Quotulatiousness

June 13, 2021

Sevastopol Must Fall! – WW2 – 146 – June 13, 1942

Filed under: Africa, Britain, France, Germany, History, Military, Pacific, Russia, USA, WW2 — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

World War Two
Published 12 Jun 2021

It’s a week of starts and stops. The Battle of Sevastopol kicks into high gear, and the Battle of Gazala enters its third phase. And what is going on in the Pacific just one week after Midway?
(more…)

June 11, 2021

Is Finland an Ally of Nazi Germany? – Carl Gustaf Mannerheim – WW2 Biography Special

World War Two
Published 10 Jun 2021

Carl Gustaf Mannerheim is a national hero after his service in everything from the Finnish Civil War to the Winter War. But did he plan a war of aggression with Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union? And if so, did Hitler and Stalin even give him any choice in the matter?
(more…)

Tanks Chats #110 | T-72 | The Tank Museum

Filed under: History, Military, Russia, Weapons — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

The Tank Museum
Published 13 Nov 2020

Join David Willey as he discusses the T-72, a Soviet era main battle tank which first entered production in 1971. The T-72’s service life has proven to be extremely successful. With about 20,000 produced, it has seen service with over 40 countries, and thanks to refurbishment, is still in service to this very day.

With thanks to RecoMonkey for additional images https://www.recomonkey.com/
(more…)

June 7, 2021

Germany to Strike Strongest Fortress in the World – WW2 – 145b – June 6, 1942

World War Two
Published 6 Jun 2021

Midway isn’t the only fight right now. Germany is trying to crack the mighty fortress of Sevastopol and take the whole Crimea. In North Africa, Rommel is routing the Allies, but in Malta the arrival of ever more fighter planes bodes well for the Allies.
(more…)

June 6, 2021

QotD: The Soviet Union in the Cold War, China today

Filed under: China, History, Media, Quotations, Russia, USA — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 01:00

Back in the days of the Cold War, much was said about the titanic power of the Soviet Union. The USSR, we were told, was a superpower the equal of the United States, possibly even superior. This meme was spread by lefties who wanted the USSR to win, by sincere pacifists hoping to stop war before it could begin, and by an enormous cohort of liberals who repeated it because they heard it from the first two. (Much liberalism can be explained this way. It’s the ultimate “I heard it from somebody” ideology.)

Needless to say, it was gibbering nonsense. The late ’80s Soviet collapse revealed that the USSR was never any kind of power at all – an economy that didn’t produce, weapons that didn’t work, a populace addicted to drink and overwhelmed with despair. “Bulgaria with nukes” is how someone characterized it, and truer words were never spoken. That remains the case today, despite Vlad Putin’s chest-beating, and it’s likely to remain the case as far ahead as anyone can see.

The same trope is being repeated regarding China. China, we are told, is the coming nation. The second largest economy on Earth, soon to be the first. A billion and a half people, each more educated than any American; a military power second to none, with advanced weapons of a nature that we can only gape at. A country exercising its power over vast reaches of the Pacific and moving into the Indian Ocean, Africa, and the Mideast with no one to oppose it.

We hear this from the likes of Thomas Friedman, who has spent much of his career looking for his personal Mussolini. It’s repeated by deeper figures across the political spectrum. In fact, it can be said without exaggeration to have become received wisdom.

There’s no point in asking how true this is. The proper question to ask is whether it embodies any truth at all.

J.R. Dunn, “The Myth of China as Superpower”, American Thinker, 2019-01-09.

June 5, 2021

Battle of Khalkhin Gol 1939 – Soviet-Japanese War

Filed under: China, History, Japan, Military, Russia — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

Kings and Generals
Published 17 May 2020

Our animated historical documentary series on modern warfare continues with a coverage of the Battles of Khalkin Gol of 1939, as the USSR and Japan clashed in Mongolia and Manchuria. Although this short war didn’t change much in the Far East, it played a huge role during World War II.

