Next Monday is Boxing Day, so to allow me to actually have a day off for Christmas, I'm going to do a behind-the-scenes video showing you all how I do my Battlestorm animations etc. This is actually answering two Patreon questions from like 4 years ago which I've delayed answering... But if you've got any questions regarding the scripting, editing or animation process, ask me below and I'll see if I can fit in some answers for you in that video. Cheers!
@@aldinf512 It says vehicle insignia, and when you click on it, the description reads: "1st Logo of the 309th German infanterie Division." So I don't trust it.
@TIKhistory its probably a typo as 309 ID insignia has its own in other websites and the file name says 306. Division usually base their vehicle insignia based on their unit logo.The logo is also on the cover page on a book about the division Edit:Not the book I was talking about but it's on the cover page of this book Der Landser - Band: Deutsche Divisionen - II. Teil - Einsätze und Kampfschicksale deutscher Großverbände im II. WK - Buch gebraucht kaufen
@@TheImperatorKnight Hey man, it would be really cool if you could upload your videos to Odysee to deal with the censorship issues on youtube. It's run by Jeremy Kauffman of the Free State Project.
I'm watching the old series "The World at War". Have you ever thought of making a episode of comparing what was known then vs now? I believe that series was quite influential for it's time. Thanks
I know it's been said a thousand times before but this is quite literally the best documentary series on the battle of Stalingrad ever made. That is no small feat, exceptional work TIK. Thanks for all the work you put into this.
the Donetsk river valley would of made a superb defence line and kept alive the Caucusus campaign, only saying as it has been prominent in a more recent campaign which TIK hasn't mentioned once. I genuinely feel that to make history relevant there has to be a present day relevance, especially when we have an absolutely glaring one. Also the impact on civilians doesn't get mentioned and these losses could potentially dwarf the military slaughter, but as history doesn't seem interested i don't know.
One of the things I love about TIK’s vids, there isn’t 2 minutes of ads or 5 mins of schlepping 1 square foot of land in Scotland. Come to think of it tho, it is very sad that YT doesn’t believe his work is worthy of sponsorship. Merry Christmas TIK, and a very blessed New Year!
I want my videos to stand the test of time. So I made the decision years ago that I didn't want sponsors in the video (or merch) because I was thinking long-term. Yes, these videos will be outdated in a few years as new evidence and theories emerge, but people can look back on them and enjoy they for what they are. In 50 years time, today's bars of soap and pay-to-win RPGs will be completely forgotten, but Stalingrad won't be, and hopefully this series won't be either.
I have to say, being a kid, born in Ukraine, former part of USSR and thus grown and educated under heavy influence of soviet historical narrative, this series and channel overall had really pushed me into revising my knowledge of WWII (and history of the first half of XX century as well), which I gain by reading soviet era books, 'cause in 90s and early 2000's we didn't have any other sources. Thanks for your efforts, man.
Western historical narratives are equally if not worse in terms of ideological BS and bias and false history motivated by the decades of anti-soviet propaganda during the Cold War, and over-reliance on German generals desperately trying to avoid accepting any responsibility or concede any legitimate losses due to soviet ability. And the fact NATO had to rehabilitate a bunch of these gjys, many war criminals, in order to shore up the Western European frontline. There are exceptions of course. Glantz being particularly good on the soviet war.
@@Edax_Royeaux It was propaganda. The soviets would have pushed the Germans back or defeated them much earlier if they could. The idea of encircling the Germans only became plan in Sept 1942. This does not take away from the fact that the Soviets carried out the plan successfully.
It worked the other way, too. I began tabletop wargaming in the mid-70s and finding anything beyond the broadest overviews of the war in the East was incredibly hard. The staggering losses of 41-2 or Rzhev or the appalling damage caused to Ukraine and Belorussia weren't something I came across at all until a few years ago. Strictly Leningrad, Stalingrad, a couple of articles on Kursk, then Berlin!
@@caryblack5985 Well. They did build up for Uranus. They could have sent those forces straight to Stalingrad. And as we know from TIKhistory the Germans didn't have a clue. Seems like a plan to me.
I love this. I work 6 days a week, but I always find the time to watch these. On Christmas, I am planning to rewatch the whole series to remind myself how far it come. Your work is amazing.
I know a few who were in the US Army and Marines. I think they said for every 1 combat soldier you normally have 4-5 people in the rear from drivers, medics, cooks, etc supporting them.
I feel very nearly blessed that I discovered this series when Tik was just wrapping it up (that way I could proceed from one episode to the next without an agonizing wait). Talk about binge-watching…it’s still bingeable even after having watched the series twice
Over the years I have read a lot of books on Stalingrad including Glantz's may books. However none are able to communicate what happened as effectively as this series. Part of the problem of reading a book is that it will narrate a series of complex events. The advantage of this type of series is that you can see better how each event is time specific and ties into other events. It is a great way of explaining history. Your various videos (with the exceptions of the slightly eccentric political ones) are of the highest quality I have seen on You tube and are a real break though in explaining the complexity of history
Insane levels of detail over months and months of videos - and I can only imagine how much work! I don't know how you do it, but surely your channel is the most comprehensive account of all things Stalingrad?!
Made my day. At least the snow has gone outside and it's not, and never been, -15 here (UK Dec 2002). I had two pieces of buttered toast and jam just for my tea too.
