"We never really let the Germans know who won the war. They are being told that their army was stabbed in the back, betrayed, that their army had not been defeated. The Germans never believed they were beaten. It will have to be done all over again…." ~ John J. Pershing
@DiscordChaos well they did blame Germany for the entire war and then impose unjust sanctions wish in turn transformed germany into a weak republic fraught with economic strife which made it the perfect place for a radical nationalist like Adolf Hitler to rise so....and Germanys politicians really did stap it in yhe back.
@DiscordChaos well much of German industry was placed in the hands of foreign powers such as the french, because Germany was blamed for the whole of the war the economic sanctions imposed were of such an amount that it caused great economic hardship in Germany, and because of german industry being largely owned by powers other than Germany the nation was largely unable to pay it back. Germany's territory was largely reduced and many former german citizens found themselves subjects of foreign powers. The sanctions were unjust not only because of their severity but because of Germany being used as the scapegoat for the entire war. As for Germany being stabbed in the back despite the losses taken Germany was still doing quite well, even after America became involved Germany still held quite alot of foreign territory and had many experienced troops and generals at the front, despite what is commonly taught Germany was still very much in the fight but it was weak willed politicians on the homefront that ultimately sued for peace, whilst germanys armies were still fighting one the front and Germany's military establishment and the Kaiser as well as the german people still believed in victory. Its largely because of these sanctions and the german peoples feelings of being wronged as well as many disgruntled veterans that world war 2 was able to come to pass. The treaty of Versailles resulted in a weak republic where once was Germany. A republic fraught with economic strife, sociopolitical turmoil, and weak leadership. A divided nation on its knees which made the perfect place for a man such as Adolf Hitler to rise.
A story from Send the Alabamians: during the Punitive Expedition, Pershing caught three soldiers taking shelter from the wind behind an overturned wagon. They also happened to be playing dice. Rather than lay into them, he simply offered the suggestion to "take your game further off the trail before some lieutenant catches you"
James Hickok Remarkable, isn’t it? He was born in rural Missouri just before the outbreak of the American Civil War, when the US was a tiny player on the world stage. By his death, the US was the dominant power in a new, modern world.
That chunk of time in history had the most technological and political changes. I can't think of one period that remotely comes close for the sheer amount of tech variety.
Also a healthy reminder to how new America as a major power is. But people are always saying how technology is advancing like never before. I`m not convinced this is the case. If you were born in 1890, the fastest thing in the world was a coal powered train. By the time of your death, there will have been men on the moon. The only changes in my lifetime have been cell phones that break faster.
Seems like Pershing and Eisenhower, the two “main” general for the U.S. troops in Europe in both World Wars, were successful not because they were great strategists per se but because they were rather great organizers and coordinators.
@@M29WeaselDriver your correct. Also its a absolute necessity to be logistically competent when you have to transport every single supply across the Atlantic ocean
“A competent leader can get efficient service from poor troops, while on the contrary an incapable leader can demoralize the best of troops." ~General John J. Pershing
Excellent again. Indy & team, I know it's impossible to cover everything, but I'm surprised that you missed this quote by great man General Pershing: "We never really let the Germans know who won the war. They are being told that their army was stabbed in the back, betrayed, that their army had not been defeated. The Germans never believed they were beaten. It will have to be done all over again." (1923) It's as scarily prescient as Foch's famous quote about Versailles and the "20-years armistice".
By the end of the war neither the French people, neither the British had any gumption to continue the bloodshed any further then was necessary. When Germany acquiesce to an armistice the prevailing mood in both nations was to seize the moment for they too had become exhausted by the war.
Paradox, you seem not to grasp what the point was. They were allowed to pretend that they were actually winning militarily, and only some damn dirty politicians surrendered; ie stabbed in the back.
DP, That has little bearing on the first part of the statement. I agree with the second part but regardless of whether they believed they were defeated or not the idea of letting them know who's won and who's boss on the world playing field clearly didn't work out. I interpret the former half of the sentence to be in line with the British when the treaty of Versailles was signed (Which got us blitz'd). I think had Pershing witnessed WW2 he'd have gone back on the first half of statement.
"It is with loving pride we drape the colors in tribute of respect to this citizen [Marquis de Lafayette] of your great republic. And here and now, in the presence of the illustrious dead, we pledge our hearts and our honor in carrying this war to a successful issue." « C'est avec fierté que nous drapons les couleurs en hommage à ce citoyen [le marquis de La Fayette] de votre grande république. Et voici maintenant, en présence de l 'illustre mort, nous engageons nos cœurs et notre honneur dans la résolution favorable de cette guerre. »
"People believed a larger division could stay on the line longer as it would have more replacements and reserves". Indie is crystal clear, a 40 width division is op. Hoi 4 reference
+Ιωάννης Μπαλτουμάς Smaller formations were required mostly to the small amount of real estate. Example: the biggest tank formation was a battalion. Even then the whole battalion may not take part in a small island invasion due to maneuvering constraints. Large islands like Okinawa and Luzon could handle the whole unit. Often tanks that were on the island would be held back until needed. This is from a tanker in the Pacific. He was proud that his tank battalion (Shermans) was first to be requested if troops got into trouble. He's been gone 35 years so I don't recall the battalion number.
You forgot to mention that Black Jack was the mentor of many great US generals of ww2 names being like George Patton, Eisenhower, George C Marshall and many others.
And that lack of respect was instilled and strongly encouraged of the officers for sure through WW2. In the US Navy the smaller the ship the more personable the officers. A whole different human dynamic between a carrier and little puddle boats like PTs or Yard Mine Sweepers. Some jerks let the power go to their egos though.
Question for out of the tranches: the generals of WW1 are often seen as incompetent and uncaring of the plight of the men. Did any generals show regret after the war?
john c. bryant "Many islands taken from the Japanese had no reason for being taken" I wouldn't say so. Many were important because of their air bases like Iwo Jima, or in the case of Okinawa because it was the closest island to Japan and thus the best to invade mainland Japan from, then you have islands like Tarawa which were important because of their naval bases and the fact that they were key Japanese positions, and then you also have the island of Guadalcanal which was important so that the US could "stay in touch" with their allies in Australia and not be completely cut off from them, there are many more cases but I think I've proven my point. Not only are you wrong, but the US actually did not take all of the islands Japan owned. What they did instead was encircle the islands that were thought of as big strong points where there could be many casualties. The situation was pretty much the opposite of what you're claiming, the US tried to advance as much as possible to Japan while also tried to spare as many lives.
john c. bryant really? What a foolish thing to say. Many islands were skipped over. The ones taken were for strategic reasons such as forward bases or to eradicate the Japanese soldiers in order to keep the Japanese military from evacuating them to use on other fronts like they did on Guadalcanal.
@@ericcarlson3746 socks were built better back then. And that’s when they fixed clothes. You were given a pair and they were to last you your whole life. So in two years 120+ million socks. 90 million population. Sounds like the market was flooded with them. Also just saying stuff that’s not based on any facts .. so take it with a grain a pepper
@Indy and Team I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it but if you are ever in or around Chicago there is a park called Cantigny which is the former estate of Robert McCormick, a WW1 veteran, and it has a museum of the US 1st Division from WW1 to the modern day. It also includes several outdoor tanks from different wars that you can not only see but actually climb on top of. Something to do if you are ever in the area, thank you for all your hard work on this channel.
