The Desert Fox | Rommel's FIRST Battle in the North African Campaign | BATTLESTORM
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- Опубликовано: 16 май 2016
- Erwin Rommel faces the might of the British Empire. In 3D animation, we'll see the units, the battlefield and the tactics The Desert Fox uses to overcome the British and Australian forces at Mersa Brega and throw them out of Italian Libya. Except for Tobruk of course! The video covers Erwin Rommel's arrival in Italian Libya up to the beginning part of the Battle of Tobruk 1941.
This video is Part 2 of the Western Desert Campaign - Part 1 (Operation Compass) is in the link below
• Operation Compass 1940...
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Bibliography
Battistelli, Pier Paolo. Erwin Rommel (Command). Osprey Publishing, 2010.
Beckett, Ian F. Rommel: A Reappraisal. Great Britain, 2013.
Beevor, Antony. The Second World War. Phoenix, 2014.
Bickers, Richard Townshend. The Desert Air War: 1939-1945. Endeavour Press Ltd, 2015.
Butler, Daniel Allen. Field Mashal: the Life and Death of Erwin Rommel. Casemate Publishers, 2015.
Dimbleby, Jonathan. Destiny in the Desert: The Road to El Alamein - the Battle that Turned the Tide. Great Britain, 2012.
Hart, Liddell. A History of the Second World War. Pan Books, 2015.
Hastings, Max. All Hell Let Loose: The World at War 1939-1945. HarperPress, 2011.
Jorgensen, Christer. Afrika Korps: Rommel’s 1941 Offensive (Rapid Reads). Brown Bear Books, 2014.
LaFace, Major Jeffrey L. Tactical Victory Leading to Operational Failure: Rommel in North Africa. Pickle Partners Publishing, 2014.
Lyman R. The Longest Siege: Tobruk - The Battle That Saved North Africa. Pan Books, 2011.
Moorehead, Alan. The Desert War: the Classic Trilogy on the North Africa Campaign 1940-43. CPI Group, 2012.
Nash, N. Strafer Desert General : The Life and Killing of Lieutenant General WHE Gott. Pen and Sword Books Ltd, 2013.
Neillands, Robert. The Desert Rats: 7th Armoured Division 1940-45. UK, 2005.
Neillands, Robert. Eighth Army: From the Western Desert to the Alps, 1939-1945. John Murray Publishers, 2004.
Pitt, Barrie. The Crucible of War: Volume 1: Wavell’s Command. Cassell & Co, 2001.
Playfair, Major-General I.S.O. The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume II, “The Germans come to the help of their Ally” (1941). The Naval & Military Press Ltd, 2004.
Raugh, H. Wavell in the Middle East 1939-1941: A Study in Generalship. USA, 2013.
Reuth, Ralf Georg. Rommel: The End of a Legend. Haus Publishing, 2005.
Thompson, Dennis H. Discarded Victory - North Africa, 1940-1941. Pickle Partners, 2014.
Williamson, Gordon. Afrikakorps 1941-43 (Elite). Osprey Publishing, 2009. 
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I'll never understand why Hitler turned east instead of south, where he could have achieved his economic objectives much more easily. Keeping the bulk of his army on the "new" eastern border, an investment of 3 panzer and 2 motorized divisions, plus a couple of air fleets in Africa would have insured conquest of the middle east. Taking Suez, combined with the capture of Malta (forget Crete) by airborne troops would made the eastern Mediterranean an axis lake and convinced Turkey to join the Axis. With German troops on the Turkish and Persian borders, Stalin almost certainly would have forgotten any ideas of invading Europe and continued trade with Germany. With middle east oil and Soviet food, Hitler could get what he needed way cheaper than invading Russia.
My oil video explains why, but essentially Hitler needed oil fast, there was little oil in the Middle East at the time and there was no way to get Middle Eastern oil back to Germany for processing. ruclips.net/video/kVo5I0xNRhg/видео.html
Because Russia is contiguous to Germany. Conquering Russia would expand Germany. That was Hitler's plan.
Youre forgetting stalin was planning to invade as well around the same time
This oil thing is so much propaganda. The oil fields are hundreds of miles from eygpt. The road system was poor at best. The British would have fought for it. German supply lines would have been super long. British could get ships in ports. Even if they take the fields, the British would have destroyed them. So they have to rebuild the oil fields, than what? How do we move oil? Ships and pipelines. I'm going to say the American and British navies make any ship movements of oil a no go. Pipelines take years to make and this one, for its time, would have been a monster project. We haven't even talked about refining that oil either.