Doing the math: 300,000 Germans inside the pocket. 0.2kg of flour per day (to be baked into bread inside the pocket) each. That equals 60,000 kg / day of flour. 2.2 kg / lb = 132,000 pounds. Or 66 short tons of flour per day....for only ~200 grams of bread per person per day. Or in a 10 short ton (20,000 lbs) unit of flour, that would be enough for the 200 gram daily ration for about 45,500 men, give or take (about 15% of the pocket). Never mind meat, butter, beans and vegetables. As for fuel - a 55 gallon steel drum weighs (depending on what the Google says) about 50 lbs. Gasoline is about 6 lbs / US gallon. So, a 55 gallon drum full of gasoline weighs about 380 lbs. Each 10 tons of lift (20,000 lbs) would therefore yield about 52 1/2 drums of fuel. Or about 2888 US gallons (~10,930 liters). A Panzer 3 takes 300-320 liters to fill per Wiki (yeah, yeah, yeah.....). So for each 10 tons of lift devoted to fuel, that would yield about 36 or 37 full tanks of fuel for a Panzer 3, give or take. Near as I can make out from the Google, 2 complete 105mm howitzer rounds (not WW2 German, but modern, shell and brass case with powder, but it provides a rough order of magnitude estimate) weigh about 50kg, packed in a wooden crate. Using our 10 ton unit of supply, that would be about 181 boxes (or 362 rounds). Near as I can make out, 7.62 NATO is about 7 lbs / 100 round belt. Close enough to SWAG for the 8MM Mauser which will be a bit heavier, so somewhat less rounds per unit of weight. Assuming 10% packaging weight (fiber boxes, metal cans, wooden crates) yields about 1,300 rounds per 100 lbs, or about 26,000 rounds per 2,000 lb ton. At our 10 ton unit of cargo, that would be about 260,000 rounds of rifle / machine gun ammo. Or about 8 2/3 rounds for each of the 30,000 infantry for each 10 tons brought in. So, what would a 300 ton load of supplies look like, if 1/3 to flour, 1/3 to gasoline and 1/3 to ammo (half 105 arty rounds and half rifle / machine gun ammo)? 100 tons of flour would be enough to provide about 2/3 lb / person. Sounds ok, but a pound of flour has about 1650 calories (give or take). So that's a bit under 1,100 calories, or starvation levels. 100 tons of fuel in 55 gallon drums would be about 525 drums, or 28,875 US gallons (~109,300 liters). That would be enough to fill up 360 or so Panzers. Not bad, but there are also trucks and ambulances and generators and whatever else is using up the gasoline. 100 tons of ammo would be 1810 105mm artillery rounds and 1.3 million rifle / machine gun rounds (~43 rounds for each of the 30,000 infantry). That's not a lot of ammo. As for the arty, lets put it this way: With 30,000 infantry, if they were in 500 man battalions, then there would be 60 such battalions. If the arty support was spread out equally to these 60 units, that's about 30 rounds each, per day. Given how much front each such unit would need to cover, that's a pretty thin spread of arty support over each 24 hour period. And we're ignoring the multitude of other ammo types needed, like for the above mentioned Panzers that got the fuel....and MG belts for them as well, and mortars, and 20, 37 and 88mm guns. And Paks. And 75 and 150mm arty. Yeah, the German logistic situation was doomed.
Another episode with TIK at the top of his game. When this is finally over I shall take the time to start again at the beginning. TIK this has been an outstanding prodution - thank you and have a great Christmas and New Year.
I’m almost caught up now and I’ll echo everyone else’s sentiments and say TIK thank you so much for all the work that you’ve put into this series. I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed it and I’ll be following your links to help support your work. I enjoy the presentation style very much it contrasts well with some of the more local and personal accounts I’ve read/heard over the years. The quality of the series is beyond top tier. You have really out done yourself TIK thank you once again.
Another round of applause for the great content TIK! You've more than earned some days off for the holidays. Best wishes for you and your family. Extra ration of bread and delicious horse flesh soup for everyone!
16:56 "Can you imagine them actually doing this?" You don't need to imagine them doing it, because they ultimately did evacuate the Caucasus, except they did so just to save themselves and not relieve the 6th Army. Hindsight backs up Manstein on this (and in his defence Herr Hitler was a madman). Of course Hitler would never have agreed to it but to evacuate the Caucasus to help stage a relief of Stalingrad has its merits. -Save over 250,000 men from the cauldron -Continue to stifle Soviet shipments up the Volga -Shorten the frontline significantly -Allow more time to fortify the Kuban bridgehead As for the black gold, at the time of Manstein's relief effort the Germans only possess Maikop anyway. To get it operational is one thing, but the Soviets possessed the airpower now to frequently attempt to level it. Sure Germany would benefit from the oil, but they also managed to wage war for over 2 more years from this point. German planners were definitely blinded by their misapprehension about Soviet reserves, but I've always been of the opinion that if the Soviets were spent what's the harm in relinquishing territory that you can take back, just in case they were not a spent force.... Enjoyable series though!
Never forget: Many of the soldiers at Stalingrad were tankers on foot defending air fields while cold, hungry, and afraid but nothing really happened for months at a time. That's the type of battle you should really be afraid of.
