History Heartwarming / Sabaton

We sing the Holy Night\\

* ''The Last Battle'' is about the Battle for Castle Itter, commonly (and not without reason) considered to be the strangest battle of World War II. How so? To start with, the Battle for Castle Itter is the only known battle where [[EnemyMine Americans and Germans]] fought alongside one another during the war. To continue, it took place five days into the week lying between the day {{UsefulNotes/Adolf Hitler}} committed suicide in his bunker and Germany officially surrendered to the Allies. Furthermore, the Allied forces came out to a RealLife example of a RagtagBunchOfMisfits [[LongList composed of]]: recently freed French and Eastern European [=POWs=] and political prisoners[[note]]Quoth Wiki/TheOtherWiki, "notable prisoners included tennis player Jean Borotra, former prime ministers Édouard Daladier and Paul Reynaud, former commanders-in-chief Maxime Weygand and Maurice Gamelin, Charles de Gaulle's elder sister Marie-Agnès Cailliau, right-wing leader and closet French resistance member François de La Rocque, and trade union leader Léon Jouhaux. Besides the French VIP prisoners, the castle held a number of Eastern European prisoners detached from Dachau, who were used for maintenance and other menial work."[[/note]], 31 combatants variously from the 23rd Tank Battalion of the 12th Armored Division of the US XXI Corps, led by [[TheCaptain Cpt. John C. "Jack" Lee, Jr.]], a number of Wehrmacht soldiers led by [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Major Josef "Sepp" Gangl]][[note]]Gangl and his Wehrmacht division had defected slightly earlier on by refusing to retreat, and instead threw in with the local chapter of LaResistance, with whom they were protecting the nearby town from any DisproportionateRetribution that the SS would gleefully bring down for the slightest hint of insubordination or independence.[[/note]], Waffen SS ''Hauptsturmführer'' Kurt-Siegfried Schrader who [[DefectorFromDecadence defected]] after talking to and befriending some of the prisoners, and a member of [[LaResistance the Austrian resistance]]. Together, and with a little help from their Sherman Tank, dubbed "Besotten Jenny", which they placed at the main entrance, they held Castle Itter against a force 150-200 strong from the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division until relief arrived from the American 142nd Infantry Regiment of the 36th Division of XXI Corps. During the battle, [[TakingTheBullet Major Gangl was killed by a sniper's bullet]] [[HeroicSacrifice while trying to get former Prime Minister Reynaud to safety]], and was the sole Allied casualty. The Allied forces, [[CurbStompBattle for their part]], took '''one hundred''' Waffen SS prisoners. For his service defending the castle, Lee received the Distinguished Service Cross. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer Yes, you read all that right]]. Readily doubles as a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome.

** Also in Poland with ''40:1'', they frequently replace the lyric "that land" with "''this'' land"

We drink an unite\\

-->And feet by feet\\

[[DareToBeBadass So follow me and we will write our own history!]]

* Similar to ''The Ballad of Bull'', ''No Bullets Fly''. It's about the Charlie Brown and Franz Stigler incident. Charles, the pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress received heavy damage and several of his crew was wounded. As the B-17 was limping back, attempting to reach the safety of England, Franz, after his Me-109 was restocked and refueled had initially been ordered to bring the B-17 down. When he reached within striking distance, Franz noticed the casualties involved and the extensive damage to the bomber. Remembering something he was told as a recruit, he felt it would be dishonorable to shoot the bomber down, as it seemed akin to a man with his parachute deployed. Franz Stigler risked death in three ways that day: Friendly fire, getting shot down by the bomber, or being executed for disobeying an order. The bomber crew survived that day, Franz moved to Canada less than 10 years later [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming and 47 years later after the incident Brown and Stigler met and became good friends until their deaths within several months of each other in 2008 (22 March for Stigler and 25 November for Brown)]]