Guys I just want to say a big thanks to all of you! This has only been out 3 weeks and the response has been is fantastic! It's inspiring me to make the Fort Eben Emael video even better. The months of hard work was definitely worth it, so thank you :)
A Behind the Scenes video will be coming relatively soon as I know a lot of you really want to know how I made these. Not sure when it'll be, but it'll be coming
Looking forward to it :)
agreed.
Hey! How do you make these videos? What’s the software called?
In this case (and in my newer videos), I'm using Blender. You can find it on Steam in the software section. It's also free... But be warned, it has a very difficult learning curve
grüße von einer preußin aus dresden und vielen dank für deine videos.wenn man sich als deutscher in deutschland lebend und für deutsche geschichte interessiert ist man auf leute wie dich angwiesen.in der brd wird die wahrheit niedergeknüppelt bis zum geht nicht mehr, udo walendy hat 21 jahre !!!lang gerichtsProzesse führen müssen ,um sein buch "wahrheit für deutschland"vom index zu bekommen.udo w.ist dipl.politologe ,zeitzeuge ,wehrmachtssoldat
Why do I find these videos right before my chemistry test?
I like your reaction
Omg same
That's kind of the trick. And if you want to succeed in chemistry, just let your house get a little messy, or leave off paying a bill for one month, so you can see your chemistry studies as a guilty pleasure. That's what worked for me as an undergrad when I was taking Math, Geology, Chemistry and Physics, simultaneously. Letting the lawn go an extra day or two was also wonderful for my academic progress.
Like Dr. Demento and Organic Chem...except TIK's videos ALWAYS feel like winning the Dr. Demento T-Shirt.
Better than any tv documentary ive seen.
joao rosendo hell yeah
Just a riveting narrative, this guy tells an excellent story!
Exactly
Have to agree. For once I don't feel a need to find a proper written history of the event in question to actually understand what's going on.
So you were born in this century
I don't want to take away Rommel's ultimate skill as a CIC and his outstanding career as a soldier, but he did have good forewarned intelligence (equivalent to the Ultra decrypts for Montgomery later), early in the North African desert war, via the help of the Americans. The American embassy had been raided in Cairo by Italian intelligence (during 1941) where their "Black code" had been stolen. Incredibly, the Americans did not report these codes as compromised, and did not immediately change their signal codes. Since, by Churchill's insistence, the American embassy attaches got much of the British forces' strength, readiness and disposition, Rommel (via the Italians) got this valuable intelligence firsthand as well and put it to good use with his limited forces in 1941 & 1942. There was little guesswork in Rommel's forces deployment and campaign objectives, early in the desert war.
Yes it was well known that Cairo leaked like a sieve. This fact was used for disinformation which got back to the Germans too, I note that in a later Battlestorm TIK doco that the British high command in the desert did NOT let Cairo have their battle plans.
Of course it was the Australians that first made the Germans retreat not the Americans
They didn’t know the codes had been compromised.
I love battles in detail, specially when they show the maps, more of this please.
Well, you might be interested to know that I'm working on a huge 24+ hour video on Stalingrad right now. Over 270,000 words of research done at the moment. When that comes out, it will blow these videos out the water.
Sagara Sousuke same
Have you ever thought about trying to get a deal with Netflix or something similar? Your videos are better than most documentaries and they're incredibly interesting, could easily be a running series on something other than just RUclips.
@@TheImperatorKnight 5 years later, that Stalingrad video has developed into the best battle documentary, certainly on this platform, by a mile.
I'm reading Rommel's biography at the moment. I'm only 100 pages in but already he has proved that (in most cases) he was a master tactician and a born leader of men in the battlefield.
After seeing how O'Conor performed (yes, against Italians, but still...), it will probably remain one of big "what ifs" of history how they would have faired if both fought at their best.
this is better than a high end documentary with several dozens workers!
thx
Wow thanks! :) I can confirm it was just me who made it
I talked once for an evening with an officer who fought in that campaign. The British referred to the retreat as the El Agheila Handicap, a cynical reference to the helter skelter retreat. My friend was eventually one of the many captured later at Mersa Matruh (pronounced matroo TIK) and went to Italy as a POW. He and many others later escaped in Italy when the situation was disintegrating there.
