WW1 Battlefields: The Hidden Secrets Of Ypres | Lost Battlefields | War Stories

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  • Опубліковано 5 лип 2024
  • Historian, Norm Christie, examines the old battlefields, visiting the cemeteries and memorials that hold the secrets to the legacy and sacrifices of the Canadians in the Battles of Mount Sorrel and Hill 70. These two battles cost Canada 5,000 dead, but few remember what their names. They were two vital battles that contributed to the ongoing development of the Canadian Corps.
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 299

  • @rohypnotist6263
    @rohypnotist6263 Рік тому +345

    As a Belgian citizen I can assure you that it's mind boggling and incredibly sad to see the size of the old cemeteries when you visit .It's one thing to see it on a screen but when you are there and you see rows upon rows of grave stones with thousands of fallen soldiers ...To think that these men and sometimes only boys came from that far away to fight so my family and now me and my offspring could be free .The local farmers still find bombs and even human remains when working the fields , a century after the tragedy .I recommend visiting some of the many museums and cemeteries because a screen doesn't do the gravity of the human loss justice .The first time my parents took me there I was so overwhelmed that I hardly said a word the next couple of days .I'm in my 40's now and still visit whenever I am in the area .The sacrifice of these young men should never be forgotten .Rest in peace

    • @urbansurvivor2391
      @urbansurvivor2391 Рік тому +21

      Well said. Moving words. Thank you

    • @TheMonkey747
      @TheMonkey747 Рік тому +13

      Cemeteries usually have a weird humming sensation to them from sound reflecting off the headstones.

    • @broken1394
      @broken1394 Рік тому +6

      I feel the same when seeing pictures, reading books, hearing stories.
      The age and numbers of the fallen still shocks.
      BW.
      🙋🏻‍♂️⚘️

    • @interman7715
      @interman7715 Рік тому +6

      I am Australian , 5 of my great uncles fought in Belgium, they all returned but were wounded and they suffered in silence.

    • @rohypnotist6263
      @rohypnotist6263 Рік тому +4

      @@interman7715 There's a reason they were called the greatest generation .They volunteered to go fight a war on the other side of the world so we could be free from tyranny here .

  • @jaywalker3087
    @jaywalker3087 Рік тому +30

    My grandfather was at Paschendale.
    He joined up as a boy soldier in 1895.
    He came home with PTSD and was never the same again.
    What he must have seen came and haunted every night until he died......

    • @billolsen4360
      @billolsen4360 Рік тому +6

      Like my old neighbor back in LA, who was a concentration camp Jew. She said every night she was back in the camp.

  • @amooseish
    @amooseish Рік тому +42

    My grandfather enlisted at 17 and was in 4th Div Engineers, first group to go over. In the CEF. Gassed at Ypres. Convalesced then back in at Festubert. Bayoneted and left for dead. 3 days later when bodies were being collected he managed a groan. When they grabbed his arms and ankles to take him away for burial. “This one’s not dead!” Survived, returned to Ontario. I have his paper notes from Festubert. He was one of the group that crawled through the hastily buried German bodies at the church. Gruesome. Put his hand through a body in the mud. The gassing eventually killed him at age 63.

    • @Dignity_first
      @Dignity_first 3 місяці тому

      Thank you for your story, sir!

  • @southeastcoastalphotography
    @southeastcoastalphotography Рік тому +43

    This is one of the best WW1 documentaries I’ve ever seen. As an American I find it sad that I knew almost nothing about Canadas contributions to helping win The Great War. I wish I’m school I had been taught more about our North American brothers.

    • @davidsigalow7349
      @davidsigalow7349 Рік тому +8

      Canada has a proud, honorable military history and buried many of her sons in France, Belgium, Germany, and beyond. The Canadian army had a "beach of its own" on D-Day.
      We Americans - even those who are interested in history - have been done a disservice due to the lack of attention given to the Great War in our collective education. After all, 100 years later, we are still living in the world shaped by the Great War.

    • @iankerridge5720
      @iankerridge5720 Рік тому +6

      I believe it is recorded that of all British and (at the time) Empire troops they faced on the Western Front of WW1, the Canadians were most feared and respected by the Germans

    • @dereknicholson7706
      @dereknicholson7706 Рік тому +3

      Sure were, that carried on to ww2. Peaceful and friendly till we hear war,Then a switch flips 😅Germans quoted ww2.didn't want to come against American artillery and Armour,British commanders and Canadian troops. Another lil known fact canadian beach ww2 was one of the most fortified beaches along side Omaha and forget the 3rd. Canadians Ended up farthest behind enemy lines.and were used as storm troopers ww1

    • @dereknicholson7706
      @dereknicholson7706 Рік тому +3

      Favorite church hill quote if I had american equipment, British commanders and Canadian troops I'd rule the world.

