Comments by "William Cox" (@WildBillCox13) on "TIKhistory" channel.

  1. At this point it might be referred to as "The Bottle of Stalingrad".
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  2. Chuikov's book makes good reading. So does Bradley's. And Von Mellenthin's. Von Luck's reads like an adventure novel. Crusade in Europe is a must read as are the Stillwell Papers. I wish Yamashita had left a memoir. Generals make great reading. But one can't read them open eyed. They are, one and all, from Bomb dodging Mark Clark to Chiang's nemesis Vinegar Joe, from Curt Lemay's war crimes to Goering's gangster ways, from Petain's cupidity to Guderian's bombastic narratives, from Pistol Packin' Mama Patton to Butt of Churchey's drunken rants Wavell, from Electric Whiskers to WustenFuchs, shameless self-promoters. Each general's memoir is an advertising campaign. Each national history is a convenient narrative with cherry-picked heroes. So pick a general's story, read it through, grab the next one, and let fly! Don't stop at one or you run the risk of becoming a fanboi.
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  3. The British had the only fully motorised army at the beginning of the war. Motorisation and mechanisation were most universal in the British Army of all combatants early on. Eventually, the US Army became the most modern force ever seen, fully motorized and extensively mechanized. *I use the British spellings for the British comment and the American spelling for the US Army comment.
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  4. The Allies (USA) were also, as they had (before the war) to Japan, supplying ALL of the Soviet Union's "hi-test" gasoline additives (i.e.: lead based); thus, high octane aviation fuel for Soviet high performance prop propelled aircraft was only available through deliveries from the west. Remember how Japan reacted when we cut off those supplies in '41? Greg* discusses the differences between low octane and high octane performance-and what nations had access to the necessary components- in detail. In short, it's all about the maximum power delivered through raising the manifold pressure. Too hot, and you get knock/backfires/predetonation, all of which severely and negatively affect engine efficacy and longevity. Lead additives (the reason why we have/had leaded and unleaded gasoline/petrol-remember?), Water, MW, injection is all about keeping the manifold HEAT down so it can be operated at higher pressures, delivering more power per stroke. Only the USA had lead additives. Germany used MW: 50, et al, to the same purpose. Japan was headed toward avgas disaster the whole time. It's a major reason why she made war with the west. Here's Greg's channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCynGrIaI5vsJQgHJAIp9oSg/videos Greg "sticks to planes and cars". Hehe.
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  5. "Fair pay" Ladies and gentlemen of the financial and political elite, may I present to you McDonalds? "I only work at Micky Dees to earn the money to purchase materials for my second job." "Really? What job is that?" "Why making meth*, of course!" "Thank Odin for capitalism!" *You might know it as Pervitin.
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  6. Chuikov's book: "A Soldier's Story" makes great reading, even in translation.
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  7. A worthwhile addition to the discussion. Thanks for it, Maxim.
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  8. 15:20 Hitler seems to have re-invented the Commissar. So much love between himself and Stalin that he borrowed ideas from his erstwhile ideological enemy. Now that's philosophical bankruptcy!
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  9. It might be remembered that Rommel achieved fame in part by working with the Alpini in the Great War. Thus Hitler's confidence in them.
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  10. "Two wrongs make a right, but two Wrights make an airplane. Unglaublich!" -Doctor Grotte
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  11. Fuel fuel fuel . . . TIK's already covered it working from other vectors. Mobile means fuel stocks, dumps along the way, and reserves. Paulus had none. As far as splitting them goes, I would suggest that splitting them is confining the wounded to certain death. Someone like Napoleon might do it, but he was a verdammt Frenchie; a man without honor or loyalty. I'm not leaving the wounded and rear echelon boys behind. If I do . . . heads (including mine) will roll.
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  12. Shared. As a Boomer, I remember a very different narrative.
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  13. Is it possible that the German recruiting system, which was based on regional recruitment centers (wehrkreisen) dovetailed to specific Korps, was also responsible in some part for the replacement disparity? https://www.axishistory.com/various/145-germany-heer/heer-unsorted/4338-the-german-replacement-army-1939-to-1945
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  14. His Collapse of the Third Republic is also worth reading.
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  15. Tank Archives isn't bad. Its work on other nations seems legit from my documentary evidence. The channel often cites sources. There is no deliberate effort to mislead, as far as I see at this point.
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  16.  @TheImperatorKnight  Hehe
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  17. You did the purge's deep effect and its implications, too, TIK. That was especially worthy content. I have carried your thoughts on topic since.
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  18. TIK, refresh yourself with the "Why We Fight" series, especially the China episode. Oh, yes, the western allies KNEW bombing of civilians and civilian centers was rotten to the core. They were quick to point accusatory fingers whenever an ENEMY nation resorted to the practice. Don't apologize for evil.
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  19. The archetypal British sense of humor. Great presentation. Liked and shared, and me an anticapitalist.
