Support this channel by checking our NordVPN exclusive deal at nordvpn.com/historyvpn. You can try it risk-free thanks to their 30-day money-back guarantee! Official Steam Page: store.steampowered.com/app/1679290/Fire__Maneuver/ (Don't forget to wishlist!) Gain Access Early: www.patreon.com/ahinteractive Official Development Channel: ua-cam.com/channels/DrTqCbgTmF5eM-oyzazzzg.html Game Discord: discord.gg/23nqyAz5z2 Sign up for Armchair History TV today! armchairhistory.tv/ Promo code: ARMCHAIRHISTORY for 50% OFF Merchandise available at store.armchairhistory.tv/ Check out the new Armchair History TV Mobile App too! apps.apple.com/us/app/armchair-history-tv/id1514643375 play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tv.uscreen.armchairhistorytv Discord: discord.gg/zY5jzKp Twitter: twitter.com/ArmchairHist
Do a video on the Greco-Turkish war of 1919, it was the last attempt to revive the Byzantine Empire and Christianity in Asia Minor, also the war that formed modern day Turkey.
It’s hard not to admire after their defeat against Napoleon that they actually took their defeat to heart and tried to learn from their mistakes. Instead of playing the blame game that even now effects countries today.
Well stated. While I can point out a lot of tragic flaws in a militaristic Germany after Bismarck, the leaders of Prussia's transformation in the 19th century proved their ability to distinguish the effective solutions from the immaterial distractions. It almost seems like there is nothing more dangerous to the long term well-being of a nation as a dazzling success in leadership, because the following generation seems guaranteed to inherit all of the hubris with no guarantee of inheriting any of the phenom's genius.
Germany has a knack for taking its defeats to heart and learning from them. Look modern Germany and how far its come since ww2 in an introspective context. ❤ 🇩🇪
@@fatalshore5068 bwhahaha wtf are you talking about ? If someone learnt from WW2 is France but definitely not Germany. Germany is now deep in the bin as a military non existent power, their soldiers have to make fake LMG in their tanks.
"March divided, fight united" was copied from Napoleon's Corps. Each Corps was a self-contained mini-army: Infantry, cavalry, artillery and services; able to fight on its own, but could quickly join up with other corps for larger engagements. This made better use of what road networks there were, and also aided in foraging if magazines were not readily available.
1. Officers through skill and ability not nepotism or connections 2. Less corporal punishment more emphasis on tactics 3. Conscription with just reason 4. Advanced weaponry and its mastery. 5. Flexible chain of command, quick response. (mission type tactics-Auftragstaktik) - personal note
'personal note' - sounds like you're planning to time travel and conquer some countries. Make sure to leave some interesting tidbits around for archeologists to discover later on, I'd like to see them on a youtube video one day.
Fun Fact: The US hired the Prussian officer Friedrick Von Stuben during the American Revolution because Generals like George Washington wanted to instill disciplinary standards, customs and courtesies, and infantry doctrine to the ranks. The US Army still holds many of these traditions to this day.
Saw the giant statue of him at Valley Forge National Historic Park last year. Had never heard of him up until then. He definitely deserves more recognition. His drill and Prussian disciplinary efforts that he hammered into the Continental Army at Valley Forge were crucial in transforming them from a ragtag bunch into a more disciplined, European style army.
Additional fun fact: I am from his hometown, his statue was right in front of my school window. We were always amused by the americans coming every year to pay respect to his contribution, while not even we, from his hometown, knew who he was. Also it's "Steuben" with an additional "e".^^'
@@TheTarturo there's even a small city named Steubenville in the US, where after the revolution, our entire military was stationed to fight off native American raids.
Prussia’s modernized army discipline, resulted in a Prussian victory; the war was formally concluded on August 23 by the Treaty of Prague. The treaty assigned Schleswig-Holstein to Prussia
@@percy6070 hi iam sorry but your criticism is invaded iam sorry if it came out as I was doing something wrong I will improve my conduct on the online spaces most of the information I get are form other history channels videos and documentary films and online article's
@@NaturalBornLifeEnder How many innocents did he and his thuggish, european cohorts murder and rape while trying to fight for a decrepit portugal trying to hold on to imaginary glory?
Griffin may have overlooked a key detail on ‘how’. Prussia observed the American Civil War and noted how railways became quintessential in the Union’s operations and eventual victory. This led to Prussia to invest more into building more lines/networks of rail. Rails + their quicker mobilisation system (compared to stringent French camp reporting) made transport more effective.
Europe’s powers may not have had any real desire to enter the conflict but they certainly watched with interest. Unfortunately many came to the conclusion that the Americans were simply sloppy fighters and that any tactic of note they were using was unique to the terrain of North America and wouldn’t be of much use back in Europe. If you look at the later years of the American Civil War you can see the start of what would become the bloody warfare of World War One (specifically 1914).
The Prussians didn't wait for the ACW to understand that railways would play a critical role in future conflicts, and we saw that during the Austro-Prussian War.
if you only start understanding the impact of railways on war when monitoring the American Civil War, there wouldn't have been enough time to make adjustments and actually build the tracks etc when fighting with Austria about who is in or out of the new empire and getting France to 'agree' to a united Germany
Really love the new animations, though the few innacuracies, such as about 13:05 you've got recoilless systems on a gun that would actually be kicking back, defying physics, and at 10:10 you've got 1920s-looking artillery in place for "rifled cannon", instead of a realistic rifled cannon for the 19th century. At 4:44 you've got these guts in 1840s/50s-type fashion, wearing wigs as like it's the 1780s or something. There's a lot more innacuracies in the animations here, a little concerning, but they're really well-animated now.
Fun fact: After his death in 1831, General Carl von Clausewitz was buried in the cemetery in Breslau (today's Wrocław). In 1971, at the request of the GDR authorities, the ashes of the general and his wife Marie Sophie were transferred to his hometown of Burg near Magdeburg, where they were buried in the Ostfriedhof cemetery, where he is to this day.
