DEADLIEST Battle of WW1: The Somme | Animated History
Support our channel and check out Isonzo here: bit.ly/3xor31r. Sponsored by Focus Entertainment
Use Code: TANK45 for a Discount to AHTV, Watch the Companion Episode NOW! armchairhistory.tv/supporters...
Sign up for Armchair History TV today! armchairhistory.tv/
Merchandise available at armchairhistory.tv/collection...
Android App: play.google.com/store/apps/de...
IOS App: apps.apple.com/us/app/armchai...
Armchair Historian Video Game: store.steampowered.com/app/16...
Support us on Patreon: / armchairhistorian
Discord: / discord
Twitter: / armchairhist
Sources:
Greenhalgh, Elizabeth. The French Army and the First World War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
Griffith, Paddy. Battle Tactics of the Western Front : The British Army`s Art of Attack, 1916-18. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1994.
Lupfer, Timothy. The Dynamics Of Doctrine: The Changes In German Tactical Doctrine During The First World War. Lucknow Books, 2015.
Gilbert, Martin. “The Battle of the Somme: ‘It Is Going to Be a Bloody Holocaust.’” In The First World War. United States: Rosetta Books, 2014.
Neiberg, Michael S. “A War Against Civilization: The Chantilly Offensives and the Somme.” In Fighting the Great War, 177-202. United States: Harvard University Press, 2006.
Prior, Robin. Conquer We Must : A Military History of Britain 1914-1945. 1st ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2023.
Strachan, Hew. “The Battle of the Somme and British Strategy.” Journal of strategic studies 21, no. 1 (1998): 79-95.
Wiest, Andrew A. Haig: The Evolution of a Commander. 1st ed. Washington, D.C: Potomac Books, 2005.
Music:
Armchair Team Credits:
docs.google.com/document/d/1s...
Support our channel and check out Isonzo here: bit.ly/3xor31r. Sponsored by Focus Entertainment Use Code: TANK45 for a Discount to AHTV, Watch the Companion Episode NOW! armchairhistory.tv/supporters/videos/42656 Sign up for Armchair History TV today! armchairhistory.tv/ Merchandise available at armchairhistory.tv/collections/all Android App: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fourthwall.wla.armchairhistory IOS App: apps.apple.com/us/app/armchair-history-tv/id6471108801 Armchair Historian Video Game: store.steampowered.com/app/1679290/Fire__Maneuver/ Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/armchairhistorian Discord: discord.gg/thearmchairhistorian Twitter: twitter.com/ArmchairHist
Griffin Johnson do a turkish uniform history plz. :)
I love inzonso
doiràn next
The game looked like a BF1 rip off😭
Can you please do a video on belluwood and wake island my dad is a former marine and I'm a big marine history person l. Thanks good job on the video warographics also did a video on somme check it out.
Fun fact: Austrian painter served in this battle
Imagine the alternative history if that painter didn't survive this battle
Tolkien also served in this battle. Imagine if they had met
@@williamstufflebeam4285 The Weimer Republic becomes communist Etheir someone else rises to power Or we still some how still have the Weimer Republic
Ah yes the Funny Mustache Man
It is said that Austrian painter was spared by a Tommy, I bet Tommy regreted that later on
That moment when you lose 60,000 people for 1 mile of craters and mud.
Real
I sleep
Sounds like Russia-Ukraine rn
@@user-yh1nm1vy3i yup
Definitely a "HOI4: The Great War/Great War REDUX" moment.
The fact that people in London could hear the battles in France is terrifying
London was bombed during WW1 - I only found out about that recently. It was so vastly overshadowed by the Blitz
You can always count on humans to do the most atrocious activities nature has ever seen
@AldWitch tbf the quickly developed flamble bullets
The utter futility and insanity of war. HAVE WE LEARNED NOTHING?
@@flashgordon6670 something we know throughout history. Wars are a way to change politics by force
When the counter to a massive prolonged campaign at Verdun, is an equally massive prolonged attack at the Somme. The warfare of the World War I is terrifying.
