Suzdal Camp 160: The fate of the German officers captured at Stalingrad Armageddon 2020-04-04 | After their capture at Stalingrad, the German generals and the other officers were taken to the Euphemius Monastery, in the ancient city of Suzdal.There was Prisoner of War Camp 160.Alexander Blank, a young interpreter in the camp, who later became a famous historian, wrote notes as he worked there in 1943. Forty years later he released these very interesting documents: they are pure gold for history buffs.Stalingrad Battle Data has translated the most interesting excerpts as a basis for this unique video.
StalData Retrospective From Five Years Ago: 60 Books Named After Stalingrad Armageddon 2024-09-25 | Thank you for your interest in this channel, and for your patience until we're fully back on tracks.In the meantime, here's a remaster of the early days of StalData with a bookshelf video: 60 Books named after Stalingrad.
Lend-Lease Aid for the USSR: Genesis & Statistics Armageddon 2023-11-04 | The Anglo-Soviet Agreement, The Moscow Conference and The Lend-Lease Program for the USSRBarely a week after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, British Ambassador Stafford Cripps had been discussing with both Stalin and Molotov the terms of a joint Anglo-Soviet Declaration. He then organized the first of the Military missions to Moscow, headed by General Mason MacFarlane. The Anglo-Soviet Agreement was to be made public on July 12, 1941.The Moscow Conference in September 1941 laid the details of the Lend-Lease Program between the USA and the USSR. But underlying diplomatic issues raised concerns about the solidity of such an uncommon alliance...Even before the United States entered World War II in December 1941, America sent arms and equipment to the Soviet Union to help it defeat the Nazi invasion. Totaling $11.3 billion, or $180 billion in today’s currency, the Lend-Lease Act of the United States supplied needed goods to the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1945 in support of what Stalin described to Roosevelt as the “enormous and difficult fight against the common enemy — bloodthirsty Hitlerism.”Here's a brief summary of what was delivered during the course of the war:• 400,000 jeeps & trucks• 14,000 airplanes• 8,000 tractors• 13,000 tanks• 1.5 million blankets• 15 million pairs of army boots• 107,000 tons of cotton• 2.7 million tons of petrol products• 4.5 million tons of food
Thunder Strikes | Operation Winter Storm Part II Armageddon 2023-06-10 | Daily maps from Stalingrad Battle Atlas, volume IV, StalData Publications.Other maps from German and Soviet archives.Special thanks to TIK, J. Duquette, B. Kroger and J. Wright for the voice over.
Rescuing 6th Army | Operation Winter Storm Part I Armageddon 2023-04-17 | In late November 1942, the Germans as much as the Soviets were surprised by the astounding success of Operation Uranus. By early December however, both sides got a clearer and more sober picture of the situation. For the Germans it was a disaster, but few of them knew it could also have been much worse. The Soviet ultimate goal was to truncate 6th Army piecemeal, and this was not achieved. After securing the front along the encirclement, the German army fiercely resisted all attacks like a wild boar backed into its den by hunters, blocking the Red Army’s advance in every direction. Axis forces also regrouped on the outer edge of the encirclement, where new commanders took the initiative to coerce their baffled units back into formation.But what to do next? What perspectives for the Germans?
Strategic Success or Missed Opportunity | Operation Uranus Part VI Armageddon 2022-12-26 | November 21-23. The last episode of the Operaion Uranus series use testimonies from different participants to the fighting to reconstitute a few interesting stories. It tells about the surprising trick used by the Soviets to lure the encircled Romanians into surrender. It details the incredible capture of the Kalach bridge undamaged. It explains how two Soviet tank groups advancing from opposing directions fired at one another, as they were trying to close the German encirclement. It also tries to picture what could have been the course of events, had the Soviets had just a few more troops at their disposal, and the catastrophic way things could have turned out for the Germans if these troops had been used efficiently.
When was a breakout possible? Answer to TIK Armageddon 2022-09-11 | Last time we initiated a discussion with TIK about a possible breakthrough operation by 6th Army: should Paulus have ordered it or not, and what were the best conditions for it to succeed.Link to TIK's video: youtu.be/X3HAuWbSCWI
Had Paulus to break out? Discussing TIKs video Armageddon 2022-07-02 | In this video we'll discuss what TIK argued about in his last release: "Could Paulus Have Abandoned Stalingrad". One should be careful not to mix things up. Could or should 6th Army have abandoned Stalingrad to save itself is one thing, but would such a breakout benefit the entire German front and the war: this is a completely different discussion.Had 6th Army retreated behind the Don to join the rest of Army Group B, The Red Army could have pushed the frontline up to Rostov one month earlier than it actually did, and trapped Army Group A in the Caucasus. This would have amounted to trade one army group for another.On the other hand the Luftwaffe and a significant part of 6th Army would have been spared. Also, a trapped Army Group A didn't necessarily mean it could have been easily defeated. The Caucasus is a large area...Still it's probable that the path to Soviet ultimate victory would have been shorter in this configuration. That means that from a general strategic point of view, to tie down Soviet forces around 6th Army for another two months was probably beneficial to Germany short term.But from 6th Army's perspective, holding Stalingrad and wait for hypothetical rescue was certainly not the right thing to