Fort Riley has a relatively small museum but I found it had a lot of interesting stuff. One display had a WW1 horse mounted soldier with all correct gear for horse/rider along with signs briefly describing what certain parts were for. Worth the stop if you're going by.
It is a sad commentary upon American society that the endemic racism was so rampant that merely because the commanding officer treated his soldiers with the respect due their rank that he was ridiculed by his peers. The 10th Cavalry [aka "Buffalo Soldiers"] have a storied place in U.S. History, and deserved better than they got...
Hey Indy and team, thanks for creating such a great series. I have a question for out of the trenches. I'm from a town called Blyth in the North East of England which used to be a shipyard and submarine base during the First World War. It's also got an intact coastal defence battery, so my question is - how often, if at all, did coastal defences get used during the war?
Define "used." They were "used" as a deterrent regularly, keeping enemy fleets from making trivial raids against coastal towns, but in terms of firing their guns in anger, they were not commonly employed, and when they were, it usually didn't end well. Both sides' navies knew to attack coastal fortifications, if they had to attack them at all, with overwhelming firepower from extreme range. All fortifications and shore batteries could do against a determined naval attack is hope to slow the enemy down enough for the fleet to respond. This only got worse as air power evolved.
You need a "stubborn" leader with such a colossal task of raising and equipping a large army, pretty much from scratch. Doing research on my great uncle's service I could see a lot of evidence of disorganization, close to borderline chaos on the home front. Training camps springing up seemingly haphazard but there likely was some reasoning to it. Recruits would be shuffled off to newly made camps to ease overcrowding. Not uncommon to see a recruit being at 3 camps during training. The USA even had a shortage of ships to carry men/supplies to Europe, so foreign ships were contracted or leased. My great uncle departed NY harbor on a British owned ship. Oddly the destination on the ship's list is England but they were headed to Brest, France. Once in Europe you can see more organizational confusion with units of all sizes being moved between divisions frequently. Fortunately Pershing seemed well aware of how unprepared and unready the AEF was for battle. So training areas were set up to get the US troops better trained with the help of seasoned allies. If the AEF came straight from the USA and into battle it would have been disastrous. My great uncle had to make his own 37th Division shoulder patch and it looked homemade too! I read somewhere that 80-90% of the AEF saw combat, the highest percentage of any American army in any war.
LuvBorderCollies, my Grandmother on my Dad's side lost a nephew in France (U.S.ARMY) one of her Brother was 5th Marines( he started the Marine tradition in the family). I feel you are very correct, we needed him.
I didn't know hardly anything about Pershing except as commanding general of the AEF. That is until this awesome video. Thanks to Indy and his support squad. :) I did not know Bugout MacArthur served under Pershing. Wonder what Pershing really thought of the glory hound.
My father, not my grandfather, nor my great-grand father..but my father, served under Pershing. As a young man he quit school and enlisted (as many did)..his decision was based in part by adventure, duty to country and admiration of General Pershing! He carried that admiration to the day he died. Side note: My father wounded 2 1/2 days after the Armistice was signed, they hadn't gotten the word on the remote front line he was on.
1918: Pershing wanted to continue fighting all the way to Berlin, but was overruled by President Wilson. 1945: Patton wanted to continue fighting all the way to Moscow, but was relieved of his command by General Eisenhower. 1951: MacArthur wanted to continue fighting all the way to Beijing, but was sacked by President Truman.
Not literally fight them. In 1945 the Soviets had more forces in mainland Europe and the Western Allies and even though the Americans had nukes, that is no guarantee you can destroy the Soviet regime.
A couple bits of miss information Indy. First, General Pershing was the first man promoted to General of the Armies of the United States. George Washington was not promoted to that position until the 1976 by act of Congress. Second, Pershing was the second choice to lead the army in WWI. The first choice was General Fredrick Funstun. He was appointed but died of a heart attack before he took command. Interesting fact, Major Doug McArthur was on duty at the war department when the call came in that Funstun had died, and he had to inform the president. He also recommended Pershing for the command to President Wilson
For the point at 8:29 i would recommend the book "An Army at Dawn" by Rick Atkinson. It doesn't seem that they (as a whole) were up to the task as much as people believe. It took them some time to learn that, but opposite to WW1, Generals seemed to learn quicker.
-Agreed, great book. Atkinson is a fine writer. Discovered him 14 or 15 yrs ago, and that was the first one i read. I would say he is a worthy successor to Cornelius Ryan
Great episode on Pershing Indy! - learned a lot side notes: The name Pershing was an "Americanized" German surname. The fire that killed his wife was at San Francisco's Presidio
So I discovered The Great War channel way back in late 2016, but never really had the time (nor commitment) to watch it. But I decided that this summer I would watch pretty much every episode (I've probably missed a few) since it's beginning at the pace of 15 episodes a day. So here I am, I've finally caught up and it has been an amazing experience thus far, and I'm sure it will continue to be!
But is it the mega evolution known as the Super Pershing, one which ripped the face off of its enemies and uses their hulls as additional armor for itself?
You guys have at least 4 years worth of WW1 content. That's pretty damn impressive. Especially, against a history book from your average local school. Nice work guys.
My ancestor, 2nd Lt. Val Browning served in the American 79th Infantry Division in the Second Battle of Verdun. There's a photograph, of him investigating the newly issued Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR M1918) while in a trench. Another one, William Browning, was awarded the Silver Star for courage under fire while serving as a combat medic.
Hey Indy, I love watching your show and have been following week by week since 1915. I have yet to write an out of the trenches question, so here it goes. Did the German military begin drafting or accepting volunteers from the area under German occupation after the signing of the he Treaty of Brest-Litovsk agreement? Thanks Indy and team for all the hard work it takes to make such an amazing RUclips docuseries!
General of the Armies de facto 6 star general since he was highest general during WWI and WWII. He was retired in 1924 but his rank was highest then 5 star General of the Army.
This vídeo yet insightful treatment of General Pershing's life is an excellent piece of work. Indy has managed to capture the essence of the man and place it in the context of the time. Pershing and the first third of the Twentieth Century are often overshadowed by the Second World War and its pantheon of leaders. Indy brings to light the years and man who created the foundation on which the Army of 1940. The beauties of this video are clarity and insight. I recommend it without reservation.
All I'd like to know, is who actually dislikes this series? I see thumbs down and I can't help but wonder why. Probably just some delinquents, who have no idea how much research goes into these great videos. Thanks for the amazing information as always. I wrote an amazing history paper recently, thanks to this channel. The school gave me the topic "The Great War." Thumbs up as usual.
At Hamel, Pershing agreed to provide American troops under Australian command. At the last minute he broke his agreement and withdrew from the attack. After the Australian victory he and Haig had a celebratory dinner (excluding any Australians) with Foch and they all took the credit for a stunning victory that none of them had anything to do with.
Pershing inspired Patton & he was the one who thought of a Second highest award & then earned it twice. AND he asked John Browning if he could make something to stop a tank, the 50 Caliber was born.