To my best knowledge - which isn't saying much - tankers counted as "specialists" and were partially flown out. From my personal memory with the Bundeswehr, the worst thing to happen is when "office bitches" as we called them get their hands on a rifle. And I was a tank mechanic (two left hands and all thumbs to give you an idea) which was already as far away from military service as the air force.
@@sammybeutlin2763 That's when you purchase a vehicle WITHOUT spare parts just to get it through budget discussions ... Which might sound totally logic if you are a female minister of defence ... And then we let her loose on the poor EU. My apologies to Europe.
There were not that many tankers ( max 5 people for a tank, and there were few hundred tanks) . There could be some mechanics from tank shops, but again not so many. Most were likely logistic personnel : drivers, cooks, and especially those tending to horses which were now mostly gone.
You always hype me up for the next episode with your suspenseful questions at the end of each episode even though there is absolutely 0 suspense at all, great work :p The latest episodes focus a lot on the logistical nightmare faced by the german forces for obvious reasons by when I see the soviet army kicking off Little Saturn shortly after the enormous Operation Uranus, the soviet logistics must have been absolutely insane. Hats off to the comrades in charge of it, they probably had very short nights.
It's been a while since ive watched a Stalingrad video and I have 2 thoughts. 1. The Germans are sure in a much worse position - shocker 2. I really like how Tik highlights the unit he is refuring to. Much easier than looking around at the various units trying to find it.
Hey TiK! Wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas to you and yours brother!! Thanks for the holiday stalingrad episode, this series never fails to captivate my attention! See ya in the new year!
I wish some of the historians that Tik uses as his sources would give him a lot more shout out and attention which he deserves. It would be amazing to see something like this series actually getting mass promotion for its dedication to history, fact chasing and story telling
Reported deliveries varied for a number of reasons but one of them was the Luftwaffe counted everything they sent, i.e. supplies for the flak troops and JG3 units, supplies for the Luftwaffe ground operations, whereas the 6th Army was only interested in counting what they received.
TIK didn't mention it, but I wonder if who determined how the planes were loaded (and how heavy they were loaded) was a factor. I could see pilots having to fly through bad weather and hostile fire/aircraft wouldn't want to be fully loaded while trying to do it. It makes sense that if the pilots or their groundcrews had a say in it, they'd deliberately underload the planes in order to give the air crew a better chance of making it because they weren't so encumbered by a full cargo.
You are REALLY GOOD at keeping us wanting and coming back for more TIK 😂. The episode flies by so fast talking about the relief operation and just when you think it’s about to happen, “We’ll find out, next time…” 😜
Spectacular docu-series….as always. Top notch quality vid delivered in a very neutral way…meaning you don’t put your own “spin” on it…just the facts as much as is possible and you even point out the glaring disparity in the statistics from various primary sources. Bravo Zulu !
Hello TIK, nice video as always. But at 14:00 your picture left shows a La-5FN and not a regular La-5.The FN-variant was deployed later. The Yak-7B is correct though
I would love an other video on logistics: "there might be organization issues", but are the provisions are in the entrepots of the luftwaffe in the first place? We are far from the rear bases, is all the materials and ressources promised are delivered ready for airlifting at time?
Its easy with hindsight to see how They had shot their Bolt and were rapidly losing the initiative ..But ..Could Paulus be reached and saved by any Army at this point is looking very doubtful as each day goes by! Great stuff TIK .your dissemination and reasoning is Excellent cheers
Amazing quality, this was amazing! It's interesting to watch this with the Ukraine conflict still going on. The fighting here isn't very far away from where the Ukraine/Russian fighting is occurring again today. This time, Ukraine is one of the good guys!
@3:34 Grant tank knocked out, was more likly a Lee tank at least according to wiki. From memory iv heard that the Soviets called lees tanks grants for some reason
Can you give us a breakdown of the non-combat troops in the 6th Army? I've always wondered how it could be that such small detachments were fighting in the city itself, and yet such a huge number were encircled. This explains it, I guess, but I would like to know more about what their various roles and functions were.
They were around because the combat troops were greatly reduced in the fighting in the city and at the Kotluban attacks. These were head quarters. supply, transport, medical , people to care for the horses, signals and other vital areas. All divisions depend on a number of noncombat troops to enable the combat troops to function.
This series is just awesome. I can only imagine what all those young men were thinking in this situation. Even through the maps and the writing you can feel and see the desperation they had, what little they could hold on. It was no longer about fighting for a cause, it was about survival at that point. With resources so scarce, one could only think death was a relief from the freezing hell.
This is one of the best series in RUclips, period. Please take as long break as you need, and continue with the same excellent quality when you feel like it. We can wait for years, because we know this is so well done.
Great series TIK thank you very much! Just a Q that mihr never get answered. You shiw that Surovikino has already been in soviet hands at the Chir. I noted last time that on the 29 nov it was contested but never really taken and also my Osprey Stalingrad (3) number 385 on page 52 states that it is only taken by the soviets on the 15th december when germans are pushed out. Haven yet looked into my Glantz book next to me yet. Just wanted to know when the village really fell according to your timetable. Grüße
Okay can we talk about how time consuming it must be to research, edit and put together all these videos? This is professional level editing. Meanwhile I can barely put 2 images together in MsPaint. Great job TIKhistory.
