World War Two
Published 24 Aug 2021The Eastern Front is a battleground of Blitzkrieg and Deep Battle; Panzers vs. T-34s; Nazism and Communism. You’d think that there would be no place for cavalry tactics here. But the Wehrmacht, Red Army, and Regio Esercito do still use centuries-old cavalry tactics in their waging of war.
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August 25, 2021
August 24, 2021
Bloody Victories – The Battles For Metz | GLORY & DEFEAT Week 6
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Published 19 Aug 2021Support Glory & Defeat by sponsoring an illustration: https://realtimehistory.net/adoptanar…
The French Army of Marshal Bazaine was hoping to reach Verdun or even Paris after the first engagements around Metz. But the French troops were exhausted which allowed the Germans to catch up. With the Battle of Gravelotte and the Battle of Mars-la-Tour, the fate of the French Rhine Army is sealed; they are trapped in Metz.
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John Ozment
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Thomas Brendan» OUR PODCAST
https://realtimehistory.net/podcast – interviews with historians and background info for the show.» LITERATURE
Arand, Tobias: 1870/71. Die Geschichte des Deutsch-Französischen Krieges erzählt in Einzelschicksalen. Hamburg 2018
Bourguinat, Nicolas/Vogt, Gilles: La Guerre franco-allemande de 1870. Une histoire globale. Paris 2020
Buk-Swienty, Tom: Feuer und Blut. Hauptmann Dinesen. Hamburg 2014
Roux, Georges: La Guerre de 1870. Paris 1966» SOURCES
Braun, Lily (Hrsg.): Kriegsbriefe aus den Jahren 1870/1 von Hans von Kretschman. Berlin 1911
Engels, Friedrich: Der Deutsch-Französische Krieg. Sechzig Artikel aus der “Pall Mall Gazette”. Berlin (Ost) 1957
Fontane, Theodor: Der Krieg gegen Frankreich. Bd. 1. Berlin 1873
Geschichte des Krieges 1870–1871, Union Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, Stuttgart 1895
N. N. (Hrsg.): Bismarcks Briefe an seine Gattin aus dem Kriege 1870/71. Stuttgart, Berlin 1903
Seigneur, Daniel: Carnets d’un infirmier d’une guerre oublié. Bière 2014» OUR STORE
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Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Cathérine Pfauth, Prof. Dr. Tobias Arand, Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller & Florian Wittig
Director of Photography: Toni Steller
Sound: Above Zero
Editing: Toni Steller
Motion Design: Philipp Appelt
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: http://above-zero.com
Maps: Battlefield Design
Research by: Cathérine Pfauth, Prof. Dr. Tobias Arand
Fact checking: Cathérine Pfauth, Prof. Dr. Tobias ArandChannel Design: Battlefield Design
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August 23, 2021
Swastika Raised on Highest Point in Europe – WW2 – 156 – August 21, 1942
World War Two
Published 21 Aug 2021The Axis advance in the Caucasus takes Mt. Elbrus, and the one on Stalingrad continues, and there are several raids of note this week- a Japanese one on Guadalcanal is destroyed, an Allied one on Dieppe is badly savaged, and an American one at Makin Atoll is successful in the short term, but with bad long term ramifications.
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August 20, 2021
Battle of Colombey-Nouilly – Strasbourg Under Siege I GLORY & DEFEAT Week 5
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Published 12 Aug 2021Sign up for Curiosity Stream and get Nebula bundled in and SAVE 26%: https://curiositystream.com/realtimeh…
After the opening battles of the Franco-Prussian War, the German armies have suffered heavy casualties but were also able to stop French plans in their tracks. Now the French are withdrawing towards Metz and the symbolic city of Strasbourg is under siege.
