Battle of Dover Strait (1917) - Evans of Broke (or Peck of the Swift)
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- Today in something of an 'emergency' video, we recount one of the oft-forgotten actions of WW1, the battles between British and German destroyers in Channel.
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Pinned post for Q&A :)
i would love to learn more about the development of cagemasts for the USN, and why people hate them for seemingly no reason.
RUclips! Damn them! Damn them all!!!!!
@@joeclaridy lol
HMS Birkenhead and the ‘Birkenhead Drill’, any other examples rather than the RMS Titanic?
How fast (or slow...) would be the response time in steering ships like this? And how much of a difference would there be between the various classes of warship?
Destroyer: check
Considerably outnumbered: check
Captain named Evans: check
Oh yeah this is gonna be good
HMS Broke doing Johnston things before it was cool
A destroyer, with a captain Evans.
This is not going to go well for the enemy.
Evans is a badass name for a destroyerman.
Indeed
Imagine a destroyer team with Commander Ernest Evans and Commander Edward Evans together...
@@ThumperE23 I am not sure any low lying land would survive the flood of those big balls displacement going to sea together. Sea levels would rise at least 100 ft!
And who didn't notice that?
Evans named a son after his ship (Broke) and later wrote the rules for British Professional Wrestling. His life story is well worth reading about
Is it history to be remembered?
Hi Ewan! Nice to know.
I still can't get past the fact that there was a ship that was named "Broke" BEFORE it lost it's bow, twice!
@@johnwolf2829 He kinda went for broke... in the broken Broke...
@@johnwolf2829 ...And which then carried millions in gold to the bank of a nearly bankrupt nation.
Tom Crean walked solo for 30 miles in 18 hours in Antarctica to save Edward Evans and William Lashly in 1912. Crean is a true hero and legend
Indeed, Evans was suffering from advanced scurvy and had it not been from Crean Evans probably would have died. Crean severed on Shackleton's second and third expeditions and two of Scott's. Crean was damn near unstoppable.
So too was Crozier of the Franklin Expedition. He marched south leading his men tho' he must have known they had insufficient food for the long, cold march south...Vitae Lampada-"Play up, play up and play the game".
It wasn't the only superhuman thing that Tom Crean ended up doing.
Shackleton said Crean was the toughest man he had ever met ..
I am sure that I am not the only one who would consider the "emergency fill-in" videos on this channel to be superior to most other channels' primary videos... Well done, Drach!
Wanted to write that too.
Agreed!
Ditto.
Drach hardly gets the credit he deserves for this stuff....
Far more worthy of a story than the awful u571 script !👍
What is an emergency gap-filler for you would be a lifetime achievement for an awful lot of RUclipsrs.
"The Swift and the Broke" sounds like a 1980's soap opera.
Swift and broke? The story of my life...
It's the discount version of "The Quick and the Dead".
Or a metal ballad
A Gilbert and Sullivan treatment, with a copious rum ration, perhaps?
Or a good modern pub name.
If you're familiar with Polar exploration, you know of Evans. Technically, he was on 3 exhibitions, but 2 of those were on relief ships (Morning for Scott's Discovery Expedition, and the later relief of the Terra Nova Expedition). It was the in-between that made his reputation. He was Scott's second in command (and whipping boy) on the Terra Nova Expedition. He and Scott were horribly incompatible (as you can probably tell, Evans was an Extrovert and a "small ship man", Scott an introverted "big ship man"), and he was eventually sent back with the last support party, after Scott grabbed one of his men (leaving him with a pair of Petty Officers).
On their way back, there was one characteristic moment, when they missed the entrance to the glacier they had climbed to the polar plateau, (this wasn't too surprising, all three groups did). Amundsen has simply sent out a couple of skiers to find a way down. Scott muddled around until he got back on track (losing time). Evans decided, that it would take 2-3 days to get back on course, and they could not afford that. So, he ordered the other two onto the sledge with him and tobogganed down the ice falls, running a huge risk to make up time. It was good that they did this, since Evans went down with Scurvy shorty after and was unable to pull the sled (they were man-hauling, it was a British expedition) and soon was unable to even walk. At this point, Evans ordered the POs (Chief Stoker Lashly and PO Crean) to abandon him, an order they ignored. Instead they put him on the sled and dragged him another 70 odd miles. At this point, they were out of food and fuel, Lashly had a frost-bitten foot and they were 35 miles from Hut Point (the southernmost shelter). Crean walked the entire distance (just beating a storm) and expeditions 2 dog teams (which were at the hut) were able to rescue Lashly and a very ill Evans).
