The more you learn about this conflict, the more utterly depressing it gets. What an amazingly sad war. What a waste of some of the finest men that ever lived.
That's most wars unfortunately. We're seeing it right now. How many Russian and Ukrainian men that should be raising families, working jobs, advancing their societies instead are dying.
It was a war started over nothing, fought over nothing, leaving a mess that could hardly be worse behind. Civilization is still dealing with the setbacks it caused.
Yes the Germans were suffering from man power losses. My family lost seven of the eight brothers by 1916. The eighth was my grandfather who was to young for WW one. But served in the Luftwaffe in WW two. There the family also lost six relatives. May they rest in peace.
I have almost the same story with my French family, they lost four of the five boys in WW1, the fifth was my grandfather who was to young born in 1906 …peace for them
@@JacquesV43 My condoloces. And I wish peace for US today aswell. I really cannot believe that our two peoples did this to each other; I spend all my holidays in France. Every year. I like the french people very much. Best wishes.
Back to the First World War! This really takes me back to watching the weekly episodes… I was actually gonna be starting my seventh tour through the series soon. I like the recent content from this channel, but I’ve missed seeing WW1 content so much
Back to the classic, FWW is still the most fascinating time in history for me. Indiana I have also done a few repeat viewings of the series from scratch, it never gets boring. Thanks Jesse loved the revisit, looking forward to seeing more🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Spring Offensive was my entry into this channel, already 5 years ago… Very glad to see a return to the war years, I believe there is still more that can be gained from covering parts of the war in this format. Some things get lost in the week-by-week coverage.
Really great presentation. I especially love that no cheap, phony sound effects were added to the footage, the first time I've seen anyone do that in a Great War documentary. Thank you.
My great uncle Charles O'Brien was part of a machine gun crew at Vimy. He was wounded, but not too badly. He never spoke of his experiences in that brutal, useless war when he returned to Nova Scotia.
It's sad to say that hundreds of thousands of us, if we take a brief look into our ancestry, will find one if not more people who fought in that tragic war. Fortunately, my grandfather survived, one of five brothers. He joined in 1916 after his brothers Frank and Patrick were killed. John died six months later, and Cyril, at just 19, was killed in September 1918 at Looes two days after his birthday. A terrible waste of human life.
I love to see The Great War channel get more experimental this year, which has also benefited its viewership. While I miss the bimonthly chronological coverage of post WW1 content, I recognize that it wasn't getting that many views, and that a change of pace was necessary. Also, it's not like you outright abandoned it, so I'm excited to see TGW team rap up the Greco-Turkish War, the Irish Civil War, the Russian Revolution, and many other events by 2023/1923.
@@TheGreatWar Very true. That said, I'm curious about a couple of things: -Will guys continue the coverage of post-WW1 Central Asia? Y'all left it in a cliffhanger back in Oct 2020, so I'll be interested in seeing it's conclusion. -Will y'all make another post-WW1 video on South Africa? -Will you cover the Egyptian Revolution at some point?
Something Ive always found fascinating about world war 1, specifically the later years is the advent of combined arms warfare. Coordination between aircraft, infantry, armor and artillery quickly became vital to victory. It's a huge contrast to the back & forth attrition tactics of 1915-1916 (although attrition was still a primary strategy until the end of the war).
All it took was 1 general with agood dose of common sense and command of his nations troops and he showed the world how to win the war late 1917 into 1918 with carefull planning and full co ordination of all forces in his command synchronized in a welllanned well led offensive ,the general , Sir John Monash
@@christopherbell2091 Correct, it was Monash who finally put the pieces of the puzzle together, beginning at Hamel, and the after requesting the Canadians join the battle on the Australian right, (he didn't trust the French Provincial troops stationed there.) it was the Battle of Amien which finally broke German defences and to a lesser extent, morale. The black day of the German war had arrived
Unfortunately like during the Napoleonic Wars when the importance of supporting Infantry with cavalry (To attack the flank) and cavalry with artillery (to break square formations) was pioneered the importance of combined arms was lost during the interwar period was each branch began to bicker about "Who really won the war"
My grandfather served as an infantry officer with the Grenadierregiment 10, right on the edge of the Army group Arras at St. Laurent Blangy on an island in the Scarpe. The positions were overrun very quickly on the morning of April 9 and he escaped by the skin of his teeth, being shot at and wounded by a Scottish soldier in the process. His memoirs are very vivid, describing the Semaine de Souffrance of the preliminary artillery bombardment and the helter-skelter flight in great detail.
Great video, very well done. As an aside, at the Battle of Arras a young Irish officer named Clive Staples Lewis was seriously wounded by friendly fire and the war ended for him. This was years before he even thought of writing the Chronicles of Narnia.
Man, I can't believe it's been five years already since this offensive was covered the first time at the channel, in the weekly episodes. I am glad you decided to get back to these events in more detail.
Thank you for making this! As someone who had multiple family members at vimy ridge during the battle, all of whom either refused to speak of the war or died during it or from later causes related to it, it is nice to understand more about what happened there.
I love this! This is a better full-scale analysis than the chronological episodes- more specifics on the tactical evolution here, which is what really fascinates me. Thanks for your work, Mr. Jesse Alexander and the Great War team
And thank you for giving plenty of air time to the French perspective! So many English language sources (even high quality well researched ones) acts as though the Western Front was just Little Britain vs the Hun.
Yes ! That is so very true ! At times, watching other channels, one could be stupidly misled into the utterly spurious notion that France was ‘ merely ‘ a battleground for the British Empires forces to clash with the ‘ Hun ‘. Preposterous !
@@celtspeaksgoth7251 Imploded ? I think the French soldiers were more numerous than the British troops on the Western Front, even after Verdun. They always defended a larger warfront than the British.
Those new tactics for Vimy Ridge were designed by Canadian Arthur Currie. He believed it was smart to learn lessons from earlier attacks that had failed and cost so many lives. He had the men practice the attack in Britain, evn going so far as having the layout of the practice area similar to the actual battlefield, and having them practice the timing of advancing under a creeping barrage of artilary. The changes he recommended at a lecture
Quite right. Arthur Currie is by far the most brilliant soldier and commander ever to emerge from the Canadian army. He managed the epic stand of the Canadians in 1915 at 2nd Ypres. In 1918, his was the leadership of the Canadian corps during the epic Hundred Days offensive. He won a string of victories including the incredible crossing of the Canal Du Nord as the Canadians were among the principal formations in routing the German army out of France and back into Belgium. During that time, Currie showed that he could handle battles of maneuvre rather than only set-piece battles like Vimy. HIs recognition by Canadians should be far larger than it is. That can be blamed on the spite and hatred of Prime Minister McKenzie King for anything connected to the military in Canada. King was a despicable man who refused to attend the commissioning of the Vimy Memorial in1936. He was quite rightly despised by all WW1 veterans.
Excellent and fascinating! I've read quite a bit about WW1 over the years but have never seen such a detailed and clear explanation of the elastic defense. Well done!
There were Canadian battalions that were integrated with indigenous members. My Great Uncle (47th Battalion, CEF) fought alongside at least one at Vimy.