Mr. Nidell I want to commend you on this episode and the Great War Channel in general. The Great War has been over-shadowed by World War II for too long. Your Channel goes a long way to change this overshadowing. Note: I believe the greatest tragedy of the Great War is that 20 years after it ended, the Great War Part II began.
I'm reading a biography of George C. Marshall who worked closely with General Pershing in Europe during WW1. They remained close until Pershing's death . Perhaps you could do a segment on him as well .
Pershing a respectable character to be sure. Never meant to be a legend himself. Yet by his actions he helped to give rise to great American legends such as Eisenhower, Patton, and MacArthur. That is his greatest legacy. And it a great one. Nice job.
Actually John Pershing was the first General of the Armies. Washington made named General of the Armies later on so that it could be said that Washington wasn't outranked.
Hi! A question about national finances How did the countries pay / collect the war effort? Was it through loans, taxes, donations, Treasury certificates? Great work!
a few questions 1) which sides in the war employed mercy dogs and to what degree? I imagine that neither side would wan't to invest resources that could instead be put toward supplying the war effort. Also, how and when were mercy dogs deployed? 2) were arragngments ever made between the two sides, for the safe passage of neutral parties through the front lines? 3) to what degree was medical aid given to captured enemy soilders? were they ignored, or given lower priority? 4) In general, were each side respectful of their injured enemies in captured territory? were they typically helped, killed, or disregarded? I'd like to hear about this on both the small scale and large scale. thanks indy and team! keep up the improvments and fun intros!
I would like to point out that Spencer Williams of "Amos and Andy" was his Bugler while fighting Ponchot villa in Mexico and also with General Pershing in WWI, among other notables.
Two small points. John J. Pershing was the FIRST General to be given the rank of General of the Armies, not the 'first since Washington' since Washington was promoted posthumously to the rank only in 1976. Second, My grandfather, Charles A. Oxley, Gnr, Royal Field Artillery, was an American who enlisted in the British Army in 1915. General Pershing pinned the Victory Medal on him in Boston on Armistice Day, 1919.
Hey Indy and team, great show guys, could you do a special or an out of the trenches about the condition of trade and commerce in the world during the war years.
A question for Out of the Trenches: Every war has seemed to have some great music come out of it. World War 2 brought us Vera Lynn and the Andrews Sisters. Vietnam saw the rise of protest songs from Country Joe & the Fish and Creedence Clearwater Revival. What about the Great War? What music styles and musicians became popular during this time? Thanks for everything you guys do. I'll almost be sorry for the Great War to end.
6:18 Watching the ANZAC TV series that dealt with the Americans...From my understanding they were originally suppose to be attached under General John Monash's Australian Corps. In the series Monash was severely dismayed when he learned that Pershing wanted the Americans to remain independent from the British and French (It was something Monash fought for the Australians who were fighting under the British Command).
Yes, some os the US troops were pulled out prior to The Battle of Hamel on 04 July 1918 which upset Gen. Monash's plans, but a futher request by Pershing was ignored as it was too late. It was the first offensive battle that the Yanks were involved in and they were under Australian command. There was a US Senate inquiry into Pershing's actions on 11 Nov. 1918 when his troops were ordered to take as much enemy territory as possible before the 11am cease fire. Many of his troops lost their lives or were maimed for nothing. The inquiry was later stopped, probably by Pres. Wilson.
The first offensive battle the US was involved with was Cantigny on May 28th - not Hamel. Pershing never ordered attacks on the 11th. He left it up to his subordinates.
General Pershing got an army, the most advanced tech you could get back in the day and even planes... and he was continuously fooled, outsmarted and returned to the US only with a huge military defeat after failing to capture only one man. That man was Pancho Villa, one of the most brilliant guerrilla strategist ever. Villa > Pershing.
The US did not have the most advanced military tech in 1916. Not by any stretch. I'd also say that in a sense the expedition was at least partly successful. Villa never again raided the US.
The Punitive Expedition had some advanced tech for the time as "test cases;" the planes and automobiles weren't considered ready for prime time [& weren't, by a long shot!] but the Army wanted to have 1st hand experience with their shortcomings, as they could see where things were going in Europe and have a better understanding of where future development was needed. Pershing utterly destroyed Villa's ability to launch another raid on U.S. soil, and in the process, removed Villa's chances of ever seizing power in Mexico: I think that was success enough, there wasn't any further need to drag him back to the States. The Mexican govt. was *pissed* about the U.S. violating their territory too, in spite of the fact we were doing them a favor by hunting down Villa. Anyway, Villa's insanity of attacking Columbus, N.M. has repercussions that are still echoing today: another interesting avenue to explore for the alternate history contingent!
yea JJP was pretty amazing and if we could bring him into today i would like to see how he would handle things. Or maybe his take on the Punisher series on Netflix
Indy, you should do a show about the 40,000 Americans who crossed the border since 1914 to join and fight with the Canadian Corps. The last Canadian Victoria Cross winner from ww1 died in Maine some years back. I don't think any transferred to the American Army forming in France, perhaps Official America thought of them as having broken the law. But it is also doubtful whether a seasoned soldier from a seasoned unit would want to transfer to a green as grass outfit.
Shubal Dovakin A number of Americans who served with the Canadian Corps transferred to the US Army. Among these was Frederick Libby, the first American flying ace. See Horses Don't Fly a.co/g94AeVe
Question for Out of the Trenches: Do you think the Spanish American War prepare the U.S. in anyway to fight in the Great War? Love your show can't wait to follow your WWII show in real time.
I would say no, since the war was short (lasted less than 4 months) and that the decisive battle happened on sea. The Spanish fleet was no match at all. Spain is like the Ottoman Empire at this point in its imperial history, probably worse. No attritional wars, no stalemate, a lot of the soldiers on both sides died from diseases though.
If they did learn anything it would've been forgotten by 1917. But I don't see what could be applied from the S-A-War to WW1, they were totally different in so many substantial ways. I can't think of anything from 1898 in Cuba that could be used in WW1 in Europe.
Probable not in the way of tactics, but the Spanish American war (and resulting Philippine-American War) did push the U.S. Military to adopt the M1903 Springfield and M1911.
The only real preparatory effect it had upon the U.S. was in its f/x on Pershing's career and in alerting the U.S. Army to the fact that its Gatling guns were obsolescent [and that the proper use thereof was on the forward line, not in the rear as a form of light artillery, as so many powers' military doctrine espoused at that time. See John Parker's _The Gatlings at Santiago_.]
It is strange that a leader born during the crucible of modern war, the American Civil War, would not have taken the central lesson from it...that war has changed
Hey love the channel and have been a long time follower I was wondering if you could to a video like this for Wilfred Owen as we are studying his poetry in English. Thanks Indi and team
Hey Indy, have you guys watched The Great Martian War from History? It's a really cool reimagining of WW1 in the context of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds
"The Battle was the fiercest I've ever seen. They were truly brave warriors. At the face of war, they count death as a mere incident." ~john James pershing 1913
It's quite surprising to know that a number of America's most popular generals were assigned to the Philippines at one time or another. Though the history of my country (the Philippines) and the U.S. remains wrought with intrigue, suspicion, ignorance, distrust and erroneous information, one can hardly deny the important part the Philippines played in contemporary U.S. history, even up to this very day.
