The 3 Most Dependable & IMPACTFUL Non-Major Allied Powers of WW2 that Casuals Forget About
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 22. 05. 2024
- In this episode of The Front, we discuss the most impactful non-major Allied forces in World War II: Greece, Mexico, and Brazil.
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Narrator - Cam
Editors - Kshitiz, Shantanu koli
Writer - Isabella
Researcher - Daniel
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Chapters
0:00 Introduction
1:01 Greece
4:23 Mexico
6:45 Brazil
9:40 Conclusion
Greece is probably the most underrated WW2 participant. Given what it had, and compared to the far larger Italian population, army, industry and overall capacities, their victories for a year are nothing short of heroic. The sheer might of the Greeks cannot be understated.
Great video! It also should be mentioned that the Brazilians were the only allies (besides of the 3 big) to capture an entire Germam Division: the 148th Infantry Div. in Northern Italy Apr 1945
Many people say that Greece saved us from ww2 because made big damage to the Axis (having the first allied victory in the second world war) and took too much time to take Greece plus
@@ferred3056 Greece stalled the germans troops and was one of the countries which resisted the most days against the enemies. Also many people believe that the stalling of german army led to their defeat in russia.Because winter had already come by then
I think Greece BY FAR!
Metaxas is not just an important leader for Greece.
He is definitely in the 5 most important persons of the twentieth century (where this century had produced huge personalities")
Because without him the story of THE PLANET would be different.
If it wasn't for Metaxas and he hadn't made the right predictions for the future, he wouldn't have entered the process of equipping and "fortifying" the Greece.
Because of this initiative he managed to defeat the Italians.
(Unless another leader could surrender to the then mighty Italy)
In this case if they had been delivered to Italy or even not delivered, if it had not been equipped and and they are surprised in a war that he did not expect, the result would be that Italy would literally march on Greece. Then they would go up to the Balkans (which really it was a walk) and together with Germany they would have hit Russia months earlier and they would have found Russia unprepared and it wouldn't have been winter either. While with Metaxas (Greece) the Germans were forced to go down south to make war on Greece, so Russia took him time to equip herself, plus a powerful force (Italy that could have helped them was rendered useless)
Metaxas changed this war! That is why he is one of the most important figures of the twentieth century.
@@rixter69 exactly! Long Live the one and undivided Greece! (Metaxas Quote đ)
As a half Greek half Mexican i couldn't feel more proud
đ€ź mexican
Half greek half South African feel the same
Woahhh you are too? Haha nice
Iâm half Italian and half German. I respect the Greeks, Yugoslavs, Poles, and French the most. They where the only nations that had significant resistants after the occupation, you should be proud of your Greek blood, by far the most competent Mediterranean power of the war.
@camopiano3885 thank you Brother
Una Faca una raca
âUntil now we used to say that the Greeks fight like heroes. Now we shall say: Heroes fight like Greeks.â Winston Churchil
czcams.com/video/Vh7ExaoH4F4/video.html
Nice rallying cry by Churchill but the main resistance were the communists and the Macedonian partisans that hated the Bulgarian occupation first and foremost and the metaxas Fascist government in close second
Now they said "We dont care neither for the Heroes Neither for the Greeks"
â@@boredhi3454đŠđŠ
@@user-hc3rz8eu7g im an Orthodox Patriotic Greek
I said that because to be honest nobody cares about us and blame us for the Crisis
I'd heard of major contributions from the Greeks, but I hadn't realized how much of a difference Mexico and Brazil had made during the war.
Same man, specifically Mexico. No one ever taught us about Mexico in WW2 and it kinda pisses me off. They deserve far more credit really any allied nation not just the big 3
Also the Brazero program, with over 150,000 workers from Mexico that went to work legally to the US in the 1942-1945 pweiod
Mexico had a connection with Prussia and then Germany in the Great War⊠which was a big concern for America.
Why? The French invasion at Mexico during the mid 1800âs was stopped when Napoleon III removed all French troops as a new European power was rising: Prusia
That helped Mexico took down the good yet imposed Austrian emperor Maximilian. The rest is history.
England is not the special ally of America, not even weak Canada.
Itâs Mexico: economically alone, but food and manufacturing⊠shame so many problems hurt that nation, and so much bigotry from everywhere else
Mexicanos have always been great warriors (when the fight was fair)
@@RebeccaCampbell1969 thereâs a lot more to it than that but in terms of trade the US still does more business with Canada. Iâd argue that NAFTA was one of the things that made Mexican manufacturing what it is now. Companies like Ford,Chevy,and GM all moved into Mexico for cheap labor at the detriment of US cities. The US is the largest exporter of food which is great but doesnât bring in as much as manufacturing.
As far as the historical aspects to what your saying there was a lot more happening than just Prussia ârisingâ which caused Napoleon III to pull french troops out.
As a Greek I salute your effort to bring to light the role "non-major" allies during WWII.
đđŹđ·
As a half German, half Italian, my respect for the Greek people is enormous, the Greeks fought tooth and nail against the 2 massive war machines. Respect đ
Italians in Albania: Weâre invading Greece!
Greece: Uno Reverse Card!
The Greeks were so bold that stole some Italian tanks and used them against the invaders. From what I have read it one of Greece's first mechanized attacks during WW2.
@@lastswordfighter Greece FOUGHT the British who were trying to stop the Nazi Invasion of Greece after the Italians failed. Q Whose side was Greece on, NOT the Allies!
@@trevorhart545 100% bulldrops
@@trevorhart545 what do you mean? When the Germans attacked, we regrouped in the middle east. The British even gave us hurricane fighters and training in the Habbanya air base in Iraq, we fought in el alamein, tobruk, anzio and Rimini under British command. Only some communists tried to keep some ships out of the war, but they were stopped by the Greek army and prince Paul. The same communist party, then illegal, also started a civil war after ww2. They were traitors and certainly not "Greece". Communists have no nations.