do. Now let's see if a retreat could have been seriously considered, and if it could have succeeded.TIK rightly points out, with excellent arguments, that a coordinated retreat wasn't possible. We won't argue about this because we fully agree. But here's the keyword: coordinated. Yes, the situation didn't allow for a coordinated retreat, neither early nor late after the encirclement. Yet, an uncoordinated retreat could have taken place.We're speaking about an all-out retreat, but not necessarily a rout. As it appeared, the Soviet Command underestimated the number of troops of its opponents from the beginning of the counteroffensive. And as we'll explain in the next videos of our series, Operation Uran barely succeeded in encircling 6th Army: the Soviet brigades ended up on their knees as they tied their net around so large a group of forces. So it's obvious that they could not prevent 6th Army from disengaging everywhere at once and fall back to new positions.Of course this retreat would have been catastrophic, fuel was lacking, most of the troops would have been on foot, and all the heavy weapons would have been lost. But compare that to the ultimate outcome, and you'll see that it could hardly have been worse.More or less 300,000 were trapped in the cauldron. From those, about 25,000 wounded were evacuated by the Luftwaffe, and about 5,000 POWs eventually returned to Germany after the war.That's it: 10%. 30,000 out of 300,000.Could anyone imagine a worse outcome in case of an uncoordinated breakout? Even in a later stage, for instance during operation Wintergewitter in December, it's hard to imagine that only 10% would have made it. And in case of an early breakout, it's almost certain that a lot more than 10% would have reached the German lines safely.Obviously, retrospective plays a lot here. If 6th Army's Command and its troops would have known the issue, they almost certainly had considered a breakout, even an uncoordinated one.In 1972, for the 30th anniversary of the battle, the French TV released a documentary on Stalingrad, which included several interviews from key leaders, Soviet and German. It offers a unique occasion to watch interviews of key leaders in the Battle of Stalingrad, such as Generals Chuikov, Zhukov or Rokossovsky, and on the German side Colonel Selle (Chief of 6th Army's Pioneer Troops) remembering about the day General Paulus received the order to stand fast in Stalingrad.And there's also this interview of colonel von Kielmansegg, a staff officer on the terrain back then, who points out this distinction between coordinated and uncoordinated retreat, comparing it to releasing open the floodgates of a dam. In his opinion, this was the only real solution for 6th Army...Excerpts from the French documentary series "Les Grandes Batailles: Stalingrad" by Jean-Louis Guillaud, Daniel Costelle and Henry de Turenne, ORTF, 1972.TIK's channel @TheImperatorKnight youtube.com/user/TheImperatorKnight
The Stalingrad Front Strikes | Operation Uranus Part V Armageddon 2022-06-26 | 20 November 1942: second day of Operation Uranus. As the The Stalingrad Front attacked in turn, the Soviet High Command was pressing both fangs together. For 6th Army the situation was becoming extremely precarious. It tried to prevent this with a counterattack by the 14th Corps and the 48th Panzer Corps. But what if this failed? What if their armoured forces proved too weak? Then 6th Army would be caught in a cauldron...Also discussing TIK's own series in parallel run: what aspects are we disagreeing upon?
All Hells Broken Loose | Operation Uranus Part IV Armageddon 2022-04-28 | In the last episode, we saw that very few believed in the success of yet another Soviet counteroffensive; even the Soviet Command itself... They believed in Operation Mars, that's why they allocated more resources and Zhukov was directly supervising it, whereas Uranus was "left" to Vasilevsky.And indeed, the operation had only little chances of success, contrary to the popular belief that "as soon as it was unleashed, the Germans were doomed, because they didn’t see it coming".That was not at all the case! There were really few chances for Operation Uran to succeed, and many to fail. As we’ll see in the upcoming episodes, it barely achieved its primary objectives, not even all of them, and even so with several strokes of luck. As we’ll explain, it came close to disaster several times, and could have failed at several key moments. Just like was the case for the battle in the city, where the Soviet 62nd Army was close to collapse numerous times.Let’s review the details of the first day of operations, from the very beginning.
Not a Chance of Success? | Operation Uranus Part III Armageddon 2022-03-26 | As brilliant as it was, Operation Uran had very little chances of success.The question people usually ask is: "how come the Germans didn't know about the Soviet preparations". But it’s not the right one.In fact, the German Command knew about the upcoming offensive. As we saw in the last episode, 6th Army’s command was aware of Soviet preparations, just like was Army Group B and the OKH. But Hitler and Zeitzler didn’t believe this could develop into something really threatening.A first reason for this is that not all Soviet preparations could be detected in time. Another one is that the Germans were used to poorly organized Soviet attacks on the Don front, north of Stalingrad. And indeed, all these offensives had failed one after another for three months, from August to October 1942.So the right question is not “why they didn’t see it coming”. Rather, one should ask: “what were its chances of success”. And to that question, the German Command had but one answer: “none”...
Were the Romanians Responsible? | Operation Uranus Part II Armageddon 2022-02-05 | The Romanian troops are usually seen as the main responsible for the German defeat and the primary reason why the Soviet offensive succeeded. We’ll try to determine if this was really the case.
