Join the TimeGhost Army: www.patreon.com/join/timeghosthistory The German invasion of the USSR is widely viewed as a failure and disaster. While it certainly fell short of its objectives, and was a disaster for human suffering, it's important to note that the Soviets are only just now pushing out the enemy to their prewar borders. This is over two and a half years, and millions of lives, after Germany and its allies first launched this genocidal adventure.
The Germans did not invade the USSR to keep the Soviets away from their borders though. They wanted the USSR's resources and lands, preferably without its people. That they are now losing those lands and resources, while the Ostheer is a shadow of its former self while the Red Army is becoming an increasingly strong juggernaut is a massive failure and disaster for the Germans. As 1944 will prove with a series of offensives that turn out to be a reverse Barbarossa.
The Germans way underestimated Soviet production, manpower, and determination. They similarly overestimated their own production, manpower, and logistical support.
@@davidpetersam54 To be correct : the germans underestimate the allied support for the soviet union. they tought they would fight them seperated from other enemys. But with the industrial power of "the west" and the way of looking at their own soldiers on the "east" it becomes a new dimension. The way "the east" looks at its own soldiers has not changed and you can take a look at it actually in Ukraine. But without support it is just a big mess.
@@komabot5285 His phrasing was correct as is. Hitler himself stated that they underestimated USSR capabilities, especially industrial. Plenty of sources, like his talk with then president of Finland, there's a good recording on yt.
I can't believe we already reached 1944. I still remember how I found this channel back in 1939 and it has become my favorite YT channel. I am so glad to support you via the Timeghost army.
Hi Thanos I haven't seen you on the comment section for a while, Tike really flies i haven't really understood How fast time went from 2019-2023 Litterally went by like a rollercoaster So much happened during Short time , Keep ti Up buddy you are truly Amazing i hope you Have a wonderful Year
@@blede8649 he didn't starve India. There a bunch of issues that sparty doesn't cover, such as the high inflation causing a rice in food prices, stoppage of the imports of Burmese rice (because the Japs are occupying it), the denial policy, lack of trains, different gauge systems etc. Point being even if the imports did come, it would just rot there. Look up stuff on their forum where others have critiqued them for uh... Stuff on WAH
It's incredible how Germans were marching from victory to victory and then suddenly they started loosing everywhere and all the time. Last few months could be summed by: " Germans are loosing territory. "
@@nesa1126 It is pretty crazy to watch it all collapse in real time. I guess that’s what happens when you build an army reliant almost entirely on quick and decisive victories - victory in a long battle of attrition becomes nearly impossible.
Watching this from Warsaw, Poland. Been a fan of Indy since World War I - 1914. Great war. Waiting for the episodes regarding the Warsaw Uprising in 7 months
@@akhashdhillon2159 Sadly it would take a few more decades for Poland to find it's freedom .from the boatyards of Gdansk to the toppling of the entire system.
It will be stupendous because the strength and the heroism of the polish people will be even more explicit in that 1944 fragment (they've been doing everything for the Allies since 1939, and despite being crushed by the double nazi-comintern invasion), but it will also be dramatic especially because of the soviets staying still, looking for someone to till the polish anti-occupations spirit for them.
@@akhashdhillon2159 Soon? The polish (like many other Eastern European folks brutally occupied after 1944) will be invaded and oppressed for decades and decades until the final fall of the USSR monster, by the people of the republics.
A side note this week on January 6 1944 is that Fast Carrier Task Force 50 of the United States Navy is renumbered Task Force 58 and put under the command of Rear Admiral Marc A. Mitscher, who was considered one of the most skilled aviators in the US Navy. With six fleet carriers and six light fleet carriers carrying over 700 aircraft, along with a screening by six battleships and six cruisers, it could be considered the most powerful fleet in the world at the time.
It is a stronger US Naval Force then existed before the war. And a testimony to the massive building program that was started in 1940 and is now delivering an endless stream of new fleet carriers. Illustrating that naval strategy is build strategy. You gotta plan and order ahead.
That is true for many generals, like von Manstein, Guderian, Rommel, Patton, Montgomery, and the list goes on. There are generals who can check their egos in at the door, but they seldom get the headlines. If you check their biographies, see how many times they say, "If only everyone had done what I said ...". That said, I agree that MacArthur did have an ego that proceeded him through doorways, was somewhat paranoid when it came to possibly losing prestige and attention, and had a hard time listening to reason.
16:29 Well I did not really see that coming, having *The Operations Room* channel as the TimeGhost member of the week. Maybe one day we might get to see a collaboration between these two great channels, fingers crossed?
Churchill is really good at dumping the army on a hostile shore to carry out a badly thought out plan with insufficient support. However only senior Labour men* can keep them alive once there. * Major Attlee (currently deputy PM) had a battalion of the Lancs at Gallipoli and was one of the last men off the beach during the withdrawal. Major Healy was beach captain at Anzio (spoilers he will go on to hold major offices of state)
"We are poor little lambs, who have lost our way, baa baa baa..." My grandfather loved the TV show based on Boyington's squadron. He had been a DD sailor assigned to USN 3rd/5th Fleet in the Pacific in the latter part of the war.
I read Boyington's book back in the 70's. Quite an experience. His stay as a guest of Emperor Hirohito was very telling, both of his audacity as a prisoner and the Japanese guards themselves.
He was rather lucky to be taken alive. It was far from unusual for enemy fliers to be picked up from the sea by the Japanese, interrogated and then thrown overboard tied to a weighted barrel. Or beheaded, especially if captured on land.
I got to meet him just before he passed from cancer, and had just read his book. His battle with alcohol was as important a victory as his battles in WW2. Amazing man.
1944... jeeze. Doesn't seem that long ago that Indy's coverage of 1914 started off. Though I hope any and all wars come to a swift end, I also hope Indy stays at his post giving a blow by blow account of the action, week by week. Happy New Year, Indy and Company.
Interesting that the Japanese fighter forces measured their "kill" score at the squadron level while the Americans measured at the individual pilot level. The same contrast exists today in the business world: having worked for decades in both Japanese and American corporations, I found that the Japanese companies generally recognized unit achievements while the Americans recognized individual achievements. This presented some challenges when managing a team in a Japanese subsidiary of a global American corporation that had a worldwide policy of individual recognition.
Oh boy, we've hit 1944. Anzio . . . Philippine Sea . . . Leyte Gulf . . . Battle of the Bulge . . . and of course, D-Day! Can't wait for this year's batch of episodes to unfold. And I can testify, The Operations Room is an awesome channel.
@@nicholasconder4703 And several other Eastern Front Offensives (Karelian, Leningrad-Novgorod, Lvov-Sandomierz, Lublin-Brest, Jassy-Kishinev, etc.) And as usual poor old Dragoon gets left out...
Why , Operation Torch (North West African Invasion) , Operation Husky (Sicily invasion) , leapfrogging Italy from Reggio di Calabria , Taranto and Salerno were all ideas ofd Churchill and all sucessful. If Allies and Churchill were only stuck with Gallipoli example they would never land Europe ever. You take risks in war. Speaking of which. All these sucessful landing operations initiated by Churchill's ideas and convinced US Chiefs of Staff to participate in cooperation and coodination with British Commonwealth are summarised as Allied victories but Anzio initially ended stemalate branded as idea of Churchill. Interesting prejudice from historians.
Hitler is shitting his britches No lebensŕaum, no glory, no riches Stalin is grinning His armies are winning "How do you like me now Bitches?!" Nice work. Another fine episode! 🙂
@@merdiolu Those had the supplies, stable logistics, proper planning and preparation, and sufficient forces and fire support to carry out. Anzio had almost none of that, which 'surprisingly' didn't seem to bother Churchill.
@@901Sherman Operation Shingle (Anzio landing) had not enough shipping which limited landing force with barely two divisions to be disembarked in three waves in three days , therefore forfeiting all suprise advantage. The reason of lack of shipping was Combined Chiefs of Staff and General Georgew Marshall's rigid insistance to pull all LCTs and other landing craft from Mediterranean to UK latest on February , for Cross Channel attack on 1944 summer. If enough landing craft was provided (say some spared from MacArthur's SW Pacific Theater or extra LCTs kept in Mediterranean for a few more weeks rather than shoestring timelimit improvisation) , suprise advanrtage would be utilised and VI Corps would capture high ground at Alban Hills in a few days , putting Highway 6 under artillery observation and fire since Anzio was devoid of defence. In Torch and Sicily landings all landing craft and shipping and more provided by Combined Chiefs of Staff in Washington (that means US Army Chief of Staff Marshall) , since Combined Chiefs of Staff knew and accepted they had to focus with all means available on the objective. In Anzio , the strategic visions of Combined Chiefs of Staff and Marshall diverged (one obsessed to land France ASAP other pulling for acceleration of Italian Campaign while there was still time and initiative alas with all shipping means for success in shape of landing craft were being taken away so risks had to be takjen. In amphibious landing operations in order to have sucess , you have to minimise the risks though in every way since being pushed back to sea is unpleasant experience ) The hope was once landings accomplished , Germans would be scared away that their rear lines behind Gustav line was about to be severed and they would retreat towards north of Rome. But enemy does not always react like you hope.