â@@trevorhart545 not sure what history you're reading! Completely wrong
Of the three, I would argue that Greece was possibly the most critical as not only did it bog down the Italians, but it also forced the Germans to further split their focus. If Germany could have had decision making control over Italy and avoided conflict with the Balkans and North Africa altogether, it makes a person wonder just how drastically different the outcome could have been.
Also gave time for the greeks gov to leave along with their gold to Egypt. The blitzkrieg in BE NL etc was so fast that all their gold was instrumental with the vital help of the Swiss, to arm the Germans. Swiss banks got a slap on the hand for that in 1960's!. OK it's a small nation near germany, but the need not help german economy throuout the war, and the fugitive war criminals after the war. Most shamefull nation during WW2. If germany did not get the north european gold, the economy would have collapsed. German also got a loan fron occupied Greece, payed a few repayments under english law, but has not repaid anything to this day (around 5 billion âŹ). On the contrary germany was instrumental to the needless and punitive financial retributions that EU recently exercised towards Greece (2015 in particular). Book "Adults in the Room" G. Varoufakis has lots more on that.
And delayed invasion of USSR
â@@nickstone3113 Correct.
They would have started the Russian invasion a lot earlier, thus having an easier time since it wouldn't have been winter
greece was the main rison why germany was week at the soviet union greece destroyed them and make them go to ussr late and this is why they went to ussr winter
As a Greek i have to say that we do not celebrate the victories or days of liberation. We celebrate the days we joined the war and days we did not surrender. Thank you for mentioning the bravery of Greeks.
Greece was the one that first showed the AXIS WAS NOT UNBEATABLE đŹđ·
exactly my friend. good point
I'm a Greek Cypriot from the island of Cyprus... my country doesn't get much recognition for fighting in the war, I think it's mainly because we fought among British ranks... my grandfather fought in the battle of greece, in the battle of crete(where he saw people kill paratroopers with their bear hands) and the battle of el alamein in egypt.... he fought along side Greek,British and Anzac troops. I remember when I was little and he used to tell me stories of what he went through.
you dont get to hear so much for the island of Cyprus, cause cypriots are considered to be part of the Hellenic world brother.
@ÎÎčÎșÎżÏ ÎÎ±ÎŒÎ·Î»ÎżÏ ÎŽÎ·Ï Yes I know.....I didn't mean recognition from Greece, Greece recognised the sacrifice of the Greek Cypriots.....I meant that countries like the UK even though we fought amongst them they still choose not to recongize that sacrifice....Cyprus gave 30.000 men to fight, some were sent to the western front, some were sent to italy, some in Greece and some in Africa.......I hope this cleared things up. Much love to my greek brothers and sisters.đŹđ·đšđŸđŹđ·
@@mutdfil7485 Don't expect Britain's recognition. How they will then justify the fact that they didn't respect the right of autodiathesis of the Cypriot people?
@Andreas demetriou honestly my friend I don't.... my grandfather only went to help Greece in ww2. He went on to fight against the British and TMT troops (he was a member of EOKA and fought for ENOSIS). After that, when the invasion happened... They still, to this day, do not acknowledge that the majority of fault was theirs and also all the atrocities that they inflicted on innocent people during their occupation are also still not acknowledged. So even to this day, their considered to be "good." But honestly, their government is just as bad as the German one during ww2.
â@@mutdfil7485 we gave 44.000 thousend men
Itâs amazing the number of leaders or generals that came out and commented on Greek valor and determination. President Roosevelt; Winston Churchill; Stalin; General Zhukov; even Adolph Hitler praising an adversary. Very historic.
"For the sake of historical truth I must verify that only the Greeks, of all the adversaries who confronted us, fought with bold courage and highest disregard of death."
-Adolph Hitler (From a speech he gave at the Reichstag, 4 May 1941) after his previously unbeaten storm troopers suffered tremendous casualties in their battle for Greece.
As an American of Mexican descent I had never heard of the Aztec Eagles and Mexicos contributions to the war. Now I have another reason to be proud of my heritage. Thank you.
Oh yeah don't forget about the thousands of Mexican Americans that's served during the war and all the other wars after that. đ
@h1mb and Mexico provided raw materials to the US, relief for the US workforce, and around 15,000 Mexican nationals volunteered for the US military *
No talk about the 300k plus Mexican Americans fighting in the war
No talk about the 300k plus Mexican Americans fighting in the war
@@h1mb904 30 pilots, 270 support personnel just in the pacific theater. 350 thousand Mexican American troops participated in the Pacific as well as the European theater and were part of all military branches; US Navy, Marines and Army. Of which 13 were medal of honor recipients. They fought not only against the Japanese, but also against the Germans in Normandy and the Italians on the beaches of Italy. E company of the 141st Infantry Division was entirely comprised of Mexicans. Don't be ignorant and do some research before you embarrass yourself on the internet.
Brazil for sure! I knew about Greece, as they were attacked by the Italians and the Germans. It didn't surprise me that the Mexicans joined with the Americans fighting for the liberation of the Philippines, given that the Philippines had been governed previously from Nova Espana (Mexico City). I only had an slight idea that Brazil was involved in World War Two because a Brazilian battleship, Rio de Janeiro, was recently added to World of Warships. Those Smoking Snakes sure must have been tough guys!
I had the pleasure to speak with a few of them in my local WW2 museum.
