Battle of the Bulge, Animated - Part 7, Allied Counterattack

With the arrival of British XXX Corps to stabilize the line, Field Marshall Montgomery orders the Allies in the Ardennes to counterattack, to push the German forces back to the German border. After 5 years of bitter fighting, he is unwilling to task risks with the lives of his men, and with the industrial might of Britain and the United States supporting his forces, he aims to use Steel, not Flesh, to grind the enemy down.

Bibliography:
Caddick-Adams, Peter. Snow & Steel: The Battle of the Bulge, 1944-45. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2017.
Delaforce, P. (2010). Red Crown and Dragon: 53rd Welsh Division in North-West Europe, 1944-1945. Amberly Publishing.
Holland, James (2020). Normandy '44: D-day and the battle for France: A new history. Corgi.
O'Brien, P. P. (2022). How the War was Won: Air-Sea Power and Allied victory in World War II. Cambridge University Press.

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[TheOperationsRoom]

Genuinely so happy to welcome the great historian James Holland this week. And get yourself an awesome Goat Gun!

[BaronVonMott]

I love that you actually took the time and effort to examine allied methods and systems for support and logistics. This really helps to illustrate just how much had been learned and adapted over the course of the war.

[huntclanhunt]

Something that adds to how fast Shermans were replaced:

The average fatality among crews of Sherman tanks was 3%. Thanks to wet ammo storage, multiple escape hatches (including two on the bottom of the tank), the way fuel was stored in the tank, Shermans (or at least any variant after the M4) burned very slowly and rarely fully exploded. This meant even when the tank was knocked out, the crew was more often than not able to escape.

[anotherasiankid]

The food couriers are the MVPs. Its crazy to think that the British loved their food so much to the point where they would die delivering it. As always, outstanding work!

[johnwright]

Genuinely world-class stuff. This channel was already great but it's becoming something even better.

I loved how you highlighted logistics and strategy winning battles instead of "muh fightin' spirit" or "muh tank design." It's a measured and mature position in an age of hyper-polarization.

[tysonfreeman]

The way the US and British soldiers worked together is nothing short of amazing, just great team work. And now we work even better together as a team.

[malificajones]

I've read a lot about WW2 and this is the first time I've seen such fascinating coverage of the logistics.
Sherman tanks being replaced within a couple of hours, letting the tank crews get straight back into action is an incredible feat of logistics.

I always knew that the US industrial made a massive difference to the allied side, but replenishing lost materiel at such lightning fast rates is truly remarkable.

[PotatoSalad]

This shows the value of having experienced NCOs. They truly are the backbone of the army.

[themightyculsh]

Fun fact: The 144th RAC regt that served alongside the East Lancashire regiment was originally a battalion of the E. Lancs that was re-roled to an armoured unit. When they re-roled they initially refused to changed the cap badge and wore the black beret with a sphinx as a cap badge.

[domnetwon]

Great work getting James Holland in on this project! Fantastic video as always!

[rlauder]

Having only recently read a couple of James Holland's books, I can't believe I overlooked him as an author. His work is fantastic.
It's brilliant you were able to bring him on board for this project.

[HumbleWarrior]

Steel not flesh is genius, and it’s a doctrine we use in America today. Not only does it protect your most irreplaceable asset, but it also serves as a huge morale boost. No one wants to fight in a war in where they feel their lives aren’t valued and they are seen as expendable. Perhaps this was the greatest lesson learned from WWI

[keithrelyea]

Your presentation make me tremble at the bravery of the Brits. Hell, Hell, Hell is what they entered and withstood. The way your graphics and narration combine do justice to the sacrifice, thank you for caring for the past lives given. We all owe so very much to the ordinary man cast into this cauldron. Now so very few are alive, only memories.

[XClone]

I am a history buff, especially wars and conflicts. No other documentary I have ever seen is able to capture the scale of conflicts such as your video series. I am so amazed with what you are able to convey with how you put this together. I have learned so much, particularly with this video in how all of these large elements of the military work in unison. Bravo, and thank you for sharing.

[madmanjoe]

The effort, time and research you have put into this series is incredible. Keep up the good work mate and keep them coming. 👍

[boeing-ltel]

It's impossible to overstate the moral boost of a meal and a swig of rum to tired men, freezing in the forest.

[ronhall]

The rum ration was a hell of a boost. It was only issued under extreme climatic conditions, I've only been a recipient once and it's not the bog standard stuff, it's hellish strong.

[glennheth]

A Typhoon firing 8 RP-3 rockets at once was roughly the equivalent of a broadside from a destroyer.

[kurtwoods]

Really appreciate your addressing of support and logistics, and the guests have been such a great addition. Operations Room remains the gold standard.

[Huwbacca]

This is really brilliant, I have to say.

I truly enjoy the mix of perspectives included in every video - here how industrial output bleeds through to operation level doctrine, but also in so many previous videos where you have highlighted individual stories and people (and the mighty jingles haha)

That mix, and crucially, frequent humanisation of stories is something so very unique to this channel and I think is so crucial to why we should care about history.

Absolutely brilliant, I can't praise this channel enough. You should be extremely proud of what you've built here.