How will we be able to endure without any new battle of Isonzo until May 2017 ?? Please give us something juicy in the meantime so that this lag become less painful; A new siege of Przemysl? A Carpathian winter offensive in cardboard soled shoes? Yet another relief attempt on Kut ? Pleeease!!

How can anybody press dislike to somthing as educating, entertaining and well produced as this show? It puzzles me....

If you are interested, today, 1 December, is the National Day of Romania (in Romania) and it celebrates what we call The Great Reunion because we got Transylvania and Bucovina (from Austia-Hungary) and Basarabia (modern Moldova) (from Russia) on that date. It's pretty interesting to think that on your National Day, a hundred years ago, in the war that we made the Reunion, Romania was falling apart.

7:12 That fellow has a fantastic name.

What's Connie von Hotzendorf doing, I need my hotzen-fix!

Ironically, Itally supported the royal government. The Italians were afraid of their territorial claims in Ottoman Anatolia being given to Greece (that partly did happen, but the Turks took it all back), so they wanted to prevent Greece from joining the war. They diplomatically supported Greece, behind the scenes, and encouraged a reconciliation, but especially the French were very adamant on taking revenge from Greece. The Italian Minister of Foreign affairs, Baron Sonnino, didn't even hesitate to reveal what happened in a secret Entente conference about their plans on Greece to the Greek ambassador in Rome, Koromilas.

Greece is in that awkward position between continents and empires that leaves it open to manipulation from many foreign powers.

Falkenhayn worries too much about Mackensen. His hat with a skull should be enough to make the romanian army flee

it's Romania's National Day today (Great Union Day), December First! Happy Holiday/Happy Birthday/ La Multi Ani!

La Mulți Ani tuturor românilor care urmăresc acest episod,astăzi 1 Decembrie, Ziua Națională a României! ( Happy Birthday to all romanians who watch this episode today, December 1st, Romania's National Day)

My wife is Romanian and I'm quite interested in their history. Would love more history of Romania in WW1! Keep up the good work!

I love this show so much. It's so cool how it goes over events in real time.

Those animations on the Romanian map were great!

It should be noted that Haig was a cavalryman, and one of his early postings was with the 7th Queen’s Own Hussars. He also played Polo too. So he was every bit a cavalry man and while Cavalry was not obsolete in WW1 it was nearly useless on the Western Front on most occasions.

Thank you for your work, everybody seems to forget about Romania when it comes to the ww1 and ww2. I get to know a lot about American troops, British, Soviets, but not so much about my country regarding the two great wars. Thank you again!

just wanted to let you know that we are watching your videos in my high school history class

Very much appreciate the blue lines showing the front lines in Romania!!!

I just noticed the Lewis gun in the intro doesn't have a magazine on it

Please a Charles de Gaulle episode

been watching your videos for a while now, absolutely love them, keep it up indy!

I have to say the graphics for this weeks battles in Romania were fantastic!

Thanks for episode Indy. Today, 1st of December is National Day of Romania, 98 years ago the Greater Romania was proclaimed at Alba - Iulia. Looking forward to celebrate the 100 years celebration, 2 years form now !

Hi Indy and Team - love the show! Keep up the great work! I'd really like to see more about the mountain war, and one part of it especially: the insane mining war in the Dolomites between Italians and Austrians. They went as far as detonating whole mountainsides in order to dislodge the enemy from favorable positions (see Lagazuoi, Col di Lana, Monte Piana and others). Seeing a special episode on this madness would certainly make me a happy, fuzzy Teddybear!

Poor Greece, abused many times

Dicovered this channel just a couple weeks ago! It was quite a marathon catching up to real time! But it was all worth it! Best channel I found out in a long time! Great job guys!

The maps on this video look sooooo much better, and definitely an improvement on what was shown on fb a few weeks back, excellent work thank you!

Love the new maps! Keep up the great work guys, loved your show for 2 years now!

Love the new maps! Thanks, Flo & team! Our Patreon dollars at work! Indy, valuable analysis of the Somme. Looks like General Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmanay Melchett, KCB, would have fit right in.

I can only praise your show. Good job and finally in really good detail. Especially the isonzo part is of great interest to me. Finally you stress the incompetence of Italian commanders and that they were the aggressor. Keep it up!

Right on the national day of Romania! was this planned Indy or are you just awesome with timing? xD

Love the new maps. Keep it up you are doing a great job.

I've seen your channel a ton in my reccomended, but I've never actually watched till now. I do have to say that this was an excellent video and you have an awesome channel. Keep up the great work man!