@@j2174 Before D-Day, many American paratroopers cut their hair into Mohawks and put on “native” war paint. It seems easy to imagine that a Canadian soldier, especially one with native ancestry, would do something similar to prepare a “warrior” persona for battle. There’s so much gravity and drama in a first-person narrative of WWI; it seems unusual that the author would fabricate something. Seems more likely that the “truth is stranger than fiction” and that he was truly encountering Canadian troops who had put on war paint to pump themselves up for going over the top.
@@j2174 The same reason a Christian soldier might pray. Ritual is important to men in battle for many reasons. I imagine this soldier could have covered himself in the war paint of his ancestors as a soldiers ritual, a warriors ritual. Hoping it would intimidate his enemies and bring him success in battle. Maybe to honor his ancestors. Maybe just personal comfort to a nervous young man heading into mortal peril. This story doesn't sound like a fantasy at all. Nobody is going to discipline a soldier in the middle of an attack because he has some face paint on and isn't wearing proper cover.
I would love a special on the ''what if's''. For example talk about the anti-ludendorff clique in German High Command who wanted to win in Italy and close all tertiary fronts down in 1918 rather than the Kaiserschlachts. Or talk about the potential plans for 1919! There were so many interesting things going on. Love these!
@@jakobrinsdorf7791 If the Germans hadn't lost maybe there where no Hitler and no USSR as a superpower. But this is not for sure. After all a victorious german Kaiserreich could have continued to democratize itself like the other monarchies in europe.
Well done. Nice job showing the evolution of technique - especially the decentralization of command and the development of reverse slope and elastic defense tactics and their impact on the battlefield. Really well done.
When you finally take your hard earned learnings into your offensive plans...and then discover that your enemy has ALSO adapted, and adapted better and more quickly than you have...
When you think you're having a bad day, keep in mind that those men we saw taking a nap in the dirt side of the trench, were most likely having one of the best parts of their day.
Truly appreciated comment. Whenever I think of how ugly were the years of war here in Syria or there in Ukraine I think of these men of fought and wasted their lives/years in these ugly wars. I feel sorry for them ,and think how meaningless life is, and how we are so privileged to live now rather than 60/100/200 years ago.
all kinds of diseases spreading, lice, rats, raining up to your hips sometimes, bombardment for hours, days, not seeing daylight, watching friends die quickly if you were lucky, slowly if not or permanently injured, bad food, imo leadership that rated from ok, to negligent to criminal. Before the French Mutiny, not having the front line troops changed out enough, no R&R for burnt out shell shocked units...... Dante's Inferno imo.
They failed to break the deadlock but the British army did hone their tactics to the point that on the offensive they were no longer suffering a ridiculous ratio of casualties compared to the Germans in defense, which differed greatly from 1915 and 1916. A serious improvement in artillery (both quality and coordination) was one of the main reasons. I think at 3rd Ypres the casualties were roughly 5:4 in favor of the Germans, which they certainly could not sustain. It was a serious step in the right direction.
Nivelle makes me so angry. Years into the war and he learned nothing. Discarding the German defenses as a whole despite the war being one of endemic stalemate shows how disgusting most WW1 commanders were with lives of their men. I don't understand why they thought it was too hard to observe the line thoroughly, reissue and design a plan based off of the newly formed line, and then keep your mouth shut about it. It bewilders me.
You basically summarized one of the main causes of the french defeat in 1940. Old commanders stuck in their obsolete beliefs, misusing an army that could have fought with success otherwise.
General Pershing had watched WW1 for three years and on the first big action by the Americans they charged headlong into m/gun fire without artillery support. He didn’t learn either.
@@anthonyeaton5153 We won the Battle of Cantigny with very few losses compared to the French and British. The next major battles were Belleau Wood and Chateu. We didn't have the artillery or air support at the time. But almost all of our offenses were highly successful
@@ledoynier3694 the French doctrine of the second world war was a modern, developed doctrine. It was not at all dated or obsolete. It was the French reliance on obsolete communication methods that doomed them in 1940. Their combat doctrine was fine and where the French communication system did work, the French Army took quite a toll on the attacking Wehrmacht. The problem was that the German Panzer and motorized forces spearheading the attack were faster than the French communication runners once the telephone wires were cut.
LOL @ this nonsensical absolute garbage, could we not also say this? "Why The Germans Couldn't Overcome Allied Trenches in Spring 1917" (WW1 Documentary).
I thoroughly enjoyed The Great War series. It was so interesting I traveled to Europe in the summers of 2018 and 2019 to visit the many war zones. However. TGW was fast paced and only highlighted the many battles. The in depth review today was great. More of this please.
I once wondered the purpose of the pair of studs on the side of the German helmet. I found out decades ago while touring a war museum.... those studs mate to a bulletproof plate that fits to the front of the helmet... nice for peering over the top of the trench.
My grandfather fought in the 15th Btn. A.I.F. at Bullecourt! He was captured when his section ran out of ammunition after being cut off by the Germans, just as you stated. Thank you so much for this video, as it illustrates his war diary.
How often have these "battles to win the war" ever worked? Yes, eventually a battle will become the last battle, but I can't really think of any which had the humble goal of ending an entire war in one fell swoop. The result is always the same: Thousands of dead, an embarrassed high command, morale in the gutter and valuable equipment lost. The Germans understood that they were most likely not going to go on the offensive again like in 1914, but they were masters of defense and dug in, essentially forcing the Entente to go on the offensive and attack them from weaker positions.
I suppose they figured if they could blow a hole in the line big enough they could get to the enemy's flank and rear which would put them in a check position. Now you can either destroy the enemy's army or the enemy will sue for peace. That's what they were hoping for. 😁
@@joeya6795 there is always the hope that one striking blow will in the war. In the 19th and 20th century early 20th century warfare you hear this. It is more of a hope than anything. But had they been able to spearhead the line and turn the enemy's flank it would have put the Germans in perilous position. Unfortunately, the insane charging into machine gun fire never worked out much for them. 🤷♂️
@@ommsterlitz1805 if he was such a genius he would have been able to adapt as his enemy learned his own tactics and used them against him. He was not able to find a new bag of tricks. And Wellington knew him better than he knew himself he ended him 😁
You have no idea how happy I am to see the First World War on this channel again and that's saying something, considering the terrible mess that it was
You mentioned the Battle of Bullicourt. the were two battles fought at that time he first in April by the 4th Aust. Div, which you cover...the second battle was in May and fought by the 2nd Aust Div. It too was a very bloody affair but Bullicourt was taken, and remain in Allied hands until lost during the German Spring Offensive in March 1918. during those two battles the AIF lost 10,000 casualties. Australian troop again fought in the area on 29 Sept 1918 as the Australian Army Corpes including 2 US div(under Australian command).
I also enjoy videos on ww1. My question is why you think the young German comments on his experience being captured was a figment of his imagination. You weren’t there. They were native Canadians in the armed forces and therefore quite likely not a figment of his imagination.
I just watched the movie on Netflix 'All quiet on the western front' Went on a WW1 history tour on RUclips. Glad I found this channel. This war was insane.
16:35 - The battalion Jesse mentions (16th Battalion, AIF) is from Perth, Western Australia. I have seen the Drake-Brockman name appear all over the place.
