Good informations and presentation of the front way in Russia, here battle of Smolensk!! I'm German, 56 years old, and my grandfather was an Ia- Officer in the 221. Sicherungsdivision (Infantry), which was installed in Breslau, now Wroclaw . He was in the area around the battle of Smolensk and Jelnja 1941/42 behind the lines. There were a lot of partisan activities in the forests and swamps near the front lines. Your videos are very helpful for me to understanding the whole war in Russia. My grandfather survived the east front battle, was four years in an officer prisoner camp in Russia and came home 1949 to Göttingen near Hannover to his survived family which escaped the battle of Breslau. The family of my mother came all from Upper Silesia, which became Poland...Congratulation for your work! 😎👍❤️
Its a bit of a myth to say the diversion of troops south was purely a decision of Hitlers. The original plan drawn up by a General Marcks and known as the Marcks plan called for such to secure the southern flank prior to proceeding to Moscow and may well have been the right thing to do. A rival plan; the SchoBerg plan called for troops to move north to capture Leningrad, secure the Baltic and its ports to assist supply, and free up troops for the assault on Moscow. Both plans had their legitimate reasons but the entire German command struggled to choose which one to pursue and as we know Hitler chose to pursue both. The far bigger problem was that soviet resistance around this time simply inflicted heavy losses on the Germans especially on the front line panzer and infrantry units and officer corps a few divisions being so devastated they had to be sent to France to be refitted and new recruits trained. Far too many men also remained in industry at this time and could not simply be withdrawn and sent to the front. They would be largely called up and replaced largely with soviet POWs in 42. The army wanted to do this in late 41 but soviet POWs by then were in such poor condition they feared employing them less they import a typhus epidemic into the Reich so by the time the Germans reached Moscow most divisions were desperately short of well trained battle experienced men, officers and equipment very few divisions listed as fit for offensive operations and many of these problems were thanks not so much to Hitler but to the Generals who simply didnt plan for such losses expecting as many did for the Red army to collapse after the fall.of Smolensk and Kiev especially.
Hitler's general didn't understand the economic aspect of the war. Hitler knew that capturing Moscow won't get him anything but capturing Ukraine and the Caucasus oil will give him a fair chance to win. His generals didn't listen to him. They wanted Moscow, God knows why.
Yes. Very excellent testimonial. It's absurd to observe now in hindsight but it's been written that AH☠️ said that he was shocked by the heavy Soviet tanks and would have rethought his decision to attack Russia. The decision to stop the attack on Moscow was right. Kiev fell solidifying the takeover of Ukrainian wheatfields and Leningrad was nullified. PERFECT opportunity to 'dig in' and get Sweden to set up peace talks! Churchill shits his pants and Roosevelt quivers. Reinforce ROMMEL and take the Suez. Game, Set, MATCH..
Yes. And regarding Moscow this was the conclusion reached by two separate wargames run by Alfred Jodl and Friedrich Von Paulus’s teams in late 1940 at the request of Hitler: they can reach Moscow with their last reserves and they can not guarantee we will take it. Exactly what happened. However, Germany was on a timer. The more they waited, the more the Allies would transform their bigger economic power advantage into military might and win. So they decided to attack and improvise on the run…
Smolensk was the turning point. A tactical victory for the Germans but a huge strategical defeat for them. They lost one third of their potential there ( material, )and too much time. But this turning point was inevitable because the OKH and Hitler had no viable general strategical objective after the first month. This is why they disagreed. Barbarossa was already over after Smolensk.
The redirection of Panzer army to Ukraine ended up with the Kiev pocket - the largest pocket in history; it broke the stalemate along the Dnepr and the Germans managed to cross the river and take over Ukraine before 1942. But most importantly, Army group South advanced to the flank of Army group Center. If Hitler ordered to advance to Moscow instead, the whole, I repeat, the whole strength of Army group Center would probably be isolated in winter 1941-42 as AG South would be far behind its flanks, and Soviets would still have up to +1.000.000 troops on the Dnepr river. So, maybe after the war the German generals accuse Hitler for this decision, but I guess if it went the other way around they would still accuse him for choosing the other thing.
Hitler was adamant that Leningrad needed to fall first before on to Moscow. Also the German Military needed time to *"handle"* Smolensk as Russia threw everything they had at retaking then holding this critical space...far more than just the City but certainly there was that. Great work!
Very very good. Antony Beevor,s effort, Stalingrad is also fabulous but harrowing reading on this, and all battles till the the fall of Stalingrad and the capture of the 6th Army.
There were no corps level formations at this point in the war. There were armies-divisions-brigades. It wasn’t until late 1942 that mechanised corps were introduced into the order of battle
So, What's the solution: Simple: Hire the best. People who are trained, tested for competency and integrity. No one, let me repeat, No in government knows what they are doing, not the president, not congress, not the governor, not the mayor, not the city council or school board. They learn on the job, at taxpayer's expense, with disastrous results.
There would be no war, if our leaders couldn't borrow money and charge it to our children. We are still paying $billions for the 1st World War. In fact, that could be one of the solutions to stopping these wars: Take away the power of these incompetent, immoral leaders to borrow money and charge it to our children.
Another fun fact: Poles also passed through Smoleńsk in 1610 when city was put under siege by king Sigmund III and captured. Though Polish forces ultimetly withdrew from Moscow the Smoleńsk remain in Polish hands for the next 43 years, threatening Muscovite capital. It was succesfully defended in 1634 and relieved by king Vladislav IV. Subsecuently another attempt on Moscow was launched but was stopped by winter. Interestingly at the same time Poles under hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski repealed Ottoman-Tatar invasion in the south at Sasowy Róg and Kamieniec Podolski.
Battle of Smolensk was when Hitler realized the Blitz had already failed and they were in for a longer war. They needed to straighten up the line of defence by helping the north and south army groups, also bring up supplies and tank spare parts. When the Russian winter offensive came, it was not just at Moscow but over the whole line and the Germans were still over extended. They were forced back in several places.
@@noukoukino yeah most of my family was murdered by the Nazis. All 5 of my Great Grandfather's brothers died in combat as Red Army soldiers (3 at Smolensk, 1 while liberating Leningrad, and 1 in Poland). Also his parents and 1 of his 2 sisters was killed at Babyn Yar, as they were Jewish. The only one of his siblings to survive was my aunt, who only survived because she was a skilled factory worker and was relocated to Novosibirsk at the start of Barbarossa.
