Inf. Div. Grossdeutschland

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL and get access to exclusive film footage www.Patreon.com/Military1945 This footage from April or May of 1944 shows soldiers from the Panzergrenadier Division Grossdeutschland positioned in Romania. At the time they were acting as a fire-brigade being rushed to critical areas in the front. Due to heavy combat the division was under strength but new recruits continued streaming in. This is a Panzer 4. Notice the damage it took from a direct hit to its front right armor plate. Later in the video we’ll see more from this footage. The division Grossdeutschland was an elite formation made up mostly of volunteers which was part of the German Heer, or army. It’s commonly misidentified as an SS formation because of their black armbands which were similar in appearance to what SS units wore. As the war continued, their thinning ranks began being filled with drafted recruits. The Hitlerjugend, or Hitler Youth, was a kind of finishing school used to prepare young men for military service. Those that volunteered for the military in 1944 were only about 6 years old when the Nazis came to power, and so had grown up completely indoctrinated by the national socialist propaganda. In November of 44 the draft was opened up to include adolescents aged 16. This nice private footage is from a Hitler Youth camp in Austria from 1942. It has a runtime of about 11 minutes. If you are a Patreon Channel member I will send you a link to watch that. If not, please consider becoming one. This German newsreel footage from September of 1944 shows General Guderian inspecting Hitler Youth members with the Hitler Youth leader Artur Axemann. During the 3rd Reich military figures like Guderian were something like rock stars to the youth. To make a bigger impression, Guderian spoke to the gathered youths from on top of a Stug. His message was that this war would determine their Germany, their future and their happiness. As with most every generation, they too would have to fight. At the end of this video you can see the first 4 minutes of a Panzergrenadier training film so stick around, it’s worth it. Having volunteered the young men would usually be able to chose the branch of their service. This 1944 footage shows former members of the Hitler Youth volunteering to serve with the division Grossdeutschland. Because of the dire situation, the young recruits quickly found themselves at the front. This is actually the camera man who wanted to have himself filmed shooting the Mp 40. And finally here is some of a training film that a new Panzergrenadier recruit would have watched in 1944. If you are a Patreon Channel member you’ve already seen the first 10 minutes of this training film. Thanks for watching.

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL and get access to exclusive film footage www.Patreon.com/Military1945 This beautiful private footage shows Romanian soldiers in the Spring of 1944. Later in the video we’ll see more of the footage containing anti-tank training including the use of Panzerfaust, Panzerschreck and also magnetic charges. During March of that year the Soviet’s were putting a tremendous amount of pressure on Army Group South in the Ukraine. The Panzergrenadier Division GD found itself fighting a number of defensive battles around the city of Kirowograd. Although generally successful the division had been worn down badly and so was transferred West to Romania to act as a reinforcement to the front and for refitting and recuperation. The camera man who took the private footage of GD for this video was in Galati, an important border town between Romania and Moldova, which was now officially under Romanian jurisdiction. If you haven’t seen the first video on GD I suggest that you go back and take a look. The Romanian population was aware that the war was not going well but the spiraling waves of increasing violence that was going on in the East had not yet arrived to Romanian territory. With the spring thaw there was even the innocent sense of reawakening. Here we see members of Grossdeutschland cleaning their vehicles in the Prut river. Notice the unit insignia. This photograph shows an SdKfz 252 armored munitions transporter from the division and a captured T34 that has been put back into service by the Germans. Although GD had been badly mauled in the fighting around Kirowograd, they still remained a potent military asset. Their repositioning West had been well organized. It wasn’t the desperate retreat forced by an overwhelming enemy that many German units were experiencing during this period. Through March of 44 the Russian surge into Western Ukraine had begun and the German defenses couldn’t hold. German losses were catastrophic. Often units that did manage to escape West were only able to do so by abandoning their heavy equipment. Here we see a Romanian general arriving to inspect the training of troops in the use anti-tank weapons. This Romanian footage has a total run time of 11:36 Min. If you are a Patreon Channel Member you will receive direct link to watch the entire film reel. If you are not yet a member, please consider becoming one. It’s worth it, I promise. As the shortage of regular soldiers became more acute, police units began seeing more action on the front. This 1944 article t covers a police school that specializes in the training of using anti-tank weapons. The caption to this photo states that after just a few seconds, a smoke grenade attached to the front wheel of an armored car will force it to stop. At that point it can be easily taken out. This says that it takes courage to approach a tank in this manner. the Haftholladung or magnetic charge can be placed here on a track where the vehicle is vulnerable. Here it shows where explosives should be placed on a tank canon to do the most damage. That security forces were being taught this kind of skill must have been pretty ominous. The Romanian soldiers is demonstrating how a Panzerfaust is made ready and fired. They’re using a Sherman tank for firing practice. There is a detailed training film on the use of the Panzerfaust in my video collection. At the end of this video you can see the second clip from a 1944 German training film for Panzergrenadier. This is an older version of the Panzerfaust that had a much shorter range and destructive capability than the newer versions. The most effective hand held anti-tank weapon produced by the Germans was the Panzerschreck. Similar to the American Bazooka this shoulder launched rocket based system was reusable. Here we see different types of Molotov Cocktail being thrown. The first is a typical flammable liquid like gasoline or alcohol. The next seems to be filled with a flammable white powder but I’m not sure what it is. You you know please post it in the comment section. Here we see the Division crossing the Prut river and so crossing over into Maldovian territory which which officially was under administrative control of the Romanians. Embedded with elements of GD, our camera man moves east crossing the Prut River to rejoin the bulk of the division which was positioned at Chisinau in Moldova until late March. In the next video in this series we’ll see a much more chaotic scene on this location discovered by Soviets on captured footage. To make sure you don’t miss that go ahead and subscribe and hit the bell icon to receive notifications. With the arrival of the Soviets to the Moldovan border things began heating up again for Grossdeutschland. And they would only get hotter. And now here is the second clip from the bonus training film.

