Could You Survive as a German Soldier in World War One?

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  • Опубликовано: 19 май 2024
  • By early September 1914, the German advance had reached within 30 miles of the French capital. Executing a modified version of the Schlieffen Plan, designed to quickly attack France through neutral Belgium before turning southwards to encircle the French army on the border, the German army had made significant inroads into enemy territory.
    But after a series of successful counter-offensives by the French and British armies, the German Army was forced to retreat and ultimately dug in north of the Aisne River. This signified an end to mobile warfare and an introduction to static warfare - a stalemate that would last for the next three years…
    In this episode, Luke Tomes joins the Imperial German Army on the Western Front, where he’ll find out whether conditions were any different to those on the opposing side of No Man’s Land - how new, ingenious strategies would shape your experience on the battlefield and determine your chances of survival…
    So the question is, could you survive the trenches as a German soldier during the First World War?
    Filmed at: La Main De Massiges, Hooge Crater Museum
    Archive Images: Rob Schäfer @GerMilHistory
    Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free exclusive podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsely, Mary Beard and more. Watch, listen and read history wherever you are, whenever you want it. Available on all devices: Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Roku, Xbox, Chromecast, and iOs & Android.
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    #historyhit #worldwarone #ww1
    00:00 Introduction
    02:20 1914 - The Schlieffen Plan
    03:59 German Uniform
    07:03 Military Equipment
    08:23 Mauser Gewehr 98 (Bolt-Action Rifle)
    10:19 Grenades
    11:44 MG 08 (Machine Gun)
    13:42 German Fortified Bunkers and Rations
    17:13 Gas Attacks
    22:24 Gas Masks
    28:52 Mining and Tunneling
    32:06 1917 - 1918 (New Equipment and Weapons)
    37:10 Combating Tanks
    41:59 Shellshock

Комментарии • 851

  • @HistoryHit
    @HistoryHit  11 дней назад +98

    We hope you enjoyed this second episode of our 'Could You Survive' WW1 special! If you've enjoyed these videos, please do like and comment below where you'd want Luke to travel to next (as well as what time period) 👇

    • @lemon_j22
      @lemon_j22 11 дней назад +6

      I wouldn't mind something about a Mongol soldier during the Mongol Empire.

    • @kuchenmuffin
      @kuchenmuffin 11 дней назад +9

      Life as an Austro-Hungarian and/or Italian soldier in the mountain war from 1915-18

    • @a.m.7165
      @a.m.7165 11 дней назад +8

      Franko-Prussian war 1870-1871

    • @dinoconc
      @dinoconc 11 дней назад +5

      anglo zulu war of 1879 or second boar war 1988-1902 pls im a huge fan and id love luke to travel to these time periods:) i also use this channel for my history studies.

    • @Human34729
      @Human34729 11 дней назад +6

      WWI Imperial Russian will be cool to see

  • @Melior_Traiano
    @Melior_Traiano 11 дней назад +530

    My great grandfather was a German WWI veteran. He fought in the Battle of Verdun and received an Iron Cross for bravery. The average life expectancy of a German soldier at Verdun was two weeks. I still have his War Diary and ID Tags (Erkennungsmarke). The War Diary has pages ripped out of it from the time of the battle, because he used them as toilet paper in the trenches since he had nothing else (according to my grandfather). He later died as a civilian in WWII during the bombing of Engelskirchen. After WWI he had joined a society for Franco-German reconciliation, which was quite unusual for the time and he was fluent in French. I also still have the wrist watch which he wore on the day he died and his wallet where you can still see* where the bomb shrapnel penetrated his chest, which killed him. My brother has his Iron Cross. And my grandfather was supposed to be drafted into the Waffen-SS during WWII, which my great grandfather prevented by telling him to volunteer for the Army instead, which he did. So, he must have known that the SS were shady. My grandfather himself was wounded in combat in WWII as a 17 year old radioman in an infantry platoon. He was treated in a British field hospital / POW camp in Germany. When he returned home his father and older brother had died and their house was gone. Lets hope our generation will see a more peaceful time.

    • @SpartansAndHeroes
      @SpartansAndHeroes 10 дней назад +17

      Great story!

    • @murraychallans9199
      @murraychallans9199 10 дней назад

      Sadly, this period of ‘peace’ (80 yrs) has simply been a prelude to a conflict so horrific, that we will never recover from it.
      For Human V2 to takeover - Human V1 has to go.
      We are all to kill each other.
      First - in organised armies.
      Then it will devolve into ‘all against all’.
      The last of us won’t even remember why we are fighting - and that’s how ‘they’ want it.
      Fear is the mind killer - it is the root component of mind control.
      Babies are now being born with black eyes and able to walk and talk by the age of 2.
      But, don’t think too hard about where this is all going.
      And - don’t forget to take all your boosters.
      Children are now ‘protected’ at birth until 3 - with up to 64 injec tions.
      Welcome to the future.
      Welcome to Human 2.
      You, however are - ‘surplus to requirement’.
      Human 2 will not hate us - but, they will not even perceive us ‘Human’.
      We are no longer ‘relevant’.
      We are ‘just passing through.
      We are - the past.
      And that is how ‘they’ won.
      A great shame.
      We had so much potential.
      😔

    • @DemonKnight1970
      @DemonKnight1970 10 дней назад +10

      great story!

