D-Day - British Bloodbath at Caen
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- Опубликовано: 18 июн 2020
- Caen was the vital transport hub that had to be captured. For the British and Canadians it turned into a series of terrible battles as they fought 8 Panzer divisions equipped with 600 tanks, keeping the bulk of the German tank forces facing them, allowing the Americans to break out further west.
Dr. Mark Felton is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. He has written extensively on Japanese war crimes, POW camps, Nazi war criminals, the Holocaust, famous escapes, Hitler and other Nazi leaders. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Fe...
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As a Canadian I only ask you reading this for respect. Yes, we were small. But we were massacred at Dieppe, we took Juno, we fought at Caen, and our navy helped win the Battle of the Atlantic. No, we'll never be considered a "major" ally - but we sacrificed alongside you.
Well said Matt and for David Paul...yes the Canucks punched above their weight and always seemed to perceiver. We fought at Hong Kong, in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy.....then NW Europe and as an Airborne Regiment we pushed farther into Germany than any other UK/Commonwealth unit.
yes when the mother land called on her commonwealth for help you came and stood along side us . Thankyou for the free life I enjoy . from Uk
As a Yank, I have always considered Canada an ally of the fullest measure.
MATT BLOM , noted! AND WELL APPRECIATED
Have ya noted that the Arabs have taken it to heart !! Again and again they tell us that.....
THEY LOVE DEATH MORE THAN WE LOVE LIFE (so we oblige them)
A dear friend of mine served in the 12th SS pzr div at caen. The stories he told me years ago held my attention like no other stories I've ever heard. He's still alive today and in very good health for being 94.
bravest of the brave
A friend of mine, Mr George Frith, was with Airlanding Brigade HQ's staff, landing later in the day, but then in attack against 12SS Hitler Youth, East of Benouville, the Germans being entrenched in the Bois de Benouville/Ranville. After being harassed by one sniper in particular for some days they then pushed forward to Trouville and Houlgate, and on. At wars end he and his mates were shipped off to Palestine to post King David's hotel attack and the murder of British troops by Ergun etc they came home. Geirge built his own house in Matlock, and is still named Ranville. George died a few years ago. He wore his beret at all times, as did a lot of the WW2 ex soldiers if my memory serves me right in the 60's.
please please record him telling stories. before its too late!
That's fantastic! 👍🏻
Wish him the best of health.
And ask him to share his story as much as possible.
Please get his story video interview
My grandad died in his tank with his pals on the 18th July. RIP . John Adams . 23rd hussars
I read a book recently , Normandy 44 , written by James Holland , if you're looking for an insight of the battle for Normandy this would be well worth a read . I'm sure the book references your grandfather by name on several occasions, it stayed in my mind because of the founding fathers . Respect to all those that fought in that terrible battle . This video does not do it any justice , if you read the book you'll find what occurred astounding .
High respects and honors to him, I think 23rd Hussars was a wartime raised unit abolished in 1948 - did very well in Northern France.
He served with my Grandad, who thankfully survived the war. Sgt Fred Jackson 23rd Hussars. RIP John.
my grandmother's brother was a gunner and died on july 20th somewhere south of caen near verierres ridge. he had signed up for the army at 17 by lying about his age, and died at 22 years old. i bet your grandfather is also buried at bretteville-sur-laize.
there is a YT video titled
"1945 death of a tank"
it chronicles an american tank blown upside down by a mine in Okinawa killing all but 1 who was thrown clear...the rest died trapped in the dark burning inferno...much respect for tank crewmen
who did their job knowing what could be their grim
fate.....
My Grandad fought at Caen. He said the Germans were formidable soldiers. His respect for them lasted his whole life.
My Grandfather also fought in North Africa , then D-Day through Caen and then alway to Germany he never mentioned the War it was only after he passed away we leaned about his war time life from friends of his who attended his funeral ,
Wow!
Welsh Shepherd my grandfather was in a Russian pow camp and he never talked about the war too and he was somebody who loved to tell stories
Thank you for you appreciative description of our fantastic soldiers!
Same, my grandfather was a tanker in 144th Regiment RAC. He almost never spoke of the war after coming home, but I'm given to believe he did lose a few friends in that battle.
I love the kitty cat playing with the Bren operators trigger finger. 4:53
Negative thought no one asked for: Its dead now.
thought that too ^^ cute AF
That cat probably just wanted some spam from his rations xD
You want something more despairing? There are many more dead who aren't recorded on camera. They're dead and forgotten. Their names and deeds known only to God.
@@build2270 Holy Christ...have a tranquilizer.
Had an uncle I never met who fell here with so many other young men RIP Uncle Ray
My mother's sweetheart fell in Normandy too. She wept about it last week, she's 94. ( She met my Dad after the War when he came home from fighting in India)
@@spaceskipster4412 Happened to my mother too- she met my Dad and married 5 years later. Her sweetheart was hit by automatic fire in August 1944 en rout to Falaise.
A friend of my dad's who survived Dieppe was killed was killed here also. Queens Own Cameron Highlanders 🇨🇦. I am Sorry for loss. Thank you eh.
My uncle fell too. He died on Sword beach when grenades were thrown into his bunker.
I was so glad to be able to visit the war cemeteries while in Normandy last year. The beautiful coastline and cemetery grounds, coupled with the immense weight of the horrors and triumphs that took place there were honestly overwhelming. May the sacrifices of all of those who fell in the struggle for liberty never be forgotten.
I knew an Old Duffer once named Freddie Primrose, he used to be a neighbour and drinking buddy of my Grandad's (who was army veteran himself). Ol' Freddie had been a driver in a Sherman tank with The Fort Garry Horse. Around Caen and Falaise, he was the driver for 3 different tanks which were knocked out, 2 of which he was the only survivor (there was an escape hatch right beside him, that led out from the bottom of the Sherman). At Verrières Ridge, Freddie's tank brewed up, and he found himself trapped behind the German lines, the area was being held by the 1st SS "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" Pz Div, and the 12th SS "Hitlerjugend" Pz Div (these "Babies that fought like Mad Bastards" had a penchant for shooting Canadian POWs in Normandy) and Ol' Freddie played dead in a field for two days as the SS bivouacked only yards away from him. Freddie survived the war, and lived to the age of about 90, he was a good old fella. R.I.P. Mr. Primrose, I appreciate your service and you are not forgotten.
Your quote, "These "Babies that fought like Mad Bastards had a penchant for shooting Canadian POWs in Normandy" just bears out what I said earlier about fanaticism being confused with brave soldiery. It's amazing when you see the films of them ( Germans ) being taken captive, the looks on their faces are scary, it's as if they'd been "cheated" and couldn't wait to get back at you. I certainly would not have held my rifle in the air as one soldier did, it would be right in the bastard's back. Of course you've got to remember the cameras were present so maybe a lot of scores were settled elsewhere. Considering how most of them never faced a proper trial after the war, putting a bullet into them there and then would have made things a lot easier.
@@roryobrien4401 I totally agree with you Mr. O'Brien. I've spoken to Canadian veterans from Normandy, (some of them being family members, who had fought the 12th SS), and all them have said that, while they respected the German Heer (the army), because they felt that those guys were honourable and average blokes like them. They hated the SS, who were fanatical murdering Bastards, who were even hated by rank-and-file Wehrmacht servicemen. And one family member of mine told me personally, that at certain times, they didn't bother taking SS prisoners, they just would say that none of the Germans had tried to surrender (although in reality a few of them actually had tried to, only to be met with a reply from a Bren Gun).
