Battle of the Somme 1916
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- Опубліковано 20 вер 2024
- This is the story of the first day of the Somme Offensive, 1 July 1916 - the single bloodiest day in British military history. 57,000 British soldiers became casualties, most within a few hours of the initial attack. The offensive was part of a doomed attempt to break the deadlock of trench warfare. But behind the myths lies the story of an elaborately-planned battle, fought against a determined and experienced German enemy, and a struggle that was seen at the time as both unavoidable and necessary. The Battle of the Somme, of which 1st July was just the first, disastrous day, raged for another four months, and was vital not only in diverting German forces away from their assault on the French at Verdun, but in teaching Britain's 'citizen army' how to fight a modern war against the German army.
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British Infantryman vs German infantryman - Somme 1916:
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Think about it, A million men... For 10 miles.
That's why the Battle of the Somme will always be controversial: was losing about 456,000 British and 200,000 French soldiers worth gaining 10 miles into enemy territory? (the Germans lost about 434,000-500,000 men)
@@jimhuffman9434 I mean he Germans lost more than the British
@@Dont-Watch-My-Vids-U-Regret-it but not more than the French and the British combined
@@jimhuffman9434 With victories like this, I don't want to see what a defeat is like. Also, loosing 66,000 men for every mile gained was an expensive way to get to 300 mile away Berlin (66k X 300 = 19.8 Million casualities)
This video's views are under the number of casualties. So no one who's watched this wouldn't have escaped unscathed if we'd been there.
It's so sad. Every one of these men had a family, ambitions, talents etc and were killed for nothing really.
No, some young lads DECIDED to join the military, for their ambitious love for their BEAUTIFUL country. Other's simply drafted.
@@Y_ooKang When did I say some didn't choose to join? Still sad people died in such numbers.
@@MrMongoose221 The british troops to take part in the Battle of the somme were the pals battalions they were the first 2 million men to join the british army which were volunteers
A waste.
@@MrMongoose221 that’s war for you. Same goes to countries and cultures that the british destroyed and colonized.
“The British would carry out a massive week long artillery bombardment”. Sent chills up my spine, first war where the scale isn’t even comprehensible.
A war that involved 19th Century Tactics and attitudes but fought with 20th Century weapons.
@@jacharvey8231 Imagine being given order to fly in a reconnaissance balloon over German trenches back then to estimate the damage. You can't control the winds; they can shoot a hole in it, or at you. What a shitty job. "Yes, sir. Just fill 'er up with hot air and let me soar anywhere, at whatever altitude this shit balloon hits."
Many of the shells were duds, and did not cut up the barbed wire as predicted, while the German defences were buried deeper than expected.
At the WW1 exhibition in Wellington NZ; one area was devoted to soldiers' wounds and the different types of damage inflicted by bullets, machine guns, grenades, shrapnel, high explosives. It seemed that more soldiers died from shrapnel wounds, than machine gun fire and bullets, contrary to what I'd expected.
Mostly dud
@@DexterHaven They did not fill their balloons with hot air! They used gas and it burned like mad!
Hearing the death counts is always so sad. The thought of seeing such carnage is still incomprehensible. I’m lucky enough to not have seen these brutalities and do not take it for granted. Highest respects for the fallen.
It makes me think France would be better off under German occupation. Bunch of fruitcakes that can't defend their borders and act like they're better and more sophisticated than everyone. France is worth a few lives just to keep around as a tourist destination, but the hundreds of thousands of non-French that died over two world wars? France ain't worth that. Especially when She would never return the favour.
@@oldmandoinghighkicksonlyin1368 You are an idiot.
@@thethirdman225 No one agrees with you. Everyone agrees with me.
@@oldmandoinghighkicksonlyin1368 Nice bluff. I’ve read about it and you haven’t. You’re just trolling. If it wasn’t for France your country would still be British.
@@thethirdman225 You read about it? Geez, that makes my and everyone else's opinion totally invalid now.
And FYI, I'm not American if that's what you were presuming. In fact, the country I live in, Canada, would be French if it weren't for the British.
My Grandfather went into combat for the first time on 1st July 1916 with the Gordon highlanders. He was 19 years old and was in the battle until getting wounded in November 1916. They told him he was unfit for any further military service but they needed to lower the fitness standards because of shortages of men and he was called up again in the Spring of 1918. He survived the war.
Your Grandfather is a legend. Hope you got to know him.
my great grandfather fought for the germans, in ww1 (navy) he was wounded and his ship sunk, was rescued by the royal navy, and my grandfather in ww2 (he was 15 yo) he was the one running and bringing ammo, messages and other things mostly, the older soldiers succesfully keep him out of the combat, the storys, so many good ppl died for bs reasons in both wars...
My great grandfather also was wounded in nov in the battle. Refused repatriation to Australia. Fought several battles after including the spring offensive. All this after landing at Gallipoli with the ANZACS at 19. I have his bayonet. What he must have seen….
@@marcos14223 I'm a royal navy veteran and being a sailor for me was a great experience, even being on a NATO exercise working closely with a German ship . sad we had to slaughter each other to become Bff's. we rescued a few stranded ships at sea it's just a nice thing to do good luck to you and big respect to your grandy once a sailor always a sailor I even had a German girlfriend!! and her family were nice to me. love from the UK .xx
@@geoffreydowen5793 Thx man, the "funny" thing is my grandfather came to Argentina after WW2 and years later we had the falklands conflict. Blessings
My grandfather was there. He was 17 years old. He came back with a metal plate in his cranium, and one leg shorter than the other and a metal pin down it. He was a machine gunner and was wounded by a shrapnel shell exploding above him. I have huge respect for his courage and sacrifice.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn;
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,
We will remember them.