Great stuff TIK but while I am on pronunciation I believe its is pronounced Kirch-hime with the ch as in loch, so nearer to kirkhime. I think the bloke deserves his name pronounced correctly for reasons of respect. Same with Streich which is pronounced nearer to Strike.
Thank you for producing this excellent series which I am greatly enjoying.
I'm obviously too late, but you are wrong with the pronounciation. The "ch" in Kirchheim and Streich is a soft fricative which doesn't exist in the english language. It's somewhat similar to the "ch" in Chandelier or Champagne. (Like a "sh"-sound, but created more with the front of one's mouth than with the whole mouth). The "ei" in Streich and Kirchheim is pronounced like "eye". So Kirchheim is actually pronounced "Kirsh-heym" and Streich like "Streysh".
Partly it depends on regional accents, especially with the 'ch' sound
@@Loehengrin Agreed. Did not want to write a treatise.
The "ch" in German is rarely a "k" like in "Chemnitz". It's hard to explain in writing, it is an exhaling sound sort of. One of those things native English speakers struggle to learn
My maternal grandfather was involved in the attack of April 16.. he was a private in the 62nd Regiment of theTrento Motorized Division (Regio Esercito).. was captured and sent to Australia as a POW.. he returned on December 8 1946..
I understand this episode is a bit older but it is simply amazing.
The texture is so conducive to Military students and War Gamers alike.
Extremely helpful for unit research & doctrine/ maneuver comparison.
Excellent work!
Thank you for letting us all enjoy the fruits of your very work.
Impressive! 👍
I can't believe you tell everybody you're into playing War games this is real people that died not pissy little wankers sitting in their parents bedroom playing children's games maybe when you actually grow up you'll know the difference
Personally I prefer the 2D maps by a lot. I have a hard time following these 3D battles.
Yes, this was a lesson learnt the hard way. But I have learnt it. Fun fact though, the maps in the new videos are still 3D. You're just seeing them from a bird's-eye point of view.
You have done an excellent job here and I intend to view the rest of your videos. The level of detail and attention to often overlooked things like the iron law of logistics are vital to understanding how these battles developed. Thank you so much for taking the time and doing the research necessary to create this fine film.
TIK, fantastic work! I have no idea what video I was watching that "suggested" one of yours, but I am so grateful for it! Great work. Though I have read a lot about World War 2 and many of the battles and campaigns you cover, these always show me something new. That, I think, is the best compliment for what you do: You have the ability to show a new perspective that will reveal something new about the battles.
Keep up the great work!
Fantastic! I have been waiting for this I love the early campaigns of the Afrika Korps under Erwin Rommel.
iv'e just recently found your channel through a potential history video where he used one of your videos as a reference and ever since then i haven't been able to get enough of your content! iv'e been a huge ww2 buff since i was a little kid and i cant remember any documentary that iv'e enjoyed watching as much as i have with these Battlestorm videos. Keep up the great work!
Thank you! I'm working on the next one now - Operation Crusader, which I'm estimating will be about 7 hours long. Explains why it's taking me so long to make it haha
This is some of the finest most enjoyable content I have come across for years!
Well done Commander TIK
Very well done sir, this depth is rare to find!
I have read about this campaign previously but your use of simple animations has been very, very helpful. Kudos!
You have a way of telling the battles that grips the listener from beginning to end. That's a skill
I want my girlfriend to look at me like how Wavell looked at O'Connor
Neat video-interesting details
We ain't that lucky
What over the top of her bushy moustache ??? 🤣🤣🤣
🤣🤣🤣
This was excellent man. Thank you for your hard work.
This is an incredible video. Most videos about the North African campaign are about the British eventual victory at El Alamein or the Americans' arrival on the west..most ignore Rommel's earlier victories. So this video is quite a rare treasure to display the skills of Rommel, and not those of Patton and Mongtmerey.
I hope you would make a video on all of Rommel's battles where he attacked Allied forces from the rear time and time again. In this video there was only one such attack where a large British force was encircled..but I think it happened numerous times..I wish you'd show them all! There was even one such encirclement where Rommel's risky boldness got him trapped behind British lines and he formed a defensive ring, unable to breakout..but his other forces attacking the frontlines managed to breakthrough and saved his stranded forces..
I hope you'd also show his capture of Tobruk, because of which, he fulfilled his dream and was promoted to fieldmarshal!
And I hope you'd also include trivias about how he was treating captured Allies nicely, even disobeying Hitler's orders about executing some, which in admiration made Churchill say of Rommel something like in the somber wars of modern democracy there is hardly room for chivalry..
