The Iron Bliztkrieg: The Tank War For Europe | Greatest Tank Battles | Timeline

hi everybody and welcome to this documentary on timeline my name is dan snow and i want to tell you about history hit tv it's like the netflix for history hundreds of exclusive documentaries and interviews with the world's best historians we've got an exclusive offer available to fans of timeline if you go to history hit tv you can either follow the information below this video or just google history hit tv and use the code timeline you get a special introductory offer go and check it out in the meantime enjoy this video [Music] may 1940 thousands of german tanks strike deep into belgium holland and france and a new era in armored warfare begins this is blitzkrieg move fast hit hard move past the game the allies stunned by the speed of the attack send thousands of their own tanks to meet the advancing panzers [Music] once that armor starts rolling it's damn difficult to stop it for the first time in history two giant armored forces clash it becomes one of the greatest tank battles of the second world war there was fire everywhere huge fireballs we were absolutely blinded at stake is nothing less than the fate of western europe the situation is now absolutely desperate this is the battle of france [Music] sedan france on the muse river near the belgian border this pleasant rural countryside is dotted with crumbling concrete bunkers stark reminders of europe's dark past a time when the entire world teetered on the brink of disaster september 1 1939 a german army one and a half million men strong streams across the border into poland and the second world war begins already hitler's forces have annexed or conquered large swaths of eastern europe in the spring of 1940 he turns his attention to the west but the western allies are ready since the fall of poland france and britain have been building defensive fortifications stockpiling ammunition and massing men and machines in western europe the allies believe they are ready for the inevitable german invasion by may of 1940 they field almost three and a half million men 14 000 artillery pieces and 3 600 armored vehicles a formidable defensive force that outnumbers and outguns the germans for their invasion germany has assembled 2.4 million men more than 7 500 artillery guns and only 2 500 tanks under conventional military doctrine the attacker should always be stronger than the defender but the german plan is anything but conventional [Music] their plan calls for 10 panzer divisions to charge west across a 400 kilometer front with a main attack driving through the ardennes forest their goal surprise divide and destroy the allies the hilly rugged ardan is considered poor terrain for tanks here heavy armor can get bogged down in the deep woods and gullies it's one of the most unlikely places for a panzer attack and for that reason it's perfect at no point the french eye command was prepared to suffer an attack in the ardennes the speed and ferocity of the german attack catches the allies off guard still clinging to military tactics of the first world war they are ill-prepared for general heinz godarian's new form of mobile armored warfare the blitzkrieg budarian and all the young panzer journalists they understood that speed and mobility and confusion are the key elements of the strategy creating a center of gravity breaking through piercing through it then break out and create confusion and terror so the enemy's army collapses more than 1700 panzers cross the ardennes with shocking speed they cover 100 kilometers of difficult terrain in less than three days and by may 13th are only 300 kilometers from the english channel [Music] reeling from the german attack the allies send all available forces east to intercept the germans near the muse river we receive urgent orders to rush forward and counter-attack the germans that had crossed the mirrors we had to stop them and throw them back across the river to the other side spearheading the allied counter-attack and rushing headlong into the rapidly advancing panzers are three dozen french light tanks the fcm 36 is well protected by 40 millimeters of frontal armor but its short-barreled 37 millimeter main gun is designed primarily for infantry support and is all but useless against guderian's tanks [Music] we were surprised that it was german armor it wasn't just two or three it was more like dozens of panzers and they were armed with cannons with long barrels advancing towards the french are dozens of the formidable panzer mark iii it is armed with a long-barreled 37 millimeter cannon giving the mark iii much more killing power than the french tanks we take the shell we put it in the cannon we aim and we fire we don't have time to think i saw some of my comrades get hit first it's awful to think that there's nothing you can do to help them but they just couldn't defend themselves against the larger and more powerful german cannons the fcm 36 were no match for the panzers the main drawback was armament [Music] which was a short gun which was almost useless against our short cannon could not pass their armor all we could do is try to blind the drivers of the panzers in front of us it wasn't easy to aim we were raising the cannon up and down with our shoulder to pick the area we wanted to hit but we somehow managed [Music] we don't even think if we're going to make it or not we have to do what we can with what we have that's all if we get killed then so be it me when shells hit our armor the steel turns bright red inside the tank shards of metal would fly out pieces that were red hot and piercing when we see a tank burning with shell holes and the crew inside it hurts we feel it and we try to avenge them while i was looking a german shell hit our turret it didn't go through but it shattered the periscope and it fell on me knocking me out my tank was the last to be knocked out but we stopped the germans that was our goal despite their losses the french tanks slow the german advance forcing guderian to change his plans he decides to bypass the french defenders to the south and continue his lightning attack west but as the german blitzkrieg cuts a narrow swath westward its flank becomes increasingly extended and poorly defended the french realize that this is just the