@@kerryannegarnick1846 I am so sorry to hear that so many of your family members were murdered😔. My great uncles were German soldiers. I believe they were in the 35 infantery division and later the 4th. They almost made it to Moscow and they were responsible for so many Sowjet/Russian soldiers death😐, also in Smolensk. One of my great uncles was captured by the red army in 1943, I believe, and died later in a hospital. The other two most likely were taking part in a war crime in Bellarussia in 1944, even working together with disgusting ss nazis 🤮 as I just learned of today 😦😟. I really want to know more about these things and what exactly happened to my relatives as well. I had some documents from the red cross once, but I can't find them anymore
The directive was correct - the drive on Moscow should have stopped at Smolensk, that is where the Germans should have dug in for the winter. The southern flank was secured in 1941 with a huge encirclement, they even made it to Rostov had they not attempted Moscow foolishly after that but just dug in along the Don they would have been in a much better position for the spring of 1942. They made the 800 km possible with German logistics. Either resupply and get ready for next spring or offer terms to Stalin. At this point it is obvious that the Soviets will not break as easily as the French. The assumption that the army needs to be broken and the capability of the enemy to wage war needs to be taken away instead of territory was a correct one, just like the drive to Baku and the oil in 1942 ... however they vastly underestimated Russian reserves and will to fight, they did not calculate in Land-Lease and a whole Russian industry past the Urals untouched by bombers and the fact that the Americans will eventually figure out how to bomb Germany into being incapable of waging war and the staggering amount of casualties the Eastern front that Germany simply had no way of replacing.
A lot of information, yet so easy to follow. Your videos rock man! I'd love to know more about your sources. Please keep it up, this is very appreciated.
@@zangwangdang, thanks for very good videomapping of the battle of Smolensk. One detail is missing though : part of the Mogilev group of the Red Army managed to break through the Wehrmacht encirclement and reach the main force of the Red Army in the Smolensk area. That's what I remember from reading the memoir of one of the commanding officers of that Mogilev group of the Red Army. This relatively minor fact about the battle of Smolensk is showing that by that time the Red Army generals learnt to use more maneouvreable defensive tactics. Also I would like to hear (did I miss it?) the name of general Lukin who organized the defence of the city of Smolensk building it up from several weakened Red Army divisions. And it's notable to mention that in this particular battle there was the first time when we encounter the Red Army groups under the names of their commanders.
all modern historians --specially david glantz-- say H was right in wanting to liquidate kiev first (he made several plane trips to the front before making a decision). The 2-month battle between july-10 september is what really changed history bcse the battle slowed down and severely bled the wehrmacht.
I think you've captured the essence of the battle, but there is something I dont understand. How can you make such a map without including a scale of miles/kilometers? A road network would have been nice too. But the scale is imperative if we are to understand the scope of movement.
Panzer groups at this stage of the war, not armies. otherwise, this was fascinating. I've often pondered the psychological impact of the Timoshenko offensive, the Germans getting an inkling of what's to come.
You've definitely got the wrong of what kind of Soviet troops were at Smolensk. At the start, the vast majority of the troops facing Army Group Center were either reserve fronts stationed in Central Russia or survivors from the initial onslaught of Barbarossa. None of these men were barely-trained peasants, but professional soldiers. If morale was low, it was likely because of seeing too much battle--losing battles, to be precise. Furthermore, the reinforcements called in as the battle progressed were among the Soviet Union's millions of strategic reserves. There was no need to press-gang random farmers medieval-style into the Red Army at this time, and by the time these reservists started to run out, the Soviets had already begun to churn out even more trained active duty personnel. Morale was certainly not low for these fresh troops, as Smolensk was the time when Soviet propaganda finally started to treat the "Great Patriotic War" seriously. Equipment was a far more pressing concern for the Red Army at this time, as well as lack of coordination and proper command. It's easily the reason why two mechanized divisions, already battle-weary, could smash their way through the Russian lines--that, and the Soviets had had no time to set up a proper defense since stabilizing the battle lines in mid-July.
. Most senior officers, corps commanders, division commanders and even Battalion commanders were killed by Stalin in the Red Army purge before the war started.. So the point is that trained or not Stalin helped Hitler by killing many of his Red Army soldiers.
@@rancan7383 As TIK describes in one of his excellent videos, Stalin's purges were not the main reason for a lack of trained officers. In fact, a large percentage of officers at all levels who had been fired by Stalin were not executed, 'just' sent to the Gulags. So many of the 'purged officers ended up being sent to the front when Barbarrossa was launched. The key issue was that the Soviet Army was in the midst of restructuring when Barbarrossa began. During their war with Finland, the Soviets had learned that their armies & divisions were too large to be able to respond to rapid changes in tactical situations that were part of modern warfare, so Stalin ordered the Red Army to re- organize into a larger number of smaller armies ('fronts'), and each army was being broken down into a greater number of smaller divisions (btw...this was a re-organization that the Germans also found to be necessary). The consequence of the restructuring of the Red Army resulted in the need for a huge increase in the number of officers to command the greater number of units. When Barbarrossa began, the Red Army had not trained enough officers to cover the re-organization that had already occurred. Last, but certainly not least, the tactic !used by the Soviets resulted in a disproportionate number of officers being killed. The consequences of these issues included a lack of sufficiently trained & experienced officers in the Red Army during 1941 & into 1942. So, the purges were not the main reason for the lack of officers & poor performance of the Red Army.
As Hitler was held here long enough to frustrate him and make him change his plan is in keeping with Lao tzu' 'Art of War'. One's strategic goal is to do this.
What is with the idea that Soviet Commanders didn't care about their men? Basically, all commanders in history have cared about their men, and just higher casualties in early battles doesn't mean they had a complete disregard for their soldiers - I know it's early in the war still but later once their doctrine was more refined their casualties were a fraction of what they were then
Probably has something to do with stories about completely unnecessary executions, plotting and conspiracy against comarades, total lack of respect for human life in general, read a book on stalin alone, youll learn a lot.
Soviet Union had little regard for lives of their own citizens killing and starving to death millions. What makes you think they cared more about soldiers?
@@pawelpap9 The Soviet Union took care of its citizens. The medical service was free of charge, my parents, my wife and I got higher education without paying for it. We ate healthy food beyond compare with what we eat nowadays, my parents got a flat from the Soviet authorities.
@@pawelpap9 "Soviet Union had little regard for lives of their own citizens killing and starving to death millions". Solzhenitsyn? He is a traitor and a liar. All those millions of russians, killed and starved to death by their own government, were invented by anti-soviet propaganda, spread by Solzhenitsyn-like bastards.
ANOTHER minor MISTAKE. The 29th Motorized Division captured the city center of Smolensk on 16 July, not on 22 July as your map suggests. Granted, they couldn't clear resistance in and around the city until 23 July, but your map steadily shows them as outside the city until 22 July.
For those who don't know: Smolensk is within borders of Russia so Wehrmacht swallowed Belarus and parts of Poland annexed by USSR in three weeks time...
Well presented. It is certainly plausible that had AH left his military commanders to decide the plan, then Moscow could have been caught. More importantly, the time period in which Stalin had the chance to call a million men from the east would have been eliminated. However, just winning a city does not mean a war win. For sure the psychological factor would have been powerful. With the loss of Moscow, I think Leningrad would have been isolated, cut off and quarantined and then starved out.
I believe Hitler also stopped the Panzer Armies advancing until the pocket had been liquidated. Guderian wanted to carry on, and let the infantry deal with the 'pocket' - he was the guy at the Front after all.
