To understand how bad the French military courts were, one of France's most famous soldiers in WW1 was almost executed for desertion. In truth he had actually snuck for hours into no mans land to save a wounded French Officer, however the French court was so rushed and biased they didn't bother to find the officer to confirm his story, and with no other witnesses he was sentenced to death. Dude was only hours away from the post when a message was delivered from the wounded officer to confirm his story and halt the execution.
No wonder French revanchism which was spread under The third republic after the loss of Franco Prussian war was so devastating . Became the trigger factor of WW1. And indirectly helped shape the path to German revanchism that led to the rise of national socialists in WW2.
Because of the mass mutinies. The French army was collapsing in on itself. The British wasn't doing much better. It's unlikely they would have lasted another year if we hadn't joined.
PTSD is one thing I wish no one would have to suffer through any more from my experience at can be crippling and stop you from living properly for several years of your life . and what is really horrific is that so many people had to go through similar experiences to what I had without any proper medical assistance
And now you can get PTSD from being a Web moderator whose job is to Filter out all the horrors of humanity. No need to enlist. Meta will happily give it to you.
It amazes me that the willingness of political leaders to sacrifice the minds and bodies of so many young people just to satisfy their own petty desires isn’t recognized for the absolute rejection of humanity and contempt for the troops that it is.
The way to look at it is that if someone like me can get ptsd from heavy psychological abuse from my narcisistic mother, imagine how fkin worse it must be for prople who went through war
This isn't as brutal as what's talked about in this video, but in my country military service is mandatory and many people find ways to avoid it, including self harm. I have a friend who right after he got into the army, which was during winter, he exposed his fingers and hands to the cold as often as he could resulting in him getting frostbite. It worked as he got discharged only a few weeks later, but the trade off was that he now lost the feeling in his fingertips probably due to nerve damage
Your friend is a coward. You are Swedish, so I am assuming that your friend is Swedish as well. Your country is not even at war, yet he still did something like that.
And they're wearing something, i think they're soldiers or maybe cowards who probably prideful over something but deep inside is confused but in the end they always blame it to the world when in fact it is the humanity at fault. I dunno why i bring this up but i Don't understand it at all, i always question why, what, where, when, how, but the answers doesn't seem to payoff even if it is a lie or a truth nor whether it would satisfy me or not, this entire comment is just nonsense and yet i Don't even know why i even commented this, but... yeah who cares, i mean i cared but... why should i care when no one cares, also why does everything in present feels so slow but when i look at the past it feels so fast and when looking for the future it feels stagnated, why do i feel lost when i already have the directions? What is the line over our desires and duties. The majority doesn't want deaths nor sufferings but why does no one wanted to stop the cycle of hatred, whenever someone to tried to stop it comes to hate another thus still continuing the cycle. Is change does actually matter? What if that change is bad for the whole, don't you want to remain it the same, but then what now? Also how did i get here in this topic? Speaking of here, if we are here in this world then, what is this world for us? We individuals is looking for something but some of it are beyond on this world nor even logic and things, yet everything came crashing down as if nothing actually happens. As if it actually happens, and what if it is, then what would you do then? The same if it did not happen. With so much words would anyone dare to read and if so would anyone would actually understand, it's not for entertainment nor even for you or for the god being. It's not even something actually something associated to me? This word came from nothing, also how can everything came form nothing, if that nothing is not nothing then it could be something, if so, why, what, where, when, how, nothing actually made?
My great grandad was a runner in thre Somme. One quiet day he heard a gun shot and man sream around the corner in the trench. After turning the corner he saw a fellow soilder holding his foot. My grandad immediately started cleaning the guy's rifle for him before an officer arrived. The guy said he wouldn't have done it if he know it hurt so much. My great grandad hated the upper class higher ranks. They sat deep in the ground and drank wiskey whilst playing cards. He'd run back from the front line and they would say "tell him to wait". This cost his fellow soilders lives.
As terrible as it is to say 'tell him to wait', those officers know the futility of it all. 1917 calling off the attack scene depicted this really well, hold now, wait for fog, attack, retreat, just an infinite cycle of pointless war. Those officers may be cowards but I don't blame them for hiding and drinking away their sorrow.
@@OpalLeigh-il8yj 100% Fighting for your country may seem heroic but WW1 was a waste of life in crazy conditions. Going home to your family to provide for them is equally heroic. Survival isn't cowardice.
representation of psychological issues related to war is a gold mine, your weapons videos are great too but I’d love to see more like this. Sky’s the limit
My Grandfather served as part of the British Army in WW1, He was wounded twice and finally sent home after being gassed but he did survive, in his opinion the most traumatic thing he did was to be part of a Firing Squad although if I remember right it wasn't called that, (but it was a Scotts Regiment) they were shot for cowardice or I think it was called lack of moral fibre or similar, I know they tried refusing the duty but were left in no doubt as to what would happen if they did, according to my Grandfather this happened in the early war a lot more and as things progressed "Shell Shock" became a thing and was treated slightly more sympathetically, A tough subject to cover especially when looked at through our modern sensibilities looking at things the horrors of whichwe can only imagine. Well Done JJ.
I love that you included Blackadder. It’s often theorised that Baldrick’s final cunning plan was to get a few nasty splinters from the ladder so that the boys wouldn’t be able to hold a rifle, and therefore wouldn’t be able to go over the top.
It wasn’t, Baldrick said that someone “could get a nasty splinter from that ladder” an ironic joke given that they all got mowed down by machine gun fire. Baldrick’s cunning plan was never revealed, there wasn’t time…
Thank you for talking about these kind of things with tact and respect. Covering a lot of parts of history that often gets overshadowed or forgotten. Keep it up
The reason that such topics are minimised in history is that most history is a tool used by nation states and the establishment to maintain the status quo of the acceptance of war and mass mobilisation of civilian soldiers in time of war. The true horrors of war are seldom dwelled on by the elites and formers of opinion in order not to put off the masses from signing up and taking part in wars. You can see this playing out in the current mass media treatment of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Russians leaving the country to avoid conscription are portrayed as wise heroes in the west while their counterparts in Ukraine are not even mentioned. Once this war ends ther will be a lot of stuff coming out regarding severe damage to mental health and sanity on both sides of this tragic conflict.
I just watched "The Guns of August" narrated by Fritz Weaver on you-tube. It covers the entire war. A group of clueless generals and politicians wiped out a whole generation of young men. The war didn't become a stalemate in the trenches until the "miracle of the Marne" when the German army with their modern weapons was stopped, and the Allies learned the Germans were not invincible.
I was in a combat environment for about two weeks. I know that two weeks is nothing... in the real world it is the blink of an eye. Time is different in combat. I'm in awe of any man who survived a month ... or 6 months... a year or more in combat. My grandfather somehow managed a little over 3 years in War 1 on the western front. One Uncle nearly a year in Europe during War 2. Another Uncle 3 years and 8 months in the Pacific theatre of War 2. My Dad a year in Korea. My wife's grandfather, over 4 years in the Pacific theatre of War during War 2. My father's friend - a non blood Uncle - who was 6 years in combat! 6 fucking years! There are others that I know... the vast majority of whom spent far, far more than my wee 2 weeks. I understand how a siw could be the best way out... I'd never judge a man who did that. Wonderful video... thank you! Like, comment, yada, yada, yada.... alright Johnny!
My only regret about my time in combat is my Grandfather passed before I went to war. He was US 1st Infantry Division WW2. He did 3 beach assaults. Anyhow growing up he told me very little about his time in WW2.
@@mikebrase5161 huh... well the men I mentioned didn't say shit. I learned about it on my own... except for my Dad... but he said little. I don't understand this "regret" you say you have... I don't know what "combat" you were in... don't care. Talk about it... the shit you were in... with the men who were with you. All I was doing here was stating that I'm in awe of some men and that I understand completely the whole siw thing and that I'd never judge them for that. If you thought I was looking for some "battle buddy" bullshit... you were mistaken... I have mine. Good luck.
@@mattmarzula My comment was for the channel... not for the purpose of engaging with any Tom, Dick or Quang who wanted to do some bs bro vet nonsense with me. Embrace the suck, buttercup. Man up and walk it off.
I liked your note at the end about how PTSD affects everyone from all walks of life. It's simply what happens to use after we experience something "traumatic" and "stressful". It's as simple as that, and I'm glad you made sure to put that in there.
