All language subtitles for [English (auto-generated)] Operation Barbarossa - The Eastern Front. German Invasion of the Soviet Union - 1941 to 1943. [DownSub.com]
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[Music]
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these tanks are of course much more
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sophisticated than those things
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the german army and the soviet army had
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40 years ago
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and
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today
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all our forces in general europe are
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fully mechanized forces but in those
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days
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we had only about 10 percent panzer
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tank
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or mechanized forces on both sides
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and still these 10 percent
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bore the brunt of the better
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their tactics were decisive for the
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outcome of many
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operations especially the defensive
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operations
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and therefore i think even 40 years
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later it is quite appropriate
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to study
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not only the theoretical doctrinal
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principles of those tactics
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but also
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the skills the practical skills of
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commanders
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and troops of those commanders and
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troops who stem for more than four years
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the tide of this numerically vastly
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superior enemy
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[Applause]
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[Music]
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the german army which inflicted
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lightning defeats on poland in september
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1939 and western europe in june 1940
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was spearheaded by panzer forces which
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had been in existence for only four
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years
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the versailles treaty of 1919 had
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prohibited the development of modern
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offensive weapons by germany after world
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war one
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and so the first three panzer divisions
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formed in 1935
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were disguised as motor demonstration
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commands and the first tank as a light
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agricultural tractor
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[Music]
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this did not prevent far-sighted
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officers such as colonel heinz guderian
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from studying the writings of leading
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british exponents of armoured warfare
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fuller and little heart
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he used armored cars motorcycles and a
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tank guns and dummy tanks
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in exercises which may have looked
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primitive but were vital in developing
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command and control techniques
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particularly
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radio the first three models of german
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tanks were all lightly armed and nightly
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armored
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however the panzer iv weighed 18 tons
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and had a top speed of 35 kilometers per
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hour
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its gun was the somewhat inaccurate
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short barrel 75 millimeter
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despite its shortcomings it became the
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standard tank of the german army and
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remained in production until the end of
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the second world war
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while the germans were experimenting
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with dummy tanks
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the soviets had already begun creating
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powerful armored forces
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by 1932 soviet industry was turning out
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3 000 armored fighting vocals per month
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by 1935 the red army already possessed
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four mechanized cores each with one
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rifle and two tank divisions
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[Music]
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however soviet armor made a poor showing
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in the spanish civil war
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and it was decided to disband the
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unwieldy tank cause
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the winter war against finland was
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another disaster and gave the germans an
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exaggerated view of the red army's
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incompetence
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before the tank cause could be
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completely disbanded they were given a
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reprieve
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in june 1940 german panzer formations
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cut a swathe across western europe
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and even the powerful french army and
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british expeditionary force could not
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halt them
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in july 1940 in response to the german
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victories the red army ordered the
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formation of 29 tank cores each with a
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thousand or more tanks
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however not a single one of these new
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tank cores had completed its formation
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by the time the germans struck
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for example the 14th tank corps of the
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western military district formed in
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march 1941 with an establishment of 1023
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tanks
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including the new heavy kv and medium
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t34
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could only field 508 tanks most of which
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were worn out t26s
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in june 1941 the soviet union had about
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five million men under arms
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three million of these were to be found
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in the 170 formations and supporting
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units deployed in the west of the
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country
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the air force which was not a separate
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arm
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had 1 500 modern planes and thousands of
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obsolete
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[Music]
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ones soviet russia's western borders ran
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four and a half thousand kilometers from
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the barren sea in the north to the black
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sea in the south
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the
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3375 kilometers of land frontier was
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defended by 56 divisions to a depth of
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about 50 kilometers
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the second echelon containing most of
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the tank formations was to be found
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anywhere from 50 to 100 kilometers
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behind the frontier
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the reserves which also included a
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number of mechanized calls
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were deployed from 150 to 400 kilometers
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from the frontier
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at the outbreak of world war ii in
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september 1939
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the german army had 70 active divisions
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of which 13 were classified as motorized
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and five as panzer divisions
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a typical panzer division had a panzer
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brigade with two panzer regiments each
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with two pounds of battalions each with
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four companies of light tanks and a
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motorized infantry brigade with one
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rifle regiment with a motorcycle
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battalion and three infantry battalions
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in 1940 the number of panzer divisions
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was doubled but the tank strength of
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each was halved by reducing the number
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of light and medium tanks
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and replacing them by fewer heavier
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models with increased firepower
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the infantry component was increased and
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this made a more balanced formation
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before dawn on the 22nd of june 1941
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152 german divisions including 19 panzer
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and 14 motorized divisions and 29
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satellite divisions totaling some five
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and a half million men
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invaded the soviet union
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this huge force was divided into three
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army groups spearheaded by the panzer
