My great uncle (by marriage) spent the war securing the rail lines through Iran supplying the USSR. The Soviets gave him a minor medal as thanks while things were still friendly. Apparently this resulted in him getting regular suspicion from the government back home in the states during the cold war.
That happened a lot. Frank Sinatra was accused of having communist sympathies because he starred in a short film _during the war_ that promoted ideas like working together with different people and not discriminating based on ethnicity.
during this invasion you can also talk about british infused persian holocaust famine ww1 ww2 which halfed the population from 20 milion to 10 million and alongside polish refuges coming to iran meanwhile during ww2
Source? Because from what I know the death toll was estimated as being very low, with Britain and the USSR supplying food. 10 million dead is an absolutely insane number. Its totally not plausible.
He didn't mention it, but it wasn't the first time. A much more involved set of battle was fought in WWI, in which a member of the central powers (the ottomans) was actually around to contest British and Russian Forces. Iran had been divided into "spheres of influence" back in 1907, and even then was in no position to resist. The British possessed a huge amount of infrastructure in southern Iran. So when wwi came, the british said "lets just acknowledge that we own this." and the shah said no, and Britain demonstrated who had better control of the area.
Denmark has only been invaded twice, and the first time took the coldest winter in history to completely freeze over the Danish straits so Sweden could just invade over the ice.
@@aAverageFan About what? Invading & crushing a defacto ally of the Nazis? They were so easy to defeat that the conflict is hardly worth mentioning, & the Shah was on the wrong side, so fuck 'im.
it wasn’t unprovoked aggression. Iran was not truly neutral with how much they were trading with the Germans. This was a war of survival, Germany’s supply had to be cut off.
that still doesn't justify it. Switzerland's trading and selling weapons to Germany was not neutral yet everyone considered it as natural. Just because Iran isn't a western country and not European they easily justify it. Also, none of those countries paid reoperation after the war for invading a neutral country.
@@sh534 Switzerland borders Germany and just was trying to avoid occupation. That's the only reason it was given a free pass. Also would have been harder for the Allies to occupy switzerland. Sweden also continued trading with Germany during the war. Close countries just aren't on the way to India or oil reserves
They only cover it because the invasion started a famine which killed an estimated 3 million people. It’s mostly to highlight the shahs incopitance and the western aggression. They took Russia role in the invasion out of the textbooks, it was never really given a reason but I think the mullahs would rather people think of Russia as a friend in their fight aginest the west treatment of the Islamic nations (ignoring what happened in Dagestan and Chechnya ofc)
@@elevatedmeance6807 dude it is the opposite they induced russophobia but britishphilia and good coverage in media but bad coverage of bbc about germans and russians
during this invasion you can also talk about british infused persian holocaust famine ww1 ww2 which halfed the population from 20 milion to 10 million and alongside polish refuges coming to iran meanwhile during ww2 and installed autocrat dictator with its own cia
2:35 that was of course until the US decided the prime minister was too soft on communism (and was stepping out of line for nationalizing the oil industry), and so they overthrew him and replaced him was a dictator
While we are on WW2 topics, here are few more ideas for future videos: 1. what were reichkommissariats?; 2. how independent were Axis puppet states (AKA Slovakia, Croatia, Manchukuo, Burma etc.); 3. Iraqi revolt in 1941 and why it was unsuccessful; 4. Italian occupation of Ethiopia; 5. why Japan didn't attack USSR in 1941 when Germany did?
I think with number 5 it was just logistically impossible for Japan to plow through thousands of miles of frigid tundra to get to Moscow; when they were already struggling to establish their own east asian co-prosperity sphere. With their general lack of oil and other resources I assume.
@@sethbaggins Apparently there was a secret agreement between Japan and Germany ,that when Germany manage to conquer a city on the Volga ,Japan would then attack the USSR
during this invasion you can also talk about british infused persian holocaust famine ww1 ww2 which halfed the population from 20 milion to 10 million and alongside polish refuges coming to iran meanwhile during ww2 and installment of a dictator autocrat with its own cia
You were right about most of the event but the people actually loved Reza Shah because he built schools, university, hospitals, saved a lot of Iranians from hunger and roads
@@elevatedmeance6807 That was during the first world war the one in the second world war is more than that though we don’t have clear cut answers to it Also Mullahs hate everything, they’ve never liked something or someone
if you can make a video about how 2-3 million Iranians died of famine and starvation during the allied occupation. its a little detail that the allies conveniently like to ignore.
Good heavens! Last time I was this early, the Republic of Ragusa (Dubrovnik, now a full part of Dalmatia, in Croatia) still only held Astarea and the Elaphites! The time when they got Korčula for a good four seconds is a close third!
@@genovayork2468Oh, your comment hadn't loaded for me when I did. From what I can tell (as I'm yet to find an academic paper dealing specifically with Ragusan territorial expansion), their first major acquisition outside of the traditional core of Astarea and the Elaphite islands, was in the mid-1200s, with the island of Lastovo. Apparently in 1240 they had tried to get the Venetians to hand it over to them, along with Mljet (and potentially also Korčula, if I remember correctly), but were unsuccessful. By 1272, when the first Statute of Dubrovnik was compiled on orders of the Venetian-appointed count Marco Giustinian, they already held Lastovo, and chapter xv of the first book of said statute is a brief paragraph describing "In What Manner the People of Lastovo Gave Themselves and the Island to the Commune of Dubrovnik."
best part is, if you look at the german policies and what they were attempting to do? well they would have probably ended up with a similar fate as the USSR did. sure it would be tragic loss of life during it's reign (same as it was in our timeline and same as it was for the shit the soviets did) but they would have most likely collapsed as they would face pretty much the same problems the soviets did (although maybe some more tensions between the different groups of people, heck maybe could have collapsed faster)
Reza shah was a great man who literally brought Iran from Middle Ages to the 20th century, but it is no secret that in the 2nd half of his reign, he got paranoid and imprisoned even many of his own ministers, and when allies invaded he was unpopular.
@genovayork2468 have you seen photos from before his renovation? Our country was in ruins, no actual government no military and rule of feudals and foreigners taking over different parts of country
Not accurate. Just because you have a government that kills civilian Sunni Kurds and Balochis and is generally an oppressive shia regime doesn't mean that the alternative was amazing. I want the current Iranian government to fall more than you do since they are just as much of a destabilizing force as the US and israel, but this is just propaganda.
*VIDEO SUGGESTION:* Why did Italy loose to Greece during World War II? (I actually already know the answer to this question, but I still want History Matters to make a video about it, anyway).
@@sethbaggins Bad weather, bad timing, bad equipment, and incompetence of the Italian high command. But, the biggest reason was that the Greeks were highly motivated to fight, and held out fairly well until the Germans came.
during this invasion you can also talk about british infused persian holocaust famine ww1 ww2 which halfed the population from 20 milion to 10 million and alongside polish refuges coming to iran meanwhile during ww2 and installment of a dictator autocrat with its own cia
@FastTquick When the Italians invaded Ethiopia in 1935, at the age of 15, Jagama and his older brother went into the bush to join the Arbegnoch. At first, he had no gun - only his elder brother had one. But they ambushed Italian troops and gradually armed themselves. Peasants joined the struggle, and by the end of the war, they had over 3,000 fighters under their command, his forces were active in the mountainous areas of western Shewa.[8] On 2 December 1940, he and his soldiers raided the Italian garrison at Addis Alem. They killed 72 Italians in the engagement, including their commander Vittorio Casardi, and captured over 2,000 rifles.[10] On 5th May 1941, after years in exile in Britain, Emperor Haile Selassie returned to his capital. Jagama, who had received no British help during the 5 years of the war, refused to go to Addis Ababa for the ceremony. In the end, the Emperor came to Ginchi. Jagama says he put his 3,500 troops on the parade to greet Haile Selassie. He was then driven in the Emperor’s own car to his palace, where he was awarded a gabardine coat and a gold watch. But the war was not yet over. Jimma was still under Italian control. The Emperor asked Jagama for help, and he says he led his forces into battle. Reports suggest the area was ‘swarming with Patriots’ - many of whom may have been loyal to Jagama. He told the BBC that his forces captured some 500 Italian soldiers, whom he handed over to the British[8] Works cited Forgacs, David (2014). Italy's Margins: Social Exclusion and Nation Formation since 1861. Cambridge Social and Cultural Histories. Vol. XX (illus. ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-05217-8. Jalata, Asafa (1998). Oromo Nationalism and the Ethiopian Discourse: The Search for Freedom and Democracy. The Red Sea Press. p. 198. ISBN 1569020663. Pearce, Jeff (2014). Prevail: The Inspiring Story of Ethiopia's Victory over Mussolini's Invasion, 1935-1941. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-1632200969.