Wow, thank you very much, I'm glad you liked the video :) very little has been written on the early battles of the Western Desert Campaign, let alone videos made of them! Which is a shame. This battle was very interesting, as was Operation Compass which I made a documentary on. Yet, for whatever reason, they're almost forgotten battles. El Alamein might be a turning point, but so too was this battle. Rommel entering the scene put the British on the back foot for the next 18 months. Equally, Operation Compass may have resulted in total victory even before Rommel had arrived!
My next documentary is going to be on Fort Eben Emael in 1940. But then I'm returning to the North African Campaign for Operation Brevity. My current long term plan is to work through each battle in the North African Campaign in turn, alternating from the North African Campaign to another battle somewhere else. So I will eventually cover all the battles you hinted at. The only limiting factor is time. It takes me ages to make these videos. All I ask is for patience :)
Thank you for your assurance that all Rommel's battles in North Africa would be covered!
You displayed in your video the characteristic leadership of Rommel which is leading at the very front.. I hope that in your coming North African campaign videos, you'd also let people know about the SAS's attempted assassination of Rommel which made Rommel furious, not because they tried to assassinate him, but because the raid took place on the Africa Korps' headquarters which was far removed from the battlefield in relative safety. Rommel got furious because he didn't want to be seen as a "desk general," he wanted to be some kind of knight in the modern world, always charging into battle. He was the highest German officer in North Africa, and yet he rides into battle, sometimes on his four-wheeled vehicle, sometimes on a plane, and even on a tank that surges into the fighting. His exit from North Africa was actually caused by being wounded because he was in one of the attacking tanks---something that generals were careful enough not to do.
And may I suggest something?
I noticed that whenever there is an engagement in your video, the sound effect is that of machine guns firing. Is it alright if you'd turn the sound effect into the sound of tanks firing, or a combination of machine gun and tanks? The tank is the lead role weapon, while all the other arms are in supporting roles, so it would be quite exhilarating imagining tank battles with the sound of tanks firing.
I'm so looking forward for the videos, even though they may take long!
"" Rommel entering the scene put the British on the back foot for the next 18 months. ""
Well that's not quite true. Operation Crusader in November 1941 pushed Rommel right back to where he started from earlier that year, relieving Tobruk in the process, and Rommel he had to start all over again.
Chivalry Wright that’s strange, all I’ve ever heard about the battles in North Africa were all stories of Rommel
I've only really heard America struggled hard in Africa...this coming from an American.
Wonderful work!!! Very descriptive as if watching a movie. Hats off to you/
Thank you so much for this video. My grandfather drove a tank with 5RTR and was blown up on the 2/4/41 in one of the 5 tanks on that day. There is a great account of the battle in the war diary of 5th royal tank regiment. It was the first battle between German and British armour in western desert campaign.
Thank Mr.TIK very informative ,great video
Happy new year!!! All the best
Brilliantly put together video.
Thanks! This was one of my earlier history videos too :)
How did i only just now find your channel, i love your content so much this is all just so amazing!
Great visuals and narration, really worth watching.
I love this video. Please don't alter it. It's perfect! I've watched it a few times over the years.
Thanks for all the effort you put into your videos. They're so engrossing 😊🙏
Man....that was a SUPERB narration!! Bravo!!
amazing video man. keep up the great work !
Brilliant work. Thank you.
Unbelievable! Didn’t realize so many others want to know what really happened during each unique and important battle during WW2. I’m always looking for the specifics and most detailed accounts of these battles which history has mostly left out. Great job. Did the British use the 25 pounder much in the anti tank role before the arrival in #’s of the 17 pounders.
Excellent work on putting this together.
Supreme video to everything ever seen before about the topic, precise on point, compact and better visualized then any english, american or german documentary I know of. Great work in combination with vid on operation compass, these could be milestones for people that are otherwise not so interested in reading hours and hours of literature (verry
time-consuming!?) about this, but would want an excellent recap to get the theather in the bigger picture of the whole period and the ww2 in general.
Outstanding Video, thank you so much!
EXCELLENT job Thank you for hard work!
You've got yourself a new subscriber sir! Great content!
Awesome! Thanks for subscribing! Just so you know, I'm currently working on a Battle of Stalingrad Battlestorm documentary, so obviously it's taking time to make. But it's going to be epic once it's done :)
Great work! I will be watching the rest as soon as possible.
