Canada's Bloodiest Hour: The Forgotten Massacre at Verrières Ridge (1944) скачать в хорошем качестве

Canada's Bloodiest Hour: The Forgotten Massacre at Verrières Ridge (1944)

July 25th, 1944. 325 Canadian soldiers of the Black Watch Regiment walked across an open wheat field in Normandy, France. Within 60 minutes, over 300 of them were dead or wounded. This is the story of Operation Spring and the Battle of Verrières Ridge - Canada's bloodiest and most controversial battle of World War II. What was supposed to be a decisive breakthrough became a catastrophic slaughter. Bad intelligence told commanders they faced 50 German tanks. The reality? Over 200 Panzers, including the most powerful Tigers and Panthers ever built. The attack was delayed from pre-dawn darkness to mid-morning daylight. Men were ordered to advance across two miles of open ground, in full view of elite SS Panzer divisions positioned on high ground. This is the forgotten massacre that changed Canadian military doctrine forever. A battle where courage couldn't overcome incompetence, where young men paid with their lives for their commanders' mistakes, and where nearly 1,500 Canadians became casualties in less than 24 hours - the highest single-day loss in Canadian military history except for Dieppe. Through detailed first-person accounts, tactical analysis, and the stories of individual soldiers like Private James Henderson, Lieutenant John Morrison, and Sergeant Thomas Murphy, we reconstruct what really happened on that terrible July morning. We examine the German defensive positions, the failures of Allied intelligence, the rigid planning that wouldn't adapt to changing circumstances, and the strategic context that made this "acceptable" sacrifice. From the perspectives of both Canadian attackers and German defenders, we explore the human cost of warfare, the weight of command decisions, and the families left behind to grieve. This isn't just military history - it's about the nineteen-year-old boys who wrote final letters to their mothers, the medics who died trying to save the wounded, and the survivors who carried the trauma for the rest of their lives. The lessons learned at Verrières Ridge, paid for in blood, transformed the Canadian Army into one of the most effective fighting forces of World War II. But was the cost justified? Could the same strategic objectives have been achieved without the slaughter? These are questions that haunt us still. Subscribe to Midnight History for more deep dives into the forgotten battles, controversial decisions, and human stories behind the headlines of history. ⏱️ KEY TIMESTAMPS: 00:00 - Introduction: The Bloodiest Hour 08:45 - The Strategic Situation: Normandy Stalemate and Montgomery's Plan 18:30 - The Plan That Failed: Operation Spring and Fatal Intelligence Errors 32:15 - Zero Hour: The Black Watch Advances Into Hell 45:20 - The Killing Field: 60 Minutes of Slaughter 58:40 - The German Perspective: Professional Soldiers and Defensive Mastery 1:12:10 - Aftermath: The Cost in Lives and Families 1:24:35 - Lessons Learned: How Verrières Ridge Changed Canadian Military Doctrine 1:36:50 - Was It Worth It? Strategic Success vs. Tactical Disaster 1:45:00 - Remembrance: The Survivors, The Families, and The Forgotten 💭 This video honors the memory of: The 315+ men of the Black Watch who became casualties on July 25, 1944 The 1,500+ Canadians killed, wounded, or captured during Operation Spring The families who received telegrams and never saw their sons, husbands, and fathers again All soldiers who fought at Verrières Ridge, regardless of which side they served We tell these stories not to glorify war, but to remember the cost of command failures and to honor those who paid the price. 🎖️ Featured Units: The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Essex Scottish Regiment Calgary Highlanders Fusiliers Mont-Royal 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend 📍 Location: Verrières Ridge, Normandy, France 📅 Date: July 25-26, 1944 ⚔️ Operation: Operation Spring 🎯 Objective: Break through German lines south of Caen 💀 Result: Tactical failure, Strategic success 📊 Casualties: 1,500+ Canadian casualties in 24 hours #OperationSpring #VerrièresRidge #WorldWarII #WWII #CanadianHistory #MilitaryHistory #NormandyBattle #BlackWatch #ForgottenBattle #WarHistory #WWIIHistory #CanadianMilitary #1944 #DDay #NormandyCampaign #MilitaryStrategy #WarDocumentary #HistoryDocumentary #TrueWarStories #MidnightHistory