By the end of 1943, the CFLN (French Committee of National Liberation) decided to form an Expeditionary Force to the Far East, for which General Blaizot had to ensure the preparations. On September 18 and December 8, the CFLN made a declaration clearly indicating its intention to participate in the liberation of Indochina. However in January 1944, Roosevelt declared that "no French troops whatsoever will be used in operations in Indochina".
I’ve said this what feels like a million times whenever you guys get to a certain milestone, but a sincere well done on getting to 1944. If you guys come to the UK again, I might have to upgrade my Patreon so I can buy you guys a round of well deserved drinks 😄
The levity from Indy at the beginning piqued my interest. When you said the Red Army approached the Polish border, I wondered where this occurred. I compared your map at 2:43 to one I had made and identified your map on my map. The northern edge of the advance appears to be on the southern edge of Pripet Marshes. The western advance into Poland appears to have reached the Slucz RIver which crosses back into Ukraine. I note that the western advance is approaching the battlefield of Brody (Dubno, Rovne) where 2.5 years ago a large clash of tanks occurred which some argue was the largest tank battle of the war. Things sure have turned around for both armies. Thanks for another great episode.
Brody was also an important part of the Polish-Soviet War some 20 or so years earlier. There, Polish rear guards fiercely defended the position in order to allow Polish troops to reach the relative safety of Lvov.
@@extrahistory8956 SPOILER Brody will also feature in the fighting of 1944, with the Ukrainian SS Division Galicia being nearly destroyed in its vicinity. The German-language writer Joseph Roth was born in Brody or nearby in 1894, when it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
USMC VMF-214 The Blacksheep had former flight instructors and aces among its ranks. Including LT. John Bolt, who realized Japanese fighter aircraft didn't use armor or self-sealing fuel tanks. Bolt had his ground crew remove the armor piercing rounds and replace them with incendiary rounds. When other aviators and squadrons heard of Bolt's success with this change, it caused a serious shortage of incendiary rounds in the South Pacific.
There was actually an API round that became the most common ammunition used by the .50 cal MG in aircraft use by 1943 in all theaters. Both armor piercing and incendiary, it was deady everywhere. It was actually preferred everywhere, not just by the Marine pilots in the Solomons, but also by the P-47 pilots in northwest Europe. Me-109 and Fw-190 also burned much easier. The lower altitude combat in the Pacific was especially deadly for aircraft that caught fire (more oxygen). A side note: the F4U-1 Corsair did NOT have self sealing fuel tanks in the wings leading edges. An unusual and overlooked weakness in an otherwise fine aircraft.
Again, like many of Churchill's ideas, it's not bad in concept but the resources don't exist to pull it off. I always figured that to pull off the Anzio invasion you would need 5 divisions, not two. You would have needed 2-3 divisions to secure the beachhead, while the remainder rushed inland to cut the German supply lines. My question is why Alan-Brooke and the British Chiefs of Staff didn't quash this idea. Everyone blames Churchill, but they had to approve the use of British troops and ships for this enterprise. Yet, they come away from this smelling like roses.
First week of 1944...and I'm still catching up on content from 1942. Just finished Spartacus' excellent video on Japanese POW camps. And Anna's superb video on Eleanor Roosevelt. I fear the videos will get more insane as the war nears to an end. Keep up the great work!
I think it is normal for the British hierarchy, but not the rank & file British service member. I'm sure every nations' Generals & Admirals think they are the smartest. There are a few humble ones, but humility is not always a sought after character trait for military & corporate leaders, and certainly not for politicians. Arrogance was certainly a flaw found among the Axis leadership as well.
I remember finding out about this channel in 1940 but was intimidated by how many videos there were initially, but then in the summer of 1942 I finally got around to starting and caught up in a few days, I can’t believe we’re already in 1944
I Get a Little Bit Sad After Every Episode knowing that each week we are getting close and closer to the end of this amazing journey we Are Already at 1944 I still remember the time i started watching this channel when it was a 1939 it was and still is truly an Amazing Experience to learn so much anout the war and the decision making and The History, Pretty much just like The Great War but even Better Keep it up Indy and All the TimeGhost Crew Amazing Work as always Wish you all the best
Imagine my surprise when I was watching "The Operations Room's" video on the Battle of the Bulge and whose voice I hear Indy Niediell's. It was an awesome moment.
Line of dialogue from a tv show called 'the first' that aired a few years back and was about a near future mission to mars. 'Confidence is an attitude. It's not a truth.' That has long since stuck in my mind.
@@ramonzzzz true, but if I remember correctly, he claimed a higher kill vount when he rejoined the Marines. So he didn't claim the money, just wanted a higher rank due to being an ace already
Fast forwarding a bit but on Jan. 11th, 1944 there will be another notable event in the military aviation history when MajorJames Howard, an ace from previous service with the Flying Tigers in China, charged into a dogfight alone against as many as 30 Luftwaffe planes in order to protect a formation of B-17s that was raiding Oschersleben. Over the next 30 minutes Howard - who was flying a P-51B Mustang with Ding Hao! painted in large letters across its nose (The best, in Chinese) - lived up to that boast, shooting down at least 3 of the enemy planes and possibly damaging others despite having entered the fight alone and without either the element of surprise or an advantage in height. When his guns jammed after a dive to shake a fighter that was on his tail, he continued to fly aggressively against the Luftwaffe planes, effectively bluffing them off the bombers. Not a single bomber was lost after Howard's intervention. When the bombers returned to England the flight leader attempted to find out who had piloted the lone Mustang, saying, "For sheer determination and guts, it was the greatest exhibition I've ever seen. It was a case of one lone American against what seemed to be the entire Luftwaffe. He was all over the wing, across and around it. They can't give that boy a big enough award." Howard, who had previously shot down 6 Japanese aircraft with the Flying Tigers and 2 German with the USAAF, became his squadron's first ace with the tally of 3 more, also becoming one of the few men to have become an ace in both the Pacific and European theaters of operation. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel the following month and in June of 1944 would receive the Medal of Honor for the feat, becoming the only U.S. fighter pilot to be awarded the medal for actions in the European theater of Operations.
Hi Indy Another thrilling week. As per your recomendation,i bought martin gilbert's second world war book. It is wonderfull to read. What i read in school,i got picture second world war just happned and people died. But after following your channel and through martin gilbert's book it full of horror,killing,genocide. It not war,it is war to kill people and torture. Thanks for the video. New year,new beginning.
Churchill planning an amphibious landing?: Discounting concerns of experienced leaders and planners... After his efforts at Gallipoli in WW1, what could possibly go wrong? Well, they may actually get to teh right landing point this time? But no planned resupply?
@WorldWarTwo if you are not already aware of it, have you read a book by Garrett Middlebrook called “Air Combat at 20 Feet”? It’s diary entries of a B-25 strafing pilot in the Pacific. He was the father of a friend and she gave me a copy back in the 80s. And as always Indy and Spartacus, you are amazing. The world must never forget.
The Red Baron was surely the most (in)famous flying ace from the First World War, but I can't think of any pilots from the Second World War that equal his fame. Doolittle, Harris, and Thach are well known for their contributions even if not attaining the greatest skill or deadliness, but it feels like the biggest difference is that the romanticization and glamour is gone or not on the same level anymore.
Well WW1 in the air is somewhat romanticized thing,and German nobleman flying in his bright red triplane sounds quite epic (unfortunately,wast majority of 80 of air kills he achieved were against pilots who didn't see him coming). In ww2 Germans definitely again achieved biggest roster of fighter aces,supposedly about 150 of them had over 100 air kills.The most successful one was Eric Hartman with his ridiculous claim of 350 kills.In contrast,most successful allied fighter ace was Ivan Kozhedub who achieved some 65 air kills.
The Allies. Americans, especially, rotated their high scoring pilots Stateside, to act as pilot combat trainers. The Axis aces remained in theater until they were killed, or broke down, or got captured. The Experts racked up some high scores. The German pilots also started early, racking up scores in the Spanish Civil War.
@@kaletovhangar Hartman was flying over the front lines, and a lot of his kills would have observed by ground units, plus for part of that time he was flying 6 or 7 missions in one day. He may have made more than a thousand missions, possibly more than two thousand, which makes his score a little less surprising.
