Snipers in World War 1 (Documentary)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2024
- Support us and get 40% off Nebula: go.nebula.tv/the-great-war
Watch Red Atoms on Nebula: nebula.tv/redatoms
In fall 1914, the British and French armies on the First World Wadustr’s Western Front were wrestling with a problem: unseen German riflemen were picking off any man who showed himself above the trench. Something had to be done about it - and the result was the birth of the modern sniper.
» SUPPORT THE CHANNEL
Patreon: / realtimehistory
Nebula: nebula.tv/the-great-war
» THANKS TO OUR CO-PRODUCERS
David Garfinkle, Raymond Martin, Konstantin Bredyuk, Lisa Anderson, Brad Durbin, Jeremy K Jones, Murray Godfrey, John Ozment, Stephen Parker, Mavrides, Kristina Colburn, Stefan Jackowski, Cardboard, William Kincade, William Wallace, Daniel L Garza, Chris Daley, Malcolm Swan, Christoph Wolf, Simen Røste, Jim F Barlow, Taylor Allen, Adam Smith, James Giliberto, Albert B. Knapp MD, Tobias Wildenblanck, Richard L Benkin, Marco Kuhnert, Matt Barnes, Ramon Rijkhoek, Jan, Scott Deederly, gsporie, Kekoa, Bruce G. Hearns, Hans Broberg, Fogeltje
» SOURCES
Campana, Michele. Perchè ho Ucciso. 1918.
Goya, Michel. “Une brève histoire des snipers 2e partie : les chasseurs industriels.”
lavoiedelepee.blogspot.com/20...
Pegler, Martin. Sniping in the Great War. 2008.
Plaster, John. The History of Sniping and Sharpshooting. 2008.
Schäfer, Robin. “‘The men behind the scope’: German snipers in the First World War, part 2.” irontime.substack.com/p/the-m...
Schäfer, Robin. “’A Dirty Duty Well Performed: German Snipers in the First World War.’” irontime.substack.com/p/a-dir...
Uyar, Mesut. The Ottoman Army in the First World War. 2020
» OUR SISTER CHANNEL
/ realtimehistory
»CREDITS
Presented by: Jesse Alexander
Written by: Jesse Alexander
Director: Toni Steller
Editing: Toni Steller
Motion Design: Toni Steller
Mixing, Mastering & Sound Design: above-zero.com
Research by: Jesse Alexander
Fact checking: Florian Wittig
Executive Producer: Florian Wittig
Channel Design: Yves Thimian
Lebel 1886 Model by Diedrik Droesbeke
Contains licensed material by getty images, AP and Reuters
Maps: MapTiler/OpenStreetMap Contributors & GEOlayers3
All rights reserved - Real Time History GmbH 2024
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 71 วันนี้!! คู่เอก "ทรงชัยน้อย vs รักษ์"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/_AGPnq2p6Js/mqdefault.jpg)
Support us and get 40% off Nebula: go.nebula.tv/the-great-war
Watch Red Atoms on Nebula: nebula.tv/redatoms
A suggestion : Could you cover some more of the Eastern Front, tactics, actions, and equipment used during The Great War ?
("borrowed" from another commenter)
The wind's gettin' a bit choppy. You can compensate for it, or you can wait it out, but he might leave before it dies down. It's your call. Remember what I've taught you. Keep in mind variable humidity and wind speed along the bullet's flight path. At this distance you'll also have to take the Coriolis Effect into account.
I'm trying to say guten Bend. My grandfather was in the Russian Imperial Army artillery officer in the first war which you may assume was more brutal than the Western Front, in so many ways. He was so effective, that the austrians bombed him with airplanes. Thankfully that put him out of action, he has holes on his thighs like the size of silver dollars thanks for asking
With modern day understanding of PTSD this war must have utterly destroyed a whole generation of young men on an emotional level. You can’t be the same person after this
And we are only just starting to unravel the two overlapping conditions that got lumped together - psychological stress and blast related chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) (literally “shell shock” addling and tearing the brains of the troops at both ends of artillery duels). The second item was magnified by the introduction of steel helmets that concentrated the blast around the skull while reducing the number of instantaneous deaths.
Obviously
Should've just used their male privilege, amirite?
Other men sent them to their deaths. This isnt some own
I'm old enough to have grown up with an elderly vet next door. At one point he had dug in in the front yard, seriously. The younger relatives had a small trench for a while. Late 1970s, and this old man is balled up in the dirt with his hands clamped over his ears. As a kid, I didn't realize, I thought it was funny. Now I know better.