Well presented. AH failed to follow Sun Tzu's The Art of War and sure enough he lost the battle for Moscow and the war. Now of course war is evil and AH never stood a chance of winning WW II but he might have prolonged it and perhaps achieved development of the Atomic Bomb and then either stalemate or annihilation of opposing sides in a nuclear exchange.
German office say: ''We are a big elephant, the Russians are millions of ants, the elephant will step on and kill thousands, but in the end the ants will kill the elephant leaving it on the bones, and so it happened''!
All Hitler's generals disagreed with this. That is false, Guderian and Halder naively thought the capture of Moscow would have brought about the Red Armies defeat. This is wrong. The entire plan of Barbarossa revolves around the destruction of the Red Army and seizing the food and material resources of the Ukraine and Southern Russia. Therefore Army Group South should have been prioritised and reinforced(which occured here when Guderian was ordered South. The slow progress through the Ukraine was based on a decision by Stalin to protect the Ukraine, which he assumed the main German effort should have been focused. Halder and Guderian were fools who knew next to nothing of the overall wider strategy and economics which dictated the war.
the AGC supply needed 45000 tonnes, only 30000 could move the hard Soviet roads, -RS Stolfi "Hitler's Panzers East" Attacking Moscow without enough fuel is a terrible idea.
...Stalin "cared little about death..." How about Stalin, as had millions upon millions of Soviets, had seen that the Hitler armies--not just the Einzattsgruppen and the SS and the police units, but very, very much the Wehrmacht as well--were on a genocidal slaughter that explicitly included all Jews and any even slightly resistant civilians of any ethnicity, and that while fighting them meant the very great possibility of death in battle, relenting meant at best enslavement and, perhaps more likely, slaughter in any case? The Nazi army fought a decidedly different war in the East, and it would have been foolhardy to think they would do otherwise. I am disgusted by the Wehrmacht generals, and solidiers too, who say they were "devils" and "beasts" because they fought for their lives; they realized that they would not be treated like the French or the Dutch, but like the Poles, and probably worse...
14:38 Don't be so sorry for German troops or Soviets. They got what they had asked for when two imperialistic states collectively started total war in September 1939. From the beggining both Germans and Soviets commited atrocities against civilians and soldiers. So no pity for both invaders that showed massive support for their totalitarian rulers. Add timeline and indication of distance to the maps.
I could not support this statement more! BTW: Smolensk has always been a key fortress on the Polish-Russian border. Polish in the sense of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. When we lost Smolensk to Russia in the 17th century, nothing could stop the Russians from advancing further westwards.
YOU MADE a slight MISTAKE. The order for Army Group Center's two panzer groups to turn northward and southward respectively was issued on 23 July as part of _Addendum to Directive No. 33_, not on 19 July. In the initial _Directive No.33_, which was issued on 19 July, there were no explicit instruction for the panzer groups to swing northward and southward; instead, Army Group Center (AGC) was simply asked to aid Army Group South in enveloping Soviet forces and to protect the flank of Army Group North. No instructions were directed at the panzer groups of AGC.
I think Hitler was worried about manufacturing in Leningrad ( perhaps this should have not been a priority target as he may have not had enough units ) and the oil and agriculture in the south. He may have thought this success proved the German center didn't really need these troops but the south did. The German generals thought capturing Moscow would win the war. I believe that was a mistake. But capturing the oil and Ukraine would have been more useful. Germany didn't have the fuel for everything.
The Wehrmacht was gonna run out of oil by September 1941 after the attack on the Soviet union started and the oil imports from the Caucasus stops. Watch the video on Germanys Oil shortage by TIK
Tik is overexaggerating the shit out of everything, the only major Oil shortage occurred in August of 1944 after the Soviets captured the Romanian oilfields.
Because they were overstretched and Soviet numerical and performative superiority gradually increased so any major offensives were pointless as they wouldn't be able to encircle larger amount of enemy troops which is the whole point of German offensives. Secondly, other fronts became active after 1942, so more and more German troops and equipment were diverted to other sectors so the Germans were unable to concentrate enough troops on such large front. From 1943 onwards, only 57% of the German troops were present on the Eastern Front, while the year-earlier it was up to 80%. It is much more complicated than muh oil and other crap Tik is sperging about.
i understand your view but its true that even 1941 Germany was suffering fuel shortages in industry and at the front. "Luckily" the logistical issues that Germans had to life with meant that the fuel problem didn't show it self as prominently, since even if there had been unlimited fuel the Germans would have had problems supplying it to the panzer armies, like it occurred at the time .
These are also major factors that you listed, no question about that. Tell me, what is your source for that 57%? Regardless the number of German troops always increased on the eastern front throughout the war, the overall % of troops might decline since new formations were being raised etc
@@antoinemozart243 Glanz is a pro but fresh eyes can often diagram movements and assign positions better , Glanz will describe the Russian movements better as he has spent years going thru the Soviet Archives post collapse
My paternal grandfather is missing in action after encirclement near Smolensk presumed dead. They broke up into several smaler groups to break out through German lines. His group never made it, several others did.
Thrown carelessly in to the battle by the Soviet commanders who didn't care for their lives? Really? in the battle of Smolensk, all Soviet Divisions were fully staffed for the first time since the beginning of the war... Naturally troops had little training but they were fully equipped. Soviet Defense at Smolensk basically derailed BlitzKrieg Guderian is an idiot who only knows how to march forward and report. German panzer divisions incurred heavy losses... The only mistake Soviets did is risky preemptive strike on the Germans (because the defense was weak anyway), and did attack through Soviet own minefields. Gamble? Yes was it worth it? probably not.
what else would you call it bro ? really ? in the third battle of Kharkov (1943 ) soviets lost up to 80k men to 5k - 10k waffen ss, What army achieves these rates without incompetent generals .
Thanks for this. Might you do one of these on the Soviets retaking Yelnia. Idk of how much stratigic importance it is but I recently read how it was the first German retreat on the Eastern Front.
The lost 'political' gain from NOT attacking Moscow is the real strategic error that cost Germany so much. Had Stalin been forced to LEAVE Moscow would have shocked the American public and Congress probably would have voted to stop any further Lend/Lease aid. THAT.. would have been devastating for Churchill whom history NOW knows put his country's own survival at stake in having a second front stifle AH☠️. Plus there's Japan, watching from the sidelines, contemplating the 'Northern' approach. Without Stalin in firm control the Ukrainian resistance would collapse and if THAT happens then Russia is doomed.. 💀
Great vid. Can you tell me what sources you used? eu in German is pronounced oy as in toy. But we can call the Nazi part Dooshbags. I thing - I’d like to see scale on the maps
Great video :) However, dont agree with your assesment targetting Moscow. Since the attack on Kiev had stalled, going south to secure Ukraine was very important in order to later launch an attack against the oilfields in Caucasus. If the Halder would have prioritized the southern front instead of Moscow in order to take the oilfields earlier than end of 42, like Hilter wanted, the war could have been very different.
