WEBVTT - Tough Realities 0:00:00.480 --> 0:00:03.560 You don't have to dip forever. You know that, Ryan, 0:00:03.960 --> 0:00:06.760 you don't have to smoke forever. And the reason I 0:00:06.800 --> 0:00:09.160 say it like that is I have been that guy. 0:00:09.680 --> 0:00:12.600 I've been that guy. I dipped for so long, and 0:00:12.680 --> 0:00:14.520 what would happen is I would decide I'm gonna quit. 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:16.800 It's bad for me. I'm gonna quit. I'm a man, 0:00:16.840 --> 0:00:19.120 I don't need any help. I'm just gonna quit cold turkey. 0:00:19.239 --> 0:00:22.120 And I would fail time and time and time again. 0:00:22.280 --> 0:00:26.240 I tried things like the patch, it didn't work, gum, 0:00:26.440 --> 0:00:30.280 sunflower seeds. I tried at all. It's just a matter 0:00:30.320 --> 0:00:33.160 of finding the right thing to help you quit. That's 0:00:33.280 --> 0:00:37.479 Jake's mintschew. Go put in your dip. Just make sure 0:00:37.479 --> 0:00:41.040 it's Jake's Mintchew. It's tobacco free, it's nicotine free, it's 0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:44.240 even sugar free. And I highly recommend, just a personal choice, 0:00:44.479 --> 0:00:47.920 I highly recommend their CBD pouches because it really helps 0:00:47.960 --> 0:00:51.160 take that extra edge off. Get a Jake's mint Chew 0:00:51.240 --> 0:00:54.959 dot com. That's Jake's mint Chew dot com. Make sure 0:00:54.960 --> 0:00:57.720 you used to promo code Jesse at check out. When 0:00:57.760 --> 0:01:11.400 you do that, get ten percent off. This is the 0:01:11.560 --> 0:01:32.440 Jesse Kelly Show. I want you to imagine something. I 0:01:32.520 --> 0:01:40.000 want you to imagine your home with your family, wife, kids. 0:01:42.400 --> 0:01:46.360 I want you to imagine the electricity is out and 0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:53.840 has been out. The water in your home is out 0:01:54.280 --> 0:02:01.360 and has been out. The sewer in your home is 0:02:01.440 --> 0:02:09.600 out and has been out. You must go forage for 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:13.960 food and water. And you don't have to You don't 0:02:13.960 --> 0:02:16.839 have to be somewhere other than your home. I mean 0:02:16.880 --> 0:02:20.320 your residential neighborhood, your apartment. This is taking place where 0:02:20.400 --> 0:02:23.760 you are. You have to go out and find food 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:34.440 and find water. Your children are asking repeatedly, can I 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:38.040 come with you? Can I go outside? Can I go 0:02:38.120 --> 0:02:40.880 outside and play? Can I can I see the sun? 0:02:41.720 --> 0:02:44.360 And you cannot let your children out of your home 0:02:46.320 --> 0:02:49.160 because if you let your children out of your home, 0:02:51.200 --> 0:02:57.880 somebody is going to grab them and eat them. What 0:02:58.040 --> 0:03:01.240 I just described for you is not the Walking Dead, 0:03:01.360 --> 0:03:08.440 It's not some zombie movie. That's real. That happened, and 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:16.960 it happened in a place called Leningrad. We talk a 0:03:17.120 --> 0:03:22.720 lot endlessly and we always will on this show about 0:03:22.760 --> 0:03:29.640 the Eastern Front of World War two, Germany versus the Soviets. 0:03:31.440 --> 0:03:35.360 I talk about it for a variety of reasons. One 0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:41.320 nobody else talks about it because nobody likes either side. 0:03:42.440 --> 0:03:45.960 You can't find much information on the Eastern Front of 0:03:45.960 --> 0:03:49.920 World War Two. There's a great Dan Carlin hardcore history 0:03:50.040 --> 0:03:53.680 multi point podcast on it called what is It? War 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:55.840 on the Ast Front? I think it was called something 0:03:55.840 --> 0:03:57.880 to do something like that. Either way, go downloaded if 0:03:57.880 --> 0:03:59.840 you if you want, If you find that interesting, but 0:04:00.480 --> 0:04:03.440 it doesn't touch on Leningrad, I don't believe, but it's 0:04:03.440 --> 0:04:06.880 a great one. There's that movie Enemy at the Gates 0:04:06.960 --> 0:04:10.480 with Jude Law and Ed Harris about some sniper battle 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:13.600 that took place in Stalingrad and there was some historical 0:04:13.640 --> 0:04:16.080 significance there, and it was a cool movie. It gives 0:04:16.080 --> 0:04:19.000 you a good visual of what Stalingrad was probably like. 