There are quite a few massive aces in WW2, but they all served on the Eastern Front. ruclips.net/video/Qd8KxFnMVE4/видео.html Enjoy! :) (the reason being that the US withdrew its aces for war bond drives and teaching new pilots, whereas the eastern countries kept them on the front until they died, or the war ended)
Regarding pilot's "score", it was the same over Germany, where a flight of B17s would claim 80 german planes shot down during a single raid, when fighters of the RAF would barely claim a dozen or so official kills according to their own rules. A few weeks before D-Day, there were long negociations between the RAF and the USAF to estimate what Germany really had in terms of single and twin engine fighters. Reluctantly, the RAF decided to count a third of what the bombers claimed, tho everyone knew it was grossly overestimated.
And if the emphasis of their operations was on wearing down our fighters rather than destroying objectives on the ground, they had achieved any success in that direction only at a great price; for though we lost thirty-four aircraft the enemy lost seventy-six. --170-- This figure of seventy-six enemy aircraft destroyed, though impressive enough in all conscience-especially as many were bombers carrying a crew of three or four-came as a great disappointment when it was discovered from secret German archives after the war. Our estimate of the day's successes given to the public at the time was that we had certainly destroyed 182 enemy aircraft and probably destroyed another fifty-three." Hyperwar Royal Air Force 1939-1945 Vol I
Indy, do you think the Time Ghost team could do a special video on "The Devil's Brigade" (1st Special Services Force)? They are a really interesting unit that plays a somewhat important (and hilarious) role at Anzio. I doubt the Herman Goering Division never got over the embarrassment. Also a special video on "Audy Murphy" sometime after Operation Dragoon? Very interesting individual who starred in his own autobiographical (and fairly accurate) WW2 movie.
When Indy has say that an ace had been shot down, i immedialy thought of Major Pappy Boyington. I read his autobiography "Baa Baa Black sheep", he is one of a kind, an absolutly unothordox man with a complex life but a very good pilot. He has an very interesting story and you should read his book! (Why not doing a special on VMF-214 ? :) ) You learned a lot from the flying tiger and the mood in China before Pearl Harbor. And a little fact, the VMF-214 still exists in the USMC at this day. About the air war above Rabaul, indeed a smoking plane was often considered a splash. When the air battle is above ground, coast watcher would denied aerial kill. But above the sea, no one could confirmed the kill, except the wingman with other members of the squadron. And i should apologies for my bad english. Keep up the good work!
Churchill was essentially a schoolboy looking for a scrap, which caused no end of headaches to the British war effort and precipitated numerous defeats. Brilliant politician but lousy commander…sounds a lot like his counterpart across the channel to me.
@@kingblondie7075 I wouldn't have followed a military leader who was more concerned about honor, glory, and adventure; there's little honor on a modern battlefield (if you're doing your job right, you're not fighting fair, you're fighting to win...too bad the damned politicians have to try and muddy the water and put constraints on the warfighter), adventure is a given (if you survive), and only the dead are blessed enough for glory.
We are making decisions about the composition of the Anzio landing force based on political needs rather than military ones. This should go swimmingly. Churchill's bulldog stubbornness has overall served as a virtue, but he does manage to turn it into a vice once he is fixed on a questionable idea.
Yep. When Brooke tried to talk him out of one of those ideas once he replied "The conduct of this war could be considerably improved if only I could shoot some generals". Ask Hitler how well that idea turned out.
With Anzio coming up, is there any plan to do a special on Audie Murphy? I know you guys haven't done that many biography specials recently, but he's such an interesting character. Or would that be January 1945 when he is ultimately awarded the MOH? I also know that from being a Texan myself, we all like Audie Murphy, ain't that right fellow Texan Indy?
German fighters often belched black smoke when the pilot opened his throttle - US bomber gunners often claimed such fighters as at least damaged if not as kills, assuming the smoke was caused by their hits on the fighter.
Regarding that comment about how jet aircraft would "prevent invasion forever!" - it would be interesting to see a special on jet aircraft development! I occasionally hear of the woes of Frank Whittle, and the Me 262 is famous enough, but were the Americans or Japanese looking into it?
The American Bell P-59 jet fighter first flew in 1942. That aircraft performed poorly, but the Lockheed P-80 just flew for the first time this month in our timeline (Jan.1944) and it looks to be quite promising. So yes, the Americans are definitely looking into it, greatly helped by British jet engine technology.
The Gloster Meteor also first flew operationally in 1943, ahead of ME 262, but weren't flown into active combat yet because of fears that the Nazis will capture a downed plane. It was first used as a patrol aircraft over Britain.
To add to the other commenters, the Japanese were also looking into jets but it was basically German aircraft shipped to Japan so they could test and learn from them. The Mitsubishi J8M was closely based on the Me163 for example. Their own jet aircraft was the Nakajima Kikka which had its first flight on 07/08/45.
American development of the jet engine really started when Major General Henry Arnold witnessed the test flight of the Gloster in Britain in the spring of 1941. He asked for the designs for the jet engine and a team of engineers from the UK to help set up production in the US. The tech had already been shared by the British during the Tizard Mission in 1940, but it had mostly been ignored, as the Americans didn't think there was much practical use for it.
Top 3 Worst Things to hear as an Allied Soldier: 1: Churchill having an Idea about a Naval Landing 2: This will be a 3 Day landing 3: We are fighting Old Men and Young Boys
The biggest problem with the Allied landings at Anzio. Italy was the mismatch between the number of troops landing and the terrain to be held. There was no way for the small number of troops to both hold the landing zone and advance deep inland. There was very little defensible terrain near the landing zone for the Allies to use in which it could anchor its defenses. They should have moved the landing zone further north with the Tiber River has a defensive anchor or further south to use the Astura River and Mussolini Canal/Pontina marshlands as that anchor. Bottom line: the wide open terrain at Anzio should have meant a much larger landing force of 5-6 divisions including a mobile armored reserve.
Will you please come to the West Coast of the US this year? Or maybe for the end of the war? Have to buy you guys dinner and get hammered drunk with you all to celebrate this amazing channel!
How large of an area can 2 Allied divisions reasonably be expected to hold? How long of a perimeter? And how much depth does that give them? And why would anyone listen to Churchill about amphibious invasions after Gallipoli?
The idea was that as soon as they landed the Germans would transfer there troops enough for the 5th Army to start advancing, i.e. the much maligned Lucas and his two divisions were always supposed to be more an anvil than a hammer... and a 15 days-only anvil to boot!
Am I the only one thinking that Churchill is trying another Gallipoli? And I absolutely hate it when politicians describe regular people risking life and limb as an "adventure" in order to push through reasonable criticism about the risks and rewards involved. I perfectly understand that war demands sacrifices, but one shouldn't take them for granted to satisfy personal vanity.
I read 'Pappy's biography and he admitted that he could be very difficult. In it he mentioned punching Claire Chennault at an event, then again he was inebriated, a common theme with Pappy. In fact he goes on to say how his imprisonment was good for him as he wasn't able to drink.
Interesting thing is that as a former Flying Tiger, Boyington had a death sentence placed on him by the Japanese. Ironically enough, when they picked him up, the Japanese didn't realize they had captured him, so he survived the war.
Yeah, I noticed that - at first, I assumed that was Churchill's actual handwriting, as the presentation implies, and just thought it curious that he used the American spelling, but later on there was a German or Russian quote translated to English in similar pseudo-handwriting .... it's misleading.
@@nozecone I also thought for a second it was his handwriting but dismissed the idea. Also noticed the same trick used again later. Anyway, it should be honour nonetheless :)
The photo caption at 6:42 is correct: Boyington. But somehow Indy thought it was Boynington. Spoken: 6:42, 7:06, 7:23, 7:27, 7:33, 7:52. On-screen text: 7:33 in a book quote -- is it possible that Mark Lardas got the name wrong in his book and that's where Indy's mistake originated? It had to come from somewhere. It makes the name MORE difficult to pronounce, so it doesn't seem like a natural mistake to make (though the entire crew has to handle impossible name pronunciations so routinely that they may not notice by now). As an aside, I've never quite understood why fighter planes ever fight each other -- why dogfights happen -- EXCEPT when fighters are escorting bombers. In these "fighter sweeps," were the Allied planes fighting Japanese fighters serving as a Combat Air Patrol to protect Rabaul from bombers? Or were the Allied fighters armed with bombs so they were actually both fighters AND bombers? Or if the Japanese fighters hadn't bothered to fight them, would they have strafed the field with machine guns? It's kind of like the question of whether tanks should fight tanks, or whether tank destroyers should fight tanks, so tanks can be saved to attack other targets. Don't you just waste fighters having them shoot each other down?
I don’t use anything close to a single quote for anything, so you can’t blame a source. Weird but true, though, I’ve had mild aphasia occasionally and subtle dyslexia since my first and super serious bout with Covid in 2020, which is troubling as fuck. Not that this is an excuse- I used to watch Baa Baa Black Sheep and even if I hadn’t, I have fact checkers who go over spelling and things so it’s really a combination of brain farts and sloppy checking. Which is still no excuse.
