Yeah, but the "devils in baggy pants" were specifically the 504 Parachute Infantry Regiment from the 82nd Airborne Division, not the 101st Airborne Division.
@@TylerMcL3moreI do take slight offense to this because not all of us are that dumb. But the main comment taught me something new. I’m 19 about to be 20. Still young, I know.
Honestly that would get me even more amped up knowing that the unit I'm in is so bad ass that we have to make sure the enemy doesn't know who we are at some point.
@@brianjones9780thats probably why they said that lol, realistically the germans aren’t looking at the patches while they’re getting shot at. But, it does make u feel badass thinking the enemy fears your unit that much
@@evil87911 I mean kinda yeah but kinda no. When we landed on D-Day we knew exactly the names and numbers of each German battalion we were going to face and where they were likely at, what their combat experience likely was, etc. There are always surprises, and sometimes intel is wrong, but our intelligence was good enough our HQ officers knew at least, and they knew how to recognize them. And we had no guarantee that the Germans' intelligence was any worse, and so we may as well assume if they knew they were up against the 101st Airborne they'd hit twice as hard at those positions as they would otherwise. So the issue isn't VolksGrenadier Hansel finding your insignia, it's if someone from his HQ is brought your buddy's coat from his dead body, and realizes strategically that the next time they attack you they *will* call reinforcement. Take into account that when American soldiers spotted German Fallschirmjäger uniforms, they immediately knew they were up for a tough fight. If you see an SS insignia, that can also mean a tough one. Soldiers were taught in briefings what to look for, to know who exactly they are fighting. They'd even be taught insignia from noteworthy elite troops likely in their combat zone. It becomes a habit to examine an enemy casualty's uniform and see if you recognize anything of worthy intel. Any patch or medal is something to report. If you gain ground and have enemy bodies to search, living or dead, you search and look for anything you can gain from. If a German Wehrmacht officer was properly briefed and saw a screaming eagle on one of those uniforms, he'd likely say "Scheiße... es von die 101..." Sometimes you want the enemy to know who you are, as morale loss and retreat is what wins the majority of battles, but sometimes you hope they have not a single clue.
@@brianjones9780 Surprises LOL. The British 1st Airborne certainly weren't expecting to find the lion's share of the 9th and 10th SS Panzer divisions in Arnhem.
There was actually a scientific reason behind blousing and the specific boots they issued to paratroopers. The army learned early on that The standard issue canvas legging wraps and infantry boots would cause paratroopers to sprain/break their ankles because it wouldn't allow them to tuck and roll upon landing. They also learned that leaving their pants untucked was a hazard because their open pant legs would create drag further slowing their descent and also potentially getting caught on things like fence posts and tree branches.
Your boots being bloused or unbloused is not going to slow your descent down. I’ve seen plenty of dudes deploy their reserve chute (a lot more surface area than unbloused pants) when they didn’t need to, and if your main canopy is fully inflated the reserve just lays limp in front of you, or sometimes catches wind and pulls you like a sail. Unbloused pants aren’t slowing you down.
@@1IlIlII design and materials have changed a lot since the 1940's. Everything I said was based on the early days of the US Army's paratrooper program. Those were also the days when the Army thought the only way to give Airborne troops heavy equipment was via the use of gliders
@@bullpupgaming708 unless, how drag works has changed, the “drag” generated by your pants being open is not going to have a significant effect on your rate of descent.
Spent five years on jump status in the mid 70s to early 80s. More often than not jumped with standard “leg” issue boots. The paratrooper Corcoran jump boot was not an issue boot and had to be purchased by the soldier. They were not cheap for many young soldiers and generally were worn in garrison with a spit shined toe. Very few wanted to ruin a good pair of jump boots on a jump. So out came the std “leg” boot. The jump boots just did not provide any measurable benefit over the “leg” boot and actually had an sole and heel that could become very slippery on wet rocks and ground when worn in the field!
My father CSM Raymond D Burbank, jumped with the Red Devils in the 1950s, 101st, and 82nd..also earned his German, and Vietnamese jump wings (served with the 10th, 7th, 5th, and 3rd SFs) He is interred at Ft Campbell, Kentucky Veterans Cemetery West (1936-2017).
My older brother served with the 82nd 504th this was in the mid 80s early 90s..he had a T-shirt with the devil on it and his unit name. If you go to those towns that the Germans occupied..they made monuments…with these drawings of devils with parachutes on their backs
They earned? By who… this was a note in the diary of a single low ranked officer. This nickname never existed among the lower ranks or the officers corps.
the 504th acquired the nickname "The Devils in Baggy Pants," taken from an entry found in the diary of a Wehrmacht officer killed at Anzio: It was not generally applied to US paratroops.
I would be careful with such claims, though. Very often they are not given by an awestruck enemy but by a crafty propaganda man back home. Like the whole Marines "Devil Dogs" thing, which is absolutely no german invention
@@535phobos That goes without saying since the Marines were fighting the Japs, not the Germans. The handful of Marines actually stationed in Europe during WWII were pretty much all fulfilling defensive roles, they weren't out on the front lines.
There was another unit composed of Americans and Canadians, basically commandos, performing night raids on German positions, leaving one of their red-arrow shoulder patches on the scene, with a message in German saying "The worst is yet to come." These men were called Black Devils because they'd use shoe polish to blacken their faces for night raids. Germans feared them like hell.
Interesting. Is this diary in original language openly accessible? I've heard this so many times, but never seen an actual reference to this term. In all the original diaries, battle reports and personal stories of German soldiers I read, this “devil/Teufel” term does not appear once. There is always talk of amerikanische Fallschirmjäger, alliierte Luftlandtruppen, or now and then Einzelkämpfer or Spezialtruppen... Somehow I have the feeling that it is made up... Grüne Teufel (Green Devils) wasn't even used by the German paratroopers for themselves ...
It’s a name they gave themselves. My Grandfather served in the 9th SS Panzerdivision.. they were refitting from the eastern front in Arnheim .. when that Market Garden Operation was happening.. they called them just Tommies .. they had no nicknames for paratroopers.. especially in Combat.. there was no red beret to be seen at the frontline.