@@danielb7117 Cheers. I think if some of the commentators here knew anything about war they would and should keep quiet. I'm not saying I do but I have heard the personal testimonials of soldiers who fought in Normandy and agree with Beevor's assessment of Montgomery as a commander. The SS were pure brainwshed evil and though they were accepting anyone by 1944 that doesn't excuse their behavior in Normandy, not just to the allies but French civilians as well. I'm glad to hear that some allied soldiers dealt with them in their own way.
Morior Invictus Can’t forget about the SS soldiers that used the serrated bayonets. The second one of those bayonets were found, the soldier was gunned down.
Morior invictus: did Freddie Primrose ever tell anyone how he felt about being put into this war ?
My great grand father was a Commander of a heavy cruiser part of the Royal Navy, he would write every day in his diary and I can't stop reading it, he was there shelling German positions during D-Day and then also shelling Caen... he died in 1945 when his convoy was ambushed by U-Boats, but the survivors of the ship took the diary and gave it to my family, it has reached me now... He died three days after my gradfather had born
My friend who'd been with Airlanding Brigade HQ's staff reminded me of the horrific sound of 'our' naval shells/incoming - a sound he'd never imagined, before, and that he never, quite, heard again, though he fought through until Wars end.
@blackzed I would love to, but my parents prefer to keep it to ourselves... altough I just shared the most important with you, I thought it would be nice...
My uncle was a Royal Marine gunner on HMS Belfast at D Day, they fired some of the first shots of the invasion.
Ambushed by U Boats in 1945? Bloody hell, he was unlucky. My sympathies
Rory O Brien Ambushed by Uboats 3 days after my grandfather was born, that’s a real pitty
I am a Frenchman living in Caen and a history teacher.
Thank you Mr Felton.
Bonne chance, M. Le Roux..... et bon courage..... aux Etats Unis on est en train de recrire l'histoire..... effacer l'histoire, c'est effacer un peuple...... sorry for my french..... salut du Vermont.
@@williammorse8330 C'est vrait, Mssr Morse.
Yes, it's working out wonderfully for the French.
Ton bienvenue.
-un Canadien
Bonjour mon ami......
Ca va?
Je suis un Englander!
Viva grand Britian.....
My father received a week's compassionate leave while he was taking part in the advance on Caen. It was awarded in order that he could go home to Wandsworth to bury his mother, his grandmother and several other female members of his family as well as his new nephew, killed by a doodlebug that landed on a christening party. He was twenty-one years old.
On the infrequent times that he recounted the ghastly events, he always finished with a bit of soldiers black humour - "and when I got back, we were still stuck outside effing Caen!"
My goodness! He would have gone back with alot of fire in his belly!
What a shame a few more Millenials don't understand this level of sacrifice and pain that paid for their freedom to whine about life. 🙄
@@spaceskipster4412 most youngsters think war is just a computer game
What is a doodlebug?
@@chuchulainn9275 V1 Flying Bomb...check it out ...WW2 equivalent of a Cruise Missile I suppose...
My father fought for Caen ! - Jumping in a shell hole for cover he found a severed hand - when he prised open the fingers - He found it contained an old English penny - From the year 1919 the very year my Dad was born ! - That poor guy who ever he was ? - Was holding that penny when he got hit ? - And We'll never know his name or who he was !
I Remember my Dad telling me that when he saw the date of that penny ! - He had a strange feeling he was going to survive the war ! - My Dad carried that penny around with him in his wallet as a lucky charm until he died !
My Dad died in 1993 @ 11 oclock on the 11th November on ward 19
That was a very interesting Documentary - thankyou for sharing !
Finding that penny clenched in a hand I wonder what made him think it was lucky lol but it seemed to be for him.
@@johnmc128 Yeah strange - My Mom would always rib him about it ! - I have always known my Dad have a thing for numerals - So whether that incident was the start of his life long fascination with them ? Who knows ? -I think the Coin meant more than his Birthday numbers - It really meant something to him - When times were hard ! - Maybe Dad look at this coin - And think well... It could be a lot worse -
I Could still be underfire while stuck in this shell hole with what was left of the other poor guy ???
When Dad left us On 11oclock 11th November 93 - On Ward 19 - Of all places - It showed us as a family - That we did take notice - That numbers really are strangely a part of life ?
- Wish I could 6 on lottery !
@@stephenbirks6458 Yes strange set of coincidences.
Bullshit war story, and people lap it up.
I may be speaking out of turn but as an American we owe so much to those brave British and Canadian troops! Not enough is said about the horrific battles fought by our allies here in the States. It was truly an ALL out effort on that momentous day to attain victory! Thank you Mr. Felton for this presentation!!
I think theres a debate of whos country won the war. But the truth is the allies won the war, each nation contributed and each nationed sacrificed, and it was the coalition that should ultimately claim victory not any single nation
And don’t forget the Russians on the other side
Most troops landed on D-Day were not American, same with the aircraft involved and the absolute vast majority of ships. That being a surprise to Americans is common thanks to Hollywood.
Americans used the British and Canadians as bait....
@@abdihassan7208 They don't like hearing that fact, they gladly watched until Churchill manipulated them into joining.
A great reminder of the British and Canadian contributions to victory in Normandy. Thank you,
@@soundofeighthooves You need to find a very talented psychotherapist and see him/her on a weekly basis until you get your warped & hate-filled mind repaired. I wish you much success in dealing with your demons & twisted perceptions. I hope that you will be able to reverse the misinformation & brain-washing you have received from your persuasive, paranoid, anti-semitic/white supremacist role models. It's not too late!
@Incog Nito I agree 100%. 🖒🖒 It really ticks me off when Hollywood creates and/or perpetuates myths, false narratives, and stereotypes, when even a little research would reveal the truth to them. It's also annoying because the Hollywood studios often claim that they hired historical consultants to ensure accuracy, but obviously they don't or they just ignore the consultant(s). . But I guess that executives in the movie industry believe that they'll make more money by telling people what people want to hear, rather than telling the truth to their audience. 😞 Sadly, such an approach works as much as it does in politics, etc. 🙄
Thank you guys from America.
@@soundofeighthooves ? So wrong..
@@richardthomas5362 Thank YOU guys from the UK. Team effort all the way my friend.
Thanks Mark Felton for countering and correcting Hollywood nonsense.
The Battle of Caen was much bigger than Cherbourg and saving private Ryan. . The Brits and Canadians were fighting all of the elite heavy SS Panzer divisions around Caen and beyond. 7 elite heavy SS Panzer divisions, 3 Heavy Tank Battalions, and 7 Infantry Divisions.
At Cherbourg Collins launched a general assault on 22 June. Resistance was stiff at first, but the Americans slowly cleared the Germans from their bunkers and concrete pillboxes. Allied naval ships bombarded fortifications near the city on 25 June. On 26 June, the British elite force No. 30 Commando also known as 30 Assault Unit launched an assault on Octeville - a suburb to the south west of Cherbourg. This was the location of the Kriegsmarine naval intelligence HQ at Villa Meurice which the Commandos captured along with 20 officers and 500 men.