I really wish you did an episode of the introduction of the GRUMMAN F6 HELLCAT in 43' which was a MASSIVE game changer in the Pacific campaign which gave the Japs a run for their money. Had the highest Jap kills in all of WWII. ... oh yeah, by the way, I happened to watch that OPERATIONS ROOM episode with Indy. It was about the Battle of the Bulge. I was like "Wait a minute! That guy sounds familiar!🤔". Apparently Operations Room was inviting different host/narrators from several historical RUclips channels to cover the Battle of the Bulge. I actually think that's pretty friggin respectably awesome having them work together on a large project. Kind of like when all sorts of celebrities get together for a cause like LIVE AID or something similar. Mad respect for that idea 👍
My experience comes from flight simulators, of course, but my answer is YES. The Hellcat is such an improvement over the Wildcat, it's difficult to believe. Fast, robust, well armed, feels instantly 'right' when you flight it and offers very good visibility when taking off and landing (unlike the Corsair, which in fact is constantly trying to kill you!) Indeed the Hellcat is not so glamorous as the Mustang but if I had to risk my life in one of them I would choose the Hellcat without a doubt.
Yes, you actually are wrong 😅 As in, yes, the kill/death ratio of the F6 was impressive, but that was not because it was a game changer. Rather, the game had _already_ been changed! After all, as we've seen in all these episodes, the Japanese air force was ground down during the fight over Guadalcanal. Important factors were the distance to Rabaul, leading to extra fatigue and less chance of being rescued after ditching, and the US using Boom and Zoom tactics. But the real cause was simply that the US could train more new pilots than the Japanese. Basically all experienced Japanese pilots were shot down at some point during the Guadalcanal campaign (partly by naval AA). So their average experience level was starting to drop, _while_ the US trained and kept alive more and more pilots, leading to its average experience level rising! So even if the US had kept flying the F4, they still would have won. It was actually the F4 that changed the game, and the F6 just definitively sealed the deal. The F6 absolutely did matter, since it precluded a Japanese come-back, and made it _easier_ to keep the steamroller ploughing on - but "easier" and "possible" are two very different words! ;) You can see this quite clearly from the K/D ratio of the F4; those are 5.9 to 1 for 1942 (which is already quite impressive), and 6.9 for the entire war. This lower-than-average number shows that 1942 was the hardest year, and therefore must be the year in which the tide was turned (with a lot of effort and blood though). The F6 made its combat debut in September 1943, whereas the Guadalcanal campaign already ended back in February 1943. By September 1943, the crème-de-la-crème of the Japanese air force was already dead. It was already unable to replace losses with similar quality pilots. The death spiral had already begun... The F6 just _exploited_ that timing (and exacerbated it!) TLDR: the F6 stomped on their throat, but only after the F4 had already wrestled them down to the ground :)
@@slayer40sw Haha, oh... I mis-read that then, I guess 😅 Still, I think you'd better ask someone like Greg's Automobiles And Airplanes. He does really great in-depth videos about planes! (and you kinda do need his thrust-at-altitude graphs to _truly_ be able to understand the significance of the differences) Those videos of Indy and Co that focused on hardware have been _comparatively_ sub-par, sadly. For example, their Small Arms At Guadalcanal video actually had to be de-publish due to all the tiny errors. Even with the old URL, you cannot find it anymore... (and that was one where they even asked an expert to do the research for them, iirc - details can easily lose important context or get twisted as scripts advance from first draft to final version) Engineering and such are just not their area of expertise, and with such a "nerdy"/enthusiastic audience as they have, every tiny error will just unleash a storm in the comment section, haha But Greg's style is a lot more... dry(?) than that of Indy 🙃
One thing we seem to see often in this war is the wrong commander at the right time. Take Anzio; as you said, it is NOT a bad plan but as we shall see, the commander was overly cautious after landing and refused to push forward when German troops were fairly light and advanced only AFTER German reinforcements had arrived. Good plan; Wrong command! I just got mixed up in this war! When you introduced the episode and said January 7, 1944, I thought you had made a mistake and it was only '43. OOPS, it was me who forgot for a minute that we had just changed years! Keep up the good work.. But, we are getting so close to the end, I am already wandering what you will do after this. The Cold War? The Current War in Ukraine? Something else. I guess I will stop forward thinking, sit back, have a cocktail and enjoy (?) the rest of WWII!
You are wrong. The Japanese did indeed keep track of individual pilots scores, according to Saburo Sakai, with 64 confirmed kills in his book Samurai! by Martin Caiden and Fred Saito.
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The German invasion of the USSR is widely viewed as a failure and disaster. While it certainly fell short of its objectives, and was a disaster for human suffering, it's important to note that the Soviets are only just now pushing out the enemy to their prewar borders. This is over two and a half years, and millions of lives, after Germany and its allies first launched this genocidal adventure.
are you a historians or a morons? there was no such country as russia in 1944. why you keep referring to soviets as russians?
The Germans did not invade the USSR to keep the Soviets away from their borders though. They wanted the USSR's resources and lands, preferably without its people. That they are now losing those lands and resources, while the Ostheer is a shadow of its former self while the Red Army is becoming an increasingly strong juggernaut is a massive failure and disaster for the Germans. As 1944 will prove with a series of offensives that turn out to be a reverse Barbarossa.
The Germans way underestimated Soviet production, manpower, and determination. They similarly overestimated their own production, manpower, and logistical support.
@@davidpetersam54 To be correct : the germans underestimate the allied support for the soviet union. they tought they would fight them seperated from other enemys. But with the industrial power of "the west" and the way of looking at their own soldiers on the "east" it becomes a new dimension. The way "the east" looks at its own soldiers has not changed and you can take a look at it actually in Ukraine. But without support it is just a big mess.
@@komabot5285 His phrasing was correct as is. Hitler himself stated that they underestimated USSR capabilities, especially industrial. Plenty of sources, like his talk with then president of Finland, there's a good recording on yt.
Cheers Indy 🍻
I can't believe we already reached 1944.
I still remember how I found this channel back in 1939 and it has become my favorite YT channel.
I am so glad to support you via the Timeghost army.
And we are so very glad to have you with us!
I still remember joining The Great War channel in 2014. Time flies.
Hi Thanos I haven't seen you on the comment section for a while, Tike really flies i haven't really understood How fast time went from 2019-2023 Litterally went by like a rollercoaster So much happened during Short time , Keep ti Up buddy you are truly Amazing i hope you Have a wonderful Year
@@cheriefsadeksadek2108 Thanks man. A lot and sorry, that I haven't commented for a while.
Had a lot of stuff going.
@@InternetDarkLord Same dude, hard to believe it's already been almost 10 years.
One would think that after the disaster at Gallipoli in the last war, Churchill would be a bit more cautious in his attempts at amphibious landings.
Dude's an addict.
Why ? He's not the one doing the actual landing, it's not like he ever cared about other people's lives (see India)...
It’s not an amphibious landing, it’s a pup crawl in force. The 8th army are only on the hunt for dames.
@@blede8649 he didn't starve India. There a bunch of issues that sparty doesn't cover, such as the high inflation causing a rice in food prices, stoppage of the imports of Burmese rice (because the Japs are occupying it), the denial policy, lack of trains, different gauge systems etc. Point being even if the imports did come, it would just rot there.
Look up stuff on their forum where others have critiqued them for uh... Stuff on WAH
Preserving human life has never been Churchill's strong suit
Can't believe we are in 1944 already. Feels like just yesterday the Heer was blitzkrieging into Poland and now we are almost to Monte Cassino.
It's incredible how Germans were marching from victory to victory and then suddenly they started loosing everywhere and all the time. Last few months could be summed by: " Germans are loosing territory. "
@@nesa1126 It is pretty crazy to watch it all collapse in real time. I guess that’s what happens when you build an army reliant almost entirely on quick and decisive victories - victory in a long battle of attrition becomes nearly impossible.
Watching this from Warsaw, Poland. Been a fan of Indy since World War I - 1914. Great war. Waiting for the episodes regarding the Warsaw Uprising in 7 months
Don't worry. You will be freed soon.
@@akhashdhillon2159 Sadly it would take a few more decades for Poland to find it's freedom .from the boatyards of Gdansk to the toppling of the entire system.
@@akhashdhillon2159 "freed" 💀
It will be stupendous because the strength and the heroism of the polish people will be even more explicit in that 1944 fragment (they've been doing everything for the Allies since 1939, and despite being crushed by the double nazi-comintern invasion), but it will also be dramatic especially because of the soviets staying still, looking for someone to till the polish anti-occupations spirit for them.
@@akhashdhillon2159 Soon?
The polish (like many other Eastern European folks brutally occupied after 1944) will be invaded and oppressed for decades and decades until the final fall of the USSR monster, by the people of the republics.
