We hope you enjoy the latest episode in our Napoleonic Wars series. There was so much to talk about before we even got to the Battle of Borodino, that the build up and invasion became its own episode. Special thanks to Alexander Averyanov for kind permission to use his paintings 'Battle of Smolensk' and 'Bivouac'. We'll be back with an episode on Borodino next month. Vive l'Empereur and Ура́!
Not covering everything about the Russian invasion is fine. Because in the end, we all know no one can invade Russia during winter. Unless your, wait for it........ *The Mongols!*
I didn't even realize when the video ended i was so focused on the script that i lost track of time, one of your best videos (if not the best) you ever made, can't wait for the battle of Borodino
Napoleon's seemingly endless ambition was his greatest strength but also his greatest weakness. The conflict with Russia could've been avoided and if there was still going to be war between France and Russia he should've let the Russians come to him and defeated them at home turf. He was just way out of his depths on this one, as Charles XII of Sweden before him and Adolf Hitler after him.
It is a very bad idea, in a Metternich biography book I read that Stein foreign minister of Prussia and Metternich from Austria were already ploting to seize the right moment to backstab Napoleon and it would have been easier to betray him Inside the grand empire than outside. Stein was a fool, always ready to attack rather than Metternich asked to wait, to wait Napoleon's mistake. Leipzig will be the trap.
Napoleon was waiting for precisely that. In the lead up to the invasion, Napoleon wrote letters proclaiming he was waiting for Barclay to get closer before going around and crushing him. He was even reading about Charles XII's failed invasion just before. But Barclay didn't cooperate. And for whatever reason, Napoleon pursued further and further eastward, and, somewhere along the line, he decided he was too committed to turn back without bringing the Russian army to battle.
Technically it was Russia who started war, emperor was bribed by the Brits and formed alliance with them and prussians against Napoleon, but when Napoleon moved his armies to the East, prussians were too afraid to start a campain. They joined russians only in 1813 and suffered a number of defeats until Austria also turned to their side it was a stalemate with Napoleon (russian army suffered the same as french in 1812 was unable to continue war by itself)
I've seen this idea before. Rests on geographical determinism. I wouldn't say the influence is great--more like interesting in a way that shows how people used to think.
I've read so much about this period in history, but somehow I was nearly breathless during the whole video! Your attention to details (logistics, epidemics, morale) is mesmerising. When my kids grow up old enough to learn about this part of history, I will definitely point them to this video. P.S. As a native Russian speaker, I just wanted to point out that in 'Borodino', the last vowel sounds the strongest (borodinO). Keep up the amazing work - your videos are priceless!
Yep! I'm subscribed to all the best history channels on youtube and Epic History TV hands down takes #1. Their content is even better than the ones produced by history TV networks like the history channel. Great stuff! The 2nd place probably goes to Kings and generals. A slightly lower quality work but they make up for it with quantity. History Marche probably makes the best animated battles. They tend to simplify things a *lot* and skips over some important details though. While Bazbattles is somewhere between the two. There's also Invicta which makes the *most* educational history content on youtube(imo) when it comes to info per minute. And I think I have to mention the legend himself Historia Civilis. I just can't live without my little red squares. And there are also great dudes like History Time, Historicat and Epimetheus if you love just *listening* to history.
This is a brilliant channel to learn about the Napoleonic wars. It’s my favourite now. I also love the fact you add quotes of Napoleon before moving on. Thank you
AMAZING!!! Never made easy raptures, but this is an absolute triumph of documentary genre! A total masterpiece of aesthetics, dramaturgy, accurate and balanced event combinatorics! For this you must be awarded a doctorate and professorship! This video will remain for decades as best pattern of Napoleonic and historical videos!
Your documentary series on Napoleon is the best there ever was on the topic, the level of professionalism behind this is stunning, not a single second is wasted, the music, the animations, the script, the research, this is simply the highest quality video series I’ve ever seen on UA-cam or even TV itself. Thank you, deeply, for your work.
Actually, they weren't. The French army underwent terrific attrition since 1805. And some soldiers simply went home. he quality of the cavalry was not what it used to be. As the years wore on, Napoleon kept increasing the size of the cavalry in order to compensate for the lack of power and finesse the French cavalry used to possess.
The increase of artillery wasn't really unjustified. At the Battle of Wagram, thousands of troops were mowed down by artillery alone. The finesse of the French cavalry wasn't really ever overwhelming; the French doctrine of massing the cavalry into large, dense formations was a large reason for their successes; it was often considered that the French had quite bad horsemanship in comparison to other nations. It wasn't really the finesse of the French cavalry that was lost, but the number of available horses and men trained to ride them.
@@revanofkorriban1505 And then was the issue of failure to switch from summer shoes later on, leading to large number of broken legs (and a sudden increase of meat in soldiers' diet). Does not speak well of quality of your cavalry, when such basic issues are overlooked, even if campaign was indeed unexpectedly prolonged.
Out of 60 total battles, he only lost 7. What a stellar record and one that has put his legendary name into the history books as one of the most capable and efficient military tacticians of all time! From Austerlitz to Jena to Friedland he proved himself again and again as one of the best military commanders in history! From a strictly military view, I truly admire and respect Napoleon.
Suvorov did not lose a single one. He kicked the ass of Napoleon’s army before he attacked Russia. He dreamed of capturing Paris, but died, he was an old man.
@@fredbarker9201 no. It was Napoleon who never fought Suvorov. Napoleon lost to Suvorov's students during his campaign against Moscow. Napoleon is great because he was a great politician too. But his military abilities, although they were fantastic, were inferior in genius to Suvorov. But Suvorov did not combine the talents of a politician. He could only destroy the armies of enemies.