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  20. Liked and shared with this intro: "A good reason to avoid statistics under most circumstances. TIK is smart, well researched, and does not often follow the standard narrative. Even when I disagree, I am hard pressed to assemble a useful argument against most of his conclusions. Here he shows that statistics are not your friend, unless you are in a circle of those who understand your modeling. In other words, don't try to use statistics to lend weight to your points in matters either Historical or Economical."
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  21. We had a very active discussion yesterday during a Doctor Alexander Clarke naval warship stream. I referenced you and it sparked a brushfire of commentary from fans and not fans. As I often have, I suggested your content was sometimes counter-narrative, always argument worthy, and that your Stalingrad series was a great series they might check out. You would not believe the clatter of military historian tracks as they tried to switch gears to economic theory. It wasn't my idea. I just thought your efforts should be audited. I merely brought up your name and ducked under a handy ledge to keep my powder dry. So, continue to produce content, says I! It's the age of Neorevisionist Accounts and anyone who can help set the record straight is much appreciated at my end.
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  22. Riveting as always, Tik. "The purity of the blood . . ." DNA ancestry tests all around! That should shut some racists up. More successful people have Genghis Khan's genes than Andrew Carnegie's, or Alfried Krupp's. And all saints come from families whose sires have forgone abstinence. Since Evolutionary Doctrine (which I am convinced for other, non topical, reasons is bogus nonsense) clearly states that the genetic mutations arising within a species drives its improvement, Hitler's platform disintegrates under the collective censure of Science. For instance, had Miocene horses stayed as they were, being "racially pure", they'd still be small enough to fit in a dog house. As far as the "insanity" charge goes, however, I must object, albeit mildly. It is evident from his mannerisms that Hitler suffered from chronic PTSD brought about, one expects, from his experiences* in "The War". His attachment to narcotic painkillers (and the concomitant need for amphetamine "pick me ups") was/were earned. He was a "Lunger". His massive oratory growth was entirely compensatory, re-inventing himself, after his traumatic break with youth and good health due to being gassed. *And if Stauffenberg's bomb didn't cause a severe attack/relapse I am a Viking God . . . Vanir, not those treacherous Aesir.
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  23. 45:30 Come on, TIK; tell us how you REALLY feel! Hehehe A comment, if you don't mind: one can't go live in the woods. All the local property is privately owned and trespassing is a crime. Can't walk along state or interstate highways to go anywhere, because of the laws. And police, primed to look for vagrants crossing state lines, are more than likely to turn you back. Zero opportunity. That's what wage slavery is. It's not capitalism; it's the modern iteration of the manorial system.
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  24. The more babies you have, the larger the call to arms can be when the wars of aggression or defense begin. Hitler paid bonuses to productive mothers. Strange that it's lack of economic opportunity in the civilian sector that drives young folks to enlist.
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  25. SPW251.
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  26. Always interesting, TIK. Thanks for posting. I enjoy the series and look forward to each new reveal.
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  27. A very interesting take. Worth consideration. As a hidebound old type thinker I am nonplussed to discover I am impressed and moved by your argument. Two comments, if you don't mind. These are opinions, only. 1) A bunch of corps commanders was sacked preferentially. The change of command downward, as the corps formations were dropped from the official TO&E, would have a generally negative effect on overall communication between the top and the fighting troops. In effect, removal of corps HQ units meant that Front became your supply head and communications center. 2) The Prewar Wehrmacht was built specifically around a cadre of veteran troops WITH THE IDEA OF A RAPID EXPANSION OF SIZE IN MIND. When the size of the army was expanded rapidly, these over--trained cadre troops trained their equivalent replacements and then were bumped up a grade. That was a big difference in how the two opposing armies were trained and intended.
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  28. As always, interesting and thought provoking. Liked and shared.
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  29. Re: Airfields and the FW200 Kondor. The FW200 was a four engine transport with known structural issues when landing if used to carry war stores. Could it be the FW200 was based farther away due to needing a better maintained, longer, runway and, perhaps, more meticulous maintenance than any other aircraft involved? The FW 200 was the only four engine transport serially produced for Axis use during the war*. It might've required a firm, well scraped and tamped, runway; something more likely to exist farther away from the front. Most forward airfields were, at the time, grass fields; not the best option for a capable, but fragile, transport. *I think the Ju290 and Ju390 we read about were prototypes and preproduction examples, still working up toward acceptance in fully militarized form, rather than mass produced planes with full military equipment.
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  30.  @TheImperatorKnight  "Soviet Russia is champing at the bit to absorb Europe and would not stop there. It cannot allow us (the west) to survive (ostensibly because we're so cool we make them look bad). The USSR is the dedicated foe of freedom and the unrelenting enemy of our western freedoms and high standards of living. Remember-they've got Nukes aimed at our cities . . . live in fear . . ." Which thinking dominated our east Asian strategy for some time after. For perspective: My childhood took place within the "Duck and Cover" era.