    • @ezio4546
      @ezio4546 10 дней назад +9

      Such a good story.This could be a movie

    • @Goober-us6ql
      @Goober-us6ql 10 дней назад +4

      Wow

  • @kalvds9345
    @kalvds9345 10 дней назад +179

    As a German, watching this makes my stomach churn. I was born in the late 1970s and I recall my grandfather who fought in WW2 telling me that war was "absolutely filthy". He told me to ignore the pomp and ceremony and to understand that the reality for the fighting men on a day to day basis was much different. Between the nightmarish noise of bombs, gunfire and screaming, you see friends and comrades fall all around you. "Young men dying in muddy blood pools screaming for their mothers" asking you to help them, but you cant, you must step over them or duck behind them for cover. No one ever wins a war, particularly not those poor souls that pay the ultimate price. War is hell on earth but thank you for making this documentary.

    • @HistoryHit
      @HistoryHit  10 дней назад +16

      Absolutely. Thank you for watching.

    • @sab4793
      @sab4793 8 дней назад

      This is WW1. Pretty much like the pure hell that's happening in Ukraine that were all sustaining. Gotcha.

    • @hundefuchs4353
      @hundefuchs4353 7 дней назад +6

      amen...all meine vorfahren haben den kampf überlebt sind aber nach dem krieg zum größten teil aber verhungert....

    • @nikthemonarch
      @nikthemonarch 6 дней назад +2

      i remember my past life in world war one and the one thing i will never forget is people screaming for their mothers. its so sad.

    • @tomluzzer5413
      @tomluzzer5413 6 дней назад

      @@hundefuchs4353 Kein Ahnung ob wir auf der selben Wellenlänge sind, aber meine Vorfahren meinten auch, die Scheisse fing erst richtig nach dem Krieg an. Die guten Lager der `Befreier`und natürlich jahrelang nichts ordentliches zu fressen, aber wählen kannste seitdem......🙄🙄

  • @Sturmtruppen1917
    @Sturmtruppen1917 11 дней назад +185

    “We have so much to say, and we shall never say it.”
    - Erich Maria Remarque, Author of All Quiet on the Western Front and German veteran of the First World War.

    • @frenzalrhomb6919
      @frenzalrhomb6919 9 дней назад +14

      Also, one of the first authors to have his books thrown onto the fires after a certain "moustache man" came to power in late January, 1933.

    • @raypurchase801
      @raypurchase801 8 дней назад +9

      @@frenzalrhomb6919 Writing the truth gets you deleted here on RUclips as well.

    • @EuropeanQoheleth
      @EuropeanQoheleth 7 дней назад +3

      @@raypurchase801 Not to the extent people think.

    • @jordanouzounian5899
      @jordanouzounian5899 7 дней назад

      😮😮o

    • @frenzalrhomb6919
      @frenzalrhomb6919 7 дней назад +2

      @raypurchase801 Well let me be the first to tell you that you haven't been deleted, so you can stop worrying.

  • @jmcw9632
    @jmcw9632 11 дней назад +482

    I very much doubt it.

    • @taylorarnold5311
      @taylorarnold5311 11 дней назад +16

      Millions of men survived

    • @LivinLikeLarrry
      @LivinLikeLarrry 11 дней назад +64

      @@taylorarnold5311 Millions more died deaths worse than you can even imagine.

    • @tysx502
      @tysx502 11 дней назад +50

      @@taylorarnold5311just one of the deadliest events in human history, no biggie

    • @soultraveller5027
      @soultraveller5027 11 дней назад +5

      very much doubt bELL eND

    • @beardedlonewolf7695
      @beardedlonewolf7695 11 дней назад

      Don't feel lucky?

  • @markus5985
    @markus5985 9 дней назад +45

    "I am young, I am twenty years old; yet I know nothing of life but despair, death, fear, and fatuous superficiality cast over an abyss of sorrow."
    ― Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front

    • @tomluzzer5413
      @tomluzzer5413 6 дней назад

      Ja, ja, Remarque.....🙄 he served as a trenchdigger behind the Front, never served in a combat unit and wrote his whole book from interviews made after the war. Read Ernst Jünger or Colestin v. Ettighofer for a more realistic view of the time!

    • @markus5985
      @markus5985 5 дней назад +1

      @@tomluzzer5413 That is inaccurate and wrong. From his wikipedia: "During World War I, Remarque was conscripted into the Imperial German Army at the age of 18. On 12 June 1917, he was transferred to the Western Front, 2nd Company, Reserves, Field Depot of the 2nd Guards Reserve Division at Hem-Lenglet. On 26 June 1917 he was posted to the 15th Reserve Infantry Regiment, 2nd Company, Engineer Platoon Bethe, and fought in the trenches between Torhout and Houthulst. On 31 July 1917 he was wounded by shell shrapnel in his left leg, right arm and neck, and after being medically evacuated from the field was repatriated to an army hospital in Duisburg, where he recovered from his wounds. In October 1918, he was recalled to military service, but the war's armistice a month later put an end to his military career."
      But I agree that Ernst Jünger's in Stahlgewittern is a more realistic view of the time.

  • @molanlabexm15
    @molanlabexm15 8 дней назад +27

    The short answer is yes, I would survive and then go on to have a lifelong passion for art and politics.

    • @Inumaki-ls3zb
      @Inumaki-ls3zb 2 дня назад +2

      How's that passion for art going?

    • @molanlabexm15
      @molanlabexm15 2 дня назад +3

      @@Inumaki-ls3zb nicely don’t ever give up on your dreams.