@@FastTquick When the Italians invaded Ethiopia in 1935, at the age of 15, Jagama and his older brother went into the bush to join the Arbegnoch. At first, he had no gun - only his elder brother had one. But they ambushed Italian troops and gradually armed themselves. Peasants joined the struggle, and by the end of the war, they had over 3,000 fighters under their command, his forces were active in the mountainous areas of western Shewa.[8] On 2 December 1940, he and his soldiers raided the Italian garrison at Addis Alem. They killed 72 Italians in the engagement, including their commander Vittorio Casardi, and captured over 2,000 rifles.[10] On 5th May 1941, after years in exile in Britain, Emperor Haile Selassie returned to his capital. Jagama, who had received no British help during the 5 years of the war, refused to go to Addis Ababa for the ceremony. In the end, the Emperor came to Ginchi. Jagama says he put his 3,500 troops on the parade to greet Haile Selassie. He was then driven in the Emperor’s own car to his palace, where he was awarded a gabardine coat and a gold watch. But the war was not yet over. Jimma was still under Italian control. The Emperor asked Jagama for help, and he says he led his forces into battle. Reports suggest the area was ‘swarming with Patriots’ - many of whom may have been loyal to Jagama. He told the BBC that his forces captured some 500 Italian soldiers, whom he handed over to the British[8] Works cited Forgacs, David (2014). Italy's Margins: Social Exclusion and Nation Formation since 1861. Cambridge Social and Cultural Histories. Vol. XX (illus. ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-05217-8. Jalata, Asafa (1998). Oromo Nationalism and the Ethiopian Discourse: The Search for Freedom and Democracy. The Red Sea Press. p. 198. ISBN 1569020663. Pearce, Jeff (2014). Prevail: The Inspiring Story of Ethiopia's Victory over Mussolini's Invasion, 1935-1941. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-1632200969.
some not so fun fact result of invasion : Iranian famine of 1942-1943 "State Department population figures for 1941 (15 million) and 1944 (10-12 million)"
not a direct result of the invasion. it was a bad harvest, would have happened regardless. the only matter of question is whether it would have been worse or not as bad had the invasion not happened
@@cowfat8547 if Wikipedia writer right about this , it's say mainly allies was responsible about food shortage GB take control of railroad system and keep feeding their soldiers soviets for taking 50 percent of grain from Azerbaijan province monarch not having viable replacement for time like this from wikipedia "Shortages affected Iran most severely, and an unseemly blame game ensued as to who was responsible. The British blamed incompetent Iranian distribution, the Americans blamed the callous British as well as bungling Iranians and the Iranians blamed all three allies. There was some truth to the positions of all sides. The bottom line was that the allies were directly responsible for wheat shortages. Article 7 of the Treaty of Alliance that legitimised the occupation required Britain and the Soviet Union to protect the Iranian people against the "privations and difficulties" of the war. But invasion and the shah's subsequent abdication destroyed Iran's old political and economic structures and failed to provide a viable replacement. The occupiers purchased or confiscated large amounts of Iranian food, and the food requirements of the 100,000 plus allied soldiers garrisoned and working in Iran were only partially met from outside. Tehran’s major source of wheat was Azerbaijan, yet Soviet officials acquired 50 per cent of their grain needs from the province, allowing only 300 tons of Azerbaijani wheat to be shipped to Tehran from March 1942 to March 1943. In addition, Soviet occupation policies caused 200,000 Iranians to flee to Tehran, swelling its population and food needs by 37 per cent."
@@cowfat8547 Check your data again, the food distributation capabilities had been reduced like a 75% because britain and USSR occupied half the country and stole all it's resources (including trains and other mediums of transport, which were used to distribute food)
@cowfat8547 There was no "bad harvest" the Allies literally seized most of the farmers crops! He's exaggerating the death toll to a ridiculous degree, but you- you're spreading misinformation!
@@s0rtaananym "He's exaggerating the death toll to a ridiculous degree" not me just copy past from Wikipedia that's why i put it in marker (this " ") and exaggerating is big word because my grandfather experience it in first hand he suvive at mercy of baker other long relative of mine in Hamedan saw people in neighborhood eating a kid to survive
Please do a video on the following subjects: 1. Why did the Revolution of 1848 fail in Spain and the German states? 2. Why do people drive on different sides of the road in different countries?
Lol what? The Japanese are usually critised for their horrific war crimes, like the rape of Nanking, or use of "comfort women" who where kidnapped local women in occupied territories forced to 'work' at "state run brothels" (they where kept as sex slaves and raped). South Korea for example is still furious about this today. I've literally never met anyone who cares about the declaration of war thing.
British and Russians caused a famine that killed millions of Iranians in both WWs despite Iran being neutral in both of the wars and Iran didn't get any reparations or even a formal apology because it was "officially" neutral.
during this invasion you can also talk about british infused persian holocaust famine ww1 ww2 which halfed the population from 20 milion to 10 million and alongside polish refuges coming to iran meanwhile during ww2 and installment of a dictator autocrat with its own cia
@@Programmdude India had nothing to do with the war in Europe and it was the British who dragged us into a conflict in another continent which otherwise we won't have agreed to join willingly.
I did know about this and how the "big three" had a conference in Tehran in 1943 and about the occupation I never knew there was an actual invasion or brief conflict had thought Iran just gave in straight away so it's cool to have a channel like this that talks about these less known event and teaches me new things about them
Am I the only person who would like him to narrate... Everything? LoL Good info, some stuff in here I didn't realize. Gonna have to digdeeper now. Been watching for years now and every time it gives me food for thought and something to delve deeper into. Thank you!
Britain protecting the sovereignty of neutral European countries: strong Britain protecting non European countries sovereignty: the empire on which the sun never sets
Fascinating, because Britain, alongside with France, violated Greece's neutrality during WWI, before Greece would join the Entente against the Central Powers.
Gotta tell ya….. I love WW2 (or rather learning about it). I consider it one of my favorite topics….. I have never heard about Iran during WW2 and didn’t know they were even involved. Thank you!
The video should mention the Iranian famine of 1942-43. As the railroad capacity was used to supply the Red Army resisting Hitler, not enough capacity and maintenance was left for domestic supply. After a bad harvest in British controlled south, famine erupted and British administration, as it did in India, considered the request for help unconvincing. According to US State population dropped from 16 to 12 millions.
was not a neutral country. they claimed neutrality but all their actions showed they favored the germans...not to mention that they were helping supply the german war effort as half their trade was with them
@cowfat8547 You are able to trade and be neutral. As long as you aren’t trading manufactured weapons. Even oil is fine. But superpowers don’t actually care of neutrality if they have a pressing reason to invade.
the axis never invaded any neutral countries nor has anyone suggested they’re the only ones to do so. every country invaded by the axis had strong feelings against them. you’re trying to defend the axis by mocking an argument that no one is making. plus, if you’re the british and soviets and you’re fighting the germans and you see the iranians actively supplying germany’s war effort, you’re not going to see them as neutral in any way. you’re going to see them as a threat to your survival. before the invasion, half of iran’s imports came from germany and 42% of their exports went to germany. with that kind of economic interdependence, there’s no possible way for iran to have actually been neutral.