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:26.240 But beyond that, tell me, what have you seen about 0:04:26.279 --> 0:04:32.240 the Eastern Front? It doesn't happen. Everything is Everything's d 0:04:32.400 --> 0:04:39.800 Day everything, you know, the airborne dropping in parachutes. You 0:04:39.880 --> 0:04:43.600 get plenty of stuff on the war in the Pacific Marines, 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:48.680 fighting the Japanese. You get some stuff on Africa. You 0:04:48.760 --> 0:04:54.840 get a million things on the Holocaust, Pearl Harbor. Now, 0:04:54.880 --> 0:04:57.039 all the high points, all the World War two high points, 0:04:57.080 --> 0:05:02.520 you just don't get the Eastern Front. And it's simple. 0:05:03.240 --> 0:05:08.839 Both sides are scumbags. You have Nazis. Ain't anybody pulling 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:12.480 for the Nazis, and you have the dirty Commies, which 0:05:12.520 --> 0:05:14.920 I mean, granted, half of America probably rooting for them now, 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:18.400 but back in the day, nobody's rooting for the dirty, 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:23.479 inhumane Commies. And yet I will always talk about it 0:05:23.560 --> 0:05:27.200 on this show because it is, as I've said before, 0:05:27.880 --> 0:05:31.839 without question, if you were to just separate the Eastern 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:36.080 Front off, it is the biggest war in the history 0:05:36.080 --> 0:05:39.920 of mankind. Just that part of it, just that part 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:44.479 of twenty seven million plus Russians died, Just the Russians, 0:05:44.520 --> 0:05:47.279 twenty seven million, you know how many people that is. 0:05:47.400 --> 0:05:49.400 It's so big you came and wrap your mind around it. 0:05:50.839 --> 0:05:55.200 It is so vast and so vicious and full of hatred. 0:05:55.680 --> 0:05:58.119 It's not as if other wars are full of love. 0:05:58.800 --> 0:06:03.640 But the Nazis and the way they conducted themselves. Even 0:06:03.680 --> 0:06:07.520 in some Eastern European countries that they were essentially given, 0:06:08.960 --> 0:06:13.080 people would welcome them flowers, hamming flowers, Oh well, all sweet, 0:06:13.120 --> 0:06:16.279 it's so nice. Germany's here. And then a week later 0:06:16.320 --> 0:06:19.600 the Nazis are just look their Nazis. They're executing everybody. 0:06:19.640 --> 0:06:23.120 They're horrible, and they're they're killing so many Soviets that 0:06:23.200 --> 0:06:25.599 then the Soviets start returning the favor. These are not 0:06:25.720 --> 0:06:27.719 exactly people who are gonna lay down and take that. 0:06:27.800 --> 0:06:30.960 And then they're just war crime after war crime, massive 0:06:30.960 --> 0:06:34.800 war crimes, throwing people out in the cold and spraying 0:06:34.800 --> 0:06:37.599 them down with ice, with water. You just watch them. 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:43.960 I'm just just horrible. So people don't talk about it. 0:06:45.320 --> 0:06:50.000 I talk about it though. It is huge and it's horrible. 0:06:51.200 --> 0:06:54.960 And what's wild is I've done I bet you I've 0:06:54.960 --> 0:06:57.840 done ten fifteen shows on various parts of the Eastern 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:01.839 Front of World War Two. I've never done one on 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:07.920 maybe the biggest siege in the history of mankind possibly. 0:07:09.440 --> 0:07:11.920 I mean, I've done them on Moscow, Stalin Grad and 0:07:11.920 --> 0:07:15.200 we'll do them again. I've done just various parts. I've 0:07:15.320 --> 0:07:18.640 never done one on Leningrad. I even went over Zukov 0:07:19.000 --> 0:07:22.240 Georgi Zukov the other day, and I didn't mention Leningrad, 0:07:22.240 --> 0:07:24.040 and it just wasn't time in the show. I just 0:07:24.080 --> 0:07:28.840 skipped right over it. And it is amazing, not necessarily militarily, 0:07:28.880 --> 0:07:31.840 we'll get to that. But civilian wise, that story I 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:35.320 told you at the beginning of the show, that's real. 