What the Germans Knew | Operation Uranus Part I Armageddon 2022-01-01 | In this new series of many episodes, we’ll detail how the Soviet counteroffensive at Stalingrad was planned, prepared and implemented, with the full course of operations from November 19 to 30, 1942. We’ll extensively cover both the Soviet and German perspectives. We’ll run this in parallel to TIK’s outstanding series “Battlestorm Stalingrad” which for sure all of you already follow, and we urge you to do so if not yet the case. This way we can mutually benefit from our studies, cross-check events, share and confirm interpretations, perhaps confront some of them, to provide our viewers an information level as never seen before.In this first episode, we’ll see in what situation the German 6th Army was when the Soviet offensive prepared on its flanks, what was the state of mind of its leaders, what they knew about their peril and what they did to try and prevent it. This should answer many recurring questions people usually ask about “how is it possible the Germans didn’t see it coming” and “why didn’t they prepare for it”.Sources:Anton Joly: Stalingrad Battle Atlas David Glantz: Endgame at Stalingrad Wilhelm Adam: Memoirs Tony Le Tissier: With Paulus at Stalingrad waralbum.ruSpecial thanks to Brad Golding, Gary Tanner, Henry Wolf and Jim Wood
The War Is Over | The Road To Berlin Part VII Armageddon 2021-11-20 | Conclusion to the epic series. Berlin, 1st May 1945. As German isolated groups put up last-ditch resistance inside the city, the new government led by Goebbels sent General Krebs to negotiate a separate peace with the Soviet Command. Krebs made his way to 8th Guards Army HQ at dawn, where he began discussing with General Chuikov. His aim was to reach an agreement on a separate peace with the Soviet Union. Several hours later, the negotiations were still going on...Sources:V. Chuikov: From Stalingrad to BerlinC. Duffy: Red storm on the Reich, The soviet march on Germany, 1945D. Glantz: Red Army Officers SpeakH. Heiber and D. Glantz: Hitler and His Generals: Military Conferences 1942-1945J. Lopez: Berlin, les offensives géantes de l'Armée Rouge (12 janvier-9 mai 1945)H. Magenheimer: Abwehrschlacht an der Weichsel 1945A. Mednikov: The Berlin NotesC. Ryan: The Last BattleSpecial thanks to Brad Golding for narration, John Duquette, Aleksandr Poutanen and Yor Eichenherz for voice overs.Sound effects from Zapsplat.com
Downfall | The Road To Berlin Part VI Armageddon 2021-11-04 | This is the penultimate video in this series: one more to go!After the last German strategic forces collapse around the Reich capital, Soviet troops enter Berlin for the final battle. Marshals Zhukov and Konev compete for the master prize. After several days of incredibly hard fighting, the German Command reaches out for negotiations with the Soviets. But Stalin would not hear of anything else than unconditional surrender...Sources:V. Chuikov: From Stalingrad to BerlinC. Duffy: Red storm on the Reich, The soviet march on Germany, 1945D. Glantz: Red Army Officers SpeakH. Heiber and D. Glantz: Hitler and His Generals: Military Conferences 1942-1945J. Lopez: Berlin, les offensives géantes de l'Armée Rouge (12 janvier-9 mai 1945)H. Magenheimer: Abwehrschlacht an der Weichsel 1945A. Mednikov: The Berlin NotesC. Ryan: The Last BattleSpecial thanks to Brad Golding for narration, John Duquette, Thorsten Manfred, Gary Tanner and Thomas Layton for voice overs.Sound effects from Zapsplat.com
The Last Counter Strike | The Road To Berlin Part V Armageddon 2021-09-26 | The heavy fighting on the Oder in April 1945 was the last German strategic engagement on the Eastern Front, and it literally resulted in the opening of the road to Berlin for the Red Army.In the last episode we detailed the difficulties encountered by Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front to break through the German lines at Seelow, and his subsequent decision to commit the tank armies ahead of time, in order to "bulldoze" his way to Berlin. Although this decision was criticized by many, including Stalin, it nevertheless achieved its objective: the German defense at Seelow began to crumble away.Now let’s investigate this key event from the German perspective. We already know about Hitler’s belief that the main Soviet offensive was aimed at Prague, not at Berlin, and fort this reason he refused to provide Heinrici with the strategic reserves he asked for the Oder Front. We’ve also learned that Busse’s 9th Army could hold its positions and resist the Soviet onslaught for three days before finaly collapsing. Let’s detail these days as seen from a German point of view, with a particular focus on the panzer divisions that played a key role in this final stage of the war.Sources:S. Chtemenko, The Soviet General Staff at war, 1941-1945C. Duffy: Red storm on the Reich, The soviet march on Germany, 1945D. Glantz: Colossus reborn, The Red Army at warD. Glantz: Red Army Officers SpeakH. Heiber and D. Glantz: Hitler and His Generals: Military Conferences 1942-1945J. Lopez: Berlin, les offensives géantes de l'Armée Rouge (12 janvier-9 mai 1945)H. Magenheimer: Abwehrschlacht an der Weichsel 1945A. Mednikov: The Berlin NotesC. Ryan: The Last BattleThanks to Gerry Tanner, John Duquette, and J.P. Wright for the voice over
Red Dawn At Seelow | The Road To Berlin Part IV Armageddon 2021-08-23 | The battle for Berlin takes place in two stages: the Battle of the Oder (16 - 20 April), and the battle in the city itself (21 April - 2 May).In this episode we’ll focus on the first one, and especially on the most critical sector of the front: the Seelow Heights.Sources:S. Chtemenko, The Soviet General Staff at war, 1941-1945C. Duffy: Red storm on the Reich, The soviet march on Germany, 1945D. Glantz: Colossus reborn, The Red Army at warD. Glantz: Red Army Pfficers SpeakH. Heiber and D. Glantz: Hitler and His Generals: Military Conferences 1942-1945J. Lopez: Berlin, les offensives géantes de l'Armée Rouge (12 janvier-9 mai 1945)H. Magenheimer: Abwehrschlacht an der Weichsel 1945A. Mednikov: The Berlin NotesC. Ryan: The Last BattleThanks to T. Manfred, J. Duquette, G. Toner and J. Wright for the voice over
Could the US Take Berlin? | The Road To Berlin Part III Armageddon 2021-06-20 | During the Cold War, Eisenhower was criticized for having allowed the Soviets to seize Berlin (as well as Prague and Vienna), when the US 9th Army was able to reach it first. But did the Supreme Allied Commander in the West have a choice?Sources:S. Chtemenko, The Soviet General Staff at war, 1941-1945 C. Duffy: Red storm on the Reich, The soviet march on Germany, 1945 D. Glantz: Colossus reborn, The Red Army at war D. Glantz: Red Army Pfficers Speak H. Heiber and D. Glantz: Hitler and His Generals: Military Conferences 1942-1945 J. Lopez: Berlin, les offensives géantes de l'Armée Rouge (12 janvier-9 mai 1945) H. Magenheimer: Abwehrschlacht an der Weichsel 1945 A. Mednikov: The Berlin Notes C. Ryan: The Last Battle Thanks to TIK, M. Kurogane, T. Manfred, J. Duquette, G. TonerTIK's channel:youtube.com/user/TheImperatorKnight