I didn't like it. There's no comparison between experiencing war and its effects on the psyche and some of the nonsensical "trauma" that is associated with PTSD today. It's minimising the horror of war.
@@cockoffgewgle4993 1. It's not Narcissistic, I'm not making this about me? Idk what you even mean by that. 2. I'm not going to argue with internet people about the clinical definition of this mental illness. Get read, or get out of my replies.
While not nearly on the same level as these soldiers, I have experienced it. When I was in the military, I was due on a PT assessment right around the time they were downsizing the force, so they were looking at anyone who failed as a first-on-the-list name for people they could hit with an admin separation. At the time, I was already dealing with a medical issue that I knew would cause me to fail, but they wouldn't give me a waiver to move me to the next month's testing roster. At that point in my life, I couldn't financially afford to get out of the military yet, so I resorted to injuring myself in a way that was enough to get me that waiver but not enough to have not healed by the time that waiver expired (and hopefully the med issue too) so I could take the test. I wanted to injure my hand so I'd be unable to perform push-ups for a couple weeks. So I went and grabbed a soldering iron by the heating element, burning my palm (it ended up being third-degree, much worse than I'd intended). While that was extremely painful, it was nothing compared to the worst part BY FAR: just working up the nerve to do it. I honestly can't describe how brutal it was to just do it, and that was absolutely nothing when compared to what these WW1 veterans faced. I can't even fathom how bad these guys must have had it when they tried to injure themselves.
I had this Uncle that served in a war way back when and I didn't find out until after his death that he had severe problems with alcohol related the combat that he saw. Now life just went on as usual and we just accepted that our uncle as much as we loved him was a drinker and just try to not be one ourselves..... It wasn't until years after his death we found out he was in the Battle of Okinawa and that is simply what you did in those days is just drink it away so you can get up and carry on the next day because they simply didn't understand that what they do know about PTSD.... He never talked about it ever just he was in the army during a war because of his age he very well could have been in WW 1 or 2 or Korea (he would have been older but it was possible). One of those things you just have no way of knowing or understanding fully like they did.
@@TropikFighter97 indeed but back in those we didn't understand it like we do now. He never raised his hand in anger to any of us. This wasn't something we really talked about either. Rest assured it wasn't leaking ABC afterschool special where he was a vicious woman beating alcoholic and holding down his kids who were aspiring Olympic figure skaters. Worst I ever heard was them get into a shooting match over music that was turned up very loudly trying to hide that they were arguing from us. Pretty standard
Thank you for these videos. For British soldiers the slang word for getting back home with a sufficient bad injury were called a Blighty. Towards the end of war these happened less and less. I read about of group of gassed British soldiers were offered a ride to the French seaside but were tricked to go back to the front line for an upcoming offensive.
Wasn’t there a scene in 1993’s Stalingrad, where during the airfield evacuation, a German doctor ordered a soldier to be taken away after thinking his burns were self inflicted?
In his autobiography, 'Adolf Hitler. My Part In His Downfall,' the comedian Spike Milligan tells of an incident of a fellow soldier inflicting a wound on himself which happened when they were on a train heading to a port to shipped to fight in the desert. He decided to shoot himself and claim his gun had gone of accidentally. The problem was the man was carrying a submachine gun which was on full and he not only shot himself but several others as well. Milligan himself suffered from PTSD which was caused after being pinned down while manning a forward observation post in Italy. He and the officer with him came under fire from an 88 mm gun and because of the speed and flat trajectory of the incoming shell they had no idea the round had been fired until it exploded. This caused him mental health problems for the rest of his life which resulted in him being sent to a mental institution on several occasion. I did read of incidents which happened with US Army soldiers in Europe after D-Day who wore dentures. The US Army was in the habit of leaving units in the front line for long periods and sending replacements rather than pulling them out of the line for R and R. So soldiers with dentures would 'accidently' lose one of the plates which meant that because they could not eat standard rations they had to be pulled out of the frontline until they got replacements.
Hi! This is actually the main focus for my masters research as I look at the correlation between the decline of War Fervor and the increase of Non-suicidal Self Inflicted Wounds (NSSIW) in WWI, Vietnam and conflict in the Middle East post 9/11 in addition to contrasting the data to WWII, a more "favorable" war in the public eye. This is absolutely wonderful to bring to light and to see as a short snippet on RUclips! Its a very difficult topic to research due to the immense complexity of reporting including the increase of sympathetic feeling of officers and the belief that if one were to go so such extreme lengths to get out of war, they were a hazard to the men around them so often their compatriots would lie for them to help get out and keep the trenches more secure. Its an incredibly complicated topic but one that is so important! Your research is very solid and the video is well written! Well Done!
WWII was terrible but the soldiers believed in what they were doing, it had a meaning. WWI was senseless, millions of kids were thrown on battlefields over a conflict they didn't understand and couldn't possibly care about, they thought they were going to adventure, becoming men, instead they came back to a world that didn't know what to make of them, and lived lives of desperation.
@@arturoroldan4839 there's always two ways to express a thought, and you chose to be unpleasant. You also didn't give any reason for what you wrote, as if it were obvious, when it really isn't. Yes, every war technically has a reason, just like every murder has one. Doesn't mean it's a good reason, or a good enough reason. What I meant to say was that, compared to WWII, WWI was a quarrel between aristocrats that brought millions of innocents to their deaths. There is a huge difference between that and uniting against fascist threats of world domination, don't you think?
That's actually not as true as you say; it's mostly a relic of arts and entertainment produced after the war. David Reynolds did a pretty good documentary series (and I'm sure he has written about it as well) demonstrated that popular sentiment reflected a lot more patriotism than A Farewell to Arms or All Quiet on the Western Front (or even Blackadder Goes Forth) would have us believe. Even Wilfred Owen's anti-war poetry, written at the time, does not reflect the entirety of his output.
My great-grandfather was about to be drafted to fight for Germany at the last months of the war after he turned 18. He would cut himself on purpose while shaving, and then added dirt, mud and shaving cream to the wound. It succesfully created an infection which got him out until the war ended.
@@neonstormcloud Maybe you should go into a battlefield with 24/7 booming, blood everywhere, trench foot in every boot, watching comrades blow up and their limbs flying everywhere.
PTSD can happen after a long time, one of my father's coworker, injured by a grenade in the war, suddenly broken down after 7 years, killed himself after another 5 years.
Indeed a psychological UXB.....which has exploded in my psyche from time to time...thankfully Mrs C ex QARNC Capitan and my son and daughter understand where their ol da is coming from ❤❤..E...
It happens silently not suddenly,he didn't know or didn't share before it became too much to bear.....it can be triggered suddenly,but it's always there lurking
@@Bytional not always was a good man,Is a good man........I'm a disabled American veteran and the father of an adult son.Everyone is different with how they cope, especially with a family.Its hard for a man to put his own internal struggles before his family,to feel they are showing weakness. A good man doesn't cease to be a good man because he was unable to conquer his own demons nor unwilling to feel he is burdening others with those internal struggles
I finally got round to watching Paths of Glory after years of meaning to. What an amazing film and really gets across the tragic circumstances of the lower ranks being pawns in a General's game for glory.
My grandfather received machine gun fire to the chest in the mountains of France. The army had the audacity to try to send him back after his rehabilitation. His father wrote to a senator and put a stop to it, but what a ridiculous concept.
I'm surprised there weren't more mutinies in WWI and I know there were a lot. It's my understanding that going over the top almost guaranteed death so you might as well desert, or self-inflict a wound and roll the dice with the courtroom.
My husbands Grandfather and Great Uncle went over the top at Fromelles on the same day. The Uncle was dead within 10 steps and Grandfather was severely wounded in the hand, shoulder and gut within 7. I wouldn't have resented any man who wanted to get away from that.