Great! Don't forget the video on Operation Compass, which was the operation in North Africa before this one. It was arguably the greatest British victory of the war - yet, few people have heard of it.
Great stuff! Thanks for efforts putting this together and sharing... subbed...
Holy moly epic content!
Glad to hear you like it :) I'm working on the next in the North African Campaign now - Operation Crusader (having already covered Brevity and Battleaxe)
Great Video on the Western Desert Front!
Really fascinating video about a part of WW2 I didn't know much about - I'm totally hooked now. The collapse and disarray would have seemed impossible - fantastic work explaining it
Excellent video. Compelling narration from start to finish! As an Australian, my grandad fought in North Africa, unfortunately I know very little about his personal experience.
This is really good. Well done sir.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it :)
Wow dude, u know your stuff... I'm gona subscrube. My favroute ww2 documentary is Apocalypse ww2. But your attention to detail to certain battles makes this channel very interesting:)
This is one of the best explanations of the north african theatre I have ever seen.. The only problem was the quality of the maps at the background..
I think if you describe the military geography of a campaign before detailing the movements of the military units, the value and understandability of your programs will become even better. For example, when I have looked at some of the maps related to this campaign, I saw the massive block of jebel akhdar mountains which divides the battlefield (and hence the road network) into two patches. After that, some of the movements of the adversaries became more understandable..
A good explanation of how the terrain must be evaluated from a military perspective is given by Hamley's "operations of war". I have 5th edition, printed in 1889. Oldies but goldies..
Yet another very informative video. :-)
Really enjoy your videos, please keep them coming and thank you!
+Katarnstar will do! Already working hard on the next one
i think your a talented historian. excellent video. thanks for posting.
Ooops, I've already pressed the like button about 6mo ago and this is the 3rd viewing, but I didn't say excellent video TIK. It's interesting how your early Battlestorm vids still hold up magnificently. Outstanding job, Lad! Your vids and conclusions are brilliant. Can't wait for the next Stalingrad vid. Cheers.
TIK, I don't know if you noticed, but Rommel's advance is something out of Infantrie grieft an. One would think Rommel is channeling his younger self, a young Leutnant, on the Romanian Front in 1916. Advancing boldly against a demoralized enemy. He had done the same thing in 1914 at the Battle of the Frontiers. Advancing boldly, but there it almost killed him.
Well done, Lew. A joy to watch!
Thanks LC! Glad you enjoyed it! I like your new avatar btw :)
Loving it!!
Poor Wavell lost his generals and also has Churchill to put up with.
Yup! I do feel sorry for him. Currently working on Operation Crusader research, and the situation isn't much better for Auchinleck either
TIK I'd posit that Auk set Monty up for victory at 2nd Alamein. But maybe you'll know more on that.
Hypnotic25 i think thats rather too kind to Churchill, good politician with sound stategy's in theory, getting those strategy's put into practice required other people to complete them. So giving Churchill all the 'glory' for just making decisions is a bit rich. I admit i am biased against Churchill for most of his decisions with regards to Australia/Australian units was almost always counter productive to Australia.
He also lost very experience planning and logistics support staff of junior and middle rank officers. This with losing NCOs who were season combat veterans to go to Greece who end up being killed or caputure.
I swear I read "Lost his genitals" and got REALLY confused
TY for that, great video, TY
Thank you for watching, glad you enjoyed it!
i almost creamed when i saw this video by tik. i love dak stuff!!!. its a beautiful video. well done chap. bravo!!!!
Great vid. Bir el Gubi would be an interesting battle to cover.
First time viewer, this is a really great channel. Great presentation. You got yourself a sub.
Thank you Matt. I don't know if you know but I'm currently working on the next BATTLESTORM video, which is going to be on the Battle of Stalingrad (yes). It's obviously taking a long time to do my research for it, so I ask for your patience. But I'm also currently doing a behind-the-scenes vlog series to give regular updates in the mean time, which you can find here ruclips.net/video/aPhAnk_3u1U/видео.html
Great job...u covered pretty much everything......
The best explanation of of this aspect of WW2. Thanks
I already said it but i will say it again, i enjoy your videos immensely, i never get tired of them.
Thank you very much :) I hope you can patiently wait for the next one (they take my months to make)
Very interesting!! Thanks for making this. =)
No worries, thank you for watching :)
Thankyou for your hard work.
A most informative video and thoroughly explained.
My memory does not serve me well these days. If I remember correctly there was a delaying action codenamed 'Operation Gash'.
