Waffen SS "Das Reich". Russian Got Caught on the Bottom of My Armored Personnel Carrier.
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Today we will read the memoirs of a German soldier. Fritz Langanke served in the reconnaissance battalion of the SS Division "Das Reich" on the Eastern Front. He fought in the never seen before winter battle for Rzhev in 1942. It is also known as the Rzhev Meat Grinder. Rzhev was in the forefront after the successful Soviet counteroffensive near Moscow in December 1941. The battle for Rzhev went on from January 5, 1942 to March 31, 1943 with intervals of one and a half to three months. Over this period the Red Army conducted four offensive operations against the 4th and 9th German Field Armies of the Army Group "Center". The purpose of these offensive operations of the Red Army was to encircle and destroy the German Army Group "Center", and thereby eliminate the Rzhev-Vyazma Salient. This Salient was a threat due to the fact that German forces from it could attempt to assault Moscow again. For this reason, the battles here were extremely violent and intense.
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#history #easternfront #worldwarII #technic #wehrmacht
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Thanks for the maps. Greatly appreciated.
The Russians didn’t give a shit about human lives, result is what mattered.
Even to this day, with Ukraine they still have the same mentality.
Western allies and Russia never cared about human lives. Capitalists and communists only care about shekels..
That's a lie. You have no shame.
My father was there! Im not sure if he participated in this battle but he was Army Group Center, 3rd Panzer, Berlin Bears. Folded into SS battalion. He was very guarded about what he saw, but every now n then, a few beers(very rare for him) hed open a little. This is spot on. It wasnt just cold, but theee worst winter in like 40 years!! In russia!! My dad said they dug ditches...started fires in it...and drove the tanks and half tracks over them to keep the engines from freezing. He rode back of half track- communications- as part of a probe unit ahead of the tanks and artillery. Their boots had metal studs in the soles...well...the cold transferred from soles into their feet. Above EVERYTHING....he was scared SHITLESS of the Russians. Wanna know why Germans fought so hard?...they didnt want to get caught by the Russians. Even townspeople and farmers were scared shitless of the Russians. This memoir is spot on!!
Wow General Model!! MY father mentioned him...said he was a phenominal man and a great commander. Said because he REALLY cared about his men. He refused many orders from above because of that winter. What a sad thing for great men like that to end up as they did.
Thanks for your story.
Butchering a corpse to free the wheels of a vehicle. What horror. These kind of ghastly, personal anecdotes add so much to understanding more of what soldiers went through in WW2. Eugene Sledge's book "With the Old Breed" is full of this kind of thing. This KZhead channel is so great.
War sucks, please remember that.
OMG crazy ..what can one say .. Hell on earth .. Rip to all souls
The true Soviet losses is actually more like 2,000,000 men. I've read 3 excellent books by 3 different authors and all have the same statistics. "Zhukov's Greatest Defeat" by David Glantz was one of the best books written about these battles. All statistics came from the Soviet archives, opened in 1993, shortly after the fall of the Iron Curtain, Glasnost. "The Rzhev Slauauterhouse: The Red Army's 15-Month Campaign Against Armeegruppe Centre" by Svetlena Gerisimova, was the second excellent book. The 3rd book, I can't remember as I let a friend borrow it, and never got it back, but all 3 were excellent in describing all the campaigns launched by both sides in that area.
Glantz is pretty good western military analyst/ writer. What do you think about Anthony Beever? Have you read any of his many books?
@@FinnishCommando I heard of him but I've been so stuck on Glantz, haven't much time for many others just yet. I did read a book by Lev Lophukovsky; " The Viazma Catastrophe: The Red Army's Disastrous Stand Against Operation Typhoon.". That was exceptionally great!