    • @dereknicholson7706
      @dereknicholson7706 Рік тому +1

      I appreciate the acknowledgement our efforts are usually always tied in to British or American operations and overlooked.tho you can't overlook vimy ridge ww1 the waltz or vimy glide was a work of art

  • @psadorski
    @psadorski Рік тому +23

    Prof. Norm Christie is the best WW1 historian that I know. Imcredible view on the Great War

  • @HistorySkills
    @HistorySkills Рік тому +40

    The older I get the more I am fascinated by the First World War. Thanks.

    • @JuliusC1973
      @JuliusC1973 Рік тому +4

      Same here, I always paid more attention to World War II, but this war needs to be appreciated more than it has in the past for how much it did change the world and the repercussions we still see to this day.

    • @gemmamudd7167
      @gemmamudd7167 Рік тому +1

      Me too

    • @gemmamudd7167
      @gemmamudd7167 Рік тому +1

      ​@@JuliusC1973 yeah I agree

    • @vanlendl1
      @vanlendl1 Рік тому

      Well, then you should study the Balfour-Declaration, if you haven't already done it.

    • @HenriqueFPplay
      @HenriqueFPplay Рік тому +1

      Same thing

  • @bpinkhof
    @bpinkhof Рік тому +13

    Thanks for this good video. My Flemish Grand-Mother was in Ypres that time, my grand grand father and his brother plus other family members were in those tranches, some of them died and more of them had succes. We remember them all. They fought for it, I am proud of them. From Flanders.

  • @Drew791
    @Drew791 Рік тому +31

    Wow this is an aspect of WWI that I didn’t know about. Thank you. It’s wild to think huge numbers of soldiers came from across the ocean to defend a tiny neutral Belgian city that represented so much for so many. Sometimes it’s easy to lose the humanity when dealing with these bulk numbers so telling individuals’ stories is so important.

    • @paulstewart6293
      @paulstewart6293 6 місяців тому

      People don't bother or know how think. Empathy is absent.

  • @bradcobb3418
    @bradcobb3418 Рік тому +10

    Excellent,informative and compassionate video. I've visited all these places but the memorial at Vimy is probably the most heart rending.
    The madness of the trenches being 25m apart and the multiple levels of underground trenches where there is still a train eusting away...just mind blowing..
    Respect Canada!

  • @mattdragonrider7888
    @mattdragonrider7888 Рік тому +29

    Around 10% of the names on my hometown war memorial have the letter c beside them to denote that they were Canadian soldiers born in Scotland, John McPhail was my grandfather's cousin ,he fell at Vimmy ,my grandfather's brother served as a Canadian died of wounds received . I was at the menin gate to witness the commemoration of Vimmy ridge in 2018

  • @brianperry
    @brianperry Рік тому +7

    My wife's father was at Ypres. Although l never meet him.... he had died some years earlier.... she said he called the town Wipers as in windscreen 'Wipers'... He was in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlander..

    • @GoBlueGirl78
      @GoBlueGirl78 Рік тому

      From Hamilton, then?

    • @LathropLdST
      @LathropLdST 10 місяців тому

      Yes, Brits called it Y-pers (or even Eepress), the French pronunciation was Eep.

  • @larskunoandersen5750
    @larskunoandersen5750 Рік тому +12

    I love this video. Arthur Currie had a mantra: neglect nothing

  • @cal9064
    @cal9064 Рік тому +23

    Several family members proudly served with the Canadian Corps. Including: Grandfather. He managed to survive Ypres. Others did not. While still others went on to great acclaim....including the awarding of a V.C. Or, were later killed in action. The story of Canadian heroism and sacrifice at Ypres and during the rest of the Great War, serves as a pivotal moment in history. When Canada became a great Nation.

    • @mwblackbelt
      @mwblackbelt 11 місяців тому +1

      @cal9064 God bless the Canadians. I'm so glad they are our neighbors

    • @SteveBrownRocks2023
      @SteveBrownRocks2023 10 місяців тому

      And now you’ve got Justin Turdeau. It’s a shame. 😔🇨🇦

    • @resevoirdog
      @resevoirdog 8 місяців тому

      Mine too :)

    • @mwblackbelt
      @mwblackbelt 8 місяців тому +1

      @cal9064 Canadians rock!

  • @steveinthemountains8264
    @steveinthemountains8264 Рік тому +32

    A very well told story about some extraordinary Canadian soldiers. I'm glad I caught this vid.

    • @vanlendl1
      @vanlendl1 Рік тому +1

      Germany did not attack Canada.

  • @lockyraglus3358
    @lockyraglus3358 Рік тому +13

    Seen hundreds of war documentary’s this one is by far the best

    • @broken1394
      @broken1394 Рік тому +1

      The BBC Berlin 1945 in 3 parts is amazing as well.

    • @martinhumble
      @martinhumble 15 днів тому

      The Great war 1964 bbc

  • @christophercoupe5006
    @christophercoupe5006 Рік тому +9

    We owe such an enormous debt to our veterans fighting all the wars against tyranny!! Not to judge anyone but we should be living lives worthy of their sacrifice!