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divisions
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army group north von leybe was to
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advance northeastwards to leningrad
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while his northern flank was to trap
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soviet forces with their backs to the
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baltic sea
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army group center von bok was to take
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the most direct route from brest litovsk
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to smolensk over the river at nipper and
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either north to leningrad or straight on
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to moscow a distance as the crow flies
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of one thousand kilometers
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army group south von runstadt was to
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advance with its 600 tanks on kiev and
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the nipper valley and destroy all soviet
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forces between the pre-patch marshes and
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the black sea
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[Music]
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skinned
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the artillery bombardment started at
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zero 400 hours and at about zero six
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hundred or zero seven hundred hours we
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crossed the bridge which had been taken
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by the infantry
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there were a few lights of your tanks
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amphibious steps but they presented no
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problem to us
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we pressed on fairly quickly in the
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direction of berdychev which was the
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objective of our attack and we had
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hardly any sleep since we drove right
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through both day and night with
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luftwaffe support until we encountered
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the first t-34s in front of berdychev
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my thoughts on crossing the russian
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frontier were as follows
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we were a very old experienced panzer
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division
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which had fought in poland and france
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and we felt superior to any opponent
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the russians were no real match for us
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this impression changed quickly on the
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very first day
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we crossed the frontier at tauragee
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and there we encountered russian
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frontier troops
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who fought so hard that by noon on the
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first day
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we had expanded
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all the ammunition
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in the panzer form
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in the first days of war german forces
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were advancing very swiftly and this put
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the entire staff of the red army in a
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state of shock as it were
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this state of shock stayed with us for
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quite a long time
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as far as i know the soviets weren't
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organized to fight until july or even
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the beginning of august
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this was in the region of stararusa to
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the west of novgorod but before that
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let's say in july the soviet army was
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retreating in such case
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that reconnaissance of the northwestern
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front had to send special detachment to
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find out not where the enemy was
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positioned but where the soviet units
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their own army was
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air superiority was another decisive
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factor
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by midday on the 22nd of june 1941 the
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luftwaffe had attacked 66 airfields and
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destroyed some 800 aircraft on the
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ground
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then after the germans enjoyed almost
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complete air superiority
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[Music]
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as the armored spearheads penetrated
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deeper into soviet territory
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they began to experience not only
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increasingly bitter resistance
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but the other problems of waging war in
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russia
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vast distances heat dust exhaustion and
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wear and tear on vehicles and equipment
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in many ways the soviet union was an
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ideal country for armored warfare
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but the enormous distances lowered the
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morale of the infantrymen who had to
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march most of the way so that the foot
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soldier often went into battle already
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exhausted
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russia had many roads but only one
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metaled highway from brest litovsk to
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moscow
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the other roads were little more than
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tracks
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the wooden bridges which crossed the
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many streams and rivers were often too
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weak to take the weight of heavy
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military traffic
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the soviet railway system left much to
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be desired
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since the tracks were a wider gauge
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every kilometer of line had to be
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narrowed
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the few rail heads assumed considerable
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strategic and tactical importance
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once supplies had been offloaded they
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might then have to be transported as
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much as 500 kilometers by road to the
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front
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by the autumn of 1941
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the red army had suffered a series of
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shattering defeats and encirclements
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and its losses in material and men were
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astronomical
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00:12:57,040 --> 00:13:00,320
the morale of the troops was so low
288
00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:02,480
that at the beginning of the war some
289
00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:05,600
soviet divisions and even some armies
290
00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:08,959
encircled by the germans didn't even try
291
00:13:08,959 --> 00:13:14,000
to fight back but gave themselves up
292
00:13:16,560 --> 00:13:19,200
never before in the whole history of
293
00:13:19,200 --> 00:13:23,040
russia had anyone seen full blooded
294
00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:26,399
fully armed divisions or cause
295
00:13:26,399 --> 00:13:31,600
surrender without a shot being fired
296
00:13:32,399 --> 00:13:35,120
at this critical phase of the operation
297
00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:36,880
when the germans had reached the line
298
00:13:36,880 --> 00:13:39,680
leningrad smolensk kiev there was a
299
00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:41,519
conflict of opinion
300
00:13:41,519 --> 00:13:43,440
hitler became increasingly concerned
301
00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:44,720
with the economic and political
302
00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:47,680
objectives such as the far-off caucasian
303
00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:51,839
oil fields and the ukrainian cornfields
304
00:13:53,519 --> 00:13:55,279
the field commanders insisted that the
305
00:13:55,279 --> 00:13:57,199
first priority must be the destruction
306
00:13:57,199 --> 00:13:59,040
of the red army
307
00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:01,760
the generals particularly guderian
308
00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:03,839
wanted to press on to moscow
309
00:14:03,839 --> 00:14:06,240
but three vital weeks passed before
310
00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:10,240
hitler finally decided on the ukraine
311
00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:12,480
the panzer forces were redeployed in the
312
00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:15,519
ukraine an army group south reinforced
313
00:14:15,519 --> 00:14:17,760
by guderian's tanks advanced into the
314
00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:19,560
crimea
315
00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:20,720
[Music]
316
00:14:20,720 --> 00:14:23,199
the offensive against moscow was finally
317
00:14:23,199 --> 00:14:26,800
resumed on the 30th of september 1941
318
00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:28,839
the sudden switch took the soviets by
319
00:14:28,839 --> 00:14:32,000
surprise and soon huge red army forces
320
00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,240
found themselves encircled at briansk
321
00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:36,320
and viasma
322
00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:38,560
when on the 16th of october these
323
00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:40,320
pockets surrendered
324
00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:42,399
army group center had taken one and a
325
00:14:42,399 --> 00:14:44,240
half million prisoners since the
326
00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:47,279
beginning of the campaign
327
00:14:52,399 --> 00:14:54,079
the way to moscow appeared to be wide
328
00:14:54,079 --> 00:14:55,440
open
329
00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:57,440
but when the first ominous fall of snow
330
00:14:57,440 --> 00:14:58,959
suddenly melted
331
00:14:58,959 --> 00:15:01,600
the roads dissolved into a quagmire
332
00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:03,519
and the german advance was reduced to an
333
00:15:03,519 --> 00:15:07,519
average of 12 kilometers a day
334
00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:13,279
there was so much in such deep mud that
335
00:15:13,279 --> 00:15:15,360
only large tractors could move
336
00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:18,160
