Hi Dogma, Check out "Gustavus Adolphus' Masterpiece: The Battle of Breitenfeld 1631 Hour by Hour | Thirty Years War" - far more accurate and better explained video of the battle.
A sad combination of fog, a nearsighted king and a good fast horse. All helping to separate the king from his unit. And if a leader is not stacked with his unit, he is eliminated (thats a wargame reference).
In Danish, there is a saying "To know ones Pappenheimers". It means, to know thoroughly the people you're dealing with, specifically their weaknesses and poor qualities. It is directly linked to this battle and the battle prowess and tactical discipline of our Swedish cousins. And the idiocy of Pappenheim...
Same in Dutch! But overhere "je pappenheimers kennen" is also used when you can trust people, in Dutch its more contextual. The term knowing your Pappenheimers comes from a 18th century play by Friedrich von Schiller about the 30 year war with van Wallenstein trusting Zu Pappenheim because he saved Wallenstein a few times in battle.
Weird because he was actually a decent commander, not good, not bad. There were a lot of bad commanders to name a saying after during the thirty years war. Why would pick an okay commander instead of a bad one?
@@LAILA1715 Legends have taught battles fought this lion has no fear at heart Lion come forth come from the north, come from the north Gustavus Adolphus, Libera et impera Acerbus et ingens, Augusta per angusta
In my 50 plus years of studying military history your documentary videos have become invaluable to me. Have said this before I know but I must say it again. Your channel is simply the very best and " THANK YOU ALL"
One frontline infantryman per meter of frontage was considered sparse in WW2. 5 men a meter is not out of the question for a concentrated push, or defence of a strongpoint, by manouver warfare standards.
Ive been playing AOE2 religiously for 20 years and developed my own strategy that worked for me. I only recently started reading about Adoplhus' strategy and came to realise that I was use using his tactics the whole time. Feels good bro.
Reminds me of how I used to comprise the armies of my nomadic horsemen factions in the total war franchises, consisting of ⅔ horse archers and ⅓ heavy shock cavalry and I did this without studying in depth the tactics of Cengiz Han, only to later find out this is EXACTLY how the Mongols structured their Tumens (10,000 men units).
Not to take away at all from this era and Adolphus for his absolute military brilliance, but same could be said about many other eras of warfare. ie. Rome v Macedon, Korean turtle ships, Sieges of Vienna/Constantinople, Chinese attacking a European star fort, US Civil War (and other conflicts during the period, but am American), WW1, among many others I find this kind of scenario as you say extremely interesting myself. As an example, Rome v Macedon: the forces of Macedon were still extremely well drilled and the Phalanx was still extremely strong if not stronger as a cohesive unit than anything early Rome had, but Rome was able to manipulate the battlefield to exploit the weaknesses of the phalanx and the strengths of their military.
@@tcut95 American here as well and well this part of history is stated as oh 99 thesis religious persecutions then straight to Pilgrims then nothing until the French & Indian War. But yeah once you dig into it it's quite fascinating just how important this era was for military doctrine, with some *cough* Papenheimer *cough* refusing to adapt with then the Dutch and Swedes putting more emphasis on firepower and moblility
@@valnira1147 As I understand it so was Tilly the main reactionary. He was part of the military philosophy that maneuver warfare is not a thing as any inferior force would just avoid the battle making the thing that matters being sieges or catching inferior forces and that sums up his past battle experiences.
In the late 80's I was in the US Army stationed in Germany; when the East/West border opened up some friends and I took the opportunity to see some of the old battlefields. One of these was Breitenfeld; it's now largely a suburb of the city of Leipzig, but some of the terrain features are still in place. I was able to talk our little group through the battle and walking the actual ground was a rush. Later that day we headed south of Leipzig to the battlefield at Lutzen; there is a small museum there full of artifacts that have continued to be revealed as the fields are plowed. In the town itself is a statue of GA. The stone near which GA was killed is still in place, in a protective gazebo.
I have been waiting for a 1500s-1750s battle once again! thanks for this video! I love the Pike and Rifle Period so much! This was super entertaining to watch!
@HistoryMarche Napoleon who was a huge fan of Adolphus and had studied this battle gave his own battle field tour of Lutzen before his own battle of Lutzen in 1813
I’ve been reading the 1632 series, which is free on audible right now. It’s so cool to see the battle animated, especially since a bunch of the major individuals are well written characters that react believably to the alternate history that starts soon after this battle.
Another wonderful historical coverage video about two different doctrines of the same religious clashed in(Brietenfeld battle-1631 AD ) in Europe. Thank you for an excellent ( History Marche )channel for sharing this magnificent episode.
Tilly was stuck reacting and never planning his moves from the very start, only grabbing at opportunities but never being given the time to judge them for himself.