Lest we forget.
Thats my age 😱
❤
My great grand dad also got hit in the head by shrapnel and had a medal plate inserted..but it got infected and he ended up losing his life. I can still remember how sad my nan was right up until she died in 1990. Her house was covered with pictures of her dad in his corporals uniform. Tragic stuff.
My Grand Grandpa was in this battle, he lived and returned home to Australia and was given a big farm but had breakdown that put him into a nuthouse where he would die very early. a few days ago my Grandma was just buried in his same grave.
Sad to hear that. He was likely just one of many suffering the same fate.
The timings don't match up. How could your Grandma be 130 years old?
@@ronniep9272 Easily enough, Ronnie. He said his great grandfather (Justin meant I'm sure his great-grandfather) was in the Great War. But his grandmother died recently. It makes sense to me.
@@paulkate72 yes my bad. I misread it.
@@ronniep9272 there's always one 😃 👍
Here's some trivia: J.R.R. Tolkien fought in this battle.
He got the idea for Mordor after witnessing a massive artillery barrage that made the soil so black clouds were forming of the stuff.
SantomPh I heard he came up with the orcs after seeing his fellow soldiers covered in mud and soil
"You shall not pass" was actually the French cry at Verdun: "They Shall Not Pass", "On ne passe pas".
So did Hitler
He also gained a lot of inspiration on warfare for his books at the Somme.
Even a hundred years later I feel the rage at the waste of human life.
What would history be like if they let Germany win?
exactly 100 years ago this crazy shit went down
respect.
May all participants rest in peace
Hard to imagine a time (more so WWII) when good vs evil wasn't a mash of convoluted half truths and worth sacrificing your life for eh
good vs evil , Jesus Propaganda still working
ronald48 ikr? Neo-Nazis fall for 70 year old propaganda
nearly 20.000 fine lads slaughtered in one day, that's WWI for you
80,000 died on d-day, WW2 for you.
Sirvee Pranay Well actually around 16,000 American troops were killed during the whole D day campaign.
However the Meuse-Argonne offensive in ww1 had around 120,000 American casualties.
@@pranaysirvee4420 yea
Sirvee Pranay nearly a million died at Stalingrad, that’s ww2 for you
“i cried for my mother..but she never came…” just a line off “1916” by motörhead that gives me chills most of these guys probably weren’t even 19 yet. R.I.P. to the brave men at somme 1916
shit
so sad, and its happening now, not only in ukraine.. a lot of moms crying for their sons
In a lot of interviews of WW1 soldiers in the 1950s they recalled the howls of young men cut down crying for their mothers.
My great great uncle was killed at the somme.
my great uncle was Stalin
Trôll Kīñg Déz yor being sent to my uncle's Gulag (putin)
Trôll Kīñg Déz He was a fresh recruit, never saw combat. Was killed by a machine-gun when he got a few hundred feet from the German lines.
Trôll Kīñg Déz its just a free camp
That if you stop working you get shot or tortured
The One you two
Being shelled with artillery for an entire week straight would be a hell I can't even comprehend
Drove many beyond their breaking points, some accounts say that a young German had to be tied down and restrained as he kept trying to escape the dugout during a heavy shelling. The men saved him by tying him down as he fought hysterically, one step outside would have meant certain death. Be sure to read ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ if you want to know what it was really like. That book changed my entire perspective of the war, and added an extremely personal human element to this soon to be forgotten conflict.
American soldiers at the siege of Khe Sanh during the VN war were bombarded for 11 weeks straight.
@@Deano-Dron81 He was talking about the Vietnam war
@@natedog1619
I fully agree. Also, I cannot stress this enough. Read. The. Book. And don't watch the new movie. Read the book. It's a billion times better.
2 of my great grandfathers fought at the Somme. One took a bullet through his eye at an angle, and lived the rest of his life wearing an eye patch over the wound. The other died.
The flower of English youth were thrown into the fire in that war, and we never recovered. A tragedy beyond reason
Thats very true about the English youth being squandered actually. WW2 saw the British army reduced to an expeditionary force of about 400,000 regulars - the French and German armies fielded over 1 million men each. To this day, the British and French armies have never fielded the same number of troops as in WW1 - the Somme and Verdun absolutely decimated those forces. A true tragedy.
Not really, because they can't field a million men more because they don't need to anymore
@@dynamo1796that's not really true. While WW1 was most definitely terrible, and a generation was decimated, none of these countries actually lost enough men for that to have had a significant impact on the number of troops they were able to field in WW2.
The UK's military was smaller because of political reasons, not directly because of the losses during WW1.
The french military wasn't actually that small when WW2 broke out.
British youth ...Irish youth too
The German army actually fielded up to 4mln in WW2 and French up to 2.5mln @@dynamo1796
I remember watching another documentary about the battle of the Somme and hearing about how one of the German machine-gunners had to simply stop and abandon his post after a certain point because he could no longer stand the act of what he was doing to so many of the British troops who were throwing their lives away right in front of him!
Sad!
More men were killed by artillery than machine guns and thru out the war.
It was artillery that caused the most deaths as it did in the entire war.
Incredible video as usual guys. Your use of maps and clear narrative really helps make the overall picture of hugely complicated events much easier to understand. Well done!!
Thank you, that's really good to hear.
My pleasure, keep up the awesome work :)
We completely agree, this has been so educational! TY
Don't forget the sound effect.
As a French-American, as easy as the French make it to roast them, this channel is pretty biased against the French. From Napoleon to WW1, it's subtle jabs at the French pretty much whenever they get a chance.
More WWI please. WWI is so overlooked I feel in the modern study of military history. The sheer number of men involved and made casualties in the major battles attest to its ferocity and the unique problems of the 1910s facing its commanders, who, against all odds of attacking against defensive weaponry, had to find a way to break through and did.
