Comments by "David Himmelsbach" (@davidhimmelsbach557) on "The Wehrmacht Assaults the Soviet Union | Guderian's Frantic Race to Moscow (Complete)" video.

@JohnCaliston-e3h There are films of P-38s landing in Alaska -- with the strip flooded with water. What the viewer is not told is that particular plane is then grounded. It's engines have been so contaminated they must be replaced. No-one would take them into the air again. It's not just a case of landing. The issue really is -- 'can you take off again?' The honest answer is NO. The C-47/ DC-3 was originally designed to survive landing in farm fields. Think what was normal practice circa 1931. Douglas wanted civilians to know that their plane could survive any trouble by just landing -- dang near anywhere. This notion is now utterly alien to passengers. But, we do see, in Russia, in Siberia, that modern jets CAN land all over. They just can't fly again. (!) That does get expensive. In the Pacific Campaign, mud was a nightmare almost everywhere. Which is why the landing mat was given such a priority for the Pacific. In Europe, the 'landing mat' was repurposed chicken fencing. (!) My own Father delivered same to the British in 1944. He was in an engineering battalion whose primary mission was none other than these landing mats. If you Google around, you can find a training film on instant road construction where sand is an issue (North Africa) that shows EXACTLY what this matting entailed. Its original purpose was road construction for TORCH. Then it was discovered that it proved most useful to hold down sand back at the air strip. Because of its flimsy ( incredibly cheap ) construction, the boys had to stay at the strip, repairing it over and over. The Krauts were landing on fields that had been plowed -- but not harrowed. The dunces in the German Army kept cracking up their Ju-52 fleet all during the first weeks of their campaign. I don't think Guderian realized what was up. Field grade officers dared not tell Heinz the bad news. In all of their wargaming, the Krauts had totally forgotten traffic jams. In peacetime, Germany had so few motor vehicles, that it had never witnessed a traffic jam that turned into a parking lot. Yes, the phenomenon was that novel... for Germany. Not the USA. This situation occurred during Market-Garden. It's why the British dared not land their gliders on the island between Arnhem and Nijimegan. It's even brought up in the film.
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Even before things got brutal at Yelnya, the 7th Panzer Division was down to FIVE (5) Mark III tanks -- ZERO Mark (0) IV tanks -- TWO (2) Mark II tanks. Its corps 'buddy' at the time, Das Reich had no tanks at all, so once some tanks were repaired, the 7th had to send a clutch of tanks, a task force, north to help DR with its immobile defense. The pop history notion that the panzer force was in ANY condition to drive on to the East is false. Adolf was right. Guderian had totally run beyond Germany's logistical ability. The idea of going north with Hoth, south with Guderian was inspired by un-destroyed logistics -- the railways -- to the north and south. Along the main axis, Stalin had replicated the defense schemes used against Napoleon, scorched earth. To do this, the Red Army had to totally focus its manpower. The zones to the north and south were thus, untouched; the Red Army was still using them. This was that early in the campaign. THIS is why Guderian was the ONLY general who seriously advocated going further east. In his accounts, he never mentions this little detail. This meeting occurred primarily because of the utter destruction of the Luftwaffe's Ju-52 fleet! Kept top secret for years, even after the war, the Germans had destroyed their cargo planes as they attempted to land on scarcely prepared farm fields -- crushing their landing gear! Hundreds of these planes were now sited all along the route of advance, unable to fly. [ On a total panic basis, the RLM designed a field-fix kit. It took weeks for these to reach the front, repairing the Ju-52s, bringing them back into service.* ] These landings were the sole reason for Guderian and Hoth's rapid advance. Fuel trucks were actually unable to get through the perpetual traffic jams to refuel the tanks -- and everything else. To keep the jump going, Guderian had been flying in an amazing amount of fuel -- and spare parts -- such as oil for his air filters -- just to keep his tanks rolling. [ For modern readers, the air filters you know of from your automobile did not exist in 1941. The technology had not been invented. Engines of that period used induced/forced air flow through a wire mesh wicking oil -- because of engine vibration. When such engines roll through Russia/North Africa -- they gobble up this oil -- it is plain motor oil -- same as in the crankcase. THIS is what is causing the mechanics to stay up all night. By the time of Yelnya, the Krauts had diverted so much motor oil to their air filters that their engines were being ruined by tardy oil changes. I'm talking about the entire tank force, all at the same time. Any tank with a dead engine is itself a dead duck. No wonder the Kraut generals sought a pause in operations. All engines at the front were on their last legs, nothing could be flown in, and the boys were utterly exhausted. But Guderian was ready to rumble! From this point forward, everything was being held together with bailing wire and chewing gum -- sometimes, even duck tape. * The RLM then designed a total replacement air cargo plane. (Ar 232) When Stalingrad called for air supply, it was still in prototype. The US Army/ US Air Force studied Stalingrad, the Chosen fiasco and so Lockheed (Kaiser & Hughes) designed the C-130 -- which is still flying, today. The USAAF never attempted to land on unprepared strips, inventing the landing mat, instead. ( Biplanes COULD land on pastures -- so light -- so slow. )
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