No I disagree. It was impossible to take the Caucasus oil before or after Smolensk. Because they had no viable strategical goal now after the first month. Hitler didn't want to take Smolensk and was targeting the south and the North , leaving just a defensive line, like you said. But Hadler ( and Von Bock) said it was impossible because the Soviets were too strong in the centre and would crush the defensive line which would lead to a dangerous weakening of the North and southern front (with the Kiev problem not solved it would have been suicidal like you said). Smolensk is the inevitable strategical turning point. A tactical victory for the Wehrmacht but a disastrous strategical defeat. They lost one third of their potential and too much time.
Если хорошо задуматься , то немцы под командованием талантливых генералов Вермахта покрошили и разгромили очень большие воинские соединения РККА ! Это позор , просто позор СССР ! Только под Смоленском уничтожено 7 армий сколько человеческой массы взято в плен и безвозвратно потеряно ! Разве это можно сравнить с потерями Франции , с потерями Польши , с потерями Норвегии только один Смоленский котел их всех перевесит ! 22 июня 1941 началась война и немцы меньше месяца боёв уже были под Москвой ( от Смоленска до Москвы рукой подать) - Ужассссс ! И ещё русские гавкают о каких то сражениях и проявленном героизме только снимая кино тем самым удовлетворяя свое ущемленное самолюбие !!!!
The push to Yelnya was a major tactical blunder. 29th motorized was bloodied. In the north, IIRC, the 7th PD suffered a major defeat and was also bloodied. And when I say bloodied - were they even capable of offensive maneuvers at this point? Barbarossa ended here.
wow can't believe I just discovered this channel today. Fk the useless RUclips algorithm, it knows I love visualized war videos, but never once recommended me any videos from this channel. What a shame!
Why didn't you mention Zhukov? Also, of course the Germans had to postpone their attack on Moscow. They were held up at Kiev, they had Russians on the flanks of Army group center. You can't have an enemy on your flanks. Period. The Russians had to hold up their offensive on Berlin because they had Germans on their flank in Pomerania.
Most of the time it's true that you don't want to leave enemy forces on your flanks. However, the enemy on retreat can't counterattack. Soviet forces near Kiev were constantly harrassed and pushed by Army Group South and they wouldn't have time to counterattack the flanks. Besides one of the great things about Blitzkrieg is that by the time you form your counterattack the conditions of the battle have changed. Germans in Pommerania were surrounded and regrouping near Baltic ports so they had to be destroyed.
Well, if you leave Ukraine unchecked there are major factories there, including number 183 at Kharkov that cranking out T-34 tanks, not to mention that is where most of the population lived(1/4 to 1/3) giving an opportunities to raise more army reserves, and that is what happened in 1942 as Kharkov was liberated, Red Army got a lots of volunteers from the population that is been under ruthless German occupation, and willing to fight Germans to the bitter end. So if Red Army on the South been given time to regroup and rebuild then, then over extended logistics of the group army center could be cut, and without food and ammo, and more importantly fuel to group army center effectiveness would be nullified pretty quick before they can move back their mobile panzer units a few hundreds of kilometers away from Moscow.
Both armies were forcibly conscripted but the German training was longer and better (they could afford the former as long as they held the initiative).
11:40 great video! But Russian reserves had a quite alright basic training and weren’t as terrible as you make em out to be. That’s one of the reasons they won cause they had such huge reserves with military training. What you said fits more to Germany from 43/44 onwards
16,19,20,22 армии советов это войска второго стратегического эшелона для наступления комуняк на Запад , эти армии Сталин приказал выдвигать к западной границе СССР ещё до начала наступления немцев , для примера 16-я армия Лукина получила приказ передислоцироваться из Забайкалья на запад 26 апреля 1941 года .После уничтожения этих армий западный фронт организовали армии третьего стратегического эшелона 28 , 30 , 32 и т.д. , то есть это не армии призыва после начала наступления германских войск , а армии предназначенные для наступления в Европу Сталиным независимо нападет Гитлер или нет .До 22 июня 1941 года в Красной армии уже насчитывались невероятные 5,6 миллиона военных , туда не входили войска НКВД и железнодорожные войска , а это ещё более миллиона человек .
![Barbarossa Visualized: The Battle of Uman [August 1941] [Part 6]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/N4V1rew8oRs/mqdefault.jpg)
![Barbarossa Visualized: The Battle of Uman [August 1941] [Part 6]](/img/tr.png)
![[Barbarossa] The Major Errors and Blunders - Or why Barbarossa Failed](/img/1.gif)
Man, your videos are a dream come true! Subscribed!
I love your chanel too!
there probably not accurate
@@gbennett69 Where?
Same
Good informations and presentation of the front way in Russia, here battle of Smolensk!! I'm German, 56 years old, and my grandfather was an Ia- Officer in the 221. Sicherungsdivision (Infantry), which was installed in Breslau, now Wroclaw . He was in the area around the battle of Smolensk and Jelnja 1941/42 behind the lines. There were a lot of partisan activities in the forests and swamps near the front lines. Your videos are very helpful for me to understanding the whole war in Russia. My grandfather survived the east front battle, was four years in an officer prisoner camp in Russia and came home 1949 to Göttingen near Hannover to his survived family which escaped the battle of Breslau. The family of my mother came all from Upper Silesia, which became Poland...Congratulation for your work! 😎👍❤️
Its a bit of a myth to say the diversion of troops south was purely a decision of Hitlers. The original plan drawn up by a General Marcks and known as the Marcks plan called for such to secure the southern flank prior to proceeding to Moscow and may well have been the right thing to do. A rival plan; the SchoBerg plan called for troops to move north to capture Leningrad, secure the Baltic and its ports to assist supply, and free up troops for the assault on Moscow. Both plans had their legitimate reasons but the entire German command struggled to choose which one to pursue and as we know Hitler chose to pursue both. The far bigger problem was that soviet resistance around this time simply inflicted heavy losses on the Germans especially on the front line panzer and infrantry units and officer corps a few divisions being so devastated they had to be sent to France to be refitted and new recruits trained. Far too many men also remained in industry at this time and could not simply be withdrawn and sent to the front. They would be largely called up and replaced largely with soviet POWs in 42. The army wanted to do this in late 41 but soviet POWs by then were in such poor condition they feared employing them less they import a typhus epidemic into the Reich so by the time the Germans reached Moscow most divisions were desperately short of well trained battle experienced men, officers and equipment very few divisions listed as fit for offensive operations and many of these problems were thanks not so much to Hitler but to the Generals who simply didnt plan for such losses expecting as many did for the Red army to collapse after the fall.of Smolensk and Kiev especially.
Fly Hi ooops we need more peeps!
Hitler's general didn't understand the economic aspect of the war. Hitler knew that capturing Moscow won't get him anything but capturing Ukraine and the Caucasus oil will give him a fair chance to win. His generals didn't listen to him. They wanted Moscow, God knows why.
Yes. Very excellent testimonial. It's absurd to observe now in hindsight but it's been written that AH☠️ said that he was shocked by the heavy Soviet tanks and would have rethought his decision to attack Russia. The decision to stop the attack on Moscow was right. Kiev fell solidifying the takeover of Ukrainian wheatfields and Leningrad was nullified. PERFECT opportunity to 'dig in' and get Sweden to set up peace talks! Churchill shits his pants and Roosevelt quivers. Reinforce ROMMEL and take the Suez. Game, Set, MATCH..