8:43 RIP Carrier pigeon Speckled Jim.
Lest we Forget
lol to your comment
But on a more serious note those carrier pigeons are now commemorated as doing their bit and are featured on the Animals In War Memorial at Hyde Park.And it really is a lovely monument which i urge everyone to see if they are ever visiting London.
Also some of those pigeons received bravery awards,i dont think Speckled Jim got one though even though Blackadder did barbarically murdered him
Killed by the Flanders Pigeon Murderer!
@@caroll3309 except now there's freaking pigeon's everywhere. Dirty bastards.
Downrange Film we don’t want your sort. Lol
Captain Blackadder, have you seen my favorite pidgeon, speckled jim?
I must point out that :
1.)The French also mobilised 59 divisions for this battle, 1,200,000 french men were fielded to La Somme
2.) The battle of La Somme is a Franco-British campaign, not solely the British. (And it was CO-planned by Marie Émilie Fayolle and Henry Rawlinson. )
3. While the French deployed 1,200,000 men in La Somme, they also fielded 1,750,000 men in Verdun and many other front lines
Wasn't they mobilized 48?
@@AFT_05G
48 or 59, who cares? The fact is that there were as many French as British during this battle, while British believe it was only British vs Gemans.
@@napoleonbonaparte9166 While it is true that there were nearly the same number of british and french soldiers in the battle, it was the british divisions who did most of the offensives, the french were in the southern sector for the entirety of the battle.
@@jonataspereira1691
The French had a large part of their army fighting the battle of Verdun at the same time. Yet France still lost more than 200.000 men at the Somme so I wouldn't say the French did nothing at the Somme.
@@napoleonbonaparte9166 When did the word "most" start meaning "all"?
My Great Great Grandad Herbert Pugh died in the Somme and he left behind a wife and 6 children. His name is on the Menin Gate in Belgium, this pointless war took so many lives. RIP to all the fallen angels and heroes ❤️🙏❤️
My great grandad was killed in the last 2 weeks of the war 😭
Damn
Rest in peace
the average life spam, of a ww1 soldier, is sadly only 4 weeks. meaning, only 42 days.
@@Y_ooKang do you really think that 42 days is 4 weeks?
I don’t think you got the correct emote lol
I am from Belgium.. and believe me these men were al heroes!! Every year we go pay there honor 🎖 and lay flowers it's insane that so many people died for nothing.. r.i.p to those brave men ❤
As someone from the UK, i would like to thank you very sincerely for keeping their memory alive
I see no mentions of Thomas Shelby and hence conclude that the documentary is inaccurate.
By order of the peaky blinders
There is no mentions about Prussian Cavalry either ;-)
4:27 kinda. Not by name but by duty.
@@petematerazzi01 haha
That's what I'm here for...
Just watched it . Excellent. Wish it was longer and more detailed. My grandfather somehow survived in the 36th Ulsters.
My great uncle didn't
if you want longer and more detailed videos check out the channel The Great War. they did more than a video a weak for four years following WWI as it happened 100 years ago on the day. so every video marked the 100 year anniversary of the event they were covering. it's an amazing achievement and an even greater over achievement. they have well over a dozen videos covering the somme.
@@dyslexiusmaximus Incredible!
The 36th Ulsters made it quite far on the 1st day of the Somme, but there were no support forthcoming so they stalled directly outside the Schwaben Redoubt
The biggest cannon of the MLE 400mm played a huge part of this battle ---> find the story here:ua-cam.com/video/leqoJy5WujU/v-deo.html
Interesting point to add, In the Beaumont-hamel region, the 1st Newfoundland regiment became the Royal Newfoundland regiment as over the course of this battle, the regiment suffered 80% casualties.
Yes it’s an incredible
story!
Bruh
The Blue Puttees.
The battlefield is still 'intact', you can walk in the trenches and visit the giant crater made when the mine detonated. Very sobering but fascinating.
“That night, as we scrambled through mud and broken metal in another futile attack, I began to wonder: were we the children stolen from their parents by The Piper’s tune? Or were we the rats that were led to the river and drowned because they ate too much of the wealthy’s grain?”
B -
Here I sit so broken hearted. I tried to shit....... Nay only Farted.
I always love Epic History's history videos. This " battle of the Somme" also has the finest quality and is easy to understand and even touching. The British-English-narrator's rather emotional voice made me about to cry when British new recruits bravely advanced toward the German line equipped by machine guns. May soldiers' souls rest peacefully there. I pray for them from faraway Japan.
sadly you are more respectful than most westerns here. glad to see others respect warriors from different countries
British guys don't know how to fight on fields. THey always had an excellent navy, but on field they are poors...
Amazigh Blue Azul - Anti Mafia - Anti ANPD
Beat you frogs many times though
@@freewal
.....Agincourt and Crecy mean anything to you^^......
Dark Star yeah you have to go back for 5 centuries to find something ... far from modern era combat... i respect the Royal Navy... not the Royal Army.
Wow. This was incredible. I don't think I've ever learned more in my life! Thanks for such an easy-to-listen-to, well explained video!
Thank you! Do please share if you think it's useful!
Epic History TV
I will!
DemonGod
DemonGod
I know right? I know more of ww1 from Indy and the gang and this history channel then anything I learned form school:
My great grandfather was a quarter master in the 36th Royal Ulster Division. He fought and lived all 4 years - and was at the Somme and Ypres. At the time, British command kept strict stock of supplies. Apparently, when a machine gun lost a small component, like a spring, they would write the whole thing off as ' Lost in Action ' - saving regular troops from disciplinary action. He then met my great grandmother in a Belgium household he was lodged at. We have a medal of his from where he stopped a German night raid. Cool guy !
those poor soldiers, probably scared shitless but putting on a brave face for the cameras
Plus, the trench foot sucked.
