Happy New Year everybody! We sincerely hope that you are all safe, happy and enjoying the new year, 2020. Today's video is about the song Union - that tells a story of gory attritional warfare In 1940s Italy matching that of the Somme. More specifically, it is about the epic battle of Monte Cassino in early 1944. Now, this is our first video to come out in 2020, but our awesome Patrons has gotten the oppurtunity to see this video already in 2019. It is thanks to their support that we are entering 2020 strong as ever with our first anniversary coming up soon! So make sure to follow us on Patreon by following this link: www.patreon.com/sabatonhistory! Every dollar counts! Cheers, the Sabaton History Team

Them: mentioned Wojtek *Happy bear noise*

Allies: Destroying historic Italian buildings. Mount Vesuvius: "Oh we're doing this again, alright, lets party like its 79 AD!"

A volcano erupts mid-battle.... sooooo metal

Joakim is right, this IS an underrated song and a secret favorite. I was 18 back when it came out and even then I sooo loved the atmosphere. Once I listened to it when I was an assistant referee at an Indiaca tournament and got crapped on for having earplugs in 😂 Oh, and Alfredo: I really admire you for your attitude, allowing free speech to everyone. Really looking forward to organizing a refugee parade on your front lawn. Happy new year.

Yes a bear, this bear was a private, promoted after the war to corporal, yes, when even bear outranks you

As far as the Polish forces go, I still think Sabaton should do a song about Wojtek the bear. He served with honor and distinction at the Battle of Monte Casino. He was a soldier, who just happened to be a bear.

Sabaton should defenitly make a song about Wotjek the bear who drank beer and smoke/eat cigarette and fought at monte casino

In the war the germans had an advantage: Your fuel cant freeze when you dont have fuel

Red poppies of Monte Casino Instead of water Were watered with Polish blood Over these poppies Walked a soldier And lied dead But his wrath Was stronger than Death Popular contemporary Polish song to the heroic and bloody deeds of Polish 2nd Corps in the battle. Legend goes that in may nearby valleys were flourished with red poppies flowers and dead soldiers bodies...

Normal people: Celebrating New Years Eve. Me: Watching yet another Sabaton History video that has our wonderful Panzer Jes- I mean, Joakim and Indy

Captain Kirk and Captain Pike are at the beginning of the video, but where's Captain Pärcard?

No one: Literally no one: Polish Army: Let's get a bear to join the army

Step 1: Watch Sabaton history video. Step 2: Watch a video of the song in question with the lyrics on screen Step 3: Become utterly obsessed with said song. Step 4: HEAD ON NORTH!

My grandfather's brother, Corporal Aleksander Czaplicki, fought in the battle of Monte Cassino.

Bearer of Artillery: +15% Artillery Attack

Poles fought on all fronts during the WW2, amazing nation. Respect. Sabaton you keep doing the great job , you should be awarded the best band of all time! you teach history guys!

14:10 Best Boy Wojtek gets a mention!!!

Democrats: The 2nd Amendment should be updated Republicans: I have the right to bear arms Poles: I have the right to arm bears

"Street fights were fought over streets...." *brief pause* Indy, you ok?

Oh yes Corporal Wojtek the bear who smoke or eat ciggarettes, drink beer and sometimes scared some women unfortunately he died in 1963 in Edinburgh Zoo

MY grandfather was a paratrooper who got captured in Monte Cassino by the americans..He spent the rest of the war in german POW camps in the USA.. Thats probably the reason why im even here today! So this song is quite personal for me

Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino...

I am glad yall mentioned Wojtek the Bear’s participation!!!

finally the union song thank you in the 2nd Polish corps my great-great grandfather in the 5th Infantry fought Greetings from Poland

My great grandfather was one of those Polish soldiers. Thank you for making this video and writing this song.

5: 13 and one BEAR.

IDEA FOR THE NEW SONG!!! A story about Polish Army Bear Wojtek!