@@dm607 In the right circumstance I think could even argue that mutiny is not just your best chance for survival, but also the most morally just and patriotic course of action. If before a charge you're certain death will befall almost the entire battalion, with little to no chance of it succeeding, you're essentially enabling a massacre if you don't intercede. More men to man the line also gives your country a better chance of winning the war. If my memory serves me correctly, this is more or less what happened towards the end of the war. The soldiers eventually realized going over the top was suicide so they refused, by they said they would stay in the trenches and man the line
@@jessebeegee what are you on about? In ww1 battles lasted months on end.. Let's take something like rourks drift as a historical example.. Lasted a few hours
@@jelly.212 the wars yes certainly, but the battles leading to ptsd, of which to op was speaking, did not last a long time. They were short and brutal no doubt, but, this is why there were probably less, although not zero, long term psychological effects for those involved. Please do read and keep up with what is being discussed
I don't know about the british army, but for the french army, around 2400 poilus were condamned to death by martial court for all kind of causes (mutiny, crimes, spying, desertion, fleeing the ennemy and self inflicted wounds). Of all these condamnations, about 600 were carried out, other condamnations ended up as jail time or mostly penal labour. That seems not much for 8 millions men mobilised, but there were also executions carried out "on the field" without any form of court, for soldiers who were shellshocked or prostrated. Thoses numbers are difficult to find bevause these death are often counted as killed in action, and few archives mention what really happened. Also, on the topic of shell shock, after a time, the french army understood a bit more whar it was about and instead of torturing even more these poor men with electricty and more screaming, they sarted creating camps for PTSD soldiers in warm southern France were they would rest, take care of flower and garden or animals, which helped somewhat with the symptoms (until send back to the front of course). Shellshocked soldiers break my heart, even today some people don't understand how a so much stressful and dangerous situation can break a man (or woman's) mind, and they just see them as not tough enough for not handling it
Thanks for this clip. I never thought of this aspect of the war. It just never came to my mind. Probably shows how much most of us were blessed to live life without having to experience this kind of trauma. My heart goes out to all who are forced to put their life on the line on the battlefield right now. Regardless of their nationality, no one should be going through this.
In the Italian Army there was a nasty "procedure" that the officers would sometimes use as means of punishment. If the enemy trenches were far away enough to be able to get out in front of the first line of defences, they'd get out and tie up the prisoner to a pole, stuck in front of the trench (or anything else "at hand" - any sort of debris sticking out from the ground) - leave him (usually for a day) - de facto - at the mercy of enemy snipers or artillery bursts. Fun fact ? The Austrian snipers usually left them unharmed, but even if they survived it was extremely humiliating. Those forms of punishment were still remains from the XIXth century written war-manuals.
@@kevinsteel7875 ...?...no...maybe I wasn't clear enough. That was not a punishment for ENEMY POW's - that was a punishment meant for THEIR OWN (Italian) soldiers that would commit any "infraction" of their own military "code of conduct".
This was also a Field Punishment, in the manual for the British Expeditionary Force. Italy was even worse than the French army for executions of their rank and file. Many were shot after drawings by lot, not for specific infractions.
Fun Fact: Russian Roulette, as we know it today, is credited as having been created by Russian Troops during WW1. The story goes that the eastern front was soo bleak, ammo and food were in such short supply, that russian soldiers started to realize they had 2 options: Die quickly or starve to death waiting to charge the enemy.
You can just google it The only connection it has to russia is that the person to come up with it was a russian sergeanr who was talking about it in an american magazine in the 1930s Theres no proof of it never actually been a thing that people actually did Its more of just a story about the CRAZY RUSSIAN, BUY OUR MAGAZINE TO KNOW HOW CRAZY THEY ARE IN THE EASG
@@NiceAsIce games of chance have existed for millenniums and the game itself exists in areas where there are NON Russians majorities. The "Fact" is that term first surfaced in January 1937 in a short story [titled same] of a disillusioned Russian soldier on the eastern front in 1917. The Author was Georges Surdez and the publisher was Collier's Magazine.
Im thankful for both the physical and mental torment soliders have had to endure for me, i dont like the term hero but you took a role that was above and beyond all other roles and that definitly deserves some respect, thank-you!
My great-grandfather was tasked with commanding a bunch of young German men to dig trenches, "If one more explosion goes off near us, we're outta here!" he declared. Immediately an explosion went of close enough to almost take his head off. He ran for it, they ran for it. All survived and managed to go home without being captured. Worst World War, never understood why there had to be a sequel.
There were a handful of french soldiers that were caught away from their post wandering around. They all had a similar story of a bright light followed by memories of home. They were going to be executed until they captured a german soldier with the similar story.
Of course you would get psychological issues and start hallucinating when stuck in WW1 trench warfare. It was the absolute worst of worst, not nearly talked about enough!
@@megatron2.2 yes? They saw a bright light and were remembering their homes. That sounds like a typical stress/trauma induced hallucination to me. It´s not like they all heard the same voice telling them the same thing
When my husband was a Marine at Camp LeJeune in 1974, he told me of a buddy who blew off half his foot with a shotgun, while home on leave. When he returned to camp, they knew it was deliberate & refused to discharge him. He had to wear a boot on one foot, & a shower shoe on the other for barracks clean-up & latrine duty, for the last two yrs. of his enlistment. The guy was lucky it didn't happen during wartime.
Thanks for the video -Just watched 'A very long engagement' thanks to this you... Can believe I'd not heard of it before. Wow... What a roller coaster of a film, absolutely incredible!
Grandfather said almost nothing about his WW1 experience on the Italian front fighting the Austrians. I found a photo of him in his uniform with his regiment number on his cap. I looked up the official Italian Army history of where his regiment was durring his service. When I read about what he went through, it was clear why he wouldn’t talk about it. 1 million dead on that front in 3 years and no one remembers it. Pax vobiscum F
I don't want to sound too stupid but shell shock and PTSD is NOT the same Shell shock is physical damage to the brain by shock waves (usually explosions from shells) And PTSD is (usually) caused by fear, or more the fear of something, dying or injury in this case, and the psychological effect of this
There is this funny Dutch comic about these ww1 soldiers just sitting miserably in a trench with one guy asking where his buddy is. The other soldier says: "Bert purposefully wounded himself. He's been committed to a field hospital and is allowed to go home in a week." So that night the soldier prepares his arm over a chopping block holding a bayonet and saying: "If Bert can do it, so can i." Next picture he's lying in a hospital bed with his arm severed to the shoulder, with Bert lying in the bed next to him, being like "Hey DirkJan! You pulled it off too!" While holding up his finger with a tiny band-aid on it.
got to love how all the people dealing out judgement and executions against the soldiers probably never set foot outside of some fancy government building. i bet if they had spent half the time that these ''guilty soldier'' spent in the trenches they would have hurt themselves to get away from it too.
Be that as it may, they are still cowards. While they fake injury, the men, and even young boys beside them are fighting and dying. While it is reasonable to be afraid, and wish to be home, it's immensely selfish to opt out of the fight, while others still fight and die in your stead, for the very freedoms you are so desperately wishing to enjoy while leaving your brothers in arms behind in hell. And while I have never experienced anything quite like a World war, I did multiple combat deployments in the Middle east, suffering a few life threatening injuries, and demanding to be put back in the field ASAP. If the lads are out there, then I should be with them. The men who injured themselves are little different from those safely sipping whisky, in that, they all think someone else should fight and die in their stead.
@@HauntingSpectre Love your compassion mate! Not everyone has what it takes to be a soldier. And most of those men were shoved into the military without choice.
@@dm607 Most were conscripted, sure. Including the ones who stayed to fight and die. Why should one get to leave when another is forced to stay? What makes the coward more special, and deserving of going home, than the man beside him, who is equally scared, but still fights all the same? Everyone in war is scared. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar, or a fool. So why do the ones who choose to run away, get rewarded with compassion, but the ones who stay and fight get nothing? Not everyone is fit for war, thats true. Including the thousands of men that and fought and died, doing what was right, for the equally unprepared men beside them. Doing their best to make sure they all got home. Not just himself. It's normal the be afraid. It can be smart to live to fight another day, and there is a time to retreat. But it is Simply cowardice, to run and hide and expect others to fight and die, when you yourself will not. If you speak to veterans of the world wars, most would tell you they didn't give a shit about who started the war, or what profound and noble reason politicians claimed to have. They fought for the men standing beside them, who all just wanted to make it home. Together.
Who is the morally more corrupted ? The one who wants to take your land and property by threat of death, or the one who takes your freedom by threat of death ?
you can really hear how torn up the soldier talking about william holbrook is, they really did give it their all in the trenches, both physically and mentally.
My grandfather hit the beaches during DDay on day 2. He marched across Europe. He came back hating the French. He said they were cowards and could not be trusted to stand and fight.
