Tank Chats
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The Munich Agreement averted the outbreak of war but for Czechoslovakia, it meant giving way to German occupation. Join David Willey to discover how Germany was able to use the countries existing military outputs to build the tank destroyer, Hetzer.
00:00 | Intro
00:28 | The history of the tank destroyers name
14:55 | Wartime production
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"Czech situation deteriorates in the late 1930s" - lovely bit of British understatement...
Well he surely can't say "we sold them to Germany".
@@Grisu1805 this what the Czechs say.
@@2ndviolin And he pretty much did say that - 'sold down the river' is an English euphemism for it...shameful episode. 😢
The Czechs call the "Munich Agreement" the "Munich Betrayal". The modern Czech army would have put up a fight, just like the Poles did with much older equipment. Yes, the Germans would have gone around the Czech fortifications, probably through Poland, but giving the Germans all that industry was a strategic error.
@@TallDude73 Was it? Frankly the UK going to war in 1938 would have been an even greater strategic error, it had not long started its rearmament and was in no way ready for a war. Think about it, what was the front line RAF fighter of 1938? The Gloucester Gladiator, a Biplane. Yes, Hurricanes were starting to enter service but only just, and Spitfires were still months away. If anything France was in an even worse position, neither country was ready for war in 1939, let alone 1938. And this is something that people consistently fail to understand. Yes, Germany was weaker in 1938 than it was a year later, but so were Britain and France. Frankly I do not believe it would have gone much differently, and may well have gone a lot worse. Could you imagine a Battle of Britain fought with Biplanes? What do you think the result would have been if the RAF was flying those against the Luftwaffes modern monoplanes? Was it a betrayal, yes, I happen to agree there, however I also cannot see that Britain and France had many other choices, not really. Both knew they were not ready for war, both knew they needed time to rearm and modernise their militaries. Could you argue that they should have started earlier? Sure, but that is with the benefit of 20:20 hindsight.
4 Hetzers in the bush are better then 1 Jagdtiger broken down on the road
Hetzers were who brought Pattons Hammelburg raid to grief.
My grandma use to tell me that every day, never knew what she meant until now
Agree the Jagtiger total waste of resources should have melted everything they could find make more Panzer 4's or copied T-34
At the end of the war German tanks were mostly camouflaged at the factory or in depots instead of leaving the camouflaging up to the crews. Czech factories did this as well, but ran out of German paint, so they used old Czech army colors still in stock. This vehicle has the Czech camouflage scheme painted on it. You see many pictures of wartime "Hetzers" in this very un-German scheme. Mr. Willey mentions that the scheme on the tank is correct but the colors are not and he is correct. The colors should be Czech Army olive green and dark brown with a cream colored paint used in spots between the two main colors.
Cool stoy. Is there any evidence for that? I am asking because the pattern isn't ungerman at all - Late Daimler-Benz Panthers have almost the same.
@@krautreport202 The Eastern Front, Armor, Camouflage and Markings 1941 to 1945, squadron/signal publications, by Steven J. Zaloga and James Grandsen
Might be helpful when overrun by Russians. My grandfather pretended to be french to get out of Russian captivity
@@CHMichael Tragic that he got away.
@@CanadianCCP you Commies are no better than the Nazis so get off that high-horse of yours.
Jagdtiger lurking in the background: “Little friend, fear not the camera men, I will look after you.”
it broke down it won't be helping anybody.
Yes... the biggest, heaviest AFV of ww2 with its128mm gun watching over the "little" Hetzer is perfect. The Hunting Tiger was originally designed with the vast Russian Steppes in mind where it could stand away at considerable distance and destroy enemy armor at will. But by 1944 when it made its first Combat debut? It was relegated to fighting in close quarters combat which it had never been designed for. Inexperienced crews and commanders, American fighter bombers? Not good. Also, a few surviving examples were inspected by the Allies after the war. They were amazed at the amount of factory sabotage that was apparent in them. Cigarette and cigar butts, dirt, grass, etc shoved into hydraulic lines. Tools intentionally left in transmissions... wires crossed on purpose. The list goes on. I was lucky enough to check out the Jagdtiger at the Armor & Calvary museum at Fort Benning... It is HUGE!! 👍🏾
"Oh no, you've broken your hip!"
Cringe
The Hertzer destroyed more allied tanks than the Japdtiger ever did.
