"The first rule of war is that young men die. The second is that nobody can change the first rule..." --Lt. Colonel Henry Blake, 4077th MASH RIP to all those who did not grow old...

An interesting note here is that while the last lyrics are "And now no one remembers our names", Sabaton gave a name to each and every person who made an appearance in this video in the credits. A small gesture, but a meaningful one. Lest we forget.

The timing, i'm going to a Sabaton concert in a couple of minutes.

Here in France we always make jokes about the british regarding our old rivalry. But if there is one conflict we do not dare to laugh about is WWI. Gloire à eux, ce furent des braves.

There were also a lot of callbacks to Sabaton songs; The Hellfighters you mentioned, the ancient Greek soldiers for Sparta, the 101st airborne soldier for screaming eagles, the woman coming out of the alley while airplanes fly overhead for both night witches and Lady of the dark, etc

I used to LOVE this song by Motorhead, i almost forgot it existed til this... SO glad Sabaton brought it back, and great reaction

You're right on the older two being the two surviving members of Motorhead, and yeah they linked all wars, along with all the various stories they've told in this video, from the night witches and Leonidas to the soldiers at Verdun and the somme. This video really hits you in the gut and it's hard to deny the band really both put respect on the name of both motorhead for having one of the best songs about WWI, and on the soldiers they're writing about.

Thank you for your video about the Newfoundland Regiment at Beaumont-Hamel. Those few minutes of courage have impacted Newfoundland to this day.

I saw Sabaton this monday in Hamburg and i am still amazed by it and was soo happy that they performed "1916" just a beautiful moment to remember

I saw Sabaton when they came to Leeds two weeks ago. Absolutely incredible band, they put on a hell of a show! Very grounded and down-to-earth, too.

I wanted to say that just a couple of minutes before you posted this Sabaton released a behind the scenes documentary of the filming process for this song which may be worth checking out for anyone interested

R.I.P. Lemmy of Motörhead. Your legacy continues on with this song. Thank you Sabaton for covering one of Lemmy's works, and thank YOU VTH for reacting to it. Some very powerful stuff right here. It almost brought a tear to my eye, thinking of the wasted lives taken by the battle. EDIT: 6:38 That's Lemmy in the picture he's holding.

This is not a song. This is an anthem

Being from the UK where WW1 is relatively high in the public conscience, this song never fails to get me emotional. Whenever I’ve listened to it, especially about the lines where they call for their mothers always gets me. I don’t have children yet, but it must have been hard for you considering your own son is probably only a few years off the age of many of these kids I’m guessing?

I was at that gig in Leeds. And it was a very powerful song. Very good gig as well, I had Swedish Pagans stuck in my head for two days after.

I know you love history when you can feel for the people you never met they're not just characters in a movie they had real dreams they wanted a future that was stolen from them

im not crying, youre crying. why does sabaton have to make such good emotional songs. i know of at least two ancestors that barely made it to the age of 20 and died in different wars

As a motorhead fan, i know Lemmy would have loved this video. Not only because its a great rendition, but also because of all the details portraying soldiers from different times, clothing included. He was a huge fan of war memorabilia.

I really like how they included representations of people from all different culture groups ie punks, rockers, hippies, the general folk of a city most in period clothing from the early 1910's. To think many of the wives who lost their husbands in WW1 lost their sons in WW2, and then the next generation repeated with Vietnam and it's continued to this day :(

I was there at Leeds for the concert, the song live was just eerie and mind-blowing The whole concert was just unbelievable though

Monument to the "Unknown Hero" on mount Avala just south of Belgrade was built after WWI. It was built, however, at the spot where Austrians had built a small monument to a hero they encountered. Their advance was halted by very precise gunfire, and they had to wait for the heavy artillery to deal with the shooter. When they got there, they found out that it was a 15 year old boy that was holding up the entire regiment. They buried him together with the artillery shell casing that killed him, and built a small monument. Later in the 1930s a huge mausoleum was built as a monument to all the heroes of the Great War.