Having been in combat myself. Bootcamp was a telltale sign of those that would given up before the fight started. Not everyone is cut out for it. The thing is we all grow up sheltered from the thought of war and fight yet alone having to kill or be killed. Most country boys where able to adapt much better than the city folks. So having very little time or experience in wartime that fight or flight kicking and the response to self inflicted a major injury was to give you the highest chance of surviving. You still see this today in the modern day. Unless you're convenienced in what you're fight for bravery is hard to come by. I stood by my brothers and sisters in arms cause I loved them all. I still very much miss those that weren't able to come home with us. But you really do know a person when the times are their toughest, not when things are clam or null.
My grand-grand father shot himself in his ankle and then poured salt into his wound. He had to use cane till the rest of his life but he survived the war. He was of Czech nationality drafted by Austrio-Hungarian empire. He was a teacher and was sent to Italian front and he used to say "Why should I shoot at some poor Italian teacher on the other side? It is stupid."
There is no escape from war ptsd. Thought it was all a hype, but after 4 tours in iraq… My soul and mind died there. All that’s left is my body. Hopefully it’s not much longer and the body gives up. Being dead on the inside is worse than anything one could experience. May anyone with war ptsd meets its fate quickly. Or at least finds a way to tolerate life until it’s too late.
Hey Johnny! Could you please do a video on the Johnson rifle either in the movies or essay videos like this thought it might be funny which is my whole motto. Thanks man!
My great uncle served in the British Army 1915-18, and suffered (at various times) from frostbite, trench-foot, dysentery and in 1918 almost died of the flu. He said the average soldier was kept so busy they didnt have time to think of what could or couldn't kill you.
It’s not commonly taught in American schools, just how awful the French court system was during WW1 in particular. There are many stories of potentially wrongful executions that were carried out. Thank you for sharing.
Yeah. Gotta love the Generals "if you run back or freeze up you're a coward and will be shot!"... To that I say "after you, SIR!" :) But, a bit hard for a general to lead their men to victory when they're several dozen miles away isn't it? lol. And yet the Generals were the ones racking up the medals and the poor fellas in the trenches got shafted.
One trick i read about was to crack open 2-3 rifle cartridges, mix the gunpowder with water and then drink it. Non-fatal but looked exactly like typhus and gave absolutely debilitating diarrhea, cramps and vomiting for around 48 hours - just long enough to avoid being part of a big push...
I thought there was a study in 2019 classing shell shock as physical conditions cause from the repeated exposures to shock waves from shelling. Even though the shock waves were dulled by material they still reverberated in the skull. Likened to micro concussions so there was a physical damage as well with the mental.
Yes! Shell Shock is indeed a form of PTSD, but an extremely severe form brought about by just like you said, repeated expected/unexpected exposures to shelling shock waves, equally if not more of a physical condition than a mental one, albeit, you can't treat Shell Shock with medicine or anything of the sorts, only lessen it's effects with time and therapy and peace. Calling Shell Shock just PTSD is like calling a wolf a Chihuahua, Shell Shock is much much more intense and crippling than any form of PTSD you will see these days, but soldiers and even civilians can still get Shell Shock these days, especially in middle eastern US bombed countries.
Oo. I resent the implication that George had a self-inflicted wound in the Blackadder scene. He was a 'bally hyero' and he was legitimately hurt by 'something that begins with B.'
Knew a kid who shot himself in the foot to get out of Iraq, the still sent him when he healed. Another one who wore soft shoes (sneakers/tennis shoes) because his feet got run over by a Bradley ( don't have proof this was self-inflicted but super suspicious) they didn't send him home obviously since I saw him in Kuwait and another real scum were pretty sure purposely flipped a vehicle almost killing a well like soldier with a family. This last guy did get sent home we all knew it was on purpose but they couldn't prove it. He was injuring himself before that (we'd be 2 min into a run and he would "roll" his ankle and scream ans flop like a fifa pro worst soldier in the Army we were better off without him so glad he didn't kill that other soldier in the roll over
"War does a lot of things to anyone who didn't want to go when they finally come home. some wished they never survived nor come back. just look at how every vet was treated from Vietnam war." = unknown
It's like Francis (Corey Glover) in the movie Platoon. Stabbed his leg at the end of the film to get out of the war. Plus, there was Junior and his mosquito repellent on his feet.
To understand how bad the French military courts were, one of France's most famous soldiers in WW1 was almost executed for desertion. In truth he had actually snuck for hours into no mans land to save a wounded French Officer, however the French court was so rushed and biased they didn't bother to find the officer to confirm his story, and with no other witnesses he was sentenced to death. Dude was only hours away from the post when a message was delivered from the wounded officer to confirm his story and halt the execution.
Albert Roche 👍
Inhumane c-words . These warmongers with no value for human life are the bane of humanity.
No wonder French revanchism which was spread under The third republic after the loss of Franco Prussian war was so devastating . Became the trigger factor of WW1. And indirectly helped shape the path to German revanchism that led to the rise of national socialists in WW2.
Because of the mass mutinies. The French army was collapsing in on itself. The British wasn't doing much better.
It's unlikely they would have lasted another year if we hadn't joined.
ruclips.net/video/IZjzEz7b3DA/видео.html
PTSD is one thing I wish no one would have to suffer through any more from my experience at can be crippling and stop you from living properly for several years of your life . and what is really horrific is that so many people had to go through similar experiences to what I had without any proper medical assistance
I sincerely hope you are getting some help,here in the UK, it was very patchy, but is improving, peace and love, friend ❤❤..
Hope you are doing better. Thank you for sharing and being open. Good to let people know they are not alone. ❤️
And now you can get PTSD from being a Web moderator whose job is to Filter out all the horrors of humanity. No need to enlist. Meta will happily give it to you.
It amazes me that the willingness of political leaders to sacrifice the minds and bodies of so many young people just to satisfy their own petty desires isn’t recognized for the absolute rejection of humanity and contempt for the troops that it is.
The way to look at it is that if someone like me can get ptsd from heavy psychological abuse from my narcisistic mother, imagine how fkin worse it must be for prople who went through war
This isn't as brutal as what's talked about in this video, but in my country military service is mandatory and many people find ways to avoid it, including self harm. I have a friend who right after he got into the army, which was during winter, he exposed his fingers and hands to the cold as often as he could resulting in him getting frostbite. It worked as he got discharged only a few weeks later, but the trade off was that he now lost the feeling in his fingertips probably due to nerve damage
Your friend is a coward. You are Swedish, so I am assuming that your friend is Swedish as well.
Your country is not even at war, yet he still did something like that.
Bank wars 👎🏽
Which country? Or at least region?
@@Optimistas777
I presume Finland
@@pancytryna9378i presume israel
Horrible what these soldiers went through 😔
Those are Cowards what are you on about? 💀
@@JakeLBrojanhow to know whos never been to war
And they're wearing something, i think they're soldiers or maybe cowards who probably prideful over something but deep inside is confused but in the end they always blame it to the world when in fact it is the humanity at fault. I dunno why i bring this up but i Don't understand it at all, i always question why, what, where, when, how, but the answers doesn't seem to payoff even if it is a lie or a truth nor whether it would satisfy me or not, this entire comment is just nonsense and yet i Don't even know why i even commented this, but... yeah who cares, i mean i cared but... why should i care when no one cares, also why does everything in present feels so slow but when i look at the past it feels so fast and when looking for the future it feels stagnated, why do i feel lost when i already have the directions? What is the line over our desires and duties. The majority doesn't want deaths nor sufferings but why does no one wanted to stop the cycle of hatred, whenever someone to tried to stop it comes to hate another thus still continuing the cycle. Is change does actually matter? What if that change is bad for the whole, don't you want to remain it the same, but then what now? Also how did i get here in this topic? Speaking of here, if we are here in this world then, what is this world for us? We individuals is looking for something but some of it are beyond on this world nor even logic and things, yet everything came crashing down as if nothing actually happens. As if it actually happens, and what if it is, then what would you do then? The same if it did not happen. With so much words would anyone dare to read and if so would anyone would actually understand, it's not for entertainment nor even for you or for the god being. It's not even something actually something associated to me? This word came from nothing, also how can everything came form nothing, if that nothing is not nothing then it could be something, if so, why, what, where, when, how, nothing actually made?