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Arand, Tobias: 1870/71. Die Geschichte des Deutsch-Französischen Krieges erzählt in Einzelschicksalen. Hamburg 2018Mährle, Wolfgang (Hrsg.): Nation im Siegesrausch. Württemberg und die Gründung des Deutsches Reichs 1870/71. Stuttgart 2020
Milza, Pierre: L’année terrible. La guerre franco-prussienne septembre 1870 – mars 1871. Paris 2009
Roux, Georges: La Guerre de 1870. Paris 1966
» SOURCES
Bodenhorst, Georges: Le siége de Strasbourg en 1870. Paris. u.a. 1876Engels, Friedrich: “Notes on the war, No. 5”, in: The Pall Mall Gazette Nr. 1712 vom 9. August 1870
Engels, Friedrich: “Der Deutsch-Französische Krieg 1870/71“. Sechzig Artikel aus der Pall Mall Gazette. Berlin (Ost) 1957
Fontane, Theodor: Der Krieg gegen Frankreich. Bd.1 und 2. Berlin 1873
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Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Cathérine Pfauth, Prof. Dr. Tobias Arand, Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller & Florian Wittig
Director of Photography: Toni Steller
Sound: Above Zero
Editing: Toni Steller
Motion Design: Philipp Appelt
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: http://above-zero.com
Maps: Battlefield Design
Research by: Cathérine Pfauth, Prof. Dr. Tobias Arand
Fact checking: Cathérine Pfauth, Prof. Dr. Tobias ArandChannel Design: Battlefield Design
Contains licensed material by getty images
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August 18, 2021
Tank Chats #120 | Sd.Kfz. 234 Panzerspähwagen | The Tank Museum
The Tank Museum
Published 26 Mar 2021The Tank Museum’s Curator David Willey presents a Tank Chat on the Sd.Kfz. 234 Panzerspähwagen, a heavy German reconnaissance vehicle from the Second World War, and the only wheeled German armour in The Tank Museum collection. Join David as he tells you more.
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August 17, 2021
Opening Battles of the Franco-Prussian War: Saarbrücken, Wissembourg, Wörth I GLORY & DEFEAT Week 4
realtimehistory
Published 5 Aug 2021Support Glory & Defeat: https://realtimehistory.net/gloryandd…
Early August 1870 saw the first series of opening battles of the Franco-Prussian War. The Battle of Saarbrücken was the only battle of the entire war fought on German soil, the following Battle of Wissembourg, the Battle of Wörth and the Battle of Spicheren happened right after and gave a glimpse of the carnage to come.
» THANK YOU TO OUR CO-PRODUCERS
John Ozment
James Darcangelo
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Thomas Brendan» OUR PODCAST
https://realtimehistory.net/podcast – interviews with historians and background info for the show.» LITERATURE
Arand, Tobias: 1870/71. Die Geschichte des Deutsch-Französischen Krieges erzählt in Einzelschicksalen. Hamburg 2018Bourguinat, Nicolas/Vogt, Gilles: La guerre franco-allemande de 1870. Une histoire globale. Paris 2020
Gall, Lothar (Hrsg.): Deutschland Archiv. Deutsche Geschichte in Dokumenten. O.O., o. J. (2007)
Mährle, Wolfgang: “Das württembergische Heer im Deutsch-Französischen Krieg 1870/71“, in: Nation im Siegesrausch. Württemberg und die Gründung des Deutschen Reichs 1870/71, hrsg.v. Wolfang Mährle. Stuttgart 2020. S. 45-64.
Milza, Pierre: L’année terrible. La guerre franco-prussienne septembre 1870 – mars 1871. Paris 2009
Roux, Georges: La Guerre de 1870. Paris 1966
» SOURCES
Bazaine, François-Achille: Episoden aus dem Krieg von 1870 und der Belagerung von Paris. Berlin 1884Chuquet, Arthur: La guerre 1870/71. Paris 1895
Engel, o.V.: Die Verluste der deutschen Armeen an Offizieren und Mannschaften im Kriege gegen Frankreich 1870 und 71. Berlin 1872
Engels, Friedrich: Der Deutsch-Französische Krieg. Sechzig Artikel aus der ‘Pall Mall Gazette’. Berlin (Ost) 1957
Goncourt, Edmond de: Journal. Bd. 5. 1869-1872. Leipzig 2013
Henderson, George: The battle of Spicheren, August 6th 1870, and the events that preceded it – a study in practical tactics. London 1891
Klein, Karl: Fröschweiler Chronik. Kriegs- und Friedensbilder aus dem Jahre 1870/71. Illustrierte Jubelausgabe. München 1897
Kriegsgeschichtliche Abtheilung des Großen Generalstabs (Hg.): Der deutsch-französische Krieg 1870/71. Erster Theil. Erster Band. Berlin 1874
Kühnhauser, Florian: Erinnerungen eines Soldaten des königlich bayerischen-Infanterie-Leib-Regiments. Partenkirchen 1898