What an extraordinary video. I can only imagine the work required to animate an entire battle. It's like watching a movie of the action and it provides such a clear explanation of the tactics. Well done.
I am a "Kriegsspiel Player" or a Wargamer, board games which von Reisswitz created, you basically inspired me to get into these kind of games, tactical map movements are so satisfying
This was a battle that was lost by organization and training, not tactics. Tilly's strategy of routing the Saxons and turning the Swedish left was fine; he just couldn't overcome the fact that the Swedes were literally putting more lead in the air even with fewer men by forming them in linear rather than square formations.
In a Catholic army Jesus had second billing to Tilly. Their battle cry was for Father Tilly and Jesus. That is a measure of how good a commander he was. If I'm not wrong this is his first loss.
Incredible restitution of the context and tactics on the battlefield, thanks a lot for your great job and your contribution to popularize historic science ! 🙏
Scattered thoughts: 1) as usual the intro is introduced with such charisma that it looks like the audience is there. 2) I do wonder if HM narrator has ever thought of reading the Iliad or other epic texts. Up to me the results could be ... Whoa! 3) it would be amazing if HM would start a parallel channel called Ordinary life marche and with the narrator voice reading normal every day life: it was a daunting day when the parents faced the fog bringing their children to the knowledge headquarters, known as school. General gathering, shouted the Head commander, the head teacher ...
"Only two of the Great Captains of military history had to create the instruments with which they won fame of the battlefield: Genghis Khan and Gustavus Adolphus. The others Alexander, Hannibal, Ceasar, Frederick and Napoleon all inherited the excellent armies which they led to victory" - Col. US army Trevor Nevitt Dupuy
Dupuy was also wrong. A third time was WWI. But then WWI was the birth of modern combined arms warfare. Half the weapons systems in use at its end were either brand new in 1914 (airpower, powered flight being only 7 years old at that point), or did not exist: Tanks, stokes type mortars. Infantry tactics changed completely, up to and including the very makeup of an infantry platoon, which went from a rifle only unit in 1914, to a combined arms unit built around MG's, grenadiers and riflemen by 1918. And of course an entire military arm was rendered obsolete (cavalry), even if their role was not.... There is no time in mankind's long history of war that has seen such a major change in warfare at even the very basic, fundamental level. One of the reasons that war was fought they way it was was literally because at its start some of the technology required to break the deadlock literally did not exist until later on (started coming together in 1917 with several important innovations, especially in the realm of artillery), and because the Generals had to write a new book of warfare pretty much from scratch. Another issue was that the main manoeuvre element was obsolete, but there was nothing that could replace it. Fun fact, the German so called Blitzkrieg was essentially late WWI tactics adjusted for use with vehicles. There was very little that was actually innovative about it, it was almost entirely iterative. Why was it not used in WWI? Technology, simply put the armoured vehicles that made German mobile warfare so successful in 1939 to 1941 just did not exist in 1918. Tanks of 1918 were too slow (8mph for a fast tank), and too unreliable (about a 25% mechanical breakdown rate for the 'reliable' Mk IV). EDIT: That breakdown rate for 1918 tanks was per day.... Yeah, 25% mechanical breakdown rate, per day! At the battle of Amiens in August 1918 the British started wit around 370 tanks. By day 4 they had 32 operational vehicles. Most of the casualties were mechanical breakdowns!
@@alganhar1 So which person do you think developed it's own army in WW1? Wasn't it an organization and not one person. Nor where anyone in WW1 a "Great captain". Need to be a great captain that have gone down in history, I don't know anyone in WW1 that was a strategic and/or tactical genius. And yeah I know Blitzkrieg comes from Storm troops tactics in WW1.
@@flankspeed All cannons where horse drawn, and Swiss and Austrian engineers developed light horsedrawn back in Gustavus Adolphus times, he was the first to try them out in battle against the Poles. They were used extensively during the English Civil Wars in the 1640s and 1650s. They where called "leather cannons". Even if that would have been new by Napoleon(even though it was used 200y before). Do you think that one thing makes up for him inheriting a well trained and organized army? Compared to Genghis(unorganized gangs/groups) and Gustavus with a 3rd world army
As a former Marine, I've tried to understand. What I've learned by studying, looking through the ages, is that the excuses for all the butchery are constantly changing, but the reasons for it never do. So many killed, so much suffering, so much fear, so much pain and loss. Almost all of it for the egos, grandiosity and self-servitude of a few, miserable people. There has never been a war that couldn't have been prevented.
So true this, my Uncle said the same after fighting at Arnhem. Reality is, those who do not do the fighting, clamour for war, those who do fight, fight for peace.