Dramatic Conference in the Bunker | The Road To Berlin Part II Armageddon 2021-05-23 | The German supreme leader and his generals, deciding strategy against the Soviets on the Oder, 50 km from Berlin, as recalled by Colonel General Heinrici, Colonel Eismann and other key witnesses to these dramatic events, and as compiled in Cornelius Ryan's excellent book "The Last Battle". The drama of these last days of the Reich. Stay tuned for upcoming episodes, and support us for our work.patreon.com/StaldataSources of the Road to Berlin series (alphabetical):S. Chtemenko, The Soviet General Staff at war, 1941-1945C. Duffy: Red storm on the Reich, The soviet march on Germany, 1945D. Glantz: Colossus reborn, The Red Army at warD. Glantz: Red Army Pfficers SpeakH. Heiber and D. Glantz: Hitler and His Generals: Military Conferences 1942-1945J. Lopez: Berlin, les offensives géantes de l'Armée Rouge (12 janvier-9 mai 1945)H. Magenheimer: Abwehrschlacht an der Weichsel 1945A. Mednikov: The Berlin NotesC. Ryan: The Last BattleThanks to TIK, M. Kurogane, T. Manfred, J. Duquette, G. Toner
The Road to Berlin: Setting the Stage to the Final Battle of the War Armageddon 2021-05-03 | We'll review the situation of the Wehrmacht and the Red Army in 1945. We'll have an overview of the Soviet strategic operations that ended up on the Oder, at the gates of Berlin. We'll see how the German Command prepared the last line of defense, and how the Soviet Command prepared its final assault. In the process, we'll debunk several myths and legends.Sources (alphabetical):S. Chtemenko, The Soviet General Staff at war, 1941-1945C. Duffy: Red storm on the Reich, The soviet march on Germany, 1945D. Glantz: Colossus reborn, The Red Army at warD. Glantz: Red Army Pfficers SpeakH. Heiber and D. Glantz: Hitler and His Generals: Military Conferences 1942-1945J. Lopez: Berlin, les offensives géantes de l'Armée Rouge (12 janvier-9 mai 1945)H. Magenheimer: Abwehrschlacht an der Weichsel 1945A. Mednikov: The Berlin NotesC. Ryan: The Last BattleThanks to TIK, M. Kurogane, T. Manfred, J. Duquette, G. Toner
The Fall of Berlin | Sneak Peek into the upcoming series Armageddon 2021-04-11 | This channel provides the most up-to-date information on the Soviet-German War (the Eastern Front in World War II) by compiling historical data from archival documents, literature and wartime footage, along with new evidence whenever found.It seeks exclusive, original content instead of duplicating information easily found elsewhere.It focuses on military strategy and recreates historical conversations between top leaders of both sides, allowing channel supporters to become voice-over actors for all featured characters.Offering the stage to everyone and presenting outstanding info is what makes this channel unique. It has historical and educational purposes only, and no political, ideological or polemic purposes. Commentators are asked to avoid this kind of issues. The only objective is historical reality.STRICTLY UNPOLITICAL VIDEOSDO NOT POST any abusive, insulting, ultra nationalistic or other polemic comments.Thank you.
Cordial Distrust: Allies For Better And For Worse | The Strange Alliance Part IV Armageddon 2021-04-02 | In this uncommon alliance between western democracies and the Soviet Union, both sides obviously knew they couldn’t completely trust each other. But since this was a first-time experience for all of them, they couldn’t quite figure out where to put the cursor: to what extent one could actually believe in the good faith of such an ally? This question was valid for Stalin as well as for the western leaders: words and signatures were one thing, but what was the real deal behind?
The Real Role of the US in Soviet Industry Development | The Strange Alliance Part III Armageddon 2021-02-28 | Margaret Bourke-White was the foremost woman war reporter.She was to take pictures of Soviet Russia, its industry, its society, its prominent figures including Stalin, and some "rare specimens" never filmed before, like Stalin's mother in her distant Georgian village...The pictures of the Kremlin meetings between Stalin and US Secretary Hopkins, that we presented in our last video, as well as many other Moscow shots in this series, were taken by the American reporter and first female war photo-reporter Margaret Bourke-White.In 1941 she and her husband Erskine Caldwell were the only foreign journalists in the Soviet Union at the beginning of the war. Margaret Bourke-White's photos were seen by millions in the West and became famous after publication in Life Magazine.Yet it was touch and go, as we’ll see from the behind the scenes story.We'll have a look at how this internationally acclaimed reporter, largely unknown today, covered the Soviet Union during key periods of its history. And we'll also see how, for over thirty years, she made photographic history: as the first photographer to see the artistic and storytelling possibilities in American industry, as the first to write social criticism with a lens, and as the most distinguished and venturesome foreign correspondent-with-a-camera to report wars, politics and social and political revolution on three continents.By Anton Joly, Brad Golding and Pamela Brisley
German vs Soviet Wartime Production Comparison: Ammunition, Oil, Tank, Aircraft Armageddon 2021-02-11 | Period: 1941 - 1945Allied / Axis countries featured: - Ammunition Stats: Germany, USSR, Britain, USA, Japan- Oil Stats: Germany, USSR, Britain, Romania, Hungary (USA not featured because of its much larger scale which would made other countries hard to read)- Tanks and Aircraft: Germany, USSR
Send Us Tanks - Stalin Asks for American Assistance | The Strange Alliance Part II Armageddon 2021-01-09 | US Secretary of Commerce Harry Hopkins’ visit to Moscow was of crucial importance to the whole future of American-Soviet and Anglo-Soviet relations. Hopkins was also Director of the Lend-Lease program and Roosevelt's closest advisor on foreign policy during World War II. He tells of his meeting with Stalin five weeks after the German invasion...Thanks for watching, don't forget to subscribe, support us on Patreon and get benefits at patreon.com/Staldata
To Our Allies In USSR - How Britain Supported The Soviet Union | The Strange Alliance Part I Armageddon 2020-12-27 | To many eyes this alliance seemed unnatural, and few could imagine how such different, even opposite regimes could speak in a same voice and actually work together... What exactly could this cooperation achieve? Discover the details of the main diplomatic events, and learn what was happening behind the scenes, in this new episode of the Strange Alliance!
