Excellent German Training Movie

[Bill Grist]

YouTube - Männer gegen Panzer Part 1 of 2


YouTube - "Männer gegen Panzer". Part 2 of 2.


YouTube - Männer gegen Panzer - Lehrfilm Nr. 541 - 1943 - 3 of 3

[Friedrich-Berthold]

This is an extraordinary film that exalts the skill of the infantry soldier to destroy armor. The readers here should reflect on the skill of the German army in the defensive, a capacity which deserves full attention in the realm of tactics and operations along with the propaganda fetish for the 7. Pz. Div crossing the Meuse in 1940, or the feats of derring do in the seizure of the fortress of Eben Emael.

Fighting out numbered to secure victory has a long record in Prussian-German arms, and this film reflects this reality. Such should be of interest to those interested in the nature of war and combat, to say nothing of the record of tactics, operations and strategy in the past and present.

Of course, one has also to say that rather a lot of people died in hopeless battles in the final phases of the war to emulate the scenes in this film, actually. I hate to be negative, but this statement is a powerful fact.

There is an excellent book by Yelton on the Volksturm that goes into this point in detail. The book is from Kansas UP and is superb as a work of research and also as a work on the final phases of the war as it affected state and party.