    • @vanlendl1
      @vanlendl1 Рік тому +2

      Germany (German Empire) of 1914 was no tyranny.

    • @christophercoupe5006
      @christophercoupe5006 8 місяців тому

      @@vanlendl1 Tyrants invade other countries for no justifiable reason killing their people and destroying everything! Germany did this in Belgium, France...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • @Pilinge
    @Pilinge Рік тому +7

    We used trench warfare to fight the islamic state in the Kurdish regions. Seeing the trenches again gives me chills. There were no charges or flame throwers, but we did have to face gas attacks, artillery barrages, snipers and machine guns. Instead of being taken prisoner our comrades would commit suicide, better that than to be beheaded. The pictures of the trenches in the video are just like the ones we had. It’s crazy that nothing changes after 100 years.

    • @vanlendl1
      @vanlendl1 Рік тому

      That trenches must have been an exception.

    • @legitbeans9078
      @legitbeans9078 4 місяці тому

      They're using trenches right now in Ukraine that look just like ww1

  • @alanboots1106
    @alanboots1106 Рік тому +21

    Thank you Canada, for your help in both world wars.

  • @hollieBlu303
    @hollieBlu303 Рік тому +23

    WW1 documentaries always make me think of the last episode of Blackadder Goes Fourth....I don't think I have ever been so moved by a piece of fiction. Then again it isn't really fiction....it's a representation of a real, tragic piece of our history. I still think the cast executed that last scene brilliantly. So sad

    • @jimparis5073
      @jimparis5073 11 місяців тому +2

      “Good luck, everyone”

    • @carolpenhaligon9150
      @carolpenhaligon9150 11 місяців тому +1

      My grandad was at Ypres salient with the duke of Cornwall 7 battalion ❤😢

  • @jameshowe50
    @jameshowe50 Рік тому +11

    The headstones seem so close...are these gallant lads buried shoulder to shoulder in a mass grave formation? Great documentary by the way...i always heard about the carnage of the line defending Ypres. Brave souls RIP

    • @yeeyourlasthaw2803
      @yeeyourlasthaw2803 Рік тому +1

      More than likely. There are quite a few mass graves from ww1 and ww1. Nobody knows where they all are. War makes things unstable.

    • @funstuff2006
      @funstuff2006 Рік тому +7

      They are individual burials - unless the grave markers say otherwise. There is actually a foundation that runs under the soil that the grave markers seat into so that the spacing is uniform. The idea is that the burials make no distinction based on rank, you'll pass graves where a Captain or a Major will be buried shoulder-to-shoulder with private soldiers. Perhaps not equal in life, but equal, by virtue of their sacrifice, in death.
      I have seen markers with the names of two soldiers on it (likely meaning when they were discovered at a later date and reinterred together), and markers that say "known to be burried in this cemetery." Even unknown soldiers exhumed from elsewhere (either a trench burial, or a cemetery consolidation) will get their own plot. Cemeteries with large(r) numbers of lost graves/unknown burials mark it in some fashion. Places like the Zivy Crater just have a panel with all the names of the men in that burial instead of individual markers, while other cemeteries will use a stubby obelisk-like marker detailing the number of unknowns in that cemetery, or who were known to be buried at a cemetery that was destroyed/lost due to bombardments or changes in the battlefield.
      edit: typo

  • @seamasrigh2162
    @seamasrigh2162 Рік тому +8

    Do not forget. Please, never forget.

    • @interman7715
      @interman7715 Рік тому +1

      I think about their sacrifices and suffering every day.

  • @davesmith7432
    @davesmith7432 Рік тому +9

    This documentary was brilliant.

  • @kryts27
    @kryts27 11 місяців тому +6

    I knew little about this battle in World War 1, and how the Canadian allies and brothers in the dominions fought and died there, although I know a bit more about other World War 1 battles. Obviously Ypres was the Candian's version equivalent of Gallipoli to the Australians and New Zealanders. I lost a relative in the First AIF in Belgium in 1917 in the bloody battle of Passchendaele. This horrific battle was mired in mud, in an unusually wet summer and autumn in Western Europe. My relation lasted 2 years in the AIF from when he enlisted and to when he was killed or missing. He was 23 years old when he died. He was promoted from private to lieutenant in that time, was gravely wounded at least once, and was awarded the Military Medal. I unfortunately don't have any of his letters from the front, his history came from a history book compiled from a relation on my mother's side. In comparison to the Australians fighting at Passchendaele, the Canadians won a great victory at Vimy Ridge near Arras in 1917. Australians and Canadians shared very similar experiences in WW1 from two young countries. Lest we forget.

  • @jonathanfell688
    @jonathanfell688 Рік тому +6

    My Grandfather a Major in The Royal Horse Artillery was at Ypres. He received an MC for crawling forward over no man's land and taking the firing pins of 3 German machines guns that his batteries had driven underground.