@@nrw64 I get your point but on the other hand there isn't anything German left there and the new citizens probably won't be fans of him to put it that way. His new resting place has his own people and culture around and I think it's great to have it within the German borders
@@nrw64 Unfortunately, the governments of certain countries have been quite forceful in expelling anything german left in the cities. For example, former Königsberg has *nothing* German left except what it says in the history books of a long gone age.
Its really a wonder to notice that the compulsory military conscription was actually a major factor in pushing heavy german emigration to the US in the 19th Century. This created an irony: even though Prussia grew economically very rapidly in the 19th Century but emigration to the US always kept increasing and increasing. Edit: One major factor pointing towards this push factor of military conscription is that Germans were a major immigrant group in the Americas, even though they had no colonies of themselves there. More Germans emigrated than the English or the French relative to population size, that too when the home country was witnessing an industrial boom !
Yeah my great grandfather was Prussian and immigrated here to the US, leaving behind his homeland with his family and going straight to Ellis Island. I’m sure the compulsory military conscription was a big reason for that
@@NONO-oy1cu I mean I don’t know if that’s really why they left, I need to ask my aunt. But I mean the US had allot of jobs and opportunity at the time, and my great grandfather started a tailoring business when he got things going. So it probably could of just been a financial motive
@@NONO-oy1cu , DROP BITCH!! GIVE ME 50!!! This is how I was greeted in boot camp. I was dumb enough to volunteer so my fault!!! But smarter people than me thought that they needed that like a hole in their heads!!! America is like, "Do what you want so long as you aren't breaking the law!!" Sounds like the better deal to me!!!😁
¨No plan survives contact with the enemy¨ Interstingly, that same principle was one of the keys of success of Roman legions where centurions could allow their maniples to function indepently
My great grandfather would be very happy to know his great grandfather (Scharnhorst) was mentioned in this video. This man rarely gets mentioned anywhere. Thank you so much for honoring him in this video, this subject and Gerhard’s story are both near to my heart.
I know that it is then not about the men but Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Blücher definitely took me back to naval matters for a second. I suppose there at least his name lives on.
Scharnhorst gets rarely mentioned? He is one of THE big prussian reformers. That man got 2 capital ships named after him. Having him as an ancestor is honestly pretty cool
In 1804 Clausewitz was appointed adjutant to Prince August Ferdinand of Prussia. In this capacity, he took part in the Battle of Jena-Auerstädt (1806). In the wake of Prussia’s catastrophic defeat by Napoleon he and the prince fell into French captivity. With the Prussian army demolished and the prince captured, Prussia was forced to give up half of its territory in the concluding peace treaty. After their release at the end of 1807
The Austro-Prussian war is probably the big turning point before the war with France. When the Austro-Prussian war happened many people at the time actually picked the Austrian army because they had much more combat experience over the last few decades. In the end them going all in on close combat after their loss at Solferino (mainly because of the uneven terrain that allowed the French to advance and charge without taking significant losses) spelled desaster against the well trained Prussian army with it's superior firepower. The Austrian officers also had a bad rep, apparently they prefered spending time in casinos gambling than working on their tactical prowess, even if these kind of claims should always been taking with a grain of salt.
@18:00 To this very day Austrians may say "Not even the Prussians shoot that fast", if they want to tell someone to slow down to a more moderate pace of doing things.
“Palmerston likes to put his foot on their necks! Now, no statesman must triumph over an enemy that is not quite dead, because people forget a real loss, a real misfortune, but they won’t forget an insult. Napoleon made great mistakes that way; he hated Prussia, insulted it on all occasions, but still left it alive. The consequence was that in 1813 they rose to a man in Prussia, even children and women took arms, because they had been treated with contempt and insulted.” ― Leopold I
I still remember the Prussian-inspired standards from military basic training in Sweden in 2017. "Det ska vara Preussiskt!" our sergeant commanded us, "It shall be done in the Prussian way!". This was often shouted when we were tasked with lining up equipment or weapons on a long line on the floor, for inspection. I swear to god, the line was straighter than a needle, and the equipment was uniformally posted down to the smallest strap on the combat vest.
And WW1. My grandfathers were Prussian, officers of the Saxon regiment, Western front. The most effective trench defenders and raiders, were Saxonian. Bavarians were feared for their accurate marksmanship, and the Prussians known for their discipline. My grandfather died in Passchendaele (counter-attack), his brother survived Flanders and Champagne, as a high ranking officer would.
It's honestly cool seeing people with their stories coming here to tell them Except I don’t have them since I don’t even live nor have any relatives who come from USA/Europe
@@yelan1918C1hans my Italian great great grandpa on my mom's side of the family fled to america to escape the imminent italian belligerence in WW1, but when the USA joined, he enlisted and won not only citizenship but also a purple heart while in combat. My grandpa even has his standard issue gas mask to this day.
The systems for reserves and mass conscription were certainly present in the Prussian army before 1814 - well before, in-fact, having variations leading back to the time of Fredrick Wilhelm I in 1733. The reforms of 1814 did, however, as you said, require compulsory service of all able-bodied men of 20 years or older, which massively increased the size of armies Prussia could muster in the decades to come. (It also formally removed any previous exemptions, such as those held by certain provinces, or the sons of foreigners living in Prussia.) However, it was the reforms following Prussian defeat in 1807 that set into motion the eventual 1814 decision. After the Treaty of Tilsit limited the Prussian army of a measly 42,000 men (which was, to be simply put, a number Napoleon felt confident he could defeat when the Prussians inevitably rose up against him again) the Prussian Military Reform Commission (consisting of many of the Prussian commanders discussed in this video, among others) discussed the ideas of adopting a revised system of reserves and one of mass conscription (called the Landwehr). While the idea of the Landwehr was ultimately shut down then (mostly by more conservative generals), the 'Krumper system' was put into place, wherein active-duty soldiers would be progressively relieved of duty and replaced with fresh recruits - leaving these well-trained men in "reserve," in all effect, while training new men to the same standards. Later in 1811, before Prussia's involvement in the invasion of Russia, each infantry regiment was ordered to form a fourth battalion - camouflaged on paper as "supply" or "training depot" battalions in order to not arise French suspicions. These additional battalions would later balloon into full regiments of their own before the onset of war again in 1813. Furthermore, following the defeat of the French in 1812 by Russia, Clausewitz (who was now serving with the Russian army) drew up the plans for the implementation of the conscription of the Landwehr - which was quickly adopted in preparation for the oncoming war. This all allowed Prussia to cheat the very treaty they had signed, and (Landwehr not included), allowed Prussia to muster a further 37.000 well-trained troops above the 42,000 Napoleon had limited them to just 6 years prior. Landwehr then included, this came to the described metric of 6% of Prussia's population - an impressive force which caught Napoleon completely off-guard, and certainly contributed to the defeat of Napoleon's army at Leipzig and the many battles leading up to it. PS: Following the 1814 reforms, many of the reserve infantry regiments that had been formed under the above-described system were made into fully-fledged active duty (and thoroughly battle-hardened) infantry regiments. Some of these newly christened regiments then fought in the battles of Waterloo.