@@fredbarker9201 When someone loses to the Russians, they are always justified by the climate. The Germans think so too. But then either Napoleon was a fool, or the Russians had antifreeze instead of blood and the climate had no effect on them. You are a victim of Russophobic propaganda. Russians can never win honestly, they are helped either by doping or by the climate. Nothing has changed since the days of Napoleon. Europe is sick with Russophobia, therefore, it always starts a war against the Russians and loses.
Actually while Russia was safe on flank from Turks it had to fight Iran/Persia. Since Russia became Napoleon's ally, in June of 1812 Britain send over 30 000 muskets, 12 cannons and 350 military officers to Persia for free and payed them to fight Russia. When Napoleon invaded Russia, massive Persian army of something like 30 000 men attacked Russian territories south to Caucasus mountains (modern Azerbaijan). Russia had few soldiers left in that region and the only major force led by general Pyotr Kotlyarevsky had 2200 soldiers. In autumn of 1812 this general led his squad to attack camp of main Persian force (20-30 thousand people) capturing mountain near the camp and forcing Persians to retreat. He pursued them and at the next night divided his force into three parts to semicircle the new Persian camp at night. Two parts charged it with bayonets from front and flank which caused great panic and the third part blocked and attacked fleeing enemies from the rear. In these 2 attacks (but mostly in second) Kotlyarevsky managed to kill around 10 000 Persian soldiers (and some of 30 British officers who still stayed after Britain tried to stop Persians from attacking Russia which was now fighting against Napoleon) and take 500 prisoners. Later in January of 1813 he besieged a strong fortress of Lenkoran guarded by 4000 Persians with just 1700 soldiers. Seeing that cannons won't damage it anywhere soon and that garrison will not surrender right away he ordered to assault it emphasizing that there will be no order of retreat and they should either take the fortress or all die trying. The Russian squad lost two thirds of it's strength as dead or wounded but wiped out the enemy garrison completely (since they denied a surrender offer and it would be too hard to keep an eye over so many POWs) and took this fortress forcing Persia to sign a peace treaty. So an insanely badass general won against all odds a war in which Russian force could only hope not to be destroyed completely while slowly retreating. He was famous and renowned in his time but was generally obscured in public history overshadowed by events of the Patriotic war of 1812. When leading assault on Lankoran fortress he was wounded badly and could not serve in army anymore being crippled by his wounds. In 1826 new Russian emperor even offered him to command forces on Caucasus hoping that this famed hero of far smaller and less important war would crush constant rebellions but Kotlyarevsky denied it due to health issues.
Interesting. Why would the Brits sabotage Russia when it was defending against Bonaparte? I imagine they did put that plan in motion before the Franko-Russian relations broke down.
@@saldownik Napoleon made his invasion only in late June of 1812 and support of Persians happened earlier. I guess Russia was seen as Napoleon's ally up until the invasion. It's funny how this sabotaging only gave results after Russia became ally of Britain again.
Well, I wouldn’t consider 30000 men a “huge” army. It’s obvious- at least to me- no army in the world could match Napoleon’s army until they copied his tactics,which are still taught today in every military academy in the known world.
A curious fact associated with the Napoleon's invasion. After that war there appeared a word in the Russian lexicon that is still widely used nowadays - "sharomyzhnik", meaning a bum, a beggar. It is derived from the French "cher ami", as the scattered French army deserters were knocking on the doors in Russian villages begging for food and starting their pleas with the words "cher ami".
@@EpichistoryTv actually, in Russian it writes and sounds almost the same - by'stro, but as in French there is no sound y (ы in Russian) they converted it into the familiar sound i. Good that you know such particulars about the topic you deliver. 👍
About the origin of the word "sharomyzhnik", "shantrapa", "shval" and "shushera" polzam.ru/index.php/istorii/item/720-o-proiskhozhdenii-slov-sharomyzhnik-shantrapa-shval-i-shushera
Russia's educated class and nobility tended to speak French, sometimes better than Russian. Much of Tolstoy's "War and Peace" had French dialogue between characters and at least in the early editions there was no perceived need to translate it into Russian. Ordinary peasants would not have understood French stragglers, however.
Love all the details and carefully selected pictures, enjoyed it so much , a masterpiece! narration by Charles Nove and music/sound selection is wonderful like always. One of the best content on UA-cam!
This video has a genuinely terrifying tone, so different from the others. Throughout the whole video, is just seems as something is off, like it’s a nightmare that keeps getting worse as Napoleon gets deeper and deeper into the abyss.
The cossacks segment literally scares the crap out of me, and I'm a seasoned war history enthusiast. Excellent job describing such a ruthless, efficient part of Russia's 'army'.
Psithyristes napoleon kissing the russian emperor as the russian emperor lifts napoleons hat, a symbol friendship. I guess kissing was seen as normal in royalty back then.
These great European Generals try to fight Russia like any other country the fight with, but they forget that when you invade Russia, you don't only have to fight the russians, you have to fight Russia itself. And she is a fierce mother protecting her children, that's for sure.
@@mariano98ify Yep, we are Europeans. But Russia not a simple european country, its the third Rome, its a heart of the orthodox faith after falling of Constantinople. This country and people living there have their own special atmosphere and spirit. Other European nations are more alike
These episodes are so high in quality you can feel suspension and fear like a great movie. the narrative and soundtracks are awesome. Thank you well done.
The narrator is a true jewel for this channel and you guys at EHTV really made a masterpiece by covering so much material of the napoleonic wars. What s better is that is not over yet :) you are the best I ve seen so far.
Seriously one of the BEST channels on UA-cam. The voice over, the pace, graphics, everything. You guys are doing this perfectly. Please keep this same style forever! So good
Goddamn, the soundtrack during the Cossacks explanation @ 11:50... So damn juicy.. This whole production goes to show you don't need fancy visuals or re-enactments to engage. Just paintings, battle animations, some quotes, a badass narrator, and a killer soundtrack. Bravo on this channel!