Cold War channel: http://bit.ly/2UHebLI
Modern Warfare series: http://bit.ly/2W2SeXF

Support us on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/KingsandGenerals or Paypal: http://paypal.me/kingsandgenerals

We are grateful to our patrons and sponsors, who made this video possible: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17…

The video was made by Leif Sick, while the script was developed by Ivan Moran

This video was narrated by Officially Devin (https://www.youtube.com/user/OfficiallyDevin)

✔ Merch store ► teespring.com/stores/kingsandgenerals
✔ Podcast ► Google Play: http://bit.ly/2QDF7y0 iTunes: https://apple.co/2QTuMNG
✔ Twitter ► https://twitter.com/KingsGenerals
✔ Instagram ► http://www.instagram.com/Kings_Generals

Production Music courtesy of Epidemic Sound: http://www.epidemicsound.com

#Documentary #KhalkinGol #WorldWar2

QotD: British wartime censorship

Unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without the need for any official ban. Anyone who has lived long in a foreign country will know of instances of sensational items of news — things which on their own merits would get the big headlines — being kept right out of the British press, not because the Government intervened but because of a general tacit agreement that “it wouldn’t do” to mention that particular fact. So far as the daily newspapers go, this is easy to understand. The British press is extremely centralised, and most of it is owned by wealthy men who have every motive to be dishonest on certain important topics. But the same kind of veiled censorship also operates in books and periodicals, as well as in plays, films and radio. At any given moment there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question. It is not exactly forbidden to say this, that or the other, but it is “not done” to say it, just as in mid-Victorian times it was “not done” to mention trousers in the presence of a lady. Anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself silenced with surprising effectiveness. A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never given a fair hearing, either in the popular press or in the highbrow periodicals.

At this moment what is demanded by the prevailing orthodoxy is an uncritical admiration of Soviet Russia. Everyone knows this, nearly everyone acts on it. Any serious criticism of the Soviet régime, any disclosure of facts which the Soviet government would prefer to keep hidden, is next door to unprintable. And this nation-wide conspiracy to flatter our ally takes place, curiously enough, against a background of genuine intellectual tolerance. For though you are not allowed to criticise the Soviet government, at least you are reasonably free to criticise our own. Hardly anyone will print an attack on Stalin, but it is quite safe to attack Churchill, at any rate in books and periodicals. And throughout five years of war, during two or three of which we were fighting for national survival, countless books, pamphlets and articles advocating a compromise peace have been published without interference. More, they have been published without exciting much disapproval. So long as the prestige of the USSR is not involved, the principle of free speech has been reasonably well upheld. There are other forbidden topics, and I shall mention some of them presently, but the prevailing attitude towards the USSR is much the most serious symptom. It is, as it were, spontaneous, and is not due to the action of any pressure group.

George Orwell, Unpublished Preface to Animal Farm, 1945.

May 30, 2021

Rommel’s Desert Dash – The Whole Bloody Afrika Korps! – Gazala – WW2 – 144 – May 30, 1942

World War Two
Published 29 May 2021

Erwin Rommel begins his surprise new offensive with “Rommel’s Moonlight Ride”, bringing all of his mighty mobile units to the fray in North Africa, while in the Pacific, dozens of warships and tens of thousands of men set sail from Japan — their mission? Attack the Aleutian Islands and Midway Island, but above all, destroy the US Pacific Fleet!
(more…)

May 23, 2021

AF is short of fresh water – WW2 – 143 – May 23, 1942

Filed under: Britain, Germany, History, Japan, Military, Pacific, Russia, USA, WW2 — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

World War Two
Published 22 May 2021

Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov arrives in London to meet with Churchill, but at home in the USSR the Germans have launched an instantly successful offensive. In North Africa and Malta the British are building up, unaware that Erwin Rommel is just about to strike, and an American ruse discovers secret Japanese attack plans.
(more…)

May 21, 2021

Tank Chats #107 | T-62 | The Tank Museum

Filed under: History, Military, Russia, Weapons — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

The Tank Museum
Published 9 Oct 2020

Here The Tank Museum’s Curator David Willey discusses the Soviet T-62, including its development and service life. Introduced in 1962, it was a further evolution of the T-55 series, which David discussed in Tank Chat #104.