There is a saying:
Bravely is not about not being scared.
Its about being scared,but still going foward.
@@DexterHaven not much about by 1916
In honor of the 100 year anniversary. My great grand uncle died at the Somme...
His name was Santiago Jimenez and he fought for the French Foreign Legion, he was 19 years old. Supposedly all the officers had died on the field that day and there was an order on the field to retreat, however he assumed command and told his troops to push forward and take the river and they actually won the day- but he was killed in the process… The family took it very hard when they found out he was not coming home.
how you look like an arab damn
You're a arab. How your great grand father could die in tye battle of the Somme located in northern France. It's a pure European conflict. At this Time there was no arab in Europe.
You're a liar don't create yourself a fake life
@@gutsjoestar7450 Adoption, a British parent and a parent of another nationality, Arab descended, the great grand uncle in question was an immigrant or the descendant of an immigrant because they fought in the war as well. They could still be lying but there's no need to jump to conclusions when there are a lot more possibilities that are just as likely.
@@gutsjoestar7450 Idiot
@@gutsjoestar7450 How is this relevant, mate?
I couldn't imagine being a soldier at the Somme KNOWING you're going to get killed, but going over the top anyways. But I guess that is something every soldier struggles with to some degree
On this day in 1916, Harry Butters, an American soldier serving in the British army during World War I, is killed by a German shell during the Battle of the Somme, while fighting to secure the town of Guillemont, France.
Americans only joined ww1 late 1917 they did nothing to defeat us
@@lastprussian71 Ever heard of Bellau Wood? Or do you just choose to ignore that blatant ass whooping?
@@lastprussian71 But individuals from other nations could join the British Army as Recon Smith said in his remarks.
@@lastprussian71 The American contribution in money and materiel was massive, and the attacks in 1918 did much to help the Entente destroy Germany's ability to fight. In 1917 the army was still organising, but did assist.
Thank god we managed to find an american angle to this.
1:13 Luxembourg be like:"Its ok, we're used to being ignored."
So many young fathers, brothers and sons, gone, taken from their loved ones just like that in a single day.
I hope you enjoy the WW1 series. Help me to make more history videos and pick future topics by supporting Epic History TV at Patreon www.patreon.com/epichistorytv
Was sent here by The Great War and now I am a new and happy subscriber.
Great to hear, thank you!
Epic History TV Great video! Keep up the good work.
This narrator is awesome.
No
@5:23, 1.6 million shells are fired pre attack. That’s just unbelievable.
A haunting reminder of the sacrifices made on the blood-soaked fields of the Somme. We must never forget the bravery and resilience of those who fought.
My great uncle was killed at the Somme age just 20. I am in the middle of finding out all of the details about him. I have even found out how tall he was and what he weighed! It’s very emotional finding out all of this about a family member and what they went through for king and country, and even more sad an upsetting when you know that they haven’t even got a marked grave. Just their name on a memorial 😢😢😭
Don´t forgot all the Germans that lost their lives too! How were the Germans that lost their lives any different from the allies? They were just fighting for king & country too. The German war graves do exist in Belgium but for some reason are forgotton, there is no reason why they should be.
@@Westhamsterdamsure, it's easy to say that now, but the Germans were the aggressors and France in particular felt extremely bitter about it what happened. Hence the Treaty of Versailles.
@@ZolaMagic25 no the germans weren't the aggressors grab a history book ffs...
@@nnass262ermany just wanted everyone’s land, this is not bias, it is just facts. The war was started because of the killing of the Archduke of Austria-Hungary, Germany took advantage of Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia to take over everyone’s stuff. Hence, the Brits needing to join to protect the French because of the Germans threatening them. Then the US had to join because the Germans were sinking American civilian ships and also because of the Zimmerman Telegram. Quite a bit of what happened here were because of the Germans interfering, could have just been a war between Austria-Hungary and Serbia with Austria-Hungary having German help.
@@nnass262 *Yes they were they marched into Belgium a Neutral Country !*
Watching this, processing everything and trying to imagine what this must have been like for the soldiers is horrifying.
So many die for so little advancement. These men are true heroes and should be recognized as such
Very brave men, British and French brothers in arms but i wonder just why today there always seems to be bad feeling between us, maybe we should all be made to watch this from school.
Never forget.....
As a French, I have nothing but respect for British history, and I can assure you that among the youth there’s nothing but love for the UK here, really
I think it's just teasing each other. Like two brothers who will fight for each other but also give each other a bit of banter lol.
They were brave on all sides German soldiers too.
The French and British had been killing each other for centuries before this happened so that's probably got something to do with it!
@@thomascatty379 That warms my heart. There's always banter against the French from our side, but for me that's natural (my French teacher once said that on xbox live french people call English "roast beefs", which is hilarious, so i hope the banter is mutual), but overall there was a massive outpouring of grief over the terror attacks in France this past decade. I fear that bad feeling is being stoked on both sides due to brexit battles of fish and stuff, with both sets of politicians needing to be seen to "win", but ultimately we have to be on the same side. We are Europe's military defenders against Russia
Homing Pigeons are amazing. My Dad flew them in races growing up. I once saw one come home with a bullet hole clear through her. Some Halfwit Turd shot her, but she had a warrior's heart. To this day, I wish I could tell the Zero who shot her that not only did she make it home, she thrived, and went on to raise healthy chicks after she recovered. ❤💪
I am always grateful for the life I was given. Nothing is more humbling than seeing what these men went through.