Im reading Glantz, mainly because of this series but also Kotkin recommended too. In the middle of Stalingrad by Glantz and House, I don't want to go past chapter 14 right now...👍
Excellent historical coverage of Soviets Tormosin operations that disrupted Manstein operations for rescues 6th army in Stalingrad pockets...I never heard about it ( Tormosin operation),rather than such details about it...(due to labeled options for break out of 6th army was suicidal strikes nothing more) even before 20th/ December's ..because Soviets counterattacks were decisive assaults probabilities rather than operation Saturn & other clashed operations didactic by Soviets meant Bazar German units remained whole area flammable .that explained of ( TIK)informative ...that showed whole bleak circumstances...thanks ( TlK ) channel
In the American army, and probably Nato, plus 3 to minus 7 degrees Celsius is classed as wet cold, and is considered even more dangerous than dry cold (-7C to -20C) because it's easier to get wet through and through. These underfed guys without shelter were a step away from death even without the battle.
IIRC 'dry cold' conditions were below 14 degrees Farenheit. And yes, main reason wet cold is worse is because the moisture in your wet clothing doesn't evaporate as quickly due to the ambient humidity. In dry cold conditions there's basically zero humidity so sweat and melted snow disappears fast.
I do not know how much experience you have with being out in sub freezing temperatures No army is going to last long in freezing conditions with out ample supplies
I live in Germany near a very big lake and we have humidity of about 80 to 90%. The winter here is so disgusting. Almost never cold enough for the snow to stay, it turns into mud soon. I experienced Russian winter near the Urals and I honestly have to say that I endured the dry -30° Celsius better than the wet 0° over here.
@@jkilla9934 i sign up for this. German winters are way more unforgiving than north-russian ones. However I must admit that -40 and down is on another level of "cold". Having experienced -43° for 3 days straight I became aware of what soldiers on the german-soviet frontlines must have went through WHILE battling or sitting in trenches. I was dressed properly for such temperatures, with high tech clothes made extra for such conditions...
Next Monday is Boxing Day, so to allow me to actually have a day off for Christmas, I'm going to do a behind-the-scenes video showing you all how I do my Battlestorm animations etc. This is actually answering two Patreon questions from like 4 years ago which I've delayed answering... But if you've got any questions regarding the scripting, editing or animation process, ask me below and I'll see if I can fit in some answers for you in that video. Cheers!
306 infanterie division has its unit logo on its Wikipedia page
@@aldinf512 It says vehicle insignia, and when you click on it, the description reads: "1st Logo of the 309th German infanterie Division." So I don't trust it.
@TIKhistory its probably a typo as 309 ID insignia has its own in other websites and the file name says 306. Division usually base their vehicle insignia based on their unit logo.The logo is also on the cover page on a book about the division
Edit:Not the book I was talking about but it's on the cover page of this book
Der Landser - Band: Deutsche Divisionen - II. Teil - Einsätze und Kampfschicksale deutscher Großverbände im II. WK - Buch gebraucht kaufen
@@TheImperatorKnight Hey man, it would be really cool if you could upload your videos to Odysee to deal with the censorship issues on youtube. It's run by Jeremy Kauffman of the Free State Project.
I'm watching the old series "The World at War". Have you ever thought of making a episode of comparing what was known then vs now? I believe that series was quite influential for it's time. Thanks
I know it's been said a thousand times before but this is quite literally the best documentary series on the battle of Stalingrad ever made. That is no small feat, exceptional work TIK. Thanks for all the work you put into this.
the Donetsk river valley would of made a superb defence line and kept alive the Caucusus campaign, only saying as it has been prominent in a more recent campaign which TIK hasn't mentioned once. I genuinely feel that to make history relevant there has to be a present day relevance, especially when we have an absolutely glaring one. Also the impact on civilians doesn't get mentioned and these losses could potentially dwarf the military slaughter, but as history doesn't seem interested i don't know.
It's one of the best projects I've ever seen on RUclips.
Agreed ,best stuff on RUclips by far.
Don't Jinx him, it's not done yet!
I feel like screaming that from the rooftops after every video. It literally blows my mind. This man is a genius and we are in his debt.
One of the things I love about TIK’s vids, there isn’t 2 minutes of ads or 5 mins of schlepping 1 square foot of land in Scotland.
Come to think of it tho, it is very sad that YT doesn’t believe his work is worthy of sponsorship.
Merry Christmas TIK, and a very blessed New Year!
I want my videos to stand the test of time. So I made the decision years ago that I didn't want sponsors in the video (or merch) because I was thinking long-term. Yes, these videos will be outdated in a few years as new evidence and theories emerge, but people can look back on them and enjoy they for what they are. In 50 years time, today's bars of soap and pay-to-win RPGs will be completely forgotten, but Stalingrad won't be, and hopefully this series won't be either.
@@TheImperatorKnight Try uploading your videos to Odysee! You can sync it with your youtube channel. There are tons of libertarians on there.
@@TheImperatorKnight yes sir, and we all thank you for it!
@@mooners544 he’s on Patreon. Best $5 a month I’ve ever spent.