One of those lost his brother in the battle for Monte Castelo. They were advancing in the snow, when a casemate window opened a few meters ahead, he charged the flank while others layed suppressing fire. Only after the attack, he found his brother dead cut in half by an mg42
Brazil⊠who cares then!
Today, it is returning to become the real economic power the world needs. If only the Brazilian citizens donât get fooled by Marxist nonsense⊠if only.
But yeah, Brazil fought well back then.
@@Mrscoutification Such brave people!
@@RebeccaCampbell1969 Let's hope that happens!
Brazilian troops fought valiantly in Italy, especially at Monte Cassino.
The brazilian airforce, the Senta Pua were very efficient in the war flying twice the missions other western allied forces flew.
WHERE did they fly? Around the Amazon? TRIPE!
@@trevorhart545 France and Italy.
On another note, I do not understand the snide comment, I thought that all the efforts in the war were important and should be respected, and yes the Brazilian pilots did an outstanding job when asked to serve.
There is a documentary on it if you want.
@@trevorhart545 shut up i dont know nothing Brazilians expelled the Nazis from northern Italy
in Italy they have a few places to honor the Brazilian, still today czcams.com/video/uNxDEW_uYg8/video.html
@@trevorhart545cope
Brazilians: *are mentioned in any non-Portuguese video*
Brazilians: "Ă NOIS, PORRA!!!"
esse meme jĂĄ ficou saturado
Infelizmente ficou
â@@NetunoYoshitosaturado Ă© o tanto que eu enfiei minha... Esquece
I'd have to give the nod to Greece for being the most impactful, especially for tying down so many Axis forces, but the Mexican and Brazilian contributions were indeed significant. Thanks for this video, people need to know who stood up to be counted in the war against the Axis powers.
I was practically raised by Brazilians remember them telling me about how Brazil did help out the Allies quite a lot during the war. One of my Brazilian brothers told me about how he was drafted into the Brazilian Army and they were still being issued rifles left over from that war lol.
He was probably issued the Mq M968 MosqueFAL, a bolt action rifle that was based on the Mauser Kar98k. They are just for training and not really meant to be fired, as all the weaponry left from WW2 is not in use anymore around here.
True, I've seen them in pictures. They are used either for parades or trainees (not for firing, just moving around with the rifle).
Those rifles are mostly deactivated and are only used for training
Que use only in parades and training, the do not fire anymore
@@soares8802 Some of them were sold off and are still in working conditions. They are liked by civilian gun owners for recreational shooting.
Que orgullo mis hermanos Mexicanos, Brasileños y mis αΎÎÏÏÎčα Greigos! Grandes todos!
The Greek contribution was greater because they started sooner and had a greater stake in the war. But if Brazil had sent troops over a year earlier, their impact would have made a great difference.
From the fall of 1944 to the end of the war, an all-volunteer group of 48 Brazilian fighter pilots flew as a squadron attached to the U.S. Army Air Forces' 350th Fighter Group, 12th Air Force, in Italy. Designated the 1Âș Grupo de Aviação de Caça (1Âș GAVCA), using the P-47 Thunderbolt, the Brazilian pilots amassed an impressive combat record that included the destruction of over 1300 motor vehicles, 250 railway cars, and 25 bridges, and they were the group who flew the most missions of the entire war (445 in total).
The WAR started in September 1939, Q. Where was Brazil, harbouring Nazis and Providing Food.
@@trevorhart545 Did you think Brazil was going to randomly get involved in a bunch of Europeans invading each other from half a world away with no stakes in the conflict? Even the US didn't until their hand was forced.
You're not the brightest are you?
@@trevorhart545 you're clearly not the sharpest tool in the kitchen
â@@trevorhart545 Where was USA in 39? Doing the same of Brazil... Keeping itself away from the mess
â@@trevorhart545Lol you salty bro? Talking shit in every comment like a loser...
Brazil and Mexico entering the War also mattered as it helped sympathetic nations hold off from more actively supporting the Germans or joining the axis.
Was vaguely aware of Greece. Knew nothing of Mexico or Brazil. Oh well, that's why I subscribe. Thanks for the history lesson.
There was no "some support from Macedonia". Metaxas, Greek governor, had completed the defense line along the Greek borders between Greece , Bulgaria and Yougoslavia, which was manned and defended the borders against German invasion on April 1941. During Italian invasion, this force was waiting there. The defense against Italians was conducted by other Greek forces, deployed along the borders between Greece and Albania. All forces were of Greek army. So, no "some support from Macedonia ". Unless if you mean that the Greek forces along the Greek borders with Boulgaria and Yugoslavia , were deployed through out the Macedonia and further east to Thrace, which are Greek regions.
ÎÎ±ÎœÎ±ÎłÏÎŹÏÎżÏ Îœ ÏηΜ ÎčÏÏÎżÏία...ÎαÎč ÎŽÏ ÏÏÏ ÏÏÏ ÏÎż Î»ÎŹÎžÎżÏ Î”ÎŻÎœÎ±Îč ÎŽÎčÎșÏ ÎŒÎ±Ï.
He just meant troop redeployment.Not everything is politics.Calm down
@@slayer35st64 I am calm. But always vigilant for my country's history. So, no sub messages. And thank you for your concern about my health.
Macedonia is NOT a country. It is Greece's biggest region. You make it sound like it is another country.
ÎÎœÎœÎżÎ”ÎŻ ÏÏÎżÏαΜÏÏ ÏÏÏ ÎÏΔÏΔ ÏÎżÎœ ÏÏÏαÏÏ Î±ÏÏ ÏηΜ ÎαÎșÎ”ÎŽÎżÎœÎčα. ÎÏλΟ ΌΔÏÎŹÏÏαÏη
The Hellenic General Staff just pulled the rest of the army completely to the Albanian front and after months of mobilization it managed to pull 200.000-250.000 troops, I have no idea what getting support from Macedonia means since if you mean Macedonia in Greece it makes no sense and if you mean North Macedonia it was Vardarska Banovina in 1941 and it was Tito 3 years later who made a Macedonian identity in Yugoslavia to avoid the area being taken by Bulgaria, since it was under their occupation.