Write a song about Wojtek!

One of the most underrated songs by sabaton imo (Edit) Holy hell a

My girlfriend's grand dad fought at Monte Cassino for Canada. He was a machine gunner and survived Italy, Holland and France war theaters and came back home alive. Videos like these help me realize what he endured. True War hero. He is now dead but his memory lives on. RIP Romeo Lalancette. Thank you for your service.

"Even a few panzers and assault guns had survived, hidden in the cellars." Did they hide a panzer in cellars..... I totally want to see that,

As a german I can totally relate to the allied decoders confusing the german word "Abt" for "abbot" with the german word "Abteilung" for "detachment" because "Abteilung" is often shortened as "Abt."

I always thought Union was a sleeper hit. I kinda forget it exists from time to time, but it's always a blast to listen to.

My great grandfather was forced to join Wehrmacht after the German invasion of Poland. During the battle of Monte Cassino he and some other polish soldiers escaped from the Germans to the Polish army and then fought against the Wehrmacht. After the battle he went back home to the city of Bydgoszcz on foot.

My grandfather (of Polish heritage) fought in both Monte Cassino and Anzio as part of the 1st Armored Division. I was able to go visit the reconstructed Abbey this past summer. Absolutely an amazing place.

That pause in the intro before Indy counters with "And I'm Captain Pike," is comedy gold!

Allies: [carpet-bomb monastery, thinking that there are Germans inside] Germans (who haven't any defensive position in said monastery): A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one. [Proceeds to dig -in in ruins]

There is a beautiful Polish song about these events. You may find it sung at KZfaq and the history behind it on Wiki... It reminds me "In Flanders Field" poem. Different wars, different battles, different armies, different languages, the same soldiers' fate... Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino In Polish In English Czy widzisz te gruzy na szczycie? Do you see the rubble at the top? Tam wróg twój się kryje jak szczur! There, like a rat, lurks your foe! Musicie, musicie, musicie! You musn't stop, you musn't stop Za kark wziąć i strącić go z chmur! But from the clouds the enemy throw! I poszli szaleni, zażarci, And so, onward and upward they went; I poszli zabijać i mścić, They went to avenge and to kill, I poszli jak zawsze uparci, On the enemy's destruction, bent; Jak zawsze za honor się bić. To their honor they harnessed their will. Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino The red poppies on Monte Cassino Zamiast rosy piły polską krew... Drank Polish blood instead of dew... Po tych makach szedł żołnierz i ginął, O'er the poppies the soldiers did go Lecz od śmierci silniejszy był gniew! 'Mid death, and to their anger stayed true! Przejdą lata i wieki przeminą, Years will come and ages will go, Pozostaną ślady dawnych dni!.. Enshrining their strivings and their toil!... I tylko maki na Monte Cassino And the poppies on Monte Cassino Czerwieńsze będą, bo z polskiej wzrosną krwi. Will be redder for Poles' blood in their soil. Runęli przez ogień, straceńcy! The forlorn hope charged through the fire! Niejeden z nich dostał i padł... More than one was struck and felled... Jak ci z Samosierry szaleńcy, Yet like the horsemen at Samosierra, Jak ci spod Rokitny, sprzed lat. They charged with a force unrepelled, Runęli impetem szalonym Like those at Rokitna years ago. I doszli. I udał się szturm. And they made it, and carried the day. I sztandar swój biało-czerwony And they planted their red-and-white flag Zatknęli na gruzach wśród chmur. In the rubble amid the clouds. Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino... The red poppies on Monte Cassino... Czy widzisz ten rząd białych krzyży? Do you see the white crosses in a row? To Polak z honorem brał ślub. That's where the Poles pledged their all. Idź naprzód - im dalej, im wyżej, The farther, the higher you go, Tym więcej ich znajdziesz u stóp. The more you'll find them fall. Ta ziemia do Polski należy, This soil belongs to Poland, Choć Polska daleko jest stąd, Though Poland be far from here, Bo wolność krzyżami się mierzy - For 'tis crosses measure freedom's span - Historia ten jeden ma błąd. That is history's lesson dear. Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino... The red poppies on Monte Cassino... Ćwierc wieku, koledzy, za nami, A quarter-century has passed, Bitewny ulotnił się pył The dusts of battle no longer rise, I klasztor białymi murami And the monastery's walls at last Na nowo do nieba się wzbił... Once again climb, white, to the skies... Lecz pamięć tych nocy upiornych But memory of those nights terrible I krwi, co przelała się tu - And of the blood that once flowed here - Odzywa się w dzwonach klasztornych, Echoes in the monastery bells Grających poległym do snu...! That toll the fallen to sleep!...