The Strange Alliance: could Western Allies and the USSR get along? Armageddon 2020-12-04 | "The Strange Alliance"... "The Alliance of Necessity"... "The Uneasy Alliance"... But also "The Grand Alliance". These adjectives qualified the wartime partnership between the United States and Great Britain on one hand, and the Soviet Union on the other.To many eyes this alliance seemed unnatural, and few could imagine how such different, even opposite regimes could speak in a same voice and actually work together.And indeed a common dialogue was not easily found between the western powers and the USSR. In terms of military strategy, they agreed upon one major point only: to concentrate on the European theater of operations against Germany and Italy even if it delayed the effort to deal with Japanese aggression in the Pacific. The Soviet Union was not at war with Japan, its sole concern was saving the motherland from German invasion. While the Japanese attacks on both American and British possessions in December, 1941 made it politically impossible to ignore the Pacific, Churchill and Roosevelt agreed with Stalin to focus their attention primarily on Germany.On all other matters, there was disagreement over military strategy and how postwar security for all three powers was to be attained.For the Soviet Union, which was fighting for its very existence, an immediate invasion of occupied France by the United States and Great Britain was clearly the most appropriate strategy. Only an all-out invasion of Western Europe, that would open a "Second Front", would force Hitler to redeploy significant German troops from the eastern front. Stalin argued that less forceful and more indirect operations in other areas would not provide the Soviets the relief they required.For the British, an immediate direct frontal assault on the well-fortified wall of Hitler's Fortress Europe was military suicide. The two western powers were inadequately prepared to launch such an immediate assault. They had neither the manpower nor the armament needed to give it sufficient chances of success. Years of preparation would be required.Instead, Churchill argued that the western powers should concentrate their military efforts on the periphery of Fortress Europe in areas where the Germans and Italians were weakest. This periphery strategy called for joint British-American operations against Germany's Afrika Korps in North Africa followed by sequential invasions of both Sicily and Italy. Only then could the D-Day "Second Front" invasion of France begin.Roosevelt did his best to find a compromise between these two forceful leaders. And he succeeded in convincing both Stalin and Churchill that the western powers would pursue the periphery strategy while undertaking preparations for D-Day. As soon as those efforts were complete, England and the United States would invade occupied France.Nevertheless, the delay of the "Second Front" created incredible suspicion and tension between the Soviet Union and its western allies. The Soviet leadership, based upon the historic antipathy with the West, feared that the United States and Britain were intentionally delaying the attack in hopes that the Soviets and the Germans would destroy each other. The two nations would launch the invasion then and only then in order to establish Anglo-American hegemony and control over all of Europe, including the Soviet Union.* * *Let's have a look into this "strange" but also fascinating alliance.Let's review the most interesting letters exchanged between the great leaders: we'll see that suspicion, fears and even anger against each other show up under the official tone, sometimes remotely, and sometimes incredibly near, almost right behind the diplomatic language.
Sergeant Pavlov Remembers The House - Unique Interview Armageddon 2020-11-13 | At the end of September 1942, a Red Army squad led by Sergeant Pavlov captured a four-story building in the Stalingrad city center. This was to become the legendary Pavlov's House... A few decades later, journalists made an audio recording of the defenders’ accounts, which became part of the Russian national archives. Stalingrad Battle Data retrieved this unique recording and translated it into English. So now you can hear both Sergeant Pavlov and Lieutenant Afanasiev remembering these difficult times in their own words...Special thanks to DTA RED for pointing at this audio recording and to the Russian Military Archives to providing it.
70 Years in Study: The German-Soviet Front in WW2 Armageddon 2020-11-09 | This is an introduction to novel approaches in the study of the Soviet-German Front in World War II. Let's have a look at the evolution of literature and historiology in the past 70 years, and compare the materials available to researchers then and now, with a focus on the most recently released archives.
They Kept On Fighting After 6th Army Surrendered Armageddon 2020-10-15 | The German soldiers and officers that continued to resist after the official surrender at Stalingrad: this had been a widely popular topic for decades...According to some sources, over 11,000 soldiers refused to lay down their arms at the official surrender. They continued to resist, hiding in cellars and sewers, but by early March 1943, the remaining small and isolated pockets of resistance had surrendered. Legend or reality? So far, there was no evidence about it. After weeks of research in the recently released stock of archival material, StalData found at last the documents that confirm this...If you'd like to support us in our quest for History, you can join at:http://www.patreon.com/StalDataNote: this video was made before StalData's Patreon's page gained its first members, that's why current patrons don't appear in the credits. From now on they'll appear in the credits of every new video. There's a special version of this video on Patreon that does include the full credits, and they have exclusive access to the source materials. They are added here below as well.Expert:John Duquette Adepts:saurabh dasgupta John CordesSteven PardonDavid RaschThorsten Manfredbry sJourneyman:Tony RiegerApprentice:AAA Gerry TannerNovices:Mot Robert BoothBuck JohnsonJohnnyGGuido R.Thank you all, you're awesome and make videos on this channel possible!
STALDATA Channel Trailer: All about the Battle for Stalingrad Armageddon 2020-10-05 | The Stalingrad Battle Data Youtube Channel provides the most up-to-date information on the Battle of Stalingrad, by compiling historical data from archival documents, literature and wartime newsreel footage, along with new evidence whenever found. This channel seeks exclusive and unique content, trying to present new information instead of duplicating already existing one. This channel has historical and educational purposes only. It has no political, ideological or polemic purposes, and commenters are strongly encouraged to try to avoid this kind of issues. The only objective is historical reality.But this is not all about military history. this is also about personal stories, accounts from veterans, local residents, and popular culture: films, books...This is only about Stalingrad, but from every perspective... all of it!