Maybe he meant that they pulled divisions from Macedonia that were stationed at the Bulgarian border? Don't know, it did sound weird.
Macedonia is a region in the Balkans, part of it being the North Macedonia you know today, and the other part of it being the territory of Greece. Since Northern Macedonia wasn't as you said named Macedonia at that time, by saying Macedonia he meant the Greek part which was the only Macedonia. So the Greek General staff re-positioned Greek forces that were located in Macedonia, on the Bulgarian and Yugoslav border, to the Italian front. Hope that helps
The context was that Bulgaria didn't join Italy, so there was no attack happening in Macedonia. Thus, Greece was able to pull some forces from that part of the country to fight in Epirus and Albania.
Macedonia is one and it's Greek
They mean that the greek macedonian region was to powerful for any human except greeks cuz it had thick green and tall dark mountains where greeks could easily hide and fight without the enemy knowing where they are
Mexico also helped massively with the workforce. As the war progressed more and more American men left the workforce. They picked up the slack in both Mexico and in American factories.
YES THANK YOU SO MUCH! The Greeks may be more well known but Mexico and Brazil have deserved this video for a long time coming.
I didn't know about Mexico and Brazil. Great informations for those two glorious nations. Thank Mexico and Brazil. Love from Greece.
The invade of Germany to Greece was combined with invasion of Albanian, Bulgarian and Italian forces. So, 4 nations against one Italy was great power which could compete British power at the battlefields. The German invasion lasted from 6 April to 1 June. This had a serious consequence. It delayed German invasion against Soviet Union...Maybe someone can say that Greece and Russia's winter saved Russia from Nazi power
I learned about Brazil because of Sabaton they have a song called Smoking Snakes and is dedicated to the Brazilian Expeditionary Force in Italy.
As a brazilian and nephew of a FEB veteran, I salute you for this video, sir.
My grandpa was part of the 201st squad, sadly never got to meet him, but my grandma does still tell some amazing tales of his time
As a MĂ©xican I am happy to see you highlighted our Country along side our brother Brazil. And I LOVE Greece and Greek history so, I am happy to see we had something in common.
As aguais astecas destruĂram os Samurais kkkkkk
Nmms whi people donât give a shi bout mexico vato
Knew about Greece and their navy/merchant fleets importance as still to date is a massive fleet, but had no clue about Brazil.
without disregarding the contributions of the others, Greece fought against Italians,Albanians,Germans and Bulgarians in Greece,Albania, the Middle East, and Italy over land and sea and suffered tremendous losses in relation to the Greek population (for instance only in North Africa Greeks suffered 10.000 casualties).The country was basically destroyed
Albanians never fought , they were neutral, just observers , maybe some enforced labour. My grandparents who lived in Korce (near the borders) have explained to me everything about the war and what was going on. And the people were never with the Italians
Albanians never fought alongside the Axis. They were a Neutral country. Bulgarians did Join the Axis but they didn't really fight in Greece. Servicing only as Occupying forces after the Invasion.
Still Greece is the only country outside of Russia and Britain to successfully halt an invasion by an Axis Superpower. And having an Invasion from 2 Axis Superpowers at the same time
â@@taulantziso9929Many Albanians fought in the Waffen SS. Search up "Waffen SS Handschar" Division.
@@taulantziso9929the majority of the albanians were neutral,but they supported italy also with people.Furthermore,there were a lot of partisan communist fighters who fought the axis forces and one of them was my grandfather who belonged to greek minority of northern epirus.
I knew mostly about Greece, I didn't know about Mexico or Brazil though. Thanks for the information :)
About brazilian participation in the war, i had my great grandfather as one of the fighters of the Expeditionary Force, it makes me very proud to know he fought for the country being a prominent military man. I also had the chance to interview the last alive veteran of my city a while ago. Captain Nelson is vigorous and full of health, thankfully, already at 100 years old, but during the interview i heard the most brutal account one could ever tell me. Mr. Nelson said he remembers every battle the BEF fought, but one in particular, the battle of Monte Castello (one that my great grandfather took part of) had a great amount of casualties. As Mr. Nelson told me and my friends the story, he remembered to tell his men that "we will all go back home, boys, i assure you". He then unfolded a small piece of paper he held on his shirt and showed it to us. It was a newspaper, in it we read "The graveyard of Pistoia". He broke down crying and said, sobbing as a child: "I promised them, i promised them..."
Seeing that old man crying, 100 years old and remembering that time, over 75 years ago, legitimately got me in right in the gut...
1:00 Î”Ï ÏαÏÎčÏÏÎżÏΌΔ ÏÎżÏ ÎŒÎ±Ï ÎžÏ ÎŒÎźÎžÎ·ÎșΔÏ! â€â€
I love learning things about WW2 that I didn't know. Brazil and Mexico fighting in the war was new to me. That's pretty damn awesome! Thanks for this video!
South Africans, Canadians, Australians all came to GB to serve in WW2 as volunteers in the British Armed Forces. Poland had its own Airforce, Army and Navy in Great Britain. Nepalese Ghurkas were prominent and feared by the Axis powers. Aus and NZ fought in the Desert War in North Africa and New Zealand through Italy.
@@trevorhart545 precisely, I've heard of all of that commonwealth countries, citizens without countries and even folks who came from neutral countries to fight (aviators from the US early in the war) but I had not heard about Brazil and Mexico. I just find that odd that I hadn't.