This channel is among my absolute favorites! You have managed to capture everything I used to love about The History Channel without all the excess baggage like Pawn Shop or Alien speculation shows. Thank you for the great content!
Fantastic!!!! I've been waiting for this episode. I wish this was available when I was researching the subject, it clarifies much of an amazing piece of history. Can you imagine seeing an army like this moving across the country? Thank you for this quality installment.
@Zach Arbogast I am very well aware of Germany's oil problems. Romanian production was far too low to meet their demands, and they were unable to develop their synthetic refineries to a sufficient level. That said the Germans constantly over extended themselves making a bad situation worse. Even at the battle of Moscow where they had a 2 to 1 advantage in man power, air superiority, and before the onset of winter they failed to break the red army because they failed to consolidate their forces.
@Zach Arbogast Well I would like to state that I never said they would win if they stopped to consolidate their position. The German offensive on Moscow was rushed and cost the German Army vital manpower and equipment. Consolidating their position instead of attacking once the ground froze in November would have left them with almost 170,000 more men. The Germans were going to find themselves on the defensive after Barbarossa and wasteful attacks like the Battle of Moscow and faul blau cost them vital Oil and Manpower they could have used elsewhere. Germany should have focused on trying to shore up its supply lines and just bloodied the Russians. There only hope was to get a negotiated peace and I think they only way they could have done that was by using a defensive posture after the Red Army had the chance to call up reserves and move production east of the Urals.
I find this wars really interesting I had read about the Napoleonic wars but I've never got into detail. Now I want to watch the whole series, thank you so much and greetings from Argentina!
What a fantastic episode, never did I know that Napeleon suffered such horrendeus attrition even before winter. It really showes that war is not only decided on the battlefield but rather on the logistical level. A good quote, "Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics" - Gen. Robert H. Barrow. And I do must say, thank god for channels and historians like you! Who produce such fine historical content like this. Informative, visually pleasing and comprehensive! You have conviced me to support you on patreon, because this is simply great!
@Kürassier1806 *"Did some research but found nothing to it, only that part of rome)"* Your research was surely impressive. Second google result of "ostia church" via private window, the first one via normal search: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramental_bread I hope you didn't exert yourself too much during your research. If you fail to get around mute "h", then arguing about as something non-mainstream nowadays as traditions of royal court and religious symbolism of monarchies is surely going to go _very well_ ... *"this tradition could never had developed."* ...welp, it didn't go well indeed. It didn't have to be developed, because amalgam of related royal tradition has already existed for centuries - and even with an insistence that "I am _totally unlike the old kings, srsly_ " from the man himself it's impossible to see his ceremony divorced from it. *"Charlemagne himself got the crown set up on his head and did not receive such a "ostia" into his mouth."* Quality argument right there. You profess to be oblivious what such thing was, but insist Charlemagne did not receive it. Based on... what? :S Given what it _actually was_ it is more than obvious he did receive it - the only disputable issue being the additional, special meaning.
He's a crafty one , he knew napolean would come back so he called him himself when the french economy was bad so that napoleon could be captured once again
Many thanks for the detailed additions on The Peninsular War as well as the invasion of Russia. Your videos are outstandingly good - lucid, coherent, marvelous choice of period illustrations, thrillingly narrated and driven along with propulsive music. I fervently hope you'll do a detailed series on The 30 Years' War (1618-48) as well as The English Civil Wars
What an awesome job! I want particularly to point out how great that is that you are using the images from that epoch as illustrations and not the mere modern graphics. It makes the video so much more vivid and authentic!
im 12 years old, and about to read "war and peace", so i've been doing LOTS of research about the napoleon's Russia invasion. thanks for this video! this explaining was awesome, and i thought it was very interesting. ive even done some annotating of whats in this video to be able to quickly catch up on what happens on the book. since im just 12 i havent seen this at history classes, so this made me understand this topic a lot better. (srry english is not my 1st language haha)
Nap never been in Russia at winter. He actually left it in late November.. what would have happened with his army in January-February one can only imagine
It’s incredible how closely this parallels WW2. A slow steady drain on one front, (Spain/N. Africa) then a breakdown in a treaty with Russia resulting in the two largest invasions in history at their respective times. The combined losses on both these fronts would spell defeat for Napoleon/Hitler, despite the war carrying on for several more years.
That is another one of your videos which makes it hard for me to believe that it takes 20 minutes to watch. Hands down one of the best history channels on Yotube.
I just finished reading Stephan Talty's The Illustrious Dead. It is a fantastic account of the Russian Campaign, mainly through the lens of the Typhus epidemic sweeping the Grande Armee. Good theories to explain Napoleons decisions and pauses during the advance to Moscow. I highly recommend!
Your videos never cease to amaze in their stunning quality and thrilling narrative. A truly epic period in history, and a colossal campaign which changed the course of the Napoleonic Wars. Thankyou EpicHistoryTV for another absolutely stellar video, loved every minute!
I rarely make comments on UA-cam videos but after seeing this, I'm compelled to praised such work. Beautifully done, it deserved an applause. I just wished it was longer and now I cannot wait for the next part 👍💯
Epic History TV you are not just documenting history you are MAKING history with these unrivaled videos. thank you so very much for your work and as soon as i can i will join you on patreon!
More more!!!!!! Don’t leave us hanging!! This is a superb channel. One of the most professional and excellent channels on here. The narrators voice is just compelling. It’s one of ‘those voices’ like anything Attenborough narrates or Morgan Freeman you just going to listen.
Thanks for posting this. It's so interesting to get a complete background of these events, especially as regards to all the myriad little problems that ultimately contributed to this disastrous expedition.