My beloved great Uncle was a 'Desert Rat' and amongst those killed on 12th June, day 1 of operation Perch near Villers Bocage. He was then a Sgt. He had an amazing war. All of it spent in a Bren gun carrier. At age 18 was sent to europe as BEF, Evacuated at Dunkirk, (one of the last to get out), then fought The Italians and Africa corp through Libya and Tunisia including El Amien, then fought in Italy before being returned to UK and take part in D-day landings. He was killed when SS Panzer corp engaged his Carrier whilst pushing forwards on scouting run. RIP
Mark that was a brilliant piece of history presented in your unique and concise style. I had no idea that the British and Canadians faced so much German heavy armour after D-Day. Thank you so much for sharing this.
In fact the german armour was much outnumbered by the british and canadian forces. The allied air superiority brought much of the german armour down before the armies could face each other. But marcs analysis is right, this operation had opened the cobra offensive and led to Falaise pocket.
John Burns
LOL. Then watch american Newsreel what rhe Thyphoons or Thunderbolts could do.
Rudolf Breitscheid g’day, if I’m recalling what I read correctly, analysis of destroyed tanks at the falaise gap, showed that the quantity of tanks destroyed by air attack was significantly overestimated. I think it was in Beevor’s D Day. I’m sure I read it somewhere though,
@@Rudolf_Breitscheid At the same time it does not justify the destruction of 38% of British armour. Generalship seriously at fault here and Mark makes no mention of Montgomery.
Rory O Brien
_Not even Stalingrad could match the strategic scale of the German defeat in Normandy……._
_By containing the bulk of the enemy armour and best infantry opposite Dempsey, and giving Bradley time and space to bring the greater numerical strength of the American divisions into battle on the western flank, Monty had out-generalled von Rundstedt, Rommel, Hausser and von Kluge who, limited by the edicts of Hitler, had insufficient strength to defend British, American and Pas de Calais sectors in equal strength. Compared with Hitler’s conduct, the impatience of Eisenhower, Tedder and Churchill had proved merely tiresome to the Ground Forces Commander, and had not affected the course of the battle. Montgomery’s victory was, without doubt in even Hitler’s mind, the decisive battle of the war: ‘the worst day of my life,’ as Hitler remarked on 15 August 1944 as the true dimensions of the catastrophe in Normandy became apparent._
-Hamilton, Nigel. Monty, Master of the Battlefield 1942-1944.
D-Day plus 90 was 4 September 1944.
Monty said Paris would be liberated on D-day plus 90. It was liberated on D-Day plus 80.
Dempsey took Brussels, 183 miles from Caen, on D-Day plus 89.
Dempsey took Antwerp, 253 miles from Caen, on D-Day plus 90.
In the words of an American author, Ike & Monty: Generals at War, 1994, Norman Gelb:
“By holding on the left and breaking out on the right, Montgomery had produced a triumph.
Addition of the 'commentary' by soldiers who were there is absolutely fantastic - a great addition to the footage supporting your excellent video(s)
Yeah, it really lends an air of realism to the videos, first-hand accounts like those.
The "commentary" comes from war-time PR films and so is less than trustworthy. It adds flavour but not substance. Often times, the chosen narrator wasn't even present at the battles being covered and just read from a pre-written script.
Where can I find the film that was taken from?
@@billd.iniowa2263 I was looking here hoping to find the same...
Scotsman got it wrong though, didn't he, when he said they were killing more of "them". Not true. And the tank losses in Operation Goodwood should have got Montgomery fired. The ( valid ) excuse that they tied up German armour is acceptable up to a point but no general goes into battle and expects to lose over 300 tanks. Unless you're fighting on the eastern front.
Bloody hell I never knew you chaps took that kind of losses in Caen. Salute to your grandfathers and uncles!
SS Panzer divisions were tough sobs
@@wallonmcwoolworth819 yea they were
the Great British and Commonwealth sacrifice, it drew in 9 out of every 10 German tanks and decimated them at the cost of uncountable lives. it really was a act of stupendous bravery.
It's interesting to learn that among the regiments arrayed against the elite of the German army were the Royal Norfolk Regiment, the King's Shropshire Light Infantry and the 3rd Monmouthshire Regiment. None of these were elite outfits but they fought Germany's best, and emerged victorious. I think they would appreciate your praise.
LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH - thank you for the recommendation: I will add it to my list of must reads. I have been looking at all of the available books on Normandy and the North West European campaign and have been reading the customer reviews of them. There is a huge variety out there from tankers to artillery to the infantry. Something I learnt just a few days ago was that Monty has always been berated for the failure of Operation Goodwood. But looking at this from the German POV, it was the moment when they almost cracked. Some other well-read folk like yourself think that we have been overly influenced by Max Hastings and Beevor who are now seen as fanboys of the Wehrmacht.
My uncle, George "Flash" Franklin (he had a broad and infectious smile full of white teeth, a rarity in those days) who fought with the Royal Highland Regiment of Canada, the Black Watch was killed at Verrieres Ridge by SS defending troops. May God Bless all those who served, fought, and ultimately sacrificed their all so that we could live in peace. They, like our Armed Forced today, are the stewards of our ever-dwindling freedom. Thanks Mark for putting this clip up and keeping their memory alive.
Thanks to all this brave English and Canadian soldiers to take the brunt on the German forces in Caen. No breakout to the East by the Americans would have never happened, and most likely Allied forces might have been pushed back to the beach. Amazing video all around, Mark Felton always has top quality content. ✌🏻&❤️
Hollywood grrrr
Can't sleep? Dr Felton notification? Righteous.
Pauli wakmabura what is egae Wy
Thank you for stating two facts. First, that Caen was not "supposed" to be taken on D-Day. Second, that the Overlord strategy was for the British and Canadians to hold the bulk of the German armour in the east, around Caen, away from the Americans while they took Cherbourg and prepared for the eventual breakout, Operation Cobra.
So when we see yet another American film cursing the 'slowness' of the British/Canadian advance at Caen (like in Saving Private Ryan) it's worth remembering that virtually all German armour in France was drawn away from the Americans by these stoic men. Everyone in Normandy fought bravely. It gets gets me when these films denigrate actions in which thousands of men died and play nationalistic games of rivalry to enhance their plots. When Saving Private Ryan came out several British Veterans complained, not that there were no Brits in the film, but that the single reference to their efforts was negative. I like Spielberg, but that was a cock up.
And the Americans were just as slow in taking St Lo. No mention of Bradley taking his time with St Lo in Saving Private Ryan though huh?
@@johnburns4017 We would hope so. He hasn't come across as anti British. Band of Brothers episode 4 is also annoying but that wasn't his input there.
Well the American point of view may be forgiven in light of the fact US forces were given the longest routes across the channel and the worst beaches to overcome. It was no secret that the British attitude was ( and is ? ) that the UK had fought for so much longer than the US that they deserved to be given what was thought the 'easier' task to conserve lives.
i won't watch that film because of the anti-Monty comment.
I just made exactly the same comment before having read this. The one that also always annoys me is U571, which suggested that the Americans had captured the German cypher machine (and the capture definitely made a huge contribution to shortening the war in Europe). Nothing could be further from the truth. Several were captured, but not by the Americans until almost the last day of the war. Sadly for Hollywood, the truth is that the British captured more than one, and early enough in the war to make a real difference. I have huge respect for all of those brave souls that fought and died for our freedom, but the history needs to be accurate, for which we owe Mr Felton a huge debt of gratitude!
As a Canadian, I thank you for your recognition but thank you also for the recognition of The Poles who not infrequently are mentioned in your videos. The war was very much an international affair.
Good work as always. Nice to have someone covering history properly, seems there are far too many around who want to just simply erase it...🇬🇧🇨🇦🇺🇲
Much appreciated!