@@FinnishCommandoBeevor is hard to stomach, in my opinion. Not only does he come off smug and arrogant, but he is fanatically bro-British (he's English) and if you read his revisionist style account of Operation Market Garden, you'll be left with the impression that the British paratroops single-handedly defeated the German Army in the West & that the operation was a success. Nonetheless, he draws a large audience and much praise from those who would rather read such fantasy narratives, than accept historical realities. Robert Kershaw is an excellent historian and writer who, despite being a retired British airborne colonel, always goes out of his way to tell both sides of each event in the pursuit of truth and digs deep for previously unknown primary sources for the men who were there. His account of Mark Garden "It Never Snows in September" is fascinating and instantly gives the impression of authenticity.
Zhukov was under huge pressure from Stalin. It's easy for a historian to write a book. Much more difficult to actually do it.
@@redtobertshateshandles Just like Manstein and many other generals were under pressure from Adolf Hitler. Hitler's meddling restricted his generals of their freedom of movement. The pressure from the dictators was existent on both sides.
Those killed in these battles number more than the population of North Dakota,where I live.🤯...😥
But according to the west, d-day was the biggest battle of ww2. Nothing of any significance occurred on the eastern front.
Yo be fair it’s the worst Dakota
@@anandnairkollam...MAYBE THAT WAS BECAUSE THE WEST WASN'T DOING ANY OF THE FIGHTING ON THE EASTERN FRONT?!! A PERSON'S POINT OF VIEW HAS A HECK OF A LOT OF INFLUENCE ON HOW THEY PERCEIVE THINGS... DUH-(?)
Don’t be so matter of fact.. you aren’t smart enough to get away with it.
@@daleburrell6273 as always. You on the west are always right. You just can't be wrong.
Incredible. Kept kicking ass.
Waste of good men on both sides .We never learn do we .Meanwhile their leaders were drinking and eating nice food by the fire .
Some of those leaders like Hitler already served their terms.
What a terrible tragedy.Good fighting men thrown away on the orders of an insane megalomaniac. Horrible existence for the men of both sides
This guy was on the TV series "Greatest tank battles" as himself. Knights Cross holder.
Listening to this guy's telling of his struggle in the cold kept me going as I put my winter tires on in the blustery conditions
LOL!
😂😂is that all?!! It made me run to the shop instead of walking to get my burger and fries. 150maway
Interesting and informative. Excellent photography job enabling viewers to better understand what/whom the orator was describing. The quick summer campaign syndrome. Caused all the first bite & mechanical issues with the well below zero wind chill factors. Along with not doing reconnaissance to find out. & identify all the T-34 tanks in reserve. The disillusioned leadership in Berlin didn't do their pre invasion home work. Therefore costing the eventual defeat/loss of the Eastern Front!!!
👍👍👍👍👍👍💙💙💙 Greetings from Brandenburg 🇩🇪 Udo
Thanks! I am glad to see you here again! )
Cheers from the States: prepare to go Viking. Again.
@@StalinLovsMsmZioglowfagzWas ist Wikinger Reise?
Greetings from Finland 🇫🇮❤️
@@FinnishCommandoIch habe ein Kanal aus Finnland seit 6 Monate 👍
Diary entry: “How in the hell did I end up here?”
Great story!!!👍👍👍
Very interesting, liked the maps.
We will never truly know the cost of this war. Especially if ya add in the MIA and those that later died in Gulag. Or the Russians and Jewish Russians killed by Stalin and Hitler . The number are probably close to 10-15 million people
It's historical revisionists who nowadays disparage Zhukov. This was in reality the continuing Battle for Moscow. The Russian soldiers were miraculously impervious to -50°C but they had no warm huts to advance to. Khukov and his Russians were holding the Blitzkrieg. Much respect and gratitude.
General Zhukov, not Khukov.
Very good video, but where do you find all these photos that i ve never seen even i read lot of books about ostfront
Professional long term research work!!! I was amazed by the photographer's professional skills!!!
Probably online. Most definitely astonishing pictures and I've never seen most of them either..
Thank you.
I’m thinking that infantry is not the best job in any army!