@@jonathandavx He wasn't. Napoleon himself never accused Bernadotte of treason, only of "ingratitude". He even gave his blessing to Bernadotte when the latter informed him of his new position as Crown Prince of Sweden. If you had a choice between remaining a lesser marshal of Napoleon's war machine and basically assuming royal power of a country like Sweden, what would you choose?
I'm glad you finally covered Sweden and the Ottoman Empire somewhat, it's been just there and neglected for much of the series. Will you also cover the First Serbian Uprising and the War of 1812 in this series?
I feel like videos and channels of this quality stem from the loss of that golden age of 90's programs - labours of love, information and production values that 99% of YT lacks. Can't compliment you enough, your work is simply superior and should be a template for the rest. Cheers for keeping the Covid Blues at bay 👍🍻
We hope you enjoy the latest episode in our Napoleonic Wars series. There was so much to talk about before we even got to the Battle of Borodino, that the build up and invasion became its own episode. Special thanks to Alexander Averyanov for kind permission to use his paintings 'Battle of Smolensk' and 'Bivouac'.
We'll be back with an episode on Borodino next month. Vive l'Empereur and Ура́!
Cheers EH yet another fantastic bit of content bravo to you and your team. 👍
Not covering everything about the Russian invasion is fine. Because in the end, we all know no one can invade Russia during winter. Unless your, wait for it........ *The Mongols!*
When will be the next video on it?? Eagerly waiting for the next one
Any idea on how long it’ll take to get the episode on Bordino out?
Can you do ww2 from 1939
-1945
I didn't even realize when the video ended i was so focused on the script that i lost track of time, one of your best videos (if not the best) you ever made, can't wait for the battle of Borodino
Right? I was expecting the story to just keep going. Brilliantly well told.
@@Madhattersinjeans and that narrator what a voice
Η αλήθεια είναι ότι τα βίντεο του καναλιού είναι πολύ ωραία
@@Δούρειος_96 Ακριβώς! Ακριβώς!
I was completely heart broken to be broken out of my immersion by the video ending so suddenly :( the best cliff hanger I've experienced
Napoleon's seemingly endless ambition was his greatest strength but also his greatest weakness. The conflict with Russia could've been avoided and if there was still going to be war between France and Russia he should've let the Russians come to him and defeated them at home turf. He was just way out of his depths on this one, as Charles XII of Sweden before him and Adolf Hitler after him.
Maybe he should have offered the swedish and ottoman something to convince them to join him in his invasion
It is a very bad idea, in a Metternich biography book I read that Stein foreign minister of Prussia and Metternich from Austria were already ploting to seize the right moment to backstab Napoleon and it would have been easier to betray him Inside the grand empire than outside. Stein was a fool, always ready to attack rather than Metternich asked to wait, to wait Napoleon's mistake. Leipzig will be the trap.
Napoleon was waiting for precisely that. In the lead up to the invasion, Napoleon wrote letters proclaiming he was waiting for Barclay to get closer before going around and crushing him. He was even reading about Charles XII's failed invasion just before. But Barclay didn't cooperate. And for whatever reason, Napoleon pursued further and further eastward, and, somewhere along the line, he decided he was too committed to turn back without bringing the Russian army to battle.
Technically it was Russia who started war, emperor was bribed by the Brits and formed alliance with them and prussians against Napoleon, but when Napoleon moved his armies to the East, prussians were too afraid to start a campain. They joined russians only in 1813 and suffered a number of defeats until Austria also turned to their side it was a stalemate with Napoleon (russian army suffered the same as french in 1812 was unable to continue war by itself)
I've seen this idea before. Rests on geographical determinism. I wouldn't say the influence is great--more like interesting in a way that shows how people used to think.
I've read so much about this period in history, but somehow I was nearly breathless during the whole video! Your attention to details (logistics, epidemics, morale) is mesmerising. When my kids grow up old enough to learn about this part of history, I will definitely point them to this video.
P.S. As a native Russian speaker, I just wanted to point out that in 'Borodino', the last vowel sounds the strongest (borodinO). Keep up the amazing work - your videos are priceless!
Thank you!
But Gretta says we all die in 8years. Shame
@@blameusa7082 That's not what she says at all, but OK.
@Huon Turnbull No it isn't...
@@tylerchamberlain7511 When have she EVER said we will all die in 8 years? Give me proof.
Incredible narration. Hope for videos on Russo-Ottoman wars.
@Jack Bat And at that time was the Russian-Persian War (1804-1813)
yes pls
there is point of that. We had plenty of tham back in time.
Is it bad that when I studied for my history test, I read the material in his voice?
Awesome narrator!
The 1812 overture by Tchaikovsky is one of the most stunning masterpiece in classical music world,.
I agree and the people who only listen to the last part of that piece does not really understand the story of the piece
@@deuxpomme9777 Yeah. from start to finish the piece tells the tale so epicly i can see it in my head
times up buddy. tomorrow evening we wanna see the muscle up👺
@@geediosman6415 I am trying, really trying
Well done man! They keep getting better and better
how the hell is your comment 2 days old?
@@joshuadaniels7224 He/She is a patreon.
@@joshuadaniels7224 Patreon Supporter.
Yep! I'm subscribed to all the best history channels on youtube and Epic History TV hands down takes #1. Their content is even better than the ones produced by history TV networks like the history channel. Great stuff! The 2nd place probably goes to Kings and generals. A slightly lower quality work but they make up for it with quantity. History Marche probably makes the best animated battles. They tend to simplify things a *lot* and skips over some important details though. While Bazbattles is somewhere between the two. There's also Invicta which makes the *most* educational history content on youtube(imo) when it comes to info per minute. And I think I have to mention the legend himself Historia Civilis. I just can't live without my little red squares. And there are also great dudes like History Time, Historicat and Epimetheus if you love just *listening* to history.
I'm a simple man.
I see a napoleonic series video in Epic History TV, I push the like button.