@MettPitt Incorrect. British Airborne were given the nickname Red Devils by German troops in North Africa. German paratroopers nicknamed them Die Roten Teufel and their maroon berets were often worn in action, including at Arnhem.
@MettPitt You are also incorrect about 9th SS refitting from the Eastern Front in Arnhem. 9th SS had just retreated from Normandy against British forces. 9th SS had been mostly destroyed there in Normandy and had lost nearly all of its tanks.
First of all, it's Maroon, second, did they though? I don't believe any of these nicknames... They are more than likely taken from the half remembered stories in the memoirs of the holders of the nickname, and more likely than not given to themselves.
@@lyndoncmp5751 The British Army website on the Tunisia campaign and the paras, don't mention the beret First of all they were unlikely to be wearing it in sight of the enemy, secondly, they claim it was the tail of the denison jacket covered in red soil... Not sure I believe that either.
Blousing is NOT tucking your trousers in to your boots. The trousers are "bloused" by folding them to the inside and securing with a "blousing strap" - an elastic or string on the inside that holds the trouser leg from the inside over the top of the boot. Proper military dress does not tuck the trouser in the boot. Ever.
You've obviously never been a light fighter in the jungle or other areas of extremely thick foliage. Blousing straps do fuck all to prevent shit from crawling up your leg under your trousers. You blouse your trousers into your boots to keep Sammy, Spidey, and all their friends out. Like virtually everything, it's METT-TC dependent.
Was just thinking, Australian Army blouses their pants. We got done over so often if they weren't sorted some of us resorted to tucking the bottom of the legs under and over our bootlaces if we didn't have the cord available.
How certain are you of this? I was in the Marine Corps from 06-10 and yeah that’s how we did it but during WW2 in war conditions you think they had a surplus of bungee cords to look pretty? Common man.
In the Coast Guard it was acceptable to wear a small gold earring if you had been marooned or had a ship sink out from under you. There were LORAN stations that were isolated duty and even before that, ocean stations were also isolated. I got my ring on Iwo Jima and then had it torn out in a cave diving mishap. According to tradition, the ring was supposed to be worn on the ear opposite your strongest eye.
The whole thing comes from a very old need for it, it was to pay for your funeral when you died or were found dead. Hence why olden sailors and pirates are depicted with gold earrings, rings and or wrist bands. Now adays it's more of a tradition than anything else. Also quite possibly why pirates are usually depicted as hunting for treasure instead of the reality of regular trade goods.
The nickname was given to the 504th regiment of the 82nd Airborne from actions in Sicily and Italy. But I think it had more to do with their pants than blousing their boots.
@@rgr1292 I agree . For more information on the 504th PIR you may wish to read the book "Those Devils in Baggy Pants" by Ross Carter. It's a good read. BTW I was in the 2ne Bn. 504th PIR back in the early 70s and this book was a must read for all newbies.
I don't understand why these channels keep focusing on the blousing when the whole US armed forces had been blousing their pants since the 1890's they just didn't wear the jump boots
Peaking the garrison cap was the other distinguishing uniform feature paratroopers of WWII did. Current Army regulations found in AR670-10 allows Airborne and Air Assault Troopers on Jump Status to wear bloused trousers with Corcoran Jump Boots in service dress uniform.
The new ASU with the bloused trousers and brown Corcoran's looks pretty badassed, and very reminiscent of the WWII service uniform, intentionally so. IMO, it's even been improved by the regulation permitting the wear of the beret with that uniform.
Tbh. Judging by the character Sobel he might've been struggling with map and orientating but his PT exercises and hard inspections along with Winters leadership gave Easy company higher chances to survive on the battlefield. Soldiers were fit better and had their weapon and equipment always serviced at the subconscious level
Devils in Baggy Pants was a title given to the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division, a title that the Devil Brigade still holds to this day.
No, it wasn't. It was given to the 504th during the Anzio Campaign and taken from a German officer's diary: "American parachutists...devils in baggy pants...are less than 100 meters from my outpost line. I can't sleep at night; they pop up from nowhere, and we never know when or how they will strike next. Seems like the black-hearted devils are everywhere."
The weapons were always held at port arms before, what was it 1990. Nobody, I mean Nobody, stood in formation or moved along in any manner with their weapons pointed at the ground for any length of time. It just wasn't done. You just kept your booger hook off the trigger.
My grandfather was in Easy companies sister company. He didn't talk much about the war but when he told stories i always listened. I grew up listening to stories about these same people and my grandfather even had the old first shirts brass knucks (aluminum with Pappy carved on them.). He was with them the whole way from D-Day to the Eagles nest. He even got a silver star for what they did in the trenches that day. And btw..that officer was an asshole. The story about the spaghetti and running up the mountain was 100% true. Also, i first heard about the concentration camp when I was 10. They had no clue what it was and when the docs took their food away it caused a riot among the GI's. I remember that story so vividly because it was the first and last time I ever saw that man cry. He never repeated it. That and the battle of the buldge he never talked much about.
When I was little boy my granddaddy took me to England 4 times to visit his war buddies. One was a former Brit paratrooper that spent 3 years in a German prison camp. He used to sit in the floor and play with toy soldiers with me and tell me about the prison camp. One day I was alone with his wife Linda and she said, "Brandon, that man loves you very much. I've been married to him for 50 years and he's never told me any of those stories. He is trusting you and confiding something very personal." What an amazing generation of hard but gentle men.
Dad got a Bronse Star at Remagen, ordered to stay after the war, , he spoke fluent Polish and reported the concentraion camp inmates stories. Meanest man that ever lived, shot up . Goverment body Guard, always silent.
The 'concentration' camp that they conveniently omit the fact had food delivered weeks before. But Allied strategic bombing of everything destroyed the roads and railways. You can find extant interviews with people who were at the camp. You don’t survive four years in a state of malnutrition like that. You don’t. That was all recent.
@tomtravis3077 Dad got the Bronze Star at Remagen he didn't come home after the war ended, he spoke fluent Polish and spent 2 years a interviewing inmates at a concentration camp, showed me photos the germane had taken, and the ones he took along with SS ITEMS FROM THOSE HE AND THE I MATES TOOK OF DEAD Germans. He only talked about it once and he thought all Germans should ( have written this before and tube blocked what he said). Needless to say, I believe you are a. Time never healed his hatred. He became the evil he saw, as retribution.