WARDATA Channel Trailer: The German-Soviet Front in WW2 Armageddon 2020-10-02 | WarData: Investigating the Most Savage War in the History of Mankind... The German-Soviet Front was by far the most prominent in World War II. And it was not like any other. This was not a conflict between two states or nations, this was a conflict between two ideologies and civilizations. The ruthlessness of this war was unprecedented. There was almost no mercy.The German war machine virtually destroyed the Red Army during the first months, but the resilience of the Soviet people, for whom this was a total war from the very beginning, allowed its army to rebuild anew, and then in turn to break the back of the Wehrmacht. At least 80% of the German forces were destroyed on the Russian front. This tells a lot.The study of this conflict has long been biased by the antagonist regimes during the Cold War. It was never fully documented or appreciated using correct numbers, neither in the East nor in the West.Fifty years after, it becomes at last possible to consider a rich and unbiased study of this major theatre of operations. Every day more and more new key material is released from the former Soviet archives. This revolution in the history of WWII studies, coupled with the new possibilities offered by the internet and numerical technologies, allows historians to work on an unprecedented level of accuracy and to write the definitive story of this largely unknown conflict.The German-Soviet War Data Channel provides unique content based on Soviet and German archival material for each of the 1,418 days in this terrible conflict.Subscribe at http://www.youtube.com/c/WarData
The entire Stalingrad Campaign at a glance on German HQ maps Armageddon 2020-09-23 | The ENTIRE strategic campaign for Stalingrad: 125 maps/days. Original wartime German OKH situation maps. The tactical fighting in the city (70 days) will be part of a subsequent video. Sources: US Archives (NARA), special thanks to John Calvin.If you like this content and want us to continue making quality, well researched videos, consider supporting us on Patreon and become a patron of Stalingrad Battle Data!www.patreon.com/Staldata
Unwelcome Heroes: The Ordeal of the Red Army Women Rejected by Society After the War Armageddon 2020-09-19 | Fighting at the front was one thing. But what happened to those women when the war ended? How were they met as they came back? Sadly many of them were not treated as they deserved... And for some, the real tragedy was only just beginning.The extracts that follow are from Svetlana Alexievich’s Nobel Prize winning book, The Unwomanly Face of War, and from Dmitry Baranov’s Facebook page, The Red Army During the Great Patriotic War.
Stalingrad Forgotten Stories: Women Heroes and Veterans Armageddon 2020-09-08 | The most moving and now forgotten stories of Stalingrad heroes, followed by interviews and quotes from citizens and veterans.Quotes from Jochen Hellbeck, "Stalingrad" and Jason Mark, "Island of Fire".Dedicated to the heroic women of Stalingrad and to the victims of all wars.Special thanks to Brad and Stacey for their contribution to this video.
Lydia Litvyak: The White Lily of Stalingrad Armageddon 2020-08-30 | Another famous woman was Lydia Litvyak, the fighter ace, also known as the White Lily (or White Rose) of Stalingrad. Guards Junior Lieutenant Lydia Litvyak was the first female fighter pilot to shoot down a German aircraft, and the first of two female fighter pilots to earn the title of fighter ace. She is counted among the most famous defenders of Stalingrad.
The Women Who Defended The Stalingrad Tractor Factory Against German Panzers Armageddon 2020-08-21 | The Real Story of the 1077th Anti-Aircraft Regiment at Stalingrad. Women against Tanks... The most emblematic women who participated in the Battle of Stalingrad were also the first: those of the 1077th Anti-Aircraft Regiment (Russian: 1077-й зенитный артиллерийский полк). There were several controversial accounts on this unit and its memorable fight on August 23, 1942. Here is the actual story, based on archival data and on the accounts of actual fighters. Here is also the answer to the question as why German accounts speak of a whole-female unit.Part II of the Three-Episodes Series: Women in the Red Army & Those who served at StalingradAuthors and narrators: Anton Joly, Brad Golding, Elena Logacheva Sources and acknowledgements: S. Alexeievich: «The Unwomanly Face of War» L. Ovchinnikova: «Women in Soldiers' greatcoats» L. Plastikova: «A Few Episodes of the Battle for Stalingrad» A. Werth: «Russia At War» J. Hellbeck: «Stalingrad, The City that Defeated the Third Reich» J. Mark: «Island of Fire» E. Joly: «Victory At All Cost» A. Drabkin: Veterans’ interviews on iremember.ru Special thanks to Egor Kobiakov, Alexander D, Dmitry Baranov and the communities at waralbum.ru / warspot.ru / nordrigel.livejournal.comVideo footage:The Unknown War: The Defense of StalingradDie Deutsche Wochenschau Nr.630
Womens War: Red Army Female Fighters on the Soviet-German Front Armageddon 2020-08-08 | Five-Episodes Series: Women in the Red Army & Those who served at StalingradPart I: Women in the Red ArmyIn Stalingrad as on every other front of the Soviet-German War, Red Army women played a very significant part. Let’s have a look at the role of Soviet women during the war, let’s review the most famous of them, and then focus on those who fought at Stalingrad or contributed in their own way to the battle on the Volga.Authors and narrators:Anton Joly, Brad Golding, Elena Logacheva Sources and acknowledgements: S. Alexeievich: «The Unwomanly Face of War» L. Ovchinnikova: «Women in Soldiers' greatcoats» L. Plastikova: «A Few Episodes of the Battle for Stalingrad» A. Werth: «Russia At War» J. Hellbeck: «Stalingrad, The City that Defeated the Third Reich» J. Mark: «Island of Fire» E. Joly: «Victory At All Cost» A. Drabkin: Veterans’ interviews on iremember.ru Special thanks to:Egor Kobiakov, Alexander D, Dmitry Baranov and the communities at waralbum.ru / warspot.ruMusic and Songs:Баллада о солдате Ballad of a SoldierВ землянке The DugoutВ лесу прифронтовом Forests at the FrontГорячий снег Hot SnowДавай закурим Let's have a smokeДве подруги Two friendsДень Победы Victory DayДовоенный вальс Pre-war WaltzКатюша KatyushaМоя любимая My loveНам нужна одна Победа We Need One VictoryНе думай о секундах свысока Don't Shun InstantsНесокрушимая и легендарная Enduring and LegendaryОгонек The Small FireОй туманы мои растуманы Misty FogsСвященная война Holy WarСиний платочек Blue ScarfСоловьи NightingalesТёмная ночь Dark NightЭх дороги Roads
