 12:45
    Von Arnim did not lose "15 of his 19 Tigers" in the two battles at the end of February.
    He was in possession of only 18 Tigers at the time, and only 7 got completely destroyed. The rest, whether driven or towed back, did serve again later.

    • @Frank-pc2rs
      @Frank-pc2rs 10 месяцев назад +3

      Von Arnim also said the San Marco Marines were the best soldiers he ever commanded.

    • @lyndoncmp5751
      @lyndoncmp5751 10 месяцев назад

      Indeed. There were still 15 Tigers left at the turn of May I believe. The Tigers were only lost very sporadically in Tunisia. The 'Tiger graveyard' at Beja was an anomaly.

    • @williwass6837
      @williwass6837 10 месяцев назад +1

      That shows the quality of this channels Docs!😂

  • @KokoroBeach
    @KokoroBeach 10 месяцев назад +3

    Great pronunciation when you read Rommel's opinion on U.S battle performance! Nicely made as well.

  • @timgosling6189
    @timgosling6189 10 месяцев назад +3

    I’d have thought his last battle would have been in France, 1944?

  • @mohammedsaysrashid3587
    @mohammedsaysrashid3587 10 месяцев назад +4

    Another fantastic historical coverage episode was shared by an excellent ( RTH ) channel... it was a great historical coverage episode...thank you very much 👍🏻

  • @pgf289
    @pgf289 7 месяцев назад +2

    The stats at the end are very dodgy, I don't see how the Luftwaffe losses in that one theatre could have been 41% of the entire airforce. 41% of the heavy transport fleet possibly, but I think there's been a mix up here

  • @majcorbin
    @majcorbin 10 месяцев назад +2

    DAVENPORT IOWA DAD JOKE of the day
    [Q} how does a MERMAID,wash her fins?
    [A] she uses TIDE,of course.

  • @benwilson6145
    @benwilson6145 5 месяцев назад +1

    The 8th Army did 1,100 km in just 17 days from El Alamein to Benghazi. This was more than twice as fast as the 1st Army

  • @janwitts2688
    @janwitts2688 10 месяцев назад +3

    The German transport Air elements.. never recovered from losses.. period

  • @randyguapo7793
    @randyguapo7793 7 месяцев назад +1

    Dad Said Rommel Visited The Americans In The German Hospital and Was Concerned With There Care . Kasserine Was A Learning Curve For American Troops First Time Up To Bat , Just Green Troops Takes Time Remember Germany and England Had 2 Year Head Start On American.

  • @kidmohair8151
    @kidmohair8151 10 месяцев назад +2

    08:47 not only costly and stubborn, but also one from the losing side,
    by a general who got himself killed, not long afterward.
    (behind the curtains? you've got curtains? are they green?)

  • @RafaelSantos-pi8py
    @RafaelSantos-pi8py 10 месяцев назад +2

    Why did Rommel lost? Because tanks run on oil, not propaganda and wishful thinking.

  • @alexy590
    @alexy590 9 месяцев назад +2

    Solid video but I wish you focused more on documentaries about less covered history.

  • @isisnmagic1812
    @isisnmagic1812 7 месяцев назад +1

    1 I never knew that there was another German army in Africa, I was alwas taught it was just Rommel. And 2 Britain's Italians ooh thats some shade 😅😅.

  • @JosephPercente
    @JosephPercente 15 дней назад +1

    Fredenhal was a drunk. Rommels reputation relies more on being anti hitler than ability.

  • @bigsarge2085
    @bigsarge2085 10 месяцев назад +11

    I always learn! Thank you for such keen history documentaries.

  • @sethhanson6412
    @sethhanson6412 10 месяцев назад +2

    Actually Rommel knew this was is last battle in Africa

  • @localman7017
    @localman7017 2 месяца назад +1

    “Britain’s Italians”
    American pride will never recover.

  • @arlingtonhynes
    @arlingtonhynes 8 месяцев назад +1

    20:29
    In late 1945, the Germans had surrendered.