Le Faure, Amédée: Atlas de la guerre 1870/71. Paris 1875
Meisner, Heinrich Otto (Hrsg.): Kaiser Friedrich III. Das Kriegstagebuch von 1870/71. Berlin, Leipzig 1926
Pietsch, Ludwig: Von Berlin bis Paris. Kriegsbilder 1870-1871. Berlin 1871
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Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Cathérine Pfauth, Prof. Dr. Tobias Arand, Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller & Florian Wittig
Director of Photography: Toni Steller
Sound: Above Zero
Editing: Toni Steller
Motion Design: Philipp Appelt
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: http://above-zero.com
Maps: Battlefield Design
Research by: Cathérine Pfauth, Prof. Dr. Tobias Arand
Fact checking: Cathérine Pfauth, Prof. Dr. Tobias ArandChannel Design: Battlefield Design
Contains licensed material by getty images
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August 16, 2021
French and German Armies in 1870 – Dreyse and Chassepot Rifle Overview I GLORY & DEFEAT Week 3
realtimehistory
Published 29 Jul 2021Sign up for Curiosity Stream and get Nebula bundled in and SAVE 26%: https://curiositystream.com/realtimeh…
While the French and different German Armies are gathering we are taking the time this week to take a look at military organization and warfare in 1870. As a special guest we also have Cap And Ball on the show who introduces the famous Chassepot and Dreyse rifles which will be important in this conflict.
» THANK YOU TO OUR CO-PRODUCERS
John Ozment
James Darcangelo
Jacob Carter Landt
Thomas Brendan» OUR PODCAST
https://realtimehistory.net/podcast – interviews with historians and background info for the show.» LITERATURE
Arand, Tobias: 1870/71. Die Geschichte des Deutsch-Französischen Krieges erzählt in Einzelschicksalen. Hamburg 2018
Delpérier, Louis; Mirouze, Laurent: Der Deutsch-Französische Krieg 1870/71. Bd. 2. Uniformierung und Ausrüstung der französischen Armeen. Wien 2020
Herre, Franz: Kaiser Wilhelm I. Der letzte Preuße. Köln 1980
Milza, Pierre: L’année terrible. La guerre franco-prussienne. Septembre 1870 – mars 1871. Paris 2009
Stein, Markus; Bauer, Gerhard: Der Deutsch-Französische Krieg 1870/71. Bd. 1. Uniformierung und Ausrüstung der deutschen Armeen. Wien 2020» SOURCES
Fontane, Theodor: Der Krieg gegen Frankreich. Bd. 1. Berlin 1873
Kriegsgeschichtliche Abtheilung des Großen Generalstabs (Hg.): Der deutsch-französische Krieg 1870/71. Erster Theil. Erster Band. Berlin 1874
Pflugk-Harttung, Julius: Krieg und Sieg 1870-1871. Bd. 2 Berlin 1896» OUR STORE
Website: https://realtimehistory.net»CREDITS
Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Cathérine Pfauth, Prof. Dr. Tobias Arand, Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller & Florian Wittig
Director of Photography: Toni Steller
Sound: Above Zero
Editing: Toni Steller
Motion Design: Philipp Appelt
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: http://above-zero.com
Maps: Battlefield Design
Research by: Cathérine Pfauth, Prof. Dr. Tobias Arand
Fact checking: Cathérine Pfauth, Prof. Dr. Tobias ArandChannel Design: Battlefield Design
Contains licensed material by getty images
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August 15, 2021
No Soviet Oil for Hitler – WW2 – 155 – August 14, 1942
World War Two
Published 14 Aug 2021The Axis advance into the Caucasus is going great … except the oil towns they take have no oil, and wasn’t that the whole purpose? Meanwhile in the Pacific, the US Navy is suffering perhaps its greatest defeat ever off Savo Island, even as the Marines take Tulagi, Gavutu, and Tanambogo.
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August 13, 2021
Spycraft and the Special Operations Executive – WW2 – Spies & Ties 07
World War Two
Published 12 Aug 2021Astrid talks about spying all the time, but what was it actually like for people on the ground? We look through the lens of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) to find out!
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August 11, 2021
The Symphony That Defeated the Wehrmacht – WAH 040 – August 1942, Pt .1
World War Two
Pubished 10 Aug 2021The Big Action at the Warsaw Ghetto continues, while The Japanese carry out retaliations against the Chinese for aiding American airmen. Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Symphony no. 7” premieres in the besieged city of Leningrad.