tanks could move practice could move but
337
00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:20,399
no lorries with petrol or ammunition
338
00:15:20,399 --> 00:15:22,480
could move forward
339
00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:24,079
and we had to wait until the ground
340
00:15:24,079 --> 00:15:26,480
throws up again and when the frost came
341
00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:30,079
we were off again to moscow
342
00:15:33,839 --> 00:15:36,320
we pressed unfairly smartly and we came
343
00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:38,480
to a road junction north of moscow about
344
00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:41,120
25 kilometers from moscow and then an
345
00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:43,600
icy cold set in and also very stiff
346
00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:46,480
russian resistance
347
00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:51,519
the coal was so severe that our tanks
348
00:15:51,519 --> 00:15:55,480
were practically immobilized
349
00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:03,040
it was quite the coldest russian winter
350
00:16:03,040 --> 00:16:05,519
with temperatures more than 40 degrees
351
00:16:05,519 --> 00:16:07,120
below freezing
352
00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:09,440
and if one considers that at the time we
353
00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:11,519
had no winter clothing things were
354
00:16:11,519 --> 00:16:14,320
particularly severe
355
00:16:14,320 --> 00:16:16,399
as far as the vehicles were concerned we
356
00:16:16,399 --> 00:16:18,000
had difficulties in getting them to
357
00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:20,399
start in the mornings and sometimes we
358
00:16:20,399 --> 00:16:23,120
had to make fire under the motor as even
359
00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:25,279
with the jump starter the vehicles
360
00:16:25,279 --> 00:16:27,360
couldn't be started otherwise with
361
00:16:27,360 --> 00:16:31,279
everything stuck in the frozen oil
362
00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:36,480
the germans had fought their way over
363
00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:39,199
900 kilometers and moscow was just 30
364
00:16:39,199 --> 00:16:40,959
kilometers away when on the 6th of
365
00:16:40,959 --> 00:16:42,800
december 1941
366
00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:44,720
with temperatures below minus 30 degrees
367
00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:49,639
centigrade the offensive was called off
368
00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:51,920
the soviet supreme command sensed that
369
00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:53,920
the germans had shot their boat
370
00:16:53,920 --> 00:16:55,759
and with reinforcements arriving from
371
00:16:55,759 --> 00:16:57,920
the far east the red army went on to the
372
00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:00,920
offensive
373
00:17:08,319 --> 00:17:11,679
sad and also astonishing for us was
374
00:17:11,679 --> 00:17:15,039
that the russians with their t-34s paid
375
00:17:15,039 --> 00:17:16,839
no attention to the
376
00:17:16,839 --> 00:17:19,839
cold the siberian divisions that came
377
00:17:19,839 --> 00:17:22,000
here to europe just shook themselves and
378
00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:27,039
said oh how warm and fought us
379
00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:33,840
and the retreat naturally depressed us
380
00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:35,120
even more
381
00:17:35,120 --> 00:17:37,679
for the first time we felt that we were
382
00:17:37,679 --> 00:17:39,919
beaten
383
00:17:39,919 --> 00:17:41,760
in appalling weather and despite
384
00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:43,600
hitler's categoric order not to give up
385
00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:45,840
a single meter of soviet territory the
386
00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:48,000
germans were pushed back until they were
387
00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:49,760
able to establish a line east of
388
00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:53,600
smolensk south to the muse river
389
00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:55,200
there they remained until operations
390
00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:59,320
could be resumed again in the spring
391
00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:03,600
despite the optimism which continued to
392
00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:05,760
prevail in the furore's headquarters not
393
00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:07,440
one of hitler's primary objectives had
394
00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:08,799
been attained
395
00:18:08,799 --> 00:18:11,440
leningrad and moscow had not fallen
396
00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:13,039
while in the south much of the ukraine
397
00:18:13,039 --> 00:18:16,320
lay beyond germany's reach
398
00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:18,720
in many ways the soviets had contributed
399
00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:20,240
to their own defeats during the first
400
00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:22,240
months of the campaign
401
00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:24,160
by attempting a linear defense of every
402
00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:26,480
kilometer of their vast frontier they
403
00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:28,559
had spread out their forces so that the
404
00:18:28,559 --> 00:18:30,240
germans were always able to achieve
405
00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:32,880
overwhelming superiority in the areas of
406
00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:35,679
their main effort
407
00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:40,720
by placing their reserves so far back
408
00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:43,600
rudimentary communications bad roads
409
00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:45,039
lack of motor transport and
410
00:18:45,039 --> 00:18:47,360
inexperienced commanders meant that they
411
00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:49,600
were easily out fought by more flexible
412
00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:53,480
and mobile german forces
413
00:18:56,320 --> 00:18:58,160
the whole command system of soviet
414
00:18:58,160 --> 00:19:00,799
regiments and divisions is based on the
415
00:19:00,799 --> 00:19:03,360
principle of very strict subordination
416
00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:05,120
from top to bottom
417
00:19:05,120 --> 00:19:07,039
that extremely strict subordination
418
00:19:07,039 --> 00:19:09,039
existed before the war
419
00:19:09,039 --> 00:19:11,520
so the whole of the officer corps was
420
00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:13,919
trained to execute very precisely the
421
00:19:13,919 --> 00:19:16,080
orders received from above
422
00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:18,559
but just before the war many senior
423
00:19:18,559 --> 00:19:21,600
officers had been liquidated in stalin's
424
00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:24,400
purges and the newly promoted senior
425
00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:27,120
officers were quite unprepared to show
426
00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:29,840
initiative anyhow they were not expected
427
00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:32,480
to show initiative on the contrary it
428
00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:35,440
was forbidden by military regulations
429
00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:38,240
which specified that each officer and
430
00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:41,679
each man was only to execute the orders
431
00:19:41,679 --> 00:19:44,720
of his immediate superior
432
00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:49,360
initiative was considered risky
433
00:19:50,799 --> 00:19:52,640
those commanders that survived were
434
00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:54,720
mostly stalin's old favorites like the
435
00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:56,640
russian civil war heroes budjani
436
00:19:56,640 --> 00:19:59,120
boroshilov and timoshenko who were
437
00:19:59,120 --> 00:20:00,720
completely out of their depth when it
438
00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:02,880
came to marshalling vast armies in the
439
00:20:02,880 --> 00:20:06,559
era of the tank
440
00:20:06,559 --> 00:20:08,159
the german had to come to terms with the
441
00:20:08,159 --> 00:20:10,480
fact that in the t-34 the soviets
442
00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:12,080
possessed an armored fighting vehicle
443
00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:14,080
which was far superior to anything they
444
00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:16,320
had
445
00:20:17,679 --> 00:20:19,600
at that time i was a lance corporal in a
446
00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:21,760
panzer ii which anyway couldn't harm
447
00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:24,240
enemy tanks
448
00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:26,799
in the woman pocket we saw the t-34 for
449
00:20:26,799 --> 00:20:28,000
the first time
450
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:30,080
and understandably we were astonished to
451
00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:32,000
see what kind of tank it was
452
00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:34,240
particularly the quality of its armor
453
00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:37,360
and its construction
454
00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:39,840
consequently this tank could in practice
455
00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:42,720
only be knocked out frontally by our 88
456
00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:45,679
millimeter guns and from the side by our
457
00:20:45,679 --> 00:20:49,440
5 centimeter or 7.5 centimeter anti-tank
458
00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:50,559
guns
459
00:20:50,559 --> 00:20:54,240
thus for example the 3.7 anti-tank gun
460
00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:57,840
was more or less useless
461
00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:04,960
we had to adjust ourselves to the idea
462
00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:06,960
that with the anti-tank weapons
463
00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:08,400
available to us
464
00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:12,640
the 3.7 and 5 centimeter tank guns
465
00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:15,200
we could not in practice knock out the
466
00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:17,840
t-34
467
00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:22,799
our heavy companies with 7.5 centimeter
468
00:21:22,799 --> 00:21:25,679
guns discovered mainly by chance that
469
00:21:25,679 --> 00:21:27,679
high explosive shells with a quarter
470
00:21:27,679 --> 00:21:30,880
second delayed action fuse when fired at
471
00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:34,080
the rear of the t-34 tank
472
00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:36,400
either set on fire the diesel oil
473
00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:39,360
canisters or caused a fire in the engine
474
00:21:39,360 --> 00:21:42,480
compartment as a result of fire
475
00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:46,799
penetrating the air induction gratings
476
00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:52,080
during the early months of 1942 the
477
00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:53,760
germans formed another four panzer
478
00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:54,880
divisions
479
00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:57,600
giving them an actual strength of 3 300
480
00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:01,520
tanks on the eastern front in may 1942
481
00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:03,200
armoured personnel carriers were still
482
00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:05,520
in short supply however and only one
483
00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:07,360
grenadier battalion in each panzer
484
00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:09,600
division was equipped with them despite
485
00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:11,120
their new designation of panzer
486
00:22:11,120 --> 00:22:12,559
grenadiers
487
00:22:12,559 --> 00:22:14,320
the other battalions continue to travel
488
00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:16,880
in lorries
489
00:22:19,039 --> 00:22:21,679
the point of maximum effort of the 1942
490
00:22:21,679 --> 00:22:23,760
german summer offensive was in the kursk
491
00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:25,039
region
492
00:22:25,039 --> 00:22:27,280
army group b with three armies and
493
00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:29,440
fourth panzer army was to head for the
494
00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:30,799
dawn
495
00:22:30,799 --> 00:22:33,039
then swing south along its banks
496
00:22:33,039 --> 00:22:34,880