One of my relatives, Private Luke Ernest Moss of the 1st Btn Somerset Light Infantry was one of those who died on the first day of the battle of the Somme, 1st July 1916. R.I.P.
The detailed perspectives of this documentary are worthy of recognition; I have found in my experiences that when analyzing instances of catastrophe that occur in repetition over the course of human history, it proves difficult to comprehend the causes and effects of an event as well as the emotional appeal that follows. Too often in the study of military history do we underestimate the sacrifice of innocent men and women whose deaths are nothing more than numbers rehearsed by school children. Thank you Epic History TV for visualizing the gallantry of the common foot soldier, as they selflessly charged into certain death, only to right the wrongs of international politics.
Thank you Alex.
@@EpichistoryTv yours not to question why, yours but to do and die
EUGENE DEBS
"The long road to victory". In twenty years to be fought all over again.
One side of my ancestors fought in the west - the others in the east during ww1.
Their diaries tell a very different story about the situation in the field and trenches.
*No more wars between brothers.*
tell us more, that sounds interesting
I love me some maps to start off the day.
My great grandfather was there. He died when I was eight years old. He was a genuine hero to me as I grew up
Wow, what a fantastic video. I just finished reading the book 'Somme' by Lyn Macdonald, which features lots of text descriptions of the battle but few maps that show the whole picture. Your video was incredibly helpful for getting a sense of the scale and layout of the trenches, and it was great to see you include lots of the small details that explain the nuances of the trench warfare faced by the men. Your videos are so well made, please keep them up!
Thank you! That's a great book, I recommend going on to finish the series.
+Epic History TV ahh, where is the Russian version of "The Battle of Waterloo", i want to show that video in my class ( i learn in a Russian school ) .
ua-cam.com/video/JIaEpge1AY4/v-deo.html
Epic History TV thank yoi
Epic History TV how to find it on youtube?
btw! those that are here because of battle field 1, i dont know why.
the game is going to be nothing like the actual world war one, most of the war were fought in trenches and tanks barly even worked.
from the look of the game it just looks like another version of battle field expept with older guns and veicles, u should not expect the game to be anything like world war 1.
game looks good tho.
I am currently on a battlefield tour around Belgium and France. This short video just makes it alot clearer.. looking forward to the remainder of the tour. Many thanks :)
I must say, I do not regret a second for the support I give to this channel. Superb job once again.
Thank you!
The graphics are a model of clarity and the commentary is admirably concise. Well done, indeed.
My great great uncle somehow survived the somme as he was royal field artilary, unfortunately he died during the battle of aras less than a year later. Rip to all those killed on both sides, such a un needed waste of life.
More men survived the Somme than were killed as with every other battle. In the war 12 percent of the Allied British troops died in the war. Also c75 per cent of troops on the Somme came out without a scratch.
I appreciate videos such as these far more than many contemporary videos and youtubers. I'm learning lots more and I'm not subject to a sassy or smart-ass commentator: which I greatly admire. Thank you for your content! I implore you to upload more!! :)
6:06 I remember one of the regiments to storm the Hawthorn Redoubt on the 1st day was the Newfoundland Regiment, 800 men participated in the attack, only 68 were left the next day. The Newfoundlands suffered the 2nd worst battalion casualties on that day, only surpassed in casualties by the 10th Battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment, with only 67 of the men remaining from the attack on Fricourt
To creator(s): Sir, I wish you a long and productive life. Outstanding quality videos. Perfect mix of key points, visuals, audio and narration. Thank you.
I would really love to see one of these for Passchendaele.
Might well happen next year for the anniversary.
Splendid idea!
There's a great Canadian movie, made by Paul Gross, on Passchendale.
My mother lost three uncles at the Somme before she was born. Her father was youngest of 13 and was in active service throughout WW1 but survived. He remained a private all through the war in order to be less attractive to snipers. One result of the casualty levels of WW1 was it left openings for survivors to get work and careers for which there would never have been openings if so many had not died. Grandpa went on to escape from his expected life of heavy labouring and became Deputy Chief Constable in Liverpool. He re-enlisted in WW2 during which he was a colonel in Military Police and was a senior figure in immediate post D-Day establishment of civil order in France
My grand-father was there with the 26 Battalion New Brunswick Canada. Ironically, he was born in Birmingham UK in 1892 and was exported to Canada in 1901 with his little sister and brother because they were orphans. This disturbing chapter is known in history as the "British Home Children". For over 70 years, the Brits exported their orphans to both Canada and Australia. Many were very badly abused, split up forever and had horrible lives until the practice was banned. The Canadian government refuses or apologize because it was England's fault, they claim. My grandfather ran away from his abuser and joined the Canadian Expeditionary which sailed to England in June, 1915. He was wounded in Ypres and stayed over there until 6 months after the war. He did it all over again WW2 and lived until 1964. He was a grumpy and tough, but I respect the anguish he went through by such an unapologetic Canadian government he sacrificed for. Had a bullet gone a little higher, I would not even be writing this.
My great grandfather Wolfgang Hempfling fought in this battle when he was 23, as well as Pashendale, the battle of the frontiers, the race to the sea, the second battle of aisne, the 100 days offensive and the Romanian campaign. He was in the second Bavarian Ersatz battalion. I really cant believe he survived all of that. Allies rated the Bavarian Ersatz as a 3rd class division.
My great grandfather Richard Murphy died on the day of my grandfather's birth 31/05/1916 aboard HMS Indefatigable at the Battle of Jutland which sank leaving only 2 survivors out of a crew of over 1000.
Contrary to popular belief, the Royal Navy took a heavy beating from the Kaiserliche Marine at Jutland but the skill of the German sailors that day wasn't properly recognised for many years. As the old saying goes, history gets written by the winners.