If a state would not strive to maximize its power and wealth, it would fade to those systems that do. I am not so sure if it is purely about egos. I agree with the sentiment that it is all in all, useless, hundredfold suffering. But I think war is "natural", whenever you have systems built on force. And every government is built on force - in fact, modern states assert the monopoly on force. When circumstances change and power dynamics with them, political tension between states increases, and the final method to relieve it after diplomatic effort is war. Humans as individuals compete for power, fame, wealth, opportunities to procreate etc. Over time we learned to ritualize this competition to avoid excessive loss. But the barbaric nature of man might lurk in us and reappear if statehood goes to shit. Same thing on a state level, where we try to incorporate the same rules on a level above nations, like the united nations, while at the same time, nations compete for the same ressources and individuals do. I don't want to justify war, but explain it somehow logically.
😎BROTHER, ANOTHER BAD ASSSSSS VID. Thank u again and again for your hard work. Could u imagine being a Pike, men in that formation,BALLS. Whenever your vids pop up,I always watch them. I enjoy all your work. I am a loyal fan from El Cajon CA,a suburb out of San Diego. I just want to let u know u have a fan from SoCal BROTHER. 👍😎👍
I recommend doing an episode of the Battle of stäket not a huge battle but a Swedish defence battle against raiding Russian forces. Thx for an etertaining channel.
72 year old Tilly riding around Germany conducting warfare against the 37 year old Swedish King in a age where the average lifespan was 30-35 years old in Europe, Tilly must have been a physical phenomenon, Imagine waking up in a tent in a muddy feild at that age and ride a horse all day. Its not all about tactics and firepower.
If you survived childhood then 60-70 was a common age for adults to reach. Widespread famine and disease could change that, of coarse, but on average an adult lived close to the same age as us today.
@@antonakesson thank you, people often misinterpret what average lifespan actually means, neonatal deaths alone makes a huge difference to an average. Also the difference between Nobility and Peasantry diets, people weren't short in those days, peasants not getting enough protein were short, the nobility were the same height us today.
@@warwarneverchanges4937 it is rare and impressive. Likely a top 1% athlete. A few 70 year olds have run sub-3-hour marathons -- that's about like a 5 minute mile at age 70. Very rare though. I'm retired from the Army, and push carts at Walmart on purpose (avoid boredom, stay extremely fit pushing carts 15 miles a shift, easy side money.) There is a 73 year old here that puts the 21 year olds to shame. Likely he just has rare athletic talent and decades of endurance exercise. I'd put Tilly and that guy at top 1%.
ahahaha it's incredible that a week ago a reel about this battle appeared and when I wanted to look for it here I couldn't find it and j Then when I said "well, I'm not going to look any further" historiamarche comes and reads your mind.
For a Northern European country to be projecting that much power East & South must have required not only marshal prowess but one hell of a logistic system for the age.
@@BenyNukem Not par with Roman or Ottoman logistics but every unit of the army had its own logistics departman and depot. Let's assume Gustavus' army lived off the land and plundered what they needed? How the hell did they get proper caliber cannon balls for their fast firing cannons? From the local market?
I live about 5 km from the site of this battle, which coincidentally was also the site of the 'battle of nations' during Napoleons campaign! Fun fact: the logo of one of the local breweries is Gustavus Adolphus himself! Great video! 👍🏻
I've been reading 'Europe's Tragedy' by Peter Wilson and his take on Gustavus is rather different to the one alluded to here. Not saying he's right or wrong, because History is all about perspective, but the book is a great read for anyone interested in this era of warfare.
@@marcusaurelius3487 Only with difficulty since the book is a large one and Wilson doesn't dedicate any section to analysing a particular commander's strengths or weaknesses. I'll try. Aside from Breitenfeld Gustavus' record as a commander is ordinary at best. His army was held by the Poles during the campaign prior to 1630. The 1632 campaign in Germany leading to Lutzen is marked by a series of battles where his tactical acumen can only be described as 'questionable'. The Swedish tactical system was basically a clone of the kind of thing the Dutch had been doing for decades. Finally Gustavus had an unfortunate habit of charging off with his cavalry and leaving subordinates to pick up the slack (we see that at Breitenfeld where Horn salvages the position). So he is often not commanding but instead placing himself in harms way unnecessarily (his death at Lutzen is a direct result of this). Wilson does not question his charisma or personal bravery but regards his elevated position as the product of US Army Staff College obsession rather than any special talent. Given said college's fawning attitude towards former _Heer_ generals after WW2 this would not surprise me. Bear in mind this is me trying to give an impression garnered from dozens of pages of dense text. Wilson is also not very complimentary about Wallenstein either. I have other books which I'm yet to read that deal with Gustavus, and the Swedish Army of the era, in more depth. Thus my knowledge of Gustavus is limited to the videos on UA-cam and some books which cover famous battles (and those are quite old now!). Wilson's relative disdain for Gustavus' reputation surprised me a little but makes for an interesting counterpoint to the notion he was/is 'The Father of Modern Warfare'.