encircling as many soviet divisions as
497
00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:36,799
it could in the river's great bend
498
00:22:36,799 --> 00:22:41,000
between rostov and varanesh
499
00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:43,679
the soviets expecting the offensive to
500
00:22:43,679 --> 00:22:45,679
be resumed against moscow were taken by
501
00:22:45,679 --> 00:22:49,280
surprise when on the 28th of june 1942
502
00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:51,840
800 tanks and assault guns at 4th panzer
503
00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:53,840
army broke through their lines in the
504
00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:56,080
ukraine and struck across the rolling
505
00:22:56,080 --> 00:22:59,280
plains to the river dawn
506
00:23:01,300 --> 00:23:02,720
[Music]
507
00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:04,559
as always the luftwaffe played a key
508
00:23:04,559 --> 00:23:05,520
role
509
00:23:05,520 --> 00:23:07,360
it had been ordered to support only the
510
00:23:07,360 --> 00:23:09,760
armored spearheads and an officer in
511
00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:11,600
luftwaffe uniform is often to be found
512
00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:14,799
up amongst the leading tanks
513
00:23:18,559 --> 00:23:20,720
one must make a distinction between the
514
00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:23,520
so-called flivo and the two kali as an
515
00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:27,360
officer or stukalite officer
516
00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:33,039
the task of the flavor at core level lay
517
00:23:33,039 --> 00:23:35,200
mainly in keeping the army corps command
518
00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:37,280
informed about everything that the air
519
00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:39,520
force was doing or at least everything
520
00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:41,760
that could be of use to the core command
521
00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:45,200
in assessing the situation
522
00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:47,919
whereas the stuka liaison officer was
523
00:23:47,919 --> 00:23:50,320
always at the front mostly with the
524
00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:53,600
armored spearheads
525
00:23:56,170 --> 00:23:57,760
[Music]
526
00:23:57,760 --> 00:23:59,919
the stuka is an officer usually
527
00:23:59,919 --> 00:24:01,919
stationed himself in the morning at
528
00:24:01,919 --> 00:24:04,159
daybreak at the focal point of the
529
00:24:04,159 --> 00:24:08,159
operations with his stack
530
00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:16,159
behind the tank an arrow-shaped trench
531
00:24:16,159 --> 00:24:19,600
was dug about one and a half meters deep
532
00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:22,240
and an orange colored cloth laid in it
533
00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:24,559
so that the dive bombers flying in would
534
00:24:24,559 --> 00:24:27,279
recognize both our main fighting line
535
00:24:27,279 --> 00:24:31,799
and likewise the enemy target
536
00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:44,320
i remember a very unpleasant situation
537
00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:46,400
in which we ran up against a russian
538
00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:49,840
anti-tank barrier consisting of t-34s
539
00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:52,320
and anti-tank aa guns
540
00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:54,880
and in just the type of terrain where we
541
00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:57,120
couldn't get ourselves under cover all
542
00:24:57,120 --> 00:24:59,039
that quickly
543
00:24:59,039 --> 00:25:01,679
the earliest officer who was in fact in
544
00:25:01,679 --> 00:25:04,240
the same dangerous situation as we were
545
00:25:04,240 --> 00:25:06,799
immediately called out the stukas
546
00:25:06,799 --> 00:25:09,039
and before the battalion could even
547
00:25:09,039 --> 00:25:11,919
fully react the stukas bombed the edge
548
00:25:11,919 --> 00:25:14,000
of the wood where the russian anti-tank
549
00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:15,760
front was located
550
00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:18,320
and thereby eliminated the danger we
551
00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:20,880
were facing
552
00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:28,320
the panzer army also had direct control
553
00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:30,240
over its reconnaissance flights
554
00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:32,159
and used them to seek out soviet troop
555
00:25:32,159 --> 00:25:33,760
movements in plenty of time to plan the
556
00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:37,039
most effective countermeasures
557
00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:40,640
momentum was maintained despite soviet
558
00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:42,240
attempts to strike at fourth panzer
559
00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:44,240
army's exposed flank as it sped towards
560
00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:46,240
stalingrad on the river vulgar with very
561
00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:47,600
little resistance
562
00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:50,080
when hitler made a fatal decision
563
00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:52,720
he ordered the fourth to swing south and
564
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:54,880
assist first panzer army in its crossing
565
00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:57,140
of the river dawn
566
00:25:57,140 --> 00:26:03,399
[Music]
567
00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:05,520
on the 23rd of july the germans took
568
00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:09,440
rostov gateway to the caucasus
569
00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:11,679
when two weeks later fourth panzer army
570
00:26:11,679 --> 00:26:14,240
resumed its advance on stalingrad the
571
00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:16,000
soviets had just scraped together
572
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,320
sufficient forces to hold the germans
573
00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:20,159
and their allies on the outskirts of the
574
00:26:20,159 --> 00:26:23,159
city
575
00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:28,480
the name alone stalin city was enough to
576
00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:30,000
ensure its special significance in
577
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:31,360
hitler's eyes
578
00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:32,640
although the town itself had no
579
00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:34,880
strategic importance
580
00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:36,880
by committing the sixth army to the
581
00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:38,799
storming of stalingrad
582
00:26:38,799 --> 00:26:40,720
hitler deprived his soldiers of their
583
00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:43,120
one advantage mobility
584
00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:44,480
while pitching them against the
585
00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:46,320
inadequately trained but dogged
586
00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:50,480
adversary the red army infantryman
587
00:26:50,480 --> 00:26:54,000
[Applause]
588
00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:56,720
on the 14th of october 1942
589
00:26:56,720 --> 00:26:58,480
hitler brought to a close the summer
590
00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:00,720
offensive by halting all operations
591
00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:02,320
except those on the southern sector in
592
00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:05,760
the caucasus and around stalingrad
593
00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:08,559
in november 1942 the front line ran from
594
00:27:08,559 --> 00:27:12,080
leningrad in the north to jeff arial and
595
00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:14,640
along the river dawn to stalingrad and
596
00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:16,640
then south to the caucasus mountains and
597
00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:20,760
the black sea east of novorossiysk
598
00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:23,760
however the red army was still in the
599
00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:25,360
field and even beginning to grow in
600
00:27:25,360 --> 00:27:27,120
strength whereas the german army in the
601
00:27:27,120 --> 00:27:28,720
east was nearing the end of its
602
00:27:28,720 --> 00:27:30,960
offensive capabilities
603
00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:32,559
its losses were approaching the two
604
00:27:32,559 --> 00:27:34,399
million mark
605
00:27:34,399 --> 00:27:38,159
and the survivors were battle weary
606
00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:39,840
vehicles and equipment were in need of
607
00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:42,159
maintenance while the armaments industry
608
00:27:42,159 --> 00:27:44,000
was only just able to replace battle
609
00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:47,000
losses
610
00:27:48,880 --> 00:27:50,960
for both hitler and stalin the battle of
611
00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:53,279
stalingrad assumed symbolic significance
612
00:27:53,279 --> 00:27:54,799
far in excess of its strategic
613
00:27:54,799 --> 00:27:56,080
importance
614
00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:58,080
in purely military terms the main german
615
00:27:58,080 --> 00:28:00,080
objective was to deprive the soviets of
616
00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:02,240
their supply arteries of the rivers don
617
00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:03,520
and volga
618
00:28:03,520 --> 00:28:04,720
and this could have been done without
619
00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,000
taking stalingrad itself
620
00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:10,880
rather than eliminate soviet bridge
621
00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:12,720
heads on the west bank of the volga
622
00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:14,720
above and below stalingrad
623
00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:16,559
the sixth army was committed to a battle
624
00:28:16,559 --> 00:28:20,080
of attrition in the city's rubble
625
00:28:23,390 --> 00:28:26,380
[Music]
626
00:28:26,380 --> 00:28:28,960
[Applause]
627
00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:30,640
the luftwaffe was so committed to the
628
00:28:30,640 --> 00:28:32,320
battle of stalingrad that the soviets
629
00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:34,240
were able to build up reserves without
630
00:28:34,240 --> 00:28:35,840
having to contend with luftwaffe
631
00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:38,480
interference
632
00:28:40,399 --> 00:28:42,159
to prevent german forces exerting
633
00:28:42,159 --> 00:28:43,520
additional pressure on the city's
634
00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:46,240
defenders the soviets resumed activity
635
00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:48,240
on sixth army's flanks during september
636
00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:51,240
1942
637
00:28:59,600 --> 00:29:01,120
throughout october the fighting in the
638
00:29:01,120 --> 00:29:04,240
city rose in intensity until by the 20th
639
00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:05,760
the remaining pockets of soviet
640
00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:07,600
resistance had been pushed back to
641
00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:09,279
within a thousand meters of the banks of
642
00:29:09,279 --> 00:29:11,279
the bulgar
643
00:29:11,279 --> 00:29:13,200
but during that critical month the
644
00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:14,880
soviet high command was planning a
645
00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:18,399
counter-offensive codenamed oran
646
00:29:18,399 --> 00:29:20,240
it began to assume the shape of a single
647
00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:22,720
strategic operation along a 300
648
00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:24,840
kilometer long front involving the
649
00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:28,159
stalingrad dawn and southwestern fronts
650
00:29:28,159 --> 00:29:29,840
each of which was roughly equivalent to
651
00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:32,720
a german army group
652
00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:35,200
the southwestern front was to break
653
00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:36,960
through the sector of the line held by
654
00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:39,279
the romanians between sarafimovic and
655
00:29:39,279 --> 00:29:40,720
kletskaya
656
00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:43,200
and head southeast for kallach
657
00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:45,120
three days were allowed for this 100