  • @broken1394
    @broken1394 Рік тому +5

    Thanks for sharing,
    Fabulous narration, thanks for not spaing the details and horrors of the deaths.
    Sad to think how many went to war thinking it'd be a big adventure only to find He'll on earth and an end.
    Rip

  • @secdetau
    @secdetau Рік тому +4

    My Great Uncle WJF Larwood 32nd Battalion AIF died there coming out of the line after the battle of Polygon Wood.

  • @RaysRailVideos
    @RaysRailVideos Рік тому +14

    It's a shame that the story of the Durham Light Infantry which was supported by the canadians and the DLI also supported the canadians during the fighting around Ypres is never told, my great great grandad was one of those killed in action and his body has never been found in and around the fields Ypres.
    God bless also those that served and never came home

  • @graham2631
    @graham2631 Рік тому +17

    The great war for me is the end of an innocence and the beginning of a machine age.

    • @donofon1014
      @donofon1014 Рік тому

      the Germans used .. the massacre of the innocents... in one case early in the war. It is in fact the whole story.

    • @alanboots1106
      @alanboots1106 Рік тому

      It certainly was the end of innocence

  • @solanaceae2069
    @solanaceae2069 Рік тому +6

    I'm here 13-miles as the crow flies from Vimy Ridge.

    • @donofon1014
      @donofon1014 Рік тому +1

      I have roamed the site .. and the lovely guides showed this history teacher behind the fenced areas. My rib cage paid a price from the bus load of tourists coming up from the tunnels.. thinking maybe I scored. One daughter of Canada's NATO rep, the other a daughter of Canada's ambassador to Belgium. Ohh to enjoy my 20's more than I dared.

  • @jeffshort2755
    @jeffshort2755 Рік тому +8

    Great story of brave Canadians !

    • @vanlendl1
      @vanlendl1 Рік тому

      Bravery has nothing to do with it. The canadians were used to save the british empire.
      And they were stupid enough to do so.

  • @gerreramboer7022
    @gerreramboer7022 Рік тому +4

    I lived in langemark and know some fields there,2minutes searching and find schrapnel balls and bullets and all sorts of pieces of bombs

  • @waynemanning3262
    @waynemanning3262 5 місяців тому

    I have been honored to have been to many first and Second World War battlefields and cemeteries. I believe all Canadian students should have to make this trip as part of their curriculum. Nothing can bring home the sacrifices these men made and the sense of pride as sitting in Maple Copse cemetery or in the Benny-sur-Mer cemetery near Juno beach. These are sacred places in which to reflect and give thanks to all we have had for the past century.

  • @jackmorris7809
    @jackmorris7809 5 місяців тому

    Excellent video. These men deserve to be celebrated in schools in Canada.

  • @FlgOff044038
    @FlgOff044038 Рік тому +7

    Aussies Valolrise the Canadians who were fighting mates. The Canadians gave the Germans a taste of Currey.

  • @trevorfuller1078
    @trevorfuller1078 Рік тому +26

    The CEF (1914-18) consisted of between 40% to 65% of volunteers who had actually been born in others countries (Than Canada 🍁) both inside & outside the Empire & then, 80% on these had been born in the UK of Great Britain & Ireland🇬🇧, as it was in those times!

    • @alecblunden8615
      @alecblunden8615 Рік тому +6

      This is not unique. Some 60% of Australian servicemen were born in the UK.

    • @brianedmiston9988
      @brianedmiston9988 Рік тому

      @@alecblunden8615 31:17 31:17 wgo

    • @hodaka1000
      @hodaka1000 Рік тому +1

      @@alecblunden8615
      Yeah but the Australians were hundred percent volunteers

    • @TKM1951
      @TKM1951 Рік тому +2

      CEF did not check or verify birth certificates. They had volunteers from North and South America ,Asia ,Europe and the UK .

    • @trevorfuller1078
      @trevorfuller1078 Рік тому

      @@TKM1951 : I’m sure you’re quite right about verifying or checking authentication of any purported personal documents or certification etc., indeed in a volunteer force why should they usually need to bother?
      However, sometimes they did from other relevant required documentation such as proof or documentation of birth, especially if any ‘would-be’ younger, volunteer’s age was in doubt & questioned, accordingly, which it often was the case, whether it was a recruiting-board, panel or team in Canada, Britain, Australia or wherever else in 1914-18!
      Also volunteers or conscripts later on, had to still complete basic registration forms (Or else have an army clerk or other literate comrade help them to do such tasks, e.g. for forces’ pay-books etc. Then, in cases of any soldiers being illiterate or somehow incapable of writing them for themselves!), which always included questions on these types of documentation, disclosing such information as; their ‘place & date of birth, next of kin’s names, relationships & their contact-addresses’ information etc.!
      Hence, this data would always be kept available for armed forces clerical, records, archival or statistical purposes. But this is all obvious, so what’s your point here?

