Forgotten Weapons
Published on 26 Jun 2018http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
Welcome to out first episode of Forgotten History! This will be an occasional series looking at interesting events and places in military history. We will begin with the capture of Fort Douaumont on February 25, 1916…
This video was made possible by Military History Tours, and it is the first of a bunch you will be seeing from their Spring 2018 tour of American WW1 battlefields in France. If you are interested in seeing places like this (or WW2, or Korea, or many others) firsthand yourself with a guided tour, check them out:
July 26, 2018
Forgotten History: The Capture of Fort Douaumont
Comments Off on Forgotten History: The Capture of Fort Douaumont
July 25, 2018
Forgotten History: The Underground Hell of Fort Vaux
Forgotten Weapons
Published on 24 Jul 2018http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons
With the surprise capture of Fort Douaumont in February 1916, the French reinforced all the remaining forts around the city of Verdun, and would hold them all successfully for many months. In fact, the only other fort in the area to fall would be Fort Vaux, in June of 1916.
In the chaos of the early battle, orders had actually gone out to evacuate Vaux and destroy it, but these were countermanded, and the fort remained a major lynchpin of French defenses in the sector. Critically, before they could be removed, demolition charges set in the fort’s main gun turret were detonated by a massive German shell, destroying the weapon.
In May, German advances seriously threatened the fort, and a new commander was assigned – Major Sylvain Eugene Raynal. Upon arrival, he found the fort in a terrible condition – heavily damaged by German bombardments and hugely overcrowded with as many as 500 soldiers, most of them wounded and sheltering in the fort (it had been designed to garrison 150 men). Shelling had broken through the fort’s walls in several places, and unbeknownst to Raynal or his men, the water cistern had been damaged and was nearly empty despite its gauge reading substantial levels of water.
The climactic German assault began on June 1st 1916, and by the end of the day only 71 French soldiers remained in unwounded inside. On June 2nd, the cistern damage was discovered – at that point it held just 8 gallons of putrid dregs. Intense fighting would continue for nearly another week, without any relief forces or supplies able to reach the fort. On the 5th, a bit of water was collected from rain, but not much. A relief force attempted to reinforce the fort, but was virtually obliterated, with only 37 men reaching its walls.
The Germans would storm the fort on June 5th, and the most horrific of combat would rage for two days inside its tunnels and galleries. Raynal ordered barricades erected inside the fort, and the French forces fought from one to the next, with only a few dozen men remaining. The battle would include machine gun and hand grenades in these tight passageways, and eventually a German attempt to burn out the defenders with flamethrowers.
Finally on the morning of June 7th, the combination of casualties and a complete lack of water meant the end of the resistance. Raynal and his surviving men surrendered, and Germans soldiers finally occupied the fort they had spent months attempting to conquer. In recognition of his valiant defense, Raynal’s sword was returned to him by German Crown Prince Wilhelm.
The German occupation of the fort would last only a few months – by late October it was abandoned quietly, and a French scouting force would find it empty and retake it on November 2nd, 1916.
If you enjoy Forgotten Weapons, check out its sister channel, InRangeTV! http://www.youtube.com/InRangeTVShow
Comments Off on Forgotten History: The Underground Hell of Fort Vaux
July 20, 2018
2nd Battle Of The Marne – Turning Point On The Western Front I THE GREAT WAR Week 208
The Great War
Published on 19 Jul 2018The German Army launches an diversionary attack from the Rheims-Soisson salient and increases the pressure on Paris. But the Allies knew about the attack and for the first time, they effectively counter the German Stormtrooper tactics and even counter-attack along the line.
Comments Off on 2nd Battle Of The Marne – Turning Point On The Western Front I THE GREAT WAR Week 208
July 15, 2018
More Info About Alsace-Lorraine in WW1 I OUT OF THE ETHER
The Great War
Published on 14 Jul 2018Markus and Indy give you some background on our recent special episode.
Comments Off on More Info About Alsace-Lorraine in WW1 I OUT OF THE ETHER
July 8, 2018
Postal Service – Trench Deployment – US Air Force I OUT OF THE TRENCHES
The Great War
Published on 7 Jul 2018Chair of Wisdom Time!
Comments Off on Postal Service – Trench Deployment – US Air Force I OUT OF THE TRENCHES
June 9, 2018
D-Day – IV: The Atlantic Wall – Extra History
Extra Credits
Published on 29 Jun 2017The Germans had established a secure barrier against the Allied invasion of France – or so they believed, until the D-Day landings in Normandy caught them by surprise and the Atlantic Wall quickly fell apart.
Comments Off on D-Day – IV: The Atlantic Wall – Extra History
May 29, 2018
Allied Defense During Spring Offensives 1918 I THE GREAT WAR Special
The Great War
Published on 28 May 2018MHV about Stormtrooper tactics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNqmA-if-4g
The French and British defenses during the German Spring Offensive 1918 were put to a real test when the Germans attacked. The carefully built defenses had to be abandoned and new lessons had to be learned.