I know it’s a counter factual, but what would have happened if the ANZACs had delayed their attack at Bullecourt and waited for better placed artillery support. That may have given the German Army a chance to use it’s reserves at Vimy Ridge and defeat the Canadian Corps and thus undermine trust between the Canadians and ANZACs. The two Corps could not have been used at Amiens in 1918 and Germany could have, if not won not lost in 1918. But it’s a counter factual just a reason to look more sympathetically at Gough’s decision in 1917.
So it was this offensive which during it's early moments claimed lives of these four British servicemen: - Blackadder, Edmund, Captain - Darling, Kevin, Captain - St Barleigh, George Colthurst, Lieutenant - Baldrick, S. Private Notable detail is that Blackadder Family which could trace it's unbroken lineage back to Richard IV of England through Prince Edmund Plantagenet ended on that day.
Looks like only the bankers lending money to both sides were the real winners of WW1. This is what gave birth to the Jewish conspiracy because some of the bankers happened to be Jewish, but obviously that is irrelevant. You would be surprised just how many wars are conspired by bankers who then lend money to both sides.
The Lewis gun was a game changer in many ways. The British finally had mobile firepower to attack German Maims. And, they were finally realizing Mills bombs were better that bayonets in trench warfare. The Germans learned this much sooner, as their operation in the Argonne in 1915-16 showed.
The British had learned it, the problem was not the lesson but production of the equipment. People forget that the British were not only supplying their troops already in place but rapidly expanding their army in the first 2 years of the war. It took time to set up all the various factory lines to build the Lewis guns and produce the grenades in the truly staggering quantities required.
The real "game changer" was the tank, as initiated by Winston Churchill, the "First Lord of the Admiralty", not the typical Army type, bound by their limited training and resources. The best the Lewis gun could do was support the tanks as they advanced through the German trenches from German counter-attacks.
Canada's contributions to WWI AND II are often overlooked..from battles in no man's land to D-day they had a lot of success amd contributed to overall victory for the allies in a lot of way....thank you O 🍁!
My great grandfather, from waterford joined the british army in aug 1914 and served the whole war in france returning in 1919, i still dont know exactly what battles he fought in etc but he survived and had a few daughters, was hard as nails by all accounts
The hard part in a lot of this... is that in many ways, the Spring Offensive wasn't a complete failure. It wasn't a complete victory, but neither was it a complete failure. The French and British both gained ground, and with LIGHTER losses than what the French had taken at Verdun in 1916 or what the British had suffered on the Somme. In this, despite the errors noted here, they actually did better when compared to previous operations, all things considered. The problem that hit the Entente, I think is just as with Joffre in 1914 at Champagne, Artois and Champagne in 1915, at the Somme in 1916, a lot of Nivelle's plan was looking for a massed breakthrough. That the German line would break and once through, the line could be rolled up in a way that wouldn't require a massive broad front advance but would have the same results... forcing the Germans out and inflicting heavy loss, particularly when they start to retreat. Something that after the first month of the war would not be truly repeated. The Entente enjoyed localized successes, but these were often on a small scale and due to a particular set of circumstances, which likely couldn't be easily replicated with the technology they had at the time. Yet, Nivelle promised a major breakthrough and didn't get it. His forces advanced, and with lighter casualties than suffered the previous year, and over a wider area of ground than the previous year. In this, it could be counted as a "victory," but it wasn't the breakthrough victory that Nivelle had hoped for and advertised. Which then stressed French morale, which probably wasn't all that high to begin with, to the point where they mutinied against Nivelle's offensive and how they were treated behind the lines.
Nivelle did indeed have the same strategy than Joffre of breaking through with a massive attack but he believed that the now better equipped and better trained french army would have made what wasn't possible in 1915 possible in 1917. The battles of the Somme and Verdun are often cited as examples of "man grinders" but the losses of the french army during the whole war is a deceasing curve with the highest death toll being the first months of the war and 1915.
@@poussincasoar7741 - Agreed... it is one of the things that is interesting and shows a lot of progression in how the Entente, and particularly the French, conducted the war. There was a lot of actual improvement on their part... BUT at the same time, the perception of how they were treated really didn't change for the average French soldiers and that fed into what the mutiny came out of after the Nivelle offensive.
It became obvious to the germans that this was going to become a war of attrition that they couldn't win, so their plan became hold on to any gains they'd made that would make their position that much stronger at the negotiation table. Hence their bunkers were built deep and built to last, rather than the allies which were only ever viewed as temporary.
I honestly think if Germany would have realized how bad the Treaty of Versailles really was, they'd not have signed it but fought further. Even if the allies would have managed to push into Germany itself they'd have bled many more thousands which would have also urged them for a more balanced peace treaty (and may have spared us from Hitler)
Without the USA the allies would likely been fought to a stand still and lost. Lost, “defined as having to make a compromise peace with the Germans largely on German terms.” Even with the U.S. entry, the British in late 1917 were seriously contemplating peace feelers from the Germans under which the Germans would have kept all their gains on the Eastern Front and pulled back in the west. If the Americans hadn’t entered the war, the British would have done that deal. The Allies were not only exhausted emotionally and militarily but financially as well. They were in serious financial trouble in early 1917 and they depended heavily on American banks to finance their purchases of war supplies and their ability to get those loans was becoming harder and harder. One of the immediate benefits after the United States enters is that Wilson gets Congress to pass legislation to allow the U.S. government to loan money to the Allies. Those government-to-government loans give them the money to fund their purchases of crucial supplies.
@@DontKnow-hr5my the fact that people call vrrsailles harsh is bonker... It really shows how much nearly a century after the facts people have swallowed goebel propaganda.
@@MN-vz8qm It was crazy harsh and that has nothing to do with "Goebbels Propaganda", i recommend you to read more into the impact it actually had. If the french would not have kept pushing for the treaty to be as it was, we may have been spared a second war.
@@alskjlskaj Large amounts of money was needed to finance the war-to buy food and munitions for the soldiers, to pay them, and to loan $7 billion to the Allies for their purchasing needs. The GDP in 1917 plus 1918 was $124 billion. Since the dollar then was worth about $20 in 2021, that is about $2.5 trillion in 2021 dollars. The foreign loans stabilized the Allied economies and strengthened their ability to fight and to produce weapons, and thus helped the American war effort. By the end of the war, the United States had become a creditor nation for the first time in its history. But the loans caused no end of diplomatic problems when Washington in the 1920s demanded (and did not get) full repayment. In 1932, 90% was written off because of the Great Depression; after that the issue was largely forgotten and the loans were finally repaid in 1951.
Verdun was Petain's triumph, not nivelle's. It was Petain who turned the French army around into a winning army. nivelle just inherited it and claimed it as his.
13:50 I am more inclined to believe a Canadian soldier dressed himself as an ersatz Mohawk warrior than a German soldier born in the 19th century could imagine a phantom Mohawk.
My understanding was that it was the New Zealand tunnelling company that was at the battle of Arras, the division it's self was not, as such it was an Australian attack and technically not an ANZAC one (even though the name AZAC corps was used it didn't always have New Zealanders in it) I believe the the New Zealand division it's self was in Flanders at that time preparing for the battle of Messines.
@@vanlendl1 first world war, we had no foreign minister, so when Britain declared war, we where also at war. Second War, we had an independent foreign policy and actually declared war because we wanted to.
