Silent Cities: Visiting the LARGEST Military Cemetery in France | History Traveler Episode 384

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  • Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
  • When you visit the Western Front in France, one thing thing that you'll see a lot of are cemeteries. A lot of them. The sheer volume of crosses and headstones in the silent cities of the Western Front help to give an indication of how destructive the First World War really was. In this episode, we're visiting a town that was completely destroyed during the war before walking the ground of the largest military cemetery in France at Notre Dame de Lorette.
    This episode was produced in partnership with The Gettysburg Museum of History. See how you can support history education & artifact preservation by visiting their website & store at www.gettysburg...
    Support the effort to expand history education on PATREON: / historyunderground
    Other episodes that you might enjoy:
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    The Graves of Middle-earth & Narnia (w/ Tolkien & C.S. Lewis) History Traveler Episode 379: • The Graves of Middle-e...
    Gun, Graves & the Gospel in London's Norwood Cemetery | History Traveler Episode 378: • Gun, Graves & the Gosp...
    Breaking Down Hadrian's Wall | History Traveler Episode 377: • Breaking Down Hadrian'...
    Map animations by @SandervkHistory

КОМЕНТАРІ • 62

  • @Vikingseer
    @Vikingseer 2 години тому +8

    A very sobering video and you’ve presented it beautifully and respectfully. I visited WW1 battlefields many years ago and the affect it had on me has never left me. I think all school children around the world should visit these places. Lest we forget.

    • @jamesross1799
      @jamesross1799 2 години тому

      Same hear I've been to Ypres to see where my great grandfather fought. A very moving experience.

  • @psychmike1717
    @psychmike1717 2 години тому +2

    Wow...Just Wow.
    The level of loss in WW! was astounding and that video brought that fact home. Thanks JD.

  • @mikeivey8471
    @mikeivey8471 2 години тому +2

    I have always wondered how civilization even endured after these Great Wars & so much loss of life !? So many people died (especially) in WWI for what was truly No real reason!! Thank God , humanity found a way to carry on !! Thank you for all your hard work in bringing us this knowledge and entertainment!!!

  • @la_old_salt2241
    @la_old_salt2241 2 години тому +2

    What a wretched war that was, and really for nothing. Thanks for the perspective JD. By the time WW2 started, France's population really had not fully recovered from the 1st war. I can understand their reluctance collectively to engage in another one so soon. Thanks for sharing. God bless, Rob

  • @David-tm8sl
    @David-tm8sl 2 години тому +1

    The military cemeteries always tell the true story of war. Always leaves you with great pause.

  • @Wreckdiver59
    @Wreckdiver59 Годину тому +1

    I imagine it's pretty sobering to see the loss first hand. Thanks for the video.

  • @sandramosley2801
    @sandramosley2801 9 хвилин тому

    Fellow me Lad, you're something else! Your work can feel like a pop in the nose (in the sense of realization).
    With this information, thinking back to the behavior of the world war survivors I knew, "new world" and "old world", growing up, their behavior and manner reflected shock. They were stunned. They were disoriented. So, THAT'S what it was.

  • @GlasgowCeltic88
    @GlasgowCeltic88 3 години тому +4

    "Did they beat the drum slowly, did they play the fife lowly?
    Did they sound the death march as they lowered you down?
    Did the band play The Last Post in chorus?
    Did the pipes play the Flowers of the Forest?"

  • @BonnieDragonKat
    @BonnieDragonKat 2 години тому +2

    What a beautiful area. Thank you and may they rest in peace.❤

  • @gsbeak
    @gsbeak 2 години тому +6

    Moving video for a Frenchman like me.
    General Barbot was one of the 42 French generals KIA during WWI.

  • @glennbray4695
    @glennbray4695 2 години тому +5

    John Kiplings father rudyard was instrumental in the starting of the imperial war graves commission which is now the commweath war graves commission

  • @karnage97
    @karnage97 48 хвилин тому

    Remembering those who are lost so long ago is so crucial in the preservation of history although I feel sometimes people forget the amount of sacrifice that went to get the world we have today thank you for the video

  • @mdeell
    @mdeell 2 години тому +4

    Was here 12 Nov 2017, stopped on my way to Vimy Ridge.