I've seen this Video at least a Dozen times, and everytime I tear up. As you said toward the end, I cannot make sense of it, that is how I think most people have it. Yes those two are the members of Motörhead, the picture they carry later, are of Lemmy the late Vocalist of Mötorhead. All in all a fantastic tribute to a great Song.

I've been waiting for this! Thank you for reacting to Sabaton after such a long time

I was at the Leeds concert when this song had its live debut. The adrenaline of being at the concert stopped me from doing so at the time, but there have been a few times since where I have watched the music video (as well as the Motorhead original) where the tears have come through - such a powerful and emotional song with an equally powerful and emotional message.

I have been waiting for your reaction ever since Sabaton released their version of 1916. I went to see Sabaton in Cardiff about 2 weeks ago and they were incredible. Such an amazing experience, if you have never seen then before you absolutely must!

Thank you for doing this, my great grandfather fought and was shot in the chest at the battle of the somme, he died in 1990 still with the round next to his heart , long live the south lancs regiment

I really enjoy seeing a reaction video done by someone who has historical knowledge about The Great War. Another singer who wrote some very deep songs about World War I is Eric Bogle. I would love to see a reaction video to “And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda”, “As if He Knows”, or “No Man’s Land”(also covered very well by Dropkick Murphys

I love this tribute so much because it does right by the song and there are so many references to others songs and stories that sabaton has told its truly amazing. I also cried my eyes out when I watched this video for the first time.

This song... it just makes me cry every time

Very powerful. I only just recently found your reactions to Sabaton. A band I loved in College what feels like so many years ago now. As a History major myself their music often resonated with me. It is a great joy to be suddenly reintroduced to them again as I make my slow way through all your old videos. Keep doing what your doing. I enjoy very nearly every video you do, for those I don't, that is more a mater of the gravity of the topic than your presenation of it. Just hard to enjoy learning some of the story you tell. Though it is important for us all to hear and remember them.

I was accredited as photographer at the Sabaton concert in Hannover last week. I am just having a break from selecting the photos and what could be better, than a reaction video to Sabaton? 1916 was live also extremely powerful. It gave me goosebumps and also wet eyes within the pit. Just like Christmas Truce, where they had a burning piano on stage, Tommy standing on it. It gave me an already now favorite shot of mine.

i was at that concert in Leeds it was so touching put a lump in your throat watching the drummer and listening to the song

I live in Accrington, and we have huge artwork on buildings. There is also a still picture of the Accrington Pal on one of the buildings showing all the soldiers dated 1916 before they went to the Somme.

People say Sabaton “overdoes” the anthemic, epic, sound, but they ain’t singing about clerks who collated and stapled above and beyond the call of duty, here. These people DESERVE IT.

Woohoo Sabaton cover! I became a frequent listener to their amazing songs because of you! Basically turned me into a metal head!

Good sir, you got my subscription when you named the young fallen with such loss. Your heart is a deep well and I feel I will come to learn much about The Great War. In regards to this song, Good Gods above... I'm gonna need to grab a box of tissues to watch this...

Just found you and I like your stuff cause this really hits, especially what the young people back then had to go thru to fight for what they believed in....it's sad how many young lives were lost

Absolutely love the reaction, and love the song. As a history buff and someone serving, with family in the services, it hits home. I plan to visit many of the sites from Normandy to the Argonne during my time in Europe to try and encapsulate the memory of the fallen. Love your videos.

Thank you so much for doing a react to this. Im a huge Sabaton fan and I enjoy your videos. Im looking to start pursuing my history studies in a few month. Keep up the great work.

The two guys at 6:24 are Mikkey Dee and Phil Campbell, the drummer and the guitarist of Motörhead. The picture is of Lemmy Kilmister, the bassist and singer of Motörhead.

I had the honor of seeing Sabaton live just yesterday evening, and this was one of the songs they performed.. It is truly emotional as it is, listening to it digitally, but the impact it had in person was just.. I can’t even describe it.