@@davidtuttle7556 I feel the same
I have to say, being a kid, born in Ukraine, former part of USSR and thus grown and educated under heavy influence of soviet historical narrative, this series and channel overall had really pushed me into revising my knowledge of WWII (and history of the first half of XX century as well), which I gain by reading soviet era books, 'cause in 90s and early 2000's we didn't have any other sources. Thanks for your efforts, man.
how was WWII told by soviets when it came to Stalingrad?
Western historical narratives are equally if not worse in terms of ideological BS and bias and false history motivated by the decades of anti-soviet propaganda during the Cold War, and over-reliance on German generals desperately trying to avoid accepting any responsibility or concede any legitimate losses due to soviet ability. And the fact NATO had to rehabilitate a bunch of these gjys, many war criminals, in order to shore up the Western European frontline. There are exceptions of course. Glantz being particularly good on the soviet war.
@@Edax_Royeaux It was propaganda. The soviets would have pushed the Germans back or defeated them much earlier if they could. The idea of encircling the Germans only became plan in Sept 1942. This does not take away from the fact that the Soviets carried out the plan successfully.
It worked the other way, too.
I began tabletop wargaming in the mid-70s and finding anything beyond the broadest overviews of the war in the East was incredibly hard.
The staggering losses of 41-2 or Rzhev or the appalling damage caused to Ukraine and Belorussia weren't something I came across at all until a few years ago. Strictly Leningrad, Stalingrad, a couple of articles on Kursk, then Berlin!
@@caryblack5985 Well. They did build up for Uranus. They could have sent those forces straight to Stalingrad. And as we know from TIKhistory the Germans didn't have a clue.
Seems like a plan to me.
I love this. I work 6 days a week, but I always find the time to watch these. On Christmas, I am planning to rewatch the whole series to remind myself how far it come. Your work is amazing.
Watching the entirety of Stalingrad on Christmas day?
You also a deserve Mad Man Card!
30k being frontline troops out of 300k troops is astounding, didnt realise it was so unbalanced.
The battles you should really be afraid of is where you're spending months bored and miserable while the fighting goes on somewhere else.
Manstein didn't understand it either, surprisingly enough
@@TheImperatorKnightsure, i'd say in the current scenario everyone in the pockets ultimately gonna end up becoming frontline i guess :/
I know a few who were in the US Army and Marines. I think they said for every 1 combat soldier you normally have 4-5 people in the rear from drivers, medics, cooks, etc supporting them.
@@Alte.Kameraden In military slang that's called the 'tail' and the US military has one of the largest (if not *the* largest).
I feel very nearly blessed that I discovered this series when Tik was just wrapping it up (that way I could proceed from one episode to the next without an agonizing wait). Talk about binge-watching…it’s still bingeable even after having watched the series twice
Over the years I have read a lot of books on Stalingrad including Glantz's may books. However none are able to communicate what happened as effectively as this series. Part of the problem of reading a book is that it will narrate a series of complex events. The advantage of this type of series is that you can see better how each event is time specific and ties into other events. It is a great way of explaining history. Your various videos (with the exceptions of the slightly eccentric political ones) are of the highest quality I have seen on You tube and are a real break though in explaining the complexity of history
Insane levels of detail over months and months of videos - and I can only imagine how much work! I don't know how you do it, but surely your channel is the most comprehensive account of all things Stalingrad?!
You sir are a great historian. You have given us the most detailed information possible for this event. Thank you.
Yesss another episode. Love it. Take your time, relax a bit the coming weeks.
Honestly the best thing in the series so far is the small puns and dad jokes sprinkled all throughout. I'm living for them
We're so pretty, we're all so pretty...
the stupid faces on the ice bergs got me.
Thanks TIK .You continue to open my eyes to WW2 and history in general.
Yesterday we win the world cup. Today a new stalingrad video, exelent.
Compliments of the season TIK! Continue with your excellent BattleStorm Series. Can't wait for your full series of the Kherson /Cherkassy pocket.
I dont understanding why I never see your new video in my recommendation. Thank you for the great series
Because the people who run RUclips want you watching dumbed-down pop history and current-thing propaganda instead of educating yourself.
Thanks) Best show is back and I'm really glad I can watch it.
Why do I always start watching these videos at night when I am half asleep? Oh right, to have a good reason to watch it again!
Nice timing for the episode. Almost 80 years ago to the day. It's been well below freezing in Scotland which underlines narrative very nicely.
Great work. I have seen more then few works about Stalingrad on RUclips but this is two orders of magnitude more detailed and informative.
Made my day.
At least the snow has gone outside and it's not, and never been, -15 here (UK Dec 2002). I had two pieces of buttered toast and jam just for my tea too.
Bravo! The consistency in quality is impressive.
Excellent detail and statistics. You're the best TIK!
Doing the math: 300,000 Germans inside the pocket. 0.2kg of flour per day (to be baked into bread inside the pocket) each. That equals 60,000 kg / day of flour. 2.2 kg / lb = 132,000 pounds. Or 66 short tons of flour per day....for only ~200 grams of bread per person per day. Or in a 10 short ton (20,000 lbs) unit of flour, that would be enough for the 200 gram daily ration for about 45,500 men, give or take (about 15% of the pocket). Never mind meat, butter, beans and vegetables.