Evans was evacuated to New Zealand, but recovered well enough to command the ship back the next year to pick up the remaining expedition members. At the time of the action, Lashly was back in the Navy, and Crean was on his way back to England with Shackleton's "Endurance" expedition (where he'd been 2nd officer, and one the two men to accompany Shackleton on the entire rescue journey).
No one ever accused Evans of being the smartest man in the room (his planning for Antarctica was just as shaky as Scott's and Shackleton's), but he had an incredible energy about him (he was also key in raising money for the Terra Nova Expedition, he could glad-hand with the best of them).
Thanks for that, I have a fairly fuzzy recall of Scott's expeditions, I've read more about Shackleton and Mawson, so your post helped me fit Evans into the larger scheme of things.
As someone who was born and brought up in Dover I do like stories like this, and my wife’s Grandmother is buried in the same churchyard as the deceased from the Broke.
The "break glass in case of emergency" Wednesday video... ok Drach, this one is golden!
It's a fascinating thing how quickly he changed his tune regarding the German sailors. I'm guessing the adrenaline of action, and knowing that his own sailors were being killed and mutilated, somewhat soured his own tone during the action.
Thats right. Men were killed in battle so afterwards revenge and mistreatment of prisoners and helpless, unarmed soldiers and sailors is perfectly acceptable eh? People like you always justify war crimes. Thankfully, you aren't in charge of anything and never should be.
@@smokejaguarsix7757 I don’t think that’s what he was saying but go off
@@viscounttudon68 sure as hell sounds like thats what he is saying.
@@smokejaguarsix7757 Drachinifel realised what I was saying, @Hands don't exist in my reality realised what I was saying, 37 other people apparently did as well.
I made an observation, not a statement of opinion on the treatment of prisoners. If I would've said that the treatment was justified, or conversely morally unacceptable, then I would be stating my opinion. I then gave a hypothesis for what happened, again opinion lacking.
I believe that, since I was not there at the time, I cannot possibly offer an opinion on the conditions of prisoner treatment. Neither should you. Please take your trolling somewhere else.
@@sgtrpcommand3778 justifying terrible acts.
Midway and Jutland are always discussed, many of the smaller engagements are very interesting and never get covered. More like this would be fine with me....
yeah it's like the naval version of d-day and stalingrad
For anyone who doesn't know, Evans had part of Antarctica's Ross Island named after him while he was second in command of the second Scott expedition. It's still called Cape Evans today. It's on the western side of Ross Island, about 20km from McMurdo Station. The hut they built as the expedition headquarters still exists there. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Evans
Evans would be a story of a video just by himself to be honest.
Even without touching his wartime service in the RN.
That having been said, great video^^
I just got to the bit about the 'grey funnel line' and was immediately reminded of a short story entitled 'Dover Patrol' by an author named Gordon Caroll that appeared in Adventure Magazine in the April 1932 issue (It's findable on the internet archive.). In the 1916 set story a destroyer picks up an important cargo and a VIP I think the reader is supposed to assume is Herbert Kitchener. It climaxes in a destroyer night action that has some distinct resemblences to the 'Brooke-Swift action', this suggests the accounts of the real action spread quite widely.
Has Drach done a programme on the mysterious death of Lord Kitchener and the strange route that the "Hampshire" took?
You can tell Drach loves efficiency, hes a model of it, he always has a back up video just in case.
I feel like he ripped through that book as light reading on a commute somewhere and got the genius idea to narrate the stories and give credit. But he knows it would be lazy if that was his standard output, so it sits on his editing desk ready to save the day.
Best intro on youtube.
It's the only one I don't skip past.
@JZ's Best Friend tOo LoNg
I would like to think RUclips recognized what a trainwreck U-571 is and blocked any footage of it to shield those unfamiliar with the film from its awfulness.
LOL. That would be a valid reason😎
There are far, far , far worse films...... "Francis in The Navy" has to be worse.
but i liked it :/
And yet they've allowed footage of the twin abortions "Pearl Harbor" and "Midway"
@@taccovert4 excellent point
Thrown together, even your emergency videos stand head and shoulders above other RUclipsr's
Sadly the Grand Theft U-Boat vid isn't available due to copyright...
yeah
You joking, right?
@@supsup335 no, it totally got copyrighted by what it told me "Studiocanal"
@@supsup335 i wish
@@SnakeHarrow77 Yep same here.