Thank you
And reconstruct WWII by modifying what happened so it's more what they want to hear..
When I was a kid, I saw a contemptable piece of crap trying to pass as historical research by a none to honest "historian" Terrence Mckenna... He and his brother have this habit of pretending to do history...
I wont even give the ophonor of naming the crap series he cranked out decades ago, has the word Blood in it, thats all you get...
But he makes the pretend assertion it was routine for the Cnadians to slaughter their way thru German prisoners from the moment they stsrted making headway against the Germans in Normandy... Not an of hand revenge execution of one guy who kept playing "i surrender" then gunning down the Allie no, but allegedly wholesale murder of many POWS at once, repeatedly.
Claims he sent out questionnaires and got soldiers' swearing they knew of someone saying someone else executed German POWS.
Thing is, the late Cliff Chadderton of the wonderful organization War Amps fame, knew the guys supposedly in the squads that these questionnaires were sent to, and they daid they didnt know anyone who was asked or given them.
In fact theres an excellent series of vids, that anyone can buy and doing so HELPS the War Amps out ... The one where he challenges the crap McKenna "docu" and does so eith facts and first hand experience by the guys who were there...is called "Take No Prisoners", and is a sobering detailed dissection of the real truth.
I trust a guy who fought with the guys who were THere, over an undemining pos like Mckenna is. Once you stop blindly drinking in other ppls words without question, and double check and look into veracity for self, you cant turn back. Eyeopening. Disappointing when "a fellow citizen" tirns out to be a subversive undermining shill. His 'work' has been proven to be shoddy and iffy over the decades,
totally unlike that of Mark Feltons.
Its nice to see history dealt with a balanced and, so far as I can tell so far, even and unbiased hand for once, when it comes to anything Canadian
@@FairladyS130Hollywood yes 😢
Thank you for helping me understand why the allied forces in this area didn’t advance so quickly .
A battle is one thing , a campaign is another . Brave men gave their lives .
Indeed, an understanding of why, initially deserted of German troops, as witnessed by I think, two RAF on bicycles, was then turned into such a destructive battleground. NOW the rubble makes a sense - of sorts.
b12 o you’re really out of touch with reality. Waste of life? Sure. But if you expect Hitler and Churchill to just decide to stop the war for shits and giggles you’re delusional. There’s plenty of pointless conflicts to rake over and criticize. WWII is not one of them. Germany occupied other nations and unfortunately many had to die to liberate them. War is awful but understanding why they are fought is crucial to preventing ones in the future as opposed to “wHy DiDnT tHeY jUsT nOt FiGhT.”
Thank you for your sacrifices, United Kingdom and Canada!! The Battle of Caen was a very nasty business, to be sure! And thanks again, Mark Felton for researching and producing this video.
Thank you Mark for making this tremendous tribute to British and Canadian Forces in Normandy. I am Canadian. My Uncle and my father's cousin both served and survived in the Operation known as Goodwood and Charnwood before that serving in Canadian forces. My Uncle was in an artillery unit and my father's cousin in the infantry. They went up against the 12 SS hitler youth. They both said they fought like devils. A formidable enemy indeed. My father at the time was in medical school training to become a doctor. He graduated University of Toronto 1943 but was shipped over seas just after the war ended. My father's sister my aunt served as a nurse in a field hospital in Normandy and throughout the campaign, She survived the war and later served as a nurse in a hospital in Kitchener.
The only good thing to come off this quarantine is Dr. Felton has become much more frequent with uploads.
As a British Army veteran, I have sincere respect and gratitude to all our allies. We know we couldn't have defeated the enemy without you. I know from history so many of our trusted friends fought, suffered and died. It always brings a tear to my eye when thinking about it.
@Michael RedCrow there's a reason why Churchill was voted out as soon as the war ended you know. people have been pissing on that statue for decades after nights out and football games, but you guys are only getting mad now because people are actually discussing history in terms other than "britain good, everyone else bad"
@@GJ-qt2kk Less talk of "only" and "now" eh? Discussions over the suitability of some of our former heroes for worship today have been taking place for many, many years. Difference is that now instead of discussion we have vandals and thugs enforcing their version of events on everyone else, exactly the sort of thing that Churchill et al stood up and defended their countries against. I'm fed up with whinging turds expecting everyone who's celebrated to be perfect because they ain't, no-one is and to start tearing down history because they just-don't-like-it is wrong. In fact it's more than wrong. It's weak and cowardly. The kind of fight people pick once they've run out of words and brains. Fuck the vandals and the whingers, if you want to take someone on in a constructive way then you need to speak their language otherwise you'll have war on your hands. War on the streets is where we're heading at this rate and I don't don't think half these self entitled bitches have the minerals for any more than one round, a _real_ fight will have them running home for their comforts and luxuries. The things sort of privileges that they only have because people like Churchill fought for them.
@@buggs9950 Very well said Buggs. I agree. The spoken word used in an intelligent manner has so much power. We all owe the freedom we have now, to people like Churchill and all that stood against tyranny threatening our freedom and lives.
Nothing but respect to you bud, as a US Army veteran.
@@crematedable Thanks
The American breakout/OP Cobra gets all the attention, while British, Commonwealth, Polish holding/diversionary actions are mostly forgotten. Excellent video on an underreported segment of the Allied invasion.
Americas likes to take the attention, even though they would have got nowhere without the commonwealth. Just like how the regina rifles took out the most distinguished panzer division in the war with nothing more than launchers.
The British gliders and Caen both get great attention; Omaha just gets more because Omaha was just that bad.
@flownet07 If you knew anyhting about tactics that is sound doctorine hit the enemy where they are weakest and try to roll up their flanks.Montgomery didn't deliberately take on armor the y were there because of the road network in that region.Monty never knew until he ran into them
e james You are Antifa, I presume. 😁
It might be a function of the number of film crews and battlefield historians coming ashore with American forces. I wouldn't think it intentional.
The French civilian loss in this is really heartbreaking
The intro always gets me in the history mood as well scares me good but in a good way!!😌
Me Too..my fav theme 😍😍
I was watching a Mark Felton video one morning in the kitchen and it scared my partner who was upstairs!
Usually l detest background music (especially in cooking shows) but here it's quite apposite, good choice
Pepperdog181@gmail 🚜
One of my uncles was injured in the battle of Caen. Luckily he survived. He was transferred to a hospital in Stafford where he eventually married one of the nurses.
Great story I'm from stafford
So you see thanks to good old Germany your uncle found himself a decent wife, if we wouldent have injured him he might have ended up drunk alone and grumpy.
And I was taught that Omaha was the bloodiest, Caen was another meat grinder, it's a shame they never covered this aspect of D-day around the battle of Caen.
Yes !
@@kaiserschmarrn260 Not even nearly true. As youngsters, we learned about all sides, even if the simpler narratives did focus on the American role, an apparent effort to capture an audience. For that matter, I never have heard any American with an education claim WW2 was an American show, and it grates on the ears to hear somebody claim Americans entered WW2 to "save" Britain. Both Churchill and Roosevelt knew their survival and victory would be a cooperative effort.
The British armed forces always had a horror of the news media and film cameras on the grounds of security ignoring the propaganda value of such publicity. Thankfully, this attitude changed in time for D-day and the Normandy Campaign. In the end, it meant that the British contribution to the allied war effort was always undervalued. British defeats received massive publicity from enemy sources, but British victories were largely ignored because there was no film footage to show or any reporters on the spot to report it. Thus, there is no film footage of the Battle of the River Plate, sinking of the Bismark, or of the Dambusters raid, and hardly anything from the Battle of Alamein. As a result, the world thinks America won the war in the west single-handedly while the British were busy changing the guard at Buckingham Palace.