13:38 A comment here: the defensive positions at Vimy were old structures that had accreted over two years of to and fro fighting at Lorette, Givenchy and Neuvill-Saint-Vaast and hammered by incessant mining warfare. Bullecourt on the other hand was nearly the end fortification of the newly constructed Siegfried-Stellung, what the Entente called the Hindenburg Line, forward positions extended as far as Henin-sur-Cojeul. This position was a totaly different proposition, carefully constructed concrete fortifications in the manner shown earlier in the video.
If you are taking another look at WW1 battles I would recommend the battles Loos. Admittedly it has been a long time since I watched early great war videos but from what I remember some of the early battles really didn't get the attention they deserved.
@@TheGreatWar my Great grandad was a medic at Vimy ridge one of the rare English soldiers there. He was gassed in the 3rd ypres and sadly died a few days before armistice day . His name was Thomas Tudor which i have his middle name .
the mixed unit doctrine was developed by the canadians during WWI and then adopted by the other allies. we we're also made fun of for the infantry always carrying our supplies to the front themselves, if you we're going to the front you we're taking your kit and something else to the front, turns out it was the smart thing to do
Contrary to "popular belief", the French Army was not a spent force after the mutinies, waiting for the Americans to come and win the war for them. They further reformed, using technology to make up for their dwindling manpower. The questionable tanks of 1917 made way for the Renault FT-17, which swarmed over the battlefields of 1918.
Yes, but they needed TIME to do all that. Which is why the majority of the Offensive actions undertaken by the Entante in 1917 after the Nivelle Offensive were undertaken by the British. While not as bad as many make out Morale WAS poor especially after the Offensive failed so badly. The French needed time to rebuild the moral of their army, as well as to institute the structural and training changes you alluded to.
@@alganhar1 The French continued offensive operations in 1917. In the area that the Nivelle Offensive failed, they continued to advance more methodically in a way that would minimize casualties over the months to come. "The Great War" RUclips channel showed this in their week-by-week episodes.
I find it very sad that for them to learn this we had senseless killing on both sides and the guys at the top just shrug it off and just say oh well that didn't work.
Surely if losses were heavier for offensives, it would make more sense to lure the enemy into your own defensive killing zones. The best way to open up opportunities for attack, is to create an invincible defence. - The strongest attack is a strong defence.Ace triplex.
The front like war was inside the allies territory so the allies incentive for offensive was was to push the Germans back, if the germans wanted to defeat the French they would needed to take Paris, if if hey held their defensive positions they knew it’s would only be a matter of time before they would lose the war that way ,as they had far less fighting aged men than the allies + the British naval blockade was crippling them on the home front. But in a general after the Germans had been pushed back and failed to take Paris early in the war, their tactics during the war were more of a defensive, that is why they built their treaches to a better and stronger standard than the allies, with better bunkers and comfort etc as they were building theirs with the thought of long term. But defensive positions on both sides had kill zones with purpose built weak points set up in them to funnel in enemy infrantry,and as the war went on these obviously got more and more ‘ethiciant’. Infact the Australians in New Guinea used their experience fighting in World War One and fighting defensive positions to great effect against the Japanese who would make similar styled charges as those made early in WW1
The more you learn about this conflict, the more utterly depressing it gets. What an amazingly sad war.
What a waste of some of the finest men that ever lived.
That's most wars unfortunately. We're seeing it right now. How many Russian and Ukrainian men that should be raising families, working jobs, advancing their societies instead are dying.
But think of the poor generals/officers back at home, how else they gonna make it into history and glory?! /s
And it set the ground for an even worse war and time ahead.
It was a war started over nothing, fought over nothing, leaving a mess that could hardly be worse behind. Civilization is still dealing with the setbacks it caused.
Wars are a necessary evil, unfortunately. Men need to die in order for children to take their place.
Yes the Germans were suffering from man power losses. My family lost seven of the eight brothers by 1916. The eighth was my grandfather who was to young for WW one. But served in the Luftwaffe in WW two. There the family also lost six relatives. May they rest in peace.
its actually kinda cool to hear but sorry for your losses although u didnt know them
I have almost the same story with my French family, they lost four of the five boys in WW1, the fifth was my grandfather who was to young born in 1906 …peace for them
My condolences.
Your ancestors probably killed my ancestors out of cold blood
@@JacquesV43 My condoloces. And I wish peace for US today aswell. I really cannot believe that our two peoples did this to each other; I spend all my holidays in France. Every year. I like the french people very much. Best wishes.
More of this kind of content please! Don't be afraid to go back into the war years just because the chronological real-time episodes are done.
there will be more
@@TheGreatWar Glad to hear it.
Agreed!
I could listen to this guy talk about war all day long. Perfect annunciation, his voice is a relief to hear.
Thanks!
Dude jesse is my favorite narrator on youtube by far. Hes the david attenborough of war
Back to the First World War! This really takes me back to watching the weekly episodes… I was actually gonna be starting my seventh tour through the series soon. I like the recent content from this channel, but I’ve missed seeing WW1 content so much
we had a craving too and this won't be the last video this year
@@TheGreatWar thank you so much Great War team for all of your hard work
Same here :) so much outstanding content it's amazing
Back to the classic, FWW is still the most fascinating time in history for me. Indiana I have also done a few repeat viewings of the series from scratch, it never gets boring. Thanks Jesse loved the revisit, looking forward to seeing more🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I learned that the real dynamic duo was Hindenburg and Ludendorf while Cadorna and Holtzendorf were certified geniuses😂
The Spring Offensive was my entry into this channel, already 5 years ago… Very glad to see a return to the war years, I believe there is still more that can be gained from covering parts of the war in this format. Some things get lost in the week-by-week coverage.
that was our thought too
Really great presentation. I especially love that no cheap, phony sound effects were added to the footage, the first time I've seen anyone do that in a Great War documentary. Thank you.
My great uncle Charles O'Brien was part of a machine gun crew at Vimy. He was wounded, but not too badly. He never spoke of his experiences in that brutal, useless war when he returned to Nova Scotia.
A lot did not ever speek of what they seen
So u are irish?
Nova Scotia is a Canadian province.
@@anananasyiyen Canadian
It's sad to say that hundreds of thousands of us, if we take a brief look into our ancestry, will find one if not more people who fought in that tragic war. Fortunately, my grandfather survived, one of five brothers. He joined in 1916 after his brothers Frank and Patrick were killed. John died six months later, and Cyril, at just 19, was killed in September 1918 at Looes two days after his birthday. A terrible waste of human life.
I love to see The Great War channel get more experimental this year, which has also benefited its viewership. While I miss the bimonthly chronological coverage of post WW1 content, I recognize that it wasn't getting that many views, and that a change of pace was necessary. Also, it's not like you outright abandoned it, so I'm excited to see TGW team rap up the Greco-Turkish War, the Irish Civil War, the Russian Revolution, and many other events by 2023/1923.
yeah on RUclips you need to go with the times, probably the only hard rule there is
@@TheGreatWar Very true. That said, I'm curious about a couple of things:
-Will guys continue the coverage of post-WW1 Central Asia? Y'all left it in a cliffhanger back in Oct 2020, so I'll be interested in seeing it's conclusion.
-Will y'all make another post-WW1 video on South Africa?
-Will you cover the Egyptian Revolution at some point?