I love this song. My Great Grandfather was in the Gordon Highlanders and fought at Monte Cassino and was shot in the ribs, he was wounded but apparently went on to take the hill with the rest of his regiment. The casualties were supposedly so bad that many of the Regiments actually had to merge, the Gordon Highlanders were merged with a London unit for that battle. I wish i knew more about his story but i was young when he passed away. He was a tough breed but a real hero and had the medals to prove it.

Union is one of my favorite sabaton song ever. Everytime i listen to it i get goosebumps. Also, as an italian, i'm happy you mentioned our volunteers fighting beside the allies. See you soon guys, the live show day is almost here!

For a long time I didn't really paid attention to this song. It is between Panzerkampf and Price of a mile, two really strong songs, and I just somehow felt it weaker. Then one day, after listening to Art of war album, I got up next morning with its melody in my head. I discovered at that moment actually how good this song is.

One of my personal favourite songs, due to the personal significance for me. My great grandfather died in the battle for the Liri Valley on May 23rd. Every time I hear this song, I get a tear in my eye.

Hope Sabaton makes a Wojtek song one day!!!

Fight side-by-side many nations unite in the shadow of Monte Cassino

I'm so glad you mentioned italian volunteers, they're not always remembered, most people forget this was the war for OUR land, not all italian were fascists, we fought and died for the Allies too.

"and im captain pike the captain before kurk" i love it haha

"Czy widzisz te gruzy na szczycie, tam wróg się twój kryje jak szczur..." Wytępili te szczury. Another amazing video, you are doing a great job, greetings from Poland 🇵🇱 It's time for Winged hussars

I've actually been to Monte Cassino in I think 2004 ? Beautyfull place, tho indeed, terrain is hard to just move throgh countryside, let alone wage war in it.

Joakim: "And I'm James Tiberius Kirk" Me: 😎🍺

Through an Action, a Man becomes a Hero. Through Death, a Hero becomes a Legend. Through Time, a Legend becomes a Myth. Through hearing a Myth, a Man takes an Action

Fun fact about the thumbnail: the soldier playing the trumpet is plutonowy (platoon-leader, an NCO rank between senior corporal and sergeant, that doesn't have English equivalent) Emil Czech from the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division. He was one of the veterans who fought in the battle of Tobruk in 1941. BTW they didn't actually come out of the Soviet captivity like the majority of the soldiers of the 2nd Polish Corps. The Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade was formed in 1940 in Syria from Polish volunteers making their way there in small groups or individually through the Balkans and later joined with the Anders' men in 1942, growing to a division. The melody he's playing to celebrate the capture of Monte Casino is "Hejnał Mariacki" (St. Mary's Trumpet Call) traditionally played on every hour from the tower of the St. Mary's Basilica in Cracow (the noon performance being transmitted by radio since 1927). You can check it out here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jbyBlduJ29-rZ3U.html

I think its remarkable that they took the monastery at all. The first fallschirmjager division were probably the finest infantry in the world at the time, and the fact that a bear and a bunch of Poles actually pushed them off that hill is pretty amazing

Ive always loved Union, For a battle that was so hard fought, miserable and bloody their is that atmosphere of pride about the whole thing where many different nations fought and bled together to "bring an end to the slaughter" I think the song captures that so well.