Yes. And regarding Moscow this was the conclusion reached by two separate wargames run by Alfred Jodl and Friedrich Von Paulus’s teams in late 1940 at the request of Hitler: they can reach Moscow with their last reserves and they can not guarantee we will take it. Exactly what happened. However, Germany was on a timer. The more they waited, the more the Allies would transform their bigger economic power advantage into military might and win. So they decided to attack and improvise on the run…
My grandma was living in Sloboda village near Smolensk and was kidnaped to Germany for slave working. She went back home at 1945.
So happy your grandmother survived
В Германию народ уезжал добровольно , не бреши гэбнявое
@@voicevoice2053она сама туда уехала , добровольно ,это брехня
I’m so sorry the Nazis were evil bastards .
@@sergiiyershov5795 Крым САМ добровольно переехал в РФ?
Smolensk was the turning point. A tactical victory for the Germans but a huge strategical defeat for them. They lost one third of their potential there ( material, )and too much time. But this turning point was inevitable because the OKH and Hitler had no viable general strategical objective after the first month. This is why they disagreed. Barbarossa was already over after Smolensk.
Very nicely done with great visualizations and a great summation at the end.
Very well done and is very comprehensive.Impressed am I
ian mcleod my great grand father was from Smolensk , im too . He in last battle near reichstag
Thank you Yoda.
The redirection of Panzer army to Ukraine ended up with the Kiev pocket - the largest pocket in history; it broke the stalemate along the Dnepr and the Germans managed to cross the river and take over Ukraine before 1942. But most importantly, Army group South advanced to the flank of Army group Center.
If Hitler ordered to advance to Moscow instead, the whole, I repeat, the whole strength of Army group Center would probably be isolated in winter 1941-42 as AG South would be far behind its flanks, and Soviets would still have up to +1.000.000 troops on the Dnepr river.
So, maybe after the war the German generals accuse Hitler for this decision, but I guess if it went the other way around they would still accuse him for choosing the other thing.
Hitler was adamant that Leningrad needed to fall first before on to Moscow. Also the German Military needed time to *"handle"* Smolensk as Russia threw everything they had at retaking then holding this critical space...far more than just the City but certainly there was that.
Great work!
You have a new fan. Awesome job. Keep 'em coming
Very very good. Antony Beevor,s effort, Stalingrad is also fabulous but harrowing reading on this, and all battles till the the fall of Stalingrad and the capture of the 6th Army.
There were no corps level formations at this point in the war.
There were armies-divisions-brigades.
It wasn’t until late 1942 that mechanised corps were introduced into the order of battle
I like your videos. You have the correct view of war: a terrible waste of the best humans, who we need to build a future
So, What's the solution: Simple: Hire the best. People who are trained, tested for competency and integrity. No one, let me repeat, No in government knows what they are doing, not the president, not congress, not the governor, not the mayor, not the city council or school board. They learn on the job, at taxpayer's expense, with disastrous results.
That's why we have war. Our leaders don't know what they are doing.
There would be no war, if our leaders couldn't borrow money and charge it to our children. We are still paying $billions for the 1st World War. In fact, that could be one of the solutions to stopping these wars: Take away the power of these incompetent, immoral leaders to borrow money and charge it to our children.
Great series! I am creating one as well for YT, your one of my benchmarks for quality! Cheers.
Another fun fact: Poles also passed through Smoleńsk in 1610 when city was put under siege by king Sigmund III and captured. Though Polish forces ultimetly withdrew from Moscow the Smoleńsk remain in Polish hands for the next 43 years, threatening Muscovite capital. It was succesfully defended in 1634 and relieved by king Vladislav IV. Subsecuently another attempt on Moscow was launched but was stopped by winter. Interestingly at the same time Poles under hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski repealed Ottoman-Tatar invasion in the south at Sasowy Róg and Kamieniec Podolski.
Superb presentation easy to understand well done
Battle of Smolensk was when Hitler realized the Blitz had already failed and they were in for a longer war. They needed to straighten up the line of defence by helping the north and south army groups, also bring up supplies and tank spare parts. When the Russian winter offensive came, it was not just at Moscow but over the whole line and the Germans were still over extended. They were forced back in several places.
Excellent video. I totally agree with his opinions about this battle.
Excellent analysis. Thank you.
Thank you for this video. I had 3 Uncles die in this battle so it’s interesting to learn what actually happened on the ground.
Germans?
@@karimtemri1664 Ukrainian Jews in the Red Army.
I also had 3 great oncles fighting in this battle. They died later though, and one survived and made it back home
@@noukoukino yeah most of my family was murdered by the Nazis. All 5 of my Great Grandfather's brothers died in combat as Red Army soldiers (3 at Smolensk, 1 while liberating Leningrad, and 1 in Poland). Also his parents and 1 of his 2 sisters was killed at Babyn Yar, as they were Jewish. The only one of his siblings to survive was my aunt, who only survived because she was a skilled factory worker and was relocated to Novosibirsk at the start of Barbarossa.
@@kerryannegarnick1846 I am so sorry to hear that so many of your family members were murdered😔. My great uncles were German soldiers. I believe they were in the 35 infantery division and later the 4th. They almost made it to Moscow and they were responsible for so many Sowjet/Russian soldiers death😐, also in Smolensk. One of my great uncles was captured by the red army in 1943, I believe, and died later in a hospital. The other two most likely were taking part in a war crime in Bellarussia in 1944, even working together with disgusting ss nazis 🤮 as I just learned of today 😦😟. I really want to know more about these things and what exactly happened to my relatives as well. I had some documents from the red cross once, but I can't find them anymore
Good effort but most of the armored units depicted in the very beginning of the video never existed in the Battle for Smolensk 41.
Dude this channel is getting bigger, last time I saw this theres only like 4 people watching
underrated channel!
Really nice documentaries, thank you.
Tremendous video. Superb research and preparation. Amazing. Well narrated, too. Thank you.
The directive was correct - the drive on Moscow should have stopped at Smolensk, that is where the Germans should have dug in for the winter. The southern flank was secured in 1941 with a huge encirclement, they even made it to Rostov had they not attempted Moscow foolishly after that but just dug in along the Don they would have been in a much better position for the spring of 1942. They made the 800 km possible with German logistics. Either resupply and get ready for next spring or offer terms to Stalin. At this point it is obvious that the Soviets will not break as easily as the French.
The assumption that the army needs to be broken and the capability of the enemy to wage war needs to be taken away instead of territory was a correct one, just like the drive to Baku and the oil in 1942 ... however they vastly underestimated Russian reserves and will to fight, they did not calculate in Land-Lease and a whole Russian industry past the Urals untouched by bombers and the fact that the Americans will eventually figure out how to bomb Germany into being incapable of waging war and the staggering amount of casualties the Eastern front that Germany simply had no way of replacing.
A lot of information, yet so easy to follow. Your videos rock man! I'd love to know more about your sources.