    • @TheTwoFingeredBulldog
      @TheTwoFingeredBulldog 15 часов назад

      You'll end up decorating your bedroom wall with your brains 😂

    • @Inumaki-ls3zb
      @Inumaki-ls3zb 15 часов назад +1

      @@molanlabexm15 you seem like the type of guy that wouldnt take it personally if they got kicked out of art school

    • @molanlabexm15
      @molanlabexm15 2 часа назад

      @@TheTwoFingeredBulldog suicide is no laughing matter.

  • @Gurra_Gforce
    @Gurra_Gforce 10 дней назад +43

    My grandpa had a friend at his summer house (Sweden) An elderly man that still chopped his own wood, being over 90 years of age.
    He was knowned as a retired sailor, and had tattoos. He actually worked on ships with sails!
    Met him as a kid in the late 80´s. He volunteered for the German army in ww1 (back then, in Northern Europe the Germanic sphere was much like the influence the Anglosphere have today)
    I asked him about it. He just looked at me, and told me to read up on it.

    • @nothanks9503
      @nothanks9503 7 дней назад +1

      He’s right his perspective on things at least at the time is probably why we had a world war you better learn better

  • @ichimonjiguy
    @ichimonjiguy 10 дней назад +42

    I have to admit it that the German M16 helmet had the best look in the WW1, WW2 and beyond. That silhouette is timeless.

    • @frenzalrhomb6919
      @frenzalrhomb6919 9 дней назад +4

      In my opinion, it looks much better than the slightly smaller version of the 2nd World War, and it always, always reminds me of Darth Vader's helmet!!

    • @ErdoganIstKeinZiegenfi...
      @ErdoganIstKeinZiegenfi... 9 дней назад +10

      @@frenzalrhomb6919 the other way around. Darth Vaders helmet reminds you of the M16

    • @danrooc
      @danrooc 8 дней назад +1

      Probably inspired by the medieval sallet. Indeed a great design.

    • @Thornbush434
      @Thornbush434 8 дней назад +2

      Yes, the German helmet was much better a helmet than the Allies had. It protected the neck better and is probably why the US Army later adapted a similar design for its infantry in the 1990's.

    • @kellymcbright5456
      @kellymcbright5456 7 дней назад

      The helmet in WWII was the M35 ^^.
      There is some change in the proportions. M35 is still in use today.

  • @kitmolloy2811
    @kitmolloy2811 11 дней назад +156

    My great grandad was a sharp shooter in the Lancashire fusiliers at Ypres. One of the stories passed down to me was how he shot a German officer who regularly popped his head up above the enemy trenches to survey the British lines. I've always wondered who that German was and how his death impacted his family.

    • @HistoryHit
      @HistoryHit  11 дней назад +26

      Hope this gave you some insight!

    • @Melior_Traiano
      @Melior_Traiano 11 дней назад +29

      Here is my story from the other side, if you're interested: My great grandfather was a German WWI veteran. He fought in the Battle of Verdun and received an Iron Cross for bravery. The average life expectancy of a German soldier at Verdun was two weeks. I still have his War Diary and ID Tags (Erkennungsmarke). The War Diary has pages ripped out of it from the time of the battle, because he used them as toilet paper in the trenches since he had nothing else (according to my grandfather). He later died as a civilian in WWII during the bombing of Engelskirchen. After WWI he had joined a society for Franco-German reconciliation, which was quite unusual for the time and he was fluent in French. I also still have the wrist watch which he wore on the day he died and his wallet where you can still see* where the bomb shrapnel penetrated his chest, which killed him. My brother has his Iron Cross. And my grandfather was supposed to be drafted into the Waffen-SS during WWII, which my great grandfather prevented by telling him to volunteer for the Army instead, which he did. So, he must have known that the SS were shady. My grandfather himself was wounded in combat in WWII as a 17 year old radioman in an infantry platoon. He was treated in a British field hospital / POW camp in Germany. When he returned home his father and older brother had died and their house was gone. Lets hope our generation will see a more peaceful time.

    • @quadkidnate6370
      @quadkidnate6370 11 дней назад +9

      @@Melior_Traiano I also hope that these stories reach who needs to see them. Thank you for your history!

    • @andreasschmidt2739
      @andreasschmidt2739 9 дней назад +5

      Maybe he shot my grand grandfather who were at Ypres in 1917...

    • @tpeterson9140
      @tpeterson9140 9 дней назад

      white christian men killing other white christian men by the millions... should have never happened. no more brother wars.

  • @TheRealSlimshadyyyyyy
    @TheRealSlimshadyyyyyy 11 дней назад +60

    I did NOT want this to end..! One of the if not the greatest production from History Hit!! Bravo👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

    • @HistoryHit
      @HistoryHit  10 дней назад +7

      A lot of work goes into these videos so that means a lot to us! Thank you!

  • @anotherjones5384
    @anotherjones5384 7 дней назад +4

    I've had the privilege of handling a tankgewehr 1918. I've handled a lot of firearms so I understand weight, but that thing is just something else. It felt like hefting a railroad sleeper

  • @besserwizard
    @besserwizard 11 дней назад +53

    A little fun fact about the German language: The Machine Gun 08 had a later version, the 08/15 (you get the numbers from the year it was first introduced and the year the modification was introduced). And this gun was known (at least in the propaganda, I have no idea about how it was perceived by its soldiers) as so reliable that it entered language. Even today, many germans use the phrase "etwas ist null-acht-fünfzehn" ("something is zero-eight-fifteen") to describe something that is very common.