@@cowfat8547 The Nederlands or Danemark had strong feelings against the Axis? If Britain had lost WW2 it would have still survived. Infact revanchism might have kept the empire together.
Both the Netherlands and Denmark were mostly against fascism and declared neutrality in September of 1939 simply out of fear of being invaded by Germany. They didn’t want to get involved in another war because they knew they didn’t have the ability to defend themselves. At the time of declaring neutrality, a British and French victory meant continued security and independence for them, a German victory meant they’d have to kneel down and kiss the ring or get invaded as well. Also yes Britain could have survived but as a shell of its former self and one that would be forced to work with fascists. It wouldn’t have the ability to defend its overseas empires from Japanese influence and would have no democratic friends left in Europe. Plus I was more referring to the Soviets, y’know the ones that were being butchered by the hundreds of thousands as their country had a massive chunk carved out of it. Naturally you’re going to do whatever is needed to stop the German war machine and if stopping supplies from Iran and taking those supplies for yourself is what’s needed, it’s what they’re going to do.
@@cowfat8547 "Also yes Britain could have survived but as a shell of its former self" Literally the opposite. If Britain didnt wage a total war to its own bankrupcy the empire could have survived for generations more. "and one that would be forced to work with fascists" Working with fascists makes more sense than working with liberals and comunists if you have colonies you have to repress. "It wouldn’t have the ability to defend its overseas empires from Japanese influence" Yes it would. Japan was weak, it only defeated third rate forces when all the europian powers where buisy fighting in Europe. If the full might of the Royal Navy went to East Asia Japan would be defeated. "Naturally you’re going to do whatever is needed to stop the German war machine" And naturally the germans will do whatever is needed to stop the Soviet war machine and wouldnt you know it there are no good guys and bad guys in the real world.
@@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714 Clearly you don't know much about the war and the foreign relations between the nations leading up to the war. Britain despised fascism, they were very much willing to fight it instead of working with it. Yes they also despised communism, but the communists weren't the ones dropping bombs on London, and by mid-1941 they were fighting the same enemy. Also, fighting with the Soviet Union doesn't mean becoming communist after the war is over, but losing to Germany does mean becoming a fascist puppet state. That's why its a war of survival for both the British and the Soviets. You win the war, you get to continue with the government you already had, you lose, you don't. It's that simple. So not sure what point you're trying to make there by bringing up liberalism and communistm because its not become fascist or become communist, its become fascist or stay the way you are. Also, yes Japan wasn't very strong, but with the fight for Europe, the British could not focus much on that conflict. If Britain had lost WW2 like you suggested, not only would Britain have lost most or all war making capacity, but any surrender deal with Germany would have resulted in the Japanese gaining much of Britain's Asian territories as its unlikely the Germans would force Japan to unhand the territories it had already conquered (which likely would have expanded greatly in the last days before Britain's defeat in Europe). If you think the Germans would have let the British have such favorable terms after defeating them, then you're delusional. The only way they would have been able to keep their entire empire was if they had come to an armistice with Germany earlier in the war or if they had accepted one of the many offers from Hitler before the war to have a military alliance. But in a situation where Britain straight up loses like you suggested, it would have meant a sustained British fight until defeat and would have left it in a position where it could not get favorable terms in a peace deal. If you equate the Allies doing whatever they need to do to defeat the Axis as the same as the Axis doing what they needed to do to defeat the Allies to try and paint both sides as bad, then either you're a wehraboo or just a nihilist. Fighting evil by any means necessary is not the same as conquering the world to spread fascism and exterminate millions by any means necessary.
The bengal famine was caused by a cyclone and flooding that destroyed crops and infrastructure, it was certainly exacerbated by supplies being diverted from India towards the war effort, but that wouldn’t have been a problem if it wasn’t for the cyclone and the soldiers not receiving the food would have caused massive damage to the allied effort in the pacific. Once Churchill received word on what had occurred in Bengal he requested aid be sent but the Japanese presence in the area meant no such aid would make it from Britain, so instead he asked the other allies and supplies were eventually received from Australia.
Even if I don't include Ms Moneymaker, this channel has the best patreon subscriber names. It's the only channel I listen to the very end on every video purely for names like "Spinning Three Plates."" There's others, but I'm not sure about spellings. 😊❤❤❤😊
official policies of neutrality and actual neutrality are two different things. iran was very friendly with the germans and were helping supply the german war machine as half of iran's foreign trade was with germany
@@wakakabravo7998 They had a vested interest in a German victory. If Germany fell, so did half of Iran's trade economy. Normally when a country is at war, neutral countries will divest from that country as well as other belligerent countries in order to protect their own economy depending on the outcome of the war. They also enact foreign policy that towards the belligerent countries on both sides that are very similar and take a step back from both. Iran did the opposite. They were very friendly to the Germans and had some level of support for Nazism, but had hatred for the British and Soviets. They also kept a heavy amount of trade with the Germans at half of all trade while breaking prior deals with the British to trade oil with them too. That's not neutral in any way.
@@wakakabravo7998it’s the same way we don’t find Iran funding Russia’s war in Iran as ‘neutral’ today. Iran then was making a lot of money of war profiteering and supporting the allies direct opponent when the war, was in that moment, in its favor.
It is important to remember that the occupation of Iran also included the, more important, occupation of its infrastructure. Railroads were the main way of transportation and war material had priority over less important things like food for the Iranian population. It caused inflation, famines, looting, revolts and Iran losing half of its population to hunger and diseases that only prey on the weak in the process. Despite being asked multiple times to increase the number of trains allocated to food transportation by the Iranian government, most of them were denied by the Allies.
One small correction, there was an ultimatum to expel all German nationals but the shah ignored it. Then after allies first invaded he pretended to accept, but instead snuck out the German nationals without allowing the British and Soviets to take stock of them. This caused the British and Soviets to stop negotiating and seize Tehran, with the Shah abdicating as they approached the the city.
The shah did expell as much as he could but the Germans built Iran so it's not possible to replace the industrial engines which they operated. Though he did expell them as much as he could but the British was like. No it's too few and too late. Let's assume was Germanys only trading partner left and still managed to trade with the Germans while the Germans were surrounded and managed to send good or receive good from iran(???)... Anyhow, even that would not be enough to tip the scales. What the British really wanted was the railways of Iran to send aid to Russia which saved the Russians and pushed back Germany. They masked this as Iran being one with the axis and for obvious reasons, people believed them. People talk about ww2 as if it was a war between good and bad, not knowing it was between worst and worst. What people in Europe consider as the worst (Germany) in countries like Iran or India it's Britain. Not to even mention the Russians. In the total occupation of India under British, 29 million people dies from starvation. That's not including wars and other stuff. Just starvation in forcing them to plant jute plants. Then there was the Persian Genocide where ww1 neutral Iran was the one which lost the most compared to any active participant of the war.
