Why Armies don't stand a Chance in the Cold

foreign Russian winter invasions the vast expanse of Russia has been a tantalizing prize for centuries the vast resources and land mass too much for many leaders to resist while Russian soldiers do their part they are often helped and sometimes hindered by General winter Russia's fickle Ally by 1812 the French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte was in control of the majority of Western Europe who soon turned his sights East towards Russia the Russians are Alexander the first had signed a treaty with Napoleon years before but in the intervening years the Russians had drifted outside of the French Emperor's influence Napoleon had forced the Russians into the Continental System where European trade with Great Britain was banned initially supportive of the measure as Russia's economy fell Russia soon abandoned their treaty with France once again conducting trade with the British assembled in Poland the Grand Army consisted of some five to six hundred thousand men and on June 21 4th 1812 they crossed the Neman River entering Russian territory opposing them the Russians amassed around five to six hundred thousand troops making the conflict the largest of the Napoleonic era only around a third of the Russian army was stationed at the Polish border ready to stop the French not knowing if Napoleon's objective was Moscow or St Petersburg and unwilling to face the Corsican General immediately Russian strategy centered around utilizing the vast size of the country Napoleon had hoped that a single decisive battle would decide the matter one quick victory that would force Russia's capitulation a strategy that had worked brilliantly against other European powers Alexander the first and his generals however opted for a scorched Earth policy in the face of the French Advance the Russians withdrew burning or destroying anything abuse when the Russians did turn and fight Napoleon was not able to destroy them as he had hoped on August 16 to 18 both armies Clash but the Russians fell back before being annihilated at boardino on September 7th once again the French were victorious but the Russians were able to escape to fight another day though both sides endured tremendous casualties a week after borodino the French army marched triumphantly into Moscow where Napoleon awaited the Russian surrender instead he found a nearly abandoned city after a month of waiting it was obvious that there would be no Russian surrender and Napoleon reluctantly turned back home the now hungry and exhausted French soldiers were subject to continual Casa grades as they began their March back towards France although Napoleon had already suffered his heaviest losses it was here that the Grand Army faced another formidable opponent General winter the extensive logistical preparation that had been made was not enough as Supply bases were too spread apart and roads were poor weakened by the Long March and limited boo a frostbite gangrene and hypothermia took their toll and the invading soldiers died in droves by the time the Grand Army reached friendly territory only 10 to 15 percent of its initial strength remained eerily paralleling the French invasion in 1812 over a century later another Army would face the Wrath of the Russian winter in 1941 the Vermont Unleashed Operation Barbarossa its aimed to destroy and colonize the Soviet Union on June 22nd the german-led force launched the campaign consisting of over three and a half million soldiers from multiple axis Nations like Napoleon Hitler was expecting one decisive Victory to bring the Soviet Union to its knees we have only to kick in the door and the whole rotten structure will come Crashing Down The Dictator quipped initially the Vermont achieved considerable success caught off guard threat Army suffered Titanic casualties losing hundreds of thousands of men as well as vast quantities of aircraft tanks and artillery pieces in the opening weeks of the invasion the Soviets however did not surrender they kept falling back trading space for time while the Germans and their allies pushed deeper into Soviet territory supplies had to Traverse ever increasing distances to reach the front lines straining their Logistics system though facing increasing Soviet resistance the Vermont made tremendous Headway plunging deep into Soviet territory by October 20th Army group Center was within 40 miles of Moscow with the Soviet Capital within reach the weather conspired against the Germans Autumn Reigns turned the dirt tracks of the Russian interior into thick mud which mired tanks and transport Vehicles as they tried to advance operations grounded to a halt until ironically cold weather froze the mud allowing vehicles to advance once again by late November Army group Center was within 12 mile of Moscow and on December 2nd a reconnaissance unit managed to move within five miles of City Limits it was then that General winter launched his counter-offensive the Germans lacked winter clothing expecting a quick Victory before the winter the Vermont had made preparations for warmer gear but those were in staging areas in Poland with ammunition and fuel prioritized instead unprepared for the sudden drop in temperature weapons malfunctioned Vehicles failed to start after being shut off for the night and field hospitals were inundated with cases of frostbite and hypothermia though they doggedly plowed onward the Vermont lost its momentum and combat efficacy near miles from its objective in desperation soldiers looted civilian homes for codes blankets and anything else that would offer protection against the bitter cold the sudden onset of winter gave the Russians time to prepare their response the Russians struck the Germans who fell back in spite of Hitler's order that they stand and despite thousands of prisoners were taken and Annie forward momentum of the invasion dissipated never again would the access come this close to Moscow the once inaxorable Advance stopped another victory for General winter sometimes General winter is not an ally but an anime actively working against Russian military efforts in the winter of 1939 to 1940 the Soviet Union launched an incursion against neighboring Finland in the ensuing conflict the Finns managed to inflict massive casualties on the Red Army employing Guerrilla tactics to wear down their much more powerful opponent the winter was one of the coldest on record where Annie exposed flesh would suffer frostbite almost instantly bodies would Breathe solid in minutes and blizzard conditions would disrupt radio and other communication systems browned aircraft and renter Vehicles unusable the Red Army was unprepared for this type of conflict winter clothing was unavailable and the khaki-colored uniforms of the Soviets made them easy targets for Finnish snipers who were camouflaged in white snowsuits Finnish troops would move through the Hinterlands on skis and snowshoes while ponderous Columns of Soviet infantry would flound under in deep snow drifts unable