I used to be pals with a couple back in the 1970s. Heinrich served for three years aboard U-Boats, was captured and after the war took British citizenship, while his English wife served in the RAF as a radar plotter. Heinrich told me that wherever German soldiers served you would find a battery of film cameras filming their every move. Whenever he saw a camera pointed at him he told me that he always made sure they caught his best side which was his war face LOL.
My father was a rifle platoon leader in the US 29th Division/116th Reg. Omaha was bloody; but don’t forget St. Lo. Our brave allies, the Canadians and British, faced the slaughter-house of Caen. The 29th took more casualties at St. Lo than they did on Omaha beach. God bless all our Allied soldiers who gave so much so we can be free.
A Underwood Yep, you met the bad ones. The ones who are die hard “America needs no allies because we are the strongest ever”. I grow tired of people like them. Trust me, I love my country and I know we have a powerful military (I’m American), but every country needs allies. You can’t fight a war alone. Respect each country’s forces, because each force is vital cog in the machine.
Our British allies are tough as nails. Glad we are on the same team
That wasn't how many felt at the time.
@@1pcfred Yeah. The Germans.....
Who’s we don’t think u were there
You'd better believe it.
The Canadians as well. We all joke about polite Canadians, but once they are rilled up they go pure beast mode, as the SS found out after the Ardenne Abbey Massacre.
Thank you Mr. Mark Felton, as a Nova Scotian I know the sacrifice that we endured at Abbaye d'Ardenne. The Canadians at Juno were some of the first troops for D Day + 1 to reach objectives but to be pushed back. Great video's.....possibly you can do one a video on the massacres by both sides after D Day?
I agree Trimtank! And it's good that you used the plural of 'massacre', because the SS Divisions that the Brits, Canadians & Poles faced acted as they had on the Eastern Front...they rarely took prisoners & even killed the wounded they captured. While Canadians & history buffs elsewhere may be aware of the 20 Canadian POWs executed at the Abbe Ardenes near Caen, the truth is that over 106 Canadian POWs, plus many captured British & Polish soldiers were executed by the S.S. during the Battle of Normandy. Furthermore, the German officers responsible were known to Allied authorities, however only rarely did the surviving German officerst receive much or any sort of just consequences for their war crimes. 😞😠
@@derekbaker3279 Don't worry! Many scores were equally settled by British & Canadian Troops in Normandy in 1944, in a similar, quiet, decreet & deadly fashion, just like their fathers & uncles had done on the Western Front in Flanders & Picardy, some 25 years or so previously! It was a case of 'what goes around, just comes back around,' I suppose!
@@trevorfuller8980 Yes indeed. And, unlike the grudging respect that developed between the Fallschirmjager units and Canadian forces that faced each other in Italy (especially in the intense Battle of Ortona) , the fighting between the German and Canadian foes in the Battle of Normany soon developed a level of hate more like what was seen on the Eastern Front (especially when the 12th S.S 'Hitler Jugend' Panzer Division was involved).
What a lot of people don't realise even today, is that Canada declared war on Germany to help the UK. More people than you'd think, think that somehow Britain going to war meant Canada had to go to war, but no, Canada fully declared war of its own volition and that's just something you can't put a price on. The Aussies and New Zealanders did likewise.
@@AtheAetheling : Yes. indeed! The sacrifices & support given so-generously and unreservedly to Britain by all of the Dominions & Commonwealth Forces in both World Wars in fact, are even more laudable & praiseworthy, despite the passage of time that has since passed, 82 years almost from the 4th Sep. 1939, as this article is being typed out! It can never be forgotten or underestimated how powerful, vital and influential to the wars' victories that their actions and contributions actually were to both their final outcomes and aftermaths!!
That was a hell of a fight. I've always been interested in the fighting around Caen. Thank you Mark and greetings from South Carolina.
The British took a licking taking Caen but fought valiantly to eventually take it great job as always Mark. My grandfather fought with the American 82nd airborne 321st combat artillary brigade and jumped into Normandy in Operation Neptune and was eventually wounded in Market Garden. Never talked about the war until he was about to pass and i was about to inlist myself before the first Gulf War.
@@johnburns4017 The video is literally about the casualties and fighting around Caen.
ptonpc Yes you are correct. Nevertheless a 20 minute video , while interesting, cannot and does not , explain what was going on in Normandy. The expression “took a licking” is straight out of Hollywood , “Blood and Guts” George Patton who was not even in France at the time, and neither were Ted Dansen and Tom Hanks.
When you face the only Tigers and King Tigers in Normandy plus a heavier local concentration of dug in Jagdpanthers, Jagdpanzer, Stugs, 88’s and PAK than anywhere against the war with the Germans you will get large casualties... simples...
So, did you enlist ?
Sean Johnson That’s called taking a licking...by definition.
Very good episode, as usual. As a Canadian I’m very proud of the contribution our country made throughout the war. Many people, mostly Americans, did not recognize that contribution, or understand that at the end of the day on June 6, 1944, that the Canadian forces captured or eliminated all their objectives, and penetrated further inland than any of the other 155,000 allied soldiers. It was also refreshing to see that on your maps you showed the correct version of the Canadian flag that was used up until 1965. Even in the series Band of Brothers, the scene showing the briefing session on a huge map, incorrectly represented the Canadian objective of Juno Beach, represented with our current flag, with the large red maple leaf.
Blood Oath true comrades who were in it from the Start.
Troll you had no blood oath the Crown ran the canadians thru the shredder after Monty failed told them to open up the Scheldt Estaury/Port of Antwerp also directed them to Dieppe,treating them like sandbags
@@bigwoody4704 When did Montgomery direct the Canadians to DIEPPE?
His order before leaving for the desert
Liar go and check @@bigwoody4704
Always gotta be early on Mark’s videos. They’re the best!
Excellent story of a well-known battle- thanks Mark. The casualties on both sides were horrific and the tactics used questionably. I have visited the area and scars are still quite visible. Stay safe
Simon - I remember seeing on the telly some years back an interview of Lt. General Sir Brian Horrocks, who was at the time GOC of XXX Corps. He spoke of his internal anguish at giving the OK for the bombing of Caen, knowing the destructive effect on both French residents and the historic city.
I was an exchange student at Lycée Jean Charcot in St Servan, now incorporated into the Breton Channel city of St Malo, during 1964 and '65. The rebuilding of the part of the historic city of St Malo within the ramparts that surround it had just been completed, but outside the walls and around the port traces of the War were everywhere, 20 years later. One subject for a program might be why so much effort was expended rooting out the Germans from the Breton cities and towns when the entire Armorican Peninsula could have been sealed off and isolated for the duration, at a much smaller cost to the citizenry as well as the combatants.
HEY MARK I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT WE LIKE THE INTERVIEWS FROM THE SOLDIERS SPLICED INTO YOUR COMMENTARY COULD YOU PLEASE DO THIS MORE OFTEN? THANK YOU
I'll try.
Happy to see the Canadian Army featured in the war clips.
@Dave Ad and in plenty of other key moments of the war too.
There’s a Canadian Artillery Officer by the name of Blackburn. He wrote two books about his war and book one deals with Normandy. If you want to know why things went slowly in Normandy, Blackburn explains it all....and after reading it, I finally understood why my Grandfather refused to talk about it.