As for fuel - a 55 gallon steel drum weighs (depending on what the Google says) about 50 lbs. Gasoline is about 6 lbs / US gallon. So, a 55 gallon drum full of gasoline weighs about 380 lbs. Each 10 tons of lift (20,000 lbs) would therefore yield about 52 1/2 drums of fuel. Or about 2888 US gallons (~10,930 liters). A Panzer 3 takes 300-320 liters to fill per Wiki (yeah, yeah, yeah.....). So for each 10 tons of lift devoted to fuel, that would yield about 36 or 37 full tanks of fuel for a Panzer 3, give or take.
Near as I can make out from the Google, 2 complete 105mm howitzer rounds (not WW2 German, but modern, shell and brass case with powder, but it provides a rough order of magnitude estimate) weigh about 50kg, packed in a wooden crate. Using our 10 ton unit of supply, that would be about 181 boxes (or 362 rounds). Near as I can make out, 7.62 NATO is about 7 lbs / 100 round belt. Close enough to SWAG for the 8MM Mauser which will be a bit heavier, so somewhat less rounds per unit of weight. Assuming 10% packaging weight (fiber boxes, metal cans, wooden crates) yields about 1,300 rounds per 100 lbs, or about 26,000 rounds per 2,000 lb ton. At our 10 ton unit of cargo, that would be about 260,000 rounds of rifle / machine gun ammo. Or about 8 2/3 rounds for each of the 30,000 infantry for each 10 tons brought in.
So, what would a 300 ton load of supplies look like, if 1/3 to flour, 1/3 to gasoline and 1/3 to ammo (half 105 arty rounds and half rifle / machine gun ammo)?
100 tons of flour would be enough to provide about 2/3 lb / person. Sounds ok, but a pound of flour has about 1650 calories (give or take). So that's a bit under 1,100 calories, or starvation levels.
100 tons of fuel in 55 gallon drums would be about 525 drums, or 28,875 US gallons (~109,300 liters). That would be enough to fill up 360 or so Panzers. Not bad, but there are also trucks and ambulances and generators and whatever else is using up the gasoline.
100 tons of ammo would be 1810 105mm artillery rounds and 1.3 million rifle / machine gun rounds (~43 rounds for each of the 30,000 infantry). That's not a lot of ammo. As for the arty, lets put it this way: With 30,000 infantry, if they were in 500 man battalions, then there would be 60 such battalions. If the arty support was spread out equally to these 60 units, that's about 30 rounds each, per day. Given how much front each such unit would need to cover, that's a pretty thin spread of arty support over each 24 hour period. And we're ignoring the multitude of other ammo types needed, like for the above mentioned Panzers that got the fuel....and MG belts for them as well, and mortars, and 20, 37 and 88mm guns. And Paks. And 75 and 150mm arty.
Yeah, the German logistic situation was doomed.
Another episode with TIK at the top of his game. When this is finally over I shall take the time to start again at the beginning. TIK this has been an outstanding prodution - thank you and have a great Christmas and New Year.
I’m almost caught up now and I’ll echo everyone else’s sentiments and say TIK thank you so much for all the work that you’ve put into this series. I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed it and I’ll be following your links to help support your work. I enjoy the presentation style very much it contrasts well with some of the more local and personal accounts I’ve read/heard over the years. The quality of the series is beyond top tier. You have really out done yourself TIK thank you once again.
Thanks TIK, the next episode will be an exciting one!
He’s not making a next episode apparently
Another round of applause for the great content TIK!
You've more than earned some days off for the holidays. Best wishes for you and your family.
Extra ration of bread and delicious horse flesh soup for everyone!
Hura!!!!!!!!!
16:56 "Can you imagine them actually doing this?" You don't need to imagine them doing it, because they ultimately did evacuate the Caucasus, except they did so just to save themselves and not relieve the 6th Army. Hindsight backs up Manstein on this (and in his defence Herr Hitler was a madman). Of course Hitler would never have agreed to it but to evacuate the Caucasus to help stage a relief of Stalingrad has its merits.
-Save over 250,000 men from the cauldron
-Continue to stifle Soviet shipments up the Volga
-Shorten the frontline significantly
-Allow more time to fortify the Kuban bridgehead
As for the black gold, at the time of Manstein's relief effort the Germans only possess Maikop anyway. To get it operational is one thing, but the Soviets possessed the airpower now to frequently attempt to level it. Sure Germany would benefit from the oil, but they also managed to wage war for over 2 more years from this point. German planners were definitely blinded by their misapprehension about Soviet reserves, but I've always been of the opinion that if the Soviets were spent what's the harm in relinquishing territory that you can take back, just in case they were not a spent force....
Enjoyable series though!
TIK - another great episode in a brilliant series - thanks again :)
Never forget: Many of the soldiers at Stalingrad were tankers on foot defending air fields while cold, hungry, and afraid but nothing really happened for months at a time. That's the type of battle you should really be afraid of.
To my best knowledge - which isn't saying much - tankers counted as "specialists" and were partially flown out.
From my personal memory with the Bundeswehr, the worst thing to happen is when "office bitches" as we called them get their hands on a rifle. And I was a tank mechanic (two left hands and all thumbs to give you an idea) which was already as far away from military service as the air force.
@@ottovonbismarck2443 Yeah, the Bundeswehr ... Puma aint working ... buying of awful F-35 for 8,3 billion ... what a Saftladen
@@sammybeutlin2763 That's when you purchase a vehicle WITHOUT spare parts just to get it through budget discussions ... Which might sound totally logic if you are a female minister of defence ... And then we let her loose on the poor EU. My apologies to Europe.