  • @davidbell1619
    @davidbell1619 10 месяцев назад +3

    Rommel was not present. The end was under Von Arnim.

    • @paulfoster3316
      @paulfoster3316 9 месяцев назад

      The end was alreay written at El Alamein

  • @justinmorgan2126
    @justinmorgan2126 8 месяцев назад +1

    lol 4k exactly the same as 320p just uses way more bandwidth.,,,

  • @TelosBudo
    @TelosBudo 10 месяцев назад +6

    Great vid

  • @explorer1968
    @explorer1968 10 месяцев назад +1

    Th re wasn’t an unified command center for the Afrika Korps and th wrong orders for it: not the evacuation needed for Sicily and a very late reinforcement for the Ítalo-Germans…

  • @grigapau
    @grigapau 10 месяцев назад +4

    Great video! Thanks a lot.

  • @terryharris1291
    @terryharris1291 7 месяцев назад +1

    The New Zealanders did not have long to savour the victory in Tunisia. On 15 May the first units began their nearly 3000 km drive back to Egypt, reflecting on battles fought and comrades lost.
    The last of the New Zealand Division reached Cairo on 1 June, cramming into camps at Maadi and Helwan. For 6000 of the longest-serving men, there was the prospect of an early return to New Zealand: they learned that they would go home on a three-month furlough.

  • @HeavyDragoon
    @HeavyDragoon 7 месяцев назад +2

    An EXCELLENT presentation...please keep these excellent contributions coming...cannot wait for the next one

  • @juancarlosmunoz6127
    @juancarlosmunoz6127 7 месяцев назад +2

    Estupendo trabajo de investigación, la edición del vídeo, de primera! Gracias por publicar. 🇲🇽

  • @phrayzar
    @phrayzar 8 месяцев назад +3

    As a. brit myself, we were brought up with a narrative that the Americans didn't help very much in Africa and other areas for that matter. I don't really understand why that was because the Americans did an amazing job throughout the war and the more I learn about it the more I love them for their courage, great spirit and the great sacrifice that they made for all Europeans.

  • @alexamerling79
    @alexamerling79 10 месяцев назад +2

    The shortage of oil certainly didn't help...

  • @micahistory
    @micahistory 10 месяцев назад +1

    To be honest at this point the Germans would have lost anyways

  • @josephberrie9550
    @josephberrie9550 10 месяцев назад +2

    its tunisia not tuneeshia

  • @antoniocarrascosa6060
    @antoniocarrascosa6060 9 месяцев назад +2

    Muy buenos los mapas y gráficos..enhorabuena

  • @perun814
    @perun814 10 месяцев назад +1

    why did the british and the french got mauled so bAdly?
    in operativni um or operational art there is a special section what the Russians call front paralysis.
    where u rely on your oponents panic and in that state to make all the mistakes he can...speeding up his eventual demise.

  • @andrewsoboeiro6979
    @andrewsoboeiro6979 10 месяцев назад +3

    Love every one of your videos! Just curious-- are there any plans to make more Napoleon episodes? Y'all need to set the record straight now that Ridley's mangled it!

    • @realtimehistory
      @realtimehistory  10 месяцев назад +4

      we might do some in the future. sadly the 1813 campaign was not very popular and we lost a lot of money on them. so need to think about which parts we cover.

    • @andrewsoboeiro6979
      @andrewsoboeiro6979 10 месяцев назад

      @@realtimehistory oh no but the 1813 campaign was like your best video! Oh, that breaks my heart!!

  • @erikmaxfrancis
    @erikmaxfrancis 10 месяцев назад +1

    Citino's name is pronounced "See-TEE-noh," not "Chee-TEE-noh."

  • @murrayscott9546
    @murrayscott9546 10 месяцев назад +1

    Britain's Italians, eh ? More like their Sicilians !