Mark Felton also fails to point out that despite the hold up’s, the Allies were into Paris well ahead of schedule.....Monty’s plan didn’t fail, his troops didn’t fail, it’s just that the Germans fought like Tigers and clung like limpets....and when the end came, it came in a hurry.
The Brits and Canadians sure loved their Bren light machine guns. A very different weapon than the Mg 34 and 42.
Dr. Felton - the Bren deserves its very own episode. Think of all the VCs where it played a role.
"15 days is a long time to stay in one place and be mortared."
Yes I know what you mean.
Thank you again Dr Felton for filling up gaps of D-day battles!
Someone give this man his own TV show
He has. It's called Mark Felton Productions.
Leave Mark here you know if it was on tv it would be corrupted and taken over by the PC police and commercials
I think he will get picked up by a major broadcasting unit in the near future. He has raw talent...and I read this prediction in Nostradamus's writings.
@@HelixRsix he would make special segments and if that were to happen, give it a few years and he'll be back on air.
TV is a cess pit. Keep real content real.
My Grandfather fought at this campaign around Caen earning a Military Medal for bravery. He fought in the Royal Norfolk Regiment. We have his medal, citation for bravery and a photography of Monty himself presenting him with the medal. It is my mother's treasured family procession. We are all so proud of him. He would rarely talk of it and just say it lost a lot of good mates in the war.
my eldest brother , was killed in action, Falschirmjaeger, buried at the German cementry nearby , 22 years old, 11000 men buried there
what a waste of good young men
on both sides
Guess I'm not Going to sleep... Exceptionally well done Mr. Felton, highest quality as per the norm.
I know! About to shut down.. suddenly this in my feed. YARGH!! but great to watch
eating my lunch while watching high-quality documentaries.
Life's good, lads.
If I have to kill my sleep schedule to watch 90’s history channel content, I will,
Thank you Mark Felton for amazing content.
Wow ada orang Indonesia juga yang nonton Mark Felton
@@rozakfassah7730 ada lah bro
Thank you for sharing this story that should never be forgotten. My grandad fought at the battle of Hill 112 with the Somerset Light Infantry, part of 43rd Brigade Wessex.
He didn’t talk much about the war, but he did say how tall the corn was in the fields around that area. He said it was really scary not knowing who was in the corn in front or behind you. They would some times jump into a trench or foxhole, and German soldiers would jump out!
They continued the push through Normandy, until he was captured at Vernon. Another very interesting story of a massive battle to cross the river Seine.
My Grandad was in Montys 7th Armoured 11th Hussars. He drove the Dingo scout car that went ahead of everyone. He never spoke about his time in the war and never collected his medals. All I have is his wartime bible and a 5 page divisional letter than detailed their exploits on the Caen front which we found in his house when he went into a home.
Same, my stepdad, never spoke of the war. Or had cause to celebrate any of it. He lost his mates.
I can't get enough of this channel, it brings a new perspective on this titanic struggle.
Gets my Saturday off to a great start, seeing a Mark Felton video. Excellent as usual
same
Mood
Wow..
Thank you Mark. I’ve met several Canadian Veterans who fought during the Battle of Caen. They were very humble and reserved in their comments about the hellish battles to take Caen. Although I’m extremely proud of my country’s contributions during WW1, WW2, Korea and the numerous U.N. deployments, etc., I wish we (society) would do more to financially support the families of those who didn’t return as well as the men and women who did. These incredible people sacrificed so much and yet we only remember them a couple times a year and spend very little (comparatively) to ensure they are financially taken care of. If there has ever been a reason for a tax, maybe a Patriot Tax (or something) in which 100% of the funds are paid to our soldiers (living or dead) and their family’s. Society’s gratitude needs to be stepped up.
Another brilliant video Mark, you need to be complemented for keeping the quality of your videos so high, thank you!
hey mark, I’ve been watching a lot of your content recently for some of my recent work, thank you for producing this highly detailed and informative content yet not leaving in pointless filler.
Mark,
If you have the time please do an episode on Axis POWs captured and subsequently interned in the UK, US, and Canada. The US alone had 700 camps that housed over 400 thousand POWs. Due to the fact these camps had to be constructed in such remote locations in order to discourage escape attempts, their existence was never widely publicized. As a result, they are now relegated to local historical folklore and the important role they played in the national war effort is all but forgotten.
I've stayed many times in the small wooden huts constructed by WWII POWs at Camp Perry, Ohio on the shore of Lake Erie.
As a Girl Scout in the sixties, our region had a sleep over camp that had been a prisoner of war camp outside the Chicago area. We slept in the barracks that had a pot belly stove to keep us warm. Accommodations were primitive, which we actually liked, it felt like we were roughing it.
I was born in the UK and I remember the German and Italian labourers working on building the new housing estates that were springing up across Britain replacing the houses lost during the blitz on Britain's cities. The war had been over for 3 years and many of those former axis prisoners chose to settle in the UK on their release.
i worked in a factory in Tyler, tx that was built by German POWs....some carpenters!
Got dang it! These videos are so good! I catch myself humming the intro tune very often. I was happy to see that one of your videos made it to the front page of Reddit! You deserve all the exposure you can get. Love the content, keep it up.
My father was in the 6th Airborne. Sometimes he would talk about where he was, but never in a lot of detail. Thank you Dr Felton for showing what dad and many, many others suffered through. They were very brave young men. “At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them.”
my great uncle was a glider pilot in 6th airborne in varsity
Saw this pop up after 2:00 AM here on the East coast, had no choice but to watch...As always, worth it!
It might be 1 am but that won’t stop me from watching this video.
2 AM here. No better time to learn I suppose.
Game Bukket which country do you live in?
We're in the same boat. It's 9 a.m. here, haven't slept all night. .... Plus I only subscribed to his channel yesterday, but already willing to immediately drop p0rn for this. 😁
It's only 1:20 but that dosen't matter I love this channel
7.21am here in UK
we recently watched a video on here about Eisenhower.. and he said.. thanks to the British and Canadians containing the germans at Caen, it allowed the americans to break out.....
Annette Hadley
Yeah, that was always the plan.
I agree wholeheartedly. I think I may have seen the same documentary.....👍
Excellent presentation as ever. Possibly one of the best Mark has produced.
Hey Mark, love your videos! Please cover the battle of Imphal, one of the most underrated battles fought by the British in WW2 , request from a long time subscriber from India.
The Indian and African forces who fought in the 14th are also due some much needed recognition. As is General Slim, hands down the best western allied commander of the war.
That's very true about both Imphal & Kohima, also the other battles before in the Arakan & later onwards to recapturing Rangoon & many other places there! Bill Slim (And his 14th Army!) was definitely one of the best Army Commanders (And major formations) of WW2 without any doubt! His record is truly amazing!
Battle of longewala or battle of Asal utter?
@@vandansonkar7819 mark Felton covers ww2 mostly
Thanks for the awesome video, Mark - I had not known that the actions around Caen tied up most of the German armour, allowing the American First Army to break out.
The beauty of Mark and his Channel shedding light on many of these finer and sometimes lost details of battles during WWII is invaluable. Any common man willing to give his life to fight against tyranny & oppression, fight for freedom & democracy are all hero’s at the end of the day. My Canadian Uncle Nels was part of a tank crew from Italy on through Germany. He survived the war. As a naive child I would regularly ask him about the war as I was very interested. As during the 70’s I watched the TV series World At War religiously. Understandably, he never spoke of any of his experiences.