Will you be looking into that?
Many thanks.
Keep up the good work.
you made me subscribe 3 minutes in.. i hope it keeps up :)
I gotta say, these videos are really awesome. I know the operation is pretty inqonsequential considering the circumstances, but I would love to learn more about operation spring awakening.
Very nice video Kamerad.
I'm glad you liked it, Rommel :) I'm planning on doing one on Operation Brevity soon too and then slowly working my way through the entire Western Desert Campaign
***** Can't wait, i'll make sure to be watching those too.
New to your series, really enjoying it so far. I'd like to see a small video done on the Ramcke Parachute Brigade. Thanks in advance...
I accidentally discovered your channel while searching for information on operation Market Garden. I play war games as a hobby and find all this information very useful. Thanks for putting this together, I subscribed and liked. To answer the question you ask at the end: I would like to see an in-depth analyses of the German 1940 invasion of Denmark and Norway - operation Weserübung. This battle involved German, Norwegian, British and French forces and was fought on land, sea and in the air. Thanks in advance :-)
Love this, and thank you, because of your video I got really into the close Bombay series. love this vid keep it up
I assume you mean the "Close Combat Series"? :D and thanks! Took me months to make this, so I'm super happy you like it :)
+TIK yea spell check can get a little annoying
I really like the way you did this one as compared to some of your newer videos... not saying the newer ones are bad though.
wavel always looks so funny with that look of misery i know this is bad i cant help it lmao
Great animations. Best WW2 channel.
Wavell has that "Oh no not again" face. It seems so fitting.
Enjoyed thoroughly
Two excellent books on Italian warfare in East and North Africa are": “Iron Hulls and Iron Hearts, Mussolini’s Elite Armored Divisions in North Africa” by Ian W. Walker and "Mussolini's War Vol. 1, East Africa 1940-1941, (land campaign); The Italian Army Defends the Empire in The Horn of Africa", by Marak Sobski.
loved this vid mate
Awesome! Glad you liked it! I'm working on the next video in the series now (so be sure you watch the rest - although I messed up with Brevity...). Crusader should be about 7 hours long with my current estimate. Research at +92,000 words, and the unfinished script is around 70,000 currently.
Being stuck in a desert with no fuel must have been hard on morale and trying to attack a citadel like Tobruk must have felt like a suicide mission, i cant wait to see part 2 of this campaign!, but please take your time with it to keep up the excellent quality you got going on with these series.
Absolutely. Especially when your commander rushes you into battle without proper planning or support, at the end of an already exhausting drive and fight through a couple hundred miles of desert. Technically, this is part 2! Part 1 is here ruclips.net/video/b71kdhj27rk/видео.html
And don't worry, the next one will be at least the same level of quality - if not better! I won't rush it
You actually had a part 1, and here i was wondering about the "references" to the Previous battles in the area and i felt that maybe i had missed something crucial, but now i know where to look for answers, so thanks for the link!
I'm glad you asked because I should have put the link in the description! I'll do that now. Part 1 isn't 3D and I'm in the video, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless :)
Dont worry, i watched your Market Garden series and had no trouble with seeing you popup to the screen from time to time :D
Nothing like maps and arrows, I'm pretty familiar with the desert warfare that Australians were involved in and have actually been to the El Alamein area so this is of interest and it's pretty good. It should be recognised that the Tobruk battles involved the first significant defeat of German forces in WW2 and dispelled the myth of German invincibility.
But it took several generals ,a ton of scarcity,and overwhelming superiority in allied numbers to stop a legendary tactician,erwin rommel the desert fox.
@@florencemodina6293 As I said, Rommel was stopped at Tobruk where his tactics failed.
Tik, been binging on your videos for a little while now, you do OUTSTANDING work, among the best war documentaries I've ever seen. To say I'm excited about the Stalingrad doco (all 24 hours of it!) would be an understatement. I'm probably more excited about the Stalingrad doco than I have been of any movie, TV show or otherwise for as long as I can remember. (Huge fan of David Glantz, and knowing that he'll be a key source excites me no end.) Keep up the fantastic work. (Glad to see your gaining subs quicker and quicker too, you deserve a massive audience).
Thank you! Really good to hear you're enjoying the videos :) Yes, Glantz will be a key source (since nobody else has gone into as much depth). I should hopefully have Battlestorm Operation Crusader out in the next few weeks, and between that and Stalingrad, I'll be doing lots of Stalingrad-related videos as well as others, so hopefully it'll keep you entertained while I slowly piece together the mammoth project I've undertaken haha
Bullshit Man 24 hours of doco about stalingrad ? Where is it ? I d love to watch it, but sadly couldn t find it in playlists.