I'd wager that this "emergency" video will turn out to be more interesting than the U-571 video anyway.
Nice little episode about a fascinating man ! A little known fact was Evans served as Rear Admiral Commanding HM Australian Squadron between 1929-31and apparently made a very good impression as he was a down-to-earth type of man commanding the navy of a very down-to-earth country !
As an American, I can see why the American sailors took a liking to this Evans guy. He'd have fit right in.
Thanks Drach.
I can't recall who said it but a quote goes: While our nations may be at war, all sailors have a common enemy in the sea.
That RUclips Machine Spirit must be purged for blocking the U-571 video
It seems to have fallen to Chaos a long time ago Brother!
@@ardenelenduil2334 The Mechanicus needs to do something about this
@@Big_E_Soul_Fragment I'd consider adding an inquisitor or two.
This heresy is passed saving brother permission to begin exterminatus.
@@Big_E_Soul_Fragment Purge the unclean, burn the Heretic...
I think these emergency videos are better than the "A" side of the record.
We've heard a lot of the Jutland and Tsushima stuff now. Time for the destroyers and cruisers, and torpedo boats to have their moment.
Superior B side.
@@neilwilson5785 did someone say torpedo boats?
Commander Evans: I’m gonna marry Elsa
Royal Navy: She’s norwegian! You must… let it goooo! Let it go!
You're an absolute disgrace and embarrassment to your ancestors! Take my 'like' and get out of my sight...
get out
Thumbs down for your comment, and the police are on their way. I haven't SWATted you, I just called the front desk at your local station and chatted with them about what you just did. They agreed that it isn't actually illegal, but I got the impression you're gonna have a real interesting visit once the current shift is out of uniform.
How bloody uncivilized of you.
oh no not this song agai-
I read a book about life on a US four stacker destroyer in WW1 and I remember the author stated that for every book about Jutland you could write a book about every destroyer action in the Great War. The same thing happened during WW2; the constant patrolling and fighting of destroyers and PT Boats could and have filled volumes! It seems that historians are always looking for the big decisive battles to explain victory or defeat, when in fact it was the bravery and competence of the small ships that actually win naval wars.
Nicely executed emergency glass breakage, Drach!
This is the emergency holographic Drachinifel providing emergency Wednesday content.
Thanks! Great stories. The smaller actions are under studied, and often way more interesting than a bunch of elephants doing a slow motion dance.
"Please state the nature of the naval history emergency."
guess if you are a Destroyer Capt. and named Evans you must be a little crazy! Evans of the Broke WW1, Evans of the Johnston WW2
Capt Evans must have been a hell of guy! Polar expeditions and both World Wars...I hope Drach interviews him some time.
Drachism of the day , " damn you decoding , why aren't you fighting "
Steve Dunn has written an excellent book: Securing the Narrow Sea, the Dover Patrol. Highly recommended
“An agitated official of the Bank of England”
Is there any other kind?
Drach should include a spirit in his merchandise with the sign "Rum Ration - Emergency Only" :)
unironically would buy
@@zedoktor979 Same, provided it actually holds drinkable alcohol (rum preferably).
I would buy at least one bottle of Wednesday Rum Ration. If it was good I might keep buying them.
First casualty of any battle is your plan. So well done for improvised content!:)
I was thinking of "Dorsetshire" breaking off rescuing matelots from the "Bismarck" (because a periscope had, allegedly, been spotted...but I suppose Evans's 'blood was up (as the expression goes). Was no warning given to the for'ard deck crew of imminent ramming? Ah...cutlasses...I have one by my fireplace just in case of a boarding party, or any party.
Please invite me to your next party,sounds like a blast!
The story of the gold reminds me of the USS Trout in WW2. While running supplies to the Philippines, she was given gold bars and silver coins from the Bank of the Philippines to take to safety. When they arrived back at their base, one of the gold bars was missing. They finally found it in the galley, where one of the cooks was using it as a paperweight. An uncle of mine (who served in WW2) gave me some of his issues of Navy Times, and one of them had an article about this- I have uploaded it here:
www.flickr.com/photos/rnrobert/albums/72157615612297855
I work out of Dover, very interesting hearing about its role in the war.
Thanks Drach,
I was interested in UK's contributions at the end of the Pacific War. Specifically Okinawa and in the China Sea March - August 1945. Thanks, Rocky Mountain Yank
Good sir - as much as I appreciate your larger pieces and in-depth reporting on major battles, stories like this one are absolutely fascinating as well as largely unknown to the majority of your viewers, I'll wager. You have a gift for this sort of thing, and I for one (of about 270K, at last count) am immensely in your debt for sharing it with us.