Yes I remember when I earned my beret my jump wings and was able to blouse my dress greens into my spit shine Paratrooper boots. I was standing tall and looking good. I love being a Paratrooper.
Tankers could of done the same with the black version with our dress uniform, it was done under a unit commander's discretion, which meant you couldn't do it.
@@jimblake3574 Officers, and I saw the tan version of them. I like GEN Patton's version (which I am going to get a custom made, $3k+ handmade leather as my dancing/court appearance boots). I just don't like that thin, top strap on the current, officer, tan version, but with Patton's, I'll keep the 2 top thick straps with the cover pad for the laces.
@@bigdaveo397 Just Google the term, it comes from the Battle of Monte Cassino where the British (oops) dubbed the German Paratroopers as the Green Devils.
It was a couple of paratroopers from the 504th PIR who found it in a German officer’s diary at the Battle of Anzio in early 1944 in Italy. He did refer to them as “American parachutists…Devils in baggy pants…” which he could be referring to the US Airborne in general, but it makes sense for the 504th to get the nickname since they found it in Anzio. The only other airborne units were Batteries A and B if the 456th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, C Company of the 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion, and the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion. My great grandfather was a paratrooper in the 509th in North Africa, either Battery C or D of the 456th PFAB of the 505th RCT of the 82nd Airborne Division in Sicily (the 456th was permanently assigned to the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment throughout the war), and the 101st in Normandy, Holland, Belgium, and Germany. He came home and passed in 2006. When I graduate HS I plan on joining the US Army and become a paratrooper.
Respect was likewise given to the Fallshirmjager for their incredible tenacity and fighting spirit against our forces, especially in Italy. The legendary Battle of Monte Cassino that lasted for months was fought largely against Fallshirmjager in the ruins of the abbey and they exacted a heavy price on the attacking Allied troops.
The baggy pants had more to do with the large cargo pockets, a uniform feather unique to American paratroopers pants. That gave them their baggy appearance, not the fact that they were bloused.😉
I talked to many german veterans and it was the hunger,lack of ammo,and relentless bombardments. It was never the dread for the enemy. And seeing most battles ended 3:1 on the loss ratio,one can claim your troops weren't feared.
As an ironworker,, 3rd generation , "connector",, was always taught to tuck jeans in my workbooks,, so the jeans 👖 dont get hung up on nelson studs while walking the iron ..
I used to be an Army ranger with the third battalion back in the 90s and when I fought in Somalia the Somalian skinnies used to call us the devils in black boots
Great video. Honestly i knew there was a an issue with how we did modern music when it took four of todays best to even get close to do a decent cover of "sing for the moment". Now i know why.
German soldiers were afraid of death, but not of any paratroopers. Only when US soldiers murdered German soldiers after surrender as revenge for Malmedy (never heard of court hearings against US soldiers or any other winner from the Allies)
Yes getting prepared to go well in advance is a very good idea. If you run into any snags you have time to take care of any issues. Have fun this weekend and drive safe. 😊
The airborne were the only branch that HAD boots you could do that with. Everyone else wore ankle high boots, often with canvas leggings over them up to the soldier's mid calf
Tucking was actually possible once M1944 shoepacs were introduced. There are many photos of "straight leg" infantry tucking their trousers into their shoepacs, especially in the winter since it's just more practical.
My father, 1st Sergeant Omar L. Edwards was a Paratrooper. He served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. After the Korean war he taught Jump School at Ft Benning Georgia. Screaming Eagles!!!!
Blousing rubbers are effing stupid. In combat nobody used blousing rubbers or ties. Just the ties on your pants and always over the top of the boot. That way when it's a 125degrees out you can reach down and pull the tie and unblouse your boot to help cool down.
Uh, Wait-a-minute ... all G.I.'s ticked end of their field/utility pant legs into top of boots (with leggings up to Korea). What marked the Airbourne Divisions differently is they were allowed to 'blouse' their dress greens into jumpboots, where as non-Airborne Divisions could not-with their dress greens.It was only the Dress Greens (and/or other dress uniforms of time) where there was a difference.
It has been said that Jump School is 3 weeks for a good good reason. The first week, they separate the men from the boys. The second week, they separate the men from the idiots. The third week, the idiots jump. BEFORE YOU COME AFTER ME IN THE COMMENTS, KNOW THIS! My father AND my husband were/are proud members of the 82D ABN. They both thought that joke was hilarious! 😂😂😂
Times have changed, when I was in the army from 1983 to 2003 I always bloused my bdus. There's actually two ways to do it, number one use blousing rubbers, number two took them into your boots. I always thought they looked better when you tucked them into your boots.
My Dad was 82nd ab and told me that when they saw young men in the states wwearing paratrooper boots as fashion they would take the boots away and make them go barefoot
The boots were Corcoran Jump Boots with a nice capped toe that takes a great spit polish until you can see yourself. The jump boots were taller than normal cheap ass army issued black leather combat boots. In non airborne units some commanders would only allow jump boots to he worn instead of regular combat boots if you're in an airborn unit ajd qualified airborne trained. Some units didnt care whether youre airborne or not to wear jump boots. I was a REMF officer and wore them because they took a great shine and looked sharp and wanted to set an example. Theyre also more supportive for your feet than cheap ass army issued boots with the cheap ass glued on rubber soles. The Corcoran jump boots had actual sewn on outer soles with a mid soles and inner soles.
The “Devils in Baggy Pants” name was not a term used for all Paratroopers, even though all Paratroopers from all units were fearsome combatants during WW2. The name was specific to Paratroopers of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment of 82nd Airborne Division. If you want to know the real history of the 504th PIR, go read Those Devils in Baggy Pants by Ross S. Carter, originally published in 1951. Carter was only one of three men out of his entire platoon to survive the war. That’s how hardcore the 504th was. They took more than 80% losses with no replenishment of personal and still accomplished ALL their mission objectives. That’s insane! Imagine you and your fellow troops are so determined, you accomplish all your mission goals with only 20% of your original men! I was a member of the 504th in 82nd from 1997 to 2000 and the book is required reading for anyone who gets assigned to the unit. Knowing the history of the 504th lets us know we have some pretty big shoes to fill when it comes to upholding the honor and traditions of our unit. Strike Hold!