    • @wernergruen3943
      @wernergruen3943 11 дней назад +7

      the actual gun they had in the video was the mg08/15, the "portable" version of the mg08. gun jesus ian just released a video on it a couple of days ago

    • @besserwizard
      @besserwizard 11 дней назад +3

      @@wernergruen3943 ah well. I don't really care about guns that much so I did not realize the difference. Thanks for clearing it up :)

    • @perfectallycromulent
      @perfectallycromulent 10 дней назад

      I've never seen that phrase used in the German publications and media I've been reading for the past 20 years, and I tend toward stuff about history, politics, and science & technology. I think that indicates that it's a old phrase, that has greatly diminished in use, or one used by a certain part of the German population, and not in general circulation.

    • @Conquerthemall
      @Conquerthemall 10 дней назад +11

      @@perfectallycromulent
      So from my experience
      It is commonly used by all generations but it more of a oral thing nobody would white it in a text especially not in a scientific text

    • @besserwizard
      @besserwizard 10 дней назад +8

      @@perfectallycromulentit is a coloquial phrase usually not used in written language.

  • @Camel-from-Arabia
    @Camel-from-Arabia 11 дней назад +125

    Well, they are worse fates - trying to survive in WWI Russian Army, or for pro players, trying to survive in Italian Army under command of Luigi Cadrona 😅

    • @bismarckbismarck6352
      @bismarckbismarck6352 11 дней назад +45

      "We have attacked at Izonzo 10 times with catastrophic casualties, surely the 11th time will work better" Luigi Cadrorna, circa 1918

    • @DerImperator-wh5tz
      @DerImperator-wh5tz 11 дней назад +9

      Or in the Ottoman Army or Austro Hungarian Army

    • @erikstolzenberger1517
      @erikstolzenberger1517 11 дней назад

      Hrhr

    • @fus132
      @fus132 11 дней назад +9

      Nah, it wasn't that bad on the Eastern front everything considered.
      Until you know, the army got literally disbanded mid-war.

    • @poil8351
      @poil8351 11 дней назад +7

      The ottoman army wasn't so bad in odds compared to others.
      The serbian army was almost a death sentence in 1914-1915 unless you were lucky enough to make it to salonika. you were just as likely to be murdered by a austro hungarian army hell bent on vengeance or being massacred by Bulgarians.

  • @andywindes4968
    @andywindes4968 11 дней назад +10

    My grandfather did. He served as a medic in the Kaiser's army. He was briefly called by up in WWII but was injured when a troop train was strafed and sat out the rest of the war. My uncles served in WWII on the Russian front. One was killed when he was hit by artillery in 7/41; the other survived the entire war but had a terrible case of PTSD.

  • @silvanafronzke6262
    @silvanafronzke6262 11 дней назад +15

    My grandpa survived at the western front. He lost a leg and his body was full of shrapnel pieces. He said he only survived because a big guy was giving him blood a few times.

  • @chrisbowman2030
    @chrisbowman2030 11 дней назад +50

    "Erbswurst" is no preserved meat. It's soup concentrate compressed into a sausage ("Wurst") like shape, made manly out of peas (German "Erbsen" or "Erbs" for short). Dissolved in hot water it makes pea soup. You can buy it in supermarkets up to this day in Germany. Edit: Seems Knorr stopped production of the Erbswurst in 2018 due to lack of demand. I used to buy these for camping trips.

    • @Tony.795
      @Tony.795 11 дней назад +6

      Knorr actually discontinued it in 2018 after almost 130 years.

    • @chrisbowman2030
      @chrisbowman2030 11 дней назад

      Ok, i didn't knew that. Years ago i bought it for camping holidas.​@@Tony.795

    • @dennisyoung4631
      @dennisyoung4631 8 дней назад

      Seems it can be approximated by home methods…

    • @kellymcbright5456
      @kellymcbright5456 7 дней назад +3

      But erbswurst is still produced in Sweden :)

  • @MrWasjig
    @MrWasjig 11 дней назад +20

    That final segment was very sobering. Listening to that German soldier's journal, and the photographs of the common EMs in the German army had a poignancy. Bravo, History Hit!

  • @sebus559
    @sebus559 11 дней назад +12

    Bravo lads, finally a fair depiction of the German army for the sake of enlightenment ❤

  • @peppertrout
    @peppertrout 8 дней назад +15

    Germans. British. Two sides of the same coin. Tragic that brothers fought each other in mutual extirpation.

    • @tomluzzer5413
      @tomluzzer5413 6 дней назад

      I will never get it for what the british fought for. They did not even had voting rights! In Germany every Man from 1890! So far for the ``ìnferiour Kaiserreich``!

    • @kurtschlesinger8257
      @kurtschlesinger8257 4 дня назад

      yer mate so true wars are bad no good

  • @markus5985
    @markus5985 9 дней назад +5

    “Bombardment, barrage, curtain-fire, mines, gas, tanks, machine-guns, hand-grenades - words, words, but they hold the horror of the world.”
    ― Erich Maria Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front

    • @tomluzzer5413
      @tomluzzer5413 6 дней назад

      Again: he never was ever there in person! He wrote the whole book from the reports of others after the war!

  • @MichaelEllison-jr4wg
    @MichaelEllison-jr4wg 11 дней назад +25

    This is one of my favorite series you have developed. Love the channel and keep up the great work!!

  • @CarolusR3x
    @CarolusR3x 7 дней назад +3

    I'll add that what the mauser lacked in ammunition capacity it made up for with a quicker reload, being rimless bullets and all.