Hey, love this project. A slight correction. While George Washington was General of the Armies he was not awarded this tite until after Pershings death so Washington was not really General of the Armies before Pershing. It was an act of congress in the seventies that brought the founding father up to the same rank as the expeditionary force commander.
3:41 I have a little trouble understanding the context of this quote (especially without a date) because, while the United States entered the war very late, it had already been shipping all kinds of "stuff" (as you put it) to the allies already. So it confused me because, even though I understand the personnel issue, the flow of materiel to the allied forces was already in full swing. What part of the supply chain was General Pershing concerned about?
True (and I heard about the supply bottleneck mentioned in the video), but the U.S. was not sending raw material to Europe. It was sending all kinds of finished supplies ready for the war effort. They were sending automobiles, boots, telephone equipment, medical supplies, etc... These things were definitely war supplies even when the United States was "neutral". What, did you think the U.S.A. were just shipping iron ore to the entente nations, or something like that? A great resource if you want to learn more about this stuff is The Great War channel on RUclips. They have tons of information on the First World War and will answer many questions you might have and maybe provoke new questions like the one I just asked.
We're already on that Channel.... And a large percentage of what we were sending were just food stuffs and raw materials. Even a lot of the finished supplies we were sending weren't the same sort we were going to need ourselves. Not to mention factories had a hard time trying to fill orders for the Entente and us simultaneously.
Not just foodstuffs and raw materials, CJ, but in fact *everything* that didn't go boom-not to understate the critical importance of food, as we have seen the starvation in the countries of the Central Powers. So "everything" means trucks, ambulances, barbed wire, telephone and telegraph equipment, radio components, photographic equipment-in other words, war materiel, in addition to what we traded with the Entente countries in peacetime. In theory, the USA would have been trading that way with the Central Powers, too, but there was the blockade. And long before the US entered the war, sympathies had tipped toward the Entente and production to help the war effort began in earnest. I have watched every episode (except the uncut hour-plus long episodes with Othias) and one big thing I have learned was how, just as in the Second World War, American manufacturing muscle was a major factor in winning the war. As an American, I certainly got the "America saved the day" narrative in school, but that was always focused on formally entering the war and committing troops to the fighting. We have seen in recent weeks just how important that second part really was.
I've also watched every episode (even the Othias marathons), not to mention many books on the war. I started in August of 2014! I'm not saying we didn't send "finished" products, but most of what we sent was the materials for them to make the finished products.
There was a time when he needed to give an example to show to his enemies where defiance would bring them. During the Moro Wars, John Pershing was said to have ordered the corpses of pigs to be thrown into the mass graves where the fallen Moros were buried. Pigs in Islam are considered sacred and touching them would be haram, let alone being buried alongside their blood and flesh...
I've been waiting for the Pershing bio episode too! Next up, fingers crossed, episodes on Sergeant York and Major Charles Whittlesey & his Lost Battalion.
When I think of Pershing, I just remember Dads Army when they were arguing with the Americans and saying yes America was lead by some Pershing general, it took two years to get to the front,but respect to Americans who did there duty.
My great grandfather served with the 5th Marines in the war. Corporal Elton E. Mackin . He served in the summer and fall of 1918 across France. He was a company runner and served in many major battle, even being decorated with a navy cross and a silver Star along with several medals being awarded by the French army. His story was told in interviews and he also wrote a book titled " suddenly we didn't want to die". I would appreciate a who did what episode devoted to him and his story. Love the channel and am I'm the process of watching all the videos.
"We never really let the Germans know who won the war. They are being told that their army was stabbed in the back, betrayed, that their army had not been defeated. The Germans never believed they were beaten. It will have to be done all over again…." ~ John J. Pershing
Fake news is like that.
@Baron Von Grijffenbourg Dude almost all of them thought that.
@DiscordChaos well they did blame Germany for the entire war and then impose unjust sanctions wish in turn transformed germany into a weak republic fraught with economic strife which made it the perfect place for a radical nationalist like Adolf Hitler to rise so....and Germanys politicians really did stap it in yhe back.
@DiscordChaos well much of German industry was placed in the hands of foreign powers such as the french, because Germany was blamed for the whole of the war the economic sanctions imposed were of such an amount that it caused great economic hardship in Germany, and because of german industry being largely owned by powers other than Germany the nation was largely unable to pay it back. Germany's territory was largely reduced and many former german citizens found themselves subjects of foreign powers. The sanctions were unjust not only because of their severity but because of Germany being used as the scapegoat for the entire war. As for Germany being stabbed in the back despite the losses taken Germany was still doing quite well, even after America became involved Germany still held quite alot of foreign territory and had many experienced troops and generals at the front, despite what is commonly taught Germany was still very much in the fight but it was weak willed politicians on the homefront that ultimately sued for peace, whilst germanys armies were still fighting one the front and Germany's military establishment and the Kaiser as well as the german people still believed in victory. Its largely because of these sanctions and the german peoples feelings of being wronged as well as many disgruntled veterans that world war 2 was able to come to pass. The treaty of Versailles resulted in a weak republic where once was Germany. A republic fraught with economic strife, sociopolitical turmoil, and weak leadership. A divided nation on its knees which made the perfect place for a man such as Adolf Hitler to rise.
W1se0ldg33zer
Theodore Roosevelt took that position. He insisted invasion and occupation of Germany was necessary
A story from Send the Alabamians: during the Punitive Expedition, Pershing caught three soldiers taking shelter from the wind behind an overturned wagon. They also happened to be playing dice. Rather than lay into them, he simply offered the suggestion to "take your game further off the trail before some lieutenant catches you"
Patton and black jack got their butts kicked by Pancho Villa
That must've shook them
Going from the last Indian War to the atomic bomb, what incredible changes occurred in his lifetime.
James Hickok Remarkable, isn’t it?
He was born in rural Missouri just before the outbreak of the American Civil War, when the US was a tiny player on the world stage. By his death, the US was the dominant power in a new, modern world.
That chunk of time in history had the most technological and political changes. I can't think of one period that remotely comes close for the sheer amount of tech variety.
Also a healthy reminder to how new America as a major power is. But people are always saying how technology is advancing like never before. I`m not convinced this is the case. If you were born in 1890, the fastest thing in the world was a coal powered train. By the time of your death, there will have been men on the moon. The only changes in my lifetime have been cell phones that break faster.
Oxtocoatl13 not the internet itself?
Which Indian war tho? The last Indian war was in 1923, Posey's War.
Seems like Pershing and Eisenhower, the two “main” general for the U.S. troops in Europe in both World Wars, were successful not because they were great strategists per se but because they were rather great organizers and coordinators.
well the strategy was left to the generals in direct command of the troops. the supreme commander is usually more of politician
In those wars the USA seemed to be great with logistics and the us economy supported large amounts of supplies to our troops and our allies troops.
@@M29WeaselDriver your correct. Also its a absolute necessity to be logistically competent when you have to transport every single supply across the Atlantic ocean
Ironically both German Americans too
I'd rank Marshall above Eisenhower
Black Jack Pershing was my great great grandfather. It's quite fascinating looking at all the things that he did in the past. Amazing Video!!
