The Courland Pocket 1944-45 FULL BATTLESTORM History Documentary

It is my understanding that the kill-ratio for a Stug was about 1 to15 tanks while an anti-tank gun kill ratio was 1 to 3 tanks. Anti-tank guns would not last long in combat and unless you had a "Pack-Front" they would not stop a mass attack.

I thin k u need to have more info next time ,,,Fact is USSR losses in WW2 was around.22.000.0000+ and germany lost 2.800.000 in eastern front and 83.500 sovjet medium tanks as T34 all modells tanks was lost 5200 of 10.500 Heavy tanks as JS 1 and JS2 that is 50% losses,Light tanks 33.500,76.000 SP guns.The reason why sovjet did not loose was bc of help from UK and USA but Russian people do not know that bc Sovjets leader hide it from the people,and the worst is that teh sovjet hide their KIA untill today,,not letting the people know its a crime.

So, Hitler made many mistakes, but amongst the worst was letting his racial prejudice against Eastern Europeans along with his goal of gaining liebensraum for Germany blind him to the fact that places like Ukraine hated Stalin and the Soviet Union and would have been happy to help Germany defeat the Soviets.

Italian Divisons lacked NCOs not officers.

This one really hits home! My Grandparents had to flee Latvia in 1944. They were Latvian aristocrats and feared for there lives, especially after the year of terror (1940-41), They left EVERYTHING behind and fled in a fishing boat to neutral Sweden during the winter. My would-be aunt died of hypothermia during the trip and my father was just a baby. After the war, they moved to Canada as refugees and lived a relatively good life. However, they were traumatized the rest of their lives. My Grandma held a grudge against Russians the rest of her life.

Excellent video!!!

What a mess in the 3 Baltic states - peoples continually swapping sides within only 3 years.
Just to survive but still be supressed, choosing to condemn or kill their fellow citizens, neighbours and even families. After earlier independence they are invaded and suppressed by Soviets , then Germans, then Soviets for 5 decades then democracy - am surprised that the dust could ever settle..

Really enjoyed this especially as it is not a widely covered aspect of WW2.

Excellent, and most enjoyable series. Many thanks...

Very informative video. Thank you tik!

I doubt this will be read as I'm writing 4 years after publication...nonetheless...is there any indications that the Battle of Bulge launching Dec 16, 1944 had any affect on moral [positive or negative] on the men in the pocket? ps. I'm writing this on Dec 23, 2023...so, THANX TIK...and Merry Christmas to you, too...

Quality work Tik, thank you

Brilliant series. Well presented and highlights the difficulties in the west of researching the Eastern Front. Agree with the findings of how easy to blame someone else for systematic failures of others.

I'm watching this on christmas time

Congratulations ! Excellent program rendering inusual tribute to the heroic defenders! Thank you !

You own nothing and be happy

Great series!

Finally someone mentions Latvia in WW2

Speed up to 1,75, otherwise its hard to hear.

They’re not retreating. They’re attacking to the South. :)

Festung courland was a perfectly logical order.
In defensive positions,
It could hold for some time, tying up large amounts of soviet men and materiel.
The stand fast order in Norway was not logical,
400,000 axis troops surrendered in Norway,
Having taken no part in the life or death battles
In Poland, Hungary, the see low heights, the defence of Berlin or in the defence of the rhine in the west.
Norway could have been held with a quarter of that number,
Releasing 300,000 men.

I have no idea if you are right but I will say you are probably not wrong.

I absolutely love TikHistory and his autistic attention to detail

Megliomaniac Hitler

How did the author know about the conversation between stiener and hitler when it appears that none of the other authors do. Accounts of one on one conversations are often spotty at best as exactly what was said is often subject to personal bias on the part of one of the conversation participants.

Hitler was crazy in a narcissist but Stalin was a monster .. if Germany did not invade the Soviet Union the Soviet Union would have invaded Germany from a different area because the Soviet Army was south and nowhere near protecting the northern eastern part of Poland or Ukraine and the Baltics but the Soviet Army appeared to be in what looked alike a pre-attack formation I think Stalin was just brokenhearted and disappeared for four or five months after Operation Barbarossa because Hitler had Germany invade him before the Soviets and Stalin ordered his people to invade the Nazis ..

Korotv divizija pie SALDUS -pampāļiem, iznīcināja.

dislike for being anti german

there's a latvian song about it
called ''kurzemes pēdējie leģionāri'' (the last legionaires of courland''
which i feel encapsulates how the latvian soldiers felt about it
here is the english translation

we don't praise those who came yesterday
we don't know those who will come tomorrow
either stalin or churchill will hang us
it doesn't matter how the dice falls

now the dream of a homeland is gone
with everything once latvian
it's been known that we'll be pushed into ruin
by a tatar who stomps out souls

we spit on catchy phrases
and men with voices of prophets
just vodka we drink without glasses
will tell us the ending is near

let fools spin their lies
that there still is justice
over the rivers of courland
our allies will go tomorrow

words, and flowers don't help them
that cowards are picking
darkness and fear lies in their eyes
when they have their wedding with death

we don't praise those who came yesterday
we'll have it worse tomorrow
either stalin or churchill will hang us
it doesn't matter how the dice falls

Excellent!

An epic effort.

I think this is the first time I've heard of the connection between the end of 1st WW and the attitude toward honor and surrender in the 2nd WW. The German (Nazi, to be sure.) Armed forces.

TIK has repeatedly emphasized the human aspect of conflict, that is warfare is not to be measured merely by material loss or gain.

Well, it's a random Saturday in 2024. Time to rewatch this entire video.

Two consentration camps north of Kretinga? I have lived there for twenty years and have never heard of them.

I've been listening to TIK covering the Stalingrad region for so long that whenever I hear his pronouncing the names of Baltic locations, my brain panics.

Pride flags in class? How about Soviet flags? Nazi flags? All three driven by warped Ideology.

I am not sure where you got the info about 15th and 19th Latvian divisions having heavy deserting. From other sources, Latvians had heavy morale, and the division whoch left Latvia was suppose to defend Berlin because they were more loyal and high morale.

Lake Pepsi teehee

Minu vanaisa hukkus lõuna Lätis Priekules 1944-45 ta on maetud sinna kus on 23 000 hukkunut mälestusmärk 🙏🙏🙏🙏🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪🇪

Awesome work!

what is the ideological differences between Stalin's Russia and the Nazi Germany? this is something i hear repeated so often but if you ask me these factions had the exact same ideology with differences in doctrine and culture and both were inspired by Marx sooo... Last i recall Stalin was satisfied with the alliance to Nazi Germany and even ignored warning of an invasion all wile Stalin was making preparation for his own ethnic and political cleansing campaigns. I mean if Socialism is inherently anti semitic then aren't many other institutions in modern society that are by default anti semitic? after all this was incredibly wide spread through history. does Marx also define socialism i always thought of it as a concept? this logic is never applied elsewhere and both of these governments were socialist the Nazis to a lesser extent but still

How did i not know about this battlestorm?