658
00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:48,080
kilometer advance
659
00:29:48,559 --> 00:29:50,799
the stalingrad front was to launch its
660
00:29:50,799 --> 00:29:52,799
attack from the sarepta lakes against
661
00:29:52,799 --> 00:29:55,279
the romanian line and converge on
662
00:29:55,279 --> 00:29:56,320
kalanche
663
00:29:56,320 --> 00:29:57,520
where it was to link up with the
664
00:29:57,520 --> 00:29:59,840
southwestern front thus cutting off the
665
00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:02,720
enemy between the rivers burger and dawn
666
00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:04,480
its left flank was to attack in the
667
00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:07,360
direction of kotelnikovo the dawn front
668
00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:09,520
was to launch simultaneous offensives
669
00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:11,679
from its kletskaya bridgehead and
670
00:30:11,679 --> 00:30:13,919
destroyed the german forces in the small
671
00:30:13,919 --> 00:30:16,799
bend of the dawn
672
00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:19,760
the germans and their allies strung out
673
00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:21,679
along the 400 kilometer long front on
674
00:30:21,679 --> 00:30:23,919
the river dawn were not so much an army
675
00:30:23,919 --> 00:30:26,880
group as a group of armies
676
00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:28,480
south of stalingrad was the fourth
677
00:30:28,480 --> 00:30:30,000
romanian army
678
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:32,559
while way out in the steppe near elista
679
00:30:32,559 --> 00:30:36,240
was the 16th panzer grenadier division
680
00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:38,399
in and around stalingrad itself with the
681
00:30:38,399 --> 00:30:41,279
sixth army and fourth panzer army
682
00:30:41,279 --> 00:30:43,760
from the city northwards to kursk were
683
00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:46,320
the third romanian 8th italian second
684
00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:51,000
hungarian and second german armies
685
00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:53,120
in reserve behind the sector held by the
686
00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:55,360
third romanian army was the 48th panzer
687
00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:56,640
corps
688
00:30:56,640 --> 00:30:58,559
its panzer divisions were to play the
689
00:30:58,559 --> 00:31:00,559
key role in the defensive fighting along
690
00:31:00,559 --> 00:31:02,480
the chian river
691
00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:03,840
otherwise there were no significant
692
00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:05,279
german reserves and little hope of
693
00:31:05,279 --> 00:31:08,000
reinforcements
694
00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:12,559
by november 1942
695
00:31:12,559 --> 00:31:14,720
the romanian troops on the dawn were at
696
00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:16,480
the end of a march which had taken them
697
00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:18,559
across the ukraine and bessarabia to the
698
00:31:18,559 --> 00:31:19,840
black sea
699
00:31:19,840 --> 00:31:21,519
where for two months they had led siege
700
00:31:21,519 --> 00:31:23,120
to odessa
701
00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:24,960
during that journey they had lost one
702
00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:26,480
hundred and thirty thousand of their
703
00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:28,960
comrades
704
00:31:30,799 --> 00:31:32,880
iron
705
00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:34,960
they were clearly over taxed by the
706
00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:37,039
russian assault
707
00:31:37,039 --> 00:31:39,120
as far as equipment and training were
708
00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:41,360
concerned they were not in a position to
709
00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:43,519
resist a concentrated russian tank
710
00:31:43,519 --> 00:31:45,120
attack
711
00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:47,519
moreover behind them there were hardly
712
00:31:47,519 --> 00:31:49,600
any reserves so that the collapse on
713
00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:53,600
these fronts could have been forecast
714
00:31:53,840 --> 00:31:56,640
general adolf hollet commander of army
715
00:31:56,640 --> 00:31:58,559
detachment hollet was also well aware of
716
00:31:58,559 --> 00:32:01,640
the danger
717
00:32:02,559 --> 00:32:04,559
i remember leaving the main headquarters
718
00:32:04,559 --> 00:32:07,039
the fuhrer headquarters with an officer
719
00:32:07,039 --> 00:32:09,360
and saying to him now have a look at
720
00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:11,840
this we are surrounded right and left by
721
00:32:11,840 --> 00:32:14,559
foreign soldiers our allies
722
00:32:14,559 --> 00:32:16,240
they are the romanians and then the
723
00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:18,640
italians and the hungarians are beyond
724
00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:20,000
the romanians
725
00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:22,240
they don't all measure up to the german
726
00:32:22,240 --> 00:32:24,720
troops they can't because they haven't
727
00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:27,279
got the same experience and above all
728
00:32:27,279 --> 00:32:29,679
they haven't the same armament and i am
729
00:32:29,679 --> 00:32:32,000
telling you this could conceivably cause
730
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:33,120
difficulties
731
00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:35,760
so i don't trust these allies one little
732
00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:36,960
bit
733
00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:39,120
and the officer said to me
734
00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:42,799
don't let the fear out of hear that
735
00:32:42,799 --> 00:32:46,159
and then i got really cheeky and said
736
00:32:46,159 --> 00:32:48,320
if he doesn't want to hear it then he
737
00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:51,600
will soon feel it
738
00:32:54,159 --> 00:32:55,919
during the first week of november as the
739
00:32:55,919 --> 00:32:57,600
germans prepared to renew their efforts
740
00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:00,320
to take stalingrad soviet forces began
741
00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:02,000
to move into their forming up positions
742
00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:04,480
for operation iran
743
00:33:04,480 --> 00:33:06,320
the marshalling of this tremendous force
744
00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:08,000
while the fighting for stalingrad still
745
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:10,080
raged was in itself an incredible
746
00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:11,200
achievement
747
00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:14,840
one and a half million men 13 500 guns
748
00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:20,799
894 tanks and 1115 aircraft
749
00:33:20,799 --> 00:33:22,559
carrying men and equipment across the
750
00:33:22,559 --> 00:33:25,279
wide don and volga rivers and deploying
751
00:33:25,279 --> 00:33:27,200
and concealing them in the open step was
752
00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:30,320
a hazardous operation
753
00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:35,919
increased soviet air activity during the
754
00:33:35,919 --> 00:33:37,360
infrequent periods of good flying
755
00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:39,039
weather reduced german air
756
00:33:39,039 --> 00:33:42,480
reconnaissance significantly
757
00:33:42,559 --> 00:33:43,760
on the eve of the soviet
758
00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:45,440
counter-offensive german and soviet
759
00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:47,600
forces along the 700 kilometer southern
760
00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:49,840
sector were roughly equal
761
00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:52,480
but by stripping other formations the
762
00:33:52,480 --> 00:33:53,840
soviets were able to build up
763
00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:56,399
significant superiority particularly
764
00:33:56,399 --> 00:34:00,679
against germany's ill-equipped allies
765
00:34:06,799 --> 00:34:09,918
operation iran began at o720 on the 19th
766
00:34:09,918 --> 00:34:12,159
of november when the southwestern and
767
00:34:12,159 --> 00:34:13,679
dawn fronts broke out of their
768
00:34:13,679 --> 00:34:16,000
bridgeheads and struck the line weakly
769
00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:19,679
held by the romanian third army
770
00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:21,679
initially the soviet rifle divisions
771
00:34:21,679 --> 00:34:23,280
with their weak armored complement were
772
00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:25,040
held by the romanians
773
00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:26,960
but mass soviet armor broke through
774
00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:28,960
their flanks and drove out into the step
775
00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:31,359
beyond
776
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:33,760
despite appalling weather and poor
777
00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:36,159
visibility both the stalingrad and
778
00:34:36,159 --> 00:34:38,320
southwestern fronts had penetrated deep
779
00:34:38,320 --> 00:34:40,719
into sixth army's eastern flank and were
780
00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:44,239
30 kilometers in the german ring
781
00:34:47,520 --> 00:34:50,159
at 1400 hours on the 23rd of november
782
00:34:50,159 --> 00:34:51,520
troops of the southwestern and
783
00:34:51,520 --> 00:34:55,760
stalingrad fronts linked up at kallach
784
00:34:55,839 --> 00:34:59,040
this initial encirclement trapped 270
785
00:34:59,040 --> 00:35:00,720
000 german and allied troops of the
786
00:35:00,720 --> 00:35:03,680
sixth army in the stalingrad pocket an
787
00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:07,119
area 57 kilometers west to east and 35
788
00:35:07,119 --> 00:35:10,560
kilometers north to south
789
00:35:13,839 --> 00:35:15,440
the most important task now for the
790
00:35:15,440 --> 00:35:17,839
soviet southwestern and southern fronts
791
00:35:17,839 --> 00:35:20,640
was to strengthen the 160 kilometer long
792
00:35:20,640 --> 00:35:23,200
outer encirclement of stalingrad by
793
00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:25,520
building up a strong front so the german
794
00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:27,280
efforts to relieve stalingrad from the
795
00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:31,119
west and southwest could be held off
796
00:35:31,119 --> 00:35:32,800
sixth army's first reaction on being
797
00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:36,640
encircled was to break out to the west
798
00:35:38,240 --> 00:35:40,400
but on the 24th of november hitler
799
00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:42,960
ordered general paulus to stay put
800
00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:44,640
having been assured by gerring that the
801
00:35:44,640 --> 00:35:46,240
luftwaffe could keep the sixth army
802
00:35:46,240 --> 00:35:49,119
supplied from the air
803
00:35:50,160 --> 00:35:51,839
on the same day encouraged by its
804
00:35:51,839 --> 00:35:53,760
initial success soviet high command
805
00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:56,160
decided to extend operation iran and
806
00:35:56,160 --> 00:35:59,839
began to plan operation saturn
807
00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:02,400
this called for the left wing of the
808
00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:05,040
varanesh front with 60 of the entire
809
00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:06,880
soviet armored forces
810
00:36:06,880 --> 00:36:08,560
to launch an offensive in the direction
811
00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:09,760
of rostov
812
00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:11,520
with the object of cutting off army
813
00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:15,680
group a in the caucasus and on the dawn
814
00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:18,320
on the 26th of november field marshal
815
00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:20,400
von manstein was appointed commander of
816
00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:23,040
a new army group dawn which consisted of
817
00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:25,040
the remnants of sixth army the fourth
818
00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:27,760
panzer army and the third romanian army
819
00:36:27,760 --> 00:36:29,920
his task was to coordinate the defenses
820
00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:31,520
on the flanks of the sixth army in
821
00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:33,520
stalingrad
822
00:36:33,520 --> 00:36:35,359
till marshall eric von mundstein was
823
00:36:35,359 --> 00:36:37,520
born in berlin on the 24th of november
824
00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:39,359
1897.