@@kernelsanderzz in civilization Not when your fighting a war with a German officer trying to speak to the Hungarian officer communicating to the Ukrainian Czech Slovak Romanian Croatian Serbian Italian and polish counterparts
the level of cinematography in the opening really grabs your attention and demands you hold it outstanding work on my favorite part of the mid to late 1800s
As a reader of clausewitz’s master piece, I could easily say that it is also a philosophic success. I’ve never knew that war and philosophy could ever be tied together before.
Man, this animation is getting out of hand. Looking at the animation in a video like the Siege of Vienna, it honestly dosent look like the same channel. It's insane, keep going.
The Dreyse needle rifle also had the advantage in that the infantryman could reload while in a prone position. This made him less of a target than his muzzle loading counterparts.
It should be added that some of the idea like the "Auftragstaktitk", giving officers a broader autonomy to decide ad hoc became THE major contribution to military strategy in the world, thereafter.
Prussian victory during the Franco-German War of 1870 was largely caused by a far better mobilization system, which led to the German army being twice the size of the French army at the beginning of the war. Moreover, Prussian political unity was instrumental in making those military reforms. Indeed, Napoléon III had given too much power to parliament, which proved terrible when he tried to reform the French army following the Austro-Prussian War, as the Niel law was rejected, mainly by Republicans. But people think the war was a cakewalk for the Germans, whereas some battles were absolute butcheries like Spicheren, Woerth, Mars-la-Tour or Gravelotte, the graveyard of the Prussian guard. The Germans lost at Gravelotte on a single day more than 5,200 killed. The deadliest battle of the American Civil War, which lasted three days, cost the Union 3,155 killed. In the end, numerical superiority and better artillery won the day.
The ,prussian' army? The army of the german states had been may be 65% prussian soldiers. You totally have forgotten the soldiers of Bayern, Sachsen, Württemberg, Baden, Hessen- Darmstadt, Oldenburg, Mecklenburg- Schwerin, Mecklenburg- Strelitz, Sachsen- Weimar- Eisenach, Anhalt, Braunschweig, Sachsen- Altenburg, Sachsen- Meiningen, Sachsen- Coburg- Gotha, Schwarzburg- Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg- Sondershausen, Waldeck- Pyrmont, Lippe- Detmold, Reuß- Greitz, Reuß- Schleitz, Hamburg, Bremen and Lübeck.
4:34- And I think the inspiration behind Battletech's "social generals" in Steiner lore, where Steiner's (space Germans) questionable officer corps tends to hold back its industrial might in military dominance.
Awesome video with lots of information, also loving the improvement in quality and the use of memes as well! Excited for your game to come out, I’ll definitely give it a shot! Keep it up!
When he said "to crush their enemies", I immediately thought of an elderly Moltke saying "see our enemies driven before us, and hear the lamentations of the women"...
Ahh Clausewitz. Everytime I quote him, people think it's from Sun Tzu. Those two were the backbone of my Strategy and Defense Studies class. I still cannot help but hear the words "Schwerpunkt" (Centre of Gravity) whenever I look at any map.
Very well done documentary. Love the early Prussian history (before Bismarck I mean), the rapid growth of the Prussian might after the Napoleonic wars is crazy, even before them aswell actually.
"Die wahrheit ist dem menschen zu zumuten" ist the most important and truest thing Bismarck has ever said. And the most overlooked and ignored thing on earth.
That is a nice overview and I realy like the fact that you have mentioned the Auftragstaktik. On the other side I was missing the development of the general staff in its form, also developed by Scharnhorst if I am not mistaken and what was fast copied by other nations after the Franco-Prudsian war.
The army was ok relative to its enemies - the leadership of the Austrian and French armies was lacking - but the real reason it won was the favourable diplomatic conditions Bismarck created for it. The negative outcome of these wars was an expectation that the Prusso-German army could win at 1:1, which led political leaderships far inferior to Bismarck to risk worse than 1:1 odds in 1914 and 1939, with calamitous results.
On a different note, I would love to see another squad vs squad video, but with a more modern setting like US squad vs NVA/Vietcong, Iranian squad vs Iraqi squad, russian squad vs chechen squad, ect.
von Moltke's plans really sound similar to Napoleon and his Speed Game. Using quick Mobilization to surprise the enemy, grouping into small Groups/Corps then Unite to absolutely obliterate the enemy, and the Speed makes it easier for the supplies and Artillery to move fast
As someone nearly completely unfamiliar with the Napoleonic era but very familiar with the classical European period, It's cool to see how similar all of Prussia's reforms were to Roman reforms in response to major military defeats.
Among von Moltke’s other innovations are establishment of the general staff (planning organization) and use of war games to validate tactical concepts. Both were copied by all armies.
Prussian doctrine was also absolutely instrumental during the American revolution. Organizing the Continental Army from a scrappy group of rag tag hunters and riflemen into a well drilled and capable fighting force.
I would argue that Fredrick's father Fredrick Wilhelm "The Soldier King" laid down the base for Prussia's army. Different to other monarchs, he invested the majority of the incomes in the army rather than in the state. Also under his reign the drafting system was made more efficient and he began with a system of meritocracy with his officer corp (although they were still part of the aristocracy). Many of the reforms build up on this base.