* ''The Last Battle'' is about the Battle for Castle Itter, commonly (and not without reason) considered to be the strangest battle of World War II. How so? To start with, the Battle for Castle Itter is the only known battle where [[EnemyMine Americans and Germans]] fought alongside one another during the war. To continue, it took place five days into the week lying between the day {{UsefulNotes/Adolf Hitler}} committed suicide in his bunker and Germany officially surrendered to the Allies. Furthermore, the Allied forces came out to a RealLife example of a RagtagBunchOfMisfits [[LongList composed of]]: recently freed French and Eastern European [=POWs=] and political prisoners[[note]]Quoth Wiki/TheOtherWiki, "notable prisoners included tennis player Jean Borotra, former prime ministers Édouard Daladier and Paul Reynaud, former commanders-in-chief Maxime Weygand and Maurice Gamelin, Charles de Gaulle's elder sister Marie-Agnès Cailliau, right-wing leader and closet French resistance member François de La Rocque, and trade union leader Léon Jouhaux. Besides the French VIP prisoners, the castle held a number of Eastern European prisoners detached from Dachau, who were used for maintenance and other menial work."[[/note]], 31 combatants variously from the 23rd Tank Battalion of the 12th Armored Division of the US XXI Corps, led by [[TheCaptain Cpt. John C. "Jack" Lee, Jr.]], a number of Wehrmacht soldiers led by [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Major Josef "Sepp" Gangl]][[note]]Gangl and his Wehrmacht division had defected slightly earlier on by refusing to retreat, and instead threw in with the local chapter of LaResistance, with whom they were protecting the nearby town from any DisproportionateRetribution that the SS would gleefully bring down for the slightest hint of insubordination or independence.[[/note]], Waffen SS ''Hauptsturmführer'' Kurt-Siegfried Schrader who [[DefectorFromDecadence defected]] after talking to and befriending some of the prisoners, and a member of [[LaResistance the Austrian resistance]]. Together, and with a little help from their Sherman Tank, dubbed "Besotten Jenny", which they placed at the main entrance, they held Castle Itter against a force 150-200 strong from the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division until relief arrived from the American 142nd Infantry Regiment of the 36th Division of XXI Corps. During the battle, [[TakingTheBullet Major Gangl was killed by a sniper's bullet]] [[HeroicSacrifice while trying to get former Prime Minister Reynaud to safety]], and was the sole Allied casualty. The Allied forces, [[CurbStompBattle for their part]], took '''one hundred''' Waffen SS prisoners. For his service defending the castle, Lee received the Distinguished Service Cross. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer Yes, you read all that right]]. Readily doubles as a MomentOfAwesome.

* ''The Last Battle'' is about the Battle for Castle Itter, commonly (and not without reason) considered to be the strangest battle of World War II. How so? To start with, the Battle for Castle Itter is the only known battle where [[EnemyMine Americans and Germans]] fought alongside one another during the war. To continue, it took place five days into the week lying between the day {{UsefulNotes/Adolf Hitler}} committed suicide in his bunker and Germany officially surrendered to the Allies. Furthermore, the Allied forces came out to a RealLife example of a RagtagBunchOfMisfits [[LongList composed of]]: recently freed French and Eastern European [=POWs=] and political prisoners[[note]]Quoth Wiki/TheOtherWiki, "notable prisoners included tennis player Jean Borotra, former prime ministers Édouard Daladier and Paul Reynaud, former commanders-in-chief Maxime Weygand and Maurice Gamelin, Charles de Gaulle's elder sister Marie-Agnès Cailliau, right-wing leader and closet French resistance member François de La Rocque, and trade union leader Léon Jouhaux. Besides the French VIP prisoners, the castle held a number of Eastern European prisoners detached from Dachau, who were used for maintenance and other menial work."[[/note]], 31 combatants variously from the 23rd Tank Battalion of the 12th Armored Division of the US XXI Corps, led by [[TheCaptain Cpt. John C. "Jack" Lee, Jr.]], a number of Wehrmacht soldiers led by [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Major Josef "Sepp" Gangl]][[note]]Gangl and his Wehrmacht division had defected slightly earlier on by refusing to retreat, and instead threw in with the local chapter of LaResistance, with whom they were protecting the nearby town from any DisproportionateRetribution that the SS would gleefully bring down for the slightest hint of insubordination or independence.[[/note]], Waffen SS ''Hauptsturmführer'' Kurt-Siegfried Schrader who defected after talking to and befriending some of the prisoners, and a member of [[LaResistance the Austrian resistance]]. Together, and with a little help from their Sherman Tank, dubbed "Besotten Jenny", which they placed at the main entrance, they held Castle Itter against a force 150-200 strong from the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division until relief arrived from the American 142nd Infantry Regiment of the 36th Division of XXI Corps. During the battle, [[TakingTheBullet Major Gangl was killed by a sniper's bullet]] [[HeroicSacrifice while trying to get former Prime Minister Reynaud to safety]], and was the sole Allied casualty. The Allied forces, [[CurbStompBattle for their part]], took '''one hundred''' Waffen SS prisoners. For his service defending the castle, Lee received the Distinguished Service Cross. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer Yes, you read all that right]]. Readily doubles as a MomentOfAwesome.