Go to buyraycon.com/historymarche to get up to 30% off sitewide! Brought to you by Raycon.
As a Swede, I have been taught about this battle in school and university but I have never seen it shown tactically. Thank you!
🇸🇪
Hi Dogma, Check out "Gustavus Adolphus' Masterpiece: The Battle of Breitenfeld 1631 Hour by Hour | Thirty Years War" - far more accurate and better explained video of the battle.
I sent one about the battle of Hastings to my daughter (12), she got max grade on her assignment, visuals are invaluable for learning👍
As a Swede, i've never heard of this battle before.
@@hendrix6then you were asleep at the history lessen, it’s one of the biggest victories in Swedish history and are up there with Narva.
Gustavus career is looking bright
I sure hope he wont die within a year after this
His legend never died
He just was very unfortunate. In war you can never be sure
A sad combination of fog, a nearsighted king and a good fast horse. All helping to separate the king from his unit. And if a leader is not stacked with his unit, he is eliminated (thats a wargame reference).
Sure would be a shame
Carolus rex never dies !
In Danish, there is a saying "To know ones Pappenheimers". It means, to know thoroughly the people you're dealing with, specifically their weaknesses and poor qualities. It is directly linked to this battle and the battle prowess and tactical discipline of our Swedish cousins. And the idiocy of Pappenheim...
Germany has this saying as well, "der kennt seine Pappenheimer".
Same in Dutch! But overhere "je pappenheimers kennen" is also used when you can trust people, in Dutch its more contextual. The term knowing your Pappenheimers comes from a 18th century play by Friedrich von Schiller about the 30 year war with van Wallenstein trusting Zu Pappenheim because he saved Wallenstein a few times in battle.
i think the quote was made by Tilly
*But see, the seemed to be a very well intended guy, I'm sure he was trying his best, is just that...he was really bad...*
Weird because he was actually a decent commander, not good, not bad. There were a lot of bad commanders to name a saying after during the thirty years war. Why would pick an okay commander instead of a bad one?
"A time of religion and war, legends tell the tale of a lion
This beast in the shape of a man, with a dream to rule sea and land!"
I knew this would be the top comment! xD
""And all those who stand in his path die by God and victorious arms!
With the righteous that follows him south, once more, set a shore, to war!"
@@LAILA1715 Legends have taught battles fought this lion has no fear at heart
Lion come forth come from the north, come from the north
Gustavus Adolphus, Libera et impera
Acerbus et ingens, Augusta per angusta
@@farmergambler9906 might eagle, rule alone! Liberator, claim the throne. Lion from the northern land, take the scepter from its hand!
Dont try to listen Swedish version of song , it will bi in your head next 7 days xD
In my 50 plus years of studying military history your documentary videos have become invaluable to me. Have said this before I know but I must say it again. Your channel is simply the very best and " THANK YOU ALL"
years of academy training wasted
Hey there. Hope you are doing alright. Could I trouble you for references about good books for military tactics/history?
Epic History TV better
There is about 6 km distance between Breitenfeld and Gobschelwitz. Armies back then where spaced out over greater distance than most realise.
If you distribute 30 000 men each man 1 m from others. That encompass 30 km. So yes, of course armies are spread out over big areas.
One frontline infantryman per meter of frontage was considered sparse in WW2. 5 men a meter is not out of the question for a concentrated push, or defence of a strongpoint, by manouver warfare standards.
Ive been playing AOE2 religiously for 20 years and developed my own strategy that worked for me. I only recently started reading about Adoplhus' strategy and came to realise that I was use using his tactics the whole time. Feels good bro.
combined arms are always working
Reminds me of how I used to comprise the armies of my nomadic horsemen factions in the total war franchises, consisting of ⅔ horse archers and ⅓ heavy shock cavalry and I did this without studying in depth the tactics of Cengiz Han, only to later find out this is EXACTLY how the Mongols structured their Tumens (10,000 men units).
The generals of this era were absolutely crazy. Warfare that combined old and new. My favorite era of warfare
Not to take away at all from this era and Adolphus for his absolute military brilliance, but same could be said about many other eras of warfare.
ie. Rome v Macedon, Korean turtle ships, Sieges of Vienna/Constantinople, Chinese attacking a European star fort, US Civil War (and other conflicts during the period, but am American), WW1, among many others
I find this kind of scenario as you say extremely interesting myself. As an example, Rome v Macedon: the forces of Macedon were still extremely well drilled and the Phalanx was still extremely strong if not stronger as a cohesive unit than anything early Rome had, but Rome was able to manipulate the battlefield to exploit the weaknesses of the phalanx and the strengths of their military.