@@PatriaGrande850 nope, ni siquiera lo conocía.
I am a simpler man.
I see any video out in Epic History TV, I push the like button.
mikeboix SAME HERE 👍👍
Intresting fact - this summer (6th of july 2019) remnants of General Gudin de La Sablonnière was found during archeological works in Smolensk.
Cool fact!
wow
Remnants or remains?
@@SoaringSuccubus Well remains and remnants (so it's not just general - there is other stuff too )
@joanne chon Found the anglo
This is a brilliant channel to learn about the Napoleonic wars. It’s my favourite now. I also love the fact you add quotes of Napoleon before moving on. Thank you
“One must never ask more from fortune than she can grant”
Chilling quote from the emperor
AMAZING!!! Never made easy raptures, but this is an absolute triumph of documentary genre! A total masterpiece of aesthetics, dramaturgy, accurate and balanced event combinatorics! For this you must be awarded a doctorate and professorship! This video will remain for decades as best pattern of Napoleonic and historical videos!
Thank you!
Your documentary series on Napoleon is the best there ever was on the topic, the level of professionalism behind this is stunning, not a single second is wasted, the music, the animations, the script, the research, this is simply the highest quality video series I’ve ever seen on UA-cam or even TV itself. Thank you, deeply, for your work.
Everyone: You can't just run away from your problems
Russia: Observe
One shouldn't race to face their problems in an unprepared and reckless manner, the Romans learned that the hard way with Hannibal.
4:00 "are we no longer the soldiers of austerlitz?" Damn that gave me chills
Actually, they weren't. The French army underwent terrific attrition since 1805. And some soldiers simply went home. he quality of the cavalry was not what it used to be. As the years wore on, Napoleon kept increasing the size of the cavalry in order to compensate for the lack of power and finesse the French cavalry used to possess.
@@DarthPlato And still they crushed anyone and everyone who dared to oppose french might
There was also a gradual increase in the amount of artillery used each year.
The increase of artillery wasn't really unjustified. At the Battle of Wagram, thousands of troops were mowed down by artillery alone.
The finesse of the French cavalry wasn't really ever overwhelming; the French doctrine of massing the cavalry into large, dense formations was a large reason for their successes; it was often considered that the French had quite bad horsemanship in comparison to other nations. It wasn't really the finesse of the French cavalry that was lost, but the number of available horses and men trained to ride them.
@@revanofkorriban1505 And then was the issue of failure to switch from summer shoes later on, leading to large number of broken legs (and a sudden increase of meat in soldiers' diet). Does not speak well of quality of your cavalry, when such basic issues are overlooked, even if campaign was indeed unexpectedly prolonged.
Out of 60 total battles, he only lost 7. What a stellar record and one that has put his legendary name into the history books as one of the most capable and efficient military tacticians of all time! From Austerlitz to Jena to Friedland he proved himself again and again as one of the best military commanders in history! From a strictly military view, I truly admire and respect Napoleon.
Suvorov did not lose a single one. He kicked the ass of Napoleon’s army before he attacked Russia. He dreamed of capturing Paris, but died, he was an old man.
@@32ivan23 he beat the French never fought Napoleon tho
@@fredbarker9201 no. It was Napoleon who never fought Suvorov. Napoleon lost to Suvorov's students during his campaign against Moscow. Napoleon is great because he was a great politician too. But his military abilities, although they were fantastic, were inferior in genius to Suvorov. But Suvorov did not combine the talents of a politician. He could only destroy the armies of enemies.
@@32ivan23 Napoleon lost to Russian climate not Russian armies
@@fredbarker9201 When someone loses to the Russians, they are always justified by the climate. The Germans think so too. But then either Napoleon was a fool, or the Russians had antifreeze instead of blood and the climate had no effect on them. You are a victim of Russophobic propaganda. Russians can never win honestly, they are helped either by doping or by the climate. Nothing has changed since the days of Napoleon. Europe is sick with Russophobia, therefore, it always starts a war against the Russians and loses.
for a history nerd, the ending was like a GOT cliffhanger for a fan who read the books !!!!!! love you guys
Actually while Russia was safe on flank from Turks it had to fight Iran/Persia. Since Russia became Napoleon's ally, in June of 1812 Britain send over 30 000 muskets, 12 cannons and 350 military officers to Persia for free and payed them to fight Russia. When Napoleon invaded Russia, massive Persian army of something like 30 000 men attacked Russian territories south to Caucasus mountains (modern Azerbaijan). Russia had few soldiers left in that region and the only major force led by general Pyotr Kotlyarevsky had 2200 soldiers. In autumn of 1812 this general led his squad to attack camp of main Persian force (20-30 thousand people) capturing mountain near the camp and forcing Persians to retreat. He pursued them and at the next night divided his force into three parts to semicircle the new Persian camp at night. Two parts charged it with bayonets from front and flank which caused great panic and the third part blocked and attacked fleeing enemies from the rear. In these 2 attacks (but mostly in second) Kotlyarevsky managed to kill around 10 000 Persian soldiers (and some of 30 British officers who still stayed after Britain tried to stop Persians from attacking Russia which was now fighting against Napoleon) and take 500 prisoners. Later in January of 1813 he besieged a strong fortress of Lenkoran guarded by 4000 Persians with just 1700 soldiers. Seeing that cannons won't damage it anywhere soon and that garrison will not surrender right away he ordered to assault it emphasizing that there will be no order of retreat and they should either take the fortress or all die trying. The Russian squad lost two thirds of it's strength as dead or wounded but wiped out the enemy garrison completely (since they denied a surrender offer and it would be too hard to keep an eye over so many POWs) and took this fortress forcing Persia to sign a peace treaty.