COBRAS FUMANTES ETERNA Ă SUA VITĂRIA!!!!!
đȘđ§đ·đ°
RISE FROM THE BLOOD OF YOUR HEROES!
â@@emanuels.pezente1899YOU WERE THE ONES WHO REFUSED TO SURRENDER
The Front being based by mentioning these underrated heroes of the Allied Forces during World War 2 in this video.
Brazil also contributed a fighter group flying P-47s in the Italian campaign. Their squadron badge was also interesting, depicting an ostrich - a reference to the fact that the personnel, not used to US supplied food, felt like ostriches which reputedly eat anythingâŠand the Brazilian navy did it share of convoy escort duties in the South Atlantic including escorting the transport ships which brought the Smoking Snakes to Europe. Sabathon wrote a song about a trio of Brazilian soldiers who defended their position to the death, against a much larger German opposition.
I always seen myself a close supporter of the allied forces and when I heard this video's description of Mexico and the Aztec Eagles you already had me support my country a whole lot more ^~^
When it comes to the case of Greece, you should have also mentioned that it held the longest standing defence against Nazi offensives (216 days), and Hitler himself said that from all his enemies in the war effort, the Greeks where the ones that fought with the greatest bravery and self sacrifice. Great video and great theme, thank you for referencing the countries that most people don't know that have contributed !
Nesse momento hĂĄ 164 comentĂĄrios, alguns BR orgulhosos e alguns gringos surpresos com a presença dos Pracinhas na Europa; mas tambĂ©m hĂĄ quem minimize a coragem dos nossos homens e atĂ© os chamem de "incompetentes"! Esse video tem a razĂŁo em informar e celebrar a coragem de todos os herĂłis, mas para alguns nĂŁo hĂĄ a mĂnima chance de partilhar um pedaço do protagonismo com paĂses perifĂ©ricos (na questĂŁo militar). Tem muitas pessoas em Monte Castelo (ItĂĄlia) que atĂ© hoje comprariam essa briga a favor dos Pracinhas.
ComentĂĄrio em portuguĂȘs de propĂłsito para voar por baixo do radar da boçalidade de alguns. Thanks for the content.
Até brasileiros falam mal da FEB
Esses dias mesmo eu achei um besta falando que os 25k homens sĂł foram fazer turismo ali na ItĂĄlia
In Europe Greece's first fight victory against the axes is not so forgotten. But Latin American countries fighting...that's unheard.
One less known fact about Brazil is that they had a second expeditionary force in training to join the invasion of Japan (operation Olympic) by the time the war ended.
Interesting, didn't know that.
MĂ©xico also was doing the same. Muy grandfather was among them.
Poderia me mandar alguns links sobre isso? Fiquei interessado.
Greece's most underrated contribution to WW2 was its merchant marine fleet
It's really nice seeing someone talking about our expeditionary force during the war.
A important battle that i didnt see on the video was the Battle of Fornovo Di Taro,when brazilian troops surrounded some german forces and forced then to surrender.
I live in Caçapava,a city in the state of São Paulo in brazil.
Here,we celebrate our victory in that battle annualy in the army battalion that resides in the city(6th battalion of light infantry ,or as know here 6th BIL)since our city sent a considerable amount of troops to italy.
(In the city's cemetery,there is a special part designed Only for fallen soldiers of Caçapava during the war)
have you some link, i live in Swiss but my parents came from Fornovo di Taro, i travel a lot in this region. The French had a big battle too in Fornovo di Taro but 2 century before WW2!
I believe that Yugoslavia deserves to be on that list too. They fought like Lions and managed to liberate most of their country by themselves like us but in a more successful manner. Greetings from Greece.
they abandon the common defense plan with Greece very fast if they had kept their positions Germans would never even try to invade Soviet union
ââââââ@@JoyMadrugada No they did not. The German main thrust came from Bulgaria towards Skopje and the Greece forces turned south through Monastir Gap. They were defeated in 1-2 days by superior German equipment and tactics plain and simple.
The same German units subsequently continued to inflict rapid defeats on Greek units as well. They had a rapidly moving fully developped combined arms force with enough infantry, a lot of trucks, AFVs artillery and aircraft all fully coordinated by radio. Yugoslavs or Greeks had nothing of the sort. Slow moving infantry supplied by horse carts, some artillery, weak air forces and a parade's worth of tanks altogether. Not to mention that even the German infantry was better equipped with far more automatic weapons and mortars.
I believe Yogoslavians are my favorite! Most of Ethiopians Italian war prisoners joined the Yugoslavian partisans and Tito is like saint in Ethiopia đȘđč! Truly the people of Yugoslav Armania Greece đŹđ· of course Russia are very decent human beings on earth and they are trustworthy
Brazil is not forgotten. There is a small display in the ww2 gallery in the Imperial War Museum about the Brazilian Expeditionary Force.
Brazil is only remembered in WWII in Brazil, it's really rare to see a foreigner talking about Brazil in WWII
@@noot6275 Brazil entered in Extra Time?
@@trevorhart545 Yes, Brazil entered in 1943 i think
@@noot6275 1942 actually and they entered Europe in 1944 if I remember correctly
@@noot6275 that guy you replied to was blaming Brazil for being allies with the nazis before the war lol He should thank us for freeing Italy and giving em nazis some lessons
I hesitate, politely refuse to compare these three allies. The circumstances are just too disparate for each of them, specifically for Greece. Being that Greece itself was an entire major theater of WWII, and it was invaded by not 1, not 2 but 3 Axis nations, and fought a dogged defense, it just doesn't seem correct to compare their contribution to Mexico and Brazil. And that is not said to diminish the roles Brazil and Mexico played.