@@tdpro3607 how to get Court Martial quickly
@@JakeLBrojanOh yes I’m sure the guy called “SS General” definitely has a valuable opinion to offer on warfare
My great grandad was a runner in thre Somme. One quiet day he heard a gun shot and man sream around the corner in the trench. After turning the corner he saw a fellow soilder holding his foot. My grandad immediately started cleaning the guy's rifle for him before an officer arrived. The guy said he wouldn't have done it if he know it hurt so much.
My great grandad hated the upper class higher ranks. They sat deep in the ground and drank wiskey whilst playing cards. He'd run back from the front line and they would say "tell him to wait". This cost his fellow soilders lives.
same as it ever was.
Huge respect to your grandad
As terrible as it is to say 'tell him to wait', those officers know the futility of it all. 1917 calling off the attack scene depicted this really well, hold now, wait for fog, attack, retreat, just an infinite cycle of pointless war.
Those officers may be cowards but I don't blame them for hiding and drinking away their sorrow.
Your great grandad was a real one for cleaning his weapon. That entire war was insanity, leaving it was understandable.
@@OpalLeigh-il8yj 100%
Fighting for your country may seem heroic but WW1 was a waste of life in crazy conditions. Going home to your family to provide for them is equally heroic. Survival isn't cowardice.
representation of psychological issues related to war is a gold mine, your weapons videos are great too but I’d love to see more like this. Sky’s the limit
My Grandfather served as part of the British Army in WW1, He was wounded twice and finally sent home after being gassed but he did survive, in his opinion the most traumatic thing he did was to be part of a Firing Squad although if I remember right it wasn't called that, (but it was a Scotts Regiment) they were shot for cowardice or I think it was called lack of moral fibre or similar, I know they tried refusing the duty but were left in no doubt as to what would happen if they did, according to my Grandfather this happened in the early war a lot more and as things progressed "Shell Shock" became a thing and was treated slightly more sympathetically, A tough subject to cover especially when looked at through our modern sensibilities looking at things the horrors of whichwe can only imagine. Well Done JJ.
I love that you included Blackadder. It’s often theorised that Baldrick’s final cunning plan was to get a few nasty splinters from the ladder so that the boys wouldn’t be able to hold a rifle, and therefore wouldn’t be able to go over the top.
Blackadder goes forth does more to show a more accurate and realistic depiction of war. Than many serious war movies.
@@Eastbridge2100 which is why I love Rowan Atkinson
No wait.... Blackadder has a cunning plan ! We can get a few nasty splinters from the ladder.
It wasn’t, Baldrick said that someone “could get a nasty splinter from that ladder” an ironic joke given that they all got mowed down by machine gun fire.
Baldrick’s cunning plan was never revealed, there wasn’t time…
mr bean!? in ww1!? woah
Thank you for talking about these kind of things with tact and respect. Covering a lot of parts of history that often gets overshadowed or forgotten. Keep it up
The reason that such topics are minimised in history is that most history is a tool used by nation states and the establishment to maintain the status quo of the acceptance of war and mass mobilisation of civilian soldiers in time of war.
The true horrors of war are seldom dwelled on by the elites and formers of opinion in order not to put off the masses from signing up and taking part in wars.
You can see this playing out in the current mass media treatment of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Russians leaving the country to avoid conscription are portrayed as wise heroes in the west while their counterparts in Ukraine are not even mentioned. Once this war ends ther will be a lot of stuff coming out regarding severe damage to mental health and sanity on both sides of this tragic conflict.
I just watched "The Guns of August" narrated by Fritz Weaver on you-tube. It covers the entire war. A group of clueless generals and politicians wiped out a whole generation of young men. The war didn't become a stalemate in the trenches until the "miracle of the Marne" when the German army with their modern weapons was stopped, and the Allies learned the Germans were not invincible.
@@amvlabs5339 I'm amazed you're not shadow-banned for knowing too much.
@@megatronVS nothing a VPN + proxy can't fix
@@amvlabs5339 jesus christ, get help
@@kalinmir nah thanks, get a history book and read
@@amvlabs5339how early did they offer peace? and where’d you get this information? i’m genuinely curious
I was in a combat environment for about two weeks. I know that two weeks is nothing... in the real world it is the blink of an eye. Time is different in combat. I'm in awe of any man who survived a month ... or 6 months... a year or more in combat. My grandfather somehow managed a little over 3 years in War 1 on the western front. One Uncle nearly a year in Europe during War 2. Another Uncle 3 years and 8 months in the Pacific theatre of War 2. My Dad a year in Korea. My wife's grandfather, over 4 years in the Pacific theatre of War during War 2. My father's friend - a non blood Uncle - who was 6 years in combat! 6 fucking years!
There are others that I know... the vast majority of whom spent far, far more than my wee 2 weeks.
I understand how a siw could be the best way out... I'd never judge a man who did that.
Wonderful video... thank you!
Like, comment, yada, yada, yada.... alright Johnny!
My only regret about my time in combat is my Grandfather passed before I went to war. He was US 1st Infantry Division WW2. He did 3 beach assaults. Anyhow growing up he told me very little about his time in WW2.
@@mikebrase5161 huh... well the men I mentioned didn't say shit. I learned about it on my own... except for my Dad... but he said little.
I don't understand this "regret" you say you have... I don't know what "combat" you were in... don't care.
Talk about it... the shit you were in... with the men who were with you.
All I was doing here was stating that I'm in awe of some men and that I understand completely the whole siw thing and that I'd never judge them for that.
If you thought I was looking for some "battle buddy" bullshit... you were mistaken... I have mine.
Good luck.
@@haggis525Why bring it up in a public forum just to be dismissive towards someone else and carry a chip on your shoulder?
@@mattmarzula My comment was for the channel... not for the purpose of engaging with any Tom, Dick or Quang who wanted to do some bs bro vet nonsense with me. Embrace the suck, buttercup. Man up and walk it off.
@@haggis525What a deranged reply based on a harmless comment. Get help…
I liked your note at the end about how PTSD affects everyone from all walks of life. It's simply what happens to use after we experience something "traumatic" and "stressful". It's as simple as that, and I'm glad you made sure to put that in there.
I didn't like it. There's no comparison between experiencing war and its effects on the psyche and some of the nonsensical "trauma" that is associated with PTSD today. It's minimising the horror of war.
@@cockoffgewgle4993 You know that two things can be like in form but not in severity?
@@adamsakauye1395 You know that comparing trivial negative experiences to the greatest horror a human can experience is both stupid and narcissistic?
@@cockoffgewgle4993 1. It's not Narcissistic, I'm not making this about me? Idk what you even mean by that.
2. I'm not going to argue with internet people about the clinical definition of this mental illness. Get read, or get out of my replies.
While not nearly on the same level as these soldiers, I have experienced it.
When I was in the military, I was due on a PT assessment right around the time they were downsizing the force, so they were looking at anyone who failed as a first-on-the-list name for people they could hit with an admin separation.
At the time, I was already dealing with a medical issue that I knew would cause me to fail, but they wouldn't give me a waiver to move me to the next month's testing roster.
At that point in my life, I couldn't financially afford to get out of the military yet, so I resorted to injuring myself in a way that was enough to get me that waiver but not enough to have not healed by the time that waiver expired (and hopefully the med issue too) so I could take the test. I wanted to injure my hand so I'd be unable to perform push-ups for a couple weeks.
So I went and grabbed a soldering iron by the heating element, burning my palm (it ended up being third-degree, much worse than I'd intended).
While that was extremely painful, it was nothing compared to the worst part BY FAR: just working up the nerve to do it. I honestly can't describe how brutal it was to just do it, and that was absolutely nothing when compared to what these WW1 veterans faced. I can't even fathom how bad these guys must have had it when they tried to injure themselves.
I had this Uncle that served in a war way back when and I didn't find out until after his death that he had severe problems with alcohol related the combat that he saw. Now life just went on as usual and we just accepted that our uncle as much as we loved him was a drinker and just try to not be one ourselves..... It wasn't until years after his death we found out he was in the Battle of Okinawa and that is simply what you did in those days is just drink it away so you can get up and carry on the next day because they simply didn't understand that what they do know about PTSD.... He never talked about it ever just he was in the army during a war because of his age he very well could have been in WW 1 or 2 or Korea (he would have been older but it was possible). One of those things you just have no way of knowing or understanding fully like they did.