First os technically false. In 42 when the paratroopers uniform was first issued, regular troops boots were ankle boots that dit not made it possible to blouse your trousers in, hence why they wore gaiters. But GIR troops who started to use paratroopers boots are soldiers who later used buckle boots, who were higher did blouse their pants. Though it took a couple monthe for regulation to catch on. TL;DR: paratroopers Were just the first to use high enough boots to blouse their trousers
Yeah, but the "devils in baggy pants" were specifically the 504 Parachute Infantry Regiment from the 82nd Airborne Division, not the 101st Airborne Division.
wow is that the evolution of the monkey prick?
ALL THE WAY!
Devils in faggy pants
Thank God someone said it- this AI made history is going to make this next generation even dumber than they already are.
@@TylerMcL3moreI do take slight offense to this because not all of us are that dumb. But the main comment taught me something new. I’m 19 about to be 20. Still young, I know.
Used to call scots soldiers devils in dresses too
The ladies from hell was another one
It was devils in kilts not dresses
And then those same Germans died.
Napoleon called the Highlanders at Waterloo
" those Amazones " !
British paras were referred to as “Red Devils” thanks to the Dark red berets that they would wear.
During Bastogne the ordered 101st to remove the Eagles patch of their shoulder so the German army wouldnt know they were fighting an elite unit
Honestly that would get me even more amped up knowing that the unit I'm in is so bad ass that we have to make sure the enemy doesn't know who we are at some point.
@@brianjones9780thats probably why they said that lol, realistically the germans aren’t looking at the patches while they’re getting shot at. But, it does make u feel badass thinking the enemy fears your unit that much
@@evil87911they wouldn’t see them while fighting them, however they would have seen them if they came across the body of one
@@evil87911 I mean kinda yeah but kinda no. When we landed on D-Day we knew exactly the names and numbers of each German battalion we were going to face and where they were likely at, what their combat experience likely was, etc. There are always surprises, and sometimes intel is wrong, but our intelligence was good enough our HQ officers knew at least, and they knew how to recognize them. And we had no guarantee that the Germans' intelligence was any worse, and so we may as well assume if they knew they were up against the 101st Airborne they'd hit twice as hard at those positions as they would otherwise.
So the issue isn't VolksGrenadier Hansel finding your insignia, it's if someone from his HQ is brought your buddy's coat from his dead body, and realizes strategically that the next time they attack you they *will* call reinforcement.
Take into account that when American soldiers spotted German Fallschirmjäger uniforms, they immediately knew they were up for a tough fight. If you see an SS insignia, that can also mean a tough one. Soldiers were taught in briefings what to look for, to know who exactly they are fighting. They'd even be taught insignia from noteworthy elite troops likely in their combat zone. It becomes a habit to examine an enemy casualty's uniform and see if you recognize anything of worthy intel. Any patch or medal is something to report. If you gain ground and have enemy bodies to search, living or dead, you search and look for anything you can gain from. If a German Wehrmacht officer was properly briefed and saw a screaming eagle on one of those uniforms, he'd likely say "Scheiße... es von die 101..." Sometimes you want the enemy to know who you are, as morale loss and retreat is what wins the majority of battles, but sometimes you hope they have not a single clue.
@@brianjones9780 Surprises LOL. The British 1st Airborne certainly weren't expecting to find the lion's share of the 9th and 10th SS Panzer divisions in Arnhem.
There was actually a scientific reason behind blousing and the specific boots they issued to paratroopers. The army learned early on that The standard issue canvas legging wraps and infantry boots would cause paratroopers to sprain/break their ankles because it wouldn't allow them to tuck and roll upon landing. They also learned that leaving their pants untucked was a hazard because their open pant legs would create drag further slowing their descent and also potentially getting caught on things like fence posts and tree branches.
Your boots being bloused or unbloused is not going to slow your descent down. I’ve seen plenty of dudes deploy their reserve chute (a lot more surface area than unbloused pants) when they didn’t need to, and if your main canopy is fully inflated the reserve just lays limp in front of you, or sometimes catches wind and pulls you like a sail. Unbloused pants aren’t slowing you down.
@@1IlIlII design and materials have changed a lot since the 1940's. Everything I said was based on the early days of the US Army's paratrooper program. Those were also the days when the Army thought the only way to give Airborne troops heavy equipment was via the use of gliders
@@bullpupgaming708 unless, how drag works has changed, the “drag” generated by your pants being open is not going to have a significant effect on your rate of descent.
We don't "tuck and roll." We perform PLFs- parachute landing falls.
Spent five years on jump status in the mid 70s to early 80s. More often than not jumped with standard “leg” issue boots. The paratrooper Corcoran jump boot was not an issue boot and had to be purchased by the soldier. They were not cheap for many young soldiers and generally were worn in garrison with a spit shined toe. Very few wanted to ruin a good pair of jump boots on a jump. So out came the std “leg” boot. The jump boots just did not provide any measurable benefit over the “leg” boot and actually had an sole and heel that could become very slippery on wet rocks and ground when worn in the field!
The "Devils in Baggy Pants," referred to the 504th Infantry Parachute Regiment of the 82d Airborne Division in Italy
My father CSM Raymond D Burbank, jumped with the Red Devils in the 1950s, 101st, and 82nd..also earned his German, and Vietnamese jump wings (served with the 10th, 7th, 5th, and 3rd SFs) He is interred at Ft Campbell, Kentucky Veterans Cemetery West (1936-2017).
💐🫡 My grandpa was part of the 82nd airborne as well. Wish he had told me more stories before he passed.
Mine was fallschirmjaecher
@@Peter-id5fb exactly, he trained with the best!
When did your father serve in the 508th? And what unit in the 101st did he serve in?
@@RWebster325 I know it was in the mid 50’s. He was stationed in Japan for a time, with the 508th, around 55’, 56….as far as units, I have no idea.