Your animations are skillful as usual, EXCEPT at 17:48 where the train mechanics are a real eyesore :o (the two horizontal sliders are fixed and meant to move the head between them horizontally, pushing the driving rod that, on its left end, goes around the wheel)
Didn't Napoleon praise two of his Generals for reversing one of his orders while in the field and going on the attack rather than withdrawing? I believe the situation was that one general was to withdraw his troops from a particular line and another was to move in and replace them and as they met up they discussed it and decide to attack together and they succeeded. I think it was at the battle of Leipzig and as far as I know, Napoleon was pleased with this and praised them.
I have heard the opposite: Napoleon was inclined to micromanage and prone to flying into a rage when his subordinates went against his "perfect strategies". Although this was fine when he was personally in charge of an army that he could lead directly due to his talent at that level.
Napoleon expected initiative from his Marshalls that commanded corps but not below that level. This is ths different to Austrgstaktik where even a Lieutenant or even a platoon leader can seize initaitive.
@@TorianTammas I wonder why Napoleon wouldn't support such initiative at a lower level, considering how much success such tactics they made for the prussians later in the 19th century.
@@polygonalfortress It was about command and control. A general has little control of a battle if subordinates do not follow orders exactly. Many battles have been lost such as Agincourt when the French knights attacked impetuously through their own crossbowmen or Little Big Horn where Custer disobeyed orders to scout for the Indians and attacked without waiting for the 3 columns of troops that were converging to destroy them. Initiative can be a good thing if it's not rashness but there is a fine line between the two.
If you want to see Prussia today - look up Chiles military. More specifically, a video of a Chilean military parade. They modeled their entire doctrine after Prussia.
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Do a video on the Greco-Turkish war of 1919, it was the last attempt to revive the Byzantine Empire and Christianity in Asia Minor, also the war that formed modern day Turkey.
They dominated by sing the Preussens Gloria anthem while fighting 😏
I have one question is fire and maneuver gonna be free to play when it’s fully released?
While France and Germany are each others throats, Britain is safe.
Whoops!
@@armaholic5949 the Byzantine empire ended in 1453.
You can't revive something that has been dead for hundreds of years.
It’s hard not to admire after their defeat against Napoleon that they actually took their defeat to heart and tried to learn from their mistakes. Instead of playing the blame game that even now effects countries today.
This, their defeat by Napoleon is very huge yet they endure it and learn. Finally they can be better thanks to that
Well stated. While I can point out a lot of tragic flaws in a militaristic Germany after Bismarck, the leaders of Prussia's transformation in the 19th century proved their ability to distinguish the effective solutions from the immaterial distractions. It almost seems like there is nothing more dangerous to the long term well-being of a nation as a dazzling success in leadership, because the following generation seems guaranteed to inherit all of the hubris with no guarantee of inheriting any of the phenom's genius.
Germany has a knack for taking its defeats to heart and learning from them. Look modern Germany and how far its come since ww2 in an introspective context. ❤ 🇩🇪
If only they had taken their defeat to heart after WW1
@@fatalshore5068 bwhahaha wtf are you talking about ? If someone learnt from WW2 is France but definitely not Germany. Germany is now deep in the bin as a military non existent power, their soldiers have to make fake LMG in their tanks.
Let's take a moment to appreciate the improvement in the animation Quality
Ye
Agreed
Ye
Agreed
Ye
"March divided, fight united" was copied from Napoleon's Corps. Each Corps was a self-contained mini-army: Infantry, cavalry, artillery and services; able to fight on its own, but could quickly join up with other corps for larger engagements. This made better use of what road networks there were, and also aided in foraging if magazines were not readily available.
8:51 _" September 3rd, 1814 saw a tectonic shift in Prussian society..."_
Or, dare I say, a _Teutonic_ shift?
OHOHHHHHH
Don't let bro cook 💀
Nice dude
Take my like, and leave.
Eyy.
1. Officers through skill and ability not nepotism or connections
2. Less corporal punishment more emphasis on tactics
3. Conscription with just reason
4. Advanced weaponry and its mastery.
5. Flexible chain of command, quick response. (mission type tactics-Auftragstaktik)
-
personal note
'personal note' - sounds like you're planning to time travel and conquer some countries. Make sure to leave some interesting tidbits around for archeologists to discover later on, I'd like to see them on a youtube video one day.
Fun fact: This is also the foundation works of Hitler's blitzkrieg, comically enough
also not mention in the video but the Prussian/German Non Comms were the best in the World right up until 1945
@unknown2k229 No.
nice thanks for the information buddy
“Laws are like sausages, It’s best to not see them being made.” - Otto Von Bismarck
Besides Otto von Bismarck, what is the point of thid quote?
Bismarck was a socialist. He gave workers state sponsored pensions.
@@szymonziolkowski5967 made some socialist policies but he definitly wasnt a socialist, he was more a conservative
@@chheinrich8486 Nothing wrong with socialist ideals. Scandinavian countries are the happiest in the world
@@teddypicker8799 scandinavians are not socialists… we do have social democratic values though, which is very different.
Fun Fact:
The US hired the Prussian officer Friedrick Von Stuben during the American Revolution because Generals like George Washington wanted to instill disciplinary standards, customs and courtesies, and infantry doctrine to the ranks. The US Army still holds many of these traditions to this day.
and the parade in NY is probably the biggest insult one could ever give to a prussian (looking at these hundreds of BAVARIAN flags waved there)
@@alexanderzippel8809 Bavarian flags? At a parade in New York? What?
Saw the giant statue of him at Valley Forge National Historic Park last year. Had never heard of him up until then. He definitely deserves more recognition. His drill and Prussian disciplinary efforts that he hammered into the Continental Army at Valley Forge were crucial in transforming them from a ragtag bunch into a more disciplined, European style army.
Additional fun fact: I am from his hometown, his statue was right in front of my school window. We were always amused by the americans coming every year to pay respect to his contribution, while not even we, from his hometown, knew who he was.
Also it's "Steuben" with an additional "e".^^'
@@TheTarturo there's even a small city named Steubenville in the US, where after the revolution, our entire military was stationed to fight off native American raids.