The losses in this brutal winter 41/42 costs the Wehrmacht and WSS the elite of their men and could never be replaced.
Typical Russians. "If we cant defeat them in battle, theyll have to call up their mountain units to traverase the giant piles of corpses we will leave them..."
Why Russian equipment never froze?? They used gasoline to dilute the oil before lubricating their weapons , and prevent it from freezing
The German reputation for precision and tight tolerances in manufacturing came back to haunt them. Loose tolerances work much better in those types of conditions. Guns, truck, everything.
It’s interesting to have the point of view of a “dreaded” member of the SS told in such a manner as to have one almost feel sorrow for them. I confess I am a little conflicted as I am of German heritage, yet wholly and un-apologetically American! I know - or rather I feel - there were decent men in SS commands. The author never mentions any atrocities, yet from his writing - if indeed was written as a diary and not many years later when memory clouds events - this man seems to be a decent member of a ghastly organization.
It's hard to phantom for me that the Russian loses of in this battle alone was almost as many as our the United States that we suffered totally during World War 2 but also its shows our regard for the life of our citizen soldiers by trying to use overwhelming force on our adversaries ie tanks air force navy quality of equipment etc still my hats off to the Russians to their enormous sacrifice I salute you
They had no choice but to run into the fire
@@krakrtreacysr907 you mean shot by the Germans or shot by the order of their political party members ?
The losses were far greater from this one battle than the Americans lost in the entire war but then the Soviets were fighting for their own country with limited resources at first whilst the Americans had the benefit of having secure safe production facilities and overwhelming material superiority by the time they eventually joined in
poor tactics and equipment.
@@peterrobbins2862 long before they joined in they gave to the Russians
Power hungry politicians should listen to one of these stories every day.
The Russians were also attempting to grind down Army Group Center through attrition!
These are all great stories. I would like to know the source and provenance for them.
Well, if you could have been bothered to Google his name supplied above, you would know........and in less time than it took you to write your thinly veiled accusation........
For your information, I did google his name. I was only able to establish that he existed. I didn't find any references to his diary or memoirs being published. Granted, I didn't search every corner of the internet. The burden of proof for the veracity of this story does not lie with me but with the publisher. If you watch any TIK videos he regularly finds errors in accounts given by soldiers and officers when compared to official military records. Some falsehoods occur without intent especially in memoirs (the memory can be a faulty record keeper). Some are intentional either to not appear in a bad light or for profit. D-Day Through German Eyes By Holger Eckhertz is a prime example of passing off fiction as fact for the sake of profit. The Long Walk would be another. It appears that many have been suckered into believing both works as true. If you can vouch for the veracity of this account, please share. I work a regular job and don't have time for research or traveling to Germany to view original source documents. This being a thinly veiled accusation is a misinterpretation on your part. Personally I have been enjoying all these historical accounts as I prefer this to looking at it on a strategic level. This specific story I believe as true. (You'll notice that I wasn't questioning this account specifically, but all of them in general. This is quite a volume of collected work). There are other accounts that were questionable at least in part.@@mark8544
tiene que haber sido terrible
It’s incredible how little known the battle of Rzhev is. However, I think the Soviets made large efforts to make sure it was so. It truly was a massive blunder on behalf of the Soviets. Operation Mars was a genuine disaster and only the decisive victory at Stalingrad saved the Soviets a huge set back and deprived the Germans of a huge propaganda coup. More so, the battle demonstrates the tactical brilliance of the German army in WW2.
Russian winters are brutal.
I lived on the canadian prairies for decades…. Can be very very harsh ( worse in the 1970s than now)
Das Reich Thats Right!
OMG -40
-51c 🥶😵
Ps. Greetings from BRISTOL, ENGLAND
Thanks ! Hello to you too !
Having listened to a few of these now…. The Russian battle cry was ‘Huurrraaaahh!’ Not hooray. Also…. Please stop saying ‘PZ’… They were never referred that way. Panzerkampfwagens. Other than that, great job telling these memoir/diary stories.