You’re uncle suffered both from PTSD and alcoholism
@@TropikFighter97 indeed but back in those we didn't understand it like we do now. He never raised his hand in anger to any of us. This wasn't something we really talked about either. Rest assured it wasn't leaking ABC afterschool special where he was a vicious woman beating alcoholic and holding down his kids who were aspiring Olympic figure skaters. Worst I ever heard was them get into a shooting match over music that was turned up very loudly trying to hide that they were arguing from us. Pretty standard
@@ryanh4775you mean shouting?
@@TheCatOfAges nah just a heated argument never shouting
@ryanh4775 you said shooting match lol.
Thank you for these videos. For British soldiers the slang word for getting back home with a sufficient bad injury were called a Blighty.
Towards the end of war these happened less and less. I read about of group of gassed British soldiers were offered a ride to the French seaside but were tricked to go back to the front line for an upcoming offensive.
Wasn’t there a scene in 1993’s Stalingrad, where during the airfield evacuation, a German doctor ordered a soldier to be taken away after thinking his burns were self inflicted?
You got it! I tried to squeeze that in here but wanted to focus on WW1.
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsqyes ...this was another powerful story..
@@JohnnyJohnsonEsq maybe a second video about SIW in ww2?
Things like that happened a lot in WW2 also.
"Ich habe Zeugen, Herr Stabsarzt!" ... shattering cry for mercy.
In his autobiography, 'Adolf Hitler. My Part In His Downfall,' the comedian Spike Milligan tells of an incident of a fellow soldier inflicting a wound on himself which happened when they were on a train heading to a port to shipped to fight in the desert. He decided to shoot himself and claim his gun had gone of accidentally. The problem was the man was carrying a submachine gun which was on full and he not only shot himself but several others as well.
Milligan himself suffered from PTSD which was caused after being pinned down while manning a forward observation post in Italy. He and the officer with him came under fire from an 88 mm gun and because of the speed and flat trajectory of the incoming shell they had no idea the round had been fired until it exploded. This caused him mental health problems for the rest of his life which resulted in him being sent to a mental institution on several occasion.
I did read of incidents which happened with US Army soldiers in Europe after D-Day who wore dentures. The US Army was in the habit of leaving units in the front line for long periods and sending replacements rather than pulling them out of the line for R and R. So soldiers with dentures would 'accidently' lose one of the plates which meant that because they could not eat standard rations they had to be pulled out of the frontline until they got replacements.
The 1948 film Battleground actually shows that part about the dentures.
He said after seeing his men train with wooden guns, their commanding officer had to be restrained from joining the Germans LOL
Hi! This is actually the main focus for my masters research as I look at the correlation between the decline of War Fervor and the increase of Non-suicidal Self Inflicted Wounds (NSSIW) in WWI, Vietnam and conflict in the Middle East post 9/11 in addition to contrasting the data to WWII, a more "favorable" war in the public eye. This is absolutely wonderful to bring to light and to see as a short snippet on RUclips! Its a very difficult topic to research due to the immense complexity of reporting including the increase of sympathetic feeling of officers and the belief that if one were to go so such extreme lengths to get out of war, they were a hazard to the men around them so often their compatriots would lie for them to help get out and keep the trenches more secure. Its an incredibly complicated topic but one that is so important!
Your research is very solid and the video is well written! Well Done!
WWII was terrible but the soldiers believed in what they were doing, it had a meaning. WWI was senseless, millions of kids were thrown on battlefields over a conflict they didn't understand and couldn't possibly care about, they thought they were going to adventure, becoming men, instead they came back to a world that didn't know what to make of them, and lived lives of desperation.
What you said makes no sense.
All wars have a reason.
@@arturoroldan4839 there's always two ways to express a thought, and you chose to be unpleasant. You also didn't give any reason for what you wrote, as if it were obvious, when it really isn't. Yes, every war technically has a reason, just like every murder has one. Doesn't mean it's a good reason, or a good enough reason. What I meant to say was that, compared to WWII, WWI was a quarrel between aristocrats that brought millions of innocents to their deaths. There is a huge difference between that and uniting against fascist threats of world domination, don't you think?
I sure love artistic historical revisionism. How about we agree that both wars were absolutely horrific for anyone who got involved in them?
That's actually not as true as you say; it's mostly a relic of arts and entertainment produced after the war. David Reynolds did a pretty good documentary series (and I'm sure he has written about it as well) demonstrated that popular sentiment reflected a lot more patriotism than A Farewell to Arms or All Quiet on the Western Front (or even Blackadder Goes Forth) would have us believe. Even Wilfred Owen's anti-war poetry, written at the time, does not reflect the entirety of his output.
That's not what the soldiers themselves said. Owens and Sassoon were outliers.
My great-grandfather was about to be drafted to fight for Germany at the last months of the war after he turned 18. He would cut himself on purpose while shaving, and then added dirt, mud and shaving cream to the wound. It succesfully created an infection which got him out until the war ended.
He was lucky WW1 was hell
What a coward
Smart man
He didn't want to defend the Fatherland?
@@neonstormcloud Maybe you should go into a battlefield with 24/7 booming, blood everywhere, trench foot in every boot, watching comrades blow up and their limbs flying everywhere.
PTSD can happen after a long time, one of my father's coworker, injured by a grenade in the war, suddenly broken down after 7 years, killed himself after another 5 years.
Indeed a psychological UXB.....which has exploded in my psyche from time to time...thankfully Mrs C ex QARNC Capitan and my son and daughter understand where their ol da is coming from ❤❤..E...
It happens silently not suddenly,he didn't know or didn't share before it became too much to bear.....it can be triggered suddenly,but it's always there lurking
@@jacobishii6121 Yea I guess you are right, he just never show before, always been a good family man in everyone's eye
@@Bytional not always was a good man,Is a good man........I'm a disabled American veteran and the father of an adult son.Everyone is different with how they cope, especially with a family.Its hard for a man to put his own internal struggles before his family,to feel they are showing weakness.
A good man doesn't cease to be a good man because he was unable to conquer his own demons nor unwilling to feel he is burdening others with those internal struggles
Some studies say the average for veteran suicides is 22 a day. One a day is too many. The VA reaches out to vets on this.
Thank you, good sir, for the message at the end... Great video as always!
I finally got round to watching Paths of Glory after years of meaning to. What an amazing film and really gets across the tragic circumstances of the lower ranks being pawns in a General's game for glory.
Massive THANK YOU for actually labeling the clips you showed so we know what the movies were if we wanted to check em out 🙏🏻
My grandfather received machine gun fire to the chest in the mountains of France. The army had the audacity to try to send him back after his rehabilitation. His father wrote to a senator and put a stop to it, but what a ridiculous concept.
Not ridiculous. After all the whole purpose of the war for every nation was for the EIite to cull the proles
I'm surprised there weren't more mutinies in WWI and I know there were a lot. It's my understanding that going over the top almost guaranteed death so you might as well desert, or self-inflict a wound and roll the dice with the courtroom.
My husbands Grandfather and Great Uncle went over the top at Fromelles on the same day. The Uncle was dead within 10 steps and Grandfather was severely wounded in the hand, shoulder and gut within 7. I wouldn't have resented any man who wanted to get away from that.
Well, the Russian army at least mutinied en-masse.
@@dm607 In the right circumstance I think could even argue that mutiny is not just your best chance for survival, but also the most morally just and patriotic course of action. If before a charge you're certain death will befall almost the entire battalion, with little to no chance of it succeeding, you're essentially enabling a massacre if you don't intercede. More men to man the line also gives your country a better chance of winning the war.
If my memory serves me correctly, this is more or less what happened towards the end of the war. The soldiers eventually realized going over the top was suicide so they refused, by they said they would stay in the trenches and man the line
A very long engagement is one of the best WW1 movies ever despite being a Romantic movie !!
Now imagine all those hundreds of pre-WW1 wars that were not documented, and what psychological trauma those men went through.
less traumatic. the actions although just a grizzly and horrific, did not last as long, which seems to be psychologically more easily dealt with
@@randomname3109this is completely baseless… european imperialism (which obviously started before ww1) was horrific by every possible measure
@@jessebeegee what are you on about? In ww1 battles lasted months on end.. Let's take something like rourks drift as a historical example.. Lasted a few hours
@@randomname3109
Lol there were many wars that lasted several decades even in the present
@@jelly.212 the wars yes certainly, but the battles leading to ptsd, of which to op was speaking, did not last a long time. They were short and brutal no doubt, but, this is why there were probably less, although not zero, long term psychological effects for those involved. Please do read and keep up with what is being discussed
Man I remember when this Chanel was at 10k how far it’s come congrats Johnny
I don't know about the british army, but for the french army, around 2400 poilus were condamned to death by martial court for all kind of causes (mutiny, crimes, spying, desertion, fleeing the ennemy and self inflicted wounds). Of all these condamnations, about 600 were carried out, other condamnations ended up as jail time or mostly penal labour.