Prussia’s modernized army discipline, resulted in a Prussian victory; the war was formally concluded on August 23 by the Treaty of Prague. The treaty assigned Schleswig-Holstein to Prussia
i always see you spamming the comments of a ton of history videos with stuff i can only assume is from wikipedia
@@percy6070 hi iam sorry but your criticism is invaded iam sorry if it came out as I was doing something wrong I will improve my conduct on the online spaces most of the information I get are form other history channels videos and documentary films and online article's
@@PakBallandSami You are like the A Guy Without A Moustache, but of polandball and historical documentaries.
@@hlibushok thanks man
r u from pakistan sir
I would love a vid on the Portuguese Colonial War. It is a criminally underrated and super fascinating war that lacks publicity.
Great idea!
Been asking for that as well. Had relatives of mine who were there
@@NaturalBornLifeEnder Where exactly? Were they living in Angola or Mozambique? Were they civilians or actual soldiers?
@@TheZestyCar Both, one of my uncles was deployed in Guinea for two years, was fortunate enough to hear actual war stories
@@NaturalBornLifeEnder How many innocents did he and his thuggish, european cohorts murder and rape while trying to fight for a decrepit portugal trying to hold on to imaginary glory?
Griffin may have overlooked a key detail on ‘how’.
Prussia observed the American Civil War and noted how railways became quintessential in the Union’s operations and eventual victory. This led to Prussia to invest more into building more lines/networks of rail.
Rails + their quicker mobilisation system (compared to stringent French camp reporting) made transport more effective.
Europe’s powers may not have had any real desire to enter the conflict but they certainly watched with interest. Unfortunately many came to the conclusion that the Americans were simply sloppy fighters and that any tactic of note they were using was unique to the terrain of North America and wouldn’t be of much use back in Europe. If you look at the later years of the American Civil War you can see the start of what would become the bloody warfare of World War One (specifically 1914).
The Prussians didn't wait for the ACW to understand that railways would play a critical role in future conflicts, and we saw that during the Austro-Prussian War.
if you only start understanding the impact of railways on war when monitoring the American Civil War, there wouldn't have been enough time to make adjustments and actually build the tracks etc when fighting with Austria about who is in or out of the new empire and getting France to 'agree' to a united Germany
he had stated those in other vids
So in 5 years they designed the strategy and built the whole railway network? Seems efficient, perhaps too much even for the Germans
Prussia's military is very interesting, excited to learn more about it!
Oh they’ll make you learn about it.
UA-cam out to get these annoying bots with their scam/virus links out of youtube's comment sections ASAP!
Really love the new animations, though the few innacuracies, such as about 13:05 you've got recoilless systems on a gun that would actually be kicking back, defying physics, and at 10:10 you've got 1920s-looking artillery in place for "rifled cannon", instead of a realistic rifled cannon for the 19th century. At 4:44 you've got these guts in 1840s/50s-type fashion, wearing wigs as like it's the 1780s or something. There's a lot more innacuracies in the animations here, a little concerning, but they're really well-animated now.
Fun fact:
After his death in 1831, General Carl von Clausewitz was buried in the cemetery in Breslau (today's Wrocław). In 1971, at the request of the GDR authorities, the ashes of the general and his wife Marie Sophie were transferred to his hometown of Burg near Magdeburg, where they were buried in the Ostfriedhof cemetery, where he is to this day.
A German belongs to German lands.
Breslau may be today polish but it's still has a German soul like all of these former German citys.
@@nrw64 I get your point but on the other hand there isn't anything German left there and the new citizens probably won't be fans of him to put it that way. His new resting place has his own people and culture around and I think it's great to have it within the German borders
@@nrw64 Unfortunately, the governments of certain countries have been quite forceful in expelling anything german left in the cities. For example, former Königsberg has *nothing* German left except what it says in the history books of a long gone age.
@@srccde one day, it will be Germany removing every trace of Polish and Russian defouling their once great cities
@@yonekduhyote Then we will have proven that no one ever learns from history, happily repeating the same mistakes over and over again.
For me Prussia is the major example of "Learn from your own mistakes"
I think when it comes to war, there is nothing a Prussian hates more than losing one.
And the allies (excluding USSR and East Germany) after ww2 with West Germany. Even modern Germany and France get along well.
technically took the L to their heart and git gud
"Because To- I mean Austria learns from their mistakes."
@unknown 2k22 no
Its really a wonder to notice that the compulsory military conscription was actually a major factor in pushing heavy german emigration to the US in the 19th Century. This created an irony: even though Prussia grew economically very rapidly in the 19th Century but emigration to the US always kept increasing and increasing.
Edit: One major factor pointing towards this push factor of military conscription is that Germans were a major immigrant group in the Americas, even though they had no colonies of themselves there. More Germans emigrated than the English or the French relative to population size, that too when the home country was witnessing an industrial boom !
Yeah my great grandfather was Prussian and immigrated here to the US, leaving behind his homeland with his family and going straight to Ellis Island. I’m sure the compulsory military conscription was a big reason for that
@@etholus1000 I don't understand why they're unwilling to serve in the military for a few years?
@@NONO-oy1cu I mean I don’t know if that’s really why they left, I need to ask my aunt. But I mean the US had allot of jobs and opportunity at the time, and my great grandfather started a tailoring business when he got things going. So it probably could of just been a financial motive
@@etholus1000 Yeah opportunities in the US was perhaps the reason.
@@NONO-oy1cu , DROP BITCH!! GIVE ME 50!!! This is how I was greeted in boot camp. I was dumb enough to volunteer so my fault!!! But smarter people than me thought that they needed that like a hole in their heads!!! America is like, "Do what you want so long as you aren't breaking the law!!" Sounds like the better deal to me!!!😁
“They're just constructed in an unorthodox manner”
- British military observer during the Franco-Prussian war
That comment has the same energy as "they are just built different" but in 1800's style.