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  31. "We're the shivering schutz of Stalingrad, No Hitler, no Goering, no Weimar Dad, No wunderwaffe death machine*, No coca wine or Pervitin, And nobody's got a plan." -Winter Fritz
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  32. A. A. Milne had worked for Punch, lampooning Churchill for some years before he named his child's mistake prone teddy bear "Winnie the Pooh". The apocryphal story widely distributed is a red herring used afterward to deflect criticism.
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  33. Fascinating. Thanks for posting. I linked this ep out of sequence to a smart friend. It's a sort of stand alone work, despite its inclusion in a sequential series.
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  34. First and foremost: your health, both mental and physical, are most important. Your work can wait-artist talking here-if you crash and burn or die, your work is over. That would sadden your viewers-even those who disagree with various among your conclusions. With that said-hooBOY! What a mess! Burning out your most highly motivated troops against a mile thick mountain of rubble, every hole a sniper pit, every sewer a conduit between enemy positions. Air drops a sop to worn out assault units. Cigarettes and Pervitin and beer/wine/vodka are far more important to dying troops locked in terminal struggle than all the food and first aid on earth. Even worse, when a drop lands in your zone it's SPAM, SPAM and Eggs, SPAM SPAM and Eggs, SPAM SPAM SPAM and SPAM without eggs . . . and simple eggs and toast-PSYCH! It's SPAM!
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  35. TIK-German bread was black, dense, and heavy. A portion was a LOT smaller than the loaf you show.
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  36. My understanding was that there was a distinct "Polish question" that the man solved in his usual way-with brutality. Poland was meant to die all along. You know about the anti Polish wars in the '20s. Neither Soviet or German authority was content to allow Poland to survive as a national entity. The course of the occupation(s) sort of fleshes that out.
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  37. Liked and shared. Got buddies who'd enjoy worrying this particular bone.
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  38. Alternately, were the German planners sending newbs to "less active" sectors to leaven them before assignment to the cauldron of Stalingrad? If I remember my WW1 history, such sectors were seldom "secure", despite the good intentions of the planners.
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  39. /respect
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  40. The Damage Ferry . . . Famous for supplying Chuikov across the Volga. Sorry. I'll let myself out next to the smokers' lounge . . . I mean the fuel dump.
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  41. Hehehehe
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  42. A very well considered coverage of an important historical event: Wild Bill on Desert War, 1941 This was a fight in which both sorts of historical perspective: the Great Man and the Great Event; theories are dovetailed in the eyes of the historian. TIK's view is that the whole thing was fallout from Halder's hatred of Rommel. That is so . . . human of him. Generals at the front are like rock stars, but they don't know how to handle the celebrity as well. In fact, generals at the front often burn out far faster than those disreputable, pot smoking, booze drinking, 'shroom eating, junk popping, rock stars* . . . and sometimes from the same drugs. Maybe the Rock Star is a more highly evolved creature? EXCELSIOR! *I'm not specifically alluding to Mick Jagger . . . or Jimi Hendrix . . . or Janis Joplin, or Kieth Richards, or Ray Charles, or Eric Clapton . . . or anyone in their backup bands . . . but I COULD be. ;-)
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  43. A living language demands refining. Go to it.
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  44. 18:37 Nailed it!
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  45. Here's mine. The song is secondary to the visual message, which, in true blues fashion, is about a period of extraordinary hardship, suffering, and privation. The lyrics ignore the realities of the times, but any real working musical artist would know exactly what I'm talking about in them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDZKo9zB9Qg&ab_channel=WilliamCox
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  46. Disclaimer: Debaters attack their opponent's character. They are not historians. They win if they piss you off. Disclaimer: the internet is full of trolls seeking to distort truth into false narrative. They win if they piss you off. And a comment: Just a thought from a guy who's interested. And lives in an artist community (among which are many combat veterans) where all the recreational drugs* are regularly abused. Officers on site were speeding their brains out. There is no other way to stay awake and alert over 48 hours. USA Emergency kits contained large amphetamine tablets (Visual Encyclopedia of Special Forces Equipment). That puts all commanders in a state of psychosis** due to amphetamine distortion of consciousness. One of the telltales is the shifting of perspective. Another is distorting the facts before (because you were speeding) and trying to remember a state you are no longer subject to in the aftermath. It's like looking back into a dream. *Weed, hashish, MDMA, MDA, STP, LSD, cocaine Amphetamines and barbiturates, opioids, booze, HGH (Human Growth Hormones), soporifics (Quaaludes, Mandrax) and did I mention cocaine yet? Hehe.
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  47. **We even use the term: "Cocaine Psychosis". If you've ever spent a weekend on a couple 8-balls you'll know just what I mean. And speed is worse.
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  48. Extremist and nutter go together like chocolate and peanut butter. This same quasi-mystical bullshit is sweeping the USA today. Obviously the schools have failed.
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  49. TIK-look into Gehlen. His rise and fall make interesting copy. When he was right Hitler censured him. Afterward, he was inclined against his Fuhrer and his briefings took on a markedly different tone. You can imagine his eventual fate; a piano wire concerto.
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  50. Interesting. I link this around, because I believe opposition viewpoints need aired or constructive discourse cannot occur.
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