So much of modern warfare was pioneered in the Great War. It’s crazy to think there’s probably somewhere right now where a soldier is afraid to look over his trench because a sniper might be watching.
All along the Russian lines in occupied Ukraine.
@@jamesleonard7236Along both sides.
Drones mean you don't even need to look over the trench anymore. the footage from Ukraine is...Something else.
Ukraine
I am afraid to ride my horse into battle due to the phalanx
My grampa served in the Canadian infantry regiments till 1917 then he became a sniper.He fought at Ypres the Somme,Vimy ridge as a sniper.He targeted machine gun nests in particular.The same tactics as the American snipers.Gramps liked the American troops,that's why he moved to the states in the twenties for about 10 years.I have the utmost respect for all our soldiers in the wars.Gone but not forgotten
Just to be accurate, there were dedicated snipers with telescopic sights on both sides of the American Civil War, and many astounding feats of marksmanship are noted.
I was just gonna say that too
As a Metis Canadian, with Ojibwe ancestry, I was surprised and elated to learn more about their service and impact in the war! Even though WW1 is commonly portrayed as a defining moment in Canadian identity (with Vimy being the most important) I never knew Canadian Aboriginals made up 6 of the 12 top snipers in the British army! Thanks for another amazing documentary!! :D
Glad you appreciated that part - as a Canadian I wanted to point it out.
You might wanna have a listen to Sabaton's song "a ghost in the trenches" about Pegahmagabow then ;)
Yea and was cool up until Ukraine now having top 1 sniper shot it was Canada 1 and Australia 2nd
you might find this interesting. the common portrayal of vimy ridge is not exactly accurate. while it was used as a tool to try and create anglo-french canadian identity, it only became part of that and was well remembered after that identity already formed. the actual impact of vimy ridge is that it gave the dominions enough political ammunition to demand independent foreign policy after the war ended, a right they exercised for the first time in a major way during the turkish straits crisis
@@zachjordan7608 lol that too seems exaggeration mate.
Australia had many battle wins in WW1 just as important as Vimy.. so i call lies of Canadians.
Just like how Canadians say Geneva convention was invented because of their WW1 war crimes.. lol no clue on Australia and New Zealand war crimes and show you lot lie to seem most important in the world.
Australian's committed war crimes in Boer war and prove this wrong.
16:13 Sgt York used an American M1917 rifle, nicknamed the "American Enfield". It was an entirely different rifle from the British Lee-Enfield. The M1917 was an American conversion of the British P14 rifle, originally intended to replace the Lee-Enfield, that was being manufactured in the US for Britain.
Thank you for mentioning Sgt Alvin C York. He had applied to be a "contentious objector" on religious grounds, to participating in another "European War", before his recruiting sergeant convinced him otherwise (great film by Howard Hawks, staring Gary Cooper, btw). After becoming a hero in WWI, a group of businessmen in his home state of Tennessee bought him a farm. During the Great Depression, Mr York worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps, supervising the building of Byrd Lake reservoir at Cumberland Mountain State Park, where he would serve as superintendent for several years. Sgt York was truly a remarkable American.
I watched a vid about him not long ago. Did he shoot the 25 Germans and capture the 132 all in the same battle? With his CO commenting something like " I hear you've captured the whole German army?" which he coolly replied "no, just 132 of them" haha. What a friggin machine.
"They wouldn't have understood", such a universal statement.
Of the various TH-cam documentaries on snipers, this is the most thorough, the best organized, and the most informative. Nicely done.
The first unofficial British WW1 "combats" (wearing simple private soldier uniforms plus carrying a dubious rifle as camouflage) were concieved by officers who thought leading attacks from the front while waving their swords as per regs was a bit unrealistic...
If memory serves, there was an article I read in the 1914 Jane's Fighting Ships (reprinted from the 1906/7 edition) which talked about the Russo-Japanese war. A European observer at the siege of Port Arthur, saw a Japanese soldier being carried to the rear having been shot through the eye. The Japanese officer with him explained that the trench had a forward outpost faced with heavy planks, one of which had a knothole which allowed the forward observer to view the enemy. The officer added that the dead soldier was the third one they'd lost to Russian snipers. It kind of sounds like The Great War introduced the telescopic sights to sniping.
As we discuss in the video, sniping is about a lot more than marksmanship or scopes - about tactics, fieldcraft, observation, etc. The Russians didn't do any of that in 1904-05 or 1914-17.