That's because I'm still working on it. It's going to be a while away yet, but you can find some of the Stalingrad-related videos I've been working on as a precursor to the big video here (specific to Stalingrad) ruclips.net/p/PLNSNgGzaledhLd1zG3MeeRSbIei6lHhxO
And here (Fall Blau related) ruclips.net/p/PLNSNgGzaledgcM-q2fUFYToNBX6zuREsC
And also, here (6th Army Order of Battle before Stalingrad) ruclips.net/video/DCDjAqTUCmw/видео.html
I had to pinch myself to make sure I hadn't died and gone to heaven. This is awesome! And Holy Sh*t, I see you guys also have Battleaxe and Compass too! YES!
Compass, Rommel's first operation in the desert, Brevity, Battleaxe, the Long Range Desert Group... And soon will be Crusader :)
The other videos in the North African Campaign aren't quite like this graphics wise (Brevity is) but you may enjoy my video on Fort Eben Emael as that's down to the individual squad level.
Also, there's no "guys" it's just me. Which is why it takes so long to make these videos!
This particular video is extremely well done. There is such a shortage of easily available tactical level detail to the Siege of Tobruk/The Easter Battle, and the Battle of the Salient which has always been of such interest to me. Only more recently have I fully understood and appreciated hand-to-mouth state of affairs that the Afrika Korps had to contend with. I've also always found it quite ironic that unbeknownst to the Italians and the Germans, in Libya they were standing on hundreds of billions of barrells of high quality sweet crude that would easily have solved all of Germany and Italy's fuel needs for the rest of the war.
I want you to do a BATTLESTORM video on the Battle of the Hürtgen Forest, super interesting battle and not that well known
Stan Foltz As an American, it was possibly the most stupidly fought battle we ever attempted.
This format is fab and a half.
Uhm 22 minutes in, I wanted to just point out a huge clap on the shoulder for taking time to make this.
Very cool presented.
these videos are better than anything on tv.
That's because the Americans want you on tick tock so they've stopped the world from making anything good
Excellent
Another good book on this subject of the Italian Army in North Africa is: “The Italian FOLGORE Parachute Division, Operations in North Africa 1940-1943” by PAOLO MORISI.
Excellent documentary.
Glad you enjoyed it :)
At then end of Operation Compass the British tanks were worn out from moving around 800 miles through desert. They never had tank transporters. Few tanks were operational to move around and fight another battle. The sand was highly abrasive. In those days they never had the bearings, filters and lubricants we have today. Even a small car in those days was full of grease nipples that needed greasing every 1,000 miles or so. The Germans moved into the desert new armoured vehicles and naturally would roll over the British forces in their clapped out vehicles. The British supply chain, around the Cape and up to Suez was exceptionally long with long lead times for equipment orders to be fulfilled.
It never helped at all that Churchill moved forces from the desert to Greece near the end of Operation Compass. The Greek PM told Churchill not to move men to Greece as in doing so the Germans would move into Greece. That is exactly what happened. Churchill said it was his biggest mistake of WW2. Churchill had the chance of securing all the southern coast of the Med and blew it. I agree with Prof Adam Tooze, who says that Churchill's biggest mistake was not concentrating on the bomber forces to destroy the Ruhr. Destroy that and together with the RN blockade, Germany is dead as a fighting machine.
Bovington has been working on a Matilda II, showing in detail the work. Those old tanks were a lot work to keep operational.
One question i often have is what if at this point O'Connor had managed to take Libya, would the Germans have used French N.Africa as a staging ground for reopening the front in N. Africa? Then again with Churchill in charge would the British had carried on into French N.Africa once Libya was taken? All speculation of course but it is often fun thinking of the what ifs.
Peorhum
It is likely the Germans would have never even attempted to move into Africa or Greece. When Hitler decided that German forces move into Africa they had not decided if Barbarossa was 100% on. A decision on an 'invasion' attempt of French NA would have been way after the decision for Barbarossa and not committed troops. They moved into Africa to help their friends, the Italians. If they are not there it is highly unlikely they would move into the desert.