Okay
COOL
No way
“A competent leader can get efficient service from poor troops, while on the contrary an incapable leader can demoralize the best of troops." ~General John J. Pershing
Excellent again.
Indy & team, I know it's impossible to cover everything, but I'm surprised that you missed this quote by great man General Pershing:
"We never really let the Germans know who won the war. They are being told that their army was stabbed in the back, betrayed, that their army had not been defeated. The Germans never believed they were beaten. It will have to be done all over again." (1923)
It's as scarily prescient as Foch's famous quote about Versailles and the "20-years armistice".
By the end of the war neither the French people, neither the British had any gumption to continue the bloodshed any further then was necessary. When Germany acquiesce to an armistice the prevailing mood in both nations was to seize the moment for they too had become exhausted by the war.
I believe Indy mentioned this quote in one of the regular episodes.
He was only partly correct, letting Germany know who won through harsh economic punishment led to Hitler gaining popularity.
Paradox, you seem not to grasp what the point was. They were allowed to pretend that they were actually winning militarily, and only some damn dirty politicians surrendered; ie stabbed in the back.
DP, That has little bearing on the first part of the statement. I agree with the second part but regardless of whether they believed they were defeated or not the idea of letting them know who's won and who's boss on the world playing field clearly didn't work out.
I interpret the former half of the sentence to be in line with the British when the treaty of Versailles was signed (Which got us blitz'd). I think had Pershing witnessed WW2 he'd have gone back on the first half of statement.
I didn't know about the loss of his family... that's terrible.
while he was down near the Mexican border, they were staying at the presidio of San Francisco, which is where the fire happened.
Funny enough Pancho Villa was one of the first to send their condolences
Hey Jon
JonManProductions same
He had a surviving son.
“Lafayette, we are here!” « Lafayette, nous voici! »
This quote is mistakenly attributed to Pershing, but it was actually spoken by his aide, Colonel Charles E. Stanton.
La République vous remercie. And France is glad to see that its oldest ally remained true.
"It is with loving pride we drape the colors in tribute of respect to this citizen [Marquis de Lafayette] of your great republic. And here and now, in the presence of the illustrious dead, we pledge our hearts and our honor in carrying this war to a successful issue."
« C'est avec fierté que nous drapons les couleurs en hommage à ce citoyen [le marquis de La Fayette] de votre grande république. Et voici maintenant, en présence de l 'illustre mort, nous engageons nos cœurs et notre honneur dans la résolution favorable de cette guerre. »
"People believed a larger division could stay on the line longer as it would have more replacements and reserves".
Indie is crystal clear, a 40 width division is op.
Hoi 4 reference
@@stevekaczynski3793
For practical reasons i guess. The island hoping strategy required smaller, more agile formations than those in the Great war
+Ιωάννης Μπαλτουμάς Smaller formations were required mostly to the small amount of real estate. Example: the biggest tank formation was a battalion. Even then the whole battalion may not take part in a small island invasion due to maneuvering constraints. Large islands like Okinawa and Luzon could handle the whole unit. Often tanks that were on the island would be held back until needed. This is from a tanker in the Pacific. He was proud that his tank battalion (Shermans) was first to be requested if troops got into trouble. He's been gone 35 years so I don't recall the battalion number.
You forgot to mention that Black Jack was the mentor of many great US generals of ww2 names being like George Patton, Eisenhower, George C Marshall and many others.
Matthew Arenson I think among his officers he was cool but to the average soldier he was just angry old black jack
Creepy Closet It’s like that with most generals
And that lack of respect was instilled and strongly encouraged of the officers for sure through WW2. In the US Navy the smaller the ship the more personable the officers. A whole different human dynamic between a carrier and little puddle boats like PTs or Yard Mine Sweepers. Some jerks let the power go to their egos though.
Eisenhower actually never served under Pershing, but was his close friend.
My key word is Mentor.
Question for out of the tranches: the generals of WW1 are often seen as incompetent and uncaring of the plight of the men. Did any generals show regret after the war?
Try this dude, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, 20,000 men in one day at the Somme.
You are correct, the Generals were butcher's. It continued in ww2. Many islands taken from the Japanese had no reason for being taken.
john c. bryant "Many islands taken from the Japanese had no reason for being taken"
I wouldn't say so. Many were important because of their air bases like Iwo Jima, or in the case of Okinawa because it was the closest island to Japan and thus the best to invade mainland Japan from, then you have islands like Tarawa which were important because of their naval bases and the fact that they were key Japanese positions, and then you also have the island of Guadalcanal which was important so that the US could "stay in touch" with their allies in Australia and not be completely cut off from them, there are many more cases but I think I've proven my point. Not only are you wrong, but the US actually did not take all of the islands Japan owned. What they did instead was encircle the islands that were thought of as big strong points where there could be many casualties. The situation was pretty much the opposite of what you're claiming, the US tried to advance as much as possible to Japan while also tried to spare as many lives.
randy bugger that is not compared to the German Austrian ottoman general who completely lost the war
john c. bryant really? What a foolish thing to say. Many islands were skipped over. The ones taken were for strategic reasons such as forward bases or to eradicate the Japanese soldiers in order to keep the Japanese military from evacuating them to use on other fronts like they did on Guadalcanal.
An interesting little fact is that he also got engaged to George Patton's younger sister in 1917.
Socks! Socks are no laughing matter, they're always in short supply. PSA: donate socks to your local homeless shelter. They're ALWAYS in need.
And socks have been in use for many centuries. Some products don't change much over time, like knives.
and the Russian military only switched to socks a few years ago from wraps.
At an archeology dig in Britain they found a letter from a Roman soldier to home. "Please send socks".
wore sandal?
Ask soldier, police, or construction worker. Socks are worth their weight in gold.
Socks per capita, the true measure of a country's economy
61,000,000 pairs a year.
US population 1910: 92,228,531
something doesn't seem right unless a lot of americans were just wearing sandals
@@ericcarlson3746 socks were built better back then. And that’s when they fixed clothes. You were given a pair and they were to last you your whole life. So in two years 120+ million socks. 90 million population. Sounds like the market was flooded with them. Also just saying stuff that’s not based on any facts .. so take it with a grain a pepper
Fun fact lots of eastern Europeans didn't use socks at the time, we used foot wraps instead.
@Indy and Team
I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it but if you are ever in or around Chicago there is a park called Cantigny which is the former estate of Robert McCormick, a WW1 veteran, and it has a museum of the US 1st Division from WW1 to the modern day. It also includes several outdoor tanks from different wars that you can not only see but actually climb on top of. Something to do if you are ever in the area, thank you for all your hard work on this channel.
Fort Riley has a relatively small museum but I found it had a lot of interesting stuff. One display had a WW1 horse mounted soldier with all correct gear for horse/rider along with signs briefly describing what certain parts were for. Worth the stop if you're going by.
Been there twice highly recommend great ww1 exhibit and museum.
jake jones Yes
Apparently the other soldiers nickname for him was N word jack and later was replaced with black jack.
It is a sad commentary upon American society that the endemic racism was so rampant that merely because the commanding officer treated his soldiers with the respect due their rank that he was ridiculed by his peers. The 10th Cavalry [aka "Buffalo Soldiers"] have a storied place in U.S. History, and deserved better than they got...