825
00:36:39,359 --> 00:36:40,640
he was commissioned into the prussian
826
00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:42,640
foot guards in 1906
827
00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:44,480
and during the first world war served on
828
00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:46,960
both the eastern and western fronts
829
00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:48,560
between the wars he held several general
830
00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:51,280
staff appointments and in october 1936
831
00:36:51,280 --> 00:36:53,359
was promoted major general
832
00:36:53,359 --> 00:36:55,680
in july 1942 in recognition of his
833
00:36:55,680 --> 00:36:57,040
superb general ship which had
834
00:36:57,040 --> 00:36:58,480
contributed so much to germany's
835
00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:00,720
victories hitler promoted him field
836
00:37:00,720 --> 00:37:03,200
marshall
837
00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:07,200
he was the typical commander of the old
838
00:37:07,200 --> 00:37:10,320
school who during the first world war
839
00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:12,960
commanded from far in the rear far
840
00:37:12,960 --> 00:37:15,040
removed from the actual events of the
841
00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:17,680
fighting and from weather conditions and
842
00:37:17,680 --> 00:37:18,960
hardships
843
00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:21,040
but who could nevertheless make the
844
00:37:21,040 --> 00:37:23,920
right strategic decisions
845
00:37:23,920 --> 00:37:25,680
in this respect he differed
846
00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:27,680
fundamentally from the more tactical
847
00:37:27,680 --> 00:37:30,400
troop commander such as model or romel
848
00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:32,000
or guderian
849
00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:34,480
but even so with his outstanding
850
00:37:34,480 --> 00:37:37,280
strategic talents he was one among very
851
00:37:37,280 --> 00:37:39,839
few comparable commanders in chief and
852
00:37:39,839 --> 00:37:44,240
battle arbiters of the second world war
853
00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:46,400
chief of the general staff was general
854
00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:48,560
zeitzler and his deputy for operations
855
00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:50,640
was lieutenant general hoizinger
856
00:37:50,640 --> 00:37:52,480
for the whole of the eastern front there
857
00:37:52,480 --> 00:37:54,640
were only 14 general staff officers
858
00:37:54,640 --> 00:37:58,000
dealing with operational matters
859
00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:01,119
central to the system of command in the
860
00:38:01,119 --> 00:38:03,119
prussian german army was the concept of
861
00:38:03,119 --> 00:38:04,720
auftrag's tactic
862
00:38:04,720 --> 00:38:08,160
or orders by directive
863
00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:11,040
that is that
864
00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:13,359
ever since i became a soldier and that
865
00:38:13,359 --> 00:38:17,800
was in the summer of 1909
866
00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:21,680
my experience has been that subordinate
867
00:38:21,680 --> 00:38:24,000
commanders in our army were trained to
868
00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:25,920
look after themselves
869
00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:28,640
to act on their own initiative
870
00:38:28,640 --> 00:38:32,760
and to make their own decisions
871
00:38:37,280 --> 00:38:39,359
this has been my experience throughout
872
00:38:39,359 --> 00:38:41,920
my entire military life
873
00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:43,760
and it was also taken to heart on the
874
00:38:43,760 --> 00:38:45,280
first world war
875
00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:46,960
and it paid off
876
00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:48,800
in particular the point about
877
00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:51,520
subordinates using their initiative
878
00:38:51,520 --> 00:38:53,920
which was put into practice and used in
879
00:38:53,920 --> 00:38:56,640
the training of the rakesville
880
00:38:56,640 --> 00:38:58,480
our army at that time
881
00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:01,280
under colonel
882
00:39:07,599 --> 00:39:09,440
the objective of every military
883
00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:11,680
operation is the destruction of the
884
00:39:11,680 --> 00:39:13,040
adversary
885
00:39:13,040 --> 00:39:15,440
as this can be changed by conducting the
886
00:39:15,440 --> 00:39:17,760
fighting in various ways according to a
887
00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:20,160
particular situation the senior
888
00:39:20,160 --> 00:39:22,560
commanders that is to say the divisional
889
00:39:22,560 --> 00:39:24,480
commanders and above
890
00:39:24,480 --> 00:39:26,960
must be let free to choose the method of
891
00:39:26,960 --> 00:39:28,560
fighting
892
00:39:28,560 --> 00:39:31,440
they received a directive and this was
893
00:39:31,440 --> 00:39:34,320
known as off-tax tactic
894
00:39:34,320 --> 00:39:36,240
commanders of companies battalions and
895
00:39:36,240 --> 00:39:38,560
regiments in general received orders
896
00:39:38,560 --> 00:39:42,160
which usually went into detail
897
00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:44,000
since the beginning of the war formation
898
00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:46,400
commanders often led from the front
899
00:39:46,400 --> 00:39:48,720
and took important decisions on the spot
900
00:39:48,720 --> 00:39:50,320
they were usually found forward where
901
00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:53,599
the major effort was being made
902
00:39:55,280 --> 00:39:57,599
when the commander was with the troops
903
00:39:57,599 --> 00:40:00,240
as was normal almost every day
904
00:40:00,240 --> 00:40:02,160
the chief of staff had to maintain
905
00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:04,720
contact over the combat area both with
906
00:40:04,720 --> 00:40:07,119
the divisions under core command and
907
00:40:07,119 --> 00:40:09,359
with the senior army headquarters above
908
00:40:09,359 --> 00:40:11,839
him
909
00:40:12,800 --> 00:40:15,119
but as has already been said if
910
00:40:15,119 --> 00:40:17,359
decisions were necessary because of the
911
00:40:17,359 --> 00:40:19,040
changing situation
912
00:40:19,040 --> 00:40:21,599
the chief of staff also had to be able
913
00:40:21,599 --> 00:40:24,000
to deal with changes in the steps taken
914
00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:26,079
by the corps and heads to give the
915
00:40:26,079 --> 00:40:28,400
corresponding orders to the divisions by
916
00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:30,960
telephone
917
00:40:31,839 --> 00:40:33,920
flexible command which encouraged
918
00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:35,920
initiative and a highly developed
919
00:40:35,920 --> 00:40:38,720
tactical communications net but in stark
920
00:40:38,720 --> 00:40:41,040
contrast to the rigid textbook approach
921
00:40:41,040 --> 00:40:42,640
of the soviets
922
00:40:42,640 --> 00:40:44,400
[Music]
923
00:40:44,400 --> 00:40:45,839
it was not easy to command armor
924
00:40:45,839 --> 00:40:47,920
flexibly when tank commanders had to
925
00:40:47,920 --> 00:40:50,000
rely on visual signaling to convey their
926
00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:53,000
orders
927
00:40:53,040 --> 00:40:55,119
if von manstein was to attempt to
928
00:40:55,119 --> 00:40:57,440
relieve the encircled sixth army
929
00:40:57,440 --> 00:40:59,200
it was essential that his forces remain
930
00:40:59,200 --> 00:41:02,160
as close to stalingrad as possible
931
00:41:02,160 --> 00:41:03,920
and so throughout december the soviets
932
00:41:03,920 --> 00:41:05,839
exerted enormous pressure on the german
933
00:41:05,839 --> 00:41:07,839
and allied forces between the rivers don
934
00:41:07,839 --> 00:41:10,160