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August 10, 2021
Franco-Prussian War – First Fighting and Casualties I GLORY & DEFEAT Week 2
realtimehistory
Published 22 Jul 2021Support Glory & Defeat: https://realtimehistory.net/gloryandd…
With the official declaration of war from France, Prussia mobilizes and calls in the defensive alliances with the other German states within the North German Confederation but also with Bavaria, Württemberg and Baden. And while the bigger armies still assemble, the first skirmishes happen near the French border.
» OUR PODCAST
https://realtimehistory.net/podcast – interviews with historians and background info for the show.» LITERATURE
Arand, Tobias: 1870/71. Der Deutsch-Französische Krieg erzählt in Einzelschicksalen. Hamburg 2018Arand, Tobias / Bunnenberg, Christian (Hrsg.): Karl Klein. Fröschweiler Chronik. Kriegs- und Friedensbilder aus dem Krieg 1870. Kommentierte Edition. Hamburg 2021
Bourguinat, Nicolas / Vogt, Gilles: La guerre franco-allemande de 1870. Une histoire globale. Paris 2020
Howard, Michael: The Franco-Prussian War. London 1961
Milza, Pierre: L’année terrible. La guerre franco-prussienne septembre 1870 – mars 1871. Paris 2009
» SOURCES
Becker, Josef (Hrsg.): Bismarcks spanische «Diversion« 1870 und der preußisch-deutsche Reichsgründungskrieg. Bd. III. Paderborn, München, Wien, Zürich 2003
Bebel, August / Bernstein, Eduard (Hrsg.): Der Briefwechsel zwischen Friedrich Engels und Karl Marx. Bd. IV. Stuttgart 1921
Fontane, Theodor: Krieg gegen Frankreich, Bd. 1. Berlin 1873
Napoléon III: Proclamation de l’Empereur. Paris, 23. Juillet 1870
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Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Cathérine Pfauth, Prof. Dr. Tobias Arand, Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller & Florian Wittig
Director of Photography: Toni Steller
Sound: Above Zero
Editing: Toni Steller
Motion Design: Philipp Appelt
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: http://above-zero.com
Maps: Battlefield Design
Research by: Cathérine Pfauth, Prof. Dr. Tobias Arand
Fact checking: Cathérine Pfauth, Prof. Dr. Tobias ArandChannel Design: Battlefield Design
Contains licensed material by getty images
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August 9, 2021
The German Wars of Unification – Bismarck’s Rise I GLORY & DEFEAT
realtimehistory
Published 19 Jul 2021Support Glory & Defeat: https://realtimehistory.net/gloryandd…
After the failed revolution of 1848, the German states within the German confederation were still moving towards unification. This movement would come from the citizens this time though but from the top. Prussia’s chancellor Otto von Bismarck was using clever and aggressive diplomacy to outmaneuver his biggest German rival: Austria.
» OUR PODCAST
https://realtimehistory.net/podcast – interviews with historians and background info for the show.» LITERATURE
Arand, Tobias: 1870/71. Der Deutsch-Französische Krieg erzählt in Einzelschicksalen. Hamburg 2018
Bremm, Klaus-Jürgen: 1866. Bismarcks Krieg gegen die Habsburger. Darmstadt 2016
Buk-Swienty: Schlachtbank Düppel. Geschichte einer Schlacht. Hamburg 2015
Fesser, Gerd: Königgrätz – Sadowa. Bismarck Sieg über Österreich. Berlin 1994» SOURCES
Böhme, Helmuth (Hrsg.): Die Reichsgründung. dtv-Dokumente. München 1967Dollinger, Hans: Das Kaiserreich. Seine Geschichte in Texten, Bildern und Dokumenten. München, 1966
Hardtwig, Wolfgang /Hinze, Helmuth (Hrsg.): Deutsche Geschichte in Quellen und Darstellungen. Bd. 7: Vom Deutschen Bund zum Kaiserreich 1815 – 1871. Stuttgart 1997
Huber, Ernst Rudolf (Hrsg.): Dokumente der Verfassungsgeschichte, Bd. 2. 1851 – 1900. Stuttgart u.a. 1961
N.N.: Helmuth von Moltkes Briefe an seine Braut und Frau. Stuttgart u.a. 1911
Low, Sidney / Sanders Lloyd C.: The History of England During the Reign of Victoria (1837-1901) Volume 12 of 12, [Part of Series: The Political History of England in Twelve Volumes, Edited by William Hunt and Reginald L. Poole], Longmans, Green, and Co., London. 1907
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Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Cathérine Pfauth, Prof. Dr. Tobias Arand, Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller & Florian Wittig
Director of Photography: Toni Steller
Sound: Above Zero
Editing: Toni Steller
Motion Design: Philipp Appelt
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: http://above-zero.com
Maps: Battlefield Design
Research by: Cathérine Pfauth, Prof. Dr. Tobias Arand
Fact checking: Cathérine Pfauth, Prof. Dr. Tobias ArandChannel Design: Battlefield Design
Contains licensed material by getty images
All rights reserved – Real Time History GmbH 2021
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August 8, 2021
Guadalcanal – Allies Take the Initiative – WW2 – 154 – August 7, 1942
World War Two
Published 7 Aug 2021The Axis Forces are on the move on the Eastern Front and in the Caucasus, but this week the Allies begin an offensive of their own: this week come Allied landings and attacks on Guadalcanal and nearby islands, the first American offensive against the Japanese.