"We built stupid"
The French after getting surrounded in Sedan
@@schwerenevonyildi1315 Yeah basically
@@anadaere6861 💀💀
@@anadaere6861 bruh
¨No plan survives contact with the enemy¨
Interstingly, that same principle was one of the keys of success of Roman legions where centurions could allow their maniples to function indepently
My great grandfather would be very happy to know his great grandfather (Scharnhorst) was mentioned in this video. This man rarely gets mentioned anywhere. Thank you so much for honoring him in this video, this subject and Gerhard’s story are both near to my heart.
I know that it is then not about the men but Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Blücher definitely took me back to naval matters for a second. I suppose there at least his name lives on.
@@klobiforpresident2254 Yes that’s true. Not everyday you get warships named after you, very cool indeed.
👍
Scharnhorst gets rarely mentioned? He is one of THE big prussian reformers. That man got 2 capital ships named after him.
Having him as an ancestor is honestly pretty cool
@@535phobos I agree, it’s cool to be connected to history. We all are
In 1804 Clausewitz was appointed adjutant to Prince August Ferdinand of Prussia. In this capacity, he took part in the Battle of Jena-Auerstädt (1806). In the wake of Prussia’s catastrophic defeat by Napoleon
he and the prince fell into French captivity. With the Prussian army demolished and the prince captured, Prussia was forced to give up half of its territory in the concluding peace treaty. After their release at the end of 1807
The Austro-Prussian war is probably the big turning point before the war with France.
When the Austro-Prussian war happened many people at the time actually picked the Austrian army because they had much more combat experience over the last few decades. In the end them going all in on close combat after their loss at Solferino (mainly because of the uneven terrain that allowed the French to advance and charge without taking significant losses) spelled desaster against the well trained Prussian army with it's superior firepower.
The Austrian officers also had a bad rep, apparently they prefered spending time in casinos gambling than working on their tactical prowess, even if these kind of claims should always been taking with a grain of salt.
We don't usually hear enough about the things that went on in the 1800s in Europe. Glad that you share some of this with us Armchair.
@18:00
To this very day Austrians may say "Not even the Prussians shoot that fast", if they want to tell someone to slow down to a more moderate pace of doing things.
“Palmerston likes to put his foot on their necks! Now, no statesman must triumph over an enemy that is not quite dead, because people forget a real loss, a real misfortune, but they won’t forget an insult. Napoleon made great mistakes that way; he hated Prussia, insulted it on all occasions, but still left it alive. The consequence was that in 1813 they rose to a man in Prussia, even children and women took arms, because they had been treated with contempt and insulted.”
― Leopold I
leopold? is that the king of belgium who ruled over congo? idk if he is though
@@charlestonianbuilder344 that was Leopold the second
1-see a problem
2-bring in experts
3-problem fixed
so simple. and yet I can't imagine anything like this happening in my country
What is your country? Out of curiosity.
With modern politicians all over the World it can be literally everywehr.@@Ami-jc2oo
I still remember the Prussian-inspired standards from military basic training in Sweden in 2017. "Det ska vara Preussiskt!" our sergeant commanded us, "It shall be done in the Prussian way!". This was often shouted when we were tasked with lining up equipment or weapons on a long line on the floor, for inspection. I swear to god, the line was straighter than a needle, and the equipment was uniformally posted down to the smallest strap on the combat vest.
And WW1. My grandfathers were Prussian, officers of the Saxon regiment, Western front. The most effective trench defenders and raiders, were Saxonian. Bavarians were feared for their accurate marksmanship, and the Prussians known for their discipline. My grandfather died in Passchendaele (counter-attack), his brother survived Flanders and Champagne, as a high ranking officer would.
It's honestly cool seeing people with their stories coming here to tell them
Except I don’t have them since I don’t even live nor have any relatives who come from USA/Europe
@@yelan1918C1hans my Italian great great grandpa on my mom's side of the family fled to america to escape the imminent italian belligerence in WW1, but when the USA joined, he enlisted and won not only citizenship but also a purple heart while in combat. My grandpa even has his standard issue gas mask to this day.
@@Unholyhybridgaming2022 cool, mine were just average citizens from china and hong kong 😭
@@yelan1918C1hansmy family were just farmers from indonesia 😂
The systems for reserves and mass conscription were certainly present in the Prussian army before 1814 - well before, in-fact, having variations leading back to the time of Fredrick Wilhelm I in 1733. The reforms of 1814 did, however, as you said, require compulsory service of all able-bodied men of 20 years or older, which massively increased the size of armies Prussia could muster in the decades to come. (It also formally removed any previous exemptions, such as those held by certain provinces, or the sons of foreigners living in Prussia.) However, it was the reforms following Prussian defeat in 1807 that set into motion the eventual 1814 decision. After the Treaty of Tilsit limited the Prussian army of a measly 42,000 men (which was, to be simply put, a number Napoleon felt confident he could defeat when the Prussians inevitably rose up against him again) the Prussian Military Reform Commission (consisting of many of the Prussian commanders discussed in this video, among others) discussed the ideas of adopting a revised system of reserves and one of mass conscription (called the Landwehr). While the idea of the Landwehr was ultimately shut down then (mostly by more conservative generals), the 'Krumper system' was put into place, wherein active-duty soldiers would be progressively relieved of duty and replaced with fresh recruits - leaving these well-trained men in "reserve," in all effect, while training new men to the same standards. Later in 1811, before Prussia's involvement in the invasion of Russia, each infantry regiment was ordered to form a fourth battalion - camouflaged on paper as "supply" or "training depot" battalions in order to not arise French suspicions. These additional battalions would later balloon into full regiments of their own before the onset of war again in 1813. Furthermore, following the defeat of the French in 1812 by Russia, Clausewitz (who was now serving with the Russian army) drew up the plans for the implementation of the conscription of the Landwehr - which was quickly adopted in preparation for the oncoming war. This all allowed Prussia to cheat the very treaty they had signed, and (Landwehr not included), allowed Prussia to muster a further 37.000 well-trained troops above the 42,000 Napoleon had limited them to just 6 years prior. Landwehr then included, this came to the described metric of 6% of Prussia's population - an impressive force which caught Napoleon completely off-guard, and certainly contributed to the defeat of Napoleon's army at Leipzig and the many battles leading up to it.