Peck of the Swift does sound like the offensive capabilities of a fast moving chicken, you have to admit.
Alternatively, the HMS Broke lived up to it's name a few times. There's that too.
Typical Drach. One of the best ever videos ever is a stopgap. This is how wars are won.
Loved this war story. Evans of the broke... legend status 👏
I remember being on the U-505 in Chicago thinking "Every time a US citizen walks aboard it counts as the most recent defeat of a Kriegsmarine sub." Looks like U-571 wants to join that club..
The trouble with capturing a U-boat is that it arouses the German suspicion that the codes have been stolen. Weather ships and entering a sinking submarine are possible but the British went to great lengths not to arouse suspicion by surrounding a surfacing U-boat pack with with a waiting number of B-24s or Flower Class frigates - the enemy codes having been intercepted.
Not doubting your hard work on a critical review of "U-571", this one is more than a worthy stand-in video. Well done, Drach. Well done.
I remember reading about this action in Look and Learn, so it's not that forgotten.
I pay the cable bill for my parents and noticed my dad only watches terrible history channel shows so I set him up with your videos. He called me one day and said holy shit did you see the video on yt of the battle of jutland by a guy who's name I can't pronounce. My fingers are crossed that I can remove cable and get him addicted to drachinifel.
ლↂ‿‿ↂლ
I’ve seen U-571 and, frankly, this piece was far more interesting.
The ship name is pronounced like 'brook', as it is named after Philip Broke (the Captain of HMS Shannon during the War of 1812).
Well Brook and Broke as they are spelt and pronounced are somewhat interchangeable in the British language. Generally I'd say if it was spelt Brooke, then pronouncing it as Brook would be more correct so Broke should probably be pronounced broke.
@@DidMyGrandfatherMakeThis His name is specifically pronounced 'Brook', though it is very counterintuitive based on the spelling.
@@carausias I concur, I was merely pointing out to others who might be watching the video the idiosyncratic nature of the language, it was not meant as a repudiation.
@drachinifel I came here to say this but it's already been said. Broke as in Captain Broke, famous gunnery enthusiast and captain of the Shannon, pronounced like "Brook".
Absolutely Outstanding.
Such a back up program!
I do wonder why the High Seas fleet did not go after the Dover Express more often.
As for Lloyd George and The Gold Bars....!!??
“May humanity after battle be the defining feature..” respect.
I enjoy these accounts dearly, and implore you to continue producing content regarding these somewhat little known actions.
Thank you for this story Drach.
More stories of the smaller encounters of wars please.
Thank you, Drachinifel.
I’d love to see your take on stuff like the Franklin expedition or Ronald Amundsen’s career
Shackelton's Endurance would make a great video too as that is one of the most fascination stories not just of survival but seamanship that I know of.
Agreed, naval explorer history would be a great addition to the usual military focus. Drach could do those grand stories their proper justice. Even more ancient voyages, like reviewing the evidence for just how far the Polynesians seem to have sailed, and how they accomplished the trip.
I noticed you posted a clip about Horatio Nelson's naval career. If you haven't already, you might consider doing one on Lord Cochrane. He had a most remarkable naval career both in the RN and with two revolutionary navies. :)
There's a Cochrane vid somewhere on YT (I watched it), but not by Herr Doktor Drachinifel. Also a fine biography of Cochrane by the British author Donald Thomas - well worth the read - a fascinating character.
I've catching up with many of your videos and learned so much these last few months. This one was a delight to listen too while eating my lunch, many thanks.
Best description of this battle I have ever heard.
Thanks Drach, This was very interesting and well presented.
Nice and interesting video, think we need to hear more of the smaler stuff like this.
Love the fact you have a back up video ready to go in the event that the algorithm tries to thwart your plans!
That was a very good video. I thank you for this history lesson. I am always learning new bits of very interesting naval history with from your channel.
Thanks Drach for all your efforts
Pity the USN didn't have a commander like *Evans of Broke* for the night actions off Guadalcanal in the second half of 1942. The IJN would not have had met such incompetence at Savo Island, 1st Guadalcanal, and Tassafaronga.
taffy 3 erased any bad perceptions about that!
May watch this multiple times in protest to the RUclips stupidity.
There is a photograph of my Dad knocking around somewhere, of him in officer's uniform polo necked jumper full-beard, sea-boots and leather belt through which he is carrying a cutlass and two Smith & Wesson .38s . He was Royal Navy 1940 to 1948.
"Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun . . .," but NOT unarmed, they don't! Good-o for yer Dad!
Damn it! Somehow, my notification's to Drach's channel got turned off! I never missed a Drach video and now I have about a month's work to catch up with. Oh well, I guess there are worse things that could happen, but I'd still like to know why it happened.
Everytime I go for a vacation and sit on the beach I go to this channel and binge watch, thank you for amazing content!
Bacon & eggs after a dip in evening waters of the Channel in winter sounds marvelous hospitality & graciousness. Excellent decorum after the action! Godspeed & God bless the RN Destroyers!
You handled your emergency with the aplomb of Evans of the Broke. Thank you
I thought from the title that Drach might be channeling Jay Ward of Bullwinkle fame, but, wow, what a great narrative!
I have a copy of Evans (Mountevans) biography. A fascinating look at life at sea back then.
He also had an interesting time in Norway during the German invasion in the Second World War, due to his wife he was fluent in Norwegian.
On leaving the Navy he was then put in charge of air raid precautions.
I can't find my copy ATM but I think it is called 'An Unruly Life ', I reckon Drach should get hold of it, enough material there for three or four really good videos.
Thanks & I love your reviews, Drach... Keep doing what you do, mate.
I always liked the story in "Make Another Signal", where a flotilla of British and French destroyers were chasing some German destroyers. One of the French destroyers had a breakdown, and when asked what happened, they replied something to the effect of, "Boiler go boom, can go no more".
I hope U571 video dispute gets resolved, I am really looking forward to see Drach rip a new one to that abomination.
A brilliant emergency video of an excellent subject. Evens deserves a video all of his own to tell all of his story in the Senior Service.
Surely it can be argued that Drach "Broke"..... the glass in case of emergency for this video?
I'll get my coat 😁🤣
To the justification for leaving the German survivors in the water, I say, "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind." Disgusting behaviour, even though it is to be expected from all sides in wartime.
Great video, Drach!
Really look foward to the U-571 vid hopefully it still gets to come out at some point but thanx 4 getting an alternate vid out much appreciated love the channel amazing facts and fun
Excellent emergency episode ... enjoy the rest of your day
I actually watched U571 just yesterday. I went in other room and listened to you actually. Had to go turn down U571. One hour of screaming, freaking out, just the audio sounded like a teen scream film. Forget it and do your thing.
I'd rather be swift than broke. 😉
Well he managed both. His destroyer was swift and the bow got broke
Duel wielding Webley .455's ready to board and engage in CQB, Is one of those moments in history I'd do anything to have a pic of
Supported by Matelots with cutlasses! 20 years too early for Lanchesters, sadly.
-Entered navy as a boy
-Got bored, volunteered for polar expeditions
-Didn’t care for social restrictions
-Becomes daring ship captain
This Edward Evans guy’s biography sounds uncannily similar to Nelson.
That's a pretty good emergency video. Thanks
Was wondering why I saw that one vid blocked in my notifications... hate that the RUclips system lets content get blocked without even checking if you violated anything....and usually the blanket blocks are from companies/groups that are big enough you can't fight them even if you're completely in the right.... *deep breath* Nevermind, still got some great content to watch so all good. Best of luck on getting that ridiculous block removed. Thanks as always for posting!
Thanks for another great set of stories!
If I'm honest, I wouldn't have watched a movie review episode. This kinda stuff is where it's at! Thanks Drach!
Your work ethic and dedication to the subject are outstanding!
awesome episode. Well done and entirely entertaining. It was a different time to be sure. Thanks Drach
Drach is the only reason I still have RUclips on my devices
Greg's Airplanes and Automobiles is another.
As usual, the Drach-man goes beyond the call of duty. We are getting spoiled.
Evans was an interesting man , knew about his Antarctic adventures but not this,
An outstanding video presentation!
An excellent emergency post! Well done and a very excellent story.
The issue that you're having here is a reason why I do a test render of my videos, just to make sure that the music will be allowed by the computerized bell-ends they've got at RUclips. I've already been burned once by making a full video that I couldn't use, even though the music was already part of the RUclips licensing system.
Or I get copyright strikes for artists that aren't even featured in the video.
When your "emergency" video still blows many pre-planned videos on other channels out of the water!
Excellent story. Interesting to see stories of the small ships and of WW1 small ships in particular. Oh to have a time machine (with a return ticket though) to go back and soak up the ambiance of the Kentish coast and the warship lined docks of Dover.