A side note this week on January 6 1944 is that Fast Carrier Task Force 50 of the United States Navy is renumbered Task Force 58 and put under the command of Rear Admiral Marc A. Mitscher, who was considered one of the most skilled aviators in the US Navy. With six fleet carriers and six light fleet carriers carrying over 700 aircraft, along with a screening by six battleships and six cruisers, it could be considered the most powerful fleet in the world at the time.
@@blockmasterscott Enterprise vs Japan stopped in 1943 around May; it was a little less than a 6th month period.
The US ability to quickly churn out ships, aircraft and at least adequately trained pilots to man them compared to Japan has become telling.
Surprised that Mitscher would still be allowed to command after his screwup with Hornet at Midway.
@@blockmasterscott
Damage control was far more of a crew quality issue than a hardware quality issue.
It is a stronger US Naval Force then existed before the war. And a testimony to the massive building program that was started in 1940 and is now delivering an endless stream of new fleet carriers. Illustrating that naval strategy is build strategy. You gotta plan and order ahead.
Ah Douglas MacArthur more concerned with doing things his way (and taking credit for it) than actually defeating the enemy.
Mac was quite serious about his political ambitions - becoming President of the United States.
For sure this will not hurt him later in his career...
Dug-out Doug. It's all about me.
That is true for many generals, like von Manstein, Guderian, Rommel, Patton, Montgomery, and the list goes on. There are generals who can check their egos in at the door, but they seldom get the headlines. If you check their biographies, see how many times they say, "If only everyone had done what I said ...". That said, I agree that MacArthur did have an ego that proceeded him through doorways, was somewhat paranoid when it came to possibly losing prestige and attention, and had a hard time listening to reason.
That certainly was the case later in Korea
16:29 Well I did not really see that coming, having *The Operations Room* channel as the TimeGhost member of the week. Maybe one day we might get to see a collaboration between these two great channels, fingers crossed?
Indy did some reading for one of their battle of the bulge series
So I would not be surprised to see more work between them
They had a diff RUclipsr do some narration in each part of their recent Battle of the Bulge series, including Indy somewhere in the middle of it.
@@TheDethBringer666 As well as Jesse Alexander, the current narrator of The Great Wat channel.
I still pinch myself that something like this exists. I'll show this series to my kids one day. Thank you for all the work you guys do
anzio landings sounds like gallipoli a lot, churchill really enjoys leading people to the shores
And no farther
Churchill is really good at dumping the army on a hostile shore to carry out a badly thought out plan with insufficient support. However only senior Labour men* can keep them alive once there.
* Major Attlee (currently deputy PM) had a battalion of the Lancs at Gallipoli and was one of the last men off the beach during the withdrawal. Major Healy was beach captain at Anzio (spoilers he will go on to hold major offices of state)
And picking Lucas ensured it would be a similar nightmare
12 months back the fighting was around the Volga. Now it's inside Poland. That's a massive drive.
"We are poor little lambs, who have lost our way, baa baa baa..."
My grandfather loved the TV show based on Boyington's squadron. He had been a DD sailor assigned to USN 3rd/5th Fleet in the Pacific in the latter part of the war.
I read Boyington's book back in the 70's. Quite an experience. His stay as a guest of Emperor Hirohito was very telling, both of his audacity as a prisoner and the Japanese guards themselves.
He was rather lucky to be taken alive. It was far from unusual for enemy fliers to be picked up from the sea by the Japanese, interrogated and then thrown overboard tied to a weighted barrel. Or beheaded, especially if captured on land.
I got to meet him just before he passed from cancer, and had just read his book. His battle with alcohol was as important a victory as his battles in WW2. Amazing man.
@@tucopacifico Now that is cool. To meet, in person, some of the men and woman most of us only know from books and lore.
I really appreciate the mini-maps you've been using when illustrating the eastern front lately!
I like those too. I had been meaning to mention it.
1944... jeeze. Doesn't seem that long ago that Indy's coverage of 1914 started off. Though I hope any and all wars come to a swift end, I also hope Indy stays at his post giving a blow by blow account of the action, week by week. Happy New Year, Indy and Company.
Interesting that the Japanese fighter forces measured their "kill" score at the squadron level while the Americans measured at the individual pilot level. The same contrast exists today in the business world: having worked for decades in both Japanese and American corporations, I found that the Japanese companies generally recognized unit achievements while the Americans recognized individual achievements. This presented some challenges when managing a team in a Japanese subsidiary of a global American corporation that had a worldwide policy of individual recognition.
Oh boy, we've hit 1944.
Anzio . . . Philippine Sea . . . Leyte Gulf . . . Battle of the Bulge . . . and of course, D-Day!
Can't wait for this year's batch of episodes to unfold.
And I can testify, The Operations Room is an awesome channel.
You forgot Bagration.
@@nicholasconder4703 And several other Eastern Front Offensives (Karelian, Leningrad-Novgorod, Lvov-Sandomierz, Lublin-Brest, Jassy-Kishinev, etc.) And as usual poor old Dragoon gets left out...
Seriously someone should’ve whispered in Churchills ear “remember Gallipoli”
I bet someone did, and Churchill promptly replied "Yes, it was glorious!" - at which point the aide just shook his head and quietly walked away...
That may have been counterproductive. Churchill maintained all his life that Gallipoli should have worked.
@@mjbull5156 if only Steiner launched his counter attack against the Turks.
@@ottovonbismarck1352 Mein Failure, The attack did not take place Steiner didn’t have enough men!
Why , Operation Torch (North West African Invasion) , Operation Husky (Sicily invasion) , leapfrogging Italy from Reggio di Calabria , Taranto and Salerno were all ideas ofd Churchill and all sucessful. If Allies and Churchill were only stuck with Gallipoli example they would never land Europe ever. You take risks in war.
Speaking of which. All these sucessful landing operations initiated by Churchill's ideas and convinced US Chiefs of Staff to participate in cooperation and coodination with British Commonwealth are summarised as Allied victories but Anzio initially ended stemalate branded as idea of Churchill. Interesting prejudice from historians.
Another stirring episode. I'm so excited to see how this year plays out. To infinity and beyond!
I started watching in August 2021 and I can't believe I'm up to date on the episode with "Polska" on the thumbnail.
Thank you.
Churchill should by now understand that war is not about honor, glory and adventure at all.
That's not a defence of Churchill's moronic view of war
Oh he understands, he just doesn't care.
Hitler is shitting his britches
No lebensŕaum, no glory, no riches
Stalin is grinning
His armies are winning
"How do you like me now Bitches?!"
Nice work. Another fine episode! 🙂
Spittin straight FIRE 🔥🔥🔥
Imagine if the guy behind Gallipoli orders you to commit to another amphibious landing
It worked in French North West Africa , Sicily and mainland Italy , all Churchill's ideas
@@merdiolu Those had the supplies, stable logistics, proper planning and preparation, and sufficient forces and fire support to carry out. Anzio had almost none of that, which 'surprisingly' didn't seem to bother Churchill.
@@901Sherman Operation Shingle (Anzio landing) had not enough shipping which limited landing force with barely two divisions to be disembarked in three waves in three days , therefore forfeiting all suprise advantage. The reason of lack of shipping was Combined Chiefs of Staff and General Georgew Marshall's rigid insistance to pull all LCTs and other landing craft from Mediterranean to UK latest on February , for Cross Channel attack on 1944 summer. If enough landing craft was provided (say some spared from MacArthur's SW Pacific Theater or extra LCTs kept in Mediterranean for a few more weeks rather than shoestring timelimit improvisation) , suprise advanrtage would be utilised and VI Corps would capture high ground at Alban Hills in a few days , putting Highway 6 under artillery observation and fire since Anzio was devoid of defence.
In Torch and Sicily landings all landing craft and shipping and more provided by Combined Chiefs of Staff in Washington (that means US Army Chief of Staff Marshall) , since Combined Chiefs of Staff knew and accepted they had to focus with all means available on the objective. In Anzio , the strategic visions of Combined Chiefs of Staff and Marshall diverged (one obsessed to land France ASAP other pulling for acceleration of Italian Campaign while there was still time and initiative alas with all shipping means for success in shape of landing craft were being taken away so risks had to be takjen. In amphibious landing operations in order to have sucess , you have to minimise the risks though in every way since being pushed back to sea is unpleasant experience ) The hope was once landings accomplished , Germans would be scared away that their rear lines behind Gustav line was about to be severed and they would retreat towards north of Rome. But enemy does not always react like you hope.
Churchill really loves surprise amphibious landings in enemys rear, with no logistical backup nor a plan in case they wont succed
By the end of 1943, the CFLN (French Committee of National Liberation) decided to form an Expeditionary Force to the Far East, for which General Blaizot had to ensure the preparations. On September 18 and December 8, the CFLN made a declaration clearly indicating its intention to participate in the liberation of Indochina.
However in January 1944, Roosevelt declared that "no French troops whatsoever will be used in operations in Indochina".