Many years ago I worked for somebody who had driven Churchills (and later Shermans) in Italy, he said his least favourite thing was when they had to take a turn as a bait target for German ambush tank destroyers when it was suspected there was one about..
Like the line in The Big Red One about how you find out if there's a sniper in an Italian village. "We send a man forward and if he gets shot you know there's a sniper. It took a West Point graduate to come up with that idea."
I adore Mr. Fletcher (International treasure), but I have to admit that I do enjoy and get much more out of Mr. Willey's tank chats. So much more history and historical context above and beyond the specs of the vehicle. Thanks for this, and a happy and safe new year to everyone at Bovington, and everyone here in the comments.
I'm much appreciate either man taking the time out to create a video for us. We're blessed
Same here. I prefer Mr Willey's talks.
I don’t prefer one or the other. Both are in their own field of expertise most adorable and provide us with different types and ways of insight. So kudos to both of them teaching us in this well done videos.
I'd prefer Mr Fletcher to be doing all the tank chats. Better yet... let each man do a chat regarding each tank. Best of both worlds, eh?
@@jerryjeromehawkins1712 maybe a tank chat betwen two experts........mmmmnnnn!
30mins on the Hetzer. must know it's one of my favourite tanks
Well tank destroyer or in German sturmghshutz. Or assault gun. I think I spelled it wrong in German whatever.
Oh meant to really say the Hetzer is awesome small target with a hard hitting main gun.
@@juliusdream2683 it tiny on the inside. I've had the pleasure to be driven around in one (gunner position) a couple years back. It's small, you can't really see anything outside but man is it an awesome little vehicle.
@@juliusdream2683 Tank Destroyers and Assault Guns are different btw ( The Hetzer is a ligh tank destroyer)
Willy's going to hetz bro
One tiny quibble: in WWI, Germany and The Austro-Hungarian Empire, along with Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire, were known as the Central Powers, not the Axis as in WWII.
don't think anyone cares.
@@timyo6288 But they should. And if they don't, that's a problem, when the historic realities of both wars are mixed and thrown together.
@@timyo6288, well, 15 upvotes say otherwise. Happy New Year.
Yes, I came to comment that, but I said I should check whether somebody already commented it. :D :P
Also imdediatly noticed that. Mental blurring between WW I and WW II is a bit of an issue in historical debates. While WW I Germany certainly wasn't a saint it was more of a normal waring power than the genocidal monster that was WW II Germany, and while Austria Hungary played a big part in starting the war, the question of how started WW I is a lot more nuanced than with WW II.
It always amazes me that a vehicle that small could fit that gun, ammunition, the engine and the fuel tanks as well as four men inside that hull.
You would probably enjoy the 75mm recoiless gun armed citroen 2CV tank encyclopedia did a video on it recently, its basically the same concept in a totally insane French kinda way
It didn't fit it all well. The crew compartment was insanely cramped and an ergonomic nightmare.
I thought that was why the vehicle was deemed to have poor ergonomics? And then the visibility issue, with not being to easily see things to the right hand side (as per the video, I believe)?
The whole point was to put that big gun in the smallest chassis you could possibly manage.- look how it is well under 2 metres high. It was an ambush predator - imagine how easy it was to hide in a hedgerow.
And the sausage party going on inside too
Hetzer gonna Hetz! IDK why, I've always loved these small boi's with their reasonably big guns!
I have that on my Hetz on WoT's lol!!
@@richlozeau1665 yeah I'm pretty sure because the name became so popular it became a bit of a meme for an entire Squad of Hetzers to just chant "Hetzer gonna hetz gonna hetz gonna hetz go hetzer!" As they all adorably drive to their inevitable glorious deaths...
@@Shinzon23 Yeah your def right about that! No one blinks for Leroy Jenkins anymore either lol
' get into your Stugg, girl you got to prove your Stugg to me.'
I was lucky enough to take the last tour of the Littlefield museum before the collection was sold off and got to go inside the Hetzer that day. It was actually very roomy inside, not cramped like most tanks. I even too a picture looking through the periscope with the range finder visible. What an amazing experience!
Happy New Year to all especially all those at Bovington. Let’s hope covid is less of a problem in 2022 and the best Tank Museum on Earth sees record visitor numbers 👍
Here here
True words buddy ... true words. Lets cross fingers and hope for the best.
Ofcourse! support of these worldclass museums is a must. Visit/support them and also your local museums as much as possible. They are experiencing difficult times so keep them going. They are more important then ever for protecting / teaching history in the future!