  • @TraitofSiNN727
    @TraitofSiNN727 11 дней назад +29

    good. I was hoping we can see what the Germans went through.
    good to see it on both sides.

    • @HistoryHit
      @HistoryHit  11 дней назад +7

      We''ll always try and show as many perspectives as possible

    • @primalwolfe4711
      @primalwolfe4711 11 дней назад

      Watch all quiet on the western front. It shows the Germans view of things.

    • @TraitofSiNN727
      @TraitofSiNN727 11 дней назад

      @@primalwolfe4711 that's cool. somethings I can't watch due to my location. in simple terms...there are some docs I can't watch. sucks but I carry on.

  • @LoneWanderer727
    @LoneWanderer727 11 дней назад +26

    Thank you for doing this series. Those who fought in this war deserve to be remembered, and know about all they experienced.

  • @ricopaulson1
    @ricopaulson1 11 дней назад +38

    No. Most assuredly no.

  • @bryanr8897
    @bryanr8897 11 дней назад +47

    The first gas attack actually occured on the Eastern Front. However, Russian High Command ignored the reports coming from the front lines so it wasn't until Ypres that it was taken seriously by the Allies.

    • @Snuffy03
      @Snuffy03 11 дней назад +13

      Yes. But Russians did not look on their soldiers as valuable soldiers and human beings. They looked on them as cattle to be used up. It hasn't changed for the average Russisn soldier. Witness, WW2 and beyond.

    • @kv-2156
      @kv-2156 11 дней назад +5

      @@Snuffy03 Where did you get that information?

    • @Snuffy03
      @Snuffy03 11 дней назад

      It's history. Centuries of mistreatment of the aveeage Russian by the Imperial family is history. Soldiers were treated no better. They were like cattle to the royals. And under the commies, no better. The Russian people, and their soldiers, were nothing more than cannon fodder to their powers that be. But then, all soldiers in the old days were considered just things to be used and thrown away. ​It's not mych beter today. But I will say this. As one eho has served and fought, I was never mistreated. Although I did encounter a rew martinette officers but tey didn't last long.@@kv-2156

    • @HDreamer
      @HDreamer 11 дней назад

      I vaguely remember that the impact wasn't all that big either, due to the different nature of the Eastern Front (and maybe the weather that day?), so it didn't seem as big of a deal.

    • @A_reasonable_individual42
      @A_reasonable_individual42 11 дней назад +1

      ​@kv-2156 where did you get that, the U.S didn't even enter the war until late 1917.

  • @user-lw5ib7yn7q
    @user-lw5ib7yn7q 10 дней назад +14

    Mein Großvater war Berufssoldat Vize-Feldwebel
    Und war auch in Verdun und hat den Krieg überlebt
    Im 2 WK war Er Oberleutnant kam 1950 aus Russischer Gefangenschaft zurück

  • @Thornbush434
    @Thornbush434 8 дней назад +3

    This video says that the "Schlieffen Plan" (1905) failed. In fact, the Schlieffen Plan was never carried out as conceived. It was heavily modified by General Helmuth von Moltke, prior to and during its implementation, who weakened the forces employed to complete its goals. The Schlieffen plan was designed, to avoid a two-front war, by having German forces march West to along the coast, and once North of Paris, turn South and capture Paris and the French government. Ending the war in the West. Moltke is blamed for running out of nerve to keep the Army heading West far enough to reach a location North of Paris, instead turned South too soon which inevitably caused the plan to fail with the resulting stalemate of defensive trenching while Germany turned to defeat Russia as quickly as possible to avoid the same two front war that the Schlieffen Plan was designed to avoid. Ref. encyclopedia Britannica

    • @tomluzzer5413
      @tomluzzer5413 6 дней назад

      Let them their will. 🙄 In the end Germany was defeated by a Hunger blockade and by itself with a gay opium addicted called Max v. Baden!

  • @anthonymiozza526
    @anthonymiozza526 9 дней назад +4

    I really liked how both these dudes just straight up nerded out and gave an excellent presentation of the German side in the short amount of time they had. Honestly did not get bored of this.

    • @HistoryHit
      @HistoryHit  8 дней назад

      That's the feedback we love to hear!

  • @mats7492
    @mats7492 9 дней назад +5

    I could watch these all day.. Well done! Here in germany we learn A TON about WWII but very little about WWI so this was very educational for me as a german

  • @gregwilliams386
    @gregwilliams386 9 дней назад +3

    That 1916 Stelhelm was a real advancement, it had a brim to protect the eyes, covered and protected the ears and neck. It had vents to protect the soldier from the concussion of artillery. And it was well padded.

  • @kratzikatz1
    @kratzikatz1 10 дней назад +6

    "Erbswurst" is not made of meat! It contents grounded peas , dried soup base and a little bit of smoked ham . All compressed together. I really missed it , because production was stopped some years ago. It was a good little hot meal, quick made , only with boiling water and a "Wiener"sausage added.

  • @beardedlonewolf7695
    @beardedlonewolf7695 11 дней назад +14

    I really enjoyed this one, captivating and very well put together, great hosts as well.
    What a tough war this one was on these men.

  • @Why-D
    @Why-D 9 дней назад +6

    All should have stopped on first Christman Eve, when soldiers of both sides met between the lines, and celebrated the evening. There would have been so much less pain and death.