Never seen pics of tankers with their black uniform carrying a rifle but that didn't mean it didn't happened
There were not that many tankers ( max 5 people for a tank, and there were few hundred tanks) . There could be some mechanics from tank shops, but again not so many. Most were likely logistic personnel : drivers, cooks, and especially those tending to horses which were now mostly gone.
Single best episode of the series. Where content strikes against TIK. Bravo, bravo.
New graphics are great smoother more attractive your delivery is smoother too
Excellent work!!! 👍😃🐕
You always hype me up for the next episode with your suspenseful questions at the end of each episode even though there is absolutely 0 suspense at all, great work :p The latest episodes focus a lot on the logistical nightmare faced by the german forces for obvious reasons by when I see the soviet army kicking off Little Saturn shortly after the enormous Operation Uranus, the soviet logistics must have been absolutely insane. Hats off to the comrades in charge of it, they probably had very short nights.
And a army of american trucks.
Good episode. Cliffhanger questions at the end 😅
Great video. I can virtually feel the weight of the hard work it required to make this video as I'm watching it.
Thanks mate. Have been really anticipating this episode! 🙂
Have a great Christmas and New Year!!
Thank you for your hard work and determination TIK. Merry Christmas!
It's been a while since ive watched a Stalingrad video and I have 2 thoughts.
1. The Germans are sure in a much worse position - shocker
2. I really like how Tik highlights the unit he is refuring to. Much easier than looking around at the various units trying to find it.
Merry Christmas Tik - never change!
FANTASTIC TIK!!
Hey TiK! Wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas to you and yours brother!! Thanks for the holiday stalingrad episode, this series never fails to captivate my attention! See ya in the new year!
This is excellent work!
Thank you for another great video TIK, happy holidays!
Merry Christmas TIK!
Thank you, Merry Christmas to you too!
@@TheImperatorKnight Christian confirmed
@@KaraBoga69 Christ actually born in October
@@TheImperatorKnight Ben Shapiro tells people Merry Christmas as well...
I wish some of the historians that Tik uses as his sources would give him a lot more shout out and attention which he deserves.
It would be amazing to see something like this series actually getting mass promotion for its dedication to history, fact chasing and story telling
top notch content as usual thx for the vids!
Please take a rest.
Even if it takes years. We love this, and will wait as long as it takes.
Reported deliveries varied for a number of reasons but one of them was the Luftwaffe counted everything they sent, i.e. supplies for the flak troops and JG3 units, supplies for the Luftwaffe ground operations, whereas the 6th Army was only interested in counting what they received.
TIK didn't mention it, but I wonder if who determined how the planes were loaded (and how heavy they were loaded) was a factor. I could see pilots having to fly through bad weather and hostile fire/aircraft wouldn't want to be fully loaded while trying to do it. It makes sense that if the pilots or their groundcrews had a say in it, they'd deliberately underload the planes in order to give the air crew a better chance of making it because they weren't so encumbered by a full cargo.
That's such an obvious point. It also literally never crossed my mind until I read your comment! Kudos.
@@petetirp9776 Thanks
thank you for this awesome battlestorm series!
Thank you for your excellent work!
Thanks, once again, for the subtitles! I wish some RUclips-channels would take example of this!
Fine work for the rest too!
Regards,
Thomsa
I had been looking forward to a break to the Stalingrad campaign... but you had to leave it on a cliffhanger :D
You are REALLY GOOD at keeping us wanting and coming back for more TIK 😂. The episode flies by so fast talking about the relief operation and just when you think it’s about to happen, “We’ll find out, next time…” 😜
What a Christmas gift!
Tik, appreciate all your work... Happy new year!
Spectacular docu-series….as always. Top notch quality vid delivered in a very neutral way…meaning you don’t put your own “spin” on it…just the facts as much as is possible and you even point out the glaring disparity in the statistics from various primary sources.
Bravo Zulu !
Hello TIK, nice video as always. But at 14:00 your picture left shows a La-5FN and not a regular La-5.The FN-variant was deployed later. The Yak-7B is correct though
I would love an other video on logistics: "there might be organization issues", but are the provisions are in the entrepots of the luftwaffe in the first place? We are far from the rear bases, is all the materials and ressources promised are delivered ready for airlifting at time?
Merry Christmas TIK and family.
Its easy with hindsight to see how They had shot their Bolt and were rapidly losing the initiative ..But ..Could Paulus be reached and saved by any Army at this point is looking very doubtful as each day goes by! Great stuff TIK .your dissemination and reasoning is Excellent cheers
Amazing quality, this was amazing! It's interesting to watch this with the Ukraine conflict still going on. The fighting here isn't very far away from where the Ukraine/Russian fighting is occurring again today. This time, Ukraine is one of the good guys!
Thanks TIK, more great work!🙏🙏
Thank you, TIKhistory.
This video is best thing happened this week. I`m writing this even before I watched it.
Thanks a lot. Very well told.
Incredible series
Keep up the good work!
First! Thank you
@@TheImperatorKnight We'd love to see you on Odysee!