I appreciate whoever it was that found multiple archive images of the different rear idler wheel in use.
Between the Chieftains Videos on the Hetzer having a look inside and going into the technical details and Mr. Willeys video on the history of it I go into the new year as a happy tanknerd.
Sir Willey to you! 🤭😝
And then there Lindy calling it a deathtrap
I think this and the Jagdpanther are the best looking vehicles of the era; something very sci-fi about them.
Definitely Jagdpanther, I still remember that Matchbox Model Kit of it.
In fact it had such a cool design and looked so sci-fi that one of the first big sci-fi wargames, "Battletech" incorporated the Hetzer as a far-future tank. Though for some reason they decided to give it wheels instead of treads, possibly so it didn't look too identical to the WWII version.
@@petrameyer1121 I remember that, with it's wall section diorama. I loved Matchbox for those little bases, they made all the difference.
@@paulmurgatroyd6372 yes, the 1/72nd kits Paul? I remember the artwork on the boxes making them hard to walk past in the store. For their size they had excellent detail.
@@jerryjeromehawkins1712 The soldier boxes also were excellent in detail, better than Airfix or Revell. But the material was very soft, the paint did not stick well to it.
1938: Allies sold Czechoslovakia to Germany for peace. 1940: Czechoslovakian tanks and arms in 7th panzer division are steamrolling through France. Ironic..
Modern historians ignore the reality of the times, technology, & the geography. UK couldn't have done anything militarily to protect Czechoslovakia from Hitler. Look how 'successful' they were helping Poland.
@@stephenarbon2227 Sounds like some anglo coping to me. Should've pissed on Chamberlain's grave when I was in England.
The reality of the situation was neither the french or british public or governments wanted another european war on a large scale of the 1st one, France was heavily politically unstable at the time and consensus was that a war over the sudetenland would simply not be worth it, in reality it was a german majority area which wasnt czech in large and hitler had somewhat of a claim on incorporating the germans there into germany, he said himself along the lines "I'm not asking for 3 and half million french to be opressed or 3 and a half million Brits to be opressed, I am merely asking for 3 and a half million germans to be released from czech opression, any people should have the right to self determination" and whilst the validity of the sudetenlanders being opressed is up to debate, it was correct according to his pan germanist claims that the sudetenland was german, the western allies knew this. It just wasnt viewed in the west as a worthwile cause to fight for, they still thought they could avoid a war with germany and went for it. Moreover, czechoslovakia was isolated in the east itself with the majority of its neighbours other than romania having active territorial disputes against it, and slovakian and carpathian discontent was gradually rising. Even if Britain wanted to do something about this, which nobody wanted really, they would of still needed France as well which was simply not happening. The munich agreement when it was signed was actually seen as a win in the west because of this, but unfortunately czechoslovakia fell into disarray after this and its political climate was terrible, mainly due to the czechs absolutely hating the agreement as they had lost tons of money on their sudeten forts which was their primary strategy for repelling invasion from germany, and were left mostly indefensible. Germany also supported Slovak independence advocates furthering this terrible climate, and Russian/Ukrainophiles in carpathia already founded a new state whilst poland and hungary both launched incursions into their respective claims. By now, british public belief had actually changed and in general the belief they could appease germany was beginning to change, but by now the czechs were already unsaveable, and germany eventually began its occupation of the czechs, which was resisted with little to no resistance other than a few skirmishes in prague, the czech president at the time was faced with a very tough decision in keeping intact what was left of his country, and didnt want to cause bloodshed in a war he knew would be ultimately unwinnable at this stage, and caved into german pressure. History isnt as clear cut as its made out to be. Dont want to start an argument, merely displaying the reality of the situation.
@@stephenarbon2227 More like you ignore the reality of the times. Germany had no army in 1933. Hitler did the night of the long knifes. In 1934 Poland wanted an intervention in Germany. In 1936 Stalin said he can send 100 divisions to Germany. Britain said it can send 2 divisions. Britain could have done nothing because a decade of pro German British foreign policy. There was also a German assassination attempt that would start as soon as Hitler declared war in 1938. This video will cover the topic: kzhead.info/sun/mdt9lr6BsIZsoGw/bejne.html
@@stephenarbon2227 They were unsuccessful in helping Poland because France chose to do nothing and France were in charge, seeing as they had the largest force in the field, just as they were in charge in WW1. They could have rolled through the Ruhr virtually unopposed if they'd chosen to. And in 1938 British forces were actually streets ahead of German forces, they just didn't know it. It wasn't technology and geography, it was politics and a million dead in Commonwealth War Graves.