  • @oneparticularharbor144
    @oneparticularharbor144 7 дней назад +1

    The movie 1917 did a good job in showing the difference between the allied and German trenches - the German ones being much more substantial. It also showed him important foraging was to supplement rations. My grandfather was a MGer with the 2nd Infantry and severely injured in a a gas attack in the Belleau woods region . Wish I knew more of his time in service

  • @dwls9986
    @dwls9986 8 дней назад +2

    It was not the British and French counterattacks on the Marne that stopped the German advance on Paris. The reason for the halt was the withdrawal of an entire army corps. These units were quickly relocated to East Prussia to stop the Russian advance there (Battle of Tannenberg 1914).

  • @IntrepidMilo
    @IntrepidMilo 11 дней назад +7

    Amazing video. I have always been fascinated by the Great War. So thank you for this video series.

  • @krizzh8671
    @krizzh8671 4 дня назад

    Habe noch nie eine so detaillierte Dokumentation gesehen, echt Respekt bin euch sehr dankbar

  • @mohammedsaysrashid3587
    @mohammedsaysrashid3587 11 дней назад +8

    It was informative and thrilled watching historical coverage work about cruelty and difficulties faced German soldiers inside trenching statics warfares during WW1.

  • @hasanmatloob3788
    @hasanmatloob3788 10 дней назад +1

    What an eye opener these 2 videos have been about WW1 trench warfare. Many thanks to Richard Townsley and Luke Tomes for this tremendous effort. Please never stop doing this great work.

  • @MrGutty117
    @MrGutty117 11 дней назад +5

    Really impressed with this episode and series in general. Luke and Louee always do a great job with their questions for the experts and engaging the viewer. It's also great to see period weapons, kit, and uniforms in action. A ton of legwork goes into these videos and it shows. Keep up the great work guys!

    • @HistoryHit
      @HistoryHit  10 дней назад +1

      Really appreciate this. We always strive to include a good level of detail whilst keeping the videos entertaining.

  • @RandomGuy-ql1bu
    @RandomGuy-ql1bu 8 дней назад +3

    I dont think id survive as ANY soldier in WW1.

  • @SteveBrownRocks2023
    @SteveBrownRocks2023 10 дней назад +1

    Also, I love this site! The videos are always informative & give a sense of “being there”. 👏🏽😎

  • @Skaldewolf
    @Skaldewolf 10 дней назад +4

    15:36 'Erbswurst' wasn't preserved meat. It was a compressed block of dried pea-soup.
    It was manufactured until a few years ago and produced with boiling water an acceptable cup of soup.

    • @kellymcbright5456
      @kellymcbright5456 7 дней назад

      In Schweden kann man die immer noch in jedem Supermarkt kaufen.

  • @rhysnichols8608
    @rhysnichols8608 11 дней назад +6

    Arguably the best army in the war overall, fighting outnumbered on 2 main and 2 secondary fronts, against the biggest empires in the world and holding the line for over 4 years is pretty impressive.
    Germany was facing 70.2% of the worlds population which controlled 64% of global GDP by 1918.

    • @SusCalvin
      @SusCalvin 8 дней назад

      Carlin described it as the more functional version of the '36-'40 army.

    • @invisibleman4827
      @invisibleman4827 6 дней назад

      They were outstandingly good soldiers, the Tommies interviewed in 'They Shall Not Grow Old' said "the German soldier was a very good fighter on average, I'd rather have him on my side than against him." They also said generally the ones they met as POWs were nice blokes, and with wives and families of their own at home.

  • @Unboxcityunboxcity
    @Unboxcityunboxcity 10 дней назад

    It’s crazy the quality of this documentary. It is so good and well done. To see it on RUclips is such a treat. Thank you so much for what you do all of you.

  • @anthonymunn267
    @anthonymunn267 10 дней назад +3

    That was brilliant. Loved the use of the similar sound effects used in All Quiet On The Western Front. A1 video!!

  • @solidus1995
    @solidus1995 8 дней назад +1

    My great grandfather did. His name was Wulfgang and he was in a reserve unit that ended up seeing action in every major battle including race to the sea and Passchendaele

  • @vividnostalgia9564
    @vividnostalgia9564 10 дней назад +4

    I have to admit, even though I had a decent knowledge on the WW1 and their armies. I was very surprised on the detailed facts presented in this video, that I’ve never heard before!
    Nice video.

    • @HistoryHit
      @HistoryHit  10 дней назад

      That's a fantastic compliment! Really chuffed you enjoyed it

  • @rc59191
    @rc59191 11 дней назад +6

    Yes! Been looking forward to this one love all the work ya'll do.

  • @poggingmilk9452
    @poggingmilk9452 6 дней назад +1

    My Great-Grandfather fought on the Western Front, while still studying his for his „Abitur“ (the German Finals in School). He survived the war luckily, and came back

  • @beachcomberbloke462
    @beachcomberbloke462 4 дня назад

    Thanks so much for this well researched and informative HH episode. The detail of the use of gas was quite chilling.I think the German M16 helmet was inspired by the Roman Legionary helmet which had very good neck protection.👍

  • @yossiallen3316
    @yossiallen3316 8 дней назад +3

    My grand uncles were one of the first Stormtroopers who fought and gave their lives for the Kaiser and Reich. Kind of proud of them.

  • @michaelmijares5547
    @michaelmijares5547 10 дней назад +2

    Very good episode showing the opposition. I'd love to see a 'Could You Survive?' as a Japanese Soldier/Aviator/Sailor in WW2 next.

  • @LivinLikeLarrry
    @LivinLikeLarrry 11 дней назад +12

    These "Could you survive" videos are absolutely the best HistoryHit episodes.
    Please do more!!! (Less British junk though please)

    • @HistoryHaty
      @HistoryHaty 11 дней назад

      This episode is about the Germans.
      If they keep making these maybe I might subscribe.