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:41.880 We'll get to that, but that's real. Now, if you're 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:46.000 wondering where Leningrad is, you're pulling up your Google Maps 0:07:46.000 --> 0:07:48.320 trying to get a good idea of things. You're not 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:51.280 going to see it on there because it's no longer there. 0:07:51.880 --> 0:07:58.320 They have renamed Leningrad Saint Petersburg, not Saint Petersburg, Florida. 0:07:58.400 --> 0:08:01.920 It's important you remember that Saint Petersburg, Russia. So if 0:08:01.960 --> 0:08:04.040 you would like to know, and in fact, I think 0:08:04.080 --> 0:08:08.440 you probably should know what we're dealing with here, I 0:08:08.680 --> 0:08:11.200 highly suggest this is the point where you pull up 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:15.280 your little map and look up Saint Petersburg in Russia. 0:08:15.400 --> 0:08:18.240 For those of you driving or not in a place 0:08:18.240 --> 0:08:20.720 where you're able to do this, allow me to lay 0:08:20.760 --> 0:08:24.760 out where this is. This is the far far far 0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:30.040 northwest corner of Russia. I don't expect you to be 0:08:30.080 --> 0:08:34.280 a geographic expert, but just know it's essentially on I 0:08:34.280 --> 0:08:38.200 mean not essentially. It's on the Baltic Sea. That's where 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:42.120 it is. It's on the Baltic Sea, and there's also 0:08:42.240 --> 0:08:45.800 a huge lake. See the Baltic Sea lies to Saint 0:08:45.840 --> 0:08:49.240 Petersburg's west. As you're looking down on it, that's the 0:08:49.360 --> 0:08:56.199 left lake. Ladoga is on the east. It's on the right, 0:08:56.320 --> 0:08:59.920 and that lake is really going to matter in our store. 0:09:00.640 --> 0:09:06.000 Just know that that's what we're dealing with here. Now 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:09.800 back to the actual invasion, and I'm not going to 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:12.280 cover all that because I have a thousand times. I'll 0:09:12.320 --> 0:09:17.360 do it again another thousand times. But Arbor Operation Barbarossa, 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:23.200 that was the name of the invasion of the Soviet Union. Remember, 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:27.000 Hitler and Stalin had signed a non aggressive pack. Stalin, 0:09:27.120 --> 0:09:30.080 hey you can have you can have half of Poland. Stalin, 0:09:30.160 --> 0:09:33.560 you'd take eastern Europe. Hitler's all take western Europe. We'll 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:36.880 just be two scumbags with our own territories. But Hitler 0:09:36.960 --> 0:09:41.600 had plans to invade, slaughter the Jews in and then 0:09:41.640 --> 0:09:45.920 colonize the Soviet Union all along. He had no no 0:09:46.120 --> 0:09:52.760 qualms about the fact he was coming. Stalin, however, was very, 0:09:52.960 --> 0:09:57.400 very very worried about him coming, but didn't think he 0:09:57.480 --> 0:10:02.040 would come. Stalin knew the German war machine was formidable, 0:10:02.320 --> 0:10:05.600 and he knew as it stood. Early on, he did 0:10:05.720 --> 0:10:09.240 not really have the army that could fight him off. 0:10:09.280 --> 0:10:11.840 At least early on, he knew how brutal that would 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:14.760 be for his country. And Stalin, remember Stalin, more than 0:10:14.800 --> 0:10:18.640 anything else, was a man all about holding on to power. 0:10:20.120 --> 0:10:23.760 And as history has shown, you get an invading army, 0:10:23.960 --> 0:10:26.000 you can't fight him off. That's a great way to 0:10:26.080 --> 0:10:30.640 lose power. So Stalin did some really dumb things early. 0:10:30.720 --> 0:10:51.040 Hang on, we'll talk about it. This is a Jesse 0:10:51.240 --> 0:10:54.480 Kelly show. Like a stain on your brain, you can't 0:10:54.480 --> 0:10:59.840 get out. You need an auto protection plan. In this 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:04.080 stay in age insurance is not enough. You have to 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:08.640 have an auto protection plan because these vehicles cost a fortune, 0:11:09.080 --> 0:11:12.160 a fortune to fix. I'm going through it right now. 