I remember when I first saw this title, I had actually thought this battle was part of the Great War. Obviously I was wrong, but I wasn't wrong about how amazing the song is!!!

Hey Sabaton History so glad you done this episode. You see my fathers father was part of the Britsh Army that fought in Italy and he was hit by multiple bullets during the allied offensive and luckily survived and my father went to monte casino to see where it took place bit he said my grandfather never wanted to back there. I guess the memories of all the blood mud and chaos was just something he never wanted to relive. On a lighter note I cant wait to see you guys play in Wembley on the 8th of Feb :)

I've loved this song ever since I first heard it. My paternal grandfather was with the US Fifth Army, and was at Monte Cassino, Anzio and was present for the liberation of Rome, so I always think about him when I hear this song. He died when I was very young and even my father said he never spoke about what he saw during the war, but going through his things after his death, my father said he found a newpaper clipping with a headline that said something like "FIFTH ARMY CELEBRATES 365TH STRAIGHT DAY OF FIGHTING AT ANZIO" and he was the sole survivor of the explosion of an artillery piece his gun company had been manning, but I don't think I'll ever fully know the hell that he saw in those battles. He was also a devout Catholic, so I wonder now what he thought about the destruction of the abbey as a soldier and as a very religious man?

Sven Hassel's novel 'Monte Cassino' is still one of my favourite war novels. It made me find out more about the Sicily/Italian campaign, and the Gustav line/Monte Cassino in particular.

So happy for this episode. This is my favorite song on Art of War. Definitely underrated. Hopefully you guys bring this song on more tours. It deserves it!

This is legit my favorite song by Sabaton, and also my alarm to wake up in the morning. The song is just so motivational and inspirational

To be honest Union is one of your Best Songs... If not the Best, followed by price of a mile . This song is deep, has great lyrics and is very well written. The chorus and the Refrain is just epic. Sadly you didn't performed it when i saw you live... But i hope to get the Chance to see you soon in the next time

My father was there with the PPCLI. Roll call for his company after the main battle was 17. I don't know how he managed to make it through that and many other several Italian battles.

The irony of the fact that the Germans lost monte casino to a Polish blitzkrieg is beautiful.

While the tales of the major forces are amazing, those of the "smaller" nations are always my favourite. Poland sending an army to Italy years after they had "lost" the war and their terretory? Amazing. Brazil sending like three guys over? Brilliant. These are the stories that most amaze me. (Again guys, thank you all for liberating us, really appreciate it)

It's all fun and games until the Germans pulled panzers out of the cellars

I've been waiting for this one. Union is easily one of my top 3 favorite Sabaton songs. I'm a WWII reenactor who portrays the US 34th Infantry Division and, in my opinion, the Battle of Monte Casino is, along with Anzio, the defining battle of the Italian Campaign. This song really excited me when I first heard it. It was different, but I liked it a lot. The subject matter really went well with the sound. I hate to say something is epic (overused internet language, I guess), but this song had the musical drive to be epic, as well as to mesh well with the subject matter. I was really happy to hear it when you guys did your Phoenix stop in 2018 during the Last Stand tour. I certainly hope it makes it back into the setlist on the next tour!

I got my dad headbanging along, and hooked on Sabaton, with me to this song HEAD ON NOOOOORTH!

I wholeheartedly agree, this is absolutely the most underrated Sabaton song.

Indy looked so thrown off by Joakim saying James Tiberius Kirk haha

The thought of all the different peoples and nations fight together always gets me super emotional, when im asked which is my favorite sabaton song union is always right at the top!!

I've always thought that “Union (Slopes of St. Benedict)”. Is a song that deserves more love. It's awesome. My favorite part is the use of the backing choir - it really captures the feeling of so many different forces all fighting together. “To arms - under one banner! As a unit we stand, and united we fall!”