WHAT A GREAT POINT ABOUT IMPORTANCE OF STALINGRAD TO HITLER AND WHAT A GREAT EPISODE! THANK YOU MATE!
Great episode. Thx TIKhistory.
You are the best to create documentarys to ww2
31:00 -- RE: The Battered Butkov Brigades; gee, but the alliteration alone is suggestive, TIK. ; )
Great work, again and again and again!
hahaha "Shut up Greta" !!! well done TIK !!!
Mery Christmas to you all !!!
Best series ever !!! Thanks
@3:34 Grant tank knocked out, was more likly a Lee tank at least according to wiki. From memory iv heard that the Soviets called lees tanks grants for some reason
Hi TIK glad to see you back.
I'm doing WW2 in Real time right now. And this is a great analysis to watch!
Amazing work!!!!!!!!
First class Tik 👍 fantastic work
Can you give us a breakdown of the non-combat troops in the 6th Army? I've always wondered how it could be that such small detachments were fighting in the city itself, and yet such a huge number were encircled. This explains it, I guess, but I would like to know more about what their various roles and functions were.
They were around because the combat troops were greatly reduced in the fighting in the city and at the Kotluban attacks. These were head quarters. supply, transport, medical , people to care for the horses, signals and other vital areas. All divisions depend on a number of noncombat troops to enable the combat troops to function.
This series is just awesome. I can only imagine what all those young men were thinking in this situation. Even through the maps and the writing you can feel and see the desperation they had, what little they could hold on. It was no longer about fighting for a cause, it was about survival at that point. With resources so scarce, one could only think death was a relief from the freezing hell.
Maybe they reconsidered their beliefs in German superiority. After all the Russians had to deal with this cold every year for their whole history.
Hey TIK, love your videos! I pray that, someday, you can make a video about Brazil's role in WW2. Keep up with the good work
A cobra vai fumar!
You inspire me to work hard! Good luck TIK
This is one of the best series in RUclips, period. Please take as long break as you need, and continue with the same excellent quality when you feel like it. We can wait for years, because we know this is so well done.
appreciate your work m8
I'm relearning the battle of stalingtado. Impressive !
Great series TIK thank you very much! Just a Q that mihr never get answered. You shiw that Surovikino has already been in soviet hands at the Chir. I noted last time that on the 29 nov it was contested but never really taken and also my Osprey Stalingrad (3) number 385 on page 52 states that it is only taken by the soviets on the 15th december when germans are pushed out. Haven yet looked into my Glantz book next to me yet. Just wanted to know when the village really fell according to your timetable. Grüße
Okay can we talk about how time consuming it must be to research, edit and put together all these videos? This is professional level editing. Meanwhile I can barely put 2 images together in MsPaint. Great job TIKhistory.
Excellent as usual
thanks Tik! Just for Xmas! And We won the World Cup!
Thank you for all this work
Im reading Glantz, mainly because of this series but also Kotkin recommended too. In the middle of Stalingrad by Glantz and House, I don't want to go past chapter 14 right now...👍
Where did the 11th Pz Div come from to the Chir front? I haven t heard about it since the begining of Case Blue.
Excellent historical coverage of Soviets Tormosin operations that disrupted Manstein operations for rescues 6th army in Stalingrad pockets...I never heard about it ( Tormosin operation),rather than such details about it...(due to labeled options for break out of 6th army was suicidal strikes nothing more) even before 20th/ December's ..because Soviets counterattacks were decisive assaults probabilities rather than operation Saturn & other clashed operations didactic by Soviets meant Bazar German units remained whole area flammable .that explained of ( TIK)informative ...that showed whole bleak circumstances...thanks ( TlK ) channel
In the American army, and probably Nato, plus 3 to minus 7 degrees Celsius is classed as wet cold, and is considered even more dangerous than dry cold (-7C to -20C) because it's easier to get wet through and through. These underfed guys without shelter were a step away from death even without the battle.
Water is a better conductor of heat than ice. If you get a burn on your skin, very cold water will take the heat out faster than placing ice.
IIRC 'dry cold' conditions were below 14 degrees Farenheit. And yes, main reason wet cold is worse is because the moisture in your wet clothing doesn't evaporate as quickly due to the ambient humidity. In dry cold conditions there's basically zero humidity so sweat and melted snow disappears fast.
I do not know how much experience you have with being out in sub freezing temperatures No army is going to last long in freezing conditions with out ample supplies
I live in Germany near a very big lake and we have humidity of about 80 to 90%. The winter here is so disgusting. Almost never cold enough for the snow to stay, it turns into mud soon. I experienced Russian winter near the Urals and I honestly have to say that I endured the dry -30° Celsius better than the wet 0° over here.
@@jkilla9934 i sign up for this. German winters are way more unforgiving than north-russian ones. However I must admit that -40 and down is on another level of "cold". Having experienced -43° for 3 days straight I became aware of what soldiers on the german-soviet frontlines must have went through WHILE battling or sitting in trenches. I was dressed properly for such temperatures, with high tech clothes made extra for such conditions...
11:59 "great bakers aren't born. They are bread". Love this humor🙂
Quick question:
What is the end of this battle storm series ? Somewhere like the surrender of the entire German pocket ?
That, plus he'll probably do a summary of the after-effects of the battle and how it affected the remaining course of the war.
love your work
The best christmas present 🙂🎅