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QotD: Clausewitz’s concept of “friction” in war
Everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult. The difficulties accumulate and end by producing a kind of friction that is inconceivable unless one has experienced war.
[Military theorist Carl von] Clausewitz’s most enduring and insightful idea in On War is friction.
Friction explains why a general can have a plan for battle that looks perfect on paper, but falls apart in real life. Friction torpedos morale and slows down action.
Friction isn’t just one thing. It’s the accumulation of a bunch of little things. Says Clausewitz:
Countless minor incidents — the kind you can never really foresee — combine to lower the general level of performance, so that one always falls far short of the intended goal.
To help his readers understand friction in warfare, he gives an analogy from everyday life in the 19th century that we can still imagine parallels to today:
Imagine a traveler who late in the day decides to cover two more stages before nightfall. Only four or five hours more, on a paved highway with relays of horses: it should be an easy trip. But at the next station he finds no fresh horses, or only poor ones; the country grows hilly, the road bad, night falls, and finally after many difficulties he is only too glad to reach a resting place with any kind of primitive accommodation.
As the complexity in any endeavor increases, friction increases as well, because there are simply more opportunities for things to get mucked up. The bigger and more complicated the endeavor, the larger the amount of friction.
A factor that increases complexity, and thus friction, more than any other, is the inclusion of other human beings. Humans are the ultimate friction creators. Clausewitz notes that a battalion, by its very nature, will experience plenty of friction, because it’s made up of many different individuals who can interact with each other in a multiplicity of problem-producing ways. One soldier gets scared and runs, resulting in other soldiers catching the fear contagion and running. Before you know it, you’ve got an unplanned, chaotic retreat. Damn you, friction!
[…]
Thus, Clausewitz says, the first step to getting a handle on friction is to recognize its reality, and inevitability:
An understanding of friction is a large part of that much-admired sense of warfare which a good general is supposed to possess. … The good general must know friction in order to overcome it whenever possible, and in order not to expect a standard of achievement in his operations which this very friction makes impossible.
To keep friction from throwing you for a loop, you have to manage your expectations; you have to account for friction in assessing what you’re realistically going to be able to accomplish. Making this assessment, accurately gauging how much friction you’ll encounter, Clausewitz says, is a matter of instinct, honed over time and field-testing:
As with a man of the world instinct becomes almost habit so that he always acts, speaks, and moves appropriately, so only the experienced officer will make the right decision in major and minor matters — at every pulsebeat of war. Practice and experience dictate the answer: “this is possible, that is not”.
Even though it’s crucial to accept the inevitability of friction, this needn’t be a matter of resentful resignation. If friction is normal in any endeavor, then it is something to embrace, and even take a kind of pride in — a sign that you’re doing something, taking action, engaging in life’s heroic struggle.
Brett and Kate McKay, “Clausewitz on Overcoming the Annoying Slog of Life”, The Art of Manliness, 2021-04-27.
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August 7, 2021
The Black Markets of World War Two – WW2 – On the Homefront 012
World War Two
Published 6 Aug 2021With the scarce food supply brought about by war, many turn to the black market and its astronomic prices as supplements. It is a place for opportunists and patriotic protesters, but mainly it’s a means to survive.
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