Please keep it up, this is very appreciated.
Glad you like it. I put together the video from reading contemporary Russian and German maps.
@@zangwangdang, thanks for very good videomapping of the battle of Smolensk. One detail is missing though : part of the Mogilev group of the Red Army managed to break through the Wehrmacht encirclement and reach the main force of the Red Army in the Smolensk area. That's what I remember from reading the memoir of one of the commanding officers of that Mogilev group of the Red Army. This relatively minor fact about the battle of Smolensk is showing that by that time the Red Army generals learnt to use more maneouvreable defensive tactics.
Also I would like to hear (did I miss it?) the name of general Lukin who organized the defence of the city of Smolensk building it up from several weakened Red Army divisions. And it's notable to mention that in this particular battle there was the first time when we encounter the Red Army groups under the names of their commanders.
all modern historians --specially david glantz-- say H was right in wanting to liquidate kiev first (he made several plane trips to the front before making a decision). The 2-month battle between july-10 september is what really changed history bcse the battle slowed down and severely bled the wehrmacht.
Very good 👍
I think you've captured the essence of the battle, but there is something I dont understand. How can you make such a map without including a scale of miles/kilometers? A road network would have been nice too. But the scale is imperative if we are to understand the scope of movement.
Panzer groups at this stage of the war, not armies. otherwise, this was fascinating. I've often pondered the psychological impact of the Timoshenko offensive, the Germans getting an inkling of what's to come.
You've definitely got the wrong of what kind of Soviet troops were at Smolensk. At the start, the vast majority of the troops facing Army Group Center were either reserve fronts stationed in Central Russia or survivors from the initial onslaught of Barbarossa. None of these men were barely-trained peasants, but professional soldiers. If morale was low, it was likely because of seeing too much battle--losing battles, to be precise. Furthermore, the reinforcements called in as the battle progressed were among the Soviet Union's millions of strategic reserves. There was no need to press-gang random farmers medieval-style into the Red Army at this time, and by the time these reservists started to run out, the Soviets had already begun to churn out even more trained active duty personnel. Morale was certainly not low for these fresh troops, as Smolensk was the time when Soviet propaganda finally started to treat the "Great Patriotic War" seriously.
Equipment was a far more pressing concern for the Red Army at this time, as well as lack of coordination and proper command. It's easily the reason why two mechanized divisions, already battle-weary, could smash their way through the Russian lines--that, and the Soviets had had no time to set up a proper defense since stabilizing the battle lines in mid-July.
His troop numbers are wrong as well
. Most senior officers, corps commanders, division commanders and even Battalion commanders were killed by Stalin in the Red Army purge before the war started.. So the point is that trained or not Stalin helped Hitler by killing many of his Red Army soldiers.
@@rancan7383 As TIK describes in one of his excellent videos, Stalin's purges were not the main reason for a lack of trained officers. In fact, a large percentage of officers at all levels who had been fired by Stalin were not executed, 'just' sent to the Gulags. So many of the 'purged officers ended up being sent to the front when Barbarrossa was launched.
The key issue was that the Soviet Army was in the midst of restructuring when Barbarrossa began. During their war with Finland, the Soviets had learned that their armies & divisions were too large to be able to respond to rapid changes in tactical situations that were part of modern warfare, so Stalin ordered the Red Army to re- organize into a larger number of smaller armies ('fronts'), and each army was being broken down into a greater number of smaller divisions (btw...this was a re-organization that the Germans also found to be necessary).
The consequence of the restructuring of the Red Army resulted in the need for a huge increase in the number of officers to command the greater number of units. When Barbarrossa began, the Red Army had not trained enough officers to cover the re-organization that had already occurred. Last, but certainly not least, the tactic !used by the Soviets resulted in a disproportionate number of officers being killed. The consequences of these issues included a lack of sufficiently trained & experienced officers in the Red Army during 1941 & into 1942.
So, the purges were not the main reason for the lack of officers & poor performance of the Red Army.
Franz Halder kept a casualty count . Yelnya was the first succesfull counter-attack and I'm certain that it is shown in Halder's casualty figures.
As Hitler was held here long enough to frustrate him and make him change his plan is in keeping with Lao tzu' 'Art of War'. One's strategic goal is to do this.
What is with the idea that Soviet Commanders didn't care about their men? Basically, all commanders in history have cared about their men, and just higher casualties in early battles doesn't mean they had a complete disregard for their soldiers - I know it's early in the war still but later once their doctrine was more refined their casualties were a fraction of what they were then
Probably has something to do with stories about completely unnecessary executions, plotting and conspiracy against comarades, total lack of respect for human life in general, read a book on stalin alone, youll learn a lot.
Soviet Union had little regard for lives of their own citizens killing and starving to death millions. What makes you think they cared more about soldiers?
They took care of them, for example they privided them with worm winter clothes, which the careful German generals did not do.
@@pawelpap9 The Soviet Union took care of its citizens. The medical service was free of charge, my parents, my wife and I got higher education without paying for it. We ate healthy food beyond compare with what we eat nowadays, my parents got a flat from the Soviet authorities.
@@pawelpap9 "Soviet Union had little regard for lives of their own citizens killing and starving to death millions". Solzhenitsyn? He is a traitor and a liar. All those millions of russians, killed and starved to death by their own government, were invented by anti-soviet propaganda, spread by Solzhenitsyn-like bastards.
ANOTHER minor MISTAKE. The 29th Motorized Division captured the city center of Smolensk on 16 July, not on 22 July as your map suggests. Granted, they couldn't clear resistance in and around the city until 23 July, but your map steadily shows them as outside the city until 22 July.
For those who don't know: Smolensk is within borders of Russia so Wehrmacht swallowed Belarus and parts of Poland annexed by USSR in three weeks time...
I love your channel
Well presented. It is certainly plausible that had AH left his military commanders to decide the plan, then Moscow could have been caught. More importantly, the time period in which Stalin had the chance to call a million men from the east would have been eliminated. However, just winning a city does not mean a war win. For sure the psychological factor would have been powerful. With the loss of Moscow, I think Leningrad would have been isolated, cut off and quarantined and then starved out.
very nice work
I believe Hitler also stopped the Panzer Armies advancing until the pocket had been liquidated. Guderian wanted to carry on, and let the infantry deal with the 'pocket' - he was the guy at the Front after all.
Well presented. AH failed to follow Sun Tzu's The Art of War and sure enough he lost the battle for Moscow and the war. Now of course war is evil and AH never stood a chance of winning WW II but he might have prolonged it and perhaps achieved development of the Atomic Bomb and then either stalemate or annihilation of opposing sides in a nuclear exchange.
Also loved the video as well. I believe Smolensk was taken back in 1943. PS enjoyed the Platoon track.
Moskow was a red herring. Most of the material wealth was in the south. In 1942, that is the focus of attacks.
I'm brazilian, south america, city Uruguaiana, border with Argentina, very good your work, congratulation sir !!
German office say: ''We are a big elephant, the Russians are millions of ants, the elephant will step on and kill thousands, but in the end the ants will kill the elephant leaving it on the bones, and so it happened''!