The Battle of Monte Cassino always makes me proud of being Minnesotan.

I've always loved "Union". Despite the lyrical content being kind of heavy, it's a super fun tune.

Happy New Year guys. This was one great video, awesome to close out the year. We finally learn more about one of my most favorite song. Indeed, many nations united. I heard this song live in Antwerp, three years ago. I hope we'll hear it over a month. See you guys there. Keep doing this.

I have so much love for this song! Criminally underrated

Some things worth mentioning : the gurka fighters would sneak in the enemy positions at night and slit the throats of anyone they encountered with their curved knifes The Germans although outnumbered put up a strong fight , especially the fallschrimjagers The British lost a chance to go around Monte Cassino and straight to Rome , they could have taken a path that was lightly to not at all protected Some general who's name I can't remember , and who I think was at Anzio, instead of going to assist at Monte Cassino , decided to march straight to Rome and captured it

Some of the most underrated songs I can think of would be Nuclear Attack Wolfpack Art of War Future of Warfare

this is my favorite sabaton song so far out of 65 sabaton songs that ive encountered #union #montecassino

It’s amazing how now it looks like nothing happened

There's an old PS1 game called Medal of Honor Underground where the protagonist is assigned to do a mission in Monte Cassino. That was my first exposure about Monte Cassino, though not the battle itself. And happy headbanging new year and decade, Sabaton and Indy!

This song is one of my favourites too.

Thanks for illuminating this battle for me, as my uncle for in it and for him it was his last in active service. He along with other pow's were put on a train bound for stalag 7a. This is my favourite song, I look forward to the songs about el alamain, other middle east/ north African battles Inc the tank battle at knightsbridge. Alot will no doubt correct me but it was hard enough getting what little I did out of him as he didn't like to talk about it, inc the effects of what being a pow did to him.

I absolutely LOVE this song! It's one of my favorites, and it would be a privilege to see it performed live. Thanks guys!!

What a way to start the year! Getting my patreon sub and watching sabaton history. Keep rocking guys!!

Loving the history aside, I would love to hear more about the musical aspect, writing process etc. from Jocke and Pär.

I would never have guessed that this was a favourite, it so rarely appears on anyone's "favourites list" and I've only seen it live once. It was a ton of fun when I did see it though

Germans: We've got tanks Poles: Hold Wojtek's piwo

i love joakim and indy competeing for star trek nerd champion

I love Union. Definitely one of my favorites. I really hope Sabaton does a song about Wojtek the Bear.

Union was the first Sabaton song I heard and is definitely underrated. So happy this video was made.

You should do a rearrangement as a bonus track on a future album.

This is definetely one of my favorite songs, not only from Sabaton, and I'm really glad they talked about it!

Great episode guys! Very excited to see what the new year brings for your team and on the channel! 🤘 ❤ Happy new year from Canada!!!

This is extremely well done and very informative. Thank you guys.

I can't believe there are still Sabaton songs that I didn't hear before! What a New Years surprise!

Met a man at fly in. He was a bomber pilot for the bombing of monte casino. He swore up and down that germans had artillery at the casino. Just passing on what I herd from a eye witness. Good day everyone.

I can only imagine the Germans looking at monte cassino and seeing the rising polish flag. But they only saw the White top part of the flag and thought the allies were surrendering Then they see the allied advance continuing Also don't forget Wojtek the bear fought with the Poles

Great episode, I am really loving theese small songs from the Art of War, I enjoyed a lot Unbreakable (my favorite song currently) and this has been a very good video about an underrated song about an underrated story from WWII.

Definitely my favorite song from the album. The message of unity just gets to me

TO AAAARMMSSS! UNDER ONE BANNER! As a unit we stand and united we fall! AS OOONEEE! FIGHTING TOGETHER! Bringing an end to the slaughter!