Jesse, I appreciate and admire your narration more and more with each episode. My compliments.
Thanks.
@@jessealexander2695 As a former language student, I love your careful pronunciation of French and German names, and as a Scot I was hoping that you would mention the Lovat Scouts and ghillie suits. You didn't disappoint. In fact, you never disappoint!
McBride’s A Rifleman Went To War, is an excellent read if interested in sniping in the early years of the war.
You didn't need telescopic sites to be a sniper. The famous Finn in the winter war and continuation war never used a scope. He is considered the most prolific sniper of all time. I can't recall the name but his nickname was the white death
Simo Häyhä was the great Finish sniper. Though to be fair many of his kills were not quite what we think about, as talked about in this video. Simo would often use "ambush tactics" against unaware Russians, getting many with his Soumi Kp / - 31 submachine gun, at medium to close range.
Sights
@@walking_in_the_shade correct. I was never certain. I always want to say peep sight or iron sights but it didn't look right. We have construction sites. Websites. And burial sites. We also cite our sources but that's neither here nor there. Since site is used for a location or thing and since a notched piece of metal or a tube containing lens is a thing I always thought it should be site. But logically, when dealing with seeing and vision you're obviously talking sight. Ironically if I'm writing casually I'd have wrote sight, but since I wanted to be formal I, incorrectly, wrote site. That's called over thinking. But I'm the rare person who doesn't mind grammar police. You made me actually look up the proper usage and now I know that when I'm using a telescopic sight to check the construction site I'm using it properly and will cite your reply for providing me the proper information.
I got a couple short films on the Finnish and sniping, if you’re interested, you can laugh at my acting
Simo Häyhä
Billy Sing with the Australian infantry got 250 kills in the 8 months he was in Gallipoli. He went on to serve on the western front for two and a half years but kept shooting and stopped counting. He would have to been over 700 but most of them unconfirmed. The truth is after the war his experience haunted him as he had killed so many men. He died alone in a Single mans hotel in Brisbane in 1943.
Billy sing the ANZAC did not use an enhanced sight on his rifle in Gallipoli and still got an estimated 250 kills
This is a phenomenal channel. I don't know who is controlling the design, quality, information or delivery artistically, but you are 100 percent in your element. It's not just the matter of quality, but the topics always seem to address those extremely important but less talked-about and covered events (such as" World War Zero" with the Ottoman empire). Fantastic all around, and I'll be linking others to get them subscribed for certain. Truly, you have my gratitude.
Thank you very much!
@@jessealexander2695 💀💀💀
Everyone thinks that sniping is a game. It’s more than that. Sniping requires patience, willpower, resourcefulness, and much more. Not only that but many snipers from the First World War, Second World War, Korean War, various conflicts in the Cold War, the gulf war, and the war on terror. Many snipers describe that the one thing that stays in their minds is the face of the enemy. Seeing their facial expressions, seeing them talk with other soldiers, laughter, etc. Then squeezing the trigger to end them. War is harsh and sniping is brutal. Godspeed.
Sniping must have an immense psychological impact. I imagine it's the most personal way of killing an opponent, besides hand to hand combat.
Another informative AND entertaining history documentary!
Italian word for sniper is "cecchino", it means "little Frank" in some dialects.
It's supposed Italians used to call early Austrian snipers as "little Franz" just like Franz Joseph.
Interesting, never heard that before. Thanks and hello from Austria!
Snipers were one of the few people that were not taken as POWs because they specifically targeted officers and leaders of soldiers to cause dissent and terror.
Yep, you wouldn't want to be taken alive with a telescopic scope on your rifle . . .
Great stuff as always RTH.
Are you planning to do the Philippine-American War documentary after you finish the Spanish-American War documentary a few months ago?
excellent video
Excellent work as usual. Thanks.
Great documentary full of fascinating information.
Another wonderful historical coverage video about sniper groups and sniper private combative during WW1.. inside tranches and hidden camouflaged positions.. Anton powers imitate center powers in early years, but they trained more skilled snipers during late WW1 years. Thank you 🙏( the great war ) channel for sharing this magnificent introduction
My great grandfather Charles Burton was a Australian sniper in the great war in France , he never spoke of his experiences except to my grandfather's who fought in the second world war and never spoke of war in front of women , he lived to the age of 97 dieing of golden staff infection in a Sydney hospital.
who cares bro
@@Jonjs99 I'll subscribe to your channel it's going to be lots of fun
Excellent insights. I dint't realise that the Germans were such great pioneers in the field of sniping. Thanks a lot for sharing, always glad to see the channel return to its roots with content from the great war period!