It's one of my favorites because it's this weird transitional period that is rarely talked about.
@@valnira1147 It is indeed rarely talked about - outside Europe maybe? I'm American as stated above, so I don't know!
@@tcut95 American here as well and well this part of history is stated as oh 99 thesis religious persecutions then straight to Pilgrims then nothing until the French & Indian War. But yeah once you dig into it it's quite fascinating just how important this era was for military doctrine, with some *cough* Papenheimer *cough* refusing to adapt with then the Dutch and Swedes putting more emphasis on firepower and moblility
@@valnira1147 As I understand it so was Tilly the main reactionary. He was part of the military philosophy that maneuver warfare is not a thing as any inferior force would just avoid the battle making the thing that matters being sieges or catching inferior forces and that sums up his past battle experiences.
In the late 80's I was in the US Army stationed in Germany; when the East/West border opened up some friends and I took the opportunity to see some of the old battlefields. One of these was Breitenfeld; it's now largely a suburb of the city of Leipzig, but some of the terrain features are still in place. I was able to talk our little group through the battle and walking the actual ground was a rush. Later that day we headed south of Leipzig to the battlefield at Lutzen; there is a small museum there full of artifacts that have continued to be revealed as the fields are plowed. In the town itself is a statue of GA. The stone near which GA was killed is still in place, in a protective gazebo.
those "rivers" on the map are ridicously small, so small that you can jump over it. I doubt that they were much bigger back in the 17th century.
Something something Sabaton something something Gott Mit Uns
You go from "Lion come forth" to "Stopped them at Karlov Most" in the span of a decade
Breitenfeld was taught in Swedish schools as one of our biggest victories. But we never went into such detail. Very good video 😊
I have been waiting for a 1500s-1750s battle once again! thanks for this video! I love the Pike and Rifle Period so much! This was super entertaining to watch!
Sabaton sang an awesome song about Gustavous Adolphus. But of course they're Swedish. So that's no surprise. Great video.
Love your content! Just watching the early part of the video so far but I'm already hooked.
Hope you enjoy!
Any Gustavus Adolphus content is peak military warfare time
May this comment be a sacrifice to the Algorithm.
Cheers man, good seeing you here
@HistoryMarche Napoleon who was a huge fan of Adolphus and had studied this battle gave his own battle field tour of Lutzen before his own battle of Lutzen in 1813
@@HistoryMarche Always and a day. Cheers from Tennessee
LOL 😆
So be it!
I hope you keep doing this for years, I have learnt so much from you. Thank you so much
Hey, son. Glad to see you’re sharing stories about your old man again.
I love the carefully crafted poetic description of the battle as much as the facts and animation
great job as usual
I’ve been reading the 1632 series, which is free on audible right now. It’s so cool to see the battle animated, especially since a bunch of the major individuals are well written characters that react believably to the alternate history that starts soon after this battle.
Always nice to see my ancestor Gustav Horn fighting in videos like this and not only from family stories and books.
Another wonderful historical coverage video about two different doctrines of the same religious clashed in(Brietenfeld battle-1631 AD ) in Europe. Thank you for an excellent ( History Marche )channel for sharing this magnificent episode.
Thanks for more great historical battle video # 1 on UA-cam!!
Tilly was stuck reacting and never planning his moves from the very start, only grabbing at opportunities but never being given the time to judge them for himself.
What an extraordinary video. I can only imagine the work required to animate an entire battle. It's like watching a movie of the action and it provides such a clear explanation of the tactics. Well done.
Glad HistoryMarche covered this impressive military accomplishment.
You guys should give us a hour long video on Lutzen next! Thanks for the video
Another amazing video, my absolute favourite channel, thank you for everything!
More on the 30 years war. PLEASE!
I echo this. Please do more on the 30 years war @historymarche as your retelling and graphics are the best on UA-cam!
No let's stop the 30 years war, it's been going on for long enough.
I am a "Kriegsspiel Player" or a Wargamer, board games which von Reisswitz created, you basically inspired me to get into these kind of games, tactical map movements are so satisfying
History marche! Thanks For this! Always look forward to your videos ❤❤❤❤❤❤
Glad you enjoyed! Cheers for stopping by
This was fantastic. More of this era please.
The Count of Tilly was a really good commander in his own right. But the Swedes still just smashed him here.
They say God punished him for the sack of Magdeburg.
This was a battle that was lost by organization and training, not tactics. Tilly's strategy of routing the Saxons and turning the Swedish left was fine; he just couldn't overcome the fact that the Swedes were literally putting more lead in the air even with fewer men by forming them in linear rather than square formations.