Welcome to the deadlock son. Where the battles have their own battles.
terrifying or dumb because of stupid leadership and corruption. Most WW1 officers seeked glory in battle and didn't care about the men they lost as long as it fit either their worldview or achieved a promotion.
Yeah, we Englishmen should never have joined the war. We built the tank and dreadnought, for this 😔 edited: I also think we should have joined the C.P.
If not rather stupid. They just wanted to throw as much weapons and soldiers at everything and hope things would get better, kinda...
@@Angelcynn_2001And let Germany be its greatest rival? By that logic, Britain should not have intervened in the Napoleonic wars because it does not serve British interests. Also, the tank wouldn't exist without British intervention in WW1...
This thing killed like 8 people per minute and lasted 138 days, jeez...
Could be worse you could be an Austrian at the battle of Galicia 100,000 dead in 18 days.
@@t.wcharles2171 dead dead or casualties?
@@vedsingh-bp2kedead dead, while overall casualties including dead was 320k - 420k
@@vedsingh-bp2ke very dead indeed.
@@t.wcharles2171 the Somme is still arguably more crazy. 8 deaths per minute x 1440 minutes in a day is ~11500 deaths per day. So Roughly 2x Galicia, but you’re right that 5500 guys on a single side dying per day is still insane
“One company after another had been shoved into the drum fire and steady annihilated”- Ernst Junger.
Yes. The German barbed wire was undamaged so men just bunched up. But when the British reached the German trenches, the Germans knew they would experience the same thing the British had just experienced on no man's land, so they tried desperately to surrender than go hand to hand. Truly sad loss of life
"steady annihilation" sounds so imposing I don't know why
The utter futility and insanity of war. HAVE WE LEARNED NOTHING?
Imagine if the Austrian Painter and JRR Tolkien have actually met face to face. What a crossover
En una linea alterna el pintor crearía el señor de los anillos
@@williamdaviddiazcuchimaque7511 and Tolkien would have created the British Reich
In that case, Sauron would have had a little moustache...
There is a letter Tolkien wrote to him
@@appelmoes3433there were two. The publisher sent the less blunt one. I kinda wish they hadn’t, but that would mean we’d miss the absolute roast Tolkien did to their ideology
"Wish I knew more about the Somme." - Me literally a few hours ago.
Your prayer was heard
What did it cost?
@@MrMisterCritique Everything.
The utter futility and insanity of war. HAVE WE LEARNED NOTHING?
In battlefield 1 i experienced what many WW1 soldiers did. Cheaters. They spinned, executed entire battalions in seconds. They scarred me for life.
calling Battlefield 1 a WW1 game should be a crime
@@baguettegaming5156 verdun,isonzo and tannenburg are all good ww1 games
@@baguettegaming5156it’s more of a revisionist sandbox WW1 THEMED game
How is Battlefeild One... not a WW1 game? @@baguettegaming5156
@@Sovietmapper9390 Beyond The Wire is better
50,000 men lost in one damn day. The Likes of which Have never been seen before
Battle of Cannae, 216 BC
A large proportion of those were back in action not long after. Just because they were casualties doesn't mean they were out of the war for good
@@TaaKissayeah, plenty of ancient battle in China and Roman times had tens of thousands dead
@@greg_mcaNot a nearly large enough proportion to discredit the total kill count, though.
@@TaaKissaThat was two days long and only had 26,000 dead.
I grew up near the Somme (Oise) 25 years ago our schoolteachers always emphasized the importance of this battle and I had at least two trips in the Peronne museum before junior high. We were young (7,8,9 years of age) but we would never forget how so many people (especially British soldiers) were thrown into that meat grinders. Even unruly kids fell silent when they were told about the Somme. Glad you made a video about this horrendous episode. WW1 is a big deal in the memories of people from Northern France, even though all vets passed away.
Imagine if we had lost Tolkien in this one
That’s quite a powerful thought. Because it makes you wonder how many other Tolkiens we lost…
@@chrisstucker1813Just another bleak reminder in why war is hell, and why we must always strive for peace and unity, even if our politicians don't see it that way.
@@chrisstucker1813 It's not just those we lost, it's the potential ones we lost from those never born due to the massive drop in population it caused, something that'll ripple onwards for the rest of human history.