Paulus Returns Home: The End of The Story | Suzdal Camp Part V Armageddon 2020-07-04 | The last episode in the Suzdal Camp series deals with the personal diary of Marshal Paulus in captivity, the repentance of the former 6th Army commander, his return to Germany during the Cold War, his new role as a lecturer and his fight with the former Wehrmacht leaders in the West trying to revise History and downplay the achievements of the USSR.List of Chapters:The Dramatic PastThe RepentanceThe Forgotten DiaryThe Return HomeThe New FightSources:A. Blank and B. Khavkin: The Second Life of Field Marshal Paulus (excerpts translated by StalData)V. Markovchin: Field Marshal Paulus, From Hitler to Stalin (excerpts translated by StalData)If you enjoyed this series and wish this channel to continue providing unique content, please consider supporting it on Patreon: patreon.com/Staldata
Paulus at Nuremberg: Critical Witness | Testimony of the former Field Marshal | Suzdal Camp Part IV Armageddon 2020-06-07 | The "Suzdal Camp 160" series continues. June 1944: Operation Bagration destroys the powerful German Army Group Centre once and for all. Thousands of prisoners are marched through the streets of Moscow. Field Marshal Paulus' personal notes on this event, and on the plot against Hitler, translated here for the first time, help understand how the former leader of 6th Army experienced his difficult reassessments before switching over to the Soviet side. At the international tribunal of Nuremberg, Paulus appears as a critical witness. He answers to such questions as "Barbarossa: war of aggression or preventive strike?", "How German POWs were treated by the Soviets?", and "Why did you keep on fighting at Stalingrad in a desperate situation?".Full English translations of the testimony of the former field marshal.Sources:Archival documents of the Nuremberg Trials T. 2. S. 611-620A. I. Poltorak: Nuremberg epilogue. 1965. S. 509A. Blank and B. Khavkin: The Second Life of Field Marshal Paulus (excerpts translated by StalData)V. Markovchin: Field Marshal Paulus, From Hitler to Stalin (excerpts translated by StalData)Film Archive of the United States Holocaust Memorial MuseumFilm Archive of the Robert Jackson CenterIf you enjoyed this series and wish this channel to continue providing unique content, please consider supporting it on Patreon: patreon.com/Staldata
How Paulus Betrayed Hitler | Suzdal Camp Part III Armageddon 2020-05-09 | Third part in the "Suzdal Camp" series dealing with German officers captured at Stalingrad.In July 1944, Operation Bagration destroys Army Group Centre in Belarus. Thousands of German prisoners, including generals, are marched through the streets of Moscow.These are now joining the other generals captured at Stalingrad months ago, in Suzdal Camp 160. The news of this crushing defeat followed by the failed Hitler assassination attempt plunges the German POWs in bewilderment. One and a half years after his capture at Stalingrad, Field Marshal Paulus is still uncertain about which side he's on. Actually he is the last one still wondering: most of the captured German generals have turned against Hitler by this time. And he will eventually do the same after many difficult reflections. The consequences of the July plot against the Fuehrer and the persecutions of his family will decide Paulus to definitely turn against his former leader.Sources:A. Blank and B. Khavkin: The Second Life of Field Marshal Paulus (excerpts translated by StalData)
The Free Germany Committee | Suzdal Camp Part II Armageddon 2020-04-17 | Second episode in the series dedicated to Suzdal Camp 160, where 6th Army officers were transferred after their catpure at Stalingrad.It covers the struggle between antagonist parties in this special POW camp: the hardliners faithful to the Fuehrer, and the progressives rising against his regime.Caught between both these influences, Field Marshal Paulus faces difficult choices...Sources:A. Blank and B. Khavkin: The Second Life of Field Marshal Paulus (excerpts translated by StalData)
The Battle of Stalingrad 1949 Movie Review Armageddon 2020-03-23 | On May 9, 1949, for the 4th anniversary of the Victory in WW2, an epic movie depicting the battle of Stalingrad was released in the Soviet Union.This was the very first movie on this topic, just a few years after the real events. It was part of a series of propaganda epics with a Stalinist interpretation of the events.But let's consider it from a critical and pragmatic point of view: even if propaganda, the film has some areas of interest:- it's the very first cinema production on the Battle of Stalingrad. And an epic one, great scale, enormous battle scenes, good actors, etc.- some action scenes and and staff meetings are very well reconstituted and remain accurate from a historical perspective. So well that several well-known photos of the battle are actually pictures from this film.- even if some episodes are exaggerated or wrongly depicted, the overall chronology is correct, the dates are accurate, and there are many of them mentioned. So that if we consider the entire mosaic of events we get at precise picture of the campaign, over 6 months, from July 1942 to February 1943. No other film covers the battle as extensively, like a documentary transformed into a movie. So that's a strong positive aspect.