to come to grips with their more mobile opponents the Soviets would eventually win through sheer weight of numbers but suffered almost five times as many casualties as their Finnish adversaries with hundreds of thousands succumbing to frostbite hypothermia and other effects of the bitter climate in the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine the approaching winter conditions will provide its own challenges to the fighting many experts believe that the fighting will slow during the colder months with major offensives put on hold until the spring just like in previous Wars the Autumn raids caused quagmires of mud which bogged down vehicles on both sides slowing offensive and counter-offensive operations while the coming freezing ground would alleviate this circumstance both sides are hesitant to launch major operations with winter fast approaching one of the major concerns is logistics both sides are taking advantage of the slowdown in combat to re-arm resupply and make other preparations for a renewal of fighting in the spring Logistics is such a concern for the Russian military that it is believed that a major factor in the withdrawal of its troops from the city of Carson was due to the approaching colder climate the Deep Freeze of winter could potentially cut off the already over tax supply lines stranding those stationed in the occupied City for months without resupply of food ammunition medical supplies and other Essentials camouflage is also a concern for the combatants the lack of leaves and other vegetation to act as concealment makes tanks and other pieces of heavy equipment much easier to spot by drones and other forms of modern surveillance it is considered by many to be prudent to wait until New Growth in the spring in order to provide adequate cover for armored advances to either reclaim or take new territory the combat that does take place will have a different Dynamic than in earlier months with shortened hours of day light night fighting will take on new significance a realm of combat facilitated by modern night vision gear artillery can become more deadly as the hardened ground is more difficult to dig trenches and defensive positions leaving troops Exposed on open ground in addition to the ever-present risks of frostbite and hypothermia common in frigid conditions other medical difficulties will become apparent as a wounded soldier's chances for survival after being hit ball with the freezing temperatures what is known is that both sides will have to take General winter into account as they make their plans for the next phase of operations Wars have been fought in Russia for Centuries with Russia as both aggressor and Defender no matter why the conflict breaks out however what is certain is that General winter is one of the most powerful and effective forces to engage in any conflict the white death the world's deadliest sniper is considered to be the greatest sniper of all time reported to have taken 505 kills all of his sniper kills would be achieved during the winter war of 1939 to 1940. Simo was born in a village in Finland near the Russian border in his village he would farm and take up hobbies and hunting shooting and snow skiing at age 17 he joined the Civil guard and established himself as an excellent Marksman in target shooting competitions and demonstrated excellent skiing abilities during this time he was familiarized with the Finnish Mosin Nagant 2830 and the suomi submachine gun constant practice enables CMO to hit the target 16 times per minute at around 500 feet or 150 meters away this was incredible considering the Mosin Nagant is a bolt action rifle and holds five round stripper clips in 1939 the Soviet Union invaded Finland which would become known as the winter war or the Russo finish War the fins were outnumbered but knew the land well and used gorilla style tactics to take on the Red Army Simo saw his baptism of fire on the cola Battlefield where at one point there were four thousand Soviets against only himself and 31 other fins on December 21 1939 Simo achieved his highest daily count of 25 kills Simo would go out dressed in winter snow camouflage and take a day's worth of supplies crawl to his position and sit in the snow for hours in temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius or minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit he would also camouflage his position by packing snow in front of him to prevent the muzzle blast wafting up Snow and put snow in his mouth to control the vapor of his breath from giving away his position the rifle he used throughout the war was the same Finnish civil guard variant of the Mosin Nagant rifle that he trained with during his time in the Civil guard known as the m2830 this rifle featured front sights known as The Spits because they've resembled the Spitz dog Simo preferred to use iron sights instead of a scope which were obtained from a captured Soviet version of the rifle this is because the Scopes could give away his position reflecting the sun's glare or Cloud up in the cold environment he would zero his sights at the common combat distance of 150 meters one combat engagement came after SEMO was assigned to take out a Soviet sniper who had killed three platoon leaders he found a position and waited for several hours as the sun was setting he noticed its Rays reflecting off the sniper's scope in the distance the enemy sniper started to stand up to go back and SEMO pulled the trigger taking him out in one shot the Soviets took the threat of Simo seriously and deployed counter snipers and artillery strikes to try to take him out he even gained a nickname the white death Simo was wounded in the last week of the war when a Soviet infantryman shot him with an explosive bullet the bullet hit simo's face but he was evacuated in time before the Finns were overrun he was decorated with numerous Awards and promoted from Corporal straight to second lieutenant later in the winter war on February 17 1940 SEMO was also awarded with a specially made honorary rifle model 28 from Swedish businessman Eugene Johansson by the end of the winter War SEMO was credited with 505 confirmed sniper kills of Soviet soldiers which he achieved within 100 days and in the time of year where daylight hours are low this makes him the record holder for the highest number of confirmed sniper kills he had also reported 200 kills with his suomi kp31 machine gun when the bullet hit SEMO it had tore into his left Jawbone and knocked out some of his teeth which he needed several surgeries to fix however he would eventually make a recovery and live a long life the Aleutian Islands campaign a two in kiska territory of Alaska the Aleutian Islands campaign was a military campaign led by U.S and Canadian Forces on the islands of atsu and kiska it was the only land battle fought on U.S soil in World War II apart from that the invasion of the kiska island known as operation Cottage is remembered as one of the most bizarre actions in the entire War during two days