Someone made a recreation of what it would of sounded like during a charge in ww1 and with so much noise it sounded like a blur and you might not be able to hear someone fire a shot next to you 😳
Nerds would have needed something else to fixate on.
Your team's mapping skills are admirable👍
real
No way
Fr fr no cap
If you could hear the Somme all the way to London, imagine how loud it was in the Somme!
kzhead.info/sun/qslwYt6BbpuFnaM/bejne.html they attempted to recreate
@@kstxevolution9642 Not gonna lie I thought you were a bot.
@@kstxevolution9642 Sweet Buddhas belly.....
It’s interesting how the casualties between the attackers and defenders were almost equal. The German losses in 1916 forced them to change the strategic plans and pull back to a new line.
When the British finally reached German lines, the Germans tried to surrender because they had just witnessed themselves doing a whole mass slaughter, they knew the same was coming to them, British didn't take many prisoners until later in the battle.
German losses are probably severely overestimated to keep morale of the Allies.
600,000 men died for 7 miles, WW1 was an absolute meat grinder
Technically 1.2 million died, but that's quibbling really.
Casualty != Death The ratio of dead to wounded would be 1:3, so 150,000 died.
@@TornadoADV Not dead. Just casualties which is dead, wounded, and missing.
The Battle of Deville Wood was the bloodiest day in South African military history. 2,536 men out of around 3500 men were killed in six days of bloody fighting. The South Africans refused to surrender. In the Battle of Fromelles, after intense fighting, of the 7,000+ BEF casualties, 5250+ losses were incurred by the 5th Australian Division alone. It is a shame that Australia, Soutrh Africa, New Zealand, Canada, etc. are overlooked in the battle. The sacrifices of all those men should not be forgotten and to be swept under the carpet of History.
I mean no disrespect to the Commonwealth troops in WW1, but it is a matter a scale. Anzac and South African troop were too few, compared to British and French division, to warrant visibility outside of small scale operation. Even indian and Canadina troops, that were much more numerous, are generally overlooked and amalgamed into the BEF, as it was how they operated. It is the same way as free french force are overlooked in WW2, because no matter their bravery, they represent a too small portion of the frontline troop to warrant more recognition.
@@nansravel3983 I totally get it, but in my oppinion, even if there was just a small amount of soldiers fighting over there, they should still get the recognision they deserve. I mean they fought in one of the bloodiest battles of the war. I also want to add on; I am not saying that whole movies, video games, etc. need to be made in honor of the smaller nations involved in the Somme offensive, I would just like people to know that there were smaller parties involved that helped in the battle and they could maybe atleast give nod of recognition and respect for the soldiers of said nations.
@@pie-master8973just because they fought doesn’t mean they deserve the most recognition. Should just be good job nice. I wouldn’t want to learn El Salvador in ww2.
@@LatinW321didn’t they just make it perfectly clear that’s not what they’re saying? You should absolutely learn how many smaller countries were drawn into the war, not that you need to memorize them all
@@jacksonbarker7594 I understood. But it’s stupid.
uploaded on anzac day, great timing griffin!
3:31 So Wholesome for putting Isonzo music 🤩
bro i immediatly started singing like crazy as soon as isonzo theme played, goddamn isonzo is a good game
Being adopted by an amazing Polish family and now living in Canada, my heritage is MacDonald. Lost 2 blood relatives in the battle. So many lives lost and for what......
For your freedom that’s what.