Hey Indy and team, thanks for creating such a great series. I have a question for out of the trenches. I'm from a town called Blyth in the North East of England which used to be a shipyard and submarine base during the First World War. It's also got an intact coastal defence battery, so my question is - how often, if at all, did coastal defences get used during the war?
Define "used." They were "used" as a deterrent regularly, keeping enemy fleets from making trivial raids against coastal towns, but in terms of firing their guns in anger, they were not commonly employed, and when they were, it usually didn't end well.
Both sides' navies knew to attack coastal fortifications, if they had to attack them at all, with overwhelming firepower from extreme range. All fortifications and shore batteries could do against a determined naval attack is hope to slow the enemy down enough for the fleet to respond. This only got worse as air power evolved.
You need a "stubborn" leader with such a colossal task of raising and equipping a large army, pretty much from scratch. Doing research on my great uncle's service I could see a lot of evidence of disorganization, close to borderline chaos on the home front. Training camps springing up seemingly haphazard but there likely was some reasoning to it. Recruits would be shuffled off to newly made camps to ease overcrowding. Not uncommon to see a recruit being at 3 camps during training.
The USA even had a shortage of ships to carry men/supplies to Europe, so foreign ships were contracted or leased. My great uncle departed NY harbor on a British owned ship. Oddly the destination on the ship's list is England but they were headed to Brest, France. Once in Europe you can see more organizational confusion with units of all sizes being moved between divisions frequently.
Fortunately Pershing seemed well aware of how unprepared and unready the AEF was for battle. So training areas were set up to get the US troops better trained with the help of seasoned allies. If the AEF came straight from the USA and into battle it would have been disastrous.
My great uncle had to make his own 37th Division shoulder patch and it looked homemade too! I read somewhere that 80-90% of the AEF saw combat, the highest percentage of any American army in any war.
LuvBorderCollies, my Grandmother on my Dad's side lost a nephew in France (U.S.ARMY) one of her Brother was 5th Marines( he started the Marine tradition in the family). I feel you are very correct, we needed him.
I didn't know hardly anything about Pershing except as commanding general of the AEF. That is until this awesome video. Thanks to Indy and his support squad. :) I did not know Bugout MacArthur served under Pershing. Wonder what Pershing really thought of the glory hound.
My father, not my grandfather, nor my great-grand father..but my father, served under Pershing. As a young man he quit school and enlisted (as many did)..his decision was based in part by adventure, duty to country and admiration of General Pershing! He carried that admiration to the day he died. Side note: My father wounded 2 1/2 days after the Armistice was signed, they hadn't gotten the word on the remote front line he was on.
1918: Pershing wanted to continue fighting all the way to Berlin, but was overruled by President Wilson.
1945: Patton wanted to continue fighting all the way to Moscow, but was relieved of his command by General Eisenhower.
1951: MacArthur wanted to continue fighting all the way to Beijing, but was sacked by President Truman.
Military men are born to fight one could say.
All very stupid and bloody ideas that would fail almost immediately.
OK Patton's and MacArthur's plans are stupid, would probably cause ww3 and absolutely ridiculous amounts of American dead.
James Tang Well Patton simply recognized that we'd be fighting Russia and the Cold war shows he was pretty much right.
Not literally fight them. In 1945 the Soviets had more forces in mainland Europe and the Western Allies and even though the Americans had nukes, that is no guarantee you can destroy the Soviet regime.
And Woodrow Wilson said onto John Pershing: "Create me an army worthy of United states of America!"
A couple bits of miss information Indy. First, General Pershing was the first man promoted to General of the Armies of the United States. George Washington was not promoted to that position until the 1976 by act of Congress.
Second, Pershing was the second choice to lead the army in WWI. The first choice was General Fredrick Funstun. He was appointed but died of a heart attack before he took command. Interesting fact, Major Doug McArthur was on duty at the war department when the call came in that Funstun had died, and he had to inform the president. He also recommended Pershing for the command to President Wilson
Funston was actually never appointed. Funston died in February before we declared war. He PROBABLY would have been chosen, but who knows.
Pershing is one of my favorite military commanders. oddly enough, my dad's also. the first tank my dad was trained in was the Pershing tank.
For the point at 8:29 i would recommend the book "An Army at Dawn" by Rick Atkinson. It doesn't seem that they (as a whole) were up to the task as much as people believe. It took them some time to learn that, but opposite to WW1, Generals seemed to learn quicker.
-Agreed, great book. Atkinson is a fine writer. Discovered him 14 or 15 yrs ago, and that was the first one i read. I would say he is a worthy successor to Cornelius Ryan
Thank you for doing this on General Pershing.
Great episode on Pershing Indy! - learned a lot
side notes:
The name Pershing was an "Americanized" German surname.
The fire that killed his wife was at San Francisco's Presidio
So I discovered The Great War channel way back in late 2016, but never really had the time (nor commitment) to watch it. But I decided that this summer I would watch pretty much every episode (I've probably missed a few) since it's beginning at the pace of 15 episodes a day. So here I am, I've finally caught up and it has been an amazing experience thus far, and I'm sure it will continue to be!
hey look a living tank
You mistake him for M26 Pershing, known from such movies as 'American Presence in Europe in 1945 during WW2' (kind of a long name)
But is it the mega evolution known as the Super Pershing, one which ripped the face off of its enemies and uses their hulls as additional armor for itself?
Just a tank with a moustache .
You guys have at least 4 years worth of WW1 content. That's pretty damn impressive. Especially, against a history book from your average local school. Nice work guys.
My ancestor, 2nd Lt. Val Browning served in the American 79th Infantry Division in the Second Battle of Verdun. There's a photograph, of him investigating the newly issued Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR M1918) while in a trench. Another one, William Browning, was awarded the Silver Star for courage under fire while serving as a combat medic.
Hey Indy, I love watching your show and have been following week by week since 1915. I have yet to write an out of the trenches question, so here it goes. Did the German military begin drafting or accepting volunteers from the area under German occupation after the signing of the he Treaty of Brest-Litovsk agreement? Thanks Indy and team for all the hard work it takes to make such an amazing RUclips docuseries!
To this day there is a Jonh J. Pershing center with a large sign expaling his life and service at the University of Nebraska Lincoln.
Been waiting for this episode, great job
Watch out Germany "Black Jack" has entered the Building!
General of the Armies de facto 6 star general since he was highest general during WWI and WWII. He was retired in 1924 but his rank was highest then 5 star General of the Army.
My grandfather was in the Colored Corp. fighting Pancho Villa back to Mexico. Loved Black Jack Pershing fighting with the Bronze Heros.
This vídeo yet insightful treatment of General Pershing's life is an excellent piece of work. Indy has managed to capture the essence of the man and place it in the context of the time. Pershing and the first third of the Twentieth Century are often overshadowed by the Second World War and its pantheon of leaders. Indy brings to light the years and man who created the foundation on which the Army of 1940. The beauties of this video are clarity and insight. I recommend it without reservation.
Gotta love when you hit RUclips with a name and the great war is the first video that pops up.
I like these episodes so much, I wish the war would never end...