That's the nickname of the 504th of the 82nd. They earned the name in Sicily and Italy way before the 506th of the 101st entered the war.
I served with the 1/504
My older brother served with the 82nd 504th this was in the mid 80s early 90s..he had a T-shirt with the devil on it and his unit name. If you go to those towns that the Germans occupied..they made monuments…with these drawings of devils with parachutes on their backs
My step dad, Carl Robert Henton (Bob) served with the 504th during WWII. He made all their combat jumps. He was a communication specialist.
Red Devils baby! AATW
They earned? By who… this was a note in the diary of a single low ranked officer.
This nickname never existed among the lower ranks or the officers corps.
the 504th acquired the nickname "The Devils in Baggy Pants," taken from an entry found in the diary of a Wehrmacht officer killed at Anzio: It was not generally applied to US paratroops.
The airborne boots are to strengthen the ankle when the soldier hits the ground. Prevent sprain and breaks.
As a fighter of any kind, being called a ‘devil’ by your enemy is probably the highest compliment you could ever receive
I would be careful with such claims, though. Very often they are not given by an awestruck enemy but by a crafty propaganda man back home. Like the whole Marines "Devil Dogs" thing, which is absolutely no german invention
@@535phobos That goes without saying since the Marines were fighting the Japs, not the Germans. The handful of Marines actually stationed in Europe during WWII were pretty much all fulfilling defensive roles, they weren't out on the front lines.
There was another unit composed of Americans and Canadians, basically commandos, performing night raids on German positions, leaving one of their red-arrow shoulder patches on the scene, with a message in German saying "The worst is yet to come."
These men were called Black Devils because they'd use shoe polish to blacken their faces for night raids.
Germans feared them like hell.
the allies did the same. they called german parachute elite units "green devils"
Evertything was devil back then in one shape or another, the Waffen SS as a whole even referred to themselves as devils
That was my unit, 504th PIR "Devils in baggy pants", found in a German officers diary when they faced the 504th, 82nd ABN.
Mine too
Thank you for your service. I’m also a past member of 504th PIR. Strike Hold!
My dad was with the 504th from the beginning until the end as a mortar squad leader.
@@leroyjenkins4811 3/4 ADA here!
Interesting. Is this diary in original language openly accessible? I've heard this so many times, but never seen an actual reference to this term. In all the original diaries, battle reports and personal stories of German soldiers I read, this “devil/Teufel” term does not appear once. There is always talk of amerikanische Fallschirmjäger, alliierte Luftlandtruppen, or now and then Einzelkämpfer or Spezialtruppen... Somehow I have the feeling that it is made up... Grüne Teufel (Green Devils) wasn't even used by the German paratroopers for themselves ...
And the British Paras, 'The Red Devils' because of their beret.
It’s a name they gave themselves. My Grandfather served in the 9th SS Panzerdivision.. they were refitting from the eastern front in Arnheim .. when that Market Garden Operation was happening.. they called them just Tommies .. they had no nicknames for paratroopers.. especially in Combat.. there was no red beret to be seen at the frontline.
@MettPitt
Incorrect. British Airborne were given the nickname Red Devils by German troops in North Africa. German paratroopers nicknamed them Die Roten Teufel and their maroon berets were often worn in action, including at Arnhem.
@MettPitt
You are also incorrect about 9th SS refitting from the Eastern Front in Arnhem. 9th SS had just retreated from Normandy against British forces. 9th SS had been mostly destroyed there in Normandy and had lost nearly all of its tanks.
First of all, it's Maroon, second, did they though? I don't believe any of these nicknames... They are more than likely taken from the half remembered stories in the memoirs of the holders of the nickname, and more likely than not given to themselves.
@@lyndoncmp5751 The British Army website on the Tunisia campaign and the paras, don't mention the beret First of all they were unlikely to be wearing it in sight of the enemy, secondly, they claim it was the tail of the denison jacket covered in red soil... Not sure I believe that either.
The boots were called jump boots. The blousing of the pants is now required service wide.
Blousing is NOT tucking your trousers in to your boots. The trousers are "bloused" by folding them to the inside and securing with a "blousing strap" - an elastic or string on the inside that holds the trouser leg from the inside over the top of the boot.
Proper military dress does not tuck the trouser in the boot.
Ever.
You've obviously never been a light fighter in the jungle or other areas of extremely thick foliage. Blousing straps do fuck all to prevent shit from crawling up your leg under your trousers. You blouse your trousers into your boots to keep Sammy, Spidey, and all their friends out. Like virtually everything, it's METT-TC dependent.
yes -- elastic mini-bungee cables with a hook on each end
Was just thinking, Australian Army blouses their pants. We got done over so often if they weren't sorted some of us resorted to tucking the bottom of the legs under and over our bootlaces if we didn't have the cord available.
Was also so frowned upon cause it was something that had to be earned. I wasn't airborne but I've heard some stories.
How certain are you of this? I was in the Marine Corps from 06-10 and yeah that’s how we did it but during WW2 in war conditions you think they had a surplus of bungee cords to look pretty? Common man.
In the Coast Guard it was acceptable to wear a small gold earring if you had been marooned or had a ship sink out from under you. There were LORAN stations that were isolated duty and even before that, ocean stations were also isolated. I got my ring on Iwo Jima and then had it torn out in a cave diving mishap.
According to tradition, the ring was supposed to be worn on the ear opposite your strongest eye.
What does marooned mean exactly?
@@corneliusbluhm387 Taken off a ship and left on a vacant island. Robinson Caruso was marooned. Some pirates considered it worse than death.
@@randmayfield5695In those days, with much less sea traffic, it usually would be a death sentence. Long and slow.....
The whole thing comes from a very old need for it, it was to pay for your funeral when you died or were found dead.
Hence why olden sailors and pirates are depicted with gold earrings, rings and or wrist bands.
Now adays it's more of a tradition than anything else.
Also quite possibly why pirates are usually depicted as hunting for treasure instead of the reality of regular trade goods.
@@John.McMillan I don't think so.
It was the 504th Regiment, not all paratroopers, that were known as the "Devils in Baggy Pants." Ask me how I know.