Taking a history class in German I love how vids like this add to my understanding. It’s also crazy to think the casualties in one day!
Undoubtedly one of the best explanations of the war. The use of maps is extremely helpful in understanding the strategic details of the war. Excellent work......
my school teacher sent me this vid and this has helped me extremely well with my work thank you "Epic History TV"
While it is true that the BEF was growing bigger and bigger during the war, taking more and more the burden of the war from the French shoulders on the Western Front : The French always remained, by a large margin, the most modern and the biggest Army on the Western Front. The French had 2,800,000 men on the Western Front in January 1917 in 106 Divisions. In March 1918, the French had 2,260,000 men on the Western Front in 98 Divisions. The sixth French Army was in Italy before going back to France when the German Spring Offensive began. The French Army could count on 40,000 French reinforcement taken from the French industry, 60,000 colonial troops, and 500,000 new servant reaching the age to serve in 1918. For the 100 Days Offensive, the French on the Western Front comprised 2,560,000 troops, the remained the biggest allied Army of the Front until 11 November 1918. The 11 st of November, the French Army comprised 2,680,000 troops while the BEF comprised 1,700,000 troops on the Western Front.
The French Army was not only present in France or on the Western Front but also in Italy and especially in the Balkanz Front in relevant numbers. They were present in Africa and in Turkey, but in a much more tinier numbers. About 3,000 French were in Turkey to fight alonside the British in Turkey while the British had around 200,000 troops in 1918 to defeat the Ottoman in Palestine.
If we count all the French troops across the World, the French Army represented about 3,000,000 troops in 120 Divisions and the French Army reached its peak in numbers already in 1916 (2,960,000 troops by the beginning of 1916). The BEF maximum size was 2,060,000 troops across the world, in 80 Divisions. If we compare these figures, the French, on the Western Front, while they were suffering their biggest manpower shortage in March 1918 with only 2,260,000 troops available, they had in fact more troops that all the British troops across the World. So the French burden of war, solely on the Western Front was greater than the British War effort across the world, in all the fronts they were fighting. Putting France, without a doubt, as the main contributor of the Central defeat.
The French were the primary force on the Western Front by a large Margin, with their 100 Divisions while the BEF only represented 58 Divisions. But the French were also the primary force on the Balkanz Front, a front pretty important, much more important than the African Front or the Turkish Front. When the Russians Front collapsed, the Balkanz Front was the third more important front of the war. So, the presence of 220,000 French troops in the Balkanz, alonside the 140,000 Serbian, 139,000 British, the 120,000 Greeks and 40,000 Italians was very important to holf off the Austrian and the Bulgarian. And also, to pierce the Front in late september with the help of the Serbian, that decisively defeated the Bulgarian ans Autria-Hungary (Vardar Offensive).
A myth says the French couldn't continue the war anymore due to mutinies and manpower shortage. If it is true that the French suffered 800,000 casualties in 1914, 1,350,000 in 1915, 1,000,000 in 1916, and 500,000 in 1917, this attrition isn't the only reason of the manpower shortage in 1918. The true reason is the modernity of the French Army, trying to adapt more and more to the modern warfare relying in the extensive use of Heavy Weapon such as Tanks, Planes, Artillery, Armored-Cars ... that required a lot of industry output. The French had to feed first their industry with the manpower available before feeding their infantry units. The French had 2,000,000 Workers in the industry, working to produce the weapons that would put an end of WW1. The mutinies that happened in May 1917 is a phenomenon exploited by the British propaganda. The mutinies that occured in 38 Divisions represented only 40,000 to 78,000 soldiers at best out of 2,700,000 soldiers. Representing in the higher estimation, 3 % of the army. The Divisions suffering the mutinies could be ranked by the severity of the mutinies suffering. After studies, only 3 Divisions were suffering very great level of mutinies, while a third of it sufferd medium mutinies and the rest light mutinies. By October 1917, the mutinies belong to History since the French regained confidence on their General Petain by obtaining a quick and impressive victory at the Malmaison, that showed, the most accomplished experimental try of the Combined Arms Warfare Doctrine theorized by Petain in June 1917, relying and replacing infantry by a massive use of massive weapon such as tank, planes, artillery, working in close coordination. The French took, in 7 days, more ground that the British during Pashendale, suffered only 14,000 casualties while inflicting 50,000 casualties to the Germans. They lost only 6 tanks.
To put in perspective the difference of strenght between the French Army and the BEF:
French Army (Western Front) :
August 1914 : 76 Infantry divisions (1.700.000 troops), 3.800 guns
Mars 1915 : 90 divisions (2.250.000 troops)
Beginning of 1916 : 116 divisions (2.800.000 troops), 6.000 lights guns and 4.000 heavy guns
Beginning of 1917 : 116 divisions (2.700.000 troops)
Second half of 1917 : 108 divisions (2.500.000 troops)
Mars 1918 : 99 divisions (2.260.000 troops), ~5.000 guns, 6.000 heavy guns
Late 1918 : 100-110 divisions, (2.560.000-2.680.000 troops), 5.600 heavy guns.
BEF (Western Front):
August 1914 : 6 1/2 divisions (80-120k), 350 guns
April 1915 : 450.000 troops in 16 divisions, 800 guns
July 1916: 42 divisions (1.200.000 divisions)
1917 : 60 divisions, 1.500.000 troops
Beginning of 1918 : 1.200.000 troops
Late 1918 : 1.700.000 troops (4400 light guns and 2.200 heavy guns)
If we make a short analysis, we can see that the French by 1916, already have a much larger heavy artillery force.