PS: Following the 1814 reforms, many of the reserve infantry regiments that had been formed under the above-described system were made into fully-fledged active duty (and thoroughly battle-hardened) infantry regiments. Some of these newly christened regiments then fought in the battles of Waterloo.
source?
Dreaming if 6% of Germany people today is "Army" like people of Prusia in early 1800s, today Germany will have almost 5.000.000 troops!!!
10:10 beautiful rendition of Preßeun Gloria in the background
The Zoom meeting in 6:18 with that backgrounds hahaha.
Next video should be: Why Austria’s army were not up to standards constantly.
It is not exactly easy when everyone speaks a different language lol
@@VictoireOuMort wrong. Diversity is a strength ™️
@@kernelsanderzz you kidding or are you actually woke
@@kernelsanderzz in civilization
Not when your fighting a war with a German officer trying to speak to the Hungarian officer communicating to the Ukrainian Czech Slovak Romanian Croatian Serbian Italian and polish counterparts
@@ninofromkitchennightmares1497 yeah lmao
the level of cinematography in the opening really grabs your attention and demands you hold it
outstanding work on my favorite part of the mid to late 1800s
Another masterpiece.Thanks for all the efforts you put in!!!
As a reader of clausewitz’s master piece, I could easily say that it is also a philosophic success. I’ve never knew that war and philosophy could ever be tied together before.
Man, this animation is getting out of hand. Looking at the animation in a video like the Siege of Vienna, it honestly dosent look like the same channel. It's insane, keep going.
The Dreyse needle rifle also had the advantage in that the infantryman could reload while in a prone position. This made him less of a target than his muzzle loading counterparts.
Reload EASIER while prone. You can reload a muzzle loader prone, it's just much much harder
This was the end of upright Infantry fighting going back to the days of Antiquity
13:42 😂 looks a spirit came to visit you. An orb passed across the screen, low right to left.
Man, von Moltke the Elder is so underrated in military history.
he was the second Napoleon
Uses previously used tactics from enemy, breach loading rifles, the real time commander orders and refuses to elaborate further
19:04 i like how napoleon approves prussian artillery lol
15:30 This strategy looks very much like Napoleons strategy when he divided his army into cores.
It should be added that some of the idea like the "Auftragstaktitk", giving officers a broader autonomy to decide ad hoc became THE major contribution to military strategy in the world, thereafter.
Every day The Armchair Historian posts a video is a good day
Very true
14:55 this was badass
Good job dude your the best at history on the platform
10:15 I saw some early alpha videos on Fire and Maneuver. The song that plays here is actually the in-battle theme for Germany. Nice touch
Prussian victory during the Franco-German War of 1870 was largely caused by a far better mobilization system, which led to the German army being twice the size of the French army at the beginning of the war.
Moreover, Prussian political unity was instrumental in making those military reforms. Indeed, Napoléon III had given too much power to parliament, which proved terrible when he tried to reform the French army following the Austro-Prussian War, as the Niel law was rejected, mainly by Republicans.
But people think the war was a cakewalk for the Germans, whereas some battles were absolute butcheries like Spicheren, Woerth, Mars-la-Tour or Gravelotte, the graveyard of the Prussian guard. The Germans lost at Gravelotte on a single day more than 5,200 killed. The deadliest battle of the American Civil War, which lasted three days, cost the Union 3,155 killed.
In the end, numerical superiority and better artillery won the day.
It always more costly to attack, than to defend.
As events in Ukraine show, artillary was a huge factor - the Prussian artillary outranged the French.
@@nathangg8429
?
20,000 German losses at Gravelotte. It's the French who lost 8,000 killed or wounded.
U are way off on the numbers of the American Civil War numbers
The ,prussian' army? The army of the german states had been may be 65% prussian soldiers. You totally have forgotten the soldiers of Bayern, Sachsen, Württemberg, Baden, Hessen- Darmstadt, Oldenburg, Mecklenburg- Schwerin, Mecklenburg- Strelitz, Sachsen- Weimar- Eisenach, Anhalt, Braunschweig, Sachsen- Altenburg, Sachsen- Meiningen, Sachsen- Coburg- Gotha, Schwarzburg- Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg- Sondershausen, Waldeck- Pyrmont, Lippe- Detmold, Reuß- Greitz, Reuß- Schleitz, Hamburg, Bremen and Lübeck.
9:37, omg, I love how the map looks, like, you should one day make steam mods so maps from EU4, Victoria II, CK3 and HOI4 would look like that fr
6:02 "Our men are running from the battlefield! Shameful display!"
4:34- And I think the inspiration behind Battletech's "social generals" in Steiner lore, where Steiner's (space Germans) questionable officer corps tends to hold back its industrial might in military dominance.
Thank you for this much needed description of something so important to any Military history fan.
Awesome video with lots of information, also loving the improvement in quality and the use of memes as well! Excited for your game to come out, I’ll definitely give it a shot! Keep it up!
When he said "to crush their enemies", I immediately thought of an elderly Moltke saying "see our enemies driven before us, and hear the lamentations of the women"...
“Ponderous and predictable” sounds familiar from Epic History TV. Great video Griffin ! Always wanted a video like this.
Moltke the Elder is one of histories understudied but greatest generals.
The gameplay looks so good! I love how it captivates the animation style of your videos
Ahh Clausewitz. Everytime I quote him, people think it's from Sun Tzu. Those two were the backbone of my Strategy and Defense Studies class. I still cannot help but hear the words "Schwerpunkt" (Centre of Gravity) whenever I look at any map.
Moltke predicted the increase in need of NCOs and junior officers. Genius
The Chad officer at 1:50 walking as if he isn't literally being bombed
more history videos on the military history of Prussia is always welcome
This is genuinely one of your best videos. Well done.
10:00 ayo the prussian theme from fire and maneuver that song is so lit
Very well done documentary. Love the early Prussian history (before Bismarck I mean), the rapid growth of the Prussian might after the Napoleonic wars is crazy, even before them aswell actually.