The fighting around Caen was the definition of, "War Is Hell".
Thank you Mark Felton.
Damn, I never knew the amount of resources the British and and Canadians tied up to free up US forces. Big props to my brothers up north and across the pond
and big props to the american GIs who had the terrible task of fighting in the bocage, us brits love you guys
These battles were Canada's bravest time of the war. We are forever in their debt. Thanks Mark
One of my mom’s brothers was a tank crewman with the First Hussars (6th Canadian Armoured Regiment), killed in action on 11 June at the battle of Le Mesnil-Patry against troops of the 12th SS Panzer Division. She had lost another brother with the Royal Canadian Artillery less than two weeks earlier in battle in Italy. The 1H lost a whole squadron of Shermans (a company for American readers) at Le Mesnil-Patry. For them and for the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada who lost many soldiers in that battle, 11 June is considered their “black day”.
It was a mess for the Canadians. They were forced to attack, 3 lines of a thousand men up a long long slope without tanks, without cover to set German positions. 60-80% losses. None fought in the city of Caen. The same stupid crap happened to Canadians in WW1 thanks to the British. French Canadian and Newfoundland troops were openly sacrificed. The Frech population was so incensed that the Province of Quebec refused to send her troops to ww2. Any French Canadians that went volunteered on their own.
Dr. Felton: Excellent blending of your scholarship, story telling and historical film clips. I especially like the excerpt of the lad talking about 15 days of stalemate: guard duty, food coming up, desiring fresh bread and butter, and fresh tea. All of us who have served in military units can relate to this, whether peace keepers or combat troops. What a truly team effort to free Europe. Well done!
1:20 to me this is the most impactful scene of any of the material available of the Normandy landings. This image provokes a feeling of staring at certain death. The rocking of the landing craft in the water as they are seconds from becoming totally exposed to thousands of bullets headed their way and the houses between the mist all add to the eerie vibe.
The level of civilian casualties in Caen was massive - such a tragedy the offensive In early June hadn’t been successful - many lives could have been saved.
@Leonardo's Truth same with the insane bombing in vietnam.
@@morisco56 The operative word being "insane."
No worse than the civilian casualties in London from Hitler's V-weapons, and certainly less than the extermination of opposition, religious, social and political groups across the gamut of Nazi and Soviet occupied countries.
@Leonardo's Truth " You think the Americans would pay to rebuild the town"
The Americans paid to rebuild the entirety of Europe you silly revisionist.
Leonardo's Truth It was the Brits who bombed Caen you moron.
*its 1:30 AM in Oregon, USA* “right, time to go to bed.” RUclips: *New Mark Felton Video* ... “never mind sleep, it can wait...”
2:30 a.m.: *riot noises*
@@TheTenthLeper That's just in Portland out of a very large state and it has a long history of protests since the 1960s so nothing new really. Also here in Seattle at least since the 1990s but as always, insurance companies repair the damages and life moves on even just days after. The thing is that the cities are a small fraction of the population, for example Seattle here has 700k residence but the overall metro has 4 million people, most just live in suburbs not in the city itself. So protests in Seattle on a few streets downtown really has limited impact so the city lets the protesters go on for a while and then shuts them down.
I know the feeling. I came here for a ten minute video but have spent over an hour reading many of the fascinating comments.
Mark Felton deserves 1 million subscribers. Cant wait to see it. Was in the first few hundred or so. Exciting, informative channel!
Excellent mixture of narration and archival footage. Thanks!
My father was there as a driver. Years later when we going on holiday to Europe became more common he would never go to France. Spain and Italy was okay but never France. I guess the memories were too powerful. Years later I got the ferry to Ouistram and it felt really odd knowing he had done in 1944. I visited Aromanche where he came ashore and again standing on the beach was really strange. I found myself wondering where his truck got shot up. Still miss him.
My father was an RASC driver. Landed at Arromanches. Came back with a very similar aversion to visiting Europe. As an old man, when he was dying in hospital and pumped full of morphine, he was hallucinating German soldiers patrolling the wards. He never truly left Normandy.
G'day Mark, Thank you for this excellent video. All Allied forces from 6 June onwards had a hard slog. I am glad, however, that you have spelt out how rough it was for British and Canadian forces because much of this part of the invasion of France has been dominated, in recent years, by the invasion from the US perspective. Not the fault of US forces; this imbalance of reporting has occurred, I think, because historians have been obsessed with blaming Montgomery for failing to take Caen rapidly, without explaining in detail how strong the Nazi resistance was for British and Canadian forces.
The concentration on the US struggle for Omaha Beach is justified in that it was a bloodbath compared to other June 6th assaults. But once past the beachheads US forces were able to advance with comparative speed.
This is where you bring up the excellent point that, right or wrong, Montgomery's management of the action in and around Caen succeeded in occupying most of the Nazi armour and experienced infantry that, otherwise, would have been thrown against the Americans.
I am not, for one moment defending Montgomery who, for many of my research reasons, I think was a deficient commander.
Given the fragmented on-ground intelligence that all forces had to work with, not even Montgomery could quickly foresee or know what power the Germans would throw back at his troops.
Finally, let me stress that I have every respect for the sacrifices of all Allied nations' troops on D-Day and thereafter. Thanks, Mark. Cheers, BH
P.S.
As a 'colonial' Australian historian I've become, like similar Canadians, used to our country's being overlooked in the big historical picture of WW2. I have several US published books in my reference library where the word 'Allied' is used, without exception, in place of the word 'Australian' in descriptions of US activities in New Guinea and elsewhere in the South Pacific. It's just the way book publishing goes sometimes. ;)
John Burns Well said. I note Mark Felton has given a smiley face to the original post. Well I’ve been to Normandy, and the introduction describing the French countryside is very misleading. A 12 minute video and watching Saving Private Ryan cannot possibly inform anyone about what really was going on in the Normandy Campaign, which led to the decimation of the German Army, under Montgomery as land force commander.
Bill Halliwell
The basic plan which, they never deviated from, was for the British and Canadians to take on the bulk of the German armour and for the US forces to capture Cherbourg then go south and break out.
From Nigel Hamilton’s three volume biography of Montgomery:
”To help illustrate his presentation Monty had asked his MA - Lt Colonel Dawnay, to ink colluded phases onto the maps - as Dawnay later remebered:
’I had the maps prepared and drew on them the D-Day targets for the troops along the invasion front. And the dropping zones of the paratroopers. And the after consulting with Monty I drew the D plus 90 line - showing where he felt we should get by D plus 90 - which included Paris and a line back along the Loire.
*And I asked Monty how I should draw the lines in between. And he said , ‘Well it doesn’t matter Kit, draw them as you like.’ ‘So I said, ‘ *Shall I draw them equally, sir?’ And he said ‘Yes, that’ll do.’*
In his opinion it was not of any importance where he would be groundwise between D plus 1 and D plus 90, because he felt sure he could capture the line D plus 90 by the end of 3 months, and he was not going to capture ground, he was going to destroy enemy forces.
Using Monty’s presentation notes, Dawnay drew in the arbitrary lines, never dreaming that they would be used in evidence against Monty when the campaign did not go ‘according to plan’…….
In his later memoirs, Tedder reported the same Eisenhower allegation that would so infuriate Monty: ‘When a week had passed since D-Day without the capture of Caen it became clear to us at SHAEF that the hopes of a road breakthrough on the left were now remote.’