British historiography tend to forget this kind of things... The numbers speak loudly: the somme British massacre is a case of military incompetence
It's weird to say France didn't suffer from manpower during WW1 as Germans occupied a few million French during the war,this dropped the population to about 35-36 million,against 67-68 million Germans.During the war,max strength of the French Army excluding colonial troops was about 117 divisions including 12 cavalry divisions,2.8-3 million men and just under 11,000 artillery pieces,max strength of the German Army was 251 divisions during June/July 1918,5-5.2 million men and 24,000 artillery pieces of all calibres though about 4 million German soldiers were on Western Front with 18,000 artillery pieces.
Even though they had the largest Allied Army on Western Front it's clear that without BEF and American Armies they didn't stand much of a chance against Germans on their own let's be honest.
@@AFT_05G
In 1918, the French army may have been numerically weaker than the German army, but they had thousands of tanks compared to Germany's two dozens, they had 50% more aircraft, 88,000 trucks compared to Germany's 44,000, 12,000 artillery pieces which were far more mobile than Germany's. Actually each French gun fired on average twice more shells than each German gun in 1918. Close to half the French army were artillerymen. The Germans failed to modernise.
@@lahire4943 The Germans failure to modernize was also largely due to the fact they were completely unable to obtain necessary resources to do so due to blockades by the British navy, so, there are lots of factors that play into these things.
@@harrisonfry128
It was most and foremost a problem of doctrine. In 1918, German doctrine was still to concentrate fire on a single point before trying to breakthrough, something very predictable.
If the Germans had no tanks in 1918, it's not due to the blockade, it's just that they didn't see it coming.
Much respect for WW1 soldiers... in both sides.
Need to have MASSIVE balls to go over the top.
My Great Uncle Cpl. Robert Richard Roberts of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers died at the Somme. A letter from the Government following his death reads "He whom this scroll commemorates was numbered among those who, at the call of King and Country, left all that was dear to them, endured hardness, faced danger, and finally passed out of the sight of men by the path of duty and self-sacrifice, giving up their own lives so that others may live in freedom. Let those who come after see to it that his name be not forgotten"
Such brave solders we owe such a lot to their courage and memory.
Epic History TV is one of the best war documentaries I've gone through! Pls make some about the world war 2!
Thanks Hussain! Hope to do WW2 in the future.
My interest in this particular battle was peaked by Sabaton’s cover of 1916. It’s hard to believe what they placed during the credits of the song which reads “The British Army suffered 57,470 casualties to gain just 3 miles of territory. One man was killed every 4.4 seconds in the largest loss of life suffered by the Army in a single day.” They then quoted Lemmy Kilmister, who was part of the band who made the original song, Motörhead. Kilmister’s quote reads, “19,00 Englishmen were killed before noon, a whole generation destroyed, in three hours. Entire towns in northern Lancashire and South Yorkshire had an whole generation of men completely wiped out.” I feel as though the next statement given, which reads “By the end of the battle, casualties from both sides topped 1 million with more than 300,00 killed for 6 miles of ground.”
It’s hard to fathom the number of losses and how many families were torn apart for 6 miles. For me and I’m sure many others, it’s much harder to stomach those numbers
Here’s the link to Sabaton’s cover - ua-cam.com/video/HgGhhnQB1gw/v-deo.html
One of my great uncles Tomas H. Mapley died on the 7th of July at the Somme alongside his comrades of the 7th Battalion of Bedfordshire regiment somewhere in a wooded area, his body was never recovered and he is listed on the Thiepval Memorial to the missing... His older brother George died a year later at Passiondale.
RIP Thomas and George Mapley, still not forgotten
Together brothers 🇫🇷🇬🇧
I hope you're enjoying the victory
Today we are all brothers🇨🇵🇩🇪🇬🇧
Ha bon ? On est frère maintenant ? Pour un temps seulement, et ils finiront par nous déclarer la guerre comme toujours
Vive la Belgique / lang leven belgië
alone but still the strongest🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪🇩🇪
The fact we sent Pals battalions, friends who wanted to enlist together and had little to no experience of warfare into the Somme, to watch the deaths of those closest to them. Lest we forget, these men are 10x the men we are today.
Going from your series on the massive Napoleonic Wars to this monstrosity really highlights how much greater and terrifying this war was.
the Great War Channel brought me here. I really like your video about the Somme
Same for me.
Me as well
100 years!
Take stock of what you have to be thankful for.
My great grandfather fought for canada in this battle, and was injured, for the second time, after artillery found his platoons location. He barely survived, saved by the the cover of his fallen brothers after they fell on top of him in the crater. “. My first thought was the certain knowledge that I was dead, also that I was glad of it. “ he wrote, telling his mother of when he awoke after the bombardment.
I never had the honor of meeting the man, but thankfully he was a gifted writer. The picture he paints of this battle is beyond comprehension.
These videos are so well done. I really appreciate the action maps, they really make the whole thing so understandable. Thank you. Vietnam veteran.
Fortunately there was no shortage of completely pointless wars meaning there should be great content on this channel for years to come!
It does depend on how one defines, "completely pointless".
Respect from Germany to
British French German all who fell
DONT SUPPOT FRENCH. The english supported france because france owned 2/3 of africa. There they have introduced something later to be known as "white supremacy". That means that a large population being governed in a so called "Colony" enjoys less rights than actual civilians and contribute to the french economy by costing less money and not being given humane rights. All that was dependend on the SKIN COLOUR. A german occupation might have resulted in french break away colonies which could also have resulted in other colonies (like british colonies) to do the same
@@ishouldbestudyingrightnow5368 Germans also had colonies 😐
Just in time for the 100th anniversary.