Support the work of The Tank Museum on Patreon: ► https://www.patreon.com/tankmuseum
Visit The Tank Museum SHOP & become a Friend: ► tankmuseumshop.org

Twitter: ► https://twitter.com/TankMuseum
Instagram: ► https://www.instagram.com/tankmuseum/
#tankmuseum #tanks

May 18, 2021

What is Maskirovka? Russian Military Deception #Military101

Filed under: History, Media, Military, Russia — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

Military History Visualized
Published 5 May 2017

A short introduction into Russian Military Deception — called Maskirovka. “Maskirovka is most simply defined as a set of processes designed to mislead, confuse, and interfere with accurate data collection regarding all areas of Soviet plans, objectives, and strengths or weaknesses.” (Smith, Charles L.: “Soviet Maskirovka“, in: Airpower Journal – Spring 1988)

Military History Visualized provides a series of short narrative and visual presentations like documentaries based on academic literature or sometimes primary sources. Videos are intended as introduction to military history, but also contain a lot of details for history buffs. Since the aim is to keep the episodes short and comprehensive some details are often cut.

» HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT MILITARY HISTORY VISUALIZED «
(A) You can support my channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/join/mhv

(B) You can also buy “Spoils of War” (merchandise) in the online shop: https://www.redbubble.com/people/mhvi…

» SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS «
twitter: https://twitter.com/MilHiVisualized
tumblr: http://militaryhistoryvisualized.tumb…

» SOURCES «

Maier, Morgan: A Little Masquerade: Russia’s Evolving Employment of Maskirovka
http://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/si…

Smith, Charles L.: “Soviet Maskirovko“, in: Airpower Journal – Spring 1988
http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/ai…

Lindley-French, Julian: NATO: Countering Strategic Maskirovka. Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute. (2015)

Glantz: The Red Mask: The Nature and Legacy of Soviet Military Deception in the Second World War

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian…

Keating, Kenneth: The Soviet System of Camouflage
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/…

Krueger, Daniel: Maskirovka – What’s in it for us?
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/…

» TOOL CHAIN «
PowerPoint 2016, Word, Excel, Tile Mill, QGIS, Processing 3, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Audition, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Animate.

» CREDITS & SPECIAL THX «
Song: Ethan Meixsell – “Demilitarized Zone”

May 16, 2021

Joseph Stalin Jumps the Gun – 142 – May 16, 1942

World War Two
Published 15 May 2021

The Soviets pre-empt a German offensive with one of their own in the south of the Eastern Front, but that’s not the only fighting. The skies over Malta and the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence are full of action. Meanwhile, two races against time — and the Japanese — come to an end in India.
(more…)

May 9, 2021

Carrier vs. Carrier – The Battle of the Coral Sea – WW2 – 141 – May 9, 1942

World War Two
Published 8 May 2021

This week sees a major clash between the naval forces of the Japanese and the Allies. Both sides take big damage, though on the tactical level it is a victory for the Japanese. Operationally, however, they must postpone their attacks towards Port Moresby. They are busy making plans all the while, though, for their upcoming attack against Midway Atoll in the Central Pacific. They also finally have success ending an offensive this week with the conquest of the Philippines when Corregidor falls. Japan’s ally Germany begins an offensive of their own this week on the Kerch Peninsula. The Allies, for their part, launch an offensive of their own this week against Vichy French-held Madagascar, and they take the main port, Diego Suarez.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Get Collectibles here: https://timeghost.tv/collectibles/​

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @ww2_day_by_day – https://www.instagram.com/ww2_day_by_day
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory​)