So an insanely badass general won against all odds a war in which Russian force could only hope not to be destroyed completely while slowly retreating. He was famous and renowned in his time but was generally obscured in public history overshadowed by events of the Patriotic war of 1812.
When leading assault on Lankoran fortress he was wounded badly and could not serve in army anymore being crippled by his wounds. In 1826 new Russian emperor even offered him to command forces on Caucasus hoping that this famed hero of far smaller and less important war would crush constant rebellions but Kotlyarevsky denied it due to health issues.
Interesting. Why would the Brits sabotage Russia when it was defending against Bonaparte? I imagine they did put that plan in motion before the Franko-Russian relations broke down.
@@saldownik Napoleon made his invasion only in late June of 1812 and support of Persians happened earlier. I guess Russia was seen as Napoleon's ally up until the invasion. It's funny how this sabotaging only gave results after Russia became ally of Britain again.
да, было такое
Well, I wouldn’t consider 30000 men a “huge” army. It’s obvious- at least to me- no army in the world could match Napoleon’s army until they copied his tactics,which are still taught today in every military academy in the known world.
I’m sorry, “massive” was the word you used to describe that rather small, inexperienced Corp. thanks.
A curious fact associated with the Napoleon's invasion. After that war there appeared a word in the Russian lexicon that is still widely used nowadays - "sharomyzhnik", meaning a bum, a beggar. It is derived from the French "cher ami", as the scattered French army deserters were knocking on the doors in Russian villages begging for food and starting their pleas with the words "cher ami".
Reminds me of the alleged origin of the French bistro cafe - Russian soldiers in Paris in 1814 demanding their food quickly - 'buistra'.
@@EpichistoryTv actually, in Russian it writes and sounds almost the same - by'stro, but as in French there is no sound y (ы in Russian) they converted it into the familiar sound i. Good that you know such particulars about the topic you deliver. 👍
Underrated comment! Спасибо!
About the origin of the word "sharomyzhnik", "shantrapa", "shval" and "shushera"
polzam.ru/index.php/istorii/item/720-o-proiskhozhdenii-slov-sharomyzhnik-shantrapa-shval-i-shushera
Russia's educated class and nobility tended to speak French, sometimes better than Russian. Much of Tolstoy's "War and Peace" had French dialogue between characters and at least in the early editions there was no perceived need to translate it into Russian. Ordinary peasants would not have understood French stragglers, however.
Love all the details and carefully selected pictures, enjoyed it so much , a masterpiece! narration by Charles Nove and music/sound selection is wonderful like always. One of the best content on UA-cam!
The best of it I enjoyed it so well. The best quality ever.
Who wants Netflix if you have this
Can't wait for the battle of Borodino!
Agreed 🎯🎯🎯
Better not... I do not want Napoleon to be a black transsexual bisexual girl...
Netflix would napoleon some kind of gay or feminist
This video has a genuinely terrifying tone, so different from the others. Throughout the whole video, is just seems as something is off, like it’s a nightmare that keeps getting worse as Napoleon gets deeper and deeper into the abyss.
The gods punish hubris.
massacre of hardhome vibe ...
No one forced him to go there.
@ If gods existed and punished hubris america would be long dead by now
@@KZ-xt4hl
Correction: Humanity would've been wiped off the face of the planet about 10,000 years ago.
Good god
Your quality is second to none
I honestly could watch these all day
You've gone from making professional quality videos to making god tier videos. This was amazing to watch.
Sees video: 🙂
Sees run time: ☹️
Starts video - "PART ONE": 😃
The cossacks segment literally scares the crap out of me, and I'm a seasoned war history enthusiast. Excellent job describing such a ruthless, efficient part of Russia's 'army'.
Yeah, those guys were battle hardened by wars with Ottomans, Nogays, Russians, and poles.
As soon as I heard "Tilsit" I knew you would show the pic of the two kissing emperors and the happy onlookers...That's such a funny picture.
What's going on in this picture, I've never seen it before?
Psithyristes napoleon kissing the russian emperor as the russian emperor lifts napoleons hat, a symbol friendship. I guess kissing was seen as normal in royalty back then.
@@syed1431 these days it would be, "why are you geh?"
This video contains everything to know about the first part of the invasion of Russia. Great job!
We can easily say that Napoleon went
“A Bridge Too Far”.
Napoleon was a fool
What is this? Some kinda crossover episode ?
@@marcusmullings9261 he made his name
You can say whatever you want history Will remamber him
Happy quarantine ❤️
Napoleon Sending 500000 Men Far away home Is Foolish.
This english man still trying to take down napoleons influence
These great European Generals try to fight Russia like any other country the fight with, but they forget that when you invade Russia, you don't only have to fight the russians, you have to fight Russia itself. And she is a fierce mother protecting her children, that's for sure.
Your damn right
And also killing many Russians too during the Winter
Russian are Europeans your dumbass, besides "mother Russia" is just a country with bad weather, now go back to school weeaboo
@@mariano98ify Yep, we are Europeans. But Russia not a simple european country, its the third Rome, its a heart of the orthodox faith after falling of Constantinople. This country and people living there have their own special atmosphere and spirit. Other European nations are more alike
Good thing the Mongols aren't Europeans.
These episodes are so high in quality you can feel suspension and fear like a great movie. the narrative and soundtracks are awesome.
Thank you well done.
The narrator is a true jewel for this channel and you guys at EHTV really made a masterpiece by covering so much material of the napoleonic wars. What s better is that is not over yet :) you are the best I ve seen so far.
Seriously one of the BEST channels on UA-cam. The voice over, the pace, graphics, everything. You guys are doing this perfectly. Please keep this same style forever! So good
This is an amazing series of documentaries. Plzz keep the truth of historical content alive
Just discovered this channel and I am in awe. Better history content than anything on TV and NO COMMERCIALS. Will become a patron ASAP.
Thank you Nate!