Today
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
Perfect quote for such a battle
The Northern failure: Artillery didn't cut the barbed wire at all or hardly in most places. The British in Northern Sector were attacking up-hill...... Meaning the spotters for the Artillery couldn't see what was hit or missed and couldn't adjust the fire. THE HAWTHORN MINE was detonated at 7:20A.M., a full ten minutes before the Brits went over the top. Gave Germans time to set up and wait for them. Misconception about the range of Machine Guns as well. People mistake and think that troops walk into machine gun range..... but they are under the range in the trenches. Most don't have a clue where fire is coming from and are killed without ever seeing a German or a muzzle flash. That Sunken Lane Picture gets me everytime. Every single one died.
How can you have production quality as high as you do, and not have the subs you deserve o-o
I will have to share your channel vigorously, because man.. This is seriously some of the best content on UA-cam.
Thanks Ike, it's still a relatively new channel I guess, and not that many videos as they take a while to make. I need all the help I can get, so I'd be really grateful if you shared it as widely as possible!
my great grandfather fought in this battle as a british troop he had a diary and my grandpa told me everything that said in it and the stories that he told him they were horrible it was a slaughter he lost a lot of friends a shell landed right on top of him while he was running toward the german trenches he survived lost his legs a few days later died of infection to his wound and then my grandpa fought in ww2 he served through out the entire war and made out alive he also told me his stories almost the same as my great grandfathers just more brutal the worst estorbe was d day it was carnage he was part of the first wave they were dropping like birds he said couldn't even get out of the landing craft then my dad iraq war first and second battle of fallujah he later got wounded in there a machine gun teared his legs he lost both of them. great grandfather british army,granpa royal marines, dad us marine corps
btw my grandparents and my great grandpa's are from my moms side she is british and my dad is from my other grandparents who are american
WHAY WAR? I M FROM BALKANS, BOSNIA. SAD. 😢😢😢
And then you have Verdun going on at the same time. Absolutely hell
I'm British and I give full respect to the Jerries for fighting very hard and defending their lines against the odds. And respect my ancestors and the French for fighting bravely. 🇬🇧🇩🇪
Unfortunately we no longer rule the waves, but one day we will again
Land in Europe: I"LL GIVE 1 MILLION MEN FOR 10 MILES.
Land in North America: ...
But you won't get ten miles in a million years....
And South America. 60% of Argentina has Italian DNA. All the countries around Argentina like Uruguay and Paraguay are pretty European. Paraguay lost almost all of its male population in a war so they invited any Europeans to move there. The Inca only got there 50 years before the Spanish/ Portugal and there were only a few hunter/ gathers in that area but it made for great farm and ranch land for Europeans. The Welsh have settlements in southern Argentina and there are other of other people. The countries that include the andes from Venezuela to Chile are much more native American mixed with Chinese and Philippines male worker that moved in around 1900. It was crazy as I traveled from Ecuador to Chile with short very brown people then took a bus ride from Santiago Chile to Mendoza Argentina how much the people changed. So did the Spanish. Castilian Spanish got me by until Argentina Uruguay and Paraguay were it was much more like catalan, the language of Barcelona and the Pyrenees mountains but was spoken in Italy and still is on some of there islands. Remember most Europeans speak a language of the old kingdoms or a regional dialect they live in first then a national language. Good morning east of the andes is bon dia like catalan.
This man should have narrated the battlefield 1 campaigns situations
One of the reasons why they 'walked' is because of all the kit they were carrying in the anticipation of a breakthrough. I have a quote somewhere that details the exact amount and weight of kit the British soldiers were carrying which was more than the usual combat load, so they couldn't run much without becoming fatigued quickly
Had nonstop goosebumps as watching video. Glad that TGW channel sent me here.
My great grandfather was in the 36th Ulster that day. Miraculously, he lived through it. Not many men of the 36th lived to tell the tale.
A good and objective view of the the battle of the Somme
slaughter on an industrial scale.
I love your guys' videos! I took a World at War class at my school this past semester, and your video on the Battle of Waterloo and this video really helped me understand the battles' timelines much more thoroughly! I honestly don't think I'd have aced those tests without you. So from the bottom of my heart, thanks!
Thank you Corey, great to hear!
RIP
To the 95,675 British troops, 50,729 French troops, and 164,055 Imperial German troops who were killed in the Battle of the Somme
I like that you’ve given French troops their due, because they are often omitted in British literature on the Somme. That said, you repeat the ‘Bloody victory’ myth that is so popular among current British historians. Yes, the Somme was also meant as a relieve attack for the French at Verdun. But the original aim, a breaktrough, was never abandoned. Your maps even indicate so. The Somme was a failed breakthrough just like the German attack on Verdun. Where the German high command tried to conceal that with the ‘bleed the enemy white’ myth, the Somme was rebranded as bloody victory by British historians decades after the fact.
Indeed at the end of the day a lot of fighting became too brutal and futile on both sides
The Somme battle weighs heavy on our hearts. The disaster that cost a whole generation of young men. We don't omit French involvement, that's a lie, we working class Brits often feel dizzy when this particular battle is mentioned.
No one won the "war to end all war".
Not quite. Falkenhayn's initial plan with Verdun had been exactly as stated, which was the reason a historic strongpoint like Verdun had been chosen for attack. The reason the battle played out like a failed breakthrough attempt had more to do with Falkenhayn's subordinates, owing to his demand for secrecy revolving about the plans.
Actually it's the other way around... The Somme was seen as a victory at the time, which it ultimately was despite a breakthrough not being achieved. Decades later it was regarded as an unnecessary loss of life and some of the darkest days in the history of the British Army.
My great grandfather, private Frank Elswood, died on day one. I hate thinking about how he might have died, probably at the hands of a machine gunners. But his sacrifice, though a drop in an ocean, means something to me.
He wont be forgotten ❤