break they need and send two battalions of their heaviest tanks straight into the vulnerable german flank may 10 1940 determined to dominate western europe hitler launches a massive blitzkrieg into holland belgium and france the blitz creek from a german point of view was just the war of movement they always try to move fast hit hard move fast again and create confusion and terror in the backline of the enemy so the enemy's army collapses in just three days the germans advance more than 100 kilometers through the ardennes forest and the allies caught off guard send all available forces east to meet the onslaught although their light tanks are outgunned and they sustain heavy losses the french managed to blunt the german attack forcing them to change their plans and proceed with their advance to the west gridarian's panzers cut a 30 kilometer swath deep into france but at a cost his flanks are now overextended and vulnerable on may 15 the french attacked the german's left flank aiming to capture the strategic high ground at the french village of stone a small village of stone was crucial it was crucial for the germans to hold it to secure their bridgehead and also their move westwards for this critical battle the french have deployed 68 of their most formidable weapon the heavy char b1 bis tank the most field allied tanks for the germans i think the most feared is the french b1 a massive bulking tank with 60 millimeters of armor the sharpie was the the nightmare of the german tank cruiser the day of the battle was very nice it was ideal for us we had great visibility from our tanks we could see far into the fields we had to go into stone on a scouting mission but we didn't have a radio at the time so we were on our own we not only had to fight the germans but we had to prevent them from getting past us going up the hill we didn't see anything no sign or contact with the enemy as we continued to advance we still didn't see the enemy so we had to keep our guard up while we moved forward we first made contact when german machine guns on the water tower opened fire and started shooting at us the germans put a machine gun on the water tower they were shooting at us and pinning down our soldiers we had to fire our 75 millimeter at the water tower [Music] so we could knock it out we just had to eliminate them and move on i kept driving the tank we had to advance and keep engaging the enemy so i was shooting the 75 millimeter cannon we had to take that position and keep that hill as the big french tanks reach stone they come under heavy fire from well-hidden german anti-tank guns inside the shark bay we were very confident that our strong armor would keep us safe from danger or injury [Music] nicknamed the colossus the sharbie 1 is protected by 60 millimeters of frontal armor making it virtually impregnable combined with its incredible firepower the sharby one is the most powerful tank on the battlefield [Music] and the deadliest foe of the german anti-tank gunners the fire from three heavy enemy tanks threatened to wipe out the platoon at one point one of the giants stood sideways our left gun commander spotted a small rib surface in the middle of the enemy tank side apparently a kind of radiator he aimed at it the jetta flame shot out of the tank now there's a two field guns fired only at those little squares in the side of the 32 ton enemy at tanks moment i decided to release a smoke shell so we could escape from there [Applause] coming out of the smoke there was an anti-tank gun right in front of us he was getting ready to fire at me but he didn't have time i was too close and i couldn't fire there was only one thing to do i had to drive my tank over it every person uh the crew of the anti-tank gun were raising their hands i couldn't fire at them so the tank commander took care of them we left the village and went back to our base lucky to be in one piece the french flanking attack at stone fails and guidarion's panzers continue to push through the ardan virtually unchecked to gredarian's north at the spearhead of the german advance is the elite seventh panzer division led by germany's most famous panzer commander irwin rommel by may 14th rommel and his tanks reach the belgian village of favion their last obstacle before the flat open country leading to the english channel if they can break out here ronald's highly mobile panzers will be just a few days from the coast threatening to split the allied armies in half [Music] may 15 1940. it's been five days since the beginning of hitler's invasion of france and his mighty panzer divisions have already bludgeoned their way 150 kilometers through the rugged ardennes repeated attempts by french armor have failed to stop the german blitzkrieg and they're now 250 kilometers short of their objectives along the english chapel leading the way is irwin ronald's mighty 7th panzer division we're on the verge of breaking out of the ardennes and into the panzer friendly belgian flatlands in desperation the french rush 170 tanks of their powerful first armored division north to head rommel off near the belgian village of flavion but the french advance is slowed by tens of thousands of refugees who choke the roads and block their path we had to cross a crowd of refugees it took us five hours to cover just five kilometers the fields were filled with a crowd that was completely lost and insane bit by bit the french managed to push through the human chaos and finally reach flavion the french tankers are exhausted and now critically short on fuel as the french rest and wait for resupply they are spotted by the seventh panzer's advance guard it's more than rommel could have hoped for before him and completely unaware of his presence lies the french first armored division ramo splits his panzer force in two and moves them into position on either side of the oblivious french tanks his deadly trap is now set any encounter between german and ally tanks has got to have been a surprise and usually the result of those battles as much as anything else it's just like a western gunfight it's the guy who keeps his call and gets his shot off first [Music] hit string against the armor on the left side my driver shouts there's a tank by the edge of this wood i realized then that the whole of our left flank is packed with