One thing that wasn't mentioned, but I think should at least be acknowledged, is the horrible famine that Iran suffered from under the occupation by the United Nations Alliance (i.e., Allies and Soviet Union). I highly recommend watching World War Two's video "The Famine the World Forgot" for more information.
during this invasion you can also talk about british infused persian holocaust famine ww1 ww2 which halfed the population from 20 milion to 10 million and alongside polish refuges coming to iran meanwhile during ww2 and installment of a dictator autocrat with its own cia
This question has received little attention, obviously because history is written by the victors. But, without trying to justify anyone, I note that during WWII there was a terrible famine in the USSR and in British India
I love your vidoes! Without a doubt my favorite youtube channel. Can you guys do a video on the collapse of yugoslavia? Why did it collapse they way it did? What was the reaction.
ITS COMPLITED:
Denmark: Fell in 6 hours
Iran: Fell in 6 days
France: Fell in 6 weeks
Greece: Fell in 6 months
Germany: Fell in 6 years.
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Don’t forget about Pavlov house
It's actually 8 weeks for Greece, but France killed the most enemies, 200K, during the invasion of its country.
I wonder if there will be 6 centuries 🤔
@@PatrioteQuebecois it was actually 216 days if you Count from the italian Invasion
Denmark happy that Iran is getting the attention.
6 days or 6 hours
@@salazar778 size matters
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@@elfinkenshi6437 Though I think Luxembourg lasted longer than Denmark.
France too, believe me
That "Fun Fact, no" never gets old.
Imagine he say "Fun Fact, yes" instead
I noticed more of a pause before he said "no" in recent uploads.
Your pfp does tho
@outerspace7391 i have literally nothing to put as a pfp so I just put a flag cuh
@@sthgamer_ why not put your national flag then, unless you're from Ukraine
Regardless, you don't have to put a pfp necessarily
2:02 the happiness of the British and soviet soldiers at the idea of free puppies really warms my heart
The Canadians be like, "That's actually a good plan, eh?"
“I’m fast as fuck boi” is actually a valid military strategy
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That’s what Russia used when fighting against Napoleon’s invasion
You need a comma before "boi."
@@encycl07pedia- 🤓
@@encycl07pedia-no time for commas, gotta go fast.
I clicked so quickly Iran hadn't even a chance to fall.
*didn't even have.
@@genovayork2468what he said makes sense
@@genovayork2468may sound stupid but pretty sure it's correct English
@@Ayte69 It's not, negative Past Simple is "did not" + Infinitive. Lmao, what are you on?
@@genovayork2468 you see it a lot in literature "[Person] hadn't a clue"
My great uncle (by marriage) spent the war securing the rail lines through Iran supplying the USSR. The Soviets gave him a minor medal as thanks while things were still friendly. Apparently this resulted in him getting regular suspicion from the government back home in the states during the cold war.
That happened a lot. Frank Sinatra was accused of having communist sympathies because he starred in a short film _during the war_ that promoted ideas like working together with different people and not discriminating based on ethnicity.
@offroadguy7772 Fun fact.... No... -body cares
@@danreynNo-body was a gay
@@danreyn if his post made you reply, you obviously do.
I think the idea is that he didn't like people hating gays for no reason.@@ragnarulrichson778
Britain: Give us access to your country.
Iran: No, we're neutral and independent.
Britain: Well actually, no.
during this invasion you can also talk about british infused persian holocaust famine ww1 ww2 which halfed the population from 20 milion to 10 million and alongside polish refuges coming to iran meanwhile during ww2
Fun fact , no .@@Houthiandtheblowfish
@@HouthiandtheblowfishNope
@@Houthiandtheblowfishsad but true
Source? Because from what I know the death toll was estimated as being very low, with Britain and the USSR supplying food.
10 million dead is an absolutely insane number. Its totally not plausible.
I like how every correspondence, whether it is a declaration of war, a letter of surrender, etc. Closes with the friendly phrase "Best Wishes."
That's just being polite.
"How did you respond when the British invaded?"
"I ran"
I ran so far awaaay
ba dum tssh
@@Mak2007a and didn't get away.
So far away
@@Mak2007abeat me to it
I love how you always answer the questions we were never asking but needed to know
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Hi
bro no way@@santi0501
How many noticed the “HMS Fish and Ships” on the British naval officer’s cap? Priceless!
I just noticed the "HMS _Buoy Buoy Buoy"_ on the seaman's hat.
Seems like he always puts little Easter eggs in this videos. I quite enjoy finding them all myself.
I am a simple iranian
I see history matters make a video on my country I immediately click
Yeah,me too.
Denmark be like: "First time for you guys?"
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He didn't mention it, but it wasn't the first time. A much more involved set of battle was fought in WWI, in which a member of the central powers (the ottomans) was actually around to contest British and Russian Forces. Iran had been divided into "spheres of influence" back in 1907, and even then was in no position to resist. The British possessed a huge amount of infrastructure in southern Iran.
So when wwi came, the british said "lets just acknowledge that we own this." and the shah said no, and Britain demonstrated who had better control of the area.
@@derrickthewhite1something tells me that you didn’t get the joke
Check out his video on "Why Belgium Exists". Among the country's varied assets are "easy access to panzer divisions ".
Denmark has only been invaded twice, and the first time took the coldest winter in history to completely freeze over the Danish straits so Sweden could just invade over the ice.
I had no idea that this conflict even happened… thanks History Matters!
Yeah, I always thought Iran was neutral in World War II and never heard of this invasion!
The Allies don't want you to know about such events
@@aAverageFan That's idiotic! Go away with your paranoid delusional conspiracy nonsense!
@@aAverageFan About what? Invading & crushing a defacto ally of the Nazis?
They were so easy to defeat that the conflict is hardly worth mentioning, & the Shah was on the wrong side, so fuck 'im.
@@aAverageFani am pretty sure that british journals told about this at the time
UK & USSR at Nuremberg: We accuse Germany of unprovoked aggression.
Iran: 😑
it wasn’t unprovoked aggression. Iran was not truly neutral with how much they were trading with the Germans. This was a war of survival, Germany’s supply had to be cut off.
that still doesn't justify it. Switzerland's trading and selling weapons to Germany was not neutral yet everyone considered it as natural. Just because Iran isn't a western country and not European they easily justify it. Also, none of those countries paid reoperation after the war for invading a neutral country.
@@cowfat8547"How dare you trade with other countries?" trading with both sides of a war is literally what neutrality is.
@@potato_nugget no, that is not what neutrality is.
@@sh534 Switzerland borders Germany and just was trying to avoid occupation. That's the only reason it was given a free pass. Also would have been harder for the Allies to occupy switzerland. Sweden also continued trading with Germany during the war. Close countries just aren't on the way to India or oil reserves
1:08 that Denmark soldier 😆
I think you spelled "Danish" wrong
Jokes aside, awesome spotting - i could never notice in a million years, cheers to you mate!
Danish* grammar kid, grammar
@@royale7620his grammar could be better but you ain’t gotta call him a kid
Edit:damn this ratio went crazy💀
@@royale7620 kid mckid is crazy💀💀 cuz you ain’t finna talk to me like that built like an underprivileged possum
@@royale7620 mckid💀
Does the "Fun Fact, No" bit ever get old?
Fun Fact, No
Well...
[Picture of a well]
Me describing someone doing a nice thing:
Said person skipping around in a field of flowers
I've always loved the way he's narrated this and the animations he uses. There's almost always something in the background if you look closer as well
And... Napoleon.
The Fez Wearing Italian Man
Great episode. An episode on why Brunei is divided by Malaysia would be interesting, i didn't see it in your other videos
One of the less known surprise attacks in WW2.
So surprising, I didn't know it happened at all, almost 80 years later.
Well it makes the Allies look bad so it's probably not discussed much
Six days isn't even a battle. It's literally the time a tourist spend sightseeing🤣
Saddam would be punching holes in his walls seeing this video, if he was still alive.