In a Catholic army Jesus had second billing to Tilly. Their battle cry was for Father Tilly and Jesus. That is a measure of how good a commander he was. If I'm not wrong this is his first loss.
@@DarklordZagarna It was the Imperials who were outnumbered, not the Swedes.
@@revanofkorriban1505 The Imperial army was 36000, swedes 24000, Saxons 16000 or so. After they bugged out, the Swedes were outnumbered.
This is so sick, TYSM for partnering with us! 💙🎧
Another Saturday night watching History Marche!!!
A finer documentary than any news network could produce. Great narration. Thanks.
An offering to the algorithm. Great video, as ever.
Much appreciated!
Aw heck... I was gonna do something else today but these videos always make me want to play Mount & Blade after I get done watching them. Lol
Your Narrator Is History Itself
Solid history makes a channel good, but the narrator makes it great!
@@jkasiron2275 Indeed
ありがとうございます！👍
Thank you very much for supporting my work. Very kind of you.
Incredible restitution of the context and tactics on the battlefield, thanks a lot for your great job and your contribution to popularize historic science ! 🙏
The level of detail in these vids is unreal
Scattered thoughts:
1) as usual the intro is introduced with such charisma that it looks like the audience is there.
2) I do wonder if HM narrator has ever thought of reading the Iliad or other epic texts. Up to me the results could be ... Whoa!
3) it would be amazing if HM would start a parallel channel called Ordinary life marche and with the narrator voice reading normal every day life: it was a daunting day when the parents faced the fog bringing their children to the knowledge headquarters, known as school. General gathering, shouted the Head commander, the head teacher ...
Great job and a huge thank you for the time and effort needed to make this. This is mostly for all your effort but also 4 the algorithm!!
I was getting some Ney vibes from Pappenheim. Very nicely done piece on a battle from a time in history I haven't learned enough about.
For so long 17th century warfare was a hole in my studies. Just not enough videos on the subject so these are a treat.
Amazing video as always! Thanks HM!
You've done a tight job of this video! Cheers.
HistoryMarche video!!! My favorite part of the week :D
Tilly is often shadowed by Wallensteins and Gustavus but he was a trully impresive commander
"Only two of the Great Captains of military history had to create the instruments with which they won fame of the battlefield: Genghis Khan and Gustavus Adolphus. The others Alexander, Hannibal, Ceasar, Frederick and Napoleon all inherited the excellent armies which they led to victory" - Col. US army Trevor Nevitt Dupuy
Dupuy was also wrong. A third time was WWI.
But then WWI was the birth of modern combined arms warfare. Half the weapons systems in use at its end were either brand new in 1914 (airpower, powered flight being only 7 years old at that point), or did not exist: Tanks, stokes type mortars. Infantry tactics changed completely, up to and including the very makeup of an infantry platoon, which went from a rifle only unit in 1914, to a combined arms unit built around MG's, grenadiers and riflemen by 1918. And of course an entire military arm was rendered obsolete (cavalry), even if their role was not....
There is no time in mankind's long history of war that has seen such a major change in warfare at even the very basic, fundamental level.
One of the reasons that war was fought they way it was was literally because at its start some of the technology required to break the deadlock literally did not exist until later on (started coming together in 1917 with several important innovations, especially in the realm of artillery), and because the Generals had to write a new book of warfare pretty much from scratch. Another issue was that the main manoeuvre element was obsolete, but there was nothing that could replace it.
Fun fact, the German so called Blitzkrieg was essentially late WWI tactics adjusted for use with vehicles. There was very little that was actually innovative about it, it was almost entirely iterative. Why was it not used in WWI? Technology, simply put the armoured vehicles that made German mobile warfare so successful in 1939 to 1941 just did not exist in 1918. Tanks of 1918 were too slow (8mph for a fast tank), and too unreliable (about a 25% mechanical breakdown rate for the 'reliable' Mk IV).
EDIT: That breakdown rate for 1918 tanks was per day.... Yeah, 25% mechanical breakdown rate, per day! At the battle of Amiens in August 1918 the British started wit around 370 tanks. By day 4 they had 32 operational vehicles. Most of the casualties were mechanical breakdowns!
@@alganhar1 So which person do you think developed it's own army in WW1?
Wasn't it an organization and not one person. Nor where anyone in WW1 a "Great captain".
Need to be a great captain that have gone down in history, I don't know anyone in WW1 that was a strategic and/or tactical genius.
And yeah I know Blitzkrieg comes from Storm troops tactics in WW1.
@@alganhar1that's a whole lot of text for never actually mentioning who that third individual might have been
Woah there: Napoleon's use of horse-drawn artillery means nothing to you?