Yeah I agree, Mexico and Brazil were not pushed against a wall. Their contribution wasn't because they believed in a cause and were sympathetic to the allies. They did it out of survival.
I think the video is supposed to shed light on unspoken allies, but I think it would've been more appropriate to include El Salvador instead and make a separate video for Greece and other similar countries.
@@senpaisanchoyt5225 my thoughts too, speficically regarding Greece. I would tend to group Greece more with Yugoslavia, Poland, France, Norway ( on the flip side Finland which was not an ally) and possibly Ethiopia.
Your suggestion for El Salvador is a better comparison...
Another interesting group of nations might be Neutral countries, occupied or invaded . by the Allies and forced to become allies ( Iceland, Iran, Iraq perhaps Morocco and Syria and even Egypt)
@@colinmcdonald2499 totally agree! This was a awesome little convo.
I'll definitely have to read more about the countries you mentioned. No disrespect to any country but their reasoning, circumstances and capabilities were all very different
Always known about the Brazilian efforts. If anything, I think you downplayed their impact, particularly maritime, where the main task of the Brazilian Navy was, together with the Allies, to ensure the safety of ships sailing between the central and south Atlantic to Gibraltar. Alone or in coordination with Allied forces, it escorted 614 convoys that protected 3,164 merchant and transport troop ships. During the Battle of the Atlantic. Axis naval attacks caused nearly 1,600 Brazilian deaths, including almost 500 civilians, 470 sailors of the merchant marine, 570 sailors of the Navy; roughly one in seven Brazilian sailors would perish in the campaign. Their efforts should never be forgotten.
thank you for sharing the history and participation of my country. hugs from brazilđ§đ·
It's nice to hear that there were at least some heroes during the war that spoke Portuguese
Portuguese "Neutrality" was actually helpful. Portugal is Britain's longest continuous Ally and did NOT let us down in the UK. Their neutrality was a major reason that Spain refused to enter WW2, but historians and Armchair Generals forget simple facts.
I already knew about Mexico and their contribution to the war but definitely not the Brazilians which was a pleasant surprise
7:49 I should make a small correction in here
Since late 1941 the navy was already patrolling the Northeastern Salient and both Air Force and Navy went on full power on the Battle of the Atlantic after the official declaration.
For the Air Force, there is even the sinking of U-199
For the Navy, there's no confirmed sinking, still, lots of attacks against U-boats trying to attack the convoy's under the MB's protection (less than 1% of the ships escorted by the MB were sunk)
Should say that Brazil severed diplomatic ties with Germany, Italy and Japan in January 28th 1942
The data you mentions a few seconds after
This is the data of what the 1st Fighter Squadron did.
This unit was sent to Italy alongside the Expeditionary Force and they operated the P47s just like the Aztec Eagles
All 3 are AWESOME! I love it bro! These 3 minor players are true legends we should hear more about. This is excellent content dude!
On Mexico's birth of Independence day. Much appreciated from your Mexican Brothers. Saludos Compadre!
Sir, for me you are the first channel of CZcams about WWII wich spoken about the brazilian contribuition in the war. Thank you. You would also speak about the 1st Fighter Squadron "Senta a PuĂĄ" from the Brazilian Air Force, they also fought in italian theater.
Some great stories of the SBS serving on the Greek islands with the resistance
Nice video, you forgot to mention the Battle of Crete in Greece, it caused great casualties to Hitler, also delayed his attack on Russia until the winter came and proved a disaster for Nazi powers.
On par with mexicos expeditionary Air Force, a big mention is also deserved by the tens of thousands of Mexicans who fought Germans and Japanese under the command of American leadership, Mexicans born in Mexico and inmigrants to the US joined the army on mass to acquire citizenship and it resulted tens of thousands of Mexicans crossing the seas to fight
They were not Mexicans, they were Americans and everyone of them to a man, identified themselves as United States Military personnel.đșđž
@@mac2626 then why do you send them back after you use them
Can you guys do a follow-up video please on China, Netherlandâs and Belgian armed forces-in-exile. Also, you should do a video on three dependable & impactful Axis powers starting with the Vichy French, Croatia & Hungary.
I think Greece helped the most
Both my great grandfathers fought the Germans in WW2, my great grandfather on my motherâs side was a mayor and leaked information to Greek rebels before having to flee to Austria because his wife was about to give birth to my grandmother, and on my fathers side my great grandfather John, fought the Germans in the northern mountains with the rebels till the allies finally came back to Greece, he almost died too from a mine, but his friend saved him but unfortunately died doing so, and Iâm especially glad to have met both of them, since they lived to be quite old, my great grandfather John made it to 94 which is really cool
A bit depressing that these three nations are on somewhat dire straits nowadays, even before the pandemic came along. Here's to hoping they can weather the storms and not collapse into more chaotic states.
9:39: Probably the Brazilians. Their involvement against the Axis (and the retaliatory strikes by the Nazis for their "insolence") probably paved the way for the Latin Americas to not be swayed to the Axis side during and even after the war. Sure, ultraconservativism, Communism, and misguided democratic movements still ransacked the continent, but the absence of a large scale Nazi/fascist political wave made sure that things weren't that badly drawn up.
A neutral country, but what about Sweden?
Well the situation in Mexico is not perfect but it is has been blown out of proportion by the media
Informative Video about Three Rarely Known countries they Fought abreast of Allies during WW2...I think Greek was participated in WW2 more than others...Through Defeating Italy, Partisan efforts against Germany & Kicking out axis Naval efforts in Mediterranean basin besides Royal Navigation
Amigo! O Brasil lutou na ItĂĄlia (Linha GĂłtica) e fazia parte do 5Âș ExĂ©rcito americano e teve grandes vitĂłrias... NĂŁo sei o que a GrĂ©cia fez na ItĂĄlia!?