of sweeping the island Allied Forces had more than 300 casualties while the Japanese had none the reason for this was that there were no Japanese soldiers to fight in the first place in June and July 1942 the Japanese forces led by Admiral Yamamoto invaded the Aleutian Islands of atsu and kiska the Japanese did this as a diversion from their Midway campaign but also to prevent the Illusions being used as a forward base for the Americans to attack Japan capturing the island was a relatively easy job for the Japanese forces as it was defended by negligible forces ten U.S Navy officers from the American weather station as soon as they took control of the islands the Japanese started building airfields and fortification systems in the Inland mountains they even brought in 500 civilians to build new military bases tunnels and harbors since the Americans were fighting Japan primarily for the domination over the Pacific Ocean there was no doubt for them that the islands had to be liberated as soon as possible there was also another reason why the United States was so eager to get its territory back kiska and ATU were the first pieces of American territory to be conquered since the War of 1812 with the United Kingdom their repatriation was therefore a matter of national pride as well the islands were under the protection of the Alaska Defense command or ADC which only had 24 000 members the U.S army didn't waste its time and immediately started building up its troops in Alaska for the upcoming invasion by Autumn 1942 the size of the ADC had increased to over 94 thousand the first Target was the island of atsu ATU was of secondary importance compared with kiska which had a fully developed Harbor and operational Airfield and a larger Garrison however by aiming to conquer ATU first the U.S army wanted to cut the Japanese communication with kiska operation land crab after almost a year of occupation Navy ships carrying the 17th Infantry Regiment of the 7th Infantry Division of the U.S army approached ATU on May 11 1943. landing on the island went unopposed which gave American soldiers a false impression that it was going to be an easy task for them the Japanese had intentionally withdrawn from the coast to prepared fortifications and bunkers in the Inland mountains they used the natural defenses as well such as the caves and crevices over there they showed a fierce resistance to American troops fighting to the very end after 19 days of battle only 28 Japanese soldiers out of 2 630 of the 301st infantry battalion survived the Americans also suffered enormous casualties 3829 men out of 16 000 engaged many of these were due to unsuitable equipment which led to the soldiers getting frostbite and other medical conditions on top of this many of the soldiers had never seen active combat the ottu experience was horrifying to the American soldiers and largely influenced what happened on kiska a few months later operation Cottage aerial reconnaissance of kiska recorded a whole system of fortifications similar to those on ATU besides intelligence estimated that they were to expect around 10 000 Japanese soldiers everything was indicating that kiska was to be the next ATU however in Late July reconnaissance planes recorded reduced Japanese activity on the island there was almost no anti-aircraft fire no movements in the harbor and destroyed buildings were not repaired even radio communications were missing the radio signal stopped entirely on July 28th however the signals of something being very wrong were ignored by vice admiral Kincaid this might have been because the Americans had the events of ATU fresh on their minds during July the U.S Air Force and navy had conducted severe bombings and shellings of the island leading some officers to think that this may have forced the Japanese to leave the island vice admiral Thomas Kinkade who is in charge of the entire operation had a different impression he thought that the Japanese had withdrawn to their Labyrinth of tunnels and trenches Inland as they did on ATU for him there was no doubt that the Americans would have to fight bitterly for the island for the liberation of kiska the U.S army engaged more than 34 thousand soldiers of the seventh Infantry Division including the 17th Infantry Regiment the 53rd Infantry Regiment the 184th Infantry Regiment the fourth infantry regiment the 87th Mountain Infantry Regiment and the first special service Force except for the first special service Force this Force consisted of young and inexperienced soldiers for most this was their first combat experience for the invasion of kiska U.S forces were reinforced by 5 300 Canadians of the 13th Royal Canadian infantry Brigade codenamed the green light Force this unit included the Winnipeg grenadiers the Rocky Mountain Rangers the Canadian fusiliers and other smaller formations on August 15 1943 American troops began their Landing operation on the middle part of the island coming from the north their entire operation went badly from the start as ships carrying tanks became stranded because of poor tide calculations stranded ships then caused a traffic jam causing a great delay luckily for the Allied Forces their Landing was unopposed as there was no Japanese resistance however this didn't give the American soldiers any peace of mind they were well aware that they were in the same situation as their comrades were on ATU dense fog and extremely cold winds increase the feeling of anxiety and disorientation on August 16th American soldiers began moving Inland on the same day Northwest from their positions the Canadians began their Landing operation as both contingents were moving slowly through dense fog and cold rain they found no Japanese resistance all they could find were abandoned positions and an unusual Discovery one dog named explosion that used to belong to the American soldiers who were captured by Japanese Marines in the initial Landings a year ago at the same time the American and Canadian troops were suffering casualties talks spread amongst the troops that there were Japanese snipers and soldiers around which created a sense of panic many of them bumped into Japanese minefields and booby traps which were very difficult to notice because of the fog that reduced visibility to less than a few feet the Destroyer Abner Reed struck a mine when entering the harbor on kiska killing 70 Sailors and wounding 47th but adding greatly to the disaster was when many of the killed and wounded soldiers were victims of sporadic Friendly Fire as soon as troops landed they spread out through the thick fog on August 16th a Canadian Soldier mistakenly fired on American soldiers believing they were Japanese it caused the friendly fire shootout that resulted in 28 Americans and four Canadians killed around 50 men were wounded on either side inexperienced soldiers were terrified by the stories of the ATU Carnage and disoriented by the harsh weather conditions and poor visibility caused by the fog Ryan Murphy a U.S army lieutenant who was at kiska