  • @Lockerus
    @Lockerus 11 дней назад +4

    The Gewehr 98 still had an internal magazine, it didn’t hold five in the chamber. Probably just a misstatement, but the service rifles of WW1 all had magazines, just not external ones like the SMLE.

  • @beachcomberbloke462
    @beachcomberbloke462 4 дня назад +2

    Thanks! For bringing history alive.

  • @strangeradriel2424
    @strangeradriel2424 9 дней назад

    Thanks for making this possible cause I really appreciate history

  • @darthkillhoon
    @darthkillhoon 9 дней назад +2

    One of my ancestors survived all for years in a Bavarian Division from beginning to end of the war

  • @sheogorath2657
    @sheogorath2657 11 дней назад +2

    Good show as always 👌🏾

  • @agtom1329
    @agtom1329 10 дней назад

    Great video. Informative and well produced. Keep it up HH!!

  • @Dr.Madd138
    @Dr.Madd138 10 дней назад +1

    It’s 50/50, life or death during war. If only this one could’ve really been the one to end all wars. May all soldiers on both sides souls find peace.

  • @StevenBaer-zv6lq
    @StevenBaer-zv6lq 6 дней назад +1

    Shell shock during the First World War then it was actually changed to Battle Fatigue or Combat Fatigue in the Second World War and the Korean War. Then it was actually changed once again to PTSD from the Vietnam War. It's actually a psychological thing to the mind that even killed in battle was actually more merciful than to go through that. It seems to tear down the mind, reasoning, and thinking.

  • @user-li4sz3jz1b
    @user-li4sz3jz1b 10 дней назад +2

    Brilliant Luke, never really seen it from the German side, really well made as usual 😊😊😊

    • @HistoryHit
      @HistoryHit  10 дней назад

      Thank you for the kind words, glad you enjoyed

  • @FrankeeLee223
    @FrankeeLee223 8 дней назад +1

    I am surprised ANY one survived that carnage. Artillery, flame,gas,disease, machine guns, endless battle. 4 years .

  • @Watankatanka
    @Watankatanka 8 дней назад +1

    Thank you so much for this interesting video.

  • @rewesicherheitsdienst1018
    @rewesicherheitsdienst1018 6 дней назад

    Fun fact about the MG-08:
    Its full designation of 08/15 is sometimes used to describe something common, cheap or easily replaceable.
    The phrase is still in use today. For example, you could describe a cheap, mass produced bike as a "08 15 Fahrrad"

  • @darant2341
    @darant2341 9 дней назад +1

    I would love if you did a "could you survive on the Alpine Front" video, it would be absolutely awsome!

  • @lionljb
    @lionljb 10 дней назад +2

    Fun fact about the MG08. Saying "nullachtfuffzehn" (0 8 15) is used to describe something very average/monotone. There are several theories where exactly this comes from, one is that the daily routine of mg crews was just very boring. Another one is that it is due to different and same parts being produced in factories far apart, but very standardized to a point where typewriter factories could produce them.

  • @dcjway
    @dcjway 9 дней назад +1

    “War is a Racket” Smedley Butler, USMC

  • @thegridgab
    @thegridgab 10 дней назад +1

    Excellent documentary! Would be great to see more of these as Could you survive as a French, Russian, Serb soldier in WW1.

    • @potatomine6678
      @potatomine6678 10 дней назад

      And a Bulgarian soldier aswell, but I'm more rooted for russian and french soldier

  • @andreasschmidt2739
    @andreasschmidt2739 11 дней назад +12

    I doubt I could survive as soldier in the trenches. However my grandgrandfather an Unteroffizier der Artillerie could, at least until 1917...

    • @gerriekipkerrie6736
      @gerriekipkerrie6736 11 дней назад +2

      I bet he got a crazy k/d ratio.

    • @andreasschmidt2739
      @andreasschmidt2739 9 дней назад +1

      @@gerriekipkerrie6736 He probably does, however as far as I know he received the Iron Cross and was severly injuried at the Battle of Passchendaele in October and died soon afterwards.

  • @hb9145
    @hb9145 9 дней назад +1

    My great uncle (from Norway) was fighting on the Western front for the Americans and got WIA at Blanc Mont Ridge. He was severely wounded by German artillery and later got taken as POW by the French allies, believing that he was a German (since his English wasn't that good). He was actually reported KIA, and it was only after some three weeks of grieving that they got a letter from him explaining what had happened.

  • @potatomine6678
    @potatomine6678 11 дней назад

    I've beenw waiting a long time, looks like it's finally time

  • @carlospena3379
    @carlospena3379 6 дней назад +1

    Amazingly done video! Thanks!

  • @Sorarse
    @Sorarse 10 дней назад +2

    Very interesting, but at 10:00 that Mauser couldn't hold 5 rounds in the chamber. I think you meant magazine.

  • @thefloatingbread
    @thefloatingbread 11 дней назад +5

    my great grandpa was in the german army firgthing in verdun (he was a dane)

    • @Melior_Traiano
      @Melior_Traiano 11 дней назад

      Mine too. He also fought in Verdun, but he was Prussian. He received an Iron Cross, which my brother has now. I have his war diary and ID tags. The average life expectancy for a German soldier in Verdun was two weeks. He later died in WWII as a civilian during an allied air raid.

  • @jody6851
    @jody6851 9 дней назад +1

    Yes, especially if I was assigned guard duty at one of the Munich beer halls for the duration of the war rather than in any of the trenches.