@@ronswanson8155 I hope so
@@ronswanson8155Freedom from what? The war was about power gain on both sides. The Serbians kicked it off when they assassinated the Archduke. If anything the allies can be painted as the aggressors on this one by supporting and defending basically a terrorist group. Especially after they tried killing the archduke with a bomb and it killed and harmed civilians. There was no freedom being threatened
@@__mindflayer__ the allies painted as the aggressors? What country are you from? Did the allies invade France? Did they invade Luxembourg? Did they invade Belgium? Britain went to war to defend Belgium. Not because they were defending Gavrilo. Moron
@@__mindflayer__ one of the most stupidest things I’ve ever read in my entire life
A really good video! One small nit-pick - a lot of people get this wrong due to WWI stereotypes - is that the battlefield of the Somme, on 1 July 1916 in particular, was actually quite intact: green grass, trees, hedges, farmers fields, farm buildings etc and the weather was a scorching bright summer's day. We tend to ascribe the stereotype of the Ypres battlefield in Autumn and Winter, particularly 3rd Ypres 1917, to what all World War One to look like: a churned up muddy quagmire full of lake-sized shellholes, impossible to walk nevermind fight..etc. The Somme region was quite a dry chalky region (Picardy) and partly the reason it was chosen as the zone of the offensive. True, by the battles end in November the land was churned up badly and Autumn rain turned it to mud but most of the Somme was fought in decent summer conditions (if you can ever describe a battlefield as such?!). But a good informative and well-illustrated video nonetheless!
Canadians also fought at the Somme going into action in September. The Canadians take over 24,000 casualties, one of those being my great-uncle, killed during an assault on the village of Courcelette.
I have become happiness
Happiness i be now
SCP 106
Destroyer of depression
now, happiness i must
Happines i be now
I think the Brusilov offensive and the hundred days offensive had more casualties than the Somme.
He did a video on the hundred days offensive already
Brusilov and hundred days were both offensives, Somme was a single battle
The battle for Normandy didn't last as long, but it had a higher casualty rate, particularly casualties per day
Those were huge operations made up of several battles, the somme is considered a single one, also Im pretty sure there were more casualities on the Somme than the Hundred days
@@greg_mca So?
Despite the lack of ground taken battles like the Somme and Verdun did at least bleed white the German army where they lost a lot of experienced troops.
This was very well done, thank you. Such an insane battle...totally unimaginable.
In Newfoundland they celebrate their Remembrance Day on July 1st to commemorate the Newfoundland regiment-90% of them-who died that tragic day.
As always, the animations are really good and fun to watch along the dialog.
Man you're getting so much better at this! Been watching for years and your old stuff is still great but youve also consistently improved alot over time. Excellent videos.
Great video as always Griffin! And I've been playing Isonzo for a while, it's one of my favorite games at the moment!
Love your content, please never give up on spreading historical awareness!
Missed the perfect opportunity to drop a video about Gallipoli/the ANZAC Cove landing on the 25th of April (ANZAC Day). Should cover a huge piece of Australian history next April 25
3:31 I was absolutely stunned when you started playing the music for Isonzo, guess we know Armchair Historian is a fellow Isonzo enjoyer.
Thank u so much for this one. Have been watching a bunch of Peakey Blinders lately and they mention the Somme a good bit and wanted to know more. WW1 just doesnt get the attention WW2 does and has much less available.
There was a lot more movement in WWII, and beginner historians like lines on maps better than individual battles
Very nice video and special thanks for popularizing Isonzo, I bought this game 1 year ago and it's great.
The last few minutes is brilliant analysis. Well done amigo!
It was Somme Battle thats for sure
Lol. Underrated
This battle is still remembered back home in Newfoundland 😢. It was an utter disaster. Also, good on you for saying Newfoundland nearly correctly! ❤
Had many family members serve with the Newfoundland Regiment in WW1, I had alot of family W.I.A or K.I.A at Monchy-le-Preux in 1917.
You guys got sponsored by isonzo! I knew I recognized the theme song in the background! Such hidden gem of a game!
A great video with an equally great sponsor! Thanks for making this a day worth loving!
L3 tank at the Somme 💀
Finally you guys did this one, i remember some guy replied to my comment saying you guys would never cover this because of the amount of times other history channels went over this 😭
Thank you, Griffin Johnson, for making a video on the *Battle of Somme* as I had been recommending it for a long time! A small suggestion that I have is that I would really appreciate it if you created a video on the *Battle of Passchendaele.*
i live where the isonzo battles were you can really see the history its so accurate and good i really recomend it
Nice to see more WW1 from this channel! 5:49 that like split screen style reminds me of “Valiant Hearts”
Somme was insane
Do The Battle of Neretva, this video was amazing as every other! Ty for reminding us of History in general 💚
"16 years old when I went to the war to fight for legends for heros;!