Yet Monty had *never* suggested or intended a *break-through* on the left; only a battle around Caen that would permit him to establish and extend the shield behind which Bradley could take Cherbourg and breakout via St Lo and Avranches to Brittany.
Some of the misunderstanding was undoubtedly caused by Monty himself, as his MA, Lt Colonel Dawnay, later recognised:
*I think he had given the RAF a totally false impression, at St Paul’s and elsewhere, as to when he was going to get the airfields, south of Caen - a totally false impression. Because when we got there [to Normandy] we realized quite quickly that he didn’t care a damn about those airfields, as long as he could draw all the German armour on to the [eastern] side and give a chance for his right swing to break out!”*
-Hamilton, Nigel. Monty, Master of the Battlefield 1942-1944.
*”As he explained in a letter that evening to Major-General Simpson at the war Office, Caen was only a name; he did not want to waste British and Canadians lives a la Stalingrad:*
*The Germans are doing everything they can to hold on to CAEN. I have decided not to have a lot of casualties by butting up against the place; so I have ordered Second Army to keep up a good pressure at CAEN, and to make its main effort towards VILLERS BOCAGE and EVRECY and thence S.E. towards FALAISE.”*
-Hamilton, Nigel. Monty, Master of the Battlefield 1942-1944.
But this had been stated in an address he had given *before* D-Day.
*”Monty’s actual address, never published before, makes it quite clear that, with the exception of ports, the battle for Normandy would not be conducted with object of capturing towns, but of step by step building up of men and resources until the moment when the Americans would be strong enough to drive south into Brittany and to the Loire.* It was a strategy that Monty unfolded with absolute conviction, two months before the new date set for the invasion: the first full moon in June. As in the address to senior officers before Alamein the calm authority with which Monty outlined his plan, the likely enemy response, and the phases through which the battle would go, was almost incredible to those present who did not already know Montgomery.
At no point in this military lecture to Brooke, Churchill and Smuts, did Monty ever suggest that Dempsey was to do more than bring the German forces to battle around Caen, however - and when after the war, Eisenhower wrote that ‘in the east we had been unable to break out towards the Seine’, Monty was furious, for this was a complete travesty of the facts. To Churchill Monty had made it quite clear that there was no question of wild break-outs. How could there be when the Allies had only fourteen divisions ashore, many of which, particularly the parachute and first assault divisions, were inevitably running out of steam? As Churchill pointed out to Stalin the battle for Normandy would be a slow and deliberate one: ‘I should think it quite likely that we should work up to a battle of about a million a side, lasting throughout June and July. We plan to have about two million there by mid-August.
Eisenhower’s unfortunate obfuscation has coloured the military accounts ever since, polarizing chroniclers into nationalistic camps. This was, Monty felt, a tragedy in view of the fact that the battle for Normandy was, at all stages, an Allied battle, in which Allied soldiers gave their lives, conforming to an Allied plan to defeat the German armies in the West - not to ‘break out towards the Seine’ in some mythical Lancelot charge.
..Dempsey’s brief then was not to ‘break out towards Seine’, but to play his part in a truly Allied undertaking, bringing to battle the mobile German forces that would otherwise - as Rommel wished - destroy the American assault on Cherbourg.”
-Hamilton, Nigel. Monty, Master of the Battlefield 1942-1944.
chris younts
Caen just _wasn’t that_ important. See my reply above.
Burns is full of it,Caen was taken because of massive naval and air bombardment.Nothing Monty did.He shot his mouth off he'd have it in a day.....43 days later.The Russians though they'd take it before that prat
Australian version of the Battle of the Coral Sea?
Mark, a well-researched and touching story about the Battle of Caen, brought to life with audio recordings of soldiers who fought there: amazing. Thanks to our British and Canadian allies who sacrificed so much.
Gotta tell ya Dr. Felton...I honestly spend more time reading the "comments" to your videos than the actual video. Amazing facts and personal stories are revealed and it all adds to the experience.
I visited Caen during the Normandy 75th - as most of the rebuilding was in a similar architectural style one was left with the impression of a city just flattened - allied bomber squadrons had developed an almost industrial capacity for destruction and it must have been terrifying to have been caught underneath.
The story of Hill 112 is an epic.
You mean Cornwall Hill.
After 5th Battalion of Duke of Cornwall light infantry of 380 men who fought there against the Germans 12 counter attacks 320 casualties. Funnily enough the Cornish regiment which also fought at Quatre Bras and Waterloo also suffered most casualties in the campaign beating Napoeleon.
My next door neighbour was a veteran of the D-Day landings. A couple of years ago, just before he was moved into a care home, he told me he fought all the way from the beaches to Berlin and that he still had shrapnel pieces still in his body. I thanked him for his service. He was a lovely man!!
Benji B-Side Your neighbor was a Russian?
Another great video on some details I have never heard of before! There is a lot of footage I haven't seen before either. Well done again!
It’s my birthday and the best gift I can get is one of Mark’s amazing videos!
Happy Birthday!
Thanks Mark!
Though proud of what our US forces did there (and throughout WW2), it's good to hear about what the Brits and Canucks did too. Hope to hear more about their WW2 exploits.
You will.
Thank you - that comment has really impressed me. The 'over-rated' comment about Monty in 'Saving Private Ryan' was truly uncalled-for, and one good thing that maybe came of it is getting a bit more of a light shone in on this aspect of the battle.
Without over three hundred years of German input the United States would have become one third less powerful and less advanced than they are.
@@nspr9721 I suspect the "over-rated" comment was included in SPR because some US troops of the time believed that. Doesn't change the fact that Brits kicked a$$ in every theater.
@@nspr9721 Yeah "Saving Private Ryan" was a piece of Hollywood S**T
Hell yes! More D-Day Battles is just what I needed! Thank you Mark Felton!
There will be several more as we move forward into the wider Normandy campaign - and let's not also forget Operation Dragoon!
@@MarkFeltonProductions OMG he replied! 😭😭 But yes, that would be fantastic. I actually never heard of Operation Dragoon or the Mediterranean side of D-Day at all until now. Thanks again for all that you do :)
Well done Mark for expertly retelling the story as it REALLY was. Another classic!
Operation Goodwood was included in the Win 98 video game Panzer General II.
Because of this video, I have a newfound respect and admiration for the soldiers who fought at Caen.
And here's hoping mankind can learn from history, and never repeat any of this. Every fallen soldier, friend or foe, had a photo of a loved one in his pocket.
Particularly excellent one for it's images, and the poignant first hand voice-overs.
A costly campaign in Normandy, with some of the most desperate fighting of WW2 and some amazing heroics on both sides. Another great video story Mark !
Brilliant and informative video as always, Dr Mark. Many thanks.
My grandad died July 8th in the Charnwood offensive as anti tank. Been going to Hermanville cemetery for many years now. My gran waited 50 yrs so she could be buried with him. She gave birth to my dad 4 months after he was killed. That the reality of war and its outcomes (especially when you had generals with WW1 styles leading).
Which general was that ?
@@justwhenyouthought6119 Monty... he had an ego, cared little for losses and the American general, Bradley, said so much with very few words.... about his leadership. Great article the ally we loved to hate...
All young men, women, and children, soldiers and civilians who never got a chance at life. Be grateful for what you have
Those are very high casualties. And the city not rebuilt until the mid 60s. Shocking simply shocking. Thanks for another very educational session Mark.
My grandfather was part of the Nova Scotia Highlanders out of Prince Edward Island. I wish I could hug him now for what he gave us then. Thank you once again Mr Felton. Another gem 💎