@@extrahistory8956 Shut up. Do you manage this channel?
@@uioongbion2074 What a lovely human being you are......
This is so freaking detailed. More please.
Something Ive always found fascinating about world war 1, specifically the later years is the advent of combined arms warfare. Coordination between aircraft, infantry, armor and artillery quickly became vital to victory. It's a huge contrast to the back & forth attrition tactics of 1915-1916 (although attrition was still a primary strategy until the end of the war).
yeah that's the true evolution that took place towards the end of the war, that often gets glossed over when talking about trench warfare.
All it took was 1 general with agood dose of common sense and command of his nations troops and he showed the world how to win the war late 1917 into 1918 with carefull planning and full co ordination of all forces in his command synchronized in a welllanned well led offensive ,the general , Sir John Monash
@@christopherbell2091 Correct, it was Monash who finally put the pieces of the puzzle together, beginning at Hamel, and the after requesting the Canadians join the battle on the Australian right, (he didn't trust the French Provincial troops stationed there.) it was the Battle of Amien which finally broke German defences and to a lesser extent, morale.
The black day of the German war had arrived
WWI
Unfortunately like during the Napoleonic Wars when the importance of supporting Infantry with cavalry (To attack the flank) and cavalry with artillery (to break square formations) was pioneered the importance of combined arms was lost during the interwar period was each branch began to bicker about "Who really won the war"
The size of artilleries in WW1 will always impress me. It's something out of an alternate timeline sci-fi book.
Come to think of it, so much of WWI feels like something out of an HG Wells novel
My grandfather served as an infantry officer with the Grenadierregiment 10, right on the edge of the Army group Arras at St. Laurent Blangy on an island in the Scarpe. The positions were overrun very quickly on the morning of April 9 and he escaped by the skin of his teeth, being shot at and wounded by a Scottish soldier in the process. His memoirs are very vivid, describing the Semaine de Souffrance of the preliminary artillery bombardment and the helter-skelter flight in great detail.
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing.
Great video, very well done. As an aside, at the Battle of Arras a young Irish officer named Clive Staples Lewis was seriously wounded by friendly fire and the war ended for him. This was years before he even thought of writing the Chronicles of Narnia.
Tolkien was at the Somme
Man, I can't believe it's been five years already since this offensive was covered the first time at the channel, in the weekly episodes. I am glad you decided to get back to these events in more detail.
Never forgetting this channel, even without Indy you guys are supreme
what happened to him? haven't watched their videos in a while....their notifications stopped showing for me now that I think of it
Same. I didn't know he was gone. This channel is still great.
@@strikeone7803 Indy has moved to a World War Two channel, weekly covering that conflict.
Wow Lokster you’re here?!
What happened to Indy llydel ???
Thank you for making this! As someone who had multiple family members at vimy ridge during the battle, all of whom either refused to speak of the war or died during it or from later causes related to it, it is nice to understand more about what happened there.
I love this! This is a better full-scale analysis than the chronological episodes- more specifics on the tactical evolution here, which is what really fascinates me. Thanks for your work, Mr. Jesse Alexander and the Great War team
And thank you for giving plenty of air time to the French perspective! So many English language sources (even high quality well researched ones) acts as though the Western Front was just Little Britain vs the Hun.
That was an absolute priority for this episode!
Yes ! That is so very true ! At times, watching other channels, one could be stupidly misled into the utterly spurious notion that France was ‘ merely ‘ a battleground for the British Empires forces to clash with the ‘ Hun ‘. Preposterous !
@@matthewwhitton5720 I thought the French army imploded after Verdun - so it was solely British Empire forces after that
@@celtspeaksgoth7251 Imploded ? I think the French soldiers were more numerous than the British troops on the Western Front, even after Verdun. They always defended a larger warfront than the British.
@@celtspeaksgoth7251 not at all. Verdun was a French victory and the French were the main allied land force on the Western front
This channel is by far my most favorite history channel.
The mere fact that you pronounce all their names properly in their own language proves that this is the best channel on this topic to me.
This battle shows the importance of short but steady gains over mass breakthroughs in a very contested area. Thank you for your video.
Those new tactics for Vimy Ridge were designed by Canadian Arthur Currie. He believed it was smart to learn lessons from earlier attacks that had failed and cost so many lives. He had the men practice the attack in Britain, evn going so far as having the layout of the practice area similar to the actual battlefield, and having them practice the timing of advancing under a creeping barrage of artilary. The changes he recommended at a lecture
Quite right. Arthur Currie is by far the most brilliant soldier and commander ever to emerge from the Canadian army. He managed the epic stand of the Canadians in 1915 at 2nd Ypres. In 1918, his was the leadership of the Canadian corps during the epic Hundred Days offensive. He won a string of victories including the incredible crossing of the Canal Du Nord as the Canadians were among the principal formations in routing the German army out of France and back into Belgium. During that time, Currie showed that he could handle battles of maneuvre rather than only set-piece battles like Vimy.
HIs recognition by Canadians should be far larger than it is. That can be blamed on the spite and hatred of Prime Minister McKenzie King for anything connected to the military in Canada. King was a despicable man who refused to attend the commissioning of the Vimy Memorial in1936. He was quite rightly despised by all WW1 veterans.
Excellent and fascinating! I've read quite a bit about WW1 over the years but have never seen such a detailed and clear explanation of the elastic defense. Well done!
Depth of a defensive position may have decisive importance for the outcome of a decisive battle.
There were Canadian battalions that were integrated with indigenous members. My Great Uncle (47th Battalion, CEF) fought alongside at least one at Vimy.
I was thinking the same thing. Even a “white” Canadian might have wanted to channel the First People part of his heritage.
@Graf von Losinj Why?
@@jaredflurry937 Why?
@@j2174 Before D-Day, many American paratroopers cut their hair into Mohawks and put on “native” war paint. It seems easy to imagine that a Canadian soldier, especially one with native ancestry, would do something similar to prepare a “warrior” persona for battle.
There’s so much gravity and drama in a first-person narrative of WWI; it seems unusual that the author would fabricate something. Seems more likely that the “truth is stranger than fiction” and that he was truly encountering Canadian troops who had put on war paint to pump themselves up for going over the top.
@@j2174
The same reason a Christian soldier might pray. Ritual is important to men in battle for many reasons.
I imagine this soldier could have covered himself in the war paint of his ancestors as a soldiers ritual, a warriors ritual. Hoping it would intimidate his enemies and bring him success in battle. Maybe to honor his ancestors. Maybe just personal comfort to a nervous young man heading into mortal peril.
This story doesn't sound like a fantasy at all.
Nobody is going to discipline a soldier in the middle of an attack because he has some face paint on and isn't wearing proper cover.
"Crazy plunger" is an insult I've never heard before. I absolutely love it.
this is the only time , I encountered, that tactics have been explained this clearly in such a concise manner
Hey!! I was just thinking to myself that i would love to see some more 1914-1918 content from you guys. Love it! :)
I would love a special on the ''what if's''. For example talk about the anti-ludendorff clique in German High Command who wanted to win in Italy and close all tertiary fronts down in 1918 rather than the Kaiserschlachts. Or talk about the potential plans for 1919! There were so many interesting things going on. Love these!
Great idea!