and cheer in their efforts to extend the
935
00:41:10,160 --> 00:41:11,680
outer ring as far to the west as
936
00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:14,079
possible
937
00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:18,079
the cheer line was held by makeshift
938
00:41:18,079 --> 00:41:19,680
units composed of remnants of the third
939
00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:22,160
romanian army german infantry ad hoc
940
00:41:22,160 --> 00:41:23,839
alarm units made up of rear service
941
00:41:23,839 --> 00:41:27,839
personnel and luftwaffe field divisions
942
00:41:28,640 --> 00:41:30,480
these divisions were created by gerding
943
00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:32,640
from surplus air force personnel they
944
00:41:32,640 --> 00:41:34,560
were well equipped but lacked training
945
00:41:34,560 --> 00:41:36,319
and were commanded by officers with no
946
00:41:36,319 --> 00:41:39,680
experience of ground combat
947
00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:43,599
on the 2nd of december 1942 48th panzer
948
00:41:43,599 --> 00:41:45,440
corps ordered its infantry to form a
949
00:41:45,440 --> 00:41:47,760
defensive line along the cheer by
950
00:41:47,760 --> 00:41:50,640
constructing strong points in depth not
951
00:41:50,640 --> 00:41:53,040
linear
952
00:41:53,520 --> 00:41:55,440
the strong points for all-round defense
953
00:41:55,440 --> 00:41:59,200
were to be manned by at least a platoon
954
00:41:59,520 --> 00:42:01,520
individual soldiers were to be deployed
955
00:42:01,520 --> 00:42:03,040
between the strong points to prevent
956
00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:05,599
soviet infiltration
957
00:42:05,599 --> 00:42:07,680
heavy weapons which included the 88
958
00:42:07,680 --> 00:42:09,839
millimeter guns were to be dug in and
959
00:42:09,839 --> 00:42:12,160
covered and alternative positions were
960
00:42:12,160 --> 00:42:14,960
to be prepared for
961
00:42:15,599 --> 00:42:17,359
the them headquarters reminded its
962
00:42:17,359 --> 00:42:18,960
subordinate commanders of their
963
00:42:18,960 --> 00:42:20,640
responsibility to ensure that they
964
00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:22,319
established contact with their next
965
00:42:22,319 --> 00:42:24,400
highest headquarters
966
00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:26,560
units were to report in every two hours
967
00:42:26,560 --> 00:42:29,359
at least even when all was quiet because
968
00:42:29,359 --> 00:42:31,760
situation unchanged signals were also
969
00:42:31,760 --> 00:42:33,760
helpful to core headquarters to build up
970
00:42:33,760 --> 00:42:37,280
an overall picture of what was happening
971
00:42:39,359 --> 00:42:41,440
the ensuing battle which developed
972
00:42:41,440 --> 00:42:43,920
around the state collective farm
973
00:42:43,920 --> 00:42:45,599
79
974
00:42:45,599 --> 00:42:48,079
is a classic example of the superiority
975
00:42:48,079 --> 00:42:50,160
of flexible german battle tactics which
976
00:42:50,160 --> 00:42:51,599
time and time again
977
00:42:51,599 --> 00:42:53,760
enabled small numbers of well-trained
978
00:42:53,760 --> 00:42:56,079
experienced and well-commanded troops to
979
00:42:56,079 --> 00:42:58,079
defeat soviet forces which outnumbered
980
00:42:58,079 --> 00:43:01,920
them between four and eight times
981
00:43:02,960 --> 00:43:05,040
at the beginning of december 1942 the
982
00:43:05,040 --> 00:43:07,200
headquarters of 48th panzer corps was at
983
00:43:07,200 --> 00:43:09,920
nigeria where the chia river runs into
984
00:43:09,920 --> 00:43:11,520
the dawn
985
00:43:11,520 --> 00:43:13,200
since it was the nearest point to troops
986
00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:15,359
of the sixth army in stalingrad it was a
987
00:43:15,359 --> 00:43:17,040
vital bridgehead for fourth panzer
988
00:43:17,040 --> 00:43:20,000
army's attempt to relieve stalingrad
989
00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:22,880
elsewhere along the cheer the 336th
990
00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:24,960
infantry division was holding the line
991
00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:28,880
from nizhny cheer to sorokina
992
00:43:29,280 --> 00:43:31,040
at the beginning of december fifth tank
993
00:43:31,040 --> 00:43:32,880
army began to launch a series of heavy
994
00:43:32,880 --> 00:43:34,800
attacks across the chair in an attempt
995
00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:36,400
to drive the germans as far away from
996
00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:40,040
stalingrad as possible
997
00:43:40,240 --> 00:43:43,359
on the 7th of december 1942 11th panzer
998
00:43:43,359 --> 00:43:45,520
division with 46 tanks was moving up
999
00:43:45,520 --> 00:43:48,240
from rostov
1000
00:43:48,400 --> 00:43:50,640
it was then ordered to halt the soviet
1001
00:43:50,640 --> 00:43:52,560
first tank core which had crossed the
1002
00:43:52,560 --> 00:43:55,200
chair between obliviskaya and sorovino
1003
00:43:55,200 --> 00:43:57,520
on the left flank of 336th infantry
1004
00:43:57,520 --> 00:44:00,160
division and had advanced to and taken
1005
00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:04,440
state collective farm number 79.
1006
00:44:07,560 --> 00:44:11,680
[Music]
1007
00:44:11,680 --> 00:44:13,839
after night march the 11th panzer
1008
00:44:13,839 --> 00:44:16,000
division's commander general bulk
1009
00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:17,599
using his anti-aircraft guns as
1010
00:44:17,599 --> 00:44:19,839
anti-tank artillery placed them south of
1011
00:44:19,839 --> 00:44:21,119
the farm
1012
00:44:21,119 --> 00:44:23,839
the artillery of 336th infantry division
1013
00:44:23,839 --> 00:44:25,520
was to operate on the panzer division's
1014
00:44:25,520 --> 00:44:29,000
northeast flank
1015
00:44:36,240 --> 00:44:39,200
15th panzer and 111th panzer grenadier
1016
00:44:39,200 --> 00:44:41,200
regiments advanced undetected along the
1017
00:44:41,200 --> 00:44:43,760
heights west and north of the farm while
1018
00:44:43,760 --> 00:44:46,079
110th panzer grenadier regiment
1019
00:44:46,079 --> 00:44:48,480
delivered a holding attack
1020
00:44:48,480 --> 00:44:50,720
the panzers hit the rear of the soviet
1021
00:44:50,720 --> 00:44:53,200
tank formations and their supply columns
1022
00:44:53,200 --> 00:44:54,800
just as they were about to attack the
1023
00:44:54,800 --> 00:44:59,359
rear of 336th infantry division
1024
00:45:00,079 --> 00:45:01,680
by the end of the battle the soviet
1025
00:45:01,680 --> 00:45:02,960
first tank corps had been virtually
1026
00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:05,440
wiped out with a loss of 50 tanks
1027
00:45:05,440 --> 00:45:07,920
german losses were negligible
1028
00:45:07,920 --> 00:45:09,839
on the evening of the 11th of december
1029
00:45:09,839 --> 00:45:11,680
other soviet forces broke through the
1030
00:45:11,680 --> 00:45:13,680
chair line at lesinsky and nizhny
1031
00:45:13,680 --> 00:45:15,920
kalinovsky which were about 22
1032
00:45:15,920 --> 00:45:18,640
kilometers apart
1033
00:45:18,640 --> 00:45:20,800
fourth panzer army began its attempt to
1034
00:45:20,800 --> 00:45:22,640
break through to stalingrad on the 12th
1035
00:45:22,640 --> 00:45:24,720
of december
1036
00:45:24,720 --> 00:45:26,960
simultaneously 11th panzer division
1037
00:45:26,960 --> 00:45:28,400
smashed the soviet breakthrough at
1038
00:45:28,400 --> 00:45:31,200
lesinsky and then marched northwest and
1039
00:45:31,200 --> 00:45:32,880
struck the soviet forces at nizhny
1040
00:45:32,880 --> 00:45:36,480
kalinovsky and compressed the bridgehead
1041
00:45:36,480 --> 00:45:39,520
on the 14th after a short low 11th
1042
00:45:39,520 --> 00:45:41,440
panzer division slipped quietly away
1043
00:45:41,440 --> 00:45:43,440
from its positions containing the nizhny
1044
00:45:43,440 --> 00:45:45,280
kalinovsky bridgehead
1045
00:45:45,280 --> 00:45:47,440
and moved to nizhnyachir
1046
00:45:47,440 --> 00:45:49,359
where it was to force a passage over the
1047
00:45:49,359 --> 00:45:51,920
half frozen dawn to join the left flank
1048
00:45:51,920 --> 00:45:53,680
of fourth panzer army which was
1049
00:45:53,680 --> 00:45:57,040
approaching the river aksai
1050
00:45:58,319 --> 00:46:00,800