during the ordeal later he called that the troops were shooting at anything that moved one infantryman attacked what he thought was an enemy Patrol and despite Patrol members shouting at him to stop he proceeded to throw grenades he was he was immediately shot by Friendly Fire they had anticipated a surprise Japanese attack at any moment with their nerves on edge these young soldiers fired upon the slightest suspicion of enemy presence after three days of patrolling the island American and Canadian soldiers finally realized that there was no enemy to fight as the Japanese had already left kiska after the second world war had ended it became known through interrogations that the decision to retreat from kiska was made after the battle of watu back in May Japanese soldiers were also frightened by the ATU scenario and were additionally aware that any resistance was pointless in a situation when the Japanese Army was desperately in need for soldiers they were allowed to return to posts closer to home back on July 28th they were carried by several Cruisers and destroyers five thousand Japanese soldiers had broken through the American Naval blockade they did it with the help of the thick fog operation Cottage was met with condemnation in the American Press even though the islands were liberated from the enemy 92 killed in action and 221 wounded soldiers was a lot to take in for a battle with no enemy present lessons were learned from operation Cottage and the disastrous Landing operations proved to be a good drill for similar campaigns until the end of the war Siege of Leningrad September 8 1941 through January 27 1944 Siege length 872 days World War II Leningrad was one of the main objectives of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. it was here that the main base of the Soviet Baltic fleet was as well as important industry that was churning out weapons the conquest of Leningrad was not just an operational request of the German HQ Hitler also saw the symbolic significance of the city of Leningrad Conquering the city would have been a massive blow in morale for the Soviets who were already weakened by the huge German success on the front furthermore Hitler wanted the city raised to the ground its population killed or driven further east as part of his General plan OST however Joseph Stalin the leader of the Soviet Union also realized the importance of Leningrad both strategic and symbolically and stated that it could not fall into German hands conquest of Leningrad was the objective of army Group North under command of Phil martial Von Lieb it consisted of the 18th Army led by Field Marshal Georg Von kukler the fourth Panzer group and the 16th Army at the beginning the Germans had no difficulty in fighting against the Soviet armies at the Northwestern front by July 10 cookler managed to push the Soviet troops out of the Baltic states forcing them into defensive operations to save Leningrad from being surrounded the Soviets meanwhile never managed to Halt the German attacks and were constantly forced to retreat to new defensive positions while the German 18th Army was marching towards Leningrad the fourth Panzer group was making important progress towards luga and novograd and then moved further towards Lake ladoga in order to cut off Leningrad from the rest of the country it was 30th the Germans reached the Neva river which allowed them to start bombing Leningrad the first bombs dropped on Leningrad on September 4th 1941. on September 8 1941 the German forces managed to reach the shores of Lake ladoga which meant that the city was cut off by land The Siege would begin from the north Leningrad was attacked by the Finns Germany's Ally their offensive eventually proved to be a huge problem for the Germans as the Finns were satisfied with just reclaiming the territories lost in the 1939 winter war and not pushing further onto the city itself this would prevent a complete encirclement around the city under Hitler's orders effective on September 15th Von Lieb lost the fourth Panzer Group which was to be transferred to Army group center for the upcoming Moscow offensive this would provide some relief for the Soviet Defenders but the German artillery bombardment would ensure The Siege would still continue as heavily as before as a consequence of allowing the Germans to surround Leningrad the Soviet commander of the Northwestern front Marshall Clement vorishiloff was replaced with the more capable General Georgie zhukov who quickly organized the defense of Leningrad the whole civilian population of Leningrad was organized into building defensive positions Leningrad was completely surrounded with defensive fortifications wooden obstacles barbed wire anti-tank trenches and ordinary trenches were all built anti-aircraft guns the Baltic Fleet and tanks some of which have been produced in factories during The Siege added to the defense month of constant artillery preparation and bombardment the Germans were eventually ordered not to mount a full-scale assault on the city as it was believed it would cost them too many soldiers Hitler's directive from October 7 1941 ordered the German forces to hold the city under siege therefore starving the Soviet Defenders to death however the Germans didn't expect such a heroic resistance by the Leningrad Defenders The Siege would last for 872 days during which citizens were severely lacking Food Water Energy Heating and Medicine by the beginning of winter Leningrad had lost around 50 000 lives the arrival of winter did have one benefit it caused Lake ladoga to become Frozen which allowed the Soviets to establish a corridor over it to get much needed supplies into the city this ice Corridor was remembered as the road of life and it served not only to bring supplies to the city when other supply lines were being cut off but also a way to evacuate civilians to safety the road was however a constant Target of the German luftwaffe so transport of goods and people was a dangerous Venture nevertheless a Great Famine remained present during the entire Siege and it was the reason for the majority of the casualties some point citizens were allowed a daily portion of only 125 grams of bread made of flour and sawdust on Sundays not even that despite all the atrocities the city authorities were persistent in keeping morale as high as possible the stalemate of The Siege was occasionally interrupted by several Soviet attempts to break it the first one was in late summer 1942 when Soviet troops from the East started an offensive in order to connect with the Leningrad Defenders at the same time the Germans were preparing an offensive to capture the city without awareness of the Soviet plans the Soviets attacked the German forces had to abandon their plans but managed to repel the enemy away from the city the next attempt to break the siege was more successful on January 12 1943 the Red Army commenced a full-scale offensive on the German positions on the South Bank of Lake ladoga after a week of heavy fighting the Soviets