Thanks.
A wonderful and distinctive channel that deserves admiration and appreciation. You provide accurate, wonderful, and very useful information. A thousand greetings, great respect and great pride for these wonderful publications and distinguished efforts. I wish you lasting success. The utmost respect and appreciation.
I read a book written by an English soldier who set up sniper schools in WW 1 . Picked the best from each unit to train as instructors in his own area .
That footage of the guy stumbling over the wire before he fades in the fog into no mans land is haunting and chilling man
Billy Sing was a natural man from the land who skills were developed by taking moving kangaroos
CHARMING AND VERY BEAUTIFUL DOCUMENTARY
artillerymen aim at map cordinates, Machinegunners aim at a area. riflemen aim at something that moves. Snipers aim at a person. // former soldier.
Nicely done video
I adore this channel love leading about warfare and weapons history and tactics.
Very nice Video. Thank you
Danke.
Awesome thank you
Thanks!
I loved this video. Snipers are quite,skilled, and deadly.
Always wondered when you get to this part
A collaboration with Jonathan Ferguson or Ian McCollum would have been amazing in this video
Solid content from the first second
18:31
If accurate sniper fire denied the enemy the use of his machine guns, there can be little doubt of the importance of the sniper.
Hey could you create playlists grouping videos by geographic location? Either countries, continents, theaters... in my case of interest: countries. Thank you for the channel, been following for years
Thank you.
Best channel on yt!
It's fascinating to learn just how much of modern combat theories, tactics and weapon concepts draw their origins from this war.
And the Brits concentrated on marksmanship in the run-up to the First World War as a result of their experience in the Second Boer War 1899 - 1902.
Very interesting 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏
This just makes me think of the movie “All is quiet on the western front “
Billy sing was a very deadly sniper at Gallipoli and polygon Wood on western front.
Спасибо
Thanks for a succinct origin history. This presenter strikes a fine balance between believability and entertainment.
0:58 I didn't know whistling diesel was that old
FYI - Hesketh-Pritchard's account "Sniping in France" is available at Project Gutenberg.
Elephant guns??? Now that's overkill.
I've watched >10 of your documentaries in the past day or 2, and I have to say I am impressed. I am thoroughly enjoying them and, contrary to many other documentaries I have seen in the past, there's very little I would/ could challenge or contest (nothing comes to mind while typing this comment).
Thanks.
But could they do it on a rainy day in Stoke??
Great!!!! Thank you !//Lars
Thanks!!! //Lars
I remember reading our guys were issued Elephant guns to pierce the German armoured loopholes?
We mention that in the video.
Did you guys delete the older video about this topic with Indy?
My grandfather was a sniper in the Great War he would not talk much about it but I remember one story officers were getting shot on this one stretch of road so he set him self up to observe he saw the German sniper come out and shoot a officer next time he came out was his last grandfather got him
My Grandfather was born in 1894. He was drafted into the US Army during World War I. He told his children about his close buddies in the Meuse Argonne campaign who were shot by German Snipers. Grandpa was hit by shrapnel and clipped his three fingers off his left hand and put shrapnel in his upper left arm. By the way he hated the British officers for not providing rations when promised.
Hmm, that Bernard Montgomery I assume?
Indeed!
Appears the bolt actions are in need of lubricant. Keep them clean
Excellent video
Don’t tamper with the factory settings.
It’s already calibrated.
It seems to me that the video doesn't mention that Italy barely used snipers in the war, with something like between 500 and 3500 iirc carcano optics ever built
2:53 the central figure looks like General Erich von Falkenhayn.
I had a friend who was a sniper in the Swiss army. What struck me was how he told me that they'd get special pyschological training in order to shoot their targets. As a regular soldier, rationalizing killing another human is easier because it usually happens in a firefight where it's either them or the others. A sniper, however, brings death to those not actually posing a danger to them.
it’s crazy what impact ww1 had on
A wonderful channel that deserves the best regards, appreciation, admiration and pride. It provides accurate and useful information. I thank you for all the beautiful words and sincere feelings for your distinguished posts. I wish you continued success and all the best. My utmost respect and appreciation
I have my grandfathers 1903 with a5 scope from ww1 he sent home from Europe. Only one other is known in private hands other than mine.
Im sorry i have been absent from youtube for quite some time but could somebody tell me what happen to Indiana Niedel, the original host?