Thoroughly enjoyed your commentary. Thank you

I've seen comments elsewhere about WW1 veterans who lived long enough to hear this song themselves. Lemmy (from Motorhead) was a phenomenal songwriter and very well-read in history; he would often talk about how "a whole generation died" on that first day at the Somme. "Death or Glory" is another Motorhead song that captures the universality of a soldier's experience, listing many pivotal battles (though the song is less somber). Great reaction Chris!!

I usually listen to Sabaton with the videos in the background. I always watch your reaction and your heart breaking did the same for me. Thank you!

What a beautiful and sad cover. Thanks for reacting to this! Rest in peace all those who fought in the great war.

Regardless of how tough or how resistant you are to tearjerkers. There would be something to tug your heartstrings. And this does it for some. Imagine the lives lost, futures ruined, and memories forgotten by the senseless act that happened.

I got choked up listening to these lyrics and listening to your commentary. It’s very emotional and that’s one of the things I have always loved about history is that it makes you want to remember and never forget not just the important dates or the important events… but all those who time may have forgotten, but you never will.

I think this is what i find so beautiful with Sabaton. With songs like these, they remember all these people. All the sacrifices, even the more obscure battles that many might not have heard about. They give a space for that to be remembered and talked about. Not to mention all the people who learned things they didn't know before, thanks to songs (and reaction videos) like these. As a European myself, what i learned in school were the most basic in coverage of the First and Second WW. The rest, i can confidently say i learned from Sabaton

I was there when the music video was shot, it was shot partly on the Tipton Road Dudley, Black Country Living Museum. And they met Mickey Dee and Phil Cambell the last members of Motörhead in Birmingham. Sabaton were all gentleman! And we saw them play in Cardiff.

I was at the Sabaton concert in Leeds and heard them sing it for the first time, being a massive motorhead fan I knew it word for word.

I live in Burnley, a town next to Accrington. The Burnley Pals are still very much remembered here, they’ve even got a separate memorial behind our cenotaph, and every time I go through Accrington on the train I give a nod to the huge mural they’ve got in the town centre. Such an insane thought that my town and others had an entire generation of men gone in an instant, it’s impossible to imagine. But it’s part of our local and indeed world history that we are enormously proud of.

I went to a Sabaton concert this monday. They did that again. It's so atmospheric.

Thank you for doing videos like these. I feel like ww1 is one of our least talked about wars and the care and attention you put into really resonates with me. I know all wars are full of tragedy, but this one really does feel the most tragic the more I learn about it

The detail in this video is incredible, the motorhead tribute, the different uniforms that are still recognisable, i managed to pick an australian uniform, the woman who steps out of the alley is in a russian uniform and looks up at the planes is a reference to night witches. This video is powerful and Sabaton is so good at this stuff, the history, the rtespect the emotion

Hey yeah they were mickey dee and phil cambell they were the last members of motorhead to play with lemmy, a moving tribute

Someone please give Chris a tissue. The song was moving enough, but seeing Chris tearing up moved me alot more.

Thank you for your deep reaction! Greetings from lower Saxony Germany!

Thank you for a reaction that adds context & respect to this heartbreaking song. I prefer the bleakness in Lemmy's voice, but also appreciate the important information that Sabaton include in their video. One vital part of the lyrics that I think people skip over & miss is "though it wasn't my fault and i wasn't to blame". The kind of thing a kid gets upset over when getting told off, but also the real truth of war. The young die & the people to blame are the kings, queens, politicians & dictators who start & maintain conflict for their own ends. Tragic.

6:28 Yes, my friend. Those are the last 2 remaining living Motörhead members. Mickey Dee (drummer) and Phil Campbell (guitarist) who aren't original members, but remained in Motörhead until Lemmy died.