** Playing ''[[TheFalklandsWar Back In Control]]'' in Glasgow, Joakim introduces the song "For the Scottish in the SAS... Back In Control!"

* ''The Last Battle'' is about the Battle for Castle Itter, commonly (and not without reason) considered to be the strangest battle of World War II. How so? To start with, the Battle for Castle Itter is the only known battle where [[EnemyMine Americans and Germans]] fought alongside one another during the war. To continue, it took place five days into the week lying between the day {{UsefulNotes/Adolf Hitler}} committed suicide in his bunker and Germany officially surrendered to the Allies. Furthermore, the Allied forces came out to a RealLife example of a RagtagBunchOfMisfits [[LongList composed of]]: recently freed French and Eastern European [=POWs=] and political prisoners[[note]]Quoth TheOtherWiki, "notable prisoners included tennis player Jean Borotra, former prime ministers Édouard Daladier and Paul Reynaud, former commanders-in-chief Maxime Weygand and Maurice Gamelin, Charles de Gaulle's elder sister Marie-Agnès Cailliau, right-wing leader and closet French resistance member François de La Rocque, and trade union leader Léon Jouhaux. Besides the French VIP prisoners, the castle held a number of Eastern European prisoners detached from Dachau, who were used for maintenance and other menial work."[[/note]], 31 combatants variously from the 23rd Tank Battalion of the 12th Armored Division of the US XXI Corps, led by [[TheCaptain Cpt. John C. "Jack" Lee, Jr.]], a number of Wehrmacht soldiers led by [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Major Josef "Sepp" Gangl]][[note]]Gangl and his Wehrmacht division had defected slightly earlier on by refusing to retreat, and instead threw in with the local chapter of LaResistance, with whom they were protecting the nearby town from any DisproportionateRetribution that the SS would gleefully bring down for the slightest hint of insubordination or independence.[[/note]], Waffen SS ''Hauptsturmführer'' Kurt-Siegfried Schrader who defected after talking to and befriending some of the prisoners, and a member of [[LaResistance the Austrian resistance]]. Together, and with a little help from their Sherman Tank, dubbed "Besotten Jenny", which they placed at the main entrance, they held Castle Itter against a force 150-200 strong from the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division until relief arrived from the American 142nd Infantry Regiment of the 36th Division of XXI Corps. During the battle, [[TakingTheBullet Major Gangl was killed by a sniper's bullet]] [[HeroicSacrifice while trying to get former Prime Minister Reynaud to safety]], and was the sole Allied casualty. The Allied forces, [[CurbStompBattle for their part]], took '''one hundred''' Waffen SS prisoners. For his service defending the castle, Lee received the Distinguished Service Cross. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer Yes, you read all that right]]. Readily doubles as a MomentOfAwesome.