The Most Critical Hours: the counterattack of the 13th Guards Division in Stalingrad City Center Armageddon 2020-03-15 | The night to September 15, 1942, saw the most critical hours of the first assault in Stalingrad, when General Rodimtsev's 13th Guards Rifle Division fought back the forward German units in City Center, thus preventing its complete capture in three days as planned by General Paulus.Thanks to Brad Golding for the narration.Special thanks to Egor Kobiakov and Denis Golubev for providing some of the photos.Sources:The Unkown Stalingrad (E. Kobiakov)Stalingrad Battle Atlas, Volume I (A. Joly)Archival documents at TsAMO, NARA
15:15 Volga Reached! - 1st Battalion - 194.I.R - Account of the First German Assault in Stalingrad Armageddon 2020-03-07 | At 15:15 on September 14, 1942, the 1st Battalion of German 194th Infantry Division reached the Volga in Stalingrad City Center, less than 1 km from Soviet 62nd Army. This is the detailed account of the first German assault in the very streets of the city, as seen from the German, and then Soviet perspectives. The research behind this video is primarily based on wartime archival documents and the very latest study by A. Joly and E. Kobiakov.
Could Stalingrad Have Been Taken At Once? Armageddon 2020-03-01 | Stalingrad City Center could have been taken right away, if it were not for a handful of men. Had this been so, then the entire city could have been in German hands in a few days, just as was planned by the German Command.It’s a well-known fact that General Rodimtsev’s 13th Guards Division saved the day, on September 14, 1942, as 6th Army’s forward units were about to seize City Center and the main Volga River crossings.But the division only began crossing over to Stalingrad at dusk. So that Paulus had almost a full day at his disposal in order to defeat Chuikov before Rodimtsev’s men could arrive.The bulk of 62nd Army’s forces were concentrated in the northern and southern parts of the city. Yet between them, there was almost nothing. And maybe the fate of the Battle of Stalingrad was contained there, in this “almost”…So who were these men who paved the way for 13th Guards Division's arrival, thus probably saving the city, and what units did they belong to?And what was the state of the first German troops to enter the city?This video is based on the usual primary sources as in the StalData book series (from German and Soviet archival documents), but also and for the first time, on the very promising author Egor Kobiakov, a Russian colleague. His studies are definitely the most investigative, and the most accurate of all when it comes to the fighting in the streets of Stalingrad. His first book has just been released in Russia, and I’m working on English translation.With people like Egor, Brad and TIK, we’ll try and propose you the definitive Stalingrad studies, and provide answers to many still pending questions.
Time To Gather Stones: A Russian-German Friendship (Staldata Movie Reviews) Armageddon 2020-02-23 | StalData reviews "Time To Gather Stones", a film featuring a rare example of fraternization between former Russian and German enemies.Director Aleksey Karelin.Released in 2005.Subtitles by StalData.
Last days at Stalingrad and First interrogation of Field Marshal Paulus Armageddon 2020-02-15 | The pictures of the first interrogation of Field Marshal Paulus are famous. But few people actually know the details of the discussions. Roman Karmen was the only cameraman allowed to attend the most important meeting, between Marshal Paulus and General Rokossovsky, at the Soviet Don Front HQ on February 1st, 1943. This video is based on his account, never translated into English so far.
Breakout from Stalingrad: German radio exchanges during Operation Winter Storm (Narrated by TIK) Armageddon 2020-01-19 | Winter Storm and Thunder Strike: transcript of exchanges between top commanders at Army Group Don and 6th Army. The 6th German Army of General Paulus had been fighting in Stalingrad sinceSeptember 1942. Then in November, it was encircled as a result of the Sovietcounteroffensive, and the besiegers became the besieged. 300,000 men were trappedbetween the Don and Volga Rivers. Everyone was now expecting the relief operationsupervised by Field Marshal von Manstein, then considered the most capable Germancommander, which would break through the Soviet ring and free them up. Launched on 12December, Operation Winter Storm (Wintergewitter in German) reached its decisive stage on18 December. Hoth's 4th Panzer Army has finally broken through Soviet defenses on the AksaiRiver and at Verkhne-Kumsky, where it had been stuck for almost 5 days, and its vanguardshave reached the Myshkova River, the last defense line before reaching 6th Army.There had been much arguing about whether Paulus should have, or could have broken outof encirclement when it became clear that the relief army could not get any closer to his own.In these critical days, transcripts of radio exchanges between Paulus, Manstein and other keyleaders were recorded and stored in archives.Let's review these extremely interesting documents, along with situation maps, and see ifthey can shed light on the respective responsibilities of these leaders.Let's see how they assessed their situation, what was possible to do, what was suggested, and what was eventually decided.Sources: NARA ArchivesNARA T-312 R-1508 F-0082NARA T-312 R-1507 F-1265NARA T-311 R-271 F-0370, 0371NARA T-311 R-271 F-1126NARA T-312 R-1507 F-0299
The Battle of Stalingrad through wartime reports Part1: The Beginning (June 28 - September 13, 1942) Armageddon 2019-12-25 | New Day-By-Day video series "The Battle of Stalingrad through Wartime Reports", Part I: Case Blue (Fall Blau, June 28, 1942) and German advance to the Don and Volga Rivers, up to the first day of fighting in the city.The new German summer offensive did not target Moscow as expected by the Soviet High Command. From the Baltics to northern Ukraine only limited operations were to take place. The main axis of attack was south, to the Caucasus and the Volga.Events covered in this video:- Initial context (summary of the first year of the war in Russia)- German strategic objectives- First engagement with the Soviet Stalingrad Front- Advance to the Don River and fighting in the steppes- Advance to the Volga River and first assault on Stalingrad- Detail of September 13, 1942: first day of fighting inside the city, using German archival documents (6th Army and 51st Army Corps War Diaries)Together with Brad, we're working on this new series dedicated to day-by-day fighting, and heavily based on German and Soviet archival data (diaries, reports, schemes, maps, etc). This could incidentally serve as a reference for TIK's series on Stalingrad. TIK is a partner as we mutually exchange and promote each other's work.Sources:- German and Soviet Wartime Documents (NARA, TSAMO)- German and Soviet Wartime Situation Maps- Stalingrad Battle Atlas Book Series (Anton Joly)- The Unknown Stalingrad Book Series (Egor Kobiakov, Anton Joly)Script: Anton JolyNarration: Brad GoldingStalData 2019