Colorizations by:
– Daniel Weiss
– Mikołaj Uchman
– Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/​
– Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/​

Sources:
– IWM A 9471
– Narodowe Muzeum Cyfrowe

Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
– Rannar Sillard – “Easy Target”
– Jo Wandrini – “Dragon King”
– Jo Wandrini – “To War!”
– Fabien Tell – “Last Point of Safe Return”
– Brightarm Orchestra – “On the Edge of Change”
– Reynard Seidel – “Rush of Blood”
– Craft Case – “Secret Cargo”
– Gunnar Johnsen – “Not Safe Yet”
– Edward Karl Hanson – “Spellbound”
– Johan Hynynen – “One More Thought”
– Rannar Sillard – “March Of The Brave 4”
– Johan Hynynen – “Dark Beginning”
– Phoenix Tail – “At the Front”

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com​.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

May 2, 2021

Japan – One Battle from Victory? – 140 – May 2, 1942

Filed under: Britain, China, Germany, History, Japan, Military, Pacific, Russia, USA, WW2 — Tags: , , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

World War Two
Published 1 May 2021

Now Burma and control of the Burma Road have fallen to the Japanese. Can nothing stop them? The Allies are thinking about maybe using the Solomon Islands as a base to build to try and fight back, but to do that they’ll need control of the Coral Sea, but both sides are sending warships there since the Japanese plan to take Port Moresby. The Allies are aware of this, however, since they have the advantage of being able to read a substantial part of Japan’s radio traffic. It is a week of foreshadowing not just there, but also as the Allies send ships to take Madagascar from the Vichy French and the Soviets prepare to launch an offensive in the south of the Eastern Front.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @ww2_day_by_day – https://www.instagram.com/ww2_day_by_day
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory​)

Colorizations by:
– Daniel Weiss
– Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/​

Sources:
– IWM JAR 1240, A 9483

Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
– Rannar Sillard – “Easy Target”
– Jo Wandrini – “Dragon King”
– Fabien Tell – “Other Sides of Glory”
– Brightarm Orchestra – “On the Edge of Change”
– Edward Karl Hanson – “Spellbound”
– Johan Hynynen – “Dark Beginning”
– Rannar Sillard – “Split Decision”
– Dream Cave – “The Beast”

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com​.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

April 30, 2021

The Horrors of Partisan Warfare – WAH 033 – April 1942, Pt. 2

World War Two
Published 29 Apr 2021

April 1942 sees bombing campaigns in Germany and Britain, as well as German anti-partisan actions in the Balkans and Eastern Europe.

Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tv

Follow WW2 day by day on Instagram @ww2_day_by_day – https://www.instagram.com/ww2_day_by_day
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sources

Hosted by: Spartacus Olsson
Written by: Spartacus Olsson and Joram Appel
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Maria Kyhle
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Joram Appel
Edited by: Miki Cackowski
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Miki Cackowski and Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory​)

Colorizations by:
Klimbim https://www.flickr.com/photos/2215569…
Mikołaj Uchman
Spartacus Olsson
Daniel Weiss

Sources:
IWM MH 24764, HU 36196, Q(HS) 256, D 16649
Yad Vashem 48AO3, 953, 86FO2, 3116/71
Bundesarchiv
Tito giving a speech in Foča, courtesy of Музеј Старе Херцеговине
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
Star of David, courtesy of Jacek Proszyk https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi…
Picture of Gustav Braun von Stumm, courtesy of Thomas Föhl https://www.geni.com/photo/view/60000…​

Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
Wendel Scherer – “Defeated”
Johan Hynynen – “Dark Beginning”
Jon Bjork – “Disposal”
Christian Andersen – “Barrel”
Wendel Scherer – “Growing Doubt”
Jon Bjork – “For the Many”
Reynard Seidel – “Deflection”
Gavin Luke – “Drifting Emotions 3”
Jon Bjork – “Icicles”
Gunnar Johnsen – “Not Safe Yet”

Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com​.