Awesome shoutout to @Operations Room, I heard your voiceover on their Battle of the Bulge series, nice to hear!
I’ve said this what feels like a million times whenever you guys get to a certain milestone, but a sincere well done on getting to 1944. If you guys come to the UK again, I might have to upgrade my Patreon so I can buy you guys a round of well deserved drinks 😄
The levity from Indy at the beginning piqued my interest. When you said the Red Army approached the Polish border, I wondered where this occurred. I compared your map at 2:43 to one I had made and identified your map on my map. The northern edge of the advance appears to be on the southern edge of Pripet Marshes. The western advance into Poland appears to have reached the Slucz RIver which crosses back into Ukraine. I note that the western advance is approaching the battlefield of Brody (Dubno, Rovne) where 2.5 years ago a large clash of tanks occurred which some argue was the largest tank battle of the war. Things sure have turned around for both armies. Thanks for another great episode.
Brody was also an important part of the Polish-Soviet War some 20 or so years earlier. There, Polish rear guards fiercely defended the position in order to allow Polish troops to reach the relative safety of Lvov.
@@extrahistory8956 SPOILER
Brody will also feature in the fighting of 1944, with the Ukrainian SS Division Galicia being nearly destroyed in its vicinity.
The German-language writer Joseph Roth was born in Brody or nearby in 1894, when it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Thanks!
Great episode! Thank you!
Pappy Boyington, not Boynington. Two minutes in the penalty box for Indie. Great episode, again 😊
USMC VMF-214 The Blacksheep had former flight instructors and aces among its ranks. Including LT. John Bolt, who realized Japanese fighter aircraft didn't use armor or self-sealing fuel tanks. Bolt had his ground crew remove the armor piercing rounds and replace them with incendiary rounds.
When other aviators and squadrons heard of Bolt's success with this change, it caused a serious shortage of incendiary rounds in the South Pacific.
There was actually an API round that became the most common ammunition used by the .50 cal MG in aircraft use by 1943 in all theaters. Both armor piercing and incendiary, it was deady everywhere. It was actually preferred everywhere, not just by the Marine pilots in the Solomons, but also by the P-47 pilots in northwest Europe. Me-109 and Fw-190 also burned much easier. The lower altitude combat in the Pacific was especially deadly for aircraft that caught fire (more oxygen). A side note: the F4U-1 Corsair did NOT have self sealing fuel tanks in the wings leading edges. An unusual and overlooked weakness in an otherwise fine aircraft.
Again, like many of Churchill's ideas, it's not bad in concept but the resources don't exist to pull it off. I always figured that to pull off the Anzio invasion you would need 5 divisions, not two. You would have needed 2-3 divisions to secure the beachhead, while the remainder rushed inland to cut the German supply lines. My question is why Alan-Brooke and the British Chiefs of Staff didn't quash this idea. Everyone blames Churchill, but they had to approve the use of British troops and ships for this enterprise. Yet, they come away from this smelling like roses.
even i am begining to feel this Churchill guy must have forgotten about a certain Gallipoli to be brushing aside the concerns of the experts
First week of 1944...and I'm still catching up on content from 1942. Just finished Spartacus' excellent video on Japanese POW camps. And Anna's superb video on Eleanor Roosevelt. I fear the videos will get more insane as the war nears to an end. Keep up the great work!
Thank you for the history lesson.
Just came across your channel. Cool idea- and I'm now subbed! 😎
Welcome aboard!
Excellent, as always
Wholly crap!
You really have some solid research!
Amazing history journalism! Bravo!
Thank you so much!
Happy new year TG and the Army
The level of British hubris throughout this war is simply staggering.
I think it is normal for the British hierarchy, but not the rank & file British service member. I'm sure every nations' Generals & Admirals think they are the smartest. There are a few humble ones, but humility is not always a sought after character trait for military & corporate leaders, and certainly not for politicians. Arrogance was certainly a flaw found among the Axis leadership as well.
There is a small typo in the subtitles @ 12:58, repeat of 'for enough shipping'. As ever really good episode.
The lighting and camera focus on this episode seemed to be far better than recently. Nice job
great presentation as always
I remember finding out about this channel in 1940 but was intimidated by how many videos there were initially, but then in the summer of 1942 I finally got around to starting and caught up in a few days, I can’t believe we’re already in 1944
I Get a Little Bit Sad After Every Episode knowing that each week we are getting close and closer to the end of this amazing journey we Are Already at 1944 I still remember the time i started watching this channel when it was a 1939 it was and still is truly an Amazing Experience to learn so much anout the war and the decision making and The History, Pretty much just like The Great War but even Better Keep it up Indy and All the TimeGhost Crew Amazing Work as always Wish you all the best
love the mug of Indy on the phone WHILE Indy's on the phone! nice
The battle of shaggy ridge: Zoinks Indie!
Imagine my surprise when I was watching "The Operations Room's" video on the Battle of the Bulge and whose voice I hear Indy Niediell's. It was an awesome moment.
Much love and thank you for another video
Great coverage this is even BEFORE operation Bagration?
Bagration will happen in late June, about the same time as the battle of the hedgerows and the taking of Rome, should be an exciting week.
I loved watching Black Sheep Sqaudron as a kid. Probably what got me started in WW2
Nice video, as always!
Black Sheep Squadron was such a kickass show. I highly recommend tracking it down and watching it.
All those nurse babes in tight uniforms with 70's hair-do's...
ruclips.net/video/z81fI8O62e4/видео.html
Line of dialogue from a tv show called 'the first' that aired a few years back and was about a near future mission to mars. 'Confidence is an attitude. It's not a truth.' That has long since stuck in my mind.
Speaking of inflated kills. Boyington has been accused of heavily inflating his. Especially those while flying for the Tigers.
It's not surprising that the Flying Tiger claims were inflated. The pilots were (allegedly) paid $500 US per kill by the Chinese government.
@@ramonzzzz true, but if I remember correctly, he claimed a higher kill vount when he rejoined the Marines. So he didn't claim the money, just wanted a higher rank due to being an ace already
Man, I wonder how much Gallipoli influenced Churchill with his insistence on a landing at Anzio. Almost like he was trying to redeem himself.
Fast forwarding a bit but on Jan. 11th, 1944 there will be another notable event in the military aviation history when MajorJames Howard, an ace from previous service with the Flying Tigers in China, charged into a dogfight alone against as many as 30 Luftwaffe planes in order to protect a formation of B-17s that was raiding Oschersleben. Over the next 30 minutes Howard - who was flying a P-51B Mustang with Ding Hao! painted in large letters across its nose (The best, in Chinese) - lived up to that boast, shooting down at least 3 of the enemy planes and possibly damaging others despite having entered the fight alone and without either the element of surprise or an advantage in height. When his guns jammed after a dive to shake a fighter that was on his tail, he continued to fly aggressively against the Luftwaffe planes, effectively bluffing them off the bombers. Not a single bomber was lost after Howard's intervention.
When the bombers returned to England the flight leader attempted to find out who had piloted the lone Mustang, saying, "For sheer determination and guts, it was the greatest exhibition I've ever seen. It was a case of one lone American against what seemed to be the entire Luftwaffe. He was all over the wing, across and around it. They can't give that boy a big enough award." Howard, who had previously shot down 6 Japanese aircraft with the Flying Tigers and 2 German with the USAAF, became his squadron's first ace with the tally of 3 more, also becoming one of the few men to have become an ace in both the Pacific and European theaters of operation. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel the following month and in June of 1944 would receive the Medal of Honor for the feat, becoming the only U.S. fighter pilot to be awarded the medal for actions in the European theater of Operations.
Thumb up in case it disappears.
You didn't by any chance see Yarndub's video on this did you?
@@Blazcowitz1943 I had read about the dofight awhile back, but yes! Yarnhub's video on it is great.
Holy crap that's impressive!
Oh, and apparently I've missed a Yarnhub episode too - lucky me ^^
Hi Indy
Another thrilling week.
As per your recomendation,i bought martin gilbert's second world war book. It is wonderfull to read.
What i read in school,i got picture second world war just happned and people died.
But after following your channel and through martin gilbert's book it full of horror,killing,genocide. It not war,it is war to kill people and torture.
Thanks for the video.
New year,new beginning.
Churchill planning an amphibious landing?: Discounting concerns of experienced leaders and planners... After his efforts at Gallipoli in WW1, what could possibly go wrong? Well, they may actually get to teh right landing point this time? But no planned resupply?
@WorldWarTwo if you are not already aware of it, have you read a book by Garrett Middlebrook called “Air Combat at 20 Feet”? It’s diary entries of a B-25 strafing pilot in the Pacific. He was the father of a friend and she gave me a copy back in the 80s.
And as always Indy and Spartacus, you are amazing. The world must never forget.