All Hitler's generals disagreed with this. That is false, Guderian and Halder naively thought the capture of Moscow would have brought about the Red Armies defeat. This is wrong. The entire plan of Barbarossa revolves around the destruction of the Red Army and seizing the food and material resources of the Ukraine and Southern Russia. Therefore Army Group South should have been prioritised and reinforced(which occured here when Guderian was ordered South. The slow progress through the Ukraine was based on a decision by Stalin to protect the Ukraine, which he assumed the main German effort should have been focused.
Halder and Guderian were fools who knew next to nothing of the overall wider strategy and economics which dictated the war.
Full marks ! Fantastic video :)
Great video thanks
You make very excellent and informative videos. I hope there will be more. Thanks for your work.
Gross Deutschland is not pronounced as "Douche-land" but rather "Doy-tch-land". Good info and presentation.
Well they WERE Douches.
Please learn how to pronounce things properly. All other nations do, except the English speakers. ruclips.net/video/WgObmBjS_qo/видео.html
Seeing as he hasnt fixed it, I guess he wants to look like a dummkoph.
You realize not all "English speakers" mispronounce German words...
@@Benamon9get your facts straight idiot...dont believe the "history channel" and Hollywood
the AGC supply needed 45000 tonnes, only 30000 could move the hard Soviet roads, -RS Stolfi "Hitler's Panzers East"
Attacking Moscow without enough fuel is a terrible idea.
...Stalin "cared little about death..." How about Stalin, as had millions upon millions of Soviets, had seen that the Hitler armies--not just the Einzattsgruppen and the SS and the police units, but very, very much the Wehrmacht as well--were on a genocidal slaughter that explicitly included all Jews and any even slightly resistant civilians of any ethnicity, and that while fighting them meant the very great possibility of death in battle, relenting meant at best enslavement and, perhaps more likely, slaughter in any case? The Nazi army fought a decidedly different war in the East, and it would have been foolhardy to think they would do otherwise. I am disgusted by the Wehrmacht generals, and solidiers too, who say they were "devils" and "beasts" because they fought for their lives; they realized that they would not be treated like the French or the Dutch, but like the Poles, and probably worse...
Great job, keep it up.
How history would have been changed if Von Bock had been given operation authority
14:38 Don't be so sorry for German troops or Soviets. They got what they had asked for when two imperialistic states collectively started total war in September 1939. From the beggining both Germans and Soviets commited atrocities against civilians and soldiers. So no pity for both invaders that showed massive support for their totalitarian rulers.
Add timeline and indication of distance to the maps.
I could not support this statement more! BTW: Smolensk has always been a key fortress on the Polish-Russian border. Polish in the sense of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. When we lost Smolensk to Russia in the 17th century, nothing could stop the Russians from advancing further westwards.
What atrocities soviets committed? Killed 40k Polish POWs and 30k politicians VS Germany eliminated 6 mln Jews in Poland and 17 mln civilians in USSR?
Minor error in OOB for 3rd Panzer Army: 19th Panzer Division was also part of the army, alongside the 12th Panzer Division.
Capture Smolensk in July yet don’t move on Moscow until December ! What took you so long ??
YOU MADE a slight MISTAKE. The order for Army Group Center's two panzer groups to turn northward and southward respectively was issued on 23 July as part of _Addendum to Directive No. 33_, not on 19 July.
In the initial _Directive No.33_, which was issued on 19 July, there were no explicit instruction for the panzer groups to swing northward and southward; instead, Army Group Center (AGC) was simply asked to aid Army Group South in enveloping Soviet forces and to protect the flank of Army Group North. No instructions were directed at the panzer groups of AGC.
nice work - you have another subscriber
Geee, it must be a lot of bodies of dead soldiers burried along this route if even Napoleon passed and fought there!!!
Like dead body highway???🧐🤔😟
Thanks!
Excellent job!
Very well made mate.
I think Hitler was worried about manufacturing in Leningrad ( perhaps this should have not been a priority target as he may have not had enough units ) and the oil and agriculture in the south. He may have thought this success proved the German center didn't really need these troops but the south did. The German generals thought capturing Moscow would win the war. I believe that was a mistake. But capturing the oil and Ukraine would have been more useful. Germany didn't have the fuel for everything.
The Wehrmacht was gonna run out of oil by September 1941 after the attack on the Soviet union started and the oil imports from the Caucasus stops. Watch the video on Germanys Oil shortage by TIK
Tik is overexaggerating the shit out of everything, the only major Oil shortage occurred in August of 1944 after the Soviets captured the Romanian oilfields.
Yeah sure lmao then why did the offensive tone down in scale each year
Because they were overstretched and Soviet numerical and performative superiority gradually increased so any major offensives were pointless as they wouldn't be able to encircle larger amount of enemy troops which is the whole point of German offensives.
Secondly, other fronts became active after 1942, so more and more German troops and equipment were diverted to other sectors so the Germans were unable to concentrate enough troops on such large front.
From 1943 onwards, only 57% of the German troops were present on the Eastern Front, while the year-earlier it was up to 80%.
It is much more complicated than muh oil and other crap Tik is sperging about.
i understand your view but its true that even 1941 Germany was suffering fuel shortages in industry and at the front. "Luckily" the logistical issues that Germans had to life with meant that the fuel problem didn't show it self as prominently, since even if there had been unlimited fuel the Germans would have had problems supplying it to the panzer armies, like it occurred at the time .
These are also major factors that you listed, no question about that. Tell me, what is your source for that 57%? Regardless the number of German troops always increased on the eastern front throughout the war, the overall % of troops might decline since new formations were being raised etc
Nice videos.. just gonna advise on pronunciation: it's "doytchland" and "dahs reich" ... looking forward to the rest! Great work so far
LMAO GROSS DOUCHE LAND !!! LMAOO i lost it when he said that .. but great video
Hol up.
Dross Doucheland is waaay funnier.
Very good video with clear maps and unit designations ... better than Glantz! Good narration, too. Please keep it up.
Better than Glantz !!!! Hahahaha. It is better to read that kind of bullshit that beeing blind !!
@@antoinemozart243
Glanz is a pro but fresh eyes can often diagram movements and assign positions better , Glanz will describe the Russian movements better as he has spent years going thru the Soviet Archives post collapse
Awesome video will be there this summer
0:20 is that a tiger in the background?
very entertaining series
My mother`s grandpa died here, but five months later.
My paternal grandfather is missing in action after encirclement near Smolensk presumed dead. They broke up into several smaler groups to break out through German lines. His group never made it, several others did.
Great details!! Great job!!
Thrown carelessly in to the battle by the Soviet commanders who didn't care for their lives?
Really?
in the battle of Smolensk, all Soviet Divisions were fully staffed for the first time since the beginning of the war...
Naturally troops had little training but they were fully equipped.
Soviet Defense at Smolensk basically derailed BlitzKrieg
Guderian is an idiot who only knows how to march forward and report.
German panzer divisions incurred heavy losses...