  • @FairwayJack
    @FairwayJack Рік тому +3

    well done ..very informative and respectful

  • @markwagstaff7209
    @markwagstaff7209 8 місяців тому

    I visited vimmy ridge a couple of years ago and what a fantastic memorial it is the statues are exquisite and the whole area is well serviced by Canadian volunteers a fitting tribute to Canadas fallen sons❤

  • @gholamhassani758
    @gholamhassani758 Рік тому +5

    As a human, the story of strangers killing each other over different uniforms demonstrates the true potential scope of psychopaths

    • @gholamhassani758
      @gholamhassani758 Рік тому +2

      It's sort of dark humour, to have been merely socially shamed into allowing your sons to go to war, in exchange for ribbons and medals.

  • @michaelfrost4584
    @michaelfrost4584 11 місяців тому +2

    Soo sad, as a ex military veteran and a very proud Australian, my great uncle was killed there. May he R.I P.

  • @drmarkintexas-400
    @drmarkintexas-400 Рік тому +3

    Thank you for sharing
    🤗🙏🇺🇲🎖️🎖️

  • @geoffthiessen646
    @geoffthiessen646 Рік тому +4

    Thanks for the great story

  • @ozziecozzie274
    @ozziecozzie274 7 місяців тому

    What an amazing guy! Such a wealth of information and experience. Just incredible. Thank you for sharing.

  • @colemarsh13
    @colemarsh13 3 місяці тому

    Thank you for sharing this.

  • @alanthomson7222
    @alanthomson7222 8 місяців тому

    I am proud of going to see the war graves of all the young soldiers on both sides. Sent by old men killed by young boys. RESPECT 🙏

  • @victoriaalvarez1557
    @victoriaalvarez1557 Рік тому +5

    For those saying ‘Not the best’ you should read about the last 100 days of WWI. The Canadians pushed the western front back to Germany

    • @RPMZ11
      @RPMZ11 Рік тому +4

      With the Aussie Corps beside them on the left.

    • @victoriaalvarez1557
      @victoriaalvarez1557 Рік тому +3

      @@RPMZ11 Yes ! 🇦🇺

    • @vanlendl1
      @vanlendl1 Рік тому

      Study the dirty deal of the "Declaration of Balfour" and you know, who won that war.

    • @edwardjoy3820
      @edwardjoy3820 Рік тому

      Belleau wood

  • @garypashley6217
    @garypashley6217 9 місяців тому

    This makes me proud to be Canadian and proud of my great grandfather who fought at Vimy Ridge

  • @istoppedcaring6209
    @istoppedcaring6209 10 місяців тому +1

    Ypres was never truly a secundary front, whilst most fronts fell silent on occasion, Ypres allone NEVER did, it remained an active front with raids and grand offenses from start to finish, every year more bombs are brought up from the soil by farmers. the land had been destroyed as badly as the infamous red zone in france, but Belgium could not afford to leave a large area of it's agricultural land as a forbidden zone, it never had the luxury of having ample arrable land in reserve.

  • @HomesteadViewin
    @HomesteadViewin 10 місяців тому

    Norm is the absolute best.

  • @scottyfox6376
    @scottyfox6376 Рік тому +1

    Salute to our fellow Canadian Colonial troops.🇦🇺🇨🇦

  • @carsonhaught9934
    @carsonhaught9934 8 місяців тому

    Oh my how love anything with the word "secrets" in the title!

  • @bencoupe75
    @bencoupe75 11 місяців тому +2

    God Bless Canada for fighting tyranny no matter the distance or sacrifice

  • @jonpate100
    @jonpate100 11 місяців тому

    May The MOST HIGH GOD BLESS you Canada 🇨🇦 Some don't know or respect YOUR TRUE GRIT.

  • @Ep0nz
    @Ep0nz Рік тому +4

    “Don’t worry son…if you’re gonna get it, you’ll ge”

  • @richardaillas162
    @richardaillas162 Рік тому +3

    Think the Aussies might disagree with the statement that the Canadian Corps was the greatest on the Western front. To my mind they share the honours in this respect with the Aussies. Edit: My mistake not mentioning the Ausses and Kiwis. They were all the best with awesome reputations with the Germans.

    • @ossianathertonriddle2928
      @ossianathertonriddle2928 Рік тому +2

      The Canadian Corp and France won WW1

    • @GoBlueGirl78
      @GoBlueGirl78 Рік тому +1

      It’s a Canadian doc, so it’s going to say they’re the best. I’d say the former colonies of Aus, NZ & Canada (CANZAC? ANZCAC?) were the greatest fighting forces; we also had to prove to the UK & world that we could hold our own.

    • @Tiki63
      @Tiki63 8 місяців тому

      And the Kiwis

  • @guytrout7101
    @guytrout7101 2 місяці тому

    And they are still remembered.

  • @barrykevin7658
    @barrykevin7658 Рік тому +4

    Exceptionaly Good , But seems to be a advert for everyone who died during the War.