  • @SandfordSmythe
    @SandfordSmythe 7 дней назад +1

    The physical effects of "Shell Shock" is now recognized as Traumatic Brain Injury. It's from the concussion of the blast. The symptoms are different from PTSD.

  • @potatomine6678
    @potatomine6678 10 дней назад

    I remember seeing Richard on the channel named "AbsoluteHistory" and now he's on history hit! It's nice to see him more and more tbh

  • @WendyDarling1974
    @WendyDarling1974 11 дней назад +5

    My grandfather was drafted into the army at 16 and remarkably survived three years in the WWI trenches with an artillery unit. He lost almost all his comrades and lived through some truly horrifying, traumatic experiences. He left Germany within five years of the end of the war and immigrated to the US.

    • @A_reasonable_individual42
      @A_reasonable_individual42 11 дней назад

      Did he fight for the allies or the central powers?

    • @kutter_ttl6786
      @kutter_ttl6786 9 дней назад

      ​@@A_reasonable_individual42 The last sentence answers your question.

  • @charlestourneur7862
    @charlestourneur7862 10 дней назад

    My great grandfather did, but it was a close call. He was one of the sappers who dug the mines at Messine ridge. He was gassed and spent some time recovering. Just in time to go on to ypres, vimy, etc etc.

  • @thecommissaruk
    @thecommissaruk 10 дней назад +3

    Erbswurst was great stuff, you could still get it until fairly recently (perhaps still can in Germany). Makes a good soup in the field, I used to take it when camping or hiking.

    • @kutter_ttl6786
      @kutter_ttl6786 9 дней назад

      Knorr discontinued Erbswurst in 2018 due to a lack of demand, unfortunately. Not sure if anyone offers an equivalent now.

  • @Kaboom--ix2xu
    @Kaboom--ix2xu 11 дней назад

    Very entertaining and informative video, but a small nitpick: the chamber is the rear part of the barrel where a round is seated; and thus only holds one round. I believe you meant to refer to the internal magazine.

  • @tb7771
    @tb7771 9 дней назад +1

    Wonderful video. I have been a WW2 re-enactor for over 30 years and have been debating giving Great War reenacting a shot.

  • @rambi1072
    @rambi1072 11 дней назад

    This was fascinating, thanks.

  • @peterhughes4735
    @peterhughes4735 10 дней назад +1

    A very good documentary, with one serious omission: almost no discussion of artillery. Both sides were using it of course, and it existed in a wide variety of callibers. But it was responsible for more deaths than any other weapon - I've heard estimates ranging from 60%, depending on the situation.

    • @HistoryHit
      @HistoryHit  10 дней назад +1

      A significant discussion of artillery in the British episode!

  • @berndf.k.1662
    @berndf.k.1662 10 дней назад

    Excellent work ! A here not mentioned further disadvantage of the Gewehr 98 was that the iron sights initial position was 400 meters. Unbelievable but this wasn´t changed until the end of the war.

  • @Folgeantrag
    @Folgeantrag 7 дней назад +1

    My Great Grandfather was a Gunner in WWI. He died in the 1980s when i was a young child but i still remember me that my father said to me i must spoke very loud and clear to him because my great-grandfather was nearly deff because his hearing was severly damaged from morw than two years of service as an artillery crewman on the western front. Sound protection did not exìst. It is remarkable that an english speaking history chanel made this documentation. Here in Germany the Public Memory for the Casualties of World War I is nearly totaly forgotten. More than two Million German men lost their lives but their memory was instrumentalized by Nazi Propaganda after the catastrophy of Hitlers Regime and World War II life and death of German Soldiers in WWI did not matter anymore

  • @kellymcbright5456
    @kellymcbright5456 7 дней назад

    Well-done work. Is like on pair with a lot of productions by state-run tv stations of earlier times.
    But: where did you guys take the pics? Is this kind of "museum trenches"? Or did you reconstruct it?

  • @a.m.7165
    @a.m.7165 11 дней назад +5

    Erbswurst is not meat but concentrated peasoup.

  • @The_Daily_Tomato
    @The_Daily_Tomato 10 дней назад +1

    Knowing my luck?
    A shrapnel would probably tear my face off two months after fighting started.

  • @gladlawson61
    @gladlawson61 11 дней назад +7

    Highly enjoyable.

  • @PreparedAegean
    @PreparedAegean 8 дней назад

    Good job. Great docu ❤

  • @gordonsteele5656
    @gordonsteele5656 11 дней назад +1

    Thank you,very interesting

  • @uToobeD
    @uToobeD 9 дней назад

    Excellent informative video

  • @jeffbreezee
    @jeffbreezee 8 дней назад +1

    My great uncle Harry, served with the US 3rd Infantry Division at the Marne.

  • @supernoodle6715
    @supernoodle6715 10 дней назад

    Sooo educational! Thank you! I learned a lot.

  • @davidkeller6156
    @davidkeller6156 8 дней назад

    I love that “Talk to Your Daughter” tone. I don’t know how to describe it, but I’ve never heard anything close to it. I listened different people using Dumbles or modelers with Dumble tracks, but never anything like his sound on that album. What guitar does he use? 335?
    I guess I’d describe it as spongy. The first time I heard it the word that came to mind was chewy.😂 Listening to it now.
    I saw him live a few years ago at a small theater in Vallejo, Ca. He was using his Tele and had two amps on stage, a Two Rock and a Twin Reverb.