A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

Update: TimeGhost had to repost a censored version of this episode and provided this explanation:

World War Two
1 hour ago (edited)
The original version of this video was age restricted by YouTube for containing pictures of dead bodies. We do not feel that it is correct to document these events by finessing history and self censoring, but YouTube has left us no choice. We have several problems with these age restrictions, but let’s start off with what an age restriction means on YouTube. In theory it simply restricts the video from anyone who isn’t over 18 and logged in to the YouTube platform, but in effect it does much more than that;

1. It takes the video out of most subscribers’ feeds and notification lists
2. In some countries like for instance South Korea, for legal reasons it is not accessible at all, for anyone
3. YouTube ranks it lower in their recommendation engines sending out recommendations to view to only a fraction of the ‘normal’ recommendations
4. It can no longer be viewed off YouTube as an embedded video – meaning that it won’t display even on our own website
5. It gets a boiler plate informing the viewer that the content has been “identified by the community as offensive to some viewers”
6. On many mobile devices it cannot be shared with the YouTube app
7. In countries were legal proof of age is required for adult content you have to provide a driver’s license, or credit card proving you are over 18

In effect that means that YouTube is soft censoring the video from a large section of potential viewers. The result is that we get around half, or less of the views on videos that are age restricted. And we should note that according to YouTube’s own system more than 90% of our viewers are over 18, so it’s not just an effect of losing underage viewers.

Now, this content is without any doubt hard to watch, but it’s educational content based on solid facts, documented through crystal clear academic research. It is about the crimes against humanity during WW2. It documents events that are to this day in 2021, denied by sympathizers of extreme ideologies. Because of the special importance for new generations to learn about these events, many countries, especially in the EU and North America, do not require in their youth protection laws or media regulation that this kind of content shall be for 18+ only. To the contrary many countries have these topics, told just as graphically as we document them on their school curriculum for ages 13 and above. Moreover, YouTube has in their own community guidelines a provision that allows for displays of violence, dead bodies, and so on in an educational context also for under 18s.

So in effect YouTube is here choosing to restrict, even censor content of high educational importance although they are not legally required to do so, and they have their own provisions to allow it to be unrestricted. Why do they do that? Well, we can’t read their minds, but we have some indications that;

A) they ere on the side of caution to avoid ANY legal risk.
B) They fear any kind of content that has to do with extremism, even when unmasking it after the advertising boycotts they faced a couple of years back.
C) when the community complains they put extra weight on those complaints

It is item C that troubles us the most. We have over 500 videos on our channels – very many of them contain graphic images of death and violence for reasons of the topics we document. Among these videos, a few dozen have been age restricted, while the rest have not. The common denominator between the age restricted videos is that they document events, or phenomena that unmask extremism by historical Communists, Nazis, and Imperialists. Its is difficult to not see the common interest by sympathizers of these groups and YouTube. If you want something suppressed, and there’s an easy way to just get it suppressed by just pressing a button – is it not reasonable to assume that you would use that button? We’re not conspiracy mythologists, we don’t believe there is a conspiracy here, but just by creating a simple path to fulfill different, but in effect common interests YouTube has made it easy for deniers of crimes against humanity, and war crimes to suppress information about these events.

We have explained to YouTube that inadvertently they are supporting the exact kind of hateful extremism they are fighting against with their other sword arm. We have implored them to lift the age restrictions in the interest of what society has decided: that content like this needs to be freely accessible in the public space. Despite an otherwise good and healthy relationship to the platform operators who are after all our distribution partners,, we have been met with standard replies, and a denial for our request.

Once again we express our dismay, sadness, and disappointment that YouTube chooses to restrict access to content that should serve a greater good; that we do not forget the victims of atrocities and extremism so that we can learn from our past and improve our societies.

Never Forget.

« Newer PostsOlder Posts »

Powered by WordPress