german tanks what the germans did was to build circles around them move around them and shoot on them from every side the german tanks um try to act like wolf packs they tried to get around isolated shelby one which was quite easy because the allied tanks were scattered among the battlefield so they picked one out already using the radio to say let's pick this one on the right half first tanks so all the tanks were concentrating on this one lonely sharpie one surprised and low on fuel the scattered french tanks are all but helpless against the panzer ambush after some minutes battle each french tank was fighting for itself and at most for the tank on his left and the tank on his right red flashes in a crash on our armor one shot strikes the side door which bangs open half mangled imogen you you are a tank commander you are alone in your turret you have to read your tank you also have to manage to man your gun you have to sight you have to choose your enemy you have to fire and you have to do everything you are like a timbering man inside a coffin of steel in the french tank the man in the turret was just seeing through the slit this view hole and he was seeing just rotating tanks around him and he couldn't revolve the turrets just to keep track with one not not to speak of five or six or seven one hits into our radiator another shell strikes our 75 millimeter gun jamming it the noise is deafening as we're hit from all sides but we keep fighting with the 47 millimeter cannon when you confuse the the enemy enemy tank crew enough and if you shoot enough sometimes you will hit the tracks you will have something vulnerable or they simply will give up under the pressure my right track is rattling furiously and my 47 millimeter gun has been worked so hard that the ball could not be closed so we withdraw slowly the german the german tanks would find a weak spot would take him out somehow and then concentrate on the neck like animals jumping from one point to the other like really the predatory animals on the next victim lavion is a terrible place for the french tank force the division was completely smashed up it was unable of any other action rommel's attack destroys two entire tank battalions and by the end of the day the french first armored division originally 170 tanks strong is reduced to just 36. the victory at flavion allows the germans to break out of the rugged terrain of the ardennes and into the tank-friendly country of western belgium and they advance to the sea at full speed allied command scrambles to mount another counter-attack against the ever-lengthening german flank and now the stakes are even higher if the blitzkrieg can't be stopped all of western europe will be lost may 1940 allied armies fight to stop the german invasion of western europe but it's a losing cause after almost obliterating the french first armored division at flavio general irwin rommel's panzers break out into the open country of western france and belgium and race almost unopposed towards the english channel the french high command desperate to stem the german onslaught quickly tries to reorganize their armored forces at stone their mission is to slice through the german southern flank and cut their lines of communication and supply [Music] but five days of constant german attacks have taken a heavy toll on the french their army is racked by severe disorganization and at the last minute they call off the attack but in the confusion the message doesn't reach the 49th tank battalion on may 15th at 5 30 p.m without artillery or infantry support they begin their advance towards the german line with but we had to go through it although we couldn't see like huge fireballs and huge chunks of earth we were absolutely blinded by it all we had to look for a way out so at that moment we began to assemble into line formation and throw ourselves into the attack [Music] having just made it through the barrage we immediately came under fire by anti-tank guns the french have driven straight into a trap [Music] a v-shaped killing zone where german anti-tank guns are positioned to catch the advancing tanks in a deadly crossfire when an anti-tank gun fires at you it makes a deafening noise and when it hits it leaves a mark inside the tank it creates a weird effect [Music] what i was afraid of is all the fuel we had inside at the time we had 400 liters of gasoline never mind the 80 shells inside if ever there was a fire or a spark in there i got hit 17 times from the anti-tank guns 12 on the right and five on the front when an anti-tank gun fires at you it creates a long flame so i was able to detect them like that when i saw a flame i turned around because i wanted to aim where it was coming from they didn't turn and run away so i aimed and fired i destroyed three anti-tank guns we turned and saw the captain of our company 10 meters in front of us tank had gone down a ravine and got stuck in a stream the driver was killed by a shell that went through his hatch it's very different when you have comrades that are injured it changes everything so we tried to save as many as we could he gave us a sign that his driver was severely injured we drove closer and brought them into our town we wound up with nine people in the tank being stuck like sardines at that moment i couldn't fight anymore with the recoil of the gun i couldn't fire so i drove to the forest to bring the wound into the ambulance the french attack fails and the german blitzkrieg continues rolling west towards the sea the formidable panzer columns now seem unstoppable the germans they were always up there they were always pushing they were always scaring people and you never quite knew how and where to react to that once that armor starts rolling it's damn difficult to stop it on may 20th 10 days after the invasion began the vanguard of guderian's panzers reaches the english channel at abbeville france and cuts the allied forces in half the situation for the allies is dire they must re-link their armies before the germans can bring up reinforcements and they prepare for one last do or die attack it will be the decisive tank on tank clash in the battle of france may 20th 1940. the german blitzkrieg into western europe enters its tenth bloody day the vanguard of guderian's tank force reaches the english