Love the ship names you chose for the Royal Navy. Very on point humour there
Never thought I would be so early to one of your videos!
i am from iran ,,,
Iran's role in WW2 is never really talked about anywhere except, of course, Iran
Iran, whose name is literally based on "Aryan"
The World War 2 channel here on UA-cam covered it, along with the famine that followed.
@@johnpoole3871 Please share the link.
They only cover it because the invasion started a famine which killed an estimated 3 million people. It’s mostly to highlight the shahs incopitance and the western aggression. They took Russia role in the invasion out of the textbooks, it was never really given a reason but I think the mullahs would rather people think of Russia as a friend in their fight aginest the west treatment of the Islamic nations (ignoring what happened in Dagestan and Chechnya ofc)
@@elevatedmeance6807 dude it is the opposite they induced russophobia but britishphilia and good coverage in media but bad coverage of bbc about germans and russians
Invasion and occupation also came with a side serving of famine which wasn't very popular.
during this invasion you can also talk about british infused persian holocaust famine ww1 ww2 which halfed the population from 20 milion to 10 million and alongside polish refuges coming to iran meanwhile during ww2 and installed autocrat dictator with its own cia
@@Houthiandtheblowfish sauce
@@niono1587you mean source?
@@niono1587this is literally basic information. whip google out
@@niono1587 He keeps spamming multiple threads with the same stupid copy/paste reply, clearly has an agenda. Waste of time.
As a German ... we can beat that Speedrun!
As a Dane... screw you!
Denmark was in 6 hours i think
@@TheWolverine01 Yep, some Danes was asleep and 6 hours later they woke up in Germany
@@wasdkug_tr Technically not, since the Danish goverment was still operating in Denmark. It became a protectorate, not a part of Germany.
@@Tommuli_Haudankaivaja splitting hairs.
I’ve studied WW2 for years now and this is the first time I’m hearing about the invasion of Iran. Why haven’t I heard this before??
I love when you post it makes my day
JS - Hey Winston, I've just noticed something. We're in neutral Iran.
WC - So what, Josef, what's your point?
JS - Winston...are we the baddies?
You know that JS would NEVER think like that
Shah of Iran "Just built all these nice new roads."
Britain and USSR "New roads you say?"
2:35 that was of course until the US decided the prime minister was too soft on communism (and was stepping out of line for nationalizing the oil industry), and so they overthrew him and replaced him was a dictator
While we are on WW2 topics, here are few more ideas for future videos:
1. what were reichkommissariats?;
2. how independent were Axis puppet states (AKA Slovakia, Croatia, Manchukuo, Burma etc.);
3. Iraqi revolt in 1941 and why it was unsuccessful;
4. Italian occupation of Ethiopia;
5. why Japan didn't attack USSR in 1941 when Germany did?
All interesting topics, I must say.
I think with number 5 it was just logistically impossible for Japan to plow through thousands of miles of frigid tundra to get to Moscow; when they were already struggling to establish their own east asian co-prosperity sphere. With their general lack of oil and other resources I assume.
@@sethbaggins Apparently there was a secret agreement between Japan and Germany ,that when Germany manage to conquer a city on the Volga ,Japan would then attack the USSR
My new favorite donator: "Calling Dr. Howard Dr. Fine Dr. Howard"
*Soitanly!*
Nyuck,
Nyuck,
Nyuck!
And Iran lived happily ever after.
during this invasion you can also talk about british infused persian holocaust famine ww1 ww2 which halfed the population from 20 milion to 10 million and alongside polish refuges coming to iran meanwhile during ww2 and installment of a dictator autocrat with its own cia
Yup, they were able to go into the 50's and enjoy the their democracy. I'm being sarcastic in case anyone is wondering.
And people wonder why so many countries can't stand the West
Nah not really 😂
I'm a bit ashamed to say I did not know the allies invaded Iran in WWII. Thanks for the video!
That reason of beingging of british and american control on iran and Iranian revolution happen
Britain and America orchestrated a coup against the elected government of Iran in the 1950s over er ………………
Oil rights
Day 2 of asking him to finish the English/British history series
Good video these are always interesting
You were right about most of the event but the people actually loved Reza Shah because he built schools, university, hospitals, saved a lot of Iranians from hunger and roads
The roads did get a mention.
Also banned slavery, don’t forget that part.
He saved them from the roads. Those evil child eating roads.
Mullahs don’t apparently
Also wasn’t this invasion the start of that really bad famine that killed like 3 million ppl?
@@elevatedmeance6807 That was during the first world war the one in the second world war is more than that though we don’t have clear cut answers to it
Also Mullahs hate everything, they’ve never liked something or someone
This is a good one! I’m so happy I stumbled across your channel so many years ago.
Thanks James Bisonette😃
if you can make a video about how 2-3 million Iranians died of famine and starvation during the allied occupation. its a little detail that the allies conveniently like to ignore.
oh boo hoo cry me a river
inhuman.
Finally, Iran is now answered also…. I think James Bisonette had something to do with this…
Nah
Don’t forget Kelly Moneymaker
3 Spinning Plates was in charge of the famine
Good heavens! Last time I was this early, the Republic of Ragusa (Dubrovnik, now a full part of Dalmatia, in Croatia) still only held Astarea and the Elaphites!
The time when they got Korčula for a good four seconds is a close third!
When would that be?
@@genovayork2468 The only-Astarea one, or the time they got Korčula?
@@nathanpayne6765 You edited Korčula in after I had commented, silly.
@@genovayork2468Oh, your comment hadn't loaded for me when I did.
From what I can tell (as I'm yet to find an academic paper dealing specifically with Ragusan territorial expansion), their first major acquisition outside of the traditional core of Astarea and the Elaphite islands, was in the mid-1200s, with the island of Lastovo. Apparently in 1240 they had tried to get the Venetians to hand it over to them, along with Mljet (and potentially also Korčula, if I remember correctly), but were unsuccessful. By 1272, when the first Statute of Dubrovnik was compiled on orders of the Venetian-appointed count Marco Giustinian, they already held Lastovo, and chapter xv of the first book of said statute is a brief paragraph describing "In What Manner the People of Lastovo Gave Themselves and the Island to the Commune of Dubrovnik."
@@nathanpayne6765 What a fascinating little historical titbit!
Basically: the British and Soviets played dirty and attacked a neutral country without warning
Allies be like: It's only wrong when the Axis does it but not when we do it.
@@aAverageFan "we've already allied with Stalin, may as well just roll with it"
best part is, if you look at the german policies and what they were attempting to do? well they would have probably ended up with a similar fate as the USSR did. sure it would be tragic loss of life during it's reign (same as it was in our timeline and same as it was for the shit the soviets did) but they would have most likely collapsed as they would face pretty much the same problems the soviets did (although maybe some more tensions between the different groups of people, heck maybe could have collapsed faster)
@@aAverageFanYeah when a mad dictator starts a world war you do what has to be done to end it.
They almost did the same with Norway and Sweden btw
Reza shah was a great man who literally brought Iran from Middle Ages to the 20th century, but it is no secret that in the 2nd half of his reign, he got paranoid and imprisoned even many of his own ministers, and when allies invaded he was unpopular.
Iran hadn't been in the Middle Ages.
@genovayork2468 have you seen photos from before his renovation? Our country was in ruins, no actual government no military and rule of feudals and foreigners taking over different parts of country
@@salarhoseynali9007 The fact you're Iranian makes you more incult.
f of he was a stooge like his son
Not accurate. Just because you have a government that kills civilian Sunni Kurds and Balochis and is generally an oppressive shia regime doesn't mean that the alternative was amazing.
I want the current Iranian government to fall more than you do since they are just as much of a destabilizing force as the US and israel, but this is just propaganda.
“Which raises the question, why?”