I was member of Pershing Rifles in the 1960's in college and learned his history as a pledge to this group. Long Live F-10.
All I'd like to know, is who actually dislikes this series? I see thumbs down and I can't help but wonder why. Probably just some delinquents, who have no idea how much research goes into these great videos. Thanks for the amazing information as always. I wrote an amazing history paper recently, thanks to this channel. The school gave me the topic "The Great War." Thumbs up as usual.
Only North Korea would have dislikeless vids, so this is healthy.
TGW always shows these great old film clips that I’ve certainly never seen before.
What a legend
When General Patton went off to WW2 he asked for General Pershing's blessing before he left.
At Hamel, Pershing agreed to provide American troops under Australian command. At the last minute he broke his agreement and withdrew from the attack. After the Australian victory he and Haig had a celebratory dinner (excluding any Australians) with Foch and they all took the credit for a stunning victory that none of them had anything to do with.
Pershing inspired Patton & he was the one who thought of a Second highest award & then earned it twice. AND he asked John Browning if he could make something to stop a tank, the 50 Caliber was born.
Mr. Nidell I want to commend you on this episode and the Great War Channel in general. The Great War has been over-shadowed by World War II for too long. Your Channel goes a long way to change this overshadowing. Note: I believe the greatest tragedy of the Great War is that 20 years after it ended, the Great War Part II began.
Love your intro and all of your video's
I'm reading a biography of George C. Marshall who worked closely with General Pershing in Europe during WW1. They remained close until Pershing's death . Perhaps you could do a segment on him as well .
George C Marshall was one of the main planers for all US offensives in the war the should totally do a special on him
Pershing a respectable character to be sure. Never meant to be a legend himself. Yet by his actions he helped to give rise to great American legends such as Eisenhower, Patton, and MacArthur. That is his greatest legacy. And it a great one. Nice job.
An awesome video.
Actually John Pershing was the first General of the Armies. Washington made named General of the Armies later on so that it could be said that Washington wasn't outranked.
7:02 did they adapt the stormtrooper tactics?
Hi!
A question about national finances
How did the countries pay / collect the war effort? Was it through loans, taxes, donations, Treasury certificates?
Great work!
I have great respect for Pershing, we need more generals like him.
a few questions
1) which sides in the war employed mercy dogs and to what degree? I imagine that neither side would wan't to invest resources that could instead be put toward supplying the war effort. Also, how and when were mercy dogs deployed?
2) were arragngments ever made between the two sides, for the safe passage of neutral parties through the front lines?
3) to what degree was medical aid given to captured enemy soilders? were they ignored, or given lower priority?
4) In general, were each side respectful of their injured enemies in captured territory? were they typically helped, killed, or disregarded? I'd like to hear about this on both the small scale and large scale.
thanks indy and team! keep up the improvments and fun intros!
The 1st Division would become Pershing's favorite 5:41
I didn't get where I am today without recognising John Pershing when I see him!
epic!! thanks for the effort
Last time I was this early Britain still had an empire
Last time I was this early Austria was competent at war
Prussian Eagle ?
98103485DP prussia became the German empire
@@walpol3 When was that?
Constantine V prussia became the german empire when the prussian king was crowned emperor. Not sure of the exact date
I would like to point out that Spencer Williams of "Amos and Andy" was his Bugler while fighting Ponchot villa in Mexico and also with General Pershing in WWI, among other notables.
Two small points. John J. Pershing was the FIRST General to be given the rank of General of the Armies, not the 'first since Washington' since Washington was promoted posthumously to the rank only in 1976.
Second, My grandfather, Charles A. Oxley, Gnr, Royal Field Artillery, was an American who enlisted in the British Army in 1915. General Pershing pinned the Victory Medal on him in Boston on Armistice Day, 1919.
Hey Indy and team, great show guys, could you do a special or an out of the trenches about the condition of trade and commerce in the world during the war years.
Last time i was this early, the US was still neutral.
A question for Out of the Trenches: Every war has seemed to have some great music come out of it. World War 2 brought us Vera Lynn and the Andrews Sisters. Vietnam saw the rise of protest songs from Country Joe & the Fish and Creedence Clearwater Revival. What about the Great War? What music styles and musicians became popular during this time?
Thanks for everything you guys do. I'll almost be sorry for the Great War to end.
How about a video on mannerheim?
Pekka Mäkelä I think they did that already, but he certainly deserves it perkele
Or Mannstein
6:18
Watching the ANZAC TV series that dealt with the Americans...From my understanding they were originally suppose to be attached under General John Monash's Australian Corps. In the series Monash was severely dismayed when he learned that Pershing wanted the Americans to remain independent from the British and French (It was something Monash fought for the Australians who were fighting under the British Command).
Some continued to be attached under the British - the II Corps (27th and 30th Divisions) stayed under British command throughout.
Yes, some os the US troops were pulled out prior to The Battle of Hamel on 04 July 1918 which upset Gen. Monash's plans, but a futher request by Pershing was ignored as it was too late. It was the first offensive battle that the Yanks were involved in and they were under Australian command.
There was a US Senate inquiry into Pershing's actions on 11 Nov. 1918 when his troops were ordered to take as much enemy territory as possible before the 11am cease fire. Many of his troops lost their lives or were maimed for nothing. The inquiry was later stopped, probably by Pres. Wilson.
The first offensive battle the US was involved with was Cantigny on May 28th - not Hamel.
Pershing never ordered attacks on the 11th. He left it up to his subordinates.
In Poland we also have Pershing
His name was Andrzej Kolikowski and he was a gangsta in 90’s he died in 1999😔
Liking before watching the video is standard procedure for all Great War videos.
The film with Pershing smiling tells you why you never see him smiling.
General Pershing got an army, the most advanced tech you could get back in the day and even planes... and he was continuously fooled, outsmarted and returned to the US only with a huge military defeat after failing to capture only one man. That man was Pancho Villa, one of the most brilliant guerrilla strategist ever. Villa > Pershing.
The US did not have the most advanced military tech in 1916. Not by any stretch. I'd also say that in a sense the expedition was at least partly successful. Villa never again raided the US.
Name an army successful against any insurgency that didn't have the support of the local population, I'll wait.....
The Punitive Expedition had some advanced tech for the time as "test cases;" the planes and automobiles weren't considered ready for prime time [& weren't, by a long shot!] but the Army wanted to have 1st hand experience with their shortcomings, as they could see where things were going in Europe and have a better understanding of where future development was needed. Pershing utterly destroyed Villa's ability to launch another raid on U.S. soil, and in the process, removed Villa's chances of ever seizing power in Mexico: I think that was success enough, there wasn't any further need to drag him back to the States. The Mexican govt. was *pissed* about the U.S. violating their territory too, in spite of the fact we were doing them a favor by hunting down Villa. Anyway, Villa's insanity of attacking Columbus, N.M. has repercussions that are still echoing today: another interesting avenue to explore for the alternate history contingent!
yea JJP was pretty amazing and if we could bring him into today i would like to see how he would handle things. Or maybe his take on the Punisher series on Netflix
Indy, you should do a show about the 40,000 Americans who crossed the border since 1914 to join and fight with the Canadian Corps. The last Canadian Victoria Cross winner from ww1 died in Maine some years back. I don't think any transferred to the American Army forming in France, perhaps Official America thought of them as having broken the law. But it is also doubtful whether a seasoned soldier from a seasoned unit would want to transfer to a green as grass outfit.