Couple really important points
1) March divided, fight united. much better than divide your forces and lose
2) the importance of low unit initiative
Point 1 You better have great battlefield Inteligence to pull it off
@@stephenheath8465 sure. in those days, that role was done by light cavalry
Man the details in the animation are sooooo strong. Even while marching the soldiers blink with their eyes. Respect for that
14:48 best momment
"Die wahrheit ist dem menschen zu zumuten" ist the most important and truest thing Bismarck has ever said. And the most overlooked and ignored thing on earth.
That is a nice overview and I realy like the fact that you have mentioned the Auftragstaktik. On the other side I was missing the development of the general staff in its form, also developed by Scharnhorst if I am not mistaken and what was fast copied by other nations after the Franco-Prudsian war.
“Fire and maneuver. That’s the name of the game… Fire and maneuver.”
Can't wait for the game to be out fully, I'll definitley be picking up the early access
The army was ok relative to its enemies - the leadership of the Austrian and French armies was lacking - but the real reason it won was the favourable diplomatic conditions Bismarck created for it. The negative outcome of these wars was an expectation that the Prusso-German army could win at 1:1, which led political leaderships far inferior to Bismarck to risk worse than 1:1 odds in 1914 and 1939, with calamitous results.
Just when I though “ this animation is so good now and can not possibly get better” I was wrong
Really cool episode with the drawings n all especially with the parts like at 9:46
"The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood." ~ Otto Von Bismarck
On a different note, I would love to see another squad vs squad video, but with a more modern setting like US squad vs NVA/Vietcong, Iranian squad vs Iraqi squad, russian squad vs chechen squad, ect.
The last video was a bit odd, but you surpassed yourself doing this one, the faces are incredible! Kudos!!!
von Moltke's plans really sound similar to Napoleon and his Speed Game. Using quick Mobilization to surprise the enemy, grouping into small Groups/Corps then Unite to absolutely obliterate the enemy, and the Speed makes it easier for the supplies and Artillery to move fast
As someone nearly completely unfamiliar with the Napoleonic era but very familiar with the classical European period, It's cool to see how similar all of Prussia's reforms were to Roman reforms in response to major military defeats.
You really need more views, nice video!
I really need to look into Prussia's history more cause every time you say Scharnhorst and Gneisenau I always think of them as battleships instead.
Among von Moltke’s other innovations are establishment of the general staff (planning organization) and use of war games to validate tactical concepts. Both were copied by all armies.
Prussian doctrine was also absolutely instrumental during the American revolution. Organizing the Continental Army from a scrappy group of rag tag hunters and riflemen into a well drilled and capable fighting force.
Another advantage of the needle gun was that you can reload it while laying on the ground
Yeah it was a huge leap forward to modern combat. Proud that my ancestors were the ones to perfect it during that time period
@@etholus1000 you are french?
One should be able to load a muzzle loader in another position other than standing, though it wouldn't be as efficient as the latter method.
6:10
OHHHHHHHHHHHH
WHO LIVES IN THE PINEAPPLE UNDER THE SEA
Fun Fact: The German Bundeswehr uses Auftragstaktik to this day, now integrated in the bigger philosophy of "Inerre Führung".
Armchair historian: "and reclaim its honor"
Zuko: where?!
Underrated
Cant Wait for Fire and Maneuver to come out im very excited! It seems to be coming along very well.
I love these Prussian 1800s videos, truly awesome!
This video was great to watch. Nice job The Armchair Historian.
I would argue that Fredrick's father Fredrick Wilhelm "The Soldier King" laid down the base for Prussia's army. Different to other monarchs, he invested the majority of the incomes in the army rather than in the state. Also under his reign the drafting system was made more efficient and he began with a system of meritocracy with his officer corp (although they were still part of the aristocracy). Many of the reforms build up on this base.
That is some damn dedication. Going as a kid and memorizing your foes defenses and then wait 20-30yrs before you can utalize your knowledge.
Your animations are skillful as usual, EXCEPT at 17:48 where the train mechanics are a real eyesore :o
(the two horizontal sliders are fixed and meant to move the head between them horizontally, pushing the driving rod that, on its left end, goes around the wheel)
THANK YOU for noticing that! I was worried I'd be the only one annoyed by it.
I know you get a lot of requests.. I’d love to see a video in your style of the Paraguayan war in South America. Love your videos!
Good video griffin keep the good content coming!
Can't wait for Fire and Maneuver!
This video is well done sir. I love these lessons in history and how they might be relative today
Well done! Great production values.
Napoleon wasn't at Auerstedt; it was Davout.
Didn't Napoleon praise two of his Generals for reversing one of his orders while in the field and going on the attack rather than withdrawing?
I believe the situation was that one general was to withdraw his troops from a particular line and another was to move in and replace them and as they met up they discussed it and decide to attack together and they succeeded.
I think it was at the battle of Leipzig and as far as I know, Napoleon was pleased with this and praised them.
I have heard the opposite: Napoleon was inclined to micromanage and prone to flying into a rage when his subordinates went against his "perfect strategies". Although this was fine when he was personally in charge of an army that he could lead directly due to his talent at that level.
@@aze94 Yeah I was just referring to one isolated incident.
Napoleon expected initiative from his Marshalls that commanded corps but not below that level. This is ths different to Austrgstaktik where even a Lieutenant or even a platoon leader can seize initaitive.
@@TorianTammas I wonder why Napoleon wouldn't support such initiative at a lower level, considering how much success such tactics they made for the prussians later in the 19th century.
@@polygonalfortress It was about command and control. A general has little control of a battle if subordinates do not follow orders exactly. Many battles have been lost such as Agincourt when the French knights attacked impetuously through their own crossbowmen or Little Big Horn where Custer disobeyed orders to scout for the Indians and attacked without waiting for the 3 columns of troops that were converging to destroy them. Initiative can be a good thing if it's not rashness but there is a fine line between the two.
Ad skip 03:48
If you want to see Prussia today - look up Chiles military. More specifically, a video of a Chilean military parade. They modeled their entire doctrine after Prussia.
Very informative, excellent info, historical summary. Wish the animation would have depicted wide view unit movement across the various battlefields.