Those old tanks needed constant maintenance. They needed greasing by the day, especially in desert conditions. The lubricants were not of the quality we have today, neither was the metal coating. A modern car engine can easily run up to 200,000 miles without any major problems as long as it is serviced properly with quality filters and oils. Pre WW2 if you got 50,000 miles out of your engine without a rebuild you were doing well. Within that 50,000 miles you would have expected to have replaced a water pump, the odd valve, etc.
The tanks went through tracks like wildfire even in the best conditions. One of the reasons the Germans gained a foothold in North Africa was that the British tanks that just about wiped out the Italians, were worn out. The Germans came in with fresh equipment.
I really enjoy these videos more than your newer one's. Especially fort elb...in Belgium. Anyway why i enjoy is you show step by step what happened. It is absolutely so informative that i feel im living in the moment.
Everyone else just does a broad battle with few dialogue they are trash
Please go back to this.
Graphic could be a lil better
But great neither the less
What is this? Content other than Stalingrad/Army Group South? I had no idea this existed at one point, interesting.
Yes, my plan is to work my way through the North African Campaign one battle of a time (from Compass to Tunisia, with Crusader being worked on now) then go through the Sicilian and Italian Campaigns before hitting the Normandy Beaches, before reaching back where I started - Market Garden. All this while covering small raids like Bruneval (already done) and Dieppe, plus battles on the Eastern Front (especially Stalingrad).
This is my 4th time watching this. I've subscribed the first time. It still is a riveting and fascinating experience. I esp enjoy hearing about the Afrika Corps and anything relating to Rommel of course. You have a great talent in telling and showing these important historical battles. While some others put me to sleep, your videos have me glued to the screen from beginning to end, and leave me wanting to hear more! Thank you for putting in all the time so that we can enjoy being educated . 👏👏😉😍
this has been an amazing insight into Rommel's introduction to the Afrika campaign. thanks for creating this documentary. im glad to found out about Rommel's mistakes it makes him look more human and flawed than what most sources claims.
It was my pleasure :) it's strange, but Rommel's biggest strengths as a commander were also his biggest weaknesses
+TIK Rommel was a very typical German commander in that his focus was more on tactics than on administrative or logistical affairs. German doctrine since Napoleonic times has been to avoid prolonged campaigns, as she is sandwiched between France and Russia, both powerful enemies, and a long campaign would turn Pyrrhic very quickly. So, like Israel today, Germany focused on trying to win what are called 'general victories' which decides the fate of the war quickly and up front.
Michael McCabe a good analysis as you said the lack of foresight German generals have for there supplies and logistics tends to ruin there plans and make there battles harder has shown in the late war or any prolonged battle. late war is full of good examples of this and the German invasion of Russia is well the spot light holder for this.
And the Germans hoped to avoid such prolonged conflicts. I also find it highly ironic that Germany developed these in order to win a 2-front war, but while they were still struggling with the Mediterranean front, they opened up a second! >.
+tigerhunter77
Rommel is elevated to a position by the allies he does not deserve. The allies make excuses for their mistakes, like the Germans had better tanks, a general who thought like a fox, etc.
Liking this series..
Operation Battleaxe and Crusader when?? great videos mate!! :D
I'm working on Operation Brevity now (while I'm rendering the animation for Fort Eben Emael) and then I'm doing a BIG battle after that. Once that big battle is done Battleaxe is next.
Also, you may like to see this behind the scenes video about the way I do my scripts. I show part of the script for Brevity ruclips.net/video/NZyhAdOXxnA/видео.html
I always find it amusing that the picture of Brigadier Gott is so like Gene Hackman :D Finally managed to watch all of the Battlestorms thus far so I decided to start again ;)
Tik, I just now have seen your great work on the North African War [WW2] and I can't praise you enough, absolutely beautiful, and I as an Italian I want to personally thank you from the bottom of my heart for being honest about how Italy fared in the war, to many sickening times from the "winners" that we were total shit,
I personally believe that the krauts were shit since they had nothing to gain and the battle of El Alamein clearly proves my point, look at how Rommel set up the defense line, on a slanting position, and who he left behind, anyway thanks again, and God Bless!
whoever managed rommels Logistics should have been the supreme logistics officer. seriously whoever can manage rommels constant nutcase obsession for stormtactics logistically is a genius
watching battlestorm on THIS format is so weird, especially after watching battlestorm stalingrad... and yet it's glorious
Yeah this was in my "experimental era" 😂
The French have clearly mastered the art of retreat!
Italians: hold my wine
@@arismaiden6457 wavell: Hold my australians.