God on my side, and a gun in my hand, Chasing, my days down to Zero....
And I marched, and I fought, and I bled, and I died, and I never did get any older
But I knew at the time That a year in the line Was a long enough life for a soldier
We all volunteered And we wrote down our names And we added two years to our ages Eager for life And ahead of the game Ready for history's pages
And we brawled and we fought And we w**red till we stood 10000, shoulder to shoulder A thirst for the hun We were food for the gun And that’s what you are when you’re soldiers
my great-grandfather fought in the Somme, sad how millions of young men were forced to fight for the greed of politicians, now the same happens in Ukraine
I'm glad that Haig has been treated fairly by another great presentation here. Furthermore he did a lot of work during and after the war to support his men and veterans. I think it has to kept in mind that technological development required new tactics and, weapons and thinking, all of which had to be learnt.
The Armchair historian puts out another masterpiece of youtube greatness! Thank you.
I love studying this battle, so interesting to lean about the technological advances made during the assault.
So, the sounds of reverberations battle were even heard from London? It must be a nightmare for the soldier on the battlefield.
Tanks for the WWI content. I am a massive WWI buff. This is a war that needs to be remembered. The massive amount of death and destruction for basically no gain is something we should not repeat. May all those brave men Rest in Peace.
dude the quality of the videos are getting insane, give the animators a raise!
I highly recommend the sponsor of this video; Isonzo is a very fun and challenging game.
Ive had Isonzo (and a few other games from the franchise) for a while and I like them. Cool sponsor.
Amazing video
I heard the Essandoh theme music and was like Hmmm…. i’m glad it’s getting some love and some advertisement. I hope a lot of people start to play it more. If they continue and make another one like they’ve done with Tannenburg and we’re done I would love to see them cover the Somme honestly since they haven’t done an English versus German environment yet
I find it interesting that the things that let the Mark I down in the Somme is what would prove vital to French tanks being so effective in the later period of the war Speed and reliability
Next ww1 videos i recommend the Battle of passchendaele or the disaster at Gallipoli.
Yes
0:35 imagine how many people at the front become deaf or had ringing ears 👂 for life after this.
If I recall correctly, I believe that around 60% of all modern day VA claims are hearing related. That must be tame compared to the Somme. If there were any tunneling efforts by the Entente on the scale of what was seen at the Battle of Messines, then I can't imagine anyone within a particular radius having their hearing survive the battle.
Isonzo is an incredible game. AMAZING sound design from the voices of the soldiers to the ambience. The visuals speak for itself. It is a must have for WWI and WWII FPS fans!
I love Isonzo, along with Verdun and Tannenberg. Although, I do notice that they suffer a little bit from a handful of unfun mechanics and a lack of AAA polish.
@@ExtantPerson Unfun mechanics such as? Geniunely interested what your gripes are with the game :)
@@THEDAVILAK1 They’re pretty minor, and might be outdated since I haven’t played in a few months, but I remember there being some visibility issues, and hit registration being very inconsistent. I’m not sure if they were bugs or intentional. I do still love the game, though, and I’m considering redownloading it because of the mountaineering event.
Thank you
Thank you
I remember visiting the site of the 1st Newfoundland regiment, seeing the monument built there, and walking along the trench lines…. That, Vimy Ridge, and the Lochnagar Crater stick with me to this day, years after the trip I took.
4:32 that was me you killed!
Haha cheers! I recorded that ad, it's an amazing game.
I thing that except from the animated parts, the most fun is that he makes his background looking alike he lives in the era which the video tells about do not stop!
Austria:- how you break through isonzo. Italy :- yes
Please do one on Gallipoli, I had family who fought there back in 1915
Would you consider making a video on the Battle of Passchendaele at some point?
Seconded. Needs to be covered more by KZheadrs. Could even be portrayed like a horror movie, with all the people who suffocated in mud.
@@ExtantPerson Agreed
They should do the battles of Yrpres in order
As a Brit, I appreciate you covering such an important battle in our history
This is amazing!, big fan of your work. Really personifies the bloodiness of the battle.