Would it be from reading the other hundred comments saying the same thing? 😉
The nickname was given to the 504th regiment of the 82nd Airborne from actions in Sicily and Italy. But I think it had more to do with their pants than blousing their boots.
Good job making the correction! History is important.
@@rgr1292 I agree . For more information on the 504th PIR you may wish to read the book "Those Devils in Baggy Pants" by Ross Carter. It's a good read. BTW I was in the 2ne Bn. 504th PIR back in the early 70s and this book was a must read for all newbies.
AATW
@@maxwill6408
1/504PIR, late 90s here, Strike Hold!
I don't understand why these channels keep focusing on the blousing when the whole US armed forces had been blousing their pants since the 1890's they just didn't wear the jump boots
Peaking the garrison cap was the other distinguishing uniform feature paratroopers of WWII did. Current Army regulations found in AR670-10 allows Airborne and Air Assault Troopers on Jump Status to wear bloused trousers with Corcoran Jump Boots in service dress uniform.
I have a pair of those corcoran jump boots they look sharp as hell
What is AR 670-10? I know what AR 670-1 is.
The new ASU with the bloused trousers and brown Corcoran's looks pretty badassed, and very reminiscent of the WWII service uniform, intentionally so. IMO, it's even been improved by the regulation permitting the wear of the beret with that uniform.
Non paratroopers are known as LEGS, for their straight LEG trouser.
Thank You! Ya know how many times I've had to explain the leg had nothing to do with walking
I always thought it was because they walk everywhere . I was in the 82nd . I’ll have to do some research on this .
I heard low energy ground Soldier. I was also 82nd, but in the aviation unit. Never got my jump wings.
low energy ground Soldier is a backronym
The Germans also feared them by saying Beware Of The Chicken Man because the eagle patch looks like a Chicken.
I guess this came from the NVA during the Vietnam war
@@grease8922I have always heard that the 101st were called "the chicken men" in Vietnam.
@@user-vl8qw8hp1g Yes, that was what I was saying :)
Tbh. Judging by the character Sobel he might've been struggling with map and orientating but his PT exercises and hard inspections along with Winters leadership gave Easy company higher chances to survive on the battlefield. Soldiers were fit better and had their weapon and equipment always serviced at the subconscious level
I think some soldiers credit sobel with exactly that
@@bishopm4401 Winters certainly did.
The 101st set up a jump school in England to train more paratroopers. Sobel was transferred from Easy Company to run that school.
Devils in baggy pants. Haha! I still salute them. They're the coolest guys ever.
Devils in Baggy Pants was a title given to the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division, a title that the Devil Brigade still holds to this day.
Yup!!!
Who came up with the title? The short says, the Germans titled them? Not sure there was a German word for baggy pants in the 40s...
No, it wasn't. It was given to the 504th during the Anzio Campaign and taken from a German officer's diary: "American parachutists...devils in baggy pants...are less than 100 meters from my outpost line. I can't sleep at night; they pop up from nowhere, and we never know when or how they will strike next. Seems like the black-hearted devils are everywhere."
@@nalukeko I don’t recall the name of the general, but it was in a captured journal.
@@The_Black_Falchion thanks! So a US General right?
This legend was created by an American paratrooper for a book published after the war. Most often, Americans were called "Amis" or "Tommy's"
they called them devils because devils are the enemy..
YIKES! I just noticed the barrel of that rifle pointing straight at the head, of the person next to him.
Eerie.. And wait till the combat training scene when Sobel pointed 3 of his men.. using his sidearm!
Everytime I watch the series I cringe at that part
Yup that caught my eye also! He just flagged that guys face! Dangerous.
I just saw that too. I sort of think that Dale Dye would never allow that to happen, and it may have been an optical illusion....
The weapons were always held at port arms before, what was it 1990. Nobody, I mean Nobody, stood in formation or moved along in any manner with their weapons pointed at the ground for any length of time. It just wasn't done. You just kept your booger hook off the trigger.
All troops bloused their trousers in the field. Only the AB could blouse them when wearing their class A uniform.
Not at that time, they were not even issued boots tall enough to be bloused. Regular infantry wore short ankle-height boots worn with gaiters.
@@jarvy251 Correct and the trousers were bloused inside of the leggings when in the field.
My grandfather was in Easy companies sister company. He didn't talk much about the war but when he told stories i always listened. I grew up listening to stories about these same people and my grandfather even had the old first shirts brass knucks (aluminum with Pappy carved on them.). He was with them the whole way from D-Day to the Eagles nest. He even got a silver star for what they did in the trenches that day. And btw..that officer was an asshole. The story about the spaghetti and running up the mountain was 100% true. Also, i first heard about the concentration camp when I was 10. They had no clue what it was and when the docs took their food away it caused a riot among the GI's. I remember that story so vividly because it was the first and last time I ever saw that man cry. He never repeated it. That and the battle of the buldge he never talked much about.
When I was little boy my granddaddy took me to England 4 times to visit his war buddies. One was a former Brit paratrooper that spent 3 years in a German prison camp. He used to sit in the floor and play with toy soldiers with me and tell me about the prison camp. One day I was alone with his wife Linda and she said, "Brandon, that man loves you very much. I've been married to him for 50 years and he's never told me any of those stories. He is trusting you and confiding something very personal." What an amazing generation of hard but gentle men.
...what an honor & a privilege....
Dad got a Bronse Star at Remagen, ordered to stay after the war, , he spoke fluent Polish and reported the concentraion camp inmates stories. Meanest man that ever lived, shot up . Goverment body Guard, always silent.
The 'concentration' camp that they conveniently omit the fact had food delivered weeks before. But Allied strategic bombing of everything destroyed the roads and railways. You can find extant interviews with people who were at the camp. You don’t survive four years in a state of malnutrition like that. You don’t. That was all recent.
@tomtravis3077 Dad got the Bronze Star at Remagen he didn't come home after the war ended, he spoke fluent Polish and spent 2 years a interviewing inmates at a concentration camp, showed me photos the germane had taken, and the ones he took along with SS ITEMS FROM THOSE HE AND THE I MATES TOOK OF DEAD Germans. He only talked about it once and he thought all Germans should ( have written this before and tube blocked what he said). Needless to say, I believe you are a. Time never healed his hatred. He became the evil he saw, as retribution.