The map work in this video was top. More like this please!

Great show! Thank you!

Hello Indy started watching channel a bit ago even though the war is ver I still love the work. Keep it up in you epilogue series.

Great video, as always, keep it up!

thank you for all the work that you guys do

Just a small correction: z in Greek is pronounced like in English, not like in German. Great video as every week.

Love the maps. Good work!

Nicely informative video. And Great job.

Just found this channel. Really liking it! I subbed!

I like the new maps! Keep up the good work!

Awesome job with the troop animation movements on the map of Romania.

Hey Indy, I was talking to my dad about the Pigeon that was shot and blinded but still delivered the message. He wanted to know if there was someone in the squad who carried a shotgun with birdshot and watched for pigeons to be sent out so they could shot them first? Love the show and hello from Houston, Tx.

Those are some beautiful graphics at 6:57

I love your videos Indy, they're very interesting

You make great videos, good work

I swear your videos get better every week

great new animations!

Why would anyone dislike this? I love all of these videos.

"Somme. The whole history of the world cannot contain a more ghastly word."

Indy, you really messed up "Giurgiu" but you got the rest of them. It was a good performance all in all.

saw a quote some time ago from an old veteran, that described his experiences of the Somme as "it wasn't Paschendale" as if to say "well it wasn't that bad" I don't think he was trying to write down WWI active battle field tourist guides for the 1914-1918 holiday seasons i just think a lot of the experience of the conflict was so based on the generations that fought their own life experience Prior to, through & post war. Thanks to the Great war team and content contributors though for a truely well delivered and balanced show/project.

Good work mates.

GREAT KZfaq CHANNEL!

Haig saved face by digging up whatever "positive" effect his offensive had for the war effort. But through history's hindsight scope, we all know just how much of a horrible senseless carnage the Somme was.

Nice dynamic maps!

Hey Indy and team I just wanted to say that once my grandfather said he heard a rumor of battalions who use artillery put cotton in their ear if they have poor hearing so they wouldn't be completely deaf I think it's just interesting since my grandpa fought on both world wars on the Germans side and fought on the western front and the eastern front

Ooh, they mentioned me! (That Loke von Post fellow, that is) *Starstruck*

@The Great War: Mr. Indy's wardrobe is very sharp. Any suggestions on where we can something like it?? Very dashing!!

Indy, thank you for the video on my birthday!

The last time I was this early was 1914

I love the animated maps.

And the war grows even larger.

Hey Indie and crew! I've got a question for out of the trenches- was there any ear protection in WW1, or was it not considered?

I realize that this video was done nearly four years ago, but I want to comment on the excellent conclusions of the Battle of the Somme. I think Haig was unable to bring himself to admitting that all the efforts of each attack was for a tiny scrap of land (which it was). To justify in his mind the great cost he had to keep believing the attack he was now making was the one that would turn the tide. Therefore all his commands to his subordinates were confusing and sometimes contradictory. His subordinates would not or could not see the results of this fantasy and as the days and the losses continued began to facilitate the fantasy. True, there was a learning curve, but by the end of September, there was nothing more to learn and little more to gain.

For out of the Trenches: Can you tell us something about Henry Ford attempt to put an end to the WWI?

splendid new maps, you guys are resourceful. btw, your show is the first so far that deals with the inner political siyuation of minor countries like greece. most northern european or american historians wouldn't care that much!

Hey Indy, I love the show! I have something that I hope you could elaborate on in Out of the Trenches. I had read somewhere that when hostilities began between the U.S. and Germany, the U.S. transported civilian German sailors to a resort town in North Carolina and held them as "enemy aliens." Did the U.S. also send civilians from the Austro-Hungarian Empire to towns/camps on the same basis as well?

Hey, Indy! (love your show), Who was it that described the British army as "lions led by donkeys", and was it about the Somme?

can you please do a video about greek uniforms? love the show

Please do an episode about the battles of marasesti, marasti and oituz, my great grandfather was 15 years old when he fought at marasesti, and 14 at turtucaia

I am finally caught up on my Great War back log. I think it only took me 4 months.

Hey guys, for your maps... can you mark up the name of a place when it is mentioned? Sometimes it is very hard to keep track of all the places. If there is no name, maybe add one or at least make some kind of ping animation so it is more clear.

Uhhh, shiny new map at 06:50 - nice!

Today is Romania's national day!

"If you are greece you fight back" And if you are switzerland you tell them "NO", they appologise and don't talk to you until the war is over.

