Comments by "Nicholas Conder" (@nicholasconder4703) on "The Courland Pocket 1944-45 FULL BATTLESTORM History Documentary" video.

  1. Very well researched. I also enjoy listening to you questioning the validity of the claims of the German generals that it was all Hitler's fault. It is particularly fascinating because, having watched "The Great War", one can see the German generals, OKH and OKW making the EXACT SAME MISTAKES in both wars. Not the fighting on two fronts (although this is bad), but their complete lack of attention to logistics. In both wars, the generals never seemed to take the logistical side seriously, something that Citino ("The German Way of War" and "Death of the Wehrmacht"), Overy (Why the Allies Won) and Glantz and House (Stalingrad Trilogy) have begun to shine a light on.
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  2. Nice of you to put the issue of withdrawing from the Courland Pocket (err, Bridgehead) in perspective. One thing I felt that could have been mentioned in your summary was the difficulty of withdrawing a large force in the face of the enemy. Regardless of whether sufficient shipping existed or not, just trying to pull off a phased withdrawal in the face of an aggressive opponent is a very tricky thing, and needs to be handled skillfully. Having the enemy attack at the wrong time will result in a breakthrough and total collapse. How the Germans juggled everything and prevented a total collapse is quite something.
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