The Red Baron was surely the most (in)famous flying ace from the First World War, but I can't think of any pilots from the Second World War that equal his fame. Doolittle, Harris, and Thach are well known for their contributions even if not attaining the greatest skill or deadliness, but it feels like the biggest difference is that the romanticization and glamour is gone or not on the same level anymore.
Well WW1 in the air is somewhat romanticized thing,and German nobleman flying in his bright red triplane sounds quite epic (unfortunately,wast majority of 80 of air kills he achieved were against pilots who didn't see him coming).
In ww2 Germans definitely again achieved biggest roster of fighter aces,supposedly about 150 of them had over 100 air kills.The most successful one was Eric Hartman with his ridiculous claim of 350 kills.In contrast,most successful allied fighter ace was Ivan Kozhedub who achieved some 65 air kills.
Rudel, Hartmann and Marseilles would like a word.
The Allies. Americans, especially, rotated their high scoring pilots Stateside, to act as pilot combat trainers. The Axis aces remained in theater until they were killed, or broke down, or got captured. The Experts racked up some high scores. The German pilots also started early, racking up scores in the Spanish Civil War.
@@kaletovhangar Hartman was flying over the front lines, and a lot of his kills would have observed by ground units, plus for part of that time he was flying 6 or 7 missions in one day.
He may have made more than a thousand missions, possibly more than two thousand, which makes his score a little less surprising.
There are quite a few massive aces in WW2, but they all served on the Eastern Front.
ruclips.net/video/Qd8KxFnMVE4/видео.html
Enjoy! :)
(the reason being that the US withdrew its aces for war bond drives and teaching new pilots, whereas the eastern countries kept them on the front until they died, or the war ended)
Love this series
Props to the Operations Room ! I agree about your opinion on them. (I found them through you.)
Regarding pilot's "score", it was the same over Germany, where a flight of B17s would claim 80 german planes shot down during a single raid, when fighters of the RAF would barely claim a dozen or so official kills according to their own rules.
A few weeks before D-Day, there were long negociations between the RAF and the USAF to estimate what Germany really had in terms of single and twin engine fighters. Reluctantly, the RAF decided to count a third of what the bombers claimed, tho everyone knew it was grossly overestimated.
Surprising Results, Bomber Gunner Kill Ratio B-17 vs. B-29
ruclips.net/video/jSwB1Mxaung/видео.html
And if the emphasis of their operations was on wearing down our fighters rather than destroying objectives on the ground, they had achieved any success in that direction only at a great price; for though we lost thirty-four aircraft the enemy lost seventy-six.
--170--
This figure of seventy-six enemy aircraft destroyed, though impressive enough in all conscience-especially as many were bombers carrying a crew of three or four-came as a great disappointment when it was discovered from secret German archives after the war. Our estimate of the day's successes given to the public at the time was that we had certainly destroyed 182 enemy aircraft and probably destroyed another fifty-three."
Hyperwar Royal Air Force 1939-1945 Vol I
Eager to read about that beachhead operation in Italy but I’ll wait till it happens :)
Indy, do you think the Time Ghost team could do a special video on "The Devil's Brigade" (1st Special Services Force)? They are a really interesting unit that plays a somewhat important (and hilarious) role at Anzio. I doubt the Herman Goering Division never got over the embarrassment.
Also a special video on "Audy Murphy" sometime after Operation Dragoon? Very interesting individual who starred in his own autobiographical (and fairly accurate) WW2 movie.
When Indy has say that an ace had been shot down, i immedialy thought of Major Pappy Boyington. I read his autobiography "Baa Baa Black sheep", he is one of a kind, an absolutly unothordox man with a complex life but a very good pilot.
He has an very interesting story and you should read his book! (Why not doing a special on VMF-214 ? :) )
You learned a lot from the flying tiger and the mood in China before Pearl Harbor. And a little fact, the VMF-214 still exists in the USMC at this day.
About the air war above Rabaul, indeed a smoking plane was often considered a splash. When the air battle is above ground, coast watcher would denied aerial kill. But above the sea, no one could confirmed the kill, except the wingman with other members of the squadron. And i should apologies for my bad english. Keep up the good work!
"No honor? No glory? No adventure? With all due respect, sir, but you'll not be the one under the German guns if and when this plan goes belly up."
That's not something I would want to hear my leader saying.
“Honor is a fool’s prize. And glory is of no use to the dead.” Darth Revan Star Wars the Old Republic.
Churchill was essentially a schoolboy looking for a scrap, which caused no end of headaches to the British war effort and precipitated numerous defeats. Brilliant politician but lousy commander…sounds a lot like his counterpart across the channel to me.
@@kingblondie7075 I wouldn't have followed a military leader who was more concerned about honor, glory, and adventure; there's little honor on a modern battlefield (if you're doing your job right, you're not fighting fair, you're fighting to win...too bad the damned politicians have to try and muddy the water and put constraints on the warfighter), adventure is a given (if you survive), and only the dead are blessed enough for glory.
@@MandalorV7 Truth.
And here's to another fine year in TimeGhost, cheers lads and lasses!
We are making decisions about the composition of the Anzio landing force based on political needs rather than military ones. This should go swimmingly.
Churchill's bulldog stubbornness has overall served as a virtue, but he does manage to turn it into a vice once he is fixed on a questionable idea.
Yep. When Brooke tried to talk him out of one of those ideas once he replied "The conduct of this war could be considerably improved if only I could shoot some generals". Ask Hitler how well that idea turned out.
The best Birthday present i could have wished for :) 1 Step closer to ending this war
With Anzio coming up, is there any plan to do a special on Audie Murphy? I know you guys haven't done that many biography specials recently, but he's such an interesting character. Or would that be January 1945 when he is ultimately awarded the MOH? I also know that from being a Texan myself, we all like Audie Murphy, ain't that right fellow Texan Indy?
Funniest thing to me is how he downplayed his own achievements when they shot “To Hell and Back” because they thought it would be unbelievable.
The A6M Zero had a boost system, which, when engaged, gave off white smoke. This is probably the source of those smoke teails.
good piece of knowledge. Thanks for that.
German fighters often belched black smoke when the pilot opened his throttle - US bomber gunners often claimed such fighters as at least damaged if not as kills, assuming the smoke was caused by their hits on the fighter.
Robert Conrad TV show mid 70's call Black Sheep Squadron on NBC. He play Boyington. I was 10 or 11 and watched the show, which did not last too long.
Regarding that comment about how jet aircraft would "prevent invasion forever!" - it would be interesting to see a special on jet aircraft development! I occasionally hear of the woes of Frank Whittle, and the Me 262 is famous enough, but were the Americans or Japanese looking into it?
The American Bell P-59 jet fighter first flew in 1942. That aircraft performed poorly, but the Lockheed P-80 just flew for the first time this month in our timeline (Jan.1944) and it looks to be quite promising. So yes, the Americans are definitely looking into it, greatly helped by British jet engine technology.
The Gloster Meteor also first flew operationally in 1943, ahead of ME 262, but weren't flown into active combat yet because of fears that the Nazis will capture a downed plane. It was first used as a patrol aircraft over Britain.
To add to the other commenters, the Japanese were also looking into jets but it was basically German aircraft shipped to Japan so they could test and learn from them. The Mitsubishi J8M was closely based on the Me163 for example. Their own jet aircraft was the Nakajima Kikka which had its first flight on 07/08/45.
@@Tinderchaff The Me 163 was rocket powered, not a jet.
American development of the jet engine really started when Major General Henry Arnold witnessed the test flight of the Gloster in Britain in the spring of 1941. He asked for the designs for the jet engine and a team of engineers from the UK to help set up production in the US. The tech had already been shared by the British during the Tizard Mission in 1940, but it had mostly been ignored, as the Americans didn't think there was much practical use for it.
Top 3 Worst Things to hear as an Allied Soldier:
1: Churchill having an Idea about a Naval Landing
2: This will be a 3 Day landing
3: We are fighting Old Men and Young Boys
The biggest problem with the Allied landings at Anzio. Italy was the mismatch between the number of troops landing and the terrain to be held. There was no way for the small number of troops to both hold the landing zone and advance deep inland. There was very little defensible terrain near the landing zone for the Allies to use in which it could anchor its defenses. They should have moved the landing zone further north with the Tiber River has a defensive anchor or further south to use the Astura River and Mussolini Canal/Pontina marshlands as that anchor. Bottom line: the wide open terrain at Anzio should have meant a much larger landing force of 5-6 divisions including a mobile armored reserve.
14:19 "Honour", not "honor."
Crazy events were witnessing
Will you please come to the West Coast of the US this year? Or maybe for the end of the war? Have to buy you guys dinner and get hammered drunk with you all to celebrate this amazing channel!
This battle of Anzio is basically exactly the game mission Road to Rome in Axis and Allies 2004 RTS. Anyone played that game?
How large of an area can 2 Allied divisions reasonably be expected to hold? How long of a perimeter? And how much depth does that give them? And why would anyone listen to Churchill about amphibious invasions after Gallipoli?