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:16.079 But you know what else I'm going through right now? Oh, 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:18.480 I get to deal with car Shield. You see, I 0:11:18.600 --> 0:11:20.680 have a car shield plan. I don't just talk to 0:11:20.720 --> 0:11:24.600 you about it. I have a platinum plan from car Shield. 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:27.720 And let me tell you the ease of working with 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:31.760 these guys, how much cheaper and easier it makes life. 0:11:31.800 --> 0:11:34.880 It is worth its weight in gold. Take it from me. 0:11:35.320 --> 0:11:39.240 Do not wait until your car starts having problems. Don't 0:11:39.240 --> 0:11:41.400 wait until your car's sitting there in a ditch. You're 0:11:41.400 --> 0:11:43.800 broken down on the side of the highway. Did a 0:11:43.920 --> 0:11:49.400 car shield auto protection plan today? Go to carshield dot com. 0:11:49.440 --> 0:11:53.040 That's carshield dot com. Use the code JESSE that saves 0:11:53.080 --> 0:12:25.000 you ten percent a deductible may apply. Stalin is so 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:30.760 worried about Hitler invading. He's so desperate that Hitler doesn't invade. 0:12:30.760 --> 0:12:32.760 He's where he's gonna end up, throwing him out of power, 0:12:33.679 --> 0:12:39.840 that he bans what he calls provocative actions, meaning any 0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:43.040 Soviet build up on the border that would help them 0:12:43.040 --> 0:12:46.760 prepare for Hitler's invasion, which people were telling him is coming. 0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:49.840 He's like, oh, now, we can't dig in defenses there. 0:12:50.120 --> 0:12:54.559 That'll look bad. We can't. That's how lame Stalin was 0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:58.080 in this whole thing. But Hitler does invade, as you 0:12:58.080 --> 0:13:03.680 well know, and Hitler Devay invades and splits his invading 0:13:03.800 --> 0:13:10.040 force up into three different groups Army Group South, Army 0:13:10.080 --> 0:13:14.680 Groups Center, Army Group North. Forget about the South, just 0:13:14.800 --> 0:13:16.960 know that the Center, this is going to come into 0:13:16.960 --> 0:13:21.720 play later, was heading towards Moscow. Army Group North was 0:13:21.760 --> 0:13:26.599 heading towards Leningrad. Now why were they heading towards Leningrad 0:13:27.240 --> 0:13:32.480 a couple of different reasons. Leningrad was a huge, important city, 0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:38.839 and Hitler well knew it would have been extremely demoralizing 0:13:38.960 --> 0:13:42.400 and devastating to the Soviet Union as a whole if 0:13:42.520 --> 0:13:45.960 Leningrad fell. In fact, had he been able to take 0:13:46.080 --> 0:13:48.880 Leningrad and Moscow, and it was a near run thing 0:13:48.960 --> 0:13:51.160 for both, had he been able to take them, Soviet 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:56.520 Union falls, he wins that war. So one, it was 0:13:56.559 --> 0:14:02.480 the moral part of it. Two, Leningrad was a humongous 0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:07.760 industrial city. Soviet Union could churn out tanks and Ammo 0:14:07.840 --> 0:14:09.960 and things like that, and a lot of that stuff 0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:12.880 was coming from Leningrad. This is a city of three 0:14:12.920 --> 0:14:17.920 million people at the time. And remember that little little 0:14:18.040 --> 0:14:19.760 map you pulled up on your phone a couple of 0:14:19.800 --> 0:14:22.520 minutes ago, when you looked at Saint Petersburg. What do 0:14:22.600 --> 0:14:30.440 you see all around Saint Petersburg the sea water. This 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:35.240 place mattered because it was huge forgetting supplies in and 0:14:35.400 --> 0:14:42.200 getting supplies out. These ports cities are always critical to 0:14:42.320 --> 0:14:45.440 a nation because they help resupply a