Our calling card. 😊
*VIDEO SUGGESTION:*
Why did Italy loose to Greece during World War II?
(I actually already know the answer to this question, but I still want History Matters to make a video about it, anyway).
QUESTION: out of curiosity if I may ask, why and how did Italy lose to greece?
@@sethbaggins Bad weather, bad timing, bad equipment, and incompetence of the Italian high command.
But, the biggest reason was that the Greeks were highly motivated to fight, and held out fairly well until the Germans came.
@@graceneilitz7661 Thx
invading an neutral west european country (belgium) = evil. invading an neutral non european country (iran) = ok/accepted
during this invasion you can also talk about british infused persian holocaust famine ww1 ww2 which halfed the population from 20 milion to 10 million and alongside polish refuges coming to iran meanwhile during ww2 and installment of a dictator autocrat with its own cia
Can you talk about Ethiopian resistance during ww2? Is quite interesting that they were never fully conquered by any European country
They weren't until the Italians ripped them a new one during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.
@@FastTquickthey were some areas controlled by rebels
@FastTquick When the Italians invaded Ethiopia in 1935, at the age of 15, Jagama and his older brother went into the bush to join the Arbegnoch. At first, he had no gun - only his elder brother had one. But they ambushed Italian troops and gradually armed themselves. Peasants joined the struggle, and by the end of the war, they had over 3,000 fighters under their command, his forces were active in the mountainous areas of western Shewa.[8]
On 2 December 1940, he and his soldiers raided the Italian garrison at Addis Alem. They killed 72 Italians in the engagement, including their commander Vittorio Casardi, and captured over 2,000 rifles.[10]
On 5th May 1941, after years in exile in Britain, Emperor Haile Selassie returned to his capital. Jagama, who had received no British help during the 5 years of the war, refused to go to Addis Ababa for the ceremony. In the end, the Emperor came to Ginchi. Jagama says he put his 3,500 troops on the parade to greet Haile Selassie. He was then driven in the Emperor’s own car to his palace, where he was awarded a gabardine coat and a gold watch. But the war was not yet over. Jimma was still under Italian control. The Emperor asked Jagama for help, and he says he led his forces into battle. Reports suggest the area was ‘swarming with Patriots’ - many of whom may have been loyal to Jagama. He told the BBC that his forces captured some 500 Italian soldiers, whom he handed over to the British[8]
Works cited
Forgacs, David (2014). Italy's Margins: Social Exclusion and Nation Formation since 1861. Cambridge Social and Cultural Histories. Vol. XX (illus. ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-05217-8.
Jalata, Asafa (1998). Oromo Nationalism and the Ethiopian Discourse: The Search for Freedom and Democracy. The Red Sea Press. p. 198. ISBN 1569020663.
Pearce, Jeff (2014). Prevail: The Inspiring Story of Ethiopia's Victory over Mussolini's Invasion, 1935-1941. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-1632200969.
@@FastTquick
When the Italians invaded Ethiopia in 1935, at the age of 15, Jagama and his older brother went into the bush to join the Arbegnoch. At first, he had no gun - only his elder brother had one. But they ambushed Italian troops and gradually armed themselves. Peasants joined the struggle, and by the end of the war, they had over 3,000 fighters under their command, his forces were active in the mountainous areas of western Shewa.[8]
On 2 December 1940, he and his soldiers raided the Italian garrison at Addis Alem. They killed 72 Italians in the engagement, including their commander Vittorio Casardi, and captured over 2,000 rifles.[10]
On 5th May 1941, after years in exile in Britain, Emperor Haile Selassie returned to his capital. Jagama, who had received no British help during the 5 years of the war, refused to go to Addis Ababa for the ceremony. In the end, the Emperor came to Ginchi. Jagama says he put his 3,500 troops on the parade to greet Haile Selassie. He was then driven in the Emperor’s own car to his palace, where he was awarded a gabardine coat and a gold watch. But the war was not yet over. Jimma was still under Italian control. The Emperor asked Jagama for help, and he says he led his forces into battle. Reports suggest the area was ‘swarming with Patriots’ - many of whom may have been loyal to Jagama. He told the BBC that his forces captured some 500 Italian soldiers, whom he handed over to the British[8]
Works cited
Forgacs, David (2014). Italy's Margins: Social Exclusion and Nation Formation since 1861. Cambridge Social and Cultural Histories. Vol. XX (illus. ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-05217-8.
Jalata, Asafa (1998). Oromo Nationalism and the Ethiopian Discourse: The Search for Freedom and Democracy. The Red Sea Press. p. 198. ISBN 1569020663.
Pearce, Jeff (2014). Prevail: The Inspiring Story of Ethiopia's Victory over Mussolini's Invasion, 1935-1941. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. ISBN 978-1632200969.
Wakanda forever!
At least they lasted longer than Denmark in WWII.
And that’s because Iran is bigger than Denmark. Therefore, it took longer to be occupied.
Me showing up 10 minutes after upload without being notified a new episode has released 😎
some not so fun fact
result of invasion :
Iranian famine of 1942-1943
"State Department population figures for 1941 (15 million) and 1944 (10-12 million)"
not a direct result of the invasion. it was a bad harvest, would have happened regardless. the only matter of question is whether it would have been worse or not as bad had the invasion not happened
@@cowfat8547 if Wikipedia writer right about this , it's say mainly allies was responsible about food shortage
GB take control of railroad system and keep feeding their soldiers
soviets for taking 50 percent of grain from Azerbaijan province
monarch not having viable replacement for time like this
from wikipedia "Shortages affected Iran most severely, and an unseemly blame game ensued as to who was responsible. The British blamed incompetent Iranian distribution, the Americans blamed the callous British as well as bungling Iranians and the Iranians blamed all three allies. There was some truth to the positions of all sides. The bottom line was that the allies were directly responsible for wheat shortages. Article 7 of the Treaty of Alliance that legitimised the occupation required Britain and the Soviet Union to protect the Iranian people against the "privations and difficulties" of the war. But invasion and the shah's subsequent abdication destroyed Iran's old political and economic structures and failed to provide a viable replacement. The occupiers purchased or confiscated large amounts of Iranian food, and the food requirements of the 100,000 plus allied soldiers garrisoned and working in Iran were only partially met from outside. Tehran’s major source of wheat was Azerbaijan, yet Soviet officials acquired 50 per cent of their grain needs from the province, allowing only 300 tons of Azerbaijani wheat to be shipped to Tehran from March 1942 to March 1943. In addition, Soviet occupation policies caused 200,000 Iranians to flee to Tehran, swelling its population and food needs by 37 per cent."
@@cowfat8547 Check your data again, the food distributation capabilities had been reduced like a 75% because britain and USSR occupied half the country and stole all it's resources (including trains and other mediums of transport, which were used to distribute food)
@cowfat8547 There was no "bad harvest" the Allies literally seized most of the farmers crops! He's exaggerating the death toll to a ridiculous degree, but you- you're spreading misinformation!
@@s0rtaananym "He's exaggerating the death toll to a ridiculous degree"
not me just copy past from Wikipedia that's why i put it in marker (this " ")
and exaggerating is big word because my grandfather experience it in first hand he suvive at mercy of baker
other long relative of mine in Hamedan saw people in neighborhood eating a kid to survive
Please do a video on the following subjects:
1. Why did the Revolution of 1848 fail in Spain and the German states?
2. Why do people drive on different sides of the road in different countries?
Because
"Why does everyone hate us" -Britain
These new high quality character models are really great!
The only time where British and Soviet forces cooperated directly, if I recall correctly.
You know I just so happed to get the really rare event where this happens in hoi4.
And then one day later this video comes out kinda cool
0:36 Interesting pronunciation for Vladivostok.