I wondered why there was only one long Battle of Verdun and one long Battle of the Somme, while at the same time the Battle of Isonzo was cut down to ultimely 11 separate campaigns but were basically of the same format ?

It would be hard to say that relieving pressure on Verdun wasn't an objective that Haig had on the Somme in 1916... or even that Haig had full control over the offensive on the Somme. The battle was originally planned as a joint French and British operation by Joffre in December 1915 with the French playing the leading role and taking on the bulk of the fighting on the Somme. This plan didn't mention Verdun, but it was put together before the battles of 1916 started. About all that Haig would have had control over would be over the British units committed to the attack... which under the original plan would have been smaller in scope and scale than it was in history. Things changed when Falkenhayn began the attack on Verdun in February 1916. The battle came as a surprise to the French and rapidly grew into a fight that was larger than expected and WASN'T the battle that Joffre wanted to fight. It was a defensive battle, while Joffre was of the school of an all out offensive, and at least initially, he kept forces back hoping to be allowed to have the men available for the offensive on the Somme. However, Verdun continued to become a bigger battle by the day an the French Army was suffering heavy losses just to hold the ground. This lead to the inevitable changes to the Allied 1916 strategy. The French HAD to pull troops away to Verdun, making the Somme operation move from a French lead operation to a British one... French units still participated and had success in their offensives, but they were smaller than the British units as a result of the decision to defend Verdun in 1916. And in the Spring and early summer of 1916, with the French struggling to hold Verdun and trying to retake Fort Douamount (and failing during that point in the year), the French began to put pressure on the British to begin the Somme Offensive, yet Haig was hesitant, with concerns over the training and preparedness that his army had. By taking the leading role, the Somme would become a much bigger battle for the British than it was originally intended to be. Yet, the operation was moved up to earlier than it was supposed to be and the British army would move forward. If relieving the French at Verdun was not an objective and not on Haig's mind, Haig would have told the French that they can wait until later in July or early August when he felt his men were fully trained and experienced with regard to trench warfare, and allowing the Germans to continue to gradually inch their way toward Verdun, which they would keep doing up until the fall of 1916 when Falkenhayn was relieved as Chief of Staff of the German Army and Hindenburg and Ludendorff took over. And in the course of the opening moves at at the Somme in July to August 1916, the Germans WERE forced to pull troops and guns away from Verdun to meet the British offensive. It was not as though the Germans kept everything they had at Verdun and didn't redeploy any troops to the Somme sector until Hindenburg and Ludendorff took over from Falkenhayn. Falkenhayn DID transfer troops from Verdun and other parts of the Western Front to the Somme to counter the attack there, which did help improve France's position there. So, even if one wishes to make the claim that Haig had no concern about the pressure on the French at Verdun and decides to ignore that that the French were pressuring the British to attack and that the attack was moved up at France's insistence, one cannot deny that that was effect of the Battle of the Somme. As for keeping men on the Western Front, one needs to keep in mind that by the time the transfer of troops from the Western Front to the Eastern Front to deal with Romania began, Falkenhayn had lost his position as Chief of Staff and Hindenburg and Ludendorff had replaced him. This is crucial, as Falkenhayn's focus was on the Western Front for 1916. The attack on Verdun was his baby, and he'd already had to transfer troops away to deal with the Brusilov Offensive earlier in the year. There wasn't any real sign that he would have further transferred troops away from the Western Front had he not been removed. By comparison, Hindenburg was among the cadre of officers who all resented Falkenhayn and favored a strategy that would depend on defeating Russia first, where the German army had managed to retain some sense of mobile war that wasn't present on the Western Front. And neither Hindenburg nor Ludendorff would seriously look to the Western Front until late 1917 and the Spring of 1918 AFTER Russia had surrendered and the German strategic position was becoming truly desperate with regard to the British blockade and the fact that America had joined the war and would eventually have additional men and material to throw at the Germans... So, while Haig may have failed to hold German attention on the Western Front for the entire duration of the Battle of the Somme, one needs to remember that the German high command for most of the Battle of the Somme had no intention of fighting on the Western Front beyond a defensive strategy with the main strategic focus being in the east... About the only way the British could have held German attention on the Western Front in 1916 would have been for there to be a massive break in the German lines on par with the 100 Days Offensive in 1918... and at that time, in 1916, that would have been impossible, regardless of who the British commander was. And while Haig may have been "detached" or "overly imaginative" with regard to how he saw his men or how he reflected on his battles, one cannot write off Haig as a failure simply because things didn't unfold exactly as was written on paper. To do so, would give the impression that the Germans ultimately walked away from the Battle of the Somme feeling superbly triumphant and willing to hold out on the line they held. Yet that isn't the case. Many German officers looked on the defense at the Somme as being troubling for their army and had fears of being embroiled in a repeat of that battle and much of Hindenburg and Ludendorff's decision to withdraw to what became known as the Hindenburg Line in 1917 was based on their own opinion on how to hold out while they continued their main strategic effort in the East. Hindenburg's eyes were always on the Eastern Front to defeat Russia, and to do this, he couldn't afford to sit in advanced positions and wait for the French and British to finally figure out how to overwhelm simple trenches. He needed a defensive that would be better supplied and more capable of withstanding the sort of shelling that would accompany a massed offensive, and thus the move eastward... Which would mean, while Haig may not have had the battle he wanted, it wasn't as though the Germans emerged stronger than the British from the battle.