The only mistake Soviets did is risky preemptive strike on the Germans (because the defense was weak anyway), and did attack through Soviet own minefields. Gamble? Yes was it worth it? probably not.
what else would you call it bro ? really ? in the third battle of Kharkov (1943 ) soviets lost up to 80k men to 5k - 10k waffen ss, What army achieves these rates without incompetent generals .
Good video and narration, when is a new video coming out ?🇬🇧
Nice video and design
Love the Barber at the end.
Wounded mean is capture ? Or wounded but not capture buy germany ? Or All wounded Scape tobSoviet ? What is Deep Wounded mean here ?? Thanx
VERY NICE WORK EXCELLENT !!! THANK YOU FOR THIS
Excellent! I am waiting for episode about Battle of Yelnia.
MOAR please!
Amazing 👊
Thanks for this.
Might you do one of these on the Soviets retaking Yelnia. Idk of how much stratigic importance it is but I recently read how it was the first German retreat on the Eastern Front.
Никакого влияния это наступление не оказало абсолютно , комуняки в очередной раз угробили десятки тысяч солдат в лобовых атаках
well done
The thought that the eastern front campaign would go tits up for the germans after this soviet debacle is still hard to come to figure out
The lost 'political' gain from NOT attacking Moscow is the real strategic error that cost Germany so much. Had Stalin been forced to LEAVE Moscow would have shocked the American public and Congress probably would have voted to stop any further Lend/Lease aid. THAT.. would have been devastating for Churchill whom history NOW knows put his country's own survival at stake in having a second front stifle AH☠️. Plus there's Japan, watching from the sidelines, contemplating the 'Northern' approach. Without Stalin in firm control the Ukrainian resistance would collapse and if THAT happens then Russia is doomed.. 💀
Wow what excellent content. Glad i found you
Great vid. Can you tell me what sources you used? eu in German is pronounced oy as in toy. But we can call the Nazi part Dooshbags.
I thing - I’d like to see scale on the maps
You need to emphasize the importance of Orsha in this Battle.
NO MORE BROTHERS WARS EVER AGAIN !!!
Great video :) However, dont agree with your assesment targetting Moscow. Since the attack on Kiev had stalled, going south to secure Ukraine was very important in order to later launch an attack against the oilfields in Caucasus. If the Halder would have prioritized the southern front instead of Moscow in order to take the oilfields earlier than end of 42, like Hilter wanted, the war could have been very different.
No I disagree. It was impossible to take the Caucasus oil before or after Smolensk. Because they had no viable strategical goal now after the first month.
Hitler didn't want to take Smolensk and was targeting the south and the North , leaving just a defensive line, like you said. But Hadler ( and Von Bock) said it was impossible because the Soviets were too strong in the centre and would crush the defensive line which would lead to a dangerous weakening of the North and southern front (with the Kiev problem not solved it would have been suicidal like you said).
Smolensk is the inevitable strategical turning point. A tactical victory for the Wehrmacht but a disastrous strategical defeat. They lost one third of their potential and too much time.
Если хорошо задуматься , то немцы под командованием талантливых генералов Вермахта покрошили и разгромили очень большие воинские соединения РККА ! Это позор , просто позор СССР ! Только под Смоленском уничтожено 7 армий сколько человеческой массы взято в плен и безвозвратно потеряно ! Разве это можно сравнить с потерями Франции , с потерями Польши , с потерями Норвегии только один Смоленский котел их всех перевесит ! 22 июня 1941 началась война и немцы меньше месяца боёв уже были под Москвой ( от Смоленска до Москвы рукой подать) - Ужассссс ! И ещё русские гавкают о каких то сражениях и проявленном героизме только снимая кино тем самым удовлетворяя свое ущемленное самолюбие !!!!
Decree 33 was a sign that the German army was not strong enough to succeed overall.
Hi Jack, what's the name of the music starting from 4:00?
The push to Yelnya was a major tactical blunder. 29th motorized was bloodied. In the north, IIRC, the 7th PD suffered a major defeat and was also bloodied. And when I say bloodied - were they even capable of offensive maneuvers at this point? Barbarossa ended here.
BTW... great job with the graphics! If only the Glantz books had such easy to read and understand graphics.
wow can't believe I just discovered this channel today. Fk the useless RUclips algorithm, it knows I love visualized war videos, but never once recommended me any videos from this channel. What a shame!
excellent analysis = well done
¿Por qué presentas imágenes, que originalmente están filmadas en 4x3, en formato alargado moderno?
"negligible" not "neglectable"
80 years ago
Thank you
Why didn't you mention Zhukov? Also, of course the Germans had to postpone their attack on Moscow. They were held up at Kiev, they had Russians on the flanks of Army group center. You can't have an enemy on your flanks. Period. The Russians had to hold up their offensive on Berlin because they had Germans on their flank in Pomerania.
Most of the time it's true that you don't want to leave enemy forces on your flanks. However, the enemy on retreat can't counterattack. Soviet forces near Kiev were constantly harrassed and pushed by Army Group South and they wouldn't have time to counterattack the flanks. Besides one of the great things about Blitzkrieg is that by the time you form your counterattack the conditions of the battle have changed. Germans in Pommerania were surrounded and regrouping near Baltic ports so they had to be destroyed.
Well, if you leave Ukraine unchecked there are major factories there, including number 183 at Kharkov that cranking out T-34 tanks, not to mention that is where most of the population lived(1/4 to 1/3) giving an opportunities to raise more army reserves, and that is what happened in 1942 as Kharkov was liberated, Red Army got a lots of volunteers from the population that is been under ruthless German occupation, and willing to fight Germans to the bitter end. So if Red Army on the South been given time to regroup and rebuild then, then over extended logistics of the group army center could be cut, and without food and ammo, and more importantly fuel to group army center effectiveness would be nullified pretty quick before they can move back their mobile panzer units a few hundreds of kilometers away from Moscow.
There are't any volunteers in Red Army. It should be remembered!
That is absolutely not true.
They called them (snicker) Hiwis @@88morflot88
Both armies were forcibly conscripted but the German training was longer and better (they could afford the former as long as they held the initiative).
11:40 great video! But Russian reserves had a quite alright basic training and weren’t as terrible as you make em out to be. That’s one of the reasons they won cause they had such huge reserves with military training. What you said fits more to Germany from 43/44 onwards
16,19,20,22 армии советов это войска второго стратегического эшелона для наступления комуняк на Запад , эти армии Сталин приказал выдвигать к западной границе СССР ещё до начала наступления немцев , для примера 16-я армия Лукина получила приказ передислоцироваться из Забайкалья на запад 26 апреля 1941 года .После уничтожения этих армий западный фронт организовали армии третьего стратегического эшелона 28 , 30 , 32 и т.д. , то есть это не армии призыва после начала наступления германских войск , а армии предназначенные для наступления в Европу Сталиным независимо нападет Гитлер или нет .До 22 июня 1941 года в Красной армии уже насчитывались невероятные 5,6 миллиона военных , туда не входили войска НКВД и железнодорожные войска , а это ещё более миллиона человек .