  • @johnsimpson3240
    @johnsimpson3240 9 місяців тому

    They need to do a show on troops brought to france from africa and india. The Japanese even contributed to the war effort. They also deserve a mention.

  • @tylercooper1551
    @tylercooper1551 Рік тому

    It makes me sad, but somewhat proud, that the only remaining memorial to the men that fought in the Great War is in kansas city. I'm proud that my city makes it possible to remember those fellas, but sad that we're the only one to feel ghe need to do so here in the states

  • @jeffmcdonald4225
    @jeffmcdonald4225 Рік тому +2

    I still do not understand how they got men to participate in this god awful strategy. It was the very definition of insanity.

  • @thischarmingman2990
    @thischarmingman2990 4 місяці тому

    My great great grandfather died at the bluff on 29 of February 1916.

  • @seanlanglois8620
    @seanlanglois8620 9 місяців тому

    Watch alot of battlefield history.this battle is shocking how fast it all goes down

  • @mohammedsaysrashid3587
    @mohammedsaysrashid3587 Рік тому +1

    A wonderful historical coverage of treachery horrible circumstances & lives misery of warriors during WW1. Documentary showed positively effectiveness of British propagandists amongst Canadian citizens 🇨🇦 ( Are love warmth 😊 remaining for 3-4 years through litter exchanging ?! )Thanks for sharing

    • @RPMZ11
      @RPMZ11 Рік тому

      We were family...and ''Mum'' was calling.

  • @neilpiper9889
    @neilpiper9889 9 місяців тому

    My grandfather's brother who lived on Vancouver Island joined up. I have a picture of him in his uniform. He looks very sad. He did survive however.

  • @alexhamilton4084
    @alexhamilton4084 Рік тому +6

    I have no ties to the First World War, no family killed there but documentaries like this bring me to tears. Such a useless waste of human life. For what?

    • @theothertoolbox
      @theothertoolbox Рік тому

      For global corporations and the wealthy tribal elites. Nothing changes.

  • @AnthonyOMulligan-yv9cg
    @AnthonyOMulligan-yv9cg 10 місяців тому +1

    At Hill 70 today a small flock of 15-20 sheep graze and sleep. All for the sheep. For King and Sheep.

  • @yeseniaisylf
    @yeseniaisylf Рік тому

    At 1:34; I thought he said "Harry Larry." 😐😵‍💫😵

  • @philatkinson-hw1qe
    @philatkinson-hw1qe 9 місяців тому

    My great grand father James Atkinson born Belfast was a medic in Canadian 3rd and was mortally wounded thankfully left a pregnant wife back in Saskatoon otherwise our whole line would not exist , his brother John Atkinson died as well in the Irish fusiliers such a waste

  • @the_real_bin_chicken
    @the_real_bin_chicken Рік тому +2

    This is a great watch, however...
    Unpopular Opinion: your wrong in thinking that Canadians where the greatest force, because it was in fact the ANZAC Corps that was the greatest fighting force! 😝💀🇦🇺🇳🇿
    They where also 100% volunteers!

  • @resevoirdog
    @resevoirdog 8 місяців тому

    My grandpa who shares my name fought in this battle.

  • @jonpate100
    @jonpate100 11 місяців тому

    🔥🐲4th Battalion 9th REGIMENT MANCHUS. KEEP UP THE FIRE🫡

  • @gsftom
    @gsftom Рік тому +9

    Canadians then and now.

    • @donofon1014
      @donofon1014 Рік тому +1

      are.... were. You sentence lacks ... meaning.

    • @thatdude1435
      @thatdude1435 Рік тому

      @@donofon1014 its a well known meme

    • @donofon1014
      @donofon1014 Рік тому +1

      @@thatdude1435 meaning what? It means nothing to this Canadian ... who has visited Canada's battle sites and graves. Please explain the Meme ... you seem to get it.

  • @dimitruscherry
    @dimitruscherry Рік тому

    44:18 in the video ... Someone wrote "W.M Cockburn" on the historical wall in the building ... brah they were def just joking with that one , it may have been someone in 2023 to throw you off LMAO

  • @phillipthewondernoodle5430
    @phillipthewondernoodle5430 8 місяців тому

    "Visiting local...tourist attractions." Nah, they were put trying to tap a tree. You feel me? Trying to get that syrup drip going.

  • @michaelmallal9101
    @michaelmallal9101 5 місяців тому

    Flying ace Goring would have been flying around.

  • @michaelbasford5109
    @michaelbasford5109 Рік тому +1

    Bings boys

  • @nobeoddy1664
    @nobeoddy1664 Рік тому

    great adventure - LOL. what a pack of rubes.

  • @marvwatkins7029
    @marvwatkins7029 11 місяців тому +1

    Hotels in and industrial estate? Wha...?