  • @thetinker3924
    @thetinker3924 6 месяцев назад +1

    Well when you don't get supplies like food, ammo, equipment its very hard to fight
    a war so the Afrika Korps was bound to loose especially when you are out numbered
    by 200 to one. Didn't monty have 2000 artilley units, 2000 tanks etc???????????
    Afrika Korps had only 200 tanks and th;ey were low on all supplies

    • @k9pc1235
      @k9pc1235 6 месяцев назад

      Well any General that attacks without superiority is an amateur and will fail. Unless you are Patton at Metz where you fail continually even with superior numbers and logistics.

    • @nickdanger3802
      @nickdanger3802 6 месяцев назад +1

      @@k9pc1235 And no fuel because that went to Montgomery.

    • @k9pc1235
      @k9pc1235 6 месяцев назад

      Yes, it's called making sure you win. Something all military commanders are want to do. You can pine for the Germans glory days of Blitzkrieg all you want, the fact is the evil regime was defeated and that is that. The Africa Korps were low on everything because their commander over stretched his brief and tried to get the glory, he pushed his advances too far, relying on intelligence from broken American codes to win supposed amazing victories. He continually went to far too quickly, he then met Montgomery. Don't get bent out of shape because one General understood logistics, planning and how to use the best artillery piece of the war to its best advantage and the other was Rommel.

    • @johndawes9337
      @johndawes9337 5 месяцев назад +1

      @@nickdanger3802 hahahaha DRIVEL
      It’s myth that any petrol was taken from Patton for Montgomery. Patton was already at a standstill before planning for Market Garden even started.
      Patton finally began receiving adequate supplies on September 4, (two weeks before MG) after a week’s excruciating pause”
      - Harry Yeide
      Market Garden only had priority in extra supply transport laid on. It didn’t take away any actual supplies from any US army. Nor did Market Garden stop all operations on the western front. Patton’s 3rd Army was still trying to take Metz and US 1st Army began its Hurtgen Forest campaign on September 19th, 2 days after Market Garden began.
      Did you know that the twin pronged US 1st Army attack in the Hurtgen Forest and Aachen in October 1944 used FOUR TIMES as many men and supplies as the ground element of Market Garden, which wasn’t even a full 2nd British Army attack?
      “ It was commonly believed at Third Army H.Q. that Montgomery's advance through Belgium was largely maintained by supplies diverted from Patton. (See Butcher, op. cit., p. 667.) This is not true. The amount delivered by the ' air-lift ' was sufficient to maintain only one division. No road transport was diverted to aid Montgomery until September 16th. On the other hand, three British transport companies, lent to the Americans on August 6th " for eight days," were not returned until September 4th.' “
      - CHESTER WILMOT
      THE STRUGGLE FOR EUROPE. 1954ty John Peate

  • @johnc2438
    @johnc2438 7 месяцев назад +1

    20:29: Montgomery's last battle in "late 1945"?

  • @DeaconBlu
    @DeaconBlu 10 месяцев назад +3

    Great vid!
    Thank you!

  • @thombienaturlich6830
    @thombienaturlich6830 10 месяцев назад +1

    Rommel war zur Zeit der Schlacht um El Alamein nicht in Afrika und hatte somit keinen großen Einfluss auf den Verlauf!

  • @matthiasgruber1644
    @matthiasgruber1644 10 месяцев назад +1

    Interesting that every successful Army today works with Auftragstaktik

  • @davidcunningham2074
    @davidcunningham2074 10 месяцев назад +4

    well researched

  • @peterfoster161
    @peterfoster161 8 месяцев назад +1

    Tuneesia!!! 😂🙄

  • @danielbeadling4749
    @danielbeadling4749 10 месяцев назад +2

    Tunisgrad huh... so who is Tunis? Never heard of him

    • @FediKaroui
      @FediKaroui 27 дней назад

      Its capital of Tunsia

  • @amotaba
    @amotaba 10 месяцев назад +4

    excellent video