nation, they help 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:49.720 fund a nation. If Hitler is able to go up 0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:53.920 there and take Leningrad, well that's going to be quite 0:14:53.920 --> 0:14:59.480 a win. Now. I know what you're possibly thinking, if 0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:01.960 you've and listening to this show for a while, or 0:15:02.000 --> 0:15:04.280 you're just that kind of thinker, you're looking to the 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:07.840 north and thinking, well, what's Finland doing. Finland's right up 0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:10.400 there to the north. It's funny you should bring that up. 0:15:11.800 --> 0:15:14.520 They fought something. I'll do a show on it again sometime. 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:16.240 I've done one before. It was a long time ago. 0:15:16.520 --> 0:15:21.600 They fought something earlier called the Winter War. The Soviet 0:15:21.760 --> 0:15:26.760 Union fought that war with Finland, and it wasn't some 0:15:27.400 --> 0:15:32.680 prolonged war, however. It was one of those wars Finland 0:15:32.800 --> 0:15:35.080 or use as a feather in their cap until the 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:38.800 end of time. And they should because because here comes 0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:44.040 this gigantic Soviet juggernaut stomping into your country and they 0:15:44.040 --> 0:15:46.720 should crush you. And they did end up winning, obviously, 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:50.720 but the Finns made them pay for it, and I 0:15:50.760 --> 0:15:56.760 mean made them pay for it big time. We're talking 0:15:57.040 --> 0:16:01.680 everything you can imagine, guys in cross country skis doing 0:16:01.720 --> 0:16:05.360 ambush ambushes, night ambushes. It was it was a cool 0:16:05.440 --> 0:16:08.240 it's a really cool little conflict. But the Soviet Union 0:16:08.320 --> 0:16:11.760 ends up winning, and part of the Soviet Union Union 0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:15.480 winning that war was the Soviet Union wanted a bunch 0:16:15.480 --> 0:16:18.400 of Finnish territory up there, and they took it. And 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:21.040 then they told Finland at the time, guess what, you're 0:16:21.080 --> 0:16:24.200 also on our side. Now you're gonna do what the 0:16:24.200 --> 0:16:26.080 things we tell you to do whenever we tell you 0:16:26.080 --> 0:16:30.000 to do him you hear me. Finland never a big 0:16:30.040 --> 0:16:35.480 fan of the Soviets. Oh gosh, okay, that's fine. Well, 0:16:35.560 --> 0:16:40.280 along come the Nazis. The Nazis. I'm not going to 0:16:40.360 --> 0:16:45.160 go into all this. Give Finland a little wink wink, nudge, nudge. Hey, 0:16:46.720 --> 0:16:50.200 I bet you'd like back that territory the Soviets took 0:16:50.240 --> 0:16:54.520 from you, right man, that Winter War thing that was unjust. 0:16:54.880 --> 0:16:57.880 You'd never see us pulling anything like that, I mean not. 0:16:58.160 --> 0:17:00.400 You don't have any many Jews, do you. Okay you don't. Yeah, 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:03.040 you'd never see us pull that with you. Why don't 0:17:03.040 --> 0:17:07.840 you join with us, Finland does? It's one of those 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:10.320 parts of World War Two not many people talk about. 0:17:10.359 --> 0:17:12.920 Everybody who knows about Japan and Italy and the access 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:19.920 of evil, Finland joined with the Nazis kind of. We'll 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:25.040 get to that in a moment. Now, the people of Leningrad. No, 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:30.080 they know the Nazis are coming. They're not stupid, and 0:17:30.280 --> 0:17:32.880 they do one of the most fascinating that it would 0:17:32.880 --> 0:17:35.280 be fascinating to see a big city pull this off 0:17:35.320 --> 0:17:39.120 today again, big cities, three million people. They get half 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:44.919 a million people, shovels and everything else, and they dig 0:17:45.160 --> 0:17:51.080 in fortifications of the city. They're building a triple line 0:17:51.240 --> 0:17:56.480 of defenses with tank ditches, tank traps. They're building peel boxes. 