  • @LarryP248
    @LarryP248 8 місяців тому

    This content is excellent. A book I read that shared this content significantly altered my approach to life. "The Silent Bridge: Echoes of the Unspoken Past" by Emma Wick

  • @thomasw.glasgow7449
    @thomasw.glasgow7449 4 місяці тому

    it was a stupid war that should never have happend , so said my late grandfather who served in the black watch in that war , i agree wi him , aye !

  • @raymondchassell4204
    @raymondchassell4204 Рік тому +2

    Did you forget the millions of English Scottish Irish????

  • @LathropLdST
    @LathropLdST 10 місяців тому

    It never ceases to amaze me how people from THE COUNTRIES INVOLVED know SO LITTLE about Ypres, Mons, Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele.
    All their sacrifice, forgotten.
    This is the war I have studied the most, and I am from a country that only saw sea warfare.
    I cannot fathom being Canuck, Kiwi, Aussie and not knowing about the Belgian front (As for Murricans, they have no history, they can not know)

  • @stevenfitzsimmons3840
    @stevenfitzsimmons3840 11 місяців тому

    No glory in any of this madness. The cream of a generation just wasted.

  • @hardcore4090
    @hardcore4090 Рік тому +1

    phuu what should i say. its one dark side of history.

  • @theothertoolbox
    @theothertoolbox Рік тому +8

    It’s even sadder knowing that these men died for nothing.

    • @antdb3021
      @antdb3021 Рік тому +3

      Just for an even more destructive war to be fought 30 years later over the same things.

    • @sharpright6887
      @sharpright6887 Рік тому +2

      @theothertoolbox. I think they would disagree as would Belgium. Don’t substitute nothing for futility.

  • @gholamhassani758
    @gholamhassani758 11 місяців тому +1

    My solution at ending the war would have been to ask the head of state, King Edward, to contact his blood cousin, Kaiser Wilhelm, and negotiate cessations of hostilities...

    • @gholamhassani758
      @gholamhassani758 11 місяців тому +1

      Yet the sheep believe in 'democracy'

    • @gholamhassani758
      @gholamhassani758 11 місяців тому

      Do you REALLY believe the king was incapable, as his 'subjects' wanted war?!

    • @vanlendl1
      @vanlendl1 11 місяців тому

      The british wanted to save their empire. As it got bad, they made a dirty deal with the zionists which should use their influence to get the USA into that war. That dirty deal was the Balfour-Declaration. It was signed in november 1917 between the british foreign minister Balfour and Lord Rothschild.

    • @georgeedward602
      @georgeedward602 11 місяців тому

      They were negotiating the whole war. Germany wanted an Empire and the result was an end to all Empires.

    • @vanlendl1
      @vanlendl1 11 місяців тому

      @@georgeedward602 That war was about destroying Germany from the very beginning. As it was going possibly bad for the british, the british made a deal with the zionists (Balfour-Declaration) and offered them a national home in palestine.

  • @donofon1014
    @donofon1014 Рік тому +15

    Sad confession from a Canadian teacher of History ... and participated for years in elevating a true thing. Canadians "over performed" in World War I bravery and ingenuity on land and in the skies. It did help create a new national sense of identity. That was for Grade 9. It was time for many of the same students in 20th Century World History to tell some truths. Both Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele were front line positions WITHDRAWN from to rationalize the trench lines. ALL FOR NAUGHT. Canadians and Americans are exceptional in finding an upside to being in the war. It was simply then and now the stupidest most self-destructive event in the new modern world. And it triggered a rerun. Pathos only. Glory is a recruiting tool. In tribute to this ... UA-cam thinks Vimy is a spelling error for something else?

    • @nobody687
      @nobody687 Рік тому +4

      We are men of our generations. There's nothing to apologize for. We were shown movies glorifying war.

    • @aaronbinner3727
      @aaronbinner3727 Рік тому +5

      As someone in the US military I have always loved working with our brothers and sisters up north

    • @donofon1014
      @donofon1014 Рік тому

      @Bubba's Broadside Ohhh but now YOU leave out the KIwis and white South Africans. ALL the then Dominions OVER PERFORMED IN A POINTLESS SLAUGHTER. I am sorry you felt over looked in my celebration of the STUPIDITY of the whole exercise. So here. Enjoy Australia' s fair share of imperial abuse. .. that left you in North Africa while the Japanese were pressing down from the north and Britain said... no. you are staying here. You serve the Empire. Not Australia. Things to be proud of. When PM Loyd George wanted to fire the inept friend of the king Douglas Haig.. he wanted to replace him with either Canada's General Currie ... or Australia's General _________. If you cannot fill in that blank in a micro second .....You have NO CONCEPT of who to challenge on the men of 1914 - 1918, do you?

    • @donofon1014
      @donofon1014 Рік тому

      @Bubba's Broadside You CANNOT SPELL Monash? I thought you would google the topic and pretend you knew. Tough word huh. You LOSE! Disengage from this exchange as I am now. Enough you silly man.