  • @Chris-Nico
    @Chris-Nico 40 хвилин тому

    Thank you JD. Stunning…. I really appreciated your comment at the end about the relation of France from WWI and WWII…. This video proves the heavy price they paid fighting WWI. This French cemetery is beautiful.

  • @jamesross1799
    @jamesross1799 2 години тому +1

    I completely agree they are deeply interlinked and I've heard it said before that the period 1918 to 1939 was a cease fire in the "20th century Great conflict " as modern societies I don't think we can grasp what it must have been to have lived in the path of the army's of ww1 communities completely ceased to exist swallowed up by no man's land . Another brilliant video. Thanks for what you do I appreciate it mate.

  • @dezmondw7927
    @dezmondw7927 2 години тому +1

    Hey JD..
    Ever thought of putting together a free to enter contest for your supporter's to win a trip with you?
    I bet it would be a life changing event for some, maybe the only time (they'll) be able to enjoy and feel history like you're able to experience.
    Keep up the good work my good sir. Thx for all you do.

  • @kenbrown7334
    @kenbrown7334 29 хвилин тому

    Wow, very sobering. The mass graves hit me hard. 10,000 unknown dead. Think of the families not knowing what happened to their child / sibling.
    Thank you for your work on these videos, I learn a lot from them.

  • @RLS-bu4bj
    @RLS-bu4bj 2 години тому +1

    A very thought provoking video

  • @pauldurkee4764
    @pauldurkee4764 2 години тому +3

    Thank you, that was very interesting, i was not aware of that huge ring memorial.
    I have a cousin who must be named on those walls, he is commemorated at Fauberg DeAmiens cemetery, Arras as still missing.
    Lieutenant Lewis George Madley of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers , killed 14 May 1917 at Bullecourt near Arras.

  • @patsysmith540
    @patsysmith540 2 години тому +1

    Thank you so much, so so very sad that so many never came home.

  • @wtfbuddy1
    @wtfbuddy1 2 години тому +1

    The Great War has many interesting facts, JD you will learn much about how this war changed the landscape in Europe and beyond, will be interesting how you cover it within your episodes to come. Cheers and keep up the great work.

  • @jetsons101
    @jetsons101 15 хвилин тому

    So much information and Respect in one video, outstanding.

  • @Glee73
    @Glee73 2 години тому +7

    its still sad to see all those crosses. even sadder and hard to believe that such a large cemetery containing 40,000 graves, is but a small portion of the over 1 million french dead in ww1.

  • @Gitarzan66
    @Gitarzan66 2 години тому +2

    For perspective, Red Rocks Amphitheater holds 8000 people.

  • @frenchfan3368
    @frenchfan3368 2 години тому

    Wow! This was a very thought provoking video indeed. I really enjoyed yow you pointed out the names of relatives of famous people (Sitting Bull, Rudyard Kipling) who ended up dying in the Great War. I always find it interesting that French military graves are usually engraved with the slogan, "Mort pour la France" ("Died for France.") Yes, the staggering losses (25 % of French males between ages 18 and 30) of the Great War certainly contributed to French and British reluctance to get involved in a Second World War. Keep up the great work J. D.!

  • @josiahlovett4333
    @josiahlovett4333 3 години тому +4

    Amazing content I love WW1 history, sobering, keep up the great work.

  • @PaulDouglasDouglas97
    @PaulDouglasDouglas97 2 години тому +1

    Really enjoyed it mate 👍

  • @peaches8829
    @peaches8829 2 години тому +1

    Arras, should go the the huge Canadian memorial at Vimy Ridge, at Neuville-sainte-Vaast

  • @chrisl211
    @chrisl211 Годину тому

    Thanks you so much!! I grew near Arras in Northern France. The famous cycling race Paris-Roubaix goes through many paved sectors that where WW1 trenches (Aremberg is the most famous one).

  • @michelletrower5763
    @michelletrower5763 2 години тому

    Wow this is so interesting, thank you for your insight and sharing...when I visited the military cemetery where my Dad lies, the whole site made me stop to catch my breath by taking it all in....a very intense experience for sure

  • @Micktyb
    @Micktyb Годину тому

    Excellent thank you 🙏 May the souls rest in peace 🙏

  • @andrewwebb-trezzi2422
    @andrewwebb-trezzi2422 2 години тому

    Never forget what so many young men sacrificed for freedom and honour. Heroes, all of them.