You such a good man- I was getting choked up to❤️🫡

I was at that Leeds concert, the first night of the tour, and it was so emotional. So let's raise a few glasses: to Birmingham, birthplace of metal; to Lemmy (RIP); to Sabaton; and to those who sacrificed so much. My wife's grandfather was one of those who lied about his age - he was only _14_ when he went to the Front! He got out alive, thanks to some amazing luck: he was wounded and taken to a field hospital, and his own father was there at the same time. He swore a lot when he saw his son, then wrote to his wife back home explaining the situation. She in turn sent evidence of their boy's age to the War Office and they pulled him out (one of my wife's relatives still has the letters). After he came home he never spoke to anyone in the family about his experiences. Greetings from South Yorkshire - Lest We Forget.

Welcome back to the rabbit hole, Chris. It's been a long time since u react to them.

1) maybe try the original as well at some point. Lemmy's voice just hits different. 2) Try Running Wild's Songs "Little Big Horn" and "Waterloo" at some point, please. Basically Proto-Sabaton

This was a very powerful video and song. It got me quite emotional as well

No matter how many times I listen to this song and/or watch that video, that my eyes get, at the very least, bright with unshed tears, and my throat full of emotion. It happens every single time.

I just saw them live in Copenhagen, amazing experience. Sabaton does a great job at telling these stories. Lest we forget.

I remember as a child my Grandmother and Mother showing me this large and very thick book kept in a glass case in our local library, in it was all the names of the local men who had died in WW2. It became a game to a small child to see on each visit if the page with my Grandfather's name was the one showing. I had to become an adult to understand that name was all they had of him, no grave, no body, no proper idea of where his ship had actually sunk.

3:53 Notice the snake shoulder patch of the Harlem Hellfighters

recently seen them play live in Glasgow they played this at that concert, as you say its just such a powerful song and lyrics

Yes those are 2 members of Motorhead, and the picture they were holding was of Lemmy Kilmister, who passed away in 2015 and he wrote this song back in the 90s

Goosebumps 🥶 Absolutely gripping lyrics.

I'm from Sweden like they are and there are so many of their songs that just make me choke up and actually cry when i see their videos. They do the horrors of war so much justice in how they present the story and the amount of detail and emotion they put in. Sabaton is a band that is needed so people continue to remember the horrors of the past. Lest We Forget.

I was at the show in Leeds and it was a powerful song with Joakim singing and the lone drummer. I've not heard the moterhead song however so I must check that out at some point

Yes, that was the surviving Members of Motorhead. The picture they were carrying was of Lemmy Kilmeister,RiP, the lead singer

I was at the Leeds gig and it was frigging awesome.

I adore all of your commentary and I feel the same way.

That was Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee (now in The Scorpions) and Motorhead guitarist Phil Campbell in the video carrying Lemmy's picture.

The Night of July 1st 1916 is a date of Infamy for my Family. My Great Great Grandfather was a Lieutenant in the 1st Newfoundland Regiment "Blue Puttees" On the Night of July 1st 1916, after a harsh day of fighting, They went over the Top at Beaumont Hamel with 1070 men. By 8am the next day, He and 64 came back. 1000 men Slaughtered by Hun Machine Guns, Veteran Riflemen, And Grenadiers.

Yeah we saw Mickey Dee there, drummer of Motörhead and fellow Swede as well

Great reaction. Greetings from Germany

I love the call back to all the songs they've done. Being English and from the North. I can help but 😢 up every time I hear this song. Some of the towns around where I live lost full generations in both wars.

Chris,just discovered your channel,your deep respect you show to the fallen touches me immensely, I have on my mantle piece a photograph of my great uncle Edward mark, he looks no more the a school boy in uniform,no wonder for his determination to join his 4:brothers in the East Kent buffs meant he lied about his age,he was in truth just 16 years old,he was gassed in the battle of mons , returning home where he died shortly after, as his mother,my great great mother wept by his bedside he told her ,do not grieve mother ,I'm lucky to die here at home unlike my pals. This was related to my by his sister ,my great gran.on my birth she asked my mum would she name me after him,we already had 3 Edwards in the family so I was given his middle name,of the of the 7 great uncles that went of to war only 3 returned, Harry died along side his brother Frank at Ypres, Great uncle Arthur lost his life at the Somme Aged only 19, I have a letter given to my mother,it is from Arthurs best pal informing Arthurs mother how he was always the life and soul of the regiment,and describes the moment he lost his life, it was quick and he did not suffer,he describes how they went over the top together he says how one moment Arthur was by his side," I looked to the left for but a moment, but when I looked back to where Arthur had been,he was gone, every November I attend remembrance Day service, standing before the war memorial, their names engraved on the monument I reflect on what lives they may have led .