Not sure if it is a coincidence but today it's the celebration of Mexico's independece (the actual date its tomorrow) so its nice to see a video featuring Mexico.
1:00 my grandfather fought in this war. He was telling me all the time that the Italian army had very low morale, kinda like they didnt want to invade Greece
Not to mention how many Mexicans flat out came north to enlist in our military. To help us gringos and other Americans whoop it on the enemies. I have had the pleasure to serve alongside some of the grandchildren of these fine men. In the early 2000s in The United States Marine Corps.
I have read quite a bit about the war and I had never heard about Mexico and Brazil being involved.
As a Greek I'm happy you covered this, and I'm glad I now know about the others!
There is something unexplored in the video. In addition to the US air base in Natal, northeast of Brazil, which greatly facilitated the domination of the Atlantic by the allies. The Brazilian government placed thousands of workers in the extraction of rubber to supply and produce the North American war arsenal.
Congratulations on the video!My grandfather fought in that war, he was a sergeant, I think an exclusive video would be great, it would be a tribute. The Brazilians achieved one of the largest German surrenders. "On April 29 and 30, 1945, the FEB forced the surrender of almost 20 thousand enemy soldiers, most of them from the 148th Infantry Division of the German Army."Also see about you the heroic missions of our pilots, they were brave and decorated by the Americans recently.
Regarding Greece's contribution to the Allied War effort, you left out that Queen Alice (who was actually English, but had ties to Germany as well) stayed in Athens. She helped several Jewish families avoid capture by the Gestapo. For this, she is listed among the "Righteous Among the Nations" at Yad Vashem. Regarding Mexico, you left out that a number of Mexican laborers came north to the US to work in war plants (along the "Rosy the Riverters") when US men left the factories to join the armed forces. As for your final question, two "non-major" Allied forces come immediately to mind: Canada and Australia.
As a greek,i didn't knew we had sent two destroyers ships to the battle of normandy and six warships to Operation Husky...aaaah GREAT GREECEâ€â€
Iâm very proud to say that my father graduated from the Annapolis of Greece and fought in WWII while my uncle graduated from the West Point of Greece and also fought in WWII and Korea. Iâm so very proud of my heritage and always anxious to tell others of the tenacity and fighting spirit of Greece đ«ĄđŹđ·đŹđ·đŹđ·đđ»đȘđ»
I knew about Brazil and Greece, but never have I heard about Mexico
To be Honest Mexico contribution is exaggerated in this video. They only sent a fighting unit. That's not even 50people.
â@@my_other_side473it was not a competition.
Mexico accomplished its mission with the Philippines with the last cost in lives and material. That's all matters.
I would say Greece since their contribution was so multi layered.
1: The Halting of the Italian invasion and all the side effects that had (overall collapse of Italy, Increased Allies Morale due to it being the first major Axis loss, Stalling of Operation Barbarossa), etc
2: their men joining the Allies post German invasion
3:the Resistance at home while occupied
You should do a more depth video about the Smoking Snakes!
What do you mean by saying "support arrived from Macedonia"? The region of Macedonia had many bankers along the Greco-bulgarian borders and during the invasion of Greece by Italy Metaxas had let two more divisions in the the borders because he didn't trust the Bulgarians. It's just that every time someone mentions the word Macedonia we Greeks are afraid that they are talking about Skopje that has nothing to do with Macedonia
Another winner. I must watch that over again as you pack so many facts in. Thanks
Other significant Allies, Australia, the Philippines, Malta
Resistance fighters in the Pacific Islands, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, occupied Eastern Europe...
Props to Mexico, Brazil, Greece for their efforts.
what about China? They helped the Allies in Burma and Vietnam.
@@theawesomeman9821 along with engaging in an 8 year war of resistance that costed the Japanese a lot of resources and manpower
Australia was the main ground force in Asia Pacific WW2 until Germany was defeated.
MacArthur had 14 divisions 1942 through to 1944 and 12 were Australian with NZ attached and only 2 were USA.
Were many Island countries in Asia Pacific no USA or UK ground forces fought on.
England told America Germany was the main one to focus on and why only mainly Australians fought as had to defend their country.
USA and England didn't care as much.
Even Rats of Tobruk first defeat of Rommel were majority Australian 16000, UK 12000, India and NZ around 8000.
Why Australians are famous for Kakoda track as barely no USA fought there. few who did dropped guns and ran during Buna Gona battle.
Belgium and the Netherlands fell in days. Hardly worth talking about. Norway wasn't much different and Eastern Europe got taken over easily. They have no story to tell. Australia and Malta come under British command.
@@GingerJesusSaves "They have no story to tell."
Belgian attack on the 20th convoy, Dutch resistance, Dutch submarines in the Pacific, Norwegian resilience during the invasion, the Telemark sabotage, and many others.
Greece left it's Yugoslav border completely undefended because they expected Yugoslavia to slow the germans down, the Germans however pushed through with incredible speed while only losing 151 men, this allowed them to take macedonia and split Greece in 2, it's ironic that the metaxas line was taken out like this since it the greek equivalent to the maginot
ps. It's so surreal to here the same guy i've heard narrate the Yuzhan vong talk about my country (Greece) the same way he talks about the history of the republic
It's always nice seeing stuff about nations like and like greece, mexico and brazil and what they did in the war. As for other nations I'd canada also pulled their weight.
Thank you for showing Brazilian contribution to the war again.
The Big Based Three of this video: Greece, Mexico and Brazil.