Goddamn, the soundtrack during the Cossacks explanation @ 11:50... So damn juicy.. This whole production goes to show you don't need fancy visuals or re-enactments to engage. Just paintings, battle animations, some quotes, a badass narrator, and a killer soundtrack. Bravo on this channel!
This channel is among my absolute favorites! You have managed to capture everything I used to love about The History Channel without all the excess baggage like Pawn Shop or Alien speculation shows. Thank you for the great content!
I love watching these, they're some of the most accurate videos about Napoleonic battles.
Fantastic!!!! I've been waiting for this episode. I wish this was available when I was researching the subject, it clarifies much of an amazing piece of history. Can you imagine seeing an army like this moving across the country? Thank you for this quality installment.
I’m in danger.
I will save you... just pay me half of France along with 3/4 of the economy.
All you have to say is deal...I will give advice.
Napoleon I Bonaparte never mess with Russia
@@ethanramos4441 hey I was working on a deal here...lool that's was gonna be advice
PrinceGaraad Whoops sorry about that
@@ethanramos4441 lool
Your channel is so important. I hope you will complete a comprehensive timeline documentary on WWII soon.
Hitler: Can I copy your homework?
Napoleon: Sure, but change it up
Hitler: CHANGES NOTHING
@Everlasting Gamer not to mention dividing their armies into 3 groups, supply issues, and refusing to consolidate their positions before winter.
@Zach Arbogast I am very well aware of Germany's oil problems. Romanian production was far too low to meet their demands, and they were unable to develop their synthetic refineries to a sufficient level. That said the Germans constantly over extended themselves making a bad situation worse. Even at the battle of Moscow where they had a 2 to 1 advantage in man power, air superiority, and before the onset of winter they failed to break the red army because they failed to consolidate their forces.
Everlasting Gamer umm no that’s not true. Nopoleon never mentioned anything about global domination
@Zach Arbogast Well I would like to state that I never said they would win if they stopped to consolidate their position. The German offensive on Moscow was rushed and cost the German Army vital manpower and equipment. Consolidating their position instead of attacking once the ground froze in November would have left them with almost 170,000 more men. The Germans were going to find themselves on the defensive after Barbarossa and wasteful attacks like the Battle of Moscow and faul blau cost them vital Oil and Manpower they could have used elsewhere. Germany should have focused on trying to shore up its supply lines and just bloodied the Russians. There only hope was to get a negotiated peace and I think they only way they could have done that was by using a defensive posture after the Red Army had the chance to call up reserves and move production east of the Urals.
Napoleon had no such thoughts of world domination
I find this wars really interesting I had read about the Napoleonic wars but I've never got into detail. Now I want to watch the whole series, thank you so much and greetings from Argentina!
I can’t wait to watch this when I get off work! I hope you never stop making videos Epic History TV. Your content puts History Channel to shame
What a fantastic episode, never did I know that Napeleon suffered such horrendeus attrition even before winter. It really showes that war is not only decided on the battlefield but rather on the logistical level. A good quote, "Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics" - Gen. Robert H. Barrow. And I do must say, thank god for channels and historians like you! Who produce such fine historical content like this. Informative, visually pleasing and comprehensive! You have conviced me to support you on patreon, because this is simply great!
Thanks for the support!
I've learned more about Napoleon and the Napoleonic Wars from this channel/series than I ever did in school. Thank you!
@@irov5884 This is because we are being taught by our enemies all over Europe. The simple truth.
@@irov5884
What about the words Bonk de France or Code Napoleon?
@@irov5884
Well books are good too. I only wish they were more mainstream.
@@irov5884
Napoleons Commentries on Julius Caesar and his Milliatry Maxims are also good books to read
@Kürassier1806 *"Did some research but found nothing to it, only that part of rome)"*
Your research was surely impressive.
Second google result of "ostia church" via private window, the first one via normal search:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacramental_bread
I hope you didn't exert yourself too much during your research.
If you fail to get around mute "h", then arguing about as something non-mainstream nowadays as traditions of royal court and religious symbolism of monarchies is surely going to go _very well_ ...
*"this tradition could never had developed."*
...welp, it didn't go well indeed.
It didn't have to be developed, because amalgam of related royal tradition has already existed for centuries - and even with an insistence that "I am _totally unlike the old kings, srsly_ " from the man himself it's impossible to see his ceremony divorced from it.
*"Charlemagne himself got the crown set up on his head and did not receive such a "ostia" into his mouth."*
Quality argument right there. You profess to be oblivious what such thing was, but insist Charlemagne did not receive it. Based on... what? :S
Given what it _actually was_ it is more than obvious he did receive it - the only disputable issue being the additional, special meaning.
Your voice really brings history alive
It's been four years but it still is the best documentary on the Napolenic Wars. Nicely done.
I cannot get enough of this channel or the Napoleonic Wars
What is often forgotten is Talleyrand's role in the matter : in the negociations at Erfurt, he encouraged Alexander to resist Napoleon.
He's a crafty one , he knew napolean would come back so he called him himself when the french economy was bad so that napoleon could be captured once again
One of the very best channels on youtube.
CHEERS!
Many thanks for the detailed additions on The Peninsular War as well as the invasion of Russia. Your videos are outstandingly good - lucid, coherent, marvelous choice of period illustrations, thrillingly narrated and driven along with propulsive music. I fervently hope you'll do a detailed series on The 30 Years' War (1618-48) as well as The English Civil Wars
These drawings and background music mean so much.
Your naration is also great.
Finally we are here. I trully love your napoleonic series. Thanks guys. I wish you all the best.
What an awesome job! I want particularly to point out how great that is that you are using the images from that epoch as illustrations and not the mere modern graphics. It makes the video so much more vivid and authentic!