All of the soldiers they highlight on in the video are based on real people. Not counting the Knights and the Spartans, so far I've come up with: The soldier pulling himself out of the mud, at first I thought he was a member of "The Smoking Snakes" (Força Expedicionária Brasileira, FEB, nicknamed Cobras Fumantes), but doing some more research with the patch on his shoulder as well as his helmet, that's Sgt Henry Johnson of the 15th New York National Guard Regiment, aka "The Harlem Hellfighters". Medal of Honor recipient and recipient of French Croix de Guerre avec Palme, France's highest award for valor. The Medal of Honor was awarded to him in 2015. Sgt. Henry Johnson is "one of the five bravest American soldiers in the war." Theodore Roosevelt Jr. in his book "Rank and File: True Stories of the Great War" The Asian soldier with the cocked-hat, that's a Nepalese Gurka named Havildar Gurung (per the credits) who earn the Victoria Cross in the Burma campaign off WWII. Sgt Awal Nur, belonged to the most famous Indian Army regiment of 1914-18, Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides. He served in Belgium, France and East Africa from 1914 to 1917, and he was wounded three times. But his most extraordinary exploit was on His Majesty's secret service. Nur was one of 16 Indian soldiers specially chosen to join British officers on a secret Indian Army mission into Soviet Central Asia in early 1918. On the direct orders of London, the mission's goal was to stop Soviet resources in Central Asia from reaching the Germans by railway and the Caspian Sea. Lt. Audie Murphy the highest decorated soldier in US history who served in WWII. Sgt. Alvin York a humble man from Tennesse who was awarded the Medal of Honor in WWI for exceptional bravery under fire. Private McNamara was 101st Airborne, Silver star awarded due to actions during the Battle of the Bulge. I also notice a soldier with the Croix Lorraine on what looks like a French flag arm band, meaning he was a member of the 'Forces françaises libres' forces in WWII. Doing some reading I found out that a large number of French colonial troops from territories such as Chad and Senegal had joined with the 'Forces françaises libres'. Damn, Sabaton REALLY does their research! I suspect that soldier is Lt Comba, but I can't find anything on him. ATS Ivy Valentine is coming up on a dead end, I found that the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) was the British version of the American WAC's, but I cannot find anything about her name. As I've been working my way through the names listed in the credits and found another one: Private George Stringer, Manchester, Awarded the Victoria Cross at the Battle of Es Sinn in Mesopotamia. Capt. Dobson, 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion, Killed on 9 July 1916 in Flanders.

My Great Grandpa lost his life in the Somme. His body has no grave. His name is marked at the Thiepval Memorial. He was an L/Cpl in the Middlesex Regiment. He died on 27th July 1916. At the Going Down of the Sun, and In the Morning, We Shall Remember Them. - Lest we forget.

Wow this song and video hit hard. Completely agree with you. WWI was such a waste of life for nothing. Thank you for continuing to bring these men’s stories to light as we try to never forget them

I was at that concert, everyone felt this song on some level ❤

Lov ehow the Sabaton version doubles as a tribute to Lemmy and Motorhead. I remember there's a part where the surviving members show up. Recently saw Nanowar of Steel live. They were awesome. They're an Italian metal band that parodies metal. They did a song called Pasadena 1994 on their last album that's lighter, but might be in your wheelhouse. It's a parody of Sabaton with the lead singer of Sabaton sang on it in the music video and it was about the Italy's loss of the 1994 World Cup but singing about it like it was a historical battle. If I'm not explaining that too well, sorry I'm kind of drunk.