Comments Off on Allied Defense During Spring Offensives 1918 I THE GREAT WAR Special
May 3, 2018
Total War History: The Theodosian Walls
Invicta
Published on 9 Jan 2015Amongst the most formidable structures ever built by the Romans would be the massive triple layered walls of Constantinople. Today we dive into the details of this super structure!
Comments Off on Total War History: The Theodosian Walls
April 8, 2018
Pioneers – Legend of the Kraken – Redeployment of Troops I OUT OF THE TRENCHES
The Great War
Published on 7 Apr 2018In this week’s episode of Out Of The Trenches, Indy talks about Pioneer Battalions, how a Sea Monster allegedly sunk a German submarine and the redeployment of Austro-Hungarian troops after the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
Comments Off on Pioneers – Legend of the Kraken – Redeployment of Troops I OUT OF THE TRENCHES
February 23, 2018
Artillery Combat in World War 1
Military History Visualized
Published on 6 Jun 2016This video will focus on how the use of Artillery changed throughout the war and cover some of the many major innovations. Artillery tactics changed to a large degree from 1914 to 1918, whereas in 1914 the use of artillery in tactics and techniques had still a strong resemblance to the Napoleonic era, in 1918 the foundations of a modern artillery is clearly recognizable. Although the basic principles of indirect fire, massed fire, counter-battery fire, calibration and meteorological corrections and combined arms were known, they were usually not applied on the field in 1914, yet in 1918 these principles were used consistently and to a large degree by all sides.
Script and further information: http://militaryhistoryvisualized.com/artillery-combat-in-the-first-world-war/
Comments Off on Artillery Combat in World War 1
February 3, 2018
How and why CASTLES were invented
Shadiversity
Published on 21 Nov 2017The Medieval castle is one of the most iconic fortresses ever built, so how and why were they invented?
Comments Off on How and why CASTLES were invented
January 28, 2018
Trenches At 10,000 Feet – Fighting On Mt. Lagazuoi I THE GREAT WAR On The Road [4K]
The Great War
Published on 27 Jan 2018Check out the Open Air Museum: http://bit.ly/LagazuoiMuseum
Join a very cold Indy as he explores the Italian and Austro-Hungarian positions on Mount Lagazuoi and finds out how they were built and operated during the Great War. A special thanks to Stefano Illing for guiding us through this incredible place.
Comments Off on Trenches At 10,000 Feet – Fighting On Mt. Lagazuoi I THE GREAT WAR On The Road [4K]
January 9, 2018
German Anti-Tank Units – Herman Göring – Caltrops I OUT OF THE TRENCHES
The Great War
Published on 8 Jan 2018Ask your questions here: http://outofthetrenches.thegreatwar.tv
Comments Off on German Anti-Tank Units – Herman Göring – Caltrops I OUT OF THE TRENCHES
December 25, 2017
Filling Trenches – General PoWs – Blindness I OUT OF THE TRENCHES
The Great War
Published on 23 Dec 2017Ask your questions: http://outofthetrenches.thegreatwar.tv
Comments Off on Filling Trenches – General PoWs – Blindness I OUT OF THE TRENCHES
December 2, 2017
Breaking news from 55 BC
Despite the written records left by Julius Caesar, Cicero, and Tacitus, until now there had apparently been no physical evidence of Caesar’s invasion of Britain:
… a chance excavation carried out ahead of a road building project in Kent has uncovered what is thought to be the first solid proof for the invasion.
Archaeologists from the University of Leicester and Kent County Council have found a defensive ditch and javelin spear at Ebbsfleet, a hamlet on the Isle of Thanet.
The shape of the ditch at Ebbsfleet, is similar to Roman defences at Alésia in France, where a decisive battle in the Gallic War took place in 52 BC.
Experts also discovered that nearby Pegwell Bay is one of the only bays in the vicinity which could have provided harbour for such a huge fleet of ships. And its topography echoes Caesar’s own observations of the landing site.
Dr Andrew Fitzpatrick, Research Associate from the University of Leicester’s School of Archaeology and Ancient History said: “Caesar describes how the ships were left at anchor at an even and open shore and how they were damaged by a great storm. This description is consistent with Pegwell Bay, which today is the largest bay on the east Kent coast and is open and flat.
“The bay is big enough for the whole Roman army to have landed in the single day that Caesar describes. The 800 ships, even if they landed in waves, would still have needed a landing front 1-2 km wide.
“Caesar also describes how the Britons had assembled to oppose the landing but, taken aback by the size of the fleet, they concealed themselves on the higher ground. This is consistent with the higher ground of the Isle of Thanet around Ramsgate.”
Thanet has never been considered as a possible landing site before because it was separated from the mainland until the Middle Ages by the Wanstum Channel. Most historians had speculated that the landing happened at Deal, which lies to the south of Pegwell Bay.
Comments Off on Breaking news from 55 BC