1:31 I believe i read about sharpshooter and snipers that used lenses as far back as the American Civil War. Jack Hinson was a notable confederate sniper
Please do a video on warfare, tactics and strategies on the eastern front
Yes! They have covered some of the post WWI issues of areas on the Eastern Front, but more coverage of fighting during The Great War would be great.
The machine gun was universal every where but Sub Saharan Africa. It was the machine gun that put the brakes on everybody, and artillery that put them underground. So, all fronts were about the same. After all, a bullet is a bullet, a shell is a shell, and a trench is a trench. No matter where you are. For the difference in Africa, go to Indy Neidel on WW1. Or just Africa in WW1.
@@nomadmarauder-dw9re yea but ive been told eastern fron was still mobile
@@theromanorder in terms of swapping trench lines every now and then. Except for Africa.
Hello.thanks 4the efforts.i Was well Entertained.christian
The old kite trick.
Great documentary. i just ask your permission to interject a couple of things. I noticed you showed the use of a dummy head to draw sniper fire. The French had local artists paint faces on the plaster heads that would be raised above the trench line. Inevitably the plaster head would be shot and the men would insert a stick through the head to detect the bullet path showing them the elevation and possible location of the sniper. Once that was realized, artillery would be called in on the sniper's location. It became a wise decision to "shoot and scoot", change position after a shot. An interesting thing you might find amusing is the origin of the belief about "three on a match" being a harbinger of bad luck. It came from the first world war and the sniper's coming of age. Three men are set to have a cigarette. The match is struck and the flash is noticed by the enemy sniper. as the second cigarette is being lit, he starts to take aim and as the third man is getting the light, the sniper takes aim at the glow of the cigarette, fires and scores a head shot. Thank you all for your interest.
Alvin York did NOT utilize a "British Lee Enfield". It was an American made 1917 Enfield. Remington and Winchester manufactured the P14 Enfield for the UK in .303. When the order was filled and the U.S. entered the war in 1917 the pattern was redesigned in .30-'06. it was issued in greater numbers than the Springfield 1903. York called it a"British rifle" and disliked it's receiver (peep) sight.
when u show the rifles in a photo is it from a video game? it look VR ish
Hey Great War Team, been watching for, well feels like forever, anyway I recently got into making history and alternate history videos. I was wondering if you had any advice for making historical videos on TH-cam?
my recommendation for starting out is to produce multiple videos and stickt it for a while. you will get much better through learning by doing and will find your own voice and what you like doing, what works etc. other than that, use credible sources and pay attention to image rights.
@@TheGreatWar thank you!
No mention of Herbert O. McBride or his book “A Rifleman Went To War”?
Why did you make private the precious sniper video? I really hope you aren't removing the older content
oh great.
I just took you up on the subscribe button challenge...
screen? what screen.
1:31. Can anyone explain wtf is up with this guy's hand?
15:17 Montgomery experience
Can’t believe we got snipers in WWI before Silk Song
02:33 - Is that Jean Reno?
maybe about The Greater Poland Uprising (1918 - 1919) ?
I believe modern snipers are taught to wound not kill because it takes numerous soldiers to evacuate a wounded man. Soldiers that can't shoot at you then. That weakens a squad much more then killing one soldier.
Nope
Center mass.... probably a kill.
You dont have the luxury of that.
12:18 why snipers were unpopular
We are unfortunately now seeing the birth of another new military role; drone operators. And they may be even more hated than snipers ever were.
German trenches were a lot better than allied trenches. They were deeper and they were braced. The Germans prepared for a drawn out fight while the allies rushed.
Paid off,eh
What's that got to do with he video
Thank you for a great video. I recommend "A Rifleman went to War" by Herbert W. McBride.
He was an Indianna State champion rifle shooter who wanted "in" the war. He volunteered in the Canadian Army; with the guarantee he would be sent to France to shoot Germans.
He did.
Really didnt occur to me that the atom bomb was created only 30 years after the trenches were first dug.
Shame about the German scout class in Battlefield 1 though, looks ridiculous.
Finnish Simo Häyhä, The White Death, used an iron sighted Mosin and a subgun.
Happy Birthday to society world today
I'm sorry but to suggest the snipers who acquired the Englishs' reputation were mostly commonwealth former hunters is wildly unjustified.
Let's not forget, by world war 1, Britain was still an empire, who conquered a vast empire with a highly professional and highly capable army.
They were excellent riflemen, perhaps the finest in the world at that time, with a rich history of sharpshooting and hunting at home here in England.
The English riflemen were renowned for their skill.