Phi Campbell and Mikke Dee were in the video of the two Surviving members of Motorhead and their tour Manager.

A phenomenal tribute to both Lemmy and all the soldiers throughout history who marched off to fight, and maybe die, for their homeland. RIP, you are missed and appreciated.

I hadn’t heard this song for ages, it popped into my head today and I find out sabaton released a cover and VTH reacted to it all around winning. And yes you’re right that is Mikkey Dee and Phil Taylor of Motörhead fame

The Great War, WW1, which I have come to call the War of Ego. For a long while I had a general idea about WW1, but not all the info, until I found a channel on KZfaq covering the Great War, one video covering what happened in one week of the war, and it left me reeling from the ego these commanders had, the stubborn belief that one more time and it would be the key, throwing away tens of thousands of men for possibility to make the great break through the enemy lines, all because they never bother to actually head up to the front and take a look at what was happening.

From Lemmy's autobiography: "I wrote the words [to '1916'] before I wrote the music. It's about the Battle of the Somme in World War I . . . it happened that I was in England, watching a programme about World War I and I had a brainstorm when they got to the Battle of the Somme. Nineteen thousand Englishmen were killed before noon, a whole generation destroyed, in *three hours* -- think about that! It was just terrible -- there were three or four towns in northern Lancashire and south Yorkshire where that whole generation of men were completely wiped out. And those towns are still suffering from it because they were never able to build their population up again. Places like Accrington, in Lancashire, were fucking destroyed. They brought five old guys back to the battlefield in this TV special. One guy, who was about ninety, said 'They told us to walk, not run, and we walked across and all the lads around me laid down. I thought there might have been an order from the rear that I hadn't heard. And then I realized they were all dead.' It's a case of the English killing more Englishmen than the Germans. Hindenberg, who later became president of Germany, said, 'They were lions lead by donkeys.' So I wrote a song about it. But I do have a lot of ambivalence about that tune. This kid wrote to me and said he played it for his grandfather, who was there, and the old man cried all the way through it. That's a very great compliment, but I'm not sure I like the guy feeling that bad for my gratification. It's an amazing thing to have happen, though, to reach back over all those years and touch somebody like that." -Lemmy Kilmister (with Janiss Garza) White Line Fever 2002

8:42 I have researched names and written down the names of those you mentioned that you visited the grave of Horace Iles and Valentine Strudwick. I wrote down those names and I will keep doing my research to get as many names as I can. To me they will NEVER be forgotten.

Another great reaction ❤

Trying to put that first day of the Somme into perspective, I think about the town next door to where I live, population around 11,000. So it's basically think of everyone in that town suddenly killed, and tack on an extra 8,000 lives, and that's the first day of the Somme. Almost inconceivable.

I remember I showed my partner this music video a day or two after it came out. They aren't really a history nerd and reacted to the fact that I went quiet during most of the song and that I had a hard time reading the text at the end of the music video. So to demonstrate why I was so moved by this I casually just asked my partner to count out 4 seconds, They did and then I asked them to do it again, and again. After the 3rd time they realized what I was doing and just got very quiet. I have found that showing this to people who aren't that interested in history and then just telling them to count out 4 seconds 3 or 4 times gets a lot of people to just get a really good idea on how devestating the battle of the somme and just war in general can be

There are graves in my home town of Mooresville that has ‘Unidentified Soldier’ marked on the grave, most dated between 1862 to 1864.

I was in Leeds that day and i can confirm the drummers in WW1 gear playing the song. First time i heard it too, put a lump in my throat

i really love how they added in warriors from all era's, even ancient Greece and such, since its very likely the same happened back then, just kids going to war before even being considered an adult

The cream open top car that they filter round early in the video is a replica of the car that Archduke Franz Ferdinand was in when he was assinated that triggered the start of the great war