The idea was that as soon as they landed the Germans would transfer there troops enough for the 5th Army to start advancing, i.e. the much maligned Lucas and his two divisions were always supposed to be more an anvil than a hammer... and a 15 days-only anvil to boot!
Am I the only one thinking that Churchill is trying another Gallipoli? And I absolutely hate it when politicians describe regular people risking life and limb as an "adventure" in order to push through reasonable criticism about the risks and rewards involved.
I perfectly understand that war demands sacrifices, but one shouldn't take them for granted to satisfy personal vanity.
I read 'Pappy's biography and he admitted that he could be very difficult. In it he mentioned punching Claire Chennault at an event, then again he was inebriated, a common theme with Pappy. In fact he goes on to say how his imprisonment was good for him as he wasn't able to drink.
Yet still got drunk on some Japanese holiday
Interesting thing is that as a former Flying Tiger, Boyington had a death sentence placed on him by the Japanese. Ironically enough, when they picked him up, the Japanese didn't realize they had captured him, so he survived the war.
@@nicholasconder4703
Yeah, but even being unknown, he was still pretty lucky to survive.....
@@tomhenry897 Yeah, Pappy worked in the cook Shack, and stole saki after the guards were drunk.
@@nicholasconder4703 After Truman awarded Greg a posthumous Medal of Honor, the Japanese knew who he was. Oddly they respected that.
My s/Grandfather picked up Pappy Boyington once, he served on the USS Charles Ausburne (DD-570). Received 11 battle stars.
I think Churchill would have spelled it 'honour'...
Yeah, I noticed that - at first, I assumed that was Churchill's actual handwriting, as the presentation implies, and just thought it curious that he used the American spelling, but later on there was a German or Russian quote translated to English in similar pseudo-handwriting .... it's misleading.
@@nozecone I also thought for a second it was his handwriting but dismissed the idea. Also noticed the same trick used again later. Anyway, it should be honour nonetheless :)
Anzio feels a lot like Market Garden, and they both feel a lot like Gallipoli.
The photo caption at 6:42 is correct: Boyington. But somehow Indy thought it was Boynington. Spoken: 6:42, 7:06, 7:23, 7:27, 7:33, 7:52. On-screen text: 7:33 in a book quote -- is it possible that Mark Lardas got the name wrong in his book and that's where Indy's mistake originated? It had to come from somewhere. It makes the name MORE difficult to pronounce, so it doesn't seem like a natural mistake to make (though the entire crew has to handle impossible name pronunciations so routinely that they may not notice by now). As an aside, I've never quite understood why fighter planes ever fight each other -- why dogfights happen -- EXCEPT when fighters are escorting bombers. In these "fighter sweeps," were the Allied planes fighting Japanese fighters serving as a Combat Air Patrol to protect Rabaul from bombers? Or were the Allied fighters armed with bombs so they were actually both fighters AND bombers? Or if the Japanese fighters hadn't bothered to fight them, would they have strafed the field with machine guns? It's kind of like the question of whether tanks should fight tanks, or whether tank destroyers should fight tanks, so tanks can be saved to attack other targets. Don't you just waste fighters having them shoot each other down?
I don’t use anything close to a single quote for anything, so you can’t blame a source. Weird but true, though, I’ve had mild aphasia occasionally and subtle dyslexia since my first and super serious bout with Covid in 2020, which is troubling as fuck. Not that this is an excuse- I used to watch Baa Baa Black Sheep and even if I hadn’t, I have fact checkers who go over spelling and things so it’s really a combination of brain farts and sloppy checking.
Which is still no excuse.
I really wish you did an episode of the introduction of the GRUMMAN F6 HELLCAT in 43' which was a MASSIVE game changer in the Pacific campaign which gave the Japs a run for their money. Had the highest Jap kills in all of WWII. ... oh yeah, by the way, I happened to watch that OPERATIONS ROOM episode with Indy. It was about the Battle of the Bulge. I was like "Wait a minute! That guy sounds familiar!🤔". Apparently Operations Room was inviting different host/narrators from several historical RUclips channels to cover the Battle of the Bulge. I actually think that's pretty friggin respectably awesome having them work together on a large project. Kind of like when all sorts of celebrities get together for a cause like LIVE AID or something similar. Mad respect for that idea 👍
My experience comes from flight simulators, of course, but my answer is YES. The Hellcat is such an improvement over the Wildcat, it's difficult to believe. Fast, robust, well armed, feels instantly 'right' when you flight it and offers very good visibility when taking off and landing (unlike the Corsair, which in fact is constantly trying to kill you!) Indeed the Hellcat is not so glamorous as the Mustang but if I had to risk my life in one of them I would choose the Hellcat without a doubt.
Yes, you actually are wrong 😅
As in, yes, the kill/death ratio of the F6 was impressive, but that was not because it was a game changer.
Rather, the game had _already_ been changed!
After all, as we've seen in all these episodes, the Japanese air force was ground down during the fight over Guadalcanal.
Important factors were the distance to Rabaul, leading to extra fatigue and less chance of being rescued after ditching, and the US using Boom and Zoom tactics.
But the real cause was simply that the US could train more new pilots than the Japanese.
Basically all experienced Japanese pilots were shot down at some point during the Guadalcanal campaign (partly by naval AA).
So their average experience level was starting to drop, _while_ the US trained and kept alive more and more pilots, leading to its average experience level rising!
So even if the US had kept flying the F4, they still would have won.
It was actually the F4 that changed the game, and the F6 just definitively sealed the deal.
The F6 absolutely did matter, since it precluded a Japanese come-back, and made it _easier_ to keep the steamroller ploughing on - but "easier" and "possible" are two very different words! ;)
You can see this quite clearly from the K/D ratio of the F4; those are 5.9 to 1 for 1942 (which is already quite impressive), and 6.9 for the entire war.
This lower-than-average number shows that 1942 was the hardest year, and therefore must be the year in which the tide was turned (with a lot of effort and blood though).
The F6 made its combat debut in September 1943, whereas the Guadalcanal campaign already ended back in February 1943.
By September 1943, the crème-de-la-crème of the Japanese air force was already dead. It was already unable to replace losses with similar quality pilots. The death spiral had already begun...
The F6 just _exploited_ that timing (and exacerbated it!)
TLDR: the F6 stomped on their throat, but only after the F4 had already wrestled them down to the ground :)
@@MrNicoJac I meant am I wrong to request an episode . As for game changing. Come on, look at the performance of the Hellcat to the Wildcat. Really?
@@slayer40sw
Haha, oh... I mis-read that then, I guess 😅
Still, I think you'd better ask someone like Greg's Automobiles And Airplanes.
He does really great in-depth videos about planes!
(and you kinda do need his thrust-at-altitude graphs to _truly_ be able to understand the significance of the differences)
Those videos of Indy and Co that focused on hardware have been _comparatively_ sub-par, sadly.
For example, their Small Arms At Guadalcanal video actually had to be de-publish due to all the tiny errors. Even with the old URL, you cannot find it anymore...
(and that was one where they even asked an expert to do the research for them, iirc - details can easily lose important context or get twisted as scripts advance from first draft to final version)
Engineering and such are just not their area of expertise, and with such a "nerdy"/enthusiastic audience as they have, every tiny error will just unleash a storm in the comment section, haha
But Greg's style is a lot more... dry(?) than that of Indy 🙃
"No honour no glory no adventure." That's the difference between Cunningham and Churchill - Cunningham was a professional.
One thing we seem to see often in this war is the wrong commander at the right time. Take Anzio; as you said, it is NOT a bad plan but as we shall see, the commander was overly cautious after landing and refused to push forward when German troops were fairly light and advanced only AFTER German reinforcements had arrived. Good plan; Wrong command! I just got mixed up in this war! When you introduced the episode and said January 7, 1944, I thought you had made a mistake and it was only '43. OOPS, it was me who forgot for a minute that we had just changed years! Keep up the good work.. But, we are getting so close to the end, I am already wandering what you will do after this. The Cold War? The Current War in Ukraine? Something else. I guess I will stop forward thinking, sit back, have a cocktail and enjoy (?) the rest of WWII!
Psst. Edit the title. It's not 43 anymore! :D
Done!
@@WorldWarTwo Hooray! :D
I can't hear the name Anzio w/o thinking of one of my fave war movies of the same name.
Depends how you define Poland
Found you guys back in year 1 of WWI and I can't believe we're getting close to end of WWII. Plans for the cold war?
I believe the team intends to do Korea next.
Boyington, not Boynington.
Great. Like always
You are wrong. The Japanese did indeed keep track of individual pilots scores, according to Saburo Sakai, with 64 confirmed kills in his book Samurai! by Martin Caiden and Fred Saito.
We covered his exaggerations and lies fairly well already, actually. That book is a work of fantasy.