Why American Generals 'Stole' German Jeeps and Refused to Give Them Back

This is the story of a vehicle that one American evaluation dismissed as inferior in every way to the American Jeep, except in the comfort of its seating accommodations. A vehicle that American generals would eventually order confiscated because too many soldiers were stealing them. A vehicle so good that the same Army that dismissed it published a complete maintenance manual, just so troops could keep their captured examples running. The Koobel-vahgen was not supposed to be better than anything. It was supposed to be cheap. Simple. Disposable. Instead, it became the trophy every American soldier wanted to bring home. SOURCES Volkswagen Group Corporate History https://www.volkswagen-group.com/en/v... Technical Manual TM E9-803 "German Volkswagen" (1944) https://archive.org/details/TME9-803 Ernie Pyle Wartime Columns, Indiana University https://erniepyle.iu.edu Australian War Memorial Collection https://www.awm.gov.au 12th Armored Division Memorial Museum, Abilene, Texas National WWII Museum, New Orleans DISCLAIMER This channel examines German weapons of World War Two through the eyes of the Allied soldiers who faced them. We do not glorify Nazi Germany. We do not celebrate Wehrmacht victories. We tell the story of the weapons that Allied veterans encountered, feared, captured, and ultimately defeated.