Operation Greif & the EXECUTION of Three German Saboteurs | History Traveler Episode 334

When the Battle of the Bulge kicked off on December 16, 1944, there was mass chaos and confusion with the surprise offensive that the Germans had launched through the Ardennes. Adding to this confusion was a group of German commandoes who made up a group called Panzer Brigade 150. As part of something called Operation Greif, these men put on American uniforms and were creating havoc behind the American lines. In this episode, we're talking a bit about Operation Greif and visiting the execution site and graves of a few of the men involved.

Other episodes that you might enjoy:

[TheHistoryUnderground]

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[crazygame]

My mother was a US Army Nurse in the ETO. She was in the 3rd army after its activation. She told me the wounded men suffered greatly as their cases of frostbite were great and many men lost their feet due to cold conditions.
Being in the war greatly impacted my mother. She was a 22 year old farm girl right out of nursing school when she went into the army. Off to Great Britain early 1943.

[roygarciaazborn]

It's freaky to see the video of these men being lead to their execution and then almost eighty years later seeing their final resting places. Great video J.D

[johnvilliers]

Due to Op Greif, the famous British actor David Niven was asked by suspicious American sentries during the Battle of the Bulge, who had won the World Series in 1943, he answered, "Haven't the foggiest idea, but I did co-star with Ginger Rogers in Bachelor Mother!"

[edsummers]

I remember in the 80's seeing the posts in the ground . The wall, I believe behind a garage, was covered in vines, and the ground was extremely muddy. I was on a reconnaissance looking for points of interest for a battle field tour, and we were told at breakfast in St. Vith that the posts were still in the ground. In the muddy pasture we turned and the wall, vines, and posts were just there. What an amazing site. It was entirely open. No fences or shipping containers. We then headed to Henri- Chapelle. Amazing day!

[Mhops]

Out of curiosity I googled Wilhelm Galland. He was a Luftwaffe Ace and credited with 55 aerial victories over the course of 186 combat missions. He was shot down and killed while attempting to intercept a flight of B-17's, however, they were intercepted by the escort of P-47's of the 56th Fighter Group. It's believed that Walker Mahurin was the American pilot who shot down Galland. As always, top notch content JD!

[jaymac]

The little moments in history that have happened without most people knowing about them are fascinating.

[deanito]

I can’t imagine being a young 20 something and walking so stoically and calmly to my own execution. A walk through that cemetery reminds us that the millions of lost soldiers were boys. On both sides. That Komba was 17!

[Dellboy]

3 p.m. here in the UK. And that is the time when everything stops for a cuppa tea. Excellent timing, JD.
Thank you for the time and effort that you put into these brilliant and informative videos.👍

[frances_]

This has to be one of my favorite History Traveler episodes! From the actual footage of the execution of the German saboteurs to the tidbit about Gen Bradley...so very interesting!

[CrossTrain]

"...I think I mispronounced that correctly..." JD 😂🤣

I've only gotten this far, but THIS was too good to not comment on immediately. Great stuff JD. I love it!

[bayricker]

Great video and great to see you've overcome the robbery last year to produce videos like this.

[LewisSkeeter]

Haunting expression on that man's face before he was shot. An almost-smile and then the lowered eyes.

[psychofan]

Wow! Awesome that you included that actual footage! What a story!

[suepalin]

JD: Wilhelm Galland was a brother of the German fighter ace, Adolf Galland, and was killed by a Thunderbolt from the 56th Fighter Group. And another excellent video!

[patm]

I was surprised to see that out of the 39K+ graves, you stumbled across the grave of Wilhelm Galland, a Luftwaffe ace with 55 victories, but whose older brother Adolf Galland was one of the most famous Luftwaffe aces with 104 victories and Luftwaffe General of the Fighter Arm for most of WW2 until he was dismissed in early 1945 after a well-known "Fighter Pilots Revolt" against Göring. Wilhelm died in air combat with the USAAF in Defense of the Reich during the infamous Schweinfurt-Regensburg bombing mission on August 17, 1943. Another great video JD!

[stephenpegum]

Yet another brilliantly researched & recorded episode JD & Erik (who was clearly somewhere in the background off camera). Thanks so much guys 👏

[adriannarobeson]

It's amazing & tragic to see so many young lives cut short during that tragic time, and visiting the actual grave sites as I was lucky enough to do in Normandy just makes you speechless because when you are there you see thousands of crosses ✝️ headstones & that is just at one Cemetery, a lot different of actually being there because its actually more headstones than what you would actually see & imagine on TV or the internet for soldiers regardless what side they were on, and fascinating seeing the headstones of the Germans who were executed for being spies impersonating American soldiers extremely fascinating when looking at the footage of the German soldiers being led to the firing squad by American troops than seeing their resting place 80 years later, it's really a honor of sharing so many of these videos because most people will never have the opportunity to see them, themselves including me even though I been to Europe three times now & planning to return in 2025 theres still so much to see that you will not get a chance to see everything.

[paulw]

The older I get the sadder the stories.

Fascinating. I visited the the British cemetery at Arnhem once, very sobering experience. Thanks for sharing