0k.
Sadly we will never learn until we go back to the Stone Age because our rash actions , even then we will probably fight with sticks and rocks - man is flawed with a predereliction for tribalism and violence 😞
Too many ads. When they monetized you tube it all went down the drain. Now it's greed and pure vanity on display. Presenters have no shame.
No matter what the nazis eventually eliminated
Stalin & Lenin too ? 😂
Who cares about them. We are Americans and will do it again @@motorrebell
My Aunt Wilhamena lost her genitals to frostbite on the Russian front
So originally he was your Uncle Wilhelm ? 🤔
Wilhelm von knutsacker. His testicles fell for fuhrer und varterland
Wilhelm got frozen baws then transitioned by the Russian winter?
WHEN MY FATHER GAVE ME & EACH OF MY BROTHERS ONE OF GRAND PAS WAR TROPHIES, I BEGGED HIM TO TELL ME HOW GRANDPA GOT AN SS LUGER? HE KEPT SAYING “IT’S NOT THAT EXCITING SON, ITS NOT” FINALLY I BROKE HIM DOWN! MY GRAND DAD WAS A U.S AIDE DE CAMP BASICALLY. HE MADE SURE GEN HE WAS ASSIGNED TO HAD COMFORTABLE SAFE ACCOMMODATIONS RIGHT BEHIND FRONT LINES: ON ONE OCCASION A TOWN CLEARED BY U.S INFANTRY WAS COUNTER ATTACKED & MY GRAND PA 45 IN HAND, FOUND HIMSELF BUMPED INTO, WHILE ENTERING A BUILDING, BY A YOUNG SS OFFICER. DAD SAYS HE PULLED THE TRIGGER POINT BLANK 5 TIMES, BEFORE HE EVEN PROCESSED WHAT HAPPENED. HE TOOK GERMAN OFFICERS GUN, HOLSTER WITH SHOULDER STRAP & HAT TOO. NOW THE WEAPON IS MINE. WAR IS A VERY STRANGE, ITS EFFECTS ON GOOD MEN….STRANGER!
How can they take such loss,the Commu.i can understand,life meant nothing,but for the Germans i would think they cared about their men,they did it was Hitler and some of those Nazi's,all a waste for nothing.The cream of the crop for both,all gone.
The German Army, the Best one at the time of this story.... It inflicted such punishments to the ruzzian orcs which prevailed only with the bestiality of large number and no respect for human life... The German Army always suffered the lack of servicemen ( and later on of weapons too) : it undermined any chance to win the war on eastern front...and Hitler, instead of beefing up existing divisions as war progressed, made new ones which were weaker and less equipped than the original ones. He only cared about the number of divisions on eastern front, not about their combat effectiveness... 🤔🤔🤔
Germany also did not have near the number of motor vehicles of all types, and did not have near enough fuel. The only source was the Romanian oil fields in Ploesti, which was no where near enough to meet the needs of the Wehrmacht (Heer, Luftwaffe, and Kriegsmarine). Germany also had a tactical airforce only. They had no long range bombing capability. They had no concept of "Strategic Bombing." One of Goering's many shortcomings.
One front economy four front war it was never going to end well
@@peterrobbins2862 Yes, and Hitler, trying to be strong everywhere, ended up strong nowhere. He had his forces spread out all over the map. As Field Marshal Erich Von Manstein said; " He who attempts to hold everything at once, ends up with holding nothing at all."
Come ho già detto in altra occasione se quel pazzo di hitler avesse fatto fare la guerra a Von Mannstein e Model i migliori generali della seconda guerra mondiale ( questo riconosciuto anche dagli americani!) sarebbe stata un’altra storia…..
Let's be honest.... Russia was able to outlast German military conquest because of Lend Lease. America gave the Soviet Union the supplies needed to hold off anti communist forces. Without that pitiful support Stalin would have been forced to a treaty or surrender. The military might of ussr is and always has been a myth.