That’s a really cool idea
Would have been a better timeline for Europe if CP somehow won :( The wrong side was victorious sadly.
@@yolomanolo2601 how would it have been better, what do you think?
@@jakobrinsdorf7791 If the Germans hadn't lost maybe there where no Hitler and no USSR as a superpower. But this is not for sure. After all a victorious german Kaiserreich could have continued to democratize itself like the other monarchies in europe.
This is the BEST analysis of changes in tactics in WW1. Great Job.
Well done. Nice job showing the evolution of technique - especially the decentralization of command and the development of reverse slope and elastic defense tactics and their impact on the battlefield. Really well done.
When you finally take your hard earned learnings into your offensive plans...and then discover that your enemy has ALSO adapted, and adapted better and more quickly than you have...
When you think you're having a bad day, keep in mind that those men we saw taking a nap in the dirt side of the trench, were most likely having one of the best parts of their day.
I often remember when thinking about complaining, there are people in the world that would love to live your worst day.
Truly appreciated comment.
Whenever I think of how ugly were the years of war here in Syria or there in Ukraine
I think of these men of fought and wasted their lives/years in these ugly wars.
I feel sorry for them ,and think how meaningless life is, and how we are so privileged to live now rather than 60/100/200 years ago.
all kinds of diseases spreading, lice, rats, raining up to your hips sometimes, bombardment for hours, days, not seeing daylight, watching friends die quickly if you were lucky, slowly if not or permanently injured, bad food, imo leadership that rated from ok, to negligent to criminal. Before the French Mutiny, not having the front line troops changed out enough, no R&R for burnt out shell shocked units...... Dante's Inferno imo.
"When you are sad think of a more sad thing to be double-sad"
@@nebras__ Death is never meaningless.
They failed to break the deadlock but the British army did hone their tactics to the point that on the offensive they were no longer suffering a ridiculous ratio of casualties compared to the Germans in defense, which differed greatly from 1915 and 1916. A serious improvement in artillery (both quality and coordination) was one of the main reasons. I think at 3rd Ypres the casualties were roughly 5:4 in favor of the Germans, which they certainly could not sustain. It was a serious step in the right direction.
Nivelle makes me so angry. Years into the war and he learned nothing. Discarding the German defenses as a whole despite the war being one of endemic stalemate shows how disgusting most WW1 commanders were with lives of their men. I don't understand why they thought it was too hard to observe the line thoroughly, reissue and design a plan based off of the newly formed line, and then keep your mouth shut about it. It bewilders me.
You basically summarized one of the main causes of the french defeat in 1940. Old commanders stuck in their obsolete beliefs, misusing an army that could have fought with success otherwise.
Gentlemen, the French and British and Canadian and Aussie generals were the winners, the German generals were the losers. Keep your perspective.
General Pershing had watched WW1 for three years and on the first big action by the Americans they charged headlong into m/gun fire without artillery support. He didn’t learn either.
@@anthonyeaton5153 We won the Battle of Cantigny with very few losses compared to the French and British. The next major battles were Belleau Wood and Chateu. We didn't have the artillery or air support at the time. But almost all of our offenses were highly successful
@@ledoynier3694 the French doctrine of the second world war was a modern, developed doctrine. It was not at all dated or obsolete. It was the French reliance on obsolete communication methods that doomed them in 1940. Their combat doctrine was fine and where the French communication system did work, the French Army took quite a toll on the attacking Wehrmacht. The problem was that the German Panzer and motorized forces spearheading the attack were faster than the French communication runners once the telephone wires were cut.
Watch our WW2 Documentary series 16 Days in Berlin on Nebula: nebula.tv/videos/16-days-in-berlin-01-prologue-the-beginning-of-the-end
Rule numero uno in warfare: "Plans never survive first contact with the enemy."
A word play on Richard Overy's "Why the Allies Won"?
“The best laid plans of mice and men.”
LOL @ this nonsensical absolute garbage, could we not also say this? "Why The Germans Couldn't Overcome Allied Trenches in Spring 1917" (WW1 Documentary).
This channel is just one of those, that reals off American propaganda as if real history.
Awesome, would love to get one like that for the spring 1918 German offensives too
I thoroughly enjoyed The Great War series. It was so interesting I traveled to Europe in the summers of 2018 and 2019 to visit the many war zones. However. TGW was fast paced and only highlighted the many battles. The in depth review today was great. More of this please.
thanks, there will be more soon
@@TheGreatWar Bring Reciepts, biblography and open sourced historian nerd scrutiny... fakes go silent quickly. knowign aint endorsement.
I once wondered the purpose of the pair of studs on the side of the German helmet. I found out decades ago while touring a war museum.... those studs mate to a bulletproof plate that fits to the front of the helmet... nice for peering over the top of the trench.
My grandfather fought in the 15th Btn. A.I.F. at Bullecourt! He was captured when his section ran out of ammunition after being cut off by the Germans, just as you stated. Thank you so much for this video, as it illustrates his war diary.
History should be taught this way in schools! I enjoy every single second of the video! Great content, as expected!
Such a terrific job you are doing! I’m totally hooked. Keep it up - please!
we will
How often have these "battles to win the war" ever worked? Yes, eventually a battle will become the last battle, but I can't really think of any which had the humble goal of ending an entire war in one fell swoop.
The result is always the same: Thousands of dead, an embarrassed high command, morale in the gutter and valuable equipment lost.
The Germans understood that they were most likely not going to go on the offensive again like in 1914, but they were masters of defense and dug in, essentially forcing the Entente to go on the offensive and attack them from weaker positions.
I suppose they figured if they could blow a hole in the line big enough they could get to the enemy's flank and rear which would put them in a check position. Now you can either destroy the enemy's army or the enemy will sue for peace. That's what they were hoping for. 😁
Winning enough battles will win the war, but only if you're annihilating troops with each win.
@@joeya6795 there is always the hope that one striking blow will in the war. In the 19th and 20th century early 20th century warfare you hear this. It is more of a hope than anything. But had they been able to spearhead the line and turn the enemy's flank it would have put the Germans in perilous position. Unfortunately, the insane charging into machine gun fire never worked out much for them. 🤷♂️
It only worked for Napoleon but he is on an other league of Genius among geniuses
@@ommsterlitz1805 if he was such a genius he would have been able to adapt as his enemy learned his own tactics and used them against him. He was not able to find a new bag of tricks. And Wellington knew him better than he knew himself he ended him 😁
I can't imagine witnessing the soul-destroying death and devastation of WW1 at 17 years of age. Must have been horrendous for them.
You have no idea how happy I am to see the First World War on this channel again and that's saying something, considering the terrible mess that it was
You mentioned the Battle of Bullicourt. the were two battles fought at that time he first in April by the 4th Aust. Div, which you cover...the second battle was in May and fought by the 2nd Aust Div. It too was a very bloody affair but Bullicourt was taken, and remain in Allied hands until lost during the German Spring Offensive in March 1918. during those two battles the AIF lost 10,000 casualties.
Australian troop again fought in the area on 29 Sept 1918 as the Australian Army Corpes including 2 US div(under Australian command).
"In battle, the enemy gets a vote". Well put.
Never thought I'd be nostalgic for a war. These actions were first covered half a decade ago. Where has all the time gone?
yeah, hard to believe we're soon entering the 9th year of production
My Great Grandfather was wounded fighting on the western front in WWI.