Really good information! I love learning something new about a topic I've largely exhausted, at least in respect to the US and UK in WWII. At my age I'm spending more time studying other fronts and contributions.
Canada didn't go to war because the UK told us to. It was the decision of the Canadian government, as a declaration of war was made on September 10, 1939.
Canada, Ireland, and South Africa were all fully independent by virtue of the Statute of Westminster of 1931.
As a result, Canada declared war on the 10th of September, South Africa on the 6th, and Ireland decided to stay neutral.
Only Australia and New Zealand considered themselves to be at war when Britain entered the war, and that was mostly a result of the Statute being automatically applied to the previous 3 dominions, at their own request, while the other two did not request that, and so the Statute of Westminster wouldn't apply until those nations passed their own laws to do so.
Australia did so later in the war, and I believe NZ did so in the '50s.
Now another factor is that Canada wasn't a minor power, instead being just behind the "big three (US, USSR, UK)", and ahead of both Poland and France. Australia would fit into that group as well, with NZ making a larger contribution than any of the "minor powers", itself having a full army corps in Italy.
This channel needs to do its research.
Very good video as always. May I suggest a video about the Normandie Niemen (as you talked about the Aztec eagles) or maybe just the best squadron of each fighting country. Can help with the had of French documents if it helps
Norway. Its merchant fleet (4th largest in the world) had 260 oil tankers - 18% of the world's total. 150 were chartered by Britain at the end of 1939 and the remaining were picked up by the UK when Germany invaded Norway in '40. Norwegian tankers delivered 40% of Britain's oil until the US entered the war. Battle of Britain would have been impossible to fight without aviation fuel.
Malta. The Maltese endured some of the worst bombing in WWII as Italy and Germany sought to drive the British off the island to secure the Axis' logistics chain to North Africa. At times there were no fighter aircraft available to defend the island. The Maltese manning the AA guns defended the port, kept it open, and ensured supplies could be delivered to sustain the island's defence.
Australia. Not only did it play an important role in North Africa, the New Guinea campaign was pivotal in the SW Pacific campaign. Australian coast watchers provided timely intel on Japanese ship movements. The ports of Brisbane and Fremantle were used by US subs, which inflicted a heavy toll on Japan's merchant shipping from East Indies to Japan.
Even as a Greek I didn't know these details up to now! Thanks friend!
My Dad served in a field hospital in Italy, during the WWII. He mentioned the Brazilians while talking about allies in Italy. Another time mentioned Brazilian nurses. So I was aware of Brazilâs participation in the Italian front.
In Brazilian Portuguese there used to be a saying: âWhen cobras smoke . . .â (âQuando as cobras fumaren . . .â) It was equivalent to the English expression âWhen pigs fly . . .â Meaning something was very unlikely. Early in the war the saying went: âBrazil will enter the war when cobras smoke.â âO Brazil vai entrar na guerra quando as cobras fumaren.â
So when Brazil did enter the war, the nickname for their troops was âAs Cobras Fumantes.â âThe Smoking Cobras.â
I donât know why the Portuguese word âcobraâ is so often translated into English as âsnake. â
At the end of the war, the expression âWhen cobras smoke . . .â Now has taken on an entirely new meaning. When cobras smoke- Watch out!
I've been lucky enough to learn about each of these countries during the war and I wish they got more attention and respect for what they did. If there are any other countries that I feel deserved to be talked about more these guys are definitely up there but some other ones would be, although I consider them a major I believe Canada doesn't get talked about as much as it should as it had men on almost every front of the war, another country/territory that deserves to be mentioned is Puerto Rico as they contributed a lot of troops to the war effort, and finally I'd say one of the Nordic countries like Norway and Denmark deserve more coverage whether it's on their brave resistance members or their free forces who helped in operations such as D-Day they deserved to be talked about
Outstanding, Some countries did alot and some a little. But they all had a hand in the finial victory!
Some aditional data about FEB (Brazilian Expeditionary Force) - it was mainly constituted of voluntary conscript soldiers and their ranks are racial mixed; many of them were from italian or german descendencyâŠDespite the FEBâs actions in WWII took place only in the Italian warfront, our soldiers were highly regarded by the civil population for their humanity and material support; and even the german enemy recognizes the FEBâs âPracinhasâ, for their bravery in the front; when the situation permited, they preferred to surrender to FEB troops, because of their comproved good treatment to POWs.
You should do a video on non-big four Allies in WW1. I for one think that video should definitely include Portugal. As they contributed massively to the effort in Africa
And you got the "Soldier Millions" as well
The smoking snakes was one of the best nicknames given same with the Aztec eagles. I didnât know of Mexico fought but I learned of the other 2 by the band called sabaton
Long live our Smoking Snake Brasilian Homies- theyâve easily one of my favorite WWII units for a long time simply for that badass unit insignia- who doesnât like a smoking snake?!
God Bless those People. :)
Brazil WW2 - My Father and Uncle were in it - The smoking Snake (Cobra), the meaning of it comes from a very old Countryside horror tail, which is about a ghostly assassin Cobra, if you see it in the night smoking at you, you are doomed - So it became quite a common saying when things really goes sawer at you, then one may say "Now the snake (Cobra) will smoke" - Now things are really going wacko - Fullbar - Go for Broke - Blow the whole hell on fire. - Originally = Agora a Cobra Vai Fumar.
Before the entire 148th german division surrendered to the Brazilian Army they already nicknamed the Brazilian soldiers as - Die Nacht Phantomdiebe - The nightly Ghost thieves - Because they were used to kidnap unsuspecting night peeing german soldiers as a recom operation, called - Golpe de mĂŁo - Hand's sting.