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL and get access to exclusive film footage www.Patreon.com/Military1945 This incredible footage was taken in the Spring of 1944 in Romania. It fits in well with the Grossdeutschland videos from this time period and location. It’s not only interesting because of its raw combat content, a member of the mortar crew even seems to be interacting . . .with you. At the end of this video we’ll see Soviet footage and then part three of the Panzergrenadier training film. After being involved in the heavy defensive fighting around Kirowograd during February, the Panzergrenadier Division Grossdeutschland was pulled back to the West and took up positions in Moldova, around Chrisinau. It’s noteworthy that the division was officially classified as a Panzergrenadier division because in actuality it had a larger allotment of tanks than most Panzer Divisions. As soon as March 8 the situation in the region became unstable as the Soviets encroached in the northern Ukraine into Northern Bucovina. Although there was a sizable Romanian population there, the Romanian’s decided to pull back and by March 24 it had been completely overrun. This footage provides a complete overview of a carefully prepared mortar position. It contains views from different angles of their trench system, a damaged building that they used for sighting their fire support, and the dug out mortar position. Also filmed was the air support that they were receiving and later on we even get a view of the target area and effect of their mortar shots. An importance difference between footage from news reels and private or raw footage is that official material is censored to create a specific narrative. Even modern documentaries tend to fall in the same trap. For my Patreon supporters you can log in to your account on Military1945.com and you will have access to more of this footage. If your are not yet a member please consider becoming one. You won’t be disappointed, I promise. Next to come under pressure was Transnistria, the area in West Moldova lying between the Dnestr and Bug rivers which the Soviets took easily. The Romanian troops retreated back into Bessarabia where they were determined to fight. After all, control of this region had been the reason that Romania had entered the war in 1941. If you haven’t yet, please like the video and subscribe to the channel. This is the 3rd video covering Grossdeutschland in Romania and there will be at least two more. There’s plenty more original footage that you almost certainly have never seen before. This Soviet footage covers the advance into Western Ukraine and on into Moldova in 1944. In news reels, it was important for the Soviet propagandists to show Ukrainian Cossaks charging at the front to liberate their own lands from the occupying fascists. The Soviets were less shy about showing dead enemy soldiers and the horrors of war. Many of the filmed scenes are quite gruesome. Obviously the uncensored films can’t be shown here. And now here’s part 3 of that 1944 Panzergrenadier training film. If you haven’t seen part 1 and 2 I suggest you go back and watch the other two Grossdeutschland videos.

SUPPORT THE CHANNEL and get access to exclusive film footage www.Patreon.com/Military1945 This nice film, although from the period, misidentifies the Panzergrenadier Div. Grossdeutschland as a Panzer Division. The footage was taken in January and February of 1944 when elements of the division were sent north to take part in the operation to relieve 60k German soldiers trapped in the Cherkassy Pocket. The 5. SS PzD Wiking was one of the trapped divisions and much of the footage, including the panther tanks, is of them. It’s the rest of GD which remained in Moldova and then moved into Romania that we are focusing on here. This is General Hasso van Manteuffel, Grossdeutschland’s commander who, by this time was a proven talented tactician in mobile warfare. In 1941 at the beginning of Barbarossa he was the commander of a Battalion in the 7th PzD which was part of Army Group Center. I’ve uploaded some really good covering that division. This is periodical Nr. 8 from April of 1944 from the series Signal. It has this beautiful color photograph of a Panzergrenadier team in their armored personnel carrier and a nice description to go with it. The Panzergrenadiere, the first to attack and the last break contact with the enemy when withdrawing. The speed, firepower and the range of their armored personnel carriers give this multifaceted weapon tremendous power. Combined with the troops advanced equipment and weaponry, the Panzergrenadier have extremely high combat effectiveness. Their leadership is on the cutting edge of tactical theory, utilizing the combination of power and speed. They are the modern cavalry. In early March the Soviet launched a major attack on the north, central and southern flanks of Army Group South and on March 16th GD began moving west. By the end of March had crossed the Prut River and entered Romania. This German footage that was captured by the Soviets supposedly shows them retreating and the last soldiers pulling back over the river. Plenty of preparation had gone into reinforcing this defensive line and this time the Romanians were determined to stand and fight. Original Ukrainian commentary Ausland Tonwoche Nr. 664 Coming back to our German war correspondent from part 3 in this series, at this time he was situated in the Romanian city of Stanca located on the River Pruth. Combat in this sector had been intense but the Germans and Romanians had been able to hold the line, at least temporarily. This outstanding footage shows scores of destroyed Sherman tanks that the Soviets had received through the lend-lease program. The damage he’s filmed gives an idea of the intensity of the combat that had taken place. Imagine the bombardment that the soldiers in these trenches experienced. Obviously this type of footage would never have made it into any official news reel. But the brunt of the Soviet thrust was headed in the direction of the Romanian city of Jassy. In two massive tank engagements which took place in April and May, known as the Battle of Targu Frumos, Grossdeutschland was prepared to meet it.