RIP George Patrick Coppedge 1894-1988 ✝️
What branch was he serving in?
What an amazing video. Thank you. The pictures and videos were amazing
I also enjoy videos on ww1. My question is why you think the young German comments on his experience being captured was a figment of his imagination. You weren’t there. They were native Canadians in the armed forces and therefore quite likely not a figment of his imagination.
I just watched the movie on Netflix 'All quiet on the western front'
Went on a WW1 history tour on RUclips. Glad I found this channel.
This war was insane.
16:35 - The battalion Jesse mentions (16th Battalion, AIF) is from Perth, Western Australia. I have seen the Drake-Brockman name appear all over the place.
wow this channel is still around! Thank you for putting out this content
not going anywhere 😉
I know it’s a counter factual, but what would have happened if the ANZACs had delayed their attack at Bullecourt and waited for better placed artillery support. That may have given the German Army a chance to use it’s reserves at Vimy Ridge and defeat the Canadian Corps and thus undermine trust between the Canadians and ANZACs. The two Corps could not have been used at Amiens in 1918 and Germany could have, if not won not lost in 1918. But it’s a counter factual just a reason to look more sympathetically at Gough’s decision in 1917.
So it was this offensive which during it's early moments claimed lives of these four British servicemen:
- Blackadder, Edmund, Captain
- Darling, Kevin, Captain
- St Barleigh, George Colthurst, Lieutenant
- Baldrick, S. Private
Notable detail is that Blackadder Family which could trace it's unbroken lineage back to Richard IV of England through Prince Edmund Plantagenet ended on that day.
could be yes. Haig definitely moved his drinking cabinet 6 inch closer to Berlin with this one.
@@TheGreatWar A herculean effort indeed. *Wibble
Looks like only the bankers lending money to both sides were the real winners of WW1. This is what gave birth to the Jewish conspiracy because some of the bankers happened to be Jewish, but obviously that is irrelevant. You would be surprised just how many wars are conspired by bankers who then lend money to both sides.
My great uncle was killed in this action 1917. He is buried in Morley France. He was just 24 years old.
Always like coming back to these videos. They are so well thought out and explained.
The Lewis gun was a game changer in many ways. The British finally had mobile firepower to attack German Maims. And, they were finally realizing Mills bombs were better that bayonets in trench warfare. The Germans learned this much sooner, as their operation in the Argonne in 1915-16 showed.
The British had learned it, the problem was not the lesson but production of the equipment. People forget that the British were not only supplying their troops already in place but rapidly expanding their army in the first 2 years of the war. It took time to set up all the various factory lines to build the Lewis guns and produce the grenades in the truly staggering quantities required.
The real "game changer" was the tank, as initiated by Winston Churchill, the "First Lord of the Admiralty", not the typical Army type, bound by their limited training and resources.
The best the Lewis gun could do was support the tanks as they advanced through the German trenches from German counter-attacks.
Maims?
The 120k + French casualties paid the price of inability to adapt at the front, a hard lesson for their loved ones.
a hard lesson for military command.. a tragedy for their loved ones.
I love these vids. Keep it up!!
The intros to your intros are fantastic, they're great man, chefs kiss!
Canada's contributions to WWI AND II are often overlooked..from battles in no man's land to D-day they had a lot of success amd contributed to overall victory for the allies in a lot of way....thank you O 🍁!
This channel deserves more subs for its authenticity creativity and accuracy.
“There is only 1 way this war ends, last man standing”
My great grandfather, from waterford joined the british army in aug 1914 and served the whole war in france returning in 1919, i still dont know exactly what battles he fought in etc but he survived and had a few daughters, was hard as nails by all accounts
Man we go from 1870 to 1812 to 1917. Tough era for the French Army for this channel.
don't worry, they will get their time
The hard part in a lot of this... is that in many ways, the Spring Offensive wasn't a complete failure. It wasn't a complete victory, but neither was it a complete failure. The French and British both gained ground, and with LIGHTER losses than what the French had taken at Verdun in 1916 or what the British had suffered on the Somme. In this, despite the errors noted here, they actually did better when compared to previous operations, all things considered.
The problem that hit the Entente, I think is just as with Joffre in 1914 at Champagne, Artois and Champagne in 1915, at the Somme in 1916, a lot of Nivelle's plan was looking for a massed breakthrough. That the German line would break and once through, the line could be rolled up in a way that wouldn't require a massive broad front advance but would have the same results... forcing the Germans out and inflicting heavy loss, particularly when they start to retreat. Something that after the first month of the war would not be truly repeated. The Entente enjoyed localized successes, but these were often on a small scale and due to a particular set of circumstances, which likely couldn't be easily replicated with the technology they had at the time.
Yet, Nivelle promised a major breakthrough and didn't get it. His forces advanced, and with lighter casualties than suffered the previous year, and over a wider area of ground than the previous year. In this, it could be counted as a "victory," but it wasn't the breakthrough victory that Nivelle had hoped for and advertised. Which then stressed French morale, which probably wasn't all that high to begin with, to the point where they mutinied against Nivelle's offensive and how they were treated behind the lines.
Nivelle did indeed have the same strategy than Joffre of breaking through with a massive attack but he believed that the now better equipped and better trained french army would have made what wasn't possible in 1915 possible in 1917.
The battles of the Somme and Verdun are often cited as examples of "man grinders" but the losses of the french army during the whole war is a deceasing curve with the highest death toll being the first months of the war and 1915.
@@poussincasoar7741 - Agreed... it is one of the things that is interesting and shows a lot of progression in how the Entente, and particularly the French, conducted the war. There was a lot of actual improvement on their part...
BUT at the same time, the perception of how they were treated really didn't change for the average French soldiers and that fed into what the mutiny came out of after the Nivelle offensive.
It became obvious to the germans that this was going to become a war of attrition that they couldn't win, so their plan became hold on to any gains they'd made that would make their position that much stronger at the negotiation table. Hence their bunkers were built deep and built to last, rather than the allies which were only ever viewed as temporary.
I honestly think if Germany would have realized how bad the Treaty of Versailles really was, they'd not have signed it but fought further. Even if the allies would have managed to push into Germany itself they'd have bled many more thousands which would have also urged them for a more balanced peace treaty (and may have spared us from Hitler)
Without the USA the allies would likely been fought to a stand still and lost. Lost, “defined as having to make a compromise peace with the Germans largely on German terms.” Even with the U.S. entry, the British in late 1917 were seriously contemplating peace feelers from the Germans under which the Germans would have kept all their gains on the Eastern Front and pulled back in the west. If the Americans hadn’t entered the war, the British would have done that deal.
The Allies were not only exhausted emotionally and militarily but financially as well. They were in serious financial trouble in early 1917 and they depended heavily on American banks to finance their purchases of war supplies and their ability to get those loans was becoming harder and harder. One of the immediate benefits after the United States enters is that Wilson gets Congress to pass legislation to allow the U.S. government to loan money to the Allies. Those government-to-government loans give them the money to fund their purchases of crucial supplies.
@@DontKnow-hr5my the fact that people call vrrsailles harsh is bonker...
It really shows how much nearly a century after the facts people have swallowed goebel propaganda.