Thank you for this memory of the Czechoslovak production of the ŠKODA and ČKD brands. To this day, many people are wondering if we could stand up to the Hitlers in the fight against Our armaments and the strongholds on the border with Germany. Thanks for this video.
I honestly believe if Czechoslovakia was consulted with. They would have been far more ready, and the impressive size of its army might just have given the germans such a bloody nose. The war may have ended then and there But history doesnt happen in a vaccume and so, its best to speculate it wouldv done pretty well
Really interesting video and a fascinating history lesson. Who would have thought that Hitler came up with sensible military ideas ? He not only got the Stugs upgunned and turned them into very effective tank killers,but I think he also promoted the upgunning of the Panzer lll ,which originally only had a 37mm gun. Fortunately he had far more impractical and stupid ideas than practical ones.
Hitler was not madman he was evil smart
@@Nef22 not super smart but above average certainly
Well you gotta give it to Hitler, he can't be such a bad guy. He was the one who killed Hitler, and that dude was so bad it makes up for a lot. Then again, I guess he's a bit of a prick. He did kill the guy who killed Hitler... 🤔
That anyone is surprised is testament to the effectiveness of the decades of Cold War propaganda about how every good idea was from the generals and every bad idea was a dictat from Hitler. Hitler made some terrible decisions and some great decisions. Same with his generals and everyone else. Specifically on the Panzer III, he ordered it to be equipped with a long barreled 5.0 cm gun, every senior person said it was impossible and they came back with a design that had a shorter 5.0 cm gun. Hitler got pissed and someone took the initiative to find a way to mount it and it was quite effective for the time. /Note that "good" is in a purely technical sense, not a moral one
The more the war went on, as we know now, the more he became literally demented and technically a methhead. The more the war went on, the more crazy his decisions became. I think there is a correlation.
I love the Hetzer! Saw one for the first time 42 years ago in front of the Bastogne Historical Centre near the Mardasson.
HETZER was always my favorite, first model I ever built as a young teen!!
Genuinely outstanding series of videos! One cannot beat the British for being an education to talk to. Amazing work!
Happy New Year to Messrs. Wiley, Fletcher, and Smith and all the brilliant staff and interns at the Tank Museum!
What a delightful choice! Thank you for taking the time to create this video.
Thank you, I never knew that the Hetzer was such a late comer to the battlefield. I had always presumed that it was developed around 1942 when they started pulling the Pz 38s, but nope, while they building a couple of Jagtigers they also started to build these things in job lots!
It’s great to see these videos that go into a more detail, would love to see more like this!
A 34 min video on New Years Eve thank you and Happy New Year. These are my most favorite videos the longer the better .
Lots of history and information on one of my favorite AFVs. Thanks for making this video. Well done.
Saw multiple of these and Stug III's while in service here in Finland. Never had the pleasure of seeing them drive around, though.
Where did you see them?
Really appreciate the time taken to provide a really detailed context in which this vehicle operated. Thank you!
Fabulous chat. Thanks David and TTM.
Outstanding presentation, thank you. Looking forward to my next visit to Bovington.
One of the best, most comprehensive explanations, and fascinating historical background, thank you
Great topic to finish the year on. Thank you!
Absolutely fascinating talk answered loads of questions. Great January 1st viewing. 👍
Welcome back David Willey!! Happy New Year to all Tank Museum friends!!
Excellent presentation on the Hetzer! Best I've ever seen! Thank you!
These Tank Chats by Mr. Willey always fly by so quickly. You then realise that’s nearly 44 mins bar a second has past by, shows how much the curator has captivated your curiosity? On to the next Tank Chat we go.
One of my favourite tanks! Thanks Bovington Tank Museum.
Perfect way to spend New Years. Have a healthy and plentiful New Year!
Very insightful video, thanks for the awesome breakdown of the history and the production of this vehicle. well worth the watch!
What an amazing and comprehensive video on the *Hetzer* Cheers to the tank museum!
One of the better explanations of the genesis 38T I have found. Thank you
Once in a pub, friend showed me pictures his father made of a destroyed Hetzer they used to play in after the war. And yea, as explained, the onlt part of the armor still in place was the frontal mask, all the rest was just blown off completely.