managed to destroy the German positions and to establish a land route with Leningrad allowing more supplies into the city a year later in January 1944 when it became obvious that German Ambitions in the Soviet Union were doomed Red Army units started a new offensive that resulted in a complete lift of The Siege during the 872 days of The Siege from September 8 1941 to January 27 1944 more than one million of the Leningrad Defenders and citizens lost their lives most of the deaths were due to Great Famine but shelling and air bombing took their toll as well [Music] the Battle of the Bulge December 16 1944 through January 25th 1945 the Ardennes following the successful Normandy Landings in June 1944 and the various Landings in southern France the Allied Powers Advanced quickly through France faster than what the military leadership of both the allies and Germany had anticipated due to this the Allied troops were suffering from fatigue from weeks of combat supplies were dangerously low and the supply lines themselves were extremely thin Hitler decided that if the German Army could quickly attack through the Belgian Ardennes Forest a weak quiet part in the Allied line occupied by battle weary units and capture the Allies Supply Port of Antwerp it could split the Allied front in two as a result of this Hitler Could Make A Separate Peace with Britain and the USA rather than unconditional surrender and focus on Soviet Russia this was all fantasy and his commanders were not optimistic the offensive would go ahead after a two-hour artillery bombardment on the Allied lines the attack and pricing of 200 000 German troops and almost 1 000 tanks of the fifth and sixth Panzer armies and the seventh Army began on the American forces on December 16 1944. the German forces achieved complete surprise on the outnumbered American troops Special Forces caused Confusion by sending in English-speaking German soldiers dressed up in U.S uniforms who changed road signs and cut telephone wires the bad weather for the moment was also too cloudy and foggy which meant that the might of the Allied Air Force could not be used many U.S units became overrun or had to surrender those that were not established a defense around Road Junctions at sunvief and Baston the difficult terrain of the Ardennes made a large-scale offensive unexpected so it would take a while for the Allied High command to accept that this was a major attack while the Germans did see some success in the center the northern six Panzer armies Advanced stalled within a few days on December 18th the 101st Airborne Division were surrounded by the Germans at bastong Cold starved outnumbered and low on ammunition the 101st would hold out for seven days against the German assault on Christmas Eve some German troops almost reached the River Muse but with little fuel the German advance that reached its peak on December 26th General Patton's third Army which had completely turned around from its Advance relieved the 101st at best known the German resupply difficulties had grown and the skies had cleared allowing the Allied air power the ability to Target German forces the German Blitzkrieg tactics also couldn't work in the heavily wooded snowy forests deep valleys and narrow roads of the Ardennes even heavily armored vehicles such as the Germans tiger 2 heavy tank could not turn the tide because it consumed huge amounts of fuel the U.S forces began a counter-offensive on January 3rd by this point the German Panzer Division were so low on fuel they abandoned a lot of their tanks the U.S counter-offensive regained all land lost during the German offensive by late January the Battle of the Bulge was the largest battle fought by the Americans in World War II due to deep snow cold temperatures bad weather and dwindling fuel reserves the German Army and Air Force were unable to launch the crushing blow to the Allies Hitler had hoped for while the attack is known as the Ardennes offensive the initial attack by the Germans created a triangular bulge that stretched for miles into the Allied front line creating the commonly known name of Battle of the Bulge the Americans suffered around 80 000 casualties while the Germans had one hundred thousand casualties and most of the tanks used in the offensive which could not be replaced Russia's invasion of Ukraine 1917-1921. in the final years of the first world war the Russian Empire was coming to its end it had been devastated by Revolution finally transformed into the first communist country in the world in the Years following the revolution non-russian Nations that lived under the house of Romanov sought to secure their long-lost independence one of these was Ukraine from 1917 until 1921 the ukrainians struggled to build and secure an independent country fighting against the new regime against their neighbors in the west and amongst themselves when in February 1917 the revolution had overthrown the monarchy in Russia and the event had echoed throughout the entire Empire in Kiev the capital of Ukraine the central Rada or the central Council had taken over control of the country which on June 23 1917 proclaimed the free Ukrainian National Republic without severing its connections with the Russian State the nation began to awake however keeping the vast territory of Ukraine under control was a difficult task the country rapidly slid into Anarchy the collapse of the Russian forces in galacia made matters even worse on November 7 1917 the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Ilitch Lenin staged an armed Insurrection in petrograd today known as Saint Petersburg this became the uprising that changed the country for good three days after this together with the aid from Rada the Bolsheviks attacked the Army staff headquarters in cave forcing them to leave the city however contrary to Lenin's plans control over Ukraine was quickly taken over by the central Rada the Bolsheviks were not popular in Ukraine having no more than 5 000 party members in the country most of their supporters were industrial workers Russians and Jews from the Donetsk region these men were antagonistic to the Ukrainian national movement the Bolsheviks confronted Rada right from the start on December 17 1917 after failing to grab control over the old Ukrainian Congress of Soviets the Bolsheviks left kiev for kharkif and proclaimed the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic already at that point the Bolshevik troops from Russia were preparing for the invasion of Ukraine the war was about to start The Invasion Army of thirty thousand men entered Ukraine on December 25th 1917 led by Vladimir Antonov of Cinco it comprised regulars of the army of Soviet Russia and local Red guards from Eastern Ukraine in response to the invasion Central Rada proclaimed an independent Ukrainian State Ukraine was defended by free Cossack units workers battalions the hidamaka Battalion comprising military school students and the galatian Battalion of Siege Riflemen which was made up of former Austrian prisoners