0:17:56.520 --> 0:17:59.560 You know those big concrete things you saw saving Private Ryan, 0:17:59.680 --> 0:18:02.480 The concrete things that the machine guns are in when 0:18:02.520 --> 0:18:05.000 the Allies are trying to store the beats. That's a pillbox. 0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:11.080 They're making pillboxes. It would have been fascinating to see it. Supposedly, 0:18:11.119 --> 0:18:13.800 and I saw some video interviews with people who were there. 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:17.359 Supposedly it was very inspiring. Half a million people, the 0:18:17.480 --> 0:18:23.040 Nazis are coming, let's dig in, let's rock and roll. Well, 0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:27.360 the Nazis get there. The Nazis get there and they 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:33.280 realize this city is extremely dug in, this city is defended. 0:18:33.920 --> 0:18:37.320 We've got an issue here. What are we going to do? 0:18:38.680 --> 0:18:42.119 And they get more bad news. The Nazis do. They 0:18:42.119 --> 0:18:47.160 find out somebody by the name of Georgi Zukov has 0:18:47.280 --> 0:18:50.040 arrived in lenning Grad and he's gonna go ahead and 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:53.800 organize the defenses for a while. Remember this is the 0:18:53.840 --> 0:18:57.159 greatest general of the twentieth century. And you get word 0:18:57.240 --> 0:19:00.320 that he just took over the opposing army to be 0:19:00.320 --> 0:19:06.000 a rough moment. And of course Zukov, because he's freaking Zukov, 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:09.760 does not just sit back in the city. He doesn't 0:19:09.800 --> 0:19:15.000 sit back behind the line. He is constantly doing, constantly 0:19:15.200 --> 0:19:21.840 doing pay attention here, counter offensives because he knows, I 0:19:21.880 --> 0:19:25.280 don't care if it's a single line, double line, triple line, 0:19:25.359 --> 0:19:29.920 ten thousand tank ditches, if you just sit back behind 0:19:30.000 --> 0:19:34.400 it with your head down, you're going to lose. So 0:19:34.440 --> 0:19:38.200 he's peppering these Nazis, stepping out behind the line, killing 0:19:38.240 --> 0:19:41.560 them and losing guys himself, but then going back in 0:19:42.560 --> 0:19:46.240 constantly keeping the Nazis off guard. They're on the defensive 0:19:46.480 --> 0:19:50.679 as much as they're on the offensive. Then Hitler in 0:19:50.800 --> 0:19:55.320 one of the all time bonehead moves. I understand why 0:19:55.320 --> 0:19:59.280 he did it, but gosh, how stupid. This was army 0:19:59.320 --> 0:20:04.000 group nor remember an army group center, You remember class, 0:20:04.040 --> 0:20:07.280 what was army group center doing? Army Group Center was 0:20:07.320 --> 0:20:14.840 going after Moscow. Hitler wanted Moscow. He wanted Moscow so 0:20:14.880 --> 0:20:17.120 bad he could taste it. And why wouldn't he. Of 0:20:17.160 --> 0:20:22.760 course you would want Moscow. And because Zukov also organized 0:20:22.800 --> 0:20:25.679 the defensive Moscow. As we said the other day, Hitler 0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:30.520 was having a very difficult time taking Moscow. So he 0:20:30.600 --> 0:20:35.320 instead takes all of his armored parts of Army Group North, 0:20:35.359 --> 0:20:39.919 all those beautiful tanks, and he pulls them away and 0:20:40.040 --> 0:20:43.200 takes them down south to go attack Moscow with Army 0:20:43.200 --> 0:20:46.639 Group Center. Well, what you've just done to Army Group 0:20:46.720 --> 0:20:51.520 North is you've really prevented any ability for them to 0:20:51.720 --> 0:20:56.240 actually invade a city the size of Leningrad and take 0:20:56.280 --> 0:21:00.200 it in any kind of a meaningful manner. I don't 0:21:00.240 --> 0:21:02.440 want to nerd out on the details here, but allow 0:21:02.480 --> 0:21:06.040 me to explain something to you. We've talked a lot 0:21:06.080 --> 0:21:09.360 this week about urban combat, and I swear I'm not 0:21:09.440 --> 0:21:11.679 trying to gin up, so I'm not trying to gin 0:21:11.840 --> 0:21:14.240 something up. It just worked out that that's what we've 0:21:14.240 --> 0:21:19.800 talked about here. Okay. Part of urban combat, especially in 0:21:19.840 --> 0:21:28.240 this modern era, is a combination of armor and personnel. 