Wrong one.
When ever a new video comes out it takes me a couple of days to realize it’s new 💀
Western Historians: the Japanese committed the horrendous act of attacking without sending a war declaration first.
Meanwhile Britain in Iran:
Lol what?
The Japanese are usually critised for their horrific war crimes, like the rape of Nanking, or use of "comfort women" who where kidnapped local women in occupied territories forced to 'work' at "state run brothels" (they where kept as sex slaves and raped). South Korea for example is still furious about this today.
I've literally never met anyone who cares about the declaration of war thing.
the more i learn about ww2 the more sympathetic i get towards the axis
Don't fall for the trap that one's wrong means another's right.
Denmark: finally it's not me being made fun of!
Iran: well great for you!
British and Russians caused a famine that killed millions of Iranians in both WWs despite Iran being neutral in both of the wars and Iran didn't get any reparations or even a formal apology because it was "officially" neutral.
British did the same thing to India so we can relate with what Iran went through
during this invasion you can also talk about british infused persian holocaust famine ww1 ww2 which halfed the population from 20 milion to 10 million and alongside polish refuges coming to iran meanwhile during ww2 and installment of a dictator autocrat with its own cia
@@aAverageFan India wasn't neutral though, it was part of the allies as the states were either governed by the UK, or vassals of the UK.
@@Programmdude India had nothing to do with the war in Europe and it was the British who dragged us into a conflict in another continent which otherwise we won't have agreed to join willingly.
I did know about this and how the "big three" had a conference in Tehran in 1943 and about the occupation I never knew there was an actual invasion or brief conflict had thought Iran just gave in straight away so it's cool to have a channel like this that talks about these less known event and teaches me new things about them
@@neshirst-ashuach1881 Were you responding to Houthiandtheblowfish?
@@howtoappearincompletely9739
Yeah, I see they deleted their comment, I'll delete my reply as well.
Am I the only person who would like him to narrate... Everything? LoL
Good info, some stuff in here I didn't realize. Gonna have to digdeeper now. Been watching for years now and every time it gives me food for thought and something to delve deeper into. Thank you!
Britain protecting the sovereignty of neutral European countries: strong
Britain protecting non European countries sovereignty: the empire on which the sun never sets
Fascinating, because Britain, alongside with France, violated Greece's neutrality during WWI, before Greece would join the Entente against the Central Powers.
Might want to look to the left of England there mate.
I think it was Blackadder who described the colonial imbalance in weaponry as a battle between gatling guns and a particularly pointy mango.
"the empire on which the sun never sets" was about the spanish empire...
@@Lodrik18 it describes multiple empires including the spanish AND british
Millions of people starved because of this in Iran, not a first for the allies.
They did the same thing to India
Starved to death? You got a source for that? millions starved to death in Iran because of the allies.Source please
He said starved, I'm sure thousands starved to death but not millions, but this would definitely caused a food shortage
You may wanna mention the famine that happened in Iran in 1942-43 as a consequence of the infrastructure and food being used for another purpose.
Aaahh its a good iftar when history matters uploads 😊😊
Should do a video on the Iranian famine
* Genocide
It Was Artificial Famine
ah yes, the prequel to Persepolis i was looking for
Good film, that.
Excellent summary on an interesting piece of Middle East history that I didn't know much about. Thank you.
Here before the James Bissonet comments
It's like detecting the cancer in stage one, huh?
Gotta tell ya….. I love WW2 (or rather learning about it). I consider it one of my favorite topics….. I have never heard about Iran during WW2 and didn’t know they were even involved.
Thank you!
Can you do a video about why Germany fought to the last man and didn't surrender even though the war was clearly lost by 1944 or even 1943 or earlier?
It wasn't clearly lost in 1943.
[looks at Soviet Union, army is just a few miles away from taking over Moscow]
Well, its time to surrender
I must have missed that thing where there is no German state today, because the Allies killed them all when they fought to "the last man."
In an alternate universe, the plot of July 20, 1944 succeeded, and Germany capitulated before its cities were ruined by bombing.
Nice video
Soviets having a hard time leaving areas they have stepped their foot on? Who would have guessed!
“The shooty end of the Shars reign” - quality!!
Wait so you're telling me that the USSR had the troops to invade Iran while the Germans were advancing towards their capital
They were also fightinh the japansese at the same time it was a massive country
@@Pardisc13895 was? still #1 by land mass
@@BOZ_11yeah I just mean ussr was even bigger. Yk Ussr is not just a other russian empire right?
@@BOZ_11 British Empire was bigger than USSR at that time
@@aAverageFan yeah but they were ruling over hunter gatherers and agrarian societies in mostly icy tundras or deserts. Rather inflated achievement.
The video should mention the Iranian famine of 1942-43. As the railroad capacity was used to supply the Red Army resisting Hitler, not enough capacity and maintenance was left for domestic supply. After a bad harvest in British controlled south, famine erupted and British administration, as it did in India, considered the request for help unconvincing. According to US State population dropped from 16 to 12 millions.
The two great powers committed a crime, invading a neutral country
was not a neutral country. they claimed neutrality but all their actions showed they favored the germans...not to mention that they were helping supply the german war effort as half their trade was with them
@cowfat8547
You are able to trade and be neutral. As long as you aren’t trading manufactured weapons. Even oil is fine. But superpowers don’t actually care of neutrality if they have a pressing reason to invade.
Really loved this one
But I thought only the Axis invaded neutral countries
the axis never invaded any neutral countries nor has anyone suggested they’re the only ones to do so. every country invaded by the axis had strong feelings against them. you’re trying to defend the axis by mocking an argument that no one is making.
plus, if you’re the british and soviets and you’re fighting the germans and you see the iranians actively supplying germany’s war effort, you’re not going to see them as neutral in any way. you’re going to see them as a threat to your survival. before the invasion, half of iran’s imports came from germany and 42% of their exports went to germany. with that kind of economic interdependence, there’s no possible way for iran to have actually been neutral.
@@cowfat8547 The Nederlands or Danemark had strong feelings against the Axis?
If Britain had lost WW2 it would have still survived. Infact revanchism might have kept the empire together.
Both the Netherlands and Denmark were mostly against fascism and declared neutrality in September of 1939 simply out of fear of being invaded by Germany. They didn’t want to get involved in another war because they knew they didn’t have the ability to defend themselves. At the time of declaring neutrality, a British and French victory meant continued security and independence for them, a German victory meant they’d have to kneel down and kiss the ring or get invaded as well.
Also yes Britain could have survived but as a shell of its former self and one that would be forced to work with fascists. It wouldn’t have the ability to defend its overseas empires from Japanese influence and would have no democratic friends left in Europe. Plus I was more referring to the Soviets, y’know the ones that were being butchered by the hundreds of thousands as their country had a massive chunk carved out of it. Naturally you’re going to do whatever is needed to stop the German war machine and if stopping supplies from Iran and taking those supplies for yourself is what’s needed, it’s what they’re going to do.
@@cowfat8547 "Also yes Britain could have survived but as a shell of its former self" Literally the opposite. If Britain didnt wage a total war to its own bankrupcy the empire could have survived for generations more.
"and one that would be forced to work with fascists" Working with fascists makes more sense than working with liberals and comunists if you have colonies you have to repress.
"It wouldn’t have the ability to defend its overseas empires from Japanese influence" Yes it would. Japan was weak, it only defeated third rate forces when all the europian powers where buisy fighting in Europe. If the full might of the Royal Navy went to East Asia Japan would be defeated.
"Naturally you’re going to do whatever is needed to stop the German war machine" And naturally the germans will do whatever is needed to stop the Soviet war machine and wouldnt you know it there are no good guys and bad guys in the real world.