That seems not much for 8 millions men mobilised, but there were also executions carried out "on the field" without any form of court, for soldiers who were shellshocked or prostrated. Thoses numbers are difficult to find bevause these death are often counted as killed in action, and few archives mention what really happened.
Also, on the topic of shell shock, after a time, the french army understood a bit more whar it was about and instead of torturing even more these poor men with electricty and more screaming, they sarted creating camps for PTSD soldiers in warm southern France were they would rest, take care of flower and garden or animals, which helped somewhat with the symptoms (until send back to the front of course). Shellshocked soldiers break my heart, even today some people don't understand how a so much stressful and dangerous situation can break a man (or woman's) mind, and they just see them as not tough enough for not handling it
Thanks for this clip. I never thought of this aspect of the war. It just never came to my mind. Probably shows how much most of us were blessed to live life without having to experience this kind of trauma.
My heart goes out to all who are forced to put their life on the line on the battlefield right now. Regardless of their nationality, no one should be going through this.
In the Italian Army there was a nasty "procedure" that the officers would sometimes use as means of punishment. If the enemy trenches were far away enough to be able to get out in front of the first line of defences, they'd get out and tie up the prisoner to a pole, stuck in front of the trench (or anything else "at hand" - any sort of debris sticking out from the ground) - leave him (usually for a day) - de facto - at the mercy of enemy snipers or artillery bursts. Fun fact ? The Austrian snipers usually left them unharmed, but even if they survived it was extremely humiliating. Those forms of punishment were still remains from the XIXth century written war-manuals.
So they pretty much crucified their enemies and left it up to their allies whether or not to put them out of their misery. Truly fucked up times.
@@kevinsteel7875 ...?...no...maybe I wasn't clear enough. That was not a punishment for ENEMY POW's - that was a punishment meant for THEIR OWN (Italian) soldiers that would commit any "infraction" of their own military "code of conduct".
@@2serveand2protect I understand, thanks for clearing it up.
This was also a Field Punishment, in the manual for the British Expeditionary Force.
Italy was even worse than the French army for executions of their rank and file. Many were shot after drawings by lot, not for specific infractions.
@@brettbosley779 That reminds me of the Roman punishment of decimation...
Fun Fact: Russian Roulette, as we know it today, is credited as having been created by Russian Troops during WW1. The story goes that the eastern front was soo bleak, ammo and food were in such short supply, that russian soldiers started to realize they had 2 options: Die quickly or starve to death waiting to charge the enemy.
Does not seem like a "Fact" to me, more like a fancy interpretation of the origin of the term
You can just google it
The only connection it has to russia is that the person to come up with it was a russian sergeanr who was talking about it in an american magazine in the 1930s
Theres no proof of it never actually been a thing that people actually did
Its more of just a story about the CRAZY RUSSIAN, BUY OUR MAGAZINE TO KNOW HOW CRAZY THEY ARE IN THE EASG
@@NiceAsIce games of chance have existed for millenniums and the game itself exists in areas where there are NON Russians majorities.
The "Fact" is that term first surfaced in January 1937 in a short story [titled same] of a disillusioned Russian soldier on the eastern front in 1917.
The Author was Georges Surdez and the publisher was Collier's Magazine.
Such was life in the Russian army, or Russia in general lol
Im thankful for both the physical and mental torment soliders have had to endure for me, i dont like the term hero but you took a role that was above and beyond all other roles and that definitly deserves some respect, thank-you!
i had a thought in the back of my head that these men w/ self-inflicted wounds live to tell their own tale of war.
Thank you for the timely reminder to ask for help when you need it and checking in with others.
My great-grandfather was tasked with commanding a bunch of young German men to dig trenches, "If one more explosion goes off near us, we're outta here!" he declared.
Immediately an explosion went of close enough to almost take his head off. He ran for it, they ran for it. All survived and managed to go home without being captured.
Worst World War, never understood why there had to be a sequel.
There were a handful of french soldiers that were caught away from their post wandering around. They all had a similar story of a bright light followed by memories of home. They were going to be executed until they captured a german soldier with the similar story.
Of course you would get psychological issues and start hallucinating when stuck in WW1 trench warfare. It was the absolute worst of worst, not nearly talked about enough!
@@MisterK9739several people hallucinating with the same phenomenon?
@@megatron2.2 yes? They saw a bright light and were remembering their homes. That sounds like a typical stress/trauma induced hallucination to me.
It´s not like they all heard the same voice telling them the same thing
They had been threatened by a ventriloquist dummy who had become very psychotic and violent 🤡
@@megatron2.2we're not so different
You're awesome johnny! thank you for taking the time and making these great and informative videos! I wish my sub meant more lol.
It does! The comment does too!
This is a powerful story that resonates with everyone...❤❤
When my husband was a Marine at Camp LeJeune in 1974, he told me of a buddy who blew off half his foot with a shotgun, while home on leave. When he returned to camp, they knew it was deliberate & refused to discharge him. He had to wear a boot on one foot, & a shower shoe on the other for barracks clean-up & latrine duty, for the last two yrs. of his enlistment. The guy was lucky it didn't happen during wartime.
I'm amazed at how you are able to draw clips from so many films and tv shows. Even Downton Abbey, eh?
Man, you are in a productive frenzy, thank you!!! This is a very human way of talking about hard thing's, difficult things that everybody evades.
I had ptsd. It lasted awhile but today it doesnt bother me as much. In time it goes away after dealing with the average routine boring shit in life.
A Very Long Engagement is actually a terrific movie. It's one of those that you need to chew on for a while.
Thanks for the video -Just watched 'A very long engagement' thanks to this you... Can believe I'd not heard of it before. Wow... What a roller coaster of a film, absolutely incredible!
Grandfather said almost nothing about his WW1 experience on the Italian front fighting the Austrians. I found a photo of him in his uniform with his regiment number on his cap. I looked up the official Italian Army history of where his regiment was durring his service. When I read about what he went through, it was clear why he wouldn’t talk about it.
1 million dead on that front in 3 years and no one remembers it.
Pax vobiscum
F
I don't want to sound too stupid but shell shock and PTSD is NOT the same
Shell shock is physical damage to the brain by shock waves (usually explosions from shells)
And PTSD is (usually) caused by fear, or more the fear of something, dying or injury in this case, and the psychological effect of this
Great timing, I just got done watching that episode of the Simpsons at the end when I saw this video come up.
I just came to say that I adore A Very Long Engagement, and anyone who loves historical/military dramas should definitely give it a watch.
One of the best WW1 film for sure.
There is this funny Dutch comic about these ww1 soldiers just sitting miserably in a trench with one guy asking where his buddy is. The other soldier says: "Bert purposefully wounded himself. He's been committed to a field hospital and is allowed to go home in a week." So that night the soldier prepares his arm over a chopping block holding a bayonet and saying: "If Bert can do it, so can i." Next picture he's lying in a hospital bed with his arm severed to the shoulder, with Bert lying in the bed next to him, being like "Hey DirkJan! You pulled it off too!" While holding up his finger with a tiny band-aid on it.
Great video format sir , straight to the point and no click bait 👍
WW1 finally told commanders that executing men for cowardice only makes the problem worse
got to love how all the people dealing out judgement and executions against the soldiers probably never set foot outside of some fancy government building. i bet if they had spent half the time that these ''guilty soldier'' spent in the trenches they would have hurt themselves to get away from it too.
Be that as it may, they are still cowards. While they fake injury, the men, and even young boys beside them are fighting and dying.
While it is reasonable to be afraid, and wish to be home, it's immensely selfish to opt out of the fight, while others still fight and die in your stead, for the very freedoms you are so desperately wishing to enjoy while leaving your brothers in arms behind in hell.