0:21:28.520 --> 0:21:44.760 And I'll explain why they're both important. Hang on. You're 0:21:44.800 --> 0:21:48.760 never completely ready to adopt a team. For late nights 0:21:48.840 --> 0:21:53.800 writing English papers are your teen's music taste for dinners 0:21:54.000 --> 0:21:55.920 where they talk more on their phone than with you. 0:21:56.400 --> 0:22:00.440 For the first time they call your mom. You're never 0:22:00.600 --> 0:22:04.359 completely ready to adopt a team, and you can't imagine 0:22:04.400 --> 0:22:07.800 the reward. To learn more about adopting a team, visit 0:22:07.840 --> 0:22:10.320 adopt us Kids dot org, brought to you by the 0:22:10.400 --> 0:22:13.480 US Department of Health and Human Services, adopt Us Kids 0:22:13.560 --> 0:22:16.919 and the AD Council. Part time job, full time hustle, 0:22:17.080 --> 0:22:21.000 all time Shiro to all of us. You nurture, we listen, 0:22:21.200 --> 0:22:24.720 you teach, we thrive, You lift us spirits. But we've 0:22:24.760 --> 0:22:27.120 got to lay down the truth. It's time for you, 0:22:27.320 --> 0:22:31.120 our Shiro, to stretch for the stars. Start saving more 0:22:31.160 --> 0:22:34.200 for retirement now so you can feel prepared and live 0:22:34.320 --> 0:22:36.880 your life to the fullest. Get free tips to help 0:22:36.920 --> 0:22:40.360 boost your retirement savings now at Asia Retirement dot org. 0:22:40.480 --> 0:22:43.679 Slash Shiro a message brought to you by AARP and 0:22:43.760 --> 0:23:17.359 the AD Council. So now it's siege time. The people 0:23:17.359 --> 0:23:20.119 of letting Grad can't break out. Although I mean there 0:23:20.160 --> 0:23:22.199 are attempts, I don't want to act like they're just 0:23:22.240 --> 0:23:25.240 sitting in there crying in their cheerios. They acquitted themselves 0:23:25.359 --> 0:23:28.680 very well. They can't break out. But the Nazis, now 0:23:28.720 --> 0:23:31.080 that Hitler took away the armor, can't break in. And 0:23:31.200 --> 0:23:38.280 let me explain that, when you're entering a city, city 0:23:38.359 --> 0:23:43.720 streets and whatnot, you cannot just sit there in a tank, 0:23:45.200 --> 0:23:48.320 even a big tough American Abrams tank or something, or 0:23:48.359 --> 0:23:53.160 a tank of the like. The truth is, people are 0:23:53.200 --> 0:23:58.840 too capable out there. Yes, even scumbag idiot terrorists. People 0:23:58.840 --> 0:24:03.280 are too capable now of finding an explosive that can 0:24:03.320 --> 0:24:08.520 incinerate your guys, or finding an explosive that's big enough 0:24:08.720 --> 0:24:11.280 to knock the tracks off your tank. All you have 0:24:11.320 --> 0:24:14.960 to do is make an immobile or setting a trap 0:24:15.320 --> 0:24:17.960 in the streets. So you see, your tank is too 0:24:18.040 --> 0:24:20.480 vulnerable by itself. You like to think of a tank 0:24:20.520 --> 0:24:23.280 as some invulnerable thing with big guns on. It is not. 0:24:24.080 --> 0:24:29.560 It is not. And now don't you're wrong. You can, 0:24:29.640 --> 0:24:33.119 but it's dangerous. You can't really just patrol up and 0:24:33.200 --> 0:24:36.960 down the city streets on foot. And I've done patrol 0:24:37.240 --> 0:24:40.680 in Baghdad at night on foot. And let me tell 0:24:40.720 --> 0:24:46.280 you what it's a little harrowing because you find yourself 0:24:46.320 --> 0:24:49.480 in situations where you need a bigger gun than you 0:24:49.520 --> 0:24:52.919 can carry on your back, or you find yourself in 0:24:52.960 --> 0:24:57.280 situations where you need cover, or you find yourself in 0:24:57.320 --> 0:25:00.840 situations where you need an AMMO re supply. You can 0:25:00.840 --> 0:25:03.400 only carry so much ammunition. I know you don't see 0:25:03.440 --> 0:25:06.320 this in the movies, but even look, even as a 0:25:06.400 --> 0:25:09.239 six foot eight marine brother, I can only carry so 0:25:09.320 --> 0:25:13.679 much ammo. Ammo's heavy, really heavy. At some point my 0:25:13.760 --> 0:25:21.520 knees just break. You need resupply. Having armor there helps 0:25:21.600 --> 0:25:24.080 that you can strap AMMO boxes to it. You can 0:25:24.119 --> 0:25:28.320 strap water to it. Not sexy. Guess what. Go without 0:25:28.320 --> 0:25:32.639 it for a day and see how