of War strength of the rada's forces was not more than fifteen thousand men Ukrainian forces proved inadequate in stopping the invasion one after another Town's an Eastern Ukraine were falling into the hands of the Bolshevik troops by the end of January they had occupied donbos and left a bank Ukraine and were approaching the city of Kiev itself the central Rada sent a unit of around 500 volunteers to meet The Invasion Force the student Battalion of seats Riflemen and the Detachment of the hidamaka Battalion faced the enemy in the Battle of Puti on January 29 1918. both sides had armored trains at the seam but on different tracks the Bolshevik troops quickly disembarked from their train carriages and started running towards the young Ukrainian soldiers who jumped into a makeshift trench system and opened fire with their rifles and Maxim machine guns the Bolshevik wave was driven back but the inexperienced students thought that they were in a full-blown Retreat so they jumped out of their trenches and began to give Chase at this point the next wave of Bolsheviks charged out from their train and vicious hand-to-hand fighting ensued plus the artillery fire from both trains added to the Carnage students were hopelessly outnumbered and the few that were left alive were taken prisoner they were shown no mercy though for the firing squad was quickly formed up and about 18 of the young men were executed on the spot that same day the Bolshevik staged an armed rebellion and Cave to overthrow the central Rada fighting in the city lasted until February 4th When government forces defeated the last group of insurgents the failure of the uprising impede didn't withhold the advance of the Bolshevik Army the central Rada was forced to evacuate Kiev on February 8th a day later the Bolshevik troops entered the city and instigated their reign of terror facing total defeat the central rotter resorted to requesting foreign assistance on the same day that the Bolsheviks entered Kiev on February 9 1918. the Ukrainian National Republic signed the breast litowsk peace treaty with the Central Powers according to the Articles of the treaty Germany and austro-hungary had committed to providing military aid to the ukrainians in fighting the Bolsheviks in return for them delivering large quantities of foodstuff late February 1918 450 000 German and austro-hungarian soldiers marched into Ukraine and swept away the Bolshevik forces on March 1 1918 the central rotter returned to Kiev by the end of April troops of the Central Powers had regained control of the entire Ukraine the defeat of the Bolshevik troops in Ukraine coerced Lenin to sign the breslotovsk treaty and recognized the independence of the Ukrainian National Republic on June 12 1918 the governments in Moscow and Kiev signed a preliminary piece the peace with Russia brought no stability to Ukraine though the Germans overthrew the central Rada and installed a Hitman government to secure a better foodstuff Supply until November 1918 and the capitulation of the Central Powers the Germans were controlling Ukraine on December 14 1918 they left Kiev and a new government came into Power the directory of the Ukrainian National Republic on January 22nd 1919 the Ukrainian National Republic proclaimed the union with the Western Ukrainian National Republic the Ukrainian ethnic territory of the former Austria-Hungary formerly one country the Ukrainian National Republic and the Western Ukrainian National Republic were actually two separate states with their own governments and armies after the Germans withdrew Ukraine fell into a state of complete Anarchy six different armies operated in the territory during 1919. the army of the Ukrainian National Republic the Ukrainian galatian Army Soviet Russia's Red Army a Russian anti-communist Coalition the white Army polish troops the Anton troops and the anarchist units taking advantage of the chaotic situation in the country Moscow launched a new offensive against Ukraine in December 1918. heve responded with a declaration of war on the Russian Soviet Republic ukrainians were entirely unprepared for the war though their army of 25 000 men consisted of two main units The Siege Rifleman and the zapurocyan corps along with a number of partisan units under the command of politically unreliable otamans against them was the expeditionary Force composed of Red Army regular units and local Irregulars They too had around 25 000 men under arms but their strength Rose progressively with many partisan units joining their side under the command of Vladimir Antonov of Cinco the Red Army Advanced on three fronts to eliminate the enemy and prevent the army of the Ukrainian National Republic forming up with the galatian Army and the untunked troops that had landed at Odessa while World War one was still in progress the Red Army was victorious in the first months of the campaign entering the city of Kiev on February 5th 1919. after the loss of the capital the head of the directory was replaced with Simon petliora and experienced and prominent leader of the Ukrainian national movement under his leadership the army of the UNR launched a counter-offensive in March 1919 pushing the Red Army units back almost to Kiev during the Spring and Summer of 1919 the ukrainians and Russians fought vigorously in eastern Ukraine while the galatian Army was fighting the invading polish Army in the West two Allied armies the army of the UNR and the galatian Army joined forces in 1919 forming a combined Ukrainian force of nearly 85 000 regulars and 15 000 partisans this Mighty force was able to deal with the Red Army units and even entered Kiev on August 31st in the country's capital to Joint Ukrainian Army confronted the volunteer army of the whites which led to the UNR declaring war on them the Autumn of 1919 was not good for the ukrainians though as the situation was aggravated by an outbreak of typhus which by October 1919 had decimated both the army of the UNR and the galatian army the two Allied armies began to split on the question of their relationship with the white movement the Galatians signed A Separate Peace Treaty with them on November 6 1919 leaving the army of the UNR to fight against the Red Army the poles and the white Movement by themselves in the given circumstances starting from December 4th 1919 the army of the UNR decided to abandon their regular military operations and switch to irregular warfare instead during the first winter campaign from December 6 1919 to May 6 1920 the Ukrainian Irregulars fought the Soviet 14 Army units over the entire territory of Ukraine the Irregulars marched for more than 2500 kilometers during the campaign and fought in more than 50 battles on April 22 1920 the UNR government signed a Warsaw treaty with the polls recognizing their claim to areas of Western Ukraine in return for military assistance in the war against Soviet Russia fifth the Polish Army assisted by soldiers of the UNR Army launched an offensive on Kiev city was liberated on May 7th but only for