To this day (well, I think. I've been out for 20+ years now, so things could have changed), only Airborne units are allowed to blouse their Class As
Yes I remember when I earned my beret my jump wings and was able to blouse my dress greens into my spit shine Paratrooper boots. I was standing tall and looking good. I love being a Paratrooper.
Looking like a soldier should!
THE DEVILS IN BAGGY PANTS WERE CALLED FOR THE 504TH PIR Brigade 82nd Airborne Div.
“Dust on your jump wings? How do you expect to slay the Huns with dusty jump wings?”
"Baggy pants" refers to the cargo pockets. GIs called their cargo-pocketed utility trousers "baggies". Because of the big pockets.
Tankers could of done the same with the black version with our dress uniform, it was done under a unit commander's discretion, which meant you couldn't do it.
Could "of"? Seriously? Do you also say "I of an idea" or "we of been"? 🙄
My dad was a tanker & he said some of them liked to wear cavalry boots which were sorta similar.
@@jimblake3574 Officers, and I saw the tan version of them. I like GEN Patton's version (which I am going to get a custom made, $3k+ handmade leather as my dancing/court appearance boots). I just don't like that thin, top strap on the current, officer, tan version, but with Patton's, I'll keep the 2 top thick straps with the cover pad for the laces.
"The "Devils in baggy pants" were members of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 82nd Airborne Division.
I know the Germans called the 82nd Airborne 504th PIR Those Devils In Baggy Pants !!!!
Mist be a common theme. The British Paratroopers were nicknamed the red devils by the Germans
And German paratroopers were nicknamed Green Devils by the Allies 💁🏼♂️
@kallemickelborg the British had nicknames for the Germans agreed. But it certainly wasn't that 😅
@@bigdaveo397 Just Google the term, it comes from the Battle of Monte Cassino where the British (oops) dubbed the German Paratroopers as the Green Devils.
The NS-Wochenschau said the nickname was given by the US troops at the Battle of Monte Cassino
It was a couple of paratroopers from the 504th PIR who found it in a German officer’s diary at the Battle of Anzio in early 1944 in Italy. He did refer to them as “American parachutists…Devils in baggy pants…” which he could be referring to the US Airborne in general, but it makes sense for the 504th to get the nickname since they found it in Anzio. The only other airborne units were Batteries A and B if the 456th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, C Company of the 307th Airborne Engineer Battalion, and the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion. My great grandfather was a paratrooper in the 509th in North Africa, either Battery C or D of the 456th PFAB of the 505th RCT of the 82nd Airborne Division in Sicily (the 456th was permanently assigned to the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment throughout the war), and the 101st in Normandy, Holland, Belgium, and Germany. He came home and passed in 2006. When I graduate HS I plan on joining the US Army and become a paratrooper.
When I was in the Army we were required to blouse our pants.
while still an active duty
Marine,we also bloused our trousers,not pants.
The paternal grandparents were AMAZING for helping the ex-DIL and she was very good to them. Beautiful relationship.
I never was a fan of David Schwimmer. But he was fantastic as Sobel.
In WWII the best of the Paratrooper boots were made by Corcoran and they are still made to this day.
Respect was likewise given to the Fallshirmjager for their incredible tenacity and fighting spirit against our forces, especially in Italy. The legendary Battle of Monte Cassino that lasted for months was fought largely against Fallshirmjager in the ruins of the abbey and they exacted a heavy price on the attacking Allied troops.
thats why they called the german elite parachute units "green devils", so devils as well.
In brazilian special forces is also unsual to salute superior offices
"Get a load of this guy!!!!"
We still do the boot thing till this day and wear wings and only different is we wear a maroon beret
In the first few seconds of this clip: the slant of the breast pockets and the way they "tie" the knees of their trousers just looks so good 🤌.
The baggy pants had more to do with the large cargo pockets, a uniform feather unique to American paratroopers pants. That gave them their baggy appearance, not the fact that they were bloused.😉
Thank you! Apparently you and I are the only ones who know this.
The combat uniform worn by German Paratroopers, or "Fallschirmjager" was known to German troops as "bone bags".
I talked to many german veterans and it was the hunger,lack of ammo,and relentless bombardments. It was never the dread for the enemy. And seeing most battles ended 3:1 on the loss ratio,one can claim your troops weren't feared.
As an ironworker,, 3rd generation , "connector",, was always taught to tuck jeans in my workbooks,, so the jeans 👖 dont get hung up on nelson studs while walking the iron ..
I used to be an Army ranger with the third battalion back in the 90s and when I fought in Somalia the Somalian skinnies used to call us the devils in black boots
Great video. Honestly i knew there was a an issue with how we did modern music when it took four of todays best to even get close to do a decent cover of "sing for the moment". Now i know why.
German soldiers were afraid of death, but not of any paratroopers. Only when US soldiers murdered German soldiers after surrender as revenge for Malmedy (never heard of court hearings against US soldiers or any other winner from the Allies)
Yes getting prepared to go well in advance is a very good idea. If you run into any snags you have time to take care of any issues. Have fun this weekend and drive safe. 😊
The airborne were the only branch that HAD boots you could do that with. Everyone else wore ankle high boots, often with canvas leggings over them up to the soldier's mid calf
Tucking was actually possible once M1944 shoepacs were introduced. There are many photos of "straight leg" infantry tucking their trousers into their shoepacs, especially in the winter since it's just more practical.
Pansies in Baggy Pants was what an elderly German gentleman used to call them.
I wonder what the enemy would say now... having embarrassed DEI 🤔 - probably think what a bunch of idiots.
I met a man who was an American Paratrooper in WWII. He survived D Day.
The paratroopers had to fight like hell because they didn’t have a safe way to retreat when they first landed
When I was a paratrooper back mid 80 s. The Honduran army thought we were all criminals, murderers and rapist lol
They weren't too far off from wrong😂
Did you and your comrades do a little pillaging and plundering? 😅
I was there in 77 /80 I trained many troops from Honduras, El Salvador and other nations. They never mentioned such a thing.
Didn't know that Ross Geller served in WW2
That FRIENDS GEEK should have stuck to sitcoms.