@@MN-vz8qm It was crazy harsh and that has nothing to do with "Goebbels Propaganda", i recommend you to read more into the impact it actually had. If the french would not have kept pushing for the treaty to be as it was, we may have been spared a second war.
@@alskjlskaj Large amounts of money was needed to finance the war-to buy food and munitions for the soldiers, to pay them, and to loan $7 billion to the Allies for their purchasing needs.
The GDP in 1917 plus 1918 was $124 billion. Since the dollar then was worth about $20 in 2021, that is about $2.5 trillion in 2021 dollars.
The foreign loans stabilized the Allied economies and strengthened their ability to fight and to produce weapons, and thus helped the American war effort. By the end of the war, the United States had become a creditor nation for the first time in its history. But the loans caused no end of diplomatic problems when Washington in the 1920s demanded (and did not get) full repayment. In 1932, 90% was written off because of the Great Depression; after that the issue was largely forgotten and the loans were finally repaid in 1951.
Just discovered your superb channel in the last week. I’m finding the post war Central and Eastern European most interesting. Thank you.
The most lethal combination of 1917: Nivelle as the supreme commander with Charles Mangin leading from the front.
Verdun was Petain's triumph, not nivelle's. It was Petain who turned the French army around into a winning army. nivelle just inherited it and claimed it as his.
There was Noël de Castelnau who is considered the most underrated General of the Great War.
@@tibsky1396 De Castelnau was then promptly fired by the bellend Nivelle but recalled by Foch.
Vimy Ridge was successful because of carefully developed tactics, tough troops and careful preparation.
Vimy Ridge was successful because it was Canadian
@@seanbeck9991 with the help of the British.
@@anthonyeaton5153 biggest help they provided was getting out of the way
@@seanbeck9991 Blind ra-ra Nationalism got us into it, and is still a problem
@@seanbeck9991 Why can’t you give credit to a loyal ally. The British fought and died at Vimy just as the Canadians did.
Thank you for sharing old beautiful history film!
This was a great video, thank you
"Even if you won, you lost" Modern warfare in a nut shell
13:50 I am more inclined to believe a Canadian soldier dressed himself as an ersatz Mohawk warrior than a German soldier born in the 19th century could imagine a phantom Mohawk.
Throwback to high-school watching Great War videos everyday after school
Throwback to grad school for me. 😄
14 days of preparring barrage....
WW1 was redicilous in scale even by our standarts today
You know an attack is screwed when the officers talk of "offensive spirit" being the key.
My understanding was that it was the New Zealand tunnelling company that was at the battle of Arras, the division it's self was not, as such it was an Australian attack and technically not an ANZAC one (even though the name AZAC corps was used it didn't always have New Zealanders in it) I believe the the New Zealand division it's self was in Flanders at that time preparing for the battle of Messines.
And you tell me now, when Germany declared war on New Zealand.
@@vanlendl1 first world war, we had no foreign minister, so when Britain declared war, we where also at war. Second War, we had an independent foreign policy and actually declared war because we wanted to.
Murray don't forget the British.
great channel, this is very well presented and put together. thank you for the hard work!
Sweet, Great War video.
You are the best Kommentator ever. I as an German can understood everything you say because of a very clear speak. Thank you.
This is what ive been waiting for♡
13:38 A comment here: the defensive positions at Vimy were old structures that had accreted over two years of to and fro fighting at Lorette, Givenchy and Neuvill-Saint-Vaast and hammered by incessant mining warfare. Bullecourt on the other hand was nearly the end fortification of the newly constructed Siegfried-Stellung, what the Entente called the Hindenburg Line, forward positions extended as far as Henin-sur-Cojeul. This position was a totaly different proposition, carefully constructed concrete fortifications in the manner shown earlier in the video.
If you are taking another look at WW1 battles I would recommend the battles Loos. Admittedly it has been a long time since I watched early great war videos but from what I remember some of the early battles really didn't get the attention they deserved.
it's on the menu for next year actually
Just came across you’re channel and its absolutely incredible
welcome to the show
@@TheGreatWar my Great grandad was a medic at Vimy ridge one of the rare English soldiers there.
He was gassed in the 3rd ypres and sadly died a few days before armistice day .
His name was Thomas Tudor which i have his middle name .
Yes! We go back in time!
the mixed unit doctrine was developed by the canadians during WWI and then adopted by the other allies. we we're also made fun of for the infantry always carrying our supplies to the front themselves, if you we're going to the front you we're taking your kit and something else to the front, turns out it was the smart thing to do
Contrary to "popular belief", the French Army was not a spent force after the mutinies, waiting for the Americans to come and win the war for them. They further reformed, using technology to make up for their dwindling manpower. The questionable tanks of 1917 made way for the Renault FT-17, which swarmed over the battlefields of 1918.
Yes, but they needed TIME to do all that. Which is why the majority of the Offensive actions undertaken by the Entante in 1917 after the Nivelle Offensive were undertaken by the British. While not as bad as many make out Morale WAS poor especially after the Offensive failed so badly. The French needed time to rebuild the moral of their army, as well as to institute the structural and training changes you alluded to.
The mutins lost only 3000 mans. Very few
@@alganhar1 The French continued offensive operations in 1917. In the area that the Nivelle Offensive failed, they continued to advance more methodically in a way that would minimize casualties over the months to come. "The Great War" RUclips channel showed this in their week-by-week episodes.
19:11 this one photo is haunting.
I find it very sad that for them to learn this we had senseless killing on both sides and the guys at the top just shrug it off and just say oh well that didn't work.
Thanks for keeping up the videos!
The Canadian Corps figured out how to overcome the German trenches in the spring of 1917 (see Vimy Ridge)
Wow this was a throwback I wasn't expected
Great respect for these men who have known abominable conditions and sufferings !
Love this Channel!
WW1 is one of my personal Favorite Themes in History
Surely if losses were heavier for offensives, it would make more sense to lure the enemy into your own defensive killing zones.
The best way to open up opportunities for attack, is to create an invincible defence. - The strongest attack is a strong defence.Ace triplex.
The front like war was inside the allies territory so the allies incentive for offensive was was to push the Germans back, if the germans wanted to defeat the French they would needed to take Paris, if if hey held their defensive positions they knew it’s would only be a matter of time before they would lose the war that way ,as they had far less fighting aged men than the allies + the British naval blockade was crippling them on the home front.
But in a general after the Germans had been pushed back and failed to take Paris early in the war, their tactics during the war were more of a defensive, that is why they built their treaches to a better and stronger standard than the allies, with better bunkers and comfort etc as they were building theirs with the thought of long term.
But defensive positions on both sides had kill zones with purpose built weak points set up in them to funnel in enemy infrantry,and as the war went on these obviously got more and more ‘ethiciant’. Infact the Australians in New Guinea used their experience fighting in World War One and fighting defensive positions to great effect against the Japanese who would make similar styled charges as those made early in WW1
That’s elastic defense. It would be fairly easy to breakthrough, as long as your plans don’t get discovered.
@@AYVYN That’s self contradictory, if the plans were discovered it would be easier.
Yessssss exactly the sort of content we need
One thing Indy didn't complete was stupid moves 1917- 1918. Please consider completing it!
I agree. There were still enough idiots for that list to be done quite easily.