And while I have never experienced anything quite like a World war, I did multiple combat deployments in the Middle east, suffering a few life threatening injuries, and demanding to be put back in the field ASAP. If the lads are out there, then I should be with them.
The men who injured themselves are little different from those safely sipping whisky, in that, they all think someone else should fight and die in their stead.
@@HauntingSpectre go fight in Ukraine then big man 😂😂😂😂
@@HauntingSpectre Love your compassion mate! Not everyone has what it takes to be a soldier. And most of those men were shoved into the military without choice.
@@KingCobraJFS1234 Spent 2 years there well before the war became popularized on the news, little man.
@@dm607 Most were conscripted, sure. Including the ones who stayed to fight and die.
Why should one get to leave when another is forced to stay? What makes the coward more special, and deserving of going home, than the man beside him, who is equally scared, but still fights all the same?
Everyone in war is scared. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar, or a fool. So why do the ones who choose to run away, get rewarded with compassion, but the ones who stay and fight get nothing?
Not everyone is fit for war, thats true. Including the thousands of men that and fought and died, doing what was right, for the equally unprepared men beside them. Doing their best to make sure they all got home. Not just himself.
It's normal the be afraid. It can be smart to live to fight another day, and there is a time to retreat. But it is Simply cowardice, to run and hide and expect others to fight and die, when you yourself will not.
If you speak to veterans of the world wars, most would tell you they didn't give a shit about who started the war, or what profound and noble reason politicians claimed to have. They fought for the men standing beside them, who all just wanted to make it home. Together.
Great video report. Well researched. And I like the way you used clips from films to illustrate your point.
Who is the morally more corrupted ? The one who wants to take your land and property by threat of death, or the one who takes your freedom by threat of death ?
Great video
25 26 27 m ago
My great grandfather shot his forearm in WW2. He got sent home and recovered.
Indiana Jones was also in WW1 battles. Verdun , The Somme, Germany. Cool videos John.
It's understanding how far people would go to get out of war but the truth is they just wan't to live and were drafted anyway.
you can really hear how torn up the soldier talking about william holbrook is, they really did give it their all in the trenches, both physically and mentally.
Great closing statement, Johnny. As always, thanks for the upload.
My grandfather hit the beaches during DDay on day 2. He marched across Europe. He came back hating the French. He said they were cowards and could not be trusted to stand and fight.
Having been in combat myself. Bootcamp was a telltale sign of those that would given up before the fight started. Not everyone is cut out for it. The thing is we all grow up sheltered from the thought of war and fight yet alone having to kill or be killed. Most country boys where able to adapt much better than the city folks. So having very little time or experience in wartime that fight or flight kicking and the response to self inflicted a major injury was to give you the highest chance of surviving. You still see this today in the modern day. Unless you're convenienced in what you're fight for bravery is hard to come by. I stood by my brothers and sisters in arms cause I loved them all. I still very much miss those that weren't able to come home with us. But you really do know a person when the times are their toughest, not when things are clam or null.
My grand-grand father shot himself in his ankle and then poured salt into his wound. He had to use cane till the rest of his life but he survived the war. He was of Czech nationality drafted by Austrio-Hungarian empire. He was a teacher and was sent to Italian front and he used to say "Why should I shoot at some poor Italian teacher on the other side? It is stupid."
Thanks for this JJ.
"Check in with the people in your life"
Felt that
check in on ur military friends or family if u know any, gets a tad bit rough for some people
Once upon a time, any aggressive army by a King was not owed conscription.
Brilliant JJ
Tough topic to cover. You were respectful about it.
There is no escape from war ptsd. Thought it was all a hype, but after 4 tours in iraq…
My soul and mind died there. All that’s left is my body. Hopefully it’s not much longer and the body gives up. Being dead on the inside is worse than anything one could experience.
May anyone with war ptsd meets its fate quickly. Or at least finds a way to tolerate life until it’s too late.
How are you doing these days? You got support?
IM NEARLY 40 YEARS OLD. IVE NEVER HEARD MR. BEAN SPEAK UNTIL NOW!!!!!! 2:26
please ask for help if you are struggling. You have comrades. you are a value to others and you are an original no matter what.
To see Col Dick Winters talk with Mr. Bean and test throwing a helmet over the top was awesome to see
Hard to watch this one Johnny.....Great Vid as always tho
A welcome service to the hidden injured people among us...😢...E..
I was NOT expecting Mr. Bean LMAO
Hey Johnny! Could you please do a video on the Johnson rifle either in the movies or essay videos like this thought it might be funny which is my whole motto. Thanks man!
My great uncle served in the British Army 1915-18, and suffered (at various times) from frostbite, trench-foot, dysentery and in 1918 almost died of the flu. He said the average soldier was kept so busy they didnt have time to think of what could or couldn't kill you.
It’s not commonly taught in American schools, just how awful the French court system was during WW1 in particular.
There are many stories of potentially wrongful executions that were carried out. Thank you for sharing.
One of my favourite episodes so far!
Get killed by the enemy, or get killed by your countrymen. 🤷♂️
Yeah. Gotta love the Generals "if you run back or freeze up you're a coward and will be shot!"... To that I say "after you, SIR!" :) But, a bit hard for a general to lead their men to victory when they're several dozen miles away isn't it? lol. And yet the Generals were the ones racking up the medals and the poor fellas in the trenches got shafted.
WW1 sucks so fucking much man nobory deserves that shit
One trick i read about was to crack open 2-3 rifle cartridges, mix the gunpowder with water and then drink it. Non-fatal but looked exactly like typhus and gave absolutely debilitating diarrhea, cramps and vomiting for around 48 hours - just long enough to avoid being part of a big push...
I thought there was a study in 2019 classing shell shock as physical conditions cause from the repeated exposures to shock waves from shelling. Even though the shock waves were dulled by material they still reverberated in the skull. Likened to micro concussions so there was a physical damage as well with the mental.
Yes! Shell Shock is indeed a form of PTSD, but an extremely severe form brought about by just like you said, repeated expected/unexpected exposures to shelling shock waves, equally if not more of a physical condition than a mental one, albeit, you can't treat Shell Shock with medicine or anything of the sorts, only lessen it's effects with time and therapy and peace. Calling Shell Shock just PTSD is like calling a wolf a Chihuahua, Shell Shock is much much more intense and crippling than any form of PTSD you will see these days, but soldiers and even civilians can still get Shell Shock these days, especially in middle eastern US bombed countries.
Oo. I resent the implication that George had a self-inflicted wound in the Blackadder scene. He was a 'bally hyero' and he was legitimately hurt by 'something that begins with B.'
That last little message was so simple yet so reassuring. Thank you for taking mental health seriously, it means a lot. ❤
damn.. its between ptsd, suicide, and guilt, and they correlate
Can you do another military related topic: Fragging
Knew a kid who shot himself in the foot to get out of Iraq, the still sent him when he healed. Another one who wore soft shoes (sneakers/tennis shoes) because his feet got run over by a Bradley ( don't have proof this was self-inflicted but super suspicious) they didn't send him home obviously since I saw him in Kuwait and another real scum were pretty sure purposely flipped a vehicle almost killing a well like soldier with a family. This last guy did get sent home we all knew it was on purpose but they couldn't prove it. He was injuring himself before that (we'd be 2 min into a run and he would "roll" his ankle and scream ans flop like a fifa pro worst soldier in the Army we were better off without him so glad he didn't kill that other soldier in the roll over
You're doing a resplendant job healing us with these videos, keep it up.
Happy belated Canada Day!
Take care, and all the best.
Listen - I thank you for the research you put into this video. Much appreciated.
Fighting a war for some idiots ideas is so dumb. Never give your life for some assholes ideas, they won't thank you for it.
Respect for the ending of you’re video my guy
This page is genius. Still fresh
Looks like KB from Knowing Better in the thumbnail. Great content!
After watching post ww1 shell-shocked people it's not hard to imagine why many soldiers wished to leave the battlefield.
They could have just come out as gay though.
Nice video man
0:01 Quake 4 nail gun sound
nice video johnny boi
Paths of Glory is so underrated
"War does a lot of things to anyone who didn't want to go when they finally come home. some wished they never survived nor come back. just look at how every vet was treated from Vietnam war." = unknown
It's like Francis (Corey Glover) in the movie Platoon. Stabbed his leg at the end of the film to get out of the war. Plus, there was Junior and his mosquito repellent on his feet.