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What SS Soldiers REALLY Said After Fighting the 101st Airborne — Their Officers Tried to Bury It

German POWs WW2

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In 1944, the German military machine believed American soldiers lacked the grit and ideological hardness to survive sustained combat. Then, they met the 101st Airborne Division.

From the chaos of the Normandy hedgerows to the freezing, surrounded siege of Bastogne, American paratroopers shattered every tactical prediction the Wehrmacht and the SS had written. In this video, we uncover the shocking truth hidden in captured German archives: the secret after-action reports written by German commanders like Major von der Heydte and SS-Brigadeführer Werner Ostendorf.

These veteran German officers witnessed the unmatched initiative, fierce independence, and sheer willpower of the "Screaming Eagles." Their official reports praised the American volunteers so highly that the Nazi high command deliberately buried them to protect their own ideology.

Join us as we explore the unvarnished truth that the SS tried to hide, and honor the legacy of the free men who volunteered for the hardest assignment in World War II.

🇺🇸 If you appreciate the sacrifices made by our Greatest Generation, please LIKE this video, SHARE it with a fellow history lover or veteran, and SUBSCRIBE for more untold stories of American military history.

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20 Comments

@GermanPOWsWW2 Creator 4 months ago Pinned

Most people only hear one side of these battles. But stories like this remind us war is never just “victory vs defeat” — it’s fear, respect, and survival on both sides.

Whether it was the SS or the 101st Airborne, the battlefield forced even the most hardened soldiers to recognize their opponent’s discipline and determination.

History isn’t about glorifying either side — it’s about understanding what actually happened when they met face to face.

What part of this story surprised you the most?

@jimmieblue6262 2 weeks ago

My dad was in Bastogne 101st airborne, he did not talk about things until he was in his 80s. I've been on a quest ever since then to learn everything I could about my dad. I am now 67 and I understand more about myself by looking at my dad's youth.

@gmb858 13 days ago

My uncle was a Pathfinder 101st Airborne 506 Charlie Company- one of the "battered bastards of Bastogne." They parachuted into France 11 hours ahead of H-Hour on D-Day.

One a key aspects of their training as paratroopers was that when they landed behind enemy lines, they would always be surrounded. They were psychologically prepared to accept that vulnerablity.

My uncle remembered being at Bastogne as being the “toughest, coldest, wettest, hungriest, and the meanest battle of them all”.

I asked him if they felt desperate. He replied, "no, we knew there were 4 million Allied on the ground in Europe and it was only a matter of holding out." He didn't go deep into the stories but said that guys were improvising in the defense of the town.

Years later, at a reunion, a man approached him and asked him his name. The man said "when were at Bastogne you told me I could find certain men on the next block over. Instead, I turned the corner and a dozen Germans got the drop on me. I spent the rest of the war in a POW camp."

My uncle said, "I'm sorry about that... here... let me buy ya a drink." All was forgiven and the men swapped stories.

@John-jl9de 12 days ago

Dad was there. 101st Airborne.

@EMBERLIGHT-AUDIO 13 days ago

The part that really got me is they didn’t even destroy those reports. They kept them, studied them… and basically ignored the lesson because it didn’t fit what they wanted to believe. That might be more dangerous than not knowing the truth at all. How often do organizations still do exactly that?

@thomasb1889 2 weeks ago

Around 14:30 there is a picture of who I think is Jake "McNasty" McNiece or one of his Filthy Thirteen. He never rose above private and didn't give a damn with a Lieutenant and I would bet that officer is afraid of Jake. His men were scattered over kingdom come so he picked up people as he went along and had about 30 men when a Colonel order him to take his men to a different location. Since the "new" position was on the way Jake didn't argue and when they got there he said he was going onto his original position, they all went with him. He was a natural leader though so they followed him.

@Damons-Old-Soul 5 days ago

The whole description in perfect English, yet the tag saying it was made in the USA is in Vietnamese...

Great video! Really interesting.

@tanstaafl28 12 days ago

The ability to pivot became decisive for the US, it seems.

@frankgerace5997 10 days ago

Sounds like somebody sampled Mark Felton’s voice.

@thomasb1889 2 weeks ago

-4 below zero F is not that bad but the lack of proper clothing was the real problem for those men.

@ralphcrenshaw6786 2 weeks ago

The background musical tones are such a distraction such that I can’t stand to continue watching. 😊

@soldat2501 8 days ago

What is this AI mess with Dr Mark Felton’s voice?

@commonsense2497 1 month ago

You left out the 10 Armoured Division who fought beside the 101st. You didn't cover the glider troops of the 101st. This report is incomplete!

@stevebeeney9022 3 days ago

I was in the 1/509th. It's true that Airborne are different, but consider also North Vietnamese. They were motivated too.

@thomasb1889 2 weeks ago

While they did not train to lose officers and NCO's to the extent that the Special Forces, paratroops, rangers, and others did the US took the German Auftragstaktik commonly translated as mission-type tactics or mission command all the way down to the privates. If you are the highest ranked you are supposed to do your best to further the mission.

@comptech9765 2 weeks ago

Recommend switching to better narrator. This one has all the earmarks of an AI narrator.

@michaelwoehl8822 9 days ago (edited)

At one point, this point we helped save the world from fascism, what are we doing now? We sure as hell are not saving the world today, we are pissing on it while facing the wind, guess nothing lasts. Parts of my family were in the Marines in the pacific, the air force in Europe in bombers, the Navy in the pacific and in Germany during the war with the OSS as a spy, I am proud of what my family was and did, I am no longer proud of what my country is and is doing today. We need to take back our country but we do nothing as they steal our childrens future. Call in the clowns.

@MosinGuy59 12 days ago

I detest AI.

@tarrantcountykid 13 days ago

It sounds like the 101st took the German Blitzkrieg and did it better.

@ericb.4358 2 weeks ago

My archaeology professor, Dr. Gustav Konitsky, was a German paratrooper who fought in Crete and in Russia. He was a VERY interesting guy. The Vietnam War was raging as I graduated college. Dr. Konitsky knew I was likely to be drafted. He told me to "join an elite unit" because they take good care of their own in combat. Good advice and I WAS ready to go airborne and then Rangers. But then a US Peace Corps recruiter came to campus. Had just read The Ugly American and that book changed my life. I joined thePeace Corps and went to the Philippines. I married my Filipina co-teacher and "the rest is history".