by the 16th fourth panzer army had
1051
00:46:00,800 --> 00:46:03,280
fought its way to the aksai only 64
1052
00:46:03,280 --> 00:46:04,800
kilometers from the nearest troops of
1053
00:46:04,800 --> 00:46:08,079
the encircled sixth army
1054
00:46:09,359 --> 00:46:11,359
this offensive launched on the 12th of
1055
00:46:11,359 --> 00:46:12,400
december
1056
00:46:12,400 --> 00:46:14,319
led the soviets to reconsider their
1057
00:46:14,319 --> 00:46:16,319
planned major counter-offensive called
1058
00:46:16,319 --> 00:46:18,720
saturn aimed at rostov
1059
00:46:18,720 --> 00:46:21,040
and to launch little saturn
1060
00:46:21,040 --> 00:46:22,880
which called for the southwestern front
1061
00:46:22,880 --> 00:46:25,119
to swing the main axis of its attack
1062
00:46:25,119 --> 00:46:27,680
from the south to the southeast and so
1063
00:46:27,680 --> 00:46:28,880
disrupt the german lines of
1064
00:46:28,880 --> 00:46:30,800
communication concentrated in the
1065
00:46:30,800 --> 00:46:33,920
morozovsk area
1066
00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:37,680
powerful armored forces of the
1067
00:46:37,680 --> 00:46:40,000
southwestern front crossed the cheer at
1068
00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:42,079
ostrovsky and swinging around to the
1069
00:46:42,079 --> 00:46:45,440
southeast headed for morozovsk
1070
00:46:45,440 --> 00:46:48,160
simultaneously the varanesh front swept
1071
00:46:48,160 --> 00:46:50,160
away the 8th italian army on the middle
1072
00:46:50,160 --> 00:46:52,620
dawn and sped southwest
1073
00:46:52,620 --> 00:46:54,400
[Music]
1074
00:46:54,400 --> 00:46:57,119
on the 17th of december just as eleventh
1075
00:46:57,119 --> 00:46:58,800
panzer division was about to cross the
1076
00:46:58,800 --> 00:46:59,760
dawn
1077
00:46:59,760 --> 00:47:02,000
reports came in of a soviet breakthrough
1078
00:47:02,000 --> 00:47:05,520
in 336th infantry division sector nine
1079
00:47:05,520 --> 00:47:09,200
kilometers north of nizhny chief
1080
00:47:09,359 --> 00:47:11,839
instead of joining fourth panzer army
1081
00:47:11,839 --> 00:47:13,599
eleventh panzer division was committed
1082
00:47:13,599 --> 00:47:15,920
to eliminating this bridgehead
1083
00:47:15,920 --> 00:47:18,480
but while engaged in that task the
1084
00:47:18,480 --> 00:47:20,000
dormant bridgehead that nizhny
1085
00:47:20,000 --> 00:47:22,160
kalinovsky suddenly burst into life and
1086
00:47:22,160 --> 00:47:24,640
presented another dire threat and the
1087
00:47:24,640 --> 00:47:26,800
weary division the only mobile reserve
1088
00:47:26,800 --> 00:47:27,680
left
1089
00:47:27,680 --> 00:47:30,000
set out on another 19 kilometer night
1090
00:47:30,000 --> 00:47:32,319
march
1091
00:47:33,200 --> 00:47:35,839
at 0 500 hours on the 19th of december
1092
00:47:35,839 --> 00:47:38,319
panzer regiment 15 of 11th panzer
1093
00:47:38,319 --> 00:47:40,800
division with 25 tanks
1094
00:47:40,800 --> 00:47:43,119
surprised a soviet tank force just as it
1095
00:47:43,119 --> 00:47:45,359
was about to move off
1096
00:47:45,359 --> 00:47:47,680
while 110th panzer grenadier regiment
1097
00:47:47,680 --> 00:47:49,280
blocked its advance
1098
00:47:49,280 --> 00:47:51,520
15th panzer regiment fell in behind the
1099
00:47:51,520 --> 00:47:53,680
soviet tanks and in a few minutes
1100
00:47:53,680 --> 00:47:55,599
knocked out 42 vehicles before their
1101
00:47:55,599 --> 00:47:59,040
crews realized what was happening
1102
00:47:59,440 --> 00:48:01,200
quite simply we always had the edge on
1103
00:48:01,200 --> 00:48:03,280
them since the russian army was so very
1104
00:48:03,280 --> 00:48:05,839
badly led we came the impression that no
1105
00:48:05,839 --> 00:48:08,079
one knew what the other fellow was up to
1106
00:48:08,079 --> 00:48:09,680
or what he was supposed to be doing
1107
00:48:09,680 --> 00:48:12,319
himself they were just individual tanks
1108
00:48:12,319 --> 00:48:14,960
milling around so the secret was to gain
1109
00:48:14,960 --> 00:48:17,280
as much ground as you could just as fast
1110
00:48:17,280 --> 00:48:19,440
as you could so that the russians didn't
1111
00:48:19,440 --> 00:48:21,440
know where they were or didn't know
1112
00:48:21,440 --> 00:48:23,440
where our leading tank spearheads were
1113
00:48:23,440 --> 00:48:24,480
either
1114
00:48:24,480 --> 00:48:26,240
the panzer regiment's right flank was
1115
00:48:26,240 --> 00:48:28,720
guarded by 111th panzer grenadier
1116
00:48:28,720 --> 00:48:30,800
regiment which also acted as a reserve
1117
00:48:30,800 --> 00:48:32,980
force
1118
00:48:32,980 --> 00:48:34,000
[Music]
1119
00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:34,710
[Applause]
1120
00:48:34,710 --> 00:48:36,800
[Music]
1121
00:48:36,800 --> 00:48:38,880
from high ground panzer regiment 15
1122
00:48:38,880 --> 00:48:40,559
spotted another soviet column moving
1123
00:48:40,559 --> 00:48:42,319
south and fell in behind it forming a
1124
00:48:42,319 --> 00:48:43,920
secondary
1125
00:48:43,920 --> 00:48:45,599
in a few minutes another 20 tanks were
1126
00:48:45,599 --> 00:48:49,599
destroyed making the day's total 65
1127
00:48:49,599 --> 00:48:51,920
the back of the soviet attack was broken
1128
00:48:51,920 --> 00:48:53,520
and the shattered remnants fled in the
1129
00:48:53,520 --> 00:48:56,720
northwesterly direction
1130
00:48:57,599 --> 00:49:00,079
our communication system also played a
1131
00:49:00,079 --> 00:49:02,480
role in our successes
1132
00:49:02,480 --> 00:49:04,880
at that time the communication system
1133
00:49:04,880 --> 00:49:07,680
was so good among the german troops that
1134
00:49:07,680 --> 00:49:10,000
without saying who we were by name we
1135
00:49:10,000 --> 00:49:11,760
could tell from the voice who was
1136
00:49:11,760 --> 00:49:13,040
speaking
1137
00:49:13,040 --> 00:49:15,280
of course this is all part and parcel of
1138
00:49:15,280 --> 00:49:17,839
the value of getting to know one another
1139
00:49:17,839 --> 00:49:20,000
our communications were comprehensive in
1140
00:49:20,000 --> 00:49:22,480
scale they functioned splendidly and
1141
00:49:22,480 --> 00:49:24,640
they were so good in their own way that
1142
00:49:24,640 --> 00:49:26,880
we were able to talk to one another as
1143
00:49:26,880 --> 00:49:29,200
if we were all sitting around one table
1144
00:49:29,200 --> 00:49:31,040
during a battle
1145
00:49:31,040 --> 00:49:34,079
although operations
1146
00:49:34,079 --> 00:49:35,599
had failed to achieve all their
1147
00:49:35,599 --> 00:49:36,720
objectives
1148
00:49:36,720 --> 00:49:38,559
the red army had inflicted grievous
1149
00:49:38,559 --> 00:49:40,240
wounds on the germans and their allies
1150
00:49:40,240 --> 00:49:41,920
on the eastern front
1151
00:49:41,920 --> 00:49:43,839
no amount of individual heroism and
1152
00:49:43,839 --> 00:49:45,920
self-sacrifice could now help the
1153
00:49:45,920 --> 00:49:48,000
germans overcome the power and growing
1154
00:49:48,000 --> 00:49:51,280
confidence of the red army
1155
00:49:52,559 --> 00:49:55,920
the soviet union is a vast country
1156
00:49:55,920 --> 00:49:58,400
so the soviet army had plenty of room in
1157
00:49:58,400 --> 00:50:01,200
which to maneuver it could retreat for
1158
00:50:01,200 --> 00:50:03,839
thousands of kilometers to regroup
1159
00:50:03,839 --> 00:50:06,480
concentrate its forces restore the
1160
00:50:06,480 --> 00:50:09,520
morale of demand receive land leaves aid
1161
00:50:09,520 --> 00:50:12,800
from its allies and return to the attack
1162
00:50:12,800 --> 00:50:15,599
a strategic counter-offensive so the
1163
00:50:15,599 --> 00:50:18,800
very size of the soviet union meant that
1164
00:50:18,800 --> 00:50:22,079
in spite of great losses in spite of the
1165
00:50:22,079 --> 00:50:26,480
fact that a large part of european ussr
1166
00:50:26,480 --> 00:50:28,240
had been abandoned to the german
1167
00:50:28,240 --> 00:50:31,440
occupying forces the soviet high command
1168
00:50:31,440 --> 00:50:34,640
could concentrate its forces bringing in
1169
00:50:34,640 --> 00:50:37,599
units from the far east and from siberia
1170
00:50:37,599 --> 00:50:40,640
to muster them beyond the volga and then
1171
00:50:40,640 --> 00:50:43,599
launch the great counter-attack which
1172
00:50:43,599 --> 00:50:48,359
ended in the victory of the soviet union
78952
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