This was a great lecture.

Great thinking. Tactical proficiency can not consistently overwhelm poor strategic thinking. Consistency wins, if you survive the first round.

Fascinating and excellent talk although perhaps he understated the communications problem which meant that once an attsack was launched no commander on the attacking side knew what the hell was going on (it did get better - read about Messines in1917).

Awesome lecture!

Great coroner type sense of humor. : )

I know this is like 3 years late but there are only 24 comments so I’ll interject. I really like this lecturer but I don’t think he’s served in combat nor has he done much hunting. I think he overestimates the effectiveness of rifle fire. To hit a man sized target at 300 yards with iron sights is an achievement. I know folks at Camp Perry hit targets at 600 yards using iron sighted M1’s or 1903 Springfield’s but remember the men attacking you are moving in open order and you’re dealing with all the stress, smoke, wind and other adversities of the battlefield. Opposing front line trenches in WW1 on the Western Front were on average 100 to 300 meters apart as I recall. Barbed wire caused more delays in reaching the enemy trenches than the actual distances in most cases. I’ve read that artillery followed by machine guns caused the greatest number of WW1 casualties. Shoulder arms had definitely improved since the days of rifled muzzle loaders but that improvement was less a factor in the slaughter than other weapon systems.

Excellent presentation and lecture. Very interesting, entertaining and well done.

Artillery caused most combat casualties in WWI

Very canny. Liked and shared. Was already subscribed.

45:28 this was the plot of an episode of Blackadder Goes Fourth

Excellent exploration of the pluses of trench welfare. Loved it.

Adding to remote viewers comment, when after battle clean up took place during the American Civil War ; a majority of the weapons picked up had a musket ball at the ready. Many rifles were double loaded. The Army figured out later that human beings have a difficult time shooting other human beings. That’s why they began using human silhouettes during range practice to desensitize soldiers to lethal fire.

My great uncle died on the first day of the Somme at Redan Ridge.

interesting to listen the analysis of the nature of trench warfare (as a materiel warfare) in the light of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Russia trying to mobilize men, Ukraine relying on supplies (ie technology) from its allies

Interesting

2:15 start time

Nice of *Ricky Gervais* to give *Karl* a day off to do this

Ooooh ookay

This guy was good 👍

Who would have thought, trench warfare of 1914 would make a comeback in 2024?

At 52:00 is he saying that the conservatives (people who did not want change, as opposed to the way the word is used today) were supportive or against the war? What were their ideas and solutions if they wanted to keep women from the vital workforce, at least during the war?

Oakey

Prior to WW1 there were pictures of trenches filled with bodies starting from the American Civil War through to the Boer War. The thing that stopped static trench warfare was initially the tank and then aircraft.

ok

okaay

Okay okay okay okay okay okay

Shooting is a skill. The ability of the soldier, highly dependent on the type of training, severely limits not the range of fire, after all, pulling a trigger initiates the physics of projecting the bullet, but limits the practical accuracy of the rifle. I give you a modern day bolt action rifle, scoped, you can't hit what you can't see, and you are a very good shot to hit with any kind of consistency at 700 yards. Hunters who desire ethical clean kills, mostly kill at the 150 yards max. Yes, the standard issue mark 1 eyeball is part of the issue. But accurate fire is a skill. Massed volley fire, deadly out to 3,000, sure. But if you ever go real world, 100 yards is a distance. 200 yards, a difficult shot for Joe Average. At 300 yards, you can't recognize your own mother. 300 yards, green uniform, in front of green foliage, you are lucky to see someone. So this range business is quite true, I love this lecture. But you and your aimed rifle are not sharpshooting beyond 700 yards, less a lot of specialized training. You certainly aren't issuing guaranteed death to anyone, soldier to soldier at 700 yards plus. Yes, there are some changes over time. The other factor I wished he explored is the lack of desire to shoot and kill other soldiers. Look into it. It is shocking how many soldiers, despite being in the field and under lethal force attack, NEVER pulled a trigger. Shot into the sky, shot into the dirt, shot left and right intentionally of the attack. So the mechanical ability of the rifle is purely moot. Look up the percentages, it is shocking and ought be calculated into battle actuals.

Good topic but the Okay knocked me out after ten minutes.

Ten years earlier it wasn't a problem? I suggest this military historian researches the history of the Boer war!

The Morning Hate - that is a British cartoon ridiculing the Prussians, NOT a German cartoon.

Trenches were not a good place. Even if you weren't actively fighting a trench poses many problems. Filth being one of the biggest.

The irony of a pacifist having anything whatever to say about the conducting of war.