Beyond Volkssturm: Total War in East Prussia

In this video Dr. Bastiaan Willems Postdoctoral Fellow at the University College London and I discuss the war in East Prussia specifically in Königsberg in 1945. At this point of the war, the militarization of the German population reached a new level and it went "beyond the Volkssturm", now everyone was in some way involved in military service from kids to women.

Cover image: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-J31317 / CC-BY-SA 3.0

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Willems, Bastiaan: Violence in Defeat: The Wehrmacht on German Soil, 1944-1945. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, 2021.

#BeyondVolkssturm,#EastPrussia45,#TotalWar

[MilitaryHistoryNotVisualized]

If you are interested in Dr. Bastiaan Willems book, check it out here, these are non-affiliate links:

[markstrang]

Germans called the Volkssturm Goulash, because it consisted of young vegetables and old meat.

[michaelthayer]

I mean I get why the Germans went that far. They were trying to do what the Soviets did in 41-42 where the entire population was marshalled for the struggle. The idea being several-fold:
1. The Germans knew the Soviets were scrapping the barrel for manpower, especially in 44-45. We know that from the fact that they A. allowed Finland to sue for peace. B. didn't crush the Courland pocket. C. very aggressively recruited in the recently liberated territories e.g. recruiting former Latvian SS into the Red Army. D. Simple arithmetic from known Soviet census figures and casualty numbers that told them the Soviets couldn't have much more.
2. If they turn every German city into a Stalingrad-esque Festung it has the potential to bog down the Soviets just as they got bogged down, following Sun Tzu's idea "Throw your soldiers into positions whence there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight. " That worked for the Soviets so it might work for the Germans.
3. This grinding attrition was the last hope Germany knew it had to get any kind of favorable peace. They had to stand firm and cause as many casualties as possible to tire down the Allies and Soviets. In this context the no retreat strategy actually makes sense since the goal is not to preserve units or formations but to cause the enemy as much damage as possible.
The problem with this plan was the Western Allies, and the knowledge that surrendering to them was probably a 80-90% chance of living. The Soviet Population in 41-42 had no way out it was fight or die, while the Germans did have a way out, it was surrender to the Americans and British.

[TheYeti]

The East Prussian coat of arms is awesome .

[cnlbenmc]

"Beyond the Volkssturm" is a phrase I never thought I'd hear.

[seno]

Bernhard you are setting the bar for history on Youtube, also with these interviews of other historians.

[drox]

I love you talking more about the Volkssturm. A topic that should be more covered

[brucermarino]

Bernard and Dr. Willems, thank you again for an excellent presentation. There is always so much to learn!

[mididoctors]

This is a much better quality of new analysis than most history tubes. Bringing academics is welcomed

[KI.]

I couldn't imagine surviving WWI, just to be sent to the Eastern Front as a 50 year old man into a totally hopeless situation.

[twentyrothmans]

A huge thanks to Bastiaan, I look forward to your book.
It goes without saying that it's good to see you again, Bernard. Danke!

[Steel_Scholar]

It's always been interesting to me that that there was no real ongoing insurgency in Germany or Japan (not including the isolated holdouts on various islands obviously) after WWII like we've seen in place like the middle east.

[whbrown]

It's sounds like an extreme example of levee en masse enforced with compliance rewarded through food rations.

[shcomptech]

Interesting video, for some reason I was waiting for Werwolf units to get a mention.

[JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

The final death throw of any nation state regardless of ideology, sending children and grandfathers off to fight.

[johnlansing]

Just an idea in the fortress units, could seeing a constant civilian participation be a reminder as to what you are fighting for ? A possible incentive ?

[thebigone]

You’re the greatest historian on earth Bernhard!!! And it’s not even close! Thanks for dropping knowledge on us on the daily!!!

[WagesOfDestruction]

Let me make some observations, the Volkssturm would have had experienced and trained ww1 troops who although old and out of training could quickly be trained to be effective in defence where they basically stand and fight, also these people would naturally follow the Wehrmacht leadership in military decisions, and that young boys have been shown to make very good assault troops eg the US civil war, Iranian in its war against Iraq, etc.

[logoseven]

Summer of ‘44,
NOT the summer of love!

[TheSunchaster]

12:10 — imagine faces in German HQ when they received reports about another one, and another one, and another one, and another one, and another one division that began to form from the start of the war or moved from Siberia or Far East.