I’m convinced we wouldn’t have won without these guys.
My father, 1st Sergeant Omar L. Edwards was a Paratrooper. He served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam.
After the Korean war he taught Jump School at Ft Benning Georgia.
Screaming Eagles!!!!
always cracks me up seeing Ross trying to be this hard nose sergeant type
My Uncle Archibald Tyler jumped from Gliders during WWll. His brother also part of the greatest generation.
Thanks for that! Ive watched BOB dozens of times and never knew what blousing referred to.
David Schwimmer - solid actor of many parts
In my time in the military, we bloused our boots with blousing rubbers. They leave a permanent crease on your calf.
Blousing rubbers are effing stupid. In combat nobody used blousing rubbers or ties. Just the ties on your pants and always over the top of the boot. That way when it's a 125degrees out you can reach down and pull the tie and unblouse your boot to help cool down.
I had no idea Ross could be that tough.
As far as I know only the paratroopers wore calf length boots. Everyone else wore ankle boots and canvas leggings.
IF Sobel Tried That In Combat,
He'd Be Fragged.
so he would get fragged for doing what most drill sergeants do? (yes i know he's not a drill sergeant but you get what i mean)
German paratroopers were called the green devils by the allies because of their green outfit.
Schwimer was magnificent in that role
Another reason for the tall boot was to reduce the risk of ankle breakage upon landing.
Uh, Wait-a-minute ... all G.I.'s ticked end of their field/utility pant legs into top of boots (with leggings up to Korea). What marked the Airbourne Divisions differently is they were allowed to 'blouse' their dress greens into jumpboots, where as non-Airborne Divisions could not-with their dress greens.It was only the Dress Greens (and/or other dress uniforms of time) where there was a difference.
Thank you GOD for making me a proud PARATROOPER!!!!!!!
Cochrans , i still have mine , i wore until 86
The Most Elite Unit In WW2 Was The First Special Forces Known To Germans As
"The Devils Brigade."
(See Their Story On Movie 🍿🎥 By Same Name).
Well if i jumped out of plane at 8 to 10 k feet i would like my pants to be tucked in to my boots for various reasons sir
In 2008 when I went through airborne school, we were being dropped from 1250 feet. I was surprised it wasn't several thousand feet, as well.
@@billwhite9886 oh dammit your right it was something like 800 ft 8 k was just to avoid flak
The First Special Service Force also known as the devils brigade tucked their pants in their boots.
anybody who jumps out of planes will be feared of having a screw or two loose;
It has been said that Jump School is 3 weeks for a good good reason. The first week, they separate the men from the boys. The second week, they separate the men from the idiots. The third week, the idiots jump.
BEFORE YOU COME AFTER ME IN THE COMMENTS, KNOW THIS! My father AND my husband were/are proud members of the 82D ABN. They both thought that joke was hilarious! 😂😂😂
what does that have to do with what most of the other services think of the insanity in jumping out of a perfectly good airplane?
Times have changed, when I was in the army from 1983 to 2003 I always bloused my bdus. There's actually two ways to do it, number one use blousing rubbers, number two took them into your boots. I always thought they looked better when you tucked them into your boots.
There's always a sh!third like Sobel in every unit. I won't name our Sobel. lolol
Very true! But the German soldier uniforms in comparison... OMG the difference!
One of my grandfather's was in the Army air core and was a paratrooper he jumped in France
My Dad was 82nd ab and told me that when they saw young men in the states wwearing paratrooper boots as fashion they would take the boots away and make them go barefoot
Aww yes, classic theft.
Wow, what an honour to tuck pants into boots😂
Good thing that Germans were fluent in Englisch to give the paratroopers that catchy name.
These “used to call” claims are invariably BS.
Do our troops have complimentary names for their enemies? Never heard one when I served.
The boots were Corcoran Jump Boots with a nice capped toe that takes a great spit polish until you can see yourself. The jump boots were taller than normal cheap ass army issued black leather combat boots. In non airborne units some commanders would only allow jump boots to he worn instead of regular combat boots if you're in an airborn unit ajd qualified airborne trained. Some units didnt care whether youre airborne or not to wear jump boots. I was a REMF officer and wore them because they took a great shine and looked sharp and wanted to set an example. Theyre also more supportive for your feet than cheap ass army issued boots with the cheap ass glued on rubber soles. The Corcoran jump boots had actual sewn on outer soles with a mid soles and inner soles.
We were rocking the boot bands in the 90’s
My husband wore his uniform pants bloused. He was in Army-- helicopters and engineers. I thought bloused pants looked spiffy.
I did not know that they called them that and that is one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard
They didn't. It's just another war myth. Americans supposedly found that in a diary and ran with it, but its not documented at large.
Schwimmer was a real A Hole in that movie.
They can fly, friend. Don’t you ever stop believing, they can fly.
When the Germans are giving you nicknames, you know you have made it as soldiers.
The “Devils in Baggy Pants” name was not a term used for all Paratroopers, even though all Paratroopers from all units were fearsome combatants during WW2. The name was specific to Paratroopers of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment of 82nd Airborne Division. If you want to know the real history of the 504th PIR, go read Those Devils in Baggy Pants by Ross S. Carter, originally published in 1951. Carter was only one of three men out of his entire platoon to survive the war. That’s how hardcore the 504th was. They took more than 80% losses with no replenishment of personal and still accomplished ALL their mission objectives. That’s insane! Imagine you and your fellow troops are so determined, you accomplish all your mission goals with only 20% of your original men!
I was a member of the 504th in 82nd from 1997 to 2000 and the book is required reading for anyone who gets assigned to the unit. Knowing the history of the 504th lets us know we have some pretty big shoes to fill when it comes to upholding the honor and traditions of our unit. Strike Hold!
First os technically false. In 42 when the paratroopers uniform was first issued, regular troops boots were ankle boots that dit not made it possible to blouse your trousers in, hence why they wore gaiters.
But GIR troops who started to use paratroopers boots are soldiers who later used buckle boots, who were higher did blouse their pants. Though it took a couple monthe for regulation to catch on.
TL;DR: paratroopers Were just the first to use high enough boots to blouse their trousers