a short time the Red Army counter-offensen pushed the polls and ukrainians all the way back to Warsaw in the ensuing months the destiny of Ukraine depended on the outcome of the Polar Soviet War finally exhausted by the costs of war the two sides signed the peace of Riga treaty on March 18 1921. a border between the two countries was established with Western Ukraine going to Poland the eastern part of the country became the Ukrainian socialist Soviet Republic the remnants of the UNR Army continued to fight the Soviets their plan to launch an all-out attack against Soviet troops in Ukraine were interrupted by the Red Army offensive on November 10th after 11 days of bitter fighting the ukrainians were pushed back into polish-controlled galatia over there soldiers of the UNR Army were disarmed and put into internment camps second winter campaign in November 1921 was the last attempt for the ukrainians to continue their fight against the Soviets three groups of volunteers from the intern soldiers were organized to enter Ukraine to inflict irregular warfare against the Soviets they were poorly armed and equipped but eager to fight and morale was high their effort was futile though in the battle of malimanka the Soviets crushed the last of the Ukrainian forces when the Bolshevik Cavalry intercepted them and 443 Ukrainian soldiers were captured of which 359 of them were executed second winter campaign was the last military operation conducted by the Ukrainian National Republic in their war against the Soviets that had lasted for more than four years the Soviets ultimately won the war and formed the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic on December 28 1922 the Republic became one of the founding members of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics foreign the winter war November 30th 1939 through March 13 1940 World War II the winter war of 1939-1940 or the Russell Finnish war was fought between the Soviet Union and Finland the Soviet Union claimed parts of Finnish territory mainly to create a buffer against a German attack as the Finnish border was close to Leningrad Stalin demanded that finland's seed parts of its coralian Isthmus territory in exchange for other Soviet land in the center of the Border Finland had declared itself neutral at the outbreak of World War II and sought help from Sweden and the Western allies including Britain and France but with no success when Finland finally refused Stalin's offer the Soviet Union launched its attack on November 30th 1939. the Red Army outnumbered the small Finnish Army at around a million troops and was vastly Superior in its tanks artillery and air support however it was poorly LED and had difficulty with the finished terrain and winter weather The Finnish Army in comparison was well LED and knew the terrain well therefore while outnumbered they were able to out fight the Soviets for a long time the fins had warm snow white camouflage suits and made use of skis to swiftly attack Soviet troops the Red Army meanwhile was slow to camouflage its soldiers who were dressed in regular khaki uniforms to take on Soviet tanks Finnish troops would use logs and crowbars jamming them into the wheels to immobilize it they would use a glass bottle filled with a flammable liquid known as the molotov cocktail a name referring by the fins to the Soviet foreign minister the tide only began to turn in the Soviet favor when Stalin appointed a new Commander Marshall semyan timushenko who sent fresh Soviet reinforcements to the battle in February 1940. the Finnish Army eventually became exhausted and then overrun with no chance of outside help from Britain and France who considered the possibility too late Finland was forced to surrender and signed the Treaty of Moscow on March 12 1940 seeding 11 of its territory to the Soviet Union during the winter War the League of Nations expelled the Soviet Union on December 14 1939 for its illegal invasion after the war the hesitancy of Britain and France was apparent as was the low quality of the Red Army to Hitler who took note on attacking the Soviet Union in the near future where did neutral Spain fight in World War II the blue division was the Spanish volunteer unit of the German Army although Spain was a neutral State during World War II its fascist regime favored the Axis powers and for that reason they allowed Spanish citizens to volunteer to join the Vermont this was also a way for Spain's fascist leader Franco to show his gratitude to Germany for its assistance during the Spanish Civil War the only condition Franco set out was that volunteers would only be allowed to fight on the Eastern Front this would be to avoid any confrontation with the Western allies most of the volunteers were already members of the Spanish fascist party and were known as phalangists these men had a deep hatred of Communism so fighting against the Red Army would be a crusade for them and paid back for the Soviet interference in the Spanish Civil War a small percentage of volunteers were men who were forced to enlist these were men who had been collaborating with the Republicans during the Civil War or whose families were in danger from the regime there were also a number of fascist volunteers from the neighboring country of Portugal all combined they form the unit officially known as division espanol de voluntarios but more commonly referred to as the blue division because of the blue shirts they wore in association with the Spanish fascists the first batch of 17 924 volunteers led by General Munoz grandez left Madrid on July 13 1941. they were transferred to the training camp in grafenvore Bavaria there they became the 250th of Infantry Division of the German Army as a Spanish Army division consisted of four regiments and a German division of only three one regiment had to be disbanded and its soldiers dispersed among the other units these three divisions were named after cities from which most of the volunteers came from regiment 262 was named Barcelona regiment 263 Valencia and regiment 269 Seville in grafenville the idea was that the Spanish volunteers should follow the same training regime as the German recruits however in July 1941 the Spanish government feared that the war in the East could be over before their volunteers had finished their training so they authorized a fast-track training program for the recruits meaning they could be sent to the front as soon as possible fortunately most of the volunteers were experienced Veterans of the Spanish Civil War and at least 50 percent of the officers and ncos were professional soldiers also with combat experience but none of them were prepared for the harsh climate and conditions on the Eastern Front that they were about to encounter the emphasis was put on familiarizing them with German weapons and equipment and the New Rapid training program remained in effect for all volunteers that were traveling to Germany [Music] being officially part of the Vermont soldiers of the blue division were equipped with the same