@@flankspeed All cannons where horse drawn, and Swiss and Austrian engineers developed light horsedrawn back in Gustavus Adolphus times, he was the first to try them out in battle against the Poles.
They were used extensively during the English Civil Wars in the 1640s and 1650s. They where called "leather cannons".
Even if that would have been new by Napoleon(even though it was used 200y before). Do you think that one thing makes up for him inheriting a well trained and organized army? Compared to Genghis(unorganized gangs/groups) and Gustavus with a 3rd world army
"WE SCREAMING HAKKAA PÄÄLLE WITH THIS ONE" - random finnish cavalryman
Great video as always
HistoryMarche your videos never cease to amaze me! Keep your head up and keep making Awesome content
Good Show! Keep on Truckin' with this excellence!!
Clicked as soon as it was posted keep em coming! 🙏
This is all new to me . Glad to learn new historical war
great video love this tme period!
What an perfect timing for promotion, cus I needed a new earbud. Win-Win.
OMG OMG AMAZING VIDEO AMBATUKAM
Great work, thanks 🎉
As a former Marine, I've tried to understand.
What I've learned by studying, looking through the ages, is that the excuses for all the butchery are constantly changing, but the reasons for it never do.
So many killed, so much suffering, so much fear, so much pain and loss. Almost all of it for the egos, grandiosity and self-servitude of a few, miserable people.
There has never been a war that couldn't have been prevented.
We are societies of normals governed by narcissists and psychopaths. Today they try bring us to 3rd WW.
As a history buff, this is also what I think about that as well, I guess human nature never changes.
So true this, my Uncle said the same after fighting at Arnhem. Reality is, those who do not do the fighting, clamour for war, those who do fight, fight for peace.
If a state would not strive to maximize its power and wealth, it would fade to those systems that do. I am not so sure if it is purely about egos. I agree with the sentiment that it is all in all, useless, hundredfold suffering. But I think war is "natural", whenever you have systems built on force. And every government is built on force - in fact, modern states assert the monopoly on force. When circumstances change and power dynamics with them, political tension between states increases, and the final method to relieve it after diplomatic effort is war. Humans as individuals compete for power, fame, wealth, opportunities to procreate etc. Over time we learned to ritualize this competition to avoid excessive loss. But the barbaric nature of man might lurk in us and reappear if statehood goes to shit. Same thing on a state level, where we try to incorporate the same rules on a level above nations, like the united nations, while at the same time, nations compete for the same ressources and individuals do. I don't want to justify war, but explain it somehow logically.
You forgot the BIGGEST excuse, RELIGION and then all the ones you named...
😎BROTHER, ANOTHER BAD ASSSSSS VID. Thank u again and again for your hard work. Could u imagine being a Pike, men in that formation,BALLS. Whenever your vids pop up,I always watch them. I enjoy all your work. I am a loyal fan from El Cajon CA,a suburb out of San Diego. I just want to let u know u have a fan from SoCal BROTHER. 👍😎👍
Seven times they attacked on that day
Seven times they retreated
Calvary charge, follow that banner, after the king freedom we bring.
Fall down seven times, stand up eight.
Gott Mit Uns as we all stand united
All together Gott Mit Uns
@@redclayscholar620
From the old world’s demise
See an empire rise
From the north reaching far
Here we are
Cuckold music
Very interesting and another great video done well.
Thank you! Cheers!
Well done documentary.
Very nice video again HistoryMarche 2nd siege of Vienna next
Another great episode!
This video was a spectacular watch!
Another wonderful video
To the algorithm! Another great video!
i couldnt tab out i had to look and listen, i wish my teachers were as engaging
I recommend doing an episode of the Battle of stäket not a huge battle but a Swedish defence battle against raiding Russian forces. Thx for an etertaining channel.
Nice video. Historic battle.
Spent the night in formation
To the battle we marched in the dawn
We were ready to die for our king
@@Divine_Evil On the fields of Breitenfeld.
Calvary charge
Lovely documentary
as always great work!!
Never missed an episode
this channel is going up as always❤
Excellent video!
Amazing video!
72 year old Tilly riding around Germany conducting warfare against the 37 year old Swedish King in a age where the average lifespan was 30-35 years old in Europe, Tilly must have been a physical phenomenon, Imagine waking up in a tent in a muddy feild at that age and ride a horse all day. Its not all about tactics and firepower.
If you survived childhood then 60-70 was a common age for adults to reach. Widespread famine and disease could change that, of coarse, but on average an adult lived close to the same age as us today.
@@antonakesson thank you, people often misinterpret what average lifespan actually means, neonatal deaths alone makes a huge difference to an average. Also the difference between Nobility and Peasantry diets, people weren't short in those days, peasants not getting enough protein were short, the nobility were the same height us today.