  • @Shifty69569
    @Shifty69569 58 хвилин тому

    That drone shot at the start showing how big it was…. Wow.

  • @wwong617
    @wwong617 3 години тому +4

    Very good video👍

  • @vgoldsmith5443
    @vgoldsmith5443 Годину тому

    In the frame where you put the bullet casing back on the ground there is also a piece of driving band of a artillery shell in the bottom right corner i think.

  • @bradmiller3367
    @bradmiller3367 Годину тому

    Numbers so high become almost incomprehensible…but there is always another war…

  • @michae8jackson378
    @michae8jackson378 Годину тому

    As I've gotten older, I'm 64 now, I continue to get more sick at the waste of humanity by the stupidness of war. I've told you I'm a vet, son of a vet, grandson of a vet who lost his leg in France Sept '44. It just makes me sick at the loss of life, the futures that were cut short. What could have been of these men and women who lost their lives, futures....so sad! We MUST find a way to mend our differences. I know that's naive but SMFH

  • @joemabry9643
    @joemabry9643 Годину тому

    Thank you sir. Love.

  • @jeremyburton9038
    @jeremyburton9038 34 хвилини тому

    That first panel you went to had a lot of family members from my wifes side.

  • @haraldgrundetjern2184
    @haraldgrundetjern2184 Годину тому

    Geenral Barbot, his father was Joseph-Théodore-Désiré Barbot famous french tenor that did have the role of Faust in the Premiere of Faust in 1859

  • @coldbrewer003
    @coldbrewer003 Годину тому

    If you can't get to France, the Imperial War Museum in London has a really good exhibit on WWI.

  • @terryadams1951
    @terryadams1951 Годину тому

    Takes your breath away.....then you are speechless.....................

  • @ncwoodworker
    @ncwoodworker 2 години тому

    Amazing what man is willing or unwilling to do against another human. And then do it again 20 years later.

  • @antoniocuba1970
    @antoniocuba1970 2 години тому +1

    Rimless casing, so PROBABLY a 7.92x57mm. German round. Seems a bit too well preserved to be a WWI relic so could easily be a WWII one. Anyway cool finding!

    • @marcuswardle3180
      @marcuswardle3180 2 години тому

      Of all the things in this video you notice that? Does it matter what war it came from? Did you not watch the rest of the video. Did you not see all the crosses, all the dead who have no headstone? No! All you could be bothered with was what type of bullet they were firing at each and whether they actually did fire it in WWI or WWII! You would have have made a perfect Donkey!

  • @FilipDePreter
    @FilipDePreter Годину тому

    A very sobering place it is.

  • @christiansas7061
    @christiansas7061 4 хвилини тому

    22 August 1914 was the deadliest day for the French army ... with 27000 (twenty-seven thousands) dead ...

  • @michelclz9809
    @michelclz9809 2 години тому +1

    WW1 is the sacrifice of all European youth, for nothing. One of the greatest tragedies in history.

  • @EnigmaStar153
    @EnigmaStar153 Годину тому

    Respect

  • @KAZSANable
    @KAZSANable 2 години тому

    Devoirs de mémoire

  • @alanjones3874
    @alanjones3874 47 хвилин тому

    This is so unreal . The name Jones had so many dead that Wales must have been close to wiped out at least the men .

  • @skimmer8774
    @skimmer8774 Годину тому

    It also shows mans ability to create weapons that increase mass death.

  • @joshuagibson2520
    @joshuagibson2520 2 години тому

    Go OD? Naaah. I left all that behind.

  • @raizedbynerdz8718
    @raizedbynerdz8718 2 години тому

    How is it Good to Go OD?

  • @kathypace6771
    @kathypace6771 3 години тому +1

    Thank you

  • @forrestwebb8590
    @forrestwebb8590 Годину тому

    Thinking about all of the French soldiers that were KIA, in the Great War, France probably didn't have enough fighting age men to go through another WW - at such great losses, there were a lot of children that would not be born to replace them! Astronomical numbers of fallen soldiers, just on the French side, not counting the losses of every other country's losses! I'm sure that God shed tears as he observed the carnage of man!