weapons as the German troops and also wore the same uniforms and equipment who combat soldiers of the blue division wore the standard German felgrau uniform and the only difference being the shield badge with Spanish national colors and the inscription Espana sewn on the upper right sleeve the same Shield was also painted on the right hand side of their helmets behind the lines or when on leave soldiers of the blue division were allowed to wear their own specially made uniforms this consisted of khaki trousers a blue shirt and red beret khaki trousers were adopted from the Spanish Foreign Legion since General Munoz was a veteran of the Spanish Morocco campaign serving with the legion the blue shirt was a distinctive feature of the phalangist movement worn by members of the fascist party and the red beret was the traditional headwear worn by the carlist movement that supported Don Carlos in his plan for the Spanish Throne after taking an oath of Allegiance in front of Adolf Hitler soldiers of the blue division were sent by train to the town of suvalki in Poland from there they continued on foot for the 560 miles or about 900 kilometers to the Army group center from where they were to join in with the campaign to attack Moscow this March was one of the longest in the entire War once they reached vitepskin Belarus the blue division was reassigned to Army Group North that was heading towards Leningrad and became part of the German 16th Army initially the Germans thought that the Spanish volunteers who were known as guripas or conscripts were just an ill-disciplined rabble as they refused to practice drills or clean their weapons or do guard Duty or salute or obey orders and seem to be more interested in chasing the local women and enjoying themselves but once they engaged in combat they came into their own as they demonstrated that they were brutal and ruthless soldiers who would neither ask for nor give any quarter and would rarely surrender preferring to fight to the death like the Russians they would seldom take prisoners this gave rise for Munoz Grandes to call them his bridegrooms of death and even their Battle Cry was Viva la muerte or long-lived death they soon became respected by the Germans and feared by the Russians would dread going into battle against them fighting in the northwest of Russia the soldiers of the blue division experienced the true horror of life and death on the Eastern Front they participated in 21 major battles and had a great number of smaller conflicts and they suffered not only from battle fatigue but also from Hunger disease poor hygiene and extremely cold weather an example of the losses suffered by the blue division was the action conducted by the ski company in January of 1942. with orders to relieve German units that were cut off South of Lake ilman the Spanish soldiers set off on a March in temperatures of minus 40 degrees after wading through waist deep snow and Crossing icy rivers and numerous skirmishes with Soviet patrols only 12 of the original 206 men arrived in a state fit to fight similar number of casualties were suffered by the second Battalion that were sent to the Village of possible in January 1943 to help defend the Leningrad Funk from Soviet penetration January 22nd they arrived at the village in a convoy of trucks but after enduring a constant Soviet bombardment for six days only 28 minutes survived the same thing happened a few weeks later at krasni boar where a Detachment of the Spanish volunteers were wiped out by Soviet artillery and massed infantry assaults at the same time the Spanish government was being pressured into repatriating the volunteers back to Spain facing British demands for a complete neutrality and pressure from Catholic church leaders from all over Spain in the spring of 1943 the Spanish authorities began negotiations with Germany regarding the recall of the volunteers from the Eastern Front the Germans were not happy with the proposal but on October 14 1943 an order was given to all blue division volunteers to return home even though the majority of soldiers welcomed the decision many of them refused to return with an overwhelming urge to continue their fight against the hated Communists they formed the so-called blue Legion this also helped to appease Hitler by still having a Spanish presence on the Eastern Front this strength of this unit was around 3 000 men as it was becoming all too clear where the outcome of the hostilities were heading Franco ordered these men to also return to Spain in March 1944. only the most fanatical remained these men were incorporated into other German units including the vaffin SS and continued to fight until the fall of Berlin during the four years of Engagement more than 45 000 Spanish soldiers Saw Service on the Eastern front of that number 4 500 were killed while sixteen thousand were either wounded or ended up interned in pow caps the last blue division prisoners of War were released from the Soviet Union in 1954. during their campaign on the Eastern Front during World War II the officers and Men of the blue division were awarded with three night crosses with oak leaves three German crosses in Gold 138 iron crosses first class 2359 iron crosses second class and 2216 War Merit crosses with swords between them and also the Third Reich commission the Spanish volunteer medal on January 3rd 1944 and awarded it to all 47 thousand volunteers who had served in the Eastern Front nationalist Spain also awarded the volunteers medal the medalla de Campagna de Russia or the medal of the Russian campaign in recognition of their support to Nazi Germany on the Eastern Front in 1777 with winter setting in and the British at Philadelphia George Washington chose to make the winter camp at Valley Forge so what was life like at Valley Forge the Continental Army was on the brink of collapse there wasn't much to eat the troops dined on a meal of rice and vinegar or fire cakes a gross mixture of flour and water as well as short Food Supplies there was a lack of clothing blankets or shoes the lack of shoes made the soldiers leave bloody footprints in the snow disease spread quickly throughout the camp because of the crowded tents and cabins typhoid fever pneumonia and smallpox took the lives of many soldiers Washington was desperate to keep his troops from deserting he made lashings and shooting by firing squad as punishment winter at Valley Forge might have signaled the end of the American Revolution but George Washington didn't give up Prussian General Friedrich Von Steuben joined the camp and trained the Continental Army the French joined the American Fight For Freedom sending military supplies and troops George Washington could now focus on his strategies to defeat the British in March 1778 Washington LED his troops with their confidence restored out of Valley Forge to face the British again

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Id: fzkPylCiFWc

Length: 60min 31sec (3631 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 20 2023