channel cutting the allied armies in half but the germans speedy advance has left them a thin and weakly defended panzer corridor and hoping to exploit this the allies mount one last assault aimed at smashing through the german flanks the plan a pincer movement near the city of harass with british tanks attacking from the north and the french from the south but the plan falls apart when the french army fatally weakened by 10 days of continuous fighting fails to reach harass in time for the attack without the french the allied tank force is reduced by almost half leaving them with only 2 000 men 48 field guns and 88 tanks it is a small force easily outmatched by the tanks of rommel's seventh panzer division but the allies realize time is running out and despite the heavy odds against them they launched their attack i was stopped at a little village just outside iris to join the tanks were already out there we had about five or six matildas then so we said stuff we just kept going as fast as we could we were taught to show to kill the matilda ii is equipped with a two-pounder cannon capable of destroying german armor at a range of 1500 meters but its most impressive feature is its 78 millimeters of frontal armor making the matilda 2 the best protected tank on the battlefield the tank that was causing the most nerve on the german side was the matillion it wasn't fair and its gun wasn't so so impressive but the thick armor was impenetrable for everything the germans had the main anti-tank gun on the german side was a 37 millimeter ant tanker this proved so unaffected that it was called army knocking machine so because it didn't anything but knock knock and then the tank drove on so that was the nickname for this gun with no way to stop them the matilda's overrun german positions sending panic through the lines his forces wavering and in retreat rommel rushes to harass to take personal command we arrived at wali the enemy tank fire had created chaos and confusion among our troops we drove off to a hill west of the village where we found a light anti-aircraft group and several anti-tank guns located in a small void at the same time several enemy tanks were advancing down the road it was an extremely tight spot may 21st 1940 in a do or die bid to stop the nazi invasion of western europe the british attacked german positions in the french city of arras i just kept going as fast we were told to show to kill british matilda ii heavy tanks lead the attack and easily eliminate the lighter german armor desperate to prevent a british breakthrough rommel deploys his 88 millimeter anti-aircraft guns in a defensive line and orders them to fire at the advancing matildas every gun was ordered to open rapid fire immediately i personally gave each gun its target when they brought the 88 millimeter they would go through any tank the german 88 millimeter flak 18 gun was designed as a long-range anti-aircraft weapon and when used against tanks this high velocity cannon can easily penetrate the thickest allied armor even at ranges of over one kilometer so that was only terminal bloody frightened with the enemy tanks so perilously close only rapid fire from every gun could save the situation we ran from gun to gun the objections of the gun commanders that their range was still too great to engage the tanks effectively were overhauled all i cared about was to halt the enemy tanks by heavy the other tanks on the gunfire and as soon as i was just started firing us as you see [Music] when i have two right takes over just just like that i can see him now one of the tanks backing up this road and shooting with his machine guns then that was it soon we succeeded in putting the enemy tanks out of action we now directed our fire against another group of tanks attacking setting fire to some halting others and forcing the rest to retreat i had a mate killed in one in he had his head shoot off tank commander open visor [Applause] on his head over well that was a bit sickening then although we were under very heavy fire from the tanks during this action the gun crews worked magnificently so that was retrieved by retreat that's the only one where we got retreat no we couldn't there's nothing else we could do rommel's victory at harass is hard won the germans have sustained their heaviest casualties of the campaign losing 30 panzers and more than 600 men but the british have suffered far worse just 28 of the original 88 tanks make it back to their lines and hundreds of men are killed and wounded after aerys and after the fighting in western france we have lost virtually all our tanks all our anti-tank guns as far as britain itself is concerned the situation is now absolutely desperate german divisions reach the coast and by june 4th the last british troops evacuate france at dunkirk three weeks later france surrenders [Music] the quick and decisive german victory is a testament to the power of blitzkrieg and most crucial to their success are their mighty panzer formations in 1940 the tank has come of age the tank is now the leading player in the ground war is what brings france to her knees and kicks britain out of france a huge number of soldiers have lost their lives for the defense of friends especially in the tank forces all the men has fought fiercely with hope that their action would stop the enemy we lost the battle of france we were simply overwhelmed by the enemy's equipment we had nothing to go against this mass losing war is one thing losing hope is another the fall of france is considered one of the greatest military victories of all time with it hitler achieves what most thought impossible total nazi domination of europe [Music]

Channel: Timeline - World History Documentaries

Views: 223,777

Keywords: Documentary films, German Blitzkrieg, German war strategy, Historical education, Historical explanations, Historical perspectives, Historical warfare, Hitler's army, Military advancements, Military campaigns, Military history enthusiasts, Military technology, Military vehicles, Nazi war machine, Nazi-controlled Europe, Tanks, Timeline - World History Documentaries, WW documentaries, WWII battlegrounds analysis, WWII blitzkrieg tactics, World War II campaign

Id: VadwLNoOBLM

Length: 44min 16sec (2656 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 15 2021