@@baltulielkungsgunarsmiezis9714 Clearly you don't know much about the war and the foreign relations between the nations leading up to the war. Britain despised fascism, they were very much willing to fight it instead of working with it. Yes they also despised communism, but the communists weren't the ones dropping bombs on London, and by mid-1941 they were fighting the same enemy. Also, fighting with the Soviet Union doesn't mean becoming communist after the war is over, but losing to Germany does mean becoming a fascist puppet state. That's why its a war of survival for both the British and the Soviets. You win the war, you get to continue with the government you already had, you lose, you don't. It's that simple. So not sure what point you're trying to make there by bringing up liberalism and communistm because its not become fascist or become communist, its become fascist or stay the way you are.
Also, yes Japan wasn't very strong, but with the fight for Europe, the British could not focus much on that conflict. If Britain had lost WW2 like you suggested, not only would Britain have lost most or all war making capacity, but any surrender deal with Germany would have resulted in the Japanese gaining much of Britain's Asian territories as its unlikely the Germans would force Japan to unhand the territories it had already conquered (which likely would have expanded greatly in the last days before Britain's defeat in Europe). If you think the Germans would have let the British have such favorable terms after defeating them, then you're delusional. The only way they would have been able to keep their entire empire was if they had come to an armistice with Germany earlier in the war or if they had accepted one of the many offers from Hitler before the war to have a military alliance. But in a situation where Britain straight up loses like you suggested, it would have meant a sustained British fight until defeat and would have left it in a position where it could not get favorable terms in a peace deal.
If you equate the Allies doing whatever they need to do to defeat the Axis as the same as the Axis doing what they needed to do to defeat the Allies to try and paint both sides as bad, then either you're a wehraboo or just a nihilist. Fighting evil by any means necessary is not the same as conquering the world to spread fascism and exterminate millions by any means necessary.
You forgot to add that the UK officially left... they just happened to keep the oil fields under British Petroluem.
Oh, look. One of the two famines Churchill oversaw and that can be described, charitably, as criminal negligence.
The other famine was in Bengal province of British India at the same time
Worse than the Holodomor.
The bengal famine was caused by a cyclone and flooding that destroyed crops and infrastructure, it was certainly exacerbated by supplies being diverted from India towards the war effort, but that wouldn’t have been a problem if it wasn’t for the cyclone and the soldiers not receiving the food would have caused massive damage to the allied effort in the pacific. Once Churchill received word on what had occurred in Bengal he requested aid be sent but the Japanese presence in the area meant no such aid would make it from Britain, so instead he asked the other allies and supplies were eventually received from Australia.
@@genovayork2468And both were done by the soviets
@@Finnbobjimbob The Ukrainian famine was also caused by natural conditions and Stalin also sent aid to Ukraine
Love your videos, perfect stuff to eat dinner to
Because James bassinet was such a good general!
Lame.
He just bought the country.
Don't forget Kelly money maker 🤑
I had not heard about the invasion of Iran, that's really interesting.
Kinda disappointed you didn't speak about the third famine Britain caused in Iran in WW2.
*USSR
@@Finnbobjimbob Also the british
@@Finnbobjimbob Britain is worse than USSR when it comes to causing famines
@@Finnbobjimbob no britain actully kid
Even if I don't include Ms Moneymaker, this channel has the best patreon subscriber names. It's the only channel I listen to the very end on every video purely for names like "Spinning Three Plates."" There's others, but I'm not sure about spellings. 😊❤❤❤😊
Iran could have a really good hoi4 tree now that i know this
It doesn't have much to reconquer. The east Caucasus, south Turkmenistan and Herat.
I have never heard Vladivostok said that way. Very interesting
it is irony on how the allies declare war on german for invading neutral country like belgium but then they themselves invading other neutral country.
official policies of neutrality and actual neutrality are two different things. iran was very friendly with the germans and were helping supply the german war machine as half of iran's foreign trade was with germany
@@cowfat8547 and how is that not neutral ?
@@wakakabravo7998 They had a vested interest in a German victory. If Germany fell, so did half of Iran's trade economy. Normally when a country is at war, neutral countries will divest from that country as well as other belligerent countries in order to protect their own economy depending on the outcome of the war. They also enact foreign policy that towards the belligerent countries on both sides that are very similar and take a step back from both. Iran did the opposite. They were very friendly to the Germans and had some level of support for Nazism, but had hatred for the British and Soviets. They also kept a heavy amount of trade with the Germans at half of all trade while breaking prior deals with the British to trade oil with them too. That's not neutral in any way.
@@wakakabravo7998it’s the same way we don’t find Iran funding Russia’s war in Iran as ‘neutral’ today.
Iran then was making a lot of money of war profiteering and supporting the allies direct opponent when the war, was in that moment, in its favor.
It is important to remember that the occupation of Iran also included the, more important, occupation of its infrastructure. Railroads were the main way of transportation and war material had priority over less important things like food for the Iranian population. It caused inflation, famines, looting, revolts and Iran losing half of its population to hunger and diseases that only prey on the weak in the process.
Despite being asked multiple times to increase the number of trains allocated to food transportation by the Iranian government, most of them were denied by the Allies.
One small correction, there was an ultimatum to expel all German nationals but the shah ignored it. Then after allies first invaded he pretended to accept, but instead snuck out the German nationals without allowing the British and Soviets to take stock of them. This caused the British and Soviets to stop negotiating and seize Tehran, with the Shah abdicating as they approached the the city.
So it’s ok to dictate to Neutral Countries as long as it’s not Switzerland
The shah did expell as much as he could but the Germans built Iran so it's not possible to replace the industrial engines which they operated. Though he did expell them as much as he could but the British was like. No it's too few and too late. Let's assume was Germanys only trading partner left and still managed to trade with the Germans while the Germans were surrounded and managed to send good or receive good from iran(???)... Anyhow, even that would not be enough to tip the scales. What the British really wanted was the railways of Iran to send aid to Russia which saved the Russians and pushed back Germany. They masked this as Iran being one with the axis and for obvious reasons, people believed them. People talk about ww2 as if it was a war between good and bad, not knowing it was between worst and worst. What people in Europe consider as the worst (Germany) in countries like Iran or India it's Britain. Not to even mention the Russians. In the total occupation of India under British, 29 million people dies from starvation. That's not including wars and other stuff. Just starvation in forcing them to plant jute plants. Then there was the Persian Genocide where ww1 neutral Iran was the one which lost the most compared to any active participant of the war.
Iran: Thank you. You freed us from the Soviets. 😀
US/CIA: Oh, I wouldn't say "freed," more like "under new management." 😎
One thing that wasn't mentioned, but I think should at least be acknowledged, is the horrible famine that Iran suffered from under the occupation by the United Nations Alliance (i.e., Allies and Soviet Union). I highly recommend watching World War Two's video "The Famine the World Forgot" for more information.
during this invasion you can also talk about british infused persian holocaust famine ww1 ww2 which halfed the population from 20 milion to 10 million and alongside polish refuges coming to iran meanwhile during ww2 and installment of a dictator autocrat with its own cia
This question has received little attention, obviously because history is written by the victors. But, without trying to justify anyone, I note that during WWII there was a terrible famine in the USSR and in British India
@@Vlashr indeed and it is not too dissimilar to irish either
I love your vidoes! Without a doubt my favorite youtube channel. Can you guys do a video on the collapse of yugoslavia? Why did it collapse they way it did? What was the reaction.
For us danes, taking 6 days to surrender , is like the most impressive thing ever
When you already know the outcome, why bother insisting people be hurt?
great channel
2:39 A “free” nation, so long as the British were allowed to keep all the oil.
Wdym no they kept control of refineries @@Bd-ng1zv