Good to see the master back. Another great presentation
Excellent video as always. Thank you.
Always loved the look of this tank, and quite enjoyed it in the early days of WoT.
Excellent presentation. Keep up the good work lads!
Love the hetzer! One of my favorite types of military equipment
Excellent stuff. An intriguing look into the vehicle indeed
Happy new year to everyone at The Tank Museum... I love watching your videos so please keep it up...cheers
Excellent program! The Hetzer is one of my favorite WWII armor vehicles. I need to build another one now in 1/35. :)
really enjoyed that chat. Very well presented thank you
Great looking vehicle. Love the light and shade paint scheme. The initial eight minutes are a very deep dive into the background of the Hetzer. Maybe a bit too deep. But can’t deny it was thorough. Thanks.
These are great because you get the whole historical flavor, not just vehicle/gun statistics!
I remember seeing a couple of these on a Swiss airfield in 1970, along with some de Havilland Vampires. IIRC, they kept some of the Vampires in use as trainers into the late 80s/early 90s!
Very thorough and accurate video. Thank you!
Good to see the size of the videos has gone up. I've always loved the content but wanted more :)
Super-interesting again! Thanks a lot!!!!
My first scratch designed/built 1/12 RC AFV with scale functioning final drive is a Hetzer.. Love it.
Very interesting as usual. Happy New Year to everyone at The Tank Museum. 💥
A New Year's Eve treat. Thank-you my friends. Let's hope for some bright sunlit uplands at Tankfest 2022.
Excellent review, this tank has a lot of history and it's very tech. It looks cool!!
Absolutely fascinating. I have no idea why I love this so much.
Great work Sir thank you
Thanks for the interesting background. Excellent!
Oh boy im gonna spend my new years eve watching this!
A good in depth explanation providing information I did not have.
Great overview. Thank you.
Outstanding video and presentation.
Fantastic discussion!
Fantastic film for my chill evening :)
Well done! That was excellent video
THANKS FOR ANOTHER GREAT VID , LETS HOPE FOR A BETTER NEW YEAR 🙏 😀.
I remember seeing this while I was at bovington earlier this month!
My favorite tank. Loved using this tank in World of Tanks lol
Thank you 👍
The Germans captured the Skoda works, now they own them.
Yep and they build much better cars then in the communist era, thanks to VW
That's Skoda Auto. Skoda Transport, descendant of the Skoda Works, is still Czech owned.
@@JamesCalbraith That's right, but Skoda Auto today is 10 times the size of Skoda Transport and neither of them produces military equipment anymore.
@@nigeh5326 had two Skoda ' s , never a VW...!!
Yep LOL, who won the Economic War?.
Love the tie. The pattern looks like tank tracks.
Nice, chunky bit of info there. Thanks for the detailed insights into the czech tank development.
Fascinating, happy new year
Fantastic video, so interesting, can’t wait to see what other tanks will be looked at in 2022
Excellent video 📹 Excellent vehicle, cost effective, deffen
Great briefing 👍
Hetzers gonna hetz!
I have a not-lego Hetzer that I think I may have bought from the Tank Museum - very happy with the model!
Great info. luv da "Hetzer"
Bravo !
A couple of factual errors in this 10:30 The Marder II had a Panzer II Chassis - the Marder III had a 38T Chassis. The Russian Anti-tank gun was actually the Soviet 76.2 mm F-22 Model 1936 divisional field gun used as an Anti-Tank Gun.
I knew someone else was going to pick up on this, a bit of a jarring mistake, to be honest.
Haha bugged me as well. One of the few errors I have spotted in these videos. But he is human after all.
@@jordansmith4040 I can't go to Yemen.. I'm an analyst
!t says Marder3
Amazing video the back story of the model really brought it to life. Very nice we’ll do e
Hetzer gota Hetz :) great video and hope you all have a happy New Year !
One of my favorite KZheads…hope one day I can make it to the UK 🇬🇧
This is the best channel ever ❤️
Interesting little tank, never heard of it, it's one reason why I watch this channel.
i’ve been waiting for this one!!
Tip top video I hope that Hetzer gets a correct paint scheme soon.
Wow this gent knows his facts!!! Happy New Year
That was brilliant.
Great video
30 min of the good stuff
I was lucky enough to go inside of jaques littlefields hetzer and was amazed at how cramped it was,sat in the drivers seat and wondered how he was able to see out of that small slit and drive that vehicle in combat.