Will you be talking as well for the battle of Cer

Have you ever thought of, or have done, a special of how Switzerland avoided entry into the war? I know they mobilized soldiers to their borders to stop entry by either side. What stopped the Germans from, instead of executing an invasion of Belgium into France, but one through Switzerland? I know there has been discussion on a meeting between German and Swiss leaders, and the famous "Shoot twice and go home" discussion, but does it have any validity?

8:21 Pretty weird, German(?) soldiers equipped with Russian Mosin-Nagant rifles.

I wonder how many times I've heard "Haig" and "Cavalry charge" in the same sentence by now

This is absolutely the second best way to learn the History of the British Expeditionary Force in WWI Right after Black Adder.

Question for Out of the Trenches: why was the fighting on the Eastern Front so fluid but so stagnant on the Western Front? Why weren't there breakthroughs in France like there were in the Balkans and Russia?

Is anything happening on the Persian/Middle East front? It's been a while since you have updated that part of the war.

Excellent work this!! been watching for a while. i was wondering if yous could make a side note on Scottish Highland regiments and their connections with the likes of Scots-Canadian, South African and other commenwealth kilted regiments in the war? just cos ladies from hell XD

What things should I read to learn more about wwI? I already bought Max Hasthing's catastrophe and I am planning on reading it.

Indy, could you work a bit on your Romanian names :D, i got a good laugh when you pronounced Piteşti, Giurgiu and Argeş. You could use Google translate set to Romanian and use the speech option, it gives a good phonetic output as it should be pronounced :) Keep up the good work, love the channel.

I read that the big failure that caused the defeat at Somme was not the performance of the British infantry, but the orders they were given by their commanders. Some say that if the infantry used a better way of approaching the trenches, the battle could have ended with a British victory. If you are more interested you can read an amazing novel called "the fall of the giants" written by Ken Follett. I know it's literature but I heard it's pretty accurate, and it's just an amazing book. There, Billy, one of the main characters, fights at the Somme and manages to take over a portion of the German trenches, and he led his crew members using some tactics that could've saved the brits and change the result of the battle

Hey Indy. I love this show. You guys really do a great job and it's perfect because i've always been looking to learn about the war week for week but i didn't have the patience to read about it. I was wondering if you could do an episode about the czech's and slovak's contribution during the war.

Came across an interesting point: that Gladstone, who was in charge of war production in England, suspended quality controls on ammunition production to enable the increase of production to full capacity causing the ammunition to be inferior to the point that half of the artillery shells the British fired during the Battle of the Somme were duds. In reality, the large number of fired shells quoted in the show meant that the artillery barrage or any artillery barrage was only half as effective as it could have been. German morale was surely increased when they knew that they stood a good chance of surviving a barrage and probably strengthened the German resistance when gun emplacements were not knocked-out during a charge and probably contributed to higher English casualties as a result. Way to go, Gladstone!

4:26 what looks like a Mohawk on a British infantry soldier's helmet on the right. Anyone know why or about it?

Where do you get your color photos for your thumbnails?

What are your thoughts on Germany doing far fewer counter attacks during the Battle of Somme - focusing on bleeding the British dry while keeping their loses down. Not trying to keep every yard but just blocking a big breakthrough?

#blamenapolean

My knowledge of the great war is lacking, which is one of the reasons I like this show. I wonder if grease will just charge the allied forces per ton of transport. With that and restricting movement through the country to just a few roads should satiate all parties involved.

I can't find the city of Salonika on any modern (English) maps. Is it the same as Thessaloniki? [As in, Thessalonika of biblical times?]

Hi, This little recap/reflections about the English at the Somme was nice, but what about the French? Next week? Best

what is the song name that start at 6:51?