Now THIS is a birthday gift! 🎂 🎁
Can you do a video on ottoman perspective of ww1
This is my favorite battle in history
My 2nd Great Granduncle was wounded at Gueudecourt, Somme in 1916, He was shot in his right arm, he fought again at Monchy-le-Preux in 1917 where he was shot in his right arm again, in the back, and had recieved shrapnel wounds. He survived the war and died age 93.
Thousands upon of young men who would never have the chance to fulfill the rest of their lives and experience a life lived, and still we do not learn. It brings tears to ones eyes and a lump to ones throat.
Hey I saw you Artorius Bravo in one of my game of Isonzo ! See you on the battlefield !
i recognized that isonzo theme all too well that i could see the ads coming 🤣
The amount of casualties in a 6 hour span in WW1 was insane to think about when 100k+ ppl die in less than 5-6 hours
Fitting to upload on anzac day
ww1 despite being shorter than ww2 and have less theaters it was true hell on earth and remember that during that period technology of ww2 is stronger than ww1 yet ww1 still have the bloodiest battles (although that bloodiest battle was the battle of stalingrad 1942)
The death toll in Europe in WWII was much bigger than WWI. The battle for Normandy for example had a higher casualty rate than the somme, but the memory is different because it was shorter and the line broken in only 2.5 months
@@greg_mcaI don’t think you can really compare Normandy to the Somme. Normandy took place over multiple months, while the Somme managed to get over 50,000 killed in a single day.
u know its a good week, whem Armchair Historian uploads 2 times this week0
I fucken love me some WW1 content. Thanks for the delivery.
I would love to see a video on the battle of Vimy ridge I see it as a proud but somber moment of Canadian history
Yes that would be good, but Canadians fought at Somme as well, taking over 24,000 casualties.
I very much enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up
YES A WW1 VIDEO this is a w day
Europe post Somme: well, that was horrible. But at least this will be the most bloody battle and war in world history, right? Not like we’re gonna go through THIS again.
Same post Verdun. “Surely the German military won’t try to take some of Europe’s most secure forts again, resulting in heavy casualties on both sides!”
Germans after ww1 "never again", Jews after ww2 "never again".... war never changes..
Yay a new video
Hey Armchair Historian after watching the movie and playing on the map in battlefield 1 I would like to hear you guy’s take on the battle of Passchendaele and how it became such a hellscape
Let's get one thing straight.. In terms of day to day casualties, the "bloodiest" battle of the Great War was 1st MARNE. The French were still interested in "attaque a'outrance" and were still dressed in brightly coloured uniforms with a "kepi". No steel helmets. The "Battle of the Frontiers" was a very similar disaster, with French officers thinking it was "chic to die in white gloves"
Thank you for mentioning the Newfoundland Regiment!
Insonzo is a great game. It's a nice sponsor for the video !
I'm so happy he finally covered this topic! Keep up the amazing work!
The Germans suffered so badly at the Somme that high command would go on to say that fighting another Somme would break them. How we managed to suffer through it is beyond me
There was a soldier who recounted taking a german trench line with the second wave at Somme, he was with a squad of 12 I believe, and they moved toward the second German line through the communication trench that connects the two, a german mg nest set up at the end of the comm trench, he fell into a crater and he couldn't warn the other squad behind him in time before they were all cut down, god what a horrible loss of life this war was, apparently though alot of MG gunners had trouble, due to the fact you are wiping out generations at once, that cant sit well with some people, srry if I rant I'm a military history nut.
Armchair historians animations are so good
Can you make an armchair historian series on the war on drugs explaining what went on in Colombia/Mexico
Not sure where you're getting your information but most contemporary historian would agree that the Allies agreed to joint offensives but would NOT say they're silmuntaneous. The Somme Offensive was hastily organized. They were initially looking at attacking somewhere in Flanders while France was looking at somewhere in the Champagne region. The Somme was agreed upon by the West AS A RESPONSE to not only relieve pressure from the titanic German Offensive at Verdun but also because that was the demarcation line where the British & French lines met. It really had nothing to do that it was consided "a quiet sector.
Love your videos. Any chance we can get more German perspectives of these battles. It’s all so fascinating