    • @user-io6pj8bz8h
      @user-io6pj8bz8h Рік тому

      Yea, Germany were the good guys, the Anglo union brought in globalism. P.S the u.s are the worst soldiers of any 1st world country.

  • @DelphyThe1
    @DelphyThe1 Рік тому

    Mmmmm winning a medal? They earned them....

  • @clawcross
    @clawcross 5 місяців тому

    And in 1940 it fell without a fight

  • @redceltnet
    @redceltnet Рік тому +5

    "...sheltered by the great mother country: England" - The "mother country" was Britain, not England. "Even England's declaration of war" - England didn't declare war. They couldn't declare war, as they weren't a sovereign country. Y'know... with a parliament, government, head of state or even a military. Britain. The word is "Britain", FFS.
    Released on a channel about historical events, too. Utterly shameful.

    • @forsakingfear3652
      @forsakingfear3652 11 місяців тому

      I agree totally with what you say except Ireland was at that time part of Great Britain and she also helped and had a say, but spot on everything else.

    • @redceltnet
      @redceltnet 11 місяців тому

      @@forsakingfear3652 I didn't use the words "Great Britain". I used the word "Britain". They are not the same thing. Ireland was a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (AKA The UK AKA Britain).

    • @forsakingfear3652
      @forsakingfear3652 11 місяців тому

      @redceltnet there is no such thing as "Britain",its full title is "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland/Ireland at the time.
      Britain is just a shortened term for the 4 nations or The UK nowadays.

    • @redceltnet
      @redceltnet 11 місяців тому

      @@forsakingfear3652 You said "there is no such thing as "Britain" - followed by ""Britain is..."
      You see why you contradicted yourself, right?
      What "Britain" means changes over time. It is a shorthand for the UK in the exact same way that "America" is shorthand for the USA. They aren't their technical or official name, but it is how they are referred to in common language.
      The Republic of Ireland was once a part of Britain (the UK), but never a part of Great Britain (whether when used to collectively refer to England, Scotland and Wales, or when referring to this nation when it held that name (1707-1801)).
      It's less complicated than it sounds, but a lot of people get confused.

  • @BenKlassen1
    @BenKlassen1 Рік тому +1

    Pointless slaughter like today's Ukraine-Russian conflict.

  • @davepaterson935
    @davepaterson935 11 місяців тому

    The Canadians and the Australians were greatly feared by the German troops. The reason for that is that they were led by the only two Generals who knew what they were doing: General Currie (Canada) and General Monash (Australia). You hear little of them in popular British history.

  • @mattjones5987
    @mattjones5987 Рік тому +1

    Why is a Canadian narrated with an Irish accent?

    • @jasompinard4576
      @jasompinard4576 Рік тому

      A great deal of the Canadian army, indeed Canada, at the time were born outside Canada. The video even mentions several Scottish born Canadians.

  • @paulcock8929
    @paulcock8929 11 місяців тому

    "The war to stop all wars" was followed up by an even bigger war. Belgium, the land that they wanted to save is not a country, it is a prison for two different peoples who would be better of separated. Why did those guys die? Because Brittain wanted to stay the dominant country in Europe?

    • @forsakingfear3652
      @forsakingfear3652 11 місяців тому

      No, because Great Britain and Northern Ireland had signed a treaty with Belgium to protect her. Great Britain and Northern Ireland were never the dominant powers in Europe, we only ruled the oceans.

    • @paulcock8929
      @paulcock8929 10 місяців тому

      Belgium is a creation of Brittain, it is a construction, the Flemish (I am Flemish) would have been better of if we were united with Holland. They did give us a king out of their stock of unemployed German nobility from their former colonies in Germany. Brittain always wanted to dominate Europe, and now, I am happy to say they dominate nothing but are dominated by the USA. Those poor Canadian soldiers died for nothing.

  • @brianmurray1395
    @brianmurray1395 Рік тому

    As soon as Trudeau is gone we CAN REBUILD our GREAT NATION and remember these men with ever so much pride again!!

  • @thepeskytraveller3870
    @thepeskytraveller3870 Рік тому +2

    Canada's leaders today are a far cry from these brave men. Such a shame really.

  • @Bgo909
    @Bgo909 7 місяців тому

    I realize the world moves on and u can’t hold closely to history every day. But the thought of a Walmart or the equivalent being on top of land that men fought and died for is the ultimate disrespect in my opinion. I can understand people needs homes to live in, but to desecrate it for a manufacturing plant to make screwdrivers or something just isn’t cool man. It just isn’t cool. Imo.

  • @seamusbyrne7820
    @seamusbyrne7820 8 місяців тому +2

    All that sacrifice, only to end up with Trudeau.

  • @danielcarmichael7911
    @danielcarmichael7911 Рік тому

    Pp

  • @Madis.T.
    @Madis.T. Рік тому +1

    So glad i didin't born in that time..😅

  • @bernie4268
    @bernie4268 9 місяців тому

    …the greatest fighting force on the western front? ….really?…