@@antonakesson Shure but Iwe worked in a stable and never seen a 73yo ride horse or even get close to mounting one.
@@warwarneverchanges4937 it is rare and impressive. Likely a top 1% athlete. A few 70 year olds have run sub-3-hour marathons -- that's about like a 5 minute mile at age 70. Very rare though.
I'm retired from the Army, and push carts at Walmart on purpose (avoid boredom, stay extremely fit pushing carts 15 miles a shift, easy side money.) There is a 73 year old here that puts the 21 year olds to shame. Likely he just has rare athletic talent and decades of endurance exercise. I'd put Tilly and that guy at top 1%.
Please make more videos about the transition period between medieval and modern warfare.
Awesome video! Hope I see a video of the Battle of Jankau.
You're a really good storyteller!
ahahaha it's incredible that a week ago a reel about this battle appeared and when I wanted to look for it here I couldn't find it and j
Then when I said "well, I'm not going to look any further" historiamarche comes and reads your mind.
Will you cover Lutzen? Besides this, super work.😊
That's the plan!
@HistoryMarche Thank you :)
For a Northern European country to be projecting that much power East & South must have required not only marshal prowess but one hell of a logistic system for the age.
Logistics between the Roman era and the late 1800's was more or less completely based on looting.
Back then logistics where known as looting.
Gustavus' Swedish army had good logistics and was a highly disciplined army, though not great in numbers.
@BulanGoldstein hard to believe, I recommend you to read up Wikipedia article about Deluge. I doubt standards have changed within just dozen years.
@@BenyNukem Not par with Roman or Ottoman logistics but every unit of the army had its own logistics departman and depot. Let's assume Gustavus' army lived off the land and plundered what they needed? How the hell did they get proper caliber cannon balls for their fast firing cannons? From the local market?
What a terrific video!⚔🔥🙌
Great historical video
I could listen to this man read an ingredient label...
Brilliant. Thank you.
I live about 5 km from the site of this battle, which coincidentally was also the site of the 'battle of nations' during Napoleons campaign!
Fun fact: the logo of one of the local breweries is Gustavus Adolphus himself!
Great video! 👍🏻
Metal detector?
@ Huh? Are you asking if I’ve ever went on a metal detector run on these battlefields? 😅
“Babe wake up, a new HistoryMarche video just dropped”
I've been reading 'Europe's Tragedy' by Peter Wilson and his take on Gustavus is rather different to the one alluded to here. Not saying he's right or wrong, because History is all about perspective, but the book is a great read for anyone interested in this era of warfare.
Silent Prince... Do check out "Gustavus Adolphus' Masterpiece: The Battle of Breitenfeld 1631 Hour by Hour | Thirty Years War"
@@vincnetjones3037 Is that the Sandrhoman History video? If so it's a good video. As are all the ones on that channel. 😎
Could you summarise his points
@@marcusaurelius3487 Only with difficulty since the book is a large one and Wilson doesn't dedicate any section to analysing a particular commander's strengths or weaknesses. I'll try. Aside from Breitenfeld Gustavus' record as a commander is ordinary at best. His army was held by the Poles during the campaign prior to 1630. The 1632 campaign in Germany leading to Lutzen is marked by a series of battles where his tactical acumen can only be described as 'questionable'. The Swedish tactical system was basically a clone of the kind of thing the Dutch had been doing for decades. Finally Gustavus had an unfortunate habit of charging off with his cavalry and leaving subordinates to pick up the slack (we see that at Breitenfeld where Horn salvages the position). So he is often not commanding but instead placing himself in harms way unnecessarily (his death at Lutzen is a direct result of this). Wilson does not question his charisma or personal bravery but regards his elevated position as the product of US Army Staff College obsession rather than any special talent. Given said college's fawning attitude towards former _Heer_ generals after WW2 this would not surprise me. Bear in mind this is me trying to give an impression garnered from dozens of pages of dense text. Wilson is also not very complimentary about Wallenstein either. I have other books which I'm yet to read that deal with Gustavus, and the Swedish Army of the era, in more depth. Thus my knowledge of Gustavus is limited to the videos on UA-cam and some books which cover famous battles (and those are quite old now!). Wilson's relative disdain for Gustavus' reputation surprised me a little but makes for an interesting counterpoint to the notion he was/is 'The Father of Modern Warfare'.
please make a video on Battle of Panipat I , as it is interesting and also one of the important battle in history
Very detailed and informative ❤️❤️❤️
The sweetness of this chennal is next level .
Hope we listen your voice forever....!
Love and respect from Pakistan.
very engaging and interesting! thank you!