Jesus what a awesome episode! Keeps getting beter, well done
im 12 years old, and about to read "war and peace", so i've been doing LOTS of research about the napoleon's Russia invasion. thanks for this video! this explaining was awesome, and i thought it was very interesting. ive even done some annotating of whats in this video to be able to quickly catch up on what happens on the book. since im just 12 i havent seen this at history classes, so this made me understand this topic a lot better.
(srry english is not my 1st language haha)
Please bring part 2 quickly . I am waiting wholeheartedly. Act now
Thank you so much. I have been waiting since the day I discrovered your channel for you to relese this video. Keep up the great work.
Nap never been in Russia at winter. He actually left it in late November.. what would have happened with his army in January-February one can only imagine
They wouldn't have lived to see January. In late november only 16% of Napoleon's army survived.
@@superspies32 seemingly Russians don't suffer from cold weather
@ROMAnski It wasn't general winter that killed the French, it was general hunger and his pet typhus mites.
@@cosmodeus1720 Napoleon was defeated by Russia.
Seasons weren't the same as now back in the day
During the retreat in November, temperatures fell as low as -30°C
It’s incredible how closely this parallels WW2. A slow steady drain on one front, (Spain/N. Africa) then a breakdown in a treaty with Russia resulting in the two largest invasions in history at their respective times. The combined losses on both these fronts would spell defeat for Napoleon/Hitler, despite the war carrying on for several more years.
It's sad that this series will end but I'm enjoying it while it's here
What already 20min have passed ? It seemed like 5min ! A masterpiece this documentary, i could stay the entire day watching.
Best channel on UA-cam. Love the narration, which is really saying something because I am a Texan and we don't usually like European accents.
Absolutely amazing like every other video!😍
Thank you Simon!
THIS IS SO AWESOME
My God this episode had me on my toes I couldn't even breathe
Hats off to you guys. You make very high quality videos on my favorite historical period. Wish I could like the video 50 times
That is another one of your videos which makes it hard for me to believe that it takes 20 minutes to watch. Hands down one of the best history channels on Yotube.
Perfect! I've been waiting for this
I just finished reading Stephan Talty's The Illustrious Dead. It is a fantastic account of the Russian Campaign, mainly through the lens of the Typhus epidemic sweeping the Grande Armee.
Good theories to explain Napoleons decisions and pauses during the advance to Moscow. I highly recommend!
Your videos never cease to amaze in their stunning quality and thrilling narrative. A truly epic period in history, and a colossal campaign which changed the course of the Napoleonic Wars. Thankyou EpicHistoryTV for another absolutely stellar video, loved every minute!
Thank you!
The paintings really brings an emotional component to complement the factual battle maps. Nice!
This is how I learn Europe history watching this type of channel...it really helps a lot
I rarely make comments on UA-cam videos but after seeing this, I'm compelled to praised such work. Beautifully done, it deserved an applause. I just wished it was longer and now I cannot wait for the next part 👍💯
"Russia's resilience is unlike he's ever seen". Goosebumps.
Gay
@@sonnymp1337 You are Dumb.Fact.
I have been constantly refreshing today waiting for this!
Keep up the superb quality of these - looking forward to the next one!
You need to get out more.
@@JohnyG29 lol ok
Epic History TV you are not just documenting history you are MAKING history with these unrivaled videos. thank you so very much for your work and as soon as i can i will join you on patreon!
More more!!!!!! Don’t leave us hanging!!
This is a superb channel. One of the most professional and excellent channels on here.
The narrators voice is just compelling. It’s one of ‘those voices’ like anything Attenborough narrates or Morgan Freeman you just going to listen.
This video is simply perfect. Thank you for such amazing content!
7:47 seeing Smolensk in the map only reminds me of the discover of Gudin's resting place
Great content, the Napoleonic Wars are such an interesting part of history. The way the episodes are presented is excellent .
My goodness! The quality of your videos continues to impress me. Well done sir!
Thanks for posting this. It's so interesting to get a complete background of these events, especially as regards to all the myriad little problems that ultimately contributed to this disastrous expedition.
I love these Epic History TVs! My own UA-cam channel is dedicated to auto maintenance, but I love history with a passion!
Sweden's currently king is still descendent of marshal Bernadotte. Amazing.
Bernadotte was a traitor
@@jonathandavx As was the french revolutionaries to begin with.
@@jonathandavx
He wasn't. Napoleon himself never accused Bernadotte of treason, only of "ingratitude". He even gave his blessing to Bernadotte when the latter informed him of his new position as Crown Prince of Sweden. If you had a choice between remaining a lesser marshal of Napoleon's war machine and basically assuming royal power of a country like Sweden, what would you choose?
@@Sulimaaren The monarchs were corrupt
Thank you for the great job
Best history Channel with the highest Video quality
Long awaited episode,finally here,Thanks Epic History tv
best channel on youtube and its not even close
Was reading about this campaign in a magazine and stumbled upon this channel for more info. Brilliant job, I'm hooked!
Napoleon: "Invading Spain didn't play out as well as I'd hoped. Let's try this...."
Love this channel. No spin, just the raw facts and all presented in a splendid entertaining way.
I swear the quality of these videos keeps getting better each video.
I'm glad you finally covered Sweden and the Ottoman Empire somewhat, it's been just there and neglected for much of the series. Will you also cover the First Serbian Uprising and the War of 1812 in this series?
It's definitely an interesting topic, we may come back to it in the future.
I love your videos so much - keep bringing history to life in such a great way!!
The music! The music is amazing!
I feel like videos and channels of this quality stem from the loss of that golden age of 90's programs - labours of love, information and production values that 99% of YT lacks.
Can't compliment you enough, your work is simply superior and should be a template for the rest.
Cheers for keeping the Covid Blues at bay 👍🍻
I have to say, that 20 minutes just flew by so fast. You really have an awesome delivery.