you're doing. So 0:25:32.800 --> 0:25:36.440 what you want to do is combine the two. When 0:25:36.480 --> 0:25:38.320 you're entering us, you just have to. You have to 0:25:38.359 --> 0:25:43.080 combine the two. You have to when we In fact, 0:25:43.160 --> 0:25:46.960 when we first entered Baghdad, they took my company and 0:25:47.000 --> 0:25:49.000 we were assigned to first tanks. I was in an 0:25:49.000 --> 0:25:51.200 infantry company. They assigned us to tank. They just flat 0:25:51.200 --> 0:25:54.400 out attached the whole company and you're going in with them. 0:25:54.480 --> 0:25:56.639 And right when we got in there, boom boo boop 0:25:56.640 --> 0:26:00.600 taken fire from some big building. Uh yeah, we're turning fire. 0:26:00.600 --> 0:26:03.080 Can we get the tanks up here? Tanks open up 0:26:03.320 --> 0:26:09.159 and that building is no longer there. See that's how 0:26:09.200 --> 0:26:13.040 it works, you take away the tanks. Well, I can't 0:26:13.040 --> 0:26:17.399 invade Leningrad. Now I have to starve them out. And 0:26:17.560 --> 0:26:22.320 this is the ultimate situation of nobody can move. The 0:26:22.440 --> 0:26:25.920 Nazis do not possess the strength to invade. The people 0:26:25.920 --> 0:26:34.040 of Leningrad cannot get out only well, weather seems to 0:26:34.080 --> 0:26:41.320 be changing. The weather seems to be changing. I mentioned 0:26:41.320 --> 0:26:44.680 the Fins earlier. I should I should clarify the Fins. 0:26:45.560 --> 0:26:50.760 The Fins were expected by Germany to finish coming from 0:26:50.800 --> 0:26:52.919 the north. It's gott of a dirty move, but a 0:26:52.960 --> 0:26:55.480 great move. The Finns were expected, I need you to 0:26:55.560 --> 0:26:58.040 keep coming from the north and come down and surround, 0:26:58.080 --> 0:27:00.600 you know, letting grad on the other side. And the 0:27:00.640 --> 0:27:02.719 Finns were like, oh yeah, I'll I'll get right on that. 0:27:04.040 --> 0:27:06.399 And then the Finns promptly just took back all the 0:27:06.520 --> 0:27:10.320 territory that was previously theirs from the Soviets and then 0:27:10.400 --> 0:27:14.600 didn't move anymore. Oh yeah, I know, we said we 0:27:14.600 --> 0:27:18.600 were coming about that though, Yeah we're not. It turns 0:27:18.600 --> 0:27:20.840 out we just wanted what was ours back. So it's 0:27:21.119 --> 0:27:23.520 not fair to paint the Finns as some horrible Nazi 0:27:23.600 --> 0:27:26.399 collaborators in the war and kind of did what they 0:27:26.440 --> 0:27:30.679 had to do type thing. So we're a stalemate and 0:27:30.760 --> 0:27:33.879 the winter is starting to get cold, and there's another 0:27:33.920 --> 0:27:36.960 part of that Finns refusing to advance. Keep this in mind, 0:27:37.920 --> 0:27:42.160 Germany's Germany, and Germany's powerful at this time. But if 0:27:42.200 --> 0:27:44.960 you're Finland, remember that map you pulled up, You're welcome 0:27:44.960 --> 0:27:47.000 to pull it up again. Go ahead and look at 0:27:47.000 --> 0:27:52.560 Finland and then look at Russia. If you're Finland, can 0:27:52.600 --> 0:27:55.920 you really afford to make a horrible enemy of the 0:27:55.960 --> 0:27:58.920 Soviet Union? They were not stupid. Yeah, I'm gonna go 0:27:58.960 --> 0:28:02.080 ahead and not a siege to one of their most 0:28:02.200 --> 0:28:06.320 important cities, because if this doesn't work out, we are 0:28:06.520 --> 0:28:12.480 screwed big time. Well, if you're the Germans, you can't 0:28:12.480 --> 0:28:15.800 attack them, they can't attack you. What can you do? 0:28:16.040 --> 0:28:18.400 You can do a couple things. You can make their 0:28:18.440 --> 0:28:23.040 life as miserable as humanly possible by not letting supplies in. 0:28:23.320 --> 0:28:28.439 And remember these are Nazis, they don't really obey the 0:28:28.480 --> 0:28:34.200 same rules that many people do, well, why don't Why 0:28:34.200 --> 0:28:39.720 don't we just start bombing them. It's funny to wrap 0:28:39.760 --> 0:28:42.560 your mind around when you put yourself in the in 0:28:42.640 --> 0:28:46.440 the shoes of people who don't really have morals. When 0:28:46.680 --> 0:28:50.560 they don't have they're just flat out sadists. You and 0:28:50.640 --> 0:28:52.440 I even if you, even if you were fighting a 0:28:52.480 --> 0:28:54.720 war with somebody, if you're a commanding general and you 0:28:54.720 --> 0:28:56.880