Shubal Dovakin A number of Americans who served with the Canadian Corps transferred to the US Army. Among these was Frederick Libby, the first American flying ace. See Horses Don't Fly a.co/g94AeVe
kind of ironic that the wars that followed they jumped the border to escape the draft.
Question for Out of the Trenches: Do you think the Spanish American War prepare the U.S. in anyway to fight in the Great War? Love your show can't wait to follow your WWII show in real time.
WolfMan831 A shame Feature History is no longer a part of that project
I would say no, since the war was short (lasted less than 4 months) and that the decisive battle happened on sea. The Spanish fleet was no match at all. Spain is like the Ottoman Empire at this point in its imperial history, probably worse. No attritional wars, no stalemate, a lot of the soldiers on both sides died from diseases though.
If they did learn anything it would've been forgotten by 1917. But I don't see what could be applied from the S-A-War to WW1, they were totally different in so many substantial ways. I can't think of anything from 1898 in Cuba that could be used in WW1 in Europe.
Probable not in the way of tactics, but the Spanish American war (and resulting Philippine-American War) did push the U.S. Military to adopt the M1903 Springfield and M1911.
The only real preparatory effect it had upon the U.S. was in its f/x on Pershing's career and in alerting the U.S. Army to the fact that its Gatling guns were obsolescent [and that the proper use thereof was on the forward line, not in the rear as a form of light artillery, as so many powers' military doctrine espoused at that time. See John Parker's _The Gatlings at Santiago_.]
It is strange that a leader born during the crucible of modern war, the American Civil War, would not have taken the central lesson from it...that war has changed
Hey love the channel and have been a long time follower I was wondering if you could to a video like this for Wilfred Owen as we are studying his poetry in English. Thanks Indi and team
I go too Pershing rip j Pershing) u served us well
Please do Jan Smuts
please make a ludendorff special. there is no documentary about his life on RUclips
Hello, love the show. Could you create a video about crown prince Rupprect of Bavaria?
Hey Indy, have you guys watched The Great Martian War from History? It's a really cool reimagining of WW1 in the context of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds
ARTILLERY ONLY !!!!
"The Battle was the fiercest I've ever seen. They were truly brave warriors. At the face of war, they count death as a mere incident."
~john James pershing 1913
Oh the Battle of Bud Bagsak when The moros Got shot but they still charging
1:34 how did he treat the Buffalo soldiers?
didn't understand the importance of tanks and a pretty awesome tank was named after him. not bad :D
Captain Eddie Rickenbacker was his staff car driver. .
Madelyn Johnson - start writing an episode for Sgt. York... and Major Charles Whittlesey and the Lost Battalion!!
Fantastic episode. Might I fancy a question? Where did you obtain that wonderful vest?
It's quite surprising to know that a number of America's most popular generals were assigned to the Philippines at one time or another. Though the history of my country (the Philippines) and the U.S. remains wrought with intrigue, suspicion, ignorance, distrust and erroneous information, one can hardly deny the important part the Philippines played in contemporary U.S. history, even up to this very day.
End-of-video links are missing
Hey, love this project. A slight correction. While George Washington was General of the Armies he was not awarded this tite until after Pershings death so Washington was not really General of the Armies before Pershing. It was an act of congress in the seventies that brought the founding father up to the same rank as the expeditionary force commander.
Next up Alvin C. York!!!!! I can't wait!!!
3:41 I have a little trouble understanding the context of this quote (especially without a date) because, while the United States entered the war very late, it had already been shipping all kinds of "stuff" (as you put it) to the allies already. So it confused me because, even though I understand the personnel issue, the flow of materiel to the allied forces was already in full swing. What part of the supply chain was General Pershing concerned about?
Sending raw materials to Great Britain is completely different from sending all the stuff an Army needs...PLUS the actual Army.
True (and I heard about the supply bottleneck mentioned in the video), but the U.S. was not sending raw material to Europe. It was sending all kinds of finished supplies ready for the war effort. They were sending automobiles, boots, telephone equipment, medical supplies, etc... These things were definitely war supplies even when the United States was "neutral". What, did you think the U.S.A. were just shipping iron ore to the entente nations, or something like that? A great resource if you want to learn more about this stuff is The Great War channel on RUclips. They have tons of information on the First World War and will answer many questions you might have and maybe provoke new questions like the one I just asked.
We're already on that Channel....
And a large percentage of what we were sending were just food stuffs and raw materials. Even a lot of the finished supplies we were sending weren't the same sort we were going to need ourselves.
Not to mention factories had a hard time trying to fill orders for the Entente and us simultaneously.
Not just foodstuffs and raw materials, CJ, but in fact *everything* that didn't go boom-not to understate the critical importance of food, as we have seen the starvation in the countries of the Central Powers. So "everything" means trucks, ambulances, barbed wire, telephone and telegraph equipment, radio components, photographic equipment-in other words, war materiel, in addition to what we traded with the Entente countries in peacetime. In theory, the USA would have been trading that way with the Central Powers, too, but there was the blockade. And long before the US entered the war, sympathies had tipped toward the Entente and production to help the war effort began in earnest.
I have watched every episode (except the uncut hour-plus long episodes with Othias) and one big thing I have learned was how, just as in the Second World War, American manufacturing muscle was a major factor in winning the war. As an American, I certainly got the "America saved the day" narrative in school, but that was always focused on formally entering the war and committing troops to the fighting. We have seen in recent weeks just how important that second part really was.
I've also watched every episode (even the Othias marathons), not to mention many books on the war. I started in August of 2014! I'm not saying we didn't send "finished" products, but most of what we sent was the materials for them to make the finished products.
I actually realized, how did you get that 1914-1918s map of WWI in the background of your past videos.
thanks for not cramming an ad down our pants:]
Those US Army Pioneer hats are fire flames awesome
There was a time when he needed to give an example to show to his enemies where defiance would bring them. During the Moro Wars, John Pershing was said to have ordered the corpses of pigs to be thrown into the mass graves where the fallen Moros were buried. Pigs in Islam are considered sacred and touching them would be haram, let alone being buried alongside their blood and flesh...
I believe with this bio episode, the most requested bios are covered
I've been waiting for the Pershing bio episode too! Next up, fingers crossed, episodes on Sergeant York and Major Charles Whittlesey & his Lost Battalion.
I have been waitting for the Mannerheim special for four years
Andrés The Royal Marine I want him to be featured too
When I think of Pershing, I just remember Dads Army when they were arguing with the Americans and saying yes America was lead by some Pershing general, it took two years to get to the front,but respect to Americans who did there duty.
My great grandfather served with the 5th Marines in the war. Corporal Elton E. Mackin . He served in the summer and fall of 1918 across France. He was a company runner and served in many major battle, even being decorated with a navy cross and a silver Star along with several medals being awarded by the French army. His story was told in interviews and he also wrote a book titled " suddenly we didn't want to die". I would appreciate a who did what episode devoted to him and his story. Love the channel and am I'm the process of watching all the videos.